Bound on annealing performance from stochastic thermodynamics, with application to simulated annealing.

Annealing is the process of gradually lowering the temperature of a system to guide it towards its lowest energy states. In an accompanying paper [Y. Luo et al.

General limit to thermodynamic annealing performance.

Annealing has proven highly successful in finding minima in a cost landscape. Yet, depending on the landscape, systems often converge towards local minima rather than global ones. In this Letter, we analyze the conditions for which annealing is approximately successful in finite time.

Thermodynamics of Quantum Switch Information Capacity Activation.

We address a new setting where the second law is under question: thermalizations in a quantum superposition of causal orders, enacted by the so-called quantum switch. This superposition has been shown to be associated with an increase in the communication capacity of the channels, yielding an apparent violation of the data-processing inequality and a possibility to separate hot from cold. We analyze the thermodynamics of this information capacity increasing process.

Effects of early rehabilitation on functional outcomes in patients after coronary artery bypass graft surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: This study evaluated the effectiveness, feasibility, and safety of early rehabilitation for patients after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery.

Methods: In a three-arm randomized controlled trial, patients who underwent CABG from January 2018 to June 2018 were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (i) usual care (UC group); (ii) UC + single general ward rehabilitation (SGR group); and (iii) UC + general ward rehabilitation and intensive care unit (ICU) rehabilitation (IGR group). The primary outcome was the Barthel Index scores.

Treatment of wastewater containing methyl orange dye by fluidized three dimensional electrochemical oxidation process integrated with chemical oxidation and adsorption.

The integrated high-efficiency treatment technology for dye industry wastewater is one of the current research hot topic in industrial wastewater treatment area. This article reports a new fluidized three-dimensional electrochemical treatment process integrating activated carbon adsorption, direct electro-oxidation and ·OH oxidation. In the process, activated carbon is polarized in a fluidized bed electrochemical reactor to enhance the direct electro-oxidation and ·OH oxidation, and there is a synergistic effect of effective adsorption and electrochemical oxidation to strengthen the treatment efficiency.

Preoperative Short Physical Performance Battery as a predictor of prolonged hospitalization after coronary artery bypass grafting in older patients.

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the predictive value of the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and its three components for identifying the requirement for a prolonged hospitalization for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) in older patients.

Methods: This prospective, observational study included 425 older patients who consecutively underwent selective CABG surgery. All patients were assessed for the SPPB.

Perioperative poor grip strength recovery is associated with 30-day complication rate after cardiac surgery discharge in middle-aged and older adults - a prospective observational study.

Background: Although perioperative care during heart surgery has improved considerably, the rate of postoperative complications has remained stable. It has not been concluded how to better apply grip strength to clinical, postoperative complications. So our study aimed at researching the best way for using grip value for predicting early postoperative complications.

The effects of five days of intensive preoperative inspiratory muscle training on postoperative complications and outcome in patients having cardiac surgery: a randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To determine the prophylactic efficacy of short-term intensive preoperative inspiratory muscle training on the incidence of postoperative pulmonary complications in patients scheduled for cardiac surgery.

Design: Single-blind, randomized controlled pilot study.

Setting: TEDA International Cardiovascular Hospital, China.

Neurophysiological and Neuropsychological Correlates of Subconscious Auditory Processing During Anesthesia and Their Implications in Anesthesia Awareness.

Like any other unusual state of consciousness, the condition of anesthesia remains a mystery, especially regarding the information processing events of the brain. Evoked potentials are the only known way to understand the neurophysiological events of brain in this condition. Auditory evoked potentials (AEPs) have been used as a measure of the depth of anesthesia during the intra-operative process.