2,223 research outputs found
Entanglement between a qubit and the environment in the spin-boson model
The quantitative description of the quantum entanglement between a qubit and
its environment is considered. Specifically, for the ground state of the
spin-boson model, the entropy of entanglement of the spin is calculated as a
function of , the strength of the ohmic coupling to the environment,
and , the level asymmetry. This is done by a numerical
renormalization group treatment of the related anisotropic Kondo model. For
, the entanglement increases monotonically with , until it
becomes maximal for . For fixed , the entanglement
is a maximum as a function of for a value, .Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Shortened version restricted to groundstate
entanglemen
Climatic niche breadth can explain variation in geographical range size of alpine and subalpine plants
Understanding the environmental factors determining the distribution of species with different range sizes can provide valuable insights for evolutionary ecology and conservation biology in the face of expected climate change. However, little is known about what determines the variation in geographical and elevational ranges of alpine and subalpine plant species. Here, we examined the relationship between geographical and elevational range sizes for 80 endemic rhododendron species in China using Spearmanâs rank-order correlation. We ran the species distribution model â maximum entropy modelling (MaxEnt) â with 27 environmental variables. The importance of each variable to the model prediction was compared for species groups with different geographical and elevational range sizes. Our results showed that the correlation between geographical and elevational range sizes of rhododendron species was not significant. Climate-related variables were found to be the most important factors in shaping the distributional ranges of alpine and subalpine plant species across China. Species with geographically and elevationally narrow ranges had distinct niche requirements. For geographical ranges, the narrow-ranged species showed less tolerance to niche conditions than the wide-ranged species. For elevational ranges, compared with the wide-ranged species, the narrow-ranged species showed an equivalent niche breadth, but occurred at different niche position along the environmental gradient. Our findings suggest that over large spatial extents the elevational range size can be a complementary trait of alpine and subalpine plant species to geographical range size. Climatic niche breadth, especially the range of seasonal variability, can explain speciesâ geographical range sizes. Changes in climate may influence the distribution of rhododendrons, with the effects likely being felt most by species with either a narrow geographical or narrow elevational range
Theory of Luminescent Emission in Nanocrystal ZnS:Mn with an Extra Electron
We consider the effect of an extra electron injected into a doped quantum dot
. The Coulomb interaction and the exchange interaction between the
extra electron and the states of the Mn ion will mix the wavefunctions, split
the impurity energy levels, break the previous selection rules and change the
transition probabilities. Using this model of an extra electron in the doped
quantum dot, we calculated the energy and the wavefunctions, the luminescence
probability and the transition lifetime and compare with the experiments. Our
calculation shows that two orders of magnitudes of lifetime shortening can
occur in the transition when an extra electron is present.Comment: 15 pages, 2 Figs No change in Fig
Comparison of the effects of kanamycin and geneticin on regeneration of papaya from root tissue
Kanamycin and geneticin are commonly used for the selection of neomycin phosphotransferase II (npt II) transformed plants. Since papaya tissue is sensitive to both antibiotics, it is difficult to explore their effects on the regeneration process solely based on using non-transformed tissues. Adventitious roots derived from npt II-transgenic and non-transgenic papaya shoots in vitro were used as explants in this investigation. The effects of kanamycin and geneticin on callus formation, embryogenesis, and conversion of somatic embryos to shoots were compared. Callus growth derived from npt II-transformed root explants was apparently enhanced on kanmycin within 50-200 mg l(-1) or on geneticin within 12.5-50 mg l(-1) as compared to those on antibiotic-free controls. The percentages of npt II-transformed somatic embryo-forming callus were not significantly different (16.3-18.3%) on geneticin less than 6.25 mg l(-1) and only slightly reduced (11.2-15.7%) on geneticin within 12.5-50 mg l(-1), whereas, formation of somatic embryos was strongly suppressed on kanamycin media. Conversion rates of npt II-transformed somatic embryos to shoots were not significantly different among all kanamycin or geneticin treatments. Percentages of the callus derived from non-transformed root explants were greatly reduced on the medium containing more than 25 mg l(-1) kanamycin or geneticin, and no somatic embryos formed from untransformed callus on any kanamycin or geneticin media. Our results indicated that somatic embryogenesis of callus derived from npt II-transformed root explants of papaya was strongly inhibited by kanamycin. Thus, to regenerate npt II-transformed cells from papaya root tissue, we recommend using the lower concentration geneticin (12.5-25 mg l(-1)) to avoid the adverse effects of kanamycin on embryogenesis
A Brief Introduction to Chiral Perturbation Theory
A brief introduction to the subject of chiral perturbation theory (pt)
is presented, including a discussion of effective field theory and applications
of pt in the arena of purely mesonic interactions as well as in the sector.Comment: 15 pages, talk given at TAPS detector workshop, Rez, Czech Republic,
Sept. 1999, to be published in Czech. J. Phy
Targeting lentiviral vectors to antigen-specific immunoglobulins
Gene transfer into B cells by lentivectors can provide an alternative approach to managing B lymphocyte malignancies and autoreactive B cell-mediated autoimmune diseases. These pathogenic B cell Populations can be distinguished by their surface expression of monospecific immunoglobulin. Development of a novel vector system to deliver genes to these specific B cells could improve the safety and efficacy of gene therapy. We have developed an efficient rnethod to target lentivectors to monospecific immunoglobulin-expressing cells in vitro and hi vivo. We were able to incorporate a model antigen CD20 and a fusogenic protein derived from the Sindbis virus as two distinct molecules into the lentiviral Surface. This engineered vector could specifically bind to cells expressing Surface immunoglobulin recognizing CD20 (αCD20), resulting in efficient transduction of target cells in a cognate antigen-dependent manner in vitro, and in vivo in a xenografted tumor model. Tumor suppression was observed in vivo, using the engineered lentivector to deliver a suicide gene to a xenografted tumor expressing αCD20. These results show the feasibility of engineering lentivectors to target immunoglobulin-specific cells to deliver a therapeutic effect. Such targeting lentivectors also Could potentially be used to genetically mark antigen-specific B cells in vivo to study their B cell biology
Geomagnetic storm dependence on the solar flare class
Content. Solar flares are often used as precursors of geomagnetic storms. In
particular, Howard and Tappin (2005) recently published in A&A a dependence
between X-ray class of solar flares and Ap and Dst indexes of geomagnetic
storms which contradicts to early published results.
Aims. We compare published results on flare-storm dependences and discuss
possible sources of the discrepancy.
Methods. We analyze following sources of difference: (1) different intervals
of observations, (2) different statistics and (3) different methods of event
identification and comparison.
Results. Our analysis shows that magnitude of geomagnetic storms is likely to
be independent on X-ray class of solar flares.Comment: 3 pages, 1 tabl
Quantum master equation for a system influencing its environment
A perturbative quantum master equation is derived for a system interacting
with its environment, which is more general than the ones derived before. Our
master equation takes into account the effect of the energy exchanges between
the system and the environment and the conservation of energy in a finite total
system. This master quantum describes relaxation mechanisms in isolated
nanoscopic quantum systems. In its most general form, this equation is
non-Markovian and a Markovian version of it rules the long-time relaxation. We
show that our equation reduces to the Redfield equation in the limit where the
energy of the system does not affect the density of state of its environment.
This master equation and the Redfield one are applied to a spin-environment
model defined in terms of random matrices and compared with the solutions of
the exact von Neumann equation. The comparison proves the necessity to allow
energy exchange between the subsystem and the environment in order to correctly
describe the relaxation in isolated nanoscopic total system.Comment: 39 pages, 10 figure
Efficient rooting for establishment of papaya plantlets by micropropagation
A low cost micropropagation protocol to produce high quality root systems which are easy and economical to acclimatize is essential for large-scale micropropagation of papaya (Carica papaya L.). In this study, individual shoots (> 0.5 cm) with 2 similar to 3 leaves from in vitro papaya multiple shoots were cultured on MS agar medium containing 2.5 mu M IBA under dark conditions for 1 week for root induction. They were then transferred to agar or vermiculite media, containing half strength MS medium, under aerated or non-aerated conditions, for root development. Rooting percentage of shoots cultured for 2 weeks in aerated vermiculite was 94.5%, compared with 90.0% in non-aerated vermiculite, 71.1% in aerated agar, and 62.2% in non-aerated agar. Shoots with roots were acclimated in vermiculite under 100% RH for 1 week and then under ambient conditions for 2 weeks in a temperature-controlled growth chamber (28 degrees C). The survival rates of the plantlets were 94.5% from aerated vermiculite, 87.8% from non-aerated vermiculite, 42.2% from aerated agar, and 35.6% from non-aerated agar. Thus, root induction in low-concentration IBA agar medium followed by root development in vermiculite containing half strength MS medium under aerated conditions results in efficient rooting of in vitro papaya shoots
Enhancement of in vitro growth of papaya multishoots by aeration
Efficient micropropagation of papaya (Carica papaya L.) has become crucial for multiplication of specific sex types of papaya or transgenic lines resistant to virus infection. In this study, aeration at different intervals with a 0.02 mu m filter disc in the closure of culture flasks ensured exchange of gas components. The effect of aeration on development of multibuds to multishoots was investigated. Multibuds grown, in culture flasks after one-week without aeration followed by a two-week aeration treatment caused a 41% increase in the number of shoots greater than or equal to 0.5 cm, 42% increase in leaf expansion, and 17% increase in leaf numbers in comparison with unaerated materials. Ethylene and oxygen concentrations in the culture flasks were measured by gas chromatography and oxygen electrode at weekly intervals during the culture period. Oxygen concentrations were slightly different between aerated and unaerated culture flasks. Ethylene in the unaerated flask reached the highest level (0.11 ppm) 2 weeks after the treatment, while accumulation of ethylene in the aerated flasks was not detected. The multishoots grown for 3 weeks without aeration showed growth retardation on leaves and epinasty on petioles
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