Non-equilibrium quantum domain reconfiguration dynamics in a two-dimensional electronic crystal and a quantum annealer.

Relaxation dynamics of complex many-body quantum systems trapped into metastable states is a very active field of research from both the theoretical and experimental point of view with implications in a wide array of topics from macroscopic quantum tunnelling and nucleosynthesis to non-equilibrium superconductivity and energy-efficient memory devices. In this work, we investigate quantum domain reconfiguration dynamics in the electronic superlattice of a quantum material using time-resolved scanning tunneling microscopy and unveil a crossover from temperature to noisy quantum fluctuation dominated dynamics. The process is modeled using a programmable superconducting quantum annealer in which qubit interconnections correspond directly to the microscopic interactions between electrons in the quantum material.

Manipulation of fractionalized charge in the metastable topologically entangled state of a doped Wigner crystal.

Metastability of many-body quantum states is rare and still poorly understood. An exceptional example is the low-temperature metallic state of the layered dichalcogenide 1T-TaS in which electronic order is frozen after external excitation. Here we visualize the microscopic dynamics of injected charges in the metastable state using a multiple-tip scanning tunnelling microscope.

Cavity-mediated thermal control of metal-to-insulator transition in 1T-TaS.

Placing quantum materials into optical cavities provides a unique platform for controlling quantum cooperative properties of matter, by both weak and strong light-matter coupling. Here we report experimental evidence of reversible cavity control of a metal-to-insulator phase transition in a correlated solid-state material. We embed the charge density wave material 1T-TaS into cryogenic tunable terahertz cavities and show that a switch between conductive and insulating behaviours, associated with a large change in the sample temperature, is obtained by mechanically tuning the distance between the cavity mirrors and their alignment.

Optical vortex induced spatio-temporally modulated superconductivity in a high-T cuprate.

We report an experimental approach to produce spatially localized photoinduced superconducting state in a cuprate superconductor using optical vortices with ultrafast pulses. The measurements were carried out using coaxially aligned three-pulse time-resolved spectroscopy, in which an intense vortex pulse was used for coherent quenching of superconductivity and the resulting spatially modulated metastable states were analyzed by the pump-probe spectroscopy. The transient response after quenching shows a spatially localized superconducting state that remains unquenched at the dark core of the vortex beam for a few picoseconds.

Charge Configuration Memory Devices: Energy Efficiency and Switching Speed.

Current trends in data processing have given impetus for an intense search of new concepts of memory devices with emphasis on efficiency, speed, and scalability. A promising new approach to memory storage is based on resistance switching between charge-ordered domain states in the layered dichalcogenide 1T-TaS. Here we investigate the energy efficiency scaling of such charge configuration memory (CCM) devices as a function of device size and data write time τ as well as other parameters that have bearing on efficient device operation.

Quantum billiards with correlated electrons confined in triangular transition metal dichalcogenide monolayer nanostructures.

Forcing systems through fast non-equilibrium phase transitions offers the opportunity to study new states of quantum matter that self-assemble in their wake. Here we study the quantum interference effects of correlated electrons confined in monolayer quantum nanostructures, created by femtosecond laser-induced quench through a first-order polytype structural transition in a layered transition-metal dichalcogenide material. Scanning tunnelling microscopy of the electrons confined within equilateral triangles, whose dimensions are a few crystal unit cells on the side, reveals that the trajectories are strongly modified from free-electron states both by electronic correlations and confinement.

A time-domain phase diagram of metastable states in a charge ordered quantum material.

Metastable self-organized electronic states in quantum materials are of fundamental importance, displaying emergent dynamical properties that may be used in new generations of sensors and memory devices. Such states are typically formed through phase transitions under non-equilibrium conditions and the final state is reached through processes that span a large range of timescales. Conventionally, phase diagrams of materials are thought of as static, without temporal evolution.

Quantum jamming transition to a correlated electron glass in 1T-TaS.

Distinct many-body states may be created under non-equilibrium conditions through different ordering paths, even when their constituents are subjected to the same fundamental interactions. The phase-transition mechanism to such states remains poorly understood. Here, we show that controlled optical or electromagnetic perturbations can lead to an amorphous metastable state of strongly correlated electrons in a quasi-two-dimensional dichalcogenide.

Strain-Induced Metastable Topological Networks in Laser-Fabricated TaS Polytype Heterostructures for Nanoscale Devices.

The stacking of layered materials into heterostructures offers diverse possibilities for generating deformed moiré states arising from their mutual interaction. Here we report self-assembled two-dimensional nanoscale strain networks formed within a single prismatic (H) polytype monolayer of TaS created in situ on the surface of an orthorhombic 1T-TaS single crystal by a low-temperature laser-induced polytype transformation. The networks revealed by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) take on diverse configurations at different temperatures, including extensive double stripes and a twisted 3-gonal mesh of connected 6-pronged vertices.

Histopathologic differentiation as a prognostic factor in patients with carcinoma of the hepatopancreatic ampulla of Vater.

Objective: Periampullary carcinomas are a group of neoplasms with variable histopathology that originate from the anatomical junction of different epithelial types including the bile duct, pancreatic duct, and duodenal mucosa. This study was performed to determine whether the histopathologic type of these tumors should be considered an independent prognostic factor.

Methods: We analyzed the specimen histopathology of 37 patients who underwent radical cephalic pancreatoduodenectomy for carcinoma of the ampulla of Vater during a 5-year period.

Large retroperitoneal schwannoma: a rare cause of chronic back pain.

Schwannomas are tumours that arise from Schwann cells of the peripheral nerve sheath and rarely occur in the retroperitoneum. We report a 45-year-old woman who presented with a 2-year history of continuous progressive right-sided lower back and dull flank pain radiating into her posterolateral thigh. Abdominal magnetic resonance imaging showed a homogenous soft-tissue tumour with thick capsular lining, which lay in the right retroperitoneum.

Nonequilibrium optical control of dynamical states in superconducting nanowire circuits.

Optical control of states exhibiting macroscopic phase coherence in condensed matter systems opens intriguing possibilities for materials and device engineering, including optically controlled qubits and photoinduced superconductivity. Metastable states, which in bulk materials are often associated with the formation of topological defects, are of more practical interest. Scaling to nanosize leads to reduced dimensionality, fundamentally changing the system's properties.

The significance of angiogenesis for predicting optimal therapeutic response in chronic myeloid leukaemia patients.

In this study the correlation and the prognostic value of the morphometric parameters of angiogenesis for optimal therapeutic response to tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), i.e. complete cytogenetic response (CCgR) and major molecular response (MMoR), were investigated.

Markers of proliferation and cytokeratins in the differential diagnosis of jaw cysts.

We conducted a retrospective study to analyze the histologic and immunohistochemical findings in three main types of odontogenic cyst. We studied 90 archived cystic jaw lesions: 30 dentigerous cysts, 30 keratocystic odontogenic tumors, and 30 radicular cysts. The cyst types were identified on the basis of clinical, radiologic, and histopathologic findings.

Three-dimensional resistivity and switching between correlated electronic states in 1T-TaS.

Recent demonstrations of controlled switching between different ordered macroscopic states by impulsive electromagnetic perturbations in complex materials have opened some fundamental questions on the mechanisms responsible for such remarkable behavior. Here we experimentally address the question of whether two-dimensional (2D) Mott physics can be responsible for unusual switching between states of different electronic order in the layered dichalcogenide 1T-TaS, or it is a result of subtle inter-layer "orbitronic" re-ordering of its stacking structure. We report on in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OP) resistance switching by current-pulse injection at low temperatures.

Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the mandible – A case report.

Introduction: Mucoepidermoid carcinoma, compared to other tumors of salivary glands, occurs in 5–10% of cases. Histopathologically, it is divided into a well differentiated tumor that is of low-grade of malignancy, and a medium and poorly differentiated tumor of high grade of malignancy. Central mucoepidermoid carcinoma (CMEC) of the mandible was firstly described by Lepp in 1936, on a 66-year-old female patient.

Exciton and charge carrier dynamics in few-layer WS2.

Semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have been applied as the active layer in photodetectors and solar cells, displaying substantial charge photogeneration yields. However, their large exciton binding energy, which increases with decreasing thickness (number of layers), as well as the strong resonance peaks in the absorption spectra suggest that excitons are the primary photoexcited states. Detailed time-domain studies of the photoexcitation dynamics in TMDs exist mostly for MoS2.

Control of switching between metastable superconducting states in δ-MoN nanowires.

The superconducting state in one-dimensional nanosystems is very delicate. While fluctuations of the phase of the superconducting wave function lead to the spontaneous decay of persistent supercurrents in thin superconducting wires and nanocircuits, discrete phase-slip fluctuations can also lead to more exotic phenomena, such as the appearance of metastable superconducting states in current-bearing wires. Here we show that switching between different metastable superconducting states in δ-MoN nanowires can be very effectively manipulated by introducing small amplitude electrical noise.

Controlling the metal-to-insulator relaxation of the metastable hidden quantum state in 1T-TaS2.

Controllable switching between metastable macroscopic quantum states under nonequilibrium conditions induced either by light or with an external electric field is rapidly becoming of great fundamental interest. We investigate the relaxation properties of a "hidden" (H) charge density wave (CDW) state in thin single crystals of the layered dichalcogenide 1T-TaS2, which can be reached by either a single 35-fs optical laser pulse or an ~30-ps electrical pulse. From measurements of the temperature dependence of the resistivity under different excitation conditions, we find that the metallic H state relaxes to the insulating Mott ground state through a sequence of intermediate metastable states via discrete jumps over a "Devil's staircase.

Controlling Disorder and Superconductivity in Titanium Oxynitride Nanoribbons with Anion Exchange.

In recent years, conversion chemical reactions, which are driven by ion diffusion, emerged as an important concept for formation of nanoparticles. Here we demonstrate that the slow anion diffusion in anion exchange reactions can be efficiently used to tune the disorder strength and the related electronic properties of nanoparticles. This paradigm is applied to high-temperature formation of titanium oxynitride nanoribbons, Ti(O,N), transformed from hydrogen titanate nanoribbons in an ammonia atmosphere.

Severe dysplasia can be distinguished from moderate and mild dysplasia of bronchial mucosa by changes in Ki-67 index.

Preneoplastic lesions on small bronchial biopsy specimens may cause a diagnostic dilemma. The aim of this study was to estimate karyometric variables and the Ki-67 index of preneoplastic bronchial lesions and squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. The study was performed on endoscopic samples of squamous cell carcinoma (n = 22), normal appearing mucosa surrounding carcinoma (n = 10), bronchial dysplasia of mild (n = 7), moderate (n = 6), and severe grade (n = 6), carcinoma in situ (n = 17), and normal mucosa from patients with chronic bronchitis (n = 26).

Alternaria-Associated Fungus Ball of Orbit Nose and Paranasal Sinuses: Case Report of a Rare Clinical Entity.

Alternaria-associated fungus ball of maxillar, ethmoidal paranasal sinuses, nasal cavity and orbit with bone erosion is extremely rare. Till recently, only two cases of this infection in immune competitive patients have been reported. We are herein describing the case of immune-competent woman who suffered of nasal congestion for 10 years.

Unlocking the functional properties in one-dimensional MoSI cluster polymers by doping and photoinduced charge transfer.

To improve functionalization of MoSI cluster polymers we have studied the effects of adsorption doping on the electrical transport, bundling, and optical absorption spectra. Doping results both in enhanced conductivity and aggregated bundles in dispersion. The different electronic properties of different bundle diameters can be ascribed to self-doping during the synthesis.