7,632 research outputs found
947-114 Effects of Azimilide (NE-10064) on Cardiac K Channels
To understand the cellular mechanism of action of azimilide (Aziml, a novel class III antiarrhythmic agent, we studied its effegts on K currents in guinea pig and canine ventricular myocytes: slow (lKs) and rapid (lKr) delayed rectifier, inward rectifier (lKI) and transient outward (Ito) currents. To facilitate the quantification and comparison of drug potencies, the recording conditions were designed to “isolate” these K currents from other ionic currents and from each other. In particular, since it is difficult to separate IKrand IKsunder normal physiological conditions, a Na- and Ca-free external solution was used to dissect the two. This was confirmed by the selective action of dofetilide. Azim blocked IKsconcentration dependently (0.2–10 μM) and reversibly. Block was potentiated by more positive VtAt±30 mV, 2 μM Azim blocked IKsby 58±13% (n=6). Azim caused a time-dependent reduction of IKsduring depolarization and slowed IKsdeactivation, suggesting that block and unblock occurred mainly in the open state. Azim also blocked IKrconcentration dependently (0.1–2 μM)and reversibly. At -20 mV, 1 μM Azim blocked IKrby 86±10% (n=3). On the other hand, Ito(IC50> 10 μM.n=6) and IKI(IC50> 50 μM.n=2) were much less sensitive to Azim than IKror IKSIn conclusion, blockade of both delayed rectifiers makes important contributions to the class III action of Azim
Fast-Light in a Photorefractive Crystal for Gravitational Wave Detection
We demonstrate superluminal light propagation using two frequency multiplexed
pump beams to produce a gain doublet in a photorefractive crystal of Ce:BaTiO3.
The two gain lines are obtained by two-wave mixing between a probe field and
two individual pump fields. The angular frequencies of the pumps are
symmetrically tuned from the frequency of the probe. The frequency difference
between the pumps corresponds to the separation of the two gain lines; as it
increases, the crystal gradually converts from normal dispersion without
detuning to an anomalously dispersive medium. The time advance is measured as
0.28 sec for a pulse propagating through a medium with a 2Hz gain separation,
compared to the same pulse propagating through empty space. We also demonstrate
directly anomalous dispersion profile using a modfied experimental
configuration. Finally, we discuss how anomalous dispersion produced this way
in a faster photorefractive crystal (such as SPS: Sn2P2S6) could be employed to
enhance the sensitivity-bandwidth product of a LIGO type gravitational wave
detector augmented by a White Light Cavity.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure
NbSe3: Effect of Uniaxial Stress on the Threshold Field and Fermiology
We have measured the effect of uniaxial stress on the threshold field ET for
the motion of the upper CDW in NbSe3. ET exhibits a critical behavior, ET ~ (1
- e/ec)^g, wher e is the strain, and ec is about 2.6% and g ~ 1.2. This
ecpression remains valid over more than two decades of ET, up to the highest
fields of about 1.5keV/m. Neither g nor ec is very sensitive to the impurity
concentraction. The CDW transition temperature Tp decreases linearly with e at
a rate dTp/de = -10K/%, and it does not show any anomaly near ec. Shubnikov
de-Haas measurements show that the extremal area of the Fermi surface decreases
with increasing strain. The results suggest that there is an intimate
relationship between pinning of the upper CDW and the Fermiology of NbSe3.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Properties of continuous Fourier extension of the discrete cosine transform and its multidimensional generalization
A versatile method is described for the practical computation of the discrete
Fourier transforms (DFT) of a continuous function given by its values
at the points of a uniform grid generated by conjugacy classes
of elements of finite adjoint order in the fundamental region of
compact semisimple Lie groups. The present implementation of the method is for
the groups SU(2), when is reduced to a one-dimensional segment, and for
in multidimensional cases. This simplest case
turns out to result in a transform known as discrete cosine transform (DCT),
which is often considered to be simply a specific type of the standard DFT.
Here we show that the DCT is very different from the standard DFT when the
properties of the continuous extensions of these two discrete transforms from
the discrete grid points to all points are
considered. (A) Unlike the continuous extension of the DFT, the continuous
extension of (the inverse) DCT, called CEDCT, closely approximates
between the grid points . (B) For increasing , the derivative of CEDCT
converges to the derivative of . And (C), for CEDCT the principle of
locality is valid. Finally, we use the continuous extension of 2-dimensional
DCT to illustrate its potential for interpolation, as well as for the data
compression of 2D images.Comment: submitted to JMP on April 3, 2003; still waiting for the referee's
Repor
Smart subtitles for vocabulary learning
Language learners often use subtitled videos to help them learn. However, standard subtitles are geared more towards comprehension than vocabulary learning, as translations are nonliteral and are provided only for phrases, not vocabulary. This paper presents Smart Subtitles, which are interactive subtitles tailored towards vocabulary learning. Smart Subtitles can be automatically generated from common video sources such as subtitled DVDs. They provide features such as vocabulary definitions on hover, and dialog-based video navigation. In our pilot study with intermediate learners studying Chinese, participants correctly defined over twice as many new words in a post-viewing vocabulary test when they used Smart Subtitles, compared to dual Chinese-English subtitles. Learners spent the same amount of time watching clips with each tool, and enjoyed viewing videos with Smart Subtitles as much as with dual subtitles. Learners understood videos equally well using either tool, as indicated by self-assessments and independent evaluations of their summaries
Dirac Neutrino Dark Matter
We investigate the possibility that dark matter is made of heavy Dirac
neutrinos with mass in the range [O(1) GeV- a few TeV] and with suppressed but
non-zero coupling to the Standard Model Z as well as a coupling to an
additional Z' gauge boson. The first part of this paper provides a
model-independent analysis for the relic density and direct detection in terms
of four main parameters: the mass, the couplings to the Z, to the Z' and to the
Higgs. These WIMP candidates arise naturally as Kaluza-Klein states in
extra-dimensional models with extended electroweak gauge group SU(2)_L* SU(2)_R
* U(1). They can be stable because of Kaluza-Klein parity or of other discrete
symmetries related to baryon number for instance, or even, in the low mass and
low coupling limits, just because of a phase-space-suppressed decay width. An
interesting aspect of warped models is that the extra Z' typically couples only
to the third generation, thus avoiding the usual experimental constraints. In
the second part of the paper, we illustrate the situation in details in a
warped GUT model.Comment: 35 pages, 25 figures; v2: JCAP version; presentation and plots
improved, results unchange
NMR Simulation of an Eight-State Quantum System
The propagation of excitation along a one-dimensional chain of atoms is
simulated by means of NMR. The physical system used as an analog quantum
computer is a nucleus of 133-Cs (spin 7/2) in a liquid crystalline matrix. The
Hamiltonian of migration is simulated by using a special 7-frequency pulse, and
the dynamics is monitored by following the transfer of population from one of
the 8 spin energy levels to the other.Comment: 10 pages, 3 figure
Towards the Formalization of Fractional Calculus in Higher-Order Logic
Fractional calculus is a generalization of classical theories of integration
and differentiation to arbitrary order (i.e., real or complex numbers). In the
last two decades, this new mathematical modeling approach has been widely used
to analyze a wide class of physical systems in various fields of science and
engineering. In this paper, we describe an ongoing project which aims at
formalizing the basic theories of fractional calculus in the HOL Light theorem
prover. Mainly, we present the motivation and application of such formalization
efforts, a roadmap to achieve our goals, current status of the project and
future milestones.Comment: 9 page
Adapting SAM for CDF
The CDF and D0 experiments probe the high-energy frontier and as they do so
have accumulated hundreds of Terabytes of data on the way to petabytes of data
over the next two years. The experiments have made a commitment to use the
developing Grid based on the SAM system to handle these data. The D0 SAM has
been extended for use in CDF as common patterns of design emerged to meet the
similar requirements of these experiments. The process by which the merger was
achieved is explained with particular emphasis on lessons learned concerning
the database design patterns plus realization of the use cases.Comment: Talk from the 2003 Computing in High Energy and Nuclear Physics
(CHEP03), La Jolla, Ca, USA, March 2003, 4 pages, pdf format, TUAT00
Quantum Simulations on a Quantum Computer
We present a general scheme for performing a simulation of the dynamics of
one quantum system using another. This scheme is used to experimentally
simulate the dynamics of truncated quantum harmonic and anharmonic oscillators
using nuclear magnetic resonance. We believe this to be the first explicit
physical realization of such a simulation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures (\documentstyle[prl,aps,epsfig,amscd]{revtex}); to
appear in Phys. Rev. Let
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