148 research outputs found
Detecting phonons and persistent currents in toroidal Bose-Einstein condensates by means of pattern formation
We theoretically investigate the dynamic properties of a Bose-Einstein
condensate in a toroidal trap. A periodic modulation of the transverse
confinement is shown to produce a density pattern due to parametric
amplification of phonon pairs. By imaging the density distribution after free
expansion one obtains i) a precise determination of the Bogoliubov spectrum and
ii) a sensitive detection of quantized circulation in the torus. The parametric
amplification is also sensitive to thermal and quantum fluctuations.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures; new figures, revised version to appear as a Rapid
Communication in Physical Review
Oral amelanotic melanoma: a case report
Objectives. Primary oral melanoma is a very rare malignancy, representing about 0.5% of all melanomas, characterized by a wide clinical-histological variability and a very aggressive behavior. Aim of the present study is to describe
a case of oral amelanotic melanoma, an infrequent variant with a poorer prognosis than that of pigmented
melanomas for a more aggressive biological behavior and frequent delays for the correct diagnosis and for starting the treatment.
Case report. A 53-year-old white man referred at the Department Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences for a macular, scarsely pigmented lesion with irregular margins, located on anterior region of hard palate. The lesion, completely asymptomatic and without any history of trauma or injury, was observed by his dentist some months ago. The patient
was a smoker (about 20 cigarettes a day for 30 years) and his anamnesis was negative for any systemic diseases and drug assumption. Histological examination, following the incisional biopsy, showed the hyperplasia of the junctional melanocytes with occasionally dendritic appearance and light atypia; on the recommendation of pathologist, a second incisional biopsy was performed, and a definitive diagnosis of “amelanotic melanoma in situ” was confirmed. After diagnosis,
the patient was referred to the unit of Head and Neck Surgery for staging and surgical approach of the lesion.
Conclusions. This case report underlines the importance to perform biopsy of all lesions of the oral cavity to rule out malignancy, even when slightly colored, asymptomatic and with a clinically harmless presentation. Besides benign
diseases (e.g melanotic macules, nevi, extravasation of blood pigments, amalgam tattoos and deposition of other exogenous/endogenous pigments), rare variant of non-pigmented melanoma should be considered in order to avoid a dangerous diagnostic and therapeutic delay
The fate of phonons in freely expanding Bose-Einstein condensates
Phonon-like excitations can be imprinted into a trapped Bose-Einstein
condensate of cold atoms using light scattering. If the condensate is suddenly
let to freely expand, the initial phonons lose their collective character by
transferring their energy and momentum to the motion of individual atoms. The
basic mechanisms of this evaporation process are investigated by using the
Gross-Pitaevskii theory and dynamically rescaled Bogoliubov equations.
Different regimes of evaporation are shown to occur depending on the phonon
wavelength. Distinctive signatures of the evaporated phonons are visible in the
density distribution of the expanded gas, thus providing a new type of
spectroscopy of Bogoliubov excitations.Comment: 13 pages, 16 figure
Bragg spectroscopy of a strongly interacting Bose-Einstein condensate
We study Bragg spectroscopy of a strongly interacting Bose-Einstein
condensate using time-dependent Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov theory. We include
approximatively the effect of the momentum dependent scattering amplitude which
is shown to be the dominant factor in determining the spectrum for large
momentum Bragg scattering. The condensation of the Bragg scattered atoms is
shown to significantly alter the observed excitation spectrum by creating a
novel pairing channel of mobile pairs.Comment: 11 pages, 4 figure
The treatment of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (Mronj): A systematic review with a pooled analysis of only surgery versus combined protocols
Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is a serious adverse reaction of antiresorptive and antiangiogenic agents, and it is also a potentially painful and debilitating condition. To date, no specific studies have prospectively evaluated the efficacy of its treatment and no robust standard of care has been established. Therefore, a systematic review (2007–2020) with a pooled analysis was performed in order to compare MRONJ surgical techniques (conservative or aggressive) versus combined surgical procedures (surgery plus a non-invasive procedure), where 1137 patients were included in the pooled analysis. A statistically significant difference in the 6-month improvement rate, comparing combined conservative surgery versus only aggressive (91% versus 72%, p = 0.05), was observed. No significant difference regarding any group with respect to the 6-month total resolution rate (82% versus 72%) was demonstrated. Of note, conservative surgery combined with various, adjuvant, non-invasive procedures (ozone, LLLT or blood component + Nd:YAG) was found to achieve partial or full healing in all stages, with improved results and the amelioration of many variables. In conclusion, specific adjuvant treatments associated with minimally conservative surgery can be considered effective and safe in the treatment of MRONJ, although well-controlled studies are a requisite in arriving at definitive statements
Collapse and revival of oscillations in a parametrically excited Bose-Einstein condensate in combined harmonic and optical lattice trap
In this work, we study parametric resonances in an elongated cigar-shaped BEC
in a combined harmonic trap and a time dependent optical lattice by using
numerical and analytical techniques. We show that there exists a relative
competition between the harmonic trap which tries to spatially localize the BEC
and the time varying optical lattice which tries to delocalize the BEC. This
competition gives rise to parametric resonances (collapse and revival of the
oscillations of the BEC width). Parametric resonances disappear when one of the
competing factors i.e strength of harmonic trap or the strength of optical
lattice dominates. Parametric instabilities (exponential growth of Bogoliubov
modes) arise for large variations in the strength of the optical lattice.Comment: 9 pages, 20 figure
Bogoliubov spectrum and Bragg spectroscopy of elongated Bose-Einstein condensates
The behavior of the momentum transferred to a trapped Bose-Einstein
condensate by a two-photon Bragg pulse reflects the structure of the underlying
Bogoliubov spectrum. In elongated condensates, axial phonons with different
number of radial nodes give rise to a multibranch spectrum which can be
resolved in Bragg spectroscopy, as shown by Steinhauer {\it et al.} [Phys. Rev.
Lett. {\bf 90}, 060404 (2003)]. Here we present a detailed theoretical analysis
of this process. We calculate the momentum transferred by numerically solving
the time dependent Gross-Pitaevskii equation. In the case of a cylindrical
condensate, we compare the results with those obtained by linearizing the
Gross-Pitaevskii equation and using a quasiparticle projection method. This
analysis shows how the axial-phonon branches affect the momentum transfer, in
agreement with our previous interpretation of the observed data. We also
discuss the applicability of this type of spectroscopy to typical available
condensates, as well as the role of nonlinear effects.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures, minor changes, typos correcte
Secondary Somatic Mutations in G-Protein-Related Pathways and Mutation Signatures in Uveal Melanoma
Background: Uveal melanoma (UM), a rare cancer of the eye, is characterized by initiating mutations in the genes G-protein subunit alpha Q (GNAQ), G-protein subunit alpha 11 (GNA11), cysteinyl leukotriene receptor 2 (CYSLTR2), and phospholipase C beta 4 (PLCB4) and by metastasis-promoting mutations in the genes splicing factor 3B1 (SF3B1), serine and arginine rich splicing factor 2 (SRSF2), and BRCA1-associated protein 1 (BAP1). Here, we tested the hypothesis that additional mutations, though occurring in only a few cases (\u201csecondary drivers\u201d), might influence tumor development. Methods: We analyzed all the 4125 mutations detected in exome sequencing datasets, comprising a total of 139 Ums, and tested the enrichment of secondary drivers in Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) pathways that also contained the initiating mutations. We searched for additional mutations in the putative secondary driver gene protein tyrosine kinase 2 beta (PTK2B) and we developed new mutational signatures that explain the mutational pattern observed in UM. Results: Secondary drivers were significantly enriched in KEGG pathways that also contained GNAQ and GNA11, such as the calcium-signaling pathway. Many of the secondary drivers were known cancer driver genes and were strongly associated with metastasis and survival. We identified additional mutations in PTK2B. Sparse dictionary learning allowed for the identification of mutational signatures specific for UM. Conclusions: A considerable part of rare mutations that occur in addition to known driver mutations are likely to affect tumor development and progression
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