Superselection Rules and Bosonic Quantum Computational Resources.

We present a method to systematically identify and classify quantum optical nonclassical states as classical or nonclassical based on the resources they create on a bosonic quantum computer. This is achieved by converting arbitrary bosonic states into multiple modes, each occupied by a single photon, thereby defining qubits of a bosonic quantum computer. Starting from a bosonic classical-like state in a representation that explicitly respects particle number superselection rules, we apply universal gates to create arbitrary superpositions of states with the same total particle number.

Approaching Maximal Precision of Hong-Ou-Mandel Interferometry with Nonperfect Visibility.

In quantum mechanics, the precision achieved in parameter estimation using a quantum state as a probe is determined by the measurement strategy employed. The quantum limit of precision is bounded by a value set by the state and its dynamics. Theoretical results have revealed that in interference measurements with two possible outcomes, this limit can be reached under ideal conditions of perfect visibility and zero losses.

Gottesman-Kitaev-Preskill Encoding in Continuous Modal Variables of Single Photons.

GKP states, introduced by Gottesman, Kitaev, and Preskill, are continuous variable logical qubits that can be corrected for errors caused by phase space displacements. Their experimental realization is challenging, in particular, using propagating fields, where quantum information is encoded in the quadratures of the electromagnetic field. However, traveling photons are essential in many applications of GKP codes involving the long-distance transmission of quantum information.

The effectiveness and safety of non-pharmacological intervention for pain management in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review.

Chronic pain is a non-motor symptom affecting from 60 to 80% of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). PD patients can suffer from different types of pain, either specific or not specific of the disease, and depending on various pathophysiological mechanisms (nociceptive, nociplastic or neuropathic), which can be present at any stage of the disease. Non-pharmacological interventions (NPIs) are essential to complement routine care interventions in PD pain management.

Changes of cerebral functional connectivity induced by foot reflexology in a RCT.

Non-Pharmacological Interventions (NPIs) are increasingly being introduced into healthcare, but their mechanisms are unclear. In this study, 30 healthy participants received foot reflexology (FR) and sham massage, and went through a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) to evaluate NPIs effect on brain. Rs-fMRI revealed an effect of both NPIs on functional connectivity with changes occurring in the default-mode network, the sensorimotor network and a Neural Network Correlates of Pain (NNCP-a newly discovered network showing great robustness).

Quantum Metrology Using Time-Frequency as Quantum Continuous Variables: Resources, Sub-Shot-Noise Precision and Phase Space Representation.

We study the role of the electromagnetic field's frequency on the precision limits of time measurements from a quantum perspective, using single photons as a paradigmatic system. We demonstrate that a quantum enhancement of precision is possible only when combining both intensity and spectral resources and, in particular, that spectral correlations enable a quadratic scaling of precision with the number of probes. We identify the general mathematical structure of nonphysical states that achieve the Heisenberg limit and show how a finite spectral variance may cause a quantum-to-classical-like transition in precision scaling for pure states similar to the one observed for noisy systems.

Evaluation of Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis in Teleconsultation During the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Objective: To describe which variables were collected by rheumatologists to monitor patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during teleconsultation and identify which ones have more impact on clinician intervention.

Methods: Retrospective monocentric, routine care cross-sectional study including patients with RA seen in teleconsultation between March and September 2020. Available variables assessing disease status were collected in teleconsultation files.

Screening of dental and sinus infections in rheumatoid arthritis.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is associated with increased risk of infections. Screening for oral (dental and/or sinus) infection could be proposed before biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) initiation but is not systematically recommended. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of oral infection in RA patients requiring bDMARDs.

Changes in bone formation regulator biomarkers in early axial spondyloarthritis.

Objective: The hallmark of advanced axial SpA (axSpA) is spine ankylosis due to excessive ectopic bone formation. This prospective study aimed to describe the changes in serum levels of different regulators [sclerostin, dickkopf-1 (DKK-1)] and markers of bone formation [bone morphogenetic protein 7 (BMP-7)] over 5 years in early axSpA patients and to assess determinants of such changes.

Methods: The DEvenir des Spondyloarthropathies Indifférenciées Récentes cohort is a prospective, multicentre French study of 708 patients with early (>3 months-<3 years) inflammatory back pain suggestive of axSpA.

Small fiber neuropathy in Sjögren syndrome: Comparison with other small fiber neuropathies.

Introduction: We compared histological and clinical profiles of primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS) small fiber neuropathy (SFN; pSS-SFN) with idiopathic SFN (i-SFN) and hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis SFN (hATTR-SFN) and described the evolution of pSS-SFN.

Methods: All patients with pSS-SFN, i-SFN, and hATTR-SFN confirmed by reduced intraepidermal nerve fiber density on skin biopsy were retrospectively included, and their characteristics were compared. To analyze prognosis of pSS-SFN, patients prospectively underwent a second evaluation.

Improving accuracy of self-reported diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis in the French prospective E3N-EPIC cohort: a validation study.

Objectives: The French E3N-EPIC (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) cohort enrolled 98 995 women aged 40 to 65 years at inclusion since 1990 to study the main risk factors for cancer and severe chronic conditions in women. They were prospectively followed with biennially self-administered questionnaires collecting self-reported medical, environmental and lifestyle data. Our objective was to assess the accuracy of self-reported diagnoses of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to devise algorithms to improve the ascertainment of RA cases in our cohort.

Polarization Induced Electro-Functionalization of Pore Walls: A Contactless Technology.

This review summarizes recent advances in micro- and nanopore technologies with a focus on the functionalization of pores using a promising method named contactless electro-functionalization (CLEF). CLEF enables the localized grafting of electroactive entities onto the inner wall of a micro- or nano-sized pore in a solid-state silicon/silicon oxide membrane. A voltage or electrical current applied across the pore induces the surface functionalization by electroactive entities exclusively on the inside pore wall, which is a significant improvement over existing methods.

Immunization to rituximab is more frequent in systemic autoimmune diseases than in rheumatoid arthritis: ofatumumab as alternative therapy.

Objectives: The frequency and consequences of anti-drug antibodies to rituximab (RTX-ADA) are not well known in RA and even less in other systemic auto-immune diseases (sAID). We aimed to evaluate the frequency, consequences and predictive factors of RTX-ADA in RA and sAID.

Methods: All patients presenting with RA or other sAID treated with RTX from 2012 to 2017 in our tertiary reference centre for sAID were retrospectively studied.

A review on mechanical considerations for chronically-implanted neural probes.

This review intends to present a comprehensive analysis of the mechanical considerations for chronically-implanted neural probes. Failure of neural electrical recordings or stimulation over time has shown to arise from foreign body reaction and device material stability. It seems that devices that match most closely with the mechanical properties of the brain would be more likely to reduce the mechanical stress at the probe/tissue interface, thus improving body acceptance.

Desulfamplus magnetovallimortis gen. nov., sp. nov., a magnetotactic bacterium from a brackish desert spring able to biomineralize greigite and magnetite, that represents a novel lineage in the Desulfobacteraceae.

A magnetotactic bacterium, designated strain BW-1, was isolated from a brackish spring in Death Valley National Park (California, USA) and cultivated in axenic culture. The Gram-negative cells of strain BW-1 are relatively large and rod-shaped and possess a single polar flagellum (monotrichous). This strain is the first magnetotactic bacterium isolated in axenic culture capable of producing greigite and/or magnetite nanocrystals aligned in one or more chains per cell.

Cloning, Stability, and Modification of Mycoplasma hominis Genome in Yeast.

Mycoplasma hominis is a minimal human pathogen that is responsible for genital and neonatal infections. Despite many attempts, there is no efficient genetic tool to manipulate this bacterium, limiting most investigations of its pathogenicity and its uncommon energy metabolism that relies on arginine. The recent cloning and subsequent engineering of other mycoplasma genomes in yeast opens new possibilities for studies of the genomes of genetically intractable organisms.

Semi-autonomous inline water analyzer: design of a common light detector for bacterial, phage, and immunological biosensors.

The use of biosensors as sensitive and rapid alert systems is a promising perspective to monitor accidental or intentional environmental pollution, but their implementation in the field is limited by the lack of adapted inline water monitoring devices. We describe here the design and initial qualification of an analyzer prototype able to accommodate three types of biosensors based on entirely different methodologies (immunological, whole-cell, and bacteriophage biosensors), but whose responses rely on the emission of light. We developed a custom light detector and a reaction chamber compatible with the specificities of the three systems and resulting in statutory detection limits.

Bacterial host and reporter gene optimization for genetically encoded whole cell biosensors.

Whole-cell biosensors based on reporter genes allow detection of toxic metals in water with high selectivity and sensitivity under laboratory conditions; nevertheless, their transfer to a commercial inline water analyzer requires specific adaptation and optimization to field conditions as well as economical considerations. We focused here on both the influence of the bacterial host and the choice of the reporter gene by following the responses of global toxicity biosensors based on constitutive bacterial promoters as well as arsenite biosensors based on the arsenite-inducible P promoter. We observed important variations of the bioluminescence emission levels in five different Escherichia coli strains harboring two different lux-based biosensors, suggesting that the best host strain has to be empirically selected for each new biosensor under construction.

A bioluminescent arsenite biosensor designed for inline water analyzer.

Whole-cell biosensors based on the reporter gene system can offer rapid detection of trace levels of organic or metallic compounds in water. They are well characterized in laboratory conditions, but their transfer into technological devices for the surveillance of water networks remains at a conceptual level. The development of a semi-autonomous inline water analyzer stumbles across the conservation of the bacterial biosensors over a period of time compatible with the autonomy requested by the end-user while maintaining a satisfactory sensitivity, specificity, and time response.

Parylene-based flexible neural probes with PEDOT coated surface for brain stimulation and recording.

Implantable neural prosthetics devices offer a promising opportunity for the restoration of lost functions in patients affected by brain or spinal cord injury, by providing the brain with a non-muscular channel able to link machines to the nervous system. Nevertheless current neural microelectrodes suffer from high initial impedance and low charge-transfer capacity because of their small-feature geometry (Abidian et al., 2010; Cui and Zhou, 2007).

Functionalization of optical nanotip arrays with an electrochemical microcantilever for multiplexed DNA detection.

Optical nanotip arrays fabricated on etched fiber bundles were functionalized with DNA spots. Such unconventional substrates (3D and non-planar) are difficult to pattern with standard microfabrication techniques but, using an electrochemical cantilever, up to 400 spots were electrodeposited on the nanostructured optical surface in 5 min. This approach allows each spot to be addressed individually and multiplexed fluorescence detection is demonstrated.