388 research outputs found
Controlling chaos in the quantum regime using adaptive measurements
The continuous monitoring of a quantum system strongly influences the
emergence of chaotic dynamics near the transition from the quantum regime to
the classical regime. Here we present a feedback control scheme that uses
adaptive measurement techniques to control the degree of chaos in the
driven-damped quantum Duffing oscillator. This control relies purely on the
measurement backaction on the system, making it a uniquely quantum control, and
is only possible due to the sensitivity of chaos to measurement. We quantify
the effectiveness of our control by numerically computing the quantum Lyapunov
exponent over a wide range of parameters. We demonstrate that adaptive
measurement techniques can control the onset of chaos in the system, pushing
the quantum-classical boundary further into the quantum regime
Heat Resistance of Human Pathogens in Sous-Vide Products Studied in Model Nutrition Media
Sous-vide (French for Êœunder vacuumâ) is a professional cooking method, by which, under oxygen-free conditions and precise temperature control, not only cooking but preservation is achieved. During the process the food matrix is vacuum-packed and undergoes a mild heat treatment, thus achieving an enhanced nutrition value and a better organoleptic character. Due to the mild heat treatment (55 to 90 °C), the high water activity, and the slight acidity of raw materials, the microbial quality assurance is a great challenge even for professionals. The heat treatment does not assure the inactivation of pathogen spores. In our experiments we used Clostridium perfringens representing the spore-forming pathogens, and Salmonella Enteritidis as a the food-borne infection bacterium. Effects of various temperatures were measured in normal and sous-vide type vacuum packaging. Higher thermal death rate in vacuum packaging was demonstrated for Salmonella Enteritidis and Clostridium perfringens
Possible modulation of dopaminergic neurotransmission function by acetyl-L-carnitine
AcetylâLâCarnitine (ALC) has a putative neuroprotective effect being used in a variety of conditions. Nevertheless, the underlying molecular mechanisms, particularly regarding the induction of changes in neurotransmitter systems, are still not fully understood. We aim to contribute for the elucidation of the mechanisms by which ALC alters neurotransmitter release, using a cell line and an animal model of exposure to methamphetamine (METH). PC12 cells were incubated with several doses of ALC (0.01 to 1.0 mM) alone or in combination with METH 1.0 or 100 ”M for 24h or 72h. When combined, ALC preceded METH administration in 30 minutes. Dopamine (DA) content was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. C57BL/6J mice were used for in vivo assays to assess DA striatal binding. Mice were divided into 4 groups, according to different treatments: group 1 (control), group 2 (ALC, 100 mg/kg), group 3 (METH, 10 mg/kg) and group 4 (ALC+METH). Images were acquired in a SPECT/CT scanner (NanoSPECT/CT, Mediso, Hungary) 70 minutes after 123IâIBZM injection. Regions of interest were drawn in the striata and in the cerebellum to determine the striatal binding ratio. Increased intracellular levels of DA were observed in PC12 cells at 24h and 72h after the administration of ALC. Cells treated with METH 100 ”M displayed decreased intracellular levels of DA. ALC prevented the METHâinduced decrease in DA concentration (p<0.0001). On the other hand, a single dose of 10 mg/kg of METH induced a decrease in striatal D2R binding ratios comparing to control group (between 20% and 30%). Interestingly, over time, ALC was able to reverse the decrease on the radiotracer binding induced by METH. The present study indicates a possible effect of ALC over METHâinduced DA release.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
Quantum tunneling dynamics of an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate through a Gaussian barrier
The transmission of an interacting Bose-Einstein condensate incident on a
repulsive Gaussian barrier is investigated through numerical simulation. The
dynamics associated with interatomic interactions are studied across a broad
parameter range not previously explored. Effective 1D Gross-Pitaevskii equation
(GPE) simulations are compared to classical Boltzmann-Vlasov equation (BVE)
simulations in order to isolate purely coherent matterwave effects. Quantum
tunneling is then defined as the portion of the GPE transmission not described
by the classical BVE. An exponential dependence of transmission on barrier
height is observed in the purely classical simulation, suggesting that
observing such exponential dependence is not a sufficient condition for quantum
tunneling. Furthermore, the transmission is found to be predominately described
by classical effects, although interatomic interactions are shown to modify the
magnitude of the quantum tunneling. Interactions are also seen to affect the
amount of classical transmission, producing transmission in regions where the
non-interacting equivalent has none. This theoretical investigation clarifies
the contribution quantum tunneling makes to overall transmission in
many-particle interacting systems, potentially informing future tunneling
experiments with ultracold atoms.Comment: Close to the published versio
Precision atomic gravimeter based on Bragg diffraction
We present a precision gravimeter based on coherent Bragg diffraction of
freely falling cold atoms. Traditionally, atomic gravimeters have used
stimulated Raman transitions to separate clouds in momentum space by driving
transitions between two internal atomic states. Bragg interferometers utilize
only a single internal state, and can therefore be less susceptible to
environmental perturbations. Here we show that atoms extracted from a
magneto-optical trap using an accelerating optical lattice are a suitable
source for a Bragg atom interferometer, allowing efficient beamsplitting and
subsequent separation of momentum states for detection. Despite the inherently
multi-state nature of atom diffraction, we are able to build a Mach-Zehnder
interferometer using Bragg scattering which achieves a sensitivity to the
gravitational acceleration of with an
integration time of 1000s. The device can also be converted to a gravity
gradiometer by a simple modification of the light pulse sequence.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figure
Observation of a Modulational Instability in Bose-Einstein condensates
We observe the breakup dynamics of an elongated cloud of condensed Rb
atoms placed in an optical waveguide. The number of localized spatial
components observed in the breakup is compared with the number of solitons
predicted by a plane-wave stability analysis of the nonpolynomial nonlinear
Schr\"odinger equation, an effective one-dimensional approximation of the
Gross-Pitaevskii equation for cigar-shaped condensates. It is shown that the
numbers predicted from the fastest growing sidebands are consistent with the
experimental data, suggesting that modulational instability is the key
underlying physical mechanism driving the breakup.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure
Al(OH)(3) facilitated synthesis of water-soluble, magnetic, radiolabelled and fluorescent hydroxyapatite nanoparticles
Magnetic and fluorescent hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were synthesised using Al(OH)3-stabilised MnFe2O4 or Fe3O4 nanoparticles as precursors. They were readily and efficiently radiolabelled with 18F. Bisphosphonate polyethylene glycol polymers were utilised to endow the nanoparticles with excellent colloidal stability in water and to incorporate cyclam for high affinity labelling with 64Cu
Pre-Excitation Studies for Rubidium-Plasma Generation
The key element in the Proton-Driven-Plasma-Wake-Field-Accelerator (AWAKE)
project is the generation of highly uniform plasma from Rubidium vapor. The
standard way to achieve full ionization is to use high power laser which can
assure the over-barrier-ionization (OBI) along the 10 meters long active
region. The Wigner-team in Budapest is investigating an alternative way of
uniform plasma generation. The proposed Resonance Enhanced Multi Photon
Ionization (REMPI) scheme probably can be realized by much less laser power. In
the following the resonant pre-excitations of the Rb atoms are investigated,
theoretically and the status report about the preparatory work on the
experiment are presented.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Nucl. Inst. and Meth. in Phys. Res.
Personal control of the indoor environment in offices: Relations with building characteristics, influence on occupant perception and reported symptoms related to the building-the officair project
Personal control over various indoor environment parameters, especially in the last decades, appear to have a significant role on occupants' comfort, health and productivity. To reveal this complex relationship, 7441 occupants of 167 recently built or retrofitted office buildings in eight European countries participated in an online survey about personal/health/work data as well as physical/psycho-social information. The relationship between the types of control available over indoor environments and the perceived personal control of the occupants was examined, as well as the combined effect of the control parameters on the perceived comfort using multilevel statistical models. The results indicated that most of the occupants have no or low control on noise. Half of the occupants declared no or low control on ventilation and temperature conditions. Almost one-third of them remarked that they do not have satisfactory levels of control for lighting and shading from sun conditions. The presence of operable windows was shown to influence occupants' control perception over temperature, ventilation, light and noise. General building characteristics, such as floor number and floor area, office type, etc., helped occupants associate freedom positively with control perception. Combined controlling parameters seem to have a strong relation with overall comfort, as well as with perception regarding amount of privacy, office layout and decoration satisfaction. The results also indicated that occupants with more personal control may have less building-related symptoms. Noise control parameter had the highest impact on the occupants' overall comfort
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