Approaching Quantum-Limited Metrology with Imperfect Detectors by Using Weak-Value Amplification.

Weak-value amplification (WVA) is a metrological protocol that amplifies ultrasmall physical effects. However, the amplified outcomes necessarily occur with highly suppressed probabilities, leading to the extensive debate on whether the overall measurement precision is improved in comparison to that of conventional measurement (CM). Here, we experimentally demonstrate the unambiguous advantages of WVA that overcome practical limitations including noise and saturation of photodetection and maintain a shot-noise-scaling precision for a large range of input light intensity well beyond the dynamic range of the photodetector.

Towards a spectroscopic protocol for unambiguous detection of quantum coherence in excitonic energy transport.

The role of quantum effects in excitonic energy transport (EET) has been scrutinised intensely and with increasingly sophisticated experimental techniques. This increased complexity requires invoking correspondingly elaborate models to fit spectroscopic data before molecular parameters can be extracted. Possible quantum effects in EET can then be studied, but the conclusions are strongly contingent on the efficacy of the fitting and the accuracy of the model.

Attosecond-resolution Hong-Ou-Mandel interferometry.

When two indistinguishable photons are each incident on separate input ports of a beamsplitter, they "bunch" deterministically, exiting via the same port as a direct consequence of their bosonic nature. This two-photon interference effect has long-held the potential for application in precision measurement of time delays, such as those induced by transparent specimens with unknown thickness profiles. However, the technique has never achieved resolutions significantly better than the few-femtosecond (micrometer) scale other than in a common-path geometry that severely limits applications.

Structure-Dynamics Relation in Physically-Plausible Multi-Chromophore Systems.

We study a large number of physically-plausible arrangements of chromophores, generated via a computational method involving stochastic real-space transformations of a naturally-occurring "reference" structure, illustrating our methodology using the well-studied Fenna-Matthews-Olson complex (FMO). To explore the idea that the natural structure has been tuned for efficient energy transport, we use an atomic transition charge method to calculate the excitonic couplings of each generated structure and a Lindblad master equation to study the quantum transport of an exciton from a "source" to a "drain" chromophore. We find significant correlations between structure and transport efficiency: High-performing structures tend to be more compact and, among those, the best structures display a certain orientation of the chromophores, particularly the chromophore closest to the source-to-drain vector.

A strict experimental test of macroscopic realism in a superconducting flux qubit.

Macroscopic realism is the name for a class of modifications to quantum theory that allow macroscopic objects to be described in a measurement-independent manner, while largely preserving a fully quantum mechanical description of the microscopic world. Objective collapse theories are examples which aim to solve the quantum measurement problem through modified dynamical laws. Whether such theories describe nature, however, is not known.

Spontaneous cervical haemorrhage of a parathyroid adenoma.

Unlabelled: Haemorrhage of a parathyroid adenoma is a rare clinical presentation. This report describes a previously fit and well 54-year-old woman who presented with acute neck swelling and pain with an overlying ecchymosis. Admission laboratory tests revealed a raised parathyroid hormone and hypercalcaemia.

Violation of a Leggett-Garg inequality with ideal non-invasive measurements.

The quantum superposition principle states that an entity can exist in two different states simultaneously, counter to our 'classical' intuition. Is it possible to understand a given system's behaviour without such a concept? A test designed by Leggett and Garg can rule out this possibility. The test, originally intended for macroscopic objects, has been implemented in various systems.

Multicentric breast cancer: clonality and prognostic studies.

Clonality of multicentric breast cancer has traditionally been difficult to assess. We aimed to assess this using analysis of TP53 status (expression and mutation status). These results were then incorporated into an analysis of prognostic factors in multicentric tumours in a 10-year follow up study.

Small intestinal presentation of nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma with T cell/histiocyte-rich B cell lymphoma-like areas-with review of literature on extranodal presentation of this disease.

Nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin lymphoma (NLPHL), accounts for ∼5% of all cases of Hodgkin lymphoma and is characterized by involvement of the peripheral lymph nodes. NLPHL occurs in young adults and is associated with frequent relapses. In 3% to 7% of cases, NLPHL progresses to a diffuse large B cell lymphoma.

Effects of extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate on human sperm motility.

Extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) previously has been shown to increase the fertilization percentage in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) performed for male factor infertility. The objective of this study is to determine the effects of extracellular adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATPe) on human sperm function by examining its effects on end points of sperm capacitation. Sperm obtained from healthy volunteers with normal semen parameters, asthenozoospermic men, and cryopreserved samples were incubated in medium with or without 2.

Sweat-gland tumours: a clinical review of cases in one centre over 20 years.

Aims: Sweat-gland tumours (SGTs) are uncommon, but malignant varieties are very rare. We have added our data on 30 new cases seen at the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust to the published literature, particularly concentrating on clinical issues. We include a literature review.

Sperm cryopreservation for male patients with cancer: an epidemiological analysis at the University of Pennsylvania.

Many cancers strike young males who have not yet started or completed families. Since cancer treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation can irreversibly affect spermatogenesis, sperm cryopreservation is an important option for storing male reproductive potential. In this report, we review our database of 10 years of experience with cryostorage for male cancer patients.

Breast infection due to dirofilariasis.

We describe a case of dirofilariasis of the breast in a woman presenting with a breast lump. The mammogram and ultrasound appearances are described with histopathological correlation. The suspicion of a parasitic infection was raised by the presence of rod-like structures within a hypoechoic nodule on sonography, appearances that have not been previously described.

A patient with 17 primary tumours and a germ line mutation in TP53: tumour induction by adjuvant therapy?

We report the case history of a woman with a germ line mutation in the TP53 gene who developed 17 separate primary tumours. The incidence of new tumours rose steeply after adjuvant tamoxifen treatment for breast cancer and adjuvant vaginal vault radiotherapy for endometrial cancer. This increase could be due to cumulative genetic damage from environmental agents and the fact that the patient lived to the relatively late age of 60 years, or to a high inherent deleterious somatic mutation rate, which could represent the inability of cells from patients with TP53 mutations to repair therapy-induced genetic damage.

Sequential alterations in tissue lipoprotein lipase, triglyceride secretion rates, and serum tumor necrosis factor alpha during Escherichia coli bacteremic sepsis in relation to the development of hypertriglyceridemia.

The time sequence and the mechanisms leading to the development of the hypertriglyceridemia of bacteremic sepsis are not fully understood. This study was conducted to determine the mechanisms leading to the early rise in serum triglycerides (TG). Bacteremic sepsis was induced in fasted and parenterally fed rats by intravenous infusion of live Escherichia coli colonies over a 1 h period every 24 h up to 96 h.

Thrombosis within an external jugular venous aneurysm.

Jugular plebectasia is rare, and most patients present in childhood. We describe a thrombotic episode within an external jugular venous aneurysm in an adult. This has not previously been described in the medical literature.

Primary breast cancer: mammographic changes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, with pathologic correlation.

Purpose: To correlate changes depicted at mammography during neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for operable breast carcinoma with subsequent pathologic status.

Materials And Methods: Patients (n = 107) underwent mammography before and after neoadjuvant chemotherapy, prior to surgery. Four retrospectively determined grades of response at mammography included complete, mammographic (decreased size and/or density), stable disease, or progressive disease.

Detection of hepatitis C virus antibodies and specific hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid sequences in cord bloods from a heterogeneous prenatal population.

Objective: Our aim was to quantify the prevalence of at-risk pregnancies for maternal-fetal hepatitis C virus transmission in a heterogeneous prenatal population by detection of both hepatitis C virus-specific antibody and hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid sequences in cord bloods from their deliveries.

Study Design: An anonymous serosurvey of 1432 consecutive umbilical cord blood samples were analyzed for hepatitis C virus antibodies with a second-generation enzyme immunoassay with all hepatitis C virus antibody-positive samples batched and analyzed for both human immunodeficiency virus antibodies and hepatitis C virus ribonucleic acid sequences by polymerase chain reaction.

Results: Forty-seven of the samples (3.

Rapid progression of fibrosing alveolitis and thyrotoxicosis after antithymocyte globulin therapy for aplastic anemia.

Antithymocyte globulin (ATG) therapy is an established form of treatment for aplastic anaemia and has also been used as prophylaxis against graft rejection of bone marrow and renal allografts. Administration of ATG preparations has been associated with many mild clinical reactions, as have other forms of immunomodulatory therapy. However, serious adverse effects appear to be rare.

Intraluminal bile duct hepatocellular carcinoma.

Jaundice is usually a late feature in the course of hepatocellular carcinoma and is only rarely due to obstruction. We present two cases of obstructive jaundice, in which the cause of obstruction in both patients was a massive intraluminal filling defect within the common bile duct which proved to be hepatocellular carcinoma. The radiological features are described.