12,672 research outputs found
Evidence that the degree of band 3 phosphorylation modulates human erythrocytes nitric oxide efflux – in vitro model of hyperfibrinogenemia
© 2011 – IOS Press and the authors. All rights reservedRecent evidence has shown that plasma fibrinogen, a major cardiovascular risk factor, interacts with the erythrocyte membrane and acts to influence blood flow via erythrocyte nitric oxide (NO) modulation. In the present pioneer in-vitro study, whole blood samples were harvested from healthy subjects and aliquots were incubated in the absence (control aliquots) and presence of fibrinogen at different degrees of band 3 phosphorylation, and the levels of NO, nitrite, nitrate and S-nitroglutathione (GSNO) were determined.
Hyperfibrinogenemia interferes with erythrocyte NO mobilization without changing its efflux in a way that seems to be dependent of the degree of band 3 phosphorylation. In presence of higher fibrinogen concentrations the NO efflux is reinforced when band 3 is phosphorylated (p < 0.001). Higher levels of nitrite, nitrate and GSNO were documented (p < 0.05). However, the mechanisms by which fibrinogen signalling modulates erythrocyte function remain to be clarified and are currently under study. These conditions may be considered an approach to be followed in blood storage for transfusions.This study was supported by grants from the FCT - Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (project reference PTDC/SAU-OSM/73449/2006
Semiclassical Evolution of Dissipative Markovian Systems
A semiclassical approximation for an evolving density operator, driven by a
"closed" hamiltonian operator and "open" markovian Lindblad operators, is
obtained. The theory is based on the chord function, i.e. the Fourier transform
of the Wigner function. It reduces to an exact solution of the Lindblad master
equation if the hamiltonian operator is a quadratic function and the Lindblad
operators are linear functions of positions and momenta.
Initially, the semiclassical formulae for the case of hermitian Lindblad
operators are reinterpreted in terms of a (real) double phase space, generated
by an appropriate classical double Hamiltonian. An extra "open" term is added
to the double Hamiltonian by the non-hermitian part of the Lindblad operators
in the general case of dissipative markovian evolution. The particular case of
generic hamiltonian operators, but linear dissipative Lindblad operators, is
studied in more detail. A Liouville-type equivariance still holds for the
corresponding classical evolution in double phase, but the centre subspace,
which supports the Wigner function, is compressed, along with expansion of its
conjugate subspace, which supports the chord function.
Decoherence narrows the relevant region of double phase space to the
neighborhood of a caustic for both the Wigner function and the chord function.
This difficulty is avoided by a propagator in a mixed representation, so that a
further "small-chord" approximation leads to a simple generalization of the
quadratic theory for evolving Wigner functions.Comment: 33 pages - accepted to J. Phys.
Reflectance spectrometry of rocks from the comstock lode (Virginia City, Nevada, USA) and its comparison with X-ray diffraction
This paper presents the results of mineralogical analysis of hydrothermal altered rocks from the Comstock Lode, near Virginia City, Nevada, USA, using two different techniques: reflectance spectrometry and X-ray diffraction. These results are discussed based on their quickness, accuracy and low costs. The applicability to mineral mapping using high spectral resolution remote sensing images is also briefly discussed. Comparison of the results obtained for both techniques have a good degree of correlation, showing that reflectance spectrometry represents an expedite, simple and relatively inexpensive technique, capable of mapping numerous minerals in the field or in laboratory.Este trabalho apresenta resultados de análises mineralógicas de rochas com alteração hidrotermal do Lode de Comstock, próximo a Virgínia City, Estado de Nevada, EUA, utilizando duas diferentes técnicas: espectrometria de reflexão e difração de raio-X. Os resultados são discutidos em função de sua rapidez e facilidade de obtenção e acuracidade. Discute-se ainda, brevemente, sua aplicabilidade ao mapeamento mineral utilizando imagens de sensoriamento remoto com alta resolução espectral. A título de ilustração, apresenta-se uma imagem TM-Landsat da região de estudo, na qual pode-se observar a característica resposta das áreas alteradas hidrotermalmente. A comparação dos resultados obtidos com as duas técnicas apresentou um razoável grau de correlação, mostrando que a espectrometria é uma ferramenta expedita, simples, relativamente barata e capaz de identificar no campo ou em laboratório minerais de interesse na prospecção de áreas com alteração hidrotermal
Resistivity of non-Fermi liquid U2Pt2In under pressure
Non-Fermi liquid behaviour in single-crystalline U2Pt2In has been studied by
means of resistivity experiments (I||c) under hydrostatic pressure (P<1.5 GPa).
At ambient pressure the resistivity rho(T) follows a power law rho~T^alpha with
alpha~0.5. Upon applying pressure alpha increases. For P>1 GPa a minimum
develops in rho(T). A study of the field dependence of the minimum confirms its
magnetic origin. The ratio c/a is proposed as the effective control parameter,
rather than the unit cell volume.Comment: 5 pages (incl. 2 figures), submitted to SCES'99, Nagan
Teleportation of entangled states without Bell-state measurement
In a recent paper [Phys. Rev. A 70, 025803 (2004)] we presented a scheme to
teleport an entanglement of zero- and one-photon states from a bimodal cavity
to another one, with 100% success probability. Here, inspired on recent results
in the literature, we have modified our previous proposal to teleport the same
entangled state without using Bell-state measurements. For comparison, the time
spent, the fidelity, and the success probability for this teleportation are
considered.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, published in Phys. Rev. A 72, 045802 (2005
Spin-glass behaviour on random lattices
The ground-state phase diagram of an Ising spin-glass model on a random graph
with an arbitrary fraction of ferromagnetic interactions is analysed in the
presence of an external field. Using the replica method, and performing an
analysis of stability of the replica-symmetric solution, it is shown that
, correponding to an unbiased spin glass, is a singular point in the
phase diagram, separating a region with a spin-glass phase () from a
region with spin-glass, ferromagnetic, mixed, and paramagnetic phases
()
Decoherence of Semiclassical Wigner Functions
The Lindblad equation governs general markovian evolution of the density
operator in an open quantum system. An expression for the rate of change of the
Wigner function as a sum of integrals is one of the forms of the Weyl
representation for this equation. The semiclassical description of the Wigner
function in terms of chords, each with its classically defined amplitude and
phase, is thus inserted in the integrals, which leads to an explicit
differential equation for the Wigner function. All the Lindblad operators are
assumed to be represented by smooth phase space functions corresponding to
classical variables. In the case that these are real, representing hermitian
operators, the semiclassical Lindblad equation can be integrated. There results
a simple extension of the unitary evolution of the semiclassical Wigner
function, which does not affect the phase of each chord contribution, while
dampening its amplitude. This decreases exponentially, as governed by the time
integral of the square difference of the Lindblad functions along the classical
trajectories of both tips of each chord. The decay of the amplitudes is shown
to imply diffusion in energy for initial states that are nearly pure.
Projecting the Wigner function onto an orthogonal position or momentum basis,
the dampening of long chords emerges as the exponential decay of off-diagonal
elements of the density matrix.Comment: 23 pg, 2 fi
Duality between quantum and classical dynamics for integrable billiards
We establish a duality between the quantum wave vector spectrum and the
eigenmodes of the classical Liouvillian dynamics for integrable billiards.
Signatures of the classical eigenmodes appear as peaks in the correlation
function of the quantum wave vector spectrum. A semiclassical derivation and
numerical calculations are presented in support of the results. These classical
eigenmodes can be observed in physical experiments through the auto-correlation
of the transmission coefficient of waves in quantum billiards. Exact classical
trace formulas of the resolvent are derived for the rectangle, equilateral
triangle, and circle billiards. We also establish a correspondence between the
classical periodic orbit length spectrum and the quantum spectrum for
integrable polygonal billiards.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure
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