Coherent range-gated laser displacement metrology with compact optical head

We describe a new architecture for laser displacement metrology with a drastic reduction in the size and complexity of the optical head. Connected by a single optical fiber, the compact heads are easy to integrate and readily multiplexed to support applications requiring large numbers of sensors. The approach is made possible by modulating the outgoing laser light with a binary random noise code, allowing the detected signals to be discriminated based on their propagation delay. We demonstrate a displacement resolution of 1.1 nm rms.     

Photino-photino-photon production in e+e− annihilation

The cross section for production of single photons in the process $\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{e}{}^{\mathrm{?}}\text{→ γ}\text{γ}\text{γ}$ is calculated including selectron propagator and photino mass effects and is found to be significantly smaller than the local limit for selectron masses ? 35 GeV/c². Numerical results for the cross section are obtained as a function of selectron masses for photino masses $\text{m}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>\gamma </mtext>}}\text{? 10}\text{GeV}\text{/c}{}^2$ and electron beam energies E = 14.5, 25, and 35 GeV appropriate to PEP, PETRA, and TRISTAN, respectively.     

Proteomic analysis of the tumorigenic human prostate cell line M12 after microcell-mediated transfer of chromosome 19 demonstrates reduction of vimentin

Critical alterations in proteins that accompany or control the aggressiveness of human prostate cancers remain poorly defined. Previously we demonstrated that the highly tumorigenic, metastatic human prostate cell line M12 was converted to a slow growing, poorly tumorigenic cell line by introduction of an intact human chromosome 19, generating the M12 (F6) hybrid cells. The objective of this report was to identify changes in the protein profile of these M12(F6) microcell hybrid cells. A combination of two-dimensional gel electrophoresis and matrix assisted laser desorption-time of flight-mass spectroscopy was used to compare proteins made by these two cell lines. No consistently increased proteins were identified. However, seven proteins were reproducibly reduced more than twofold: vimentin, hsp90, ATP synthase, 26S protease regulatory subunit, heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein, T-Complex protein 1 beta, and alpha-1 tubulin. The striking reduction in vimentin protein was accompanied by significantly decreased vimentin mRNA, revealed by Northern blotting. Our findings implicate reduced vimentin in the conversion of these tumorigenic prostate epithelial cells into slow growing, less aggressive cells. These studies demonstrate that application of proteomic analysis to specific problems in an experimental context can yield biologically relevant information about the prostate cancer cell phenotype.     

Determination of molecular anisotropy in thin films of discotic assemblies using attenuated total reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy

We report here an investigation of absorbance anisotropy in highly ordered, single bilayer (ca. 5.6 nm) Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) thin films of discotic liquid-crystalline phthalocyanines, using a recently introduced broad-band attenuated total reflectance (ATR) spectroscopic technique, capable of measuring dichroism in such films in the UV--visible optical region down to absorbances of ca. 0.003 absorbance units. On the basis of the ATR measurements of LB-deposited films, a thorough treatment was established to determine the ensemble average of the Cartesian components and the associated optical anisotropy of transition dipoles in the molecular film. In an effort to recover order parameters of molecular orientation, those results were interpreted with a circular dipole model, which is the expected model for the isolated molecule based on symmetry properties. We measured a strong dipole component normal to the film plane that cannot be explained in terms of a truly circular model, indicating that the molecular transition dipoles were perturbed upon aggregation. The utility of the experimental approach was further demonstrated by (a) investigating the effect of substrate modifiers (methyl- and phenyl-terminated silanes) on the ordering within the phthalocyanine film and (b) the effect of water immersion and re-annealing of the thin film on molecular ordering and optical anisotropy.     

Development of affordable technologies for large X-ray simulators

Nuclear weapons effects simulators are large pulsed power installations for generating intense X-ray fluxes, which are used in testing the susceptibility and hardening of military systems in the radiation environment. These simulators are expensive because of the requirement for very high power pulsed output to drive radiation loads that can provide the necessary spectral and temporal characteristics of the X-radiation suitable for testing. During the past 40 years, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, as well as the Sandia National Laboratory, have developed pulsed power components and systems and improvements in load designs that are lowering the cost of X-ray simulators. The progress in pulsed power development encompasses elements from energy-storing capacitor banks to radiation loads and has led to the formulation of concept studies for future simulators with fewer components and with radiation loads as an integral part of the system     

Method validation study of hypoglycin A determination in ackee fruit

A study was conducted to validate the performance characteristics of a published method entitled "Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatographic Detection of Hypoglycin A in Canned Ackee Fruit Sample." Hypoglycin A (HG-A) was extracted from ackee fruit with 80% ethanol-water, centrifuged, and filtered; the sample extract then was reacted with phenylisothiocyanate. HG-A was separated by reversed-phase chromatography as the phenylthiocarbamyl derivative and detected at the low nanogram level using a UV detector at 254 nm. A study was conducted to determine recovery of HG-A added to a control ackee fruit sample. A control sample containing a low level of HG-A was spiked with 403.2, 201.6, 96.8, and 48.4 microg HG-A/g ackee fruit, respectively. Twelve replicates were analyzed for each spike level. The mean percent recovery +/- standard deviation for spike levels 403.2, 201.6, 96.8, and 48.4 microg HG-A/g were 94.37 +/- 1.27, 99.12 +/- 2.09, 107.95 +/- 5.42, and 129.18 +/- 15.32%, respectively. The percent coefficient of variation (%CV) for spike levels 403.2, 201.6, 96.8, and 48.4 microg HG-A/g were 1.35, 2.11, 5.02, and 11.86%, respectively. The recovery data indicate that HG-A can be recovered from ackee fruit with excellent accuracy and precision. Precision data obtained from replicate assays of ackee fruit naturally contaminated with low, medium, and high HG-A levels is presented.     

Pro-2-Demuškin groups of rank ℵ0 as Galois groups of maximal 2-extensions of fields

Research supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada