4,048 research outputs found
Entangled symmetric states of N qubits with all positive partial transpositions
From both theoretical and experimental points of view symmetric states
constitute an important class of multipartite states. Still, entanglement
properties of these states, in particular those with positive partial
transposition (PPT), lack a systematic study. Aiming at filling in this gap, we
have recently affirmatively answered the open question of existence of
four-qubit entangled symmetric states with positive partial transposition and
thoroughly characterized entanglement properties of such states [J. Tura et
al., Phys. Rev. A 85, 060302(R) (2012)] With the present contribution we
continue on characterizing PPT entangled symmetric states. On the one hand, we
present all the results of our previous work in a detailed way. On the other
hand, we generalize them to systems consisting of arbitrary number of qubits.
In particular, we provide criteria for separability of such states formulated
in terms of their ranks. Interestingly, for most of the cases, the symmetric
states are either separable or typically separable. Then, edge states in these
systems are studied, showing in particular that to characterize generic PPT
entangled states with four and five qubits, it is enough to study only those
that assume few (respectively, two and three) specific configurations of ranks.
Finally, we numerically search for extremal PPT entangled states in such
systems consisting of up to 23 qubits. One can clearly notice regularity behind
the ranks of such extremal states, and, in particular, for systems composed of
odd number of qubits we find a single configuration of ranks for which there
are extremal states.Comment: 16 pages, typos corrected, some other improvements, extension of
arXiv:1203.371
Symmetric mixed states of qubits: local unitary stabilizers and entanglement classes
We classify, up to local unitary equivalence, local unitary stabilizer Lie
algebras for symmetric mixed states into six classes. These include the
stabilizer types of the Werner states, the GHZ state and its generalizations,
and Dicke states. For all but the zero algebra, we classify entanglement types
(local unitary equivalence classes) of symmetric mixed states that have those
stabilizers. We make use of the identification of symmetric density matrices
with polynomials in three variables with real coefficients and apply the
representation theory of SO(3) on this space of polynomials.Comment: 10 pages, 1 table, title change and minor clarifications for
published versio
Entanglement classes of symmetric Werner states
The symmetric Werner states for qubits, important in the study of quantum
nonlocality and useful for applications in quantum information, have a
surprisingly simple and elegant structure in terms of tensor products of Pauli
matrices. Further, each of these states forms a unique local unitary
equivalence class, that is, no two of these states are interconvertible by
local unitary operations.Comment: 4 pages, 1 table, additional references in version 2, revised
abstract and introduction in version 3, small clarifications for published
version in version
Four-qubit entangled symmetric states with positive partial transpositions
We solve the open question of the existence of four-qubit entangled symmetric
states with positive partial transpositions (PPT states). We reach this goal
with two different approaches. First, we propose a
half-analytical-half-numerical method that allows to construct multipartite PPT
entangled symmetric states (PPTESS) from the qubit-qudit PPT entangled states.
Second, we adapt the algorithm allowing to search for extremal elements in the
convex set of bipartite PPT states [J. M. Leinaas, J. Myrheim, and E. Ovrum,
Phys. Rev. A 76, 034304 (2007)] to the multipartite scenario. With its aid we
search for extremal four-qubit PPTESS and show that generically they have ranks
(5,7,8). Finally, we provide an exhaustive characterization of these states
with respect to their separability properties.Comment: 5+4 pages, improved version, title slightly modifie
Cell type-specific plasticity of striatal projection neurons in parkinsonism and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia
The striatum is widely viewed as the fulcrum of pathophysiology in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and L-DOPA-induced dyskinesia (LID). In these disease states, the balance in activity of striatal direct pathway spiny projection neurons (dSPNs) and indirect pathway spiny projection neurons (iSPNs) is disrupted, leading to aberrant action selection. However, it is unclear whether countervailing mechanisms are engaged in these states. Here we report that iSPN intrinsic excitability and excitatory corticostriatal synaptic connectivity were lower in PD models than normal; ​L-DOPA treatment restored these properties. Conversely, dSPN intrinsic excitability was elevated in tissue from PD models and suppressed in LID models. Although the synaptic connectivity of dSPNs did not change in PD models, it fell with ​L-DOPA treatment. In neither case, however, was the strength of corticostriatal connections globally scaled. Thus, SPNs manifested homeostatic adaptations in intrinsic excitability and in the number but not strength of excitatory corticostriatal synapses
Characterization of function of the GlgA2 glycogen/starch synthase in Cyanobacterium sp. Clg1 highlights convergent evolution of glycogen metabolism into starch granule aggregation
At variance with the starch-accumulating plants and most of the glycogen-accumulating cyanobacteria, Cyanobacterium sp. CLg1 synthesizes both glycogen and starch. We now report the selection of a starchless mutant of this cyanobacterium that retains wild-type amounts of glycogen. Unlike other mutants of this type found in plants and cyanobacteria, this mutant proved to be selectively defective for one of the two types of glycogen/starch synthase: GlgA2. This enzyme is phylogenetically related to the previously reported SSIII/SSIV starch synthase that is thought to be involved in starch granule seeding in plants. This suggests that, in addition to the selective polysaccharide debranching demonstrated to be responsible for starch rather than glycogen synthesis, the nature and properties of the elongation enzyme define a novel determinant of starch versus glycogen accumulation. We show that the phylogenies of GlgA2 and of 16S ribosomal RNA display significant congruence. This suggests that this enzyme evolved together with cyanobacteria when they diversified over 2 billion years ago. However, cyanobacteria can be ruled out as direct progenitors of the SSIII/SSIV ancestral gene found in Archaeplastida. Hence, both cyanobacteria and plants recruited similar enzymes independently to perform analogous tasks, further emphasizing the importance of convergent evolution in the appearance of starch from a preexisting glycogen metabolism network.Peer Reviewe
Validation of the clinical consensus recommendations on the management of fracture risk in postmenopausal women with type 2 diabetes
Background and aims: Bone fragility is recognized as a complication of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the fracture risk in T2D is underestimated using the classical assessment tools. An expert panel suggested the diagnostic approaches for the detection of T2D patients worthy of bone-active treatment. The aim of the study was to apply these algorithms to a cohort of T2D women to validate them in clinical practice. Methods and results: The presence of T2D-specific fracture risk factors (T2D ≥ 10 years, ≥1 T2D complications, insulin or thiazolidinedione use, poor glycaemic control) was assessed at baseline in 107 postmenopausal T2D women. In all patients at baseline and in 34 patients after a median follow-up of 60.2 months we retrospectively evaluated bone mineral density and clinical and morphometric vertebral fractures. No patient was treated with bone-active drug. Following the protocols, 34 (31.8%) and 73 (68.2%) patients would have been pharmacologically and conservatively treated, respectively. Among 49 patients without both clinical fractures and major T2D-related risk factors, who would have been, therefore, conservatively followed-up without vertebral fracture assessment, only one showed a prevalent vertebral fracture (sensitivity 90%, negative predictive value 98%). The two patients who experienced an incident fracture would have been pharmacologically treated at baseline. Conclusions: The clinical consensus recommendations showed a very good sensitivity in identifying T2D postmenopausal women at high fracture risk. Among those with treatment indication as many as 13% of patients experienced an incident fracture, and, conversely, among those without treatment indication no incident fractures were observed
RNA editing signature during myeloid leukemia cell differentiation
Adenosine deaminases acting on RNA (ADARs) are key proteins for hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and for survival of differentiating progenitor cells. However, their specific role in myeloid cell maturation has been poorly investigated. Here we show that ADAR1 is present at basal level in the primary myeloid leukemia cells obtained from patients at diagnosis as well as in myeloid U-937 and THP1 cell lines and its expression correlates with the editing levels. Upon phorbol-myristate acetate or Vitamin D3/granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-driven differentiation, both ADAR1 and ADAR2 enzymes are upregulated, with a concomitant global increase of A-to-I RNA editing. ADAR1 silencing caused an editing decrease at specific ADAR1 target genes, without, however, interfering with cell differentiation or with ADAR2 activity. Remarkably, ADAR2 is absent in the undifferentiated cell stage, due to its elimination through the ubiquitin–proteasome pathway, being strongly upregulated at the end of the differentiation process. Of note, peripheral blood monocytes display editing events at the selected targets similar to those found in differentiated cell lines. Taken together, the data indicate that ADAR enzymes play important and distinct roles in myeloid cells
Measurement of Branching Fractions and Rate Asymmetries in the Rare Decays B -> K(*) l+ l-
In a sample of 471 million BB events collected with the BABAR detector at the
PEP-II e+e- collider we study the rare decays B -> K(*) l+ l-, where l+ l- is
either e+e- or mu+mu-. We report results on partial branching fractions and
isospin asymmetries in seven bins of di-lepton mass-squared. We further present
CP and lepton-flavor asymmetries for di-lepton masses below and above the J/psi
resonance. We find no evidence for CP or lepton-flavor violation. The partial
branching fractions and isospin asymmetries are consistent with the Standard
Model predictions and with results from other experiments.Comment: 16 pages, 14 figures, accepted by Phys. Rev.
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