Time and space-resolved measurement of a gas-puff laser-plasma x-ray source

The dynamic interaction processes between a nano-second laser pulse and a gas-puff target, such as those of plasma formation, laser heating, and x-ray emission, have been investigated quantitatively. Time and space-resolved x-ray and optical measurement techniques were used in order to investigate time-resolved laser absorption and subsequent x-ray generation. Efficient absorption of the incident laser energy into the gas-puff target of 17%, 12%, 38%, and 91% for neon, argon, krypton, and xenon, respectively, was shown experimentally. It was found that the laser absorption starts and, simultaneously, soft x-ray emission occurs. The soft x-ray lasts much longer than the laser pulse due to the recombination. Temporal evolution of the soft x-ray emission region was analyzed by comparing the experimental results to the results of the model calculation, in which the laser light propagation through a gas-puff plasma was taken into account. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.

Interactions of a femtosecond intense laser with rare gas clusters in a dense jet\

A study on the interactions of high intensity (similar to 10(16) W/cm(2)) femtosecond laser pulses with rare gas clusters in a dense jet is performed. Energy absorption by Ar and Xe clusters is measured and it can be as high as 90%. Very energetic ions produced in the laser interaction with a dense cluster jet are detected by time-of-flight spectrometry and the maximum ion energy of Xe is up to 1.3 MeV. The average ion energies are found to increase with increasing cluster size and get saturated gradually. The average ion energies also show a strong directionality and the average ion energy in the direction parallel to the laser polarization vector is 40% higher than that perpendicular to it. The findings are discussed in terms of a model of charge-dependent ion acceleration.

Coupled effects of mechanics, geometry, and chemistry on bio-membrane behavior

Lipid bilayer membranes are models for cell membranes--the structure that helps regulate cell function. Cell membranes are heterogeneous, and the coupling between composition and shape gives rise to complex behaviors that are important to regulation. This thesis seeks to systematically build and analyze complete models to understand the behavior of multi-component membranes.

We propose a model and use it to derive the equilibrium and stability conditions for a general class of closed multi-component biological membranes. Our analysis shows that the critical modes of these membranes have high frequencies, unlike single-component vesicles, and their stability depends on system size, unlike in systems undergoing spinodal decomposition in flat space. An important implication is that small perturbations may nucleate localized but very large deformations. We compare these results with experimental observations.

We also study open membranes to gain insight into long tubular membranes that arise for example in nerve cells. We derive a complete system of equations for open membranes by using the principle of virtual work. Our linear stability analysis predicts that the tubular membranes tend to have coiling shapes if the tension is small, cylindrical shapes if the tension is moderate, and beading shapes if the tension is large. This is consistent with experimental observations reported in the literature in nerve fibers. Further, we provide numerical solutions to the fully nonlinear equilibrium equations in some problems, and show that the observed mode shapes are consistent with those suggested by linear stability. Our work also proves that beadings of nerve fibers can appear purely as a mechanical response of the membrane.

Temperature controlled filamentation in argon gas

Temperature controlled filamentation is experimentally demonstrated in a temperature gradient gas-filled tube. The proper position of the tube is heated by a furnace and two ends of the tube are cooled by air. The experimental results show that multiple filaments are shrunken into a single filament or no filament only by increasing the temperature at the beginning of the filament. This technique offers another degree of freedom of controlling the filamentation and opens a new way for intense monocycle pulse generation through gradient temperature in a noble gas.

Constitutive plasma membrane targeting and microdomain localization of Dok5 studied by single-molecule microscopy

In the present study, single-molecule fluorescence microscopy was used to examine the characteristics of plasma membrane targeting and microdomain localization of enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (eYFP)-tagged wild-type Dok5 and its variants in living Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. We found that Dok5 can target constitutively to the plasma membrane, and the PH domain is essential for this process. Furthermore, single-molecule trajectories analysis revealed that Dok5 can constitutively partition into microdomain on the plasma membrane. Finally, the potential mechanism of microdomain localization of Dok5 was discussed. This study provided insights into the characteristics of plasma membrane targeting and microdomain localization of Dok5 in living CHO cells. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Direct visualization of the dynamics of membrane-anchor proteins in living cells

Dynamic properties of proteins have crucial roles in understanding protein function and molecular mechanism within cells. In this paper, we combined total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy with oblique illumination fluorescence microscopy to observe directly the movement and localization of membrane-anchored green fluorescence proteins in living cells. Total internal reflect illumination allowed the observation of proteins in the cell membrane of living cells since the penetrate depth could be adjusted to about 80 nm, and oblique illumination allowed the observation of proteins both in the cytoplasm and apical membrane, which made this combination a promising tool to investigate the dynamics of proteins through the whole cell. Not only individual protein molecule tracks have been analyzed quantitatively but also cumulative probability distribution function analysis of ensemble trajectories has been done to reveal the mobility of proteins. Finally, single particle tracking has acted as a compensation for single molecule tracking. All the results exhibited green fluorescence protein dynamics within cytoplasm, on the membrane and from cytoplasm to plasma membrane.

An experimental investigation of the heat transfer from a buoyant gas plume to a horizontal unobstructed ceiling

This thesis presents an experimental investigation of the axisymmetric heat transfer from a small scale fire and resulting buoyant plume to a horizontal, unobstructed ceiling during the initial stages of development. A propane-air burner yielding a heat source strength between 1.0 kW and 1.6 kW was used to simulate the fire, and measurements proved that this heat source did satisfactorily represent a source of buoyancy only. The ceiling consisted of a 1/16" steel plate of 0.91 m. diameter, insulated on the upper side. The ceiling height was adjustable between 0.5 m and 0.91 m. Temperature measurements were carried out in the plume, ceiling jet, and on the ceiling.

Heat transfer data were obtained by using the transient method and applying corrections for the radial conduction along the ceiling and losses through the insulation material. The ceiling heat transfer coefficient was based on the adiabatic ceiling jet temperature (recovery temperature) reached after a long time. A parameter involving the source strength Q and ceiling height H was found to correlate measurements of this temperature and its radial variation. A similar parameter for estimating the ceiling heat transfer coefficient was confirmed by the experimental results.

This investigation therefore provides reasonable estimates for the heat transfer from a buoyant gas plume to a ceiling in the axisymmetric case, for the stagnation region where such heat transfer is a maximum and for the ceiling jet region (r/H ≤ 0.7). A comparison with data from experiments which involved larger heat sources indicates that the predicted scaling of temperatures and heat transfer rates for larger scale fires is adequate.

Structural and mechanistic motifs in membrane proteins: the three-dimensional modelling of rhodopsin, band 3, and the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor

Because so little is known about the structure of membrane proteins, an attempt has been made in this work to develop techniques by which to model them in three dimensions. The procedures devised rely heavily upon the availability of several sequences of a given protein. The modelling procedure is composed of two parts. The first identifies transmembrane regions within the protein sequence on the basis of hydrophobicity, β-turn potential, and the presence of certain amino acid types, specifically, proline and basic residues. The second part of the procedure arranges these transmembrane helices within the bilayer based upon the evolutionary conservation of their residues. Conserved residues are oriented toward other helices and variable residues are positioned to face the surrounding lipids. Available structural information concerning the protein's helical arrangement, including the lengths of interhelical loops, is also taken into account. Rhodopsin, band 3, and the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor have all been modelled using this methodology, and mechanisms of action could be proposed based upon the resulting structures.

Specific residues in the rhodopsin and iodopsin sequences were identified, which may regulate the proteins' wavelength selectivities. A hinge-like motion of helices M3, M4, and M5 with respect to the rest of the protein was proposed to result in the activation of transducin, the G-protein associated with rhodopsin. A similar mechanism is also proposed for signal transduction by the muscarinic acetylcholine and β-adrenergic receptors.

The nicotinic acetylcholine receptor was modelled with four trans-membrane helices per subunit and with the five homologous M2 helices forming the cation channel. Putative channel-lining residues were identified and a mechanism of channel-opening based upon the concerted, tangential rotation of the M2 helices was proposed.

Band 3, the anion exchange protein found in the erythrocyte membrane, was modelled with 14 transmembrane helices. In general the pathway of anion transport can be viewed as a channel composed of six helices that contains a single hydrophobic restriction. This hydrophobic region will not allow the passage of charged species, unless they are part of an ion-pair. An arginine residue located near this restriction is proposed to be responsible for anion transport. When ion-paired with a transportable anion it rotates across the barrier and releases the anion on the other side of the membrane. A similar process returns it to its original position. This proposed mechanism, based on the three-dimensional model, can account for the passive, electroneutral, anion exchange observed for band 3. Dianions can be transported through a similar mechanism with the additional participation of a histidine residue. Both residues are located on M10.

Filamentation control in the temperature gradient argon gas

A novel technique of controlling the evolution of the filamentation was experimentally demonstrated in an argon gas-filled tube. The entrance of the filament was heated by a furnace and the other end was cooled with air, which resulted in the temperature gradient distribution along the tube. The experimental results show that multiple filaments are merged into a single filament and then no filament by only increasing the temperature at the entrance of the filament. Also, the filament can appear and disappear after increasing the local temperature and input pulse energy in turn. This technique offers another degree of freedom to control the filamentation and opens a new way for multi-mJ level monocycle pulse generation through filamentation in the noble gas.

Phase-matched high-order harmonic generation in a gas cell with midinfrared femtosecond pulses

We experimentally investigate the generation of high-order harmonics in a 4-mm-long gas cell using midinfrared femtosecond pulses at various wavelengths of 1240 nm, 1500 nm, and 1800 nm. It is observed that the yield and cutoff energy of the generated high-order harmonics critically depend on focal position, gas pressure, and size of the input beam which can be controlled by an aperture placed in front of the focal lens. By optimizing the experimental parameters, we achieve a cutoff energy at similar to 190 eV with the 1500 nm driving pulses, which is the highest for the three wavelengths chosen in our experiment.