460 research outputs found
Change in the distribution of a member of the strand line community: the seaweed fly (Diptera: Coelopidae)
1. Coastal organisms are predicted to be particularly susceptible to the impact of global warming. In this study the distribution and relative abundance of two coastal invertebrates, Coelopa frigida (Fabricius) and C. pilipes are investigated. 2. Coelopa pilipes has a more southerly distribution than C. frigida , and prefers a warmer climate. Coelopa pilipes is less resistant to sub-zero temperatures than C. frigida and its northerly distribution is probably limited by cold winter days. 3. The most recent distribution map of C. frigida and C. pilipes in northern Europe was published a decade ago and showed the northerly extent of the distribution of C. pilipes reaching the north coast of mainland Scotland but its complete absence from the Western and Northern Isles. 4. C. pilipes has now spread throughout the Western Isles and the Orkney Islands but is still absent from Shetland. There has also been an increase in the relative frequency of C. pilipes at sites harbouring coelopids on the British mainland. A similar pattern of distribution change along the west coast of Sweden is reported. 5. It is proposed that these changes have occurred primarily as a result of global warming and in particular due to the recent increase in winter temperatures. A number of other indirect effects may have also contributed to these changes, including a probable change in macroalgae distribution. The implications of these changes for the wrack bed ecosystem and at higher trophic levels are considered
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Coherent control of electron spin qubits in silicon using a global field
Silicon spin qubits promise to leverage the extraordinary progress in silicon nanoelectronic device fabrication over the past half century to deliver large-scale quantum processors. Despite the scalability advantage of using silicon technology, realising a quantum computer with the millions of qubits required to run some of the most demanding quantum algorithms poses several outstanding challenges, including how to control many qubits simultaneously. Recently, compact 3D microwave dielectric resonators were proposed as a way to deliver the magnetic fields for spin qubit control across an entire quantum chip using only a single microwave source. Although spin resonance of individual electrons in the globally applied microwave field was demonstrated, the spins were controlled incoherently. Here we report coherent Rabi oscillations of single electron spin qubits in a planar SiMOS quantum dot device using a global magnetic field generated off-chip. The observation of coherent qubit control driven by a dielectric resonator establishes a credible pathway to achieving large-scale control in a spin-based quantum computer
Defects and glassy dynamics in solid He-4: Perspectives and current status
We review the anomalous behavior of solid He-4 at low temperatures with
particular attention to the role of structural defects present in solid. The
discussion centers around the possible role of two level systems and structural
glassy components for inducing the observed anomalies. We propose that the
origin of glassy behavior is due to the dynamics of defects like dislocations
formed in He-4. Within the developed framework of glassy components in a solid,
we give a summary of the results and predictions for the effects that cover the
mechanical, thermodynamic, viscoelastic, and electro-elastic contributions of
the glassy response of solid He-4. Our proposed glass model for solid He-4 has
several implications: (1) The anomalous properties of He-4 can be accounted for
by allowing defects to freeze out at lowest temperatures. The dynamics of solid
He-4 is governed by glasslike (glassy) relaxation processes and the
distribution of relaxation times varies significantly between different
torsional oscillator, shear modulus, and dielectric function experiments. (2)
Any defect freeze-out will be accompanied by thermodynamic signatures
consistent with entropy contributions from defects. It follows that such
entropy contribution is much smaller than the required superfluid fraction, yet
it is sufficient to account for excess entropy at lowest temperatures. (3) We
predict a Cole-Cole type relation between the real and imaginary part of the
response functions for rotational and planar shear that is occurring due to the
dynamics of defects. Similar results apply for other response functions. (4)
Using the framework of glassy dynamics, we predict low-frequency yet to be
measured electro-elastic features in defect rich He-4 crystals. These
predictions allow one to directly test the ideas and very presence of glassy
contributions in He-4.Comment: 33 pages, 13 figure
Characterization of halogen-bridged binuclear metal complexes as hybridized two-band materials
We study the electronic structure of halogen-bridged binuclear metal (MMX)
complexes with a two-band Peierls-Hubbard model. Based on a symmetry argument,
various density-wave states are derived and characterized. The ground-state
phase diagram is drawn within the Hartree-Fock approximation, while the thermal
behavior is investigated using a quantum Monte Carlo method. All the
calculations conclude that a typical MMX compound Pt_2(CH_3CS_2)_4I should
indeed be regarded as a d-p-hybridized two-band material, where the oxidation
of the halogen ions must be observed even in the ground state, whereas another
MMX family (NH_4)_4[Pt_2(P_2O_5H_2)_4X] may be treated as single-band
materials.Comment: 16 pages, 11 figures embedded, to be published in Phys. Rev.
The induction of behavioural sensitization is associated with cocaine-induced structural plasticity in the core (but not shell) of the nucleus accumbens
Repeated exposure to cocaine increases the density of dendritic spines on medium spiny neurons in the nucleus accumbens (Acb) and pyramidal cells in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). To determine if this is associated with the development of psychomotor sensitization, rats were given daily i.p. injections of 15âmg/kg of cocaine (or saline) for 8âdays, either in their home cage (which failed to induce significant psychomotor sensitization) or in a distinct and relatively novel test cage (which induced robust psychomotor sensitization). Their brains were obtained 2âweeks after the last injection and processed for GolgiâCox staining. In the Acb core (AcbC) cocaine treatment increased spine density only in the group that developed psychomotor sensitization (i.e. in the Novel but not Home group), and there was a significant positive correlation between the degree of psychomotor sensitization and spine density. In the Acb shell (AcbS) cocaine increased spine density to the same extent in both groups; i.e. independent of psychomotor sensitization. In the mPFC cocaine increased spine density in both groups, but to a significantly greater extent in the Novel group. Furthermore, when rats were treated at Home with a higher dose of cocaine (30âmg/kg), cocaine now induced psychomotor sensitization in this context, and also increased spine density in the AcbC. Thus, the context in which cocaine is experienced influences its ability to reorganize patterns of synaptic connectivity in the Acb and mPFC, and the induction of psychomotor sensitization is associated with structural plasticity in the AcbC and mPFC, but not the AcbS.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/73532/1/j.1460-9568.2004.03612.x.pd
Entanglement, Bell Inequalities and Decoherence in Particle Physics
We demonstrate the relevance of entanglement, Bell inequalities and
decoherence in particle physics. In particular, we study in detail the features
of the ``strange'' system as an example of entangled
meson--antimeson systems. The analogies and differences to entangled spin--1/2
or photon systems are worked, the effects of a unitary time evolution of the
meson system is demonstrated explicitly. After an introduction we present
several types of Bell inequalities and show a remarkable connection to CP
violation. We investigate the stability of entangled quantum systems pursuing
the question how possible decoherence might arise due to the interaction of the
system with its ``environment''. The decoherence is strikingly connected to the
entanglement loss of common entanglement measures. Finally, some outlook of the
field is presented.Comment: Lectures given at Quantum Coherence in Matter: from Quarks to Solids,
42. Internationale Universit\"atswochen f\"ur Theoretische Physik,
Schladming, Austria, Feb. 28 -- March 6, 2004, submitted to Lecture Notes in
Physics, Springer Verlag, 45 page
Identification and molecular mechanisms of the rapid tonicity-induced relocalization of the aquaporin 4 channel
The aquaporin family of integral membrane proteins is comprised of channels that mediate cellular water flow. Aquaporin 4 (AQP4) is highly expressed in the glial cells of the central nervous system and facilitates the osmotically-driven pathological brain swelling associated with stroke and traumatic brain injury. Here we show that AQP4 cell surface expression can be rapidly and reversibly regulated in response to changes of tonicity in primary cortical rat astrocytes and in transfected HEK293 cells. The translocation mechanism involves protein kinase A (PKA) activation, influx of extracellular calcium and activation of calmodulin. We identify five putative PKA phosphorylation sites and use site-directed mutagenesis to show that only phosphorylation at one of these sites, serine- 276, is necessary for the translocation response. We discuss our findings in the context of the identification of new therapeutic approaches to treating brain oedema
Large enhancement of deuteron polarization with frequency modulated microwaves
We report a large enhancement of 1.7 in deuteron polarization up to values of
0.6 due to frequency modulation of the polarizing microwaves in a two liters
polarized target using the method of dynamic nuclear polarization. This target
was used during a deep inelastic polarized muon-deuteron scattering experiment
at CERN. Measurements of the electron paramagnetic resonance absorption spectra
show that frequency modulation gives rise to additional microwave absorption in
the spectral wings. Although these results are not understood theoretically,
they may provide a useful testing ground for the deeper understanding of
dynamic nuclear polarization.Comment: 10 pages, including the figures coming in uuencoded compressed tar
files in poltar.uu, which also brings cernart.sty and crna12.sty files neede
Exact Theorems Concerning CP and CPT Violations in C=-1 Entangled State of Pseudoscalar Neutral Mesons
Neutral pseudoscalar mesons in an entangled or Einstein-Podolsky-Rosen state
are routinely produced in phi and B factories. Based on the peculiar properties
of an entangled state, we present some general exact theorems about parameters
characterizing CP and CPT violations, by using various asymmetries defined for
the correlated decays of the two entangled mesons, which are rigorously
calculated.Comment: 10 pages, published versio
Tracking Virus-Specific CD4+ T Cells during and after Acute Hepatitis C Virus Infection
CD4+ T cell help is critical in maintaining antiviral immune responses and such help has been shown to be sustained in acute resolving hepatitis C. In contrast, in evolving chronic hepatitis C CD4+ T cell helper responses appear to be absent or short-lived, using functional assays.
Here we used a novel HLA-DR1 tetramer containing a highly targeted CD4+ T cell epitope from the hepatitis C virus non-structural protein 4 to track number and phenotype of hepatitis C virus specific CD4+ T cells in a cohort of seven HLA-DR1 positive patients with acute hepatitis C in comparison to patients with chronic or resolved hepatitis C. We observed peptide-specific T cells in all seven patients with acute hepatitis C regardless of outcome at frequencies up to 0.65% of CD4+ T cells. Among patients who transiently controlled virus replication we observed loss of function, and/or physical deletion of tetramer+ CD4+ T cells before viral recrudescence. In some patients with chronic hepatitis C very low numbers of tetramer+ cells were detectable in peripheral blood, compared to robust responses detected in spontaneous resolvers. Importantly we did not observe escape mutations in this key CD4+ T cell epitope in patients with evolving chronic hepatitis C.
During acute hepatitis C a CD4+ T cell response against this epitope is readily induced in most, if not all, HLA-DR1+ patients. This antiviral T cell population becomes functionally impaired or is deleted early in the course of disease in those where viremia persists
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