Entanglement in thermal equilibrium states

We revisist the issue of entanglement of thermal equilibrium states in composite quantum systems. The possible scenarios are exemplified in bipartite qubit/qubit and qubit/qutrit systems.Comment: 4 figure

Regulation of Marginal Zone B-Cell Differentiation by MicroRNA-146a.

B-cell development in the bone marrow is followed by specification into functional subsets in the spleen, including marginal zone (MZ) B-cells. MZ B-cells are classically characterized by T-independent antigenic responses and require the elaboration of distinct gene expression programs for development. Given their role in gene regulation, it is not surprising that microRNAs are important factors in B-cell development. Recent work demonstrated that deficiency of the NFκB feedback regulator, miR-146a, led to a range of hematopoietic phenotypes, but B-cell phenotypes have not been extensively characterized. Here, we found that miR-146a-deficient mice demonstrate a reduction in MZ B-cells, likely from a developmental block. Utilizing high-throughput sequencing and comparative analysis of developmental stage-specific transcriptomes, we determined that MZ cell differentiation was impaired due to decreases in Notch2 signaling. Our studies reveal miR-146a-dependent B-cell phenotypes and highlight the complex role of miR-146a in the hematopoietic system

Short- or long-rest intervals during repeated-sprint training in soccer?

The present study compared the effects of two repeated-sprint training (RST) programs, differing in duration of the between-sprint rest intervals, on various soccer-related exercise performances. For 5 weeks during the competitive season, twenty-nine young trained male soccer players either replaced two of their habitual fitness conditioning sessions with RST characterized by short (5-15; n = 9) or long (5-30; n = 10) rest intervals, or served as control (n = 10). The 5-15 and 5-30 protocols consisted of 6 repetitions of 30-m (~5 s) straight-line sprints interspersed with 15 s or 30 s of passive recovery, respectively. 5-15 improved 200-m sprint time (2.0±1.5%; p<0.05) and had a likely positive impact on 20-m sprint performance, whereas 5-30 lowered the 20-m sprint time (2.7±1.6%; p<0.05) but was only possibly effective for enhancing the 200-m sprint performance. The distance covered during the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test Level 2 increased following 5-15 (11.4±5.0%; p<0.05), which was possibly better than the non-significant 6.5% enhancement observed in 5-30. Improvements in the total time of a repeated-sprint ability test were possibly greater following 5-30 (3.6±0.9%; p<0.05) compared to 5-15 (2.6±1.1%; p<0.05). Both RST interventions led to similar beneficial (p<0.05) reductions in the percentage decrement score (~30%) of the repeated-sprint ability test as well as in blood lactate concentration during submaximal exercise (17-18%). No changes occurred in the control group. In soccer players, RST over a 5-week in-season period is an efficient means to simultaneously develop different components of fitness relevant to match performance, with different benefits induced by shorter compared to longer rest intervals

Continuity of the von Neumann entropy

A general method for proving continuity of the von Neumann entropy on subsets of positive trace-class operators is considered. This makes it possible to re-derive the known conditions for continuity of the entropy in more general forms and to obtain several new conditions. The method is based on a particular approximation of the von Neumann entropy by an increasing sequence of concave continuous unitary invariant functions defined using decompositions into finite rank operators. The existence of this approximation is a corollary of a general property of the set of quantum states as a convex topological space called the strong stability property. This is considered in the first part of the paper.Comment: 42 pages, the minor changes have been made, the new applications of the continuity condition have been added. To appear in Commun. Math. Phy

Range expansion with mutation and selection: dynamical phase transition in a two-species Eden model

The colonization of unoccupied territory by invading species, known as range expansion, is a spatially heterogeneous non-equilibrium growth process. We introduce a two-species Eden growth model to analyze the interplay between uni-directional (irreversible) mutations and selection at the expanding front. While the evolutionary dynamics leads to coalescence of both wild-type and mutant clusters, the non-homogeneous advance of the colony results in a rough front. We show that roughening and domain dynamics are strongly coupled, resulting in qualitatively altered bulk and front properties. For beneficial mutations the front is quickly taken over by mutants and growth proceeds Eden-like. In contrast, if mutants grow slower than wild-types, there is an antagonism between selection pressure against mutants and growth by the merging of mutant domains with an ensuing absorbing state phase transition to an all-mutant front. We find that surface roughening has a marked effect on the critical properties of the absorbing state phase transition. While reference models, which keep the expanding front flat, exhibit directed percolation critical behavior, the exponents of the two-species Eden model strongly deviate from it. In turn, the mutation-selection process induces an increased surface roughness with exponents distinct from that of the classical Eden model

Kakutani Dichotomy on Free States

Two quasi-free states on a CAR or CCR algebra are shown to generate quasi-equivalent representations unless they are disjoint.Comment: 12 page

A Recombinant Myeloid-Binding Adenovirus For Targeted Pulmonary Gene Therapy

Inflammation and airway destruction are hallmarks of many debilitating lung diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (CF), acute lung injury (ALI), and cancer. Gene-based therapeutic interventions that modulate this pathologic inflammatory response are likely to reduce the progressive destruction to lung airways. In this regard, a number of strategies have been evaluated for targeting the pul-monary vasculature; particularly those based on serotype 5 Adenovirus (Ad5). The ad-vantages of Ad over other vector systems include: in vivo stability, low oncogenic poten-tial, and large packaging capacity. Yet, specific and efficient gene delivery to the lung has been hampered by a number of barriers in vivo; mainly the degree by which Ad5 vec-tors are sequestered in the liver. The complexity of Ad5 liver tropism has largely been unraveled, permitting improved efficacy of Ad5 gene delivery. However, Kupffer cell (KC) scavenging and elimination of Ad5 still represent major obstacles to lung delivery strategies since KC uptake substantially reduces Ad5 bioavailability for target tissues and compensatory dose escalation leads to hepatotoxicity. Efficient targeting of cell types within the lung may preclude the need for viral modifications that ablate liver sequestration mechanisms. Leukocytes represent an ideal target for delivery of therapeutics to the pulmonary vasculature as venous blood flow is first directed through the pulmonary vasculature, and circulating leukocytes accumulate within the lung due to reduced transit rates through the extensive microvasculature net-work. The contributing role of leukocytes in the pathogenesis of lung diseases, further highlights this population as an ideal target for therapeutic intervention of inflammatory lung disease. Given the size and location of the lung leukocyte pool, we designed a novel lung-targeting approach based on modulation of Ad5 vector tropism to myeloid leukocytes. We demonstrate that this leukocyte-targeting approach specifically localizes Ad5 virions and gene transfer to the lung microvasculature and prevents KC uptake and hepatocyte transduction. This strategy resulted in a 165,000-fold enhanced lung-targeting, compared to unmodified Ad5. This work demonstrates that this novel myeloid-targeting approach, for the first time, results in significantly enhanced lung gene transfer and elimination of liver tropism in the absence of further capsid modifications

Thermodynamics for spatially inhomogeneous magnetization and Young-Gibbs measures

We derive thermodynamic functionals for spatially inhomogeneous magnetization on a torus in the context of an Ising spin lattice model. We calculate the corresponding free energy and pressure (by applying an appropriate external field using a quadratic Kac potential) and show that they are related via a modified Legendre transform. The local properties of the infinite volume Gibbs measure, related to whether a macroscopic configuration is realized as a homogeneous state or as a mixture of pure states, are also studied by constructing the corresponding Young-Gibbs measures