Seasonal variations of cytosolic antioxidant enzyme activities in the liver and white muscle of thinlip gray mullet (Liza ramada Risso) from the Adriatic Sea

The activity of cytosolic antioxidative defence enzymes in the liver and white muscle of thinlip gray mullet (Liza ramada Risso) were compared in winter and spring in the Adriatic Sea. Activity of antioxidative enzymes is functionally organized due to metabolic demands: analyses of variance and correlation analysis revealed tissue- and seasonal- specific organization of antioxidative enzymes. In winter GST activity increased in both tissues compared with spring. At the same time decreased GSH-Px and GR activities were observed and this effect was more pronounced in liver then in white muscle. From correlation analyses it is concluded that the antioxidative components correlate, but the composition of the antioxidative defence system is different in respect to season and tissue. This means that the antioxidative defence system reorganizes its structure due to oxidative demands and to protect the tissues against reactive oxygen species and to establish homeostasis. Discriminant analyses separated groups according to the complete organization of individual components of the system very well and identified individual components (CAT, GST and GR) which contribute most to the differences. Statistical differences were observed between enzyme activities in tissues (liver and muscle) in both winter and spring, and between seasons (winter and spring) for liver tissue only. Since environmental parameters, such as temperature and oxygen concentration in the sea differ with season, we conclude that in this species the tissues examined expressed their antioxidative defence systems in different ways in respect of external/environmental conditions. We propose that tissue- and seasonal- specific levels of antioxidant enzyme activities should be considered in the interpretation of data from future biomonitoring field studies, especially in relation to low temperature.     

Some Logical Implications of the Two Einstein Assumptions Used in His Analysis of Geometry on a Relativistically Rotating Disc

We show that with the help of the two well known Einstein assumptions used by him in the treatment of geometry on relativistically rotating disc, and elementary logical analysis only, two different and opposite models of rotating discs can be constructed: In one of them the disc, set rotating from the stationary state, changes neither its radius nor circumference, as measured from stationary inertial frame; while in the other both the radius and the circumference contract by the same Lorentz factor. We also show that one can construct discs whose contraction factors vary continuously from unity (no contraction) to the full Lorentz factor.     

Glassy behavior of electrons near metal-insulator transitions

The emergence of glassy behavior of electrons is investigated for systems close to disorder-driven and interaction-driven metal-insulator transitions. Our results indicate that Anderson localization effects strongly stabilize such glassy behavior, while Mott localization tends to suppress it. We predict the emergence of an intermediate metallic glassy phase separating the insulator from the normal metal. This effect is expected to be most pronounced for sufficiently disordered systems, in agreement with recent experimental observations.     

Observation of collective-emission-induced cooling of atoms in an optical cavity

We report the observation of collective-emission-induced, velocity-dependent light forces. One-third of a falling sample containing 3 x 10(6) cesium atoms illuminated by a horizontal standing wave is stopped by cooperatively emitting light into a vertically oriented, confocal resonator. We observe decelerations up to 1500 m/s(2) and cooling to temperatures as low as 7 microK, well below the free-space Doppler limit. The measured forces substantially exceed those predicted for a single two-level atom.     

B-tau unification and large atmospheric mixing: a case for a noncanonical seesaw mechanism

We study the second and third generation masses in the context of the minimal renormalizable SO(10) theory. We show that if the seesaw takes the noncanonical (type II) form, large atmospheric neutrino mixing angle requires b-tau unification.     

Universal pion freeze-out in heavy-ion collisions

Based on an evaluation of data on pion interferometry and on particle yields at midrapidity, we propose a universal condition for thermal freeze-out of pions in heavy-ion collisions. We show that freeze-out occurs when the mean free path of pions lambda(f) reaches a value of about 1 fm, which is much smaller than the spatial extent of the system at freeze-out. This critical mean free path is independent of the centrality of the collision and beam energy from the Alternating Gradient Synchrotron to the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider.     

Experimental demonstration of a technique to generate arbitrary quantum superposition states of a harmonically bound spin-1/2 particle

Using a single, harmonically trapped 9Be(+) ion, we experimentally demonstrate a technique for generation of arbitrary states of a two-level particle confined by a harmonic potential. Rather than engineering a single Hamiltonian that evolves the system to a desired final state, we implement a technique that applies a sequence of simple operations to synthesize the state.     

All-optical transistor action with bistable switching in a photonic crystal cross-waveguide geometry

We demonstrate all-optical switching action in a nonlinear photonic crystal cross-waveguide geometry with instantaneous Kerr nonlinearity, in which the transmission of a signal can be reversibly switched on and off by a control input. Our geometry accomplishes both spatial and spectral separation between the signal and the control in the nonlinear regime. The device occupies a small footprint of a few micrometers squared and requires only a few milliwatts of power at a 10-Gbit/s switching rate by use of Kerr nonlinearity in AlGaAs below half the electronic bandgap. We also show that the switching dynamics, as revealed by both coupled-mode theory and finite-difference time domain simulations, exhibits collective behavior that can be exploited to generate high-contrast logic levels and all-optical memory.     

Optical sectioning in wide-field microscopy obtained by dynamic structured light illumination and detection based on a smart pixel detector array

Optical sectioning in wide-field microscopy is achieved by illumination of the object with a continuously moving single-spatial-frequency pattern and detecting the image with a smart pixel detector array. This detector performs an on-chip electronic signal processing that extracts the optically sectioned image. The optically sectioned image is directly observed in real time without any additional postprocessing.     

Optical bistability in axially modulated OmniGuide fibers

We demonstrate the feasibility of optical bistability in an axially modulated nonlinear OmniGuide fiber through analytical theory and detailed numerical experiments. At 1.55-microm carrier wavelength, the in-fiber devices that we propose can operate with only a few tens of milliwatts of power, can have a nearly instantaneous response and recovery time, and can be shorter than 100 microm.