The European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC; protocol 08031) phase II trial investigated the feasibility of trimodality therapy consisting of induction chemotherapy followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy and post-operative radiotherapy in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma (with a severity of cT3N1M0 or less).Induction chemotherapy consisted of three courses of cisplatin 75 mg?m -2 and pemetrexed 500 mg?m -2 . Nonprogressing patients underwent extrapleural pneumonectomy followed by postoperative radiotherapy (54 Gy, 30 fractions). Our primary end-point was ''success of treatment'' and our secondary end-points were toxicity, and overall and progression-free survival. 59 patients were registered, one of whom was ineligible. Subjects' median age was 57 yrs. The subjects' TNM scores were as follows: cT1, T2 and T3, 36, 16 and six patients, respectively; cN0 and N1, 57 and one patient, respectively. 55 (93%) patients received three cycles of chemotherapy with only mild toxicity. 46 (79%) patients received surgery and 42 (74%) had extrapleural pneumonectomy with a 90-day mortality of 6.5%. Post-operative radiotherapy was completed in 37 (65%) patients. Grade 3-4 toxicity persisted after 90 days in three (5.3%) patients. Median overall survival time was 18.4 months (95% CI 15.6-32.9) and median progression-free survival was 13.9 months (95% CI 10.9-17.2). Only 24 (42%) patients met the definition of success (one-sided 90% CI 0.36-1.00).Although feasible, trimodality therapy in patients with mesothelioma was not completed within the strictly defined timelines of this protocol and adjustments are necessary.

Both the MP-CPC and CW-CPC are effective in lowering the IOP in children with refractory glaucoma. However, the rate of complications, pain, and inflammation seem to be lower with the micropulse mode, making it a safer alternative for cyclophotocoagulation, especially since retreatments are often needed.

Previously a new scheme of quantum information processing based on spin coherent states of two component Bose-Einstein condensates was proposed (Byrnes et al. Phys. Rev. A 85, 40306(R)). In this paper we give a more detailed exposition of the scheme, expanding on several aspects that were not discussed in full previously. The basic concept of the scheme is that spin coherent states are used instead of qubits to encode qubit information, and manipulated using collective spin operators. The scheme goes beyond the continuous variable regime such that the full space of the Bloch sphere is used. We construct a general framework for quantum algorithms to be executed using multiple spin coherent states, which are individually controlled. We illustrate the scheme by applications to quantum information protocols, and discuss possible experimental implementations. Decoherence effects are analyzed under both general conditions and for the experimental implementation proposed.

BackgroundGlobal surgery has recently gained prominence as an academic discipline within global health. Authorship inequity has been a consistent feature of global health publications, with over-representation of authors from high-income countries (HICs), and disenfranchisement of researchers from low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). In this study, we investigated authorship demographics within recently published global surgery literature.MethodsWe performed a systematic analysis of author characteristics, including gender, seniority and institutional affiliation, for global surgery studies published between 2016 and 2020 and indexed in the PubMed database. We compared the distribution of author gender and seniority across studies related to different topics; between authors affiliated with HICs and LMICs; and across studies with different authorship networks.Results1240 articles were included for analysis. Most authors were male (60%), affiliated only with HICs (51%) and of high seniority (55% were fully qualified specialist or generalist clinicians, Principal Investigators, or in senior leadership or management roles). The proportion of male authors increased with increasing seniority for last and middle authors. Studies related to Obstetrics and Gynaecology had similar numbers of male and female authors, whereas there were more male authors in studies related to surgery (69% male) and Anaesthesia and Critical care (65% male). Compared with HIC authors, LMIC authors had a lower proportion of female authors at every seniority grade. This gender gap among LMIC middle authors was reduced in studies where all authors were affiliated only with LMICs.ConclusionAuthorship disparities are evident within global surgery academia. Remedial actions to address the lack of authorship opportunities for LMIC authors and female authors are required.

We propose a hybrid architecture for quantum information processing based on magnetically trapped ultracold atoms coupled via optical fields. The ultracold atoms, which can be either Bose-Einstein condensates or ensembles, are trapped in permanent magnetic traps and are placed in microcavities, connected by silica based waveguides on an atom chip structure. At each trapping center, the ultracold atoms form spin coherent states, serving as a quantum memory. An all-optical scheme is used to initialize, measure and perform a universal set of quantum gates on the single and two spin-coherent states where entanglement can be generated addressably between spatially separated trapped ultracold atoms. This allows for universal quantum operations on the spin coherent state quantum memories. We give detailed derivations of the composite cavity system mediated by a silica waveguide as well as the control scheme. Estimates for the necessary experimental conditions for a working hybrid device are given.

A new method to implement an asymmetrical two-dimensional magnetic lattice is proposed. The asymmetrical two-dimensional magnetic lattice can be created by periodically distributing magnetic minima across the surface of magnetic thin film where the periodicity can be achieved by milling n × n square holes on the surface of the film. The quantum device is proposed for trapping and confining ultracold atoms and quantum degenerate gases prepared in the low magnetic field seekingstate at low temperature, such as the Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) and ultracold fermions. We present detailed analysis of the analytical expressions and the numerical simulation procedure used to calculate the external magnetic field. We also, describe the magnetic band gap structure exhibited by the asymmetric effect of the magnetic minima and show some of the possible application. We analyze the effect of changing the characteristic parameters of the magnetic lattice, such as the separating periodicity length and the hole size along with the applications of the external magnetic bias fields to maintain and allocate a suitable non-zero magnetic local minima at effective z-distance above the thin film surface. Suitable values are shown which keep the trapped ultracold atoms away from the thermal Majorana spin-flip and the surface Casimir-Polder effect.

The detailed characterization of non-trivial coherence properties of composite quantum systems of increasing size is an indispensable prerequisite for scalable quantum computation, as well as for understanding non-equilibrium many-body physics. Here, we show how autocorrelation functions in an interacting system of phonons as well as the quantum discord between distinct degrees of freedoms can be extracted from a small controllable part of the system. As a benchmark, we show this in chains of up to 42 trapped ions, by tracing a single phonon excitation through interferometric measurements of only a single ion in the chain. We observe the spreading and partial refocusing of the excitation in the chain, even on a background of thermal excitations. We further show how this local observable reflects the dynamical evolution of quantum discord between the electronic state and the vibrational degrees of freedom of the probe ion.

Glaucoma is the leading cause of blindness in the developed and developing world. Not only is the clinical impact of this disease considerable, but associated economic and humanistic burdens – affecting patients, caregivers, and society – are substantial. Since glaucoma is an age-related disorder and populations in many developing countries are aging at a faster pace than in the developed world, increasing attention is being focused on ways to ameliorate the burdens of illness. In this paper, we examine the burdens of glaucoma with particular focus on developing countries, discuss some of the challenges that exist in delivering optimal glaucoma management within budget constraints, and bring into perspective how we could improve current healthcare systems, leverage technology, and strike an appropriate balance between cost and quality of care, thereby offering considerations to payors and policymakers in these countries that may result in longer-term cost savings, while concurrently striving to achieve the WHO Vision on the prevention of blindness and visual impairment.