14,879 research outputs found
Entanglement of two qubits mediated by one-dimensional plasmonic waveguides
We investigate qubit-qubit entanglement mediated by plasmons supported by
one-dimensional waveguides. We explore both the situation of spontaneous
formation of entanglement from an unentangled state and the emergence of driven
steady-state entanglement under continuous pumping. In both cases, we show that
large values for the concurrence are attainable for qubit-qubit distances
larger than the operating wavelength by using plasmonic waveguides that are
currently available.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Minor Changes. Journal Reference added.
Highlighted in Physic
Geometrically induced modification of surface plasmons in the optical and telecom regimes
We demonstrate that the introduction of a subwavelength periodic modulation
into a metallic structure strongly modifies the guiding characteristics of the
surface plasmon modes supported by the system. Moreover, it is also shown how a
new type of a tightly confined surface plasmon polariton mode can be created by
just milling a periodic corrugation into a metallic ridge placed on top of a
metal surface
Lower Cretaceous (Hauterivian-Albian) ammonite biostratigraphy in the Maestrat Basin (E Spain)
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Spectroscopy of the Potential Profile in a Ballistic Quantum Constriction
We present a theory for the nonlinear current-voltage characteristics of a
ballistic quantum constriction. Nonlinear features first develop because of
above-barrier reflection from the potential profile, created by impurities in
the vicinity of the constriction. The nonlinearity appears on a small voltage
scale and makes it possible to determine distances between impurities as well
as the magnitude of the impurity potentials.Comment: 3 pages, 4 figures (availiable upon request), REVTEX, Applied Physics
Report 93-5
Barriers to the development of palliative care in Western Europe
The Eurobarometer Survey of the <i>EAPC Task Force on the Development of Palliative Care in Europe</i> is part of a programme of work to produce comprehensive information on the provision of palliative care across Europe.
Aim: To identify barriers to the development of palliative care in Western Europe.
Method: A qualitative survey was undertaken amongst boards of national associations, eliciting opinions on opportunities for, and barriers to, palliative care development. By July 2006, 44/52 (85%) European countries had responded to the survey; we report here on the results from 22/25 (88%) countries in Western Europe.
Analysis: Data from the Eurobarometer survey were analysed thematically by geographical region and by the degree of development of palliative care in each country.
Results: From the data contained within the Eurobarometer, we identified six significant barriers to the development of palliative care in Western Europe: (i) Lack of palliative care education and training programmes (ii) Lack of awareness and recognition of palliative care (iii) Limited availability of/knowledge about opioid analgesics (iv) Limited funding (v) Lack of coordination amongst services (vi) Uneven palliative care coverage.
Conclusion: Findings from the EAPC Eurobarometer survey suggest that barriers to the development of palliative care in Western Europe may differ substantially from each other in both their scope and context and that some may be considered to be of greater significance than others. A number of common barriers to the development of the discipline do exist and much work still remains to be done in the identified areas. This paper provides a road map of which barriers need to be addressed
Low energy excitations of double quantum dots in the lowest Landau level regime
We study the spectrum and magnetic properties of double quantum dots in the
lowest Landau level for different values of the hopping and Zeeman parameters
by means of exact diagonalization techniques in systems of N=6 and N=7
electrons and filling factor close to 2. We compare our results with those
obtained in double quantum layers and single quantum dots. The Kohn theorem is
also discussed.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; references added; journal versio
Intersubband Electron Interaction in 1D-2D Junctions
We have shown that the electron transport through junctions of
one-dimensional and two-dimensional systems, as well as through quantum point
contacts, is considerably affected by the interaction of electrons of different
subbands. The interaction mechanism is caused by Friedel oscillations, which
are produced by electrons of the closed subbands even in smooth junctions.
Because of the interaction with these oscillations, electrons of the open
subbands experience a backscattering. The electron reflection coefficient,
which describes the backscattering, has a sharp peak at the energy equal to the
Fermi energy and may be as high as about 0.1. This result allows one to explain
a number of available experimental facts.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure
A009 Importance of tweak-CD163 system in peripheral artery disease
IntroductionCD163 is a macrophage receptor of haptoglogin/ haemoglobin complexes responsible for clearance of hemogloin. It has been recently suggested to be a potential scavenger receptor for TWEAK (Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis). TWEAK levels were reported to be decreased in carotid atherosclerosis. Our hypothesis is that decreased circulating TWEAK could be paralleled by an increased presence of CD163-expressing macrophage in atherosclerotic plaques. Since peripheral artery disease (PAD) is an important manifestation of systemic atherosclerosis, we have assessed the levels of circulating TWEAK-CD163 in PAD.Methods and ResultsPatients with PAD (n=184) had lower TWEAK (169.2±8.3vs 211.9±15.4pg/mL; p<0.05) and higher sCD163 (408.1±14.5vs 317.4±8.4ng/mL; p<0.05) plasma concentration than age-matched controls (n=330). After stratification according to the severity of disease, we observed that TWEAK/sCD163 ratio was significantly decreased in those patients with higher degree of disease (0.39±0.06vs 0.66±0.08, p<0.05) relative to the other groups. Analysis of conditioned medium obtained from cultured human atherosclerotic femoral plaque samples (n=38) and healthy aortas (n=14) revealed that higher amount of sCD163 was released by the atherosclerotic tissue, whereas TWEAK presented the opposite trend.ConclusionsOur results suggest that CD163/TWEAK plasma ratio could be a potential biomarker of clinical peripheral artery disease. We can hypothesized that decreased levels of circulating TWEAK observed in atherosclerosis may be the result of a trapping by plaque macrophages through their CD163
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