ICAM G241A polymorphism and soluble ICAM-1 serum levels: Evidence for an active immune process in schizophrenia

Objectives: We have previously reported reduced serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) in schizophrenic patients. A single-nucleotide polymorphism ( SNP) of the ICAM-1 gene was described at position 241. The G --> A SNP results in a nonsynonymous amino acid exchange of the ICAM-1 protein, and the A allele was shown to be also associated with several immunological disorders like rheumatoid arthritis. Methods: We investigated 70 schizophrenic patients and 128 unrelated healthy control persons regarding the relationship between the serum levels of sICAM-1 and the ICAM-1 G214A polymorphism. Results: We were able to replicate our previous finding of reduced sICAM-1 levels in schizophrenia. Healthy control persons carrying the polymorphic A allele showed markedly lower sICAM-1 serum levels than carriers of the homozygous GG wild type ( p < 0.004). In contrast, no significant difference in the sICAM-1 serum levels were seen regarding the G241A genotype distribution in schizophrenic patients. Conclusion: We hypothesize that the biochemical effect of the G241A SNP is masked in schizophrenic patients, indicating a disease-related mechanism leading to reduced levels of sICAM-1 in schizophrenia. Copyright (C) 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

Dispersive estimates for Schr\"odinger operators with point interactions in R3\mathbb{R}^3

The study of dispersive properties of Schr\"odinger operators with point interactions is a fundamental tool for understanding the behavior of many body quantum systems interacting with very short range potential, whose dynamics can be approximated by non linear Schr\"odinger equations with singular interactions. In this work we proved that, in the case of one point interaction in $\mathbb{R}^3$, the perturbed Laplacian satisfies the same $L^p-L^q$ estimates of the free Laplacian in the smaller regime $q\in[2,3)$. These estimates are implied by a recent result concerning the $L^p$ boundedness of the wave operators for the perturbed Laplacian. Our approach, however, is more direct and relatively simple, and could potentially be useful to prove optimal weighted estimates also in the regime $q\geq 3$.Comment: To appear on: "Advances in Quantum Mechanics: Contemporary Trends and Open Problems", G. Dell'Antonio and A. Michelangeli eds., Springer-INdAM series 201

Q^2 Evolution of Generalized Baldin Sum Rule for the Proton

The generalized Baldin sum rule for virtual photon scattering, the unpolarized analogy of the generalized Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn integral, provides an important way to investigate the transition between perturbative QCD and hadronic descriptions of nucleon structure. This sum rule requires integration of the nucleon structure function F_1, which until recently had not been measured at low Q^2 and large x, i.e. in the nucleon resonance region. This work uses new data from inclusive electron-proton scattering in the resonance region obtained at Jefferson Lab, in combination with SLAC deep inelastic scattering data, to present first precision measurements of the generalized Baldin integral for the proton in the Q^2 range of 0.3 to 4.0 GeV^2.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, one table; text added, one figure replace

Demonstration of superluminal effects in an absorptionless, non-reflective system

We present an experimental and theoretical study of a simple, passive system consisting of a birefringent, two-dimensional photonic crystal and a polarizer in series, and show that superluminal dispersive effects can arise even though no incident radiation is absorbed or reflected. We demonstrate that a vector formulation of the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relations facilitates an understanding of these counter-intuitive effects.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, accepted on Physical Review Letter

Can Light Signals Travel Faster than c in Nontrivial Vacuua in Flat space-time? Relativistic Causality II

In this paper we show that the Scharnhorst effect (Vacuum with boundaries or a Casimir type vacuum) cannot be used to generate signals showing measurable faster-than-c speeds. Furthermore, we aim to show that the Scharnhorst effect would violate special relativity, by allowing for a variable speed of light in vacuum, unless one can specify a small invariant length scale. This invariant length scale would be agreed upon by all inertial observers. We hypothesize the approximate scale of the invariant length.Comment: 12 pages no figure

Exact particle and kinetic energy densities for one-dimensional confined gases of non-interacting fermions

We propose a new method for the evaluation of the particle density and kinetic pressure profiles in inhomogeneous one-dimensional systems of non-interacting fermions, and apply it to harmonically confined systems of up to N=1000 fermions. The method invokes a Green's function operator in coordinate space, which is handled by techniques originally developed for the calculation of the density of single-particle states from Green's functions in the energy domain. In contrast to the Thomas-Fermi (local density) approximation, the exact profiles under harmonic confinement show negative local pressure in the tails and a prominent shell structure which may become accessible to observation in magnetically trapped gases of fermionic alkali atoms.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. Let

On the Green function of linear evolution equations for a region with a boundary

We derive a closed-form expression for the Green function of linear evolution equations with the Dirichlet boundary condition for an arbitrary region, based on the singular perturbation approach to boundary problems.Comment: 9 page

Causality and universality in low-energy quantum scattering

We generalize Wigner's causality bounds and Bethe's integral formula for the effective range to arbitrary dimension and arbitrary angular momentum. Moreover, we discuss the impact of these constraints on the separation of low- and high-momentum scales and universality in low-energy quantum scattering.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, published versio

Periodic-Orbit Theory of Anderson Localization on Graphs

We present the first quantum system where Anderson localization is completely described within periodic-orbit theory. The model is a quantum graph analogous to an a-periodic Kronig-Penney model in one dimension. The exact expression for the probability to return of an initially localized state is computed in terms of classical trajectories. It saturates to a finite value due to localization, while the diagonal approximation decays diffusively. Our theory is based on the identification of families of isometric orbits. The coherent periodic-orbit sums within these families, and the summation over all families are performed analytically using advanced combinatorial methods.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, RevTe

Comment on "X-ray resonant scattering studies of orbital and charge ordering in Pr1-xCaxMnO3"

In a recent published paper [Phys. Rev. B 64, 195133 (2001)], Zimmermann et al. present a systematic x-ray scattering study of charge and orbital ordering phenomena in the Pr1-xCaxMnO3 series with x= 0.25, 0.4 and 0.5. They propose that for Ca concentrations x=0.4 and 0.5, the appearance of (0, k+1/2, 0) reflections are originated by the orbital ordering of the eg electrons in the a-b plane while the (0, 2k+1, 0) reflections are due to the charge ordering among the Mn3+ and Mn4+ ions. Moreover, for small Ca concentrations (x<0.3), the orbital ordering is only considered and it occurs at (0, k, 0) reflections. A rigorous analysis of all these resonance reflections will show the inadequacy of the charge-orbital model proposed to explain the experimental results. In addition, this charge-orbital model is highly inconsistent with the electronic balance. On the contrary, these reflections can be easily understood as arising from the anisotropy of charge distribution induced by the presence of local distortions, i.e. due to a structural phase transition.Comment: 10 pages, 2 figures.To be published Phys. Rev.