Comprehensive protocol of traceability during IVF: the result of a multicentre failure mode and effect analysis.

Study Question: Can traceability of gametes and embryos be ensured during IVF?

Summary Answer: The use of a simple and comprehensive traceability system that includes the most susceptible phases during the IVF process minimizes the risk of mismatches.

What Is Known Already: Mismatches in IVF are very rare but unfortunately possible with dramatic consequences for both patients and health care professionals. Traceability is thus a fundamental aspect of the treatment.

Phonon Cooling by an Optomechanical Heat Pump.

We propose and analyze theoretically a cavity optomechanical analog of a heat pump that uses a polariton fluid to cool mechanical modes coupled to a single precooled phonon mode via external modulation of the substrate of the mechanical resonator. This approach permits us to cool phonon modes of arbitrary frequencies not limited by the cavity-optical field detuning deep into the quantum regime from room temperature.

Failure mode and effects analysis of witnessing protocols for ensuring traceability during IVF.

Traceability of cells during IVF is a fundamental aspect of treatment, and involves witnessing protocols. Failure mode and effects analysis (FMEA) is a method of identifying real or potential breakdowns in processes, and allows strategies to mitigate risks to be developed. To examine the risks associated with witnessing protocols, an FMEA was carried out in a busy IVF centre, before and after implementation of an electronic witnessing system (EWS).

Proposal for an optomechanical microwave sensor at the subphoton level.

Because of their low energy content, microwave signals at the single-photon level are extremely challenging to measure. Guided by recent progress in single-photon optomechanics and hybrid optomechanical systems, we propose a multimode optomechanical transducer that can detect intensities significantly below the single-photon level via adiabatic transfer of the microwave signal to the optical frequency domain where the measurement is then performed. The influence of intrinsic quantum and thermal fluctuations is also discussed.

Quantum optomechanical heat engine.

We investigate theoretically a quantum optomechanical realization of a heat engine. In a generic optomechanical arrangement the optomechanical coupling between the cavity field and the oscillating end mirror results in polariton normal mode excitations whose character depends on the pump detuning and the coupling strength. By varying that detuning it is possible to transform their character from phononlike to photonlike, so that they are predominantly coupled to the thermal reservoir of phonons or photons, respectively.

Emergence of spatial spin-wave correlations in a cold atomic gas.

Rydberg spin-waves are optically excited in a quasi-one-dimensional atomic sample of Rb atoms. Pairwise spin-wave correlations are observed by a spatially selective transfer of the quantum state onto a light field and photoelectric correlation measurements of the light. The correlations are interpreted in terms of the dephasing of multiply excited spin-waves by long-range Rydberg interactions.

Dephasing of multiparticle Rydberg excitations for fast entanglement generation.

An approach to fast entanglement generation based on Rydberg dephasing of collective excitations (spin waves) in large, optically thick atomic ensembles is proposed. Long-range 1/r(3) atomic interactions are induced by microwave mixing of opposite-parity Rydberg states. The required long coherence times are achieved via four-photon excitation and readout of long wavelength spin waves.

Ensuring safety and quality of tissues in Italy: application of European directives.

Three European Directives published in 2004 and 2006 require Member States to take a series of regulatory actions to ensure appropriate quality and safety of tissues and cells. These directives define responsibilities to inspect and certify centers, to put vigilance systems in place and to publish information on certified centers and their activities. A European-funded project led by the Italian National Transplant Centre has supported Member States in the development of common guidelines for inspection, tools for vigilance, and training for inspectors.