Invariants for E0-Semigroups on II1 Factors

We introduce four new cocycle conjugacy invariants for E ₀-semigroups on II ₁ factors: a coupling index, a dimension for the gauge group, a super product system and a C*-semiflow. Using noncommutative Itô integrals we show that the dimension of the gauge group can be computed from the structure of the additive cocycles. We do this for the Clifford flows and even Clifford flows on the hyperfinite II ₁ factor, and for the free flows on the free group factor ${L(F_\infty)}$ L ( F ∞ ) . In all cases the index is 0, which implies they have trivial gauge groups. We compute the super product systems for these families and, using this, we show they have trivial coupling index. Finally, using the C*-semiflow and the boundary representation of Powers and Alevras, we show that the families of Clifford flows and even Clifford flows contain infinitely many mutually non-cocycle-conjugate E ₀-semigroups.     

Excitation dependent quenching of luminescence in LED phosphors

Droop, the decrease of efficiency with increased power density, became a major topic with InGaN LEDs, after its introduction in 2007. This paper provides insight into droop in localized center luminescence phosphors, exemplified here by Eu²⁺ doped materials. This topic is of increasing importance, as high brightness blue LEDs have reached outputs >1 W/mm². The nonlinearities in phosphor quantum efficiency result in drive‐dependent color point shift and reduction of overall efficiency of phosphor converted white LEDs which utilize Eu²⁺ activated phosphors. The efficiency quenching can be traced back to two processes, well‐known in laser physics, excited state absorption or/and cross relaxation by Foerster/Dexter transfer. Both processes lead to reduction in phosphor efficiency, but they can be differentiated. Understanding the root cause of efficiency quenching opens ways to minimize the practical consequences. (© 2016 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH &Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Femtosecond holography in lithium niobate crystals

Spatial gratings are recorded holographically by two femtosecond pump pulses at 388 nm in lithium niobate (LiNbO3) crystals and read out by a Bragg-matched, temporally delayed probe pulse at 776 nm. We claim, to our knowledge, the first holographic pump-probe experiments with subpicosecond temporal resolution for LiNbO3. An instantaneous grating that is due mostly to the Kerr effect as well as a long-lasting grating that results mainly from the absorption caused by photoexcited carriers was observed. The Kerr coefficient of LiNbO3 for our experimental conditions, i.e., pumped and probed at different wavelengths, was approximately 1.0 x 10(-5) cm2/GW.     

Description of a biofluorescence optical particle counter

A bioaerosol fluorescence detection system is being constructed using an ellipsoid reflector-based optical particle counter. The flux measuring device is to size submicron marine spray aerosol particles smaller than 100 nm in diameter. It will simultaneously non-destructively excite and detect fluorescence from organic matter contained in the aerosol. Chlorophyll-a is the primary fluorophor target, used as a marker for detecting phytoplankton (or derivatives thereof) in the particles. Particles have been sized to 500 nm in diameter and fluorescence detection testing is underway. The device will aid the quantification and identification of this organic material contained in marine spray aerosols, providing improved inputs into climate models and air quality assessments.     

Temperature Dependence for the Relative Raman Cross Section of the Ammonia/Water Complex

The Raman spectra of aqueous ammonia solutions have been obtained between -40 and 25 degrees C. The Raman spectrum of neat water was also obtained at 25 degrees C and is characterized by two broad peaks observed at 3200 and 3400 cm(-1). The spectrum due to water is subtracted to determine the NH(3) spectrum at all temperatures. In ammonia-water solutions, the spectrum shows three features at measured displacements of 3250, 3316, and 3400 cm(-1). The feature at 3316 cm(-1) is assigned to the Q branch of the symmetric stretch. The broad, weak features at 3250 and 3400 cm(-1), previously assigned to rotational bands, are assigned to combination bands. The NH(3) combination bands are assigned by comparing with sum frequency generation (SFG) experiments, monitoring changes with temperature, and analyzing the polarization data. The rotational structure of the Q band is also discussed. As the temperature is lowered from 25 to -40 degrees C, an increase in the Raman intensity is observed for all bands. The relative Raman scattering cross section is determined from the numerically integrated area of the NH(3) Q branch at each temperature. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

Unwanted combustion enhancement by C6F12O fire suppressant

Several agents are under consideration to replace CF₃Br for use in suppressing fires in aircraft cargo bays. In a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) performance test simulating the explosion of an aerosol can, however, the replacements, when added at sub-inerting concentrations, have all been found to create higher pressure rise than with no agent, hence failing the test. Thermodynamic equilibrium calculations as well as perfectly-stirred reactor (PSR) simulations with detailed reaction kinetics, are performed for one of these agents, C₆F₁₂O (Novec 1230), to understand the reasons for the unexpected enhanced combustion rather than suppression. The high pressure rise with added agent is shown to depend on the amount of agent, and can only occur if a large fraction of the available oxidizer in the chamber is consumed, corresponding to stoichiometric proportions of fuel, oxygen, and agent. A kinetic model for the reaction of C₆F₁₂O in hydrocarbon–air flames has been developed. Stirred-reactor simulations predict that at higher agent loadings, the inhibition effectiveness of C₆F₁₂O is relatively insensitive to the overall stoichiometry, and the marginal inhibitory effect of the agent is greatly reduced, so that the mixture remains flammable over a wide range of conditions corresponding to those of the FAA test. The present findings are consistent with and support the earlier analyses for C₂HF₅ and CF₃Br, which were also evaluated in the FAA test.     

VEGA: visual comparison of phylogenetic trees for evolutionary genome analysis (ChinaVis 2019)

In the field of evolutionary genome analysis, biologists seek to identify important genes or chromosome regions by comparing phylogenetic trees and analyzing the mutation at which locus might affect phenotypic traits. Unfortunately, the tree comparison and accompanying analysis are often performed manually. In this paper, we characterize the workflow of evolutionary genome analysis and present a task analysis for the fundamental questions asked by biologists during the analysis procedure. We propose two algorithms to enable quantitative tree comparison. One is to measure the differences between corresponding leaf nodes on two trees, and the other is to compute the classification inconsistency of each leaf node by comparing tree structure with a given biological classification. Configuring with the obtained difference and inconsistency, we present a visual analysis system, visual comparison of phylogenetic trees for evolutionary genome analysis, which not only enables biologists to intuitively explore trees but also identify locus which affects their traits by comparing SNP variants of selected leaf nodes. We conclude with case studies from two biologists who used our system to augment their previous manual analysis workflow and demonstrate that our system can reveal more insight.     

13 C Saturation-Transfer Difference (STD)-NMR Experiments Using INEPT Polarization Transfer

Saturation-transfer difference (STD)-NMR spectroscopy has been widely used to screen potential ligands for binding to large receptor molecules. The STD-NMR experiment is typically based on a proton NMR spectrum, which can suffer from spectral overlap, leading to missing information in STD-based epitope mapping. Two-dimensional STD-NMR experiments can alleviate spectral overlap, but are time consuming. Here, we examine the feasibility of saturating protons in a receptor molecule and observing the STD effect on nearby carbon nuclei after transferring polarization from protons to carbons using the insensitive nuclei enhanced by polarization transfer (INEPT) pulse sequence. We show that under favorable conditions, a 1H→13C STD-INEPT experiment can give information similar to that obtained from a two-dimensional heteronuclear experiment, but in significantly less time. The STD-INEPT experiment could be especially useful when studying mixtures of ligands in which the peak positions in the proton and HSQC spectrum change significantly, and in particular, when using high-throughput, automated methods to analyze the data.     

Differentiation between intra-axial metastatic tumor progression and radiation injury following fractionated radiation therapy or stereotactic radiosurgery using MR spectroscopy, perfusion MR imaging or volume progression modeling

Objective

To determine the accuracy of magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), perfusion MR imaging (MRP), or volume modeling in distinguishing tumor progression from radiation injury following radiotherapy for brain metastasis.

Methods

Twenty-six patients with 33 intra-axial metastatic lesions who underwent MRS (n=41) with or without MRP (n=32) after cranial irradiation were retrospectively studied. The final diagnosis was based on histopathology (n=4) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) follow-up with clinical correlation (n=29). Cho/Cr (choline/creatinine), Cho/NAA (choline/N-acetylaspartate), Cho/nCho (choline/contralateral normal brain choline) ratios were retrospectively calculated for the multi-voxel MRS. Relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV), relative peak height (rPH) and percentage of signal-intensity recovery (PSR) were also retrospectively derived for the MRPs. Tumor volumes were determined using manual segmentation method and analyzed using different volume progression modeling. Different ratios or models were tested and plotted on the receiver operating characteristic curve (ROC), with their performances quantified as area under the ROC curve (AUC). MRI follow-up time was calculated from the date of initial radiotherapy until the last MRI or the last MRI before surgical diagnosis.

Results

Median MRI follow-up was 16 months (range: 2-33). Thirty percent of lesions (n=10) were determined to be radiation injury; 70% (n=23) were determined to be tumor progression. For the MRS, Cho/nCho had the best performance (AUC of 0.612), and Cho/nCho >1.2 had 33% sensitivity and 100% specificity in predicting tumor progression. For the MRP, rCBV had the best performance (AUC of 0.802), and rCBV >2 had 56% sensitivity and 100% specificity. The best volume model was percent increase (AUC of 0.891); 65% tumor volume increase had 100% sensitivity and 80% specificity.

Conclusion

Cho/nCho of MRS, rCBV of MRP, and percent increase of MRI volume modeling provide the best discrimination of intra-axial metastatic tumor progression from radiation injury for their respective modalities. Cho/nCho and rCBV appear to have high specificities but low sensitivities. In contrast, percent volume increase of 65% can be a highly sensitive and moderately specific predictor for tumor progression after radiotherapy. Future incorporation of 65% volume increase as a pretest selection criterion may compensate for the low sensitivities of MRS and MRP.