Polaron Physics in Optical Lattices

We investigate the effects of a nearly uniform Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC) on the properties of immersed trapped impurity atoms. Using a weak-coupling expansion in the BEC-impurity interaction strength, we derive a model describing polarons, i.e., impurities dressed by a coherent state of Bogoliubov phonons, and apply it to ultracold bosonic atoms in an optical lattice. We show that, with increasing BEC temperature, the transport properties of the impurities change from coherent to diffusive. Furthermore, stable polaron clusters are formed via a phonon-mediated off-site attraction.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Open Systems Viewed Through Their Conservative Extensions

A typical linear open system is often defined as a component of a larger conservative one. For instance, a dielectric medium, defined by its frequency dependent electric permittivity and magnetic permeability is a part of a conservative system which includes the matter with all its atomic complexity. A finite slab of a lattice array of coupled oscillators modelling a solid is another example. Assuming that such an open system is all one wants to observe, we ask how big a part of the original conservative system (possibly very complex) is relevant to the observations, or, in other words, how big a part of it is coupled to the open system? We study here the structure of the system coupling and its coupled and decoupled components, showing, in particular, that it is only the system's unique minimal extension that is relevant to its dynamics, and this extension often is tiny part of the original conservative system. We also give a scenario explaining why certain degrees of freedom of a solid do not contribute to its specific heat.Comment: 51 page

Cannabinoid ligands, receptors and enzymes: pharmacological tools and therapeutic potential

Endocannabinoids have been identified to have roles in numerous physiological and pathological processes. Largely due to the association of the effects of Cannabis administration on mental states, the CNS impact of the endocannabinoid system has been the most intensively studied. Here, we provide a brief summary of the endocannabinoid system, comprising the receptors and the multiple endogenous lipid derivatives which activate them, as well as the enzymes which control the levels of these lipid derivatives. We identify pharmacological tools which may be used to interrogate the endocannabinoid system, as well as current and future options to exploit the system in the clinic

Maternal Immune Activation in Nonhuman Primates Alters Social Attention in Juvenile Offspring

BACKGROUND: Sickness during pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of offspring neurodevelopmental disorders. Rodent models have played a critical role in establishing causal relationships and identifying mechanisms of altered brain and behavior development in pups prenatally exposed to maternal immune activation (MIA). We recently developed a novel nonhuman primate model to bridge the gap between human epidemiological studies and rodent models of prenatal immune challenge. Our initial results demonstrated that rhesus monkeys given the viral mimic synthetic double-stranded RNA (polyinosinic:polycytidylic acid stabilized with poly-l-lysine) during pregnancy produce offspring with abnormal repetitive behaviors, altered communication, and atypical social interactions. METHODS: We utilized noninvasive infrared eye tracking to further evaluate social processing capabilities in a subset of the first trimester MIA-exposed offspring (n = 4) and control animals (n = 4) from our previous study. RESULTS: As juveniles, the MIA offspring differed from control animals on several measures of social attention, particularly when viewing macaque faces depicting the fear grimace facial expression. Compared with control animals, MIA offspring had a longer latency before fixating on the eyes, had fewer fixations directed at the eyes, and spent less total time fixating on the eyes of the fear grimace images. CONCLUSIONS: In the rhesus monkey model, exposure to MIA at the end of the first trimester results in abnormal gaze patterns to salient social information. The use of noninvasive eye tracking extends the findings from rodent MIA models to more human-like behaviors resembling those in both autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia

Long-lasting effects of methocinnamox on opioid self-administration in rhesus monkeys

Opioid abuse remains a serious public health challenge, despite the availability of medications that are effective in some patients (naltrexone, buprenorphine, and methadone). This study explored the potential of a pseudoirreversible mu-opioid receptor antagonist [methocinnamox (MCAM)] as a treatment for opioid abuse by examining its capacity to attenuate the reinforcing effects of mu-opioid receptor agonists in rhesus monkeys. In one experiment, monkeys responded for heroin (n 5 5) or cocaine (n 5 4) under a fixed-ratio schedule. Another group (n 5 3) worked under a choice procedure with one alternative delivering food and the other alternative delivering the mu-opioid receptor agonist remifentanil. A third group (n 5 4) responded for food and physiologic parameters were measured via telemetry. The effects of MCAM were determined in all experiments and, in some cases, were compared with those of naltrexone. When given immediately before sessions, naltrexone dose-dependently decreased responding for heroin and decreased choice of remifentanil while increasing choice of food, with responding returning to baseline levels 1 day after naltrexone injection. MCAM also decreased responding for heroin and decreased choice of remifentanil while increasing choice of food; however, opioid-maintained responding remained decreased for several days after treatment. Doses of MCAM that significantly decreased opioid-maintained responding did not decrease responding for cocaine or food. MCAM did not impact heart rate, blood pressure, body temperature, or activity at doses that decreased opioid self-administration. Because MCAM selectively attenuates opioid self-administration for prolonged periods, this novel drug could be a safe and effective alternative to currently available treatments for opioid abuse.</p

Diffusion and Trapping on a one-dimensional lattice

The properties of a particle diffusing on a one-dimensional lattice where at each site a random barrier and a random trap act simultaneously on the particle are investigated by numerical and analytical techniques. The combined effect of disorder and traps yields a decreasing survival probability with broad distribution (log-normal). Exact enumerations, effective-medium approximation and spectral analysis are employed. This one-dimensional model shows rather rich behaviours which were previously believed to exist only in higher dimensionality. The possibility of a trapping-dominated super universal class is suggested.Comment: 20 pages, Revtex 3.0, 13 figures in compressed format using uufiles command, to appear in Phys. Rev. E, for an hard copy or problems e-mail to: [email protected]

Environmental pharmacology—Dosing the environment: IUPHAR review 36

Pesticide action is predominantly measured as a toxicological outcome, with pharmacological impact of sublethal doses on bystander species left largely undocumented. Likewise, chronic exposure, which often results in responses different from acute administration, has also been understudied. In this article, we propose the application of standard pharmacological principles, already used to establish safe clinical dosing regimens in humans, to the ‘dosing of the environment’. These principles include relating the steady state dose of an agent to its beneficial effects (e.g. pest control), while minimising harmful impacts (e.g. off‐target bioactivity in beneficial insects). We propose the term ‘environmental therapeutic window’, analogous to that used in mammalian pharmacology, to guide risk assessment. To make pharmacological terms practically useful to environmental protection, quantitative data on pesticide action need to be made available in a freely accessible database, which should include toxicological and pharmacological impacts on both target and off‐target species

A boron-oxygen transborylation strategy for a catalytic Midland reduction

The enantioselective hydroboration of ketones is a textbook reaction requiring stoichiometric amounts of an enantioenriched borane, with the Midland reduction being a seminal example. Here, a turnover strategy for asymmetric catalysis, boron.oxygen transborylation, has been developed and used to transform the stoichiometric borane reagents of the Midland reduction into catalysts. This turnover strategy was demonstrated by the enantioselective reduction of ketones, including derivatives of biologically active molecules and those containing reducible groups. The enantioenriched borane catalyst was generated in situ from commercially available reagents, 9-borabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane (H-B-9-BBN) and β-pinene, and B.O transborylation with pinacolborane (HBpin) was used for catalytic turnover. Mechanistic studies indicated that B.O transborylation proceeded by B.O/B.H boron exchange through a stereoretentive, concerted transition state, resembling σ-bond metathesis