"All-versus-nothing" nonlocality test of quantum mechanics by two-photon hyperentanglement

We report the experimental realization and the characterization of polarization and momentum hyperentangled two photon states, generated by a new parametric source of correlated photon pairs. By adoption of these states an "all versus nothing" test of quantum mechanics was performed. The two photon hyperentangled states are expected to find at an increasing rate a widespread application in state engineering and quantum information. PACS: 03.65.Ud, 03.67.Mn, 42.65. LmComment: Replaced with published versio

Specificity, Privacy, and Degeneracy in the CD4 T Cell Receptor Repertoire Following Immunization.

T cells recognize antigen using a large and diverse set of antigen-specific receptors created by a complex process of imprecise somatic cell gene rearrangements. In response to antigen-/receptor-binding-specific T cells then divide to form memory and effector populations. We apply high-throughput sequencing to investigate the global changes in T cell receptor sequences following immunization with ovalbumin (OVA) and adjuvant, to understand how adaptive immunity achieves specificity. Each immunized mouse contained a predominantly private but related set of expanded CDR3β sequences. We used machine learning to identify common patterns which distinguished repertoires from mice immunized with adjuvant with and without OVA. The CDR3β sequences were deconstructed into sets of overlapping contiguous amino acid triplets. The frequencies of these motifs were used to train the linear programming boosting (LPBoost) algorithm LPBoost to classify between TCR repertoires. LPBoost could distinguish between the two classes of repertoire with accuracies above 80%, using a small subset of triplet sequences present at defined positions along the CDR3. The results suggest a model in which such motifs confer degenerate antigen specificity in the context of a highly diverse and largely private set of T cell receptors

A green chemistry-based classification model for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles

The assessment of the implementation of green chemistry principles in the syntheses of nanomaterials is a complex decision-making problem that necessitates the integration of several evaluation criteria. Multiple Criteria Decision Aiding (MCDA) provides support for such a challenge. One of its methods – Dominance-based Rough Set Approach (DRSA) – was used in this research to develop a model for the green chemistry-based classification of silver nanoparticle synthesis protocols into preference-ordered performance classes. DRSA allowed integration of knowledge from both peer-reviewed literature and experts (decision makers, DMs) in the field, resulting in a model composed of decision rules that are logical statements in the form: “if conditions, then decision”. The approach provides the basis for the design of rules for the greener synthesis of silver nanoparticles. Decision rules are supported by synthesis protocols that enforce the principles of green chemistry to various extents, resulting in robust recommendations for the development and assessment of silver nanoparticle synthesis that perform at one of five pre-determined levels. The DRSA-based approach is transparent and structured and can be easily updated. New perspectives and criteria could be added into the model if relevant data were available and domain-specific experts could collaborate through the MCDA procedure

Tracking global changes induced in the CD4 T-cell receptor repertoire by immunization with a complex antigen using short stretches of CDR3 protein sequence.

The clonal theory of adaptive immunity proposes that immunological responses are encoded by increases in the frequency of lymphocytes carrying antigen-specific receptors. In this study, we measure the frequency of different T-cell receptors (TcR) in CD4 + T cell populations of mice immunized with a complex antigen, killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis, using high throughput parallel sequencing of the TcRβ chain. Our initial hypothesis that immunization would induce repertoire convergence proved to be incorrect, and therefore an alternative approach was developed that allows accurate stratification of TcR repertoires and provides novel insights into the nature of CD4 + T-cell receptor recognition

Feature selection using a one dimensional naïve Bayes' classifier increases the accuracy of support vector machine classification of CDR3 repertoires.

MOTIVATION: Somatic DNA recombination, the hallmark of vertebrate adaptive immunity, has the potential to generate a vast diversity of antigen receptor sequences. How this diversity captures antigen specificity remains incompletely understood. In this study we use high throughput sequencing to compare the global changes in T cell receptor β chain complementarity determining region 3 (CDR3β) sequences following immunization with ovalbumin administered with complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or CFA alone. RESULTS: The CDR3β sequences were deconstructed into short stretches of overlapping contiguous amino acids. The motifs were ranked according to a one-dimensional Bayesian classifier score comparing their frequency in the repertoires of the two immunization classes. The top ranking motifs were selected and used to create feature vectors which were used to train a support vector machine. The support vector machine achieved high classification scores in a leave-one-out validation test reaching  : >90% in some cases. SUMMARY: The study describes a novel two-stage classification strategy combining a one-dimensional Bayesian classifier with a support vector machine. Using this approach we demonstrate that the frequency of a small number of linear motifs three amino acids in length can accurately identify a CD4 T cell response to ovalbumin against a background response to the complex mixture of antigens which characterize Complete Freund's Adjuvant. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The sequence data is available at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sra/?term¼SRP075893 The Decombinator package is available at github.com/innate2adaptive/Decombinator The R package e1071 is available at the CRAN repository https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/e1071/index.html CONTACT: [email protected] information: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online

HIGH RESOLUTION SURVEY OF MOSAICS OF THE CRYPT OF THE ST. NICOLA’S BASILICA (BARI, ITALY) AND CHARACTERIZATION AND PROVENANCE STUDIES OF MARBLE TESSERAE

This paper focusses on the mosaics of the crypt of the St. Nicola’s Basilica in Bari, a valuable evidence of use and reuse of ancient white and coloured marbles from the Roman world, together with local and imitation stones. The study belongs to a wider research project (MARMORA), about ancient marbles employed in the Apulia Cultural Heritage, and aims to improve knowledge and preserve these artworks, in order to enhance their valorisation and enjoyment. Therefore, firstly a high definition survey of mosaic floors was performed and after, characterization and provenance studies of stone tesserae, recognition of geometrical motifs and stylistic influence were carried out. Preliminary results allowed to obtain a digital representation of mosaics, including all the contributions on material characterisation and provenance

Adhesion to zirconia: A systematic review of current conditioning methods and bonding materials

Background. Reliable bonding between resin composite cements and high strength ceramics is difficult to achieve because of their chemical inertness and lack of silica content that makes etching impossible. The purpose of this review is to classify and analyze the existing methods and materials suggested to improve the adhesion of zirconia to dental substrate by using composite resins, in order to explore current trends in surface conditioning methods with predictable results. Methods. The current literature, examining the bond strength of zirconia ceramics, and including in vitro studies, clinical studies, and a systematic review, was analyzed. The research in the literature was carried out using PubMed and Cochrane Library databases, only papers in English, published online from 2013 to 2018. The following keywords and their combinations were used: Zirconia, 3Y-TZP, Adhesion, Adhesive cementation, Bonding, Resin, Composite resin, Composite material, Dentin, Enamel. Results. Research, in PubMed and Cochrane Library databases, provided 390 titles with abstracts. From these, a total of 93 publications were chosen for analysis. After a full text evaluation, seven articles were discarded. Therefore, the final sample was 86, including in vitro, clinical studies, and one systematic review. Various adhesive techniques with different testing methods were examined. Conclusions. Airborne-particle abrasion and tribo-chemical silica coating are the pre-treatment methods with more evidence in the literature. Increased adhesion could be expected after physico-chemical conditioning of zirconia. Surface contamination has a negative effect on adhesion. There is no evidence to support a universal adhesion protocol

The limited reach of fake news on Twitter during 2019 European elections

The advent of social media changed the way we consume content, favoring a disintermediated access to, and production of information. This scenario has been matter of critical discussion about its impact on society, magnified in the case of the Arab Springs or heavily criticized during Brexit and the 2016 U.S. elections. In this work we explore information consumption on Twitter during the 2019 European Parliament electoral campaign by analyzing the interaction patterns of official news outlets, disinformation outlets, politicians, people from the showbiz and many others. We extensively explore interactions among different classes of accounts in the months preceding the elections, held between 23rd and 26th of May, 2019. We collected almost 400,000 tweets posted by 863 accounts having different roles in the public society. Through a thorough quantitative analysis we investigate the information flow among them, also exploiting geolocalized information. Accounts show the tendency to confine their interaction within the same class and the debate rarely crosses national borders. Moreover, we do not find evidence of an organized network of accounts aimed at spreading disinformation. Instead, disinformation outlets are largely ignored by the other actors and hence play a peripheral role in online political discussions