Electric field induced strong localization of electrons on solid hydrogen surface: possible applications to quantum computing

Two-dimensional electron system on the liquid helium surface is one of the leading candidates for constructing large analog quantum computers (P.M. Platzman and M.I. Dykman, Science 284, 1967 (1999)). Similar electron systems on the surfaces of solid hydrogen or solid neon may have some important advantages with respect to electrons on liquid helium in quantum computing applications, such as larger state separation $\Delta E$, absence of propagating capillary waves (or ripplons), smaller vapor pressure, etc. As a result, it may operate at higher temperatures. Surface roughness is the main hurdle to overcome in building a realistic quantum computer using these states. Electric field induced strong localization of surface electrons is shown to be a convenient tool to characterize surface roughness.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

On the possibility to supercool molecular hydrogen down to superfluid transition

Recent calculations by Vorobev and Malyshenko (JETP Letters, 71, 39, 2000) show that molecular hydrogen may stay liquid and superfluid in strong electric fields of the order of $4\times 10^7 V/cm$. I demonstrate that strong local electric fields of similar magnitude exist beneath a two-dimensional layer of electrons localized in the image potential above the surface of solid hydrogen. Even stronger local fields exist around charged particles (ions or electrons) if surface or bulk of a solid hydrogen crystal is statically charged. Measurements of the frequency shift of the $1 \to 2$ photoresonance transition in the spectrum of two-dimensional layer of electrons above positively or negatively charged solid hydrogen surface performed in the temperature range 7 - 13.8 K support the prediction of electric field induced surface melting. The range of surface charge density necessary to stabilize the liquid phase of molecular hydrogen at the temperature of superfluid transition is estimated.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Volume-Preserving Diffeomorphisms' versus Local Gauge Symmetry

We present a new form of Quantum Electrodynamics where the photons are composites made out of zero-dimensional scalar ``primitives''. The r\^{o}le of the local gauge symmetry is taken over by an {\em infinite-dimensional global Noether symmetry} -- the group of volume-preserving (symplectic) diffeomorphisms of the target space of the scalar primitives. Similar construction is carried out for higher antisymmetric tensor gauge theories. Solutions of Maxwell's equations are automatically solutions of the new system. However, the latter possesses additional non-Maxwell solutions which display some interesting new effects: (a) a magneto-hydrodynamical analogy, (b) absence of electromagnetic self-energy for electron plane wave solutions, and (c) gauge invariant photon mass generation, where the generated mass is arbitrary.Comment: LaTeX209, 11+1 page

Nonlinear two-level dynamics of quantum time crystals

A time crystal is a macroscopic quantum system in periodic motion in its ground state. In our experiments, two coupled time crystals consisting of spin-wave quasiparticles (magnons) form a macroscopic two-level system. The two levels evolve in time as determined intrinsically by a nonlinear feedback, allowing us to construct spontaneous two-level dynamics. In the course of a level crossing, magnons move from the ground level to the excited level driven by the Landau-Zener effect, combined with Rabi population oscillations. We demonstrate that magnon time crystals allow access to every aspect and detail of quantum-coherent interactions in a single run of the experiment. Our work opens an outlook for the detection of surface-bound Majorana fermions in the underlying superfluid system, and invites technological exploitation of coherent magnon phenomena – potentially even at room temperature

Effects of radiation and manganese oxide nanoparticles on human glioblastoma cell line U-87 MG glycolysis

Gliomas are the most common type of malignant brain tumors. Standard treatment of gliomas consists of surgical excision of the tumor with subsequent chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Tumor cells are characterized by rapid division with an increased uptake of glucose and its catabolism during glycolysis. To maintain rapid division, the level of glycolysis of the tumor cell is significantly increased, compared with normal cells. It is known that some nanoparticles (NP) have the property of accumulating in tumors. In particular, NPs of manganese oxide can penetrate into the brain and, with considerable accumulation, cause toxic effects. These facts served as a prerequisite for studying the effects of manganese oxide NPs on the viability of glioma cells. The purpose of this work was to study the effects of manganese oxide NPs, as well as their combination with gamma irradiation on the glycolysis of glioma cells. The cells were irradiated using the research radiobiological gamma-installation IGUR-1 based on 137Cs. The level of cell glycolysis was determined using the standard glycolytic stress test on a Seahorse XFp platform. Cell viability was determined using the ViaCount reagent staining of living and dead cells. Their count was performed using flow cytometry. We showed that the glycolysis of U-87 MG glioma cells was significantly reduced when incubated for 48 hours with manganese oxide NPs. Irradiation in combination with NPs or alone did not have significant effects on glycolysis of gliomas. Glioma incubation with manganese oxide NPs for 72 hours led to a significant reduction in cell viability. This study may be useful for the development of new therapies and diagnosis of gliomas

Circulating DNA-markers in lung cancer: changes in retrotrasposons methylation status in response therapy and during the post-treatment follow-up

Malignant cell transformation is accompanied by two processes of DNA methylation changes

Dynamics of LINE-1 retrotransposon methylation levels in circulating DNA from lung cancer patients undergoing antitumor therapy

Malignant cell transformation is accompanied with abnormal DNA methylation, such as the hypermethylation of certain gene promoters and hypomethylation of retrotransposons. In particular, the hypomethylation of the human-specific family of LINE-1 retrotransposons was observed in lung cancer tissues. It is also known that the circulating DNA (cirDNA) of blood plasma and cell-surface-bound circulating DNA (csb-cirDNA) of cancer patients accumulate tumor-specific aberrantly methylated DNA fragments, which are currently considered to be valuable cancer markers. This work compares LINE-1 retrotransposon methylation patterns in cirDNA of 16 lung cancer patients before and after treatment. CirDNA was isolated from blood plasma, and csb-cirDNA fractions were obtained by successive elution with EDTA-containing phosphate buffered saline and trypsin. Concentrations of methylated LINE-1 region 1 copies (LINE-1-met) were assayed by real-time methylation-specific PCR. LINE-1 methylation levels were normalized to the concentration of LINE-1 region 2, which was independent of the methylation status (LINE-1-Ind). The concentrations of LINE-1-met and LINE-1-Ind in csb-cirDNA of lung cancer patients exhibited correlations before treatment (r = 0.54), after chemotherapy (r = 0.72), and after surgery (r = 0.83) (P 0.05, respectively). These results suggest a need for the further investigation of dynamic changes in levels of LINE-1 methylation depending on the antitumor therapy

Lidar Based Emissions Measurement at the Whole Facility Scale: Method and Error Analysis

Particulate emissions from agricultural sources vary from dust created by operations and animal movement to the fine secondary particulates generated from ammonia and other emitted gases. The development of reliable facility emission data using point sampling methods designed to characterize regional, well-mixed aerosols are challenged by changing wind directions, disrupted flow fields caused by structures, varied surface temperatures, and the episodic nature of the sources found at these facilities. We describe a three-wavelength lidar-based method, which, when added to a standard point sampler array, provides unambiguous measurement and characterization of the particulate emissions from agricultural production operations in near real time. Point-sampled data are used to provide the aerosol characterization needed for the particle concentration and size fraction calibration, while the lidar provides 3D mapping of particulate concentrations entering, around, and leaving the facility. Differences between downwind and upwind measurements provide an integrated aerosol concentration profile, which, when multiplied by the wind speed profile, produces the facility source flux. This approach assumes only conservation of mass, eliminating reliance on boundary layer theory. We describe the method, examine measurement error, and demonstrate the approach using data collected over a range of agricultural operations, including a swine grow-finish operation, an almond harvest, and a cotton gin emission study

Conducting and automating the water Morris maze test in SPF conditions

The water Morris maze is the basic test to study the spatial ability to learn as well as spatial memory in laboratory rodents. It is a part of a series of tests necessary for behavioral phenotyping of mutant and transgenic mice. At the same time, conducting this test in SPF conditions must comply with very strict regulations concerning pathogen control. A white animal on the surface of whitened water is low contrast and this does not allow the animal to be traced automatically, which represents yet another major problem. A unique installation based on EthoStudio has been developed at the Institute of Cytology and Genetics SB RAS and the Institute of Automation and Electrometry SB RAS. This installation automates the process of tracing mice of any coat color in SPF conditions. This includes a setup to install a plastic water reservoir (110×40 cm), a digital camera and a light source. Water to fill the reservoir was sterilized using a Van Erp Blue Lagoon UV-C Tech 15000 ultraviolet decontaminator. The image of an animal was processed in a frame-by-frame fashion using the EthoStudio program, with the following parameters calculated: latent release time, route covered, cumulative distance to the platform and the time spent in the reservoir sectors. With this installation, we were able to study the spatial ability to learn and spatial memory in mice of the C57BL/6 strain and in mice of the C57BL/6/ Kaiso strain developed on the C57BL/6 background, with the gene encoding the methyl-DNA binding Kaiso protein knocked-out. It has been demonstrated that mice of these strains are able to learn to find the platform in the water Morris maze and have the location of the platform in their memory for at least the next four days