The Average Kinetic Energy of the Superconducting State

Isothermal magnetization curves are plotted as the magnetization times the magnetic induction, $4 \pi M \cdot B$, versus the applied field, H. We show here that this new curve is the average kinetic energy of the superconducting state versus the applied field, for type-II superconductors with a high Ginzburg-Landau parameter $\kappa$. The maximum of $4 \pi M \cdot B$ occurs at a field, $H^{*}$, directly related to the upper critical field, $H_{c2}$, suggesting that $H_{c2}(T)$ may be extracted from such plots even in cases when it is too high for direct measurement. We obtain these plots both theoretically, from the Ginzburg-Landau theory, and experimentally, using a Niobium sample with $T_c = 8.5 K$, and compare them.Comment: 11 pages, 9 postscript figure

What Remains to Be Discovered in Schizophrenia Therapeutics: Contributions by Advancing the Molecular Mechanisms of Drugs for Psychosis and Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a frequently debilitating and complex mental disorder affecting approximately 1% of the global population, characterized by symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, disorganized thoughts and behaviors, cognitive dysfunction, and negative symptoms. Traditional treatment has centered on postsynaptic dopamine antagonists, commonly known as antipsychotic drugs, which aim to alleviate symptoms and improve functioning and the quality of life. Despite the availability of these medications, significant challenges remain in schizophrenia therapeutics, including incomplete symptom relief, treatment resistance, and medication side effects. This opinion article explores advancements in schizophrenia treatment, emphasizing molecular mechanisms, novel drug targets, and innovative delivery methods. One promising approach is novel strategies that target neural networks and circuits rather than single neurotransmitters, acknowledging the complexity of brain region interconnections involved in schizophrenia. Another promising approach is the development of biased agonists, which selectively activate specific signaling pathways downstream of receptors, offering potential for more precise pharmacological interventions with fewer side effects. The concept of molecular polypharmacy, where a single drug targets multiple molecular pathways, is exemplified by KarXT, a novel drug combining xanomeline and trospium to address both psychosis and cognitive dysfunction. This approach represents a comprehensive strategy for schizophrenia treatment, potentially improving outcomes for patients. In conclusion, advancing the molecular understanding of schizophrenia and exploring innovative therapeutic strategies hold promise for addressing the unmet needs in schizophrenia treatment, aiming for more effective and tailored interventions. Future research should focus on these novel approaches to achieve better clinical outcomes and improve the functional level and quality of life for individuals with schizophrenia

Influence of local carrying capacity restrictions on stochastic predator-prey models

We study a stochastic lattice predator-prey system by means of Monte Carlo simulations that do not impose any restrictions on the number of particles per site, and discuss the similarities and differences of our results with those obtained for site-restricted model variants. In accord with the classic Lotka-Volterra mean-field description, both species always coexist in two dimensions. Yet competing activity fronts generate complex, correlated spatio-temporal structures. As a consequence, finite systems display transient erratic population oscillations with characteristic frequencies that are renormalized by fluctuations. For large reaction rates, when the processes are rendered more local, these oscillations are suppressed. In contrast with site-restricted predator-prey model, we observe species coexistence also in one dimension. In addition, we report results on the steady-state prey age distribution.Comment: Latex, IOP style, 17 pages, 9 figures included, related movies available at http://www.phys.vt.edu/~tauber/PredatorPrey/movies

Ultrastructural Aspects of Unilateral Interspecific Incompatibility between Lycopersicum Peruvianum and L. Esculentum

SUMMARYObservations have been made, at the electron microscope, of the pollen tubes present in the styles of Lycopersicum esculentum and L. peruvianum after reciprocal crosses between the two species.The unilateral incompatibility barrier which isolates the two species when L. peruvianum is used as pistillate parent was then compared to the processes of pollen tube rejection which have been recently analysed (J. Cell Sci., 1972) after self-pollination in this self-incompatible species. Such a comparison, which was also carried out by means of fluorescence techniques, has permitted to find out that for both types of incompatibility the rejection process was characterised by a progressive disappearance of the callose-rich inner wall of the pollen tube and by an accumulation of bi-partite particles in the tube cytoplasm.In the case of unilateral incompatibility, however, the tube outer wall is gradually disaggregated while the callosic inner wall remains quite thick at the tube apex, becoming thinner and fin..

Diritto Privato

Lo scritto ha ad oggetto i capitoli su modi di estinzione dell'obbligazione diversi dall'adempimento, singoli contratti, possesso, famiglia e trascrizione dei tomi secondo e terzo del manuale Diritto Privato (Utet) in adozione presso alcune Università Italiane e diffuso anche all’estero. I menzionati capitoli si segnalano per una trattazione non meramente istituzionale, ma particolarmente attenta al dato applicativo e giurisprudenziale, che rende il manuale stesso utilizzato largamente per la preparazione all’esame per avvocato e ai concorsi pubblici di secondo livello (magistratura ordinaria e amministrativa.

Parameters estimation in quantum optics

We address several estimation problems in quantum optics by means of the maximum-likelihood principle. We consider Gaussian state estimation and the determination of the coupling parameters of quadratic Hamiltonians. Moreover, we analyze different schemes of phase-shift estimation. Finally, the absolute estimation of the quantum efficiency of both linear and avalanche photodetectors is studied. In all the considered applications, the Gaussian bound on statistical errors is attained with a few thousand data.Comment: 11 pages. 6 figures. Accepted on Phys. Rev.

Universal homodyne tomography with a single local oscillator

We propose a general method for measuring an arbitrary observable of a multimode electromagnetic field using homodyne detection with a single local oscillator. In this method the local oscillator scans over all possible linear combinations of the modes. The case of two modes is analyzed in detail and the feasibility of the measurement is studied on the basis of Monte-Carlo simulations. We also provide an application of this method in tomographic testing of the GHZ state.Comment: 12 pages, 5 figures (8 eps files

Two-Dimensional Dilaton-Gravity Coupled to Massless Spinors

We apply a global and geometrically well-defined formalism for spinor-dilaton-gravity to two-dimensional manifolds. We discuss the general formalism and focus attention on some particular choices of the dilatonic potential. For constant dilatonic potential the model turns out to be completely solvable and the general solution is found. For linear and exponential dilatonic potentials we present the class of exact solutions with a Killing vector.Comment: 21 pages, LaTeX, minor changes in text and format, final version to appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Anomalous Couplings in Double Higgs Production

The process of gluon-initiated double Higgs production is sensitive to non-linear interactions of the Higgs boson. In the context of the Standard Model, studies of this process focused on the extraction of the Higgs trilinear coupling. In a general parametrization of New Physics effects, however, an even more interesting interaction that can be tested through this channel is the (ttbar hh) coupling. This interaction vanishes in the Standard Model and is a genuine signature of theories in which the Higgs boson emerges from a strongly-interacting sector. In this paper we perform a model-independent estimate of the LHC potential to detect anomalous Higgs couplings in gluon-fusion double Higgs production. We find that while the sensitivity to the trilinear is poor, the perspectives of measuring the new (ttbar hh) coupling are rather promising.Comment: 22 pages, 9 figures. v2: plots of Figs.8 and 9 redone to include experimental uncertainty on the Higgs couplings, references adde

ULF Geomagnetic Pulsations at High Latitudes: the Italian contribution

The study of geomagnetic field variations in Antarctica is important in that local field lines are close to extreme magnetospheric regions, such as the polar cusp, where several generation mechanisms for ULF waves are active. Since the eighties, the Italian scientific community developed a research activity in Antarctica at Mario Zucchelli Station (TNB, CGM latitude 80°S), where magnetic facilities are continuously operating. In this review we present the experimental results obtained by a number of investigations conducted in the last years on geomagnetic pulsations in the Pc3-Pc5 frequency range. We also show compared analyses with measurements from other Antarctic and low latitude stations, and, in particular, a statistical analysis of propagation characteristics of low frequency geomagnetic field fluctuations between the two Antarctic stations, TNB and Scott Base