7,223 research outputs found
Non-hermitian approach to decaying ultracold bosonic systems
A paradigm model of modern atom optics is studied, strongly interacting
ultracold bosons in an optical lattice. This many-body system can be
artificially opened in a controlled manner by modern experimental techniques.
We present results based on a non-hermitian effective Hamiltonian whose quantum
spectrum is analyzed. The direct access to the spectrum of the metastable
many-body system allows us to easily identify relatively stable quantum states,
corresponding to previously predicted solitonic many-body structures
Quantitative Stability and Optimality Conditions in Convex Semi-Infinite and Infinite Programming
This paper concerns parameterized convex infinite (or semi-infinite)
inequality systems whose decision variables run over general
infinite-dimensional Banach (resp. finite-dimensional) spaces and that are
indexed by an arbitrary fixed set T . Parameter perturbations on the right-hand
side of the inequalities are measurable and bounded, and thus the natural
parameter space is . Based on advanced variational analysis, we
derive a precise formula for computing the exact Lipschitzian bound of the
feasible solution map, which involves only the system data, and then show that
this exact bound agrees with the coderivative norm of the aforementioned
mapping. On one hand, in this way we extend to the convex setting the results
of [4] developed in the linear framework under the boundedness assumption on
the system coefficients. On the other hand, in the case when the decision space
is reflexive, we succeed to remove this boundedness assumption in the general
convex case, establishing therefore results new even for linear infinite and
semi-infinite systems. The last part of the paper provides verifiable necessary
optimality conditions for infinite and semi-infinite programs with convex
inequality constraints and general nonsmooth and nonconvex objectives. In this
way we extend the corresponding results of [5] obtained for programs with
linear infinite inequality constraints
Short-term memory binding in mild cognitive impairment
We showed that short-term memory (STM) binding is sensitive to sporadic and familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) but is not affected by healthy ageing, chronic depression in the elderly or other forms of dementia. STM binding deficits were also observed in individuals with a genetic susceptibility for AD in the preclinical stages. Hence, we aim to investigate longitudinally individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) using STM binding tasks. Here we report on preliminary cross-sectional results. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery and a visual STM task were given to 21 MCI patients and 20 controls. The STM task required participants to recognise changes across two consecutive arrays presenting either single features (colour or shape) or feature bindings. The MCI group performed significantly poorer than controls on standard tests of memory, attention and on the binding condition of the STM task, but not on single feature conditions. Performance on the binding task and on standard memory tests did not correlate. Eight MCI patients clearly performed outwith the range of normality in the binding task. However, they did not significantly differ from the other 13 MCI patients in disease severity or demographic and neuropsychological variables. Six patients with binding impairments showed a multiple domain profile whereas ten patients with a preserved binding function showed an amnesic profile [Chi-square = 5.45, p = 0.020]. These results suggest that (1) the binding task is assessing a function different from other memory tests and that (2) STM binding may be differentially impaired in MCI subgroups
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Stress rapidly suppresses in vivo LH pulses and increases activation of RFRP-3 neurons in male mice
Restraint stress is a psychosocial stressor that suppresses reproductive status, including LH pulsatile secretion, but the neuroendocrine mechanisms underlying this inhibition remains unclear. Reproductive neural populations upstream of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons, such as kisspeptin, neurokinin B and RFRP-3 (GnIH) neurons, are possible targets for psychosocial stress to inhibit LH pulses, but this has not been well examined, especially in mice in which prior technical limitations prevented assessment of in vivo LH pulse secretion dynamics. Here, we examined whether one-time acute restraint stress alters in vivo LH pulsatility and reproductive neural populations in male mice, and what the time-course is for such alterations. We found that endogenous LH pulses in castrated male mice are robustly and rapidly suppressed by one-time, acute restraint stress, with suppression observed as quickly as 12–18 min. This rapid LH suppression parallels with increased in vivo corticosterone levels within 15 min of restraint stress. Although Kiss1, Tac2 and Rfrp gene expression in the hypothalamus did not significantly change after 90 or 180 min restraint stress, arcuate Kiss1 neural activation was significantly decreased after 180 min. Interestingly, hypothalamic Rfrp neuronal activation was strongly increased at early times after restraint stress initiation, but was attenuated to levels lower than controls by 180 min of restraint stress. Thus, the male neuroendocrine reproductive axis is quite sensitive to short-term stress exposure, with significantly decreased pulsatile LH secretion and increased hypothalamic Rfrp neuronal activation occurring rapidly, within minutes, and decreased Kiss1 neuronal activation also occurring after longer stress durations
Turbulent transport in tokamak plasmas with rotational shear
Nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations have been conducted to investigate
turbulent transport in tokamak plasmas with rotational shear. At sufficiently
large flow shears, linear instabilities are suppressed, but transiently growing
modes drive subcritical turbulence whose amplitude increases with flow shear.
This leads to a local minimum in the heat flux, indicating an optimal E x B
shear value for plasma confinement. Local maxima in the momentum fluxes are
also observed, allowing for the possibility of bifurcations in the E x B shear.
The sensitive dependence of heat flux on temperature gradient is relaxed for
large flow shear values, with the critical temperature gradient increasing at
lower flow shear values. The turbulent Prandtl number is found to be largely
independent of temperature and flow gradients, with a value close to unity.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, submitted to PR
Wave attenuation and dispersion due to floating ice covers
Experiments investigating the attenuation and dispersion of surface waves in
a variety of ice covers are performed using a refrigerated wave flume. The ice
conditions tested in the experiments cover naturally occurring combinations of
continuous, fragmented, pancake and grease ice. Attenuation rates are shown to
be a function of ice thickness, wave frequency, and the general rigidity of the
ice cover. Dispersion changes were minor except for large wavelength increases
when continuous covers were tested. Results are verified and compared with
existing literature to show the extended range of investigation in terms of
incident wave frequency and ice conditions
Zero-Turbulence Manifold in a Toroidal Plasma
Sheared toroidal flows can cause bifurcations to zero-turbulent-transport
states in tokamak plasmas. The maximum temperature gradients that can be
reached are limited by subcritical turbulence driven by the parallel velocity
gradient. Here it is shown that q/\epsilon (magnetic field pitch/inverse aspect
ratio) is a critical control parameter for sheared tokamak turbulence. By
reducing q/\epsilon, far higher temperature gradients can be achieved without
triggering turbulence, in some instances comparable to those found
experimentally in transport barriers. The zero-turbulence manifold is mapped
out, in the zero-magnetic-shear limit, over the parameter space (\gamma_E,
q/\epsilon, R/L_T), where \gamma_E is the perpendicular flow shear and R/L_T is
the normalised inverse temperature gradient scale. The extent to which it can
be constructed from linear theory is discussed.Comment: 5 Pages, 4 Figures, Submitted to PR
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