Error-corrected quantum repeaters with GKP qudits

The Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill (GKP) code offers the possibility to encode higher-dimensional qudits into individual bosonic modes with, for instance, photonic excitations. Since photons enable the reliable transmission of quantum information over long distances and since GKP states subject to photon loss can be recovered to some extent, the GKP code has found recent applications in theoretical investigations of quantum communication protocols. While previous studies have primarily focused on GKP qubits, the possible practical benefits of higher-dimensional GKP qudits are hitherto widely unexplored. In this paper, we carry out performance analyses for three quantum repeater protocols based o…

Memory-assisted long-distance phase-matching quantum key distribution

We propose a scheme that generalizes the loss scaling properties of twin-field or phase-matching quantum key distribution (QKD) related to a channel of transmission $\eta_{total}$ from $\sqrt{\eta_{total}}$ to $\sqrt[2n]{\eta_{total}}$ by employing n-1 memory stations with spin qubits and n beam-splitter stations including optical detectors. Our scheme's resource states are similar to the coherent-state-based light-matter entangled states of a previous hybrid quantum repeater, but unlike the latter our scheme avoids the necessity of employing 2n-1 memory stations and writing the transmitted optical states into the matter memory qubits. The full scaling advantage of this memory-assisted phas…

Phenotypic and functional characterization of neutrophils and monocytes from patients with myelodysplastic syndrome by flow cytometry.

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal stem cell disorder frequently associated with inefficient granulopoiesis showing dysplastic polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). To assess PMN functionality in MDS in a clinical routine setting, 30 MDS patients and ten healthy volunteers were analyzed for PMN and monocyte phenotype and function (degranulation, CD62L shedding, oxidative burst and phagocytosis) upon stimulation with lipopolysaccharide by multi-color flow cytometry (MCFC). Our data show a heterogeneous pattern for CD66, CD16 and CD64 expression on PMNs of MDS patients. CD62L shedding rate and CD66 degranulation were reduced. Interestingly, we detected correlations between the WHO ada…

Diversity of Lactobacillus species in deep carious lesions of primary molars

AIM: This was to determine the prevalence of Lactobacilli (LB) species in different stages of caries progression and are considered as secondary invaders of existing carious lesions and specialists for caries progression. METHODS: Carious dentine samples were collected from 70 primary molars (M) during step-wise (S1, S2: n = 35 M) or one-step (O1: n = 35 M) caries treatment and after 11 months of temporary restorations (S3, O2). LB were identified by selected physiological and biochemical characteristics, ratio of lactic acid isomers, electrophoretic mobilities of lactic acid dehydrogenases, and shotgun mass mapping by MALDI mass spectrometry. RESULTS: LB were isolated from 46% of soft dent…

Airborne disease: a case of a Takotsubo cardiomyopathie as a consequence of nighttime aircraft noise exposure.

Chronic noise exposure (in particular nighttime noise) leads to disturbances of activities, sleep, and communication. As a consequence, emotional responses or annoyance will lead to stress reactions characterized by an activation of the sympathetic nervous system and/or increased levels of circulating stress hormones. We report here a case of a patient, who was exposed to heavy …

TNF-α blockade may lead to improvement of vascular function in psoriasis patients.

Psoriasis is one of the most common chronic inflammatory skin diseases and at the same time a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Interleukin-17A (IL-17A)-mediated inflammation in psoriasis may lead to vascular dysfunction. This study aimed at investigating whether anti-inflammatory treatment by tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α blockade alters vascular function in psoriasis patients. A total of 11 patients with psoriasis who underwent treatment with either adalimumab (n = 8) or etanercept (n = 3), 10 healthy control individuals and 14 patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) were included in this study. Treatment response was assessed using the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI) s…

Supervised exercise training in peripheral arterial disease increases vascular shear stress and profunda femoral artery diameter

Background Arteriogenesis is promoted by flow- and pressure-related forces such as tangential wall stress and laminar shear stress. Exercise training (ET) is known to promote arteriogenesis in peripheral arterial disease (PAD) patients. It remains unclear whether supervised ET (SET) promotes arteriogenesis more efficiently than non-SET (nSET). Methods and results Forty PAD patients participated in a SET or nSET training programme ( n = 20 each) and were compared to 20 healthy individuals without any history of cardiovascular events. Femoral artery diameter, flow and velocity were measured by ultrasound. Tangential wall stress and laminar shear stress were calculated for femoral arteries. Fo…

Extending Quantum Links: Modules for Fiber‐ and Memory‐Based Quantum Repeaters

We analyze elementary building blocks for quantum repeaters based on fiber channels and memory stations. Implementations are considered for three different physical platforms, for which suitable components are available: quantum dots, trapped atoms and ions, and color centers in diamond. We evaluate and compare the performances of basic quantum repeater links for these platforms both for present-day, state-of-the-art experimental parameters as well as for parameters that could in principle be reached in the future. The ultimate goal is to experimentally explore regimes at intermediate distances, up to a few 100 km, in which the repeater-assisted secret key transmission rates exceed the maxi…

Long-term cardiovascular risk of e-cigarettes

Identification of Lactobacilli from Deep Carious Lesions by Means of Species-Specific PCR and MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

SUMMARY Background: The aim of the present study was to compare MALDI-TOF results for the identification of 87 lactobacilli, isolated from soft or hard carious dentin from 70 first molars of 7- to 8-year-old children with those obtained by species-specific PCR. Methods: The 87 isolates were analyzed by MALDI-TOF MS (Microflex LT, MALDI Biotyper 3.0, Bruker Daltonik, Bremen, Germany), using a reference data base of 4110 strains including > 90 lactobacillus species. For the identification with species-specific PCR, oligonucleotide primers (16S rRNA) specific for L. casei, L. paracasei, L. rhamnosus, L. gasseri, L. plantarum, and L. acidophilus were used; type strains served as controls. The P…

Efficiencies of logical Bell measurements on Calderbank-Shor-Steane codes with static linear optics

We show how the efficiency of a logical Bell measurement (BM) can be calculated for arbitrary Calderbank-Shor-Steane (CSS) codes with the experimentally important constraint of using only transversal static linear-optical BMs on the physical single-photon qubit level. For this purpose, we utilize the codes' description in terms of stabilizers in order to calculate general efficiencies for the loss-free case, but also for specific cases including photon loss. These efficiencies can be, for instance, used for obtaining transmission rates of all-optical quantum repeaters. In the loss-free case, we demonstrate that the important class of CSS codes with identical physical-qubit support for the t…

Waiting time in quantum repeaters with probabilistic entanglement swapping

The standard approach to realize a quantum repeater relies upon probabilistic but heralded entangled state manipulations and the storage of quantum states while waiting for successful events. In the literature on this class of repeaters, calculating repeater rates has typically depended on approximations assuming sufficiently small probabilities. Here we propose an exact and systematic approach including an algorithm based on Markov chain theory to compute the average waiting time (and hence the transmission rates) of quantum repeaters with arbitrary numbers of links. For up to four repeater segments, we explicitly give the exact rate formulae for arbitrary entanglement swapping probabiliti…