78 research outputs found
Control of induced infestations of adult Amblyomma hebraeum with sustained release ivermectin
The efficacy of ivermectin, administered in a sustained release formulation by intraruminal pumps at approximate daily dose rates of 20, 40 and 60 µg/kg, was evaluated in 16 cattle against induced infestations of 3 strains of adult Amblyomma hebraeum. Engorged female ticks were mass-measured and incubated, and reproductive data recorded. There was an increase in mortality of male and female ticks compared to that of controls with increasing daily dose of ivermectin, and a decrease in the number of ticks engorging. Ticks fed on ivermectin-treated cattle had a smaller mass when engorged and laid smaller egg masses, both absolutely and as a proportion of engorged mass. Index of reproduction was reduced 100 % at 60 µg/kg /day, > 99 % at 40 µg/kg/day and 96 % at 20 µg/kg/day. Differences occurred between the 3 strains of A. hebraeum used in the study, especially with regard to engorged mass and reproductive variables. Practical implications of the application of sustained release ivermectin for the control of A. hebraeum, specifically with reference to heartwater (Cowdria ruminantium), are discussed.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590; 600dpi.
Adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format.lmchunu2014mn201
Information and noise in quantum measurement
Even though measurement results obtained in the real world are generally both
noisy and continuous, quantum measurement theory tends to emphasize the ideal
limit of perfect precision and quantized measurement results. In this article,
a more general concept of noisy measurements is applied to investigate the role
of quantum noise in the measurement process. In particular, it is shown that
the effects of quantum noise can be separated from the effects of information
obtained in the measurement. However, quantum noise is required to ``cover up''
negative probabilities arising as the quantum limit is approached. These
negative probabilities represent fundamental quantum mechanical correlations
between the measured variable and the variables affected by quantum noise.Comment: 16 pages, short comment added in II.B., final version for publication
in Phys. Rev.
Feedback-control of quantum systems using continuous state-estimation
We present a formulation of feedback in quantum systems in which the best
estimates of the dynamical variables are obtained continuously from the
measurement record, and fed back to control the system. We apply this method to
the problem of cooling and confining a single quantum degree of freedom, and
compare it to current schemes in which the measurement signal is fed back
directly in the manner usually considered in existing treatments of quantum
feedback. Direct feedback may be combined with feedback by estimation, and the
resulting combination, performed on a linear system, is closely analogous to
classical LQG control theory with residual feedback.Comment: 12 pages, multicol revtex, revised and extende
Interpretation of quantum jump and diffusion-processes illustrated on the Bloch sphere
It is shown that the evolution of an open quantum system whose density operator obeys a Markovian master equation can in some cases be meaningfully described in terms of stochastic Schrödinger equations (SSE’s) for its state vector. A necessary condition for this is that the information carried away from the system by the bath (source of the irreversibility) be recoverable. The primary field of application is quantum optics, where the bath consists of the continuum of electromagnetic modes. The information lost from the system can be recovered using a perfect photodetector. The state of the system conditioned on the photodetections undergoes stochastic quantum jumps. Alternative measurement schemes on the outgoing light (homodyne and heterodyne detection) are shown to give rise to SSE’s with diffusive terms. These three detection schemes are illustrated on a simple quantum system, the two-level atom, giving new perspectives on the interpretation of measurement results. The reality of these and other stochastic processes for state vectors is discussed
Fluctuations of Quantum Currents and Unravelings of Master Equations
The very notion of a current fluctuation is problematic in the quantum
context. We study that problem in the context of nonequilibrium statistical
mechanics, both in a microscopic setup and in a Markovian model. Our answer is
based on a rigorous result that relates the weak coupling limit of fluctuations
of reservoir observables under a global unitary evolution with the statistics
of the so-called quantum trajectories. These quantum trajectories are
frequently considered in the context of quantum optics, but they remain useful
for more general nonequilibrium systems.
In contrast with the approaches found in the literature, we do not assume
that the system is continuously monitored. Instead, our starting point is a
relatively realistic unitary dynamics of the full system.Comment: 18 pages, v1-->v2, Replaced the former Appendix B by a (thematically)
different one. Mainly changes in the introductory Section 2+ added reference
Dynamic generation of maximally entangled photon multiplets by adiabatic passage
The adiabatic passage scheme for quantum state synthesis, in which atomic
Zeeman coherences are mapped to photon states in an optical cavity, is extended
to the general case of two degenerate cavity modes with orthogonal
polarization. Analytical calculations of the dressed-state structure and Monte
Carlo wave-function simulations of the system dynamics show that, for a
suitably chosen cavity detuning, it is possible to generate states of photon
multiplets that are maximally entangled in polarization. These states display
nonclassical correlations of the type described by Greenberger, Horne, and
Zeilinger (GHZ). An experimental scheme to realize a GHZ measurement using
coincidence detection of the photons escaping from the cavity is proposed. The
correlations are found to originate in the dynamics of the adiabatic passage
and persist even if cavity decay and GHZ state synthesis compete on the same
time scale. Beyond entangled field states, it is also possible to generate
entanglement between photons and the atom by using a different atomic
transition and initial Zeeman state.Comment: 22 pages (RevTeX), including 23 postscript figures. To be published
in Physical Review
Creating number states in the micromaser using feedback
We use the quantum theory of feedback developed by Wiseman and Milburn [Phys. Rev. Lett. 70, 548 (1993)] and Wiseman [Phys. Rev. A 49, 2133 (1994)] to investigate the photon-number noise properties of the micromaser with direct detection feedback. We find that the feedback can significantly reduce the amount of noise in the photon number. Under the right conditions the feedback locks the systems onto a number state. As opposed to other schemes in the past [P. Meystre, Opt. Lett. 12, 669 (1987); J. Krause, M. O. Scully, and H. Walther, Phys. Rev. A 36, 4547 (1987)], we can fix the number states to which the system evolves. We also simulate the micromaser using the quantum-trajectories method and show that these results agree with the quantum theory of feedback. We show that the noise of quantum island states [P. Bogar, J. A. Bergou, and M. Hillary, Phys. Rev. A 50, 754 (1994)] can be significantly reduced by the feedback
Association of interatrial septal abnormalities with cardiac impulse conduction disorders in adult patients: experience from a tertiary center in Kosovo
Interatrial septal disorders, which include: atrial septal defect, patent foramen ovale and atrial septal aneurysm, are frequent congenital anomalies found in adult patients. Early detection of these anomalies is important to prevent their hemodynamic and/or thromboembolic consequences. The aims of this study were: to assess the association between impulse conduction disorders and anomalies of interatrial septum; to determine the prevalence of different types of interatrial septum abnormalities; to assess anatomic, hemodynamic, and clinical consequences of interatrial septal pathologies. Fifty-three adult patients with impulse conduction disorders and patients without ECG changes but with signs of interatrial septal abnormalities, who were referred to our center for echocardiography, were included in a prospective transesophageal echocardiography study. Interatrial septal anomalies were detected in around 85% of the examined patients. Patent foramen ovale was encountered in 32% of the patients, and in combination with atrial septal aneurysm in an additional 11.3% of cases. Atrial septal aneurysm and atrial septal defect were diagnosed with equal frequency in 20.7% of our study population. Impulse conduction disorders were significantly more suggestive of interatrial septal anomalies than clinical signs and symptoms observed in our patients (84.91% vs 30.19%, P=0.002). Right bundle branch block was the most frequent impulse conduction disorder, found in 41 (77.36%) cases. We conclude that interatrial septal anomalies are highly associated with impulse conduction disorders, particularly with right bundle branch block. Impulse conduction disorders are more indicative of interatrial septal abnormalities in earlier stages than can be understood from the patient’s clinical condition
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The Origin, Early Evolution and Predictability of Solar Eruptions
Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were discovered in the early 1970s when space-borne coronagraphs revealed that eruptions of plasma are ejected from the Sun. Today, it is known that the Sun produces eruptive flares, filament eruptions, coronal mass ejections and failed eruptions; all thought to be due to a release of energy stored in the coronal magnetic field during its drastic reconfiguration. This review discusses the observations and physical mechanisms behind this eruptive activity, with a view to making an assessment of the current capability of forecasting these events for space weather risk and impact mitigation. Whilst a wealth of observations exist, and detailed models have been developed, there still exists a need to draw these approaches together. In particular more realistic models are encouraged in order to asses the full range of complexity of the solar atmosphere and the criteria for which an eruption is formed. From the observational side, a more detailed understanding of the role of photospheric flows and reconnection is needed in order to identify the evolutionary path that ultimately means a magnetic structure will erupt
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