A von-Neumann-like photonic processor and its application in studying quantum signature of chaos.

Photonic quantum computation plays an important role and offers unique advantages. Two decades after the milestone work of Knill-Laflamme-Milburn, various architectures of photonic processors have been proposed, and quantum advantage over classical computers has also been demonstrated. It is now the opportune time to apply this technology to real-world applications. However, at current technology level, this aim is restricted by either programmability in bulk optics or loss in integrated optics for the existing architectures of processors, for which the resource cost is also a problem. Here we present a von-Neumann-like architecture based on temporal-mode encoding and looped structure on table, which is capable of multimode-universal programmability, resource-efficiency, phase-stability and software-scalability. In order to illustrate these merits, we execute two different programs with varying resource requirements on the same processor, to investigate quantum signature of chaos from two aspects: the signature behaviors exhibited in phase space (13 modes), and the Fermi golden rule which has not been experimentally studied in quantitative way before (26 modes). The maximal program contains an optical interferometer network with 1694 freely-adjustable phases. Considering current state-of-the-art, our architecture stands as the most promising candidate for real-world applications.

Native mitral valve fungal endocarditis caused by Aspergillus fumigatus: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Aspergillus endocarditis is a rare fungal infection associated with a poor prognosis. Most cases of Aspergillus endocarditis involve prosthetic valves, with native valve involvement being rarely reported. CASE PRESENTATION: A 53-year-old asian female patient presented with fever, chills, dyspnea, generalized fatigue, and significant weight loss one month after undergoing left lower lobectomy for a pulmonary abscess. Echocardiogram showed a large mobile vegetation with a broad base on the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve, resembling atrial myxoma. Despite negative blood cultures, circulating DNA of Aspergillus fumigatus was detected by metagenome Next Generation Sequencing, prompting the initiation of empiric antifungal therapy with voriconazole. Emergency surgery, involving thorough debridement and mitral valve replacement, was successfully performed. Indefinite fungal suppression therapy with oral voriconazole is continued to mitigate the risk of recurrence. The patient survived with no signs of Aspergillus disease recurrence for four years. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: Diagnosis of Aspergillus endocarditis requires a high index of suspicion and is often delayed due to consistently negative results from blood cultures. Non-culture-based methods, particularly metagenome Next-Generation Sequencing, play a crucial role in early diagnosis and therapeutic decision-making. Surgical debridement and valve replacement are imperative for survival in cases of Aspergillus endocarditis. Voriconazole should be considered the primary fungicidal agent for its treatment. Moreover, lifelong fungal suppression therapy is strongly recommended for all survivors to ensure long-term survival and minimize the risk of recurrence. CONCLUSION: Despite grim prognosis associated with Aspergillus endocarditis, patients can attain long-term survival through meticulous surgical debridement and lifelong antifungal therapy.

Reflective dielectric cavity enhanced emission from hexagonal boron nitride spin defect arrays.

Among the various kinds of spin defects in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN), the negatively charged boron vacancy (VB-) spin defect that can be site-specifically generated is undoubtedly a potential candidate for quantum sensing, but its low quantum efficiency restricts its practical applications. Here, we demonstrate a robust enhancement structure called reflective dielectric cavity (RDC) with advantages including easy on-chip integration, convenient processing, low cost and suitable broad-spectrum enhancement for VB- defects. In the experiment, we used a metal reflective layer under the hBN flakes, filled with a transition dielectric layer in the middle, and adjusted the thickness of the dielectric layer to achieve the best coupling between RDC and spin defects in hBN. A remarkable 11-fold enhancement in the fluorescence intensity of VB- spin defects in hBN flakes can be achieved. By designing the metal layer into a waveguide structure, high-contrast optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) signal (∼21%) can be obtained. The oxide layer of the RDC can be used as the integrated material to implement secondary processing of micro-nano photonic devices, which means that it can be combined with other enhancement structures to achieve stronger enhancement. This work has guiding significance for realizing the on-chip integration of spin defects in two-dimensional materials.

Coherent control of an ultrabright single spin in hexagonal boron nitride at room temperature.

Hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) is a remarkable two-dimensional (2D) material that hosts solid-state spins and has great potential to be used in quantum information applications, including quantum networks. However, in this application, both the optical and spin properties are crucial for single spins but have not yet been discovered simultaneously for hBN spins. Here, we realize an efficient method for arraying and isolating the single defects of hBN and use this method to discover a new spin defect with a high probability of 85%. This single defect exhibits outstanding optical properties and an optically controllable spin, as indicated by the observed significant Rabi oscillation and Hahn echo experiments at room temperature. First principles calculations indicate that complexes of carbon and oxygen dopants may be the origin of the single spin defects. This provides a possibility for further addressing spins that can be optically controlled.

[Mathematical methods for analyzing ecosystem state evolution in ecologically vulnerable area.] / 生态脆弱区生态系统状态演变分析的若干数学方法.

Multiple ecosystems (grassland, desert and shrubs) always coexist in ecologically fragile areas. Influence by external environmental conditions and human activities, one ecosystem in ecologically fragile areas would be changed into another, called abrupt change. It is important to analyze the stability of each ecosystem in ecologically fragile areas under the condition of multiple ecosystems coexistence for understanding ecosystem changes. In this article, we reviewed several mathematical models that can describe the dynamic system and stability of multiple ecosystems in ecologically fragile areas. The dynamic system described by differential equations included the uniform and non-uniform ecosystems, as well as multi-ecosystems with the existence of forests, grasses, and deserts. There were three types of methods for analyzing the stability of the ecosystem. One type was the analysis method of ecosystem stability caused by the initial perturbation that could represent human activities, and the other type was the analysis method of ecosystem stability caused by the model perturbation that can represent the changes of environmental factors (precipitation, temperature, etc.), and the third type was the analysis method of ecosystem stability caused by the combination of initial perturbation and model perturbation. Finally, we introduced how to analyze the stabilities of ecosystem in ecologically fragile areas with those methods. These mathematical methods not only help us understand the stability of the ecosystems in the ecologically fragile area, but also provide theoretical guidance for the abrupt change of the ecological system, future prediction, and management.

Generation of Spin Defects by Ion Implantation in Hexagonal Boron Nitride.

Optically addressable spin defects in wide-band-gap semiconductors as promising systems for quantum information and sensing applications have recently attracted increased attention. Spin defects in two-dimensional materials are expected to show superiority in quantum sensing due to their atomic thickness. Here, we demonstrate that an ensemble of negatively charged boron vacancies (VB -) with good spin properties in hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) can be generated by ion implantation. We carry out optically detected magnetic resonance measurements at room temperature to characterize the spin properties of ensembles of VB - defects, showing a zero-field splitting frequency of ∼3.47 GHz. We compare the photoluminescence intensity and spin properties of VB - defects generated using different implantation parameters, such as fluence, energy, and ion species. With the use of the proper parameters, we can successfully create VB - defects with a high probability. Our results provide a simple and practicable method to create spin defects in hBN, which is of great significance for realizing integrated hBN-based devices.

Synthesis and Pharmacological Evaluation of Novel Benzenesulfonamide Derivatives as Potential Anticonvulsant Agents.

A novel series of benzenesulfonamide derivatives containing 4-aminobenzenesul-fonamide and α-amides branched valproic acid or 2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarboxylic acid moieties were synthesized and screened for their anticonvulsant activities in mice maximal electroshock seizure (MES) and subcutaneous pentylenetetrazole (scPTZ) test. The activity experimental study showed that 2,2-dipropyl-N¹-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)malonamide (18b) had the lowest median effective dose (ED50) of 16.36 mg/kg in MES test, and 2,2-dimethyl-N-(4-sulfamoylphenyl)cyclopropane-1,1-dicarboxamide (12c) had the lowest ED50 of 22.50 mg/kg in scPTZ test, which resulted in the protective indexe (PI) of 24.8 and 20.4, respectively. These promising data suggest the new compounds have good potential as new class of anticonvulsant agents with high effectiveness and low toxicity for the treatment of epilepsy.

A supportive attribute-assisted discretization model for medical classification.

Discretization of a continuous-valued symptom (attribute) in medical data set is a crucial preprocessing step for the medical classification task. This paper proposes a supportive attribute - assisted discretization (SAAD) model for medical diagnostic problems. The intent of this approach is to discover the best supportive symptom that correlates closely with the continuous-valued symptom being discretized and to conduct the discretization process using the significant supportive information that is provided by the best supportive symptom, because we hypothesize that a good discretization scheme should rely heavily on the interaction between a continuous-valued attribute and both its supportive attribute and the class attribute. SAAD can consider each continuous-valued symptom differently and intelligently, which allows it to be capable of minimizing the information lost and the data uncertainty. Hence, SAAD results in higher classification accuracy. Empirical experiments using ten real-life datasets from the UCI repository were conducted to compare the classification accuracy achieved by several prestigious classifiers with SAAD and other state-of-the-art discretization approaches. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness and usefulness of the proposed approach in enhancing the diagnostic accuracy.

[Effects of traffic exhausts on children' s neurobehavioral functions scored by neurobehavioral evaluation methods in Quanzhou, Fujian province].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effects of traffic exhausts on children's neurobehavioral functions. METHODS: A field study was conducted in Quanzhou, Fujian province where two primary schools were chosen based on the numbers of automobiles passing by,and the data of ambient air pollutants from the monitoring system. School B and School A located at the high traffic exhausts pollution area and the clear area, respectively. Neurobehavioral functions of pupils in grade 2 and 3 were scored. RESULTS: School B had very similar score of Ruiwen Test with School A, while the score of Digit Eras Test was lower than that in School A with marginal significance. The scores of Digit Symbol,Aim Tracing, Sign Register and Cormect Number test were 38.5 +/- 9.96, 84.3 +/- 27.83, 37.4 +/- 11.62 and 17.1 +/- 5.88 in School B,respectively, which were significantly lower than those in School A (41.6 +/- 12.97, 95.5 +/- 35.80, 42.3 +/- 15.58 and 18.7 +/- 5.78) respectively. Scores in Digit Symbol,Aim Tracing,Sign Register and Cormect Number of pupils in School B were 2.9, 11.5, 5.6 and 1.6 lower than those in School A after adjusting on other confounding factors. CONCLUSION: It was suggested that traffic exhausts might cause damage to children's neurobehavioral functions.