1,268 research outputs found
Amphetamine Exerts Dose-Dependent Changes in Prefrontal Cortex Attractor Dynamics during Working Memory
Modulation of neural activity by monoamine neurotransmitters is thought to play an essential role in shaping computational neurodynamics in the neocortex, especially in prefrontal regions. Computational theories propose that monoamines may exert bidirectional (concentration-dependent) effects on cognition by altering prefrontal cortical attractor dynamics according to an inverted U-shaped function. To date, this hypothesis has not been addressed directly, in part because of the absence of appropriate statistical methods required to assess attractor-like behavior in vivo. The present study used a combination of advanced multivariate statistical, time series analysis, and machine learning methods to assess dynamic changes in network activity from multiple single-unit recordings from the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of rats while the animals performed a foraging task guided by working memory after pretreatment with different doses of d-amphetamine (AMPH), which increases monoamine efflux in the mPFC. A dose-dependent, bidirectional effect of AMPH on neural dynamics in the mPFC was observed. Specifically, a 1.0 mg/kg dose of AMPH accentuated separation between task-epoch-specific population states and convergence toward these states. In contrast, a 3.3 mg/kg dose diminished separation and convergence toward task-epoch-specific population states, which was paralleled by deficits in cognitive performance. These results support the computationally derived hypothesis that moderate increases in monoamine efflux would enhance attractor stability, whereas high frontal monoamine levels would severely diminish it. Furthermore, they are consistent with the proposed inverted U-shaped and concentration-dependent modulation of cortical efficiency by monoamines
Veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in pregnancy: does foetal viability matter?
With the increasing use of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for adults with acute hypoxic respiratory failure, the indications for its use have expanded. We wanted to share the results of a recent case from our institution, of a woman who experienced respiratory failure secondary to hyperemesis gravidarum (HG). HG is a rare complication of pregnancy (0.3% to 2.0% of pregnancies), resulting in uncontrolled or excessive nausea and vomiting with dehydration and weight loss, typically in the first to mid second trimester, and is a diagnosis of exclusion
Supernovae as a probe of particle physics and cosmology
It has very recently been demonstrated by Csaki, Kaloper and Terning (CKT)
that the faintness of supernovae at high redshift can be accommodated by mixing
of a light axion with the photon in the presence of an intergalactic magnetic
field, as opposed to the usual explanation of an accelerating universe by a
dark energy component. In this paper we analyze further aspects of the CKT
mechanism and its generalizations. The CKT mechanism also passes various
cosmological constraints from the fluctuations of the CMB and the formation of
structure at large scales, without requiring an accelerating phase in the
expansion of the Universe. We investigate the statistical significance of
current supernova data for pinning down the different components of the
cosmological energy-momentum tensor and for probing physics beyond the standard
models.Comment: 17 pages, LaTeX, 4 figures; v2: typos corrected, minor changes,
references added; v3: updated figures, details regarding fits include
Quantum Limits of Stochastic Cooling of a Bosonic Gas
The quantum limits of stochastic cooling of trapped atoms are studied. The
energy subtraction due to the applied feedback is shown to contain an
additional noise term due to atom-number fluctuations in the feedback region.
This novel effect is shown to dominate the cooling efficiency near the
condensation point. Furthermore, we show first results that indicate that
Bose--Einstein condensation could be reached via stochastic cooling.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Synchronization of Hamiltonian motion and dissipative effects in optical lattices: Evidence for a stochastic resonance
We theoretically study the influence of the noise strength on the excitation
of the Brillouin propagation modes in a dissipative optical lattice. We show
that the excitation has a resonant behavior for a specific amount of noise
corresponding to the precise synchronization of the Hamiltonian motion on the
optical potential surfaces and the dissipative effects associated with optical
pumping in the lattice. This corresponds to the phenomenon of stochastic
resonance. Our results are obtained by numerical simulations and correspond to
the analysis of microscopic quantities (atomic spatial distributions) as well
as macroscopic quantities (enhancement of spatial diffusion and pump-probe
spectra). We also present a simple analytical model in excellent agreement with
the simulations
On the existence of a Bose Metal at T=0
This paper aims to justify, at a microscopic level, the existence of a
two-dimensional Bose metal, i.e. a metallic phase made out of Cooper pairs at
T=0. To this end, we consider the physics of quantum phase fluctuations in
(granular) superconductors in the absence of disorder and emphasise the role of
two order parameters in the problem, viz. phase order and charge order. We
focus on the 2-d Bose Hubbard model in the limit of very large fillings, i.e. a
2-d array of Josephson junctions. We find that the algebra of phase
fluctuations is that of the Euclidean group in this limit, and show
that the model is equivalent to two coupled XY models in (2+1)-d, one
corresponding to the phase degrees of freedom, and the other the charge degrees
of freedom. The Bose metal, then, is the phase in which both these degrees of
freedom are disordered(as a result of quantum frustration). We analyse the
model in terms of its topological excitations and suggest that there is a
strong indication that this state represents a surface of critical points, akin
to the gapless spin liquid states. We find a remarkable consistency of this
scenario with certain low-T_c thin film experiments.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figure
Localization by disorder in the infrared conductivity of (Y,Pr)Ba2Cu3O7 films
The ab-plane reflectivity of (Y{1-x}Prx)Ba2Cu3O7 thin films was measured in
the 30-30000 cm-1 range for samples with x = 0 (Tc = 90 K), x = 0.4 (Tc = 35 K)
and x = 0.5 (Tc = 19 K) as a function of temperature in the normal state. The
effective charge density obtained from the integrated spectral weight decreases
with increasing x. The variation is consistent with the higher dc resistivity
for x = 0.4, but is one order of magnitude smaller than what would be expected
for x = 0.5. In the latter sample, the conductivity is dominated at all
temperatures by a large localization peak. Its magnitude increases as the
temperature decreases. We relate this peak to the dc resistivity enhancement. A
simple localization-by-disorder model accounts for the optical conductivity of
the x = 0.5 sample.Comment: 7 pages with (4) figures include
A noninvasive hemoglobin monitor in the pediatric intensive care unit
Background Critically ill pediatric patients frequently require hemoglobin monitoring. Accurate noninvasive Hb (SpHb) would allow practitioners to decrease anemia from repeated blood draws, traumatic blood draws, and a decreased number of laboratory Hb (LabHb) medical tests. The Food and Drug Administration has approved the Masimo Pronto SpHb and associated Rainbow probes; however, its use in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) is controversial. In this study, we define the degree of agreement between LabHb and SpHb using the Masimo Pronto SpHb Monitor and identify clinical and demographic conditions associated with decreased accuracy. Materials and methods We performed a prospective, observational study in a large PICU at an academic medical center. Fifty-three pediatric patients (30-d and 18-y-old), weighing >3 kg, admitted to the PICU from January-April 2013 were examined. SpHb levels measured at the time of LabHb blood draw were compared and analyzed. Results Only 83 SpHb readings were obtained in 118 attempts (70.3%) and 35 readings provided a result of "unable to obtain." The mean LabHb and SpHb were 11.1 g/dL and 11.2 g/dL, respectively. Bland-Altman analysis showed a mean difference of 0.07 g/dL with a standard deviation of ±2.59 g/dL. Pearson correlation is 0.55, with a 95% confidence interval between 0.38 and 0.68. Logistic regression showed that extreme LabHb values, increasing skin pigmentation, and increasing body mass index were predictors of poor agreement between SpHb and LabHb (P < 0.05). Separately, increasing body mass index, hypoxia, and hypothermia were predictors for undetectable readings (P < 0.05). Conclusions The Masimo Pronto SpHb Monitor provides adequate agreement for the trending of hemoglobin levels in critically ill pediatric patients. However, the degree of agreement is insufficient to be used as the sole indicator for transfusion decisions and should be used in context of other clinical parameters to determine the need for LabHb in critically ill pediatric patients
Lorentz breaking Effective Field Theory and observational tests
Analogue models of gravity have provided an experimentally realizable test
field for our ideas on quantum field theory in curved spacetimes but they have
also inspired the investigation of possible departures from exact Lorentz
invariance at microscopic scales. In this role they have joined, and sometime
anticipated, several quantum gravity models characterized by Lorentz breaking
phenomenology. A crucial difference between these speculations and other ones
associated to quantum gravity scenarios, is the possibility to carry out
observational and experimental tests which have nowadays led to a broad range
of constraints on departures from Lorentz invariance. We shall review here the
effective field theory approach to Lorentz breaking in the matter sector,
present the constraints provided by the available observations and finally
discuss the implications of the persisting uncertainty on the composition of
the ultra high energy cosmic rays for the constraints on the higher order,
analogue gravity inspired, Lorentz violations.Comment: 47 pages, 4 figures. Lecture Notes for the IX SIGRAV School on
"Analogue Gravity", Como (Italy), May 2011. V.3. Typo corrected, references
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