Preserving the measure of compatibility between quantum states

In this paper after defining the abstract concept of compatibility-like functions on quantum states, we prove that every bijective transformation on the set of all states which preserves such a function is implemented by an either unitary or antiunitary operator.Comment: 11 pages, submitted for publicatio

A propensity criterion for networking in an array of coupled chaotic systems

We examine the mutual synchronization of a one dimensional chain of chaotic identical objects in the presence of a stimulus applied to the first site. We first describe the characteristics of the local elements, and then the process whereby a global nontrivial behaviour emerges. A propensity criterion for networking is introduced, consisting in the coexistence within the attractor of a localized chaotic region, which displays high sensitivity to external stimuli,and an island of stability, which provides a reliable coupling signal to the neighbors in the chain. Based on this criterion we compare homoclinic chaos, recently explored in lasers and conjectured to be typical of a single neuron, with Lorenz chaos.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure

Climate of the Past Open Access Using palaeo-climate comparisons to constrain future projections

www.clim-past.net/10/221/2014/ doi:10.5194/cp-10-221-2014 © Author(s) 2014. CC Attribution 3.0 License

Synoptic reorganization of atmospheric flow during the Last Glacial Maximum

A coupled global atmosphere–ocean model of intermediate complexity is used to study the influence of glacial boundary conditions on the atmospheric circulation during the Last Glacial Maximum in a systematical manner. A web of atmospheric interactions is disentangled, which involves changes in the meridional temperature gradient and an associated modulation of the atmospheric baroclinicity. This in turn drives anomalous transient eddy momentum fluxes that feed back onto the zonal mean circulation. Moreover, the modified transient activity (weakened in the North Pacific and strengthened in the North Atlantic) leads to a meridional reorganization of the atmospheric heat transport, thereby feeding back onto the meridional temperature structure. Furthermore, positive barotropic conversion and baroclinic production rates over the Laurentide ice sheets and the far eastern North Pacific have the tendency to decelerate the westerlies, thereby feeding back to the stationary wave changes triggered by orographic forcing

Eastern tropical Pacific hydrologic changes during the past 27,000 years from D/H ratios in alkenones

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Paleoceanography 22 (2007): PA4214, doi:10.1029/2007PA001468.The tropical Pacific plays a central role in the climate system by providing large diabatic heating that drives the global atmospheric circulation. Quantifying the role of the tropics in late Pleistocene climate change has been hampered by the paucity of paleoclimate records from this region and the lack of realistic transient climate model simulations covering this period. Here we present records of hydrogen isotope ratios (δD) of alkenones from the Panama Basin off the Colombian coast that document hydrologic changes in equatorial South America and the eastern tropical Pacific over the past 27,000 years (a) and the past 3 centuries in detail. Comparison of alkenone δD values with instrumental records of precipitation over the past ∼100 a suggests that δD can be used as a hydrologic proxy. On long timescales our records indicate reduced rainfall during the last glacial period that can be explained by a southward shift of the mean position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and an associated reduction of Pacific moisture transport into Colombia. Precipitation increases at ∼17 ka in concert with sea surface temperature (SST) cooling in the North Atlantic and the eastern tropical Pacific. A regional coupled model, forced by negative SST anomalies in the Caribbean, simulates an intensification of northeasterly trade winds across Central America, increased evaporative cooling, and a band of increased rainfall in the northeastern tropical Pacific. These results are consistent with the alkenone SST and δD reconstructions that suggest increasing precipitation and SST cooling at the time of Heinrich event 1.K. P. and J. P. S. thank the Comer Science and Education Foundation for financial support. J. P. S. acknowledges support by the National Science Foundation (grant NSF-ESH-0639640). NSF grant OCE-0317702 funded cruise KNR176 to the Panama Basin and L. D. K.’s results presented here. A. T. is supported by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. S. P. X. is supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration CLIVAR Program, the Japan Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology through the Kyosei-7 Project, and the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology

Sensitivity of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation to South Atlantic freshwater anomalies

The sensitivity of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) to changes in basin integrated net evaporation is highly dependent on the zonal salinity contrast at the southern border of the Atlantic. Biases in the freshwater budget strongly affect the stability of the AMOC in numerical models. The impact of these biases is investigated, by adding local anomaly patterns in the South Atlantic to the freshwater fluxes at the surface. These anomalies impact the freshwater and salt transport by the different components of the ocean circulation, in particular the basin-scale salt-advection feedback, completely changing the response of the AMOC to arbitrary perturbations. It is found that an appropriate dipole anomaly pattern at the southern border of the Atlantic Ocean can collapse the AMOC entirely even without a further hosing. The results suggest a new view on the stability of the AMOC, controlled by processes in the South Atlantic. <br/

Novel natural withanolides induce apoptosis and inhibit migration of neuroblastoma cells through down regulation of N-myc and suppression of Akt/mTOR/NF-κB activation

Despite recent advances in intensive chemotherapy treatments, long-term success is achieved in less than 30% of children with high-risk neuroblastoma (NB). Key regulatory pathways including the PI3K/Akt, mTOR and NF-κB are implicated in the pathogenesis of NB. Although drugs targeting these individual pathways are in clinical trials, they are not effective due to the activation of compensatory mechanisms. We have previously reported that natural novel withanolides from Physalis longifolia can potently inhibit these key regulatory pathways simultaneously. In the present study, we examined the efficacy and mechanisms through which novel withanolides and their acetate derivatives (WGA-TA and WGB-DA) from P.longifolia kill NB cells. The results from the study demonstrated that our novel acetate derivatives are highly effective in inhibiting the proliferation, shifting the cell cycle and inducing apoptosis in a dose dependent manner. Analysis of oncogenic pathway proteins targeted by withanolides indicated induction of heat shock response due to oxidative stress. Dose dependent decrease in clients of HSP90 chaperone function due to suppression of Akt, mTOR, and NF-κB pathways led to decrease in the expressions of target genes such as cyclin D1, N-myc and Survivin. Additionally, there was a dose dependent attenuation of the migration and invasion of NB cells. Furthermore, the lead compound WGA-TA showed significant reduction in tumor growth of NB xenografts. Taken together, these results suggest that withanolides are an effective therapeutic option against NBs