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Atomtronics deals with matter-wave circuits of ultra-cold atoms manipulated through magnetic or laser-generated guides with different shapes and intensities. In this way, new types of quantum networks can be constructed, in which coherent fluids are controlled with the know-how developed in the atomic and molecular physics community. In particular, quantum devices with enhanced precision, control and flexibility of their operating conditions can be accessed. Concomitantly, new quantum simulators and emulators harnessing on the coherent current flows can also be developed. Here, we survey the landscape of atomtronics-enabled quantum technology and draw a roadmap for the field in the near future. We review some of the latest progresses achieved in matter-wave circuits design and atom-chips. Atomtronic networks are deployed as promising platforms for probing many-body physics with a new angle and a new twist. The latter can be done both at the level of equilibrium and non-equilibrium situations. Numerous relevant problems in mesoscopic physics, like persistent currents and quantum transport in circuits of fermionic or bosonic atoms, are studied through a new lens. We summarize some of the atomtronics quantum devices and sensors. Finally, we discuss alkali-earth and Rydberg atoms as potential platforms for the realization of atomtronic circuits with special features.

Persistent currents flowing in spatially closed tracks define one of the most iconic concepts in mesoscopic physics. They have been studied in solid-state platforms such as superfluids, superconductors and metals. Cold atoms trapped in magneto-optical toroidal circuits and driven by suitable artificial gauge fields allow us to study persistent currents with unprecedented control and flexibility of the system's physical conditions. Here, we review persistent currents of ultracold matter. Capitalizing on the remarkable progress in driving different atomic species to quantum degeneracy, persistent currents of single or multicomponent bosons/fermions, and their mixtures can be addressed within the present experimental know-how. This way, fundamental concepts of quantum science and many-body physics, like macroscopic quantum coherence, solitons, vortex dynamics, fermionic pairing and BEC-BCS crossover can be studied from a novel perspective. Finally, we discuss how persistent currents can form the basis of new technological applications like matter-wave gyroscopes and interferometers.

Among patients at intermediate risk for aortic-valve surgery, transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) was noninferior to standard surgery, although each procedure had a different pattern of adverse events. Transcatheter aortic-valve replacement (TAVR) with the use of a self-expanding prosthesis is superior to medical therapy in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis in whom surgical aortic-valve replacement has been associated with prohibitive risk. 1 Among patients who are at high risk for standard surgery, TAVR may be the preferred option. 2 – 4 The adoption of TAVR in patients with aortic stenosis at high risk for surgery has been rapid, as shown by enrollment in the ongoing Society of Thoracic Surgeons–American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry. 5 The comparative efficacy of TAVR and surgery has been less well studied among patients . . .

AIMS To compare the use of health care resources and associated costs between infants with chronic lung disease (CLD) who had or had not an admission with a proven respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection. METHODS Review of community care, outpatient attendances, and readmissions in the first two years after birth. Patients: 235 infants (median gestational age 27 weeks) evaluated in four groups: 45 infants with a proven RSV admission (RSV proven); 24 with a probable bronchiolitis admission; 60 with other respiratory admissions; and 106 with non-respiratory or no admissions. RESULTS The RSV proven compared to the other groups required more frequent and longer admissions to general paediatric wards and intensive care units, more outpatient attendances and GP consultations for respiratory related disorders, and had a higher total cost of care. CONCLUSION RSV hospitalisation in patients with CLD is associated with increased health service utilisation and costs in the first two years after birth. Key message Prematurely born CLD infants who are hospitalised with RSV infection have an increased health service utilisation in the first two years after birth

Background: In prematurely born infants with chronic lung disease (CLD), RSV hospitalisation is associated with increased health service utilisation and costs in the first two years after birth. Aims: To determine whether RSV hospitalisation in the first two years was associated with chronic respiratory morbidity during the preschool years in prematurely born children who had had CLD. Methods: Retrospective review of readmissions, outpatient attendances, and community care in years 2–4 and, at age 5 years, assessment of the children’s respiratory status and their health related quality of life. Comparison was made of the results of children who had had at least one hospitalisation in the first two years after birth for RSV infection (RSV group) to those of the rest of the cohort. Participants were 190 of an original cohort of 235 infants with CLD and a median gestational age 27 (range 22–33) weeks. Results: The 33 children in the RSV group, compared to the rest of the cohort, had a greater duration of hospital stay and more outpatient appointments. The RSV group had required more prescriptions for all treatments and respiratory medications, and more had used an inhaler. The cost of care of the RSV group was higher (median £2630 [€4000, US$4800], range £124–18 091 versus £1360 [€2500, US$3000], range £5–18 929) and their health related quality of life was lower. Conclusion: In prematurely born children who had developed CLD, RSV hospitalisation in the first two years was associated with chronic respiratory morbidity and increased cost of care.

•One hundred and ninety-seven matched pairs of patients receiving TAVR with Evolut R or SAVR were analyzed.•TAVI resulted in significantly better hemodynamics outcomes compared to SAVR.•At 30 days, all-cause mortality or disabling stroke significantly lower with TAVI.•At 1 year, clinical outcomes were comparable between TAVI and SAVR. The SURTAVI trial demonstrated the noninferiority of transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) to surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) in patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis at intermediate surgical risk. Most TAVI patients received an early generation device which is no longer commercially available. This analysis compares TAVI outcomes in patients that received the Evolut R valve to those of similar patients randomized to SAVR in the SURTAVI trial. The continued access study of SURTAVI (CAS) enrolled 290 patients. Of them, 252 were implanted with the 23, 26, or 29 mm Evolut R device. Propensity-score matching between this group and SURTAVI SAVR patients with annular diameter of 26 mm or less was based on 22 clinical characteristics, resulting in 197 matched pairs for analysis. The primary end point for comparison was the rate of all-cause mortality or disabling stroke at 1-year. The mean age for TAVI and SAVR patients in the propensity-score matched population was 79.1 years and STS-PROM was 4.0 ± 1.5% for TAVI and 3.9% ± 1.3% for SAVR. The rate of all-cause mortality or disabling stroke at 30-days significantly favored TAVI (0.5% vs 5.1%; p = 0.006). At 1-year TAVI was numerically favored (4.1% vs 8.2%; p = 0.082). In conclusion, compared with SAVR, TAVI using Evolut R had a favorable 30-day safety profile, significantly better hemodynamic performance, and a comparable 1-year rate of all-cause mortality or disabling stroke, suggesting this may be a preferred treatment for patients with severe, symptomatic aortic stenosis at intermediate surgical risk.

ObjectiveThe Epi-IBD cohort is a prospective population-based inception cohort of unselected patients with inflammatory bowel disease from 29 European centres covering a background population of almost 10 million people. The aim of this study was to assess the 5-year outcome and disease course of patients with Crohn’s disease (CD).DesignPatients were followed up prospectively from the time of diagnosis, including collection of their clinical data, demographics, disease activity, medical therapy, surgery, cancers and deaths. Associations between outcomes and multiple covariates were analysed by Cox regression analysis.ResultsIn total, 488 patients were included in the study. During follow-up, 107 (22%) patients received surgery, while 176 (36%) patients were hospitalised because of CD. A total of 49 (14%) patients diagnosed with non-stricturing, non-penetrating disease progressed to either stricturing and/or penetrating disease. These rates did not differ between patients from Western and Eastern Europe. However, significant geographic differences were noted regarding treatment: more patients in Western Europe received biological therapy (33%) and immunomodulators (66%) than did those in Eastern Europe (14% and 54%, respectively, P<0.01), while more Eastern European patients received 5-aminosalicylates (90% vs 56%, P<0.05). Treatment with immunomodulators reduced the risk of surgery (HR: 0.4, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.6) and hospitalisation (HR: 0.3, 95% CI 0.2 to 0.5).ConclusionDespite patients being treated early and frequently with immunomodulators and biological therapy in Western Europe, 5-year outcomes including surgery and phenotype progression in this cohort were comparable across Western and Eastern Europe. Differences in treatment strategies between Western and Eastern European centres did not affect the disease course. Treatment with immunomodulators reduced the risk of surgery and hospitalisation.

Objectives: To determine whether the rehospitalisation and primary care requirements of infants with chronic lung disease (CLD) during the first two years after birth were influenced by a requirement for supplementary oxygen after discharge from the neonatal intensive care unit. Methods: Review of records from both the hospital and general practitioner. Patients: 235 infants, median gestational age 27 (range 22–31) weeks, 88 of whom were receiving supplementary oxygen when discharged home. Results: Overall, the infants required a median of 2 (range 0–20) admissions per patient, 8 (0–41) outpatient attendances, 13 (0–76) contacts with the general practitioner, and 17 (0–169) consultations with other primary healthcare professionals. The home oxygen patients required significantly more and longer admissions (p < 0.01) and more outpatient attendances (p < 0.05). The total cost of care per infant of the home oxygen group was greater (p < 0.001); this reflected higher costs for hospital stay (p < 0.01), total inpatient care (p < 0.01), and primary care drugs (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Despite routine use of antenatal steroids and postnatal surfactant, certain patients with CLD, particularly those who receive home oxygen treatment, show high rates of utilisation of health service resources after discharge from the neonatal care unit.

Background:Hospitalisation due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection in the first 2 years after birth has been associated with increased healthcare utilisation and associated costs up to 5 years of age in children born prematurely at less than 32 weeks of gestation who developed bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). A study was undertaken to determine whether hospitalisation due to RSV infection in the first 2 years was associated with increased morbidity and lung function abnormalities in such children at school age, and if any effects were influenced by age.Methods:Healthcare utilisation and cost of care in years 5–7 were reviewed in 147 children and changes in healthcare utilisation between 0 and 8 years were assessed also using results from two previous studies. At age 8–10 years, 77 children had their lung function assessed and bronchial hyper-responsiveness determined.Results:Children hospitalised with RSV infection (n = 25) in the first 2 years had a greater cost of care related to outpatient attendance than those with a non-respiratory or no admission (n = 72) when aged 5–7 years (p = 0.008). At 8–10 years of age, children hospitalised with RSV infection (n = 14) had lower forced expiratory volume in 0.75 s (FEV0.75) (p = 0.015), FEV0.75/forced vital capacity (p = 0.027) and flows at 50% (p = 0.034) and 75% (p = 0.006) of vital capacity than children hospitalised for non-RSV causes (n = 63). Healthcare utilisation decreased with increasing age regardless of RSV hospitalisation status.Conclusions:In prematurely born children who had BPD, hospitalisation due to RSV infection in the first 2 years is associated with reduced airway calibre at school age.

Background A key question for any psychopathological diagnosis is whether the condition is continuous or discontinuous with typical variation. The primary objective of this study was to use a multi‐method approach to examine the broad latent categorical versus dimensional structure of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Method Data were aggregated across seven independent samples of participants with ASD, other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD), and non‐ASD/NDD controls (aggregate Ns = 512–16,755; ages 1.5–22). Scores from four distinct phenotype measures formed composite “indicators” of the latent ASD construct. The primary indicator set included eye gaze metrics from seven distinct social stimulus paradigms. Logistic regressions were used to combine gaze metrics within/across paradigms, and derived predicted probabilities served as indicator values. Secondary indicator sets were constructed from clinical observation and parent‐report measures of ASD symptoms. Indicator sets were submitted to taxometric‐ and latent class analyses. Results Across all indicator sets and analytic methods, there was strong support for categorical structure corresponding closely to ASD diagnosis. Consistent with notions of substantial phenotypic heterogeneity, the ASD category had a wide range of symptom severity. Despite the examination of a large sample with a wide range of IQs in both genders, males and children with lower IQ were over‐represented in the ASD category, similar to observations in diagnosed cases. Conclusions Our findings provide strong support for categorical structure corresponding closely to ASD diagnosis. The present results bolster the use of well‐diagnosed and representative ASD groups within etiologic and clinical research, motivating the ongoing search for major drivers of the ASD phenotype. Despite the categorical structure of ASD, quantitative symptom measurements appear more useful for examining relationships with other factors. This study addressed the question of whether autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is best represented as a continuum (A) or a category (B). Results provided strong support for the categorical structure of ASD. Consistent with notions of substantial phenotypic heterogeneity, the ASD category had a wide range of symptom severity.