Phase determination in interference-based superresolving microscopes through critical frequency analysis

Utilizing the interference of wave fronts of two opposing lenses, 4Pi-confocal and I(5)M microscopy improve the axial resolution of far-field fluorescence microscopy as much as threefold to sevenfold. However, establishing the phase difference of the wave fronts in the sample is a problem yet to be solved. Here we show that the phase difference is encoded in the microscope's transfer of the spatial frequencies that match the distance of the interference peaks. As a result the phase difference is readily extracted through a Fourier transform of the image. Our method is relevant to all microscopes that exploit the interference of counterpropagating waves to improve the axial and the lateral resolution.     

Peroxynitrite decomposition catalyst prevents apoptotic cell death in a human astrocytoma cell line incubated with supernatants of HIV-infected macrophages

Background  

Oxidative stress has shown to contribute in the mechanisms underlying apoptotic cell death occuring in AIDS-dementia complex. Here we investigated the role of peroxynitrite in apoptosis occurring in astroglial cells incubated with supernatants of HIV-infected human primary macrophages (M/M).     

Studies on the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. III. Synthesis of 1,3,2-benzodioxa- and 1,3,2-benzoxathiarsole derivatives

The preparation and reaction of 1,3,2-benzodioxa- and 1,3,2-benzoxathiarsoles (IIa-b) are described. Spiran derivatives Va-c are obtained by treating IIa-b with Ia-b and triethylamine, while the reaction of IIa-b with sodium hydroxide, ethoxide and p-cresolate gives the compounds VIa-b, VIIa-b and VIIIa-b, that can evolve to Xa-b. Reaction of IIa-b with sodium p-toluenethio-late and n-butyllithium gave the compounds IXa-b and XIa-b respectively. The structure of the prepared compounds has been determined by elemental analysis and spectroscopic data.     

Global solutions of the Boltzmann equation on a lattice

The nonlinear Boltzmann equation with a discretized spatial variable is studied in a Banach space of absolutely integrable functions of the velocity variables. Conservation laws and positivity are utilized to extend weak local solutions to a global solution. This is shown to be a strong solution by analytic semigroup techniques.Supported by National Science Foundation Grant ENG-7515882.     

Oxidation of tertiary polycycl1c amines by RuO4

The reactions of certain tertiary polycyclic amines such as N-benzyl-9-azabicy-clo- [3,3,1]-nonane, N-benzyl-5, 6-dihydro-11H-dibenz [b,e] azepine, and N-benzyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline with ruthenium tetroxide, taking place in both heterogeneous and homogeneous systems, have made it possible to establish the order of reactivity of the various methylene groups adjacent to the nitrogen with respect to this oxidizing agent.     

Hysteresis of charge tunneling in assemblies of carboxylic acid-modified gold nanoparticles

We report on charge transport measurements through laterally contacted assemblies of Au nanoparticles capped with 11-mercaptoundecanoic acid ligands. Both alternating- and direct-current data indicate that although the nanoparticles behave as electrically isolated metallic islands, there is a significant influence from the nanoparticle environment, indicating the existence of a slow reorganization process linked to charge transport. On the basis of the observation of temperature-dependent hysteresis of charge tunneling, we propose that this process is due to proton transfer between the carboxylic acid tails of the ligands.     

Dissipative quantum chaos: transition from wave packet collapse to explosion

Using the quantum trajectories approach, we study the quantum dynamics of a dissipative chaotic system described by the Zaslavsky map. For strong dissipation the quantum wave function in the phase space collapses onto a compact packet which follows classical chaotic dynamics and whose area is proportional to the Planck constant. At weak dissipation the exponential instability of quantum dynamics on the Ehrenfest time scale dominates and leads to wave packet explosion. The transition from collapse to explosion takes place when the dissipation time scale exceeds the Ehrenfest time. For integrable nonlinear dynamics the explosion practically disappears leaving place to collapse.     

Particle scattering in loop quantum gravity

We devise a technique for defining and computing -point functions in the context of a background-independent gravitational quantum field theory. We construct a tentative implementation of this technique in a perturbatively finite model defined using spin foam techniques in the context of loop quantum gravity.     

An open volume, high isolation, radio frequency surface coil system for pulsed magnetic resonance

We present an open volume, high isolation, RF system suitable for pulsed NMR and EPR spectrometers with reduced dead time. It comprises a set of three RF surface coils disposed with mutually parallel RF fields and a double-channel receiver (RX). Theoretical and experimental results obtained with a prototype operating at about 100 MHz are reported. Each surface RF coil (diameter 5.5 cm) was tuned to f₀ = 100.00 ± 0.01 MHz when isolated. Because of the mutual coupling and the geometry of the RF coils, only two resonances at f₁ = 97.94 MHz and f₂ = 101.85 MHz were observed. We show they are associated with two different RF field spatial distributions. In continuous mode (CW) operation the isolation between the TX coil and one of the RX coils (single-channel) was about −10 dB. By setting the double-channel RF assembly in subtraction mode the isolation values at f₁ or f₂ could be optimised to about −75 dB. Following a TX RF pulse (5 μs duration) an exponential decay with time constant of about 600 ns was observed. The isolation with single-channel RX coil was about −11 dB and it increased to about −47 dB with the double-channel RX in subtraction mode. Similar results were obtained with the RF pulse frequency selected to f₂ and also with shorter (500 ns) RF pulses. The above geometrical parameters and operating frequency of the RF assembly were selected as a model for potential applications in solid state NMR and in free radical EPR spectroscopy and imaging.