1,623 research outputs found
Use of dynamical coupling for improved quantum state transfer
We propose a method to improve quantum state transfer in transmission lines.
The idea is to localize the information on the last qubit of a transmission
line, by dynamically varying the coupling constants between the first and the
last pair of qubits. The fidelity of state transfer is higher then in a chain
with fixed coupling constants. The effect is stable against small fluctuations
in the system parameters.Comment: 5 pages, 7 figure
Variable electrostatic transformer: controllable coupling of two charge qubits
We propose and investigate a novel method for the controlled coupling of two
Josephson charge qubits by means of a variable electrostatic transformer. The
value of the coupling capacitance is given by the discretized curvature of the
lowest energy band of a Josephson junction, which can be positive, negative, or
zero. We calculate the charging diagram of the two-qubit system that reflects
the transition from positive to negative through vanishing coupling. We also
discuss how to construct a phase gate making use of the controllable coupling.Comment: final version, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Role of interference in quantum state transfer through spin chains
We examine the role that interference plays in quantum state transfer through
several types of finite spin chains, including chains with isotropic Heisenberg
interaction between nearest neighbors, chains with reduced coupling constants
to the spins at the end of the chain, and chains with anisotropic coupling
constants. We evaluate quantitatively both the interference corresponding to
the propagation of the entire chain, and the interference in the effective
propagation of the first and last spins only, treating the rest of the chain as
black box. We show that perfect quantum state transfer is possible without
quantum interference, and provide evidence that the spin chains examined
realize interference-free quantum state transfer to a good approximation.Comment: 10 figure
Cardiac and plasma lipid profiles in response to acute hypoxia in neonatal and young adult rats
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The physiological and biochemical responses to acute hypoxia have not been fully characterized in neonates. Fatty acids and lipids play an important role in most aspects of cardiac function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed comprehensive lipid profiling analysis to survey the changes that occur in heart tissue and plasma of neonatal and young adult rats exposed to hypoxia for 2 h, and following 2 h of recovery from hypoxia.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cardiac and plasma concentrations of short-chain acylcarnitines, and most plasma long-chain fatty acids, were decreased in hypoxic neonates. Following recovery from hypoxia, concentrations of propionylcarnitine, palmitoylcarnitine, stearoylcarnitine were increased in neonatal hearts, while oleylcarnitine and linoleylcarnitine concentrations were increased in neonatal plasma. The concentrations of long-chain fatty acids and long-chain acylcarnitines were increased in the hearts and plasma of hypoxic young adult rats; these metabolites returned to baseline values following recovery from hypoxia.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There are differential effects of acute hypoxia on cardiac and plasma lipid profiles with maturation from the neonate to the young adult rat. Changes to neonatal cardiac and plasma lipid profiles during hypoxia likely allowed for greater metabolic and physiologic flexibility and increased chances for survival. Persistent alterations in the neonatal cardiac lipid profile following recovery from hypoxia may play a role in the development of rhythm disturbances.</p
The Effect of High Dose Total Body Irradiation on ACTH, Corticosterone, and Catecholamines in the Rat
Total body irradiation (TBI) or partial body irradiation is a distinct risk of accidental, wartime, or terrorist events. Total body irradiation is also used as conditioning therapy before hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This therapy can result in injury to multiple tissues and might result in death as a result of multiorgan failure. The hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis could play a causative role in those injuries, in addition to being activated under conditions of stress. In a rat model of TBI, we have established that radiation nephropathy is a significant lethal complication, which is caused by hypertension and uremia. The current study assessed HPA axis function in rats undergoing TBI. Using a head-shielded model of TBI, we found an enhanced response to corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in vitro in pituitaries from irradiated compared with nonirradiated rats at both 8 and 70 days after 10-Gy single fraction TBI. At 70, but not 8 days, plasma adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and corticosterone levels were increased significantly in irradiated compared with nonirradiated rats. Plasma aldosterone was not affected by TBI at either time point, whereas plasma renin activity was decreased in irradiated rats at 8 days. Basal and stimulated adrenal steroid synthesis in vitro was not affected by TBI. In addition, plasma epinephrine was decreased at 70 days after TBI. The hypothalamic expression of CRH messenger RNA (mRNA) and hippocampal expression of glucocorticoid receptor mRNA were unchanged by irradiation. We conclude that the hypertension of radiation nephropathy is not aldosterone or catecholamine-dependent but that there is an abscopal activation of the HPA axis after 10 Gy TBI. This activation was attributable at least partially to enhanced pituitary ACTH production
Positive cross-correlations in a three-terminal quantum dot with ferromagnetic contacts
We study current fluctuations in an interacting three-terminal quantum dot
with ferromagnetic leads. For appropriately polarized contacts, the transport
through the dot is governed by a novel dynamical spin blockade, i.e., a
spin-dependent bunching of tunneling events not present in the paramagnetic
case. This leads for instance to positive zero-frequency cross-correlations of
the currents in the output leads even in the absence of spin accumulation on
the dot. We include the influence of spin-flip scattering and identify
favorable conditions for the experimental observation of this effect with
respect to polarization of the contacts and tunneling rates.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev. Let
Improved position measurement of nano electromechanical systems using cross correlations
We consider position measurements using the cross-correlated output of two
tunnel junction position detectors. Using a fully quantum treatment, we
calculate the equation of motion for the density matrix of the coupled
detector-detector-mechanical oscillator system. After discussing the presence
of a bound on the peak-to-background ratio in a position measurement using a
single detector, we show how one can use detector cross correlations to
overcome this bound. We analyze two different possible experimental
realizations of the cross correlation measurement and show that in both cases
the maximum cross-correlated output is obtained when using twin detectors and
applying equal bias to each tunnel junction. Furthermore, we show how the
double-detector setup can be exploited to drastically reduce the added
displacement noise of the oscillator.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure; v2: new Sec.
2015 Update on Acute Adverse Reactions to Gadolinium based Contrast Agents in Cardiovascular MR. Large Multi-National and Multi-Ethnical Population Experience With 37788 Patients From the EuroCMR Registry
Objectives: Specifically we aim to demonstrate that the results of our earlier safety data hold true in this much larger multi-national and multi-ethnical population. Background: We sought to re-evaluate the frequency, manifestations, and severity of acute adverse reactions associated with administration of several gadolinium- based contrast agents during routine CMR on a European level. Methods: Multi-centre, multi-national, and multi-ethnical registry with consecutive enrolment of patients in 57 European centres. Results: During the current observation 37788 doses of Gadolinium based contrast agent were administered to 37788 patients. The mean dose was 24.7 ml (range 5–80 ml), which is equivalent to 0.123 mmol/kg (range 0.01 - 0.3 mmol/kg). Forty-five acute adverse reactions due to contrast administration occurred (0.12 %). Most reactions were classified as mild (43 of 45) according to the American College of Radiology definition. The most frequent complaints following contrast administration were rashes and hives (15 of 45), followed by nausea (10 of 45) and flushes (10 of 45). The event rate ranged from 0.05 % (linear non-ionic agent gadodiamide) to 0.42 % (linear ionic agent gadobenate dimeglumine). Interestingly, we also found different event rates between the three main indications for CMR ranging from 0.05 % (risk stratification in suspected CAD) to 0.22 % (viability in known CAD). Conclusions: The current data indicate that the results of the earlier safety data hold true in this much larger multi-national and multi-ethnical population. Thus, the “off-label” use of Gadolinium based contrast in cardiovascular MR should be regarded as safe concerning the frequency, manifestation and severity of acute events
Electrical transport through a single-electron transistor strongly coupled to an oscillator
We investigate electrical transport through a single-electron transistor
coupled to a nanomechanical oscillator. Using a combination of a
master-equation approach and a numerical Monte Carlo method, we calculate the
average current and the current noise in the strong-coupling regime, studying
deviations from previously derived analytic results valid in the limit of
weak-coupling. After generalizing the weak-coupling theory to enable the
calculation of higher cumulants of the current, we use our numerical approach
to study how the third cumulant is affected in the strong-coupling regime. In
this case, we find an interesting crossover between a weak-coupling transport
regime where the third cumulant heavily depends on the frequency of the
oscillator to one where it becomes practically independent of this parameter.
Finally, we study the spectrum of the transport noise and show that the two
peaks found in the weak-coupling limit merge on increasing the coupling
strength. Our calculation of the frequency-dependence of the noise also allows
to describe how transport-induced damping of the mechanical oscillations is
affected in the strong-coupling regime.Comment: 11 pages, 9 figure
Controlling qubit arrays with anisotropic XXZ Heisenberg interaction by acting on a single qubit
We investigate anisotropic XXZ Heisenberg spin-1/2 chains with control fields acting on one of the end spins, with the aim of exploring local quantum control in arrays of interacting qubits. In this work, which uses a recent Lie-algebraic result on the local controllability of spin chains with "always-on” interactions, we determine piecewise-constant control pulses corresponding to optimal fidelities for quantum gates such as spin-flip (NOT), controlled-NOT (CNOT), and square-root-of-SWAP (). We find the minimal times for realizing different gates depending on the anisotropy parameter Δ of the model, showing that the shortest among these gate times are achieved for particular values of Δ larger than unity. To study the influence of possible imperfections in anticipated experimental realizations of qubit arrays, we analyze the robustness of the obtained results for the gate fidelities to random variations in the control-field amplitudes and finite rise time of the pulses. Finally, we discuss the implications of our study for superconducting charge-qubit array
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