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Spectral similarity indices were used to select similar soil samples from a spectral library and improve the predictive accuracy of target samples. There are many similarity indices available, and precisely how to select the optimum index has become a critical question. Five similarity indices were evaluated: Spectral angle mapper (SAM), Euclidean distance (ED), Mahalanobis distance (MD), SAM_pca and ED_pca in the space of principal components applied to a global soil spectral library. The accordance between spectral and compositional similarity was used to select the optimum index. Then the optimum index was evaluated if it can maintain the greatest predictive accuracy when selecting similar samples from a spectral library for the prediction of a target sample using a partial least squares regression (PLSR) model. The evaluated physiochemical properties were: soil organic carbon, pH, cation exchange capacity (CEC), clay, silt, and sand content. SAM and SAM_pca selected samples were closer in composition compared to the target samples. Based on similar samples selected using these two indices, PLSR models achieved the highest predictive accuracy for all soil properties, save for CEC. This validates the hypothesis that the accordance information between spectral and compositional similarity can help select the appropriate similarity index when selecting similar samples from a spectral library for prediction.

Extremity sarcoma represents a heterogeneous group of rare cancers that carries a relatively high morbidity with regards to physical function. Quality of Life (QoL) as an outcome is an important consideration in this cohort. We aimed to identify the correlates of QoL in extremity sarcoma cohorts. Methods. A systematic review of the literature on extremity sarcoma in adults from five databases over the last ten years was undertaken. Results. Twelve articles were chosen and assessed for quality. Physical and social function of extremity sarcoma survivors is below that of the general population. Overall QoL scores of these patients are comparable to those of the general population. Studies that used more recently treated cohorts found that patients who had limb sparing surgery displayed superior functional outcomes over those that underwent amputations. Pain and perceiving that the cancer negatively influenced opportunities was associated with poor outcomes. Conclusion. The available literature regarding QoL in extremity sarcoma patients is heterogeneous in terms of aims and assessment tools. Results need to be interpreted in light of the improved management of extremity sarcoma in more recent patient cohorts.

Quantum teleportation — the transmission and reconstruction over arbitrary distances of the state of a quantum system — is demonstrated experimentally. During teleportation, an initial photon which carries the polarization that is to be transferred and one of a pair of entangled photons are subjected to a measurement such that the second photon of the entangled pair acquires the polarization of the initial photon. This latter photon can be arbitrarily far away from the initial one. Quantum teleportation will be a critical ingredient for quantum computation networks. From here to there - quantum teleportation Quantum teleportation is the transmission and reconstruction of the state of a quantum system - an idea that was demonstrated experimentally by Dik Bouwmeester and colleagues in 1997. As their principal teleportation resource, the team used a pair of entangled photons; to effect the teleportation, they initiated a measurement involving one photon of the pair and a third photon. As a consequence of this interaction, the state of polarization of the third photon was transferred perfectly to the second photon of the entangled pair. In principle, this process should work even if the teleportation takes place over an arbitrarily large distance.

This paper presents a comprehensive review of modeling of alkali-silica reaction (ASR) in concrete.Such modeling is essential for investigating the chemical expansion mechanism and the subsequent influence on the mechanical aspects of the material.The concept of ASR and the mechanism of expansion are first outlined,and the stateof-the-art of modeling for ASR,the focus of the paper,is then presented in detail.The modeling includes theoretical approaches,meso-and macroscopic models for ASR analysis.The theoretical approaches dealt with the chemical reaction mechanism and were used for predicting pessimum size of aggregate.Mesoscopic models have attempted to explain the mechanism of mechanical deterioration of ASR-affected concrete at material scale.The macroscopic models,chemomechanical coupling models,have been generally developed by combining the chemical reaction kinetics with linear or nonlinear mechanical constitutive,and were applied to reproduce and predict the long-term behavior of structures suffering from ASR.Finally,a conclusion and discussion of the modeling are given.

FRP (Fiber Reinforced Polymers) has been widely used in structure strengthening with the advantages of high strength, light weight, corrosion resistance and so on. FRP anchor is an effective anchoring method for external strengthening FRP laminate. In order to reduce cost and improve performance, B/C HFRP (hybrid of basalt fiber/carbon fiber reinforced polymer) anchor was made through mixing the basalt fiber with conventional CFRP anchors. The shear behavior and the anchoring performance of two kinds of FRP anchors under different diameter and arrangement methods were tested by several groups of experiments. The experimental results shew that the ultimate strength, material utilization and ductility of specimens were improved in different degrees, which indicated that it was practicable in concrete structures strengthening with this hybrid method.

Quantum teleportation 1 is central to quantum communication, and plays an important role in a number of quantum computation protocols 2 , 3 . Most information-processing applications of quantum teleportation include the subsequent manipulation of the qubit (the teleported photon), so it is highly desirable to have a teleportation procedure resulting in high-quality, freely flying qubits. In our previous teleportation experiment 4 , the teleported qubit had to be detected (and thus destroyed) to verify the success of the procedure. Here we report a teleportation experiment that results in freely propagating individual qubits. The basic idea is to suppress unwanted coincidence detection events by providing the photon to be teleported much less frequently than the auxiliary entangled pair. Therefore, a case of successful teleportation can be identified with high probability without the need actually to detect the teleported photon. The experimental fidelity of our procedure surpasses the theoretical limit required for the implementation of quantum repeaters 5 , 6 .

We used quantitative magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopic imaging with T1-based image segmentation to evaluate the subtypes of multiple sclerosis (MS) (eight patients each group of relapsing-remitting [RR], secondary progressive [SP] and primary progressive [PP]). There was no significant difference in age between the PP group with the RR, SP or control group. We found that the metabolite ratio of choline/NA from the periventricular white matter region was not significantly different between the RR and SP groups. Using an ANOVA, the ratios of periventricular choline/NA or creatine/NA of these combined groups were significantly higher than the PP and control groups. Quantification of these data suggest that the major cause of the elevation of these parameters is due to an increase in choline and creatine in the RR group while NA is decreased in the SP group. Thus, early PP disease appears to be relatively intact with respect to neuronal loss.

Bouwmeester et al. reply -- Braunstein and Kimble observe correctly that, in the Innsbruck experiment, one does not always observe a teleported photon conditioned on a coincidence recording at the Bell-state analyser. In their opinion, this affects the fidelity of the experiment, but we believe, in contrast, that it has no significance, and that when a teleported photon appears, it has all the properties required by the teleportation protocol. These properties can never be achieved by \"abandoning teleportation altogether and transmitting randomly selected polarization states\" as Braunstein and Kimble suggest. The fact that there will be events where no teleported photons are created merely affects the efficiency of the experiment. This suggests that the measure of fidelity used by Braunstein and Kimble is unsuitable for our experiment.

As the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in human brain, GABA is an important modulator of hyperexcitability in epilepsy patients. Given the high energetic cost of neurotransmission and synaptic activity, GABA concentrations may be hypothesized to correlate with metabolic function. We studied human epilepsy patients undergoing intracranial EEG monitoring for seizure localization to examine microdialysis measures of extracellular GABA (ecGABA), pre-operative MR spectroscopic measures of neuronal mitochondrial function (NAA/Cr), and wherever possible, neuropathology and hippocampal volumetry. Two groups undergoing intracranial monitoring for seizure localization were studied: surgically treated hippocampal epilepsy (MTLE) and neocortical (non-hippocampal seizure onset) epilepsy. All data are hippocampal and thus these groups allow comparisons between the epileptogenic and non-epileptogenic regions. ecGABA was measured using in vivo microdialysis performed during intracranial monitoring. Pre-operative in vivo MR spectroscopic imaging was performed to measure the ratio of N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) to creatine. Standard methods for neuropathology and hippocampal volumetry were used. In the neocortical group, increased ecGABA correlated with greater NAA/Cr ( R  = +0.70, p  < 0.015, n  = 12) while in the MTLE group, increased ecGABA linked with decreased NAA/Cr ( R  = −0.94, p  < 0.001, n  = 8). In MTLE, ecGABA (increased) and NAA/Cr (decreased) correlated with increased glial cell numbers ( R  = +0.71, p  < 0.01, n  = 12, R  = −0.76 p  < 0.03 respectively). No relationship was seen between ecGABA and hippocampal volumes in either group. In epilepsy, ecGABA increases occur across a range of metabolic function. Outside the seizure focus, ecGABA and NAA/Cr increase together; in contrast, within the seizure focus, ecGABA increases with declining mitochondrial function.

Ketones are known to constitute an important fraction of fuel for consumption by the brain, with brain ketone content generally thought to be low. However, the recent observation of 1-mmol/L levels of brain β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in children on the ketogenic diet suggests otherwise. The authors report the measurement of brain BHB and lactate in the occipital lobe of healthy adults using high field (4-T) magnetic resonance spectroscopy, measured in the nonfasted state and after 2-and 3-day fasting-induced ketosis. A 9-mL voxel located in the calcarine fissure was studied, detecting the BHB and lactate upfield resonances using a 1H homonuclear editing sequence. Plasma BHB levels also were measured. The mean brain BHB concentration increased from a nonfasted level of 0.05 ± 0.05 to 0.60 ± 0.26 mmol/L (after second day of fasting), increasing further to 0.98 ± 0.16 mmol/L (after the third day of fasting). The mean nonfasted brain lactate was 0.69 ± 0.17 mmol/L, increasing to 1.47 ± 0.22 mmol/L after the third day. The plasma and brain BHB levels correlated well (r = 0.86) with a brain–plasma slope of 0.26. These data show that brain BHB rises significantly with 2-and 3-day fasting-induced ketosis. The lactate increase likely results from ketones displacing lactate oxidation without altering glucose phosphorylation and glycolysis.