Low-energy differential target multiplexed SCS derivative reduces pain and improves quality of life through 12 months in patients with chronic back and/or leg pain.

Introduction: Energy-reducing spinal cord stimulation (SCS) approaches have the potential to impact patient experience with rechargeable and non-rechargeable SCS devices through reducing device recharge time or enhancing device longevity. This prospective, multi-center study evaluated the safety, effectiveness, and actual energy usage of differential target multiplexed (DTM) endurance therapy, a reduced energy DTM SCS derivative.

Methods: Subjects who reported an overall pain visual analog score (VAS) of ≥6/10 cm and an Oswestry Disability Index score of 21-80 out of 100 at baseline with moderate to severe chronic, intractable back and/or leg pain were eligible.

Visualizing the modulation of neurokinin 1 receptor-positive neurons in the superficial dorsal horn by spinal cord stimulation in vivo.

Spinal cord stimulation (SCS) is an effective modality for pain treatment, yet its underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Neurokinin 1 receptor-positive (NK1R+) neurons in spinal lamina I play a pivotal role in pain transmission. To enhance our mechanistic understanding of SCS-induced analgesia, we investigated how different SCS paradigms modulate the activation of NK1R+ neurons, by developing NK1R-Cre;GCaMP6s transgenic mice and using in vivo calcium imaging of superficial NK1R+ neurons under anesthesia (1.

"The system allows for it to happen": the experiences of human service workers in engaging with Aboriginal participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of human service workers (HSWs) in engaging with Aboriginal participants of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS).

Methods: Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with HSWs engaging with Aboriginal participants of the NDIS on Kaurna Country (Adelaide, South Australia). Data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Studying phonon coherence with a quantum sensor.

Nanomechanical oscillators offer numerous advantages for quantum technologies. Their integration with superconducting qubits shows promise for hardware-efficient quantum error-correction protocols involving superpositions of mechanical coherent states. Limitations of this approach include mechanical decoherence processes, particularly two-level system (TLS) defects, which have been widely studied using classical fields and detectors.

Bidirectional Multiphoton Communication between Remote Superconducting Nodes.

Quantum communication test beds provide a useful resource for experimentally investigating a variety of communication protocols. Here we demonstrate a superconducting circuit test bed with bidirectional multiphoton state transfer capability using time-domain shaped wave packets. The system we use to achieve this comprises two remote nodes, each including a tunable superconducting transmon qubit and a tunable microwave-frequency resonator, linked by a 2 m-long superconducting coplanar waveguide, which serves as a transmission line.

Splitting phonons: Building a platform for linear mechanical quantum computing.

Linear optical quantum computing provides a desirable approach to quantum computing, with only a short list of required computational elements. The similarity between photons and phonons points to the interesting potential for linear mechanical quantum computing using phonons in place of photons. Although single-phonon sources and detectors have been demonstrated, a phononic beam splitter element remains an outstanding requirement.

Distributed Quantum Error Correction for Chip-Level Catastrophic Errors.

Quantum error correction holds the key to scaling up quantum computers. Cosmic ray events severely impact the operation of a quantum computer by causing chip-level catastrophic errors, essentially erasing the information encoded in a chip. Here, we present a distributed error correction scheme to combat the devastating effect of such events by introducing an additional layer of quantum erasure error correcting code across separate chips.

Quantum state preparation and tomography of entangled mechanical resonators.

Precisely engineered mechanical oscillators keep time, filter signals and sense motion, making them an indispensable part of the technological landscape of today. These unique capabilities motivate bringing mechanical devices into the quantum domain by interfacing them with engineered quantum circuits. Proposals to combine microwave-frequency mechanical resonators with superconducting devices suggest the possibility of powerful quantum acoustic processors.

Entanglement Purification and Protection in a Superconducting Quantum Network.

High-fidelity quantum entanglement is a key resource for quantum communication and distributed quantum computing, enabling quantum state teleportation, dense coding, and quantum encryption. Any sources of decoherence in the communication channel, however, degrade entanglement fidelity, thereby increasing the error rates of entangled state protocols. Entanglement purification provides a method to alleviate these nonidealities by distilling impure states into higher-fidelity entangled states.

Deterministic multi-qubit entanglement in a quantum network.

The generation of high-fidelity distributed multi-qubit entanglement is a challenging task for large-scale quantum communication and computational networks. The deterministic entanglement of two remote qubits has recently been demonstrated with both photons and phonons. However, the deterministic generation and transmission of multi-qubit entanglement has not been demonstrated, primarily owing to limited state-transfer fidelities.

Fast frequency discrimination and phoneme recognition using a biomimetic membrane coupled to a neural network.

In the human ear, the basilar membrane plays a central role in sound recognition. When excited by sound, this membrane responds with a frequency-dependent displacement pattern that is detected and identified by the auditory hair cells combined with the human neural system. Inspired by this structure, we designed and fabricated an artificial membrane that produces a spatial displacement pattern in response to an audible signal, which we used to train a convolutional neural network.

Design and evaluation of Taqman low density array for monitoring post-transplant viral infections.

Background: The majority of transplant recipients undergo immunosuppressive treatment to prevent organ or tissue rejection. Consequently, they are more susceptible to infection agents including a number of viruses causing a significant morbidity and mortality. Only a limited number of viruses are currently tested for in transplant donors and recipients due to the cost and complexity.

Remote Entanglement via Adiabatic Passage Using a Tunably Dissipative Quantum Communication System.

Effective quantum communication between remote quantum nodes requires high fidelity quantum state transfer and remote entanglement generation. Recent experiments have demonstrated that microwave photons, as well as phonons, can be used to couple superconducting qubits, with a fidelity limited primarily by loss in the communication channel [P. Kurpiers et al.

Non-symbolic numerosities do not automatically activate spatial-numerical associations: Evidence from the SNARC effect.

The SNARC (spatial-numerical association of response codes) effect is the finding that people are generally faster to respond to smaller numbers with left-sided responses and larger numbers with right-sided responses. The SNARC effect has been widely reported for responses to symbolic representations of number such as digits. However, there is mixed evidence as to whether it occurs for non-symbolic representations of number, particularly when magnitude is irrelevant to the task.

Phonon-mediated quantum state transfer and remote qubit entanglement.

Phonons, and in particular surface acoustic wave phonons, have been proposed as a means to coherently couple distant solid-state quantum systems. Individual phonons in a resonant structure can be controlled and detected by superconducting qubits, enabling the coherent generation and measurement of complex stationary phonon states. We report the deterministic emission and capture of itinerant surface acoustic wave phonons, enabling the quantum entanglement of two superconducting qubits.

Quantum control of surface acoustic-wave phonons.

One of the hallmarks of quantum physics is the generation of non-classical quantum states and superpositions, which has been demonstrated in several quantum systems, including ions, solid-state qubits and photons. However, only indirect demonstrations of non-classical states have been achieved in mechanical systems, despite the scientific appeal and technical utility of such a capability, including in quantum sensing, computation and communication applications. This is due in part to the highly linear response of most mechanical systems, which makes quantum operations difficult, as well as their characteristically low frequencies, which hinder access to the quantum ground state.

Automaticity of access to numerical magnitude and its spatial associations: The role of task and number representation.

Generally, people respond faster to small numbers with left-sided responses and large numbers with right-sided responses, a pattern known as the SNARC (spatial numerical association of response codes) effect. The SNARC effect is interpreted as evidence for amodal automatic access of magnitude and its spatial associations, because it occurs in settings where number is task-irrelevant and for different number formats. We report five studies designed to establish the degree to which activation of magnitude and its spatial associations is truly automatic and amodal.

Potential role for interferon-γ release assays in tuberculosis screening in a remote Canadian community: a case series.

Background: Current Canadian guidelines suggest that neonatal Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) vaccination does not result in false-positive tuberculosis (TB) skin tests, despite a growing body of evidence that interferon-γ release assays may be a more specific alternative in identifying latent tuberculosis infections in vaccinated populations. We set out to evaluate the relationship between TB skin tests and interferon-γ release assays in patients who previously received neonatal BCG vaccine.

Methods: All children with a positive skin test at age 14 years in a remote community north of Sioux Lookout, Ontario, were considered for interferon-γ release assay testing.

Quantum Delayed-Choice Experiment with a Beam Splitter in a Quantum Superposition.

A quantum system can behave as a wave or as a particle, depending on the experimental arrangement. When, for example, measuring a photon using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer, the photon acts as a wave if the second beam splitter is inserted, but as a particle if this beam splitter is omitted. The decision of whether or not to insert this beam splitter can be made after the photon has entered the interferometer, as in Wheeler's famous delayed-choice thought experiment.

A simple microfluidic aggregation analyzer for the specific, sensitive and multiplexed quantification of proteins in a serum environment.

Portable and low-cost platforms for protein biomarker detection are highly sought after for point of care applications. We demonstrate a simple microfluidic device for the rapid, electrically-based detection of proteins in serum. Our aggregation analyzer relies on detecting the protein-induced aggregation of sub-micron particles, using a one-step procedure followed by a fast, particle-by-particle measurement with a very high count rate.

Salvaging catastrophe in transcatheter aortic valve implantation: rehearsal, preassigned roles, and emergency preparedness.

Purpose: Emergency rescue plans for acute complications during transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) commonly include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, femoro-femoral cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), and hemodynamic stabilization before definitive intervention is achieved. Nevertheless, most cases of emergency resuscitation remain chaotic and disorganized and often take longer than necessary, even in experienced centres. We sought to determine which factors and procedures may be associated with improved patient outcomes when emergencies arise during TAVI.

Lessons from aviation - the role of checklists in minimally invasive cardiac surgery.

We describe an adverse event during minimally invasive cardiac surgery that resulted in a multi-disciplinary review of intra-operative errors and the creation of a procedural checklist. This checklist aims to prevent errors of omission and communication failures that result in increased morbidity and mortality. We discuss the application of the aviation - led "threats and errors model" to medical practice and the role of checklists and other strategies aimed at reducing medical errors.

State preservation by repetitive error detection in a superconducting quantum circuit.

Quantum computing becomes viable when a quantum state can be protected from environment-induced error. If quantum bits (qubits) are sufficiently reliable, errors are sparse and quantum error correction (QEC) is capable of identifying and correcting them. Adding more qubits improves the preservation of states by guaranteeing that increasingly larger clusters of errors will not cause logical failure-a key requirement for large-scale systems.

The role of numerical and non-numerical cues in nonsymbolic number processing: Evidence from the line bisection task.

In line bisection tasks, adults and children bisect towards the numerically larger of two nonsymbolic numerosities [de Hevia, M. D., & Spelke, E.