2,650 research outputs found
Derivation of the Quantum Probability Rule without the Frequency Operator
We present an alternative frequencists' proof of the quantum probability rule
which does not make use of the frequency operator, with expectation that this
can circumvent the recent criticism against the previous proofs which use it.
We also argue that avoiding the frequency operator is not only for technical
merits for doing so but is closely related to what quantum mechanics is all
about from the viewpoint of many-world interpretation.Comment: 12 page
Effective Hamiltonian approach to adiabatic approximation in open systems
The adiabatic approximation in open systems is formulated through the
effective Hamiltonian approach. By introducing an ancilla, we embed the open
system dynamics into a non-Hermitian quantum dynamics of a composite system,
the adiabatic evolution of the open system is then defined as the adiabatic
dynamics of the composite system. Validity and invalidity conditions for this
approximation are established and discussed. A High-order adiabatic
approximation for open systems is introduced. As an example, the adiabatic
condition for an open spin- particle in time-dependent magnetic
fields is analyzed.Comment: 6 pages, 2 figure
The cell of origin dictates the temporal course of neurofibromatosis-1 (Nf1) low-grade glioma formation.
Low-grade gliomas are one of the most common brain tumors in children, where they frequently form within the optic pathway (optic pathway gliomas; OPGs). Since many OPGs occur in the context of the Neurofibromatosis Type 1 (NF1) cancer predisposition syndrome, we have previously employed Nf1 genetically-engineered mouse (GEM) strains to study the pathogenesis of these low-grade glial neoplasms. In the light of the finding that human and mouse low-grade gliomas are composed of Olig2+ cells and that Olig2+ oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) give rise to murine high-grade gliomas, we sought to determine whether Olig2+ OPCs could be tumor-initiating cells for Nf1 optic glioma. Similar to the GFAP-Cre transgenic strain previously employed to generate Nf1 optic gliomas, Olig2+ cells also give rise to astrocytes in the murine optic nerve in vivo. However, in contrast to the GFAP-Cre strain where somatic Nf1 inactivation in embryonic neural progenitor/stem cells (Nf1flox/mut; GFAP-Cre mice) results in optic gliomas by 3 months of age in vivo, mice with Nf1 gene inactivation in Olig2+ OPCs (Nf1flox/mut; Olig2-Cre mice) do not form optic gliomas until 6 months of age. These distinct patterns of glioma latency do not reflect differences in the timing or brain location of somatic Nf1 loss. Instead, they most likely reflect the cell of origin, as somatic Nf1 loss in CD133+ neural progenitor/stem cells during late embryogenesis results in optic gliomas at 3 months of age. Collectively, these data demonstrate that the cell of origin dictates the time to tumorigenesis in murine optic glioma
Fermion Production in the Background of Minkowski Space Classical Solutions in Spontaneously Broken Gauge Theory
We investigate fermion production in the background of Minkowski space
solutions to the equations of motion of gauge theory spontaneously
broken via the Higgs mechanism. First, we attempt to evaluate the topological
charge of the solutions. We find that for solutions is not well-defined
as an integral over all space-time. Solutions can profitably be characterized
by the (integer-valued) change in Higgs winding number . We show
that solutions which dissipate at early and late times and which have nonzero
must have at least the sphaleron energy. We show that if we couple
a quantized massive chiral fermion to a classical background given by a
solution, the number of fermions produced is , and is not related
to .Comment: Version to be published. Argument showing that the topological charge
of solutions is undefined has been strengthened and clarified. Conclusions
unchange
Generation and Suppression of Decoherence in Artificial Environment for Qubit System
It is known that a quantum system with finite degrees of freedom can simulate
a composite of a system and an environment if the state of the hypothetical
environment is randomized by external manipulation. We show theoretically that
any phase decoherence phenomena of a single qubit can be simulated with a
two-qubit system and demonstrate experimentally two examples: one is phase
decoherence of a single qubit in a transmission line, and the other is that in
a quantum memory. We perform NMR experiments employing a two-spin molecule and
clearly measure decoherence for both cases. We also prove experimentally that
the bang-bang control efficiently suppresses decoherence.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures; added reference
Physical fitness is associated with neural activity during working memory performance in major depressive disorder
Background:
Deficits in cognition like working memory (WM) are highly prevalent symptoms related to major depressive disorder (MDD). Neuroimaging studies have described frontoparietal abnormalities in patients with MDD as a basis for these deficits. Based on research in healthy adults, it is hypothesized that increased physical fitness might be a protective factor for these deficits in MDD. However, the relationship between physical fitness and WM-related neural activity and performance has not been tested in MDD, to date. Understanding these associations could inform the development of physical exercise interventions in MDD.
Methods:
Within a larger project, 111 (53female) MDD outpatients and 56 (34female) healthy controls performed an n-back task (0-, 1-, 2-, 3-back) during functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging. Physical fitness from a graded exercise test on a cycle ergometer was performed by 106 MDD patients.
Results:
Patients showed reduced performance particularly at high loads of the n-back WM task and prolonged reaction times at all n-back loads. A whole-brain interaction analysis of group by WM load revealed reduced neural activity in six frontoparietal clusters at medium and high WM loads in MDD patients compared to healthy controls. Analysis of covariance within the MDD sample showed that physical fitness was associated with neural activity in right and left superior parietal lobules. Externally defined Regions of Interest confirmed this analysis.
Conclusions:
Results indicate frontoparietal hypoactivity in MDD at high demands, arguing for decreased WM capacity. We demonstrate a parietal fitness correlate which could be used to guide future research on effects of exercise on cognitive functioning in MDD
Landau-Zener transitions in qubits controlled by electromagnetic fields
We investigate the influence of a dipole interaction with a classical
radiation field on a qubit during a continuous change of a control parameter.
In particular, we explore the non-adiabatic transitions that occur when the
qubit is swept with linear speed through resonances with the time-dependent
interaction. Two classical problems come together in this model: the
Landau-Zener and the Rabi problem. The probability of Landau-Zener transitions
now depends sensitively on the amplitude, the frequency and the phase of the
Rabi interaction. The influence of the static phase turns out to be
particularly strong, since this parameter controls the time-reversal symmetry
of the Hamiltonian. In the limits of large and small frequencies, analytical
results obtained within a rotating-wave approximation compare favourably with a
numerically exact solution. Some physical realizations of the model are
discussed, both in microwave optics and in magnetic systems.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figure
Decreased expression of breast cancer resistance protein in the duodenum in patients with obstructive cholestasis
Background/Aims: The expression of transporters involved in bile acid homeostasis is differentially regulated during obstructive cholestasis. Since the drug efflux transporter breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP) is known to transport bile acids, we investigated whether duodenal BCRP expression could be altered during cholestasis. Methods: Using real-time RT-PCR analysis we determined mRNA expression levels in duodenal tissue of 19 cholestatic patients. Expression levels were compared to 14 healthy subjects. BCRP protein staining was determined in biopsies of 6 cholestatic and 6 healthy subjects by immunohistochemistry. Results: We found that in patients with obstructive cholestasis mean duodenal BCRP mRNA levels were significantly reduced to 53% and mean protein staining was reduced to 57%. Conclusions: BCRP, a transporter for bile acids and numerous drugs, appears to be down-regulated in the human duodenum during cholestasis. The clinical impact of these results has to be investigated in further studies. Copyright (c) 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel
Quantum search by measurement
We propose a quantum algorithm for solving combinatorial search problems that
uses only a sequence of measurements. The algorithm is similar in spirit to
quantum computation by adiabatic evolution, in that the goal is to remain in
the ground state of a time-varying Hamiltonian. Indeed, we show that the
running times of the two algorithms are closely related. We also show how to
achieve the quadratic speedup for Grover's unstructured search problem with
only two measurements. Finally, we discuss some similarities and differences
between the adiabatic and measurement algorithms.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figure
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