Power-dependent dispersion in far-off-resonant raman scattering

We investigate the saturation effects of power broadening, Stark shifting, and population transfer on Stokes conversion in stimulated Raman scattering. We do not make the usual rotating wave approximation because the detuning from the next electronic state is assumed to be in the optical regime. Retaining the counter-rotating terms allows an exact determination of the pump and Stokes indexes of refraction. Steady-state solutions for the Stokes intensity and phase are obtained and the effects of making the rotating wave approximation (RWA) are discussed. Finally, we examine the behavior of these solutions for Stokes conversion in hydrogen gas when geometric propagation is appropriate.     

Speciation of four selenium compounds using high performance liquid chromatography with on-line detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry or flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An analytical method for the speciation of selenomethionine, selenocystine, selenite and selenate by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with atomic spectrometric detection is presented. An organic polymeric strong anion exchange column was used as the stationary phase in combination with an aqueous solution of 6 mmol L^–1 of salicylate ion at pH 8.5 as the mobile phase which allowed the isocratic separation of the four selenium analytes within 8 minutes. The separated selenium species were detected on-line by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The signal-to-noise ratio of the FAAS detector was optimized using a hydrogen-argon entrained-air flame and a slotted-tube atom trap (STAT) in the flame. The limit of detection (3 σ) achieved by the HPLC-FAAS system was 1 mg L^–1 of selenium (100 μL injections) for each of the four selenium species. More powerful selenium detection was achieved using an ELAN 5000 ICP-MS instrument. Selenium was measured at m/z = 82. The ICP-MS signal intensity was enhanced by a factor of 3–4 after addition of 3% methanol to the chromatographic mobile phase and by using an increased plasma power input of 1300 W. The limit of detection achieved under these conditions was 1 μg L^–1 (100 μL injections). The HPLC-ICP-MS system was used for selenium speciation of selenite and selenate in aqueous solutions during a BCR certification exercise and for selenium speciation in the certified reference material, BCR No. 402 White Clover. Extraction experiments revealed that the selenium species in the biological material were extractable only in the presence of water in the extraction medium. The results indicated that selenate and a compound of unknown identity U were present in the plant sample.     

Tunneling of an energy eigenstate through a parabolic barrier viewed from Wigner phase space

We analyze the tunneling of a particle through a repulsive potential resulting from an inverted harmonic oscillator in the quantum mechanical phase space described by the Wigner function. In particular, we solve the partial differential equations in phase space determining the Wigner function of an energy eigenstate of the inverted oscillator. The reflection or transmission coefficients R or T are then given by the total weight of all classical phase-space trajectories corresponding to energies below, or above the top of the barrier given by the Wigner function.     

Proteome Analysis of Aflibercept Intervention in Experimental Central Retinal Vein Occlusion

Aflibercept is a frequently used inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the treatment of macular edema following central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO). Retinal proteome changes following aflibercept intervention in CRVO remain largely unstudied. Studying proteomic changes of aflibercept intervention may generate a better understanding of mechanisms of action and uncover aspects related to the safety profile. In 10 Danish Landrace pigs, CRVO was induced in both eyes with an argon laser. Right eyes were treated with intravitreal aflibercept while left control eyes received isotonic saline water. Retinal samples were collected 15 days after induced CRVO. Proteomic analysis by tandem mass tag-based mass spectrometry identified a total of 21 proteins that were changed in content following aflibercept intervention. In retinas treated with aflibercept, high levels of aflibercept components were reached, including the VEGF receptor-1 and VEGF receptor-2 domains. Fold changes in the additional proteins ranged between 0.70 and 1.19. Aflibercept intervention resulted in a downregulation of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) (fold change = 0.84) and endoplasmin (fold change = 0.91). The changes were slight and could thereby not be confirmed with less precise immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Our data suggest that aflibercept had a narrow mechanism of action in the CRVO model. This may be an important observation in cases when macular edema secondary to CRVO is resistant to aflibercept intervention.     

Gaussian Amplitude Amplification for Quantum Pathfinding

We study an oracle operation, along with its circuit design, which combined with the Grover diffusion operator boosts the probability of finding the minimum or maximum solutions on a weighted directed graph. We focus on the geometry of sequentially connected bipartite graphs, which naturally gives rise to solution spaces describable by Gaussian distributions. We then demonstrate how an oracle that encodes these distributions can be used to solve for the optimal path via amplitude amplification. And finally, we explore the degree to which this algorithm is capable of solving cases that are generated using randomized weights, as well as a theoretical application for solving the Traveling Salesman problem.     

Mesoscopic quantum coherence in an optical lattice

We observe the quantum coherent dynamics of atomic spinor wave packets in the double-well potentials of a far-off-resonance optical lattice. With appropriate initial conditions the system Rabi oscillates between the left and right localized states of the ground doublet, and at certain times the wave packet corresponds to a coherent superposition of these mesoscopically distinct quantum states. The atom/optical double-well potential is a flexible and powerful system for further study of quantum coherence, quantum control, and the quantum/classical transition.     

Speciation of four selenium compounds using high performance liquid chromatography with on-line detection by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry or flame atomic absorption spectrometry

An analytical method for the speciation of selenomethionine, selenocystine, selenite and selenate by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with atomic spectrometric detection is presented. An organic polymeric strong anion exchange column was used as the stationary phase in combination with an aqueous solution of 6 mmol L^–1 of salicylate ion at pH 8.5 as the mobile phase which allowed the isocratic separation of the four selenium analytes within 8 minutes. The separated selenium species were detected on-line by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS) or inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The signal-to-noise ratio of the FAAS detector was optimized using a hydrogen-argon entrained-air flame and a slotted-tube atom trap (STAT) in the flame. The limit of detection (3 σ) achieved by the HPLC-FAAS system was 1 mg L^–1 of selenium (100 μL injections) for each of the four selenium species. More powerful selenium detection was achieved using an ELAN 5000 ICP-MS instrument. Selenium was measured at m/z = 82. The ICP-MS signal intensity was enhanced by a factor of 3–4 after addition of 3% methanol to the chromatographic mobile phase and by using an increased plasma power input of 1300 W. The limit of detection achieved under these conditions was 1 μg L^–1 (100 μL injections). The HPLC-ICP-MS system was used for selenium speciation of selenite and selenate in aqueous solutions during a BCR certification exercise and for selenium speciation in the certified reference material, BCR No. 402 White Clover. Extraction experiments revealed that the selenium species in the biological material were extractable only in the presence of water in the extraction medium. The results indicated that selenate and a compound of unknown identity U were present in the plant sample. Received: 4 September 1996 / Accepted: 12 December 1996     

The Phase of a Quantum Mechanical Particle in Curved Spacetime

We investigate the quantum mechanical wave equations for free particles of spin 0, 1/2, 1 in the background of an arbitrary static gravitational field in order to explicitly determine if the phase of the wavefunction is S/ = p dx /, as is often quoted in the literature. We work in isotropic coordinates where the wave equations have a simple manageable form and do not make a weak gravitational field approximation. We interpret these wave equations in terms of a quantum mechanical particle moving in medium with a spatially varying effective index of refraction. Due to the first order spatial derivative structure of the Dirac equation in curved spacetime, only the spin 1/2 particle has exactly the quantum mechanical phase as indicated above. The second order spatial derivative structure of the spin 0 and spin 1 wave equations yield the above phase only to lowest order in . We develop a WKB approximation for the solution of the spin 0 and spin 1 wave equations and explore amplitude and phase corrections beyond the lowest order in . For the spin 1/2 particle we calculate the phase appropriate for neutrino flavor oscillations.