Transition from quantum-to-classical random walk distributions with spin-orbit modes.

Quantum walks (QW) offer a speed-up advantage over random walks in quantum search applications. We present an experimental study of the transition from quantum-to-classical random walk using an emulation of the decoherence process for polarization qubits that exploits maximally non-separable spin-orbit modes of an intense laser beam for the first, to the best of our knowledge, time. We are able to continuously control the input polarization mode in an all-optical quantum walk circuit to observe transitions associated with quantum, quantum stochastic, and classical random walk distributions.

First pregnancy and live birth from ex vivo-retrieved metaphase II oocytes from a woman with bilateral ovarian carcinoma: a case report.

Objective: To report pregnancy and live birth resulting from intracytoplasmic sperm injection of ex vivo-retrieved mature oocytes from a woman with bilateral ovarian carcinoma.

Design: Case report.

Setting: Fertility clinic.

Faeces' odours attract gregarious locust hoppers.

Collective motion is one of the most impressive common features of gregarious locusts: once formed, bands and swarms get moving for long distances. It was shown that visual perception of neighbours plays a key role in maintaining marching behaviour at a local scale. But at a larger scale, mechanisms underlying band cohesion are less understood.

Estimation of statistical properties of rough surface profiles from the Hurst exponent of speckle patterns.

We applied the Hurst exponent technique to an experimental study of rough metallic surface profiles and the speckle patterns generated by them. Characterization of important statistical properties of the surface profile and speckle patterns were performed. We observed a clear correlation between the Hurst exponent of a surface profile and the one calculated from the associated speckle patterns.

Challenges in surgical oncology training in Brazil: From history to a board-certified specialization.

The Brazilian Society of Surgical Oncology was established over 30 years ago. Despite that, surgical oncology was finally recognized as a Board-Certified medical specialty in 2017 and has strengthened its role in the standardization of surgical and multimodal approaches in our country. This article aims to describe the process and the main challenges of the specialists training who are qualified for job opportunities and who meet the expectations of the recently created competence matrix for surgical oncologists in Brazil.

FLOTROP, a massive contribution to plant diversity data for open ecosystems in northern tropical Africa.

The FLOTROP dataset contains numerous plant observations (around 340,000 occurrences) in northern tropical Africa (from the 5 to 25 parallel north) in open ecosystems (savannah and steppe). They were collected by multiple collectors between 1920 and 2012 and were managed by Philippe Daget. These observations are probably the most important and unique source of plant distribution over the Sahel area.

Non-Markovianity through quantum coherence in an all-optical setup.

We propose an all-optical experiment to quantify non-Markovianity in an open quantum system through quantum coherence of a single quantum bit. We use an amplitude damping channel implemented by an optical setup with an intense laser beam simulating a single-photon polarization. The optimization over initial states required to quantify non-Markovianity is analytically evaluated.

Simple, sensitive and robust chicken specific sexing assays, compliant with large scale analysis.

Chicken meat and eggs are important sources of food for the world population. The significant increase in food demand has pushed the food industry toward a rapid non-expensive production which in turn raises ethical issues. How chicken are cultivated and processed in food industry is no longer acceptable.

Peritoneal and extraperitoneal relapse after previous curative treatment of peritoneal metastases from colorectal cancer: What survival can we expect?

Introduction: Over the last 20 years, complete cytoreductive surgery (CRS) combined with hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) dramatically increased the survival of patients with colorectal peritoneal metastases (CRPM). However, despite better knowledge of the disease, around 70% of patients relapse after CRS with HIPEC. This study was designed to analyse the pattern of recurrence and the outcomes of different treatment modalities.

Orbital angular momentum symmetry in a driven optical parametric oscillator.

We investigate the dynamics of a driven optical parametric oscillator under the injection of orbital angular momentum. The injected mode is adiabatically driven through arbitrary transformations on the Poincaré sphere of first-order paraxial beams. As a result, the down-converted beam conjugated to the seed is shown to follow a path imposed by a nontrivial symmetry on the Poincaré sphere.

Speckle patterns produced by an optical vortex and its application to surface roughness measurements.

In this work, we report on the analysis of speckle patterns produced by illuminating different rough surfaces with an optical vortex, a first-order (l=1) Laguerre-Gaussian beam. The generated speckle patterns were observed in the normal direction exploring four different planes: the diffraction plane, image plane, focal plane, and exact Fourier transform plane. The digital speckle patterns were analyzed using the Hurst exponent of digital images, an interesting tool used to study surface roughness.

Tripartite nonseparability in classical optics.

It is possible to prepare classical optical beams which cannot be characterized by a tensor product of vectors describing each of their degrees of freedom. Here we report the experimental creation of such a nonseparable, tripartite GHZ-like state of path, polarization, and transverse modes of a classical laser beam. We use a Mach-Zehnder interferometer with an additional mirror and other optical elements to perform measurements that violate Mermin's inequality.

Topological phase structure of vector vortex beams.

The topological phase acquired by vector vortex optical beams is investigated. Under local unitary operations on their polarization and transverse degrees of freedom, the vector vortices can only acquire discrete geometric phase values, 0 or π, associated with closed paths belonging to different homotopy classes on the SO(3) manifold. These discrete values are demonstrated through interferometric measurements, and the spin-orbit mode separability is associated to the visibility of the interference patterns.

ERM/ETV5 and RUNX1/AML1 expression in endometrioid adenocarcinomas of endometrium and association with neoplastic progression.

The majority of endometrioid endometrial carcinomas (EEC) is diagnosed at stage I. Among these, 30% present myometrial invasion (stage IB), which is associated with tumor spread and relapse after primary treatment. Although an increased expression of RUNX1/AML1 and ERM/ETV5 in EEC have been suggested to be associated with early events of myometrial infiltration, there is no data regarding its expression along the evolution of EEC and possible associations with other clinicopathological parameters.

Development of pharmaceutical care services in nursing homes: practice and research in a Swiss canton.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the implementation process and economic impact of a new pharmaceutical care service provided since 2002 by pharmacists in Swiss nursing homes.

Setting: The setting was 42 nursing homes located in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland under the responsibility of 22 pharmacists.

Method: We developed different facilitators, such as a monitoring system, a coaching program, and a research project, to help pharmacists change their practice and to improve implementation of this new service.

Transfer of orbital angular momentum in a multimode parametric oscillator.

We investigate the transfer of orbital angular momentum (OAM) in a type-II optical parametric oscillator (OPO). We produce different kinds of transverse modes on the downconverted beams by pumping the OPO with a first-order Laguerre-Gaussian beam well above threshold. Different operation regimes are attained showing a rich variety of transverse modes bearing OAM.

Topological phase for spin-orbit transformations on a laser beam.

We investigate the topological phase associated with the double connectedness of the SO(3) representation in terms of maximally entangled states. An experimental demonstration is provided in the context of polarization and spatial mode transformations of a laser beam carrying orbital angular momentum. The topological phase is evidenced through interferometric measurements, and a quantitative relationship between the concurrence and the fringes visibility is derived.

Topological defects in moiré fringes with spiral zone plates.

We present a study of spatial structures created by superposition of spiral zone plates used for generating optical beams with phase singularities. Moiré fringes are observed that show topological defects similar to those appearing in interference patterns of optical vortices. A brief theoretical discussion is included that supports the similarities between the two phenomena.

Observation of image transfer and phase conjugation in stimulated down-conversion.

We observe experimentally the transfer of angular spectrum and image formation in the process of stimulated parametric down-conversion. Images and interference patterns can be transferred from either the pump or the auxiliary laser beams to the stimulated down-converted one. The stimulated field propagates as the complex conjugate of the auxiliary laser.

Studies of impedance in cardiac tissue using sucrose gap and computer techniques. I. The influence of sucrose and oil as insulating media.

Impedances of cardiac cells of an insect were determined as a function of time to test the effects of sucrose and oil as insulating media in a gap arrangement. Impedance values are shown to increase markedly with time when sucrose is used as the insulating agent. Although impedance values are steady when oil is used, it is suggested that a layer of trapped electrolyte provides a shunt pathway and seriously impairs the validity of the measurements.