107 research outputs found
Memory Effects in Spontaneous Emission Processes
We consider a quantum-mechanical analysis of spontaneous emission in terms of
an effective two-level system with a vacuum decay rate and
transition angular frequency . Our analysis is in principle exact,
even though presented as a numerical solution of the time-evolution including
memory effects. The results so obtained are confronted with previous
discussions in the literature. In terms of the {\it dimensionless} lifetime
of spontaneous emission, we obtain deviations from
exponential decay of the form for the decay amplitude as
well as the previously obtained asymptotic behaviors of the form or for . The actual
asymptotic behavior depends on the adopted regularization procedure as well as
on the physical parameters at hand. We show that for any reasonable range of
and for a sufficiently large value of the required angular frequency
cut-off of the electro-magnetic fluctuations, i.e. , one obtains either a or a
dependence. In the presence of physical boundaries, which can change the decay
rate with many orders of magnitude, the conclusions remains the same after a
suitable rescaling of parameters.Comment: 13 pages, 5 figures and 46 reference
The TNF Receptors p55 and p75 Mediate Chemotaxis of PMN Induced by TNFα and a TNFα 36–62 Peptide
The present study was performed to examine whether residues
36–62 of TNFα contain the chemotactic domain of
TNFα, and whether the p55 and p75 TNF receptors are involved
in TNFα induced chemotaxis. The chemotactic effect of
TNFα on PMN was inhibited by the mAbs Hrt-7b and Utr-1,
against the p55 and p75 TNF receptors, respectively. Both receptors may
therefore be required for mediating the chemotactic effect of TNFcz.
The synthetic TNFα 36–62, similar to TNFα, had
chemotactic effects on both PMN and monocytes. The chemotactic
activity of the TNFα 36–62 peptide on PMN, was inhibited
by Htr-7b, Utr-1 and soluble p55 receptor, which shows that the
peptide possessed the ability to induce chemotaxis through the TNF
receptors. In contrast to TNFα, the peptide did not show a
cytotoxic activity against WEHI 164 flbrosarcoma cells. It is
suggested that different domains of the TNFα molecule induce
distinct biological effects
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A widely distributed metalloenzyme class enables gut microbial metabolism of host- and diet-derived catechols.
Catechol dehydroxylation is a central chemical transformation in the gut microbial metabolism of plant- and host-derived small molecules. However, the molecular basis for this transformation and its distribution among gut microorganisms are poorly understood. Here, we characterize a molybdenum-dependent enzyme from the human gut bacterium Eggerthella lenta that dehydroxylates catecholamine neurotransmitters. Our findings suggest that this activity enables E. lenta to use dopamine as an electron acceptor. We also identify candidate dehydroxylases that metabolize additional host- and plant-derived catechols. These dehydroxylases belong to a distinct group of largely uncharacterized molybdenum-dependent enzymes that likely mediate primary and secondary metabolism in multiple environments. Finally, we observe catechol dehydroxylation in the gut microbiotas of diverse mammals, confirming the presence of this chemistry in habitats beyond the human gut. These results suggest that the chemical strategies that mediate metabolism and interactions in the human gut are relevant to a broad range of species and habitats
Creating Ioffe-Pritchard micro-traps from permanent magnetic film with in-plane magnetization
We present designs for Ioffe-Pritchard type magnetic traps using planar
patterns of hard magnetic material. Two samples with different pattern designs
were produced by spark erosion of 40 m thick FePt foil. The pattern on the
first sample yields calculated axial and radial trap frequencies of 51 Hz and
6.8 kHz, respectively. For the second sample the calculated frequencies are 34
Hz and 11 kHz. The structures were used successfully as a magneto-optical trap
for Rb and loaded as a magnetic trap. A third design, based on
lithographically patterned 250 nm thick FePt film on a Si substrate, yields an
array of 19 traps with calculated axial and radial trap frequencies of 1.5 kHz
and 110 kHz, respectively.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures Revised and accepted for EPJD, improved picture
Scheme for generating entangled states of two field modes in a cavity
This paper considers a two-level atom interacting with two cavity modes with
equal frequencies. Applying a unitary transformation, the system reduces to the
analytically solvable Jaynes-Cummings model. For some particular field states,
coherent and squeezed states, the transformation between the two bare basis's,
related by the unitary transformation, becomes particularly simple. It is shown
how to generate, the highly non-classical, entangled coherent states of the two
modes, both in the zero and large detuning cases. An advantage with the zero
detuning case is that the preparation is deterministic and no atomic
measurement is needed. For the large detuning situation a measurement is
required, leaving the field in either of two orthogonal entangled coherent
states.Comment: Accepted in J. Mod. Opt.; 12 pages; Replaced with revised version.
Extended discussion of experimental realizations, earlier studies in the
field and on the frequency dependence in the adiabatic eliminatio
Relative Spatial Positions of Tryptophan and Cationic Residues in Helical Membrane-active Peptides Determine Their Cytotoxicity
The cytotoxic activity of 10 analogs of the idealized amphipathic helical 21-mer peptide (KAAKKAA)3, where three of the Ala residues at different positions have been replaced with Trp residues, has been investigated. The peptide's cytotoxic activity was found to be markedly dependent upon the position of the Trp residues within the hydrophobic sector of an idealized α-helix. The peptides with Trp residues located opposite the cationic sector displayed no antitumor activity, whereas those peptides with two or three Trp residues located adjacent to the cationic sector exhibited high cytotoxic activity when tested against three different cancer cell lines. Dye release experiments revealed that in contrast to the peptides with Trp residues located opposite the cationic sector, the peptides with Trp residues located adjacent to the cationic sector induced a strong permeabilizing activity from liposomes composed of a mixture of zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine and negatively charged phosphatidylserine (1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC)/1-palmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho-l-serine (POPS)) (2:1) but not from liposomes composed of zwitterionic phosphatidylcholine, POPC. Fluorescence blue shift and quenching experiments revealed that Trp residues inserted deeper into the hydrophobic environment of POPC/POPS liposomes for peptides with high cytotoxic activity. Through circular dichroism studies, a correlation between the cytotoxic activity and the α-helical propensity was established. Structural studies of one inactive and two active peptides in the presence of micelles using NMR spectroscopy showed that only the active peptides adopted highly coiled to helical structures when bound to a membrane surface.publishedVersio
Macroscopic Interference Effects in Resonant Cavities
We investigate the possibility of interference effects induced by macroscopic
quantum-mechanical superpositions of almost othogonal coherent states - a
Schroedinger cats state - in a resonant microcavity. Despite the fact that a
single atom, used as a probe of the cat state, on the average only change the
mean number of photons by one unit, we show that this single atom can change
the system drastically. Interference between the initial and almost orthogonal
macroscopic quantum states of the radiation field can now take place.
Dissipation under current experimental conditions is taken into account and it
is found that this does not necessarily change the intereference effects
dramatically.Comment: 20 pages, 3 figure
Thermal spin flips in atom chips
Published versio
Towards quantum computing with single atoms and optical cavities on atom chips
We report on recent developments in the integration of optical
microresonators into atom chips and describe some fabrication and
implementation challenges. We also review theoretical proposals for quantum
computing with single atoms based on the observation of photons leaking through
the cavity mirrors. The use of measurements to generate entanglement can result
in simpler, more robust and scalable quantum computing architectures. Indeed,
we show that quantum computing with atom-cavity systems is feasible even in the
presence of relatively large spontaneous decay rates and finite photon detector
efficiencies.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure
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