Dirac on Gauges and Constraints

We examine the relevance of Dirac's view on the use of transformation theory and invariants in modern physics to current reflections on the meaning of physical symmetries, especially gauge symmetries.     

Quantum-chemical study of the interface formed by carboxylic species on TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanoparticles. 1. Nanoparticle surface

The current paper presents results of a quantum-chemical study of the surface structure of nanoparticles of both rutile and anatase crystallographic modifications. Different stages of the surface relaxation are discussed. Water adsorption is considered. The calculations were performed in the spd-basis by using semi-empirical quantum-chemical codes, both sequential and parallel. The results are mainly addressed to the study of the interface formed by titania nanoparticles and a set of carboxylated species, namely, benzoic, bi-isonicotinic acids as well as tris-(2,2′-dcbipyridine) Fe(II) complex placed on the surface of either rutile or anatase polymorphs.This revised version was published online in August 2005 with a corrected issue number.     

Matter-wave gap solitons in atomic band-gap structures

We demonstrate that a Bose-Einstein condensate in an optical lattice forms a reconfigurable matter-wave structure with a band-gap spectrum, which resembles a nonlinear photonic crystal for light waves. We study in detail the case of a two-dimensional square optical lattice and show that this atomic band-gap structure allows nonlinear localization of atomic Bloch waves in the form of two-dimensional matter-wave gap solitons.     

Trends in microdisk laser research and linear optical modelling

Research into microdisk lasers demonstrates new achievements both in the technology and in the associated physical effects and applications. Melting and rounding of the disk edge boosts the Q-factors due to improved surface smoothness. In-plane cavity shape is widely used as a design instrument. Optimal shaping of pumped area lowers the threshold power. Photonic molecules made of several microdisks as “photonic atoms” show lasing at several closely spaced frequencies. A microdisk with a single quantum dot as an active region is considered as the most promising system for realisation of a single photon emitter necessary for quantum computing. These new effects and devices can be simulated with accurate numerical techniques, developed recently for “warm-cavity” linear modelling, that are able to bring a new vision of the physics of lasing.     

Fluorescent Probe ABM for Screening Gastrointestinal Patient’s Immune State

The fluorescent probe-aminoderivative of benzanthrone, ABM (developed at Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia) was used to characterize the membranes of lymphocytes of cancer patients: 46 patients with gastrointestinal diseases, 13 patients having different primary localizations with massive metastases and intoxication. Patients were divided into three groups: (1) with decreased fluorescence intensity, (2) normal fluorescence intensity, (3) increased fluorescence intensity. The lymphocytes distribution among subsets differed between groups, in correspondence to the level of florescence intensity. Surgical treatment affected the main immunological parameters and elevated the functional activity of lymphocytes. In the advanced tumors group, fluorescence intensity correlates with the survival rate. Results suggest that determination of lymphocytes functional activity by ABM can aid evaluation of the immune status in cancer patients.     

Differential tissue expression of a calpastatin isoform in Xenopus embryos

This study is aimed at demonstrating the role played by a calpastatin isoform (Xcalp3) in Xenopus embryos. A specific monoclonal antibody (mAb) was raised against a glutathione S-transferase (GST)-Xcalp3 fusion protein and characterized by immunoblotting and confocal fluorescence microscopy on stage 20-36 embryos. Under these conditions, calpastatin reactivity is associated with a major 110kDa protein fraction and preferentially expressed by notochord and somitic cells. In notochord cells, anti-calpastatin reactive sites were initially restricted to the luminal space of the vacuoles and later became diffused throughout the cytoplasm. In contrast, anti-calpastatin reactive sites in somitic cells were initially diffused throughout the cytoplasm and became restricted to a few intracellular granules in the later developmental stages. At the ultrastructural level, notochord cells appeared as flattened discs containing several vacuoles and numerous electron-dense granules. During transition from stages 26 to 32, electron-dense granules were gradually reduced in number as vacuoles enlarged in size and losed their calpastatin reactivity. Electron-dense granules were also present in myoblast cells and their number gradually reduced during development. To determine whether these observations bear any causal relationship to the calpain/calpastatin system, a number of Xenopus embryos were examined both ultrastructurally and histochemically following exposure to a specific calpain inhibitor (CI3). Under these conditions, Xenopus embryos exhibited an altered right-left symmetry and an abnormal axial shortening. In CI3-treated stage 32 embryos, notochord cells had a reduced vacuolar extension and exhibited at the same time an increase in granular content. The overall morphology of the somites was also distorted and myoblasts were altered both in shape and granular content. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the calpain/calpastatin may play an important role in the control of notochord elongation and somite differentiation during Xenopus embryogenesis.     

Solving the diffraction problem of electromagnetic waves on objects with a complex geometry by the pattern equations method

A new efficient method for solving the problems of waves diffraction on complex-shaped objects with the use of their replacement by a group of bodies with more simple form (fragments of complex objects) is offered. By the expansion of the scattering patterns of separate bodies in the series of vector spherical harmonics, the problem is reduced to solving the algebraic system of equations. It is shown that the method possesses a high convergence rate. Examples of modeling the scattering patterns of various complex objects are considered. Reliability of the results obtained is validated using the Optical theorem.     

Time Evolution of Spontaneous Emission Rate of Two Undistinguished Radiators

The behavior of the system of radiators at short and long time intervals in comparison with the retardation between them is studied. The entanglement behavior of atomic states in the process of spontaneous emission is determined. It is demonstrated that at a short time interval the rate of spontaneous emission in an oscillatory manner tends to the exponential law of spontaneous emission. The simple kinetic equation, which describes this stage of system evolution, is obtained.