Targeting FGF8a Promoter for Gene Expression

In this paper, I will be assisting in developing a new method of characterizing communication between the enhancers and promoter within the fgf8a gene in vertebrates, specifically in zebrafish. The fgf8a gene controls important growth functions and regulates developmental processes in zebrafish. Currently, there is no understanding on how the enhancers function within the fgf8a gene, thus my research will further describe gene regulation and the role of these enhancers. My expected outcomes are to create specific engineered CRISPR RNA that will target the gene promoter and to potentially visualize the gene promoter within the nucleus. Previous research studied the role of enhancers in deceased samples and our research will develop an approach for imaging the promoter portion of the gene in real-time. Targeting the promoter is the first step to identifying the interaction between the promoter and enhancers in the fgf8a gene. Two CRISPR RNA sequences developed to target the fgf8a promoter were inserted into zebrafish embryos to test against a control. We conducted an inexpensive, rapid genomic extraction method with a high-resolution melt assay that is more sensitive and allows early detection of CRISPR-induced indels in zebrafish. The results showed that the CRISPR RNA sequences caused a mutation in genetic expression and confirmed targeting of the fgf8a promoter. These findings will lead us to a step closer in visualizing the interaction of the enhancers and promoters of the gene to further understand its regulation. Demonstrating and defining how this gene expresses itself in zebrafish can advance our understanding of gene expression in human development

Vortices in exciton-polariton condensates with polarization splitting

The presence of polarization splitting of exciton-polariton branches in planar semiconductor microcavities has a pronounced effect on vortices in polariton condensates. We show that the TE-TM splitting leads to the coupling between the left and right half-vortices (vortices in the right and left circular components of the condensate), that otherwise do not interact. We analyze also the effect of linear polarization pinning resulted from a fixed splitting between two perpendicular linear polarizations. In this case, half-vortices acquire strings (solitons) attached to them. The half-vortices with strings can be detected by observing the interference fringes of light emitted from the cavity in two circular polarizations. The string affects the fringes in both polarizations. Namely, the half-vortex is characterized by an asymmetric fork-like dislocation in one circular polarization; the fringes in the other circular polarization are continuous, but they are shifted by crossing the string.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figs, Optics of Excitons in Confined Systems 11 (Madrid, 7-11 september 2009

Ensemble Quantum Computation with atoms in periodic potentials

We show how to perform universal quantum computation with atoms confined in optical lattices which works both in the presence of defects and without individual addressing. The method is based on using the defects in the lattice, wherever they are, both to ``mark'' different copies on which ensemble quantum computation is carried out and to define pointer atoms which perform the quantum gates. We also show how to overcome the problem of scalability on this system

IceCube3--a new window on the Universe

This paper gives an overview of the scientific goals of IceCube with an emphasis on the importance of atmospheric neutrinos. Status and schedule for completing the detector are presented.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, to appear in A.I.P. Conf. Proceedings, 3rd Latin American School on Cosmic Rays, Arequipa, Peru, September, 200

Dipole-dipole Interactions Through a Lens

We study the fluctuation-mediated interactions between two atoms in the presence of an aplanatic lens, demonstrating an enhancement in their resonant dipole-dipole interaction. We derive the field propagation of the linear optical system in terms of the electromagnetic Green's tensor for an aplanatic lens. The collective internal atomic dynamics is analyzed via a Lindblad master equation, which allows one to characterize the dispersive and dissipative interactions between atoms. We thus demonstrate that the resonant dipole-dipole coupling between the atoms can be enhanced in the focal plane of the lens, and the lens-modified energy exchange between the atoms can create a mutual trapping potential. Our work opens new avenues for expanding dipole-dipole interactions to macroscopic scales and the experimental platforms to study them

Sequential Generation of Matrix-Product States in Cavity QED

We study the sequential generation of entangled photonic and atomic multi-qubit states in the realm of cavity QED. We extend the work of C. Schoen et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 95, 110503 (2005)], where it was shown that all states generated in a sequential manner can be classified efficiently in terms of matrix-product states. In particular, we consider two scenarios: photonic multi-qubit states sequentially generated at the cavity output of a single-photon source and atomic multi-qubit states generated by their sequential interaction with the same cavity mode.Comment: 11 page