Designer Spatial Control of Interactions in Ultracold Gases.

Designer optical control of interactions in ultracold atomic gases has wide applications, from creating new quantum phases to modeling the physics of black holes. We demonstrate wide tunability and spatial control of interactions in a two-component cloud of ^{6}Li fermions, using electromagnetically induced transparency. With two control fields detuned ≃1.5 THz from atomic resonance, megahertz changes in the frequency of one optical beam tune the measured scattering length over the full range achieved by magnetic control, with negligible (10^{-6}) effect on the net optical confining potential. A 1D "sandwich" of resonantly and weakly interacting regions is imprinted on the trapped cloud and broadly manipulated with sub-MHz frequency changes. All of the data are in excellent agreement with our continuum-dressed state theoretical model of optical control, which includes both the spatial and momentum dependence of the scattering amplitude.

Probing Energy-Dependent Feshbach Resonances by Optical Control.

Optical control enables new high resolution probes of narrow collisional (Feshbach) resonances, which are strongly dependent on the relative momentum of colliding atom pairs, and important for simulating neutron matter with ultracold atomic gases. We demonstrate a two-field optical vernier, which expands kHz (mG) magnetic field detunings near a narrow resonance into MHz optical field detunings, enabling precise control and characterization of the momentum-dependent scattering amplitude. Two-photon loss spectra are measured for the narrow resonance in ^{6}Li, revealing rich structure in very good agreement with our theoretical model. However, anomalous overall frequency shifts between the measured and predicted two-photon spectra are not yet explained.

Emotions and coping of patients with head and neck cancers after diagnosis: A qualitative content analysis.

BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE: Patients suffering with head and neck cancers are observed to have a relatively high risk of developing emotional disturbances after diagnosis and treatment. These emotional concerns can be best understood and explored through the method of content analysis or qualitative data. Though a number of qualitative studies have been conducted in the last few years in the field of psychosocial oncology, none have looked at the emotions experienced and the coping by head and neck cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Seventy-five new cases of postsurgery patients of head and neck cancers were qualitatively interviewed regarding the emotions experienced and coping strategies after diagnosis. RESULTS: Qualitative content analysis of the in-depth interviews brought out that patients experienced varied emotions on realizing that they were suffering from cancer, the cause of which could be mainly attributed to three themes: 1) knowledge of their illness; 2) duration of untreated illness; and 3) object of blame. They coped with their emotions by either: 1) inculcating a positive attitude and faith in the doctor/treatment, 2) ventilating their emotions with family and friends, or 3) indulging in activities to divert attention. CONCLUSION: The results brought out a conceptual framework, which showed that an in-depth understanding of the emotions - Their root cause, coping strategies, and spiritual and cultural orientations of the cancer survivor - Is essential to develop any effective intervention program in India.

Optical Control of Magnetic Feshbach Resonances by Closed-Channel Electromagnetically Induced Transparency.

We control magnetic Feshbach resonances in an optically trapped mixture of the two lowest hyperfine states of a ^{6}Li Fermi gas, using two optical fields to create a dark state in the closed molecular channel. In the experiments, the narrow Feshbach resonance is tuned by up to 3 G. For the broad resonance, the spontaneous lifetime is increased to 0.4 s at the dark-state resonance, compared to 0.5 ms for single-field tuning. We present a new model of light-induced loss spectra, employing continuum-dressed basis states, which agrees in shape and magnitude with loss measurements for both broad and narrow resonances. Using this model, we predict the trade-off between tunability and loss for the broad resonance in ^{6}Li, showing that our two-field method substantially reduces the two-body loss rate compared to single-field methods for the same tuning range.

Effect of yoga therapy on facial emotion recognition deficits, symptoms and functioning in patients with schizophrenia.

OBJECTIVE: Facial emotion recognition deficits have been consistently demonstrated in schizophrenia and can impair socio-occupational functioning in these patients. Treatments to improve these deficits in antipsychotic-stabilized patients have not been well studied. Yoga therapy has been described to improve functioning in various domains in schizophrenia; however, its effect on FERD is not known. METHOD: Antipsychotic-stabilized patients randomized to receive Yoga (n=27), Exercise (n=17) or Waitlist group (n=22) were assessed at baseline, 2nd month, and 4th month of follow-up by raters blind to group status. Assessments included Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Socio-Occupational Functioning Scale (SOFS), and Tool for Recognition of Emotions in Neuropsychiatric DisorderS (TRENDS). RESULTS: There was a significant positive correlation between baseline FERD and socio-occupational functioning (r=0.3, P=0.01). Paired samples t test showed significant improvement in positive and negative symptoms, socio-occupational functioning and performance on TRENDS (P<0.05) in the Yoga group, but not in the other two groups. Maximum improvement occurred at the end of 2 months, and improvement in positive and negative symptoms persisted at the end of 4 months. CONCLUSION: Yoga therapy can be a useful add-on treatment to improve psychopathology, FERD, and socio-occupational functioning in antipsychotic-stabilized patients with schizophrenia.

A qualitative study on the needs of caregivers of inpatients with schizophrenia in India.

AIM: To explore the needs of caregivers of inpatients with schizophrenia in India. MATERIAL: Thirty caregivers of inpatients with schizophrenia participated in five focus group discussions (FGD), where the needs of the caregivers were discussed. The FGDs were recorded, transcribed and similar needs were grouped and ranked according to their order of importance. DISCUSSION: The main needs that emerged were regarding: managing the behaviour of patients; managing social-vocational problems of patients; health issues of caregivers; education about schizophrenia; rehabilitation; and managing sexual and marital problems of patients. CONCLUSION: This study has identified additional needs of caregivers from those found in other studies.

Group intervention for carers of geriatric patients: experiences from a clinic in India.

Sixty per cent of the global elderly population live in low-and middle-income countries, and this proportion was expected to rise to 70% by 2010 (International Institute of Ageing, 2001; Ferri et al, 2005). The 2001 Indian census found over 70 million people aged 60 years or more (considered senior citizens according to the Indian National Policy on Older Persons). Most of those senior citizens live with younger family members and are dependent on them for financial and social support. Hence, any physiological and psychological changes in the older family members affect the younger supportive members as well.

Life after cancer in India: coping with side effects and cancer pain.

The article aims to understand the coping strategies of postsurgery head and neck cancer patients in Mumbai, India. A descriptive research design with a sample of 80 patients suffering from head and neck cancer was selected to analyze their coping strategies in relation to sociodemographic profile and illness characteristics. The findings of the study highlighted that the spiritual methods of coping (such as prayer and meditation, adopting a positive attitude) were the most frequently used mainstream coping strategy, apart from other traditional methods (such as taking medications, indulging in exercise and activities to divert one's attention, etc.) of coping. The findings of the study help to broaden the understanding of various psychosocial aspects faced by the patient in India and provide progressive recommendations to improve the quality of life of the patient suffering from cancer.

Quantum spins and quasiperiodicity: a real space renormalization group approach.

We study the antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Heisenberg model on a two-dimensional bipartite quasiperiodic structure, the octagonal tiling, the aperiodic equivalent of the square lattice for periodic systems. An approximate block spin renormalization scheme is described for this problem. The ground state energy and local staggered magnetizations for this system are calculated and compared with the results of a recent quantum Monte Carlo calculation for the tiling. It is conjectured that the ground state energy is exactly equal to that of the quantum antiferromagnet on the square lattice.

Roles of rpoN, fliA, and flgR in expression of flagella in Campylobacter jejuni.

Three potential regulators of flagellar expression present in the genome sequence of Campylobacter jejuni NCTC 11168, the genes rpoN, flgR, and fliA, which encode the alternative sigma factor sigma(54), the sigma(54)-associated transcriptional activator FlgR, and the flagellar sigma factor sigma(28), respectively, were investigated for their role in global regulation of flagellar expression. The three genes were insertionally inactivated in C. jejuni strains NCTC 11168 and NCTC 11828. Electron microscopic studies of the wild-type and mutant strains showed that the rpoN and flgR mutants were nonflagellate and that the fliA mutant had truncated flagella. Immunoblotting experiments with the three mutants confirmed the roles of rpoN, flgR, and fliA in the expression of flagellin.