Single-Atom Verification of the Optimal Trade-Off between Speed and Cost in Shortcuts to Adiabaticity.

The approach of shortcuts to adiabaticity enables the effective execution of adiabatic dynamics in quantum information processing with enhanced speed. Owing to the inherent trade-off between dynamical speed and the cost associated with the transitionless driving field, executing arbitrarily fast operations becomes impractical. To understand the accurate interplay between speed and energetic cost in this process, we propose theoretically and verify experimentally a new trade-off, which is characterized by a tightly optimized bound within s-parametrized phase spaces. Our experiment is carried out in a single ultracold ^{40}Ca^{+} ion trapped in a harmonic potential. By exactly operating the quantum states of the ion, we execute the Landau-Zener model as an example, where the quantum speed limit as well as the cost are governed by the spectral gap. We witness that our proposed trade-off is indeed tight in scenarios involving both initially eigenstates and initially thermal equilibrium states. Our work helps understanding the fundamental constraints in shortcuts to adiabaticity and illuminates the potential of underutilized phase spaces that have been traditionally overlooked.

Multiparametric MRI subregion radiomics for preoperative assessment of high-risk subregions in microsatellite instability of rectal cancer patients: a multicenter study.

BACKGROUND: Microsatellite instability (MSI) is associated with treatment response and prognosis in patients with rectal cancer (RC). However, intratumoral heterogeneity limits MSI testing in patients with RC. The authors developed a subregion radiomics model based on multiparametric MRI to preoperatively assess high-risk subregions with MSI and predict the MSI status of patients with RC. METHODS: This retrospective study included 475 patients (training cohort, 382; external test cohort, 93) with RC from two participating hospitals between April 2017 and June 2023. In the training cohort, subregion radiomic features were extracted from multiparametric MRI, which included T2-weighted, T1-weighted, diffusion-weighted, and contrast-enhanced T1-weighted imaging. MSI-related subregion radiomic features, classical radiomic features, and clinicoradiological variables were gathered to build five predictive models using logistic regression. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis was conducted to explore the prognostic information. RESULTS: Among the 475 patients [median age, 64 years (interquartile range, IQR: 55-70 years); 304 men and 171 women], the prevalence of MSI was 11.16% (53/475). The subregion radiomics model outperformed the classical radiomics and clinicoradiological models in both training [area under the curve (AUC)=0.86, 0.72, and 0.59, respectively] and external test cohorts (AUC=0.83, 0.73, and 0.62, respectively). The subregion-clinicoradiological model combining clinicoradiological variables and subregion radiomic features performed the optimal, with AUCs of 0.87 and 0.85 in the training and external test cohorts, respectively. The 3-year disease-free survival rate of MSI groups predicted based on the model was higher than that of the predicted microsatellite stability groups in both patient cohorts (training, P =0.032; external test, P =0.046). CONCLUSIONS: The authors developed and validated a model based on subregion radiomic features of multiparametric MRI to evaluate high-risk subregions with MSI and predict the MSI status of RC preoperatively, which may assist in individualized treatment decisions and positioning for biopsy.

Low-carbon economic growth in Chinese cities: a case study in Shenzhen city.

Low-carbon economic growth in cities is important for reduction of carbon emissions in China. As the best practice city in China, Shenzhen city has experienced rapid economic growth with low carbon emissions. The study aims to evaluate the performance of Chinese cities on low-carbon economic growth through the case study of Shenzhen city. The study carries out the Tapio decoupling model for analyzing decoupling state, and uses the Kaya-Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index decomposition model to determine the main driving factors of carbon emissions in Shenzhen. Results indicate that Shenzhen has greatly decoupled carbon emissions with economic growth. The analysis of driving factors of carbon emission shows that the declining energy intensity and the upgrading industrial structure effectively hamper the increase of carbon emissions in Shenzhen. The decline in energy intensity in Shenzhen may come from an improvement of production efficiency of the industries. However, the irrational energy consumption structure, fast-growing economic output, and industry scale are hampering the low carbon emissions of Shenzhen. All estimated industries are highly dependent on coal and oil although some industries have slightly increased their proportion of clean energy consumption. Pursuing more clean energy consumption in the industry will be a key development strategy for reducing emissions in the future. Moreover, as Shenzhen is a fast-growing city, the increasing economic output and industry scale are inevitable. Changing people's way of living could also help in reducing carbon emissions in cities.

Assessment of vocal cord movement by ultrasound in the ICU.

PURPOSE: Ultrasound can be used to non-invasively and rapidly examine airway conditions, but vocal cord visualization with the traditional approaches is poor. Our aim was to compare the accuracies of front-side transverse-axis ultrasound (FTU), lateral-side longitudinal-axis ultrasound (LLU), and the combination of both approaches for vocal cord movement disorder diagnoses (e.g., vocal cord paralysis or arytenoid cartilage dislocation). METHODS: We compared FTU, LLU, and the combination of both methods for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU). We used nasal fiber-optic endoscopy to confirm vocal cord injury. RESULTS: Among the 120 patients examined, 24 (20%) had vocal cord paralysis. The visualization rate of vocal cords for FTU was 71.7% (assessable, 86; non-assessable, 34), that for LLU was 88.3% (assessable, 106; non-assessable, 14), and that for the combined approach was 96.7% (assessable, 116; non-assessable, 4). The sensitivities and specificities were 58.3% (14/24) and 75% (72/96) for FTU, 91.7% (22/24) and 87.5% (84/96) for LLU, and 100% (24/24) and 95.8% (92/96) for the combined approach. Visualization rates for LLU were significantly higher than for FTU (P = 0.002); FTU + LLU rates were higher than those for FTU (P = 0.001). The difference between LLU and FTU + LLU was not statistically significant (P = 0.025). CONCLUSION: LLU can be used to evaluate arytenoid cartilage activity in ICUs, and the results are highly correlated with the diagnosis of nasal fiber-optic endoscopy. The combination of FTU and LLU shows promise as a rapid primary screening method for vocal cord injury.