Aortic elastin fluorescence afterin vivo labeling with Congo red

Congo red (CR) is an azo dye which not only preferentially binds to elastin, an extracellular matrix protein found in the media of arterial vessel walls, but also fluoresces when it binds to this protein. Protein solubilization data following laser irradiation of elastin:CR suspensions determined that the amount of elastin solubilized by laser irradiation increased with the increase in CR. The saturation point of CR to elastin was attained when 400 g CR was added to 20 mg elastin suspension. When 20 ml of a 5% CR solution in 5% dextrose was administered intravenously, the CR was absorbed in levels sufficient to produce fluorescence of the main arteries in rabbits. Layers of tissue both in the media of the vessels and at the endothelial/intimal interface were clearly differentiated. Therefore, the elastin:CR complex appears to be an ideal system in which the elastin fluorescence could aid in distinguishing between normal and diseased tissue in certain pathological conditions, such as atherosclerosis and some types of breast tumors.     

Core excitations of naphthalene: vibrational structure versus chemical shifts

High-resolution x-ray photoelectron emission (XPS) and near-edge x-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectra of naphthalene are analyzed in terms of the initial state chemical shifts and the vibrational fine structure of the excitations. Carbon atoms located at peripheral sites experience only a small chemical shift and exhibit rather similar charge-vibrational coupling, while the atoms in the bridging positions differ substantially. In the XPS spectra, C-H stretching modes provide important contributions to the overall shape of the spectrum. In contrast, the NEXAFS spectrum contains only vibrational progressions from particular C-C stretching modes. The accuracy of ab initio calculations of absolute electronic transition energies is discussed in the context of minute chemical shifts, the vibrational fine structure, and the state multiplicity.     

Optimization of a prompt gamma setup for analysis of environmental samples

A thermal neutron capture-based Prompt Gamma ray Activation Analysis setup has been designed to analyze the elemental concentration of environmental bulk samples using a D(d,n) reaction-based portable neutron generator. The performance of the setup was tested through mercury concentration measurements in Hg-contaminated water samples using a large volume cylindrical bismuth germinate (BGO) gamma ray detector. Excellent agreement of experimental count rate of 2.64, 3.19 + 3.29 and 4.67–5.05 MeV Hg prompt gamma rays with theoretical count rate obtained through Monte Carlo simulations, indicates excellent performance of the newly designed portable neutron generator-based PGNAA setup.     

Dynamics of cooperative emissions in a cascade three-level molecular system driven by an ultrashort laser pulse

This paper investigates the dynamics of cooperative emissions in a cascade three-level system driven by an ultra, short laser pulse by solving numerically the full-wave Maxwell-Bloch equations. The 4, 4＇-bis（dimethylamino） stilbene molecule is used as the model molecule because of its strong two-photon absorption property. The two-colour cooperative emissions are studied as functions of molecular number density and dephasing rate of the dipole coherence. The propagation effects on the evolution of the cooperative radiations are also taken into account. The cooperative radiations are enhanced for large number density of the molecule, while the fast dephasing of the dipole coherence reduces the intensity of the cooperative radiations and delays the emission times or even inhibits the formation of the emissions. The delay time of the radiation decreases with the increase of the molecular number density and the propagation distance.     

High-precision frequency-domain measurements of the optical properties of turbid media

We report high-precision measurements of the absorption and the reduced scattering coefficients for turbid media. Using a frequency-domain measurement technique for a point-source infinite-medium geometry, we find that the standard deviations of multiple measurements of the absorption coefficient mu(a) and the reduced scattering coefficient mu(s)(?) are less than 0.6%, and three independently derived values for mu(a) and mu(s)(?) agree to better than 1%. Measurements of mu(a) agree with measurements of a nonscattering medium to within 1.2%. To obtain high precision requires attention to proper conditions for the spherical photon-density wave model, the detection linearity, and the ratio of the absorption rate to the source modulation rate. Frequency-domain amplitude and phase measurements deviate from fitted curves by 0.1% and 0.06 degrees rms, respectively.     

Essential self-adjointness of operators in ordered hilbert space

LetH ₀0 be a self-adjoint operator acting in a spaceL ²(M, ). It is assumed thatH ₀ e=0, wheree is strictly positive, and that exp(–tH ₀) is positivity preserving fort0. LetV be a real function onM such that its positive part is inL ²(M,e ²) and its negative part is relatively small with respect toH ₀. ThenH=H ₀+V is essentially self-adjoint on the intersection of the domains ofH ₀ andV. This result is applied to Schrödinger operators and to quantum field Hamiltonians.     

Upconversion from aqueous phase lanthanide chelates

We have prepared and characterized several lanthanide ion complexes of multidentate ligands or chelates in an effort to develop new upconverting luminescent labels that can be immune to autofluorescence and photobleaching. This study has involved the characterization of various chelates of Nd, Er, and Tm with respect to relative luminescent efficiency and excited-state lifetimes and explored various two-photon stepwise excitation mechanisms. Using peak laser powers near 100 kW, the upconversion emissions of Nd in Nd(EDTA)2(5-) at 386 nm, Er in Er(DPA)3(3-) at 550 nm, and Tm in Tm(DPA)3(3-) at 480 nm, at levels of approximately 10(-12) moles can be detected.