Information Geometric Modeling of Scattering Induced Quantum Entanglement

We present an information geometric analysis of entanglement generated by an s-wave scattering between two Gaussian wave packets. We conjecture that the pre and post-collisional quantum dynamical scenarios related to an elastic head-on collision are macroscopic manifestations emerging from microscopic statistical structures. We then describe them by uncorrelated and correlated Gaussian statistical models, respectively. This allows us to express the entanglement strength in terms of scattering potential and incident particle energies. Furthermore, we show how the entanglement duration can be related to the scattering potential and incident particle energies. Finally, we discuss the connection between entanglement and complexity of motion.Comment: 7 pages; v2 is better than v

Single-vehicle data of highway traffic - a statistical analysis

In the present paper single-vehicle data of highway traffic are analyzed in great detail. By using the single-vehicle data directly empirical time-headway distributions and speed-distance relations can be established. Both quantities yield relevant information about the microscopic states. Several fundamental diagrams are also presented, which are based on time-averaged quantities and compared with earlier empirical investigations. In the remaining part time-series analyses of the averaged as well as the single-vehicle data are carried out. The results will be used in order to propose objective criteria for an identification of the different traffic states, e.g. synchronized traffic.Comment: 12 pages, 19 figures, RevTe

Charge Transport Through Open, Driven Two-Level Systems with Dissipation

We derive a Floquet-like formalism to calculate the stationary average current through an AC driven double quantum dot in presence of dissipation. The method allows us to take into account arbitrary coupling strengths both of a time-dependent field and a bosonic environment. We numerical evaluate a truncation scheme and compare with analytical, perturbative results such as the Tien-Gordon formula.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures. To appear in Phys. Rev.

Roto-vibrational spectrum and Wigner crystallization in two-electron parabolic quantum dots

We provide a quantitative determination of the crystallization onset for two electrons in a parabolic two-dimensional confinement. This system is shown to be well described by a roto-vibrational model, Wigner crystallization occurring when the rotational motion gets decoupled from the vibrational one. The Wigner molecule thus formed is characterized by its moment of inertia and by the corresponding sequence of rotational excited states. The role of a vertical magnetic field is also considered. Additional support to the analysis is given by the Hartree-Fock phase diagram for the ground state and by the random-phase approximation for the moment of inertia and vibron excitations.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures, replaced by the published versio

Early activation of the interleukin-23-17 axis in a murine model of oropharyngeal candidiasis

P>Candida albicans is an oral commensal yeast that causes oropharyngeal candidiasis (OPC) in immunocompromised individuals. The immunological pathways involved in OPC have been revisited after the interleukin-17 (IL-17) pathway was implicated in fungal immunity. We studied immediate (< 24 h) and adaptive (3-6 day) IL-12 and IL-23-17 pathway activation in naive p40-/- mice, which lack IL-12 and IL-23 and develop severe, chronic OPC upon oral inoculation with C. albicans. Macrophages from p40-/- mice were less efficient than C57BL/6J controls at killing C. albicans in vitro but very low numbers in the oral mucosae of infected C57BL/6J mice suggest that they are not critical in vivo, at least in this strain. Migration of macrophages to regional lymph nodes of infected p40-/- mice was impaired; however, dendritic cell migration was not affected. Recombinant IL-12 therapy provided only temporary relief from OPC, suggesting that IL-23 is required for full protection. In C57BL/6J mice, but not p40-/- mice, messenger RNAs encoding IL-23p19 and IL-17 were induced in the oral mucosa within 24 h of infection (6 +/- 0.6 and 12 +/- 2.7-fold). By day 6 of infection in C57BL/6J mice, IL-17A messenger RNA level had increased 5.1 +/- 1.8 and 83 +/- 21-fold in regional lymph nodes and oral tissues respectively. Ablation of p40 was associated with delayed or abrogated induction of IL-17A pathway targets (monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, IL-6 and macrophage inflammatory protein-2), and a lack of organized recruitment of neutrophils to the infected oral mucosa. Overall our data show that the IL-23-17A axis is activated early in the oral mucosae of immunologically naive mice with OPC

Detection of antibacterial activity of essential oil components by TLC-bioautography using luminescent bacteria

The aim of the present study was the chemical characterization of some medically relevant essential oils (tea tree, clove, cinnamon bark, thyme and eucalyptus) and the investigation of antibacterial effect of the components of these oils by use of a direct bioautographic method. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was combined with biological detection in this process. The chemical composition of the oils was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Eucalyptol (84.2%) was the main component of the essential oil of eucalyptus, eugenol (83.7%) of clove oil, and trans-cinnamic aldehyde (73.2%), thymol (49.9%) and terpinen-4-ol (45.8%) of cinnamon bark, thyme and tea tree oils, respectively. Antibacterial activity of the separated components of these oils, as well as their pure main components (eucalyptol, eugenol, trans-cinnamic aldehyde and thymol) was observed against the Gram-negative luminescence tagged plant pathogenic bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. maculicola (Psmlux) and the Gram-negative, naturally luminescent marine bacterium Vibrio fischeri. On the whole, the antibacterial activity of the essential oils could be related to their main components, but the minor constituents may be involved in this process. Trans-cinnamic aldehyde and eugenol were the most active compounds in TLC-bioautography. The sensitivity of TLC-bioautographic method can be improved with using luminescent test bacteria. This method is more cost-effective and provides more reliable results in comparison with conventional microbiological methods, e.g. disc-diffusion technique

An Immunocompetent Mouse Model of HPV16(+) Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma

The incidence of human papilloma virus (HPV)-associated head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) is increasing and implicated in more than 60% of all oropharyngeal carcinomas (OPSCCs). Although whole-genome, transcriptome, and proteome analyses have identified altered signaling pathways in HPV-induced HNSCCs, additional tools are needed to investigate the unique pathobiology of OPSCC. Herein, bioinformatics analyses of human HPV(+) HNSCCs revealed that all tumors express full-length E6 and identified molecular subtypes based on relative E6 and E7 expression levels. To recapitulate the levels, stoichiometric ratios, and anatomic location of E6/E7 expression, we generated a genetically engineered mouse model whereby balanced expression of E6/E7 is directed to the oropharyngeal epithelium. The addition of a mutant PIK3CAE545K allele leads to the rapid development of pre-malignant lesions marked by immune cell accumulation, and a subset of these lesions progress to OPSCC. This mouse provides a faithful immunocompetent model for testing treatments and investigating mechanisms of immunosuppression

Elastic interactions of active cells with soft materials

Anchorage-dependent cells collect information on the mechanical properties of the environment through their contractile machineries and use this information to position and orient themselves. Since the probing process is anisotropic, cellular force patterns during active mechanosensing can be modelled as anisotropic force contraction dipoles. Their build-up depends on the mechanical properties of the environment, including elastic rigidity and prestrain. In a finite sized sample, it also depends on sample geometry and boundary conditions through image strain fields. We discuss the interactions of active cells with an elastic environment and compare it to the case of physical force dipoles. Despite marked differences, both cases can be described in the same theoretical framework. We exactly solve the elastic equations for anisotropic force contraction dipoles in different geometries (full space, halfspace and sphere) and with different boundary conditions. These results are then used to predict optimal position and orientation of mechanosensing cells in soft material.Comment: Revtex, 38 pages, 8 Postscript files included; revised version, accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

Binding Energy of Charged Excitons in ZnSe-based Quantum Wells

Excitons and charged excitons (trions) are investigated in ZnSe-based quantum well structures with (Zn,Be,Mg)Se and (Zn,Mg)(S,Se) barriers by means of magneto-optical spectroscopy. Binding energies of negatively () and positively (X+) charged excitons are measured as functions of quantum well width, free carrier density and in external magnetic fields up to 47 T. The binding energy of shows a strong increase from 1.4 to 8.9 meV with decreasing quantum well width from 190 to 29 A. The binding energies of X+ are about 25% smaller than the binding energy in the same structures. The magnetic field behavior of and X+ binding energies differ qualitatively. With growing magnetic field strength, increases its binding energy by 35-150%, while for X+ it decreases by 25%. Zeeman spin splittings and oscillator strengths of excitons and trions are measured and discussed

Minimal renormalization without \epsilon-expansion: Three-loop amplitude functions of the O(n) symmetric \phi^4 model in three dimensions below T_c

We present an analytic three-loop calculation for thermodynamic quantities of the O(n) symmetric \phi^4 theory below T_c within the minimal subtraction scheme at fixed dimension d=3. Goldstone singularities arising at an intermediate stage in the calculation of O(n) symmetric quantities cancel among themselves leaving a finite result in the limit of zero external field. From the free energy we calculate the three-loop terms of the amplitude functions f_phi, F+ and F- of the order parameter and the specific heat above and below T_c, respectively, without using the \epsilon=4-d expansion. A Borel resummation for the case n=2 yields resummed amplitude functions f_phi and F- that are slightly larger than the one-loop results. Accurate knowledge of these functions is needed for testing the renormalization-group prediction of critical-point universality along the \lambda-line of superfluid He(4). Combining the three-loop result for F- with a recent five-loop calculation of the additive renormalization constant of the specific heat yields excellent agreement between the calculated and measured universal amplitude ratio A+/A- of the specific heat of He(4). In addition we use our result for f_phi to calculate the universal combination R_C of the amplitudes of the order parameter, the susceptibility and the specific heat for n=2 and n=3. Our Borel-resummed three-loop result for R_C is significantly more accurate than the previous result obtained from the \epsilon-expansion up to O(\epsilon^2).Comment: 29 pages LaTeX including 3 PostScript figures, to appear in Nucl. Phys. B [FS] (1998