99 research outputs found
Anyons in a weakly interacting system
We describe a theoretical proposal for a system whose excitations are anyons
with the exchange phase pi/4 and charge -e/2, but, remarkably, can be built by
filling a set of single-particle states of essentially noninteracting
electrons. The system consists of an artificially structured type-II
superconducting film adjacent to a 2D electron gas in the integer quantum Hall
regime with unit filling fraction. The proposal rests on the observation that a
vacancy in an otherwise periodic vortex lattice in the superconductor creates a
bound state in the 2DEG with total charge -e/2. A composite of this
fractionally charged hole and the missing flux due to the vacancy behaves as an
anyon. The proposed setup allows for manipulation of these anyons and could
prove useful in various schemes for fault-tolerant topological quantum
computation.Comment: 7 pages with 3 figures. For related work and info visit
http://www.physics.ubc.ca/~fran
Quantum Hall Effect in a Holographic Model
We consider a holographic description of a system of strongly coupled
fermions in 2+1 dimensions based on a D7-brane probe in the background of
D3-branes, and construct stable embeddings by turning on worldvolume fluxes. We
study the system at finite temperature and charge density, and in the presence
of a background magnetic field. We show that Minkowski-like embeddings that
terminate above the horizon describe a family of quantum Hall states with
filling fractions that are parameterized by a single discrete parameter. The
quantization of the Hall conductivity is a direct consequence of the
topological quantization of the fluxes. When the magnetic field is varied
relative to the charge density away from these discrete filling fractions, the
embeddings deform continuously into black-hole-like embeddings that enter the
horizon and that describe metallic states. We also study the thermodynamics of
this system and show that there is a first order phase transition at a critical
temperature from the quantum Hall state to the metallic state.Comment: v2: 27 pages, 12 figures. There is a major revision in the
quantitative analysis. The qualitative results and conclusions are unchanged,
with one exception: we show that the quantum Hall state embeddings, which
exist for discrete values of the filling fraction, deform continuously into
metallic state embeddings away from these filling fraction
Melting of a 2D Quantum Electron Solid in High Magnetic Field
The melting temperature () of a solid is generally determined by the
pressure applied to it, or indirectly by its density () through the equation
of state. This remains true even for helium solids\cite{wilk:67}, where quantum
effects often lead to unusual properties\cite{ekim:04}. In this letter we
present experimental evidence to show that for a two dimensional (2D) solid
formed by electrons in a semiconductor sample under a strong perpendicular
magnetic field\cite{shay:97} (), the is not controlled by , but
effectively by the \textit{quantum correlation} between the electrons through
the Landau level filling factor =. Such melting behavior, different
from that of all other known solids (including a classical 2D electron solid at
zero magnetic field\cite{grim:79}), attests to the quantum nature of the
magnetic field induced electron solid. Moreover, we found the to increase
with the strength of the sample-dependent disorder that pins the electron
solid.Comment: Some typos corrected and 2 references added. Final version with minor
editoriol revisions published in Nature Physic
Statistical Coding and Decoding of Heartbeat Intervals
The heart integrates neuroregulatory messages into specific bands of frequency, such that the overall amplitude spectrum of the cardiac output reflects the variations of the autonomic nervous system. This modulatory mechanism seems to be well adjusted to the unpredictability of the cardiac demand, maintaining a proper cardiac regulation. A longstanding theory holds that biological organisms facing an ever-changing environment are likely to evolve adaptive mechanisms to extract essential features in order to adjust their behavior. The key question, however, has been to understand how the neural circuitry self-organizes these feature detectors to select behaviorally relevant information. Previous studies in computational perception suggest that a neural population enhances information that is important for survival by minimizing the statistical redundancy of the stimuli. Herein we investigate whether the cardiac system makes use of a redundancy reduction strategy to regulate the cardiac rhythm. Based on a network of neural filters optimized to code heartbeat intervals, we learn a population code that maximizes the information across the neural ensemble. The emerging population code displays filter tuning proprieties whose characteristics explain diverse aspects of the autonomic cardiac regulation, such as the compromise between fast and slow cardiac responses. We show that the filters yield responses that are quantitatively similar to observed heart rate responses during direct sympathetic or parasympathetic nerve stimulation. Our findings suggest that the heart decodes autonomic stimuli according to information theory principles analogous to how perceptual cues are encoded by sensory systems
Candida albicans Isolates from the Gut of Critically Ill Patients Respond to Phosphate Limitation by Expressing Filaments and a Lethal Phenotype
Candida albicans is an opportunistic pathogen that proliferates in the intestinal tract of critically ill patients where it continues to be a major cause of infectious-related mortality. The precise cues that shift intestinal C. albicans from its ubiquitous indolent colonizing yeast form to an invasive and lethal filamentous form remain unknown. We have previously shown that severe phosphate depletion develops in the intestinal tract during extreme physiologic stress and plays a major role in shifting intestinal Pseudomonas aeruginosa to express a lethal phenotype via conserved phosphosensory-phosphoregulatory systems. Here we studied whether phosphate dependent virulence expression could be similarly demonstrated for C. albicans. C. albicans isolates from the stool of critically ill patients and laboratory prototype strains (SC5314, BWP17, SN152) were evaluated for morphotype transformation and lethality against C. elegans and mice during exposure to phosphate limitation. Isolates ICU1 and ICU12 were able to filament and kill C. elegans in a phosphate dependent manner. In a mouse model of intestinal phosphate depletion (30% hepatectomy), direct intestinal inoculation of C. albicans caused mortality that was prevented by oral phosphate supplementation. Prototype strains displayed limited responses to phosphate limitation; however, the pho4Δ mutant displayed extensive filamentation during low phosphate conditions compared to its isogenic parent strain SN152, suggesting that mutation in the transcriptional factor Pho4p may sensitize C. albicans to phosphate limitation. Extensive filamentation was also observed in strain ICU12 suggesting that this strain is also sensitized to phosphate limitation. Analysis of the sequence of PHO4 in strain ICU12, its transcriptional response to phosphate limitation, and phosphatase assays confirmed that ICU12 demonstrates a profound response to phosphate limitation. The emergence of strains of C. albicans with marked responsiveness to phosphate limitation may represent a fitness adaptation to the complex and nutrient scarce environment typical of the gut of a critically ill patient
TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives
Inactivation of [Fe-S] Metalloproteins Mediates Nitric Oxide-Dependent Killing of Burkholderia mallei
BACKGROUND: Much remains to be known about the mechanisms by which O(2)-dependent host defenses mediate broad antimicrobial activity. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We show herein that reactive nitrogen species (RNS) generated by inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) account for the anti-Burkholderia mallei activity of IFNgamma-primed macrophages. Inducible NOS-mediated intracellular killing may represent direct bactericidal activity, because B. mallei showed an exquisite sensitivity to NO generated chemically. Exposure of B. mallei to sublethal concentrations of NO upregulated transcription of [Fe-S] cluster repair genes, while damaging the enzymatic activity of the [Fe-S] protein aconitase. To test whether [Fe-S] clusters are critical targets for RNS-dependent killing of B. mallei, a mutation was constructed in the NO-induced, [Fe-S] cluster repair regulator iscR. Not only was the iscR mutant hypersusceptible to iNOS-mediated killing, but its aconitase pool was readily oxidized by NO donors as compared to wild-type controls. Although killed by authentic H(2)O(2), which also oxidizes [Fe-S] clusters, B. mallei appear to be resilient to NADPH oxidase-mediated cytotoxicity. The poor respiratory burst elicited by this bacterium likely explains why the NADPH oxidase is nonessential to the killing of B. mallei while it is still confined within phagosomes. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Collectively, these findings have revealed a disparate role for NADPH oxidase and iNOS in the innate macrophage response against the strict aerobe B. mallei. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first instance in which disruption of [Fe-S] clusters is demonstrated as cause of the bactericidal activity of NO congeners
Quantum Spacetime Phenomenology
I review the current status of phenomenological programs inspired by
quantum-spacetime research. I stress in particular the significance of results
establishing that certain data analyses provide sensitivity to effects
introduced genuinely at the Planck scale. And my main focus is on
phenomenological programs that managed to affect the directions taken by
studies of quantum-spacetime theories.Comment: 125 pages, LaTex. This V2 is updated and more detailed than the V1,
particularly for quantum-spacetime phenomenology. The main text of this V2 is
about 25% more than the main text of the V1. Reference list roughly double
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