369 research outputs found
An experimental approach for investigating many-body phenomena in Rydberg-interacting quantum systems
Recent developments in the study of ultracold Rydberg gases demand an
advanced level of experimental sophistication, in which high atomic and optical
densities must be combined with excellent control of external fields and
sensitive Rydberg atom detection. We describe a tailored experimental system
used to produce and study Rydberg-interacting atoms excited from dense
ultracold atomic gases. The experiment has been optimized for fast duty cycles
using a high flux cold atom source and a three beam optical dipole trap. The
latter enables tuning of the atomic density and temperature over several orders
of magnitude, all the way to the Bose-Einstein condensation transition. An
electrode structure surrounding the atoms allows for precise control over
electric fields and single-particle sensitive field ionization detection of
Rydberg atoms. We review two experiments which highlight the influence of
strong Rydberg--Rydberg interactions on different many-body systems. First, the
Rydberg blockade effect is used to pre-structure an atomic gas prior to its
spontaneous evolution into an ultracold plasma. Second, hybrid states of
photons and atoms called dark-state polaritons are studied. By looking at the
statistical distribution of Rydberg excited atoms we reveal correlations
between dark-state polaritons. These experiments will ultimately provide a
deeper understanding of many-body phenomena in strongly-interacting regimes,
including the study of strongly-coupled plasmas and interfaces between atoms
and light at the quantum level.Comment: 14 pages, 11 figures; submitted to a special issue of 'Frontiers of
Physics' dedicated to 'Quantum Foundation and Technology: Frontiers and
Future
Probabilistic seismic hazard map for Bulgaria as a basis for a new building code
A seismic hazard map proposed as part of a new building code for Bulgaria is presented here on basis of the recommendations in EUROCODE 8. <P> Seismic source zones within an area of about 200 km around Bulgaria were constructed considering seismicity, neotectonic and geological development. The most time consuming work was to establish a homogeneous earthquake catalogue out of different catalogues. <P> The probabilistic seismic hazard assessment in terms of intensities is performed following Cornell (1968) with the program EQRISK (see McGuire, 1976), modified by us for use of intensities. To cope with the irregular isoseismals of the Vrancea intermediate depth earthquakes a special attenuation factor is introduced (Ardeleanu et al., 2005), using detailed macroseismic maps of three major earthquakes. <P> The final seismic hazard is the combination of both contributions, of zones with crustal earthquakes and of the Vrancea intermediate depth earthquakes zone. Calculations are done for recurrence periods of 95, 475 and 10 000 years
Aktualisierung der Empfehlungen zur standardisierten Diagnostik und Klassifikation von Kaumuskel- und Kiefergelenkschmerzen
Zusammenfassung: Hintergrund: Im Jahre 2000 veröffentlichte der InterdisziplinĂ€re Arbeitskreis fĂŒr Mund- und Gesichtsschmerzen in der Deutschen Gesellschaft zum Studium des Schmerzes Empfehlungen zur Diagnostik und Klassifikation von Patienten mit Schmerzen im Bereich der Kaumuskulatur und/oder Kiefergelenke. Ziele der vorliegenden Publikation sind eine Bestandsaufnahme und Aktualisierung der damals gemachten VorschlĂ€ge. Ergebnisse: Sichtung und Bewertung der nach Veröffentlichung der Empfehlungen erschienenen Fachliteratur (bis Dezember 2005) zeigen, dass sich das zweiachsige Stufenkonzept zur Erfassung somatischer und psychosozialer Parameter orofazialer Schmerzen bewĂ€hrt hat. Einzelne Aspekte der Empfehlungen wurden in Form wissenschaftlicher Belege weiter konkretisiert. Schlussfolgerungen: Die vorgeschlagenen Empfehlungen spiegeln die aktuellen Entwicklungen in der Schmerzmedizin wider. Insbesondere in der ZahnĂ€rzteschaft sollten sie daher eine noch breitere Verankerung finden als bishe
COMPETITION AMONG HOSPITALS AND ITS MEASUREMENT: THEORY AND A CASE STUDY
Our paper provides several insights on the characteristics of the concept of âPoles dâExcellence Ruraleâ (PER) through bilateral comparisons with that of Competitive Pole (CP) and cluster. The concept of PER is a French governmentâ initiative designed for the development of rural areas similar to that of the Competitive Pole. We emphasize important particularities of these concepts by analyzing some of their similarities and major differences.Pole dâExcellence Rurale, Competitive Pole, cluster, rural development
Ferromagnetic Luttinger Liquids
We study weak itinerant ferromagnetism in one-dimensional Fermi systems using
perturbation theory and bosonization. We find that longitudinal spin
fluctuations propagate ballistically with velocity v_m << v_F, where v_F is the
Fermi velocity. This leads to a large anomalous dimension in the spin-channel
and strong algebraic singularities in the single-particle spectral function and
in the transverse structure factor for momentum transfers q ~ 2 Delta/v_F,
where 2 Delta is the exchange splitting.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
The qWR star HD 45166. II. Fundamental stellar parameters and evidence of a latitude-dependent wind
The enigmatic object HD 45166 is a qWR star in a binary system with an
orbital period of 1.596 day, and presents a rich emission-line spectrum in
addition to absorption lines from the companion star (B7 V). As the system
inclination is very small (i=0.77 +- 0.09 deg), HD 45166 is an ideal laboratory
for wind-structure studies. The goal of the present paper is to determine the
fundamental stellar and wind parameters of the qWR star. A radiative transfer
model for the wind and photosphere of the qWR star was calculated using the
non-LTE code CMFGEN. The wind asymmetry was also analyzed using a
recently-developed version of CMFGEN to compute the emerging spectrum in
two-dimensional geometry. The temporal-variance spectrum (TVS) was calculated
for studying the line-profile variations. Abundances, stellar and wind
parameters of the qWR star were obtained. The qWR star has an effective
temperature of Teff=50000 +- 2000 K, a luminosity of log(L/Lsun)=3.75 +- 0.08,
and a corresponding photospheric radius of Rphot=1.00 Rsun. The star is
helium-rich (N(H)/N(He) = 2.0), while the CNO abundances are anomalous when
compared either to solar values, to planetary nebulae, or to WR stars. The
mass-loss rate is Mdot = 2.2 . 10^{-7} Msun/yr, and the wind terminal velocity
is vinf=425 km/s. The comparison between the observed line profiles and models
computed under different latitude-dependent wind densities strongly suggests
the presence of an oblate wind density enhancement, with a density contrast of
at least 8:1 from equator to pole. If a high velocity polar wind is present
(~1200 km/s), the minimum density contrast is reduced to 4:1. The wind
parameters determined are unusual when compared to O-type stars or to typical
WR stars. (abridged)Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in A&
A eta-alpha and A eta-beta peptides impair LTP ex vivo within the low nanomolar range and impact neuronal activity in vivo
Background:
Amyloid precursor protein (APP) processing is central to Alzheimerâs disease (AD) etiology. As early cognitive alterations in AD are strongly correlated to abnormal information processing due to increasing synaptic impairment, it is crucial to characterize how peptides generated through APP cleavage modulate synapse function. We previously described a novel APP processing pathway producing η-secretase-derived peptides (Aη) and revealed that Aηâα, the longest form of Aη produced by η-secretase and α-secretase cleavage, impaired hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) ex vivo and neuronal activity in vivo.
Methods:
With the intention of going beyond this initial observation, we performed a comprehensive analysis to further characterize the effects of both Aη-α and the shorter Aη-ÎČ peptide on hippocampus function using ex vivo field electrophysiology, in vivo multiphoton calcium imaging, and in vivo electrophysiology.
Results:
We demonstrate that both synthetic peptides acutely impair LTP at low nanomolar concentrations ex vivo and reveal the N-terminus to be a primary site of activity. We further show that Aη-ÎČ, like Aηâα, inhibits neuronal activity in vivo and provide confirmation of LTP impairment by Aηâα in vivo.
Conclusions:
These results provide novel insights into the functional role of the recently discovered η-secretase-derived products and suggest that Aη peptides represent important, pathophysiologically relevant, modulators of hippocampal network activity, with profound implications for APP-targeting therapeutic strategies in AD
Monitoring global protein thiol-oxidation and protein S-mycothiolation in Mycobacterium smegmatis under hypochlorite stress.
Hillion M, Bernhardt J, Busche T, et al. Monitoring global protein thiol-oxidation and protein S-mycothiolation in Mycobacterium smegmatis under hypochlorite stress. Sci Rep. 2017;7(1): 1195.Mycothiol (MSH) is the major low molecular weight (LMW) thiol in Actinomycetes. Here, we used shotgun proteomics, OxICAT and RNA-seq transcriptomics to analyse protein S-mycothiolation, reversible thiol-oxidations and their impact on gene expression in Mycobacterium smegmatis under hypochlorite stress. In total, 58 S-mycothiolated proteins were identified under NaOCl stress that are involved in energy metabolism, fatty acid and mycolic acid biosynthesis, protein translation, redox regulation and detoxification. Protein S-mycothiolation was accompanied by MSH depletion in the thiol-metabolome. Quantification of the redox state of 1098 Cys residues using OxICAT revealed that 381 Cys residues (33.6%) showed >10% increased oxidations under NaOCl stress, which overlapped with 40 S-mycothiolated Cys-peptides. The absence of MSH resulted in a higher basal oxidation level of 338 Cys residues (41.1%). The RseA and RshA anti-sigma factors and the Zur and NrdR repressors were identified as NaOCl-sensitive proteins and their oxidation resulted in an up-regulation of the SigH, SigE, Zur and NrdR regulons in the RNA-seq transcriptome. In conclusion, we show here that NaOCl stress causes widespread thiol-oxidation including protein S-mycothiolation resulting in induction of antioxidant defense mechanisms in M. smegmatis. Our results further reveal that MSH is important to maintain the reduced state of protein thiols
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