Nuevos datos bioestratigráficos sobre el Jurásico Superior de la Rama Castellana de la Cordillera Ibérica

La heterocronía de los límites litológicos entre las distintas unidades del Jurásico Superior a ambos lados de la fosa terciaria del valle del Jiloca, puesta de manifiesto por el estudio de los ammonoideos, es interpretada como el resultado de la dinámica diferencial de bloques debida a la acción de este accidente paleogeográfico. El límite Oxfordiense-Kimmeridgiense se situaría probablemente en la parte inferior de la Formación "Rítmica calcárea de Loriguilla" o en su equivalente lateral ("Margas de Frias")

Lasing without population inversion : towards X-ray continuous wave laser emission

This paper is devoted to lasing without population inversion in three and multi-level atomic configurations in interaction with a driving laser. First we discuss the interest and the current state-of-the-art of this phenomenon. Then, the basic physics of lasing without inversion is described in more detail and analyzed in terms of quantum interference between the dressed-states built up by the driving field. In addition, the quantum-jump formalism is used to introduce generalized Einstein B coefficients accounting for stimulated emission and absorption processes in these schemes. As a result,lasing without inversion is explained in terms of non-reciprocity between stimulated emission and absorption coefficients. Likewise, this formalism allows us to analyze lasing without inversion in terms of the quantum Zeno effect. Some particular problems of lasers without inversion are also investigated, such as, laser emission with a driving field of frequency smaller than the one we want to generate without population inversion; lasing without inversion in the absence of an external driving field; and electromagnetically induced transparency as a first step to amplification without inversion. Finally, some dynamical features of these lasers are explored such as the inversionless laser emission in a selfpulsing regime or the generation of giant pulses of laser light.Aquest article de revisió se centra en el fenomen de l'emissió làser sense inversió de població en configuracions atòmiques de tres o més nivells en interacció amb un làser de preparació. En primer lloc, es descriu breument l'interès i l'estat actual de la recerca al voltant d'aquest fenomen. A continuació, es descriu amb detall el fonament físic de l'emissió làser sense inversió i així s'analitza aquest fenomen en termes d'interferència quàntica entre els estats atòmics vestits pel làser de preparació. Paral·lelament, s'utilitza el formalisme dels salts quàntics per introduir coeficients B d'Einstein generalitzats per a l'emissió estimulada i l'absorció en aquests esquemes i com a consequència, l'emissió làser sense inversió de població s'explica en termes d'una no-reciprocitat en els coeficients per a l'emissió estimulada i l'absorció. Així mateix, aquest formalisme permet analitzar l'emissió làser sense inversió en termes de l'efecte Zenó quàntic. A més a més, s'investiguen alguns problemes concrets dels làsers sense inversió de població com, per exemple i l'emissió làser sense inversió amb un camp làser de preparació de freqüència menor que la del generat sense inversió, l'emissió làser sense inversió en absència d'un camp de preparació extern i la transparència induïda electromagnèticament com a pas previ per a l'amplificació sense inversió. Finalment, s'exploren alguns aspectes particulars de la dinàmica d'aquests làsers com són l'emissió làser sense inversió en règim autopolsant o la generació de polsos gegants de llum làser

Polarization phase gate with a tripod atomic system

We analyze the nonlinear optical response of a four-level atomic system driven into a tripod configuration. The large cross-Kerr nonlinearities that occurr in such a system are shown to produce nonlinear phase shift of order $\pi$. Such a substantial shift may be observed in a cold atomic gas in a magneto-optical trap where it coupl be fasibly exploited towards the realization of a polarization quantum phase gate. The experimental feasibility of such a gate is here examined in detail.Comment: Corrected versio

Atomtronics with holes: Coherent transport of an empty site in a triple well potential

We investigate arrays of three traps with two fermionic or bosonic atoms. The tunneling interaction between neighboring sites is used to prepare multi-site dark states for the empty site, i.e., the hole, allowing for the coherent manipulation of its external degrees of freedom. By means of an ab initio integration of the Schr\"odinger equation, we investigate the adiabatic transport of a hole between the two extreme traps of a triple-well potential. Furthermore, a quantum-trajectory approach based on the de Broglie-Bohm formulation of quantum mechanics is used to get physical insight into the transport process. Finally, we discuss the use of the hole for the construction of a coherent single hole diode and a coherent single hole transistor.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Additional binding sites for anionic phospholipids and calcium ions in the crystal structures of complexes of the C2 domain of protein kinase Cα

The C2 domain of protein kinase Cα (PKCα) corresponds to the regulatory sequence motif, found in a large variety of membrane trafficking and signal transduction proteins, that mediates the recruitment of proteins by phospholipid membranes. In the PKCα isoenzyme, the Ca2+-dependent binding to membranes is highly specific to 1,2-sn-phosphatidyl-L-serine. Intrinsic Ca2+ binding tends to be of low affinity and non-cooperative, while phospholipid membranes enhance the overall affinity of Ca2+ and convert it into cooperative binding. The crystal structure of a ternary complex of the PKCα-C2 domain showed the binding of two calcium ions and of one 1,2-dicaproyl-sn-phosphatidyl-L-serine (DCPS) molecule that was coordinated directly to one of the calcium ions. The structures of the C2 domain of PKCα crystallised in the presence of Ca2+ with either 1,2-diacetyl-sn-phosphatidyl-L-serine (DAPS) or 1,2-dicaproyl-sn-phosphatidic acid (DCPA) have now been determined and refined at 1.9 Å and at 2.0 Å, respectively. DAPS, a phospholipid with short hydrocarbon chains, was expected to facilitate the accommodation of the phospholipid ligand inside the Ca2+-binding pocket. DCPA, with a phosphatidic acid (PA) head group, was used to investigate the preference for phospholipids with phosphatidyl-L-serine (PS) head groups. The two structures determined show the presence of an additional binding site for anionic phospholipids in the vicinity of the conserved lysine-rich cluster. Site-directed mutagenesis, on the lysine residues from this cluster that interact directly with the phospholipid, revealed a substantial decrease in C2 domain binding to vesicles when concentrations of either PS or PA were increased in the absence of Ca2+. In the complex of the C2 domain with DAPS a third Ca2+, which binds an extra phosphate group, was identified in the calcium-binding regions (CBRs). The interplay between calcium ions and phosphate groups or phospholipid molecules in the C2 domain of PKCα is supported by the specificity and spatial organisation of the binding sites in the domain and by the variable occupancies of ligands found in the different crystal structures. Implications for PKCα activity of these structural results, in particular at the level of the binding affinity of the C2 domain to membranes, are discussed. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.This research was supported by grants PB98-0389 to the Universidad de Murcia, and BIO099-0865 to the IBMB and by 1FD97-1558 from DGESIC (Spain) to a collaborative project between the Universidad de Murcia and the IBMB. Data were collected at the EMBL protein crystallography beamlines at ESRF (Grenoble) within a Block Allocation Group (BAG Barcelona), as at ESRF BM14. This work was supported financially by the ESRF and by grant HPRI-CT-1999-00022 of the European Union.Peer Reviewe

The cephalopod prey of the Weddell seal, Leptonychotes weddellii, a biological sampler of the Antarctic marine ecosystem

Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddellii, are important apex predators in the food web of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. However, detailed information on their trophic relationships with cephalopods is scarce. Moreover, cephalopods play a key role in the marine environment, but knowledge of their feeding habits is limited by lack of data. Here, we have combined the use of this seal as a biological sampler together with measurements of the stable isotopic signature of the beaks of their cephalopod prey. Thus, the aims of the present study were: (1) to examine in detail the cephalopod portion of the diet of Weddell seals by means of scat analysis and (2) to assess the habitat use and trophic level of the different cephalopod prey taxa identified. From January to February 2009, a total of 48 faecal droppings were collected at Hope Bay, Antarctic Peninsula. Cephalopods were mainly represented by beaks (n = 83) which were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level. Furthermore, subsamples of beaks were separated for further isotopic analysis. Relative abundance of stable isotopes of carbon (δ13C) and nitrogen (δ15N) was determined by continuous-flow isotope-ratio mass spectrometry. Cephalopods were represented uniquely by octopods of the subfamily Eledoninae. Pareledone turqueti was the dominant prey species followed by the papillated Pareledone species group and Adelieledone polymorpha. We conclude that Weddell seals preyed primarily on benthic prey resources. Furthermore, the relatively similar δ13C and δ15N values in beaks of the three octopod prey taxa suggest that these share the same type of habitat and occupy similar trophic level positions

Quantum switches and quantum memories for matter-wave lattice solitons

We study the possibility of implementing a quantum switch and a quantum memory for matter wave lattice solitons by making them interact with "effective" potentials (barrier/well) corresponding to defects of the optical lattice. In the case of interaction with an "effective" potential barrier, the bright lattice soliton experiences an abrupt transition from complete transmission to complete reflection (quantum switch) for a critical height of the barrier. The trapping of the soliton in an "effective" potential well and its release on demand, without loses, shows the feasibility of using the system as a quantum memory. The inclusion of defects as a way of controlling the interactions between two solitons is also reported

Electromagnetically induced transparency with a standing-wave drive in the frequency up-conversion regime

We study electromagnetically induced transparency for a probe traveling-wave (TW) laser field in closed Doppler-broadened three-level systems driven by a standing-wave (SW) laser field of moderate intensity (its Rabi frequencies are smaller than the Doppler width of the driven transition). We show that probe windows of transparency occur for values of the probe to drive field frequency ratio R close to half-integer values. For optical transitions and typical values of Doppler broadening for atoms in a vapor cell, we show that for R>1 a SW drive field is appreciably more efficient than a TW drive in inducing probe transparency. As examples, we consider parameters for real cascade schemes in barium atoms with R≈1.5 and in beryllium atoms with R≈3.5 showing that probe transmission values well above 50% are possible for conditions in which it is almost negligible either without driving field or with only one of the TW components of the drive. We show that a strongly asymmetric drive having two TW components with unequal intensities is even more eficient than a symmetric SW drive in inducing probe transparency. The case of arbitrary probe intensity is also considered

Relevamiento de ácaros Mesostigmata <i>Gallus gallus domesticus</i> (L, 1758) (Aves: Galliformes) en gallinas ponedoras de "El Peligro" y Los Hornos, partido de La Plata

Los ácaros Mesostigmata: Ornithonyssus spp. (Macronyssidae) y Dermanyssus gallinae (Dermanyssidae) son ectoparásitos hematófagos obligados, habituales en la avicultura comercial en diferentes áreas geográficas. Estos ácaros realizan una potente acción hematofágica sobre sus hospedadores, con manifestaciones de intenso prurito, ocasionando importantes pérdidas económicas debido a una alta disminución de la postura. Además, ambos son descriptos como vectores de enfermedades tanto para los animales (domésticos, sinantrópicos y silvestres) como para el hombre. En la Argentina se ha notificado la presencia de ambas familias de ácaros pero no se conocen con exactitud la distribución geográfica, datos ecológicos, ni las especies que más comúnmente se presentan en nuestro medio, datos de suma importancia para poder aplicar eficientes medidas de control.Trabajo publicado en Acta Bioquímica Clínica Latinoamericana; no. 52, supl. 2, parte II, diciembre de 2018.Universidad Nacional de La Plat

Competition and bistability of longitudinal modes in a Raman laser

A model for Raman lasers including several longitudinal modes is analyzed. Depending on the choice of the parameters the system can exhibit single-mode emission, wide bistability domains, and self-pulsing. The latter is often characterized by two frequencies, which are clearly related to single-mode and multimode instabilities, in agreement with the interpretation of earlier experimental results