189 research outputs found
Applications of Canonical Transformations
Canonical transformations are defined and discussed along with the
exponential, the coherent and the ultracoherent vectors. It is shown that the
single-mode and the -mode squeezing operators are elements of the group of
canonical transformations. An application of canonical transformations is made,
in the context of open quantum systems, by studying the effect of squeezing of
the bath on the decoherence properties of the system. Two cases are analyzed.
In the first case the bath consists of a massless bosonic field with the bath
reference states being the squeezed vacuum states and squeezed thermal states
while in the second case a system consisting of a harmonic oscillator
interacting with a bath of harmonic oscillators is analyzed with the bath being
initially in a squeezed thermal state.Comment: 14 page
Recommended from our members
Effect of head group and lipid tail oxidation in the cell membrane revealed through integrated simulations and experiments
We report on multi-level atomistic simulations for the interaction of reactive oxygen species (ROS) with the head groups of the phospholipid bilayer, and the subsequent effect of head group and lipid tail oxidation on the structural and dynamic properties of the cell membrane. Our simulations are validated by experiments using a cold atmospheric plasma as external ROS source. We found that plasma treatment leads to a slight initial rise in membrane rigidity, followed by a strong and persistent increase in fluidity, indicating a drop in lipid order. The latter is also revealed by our simulations. This study is important for cancer treatment by therapies producing (extracellular) ROS, such as plasma treatment. These ROS will interact with the cell membrane, first oxidizing the head groups, followed by the lipid tails. A drop in lipid order might allow them to penetrate into the cell interior (e.g., through pores created due to oxidation of the lipid tails) and cause intracellular oxidative damage, eventually leading to cell death. This work in general elucidates the underlying mechanisms of ROS interaction with the cell membrane at the atomic level
The structure of the quantum mechanical state space and induced superselection rules
The role of superselection rules for the derivation of classical probability
within quantum mechanics is investigated and examples of superselection rules
induced by the environment are discussed.Comment: 11 pages, Standard Latex 2.0
Sind "Green Cements" die Zukunft? Erste systemanalytische Abschätzungen zu innovativen Bindemitteln - Teil1: Novacem
Novacem entwickelt ein zementäres Bindemittel auf der Basis von Magnesiumoxid (MgO), das Portlandzement ersetzen soll. Technologisch basiert die Herstellung von Novacem® auf der mineralischen Sequestrierung. Ausgehärtetes Novacem® besteht aus Brucit und Magnesiumsilikathydrat (M-S-H)-Phasen. Modellrechnungen weisen darauf hin, dass der Herstellungsprozess deutlich komplexer ist, als es zugängige Informationen implizieren
Initial correlations effects on decoherence at zero temperature
We consider a free charged particle interacting with an electromagnetic bath
at zero temperature. The dipole approximation is used to treat the bath
wavelengths larger than the width of the particle wave packet. The effect of
these wavelengths is described then by a linear Hamiltonian whose form is
analogous to phenomenological Hamiltonians previously adopted to describe the
free particle-bath interaction. We study how the time dependence of decoherence
evolution is related with initial particle-bath correlations. We show that
decoherence is related to the time dependent dressing of the particle. Moreover
because decoherence induced by the T=0 bath is very rapid, we make some
considerations on the conditions under which interference may be experimentally
observed.Comment: 16 pages, 1 figur
Euclidean Supergravity in Terms of Dirac Eigenvalues
It has been recently shown that the eigenvalues of the Dirac operator can be
considered as dynamical variables of Euclidean gravity. The purpose of this
paper is to explore the possiblity that the eigenvalues of the Dirac operator
might play the same role in the case of supergravity. It is shown that for this
purpose some primary constraints on covariant phase space as well as secondary
constraints on the eigenspinors must be imposed. The validity of primary
constraints under covariant transport is further analyzed. It is show that in
the this case restrictions on the tanget bundle and on the spinor bundle of
spacetime arise. The form of these restrictions is determined under some
simplifying assumptions. It is also shown that manifolds with flat curvature of
tangent bundle and spinor bundle and spinor bundle satisfy these restrictons
and thus they support the Dirac eigenvalues as global observables.Comment: Misprints and formulae corrected; to appear in Phys. Rev.
The Gisin-Percival stochastic Schrödinger equation from standard quantum filtering theory
We show that the quantum state diffusion equation of Gisin and Percival,
driven by complex Wiener noise, is equivalent up to a global stochastic phase
to quantum trajectory models. With an appropriate feedback scheme, we set up an
analogue continuous measurement model with exactly simulates the Gisin-Percival
quantum state diffusion.Comment: Originally submitted to a Theoretical Physics journal but rejected
with the re-submission instructions to drop my discussion and references to
the papers of Gisin and Percival, which I consider unethical. To be now
submitted to an appropriate Mathematical Physics journal instea
Bim and Bmf synergize to induce apoptosis in Neisseria gonorrhoeae infection
Abstract: Bcl-2 family proteins including the pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins are central regulators of apoptotic cell death. Here we show by a focused siRNA miniscreen that the synergistic action of the BH3-only proteins Bim and Bmf is required for apoptosis induced by infection with Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ngo). While Bim and Bmf were associated with the cytoskeleton of healthy cells, they both were released upon Ngo infection. Loss of Bim and Bmf from the cytoskeleton fraction required the activation of Jun-N-terminal kinase-1 (JNK-1), which in turn depended on Rac-1. Depletion and inhibition of Rac-1, JNK-1, Bim, or Bmf prevented the activation of Bak and Bax and the subsequent activation of caspases. Apoptosis could be reconstituted in Bim-depleted and Bmf-depleted cells by additional silencing of antiapoptotic Mcl-1 and Bcl-XL, respectively. Our data indicate a synergistic role for both cytoskeletal-associated BH3-only proteins, Bim, and Bmf, in an apoptotic pathway leading to the clearance of Ngo-infected cells. Author Summary: A variety of physiological death signals, as well as pathological insults, trigger apoptosis, a genetically programmed form of cell death. Pathogens often induce host cell apoptosis to establish a successful infection. Neisseria gonorrhoeae (Ngo), the etiological agent of the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoea, is a highly adapted obligate human-specific pathogen and has been shown to induce apoptosis in infected cells. Here we unveil the molecular mechanisms leading to apoptosis of infected cells. We show that Ngo-mediated apoptosis requires a special subset of proapoptotic proteins from the group of BH3-only proteins. BH3-only proteins act as stress sensors to translate toxic environmental signals to the initiation of apoptosis. In a siRNA-based miniscreen, we found Bim and Bmf, BH3-only proteins associated with the cytoskeleton, necessary to induce host cell apoptosis upon infection. Bim and Bmf inactivated different inhibitors of apoptosis and thereby induced cell death in response to infection. Our data unveil a novel pathway of infection-induced apoptosis that enhances our understanding of the mechanism by which BH3-only proteins control apoptotic cell death
Oxaliplatin-DNA adduct formation in white blood cells of cancer patients
In this study, we investigated the kinetics of oxaliplatin-DNA adduct formation in white blood cells of cancer patients in relation to efficacy as well as oxaliplatin-associated neurotoxicity. Thirty-seven patients with various solid tumours received 130 mg m−2 oxaliplatin as a 2-h infusion. Oxaliplatin-DNA adduct levels were measured in the first cycle using adsorptive stripping voltammetry. Platinum concentrations were measured in ultrafiltrate and plasma using a validated flameless atomic absorption spectrometry method. DNA adduct levels showed a characteristic time course, but were not correlated to platinum pharmacokinetics and varied considerably among individuals. In patients showing tumour response, adduct levels after 24 and 48 h were significantly higher than in nonresponders. Oxaliplatin-induced neurotoxicity was more pronounced but was not significantly different in patients with high adduct levels. The potential of oxaliplatin-DNA adduct measurements as pharmacodynamic end point should be further investigated in future trials
Plasma amino acids and neopterin in healthy persons with Down’s syndrome
In persons with Down’s syndrome (DS) immunological abnormalities as well as hypothyroidism and Alzheimer type dementia are frequently observed. In addition, the activity of the enzyme cystathionine beta-synthase (CBS) is over-expressed which results in an altered homocysteine metabolism
- …