Extreme ultraviolet emission lines of Ca XV in solar and laboratory spectra

New R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates in Ca XV are used to derive theoretical electron density diagnostic emission line intensity ratios involving 2s(2)2p(2)- 2s2p(3) transitions, specifically R-1 = I(208.70 Angstrom)/I(200.98 Angstrom), R-2 = I(181.91 Angstrom)/I(200.98 Angstrom), and R-3 = I(215.38 Angstrom)/I(200.98 Angstrom), for a range of electron temperatures (T-e = 10(6.4)-10(6.8) K) and densities (Ne = 10(9)-10(13) cm(-3)) appropriate to solar coronal plasmas. Electron densities deduced from the observed values of R-1, R-2, and R-3 for several solar flares, measured from spectra obtained with the Naval Research Laboratory's S082A spectrograph on board Skylab, are found to be consistent. In addition, the derived electron densities are in excellent agreement with those determined from line ratios in Ca XVI, which is formed at a similar electron temperature to Ca XV. These results provide some experimental verification for the accuracy of the line ratio calculations, and hence the atomic data on which they are based. A set of eight theoretical Ca XV line ratios involving 2s(2)2p(2)-2s2p(3) transitions in the wavelength range similar to140-216 Angstrom are also found to be in good agreement with those measured from spectra of the TEXT tokamak plasma, for which the electron temperature and density have been independently determined. This provides additional support for the accuracy of the theoretical line ratios and atomic data.

5-Fluorouracil: mechanisms of action and clinical strategies

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) is widely used in the treatment of cancer. Over the past 20 years, increased understanding of the mechanism of action of 5-FU has led to the development of strategies that increase its anticancer activity. Despite these advances, drug resistance remains a significant limitation to the clinical use of 5-FU. Emerging technologies, such as DNA microarray profiling, have the potential to identify novel genes that are involved in mediating resistance to 5-FU. Such target genes might prove to be therapeutically valuable as new targets for chemotherapy, or as predictive biomarkers of response to 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

Emission lines of [Cl II] in the optical spectra of gaseous nebulae

Recent R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates among the 3s(2)3p(4) levels of Cl II are used to derive the nebular emission-line intensity ratios R-1=I(6161.8 Angstrom)/I(8578.7 Angstrom) and R-2=I(6161.8 Angstrom)/I(9123.6 Angstrom) as a function of electron temperature (T-e) and density (N-e). The ratios are found to be very sensitive to changes in T-e but not N-e for densities lower than 10(5) cm(-3). Hence, they should, in principle, provide excellent optical T-e diagnostics for planetary nebulae. The observed values of R-1 and R-2 for the planetary nebulae NGC 6741 and IC 5117, measured from spectra obtained with the Hamilton echelle spectrograph on the 3 m Shane Telescope, imply temperatures in excellent agreement with those derived from other diagnostic lines formed in the same region of the nebula as [Cl II]. This provides some observational support for the accuracy of the [Cl II] line ratio calculations and hence the atomic data on which they are based. The [Cl II] 8578.7 and 9123.6 Angstrom lines are identified for the first time (to our knowledge) in a high-resolution spectrum of the symbiotic star RR Telescopii, obtained with the University College London Echelle Spectrograph on the 3.9 m Anglo- Australian Telescope. However, the 6161.8 Angstrom feature is unfortunately too weak to be identified in the RR Telescopii observations, consistent with its predicted line strength.

Emission lines of Na-like ions in spectra obtained with the Solar EUV Research Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS)

Theoretical emission-line ratios involving transitions in the 236-412 Angstrom wavelength range are presented for the Na-like ions Ar viii, Cr xiv, Mn xv, Fe xvi, Co xvii, Ni xviii and Zn xx. A comparison of these with an extensive data set of the solar active region, quiet-Sun, subflare and off-limb observations, obtained during rocket flights by the Solar EUV Research Telescope and Spectrograph (SERTS), reveals generally very good agreement between theory and experiment. This indicates that most of the Na-like ion lines are reliably detected in the SERTS observations, and hence may be employed with confidence in solar spectral analyses. However, the features in the SERTS spectra at 236.34 and 300.25 Angstrom, originally identified as the Ni xviii 3p (2) P-3/2 -3d (2) D- 3/2 and Cr xiv 3p (2) P-3/2 -3d (2) D-5/2 transitions, respectively, are found to be due to emission lines of Ar xiii (236.34 Angstrom) and possibly S v or Ni vi (300.25 Angstrom). The Co xvii 3s (2) S-3p (2) P-3/2 line at 312.55 Angstrom is always badly blended with an Fe xv feature at the same wavelength, but Mn xv 3s (2) S-3p (2) P-1/2 at 384.75 Angstrom may not always be as affected by second-order emission from Fe xii 192.37 Angstrom as previously thought. On the other hand, we find that the Zn xx 3s (2) S-3p (2) P-3/2 transition can sometimes make a significant contribution to the Zn xx/Fe xiii 256.43- Angstrom blend, and hence care must be taken when using this feature as an Fe xiii electron density diagnostic. A line in the SERTS-89 active region spectrum at 265.00 Angstrom has been re-assessed, and we confirm its identification as the Fe xvi 3p (2) P-3/2 -3d (2) D-3/2 transition.

Extreme-ultraviolet emission lines of S X in solar flare and active region spectra

R-matrix calculations of electron impact excitation rates in N- like S x are used to derive theoretical emission-line intensity ratios involving 2s(2)2p(3)-2s2p(4) transitions in the 189-265 Angstrom wavelength range. A comparison of these with observational data for solar flares and active regions, obtained with the Naval Research Laboratory's S082A spectrograph on board Skylab and the Solar EUV Rocket Telescope and Spectrograph, reveals that many of the S x lines in the spectra are badly blended with emission features from other species. However, the intensity ratios I(228.70 Angstrom)/I(264.24 Angstrom) and I(228.70 Angstrom)/I(259.49 Angstrom) are found to provide useful electron density diagnostics for flares, although the latter cannot be employed for active regions, because of blending of the 259.49 Angstrom line with an unidentified transition in these solar features.