Development and Use of Fluorescent Antibody and qPCR Protocols for the Electrostatic Spore Trap

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Fluorescent antibody (FA) and qPCR protocols were evaluated for the newly developed aerobiological sampler (Ionic Spore Trap), which depends upon electrostatic deposition of particulates onto a 25 mm aluminum disk (stub). This device was originally designed for assessment of captured particulates by...

An electrostatic autoresonant ion trap mass spectrometer.

PubMed

Ermakov, A V; Hinch, B J

2010-01-01

A new method for ion extraction from an anharmonic electrostatic trap is introduced. Anharmonicity is a common feature of electrostatic traps which can be used for small scale spatial confinement of ions, and this feature is also necessary for autoresonant ion extraction. With the aid of ion trajectory simulations, novel autoresonant trap mass spectrometers (ART-MSs) have been designed based on these very simple principles. A mass resolution approximately 60 is demonstrated for the prototypes discussed here. We report also on the pressure dependencies, and the (mV) rf field strength dependencies of the ART-MS sensitivity. Importantly the new MS designs do not require heavy magnets, tight manufacturing tolerances, introduction of buffer gases, high power rf sources, nor complicated electronics. The designs described here are very inexpensive to implement relative to other instruments, and can be easily miniaturized. Possible applications are discussed.

Preparation of translationally cold neutral molecules.

PubMed

Di Domenicantonio, Giulia; Bertsche, Benjamin; Osterwalder, Andreas

2011-01-01

Efforts at EPFL to obtain translationally cold neutral molecules are described. Active deceleration of polar molecules is performed by confining the molecules in moving three-dimensional electrostatic traps, and by appropriately choosing the velocity of those traps. Alternatively, cold molecules can be obtained by velocity filtering. Here, the velocity of the molecules is not changed, but instead the cold molecules are extracted from a thermal sample by using the competition between the electrostatic force and the centrifugal force inside a bent electrostatic guide for polar molecules.

Effects of non-Gaussian Brownian motion on direct force optical tweezers measurements of the electrostatic forces between pairs of colloidal particles.

PubMed

Raudsepp, Allan; A K Williams, Martin; B Hall, Simon

2016-07-01

Measurements of the electrostatic force with separation between a fixed and an optically trapped colloidal particle are examined with experiment, simulation and analytical calculation. Non-Gaussian Brownian motion is observed in the position of the optically trapped particle when particles are close and traps weak. As a consequence of this motion, a simple least squares parameterization of direct force measurements, in which force is inferred from the displacement of an optically trapped particle as separation is gradually decreased, contains forces generated by the rectification of thermal fluctuations in addition to those originating directly from the electrostatic interaction between the particles. Thus, when particles are close and traps weak, simply fitting the measured direct force measurement to DLVO theory extracts parameters with modified meanings when compared to the original formulation. In such cases, however, physically meaningful DLVO parameters can be recovered by comparing the measured non-Gaussian statistics to those predicted by solutions to Smoluchowski's equation for diffusion in a potential.

On the correct implementation of Fermi-Dirac statistics and electron trapping in nonlinear electrostatic plane wave propagation in collisionless plasmas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schamel, Hans; Eliasson, Bengt

2016-05-01

Quantum statistics and electron trapping have a decisive influence on the propagation characteristics of coherent stationary electrostatic waves. The description of these strictly nonlinear structures, which are of electron hole type and violate linear Vlasov theory due to the particle trapping at any excitation amplitude, is obtained by a correct reduction of the three-dimensional Fermi-Dirac distribution function to one dimension and by a proper incorporation of trapping. For small but finite amplitudes, the holes become of cnoidal wave type and the electron density is shown to be described by a ϕ ( x ) 1 / 2 rather than a ϕ ( x ) expansion, where ϕ ( x ) is the electrostatic potential. The general coefficients are presented for a degenerate plasma as well as the quantum statistical analogue to these steady state coherent structures, including the shape of ϕ ( x ) and the nonlinear dispersion relation, which describes their phase velocity.

Quantum-mechanical analysis of the energetic contributions to π stacking in nucleic acids versus rise, twist, and slide.

PubMed

Parker, Trent M; Hohenstein, Edward G; Parrish, Robert M; Hud, Nicholas V; Sherrill, C David

2013-01-30

Symmetry-adapted perturbation theory (SAPT) is applied to pairs of hydrogen-bonded nucleobases to obtain the energetic components of base stacking (electrostatic, exchange-repulsion, induction/polarization, and London dispersion interactions) and how they vary as a function of the helical parameters Rise, Twist, and Slide. Computed average values of Rise and Twist agree well with experimental data for B-form DNA from the Nucleic Acids Database, even though the model computations omitted the backbone atoms (suggesting that the backbone in B-form DNA is compatible with having the bases adopt their ideal stacking geometries). London dispersion forces are the most important attractive component in base stacking, followed by electrostatic interactions. At values of Rise typical of those in DNA (3.36 Å), the electrostatic contribution is nearly always attractive, providing further evidence for the importance of charge-penetration effects in π-π interactions (a term neglected in classical force fields). Comparison of the computed stacking energies with those from model complexes made of the "parent" nucleobases purine and 2-pyrimidone indicates that chemical substituents in DNA and RNA account for 20-40% of the base-stacking energy. A lack of correspondence between the SAPT results and experiment for Slide in RNA base-pair steps suggests that the backbone plays a larger role in determining stacking geometries in RNA than in B-form DNA. In comparisons of base-pair steps with thymine versus uracil, the thymine methyl group tends to enhance the strength of the stacking interaction through a combination of dispersion and electrosatic interactions.

Alternative approaches to plasma confinement

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roth, J. R.

1978-01-01

The paper discusses 20 plasma confinement schemes each representing an alternative to the tokamak fusion reactor. Attention is given to: (1) tokamak-like devices (TORMAC, Topolotron, and the Extrap concept), (2) stellarator-like devices (Torsatron and twisted-coil stellarators), (3) mirror machines (Astron and reversed-field devices, the 2XII B experiment, laser-heated solenoids, the LITE experiment, the Kaktus-Surmac concept), (4) bumpy tori (hot electron bumpy torus, toroidal minimum-B configurations), (5) electrostatically assisted confinement (electrostatically stuffed cusps and mirrors, electrostatically assisted toroidal confinement), (6) the Migma concept, and (7) wall-confined plasmas. The plasma parameters of the devices are presented and the advantages and disadvantages of each are listed.

Ferroelectric nanotraps for polar molecules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dutta, Omjyoti; Giedke, G.

2018-02-01

We propose and analyze an electrostatic-optical nanoscale trap for cold diatomic polar molecules. The main ingredient of our proposal is a square array of ferroelectric nanorods with alternating polarization. We show that, in contrast to electrostatic traps using the linear Stark effect, a quadratic Stark potential supports long-lived trapped states. The molecules are kept at a fixed height from the nanorods by a standing-wave optical dipole trap. For the molecules and materials considered, we find nanotraps with trap frequency up to 1 MHz, ground-state width ˜20 nm with lattice periodicity of ˜200 nm . Analyzing the loss mechanisms due to nonadiabaticity, surface-induced radiative transitions, and laser-induced transitions, we show the existence of trapped states with lifetime ˜1 s , competitive with current traps created via optical mechanisms. As an application we extend our discussion to a one-dimensional (1D) array of nanotraps to simulate a long-range spin Hamiltonian in our structure.

Electrical transport properties of an isolated CdS microrope composed of twisted nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Gui-Feng; Yu, Miao; Pan, Wei; Han, Wen-Peng; Yan, Xu; Zhang, Jun-Cheng; Zhang, Hong-Di; Long, Yun-Ze

2015-01-01

CdS is one of the important II-VI group semiconductors. In this paper, the electrical transport behavior of an individual CdS microrope composed of twisted nanowires is studied. It is found that the current-voltage ( I- V) characteristics show two distinct power law regions from 360 down to 60 K. Space-charge-limited current (SCLC) theory is used to explain these temperature- and electric-field-dependent I-V curves. The I-V data can be well fitted by this theory above 100 K, and the corresponding carrier mobility, trap energy, and trap concentration are also obtained. However, the I-V data exhibit some features of the Coulomb blockade effect below 80 K.

Angular trapping of anisometric nano-objects in a fluid.

PubMed

Celebrano, Michele; Rosman, Christina; Sönnichsen, Carsten; Krishnan, Madhavi

2012-11-14

We demonstrate the ability to trap, levitate, and orient single anisometric nanoscale objects with high angular precision in a fluid. An electrostatic fluidic trap confines a spherical object at a spatial location defined by the minimum of the electrostatic system free energy. For an anisometric object and a potential well lacking angular symmetry, the system free energy can further strongly depend on the object's orientation in the trap. Engineering the morphology of the trap thus enables precise spatial and angular confinement of a single levitating nano-object, and the process can be massively parallelized. Since the physics of the trap depends strongly on the surface charge of the object, the method is insensitive to the object's dielectric function. Furthermore, levitation of the assembled objects renders them amenable to individual manipulation using externally applied optical, electrical, or hydrodynamic fields, raising prospects for reconfigurable chip-based nano-object assemblies.

The electrostatic fluidic trap: a new approach to the spatial control and manipulation of matter at the nanometer scale (presentation video)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Krishnan, Madhavi

2014-09-01

I will describe a new technique to trap matter at the nanometer scale in fluids. Rather than apply external fields to the object of interest, our approach relies on spatial tailoring of the interaction between an object and its neighbouring surfaces in order to create spatial potential minima in three dimensions. We demonstrate how the strong and long-ranged electrostatic interaction can be modulated by tailoring substrate geometry to achieve stable spatial trapping of charged objects, as small as single proteins in solution.

Twisted electron-acoustic waves in plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aman-ur-Rehman, E-mail: amansadiq@gmail.com; Department of Physics and Applied Mathematics; Ali, S.

2016-08-15

In the paraxial limit, a twisted electron-acoustic (EA) wave is studied in a collisionless unmagnetized plasma, whose constituents are the dynamical cold electrons and Boltzmannian hot electrons in the background of static positive ions. The analytical and numerical solutions of the plasma kinetic equation suggest that EA waves with finite amount of orbital angular momentum exhibit a twist in its behavior. The twisted wave particle resonance is also taken into consideration that has been appeared through the effective wave number q{sub eff} accounting for Laguerre-Gaussian mode profiles attributed to helical phase structures. Consequently, the dispersion relation and the damping ratemore » of the EA waves are significantly modified with the twisted parameter η, and for η → ∞, the results coincide with the straight propagating plane EA waves. Numerically, new features of twisted EA waves are identified by considering various regimes of wavelength and the results might be useful for transport and trapping of plasma particles in a two-electron component plasma.« less

Electrical transport properties of an isolated CdS microrope composed of twisted nanowires.

PubMed

Yu, Gui-Feng; Yu, Miao; Pan, Wei; Han, Wen-Peng; Yan, Xu; Zhang, Jun-Cheng; Zhang, Hong-Di; Long, Yun-Ze

2015-01-01

CdS is one of the important II-VI group semiconductors. In this paper, the electrical transport behavior of an individual CdS microrope composed of twisted nanowires is studied. It is found that the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics show two distinct power law regions from 360 down to 60 K. Space-charge-limited current (SCLC) theory is used to explain these temperature- and electric-field-dependent I-V curves. The I-V data can be well fitted by this theory above 100 K, and the corresponding carrier mobility, trap energy, and trap concentration are also obtained. However, the I-V data exhibit some features of the Coulomb blockade effect below 80 K.

A simple derivation for amplitude and time period of charged particles in an electrostatic bathtub potential

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prathap Reddy, K.

2016-11-01

An ‘electrostatic bathtub potential’ is defined and analytical expressions for the time period and amplitude of charged particles in this potential are obtained and compared with simulations. These kinds of potentials are encountered in linear electrostatic ion traps, where the potential along the axis appears like a bathtub. Ion traps are used in basic physics research and mass spectrometry to store ions; these stored ions make oscillatory motion within the confined volume of the trap. Usually these traps are designed and studied using ion optical software, but in this work the bathtub potential is reproduced by making two simple modifications to the harmonic oscillator potential. The addition of a linear ‘k 1|x|’ potential makes the simple harmonic potential curve steeper with a sharper turn at the origin, while the introduction of a finite-length zero potential region at the centre reproduces the flat region of the bathtub curve. This whole exercise of modelling a practical experimental situation in terms of a well-known simple physics problem may generate interest among readers.

Mechanical properties of DNA-like polymers

PubMed Central

Peters, Justin P.; Yelgaonkar, Shweta P.; Srivatsan, Seergazhi G.; Tor, Yitzhak; James Maher, L.

2013-01-01

The molecular structure of the DNA double helix has been known for 60 years, but we remain surprisingly ignorant of the balance of forces that determine its mechanical properties. The DNA double helix is among the stiffest of all biopolymers, but neither theory nor experiment has provided a coherent understanding of the relative roles of attractive base stacking forces and repulsive electrostatic forces creating this stiffness. To gain insight, we have created a family of double-helical DNA-like polymers where one of the four normal bases is replaced with various cationic, anionic or neutral analogs. We apply DNA ligase-catalyzed cyclization kinetics experiments to measure the bending and twisting flexibilities of these polymers under low salt conditions. Interestingly, we show that these modifications alter DNA bending stiffness by only 20%, but have much stronger (5-fold) effects on twist flexibility. We suggest that rather than modifying DNA stiffness through a mechanism easily interpretable as electrostatic, the more dominant effect of neutral and charged base modifications is their ability to drive transitions to helical conformations different from canonical B-form DNA. PMID:24013560

Infrared laser dissociation of single megadalton polymer ions in a gated electrostatic ion trap: the added value of statistical analysis of individual events.

PubMed

Halim, Mohammad A; Clavier, Christian; Dagany, Xavier; Kerleroux, Michel; Dugourd, Philippe; Dunbar, Robert C; Antoine, Rodolphe

2018-05-07

In this study, we report the unimolecular dissociation mechanism of megadalton SO 3 -containing poly(2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) polymer cations and anions with the aid of infrared multiphoton dissociation coupled to charge detection ion trap mass spectrometry. A gated electrostatic ion trap ("Benner trap") is used to store and detect single gaseous polymer ions generated by positive and negative polarity in an electrospray ionization source. The trapped ions are then fragmented due to the sequential absorption of multiple infrared photons produced from a continuous-wave CO 2 laser. Several fragmentation pathways having distinct signatures are observed. Highly charged parent ions characteristically adopt a distinctive "stair-case" pattern (assigned to the "fission" process) whereas low charge species take on a "funnel like" shape (assigned to the "evaporation" process). Also, the log-log plot of the dissociation rate constants as a function of laser intensity between PAMPS positive and negative ions is significantly different.

Nonlinear dissipative and dispersive electrostatic structures in unmagnetized relativistic electron-ion plasma with warm ions and trapped electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masood, W.; Hamid, Naira; Ilyas, Iffat; Siddiq, M.

2017-06-01

In this paper, we have investigated electrostatic solitary and shock waves in an unmagnetized relativistic electron-ion (ei) plasma in the presence of warm ions and trapped electrons. In this regard, we have derived the trapped Korteweg-de Vries Burgers (TKdVB) equation using the small amplitude approximation method, which to the best of our knowledge has not been investigated in plasmas. Since the TKdVB equation involves fractional nonlinearity on account of trapped electrons, we have employed a smartly crafted extension of the tangent hyperbolic method and presented the solution of the TKdVB equation in this paper. The limiting cases of the TKdVB equation yield trapped Burgers (TB) and trapped Korteweg-de Vries (TKdV) equations. We have also presented the solutions of TB and TKdV equations. We have also explored how the plasma parameters affect the propagation characteristics of the nonlinear structures obtained for these modified nonlinear partial differential equations. We hope that the present work will open new vistas of research in the nonlinear plasma theory both in classical and quantum plasmas.

A Superconducting Magnet UCN Trap for Precise Neutron Lifetime Measurements.

PubMed

Picker, R; Altarev, I; Bröcker, J; Gutsmiedl, E; Hartmann, J; Müller, A; Paul, S; Schott, W; Trinks, U; Zimmer, O

2005-01-01

Finite-element methods along with Monte Carlo simulations were used to design a magnetic storage device for ultracold neutrons (UCN) to measure their lifetime. A setup was determined which should make it possible to confine UCN with negligible losses and detect the protons emerging from β-decay with high efficiency: stacked superconducting solenoids create the magnetic storage field, an electrostatic extraction field inside the storage volume assures high proton collection efficiency. Alongside with the optimization of the magnetic and electrostatic design, the properties of the trap were investigated through extensive Monte Carlo simulation.

An electrostatic glass actuator for ultrahigh vacuum: A rotating light trap for continuous beams of laser-cooled atoms.

PubMed

Füzesi, F; Jornod, A; Thomann, P; Plimmer, M D; Dudle, G; Moser, R; Sache, L; Bleuler, H

2007-10-01

This article describes the design, characterization, and performance of an electrostatic glass actuator adapted to an ultrahigh vacuum environment (10(-8) mbar). The three-phase rotary motor is used to drive a turbine that acts as a velocity-selective light trap for a slow continuous beam of laser-cooled atoms. This simple, compact, and nonmagnetic device should find applications in the realm of time and frequency metrology, as well as in other areas of atomic, molecular physics and elsewhere.

Measuring forces and dynamics for optically levitated 20μm PS particles in air using electrostatic modulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Haesung; LeBrun, Thomas W.

2015-08-01

We demonstrate the simultaneous measurement of optical trap stiffness and quadrant-cell photodetector (QPD) calibration of optically trapped polystyrene particle in air. The analysis is based on the transient response of particles, confined to an optical trap, subject to a pulsed electrostatic field generated by parallel indium tin oxide (ITO) coated substrates. The resonant natural frequency and damping were directly estimated by fitting the analytical solution of the transient response of an underdamped harmonic oscillator to the measured particle displacement from its equilibrium position. Because, the particle size was estimated independently with video microscopy, this approach allowed us to measure the optical force without ignoring the effects of inertia and temperature changes from absorption.

Modified Penning-Malmberg Trap for Storing Antiprotons

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sims, William H.; Martin, James; Lewis, Raymond

2005-01-01

A modified Penning-Malmberg trap that could store a small cloud of antiprotons for a relatively long time (weeks) has been developed. This trap is intended for use in research on the feasibility of contemplated future matter/antimatter-annihilation systems as propulsion sources for spacecraft on long missions. This trap is also of interest in its own right as a means of storing and manipulating antiprotons for terrestrial scientific experimentation. The use of Penning-Malmberg traps to store antiprotons is not new. What is new here is the modified trap design, which utilizes state-of-the-art radiofrequency (RF) techniques, including ones that, heretofore, have been used in radio-communication applications but not in iontrap applications. A basic Penning-Malmberg trap includes an evacuated round tube that contains or is surrounded by three or more collinear tube electrodes. A steady axial magnetic field that reaches a maximum at the geometric center of the tube is applied by an external source, and DC bias voltages that give rise to an electrostatic potential that reaches a minimum at the center are applied to the electrodes. The combination of electric and magnetic fields confines the charged particles (ions or electrons) for which it was designed to a prolate spheroidal central region. However, geometric misalignments and the diffusive cooling process prevent the steady fields of a basic Penning- Malmberg trap from confining the particles indefinitely. In the modified Penning-Malmberg trap, the loss of antiprotons is reduced or eliminated by use of a "rotating-wall" RF stabilization scheme that also heats the antiproton cloud to minimize loss by matter/antimatter annihilation. The scheme involves the superposition of a quadrupole electric field that rotates about the cylindrical axis at a suitably chosen radio frequency. The modified Penning-Malmberg trap (see Figure 1) includes several collinear sets of electrodes inside a tubular vacuum chamber. Each set comprises either a single metal tube or else a tube that is segmented into four electrodes that subtend equal angles about the cylindrical axis. The output of an RF signal generator is fed through a 90 hybrid coupler and then through two baluns to generate four replicas of the signal at relative phase shifts of 0 , 90 , 180 , and 270 (see Figure 2). These signal replicas are fed through 6-dB directional couplers, then via coaxial cables to the vacuum chamber. The signal is then routed to a phase cancellation network, which filters out the drive signal with the difference representing the plasma interaction. Inside the vacuum chamber, twisted-pair wires feed the signals from the coaxial cables to the four electrodes of each segmented electrode tube.

Electron Trapping and Charge Transport by Large Amplitude Whistlers

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kellogg, P. J.; Cattell, C. A.; Goetz, K.; Monson, S. J.; Wilson, L. B., III

2010-01-01

Trapping of electrons by magnetospheric whistlers is investigated using data from the Waves experiment on Wind and the S/WAVES experiment on STEREO. Waveforms often show a characteristic distortion which is shown to be due to electrons trapped in the potential of the electrostatic part of oblique whistlers. The density of trapped electrons is significant, comparable to that of the unperturbed whistler. Transport of these trapped electrons to new regions can generate potentials of several kilovolts, Trapping and the associated potentials may play an important role in the acceleration of Earth's radiation belt electrons.

Shear-horizontal vibration modes of an oblate elliptical cylinder and energy trapping in contoured acoustic wave resonators.

PubMed

He, Huijing; Yang, Jiashi; Kosinski, John A

2012-08-01

We study shear-horizontal free vibrations of an elastic cylinder with an oblate elliptical cross section and a traction-free surface. Exact vibration modes and frequencies are obtained. The results show the existence of thickness-shear and thickness-twist modes. The energy-trapping behavior of these modes is examined. Trapped modes are found wherein the vibration energy is largely confined to the central portion of the cross section and little vibration energy is found at the edges. It is also shown that face-shear modes are not allowed in such a cylinder. The results are useful for the understanding of the energy trapping phenomenon in contoured acoustic wave resonators.

The electrostatic interaction between interfacial colloidal particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hurd, A. J.

1985-11-01

The electrostatic interaction between charged, colloidal particles trapped at an air-water interface is considered using linearised Poisson-Boltzmann results for point particles. In addition to the expected screened-Coulomb contribution, which decays exponentially, an algebraic dipole-dipole interaction occurs that may account for long-range interactions in interfacial colloidal systems.

Laser Radiation Pressure Acceleration of Monoenergetic Protons in an Ultra-Thin Foil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eliasson, Bengt; Liu, Chuan S.; Shao, Xi; Sagdeev, Roald Z.; Shukla, Padma K.

2009-11-01

We present theoretical and numerical studies of the acceleration of monoenergetic protons in a double layer formed by the laser irradiation of an ultra-thin film. The stability of the foil is investigated by direct Vlasov-Maxwell simulations for different sets of laser-plasma parameters. It is found that the foil is stable, due to the trapping of both electrons and ions in the thin laser-plasma interaction region, where the electrons are trapped in a potential well composed of the ponderomo-tive potential of the laser light and the electrostatic potential due to the ions, and the ions are trapped in a potential well composed of the inertial potential in an accelerated frame and the electrostatic potential due to the electrons. The result is a stable double layer, where the trapped ions are accelerated to monoenergetic energies up to 100 MeV and beyond, which makes them suitable for medical applications cancer treatment. The underlying physics of trapped and untapped ions in a double layer is also investigated theoretically and numerically.

Electrostatics-Driven Hierarchical Buckling of Charged Flexible Ribbons.

PubMed

Yao, Zhenwei; Olvera de la Cruz, Monica

2016-04-08

We investigate the rich morphologies of an electrically charged flexible ribbon, which is a prototype for many beltlike structures in biology and nanomaterials. Long-range electrostatic repulsion is found to govern the hierarchical buckling of the ribbon from its initially flat shape to its undulated and out-of-plane twisted conformations. In this process, the screening length is the key controlling parameter, suggesting that a convenient way to manipulate the ribbon morphology is simply to change the salt concentration. We find that these shapes originate from the geometric effect of the electrostatic interaction, which fundamentally changes the metric over the ribbon surface. We also identify the basic modes by which the ribbon reshapes itself in order to lower the energy. The geometric effect of the physical interaction revealed in this Letter has implications for the shape design of extensive ribbonlike materials in nano- and biomaterials.

Self-consistent electrostatic potential due to trapped plasma in the magnetosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Miller, Ronald H.; Khazanov, George V.

1993-01-01

A steady state solution for the self-consistent electrostatic potential due to a plasma confined in a magnetic flux tube is considered. A steady state distribution function is constructed for the trapped particles from the constants of the motion, in the absence of waves and collisions. Using Liouville's theorem, the particle density along the geomagnetic field is determined and found to depend on the local magnetic field, self-consistent electric potential, and the equatorial plasma distribution function. A hot anisotropic magnetospheric plasma in steady state is modeled by a bi-Maxwellian at the equator. The self-consistent electric potential along the magnetic field is calculated assuming quasineutrality, and the potential drop is found to be approximately equal to the average kinetic energy of the equatorially trapped plasma. The potential is compared with that obtained by Alfven and Faelthammar (1963).

X-Ray Absorption Microspectroscopy with Electrostatic Force Microscopy and its Application to Chemical States Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ishii, M.; Rigopoulos, N.; Poolton, N. R. J.; Hamilton, B.

2007-02-01

A new technique named X-EFM that measures the x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) of nanometer objects was developed. In X-EFM, electrostatic force microscopy (EFM) is used as an x-ray absorption detector, and photoionization induced by x-ray absorption of surface electron trapping sites is detected by EFM. An EFM signal with respect to x-ray photon energy provides the XAFS spectra of the trapping sites. We adopted X-EFM to observe Si oxide thin films. An edge jump shift intrinsic to the X-EFM spectrum was found, and it was explained with a model where an electric field between the trapping site and probe deepens the energy level of the inner-shell. A scanning probe under x-rays with fixed photon energy provided the chemical state mapping on the surface.

Twisted-Light-Ion Interaction: The Role of Longitudinal Fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Quinteiro, G. F.; Schmidt-Kaler, Ferdinand; Schmiegelow, Christian T.

2017-12-01

The propagation of light beams is well described using the paraxial approximation, where field components along the propagation direction are usually neglected. For strongly inhomogeneous or shaped light fields, however, this approximation may fail, leading to intriguing variations of the light-matter interaction. This is the case of twisted light having opposite orbital and spin angular momenta. We compare experimental data for the excitation of a quadrupole transition in a single trapped 40Ca+ ion from Schmiegelow et al. [Nat. Commun. 7, 12998 (2016), 10.1038/ncomms12998] with a complete model where longitudinal components of the electric field are taken into account. Our model matches the experimental data and excludes by 11 standard deviations the approximation of a complete transverse field. This demonstrates the relevance of all field components for the interaction of twisted light with matter.

Enhanced polymer capture speed and extended translocation time in pressure-solvation traps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buyukdagli, Sahin

2018-06-01

The efficiency of nanopore-based biosequencing techniques requires fast anionic polymer capture by like-charged pores followed by a prolonged translocation process. We show that this condition can be achieved by setting a pressure-solvation trap. Polyvalent cation addition to the KCl solution triggers the like-charge polymer-pore attraction. The attraction speeds-up the pressure-driven polymer capture but also traps the molecule at the pore exit, reducing the polymer capture time and extending the polymer escape time by several orders of magnitude. By direct comparison with translocation experiments [D. P. Hoogerheide et al., ACS Nano 8, 7384 (2014), 10.1021/nn5025829], we characterize as well the electrohydrodynamics of polymers transport in pressure-voltage traps. We derive scaling laws that can accurately reproduce the pressure dependence of the experimentally measured polymer translocation velocity and time. We also find that during polymer capture, the electrostatic barrier on the translocating molecule slows down the liquid flow. This prediction identifies the streaming current measurement as a potential way to probe electrostatic polymer-pore interactions.

Electromagnetic torque tweezers: a versatile approach for measurement of single-molecule twist and torque.

PubMed

Janssen, Xander J A; Lipfert, Jan; Jager, Tessa; Daudey, Renier; Beekman, Jaap; Dekker, Nynke H

2012-07-11

The well-established single-molecule force-spectroscopy techniques have recently been complemented by methods that can measure torque and twist directly, notably magnetic torque tweezers and the optical torque wrench. A limitation of the current torque measurement schemes is the intrinsic coupling between the force and torque degrees of freedom. Here we present electromagnetic torque tweezers (eMTT) that combine permanent and electromagnets to enable independent control of the force and torsional trap stiffness for sensitive measurements of single molecule torque and twist. Using the eMTT, we demonstrate sensitive torque measurements on tethered DNA molecules from simple tracking of the beads' (x,y)-position, obviating the need for any angular tracking algorithms or markers. Employing the eMTT for high-resolution torque measurements, we experimentally confirm the theoretically predicted torque overshoot at the DNA buckling transition in high salt conditions. We envision that the flexibility and control afforded by the eMTT will enable a range of new torque and twist measurement schemes from single-molecules to living cells.

Chiral twist drives raft formation and organization in membranes composed of rod-like particles

PubMed Central

Lubensky, Tom C.

2017-01-01

Lipid rafts are hypothesized to facilitate protein interaction, tension regulation, and trafficking in biological membranes, but the mechanisms responsible for their formation and maintenance are not clear. Insights into many other condensed matter phenomena have come from colloidal systems, whose micron-scale particles mimic basic properties of atoms and molecules but permit dynamic visualization with single-particle resolution. Recently, experiments showed that bidisperse mixtures of filamentous viruses can self-assemble into colloidal monolayers with thermodynamically stable rafts exhibiting chiral structure and repulsive interactions. We quantitatively explain these observations by modeling the membrane particles as chiral liquid crystals. Chiral twist promotes the formation of finite-sized rafts and mediates a repulsion that distributes them evenly throughout the membrane. Although this system is composed of filamentous viruses whose aggregation is entropically driven by dextran depletants instead of phospholipids and cholesterol with prominent electrostatic interactions, colloidal and biological membranes share many of the same physical symmetries. Chiral twist can contribute to the behavior of both systems and may account for certain stereospecific effects observed in molecular membranes. PMID:27999184

Unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene superlattices.

PubMed

Cao, Yuan; Fatemi, Valla; Fang, Shiang; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kaxiras, Efthimios; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

2018-04-05

The behaviour of strongly correlated materials, and in particular unconventional superconductors, has been studied extensively for decades, but is still not well understood. This lack of theoretical understanding has motivated the development of experimental techniques for studying such behaviour, such as using ultracold atom lattices to simulate quantum materials. Here we report the realization of intrinsic unconventional superconductivity-which cannot be explained by weak electron-phonon interactions-in a two-dimensional superlattice created by stacking two sheets of graphene that are twisted relative to each other by a small angle. For twist angles of about 1.1°-the first 'magic' angle-the electronic band structure of this 'twisted bilayer graphene' exhibits flat bands near zero Fermi energy, resulting in correlated insulating states at half-filling. Upon electrostatic doping of the material away from these correlated insulating states, we observe tunable zero-resistance states with a critical temperature of up to 1.7 kelvin. The temperature-carrier-density phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene is similar to that of copper oxides (or cuprates), and includes dome-shaped regions that correspond to superconductivity. Moreover, quantum oscillations in the longitudinal resistance of the material indicate the presence of small Fermi surfaces near the correlated insulating states, in analogy with underdoped cuprates. The relatively high superconducting critical temperature of twisted bilayer graphene, given such a small Fermi surface (which corresponds to a carrier density of about 10 11 per square centimetre), puts it among the superconductors with the strongest pairing strength between electrons. Twisted bilayer graphene is a precisely tunable, purely carbon-based, two-dimensional superconductor. It is therefore an ideal material for investigations of strongly correlated phenomena, which could lead to insights into the physics of high-critical-temperature superconductors and quantum spin liquids.

Unconventional superconductivity in magic-angle graphene superlattices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Yuan; Fatemi, Valla; Fang, Shiang; Watanabe, Kenji; Taniguchi, Takashi; Kaxiras, Efthimios; Jarillo-Herrero, Pablo

2018-04-01

The behaviour of strongly correlated materials, and in particular unconventional superconductors, has been studied extensively for decades, but is still not well understood. This lack of theoretical understanding has motivated the development of experimental techniques for studying such behaviour, such as using ultracold atom lattices to simulate quantum materials. Here we report the realization of intrinsic unconventional superconductivity—which cannot be explained by weak electron–phonon interactions—in a two-dimensional superlattice created by stacking two sheets of graphene that are twisted relative to each other by a small angle. For twist angles of about 1.1°—the first ‘magic’ angle—the electronic band structure of this ‘twisted bilayer graphene’ exhibits flat bands near zero Fermi energy, resulting in correlated insulating states at half-filling. Upon electrostatic doping of the material away from these correlated insulating states, we observe tunable zero-resistance states with a critical temperature of up to 1.7 kelvin. The temperature–carrier-density phase diagram of twisted bilayer graphene is similar to that of copper oxides (or cuprates), and includes dome-shaped regions that correspond to superconductivity. Moreover, quantum oscillations in the longitudinal resistance of the material indicate the presence of small Fermi surfaces near the correlated insulating states, in analogy with underdoped cuprates. The relatively high superconducting critical temperature of twisted bilayer graphene, given such a small Fermi surface (which corresponds to a carrier density of about 1011 per square centimetre), puts it among the superconductors with the strongest pairing strength between electrons. Twisted bilayer graphene is a precisely tunable, purely carbon-based, two-dimensional superconductor. It is therefore an ideal material for investigations of strongly correlated phenomena, which could lead to insights into the physics of high-critical-temperature superconductors and quantum spin liquids.

Atomic spectroscopy with twisted photons: Separation of M 1 -E 2 mixed multipoles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasev, Andrei; Carlson, Carl E.; Solyanik, Maria

2018-02-01

We analyze atomic photoexcitation into the discrete states by twisted photons, or photons carrying extra orbital angular momentum along their direction of propagation. From the angular momentum and parity considerations, we are able to relate twisted-photon photoexcitation amplitudes to their plane-wave analogs, independently of the details of the atomic wave functions. We analyze the photoabsorption cross sections of mixed-multipolarity E 2 -M 1 transitions in ionized atoms and found fundamental differences coming from the photon topology. Our theoretical analysis demonstrates that it is possible to extract the relative transition rates of different multipolar contributions by measuring the photoexcitation rate as a function of the atom's position (or impact parameter) with respect to the optical vortex center. The proposed technique for separation of multipoles can be implemented if the target's atom position is resolved with subwavelength accuracy; for example, with Paul traps. Numerical examples are presented for Boron-like highly charged ions.

Experimental verification of position-dependent angular-momentum selection rules for absorption of twisted light by a bound electron

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasev, Andrei; Carlson, Carl E.; Schmiegelow, Christian T.; Schulz, Jonas; Schmidt-Kaler, Ferdinand; Solyanik, Maria

2018-02-01

We analyze the multipole excitation of atoms with twisted light, i.e, by a vortex light field that carries orbital angular momentum. A single trapped 40Ca+ ion serves as a localized and positioned probe of the exciting field. We drive the {S}1/2\\to {D}5/2 transition and observe the relative strengths of different transitions, depending on the ion's transversal position with respect to the center of the vortex light field. On the other hand, transition amplitudes are calculated for a twisted light field in form of a Bessel beam, a Bessel-Gauss and a Laguerre-Gauss mode. Analyzing experimental obtained transition amplitudes we find agreement with the theoretical predictions at a level of better than 3%. Finally, we propose measurement schemes with two-ion crystals to enhance the sensing accuracy of vortex modes in future experiments.

Virtual cathode formations in nested-well configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stephens, K. F.; Ordonez, C. A.; Peterkin, R. E.

1999-12-01

Complete transmission of an electron beam through a cavity is not possible if the current exceeds the space-charge limited current. The formation of a virtual cathode reflects some of the beam electrons and reduces the current transmitted through the cavity. Transients in the injected current have been shown to lower the transmitted current below the value predicted by the electrostatic Child-Langmuir law. The present work considers the propagation of an electron beam through a nested-well configuration. Electrostatic particle-in-cell simulations are used to demonstrate that ions can be trapped in the electric potential depression of an electron beam. Furthermore, the trapped ions can prevent the formation of a virtual cathode for beam currents exceeding the space-charge limit.

Modeling the Sliding/Falling Ladder Paradox

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fox, William P.; Fox, James B.

2003-01-01

Recently we were presented with an interesting twist to the sliding ladder problem viewed in the related rates section of most calculus textbooks. Our problem concerning a sliding ladder that eventually hits the ground. At first, those attempting this problem fell into the calculus trap using only related rates. Previous work for this problem…

Propulsion and hydrodynamic particle transport of magnetically twisted colloidal ribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massana-Cid, Helena; Martinez-Pedrero, Fernando; Navarro-Argemí, Eloy; Pagonabarraga, Ignacio; Tierno, Pietro

2017-10-01

We describe a method to trap, transport and release microscopic particles in a viscous fluid using the hydrodynamic flow field generated by a magnetically propelled colloidal ribbon. The ribbon is composed of ferromagnetic microellipsoids that arrange with their long axis parallel to each other, a configuration that is energetically favorable due to their permanent magnetic moments. We use an external precessing magnetic field to torque the anisotropic particles forming the ribbon, and to induce propulsion of the entire structure due to the hydrodynamic coupling with the close substrate. The propulsion speed of the ribbon can be controlled by varying the driving frequency, or the amplitude of the precessing field. The latter parameter is also used to reduce the average inter particle distance and to induce the twisting of the ribbon due to the increase in the attraction between the rotating ellipsoids. Furthermore, non magnetic particles are attracted or repelled with the hydrodynamic flow field generated by the propelling ribbon. The proposed method may be used in channel free microfluidic applications, where the precise trapping and transport of functionalized particles via non invasive magnetic fields is required.

Thickness-shear and thickness-twist modes in an AT-cut quartz acoustic wave filter.

PubMed

Zhao, Zinan; Qian, Zhenghua; Wang, Bin; Yang, Jiashi

2015-04-01

We studied thickness-shear and thickness-twist vibrations of a monolithic, two-pole crystal filter made from a plate of AT-cut quartz. The scalar differential equations derived by Tiersten and Smythe for electroded and unelectroded quartz plates were employed which are valid for both the fundamental and the overtone modes. Exact solutions for the free vibration resonant frequencies and modes were obtained from the equations. For a structurally symmetric filter, the modes can be separated into symmetric and antisymmetric ones. Trapped modes with vibrations mainly under the electrodes were found. The effect of the distance between the two pairs of electrodes was examined. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Cigarette Smoke Cadmium Breakthrough from Traditional Filters: Implications for Exposure

PubMed Central

Pappas, R. Steven; Fresquez, Mark R.; Watson, Clifford H.

2015-01-01

Cadmium, a carcinogenic metal, is highly toxic to renal, skeletal, nervous, respiratory, and cardiovascular systems. Accurate and precise quantification of mainstream smoke cadmium levels in cigarette smoke is important because of exposure concerns. The two most common trapping techniques for collecting mainstream tobacco smoke particulate for analysis are glass fiber filters and electrostatic precipitators. We observed that a significant portion of total cadmium passed through standard glass fiber filters that are used to trap particulate matter. We therefore developed platinum traps to collect the cadmium that passed through the filters and tested a variety of cigarettes with different physical parameters for quantities of cadmium that passed though the filters. We found less than 1% cadmium passed through electrostatic precipitators. In contrast, cadmium that passed through 92 mm glass fiber filters on a rotary smoking machine was significantly higher, ranging from 3.5% to 22.9% of total smoke cadmium deliveries. Cadmium passed through 44 mm filters typically used on linear smoking machines to an even greater degree, ranging from 13.6% to 30.4% of the total smoke cadmium deliveries. Differences in the cadmium that passed through from the glass fiber filters and electrostatic precipitator could be explained in part if cadmium resides in the smaller mainstream smoke aerosol particle sizes. Differences in particle size distribution could have toxicological implications and could help explain the pulmonary and cardiovascular cadmium uptake in smokers. PMID:25313385

A 6He production facility and an electrostatic trap for measurement of the beta-neutrino correlation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mukul, I.; Hass, M.; Heber, O.; Hirsh, T. Y.; Mishnayot, Y.; Rappaport, M. L.; Ron, G.; Shachar, Y.; Vaintraub, S.

2018-08-01

A novel experiment has been commissioned at the Weizmann Institute of Science for the study of weak interactions via a high-precision measurement of the beta-neutrinoangular correlation in the radioactive decay of short-lived 6He. The facility consists of a 14 MeV d + t neutron generator to produce atomic 6He, followed by ionization and bunching in an electron beam ion source, and injection into an electrostatic ion beam trap. This ion trap has been designed for efficient detection of the decay products from trapped light ions. The storage time in the trap for different stable ions was found to be in the range of 0.6 to 1.2 s at the chamber pressure of ∼7 × 10-10 mbar. We present the initial test results of the facility, and also demonstrate an important upgrade of an existing method (Stora et al., 2012) for production of light radioactive atoms, viz. 6He, for the precision measurement. The production rate of 6He atoms in the present setup has been estimated to be ∼ 1 . 45 × 10-4 atoms per neutron, and the system efficiency was found to be 4.0 ± 0.6%. An improvement to this setup is also presented for the enhanced production and diffusion of radioactive atoms for future use.

Linear excitation and detection in Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grosshans, Peter B.; Chen, Ruidan; Limbach, Patrick A.; Marshall, Alan G.

1994-11-01

We present the first Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR) ion trap designed to produce both a linear spatial variation of the excitation electric potential field and a linear response of the detection circuit to the motion of the confined ions. With this trap, the magnitude of the detected signal at a given ion cyclotron frequency varies linearly with both the number of ions of given mass-to-charge ratio and also with the magnitude-mode excitation signal at the ion cyclotron orbital frequency; the proportionality constant is mass independent. Interestingly, this linearization may be achieved with any ion trap geometry. The excitation/detection design consists of an array of capacitively coupled electrodes which provide a voltage-divider network that produces a nearly spatially homogeneous excitation electric field throughout the linearized trap; resistive coupling to the electrodes isolates the a.c. excitation (or detection) circuit from the d.c. (trapping) potential. The design is based on analytical expressions for the potential associated with each electrode, from which we are able to compute the deviation from linearity for a trap with a finite number of elements. Based on direct experimental comparisons to an unmodified cubic trap, the linearized trap demonstrates the following performance advantages at the cost of some additional mechanical complexity: (a) signal response linearly proportional to excitation electric field amplitude; (b) vastly reduced axial excitation/ejection for significantly improved ion relative abundance accuracy; (c) elimination of harmonics and sidebands of the fundamental frequencies of ion motion. As a result, FT-ICR mass spectra are now more reproducible. Moreover, the linearized trap should facilitate the characterization of other fundamental aspects of ion behavior in an ICR ion trap, e.g. effects of space charge, non-quadrupolar electrostatic trapping field, etc. Furthermore, this novel design should improve significantly the precision of ion relative abundance and mass accuracy measurements, while removing spectral artifacts of the detection process. We discuss future modifications that linearize the spatial variation of the electrostatic trapping electric field as well, thereby completing the linearization of the entire FT-ICR mass spectrometric techniques. Suggested FT-ICR mass spectrometric applications for the linearized trap are discussed.

On the multistream approach of relativistic Weibel instability. II. Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal-type waves in magnetic trapping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ghizzo, A.

2013-08-15

The stationary state with magnetically trapped particles is investigated at the saturation of the relativistic Weibel instability, within the “multiring” model in a Hamiltonian framework. The multistream model and its multiring extension have been developed in Paper I, under the assumption that the generalized canonical momentum is conserved in the perpendicular direction. One dimensional relativistic Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal waves with deeply trapped particles are addressed using similar mathematical formalism developed by Lontano et al.[Phys. Plasmas 9, 2562 (2002); Phys. Plasmas 10, 639 (2003)] using several streams and in the presence of both electrostatic and magnetic trapping mechanisms.

Vertical sizes of 1-D and 2-D electrostatic solitons with nonextensive and trapped electrons in the upper ionosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali Shan, Shaukat; Saleem, Hamid

2018-05-01

The vertical sizes of one-dimensional (1-D) and two dimensional (2-D) electrostatic solitons are estimated in the oxygen-hydrogen (O - H) and pure oxygen plasmas of the upper ionosphere taking into account the effects of non-extensive and trapped electrons. The field-aligned flow of oxygen ions is also considered. It is found that both electron trapping and non-extensivity play a constructive role in the formation of 1-D and 2-D solitary structures. The vertical size of the solitons is not known through observations, but here it is pointed out that the vertical size of these structures should be of the order of a few meters at the altitude of 800 km in the 1-D case. On the other hand, in the 2-D case, the vertical size is much larger than the horizontal size and it turns out to be of the order of a few kilometers, while the width is about a few hundred meters in agreement with the observations.

Impact of centrifugal drifts on ion turbulent transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Belli, Emily A.; Candy, J.

Here, the influence of sonic toroidal rotation on gyrokinetic stability and transport is studied, with important implications for heavy impurity dynamics. When centrifugal drifts and electrostatic trapping corrections are included, significant modifications to the calculated transport of heavy impurities are observed. These high-rotation corrections add to the standard Coriolis drift and toroidal rotation shear drive which are normally included in gyrokinetics. Yet, because of their complexity, centrifugal and electrostatic trapping terms (quadratic in the main ion Mach number) are not generally included in gyrokinetic codes. In this work, we explore the implications of using reduced descriptions of the rotational physics.more » For heavy impurities such as tungsten, cross terms due to the centrifugal force can dominate the rotation dynamics, and neglecting them is shown to lead to large errors in the impurity particle flux.« less

Impact of centrifugal drifts on ion turbulent transport

DOE PAGES

Belli, Emily A.; Candy, J.

2018-03-01

Here, the influence of sonic toroidal rotation on gyrokinetic stability and transport is studied, with important implications for heavy impurity dynamics. When centrifugal drifts and electrostatic trapping corrections are included, significant modifications to the calculated transport of heavy impurities are observed. These high-rotation corrections add to the standard Coriolis drift and toroidal rotation shear drive which are normally included in gyrokinetics. Yet, because of their complexity, centrifugal and electrostatic trapping terms (quadratic in the main ion Mach number) are not generally included in gyrokinetic codes. In this work, we explore the implications of using reduced descriptions of the rotational physics.more » For heavy impurities such as tungsten, cross terms due to the centrifugal force can dominate the rotation dynamics, and neglecting them is shown to lead to large errors in the impurity particle flux.« less

The new ClusterTrap setup

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martinez, F.; Marx, G.; Schweikhard, L.; Vass, A.; Ziegler, F.

2011-07-01

ClusterTrap has been designed to investigate properties of atomic clusters in the gas phase with particular emphasis on the dependence on the cluster size and charge state. The combination of cluster source, Penning trap and time-of-flight mass spectrometry allows a variety of experimental schemes including collision-induced dissociation, photo-dissociation, further ionization by electron impact, and electron attachment. Due to the storage capability of the trap extended-delay reaction experiments can be performed. Several recent modifications have resulted in an improved setup. In particular, an electrostatic quadrupole deflector allows the coupling of several sources or detectors to the Penning trap. Furthermore, a linear radio-frequency quadrupole trap has been added for accumulation and ion bunching and by switching the potential of a drift tube the kinetic energy of the cluster ions can be adjusted on their way towards or from the Penning trap. Recently, experiments on multiply negatively charged clusters have been resumed.

Electrostatic Charging and Particle Interactions in Microscopic Insulating Grains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Victor

In this thesis, we experimentally investigate the electrostatic charging as well as the particle interactions in microscopic insulating grains. First, by tracking individual grains accelerated in an electric field, we quantitatively demonstrate that tribocharging of same-material grains depends on particle size. Large grains tend to charge positively, and small ones tend to charge negatively. Theories based on the transfer of trapped electrons can explain this tendency but have not been validated. Here we show that the number of trapped electrons, measured independently by a thermoluminescence technique, is orders of magnitude too small to be responsible for the amount of charge transferred. This result reveals that trapped electrons are not responsible for same-material tribocharging of dielectric particles. Second, same-material tribocharging in grains can result in important long-range electrostatic interactions. However, how these electrostatic interactions contribute to particle clustering remains elusive, primarily due to the lack of direct, detailed observations. Using a high-speed camera that falls with a stream charged grains, we observe for the first time how charged grains can undergo attractive as well as repulsive Kepler-like orbits. Charged particles can be captured in their mutual electrostatic potential and form clusters via multiple bounces. Dielectric polarization effects are directly observed, which lead to additional attractive forces and stabilize "molecule-like" arrangements of charged particles. Third, we have developed a new method to study the charge transfer of microscopic particles based on acoustic levitation techniques. This method allows us to narrow the complex problem of many-particle charging down to precise charge measurements of a single sub-millimeter particle colliding with a target plate. By simply attaching nonpolar groups onto glass surfaces, we show that the contact charging of a particle is highly dependent on hydrophobicity. Charging between a hydrophilic and a hydrophobic surface is enhanced in a basic atmosphere and suppressed in an acidic one. Moreover, hydrophobicity is also found to play a key role in particle charging driven by an external electric field. These results strongly support the idea that aqueous-ion transfer is responsible for the particle contact charging phenomenon.

Nonlinear regime of electrostatic waves propagation in presence of electron-electron collisions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pezzi, Oreste; Valentini, Francesco; Veltri, Pierluigi

2015-04-15

The effects are presented of including electron-electron collisions in self-consistent Eulerian simulations of electrostatic wave propagation in nonlinear regime. The electron-electron collisions are approximately modeled through the full three-dimensional Dougherty collisional operator [J. P. Dougherty, Phys. Fluids 7, 1788 (1964)]; this allows the elimination of unphysical byproducts due to reduced dimensionality in velocity space. The effects of non-zero collisionality are discussed in the nonlinear regime of the symmetric bump-on-tail instability and in the propagation of the so-called kinetic electrostatic electron nonlinear (KEEN) waves [T. W. Johnston et al., Phys. Plasmas 16, 042105 (2009)]. For both cases, it is shown howmore » collisions work to destroy the phase-space structures created by particle trapping effects and to damp the wave amplitude, as the system returns to the thermal equilibrium. In particular, for the case of the KEEN waves, once collisions have smoothed out the trapped particle population which sustains the KEEN fluctuations, additional oscillations at the Langmuir frequency are observed on the fundamental electric field spectral component, whose amplitude decays in time at the usual collisionless linear Landau damping rate.« less

Measurement System of Surface Electrostatic Potential on Insulation Board in Vacuum and its Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Morita, Hiroshi; Hatanaka, Ayumu; Yokosuka, Toshiyuki; Seki, Yoshitaka; Tsumuraya, Yoshiaki; Doi, Motomichi

The measurement system of the surface electrostatic potential on a solid insulation board in vacuum has been developed. We used this system to measure the electrostatic potential distribution of the surface of a borosilicate glass plate applied a high voltage. A local increase in the electric field was observed. It is considered that this phenomenon is caused by a positive electrostatic charge generated by a secondary emission of field emission electrons from an electrode. On the other hand, a local increase in the electric field was not observed on a glass plate coated with silica particles and a glass plate roughened by sandblast. We reasoned that this could be because the electrons were trapped by the roughness of the surface. It is considered that these phenomena make many types of equipment using the vacuum insulation more reliable.

The effect of twisted D–D–π–A configuration on electron transfer and photo-physics characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yunpeng; Li, Yuanzuo; Song, Peng; Ma, Fengcai; Yang, Yanhui

2018-05-01

Two D-D-π-A organic dyes (M45, M46) with dithieno[3,2-b:2‧,3‧-d]pyrrole (DTP) units as election donors in two perpendicular directions, were investigated using density functional theory (DFT) and time-dependent DFT. The ground-state geometries, the absorption, the electronic structures, the charge density difference and molecular electrostatic potential were obtained. To simulate a more realistic performance, all calculations were based on gas condition and dichloromethane solvent. Photoelectric parameters were evaluated by the following factors: the light harvesting efficiency, electron injection driving force, the excited lifetime and vertical dipole moment. Meanwhile, the polarisability and hyperpolarisability were investigated to further explain the relationship between non-linear optical properties and efficiency. The direction of the DTP obviously affects the twisted degree of molecule, forming a better coplanarity on the donor 2 of M45, which results in stronger charge transfer interactions. Furthermore, M45 possesses significant advantages in geometric structure, absorption band and intramolecular charge transfer mechanism. These critical parameters supported the higher performance of M45 in comparison with M46. Moreover, four dyes were designed by the substitution of donor 2, which further verify the influence of the twisted donor 2 on electron transfer and photoelectric properties of D-D-π-A configuration.

Electrostatic ``bounce'' instability in a magnetotail configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fruit, G.; Louarn, P.; Tur, A.

2013-02-01

To understand the possible destabilization of two-dimensional current sheets, a kinetic model is proposed to describe the resonant interaction between electrostatic modes and trapped particles that bounce within the sheet. This work follows the initial investigation by Tur et al. [Phys. Plasmas 17, 102905 (2010)] that is revised and extended. Using a quasi-parabolic equilibrium state, the linearized gyro-kinetic Vlasov equation is solved for electrostatic fluctuations with period of the order of the electron bounce period. Using an appropriated Fourier expansion of the particle motion along the magnetic field, the complete time integration of the non-local perturbed distribution functions is performed. The dispersion relation for electrostatic modes is then obtained through the quasineutrality condition. It is found that strongly unstable electrostatic modes may develop provided that the current sheet is moderately stretched and, more important, that the proportion of passing particle remains small (less than typically 10%). This strong but finely tuned instability may offer opportunities to explain features of magnetospheric substorms.

New apparatus of single particle trap system for aerosol visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Higashi, Hidenori; Fujioka, Tomomi; Endo, Tetsuo; Kitayama, Chiho; Seto, Takafumi; Otani, Yoshio

2014-08-01

Control of transport and deposition of charged aerosol particles is important in various manufacturing processes. Aerosol visualization is an effective method to directly observe light scattering signal from laser-irradiated single aerosol particle trapped in a visualization cell. New single particle trap system triggered by light scattering pulse signal was developed in this study. The performance of the device was evaluated experimentally. Experimental setup consisted of an aerosol generator, a differential mobility analyzer (DMA), an optical particle counter (OPC) and the single particle trap system. Polystylene latex standard (PSL) particles (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 μm) were generated and classified according to the charge by the DMA. Singly charged 0.5 and 1.0 μm particles and doubly charged 2.0 μm particles were used as test particles. The single particle trap system was composed of a light scattering signal detector and a visualization cell. When the particle passed through the detector, trigger signal with a given delay time sent to the solenoid valves upstream and downstream of the visualization cell for trapping the particle in the visualization cell. The motion of particle in the visualization cell was monitored by CCD camera and the gravitational settling velocity and the electrostatic migration velocity were measured from the video image. The aerodynamic diameter obtained from the settling velocity was in good agreement with Stokes diameter calculated from the electrostatic migration velocity for individual particles. It was also found that the aerodynamic diameter obtained from the settling velocity was a one-to-one function of the scattered light intensity of individual particles. The applicability of this system will be discussed.

Membrane rafts stabilized by chiral liquid crystal correction to bare interfacial tension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kang, Louis; Lubensky, T. C.

Lipid rafts are hypothesized to facilitate protein interaction, tension regulation, and trafficking in biological membranes, but the mechanisms responsible for their formation and maintenance are not clear. Recently, experiments showed that bidisperse mixtures of filamentous viruses can self-assemble into colloidal monolayers with thermodynamically stable rafts that exhibit chiral structure and repulsive interactions. We quantitatively explain these observations by modeling the membrane particles as chiral liquid crystals. Chiral twist promotes the formation of finite-sized rafts by decreasing the effective interfacial tension between rafts and background membrane. It also mediates a repulsion that distributes rafts evenly throughout the membrane. Although this system is composed of filamentous viruses whose aggregation is entropically driven by dextran depletants instead of phospholipids and cholesterol with prominent electrostatic interactions, colloidal and biological membranes share many of the same physical symmetries. Chiral twist can contribute to the behavior of both systems and may account for certain stereospecific effects observed in molecular membranes.

The motion of a charged particle on a Riemannian surface under a non-zero magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castilho, Cesar Augusto Rodrigues

In this thesis we study the motion of a charged particle on a Riemmanian surface under the influence of a positive magnetic field B. Using Moser's Twist Theorem and ideas from classical pertubation theory we find sufficient conditions to perpetually trap the motion of a particle with a sufficient large charge in a neighborhood of a level set of the magnetic field. The conditions on the level set of the magnetic field that guarantee the trapping are local and hold near all non- degenerate critical local minima or maxima of B. Using sympletic reduction we apply the results of our work to certain S1-invariant magnetic fields on R3.

The Motion of a Charged Particle on a Riemannian Surface under a Non-Zero Magnetic Field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castilho, César

2001-03-01

In this paper we study the motion of a charged particle on a Riemmanian surface under the influence of a positive magnetic field B. Using Moser's Twist Theorem and ideas from classical pertubation theory we find sufficient conditions to perpetually trap the motion of a particle with a sufficient large charge in a neighborhood of a level set of the magnetic field. The conditions on the level set of the magnetic field that guarantee the trapping are local and hold near all non-degenerate critical local minima or maxima of B. Using symplectic reduction we apply the results of our work to certain S1-invariant magnetic fields on R3.

Hydrogen behaviour at twist {110} grain boundaries in α-Fe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McEniry, Eunan J.; Hickel, Tilmann; Neugebauer, Jörg

2017-06-01

The behaviour of hydrogen at structural defects such as grain boundaries plays a critical role in the phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement. However, characterization of the energetics and diffusion of hydrogen in the vicinity of such extended defects using conventional ab initio techniques is challenging due to the relatively large system sizes required when dealing with realistic grain boundary geometries. In order to be able to access the required system sizes, as well as high-throughput testing of a large number of configurations, while remaining within a quantum-mechanical framework, an environmental tight-binding model for the iron-hydrogen system has been developed. The resulting model is applied to study the behaviour of hydrogen at a class of low-energy {110}-terminated twist grain boundaries in α-Fe. We find that, for particular Σ values within the coincidence site lattice description, the atomic geometry at the interface plane provides extremely favourable trap sites for H, which also possess high escape barriers for diffusion. By contrast, via simulated tensile testing, weakly trapped hydrogen at the interface plane of the bulk-like Σ3 boundary acts as a `glue' for the boundary, increasing both the energetic barrier and the elongation to rupture. This article is part of the themed issue 'The challenges of hydrogen and metals'.

Hydrogen behaviour at twist {110} grain boundaries in α-Fe.

PubMed

McEniry, Eunan J; Hickel, Tilmann; Neugebauer, Jörg

2017-07-28

The behaviour of hydrogen at structural defects such as grain boundaries plays a critical role in the phenomenon of hydrogen embrittlement. However, characterization of the energetics and diffusion of hydrogen in the vicinity of such extended defects using conventional ab initio techniques is challenging due to the relatively large system sizes required when dealing with realistic grain boundary geometries. In order to be able to access the required system sizes, as well as high-throughput testing of a large number of configurations, while remaining within a quantum-mechanical framework, an environmental tight-binding model for the iron-hydrogen system has been developed. The resulting model is applied to study the behaviour of hydrogen at a class of low-energy {110}-terminated twist grain boundaries in α -Fe. We find that, for particular Σ values within the coincidence site lattice description, the atomic geometry at the interface plane provides extremely favourable trap sites for H, which also possess high escape barriers for diffusion. By contrast, via simulated tensile testing, weakly trapped hydrogen at the interface plane of the bulk-like Σ3 boundary acts as a 'glue' for the boundary, increasing both the energetic barrier and the elongation to rupture.This article is part of the themed issue 'The challenges of hydrogen and metals'. © 2017 The Author(s).

Particle trapping in 3-D using a single fiber probe with an annular light distribution.

PubMed

Taylor, R; Hnatovsky, C

2003-10-20

A single optical fiber probe has been used to trap a solid 2 ìm diameter glass bead in 3-D in water. Optical confinement in 2-D was produced by the annular light distribution emerging from a selectively chemically etched, tapered, hollow tipped metalized fiber probe. Confinement of the bead in 3-D was achieved by balancing an electrostatic force of attraction towards the tip and the optical scattering force pushing the particle away from the tip.

Confocal shift interferometry of coherent emission from trapped dipolar excitons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Repp, J.; Nanosystems Initiative Munich; Center for NanoScience and Fakultät für Physik, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz 1, 80539 München

2014-12-15

We introduce a confocal shift-interferometer based on optical fibers. The presented spectroscopy allows measuring coherence maps of luminescent samples with a high spatial resolution even at cryogenic temperatures. We apply the spectroscopy onto electrostatically trapped, dipolar excitons in a semiconductor double quantum well. We find that the measured spatial coherence length of the excitonic emission coincides with the point spread function of the confocal setup. The results are consistent with a temporal coherence of the excitonic emission down to temperatures of 250 mK.

Effect of particles attachment to multi-sized dust grains present in electrostatic sheaths of discharge plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zaham, B.; Faculté des Sciences et des Sciences Appliquées, Université de Bouira Rue Drissi Yahia 10000 Bouira; Tahraoui, A., E-mail: alatif-tahraoui@yahoo.fr

The loss of electrons and ions due to their attachment to a Gauss-distributed sizes of dust grains present in electrostatic sheaths of discharge plasmas is investigated. A uni-dimensional, unmagnetized, and stationary multi-fluid model is proposed. Forces acting on the dust grain along with its charge are self-consistently calculated, within the limits of the orbit motion limited model. The dynamic analysis of dust grains shows that the contribution of the neutral drag force in the net force acting on the dust grain is negligible, whereas the contribution of the gravity force is found considerable only for micrometer particles. The dust grainsmore » trapping is only possible when the electrostatic force is balanced by the ion drag and the gravity forces. This trapping occurs for a limited radius interval of micrometer dust grains, which is around the most probable dust grain radius. The effect of electron temperature and ion density at the sheath edge is also discussed. It is shown that the attachment of particles reduces considerably the sheath thickness and induces dust grain deceleration. The increase of the lower limit as well as the upper limit of the dust radius reduces also the sheath thickness.« less

Quantum Hall signatures of dipolar Mahan excitons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schinner, G. J.; Repp, J.; Kowalik-Seidl, K.; Schubert, E.; Stallhofer, M. P.; Rai, A. K.; Reuter, D.; Wieck, A. D.; Govorov, A. O.; Holleitner, A. W.; Kotthaus, J. P.

2013-01-01

We explore the photoluminescence of spatially indirect, dipolar Mahan excitons in a gated double quantum well diode containing a mesoscopic electrostatic trap for neutral dipolar excitons at low temperatures down to 250 mK and in quantizing magnetic fields. Mahan excitons in the surrounding of the trap, consisting of individual holes interacting with a degenerate two-dimensional electron system confined in one of the quantum wells, exhibit strong quantum Hall signatures at integer filling factors and related anomalies around filling factor ν=(2)/(3),(3)/(5), and (1)/(2), reflecting the formation of composite fermions. Interactions across the trap perimeter are found to influence the energy of the confined neutral dipolar excitons by the presence of the quantum Hall effects in the two-dimensional electron system surrounding the trap.

Lab-on-a-chip Single Particle Dielectrophoretic Traps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Weina; Shao, Hua; Lear, Kevin

2007-03-01

Cell-patterning and cell-manipulation in micro-environments are fundamental to biological and biomedical applications, for example, spectroscopic cytology based cancer detection. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) traps with transparent centers for stabilized cell and particle optofluidic intracavity spectroscopy (OFIS) were fabricated by patterning 10 μm wide, planar gold electrodes on glass substrates. The capturing strength of DEP traps was quantified based on the minimum AC voltage required to capture and hold varying diameter polystyrene or was it some other material, e.g. silica or PMMA microspheres in water as a function of frequency required under a constant flowrate of 20 μm/s. The maximum required trapping voltage in the negative DEP regime of f = 1 kHz to 40 MHz was 5.0 VAC. The use of AC fields effectively suppressed hydrolysis. New geometries of DEP traps are being explored on the basis of 3-D electrostatic field simulations.

Magneto-optical trapping of potassium isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Williamson, Robert Sylvester, III

1997-12-01

We have demonstrated a magneto-optical trap (scMOT) suitable for capturing radioactive potassium produced on- line with the UW-Madison 12MeV tandem electrostatic accelerator. To do this, we made and characterized the first scMOT for potassium, measured the potassium ultracold collision rate, and developed a numerical trap- loading rate model that makes useful quantitative predictions. We have created a cold beam of collimated potassium atoms using a pyramidal magneto-optical funnel and used it to load a long-lifetime scMOT operating at ultrahigh vacuum. We have also built a target that produces a beam of radioactive 37K and 38K and coupled it to the magneto-optical funnel and trap. Once a trap of radioactive 38K has been demonstrated, the primary goal of this project is to measure the beta-asymmetry parameter in the decay of 38K, performing a sensitive test of the Standard Model of weak interactions.

Collisionless microtearing modes in hot tokamaks: Effect of trapped electrons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Swamy, Aditya K.; Ganesh, R., E-mail: ganesh@ipr.res.in; Brunner, S.

2015-07-15

Collisionless microtearing modes have recently been found linearly unstable in sharp temperature gradient regions of large aspect ratio tokamaks. The magnetic drift resonance of passing electrons has been found to be sufficient to destabilise these modes above a threshold plasma β. A global gyrokinetic study, including both passing electrons as well as trapped electrons, shows that the non-adiabatic contribution of the trapped electrons provides a resonant destabilization, especially at large toroidal mode numbers, for a given aspect ratio. The global 2D mode structures show important changes to the destabilising electrostatic potential. The β threshold for the onset of the instabilitymore » is found to be generally downshifted by the inclusion of trapped electrons. A scan in the aspect ratio of the tokamak configuration, from medium to large but finite values, clearly indicates a significant destabilizing contribution from trapped electrons at small aspect ratio, with a diminishing role at larger aspect ratios.« less

ELISA - an electrostatic storage ring for low-energy ions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pape Moeller, Soeren

1997-05-01

The design of a new type of storage ring for low-energy ions using electrostatic deflection and focusing devices is described. Electrostatic bends and quadrupoles are used since they are more efficient than magnetic ones for low-velocity heavy ions. Furthermore, electrostatic devices are more compact and easier to construct than magnetic devices. In comparison to an electromagnetic trap, one important advantage of the elecrostatic ring is the easy access to the circulating beam and its decay products. These and other features, e.g. no magnetic fields, makes such storage devices attractive for many atomic-physics experiments. Also neigboring fields as chemistry and biology might benefit from such an relatively inexpensive device. One important difference between an electrostatic and a magnetic ring is, that the longitudinal energy is not conserved for the electrostatic ring. The actual ring will have a race-track shape as defined by two straight sections each with two quadrupole doublets connected by 180-degrees bends. The bends will consist of 160-degrees spherical deflection plates surrounded by two parallel plate 10-degrees bends. The storage ring ELISA, currently being built, will have a circumference of 6 meters. The first beam tests will take place during summer 1996.

Mitochondrial Hsp90 is a ligand-activated molecular chaperone coupling ATP binding to dimer closure through a coiled-coil intermediate

PubMed Central

Sung, Nuri; Lee, Jungsoon; Kim, Ji-Hyun; Chang, Changsoo; Joachimiak, Andrzej; Lee, Sukyeong; Tsai, Francis T. F.

2016-01-01

Heat-shock protein of 90 kDa (Hsp90) is an essential molecular chaperone that adopts different 3D structures associated with distinct nucleotide states: a wide-open, V-shaped dimer in the apo state and a twisted, N-terminally closed dimer with ATP. Although the N domain is known to mediate ATP binding, how Hsp90 senses the bound nucleotide and facilitates dimer closure remains unclear. Here we present atomic structures of human mitochondrial Hsp90N (TRAP1N) and a composite model of intact TRAP1 revealing a previously unobserved coiled-coil dimer conformation that may precede dimer closure and is conserved in intact TRAP1 in solution. Our structure suggests that TRAP1 normally exists in an autoinhibited state with the ATP lid bound to the nucleotide-binding pocket. ATP binding displaces the ATP lid that signals the cis-bound ATP status to the neighboring subunit in a highly cooperative manner compatible with the coiled-coil intermediate state. We propose that TRAP1 is a ligand-activated molecular chaperone, which couples ATP binding to dramatic changes in local structure required for protein folding. PMID:26929380

Determination of Collision Cross Sections Using a Fourier Transform Electrostatic Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dziekonski, Eric T.; Johnson, Joshua T.; Lee, Kenneth W.; McLuckey, Scott A.

2018-02-01

Collision cross sections (CCSs) were determined from the frequency-domain linewidths in a Fourier transform electrostatic linear ion trap. With use of an ultrahigh-vacuum precision leak valve and nitrogen gas, transients were recorded as the background pressure in the mass analyzer chamber was varied between 4× 10-8 and 7 × 10-7 Torr. The energetic hard-sphere ion-neutral collision model, described by Xu and coworkers, was used to relate the recorded image charge to the CCS of the molecule. In lieu of our monoisotopically isolating the mass of interest, the known relative isotopic abundances were programmed into the Lorentzian fitting algorithm such that the linewidth was extracted from a sum of Lorentzians. Although this works only if the isotopic distribution is known a priori, it prevents ion loss, preserves the high signal-to-noise ratio, and minimizes the experimental error on our homebuilt instrument. Six tetraalkylammonium cations were used to correlate the CCS measured in the electrostatic linear ion trap with that measured by drift-tube ion mobility spectrometry, for which there was an excellent correlation ( R 2 ≈ 0.9999). Although the absolute CCSs derived with our method differ from those reported, the extracted linear correlation can be used to correct the raw CCS. With use of [angiotensin II]2+ and reserpine, the corrected CCSs (334.9 ± 2.1 and 250.1 ± 0.5, respectively) were in good agreement with the reported ion mobility spectrometry CCSs (335 and 254.3, respectively). With sufficient signal-to-noise ratio, the CCSs determined are reproducible to within a fraction of a percent, comparable to the uncertainties reported on dedicated ion mobility instruments.

Impact of Shock Front Rippling and Self-reformation on the Electron Dynamics at Low-Mach-number Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Zhongwei; Lu, Quanming; Liu, Ying D.; Wang, Rui

2018-04-01

Electron dynamics at low-Mach-number collisionless shocks are investigated by using two-dimensional electromagnetic particle-in-cell simulations with various shock normal angles. We found: (1) The reflected ions and incident electrons at the shock front provide an effective mechanism for the quasi-electrostatic wave generation due to the charge-separation. A fraction of incident electrons can be effectively trapped and accelerated at the leading edge of the shock foot. (2) At quasi-perpendicular shocks, the electron trapping and reflection is nonuniform due to the shock rippling along the shock surface and is more likely to take place at some locations accompanied by intense reflected ion-beams. The electron trapping process has a periodical evolution over time due to the shock front self-reformation, which is controlled by ion dynamics. Thus, this is a cross-scale coupling phenomenon. (3) At quasi-parallel shocks, reflected ions can travel far back upstream. Consequently, quasi-electrostatic waves can be excited in the shock transition and the foreshock region. The electron trajectory analysis shows these waves can trap electrons at the foot region and reflect a fraction of them far back upstream. Simulation runs in this paper indicate that the micro-turbulence at the shock foot can provide a possible scenario for producing the reflected electron beam, which is a basic condition for the type II radio burst emission at low-Mach-number interplanetary shocks driven by Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs).

HIGH SENSITIVITY ELECTROSCOPE

DOEpatents

Shonka, F.R.; Okleshen, A.J.

1958-08-12

An electrometer with dependable and rugged construction for measuring cxtremely small charges is de scribed. The electrometer arrangement comprises an electrically conducting fiber totally disposed in a single plane in the absence of electrosthtic forces and affixed at both ends to fiber support means. The fiber is provided with a plurality of adjacent bends in opposite directions along its length..An electrode is disposed between two adjacent bends to apply an electrostatic force normal to the plane of the fiber whereby the fiber is caused to twist out of its plane in proportion to the potential apptied between the fiber and the electrode.

Measuring the size and charge of single nanoscale objects in solution using an electrostatic fluidic trap.

PubMed

Mojarad, Nassiredin; Krishnan, Madhavi

2012-06-24

Measuring the size and charge of objects suspended in solution, such as dispersions of colloids or macromolecules, is a significant challenge. Measurements based on light scattering are inherently biased to larger entities, such as aggregates in the sample, because the intensity of light scattered by a small object scales as the sixth power of its size. Techniques that rely on the collective migration of species in response to external fields (electric or hydrodynamic, for example) are beset with difficulties including low accuracy and dispersion-limited resolution. Here, we show that the size and charge of single nanoscale objects can be directly measured with high throughput by analysing their thermal motion in an array of electrostatic traps. The approach, which is analogous to Millikan's oil drop experiment, could in future be used to detect molecular binding events with high sensitivity or carry out dynamic single-charge resolved measurements at the solid/liquid interface.

Dendritic polyelectrolytes as seen by the Poisson-Boltzmann-Flory theory.

PubMed

Kłos, J S; Milewski, J

2018-06-20

G3-G9 dendritic polyelectrolytes accompanied by counterions are investigated using the Poisson-Boltzmann-Flory theory. Within this approach we solve numerically the Poisson-Boltzmann equation for the mean electrostatic potential and minimize the Poisson-Boltzmann-Flory free energy with respect to the size of the molecules. Such a scheme enables us to inspect the conformational and electrostatic properties of the dendrimers in equilibrium based on their response to varying the dendrimer generation. The calculations indicate that the G3-G6 dendrimers exist in the polyelectrolyte regime where absorption of counterions into the volume of the molecules is minor. Trapping of ions in the interior region becomes significant for the G7-G9 dendrimers and signals the emergence of the osmotic regime. We find that the behavior of the dendritic polyelectrolytes corresponds with the degree of ion trapping. In particular, in both regimes the polyelectrolytes are swollen as compared to their neutral counterparts and the expansion factor is maximal at the crossover generation G7.

Electrostatic coating enhances bioavailability of insecticides and breaks pyrethroid resistance in mosquitoes

PubMed Central

Andriessen, Rob; Snetselaar, Janneke; Suer, Remco A.; Osinga, Anne J.; Deschietere, Johan; Lyimo, Issa N.; Mnyone, Ladslaus L.; Brooke, Basil D.; Ranson, Hilary; Knols, Bart G. J.; Farenhorst, Marit

2015-01-01

Insecticide resistance poses a significant and increasing threat to the control of malaria and other mosquito-borne diseases. We present a novel method of insecticide application based on netting treated with an electrostatic coating that binds insecticidal particles through polarity. Electrostatic netting can hold small amounts of insecticides effectively and results in enhanced bioavailability upon contact by the insect. Six pyrethroid-resistant Anopheles mosquito strains from across Africa were exposed to similar concentrations of deltamethrin on electrostatic netting or a standard long-lasting deltamethrin-coated bednet (PermaNet 2.0). Standard WHO exposure bioassays showed that electrostatic netting induced significantly higher mortality rates than the PermaNet, thereby effectively breaking mosquito resistance. Electrostatic netting also induced high mortality in resistant mosquito strains when a 15-fold lower dose of deltamethrin was applied and when the exposure time was reduced to only 5 s. Because different types of particles adhere to electrostatic netting, it is also possible to apply nonpyrethroid insecticides. Three insecticide classes were effective against strains of Aedes and Culex mosquitoes, demonstrating that electrostatic netting can be used to deploy a wide range of active insecticides against all major groups of disease-transmitting mosquitoes. Promising applications include the use of electrostatic coating on walls or eave curtains and in trapping/contamination devices. We conclude that application of electrostatically adhered particles boosts the efficacy of WHO-recommended insecticides even against resistant mosquitoes. This innovative technique has potential to support the use of unconventional insecticide classes or combinations thereof, potentially offering a significant step forward in managing insecticide resistance in vector-control operations. PMID:26324912

A comb-sampling method for enhanced mass analysis in linear electrostatic ion traps.

PubMed

Greenwood, J B; Kelly, O; Calvert, C R; Duffy, M J; King, R B; Belshaw, L; Graham, L; Alexander, J D; Williams, I D; Bryan, W A; Turcu, I C E; Cacho, C M; Springate, E

2011-04-01

In this paper an algorithm for extracting spectral information from signals containing a series of narrow periodic impulses is presented. Such signals can typically be acquired by pickup detectors from the image-charge of ion bunches oscillating in a linear electrostatic ion trap, where frequency analysis provides a scheme for high-resolution mass spectrometry. To provide an improved technique for such frequency analysis, we introduce the CHIMERA algorithm (Comb-sampling for High-resolution IMpulse-train frequency ExtRAaction). This algorithm utilizes a comb function to generate frequency coefficients, rather than using sinusoids via a Fourier transform, since the comb provides a superior match to the data. This new technique is developed theoretically, applied to synthetic data, and then used to perform high resolution mass spectrometry on real data from an ion trap. If the ions are generated at a localized point in time and space, and the data is simultaneously acquired with multiple pickup rings, the method is shown to be a significant improvement on Fourier analysis. The mass spectra generated typically have an order of magnitude higher resolution compared with that obtained from fundamental Fourier frequencies, and are absent of large contributions from harmonic frequency components. © 2011 American Institute of Physics

Radially dependent angular acceleration of twisted light.

PubMed

Webster, Jason; Rosales-Guzmán, Carmelo; Forbes, Andrew

2017-02-15

While photons travel in a straight line at constant velocity in free space, the intensity profile of structured light may be tailored for acceleration in any degree of freedom. Here we propose a simple approach to control the angular acceleration of light. Using Laguerre-Gaussian modes as our twisted beams carrying orbital angular momentum, we show that superpositions of opposite handedness result in a radially dependent angular acceleration as they pass through a focus (waist plane). Due to conservation of orbital angular momentum, we find that propagation dynamics are complex despite the free-space medium: the outer part of the beam (rings) rotates in an opposite direction to the inner part (petals), and while the outer part accelerates, the inner part decelerates. We outline the concepts theoretically and confirm them experimentally. Such exotic structured light beams are topical due to their many applications, for instance in optical trapping and tweezing, metrology, and fundamental studies in optics.

Trapping effect of metal nanoparticle mono- and multilayer in the organic field-effect transistor

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Keanchuan; Weis, Martin; Lin, Jack; Taguchi, Dai; Majková, Eva; Manaka, Takaaki; Iwamoto, Mitsumasa

2011-03-01

The effect of silver nanoparticles self-assembled monolayer (Ag NPs SAM) on charge transport in pentacene organic field-effect transistors (OFET) was investigated by both steady-state and transient-state methods, which are current-voltage measurements in steady-state and time-resolved microscopic (TRM) second harmonic generation (SHG) in transient-state, respectively. The analysis of electronic properties revealed that OFET with SAM exhibited significant charge trapping effect due to the space-charge field formed by immobile charges. Lower transient-state mobility was verified by the direct probing of carrier motion by TRM-SHG technique. It was shown that the trapping effect rises together with increase of SAM layers suggesting the presence of traps in the bulk of NP films. The model based on the electrostatic charge barrier is suggested to explain the phenomenon.

Trapping saturation of the bump-on-tail instability and electrostatic harmonic excitation in earth's foreshock

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Klimas, Alexander J.

1990-01-01

The Vlasov simulation is used to examine the trapping saturation of the bump-on-tail instability both with and without mode-mode coupling and subsequent harmonic excitation. It is found that adding the pumped harmonic modes leads to a significant difference in the behavior of the phase-space distribution function near the unstable bump at the saturation time of the instability. The pumped modes permit rapid plateau formation on the space-averaged velocity distribution, in effect preventing the onset of the quasi-linear velocity-diffusion saturation mechanism.

Sub-diffusion and trapped dynamics of neutral and charged probes in DNA-protein coacervates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arfin, Najmul; Yadav, Avinash Chand; Bohidar, H. B.

2013-11-01

The physical mechanism leading to the formation of large intermolecular DNA-protein complexes has been studied. Our study aims to explain the occurrence of fast coacervation dynamics at the charge neutralization point, followed by the appearance of smaller complexes and slower coacervation dynamics as the complex experiences overcharging. Furthermore, the electrostatic potential and probe mobility was investigated to mimic the transport of DNA / DNA-protein complex in a DNA-protein complex coacervate medium [N. Arfin and H. B. Bohidar, J. Phys. Chem. B 116, 13192 (2012)] by assigning neutral, negative, or positive charge to the probe particle. The mobility of the neutral probe was maximal at low matrix concentrations and showed random walk behavior, while its mobility ceased at the jamming concentration of c = 0.6, showing sub-diffusion and trapped dynamics. The positively charged probe showed sub-diffusive random walk followed by trapped dynamics, while the negatively charged probe showed trapping with occasional hopping dynamics at much lower concentrations. Sub-diffusion of the probe was observed in all cases under consideration, where the electrostatic interaction was used exclusively as the dominant force involved in the dynamics. For neutral and positive probes, the mean square displacement ⟨R2⟩ exhibits a scaling with time as ⟨R2⟩ ˜ tα, distinguishing random walk and trapped dynamics at α = 0.64 ± 0.04 at c = 0.12 and c = 0.6, respectively. In addition, the same scaling factors with the exponent β = 0.64 ± 0.04 can be used to distinguish random walk and trapped dynamics for the neutral and positive probes using the relation between the number of distinct sites visited by the probe, S(t), which follows the scaling, S(t) ˜ tβ/ln (t). Our results established the occurrence of a hierarchy of diffusion dynamics experienced by a probe in a dense medium that is either charged or neutral.

Three-dimensional structure of the lithostathine protofibril, a protein involved in Alzheimer's disease.

PubMed

Grégoire, C; Marco, S; Thimonier, J; Duplan, L; Laurine, E; Chauvin, J P; Michel, B; Peyrot, V; Verdier, J M

2001-07-02

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the presence of filamentous aggregates of proteins. We previously established that lithostathine is a protein overexpressed in the pre-clinical stages of Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, it is present in the pathognomonic lesions associated with Alzheimer's disease. After self-proteolysis, the N-terminally truncated form of lithostathine leads to the formation of fibrillar aggregates. Here we observed using atomic force microscopy that these aggregates consisted of a network of protofibrils, each of which had a twisted appearance. Electron microscopy and image analysis showed that this twisted protofibril has a quadruple helical structure. Three-dimensional X-ray structural data and the results of biochemical experiments showed that when forming a protofibril, lithostathine was first assembled via lateral hydrophobic interactions into a tetramer. Each tetramer then linked up with another tetramer as the result of longitudinal electrostatic interactions. All these results were used to build a structural model for the lithostathine protofibril called the quadruple-helical filament (QHF-litho). In conclusion, lithostathine strongly resembles the prion protein in its dramatic proteolysis and amyloid proteins in its ability to form fibrils.

Atomistic modeling trap-assisted tunneling in hole tunnel field effect transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, Pengyu; Huang, Jun Z.; Povolotskyi, Michael; Sarangapani, Prasad; Valencia-Zapata, Gustavo A.; Kubis, Tillmann; Rodwell, Mark J. W.; Klimeck, Gerhard

2018-05-01

Tunnel Field Effect Transistors (FETs) have the potential to achieve steep Subthreshold Swing (S.S.) below 60 mV/dec, but their S.S. could be limited by trap-assisted tunneling (TAT) due to interface traps. In this paper, the effect of trap energy and location on OFF-current (IOFF) of tunnel FETs is evaluated systematically using an atomistic trap level representation in a full quantum transport simulation. Trap energy levels close to band edges cause the highest leakage. Wave function penetration into the surrounding oxide increases the TAT current. To estimate the effects of multiple traps, we assume that the traps themselves do not interact with each other and as a whole do not modify the electrostatic potential dramatically. Within that model limitation, this numerical metrology study points to the critical importance of TAT in the IOFF in tunnel FETs. The model shows that for Dit higher than 1012/(cm2 eV) IO F F is critically increased with a degraded IO N/IO F F ratio of the tunnel FET. In order to have an IO N/IO F F ratio higher than 104, the acceptable Dit near Ev should be controlled to no larger than 1012/(cm2 eV) .

Demonstration of charge breeding in a compact room temperature electron beam ion trap

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vorobjev, G.; Sokolov, A.; Herfurth, F.

2012-05-15

For the first time, a small room-temperature electron beam ion trap (EBIT), operated with permanent magnets, was successfully used for charge breeding experiments. The relatively low magnetic field of this EBIT does not contribute to the capture of the ions; single-charged ions are only caught by the space charge potential of the electron beam. An over-barrier injection method was used to fill the EBIT's electrostatic trap with externally produced, single-charged potassium ions. Charge states as high as K{sup 19+} were reached after about a 3 s breeding time. The capture and breeding efficiencies up to 0.016(4)% for K{sup 17+} havemore » been measured.« less

Structure and Mobility of Dissociated Vacancies at Twist Grain Boundaries and Screw Dislocations in Ionic Rocksalt Compounds

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kolluri, Kedarnath; Martinez Saez, Enrique; Uberuaga, Blas Pedro

Interfaces, grain boundaries, and dislocations are known to have significant impact on the transport properties of materials. Even so, it is still not clear how the structure of interfaces influences the mobility and concentration of carriers that are responsible for transport. Using low angle twist grain boundaries in MgO as a model system, we examine the structural and kinetic properties of vacancies. These boundaries are characterized by a network of screw dislocations. Vacancies of both types, Mg and O, are strongly attracted to the dislocation network, residing preferentially at the misfit dislocation intersections (MDIs). However, the vacancies can lower theirmore » energy by splitting into two parts, which then repel each other along the dislocation line between two MDIs, further lowering their energy. This dissociated structure has important consequences for transport, as the free energy of the dissociated vacancies decreases with decreasing twist angle, leading to an increase in the net migration barrier for diffusion as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. Similar behavior is observed in BaO and NaCl, highlighting the generality of the behavior. Finally, we analyze the structure of the dissociated vacancies as a pair of jogs on the dislocation and construct a model containing electrostatic and elastic contributions that qualitatively describe the energetics of the dissociated vacancy. Our results represent the first validation of a mechanism for vacancy dissociation on screw dislocations in ionic materials first discussed by Thomson and Balluffi in 1962.« less

Structure and Mobility of Dissociated Vacancies at Twist Grain Boundaries and Screw Dislocations in Ionic Rocksalt Compounds

DOE PAGES

Kolluri, Kedarnath; Martinez Saez, Enrique; Uberuaga, Blas Pedro

2018-03-05

Interfaces, grain boundaries, and dislocations are known to have significant impact on the transport properties of materials. Even so, it is still not clear how the structure of interfaces influences the mobility and concentration of carriers that are responsible for transport. Using low angle twist grain boundaries in MgO as a model system, we examine the structural and kinetic properties of vacancies. These boundaries are characterized by a network of screw dislocations. Vacancies of both types, Mg and O, are strongly attracted to the dislocation network, residing preferentially at the misfit dislocation intersections (MDIs). However, the vacancies can lower theirmore » energy by splitting into two parts, which then repel each other along the dislocation line between two MDIs, further lowering their energy. This dissociated structure has important consequences for transport, as the free energy of the dissociated vacancies decreases with decreasing twist angle, leading to an increase in the net migration barrier for diffusion as revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. Similar behavior is observed in BaO and NaCl, highlighting the generality of the behavior. Finally, we analyze the structure of the dissociated vacancies as a pair of jogs on the dislocation and construct a model containing electrostatic and elastic contributions that qualitatively describe the energetics of the dissociated vacancy. Our results represent the first validation of a mechanism for vacancy dissociation on screw dislocations in ionic materials first discussed by Thomson and Balluffi in 1962.« less

Pushing the Limit of Infrared Multiphoton Dissociation to Megadalton-Size DNA Ions.

PubMed

Doussineau, Tristan; Antoine, Rodolphe; Santacreu, Marion; Dugourd, Philippe

2012-08-16

We report the use of infrared multiphoton dissociation (IRMPD) for the determination of relative activation energies for unimolecular dissociation of megadalton DNA ions. Single ions with masses in the megadalton range were stored in an electrostatic ion trap for a few tens of milliseconds and the image current generated by the roundtrips of ions in the trap was recorded. While being trapped, single ions were irradiated by a CO2 laser and fragmented, owing to multiphoton IR activation. The analysis of the single-ion image current during the heating period allows us to measure changes in the charge of the trapped ion. We estimated the activation energy associated with the dissociation of megadalton-size DNA ions in the frame of an Arrhenius-like model by analyzing a large set of individual ions in order to construct a frequency histogram of the dissociation rates for a collection of ions.

Reversible gating of smart plasmonic molecular traps using thermoresponsive polymers for single-molecule detection

PubMed Central

Zheng, Yuanhui; Soeriyadi, Alexander H.; Rosa, Lorenzo; Ng, Soon Hock; Bach, Udo; Justin Gooding, J.

2015-01-01

Single-molecule surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has attracted increasing interest for chemical and biochemical sensing. Many conventional substrates have a broad distribution of SERS enhancements, which compromise reproducibility and result in slow response times for single-molecule detection. Here we report a smart plasmonic sensor that can reversibly trap a single molecule at hotspots for rapid single-molecule detection. The sensor was fabricated through electrostatic self-assembly of gold nanoparticles onto a gold/silica-coated silicon substrate, producing a high yield of uniformly distributed hotspots on the surface. The hotspots were isolated with a monolayer of a thermoresponsive polymer (poly(N-isopropylacrylamide)), which act as gates for molecular trapping at the hotspots. The sensor shows not only a good SERS reproducibility but also a capability to repetitively trap and release molecules for single-molecular sensing. The single-molecule sensitivity is experimentally verified using SERS spectral blinking and bianalyte methods. PMID:26549539

Measurement of the trapping and detrapping properties of polymers in relation with their microstructure

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vallayer, B.; Hourquebie, P.; Marsacq, D.

1996-12-31

In the field of Space Charge Physics, the role of electrical traps on space charge behavior and therefore on the breakdown properties has been now well-established. However, the traps in polymers are very difficult to define compared to the case of ceramics for which a lot of studies have been performed. A new specific method for measuring the trapping and detrapping properties of dielectric materials has been developed. This method allows to characterize the electrostatic state of an insulating sample after irradiation by a high energy electron beam. The authors discuss the basis of the method and its general possibilitiesmore » to measure the breakdown relevant parameters as the secondary electron yield for instance. Moreover, the method has been used on several polymers as HDPE and LDPE. The difference of trapping properties between those materials can be explained by microstructure evolutions (crystallinity ratio) due to a difference of the branching rate. This difference of trapping and detrapping properties of these two polymers could be connected to the breakdown behavior of the two materials which is known to be very different.« less

Sub-nanometer pore formation in single-molecule-thick polyurea molecular-sieving membrane: a computational study.

PubMed

Park, Seongjin; Lansac, Yves; Jang, Yun Hee

2018-06-07

A polymeric network of 1-(4-tritylphenyl)urea (TPU) built via layer-by-layer cross-linking polymerization has been proposed to be an excellent mesh equipped with single-molecule-thick pores (i.e., cyclic poly-TPU rings), which can sieve glucose (∼0.7 nm) out of its mixture with urea for hemodialysis applications. Monte Carlo search for the lowest-energy conformation of various sizes of poly-TPU rings unravels the origin of narrow pore size distribution, which is around the sizes of dimer and trimer rings (0.3-0.8 nm). Flexible rings larger than the dimer and trimer rings, in particular tetramer rings, prefer a twisted conformation in the shape of the infinity symbol (∞, which looks like two dimer rings joined together) locked by a hydrogen bond between diphenylurea linker groups facing each other. Translocation energy profiles across these TPU rings reveal their urea-versus-glucose sieving mechanism: glucose is either too large (to enter dimers and twisted tetramers) or too perfectly fit (to exit trimers), leaving only a dimer-sized free space in the ring, whereas smaller-sized urea and water pass through these effective dimer-sized rings (bare dimers, twisted tetramers, and glucose-filled trimers) without encountering a substantial energy barrier or trap.

Integral glass encapsulation for solar arrays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Landis, G. A.

1981-01-01

Electrostatic bonding technology, an encapsulation technique for terrestrial solar array was developed. The process produces full integral, hermetic bonds with no adhesives or pottants. Panels of six solar cells on a simple glass superstrate were produced. Electrostatic bonding for making the cell front contact was also developed. A metal mesh is trapped into contact with the cell front during the bonding process. Six cell panels using the bonded mesh as the only cell front contact were produced. The possibility of using lower cost glass, with a higher thermal expansion mismatch to silicon, by making lower temperature bonds is developed. However, this requires a planar surface cell.

Plasma Modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dubin, D. H. E.

This chapter explores several aspects of the linear electrostatic normal modes of oscillation for a single-species non-neutral plasma in a Penning trap. Linearized fluid equations of motion are developed, assuming the plasma is cold but collisionless, which allow derivation of the cold plasma dielectric tensor and the electrostatic wave equation. Upper hybrid and magnetized plasma waves in an infinite uniform plasma are described. The effect of the plasma surface in a bounded plasma system is considered, and the properties of surface plasma waves are characterized. The normal modes of a cylindrical plasma column are discussed, and finally, modes of spheroidal plasmas, and finite temperature effects on the modes, are briefly described.

Nonlinear dynamics of resonant electrons interacting with coherent Langmuir waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tobita, Miwa; Omura, Yoshiharu

2018-03-01

We study the nonlinear dynamics of resonant particles interacting with coherent waves in space plasmas. Magnetospheric plasma waves such as whistler-mode chorus, electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves, and hiss emissions contain coherent wave structures with various discrete frequencies. Although these waves are electromagnetic, their interaction with resonant particles can be approximated by equations of motion for a charged particle in a one-dimensional electrostatic wave. The equations are expressed in the form of nonlinear pendulum equations. We perform test particle simulations of electrons in an electrostatic model with Langmuir waves and a non-oscillatory electric field. We solve equations of motion and study the dynamics of particles with different values of inhomogeneity factor S defined as a ratio of the non-oscillatory electric field intensity to the wave amplitude. The simulation results demonstrate deceleration/acceleration, thermalization, and trapping of particles through resonance with a single wave, two waves, and multiple waves. For two-wave and multiple-wave cases, we describe the wave-particle interaction as either coherent or incoherent based on the probability of nonlinear trapping.

Controlling electrostatic charging of nanocrystalline diamond at nanoscale.

PubMed

Verveniotis, Elisseos; Kromka, Alexander; Rezek, Bohuslav

2013-06-11

Constant electrical current in the range of -1 to -200 pA is applied by an atomic force microscope (AFM) in contact mode regime to induce and study local electrostatic charging of oxygen-terminated nanocrystalline diamond (NCD) thin films. The NCD films are deposited on silicon in 70 nm thickness and with 60% relative sp(2) phase content. Charging current is monitored by conductive AFM. Electric potential contrast induced by the current is evaluated by Kelvin force microscopy (KFM). KFM shows well-defined, homogeneous, and reproducible microscopic patterns that are not influenced by inherent tip-surface junction fluctuations during the charging process. The charged patterns are persistent for at least 72 h due to charge trapping inside the NCD film. The current-induced charging also clearly reveals field-induced detrapping at current amplitudes >-50 pA and tip instability at >-150 pA, both of which limit the achievable potential contrast. In addition, we show that the field also determines the range of electronic states that can trap the charge. We present a model and discuss implications for control of the nanoscale charging process.

Measuring three-dimensional interaction potentials using optical interference.

PubMed

Mojarad, Nassir; Sandoghdar, Vahid; Krishnan, Madhavi

2013-04-22

We describe the application of three-dimensional (3D) scattering interferometric (iSCAT) imaging to the measurement of spatial interaction potentials for nano-objects in solution. We study electrostatically trapped gold particles in a nanofluidic device and present details on axial particle localization in the presence of a strongly reflecting interface. Our results demonstrate high-speed (~kHz) particle tracking with subnanometer localization precision in the axial and average 2.5 nm in the lateral dimension. A comparison of the measured levitation heights of trapped particles with the calculated values for traps of various geometries reveals good agreement. Our work demonstrates that iSCAT imaging delivers label-free, high-speed and accurate 3D tracking of nano-objects conducive to probing weak and long-range interaction potentials in solution.

Electrostatic drift instability in a magnetotail configuration: The role of bouncing electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fruit, G.; Louarn, P.; Tur, A.

2017-03-01

To understand the possible destabilization of two-dimensional current sheets, a kinetic model is proposed to describe the resonant interaction between electrostatic modes and trapped electrons that bounce within the sheet. This work follows the initial investigation by Tur, Louarn, and Yanovsky [Phys. Plasmas 17, 102905 (2010)] and Fruit, Louarn, and Tur [Phys. Plasmas 20, 022113 (2013)] that is revised and extended. Using a quasi-dipolar equilibrium state, the linearized gyro-kinetic Vlasov equation is solved for electrostatic fluctuations with a period of the order of the electron bounce period. Using an appropriated Fourier expansion of the particle motion along the magnetic field, the complete time integration of the non-local perturbed distribution functions is performed. The dispersion relation for electrostatic modes is then obtained through the quasineutrality condition. It is found that for a mildly stretched configuration ( L ˜8 ), strongly unstable electrostatic modes may develop in the current sheet with the growth rate of the order of a few seconds provided that the background density gradient responsible for the diamagnetic drift effects is sharp enough: typical length scale over one Earth radius or less. However, when this condition in the density gradient is not met, these electrostatic modes grow too slowly to be accountable for a rapid destabilization of the magnetic structure. This strong but finely tuned instability may offer opportunities to explain features in magnetospheric substorms.

Optical Trap Loading of Dielectric Microparticles In Air.

PubMed

Park, Haesung; LeBrun, Thomas W

2017-02-05

We demonstrate a method to trap a selected dielectric microparticle in air using radiation pressure from a single-beam gradient optical trap. Randomly scattered dielectric microparticles adhered to a glass substrate are momentarily detached using ultrasonic vibrations generated by a piezoelectric transducer (PZT). Then, the optical beam focused on a selected particle lifts it up to the optical trap while the vibrationally excited microparticles fall back to the substrate. A particle may be trapped at the nominal focus of the trapping beam or at a position above the focus (referred to here as the levitation position) where gravity provides the restoring force. After the measurement, the trapped particle can be placed at a desired position on the substrate in a controlled manner. In this protocol, an experimental procedure for selective optical trap loading in air is outlined. First, the experimental setup is briefly introduced. Second, the design and fabrication of a PZT holder and a sample enclosure are illustrated in detail. The optical trap loading of a selected microparticle is then demonstrated with step-by-step instructions including sample preparation, launching into the trap, and use of electrostatic force to excite particle motion in the trap and measure charge. Finally, we present recorded particle trajectories of Brownian and ballistic motions of a trapped microparticle in air. These trajectories can be used to measure stiffness or to verify optical alignment through time domain and frequency domain analysis. Selective trap loading enables optical tweezers to track a particle and its changes over repeated trap loadings in a reversible manner, thereby enabling studies of particle-surface interaction.

Three-dimensional structure of the lithostathine protofibril, a protein involved in Alzheimer’s disease

PubMed Central

Grégoire, Catherine; Marco, Sergio; Thimonier, Jean; Duplan, Laure; Laurine, Emmanuelle; Chauvin, Jean-Paul; Michel, Bernard; Peyrot, Vincent; Verdier, Jean-Michel

2001-01-01

Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the presence of filamentous aggregates of proteins. We previously established that lithostathine is a protein overexpressed in the pre-clinical stages of Alzheimer’s disease. Furthermore, it is present in the pathognomonic lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease. After self-proteolysis, the N-terminally truncated form of lithostathine leads to the formation of fibrillar aggregates. Here we observed using atomic force microscopy that these aggregates consisted of a network of protofibrils, each of which had a twisted appearance. Electron microscopy and image analysis showed that this twisted protofibril has a quadruple helical structure. Three-dimensional X-ray structural data and the results of biochemical experiments showed that when forming a protofibril, lithostathine was first assembled via lateral hydrophobic interactions into a tetramer. Each tetramer then linked up with another tetramer as the result of longitudinal electrostatic interactions. All these results were used to build a structural model for the lithostathine protofibril called the quadruple-helical filament (QHF-litho). In conclusion, lithostathine strongly resembles the prion protein in its dramatic proteolysis and amyloid proteins in its ability to form fibrils. PMID:11432819

Qubit Residence Time Measurements with a Bose-Einstein Condensate

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sokolovski, D.

2009-06-12

We show that an electrostatic qubit located near a Bose-Einstein condensate trapped in a symmetric double-well potential can be used to measure the duration the qubit has spent in one of its quantum states. The strong, medium, and weak measurement regimes are analyzed. The analogy between the residence and the traversal (tunnelling) times is highlighted.

Slow electron acoustic double layer (SEADL) structures in bi-ion plasma with trapped electrons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shan, Shaukat Ali; Imtiaz, Nadia

2018-05-01

The properties of ion acoustic double layer (IADL) structures in bi-ion plasma with electron trapping are investigated by using the quasi-potential analysis. The κ-distributed trapped electrons number density expression is truncated to some finite order of the electrostatic potential. By utilizing the reductive perturbation method, a modified Schamel equation which describes the evolution of the slow electron acoustic double layer (SEADL) with the modified speed due to the presence of bi-ion species is investigated. The Sagdeev-like potential has been derived which accounts for the effect of the electron trapping and superthermality in a bi-ion plasma. It is found that the superthermality index, the trapping efficiency of electrons, and ion to electron temperature ratio are the inhibiting parameters for the amplitude of the slow electron acoustic double layers (SEADLs). However, the enhanced population of the cold ions is found to play a supportive role for the low frequency DLs in bi-ion plasmas. The illustrations have been presented with the help of the bi-ion plasma parameters in the Earth's ionosphere F-region.

Characterization of trapped charges distribution in terms of mirror plot curve.

PubMed

Al-Obaidi, Hassan N; Mahdi, Ali S; Khaleel, Imad H

2018-01-01

Accumulation of charges (electrons) at the specimen surface in scanning electron microscope (SEM) lead to generate an electrostatic potential. By using the method of image charges, this potential is defined in the chamber's space of such apparatus. The deduced formula is expressed in terms a general volumetric distribution which proposed to be an infinitesimal spherical extension. With aid of a binomial theorem the defined potential is expanded to a multipolar form. Then resultant formula is adopted to modify a novel mirror plot equation so as to detect the real distribution of trapped charges. Simulation results reveal that trapped charges may take a various sort of arrangement such as monopole, quadruple and octuple. But existence of any of these arrangements alone may never be take place, rather are some a formations of a mix of them. Influence of each type of these profiles depends on the distance between the incident electron and surface of a sample. Result also shows that trapped charge's amount of trapped charges can refer to a threshold for failing of point charge approximation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Stochastic three-wave interaction in flaring solar loops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vlahos, L.; Sharma, R. R.; Papadopoulos, K.

1983-01-01

A model is proposed for the dynamic structure of high-frequency microwave bursts. The dynamic component is attributed to beams of precipitating electrons which generate electrostatic waves in the upper hybrid branch. Coherent upconversion of the electrostatic waves to electromagnetic waves produces an intrinsically stochastic emission component which is superposed on the gyrosynchrotron continuum generated by stably trapped electron fluxes. The role of the density and temperature of the ambient plasma in the wave growth and the transition of the three wave upconversion to stochastic, despite the stationarity of the energy source, are discussed in detail. The model appears to reproduce the observational features for reasonable parameters of the solar flare plasma.

Discharge pulse phenomenology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frederickson, A. R.

1985-01-01

A model was developed which places radiation induced discharge pulse results into a unified conceptual framework. Only two phenomena are required to interpret all space and laboratory results: (1) radiation produces large electrostatic fields inside insulators via the trapping of a net space charge density; and (2) the electrostatic fields initiate discharge streamer plasmas similar to those investigated in high voltage electrical insulation materials; these streamer plasmas generate the pulsing phenomena. The apparent variability and diversity of results seen is an inherent feature of the plasma streamer mechanism acting in the electric fields which is created by irradiation of the dielectrics. The implications of the model are extensive and lead to constraints over what can be done about spacecraft pulsing.

Kinetic theory of twisted waves: Application to space plasmas having superthermal population of species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arshad, Kashif; Poedts, Stefaan; Lazar, Marian

2017-04-01

Nowadays electromagnetic (EM) fields have various applications in fundamental research, communication, and home appliances. Even though, there are still some subtle features of electromagnetic field known to us a century ago, yet to be utilized. It is because of the technical complexities to sense three dimensional electromagnetic field. An important characteristic of electromagnetic field is its orbital angular momentum (OAM). The angular momentum consists of two distinct parts; intrinsic part associated with the wave polarization or spin, and the extrinsic part associated with the orbital angular momentum (OAM). The orbital angular momentum (OAM) is inherited by helically phased light or helical (twisted) electric field. The investigations of Allen on lasers carrying orbital angular momentum (OAM), has initiated a new scientific and technological advancement in various growing fields, such as microscopy and imaging, atomic and nano-particle manipulation, ultra-fast optical communications, quantum computing, ionospheric radar facility to observe 3D plasma dynamics in ionosphere, photonic crystal fibre, OAM entanglement of two photons, twisted gravitational waves, ultra-intense twisted laser pulses and astrophysics. Recently, the plasma modes are also investigated with orbital angular momentum. The production of electron vortex beams and its applications are indicated by Verbeeck et al. The magnetic tornadoes (rotating magnetic field structures) exhibit three types of morphology i.e., spiral, ring and split. Leyser pumped helical radio beam carrying OAM into the Ionospheric plasma under High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) and characteristic ring shaped morphology is obtained by the optical emission spectrum of pumped plasma turbulence. The scattering phenomenon like (stimulated Raman and Brillouin backscattering) is observed to be responsible for the interaction between electrostatic and electromagnetic waves through orbital angular momentum. The ring shape morphology of a beam with orbital angular momentum (OAM) is ideal for the observation of solar corona around the sun where the intensity of the beam is minimum at the center, in solar experiments, and Earth's ionosphere. The twisted plasma modes carrying OAM are mostly studied either by the fluid theory or Maxwellian distributed Kinetic Theory. But most of the space plasmas and some laboratory plasmas have non-thermal distributions due to super-thermal population of the plasma particles. Therefore the Kinetic Theory of twisted plasma modes carrying OAM are recently studied using non-thermal (kappa) distribution of the super-thermal particles in the presence of the helical electric field and significant change in the damping rates are observed by tuning appropriate parameters.

Glass Frit Filters for Collecting Metal Oxide Nanoparticles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ackerman, John; Buttry, Dan; Irvine, Geoffrey; Pope, John

2005-01-01

Filter disks made of glass frit have been found to be effective as means of high-throughput collection of metal oxide particles, ranging in size from a few to a few hundred nanometers, produced in gas-phase condensation reactors. In a typical application, a filter is placed downstream of the reactor and a valve is used to regulate the flow of reactor exhaust through the filter. The exhaust stream includes a carrier gas, particles, byproducts, and unreacted particle-precursor gas. The filter selectively traps the particles while allowing the carrier gas, the byproducts, and, in some cases, the unreacted precursor, to flow through unaffected. Although the pores in the filters are much larger than the particles, the particles are nevertheless trapped to a high degree: Anecdotal information from an experiment indicates that 6-nm-diameter particles of MnO2 were trapped with greater than 99-percent effectiveness by a filtering device comprising a glass-frit disk having pores 70 to 100 micrometer wide immobilized in an 8-cm-diameter glass tube equipped with a simple twist valve at its downstream end.

Generation of forerunner electron beam during interaction of ion beam pulse with plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hara, Kentaro; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.

2018-01-01

The long-time evolution of the two-stream instability of a cold tenuous ion beam pulse propagating through the background plasma with density much higher than the ion beam density is investigated using a large-scale one-dimensional electrostatic kinetic simulation. The three stages of the instability are investigated in detail. After the initial linear growth and saturation by the electron trapping, a portion of the initially trapped electrons becomes detrapped and moves ahead of the ion beam pulse forming a forerunner electron beam, which causes a secondary two-stream instability that preheats the upstream plasma electrons. Consequently, the self-consistent nonlinear-driven turbulent state is set up at the head of the ion beam pulse with the saturated plasma wave sustained by the influx of the cold electrons from upstream of the beam that lasts until the final stage when the beam ions become trapped by the plasma wave. The beam ion trapping leads to the nonlinear heating of the beam ions that eventually extinguishes the instability.

Probing Na+ Induced Changes in the HIV-1 TAR Conformational Dynamics using NMR Residual Dipolar Couplings: New Insights into the Role of Counterions and Electrostatic Interactions in Adaptive Recognition†

PubMed Central

Casiano-Negroni, Anette; Sun, Xiaoyan; Al-Hashimi, Hashim M.

2012-01-01

Many regulatory RNAs undergo large changes in structure upon recognition of proteins and ligands but the mechanism by which this occur remains poorly understood. Using NMR residual dipolar coupling (RDCs), we characterized Na+ induced changes in the structure and dynamics of the bulge-containing HIV-1 transactivation response element (TAR) RNA that mirror changes induced by small molecules bearing a different number of cationic groups. Increasing the Na+ concentration from 25 mM to 320 mM led to a continuous reduction in the average inter-helical bend angle (from 46° to 22°), inter-helical twist angle (from 66° to −18°) and inter-helix flexibility (as measured by an increase in the internal generalized degree of order from 0.56 to 0.74). Similar conformational changes were observed with Mg2+, indicating that non-specific electrostatic interactions drive the conformational transition, although results also suggest that Na+ and Mg2+ may associate with TAR in distinct modes. The transition can be rationalized based on a population-weighted average of two ensembles comprising an electrostatically relaxed bent and flexible TAR conformation that is weakly associated with counterions, and a globally rigid coaxial conformation which has stronger electrostatic potential and association with counterions. The TAR inter-helical orientations that are stabilized by small molecules fall around the metal-induced conformational pathway, indicating that counterions may help predispose the TAR conformation for target recognition. Our results underscore the intricate sensitivity of RNA conformational dynamics to environmental conditions and demonstrate the ability to detect subtle conformational changes using NMR RDCs. PMID:17488097

Self-assembly of short aβ(16-22) peptides: effect of terminal capping and the role of electrostatic interaction.

PubMed

Tao, Kai; Wang, Jiqian; Zhou, Peng; Wang, Chengdong; Xu, Hai; Zhao, Xiubo; Lu, Jian R

2011-03-15

We report the characterization of self-assembly of two short β-amyloid (Aβ) peptides (16-22), KLVFFAE and Ac-KLVFFAE-NH2, focusing on examining the effect of terminal capping. At pH 2.0, TEM and AFM imaging revealed that the uncapped peptide self-assembled into long, straight, and unbranched nanofibrils with a diameter of 3.8 ± 1.0 nm while the capped one formed nanotapes with a width of 70.0 ± 25.0 nm. CD analysis indicated the formation of β-sheet structures in both aggregated systems, but the characteristic CD peaks were less intense and less red-shifted for the uncapped than the capped one, indicative of weaker hydrogen bonding and weaker π-π stacking. Fluorescence and rheological measurements also confirmed stronger intermolecular attraction associated with the capped nanotapes. At acidic pH 2, each uncapped KLVFFAE molecule carries two positive charges at the N-terminus, and the strong electrostatic repulsion favors interfacial curving and twisting within the β-sheet, causing weakening of hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking. In contrast, capping reduces the charge by half, and intermolecular electrostatic repulsion is drastically reduced. As a result, the lateral attraction of β-sheets favors stronger lamellar structuring, leading to the formation of rather flat nanotapes. Flat tapes with similar morphological structure were also formed by the capped peptide at pH 12.0 where the charge on the capping end was reversed. This study has thus demonstrated how self-assembled nanostructures of small peptides can be manipulated through simple molecular structure design and tuning of electrostatic interaction.

Chaotic transport and damping from θ-ruffled separatrices.

PubMed

Kabantsev, A A; Dubin, Daniel H E; Driscoll, C F; Tsidulko, Yu A

2010-11-12

Variations in magnetic or electrostatic confinement fields give rise to trapping separatrices, and neoclassical transport theory analyzes effects from collision-induced separatrix crossings. Experiments on pure electron plasmas now quantitatively characterize a broad range of transport and wave damping effects due to "chaotic" separatrix crossings, which occur due to equilibrium plasma rotation across θ-ruffled separatrices, and due to wave-induced separatrix fluctuations.

Polarization-mediated Debye-screening of surface potential fluctuations in dual-channel AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deen, David A.; Miller, Ross A.; Osinsky, Andrei V.; Downey, Brian P.; Storm, David F.; Meyer, David J.; Scott Katzer, D.; Nepal, Neeraj

2016-12-01

A dual-channel AlN/GaN/AlN/GaN high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) architecture is proposed, simulated, and demonstrated that suppresses gate lag due to surface-originated trapped charge. Dual two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) channels are utilized such that the top 2DEG serves as an equipotential that screens potential fluctuations resulting from surface trapped charge. The bottom channel serves as the transistor's modulated channel. Two device modeling approaches have been performed as a means to guide the device design and to elucidate the relationship between the design and performance metrics. The modeling efforts include a self-consistent Poisson-Schrodinger solution for electrostatic simulation as well as hydrodynamic three-dimensional device modeling for three-dimensional electrostatics, steady-state, and transient simulations. Experimental results validated the HEMT design whereby homo-epitaxial growth on free-standing GaN substrates and fabrication of the same-wafer dual-channel and recessed-gate AlN/GaN HEMTs have been demonstrated. Notable pulsed-gate performance has been achieved by the fabricated HEMTs through a gate lag ratio of 0.86 with minimal drain current collapse while maintaining high levels of dc and rf performance.

Nanowell-Trapped Charged Ligand-Bearing Nanoparticle Surfaces – A Novel Method of Enhancing Flow-Resistant Cell Adhesion

PubMed Central

Tran, Phat L.; Gamboa, Jessica R.; McCracken, Katherine E.; Riley, Mark R.

2014-01-01

Assuring cell adhesion to an underlying biomaterial surface is vital in implant device design and tissue engineering, particularly under circumstances where cells are subjected to potential detachment from overriding fluid flow. Cell-substrate adhesion is a highly regulated process involving the interplay of mechanical properties, surface topographic features, electrostatic charge, and biochemical mechanisms. At the nanoscale level the physical properties of the underlying substrate are of particular importance in cell adhesion. Conventionally, natural, pro-adhesive, and often thrombogenic, protein biomaterials are frequently utilized to facilitate adhesion. In the present study nanofabrication techniques are utilized to enhance the biological functionality of a synthetic polymer surface, polymethymethacrylate, with respect to cell adhesion. Specifically we examine the effect on cell adhesion of combining: 1. optimized surface texturing, 2. electrostatic charge and 3. cell adhesive ligands, uniquely assembled on the substrata surface, as an ensemble of nanoparticles trapped in nanowells. Our results reveal that the ensemble strategy leads to enhanced, more than simply additive, endothelial cell adhesion under both static and flow conditions. This strategy may be of particular utility for enhancing flow-resistant endothelialization of blood-contacting surfaces of cardiovascular devices subjected to flow-mediated shear. PMID:23225491

Electrostatic odd symmetric eigenmode in inhomogeneous Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal equilibrium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, M.-H.; Dokgo, K.; Yoon, Peter H.; Lee, D.-Y.; Choi, Cheong R.

2018-04-01

A self-consistent electrostatic odd-symmetric eigenmode (OEM) is analytically found in a solitary type Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) equilibrium. The frequency of the OEM is order of the electron bounce frequency and it is spatially odd-symmetric with the scale comparable to that of the solitary BGK equilibrium structure. Such an OEM is consistent with the recent observation from particle-in-cell simulation of the solitary wave [Dokgo et al., Phys. Plasmas 23, 092107 (2016)]. The mode can be driven unstable by trapped electrons within the hole structure of the solitary wave. Such a low frequency, pure electron mode, which may possibly interact resonantly with the ion acoustic mode, provides a possible damping mechanism of the BGK equilibrium.

Obliquely propagating ion acoustic solitary structures in the presence of quantized magnetic field

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iqbal Shaukat, Muzzamal

2017-10-01

The effect of linear and nonlinear propagation of electrostatic waves have been studied in degenerate magnetoplasma taking into account the effect of electron trapping and finite temperature with quantizing magnetic field. The formation of solitary structures has been investigated by employing the small amplitude approximation both for fully and partially degenerate quantum plasma. It is observed that the inclusion of quantizing magnetic field significantly affects the propagation characteristics of the solitary wave. Importantly, the Zakharov-Kuznetsov equation under consideration has been found to allow the formation of compressive solitary structures only. The present investigation may be beneficial to understand the propagation of nonlinear electrostatic structures in dense astrophysical environments such as those found in white dwarfs.

Self focusing in a spatially modulated electrostatic field particle accelerator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russman, F.; Marini, S.; Peter, E.; de Oliveira, G. I.; Rizzato, F. B.

2018-02-01

In the present analysis, we study the action of a three-dimensional (3D) modulated electrostatic wave over a charged particle. Meanwhile, the particle's velocity is smaller than the phase-velocity of the carrier, and the particle could be reflected by the potential or could pass through the potential with no significant change in the longitudinal velocity—and its dynamics could be described by a ponderomotive approximation. Otherwise, the particle is trapped by the potential and it is accelerated towards the speed of light, independently of the initial particle's phase—in this case, the ponderomotive approximation is no longer valid. During the acceleration process, numerical simulations show the particle is focused, simultaneously. These results suggest the accelerator proposed here is promising.

Studies on equatorial shock formation during plasmaspheric refilling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, N.

1994-01-01

Investigations based on small-scale simulations of microprocesses occurring when a magnetic flux tube refills with a cold plasma are summarized. Results of these investigations are reported in the following attached papers: (1) 'Numerical Simulation of Filling a Magnetic Flux Tube with a Cold Plasma: The Role of Ion Beam-Driven Instabilities'; and (2) 'Numerical Simulation of Filling a Magnetic Flux Tube with a Cold Plasma: Effects of Magnetically Trapped Hot Plasma'. Other papers included are: 'Interaction of Field-Aligned Cold Plasma Flows with an Equatorially-Trapped Hot Plasma: Electrostatic Shock Formation'; and 'Comparison of Hydrodynamic and Semikinetic Treatments for a Plasma Flow along Closed Field Lines'. A proposal for further research is included.

Intrinsic Charge Trapping Observed as Surface Potential Variations in diF-TES-ADT Films.

PubMed

Hoffman, Benjamin C; McAfee, Terry; Conrad, Brad R; Loth, Marsha A; Anthony, John E; Ade, Harald W; Dougherty, Daniel B

2016-08-24

Spatial variations in surface potential are measured with Kelvin probe force microscopy for thin films of 2,8-difluoro-5,11-bis(triethylsilylethynyl)anthradithiophenes (diF-TES-ADT) grown on SiO2 and silane-treated SiO2 substrates by organic molecular beam deposition. The variations are observed both between and within grains of the polycrystalline organic film and are quantitatively different than electrostatic variations on the substrate surfaces. The skewness of surface potential distributions is larger on SiO2 than on HMDS-treated substrates. This observation is attributed to the impact of substrate functionalization on minimizing intrinsic crystallographic defects in the organic film that can trap charge.

Modeling of long range frequency sweeping for energetic particle modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyqvist, R. M.; Breizman, B. N.

2013-04-01

Long range frequency sweeping events are simulated numerically within a one-dimensional, electrostatic bump-on-tail model with fast particle sources and collisions. The numerical solution accounts for fast particle trapping and detrapping in an evolving wave field with a fixed wavelength, and it includes three distinct collisions operators: Drag (dynamical friction on the background electrons), Krook-type collisions, and velocity space diffusion. The effects of particle trapping and diffusion on the evolution of holes and clumps are investigated, and the occurrence of non-monotonic (hooked) frequency sweeping and asymptotically steady holes is discussed. The presented solution constitutes a step towards predictive modeling of frequency sweeping events in more realistic geometries.

Tunable Mobility in Double-Gated MoTe2 Field-Effect Transistor: Effect of Coulomb Screening and Trap Sites.

PubMed

Ji, Hyunjin; Joo, Min-Kyu; Yi, Hojoon; Choi, Homin; Gul, Hamza Zad; Ghimire, Mohan Kumar; Lim, Seong Chu

2017-08-30

There is a general consensus that the carrier mobility in a field-effect transistor (FET) made of semiconducting transition-metal dichalcogenides (s-TMDs) is severely degraded by the trapping/detrapping and Coulomb scattering of carriers by ionic charges in the gate oxides. Using a double-gated (DG) MoTe 2 FET, we modulated and enhanced the carrier mobility by adjusting the top- and bottom-gate biases. The relevant mechanism for mobility tuning in this device was explored using static DC and low-frequency (LF) noise characterizations. In the investigations, LF-noise analysis revealed that for a strong back-gate bias the Coulomb scattering of carriers by ionized traps in the gate dielectrics is strongly screened by accumulation charges. This significantly reduces the electrostatic scattering of channel carriers by the interface trap sites, resulting in increased mobility. The reduction of the number of effective trap sites also depends on the gate bias, implying that owing to the gate bias, the carriers are shifted inside the channel. Thus, the number of active trap sites decreases as the carriers are repelled from the interface by the gate bias. The gate-controlled Coulomb-scattering parameter and the trap-site density provide new handles for improving the carrier mobility in TMDs, in a fundamentally different way from dielectric screening observed in previous studies.

Discrete and continuum modeling of solvent effects in a twisted intramolecular charge transfer system: The 4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) molecule.

PubMed

Modesto-Costa, Lucas; Borges, Itamar

2018-08-05

The 4-N,N-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN) molecule is a prototypical system displaying twisted intramolecular (TICT) charge transfer effects. The ground and the first four electronic excited states (S 1 -S 4 ) in gas phase and upon solvation were studied. Charge transfer values as function of the torsion angle between the donor group (dimethylamine) and the acceptor moiety (benzonitrile) were explicitly computed. Potential energy curves were also obtained. The algebraic diagrammatic construction method at the second-order [ADC(2)] ab initio wave function was employed. Three solvents of increased polarities (benzene, DMSO and water) were investigated using discrete (average solvent electrostatic configuration - ASEC) and continuum (conductor-like screening model - COSMO) models. The results for the S 3 and S 4 excited states and the S 1 -S 4 charge transfer curves were not previously available in the literature. Electronic gas phase and solvent vertical spectra are in good agreement with previous theoretical and experimental results. In the twisted (90°) geometry the optical oscillator strengths have negligible values even for the S 2 bright state. Potential energy curves show two distinct pairs of curves intersecting at decreasing angles or not crossing in the more polar solvents. Charge transfer and electric dipole values allowed the rationalization of these results. The former effects are mostly independent of the solvent model and polarity. Although COSMO and ASEC solvent models mostly lead to similar results, there is an important difference: some crossings of the excitation energy curves appear only in the ASEC solvation model, which has important implications to the photochemistry of DMABN. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Ground-Based High-Power Microwave Decoy Discrimination System.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-12-23

understanding of plasma instabilities, self-induced magnetic effects , space - charge considerations, production of ion currents, etc. 3.3.4 Cross-Field...breakdown, due to small potential differences. Interaction volumes can therefore be large, avoiding breakdown and space - charge effects (at the price...the interference of the incident and reflected wave, and by the electrostatic forces of the surface (positive) and space charge (negative) trapped in

Utility of Higher Harmonics in Electrospray Ionization Fourier Transform Electrostatic Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry.

PubMed

Dziekonski, Eric T; Johnson, Joshua T; McLuckey, Scott A

2017-04-18

Mass resolution (M/ΔM fwhm) is observed to linearly increase with harmonic order in a Fourier transform electrostatic linear ion trap (ELIT) mass spectrometer. This behavior was predicted by Grosshans and Marshall for frequency-multiple detection in a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer only for situations when the prominent mechanism for signal decay is ion ejection from the trap. As the analyzer pressure in our ELIT chamber is relatively high, such that collisional scattering and collision-induced dissociation are expected to underlie much of the ion loss, we sought to explore the relationship between harmonic order and mass resolution. Mass resolutions of 36 900 (fundamental), 75 850 (2nd harmonic), and 108 200 (3rd harmonic) were obtained for GdO + (avg. m/z 173.919) with a transient length of 300 ms. To demonstrate that the mass resolution was truly increasing with harmonic order, the unresolved isotopes at the fundamental distribution of cytochrome c +8 (m/z ∼ 1549) were nearly baseline, resolved at the third harmonic (mass resolution ≈ 23 000) with a transient length of only 200 ms. This experiment demonstrates that, when the ion density is sufficiently low, ions with frequency differences of less than 4 Hz remain uncoalesced. Higher harmonics can be used to increase the effective mass resolution for a fixed transient length and thereby may enable the resolution of closely spaced masses, determination of a protein ion's charge state, and study of the onset of peak coalescence when the resolution at the fundamental frequency is insufficient.

Bloch equations applied to ion cyclotron resonance spectroscopy: Broadband interconversion between magnetron and cyclotron motion for ion axialization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guan, Shenheng; Marshall, Alan G.

1993-03-01

Conversion of magnetron motion to cyclotron motion combined with collisional cooling of the cyclotron motion provides an efficient way to reduce the kinetic energy of trapped heavy ions and to reduce their magnetron radii in an ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) ion trap. The coupling of magnetron and cyclotron motion can be realized by azimuthal quadrupolar excitation. Theoretical understanding of the coupling process has until now been based on resonant single-frequency quadrupolar excitation at the combination frequency ωc=ω++ω-, in which ωc is the ion cyclotron orbital frequency in the absence of electrostatic field; and ω+ and ω- are the reduced cyclotron and magnetron frequencies in the presence of an electrostatic trapping potential. In this work, we prove that the magnetron/cyclotron coupling is closely related to a two energy level system whose behavior is described by the well-known Bloch equations. By means of a special transformation, the equations of motion for the coupling may be expressed in Bloch-type equations in spherical coordinates. We show that magnetron-to-cyclotron conversion by single-frequency quadrupolar excitation in ICR is analogous to a 180° pulse in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We go on to show that simultaneous magnetron-to-cyclotron conversion of ions over a finite mass-to-charge ratio range may be produced by quadrupolar frequency-sweep excitation, by analogy to adiabatic rapid passage in magnetic resonance. Axialization by broadband magnetron-to-cyclotron conversion followed by cyclotron cooling is successfully demonstrated experimentally for a crude oil distillate sample.

On structural transitions, thermodynamic equilibrium, and the phase diagram of DNA and RNA duplexes under torque and tension.

PubMed

Wereszczynski, Jeff; Andricioaei, Ioan

2006-10-31

A precise understanding of the flexibility of double stranded nucleic acids and the nature of their deformed conformations induced by external forces is important for a wide range of biological processes including transcriptional regulation, supercoil and catenane removal, and site-specific recombination. We present, at atomic resolution, a simulation of the dynamics involved in the transitions from B-DNA and A-RNA to Pauling (P) forms and to denatured states driven by application of external torque and tension. We then calculate the free energy profile along a B- to P-transition coordinate and from it, compute a reversible pathway, i.e., an isotherm of tension and torque pairs required to maintain P-DNA in equilibrium. The reversible isotherm maps correctly onto a phase diagram derived from single molecule experiments, and yields values of elongation, twist, and twist-stretch coupling in agreement with measured values. We also show that configurational entropy compensates significantly for the large electrostatic energy increase due to closer-packed P backbones. A similar set of simulations applied to RNA are used to predict a novel structure, P-RNA, with its associated free energy, equilibrium tension, torque and structural parameters, and to assign the location, on the phase-diagram, of a putative force-torque-dependent RNA "triple point."

Substituent effects that control conjugated oligomer conformation through non-covalent interactions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sharber, Seth A.; Baral, Rom Nath; Frausto, Fanny

Although understanding the conformations and arrangements of conjugated materials as solids is key to their prospective applications, predictive power over these structural factors remains elusive. In this work, substituent effects tune non-covalent interactions between side-chain fluorinated benzyl esters and main-chain terminal arenes, in turn controlling the conformations and interchromophore aggregation of three-ring phenylene-ethynylenes (PEs). Cofacial fluoroarene–arene (ArF–ArH) interactions cause twisting in the PE backbone, interrupting intramolecular conjugation as well as blocking chromophore aggregation, both of which prevent the typically observed bathochromic shift observed upon transitioning PEs from solution to solid. This work highlights two structural factors that determine whether themore » ArF–ArH interactions, and the resulting twisted, unaggregated chromophores, occur in these solids: (i) the electron-releasing characteristic of substituents on ArH, with more electron-releasing character favoring ArF–ArH interactions, and (ii) the fluorination pattern of the ArF ring, with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl favoring ArF–ArH interactions over 2,4,6-trifluorophenyl. Furthermore, these trends indicate that considerations of electrostatic complementarity, whether through a polar-π or substituent–substituent mechanism, can serve as an effective design principle in controlling the interaction strengths, and therefore the optoelectronic properties, of these molecules as solids.« less

Substituent effects that control conjugated oligomer conformation through non-covalent interactions

DOE PAGES

Sharber, Seth A.; Baral, Rom Nath; Frausto, Fanny; ...

2017-03-31

Although understanding the conformations and arrangements of conjugated materials as solids is key to their prospective applications, predictive power over these structural factors remains elusive. In this work, substituent effects tune non-covalent interactions between side-chain fluorinated benzyl esters and main-chain terminal arenes, in turn controlling the conformations and interchromophore aggregation of three-ring phenylene-ethynylenes (PEs). Cofacial fluoroarene–arene (ArF–ArH) interactions cause twisting in the PE backbone, interrupting intramolecular conjugation as well as blocking chromophore aggregation, both of which prevent the typically observed bathochromic shift observed upon transitioning PEs from solution to solid. This work highlights two structural factors that determine whether themore » ArF–ArH interactions, and the resulting twisted, unaggregated chromophores, occur in these solids: (i) the electron-releasing characteristic of substituents on ArH, with more electron-releasing character favoring ArF–ArH interactions, and (ii) the fluorination pattern of the ArF ring, with 2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorophenyl favoring ArF–ArH interactions over 2,4,6-trifluorophenyl. Furthermore, these trends indicate that considerations of electrostatic complementarity, whether through a polar-π or substituent–substituent mechanism, can serve as an effective design principle in controlling the interaction strengths, and therefore the optoelectronic properties, of these molecules as solids.« less

Effect of Trapped Ions on Shielding and Floating Potential of a Dust Grain in a Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampe, Martin; Ganguli, Gurudas; Joyce, Glenn; Gavrishchaka, Valeriy

2001-10-01

The problem of electrostatic shielding around a small spherical collector immersed in plasma, and the related problem of electron and ion flow to the collector, date to the origins of plasma physics. Beginning with Mott-Smith and Langmuir (1926), calculations have typically neglected collisions, on the grounds that the mean free path is long compared to shielding length scales, i.e. the Debye length. However, investigators beginning with Bernstein and Rabinowitz (1959) have known that negative-energy trapped ions, created by occasional collisions, might be important. We present an analytic calculation of the density of trapped and untrapped ions, self-consistent with the potential. Under typical conditions for dust grains immersed in a discharge plasma, trapped ions dominate the shielding cloud in steady state, even in the limit of very long mean free path. As a result the shielded potential is different from the results of orbital motion limited theory. Collisions also greatly increase the ion current to the collector, thereby decreasing the floating potential and the grain charge by a factor as large as two to three.

Generation of forerunner electron beam during interaction of ion beam pulse with plasma

DOE PAGES

Hara, Kentaro; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.

2018-01-01

The long-time evolution of the two-stream instability of a cold tenuous ion beam pulse propagating through the background plasma with density much higher than the ion beam density is investigated using a large-scale one-dimensional electrostatic kinetic simulation. The three stages of the instability are investigated in detail. After the initial linear growth and saturation by the electron trapping, a portion of the initially trapped electrons becomes detrapped and moves ahead of the ion beam pulse forming a forerunner electron beam, which causes a secondary two-stream instability that preheats the upstream plasma electrons. Consequently, the self-consistent nonlinear-driven turbulent state is setmore » up at the head of the ion beam pulse with the saturated plasma wave sustained by the influx of the cold electrons from upstream of the beam that lasts until the final stage when the beam ions become trapped by the plasma wave. Finally, the beam ion trapping leads to the nonlinear heating of the beam ions that eventually extinguishes the instability.« less

Geomagnetic Field Distortion by a Solar Stream as a Mechanism for the Production of Polar Aurora and Electrojets

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kern, J. W.

1961-01-01

This paper describes a mechanism for charge separation in the geomagnetically trapped radiation which may account for some observed phenomena associated with the polar aurora and the electrojet current systems. The following development is proposed: given that there exist eastward or westward longitudinal gradients in the geomagnetic field resulting from distortion of the geomagnetic field by solar streams, if the trapped radiation is adiabatic in character, radial drift separation of positive and negative charged particles must occur. It follows that, for bounded or irregular distributions of plasma number density in such an adiabatic - drift region, electric fields will arise. The origin of such electric fields will not arrest the drift separation of the charged particles, but will contribute to exponential growth of irregularities in the trapped plasma density. An adiabatic acceleration mechanism is described, which is based on incorporating the electrostatic energy of the particle in the energy function for the particle. Direct consequences of polarization of the geomagnetically trapped radiation will be the polar electrojet current systems and the polar aurora.

Generation of forerunner electron beam during interaction of ion beam pulse with plasma

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hara, Kentaro; Kaganovich, Igor D.; Startsev, Edward A.

The long-time evolution of the two-stream instability of a cold tenuous ion beam pulse propagating through the background plasma with density much higher than the ion beam density is investigated using a large-scale one-dimensional electrostatic kinetic simulation. The three stages of the instability are investigated in detail. After the initial linear growth and saturation by the electron trapping, a portion of the initially trapped electrons becomes detrapped and moves ahead of the ion beam pulse forming a forerunner electron beam, which causes a secondary two-stream instability that preheats the upstream plasma electrons. Consequently, the self-consistent nonlinear-driven turbulent state is setmore » up at the head of the ion beam pulse with the saturated plasma wave sustained by the influx of the cold electrons from upstream of the beam that lasts until the final stage when the beam ions become trapped by the plasma wave. Finally, the beam ion trapping leads to the nonlinear heating of the beam ions that eventually extinguishes the instability.« less

Charge retention behavior of preferentially oriented and textured Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 thin films by electrostatic force microscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, T. Y.; Lee, J. H.; Oh, Y. J.; Choi, M. R.; Jo, W.

2007-02-01

The authors report charge retention in preferentially (117) oriented and textured c-axis oriented ferroelectric Bi3.25La0.75Ti3O12 thin films by electrostatic force microscopy. Surface charges of the films were observed as a function of time in a selected area which consists of a single-poled region and a reverse-poled region. The highly (117) oriented film shows the extended exponential decay with characteristic scaling exponents, n =1.5-1.6. The preferentially c-axis oriented film shows a remarkable retained behavior regardless of the poling. Decay and retention mechanisms of the regions are explained by space-charge redistribution and trapping of defects in the films.

Intrinsic trapping of stochastic sheared magnetic field lines

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Negrea, M.; Petrisor, I.; Balescu, R.

2004-10-01

The decorrelation trajectory method is applied to the diffusion of magnetic field lines in a perturbed sheared slab magnetic configuration. Some interesting decorrelation trajectories for several values of the magnetic Kubo number and of the shear parameter are exhibited. The asymmetry of the decorrelation trajectories appears in comparison with those obtained in the purely electrostatic case studied in earlier work. The running and asymptotic diffusion tensor components are calculated and displayed.

Anomalous pinch of turbulent plasmas driven by the magnetic-drift-induced Lorentz force through the Stokes-Einstein relation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wang, Shaojie, E-mail: wangsj@ustc.edu.cn

It is found that the Lorentz force generated by the magnetic drift drives a generic plasma pinch flux of particle, energy and momentum through the Stokes-Einstein relation. The proposed theoretical model applies for both electrons and ions, trapped particles, and passing particles. An anomalous parallel current pinch due to the electrostatic turbulence with long parallel wave-length is predicted.

Using a nanopore for single molecule detection and single cell transfection.

PubMed

Nelson, Edward M; Kurz, Volker; Shim, Jiwook; Timp, Winston; Timp, Gregory

2012-07-07

We assert that it is possible to trap and identify proteins, and even (conceivably) manipulate proteins secreted from a single cell (i.e. the secretome) through transfection via electroporation by exploiting the exquisite control over the electrostatic potential available in a nanopore. These capabilities may be leveraged for single cell analysis and transfection with single molecule resolution, ultimately enabling a careful scrutiny of tissue heterogeneity.

Variable dual-frequency electrostatic wave launcher for plasma applications.

PubMed

Jorns, Benjamin; Sorenson, Robert; Choueiri, Edgar

2011-12-01

A variable tuning system is presented for launching two electrostatic waves concurrently in a magnetized plasma. The purpose of this system is to satisfy the wave launching requirements for plasma applications where maximal power must be coupled into two carefully tuned electrostatic waves while minimizing erosion to the launching antenna. Two parallel LC traps with fixed inductors and variable capacitors are used to provide an impedance match between a two-wave source and a loop antenna placed outside the plasma. Equivalent circuit analysis is then employed to derive an analytical expression for the normalized, average magnetic flux density produced by the antenna in this system as a function of capacitance and frequency. It is found with this metric that the wave launcher can couple to electrostatic modes at two variable frequencies concurrently while attenuating noise from the source signal at undesired frequencies. An example based on an experiment for plasma heating with two electrostatic waves is used to demonstrate a procedure for tailoring the wave launcher to accommodate the frequency range and flux densities of a specific two-wave application. This example is also used to illustrate a method based on averaging over wave frequencies for evaluating the overall efficacy of the system. The wave launcher is shown to be particularly effective for the illustrative example--generating magnetic flux densities in excess of 50% of the ideal case at two variable frequencies concurrently--with a high adaptability to a number of plasma dynamics and heating applications.

Decelerating and Trapping Large Polar Molecules.

PubMed

Patterson, David

2016-11-18

Manipulating the motion of large polyatomic molecules, such as benzonitrile (C 6 H 5 CN), presents significant difficulties compared to the manipulation of diatomic molecules. Although recent impressive results have demonstrated manipulation, trapping, and cooling of molecules as large as CH 3 F, no general technique for trapping such molecules has been demonstrated, and cold neutral molecules larger than 5 atoms have not been trapped (M. Zeppenfeld, B. G. U. Englert, R. Glöckner, A. Prehn, M. Mielenz, C. Sommer, L. D. van Buuren, M. Motsch, G. Rempe, Nature 2012, 491, 570-573). In particular, extending Stark deceleration and electrostatic trapping to such species remains challenging. Here, we propose to combine a novel "asymmetric doublet state" Stark decelerator with recently demonstrated slow, cold, buffer-gas-cooled beams of closed-shell volatile molecules to realize a general system for decelerating and trapping samples of a broad range of volatile neutral polar prolate asymmetric top molecules. The technique is applicable to most stable volatile molecules in the 100-500 AMU range, and would be capable of producing trapped samples in a single rotational state and at a motional temperature of hundreds of mK. Such samples would immediately allow for spectroscopy of unprecedented resolution, and extensions would allow for further cooling and direct observation of slow intramolecular processes such as vibrational relaxation and Hertz-level tunneling dynamics. © 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A model for chorus associated electrostatic bursts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Grabbe, C. L.

1984-01-01

The linear theory of the generation of electrostatic bursts of noise by electrons trapped in chorus wave packets is developed for a finite temperature electron beam and a Maxwellian elecron and ion background. The growth rates determined qualitatively in good agreement with those obtained by previous authors from a more idealized model. Two connected instability mechanisms seem to be occurring: a beam plasma (electron-ion two-stream) instability commonly associated with intensification of the chorus power levels, and a transitional or borderline resistive medium instability commonly associated with chorus hooks. The physical reasons for the two mechanisms is discussed. In the second case electron beams are difficult to identify in the particle data. An expression is obtained for the maximum growth rate in terms of the ratios of the beam and electron thermal velocities to the beam velocity, and of the beam density to plasma density. It is anticipated that this may allow the observed peak in the electrostatic noise spectrum to be used as a diagnostic for the beam characteristics. Previously announced in STAR as N84-12832

Observation des cycles enzymatiques des ADN topoisomérases par micromanipulation de molécules individuelles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Strick, Terence R.; Charvin, Gilles; Dekker, Nynke H.; Allemand, Jean-François; Bensimon, David; Croquette, Vincent

In this article, we describe single-molecule assays using magnetic traps and we applied these assays to topoisomerase enzymes which unwind and disentangle DNA molecules. First, the elasticity of single DNA molecule is characterized using the magnetic trap. We show that a twisting constraint may be easily applied and that its effect upon DNA may be measured accurately. Then we describe how the topoisomerase activity may be observed at the single-molecule level giving direct access to the important biological parameters of the enzyme such as velocity and processivity. Furthermore, individual cycles of unwinding can be observed in real time. This permits an accurate characterization of the enzyme's biochemical cycle. The data treatment required to identify and analyze individual topoisomerization cycles will be presented in detail. This analysis is applicable to a wide variety of molecular motors. To cite this article: T.R. Strick et al., C. R. Physique 3 (2002) 595-618.

One-dimensional numerical study of charged particle trajectories in turbulent electrostatic wave fields

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Graham, K. N.; Fejer, J. A.

1976-01-01

The paper describes a numerical simulation of electron trajectories in weak random electric fields under conditions that are approximately true for Langmuir waves whose wavelength is much longer than the Debye length. Two types of trajectory calculations were made: (1) the initial particle velocity was made equal to the mean phase velocity of the waves, or (2) it was equal to 0.7419 times the mean velocity of the waves, so that the initial velocity differed substantially from all phase velocities of the wave spectrum. When the autocorrelation time is much greater than the trapping time, the particle motion can change virtually instantaneously from one of three states - high-velocity, low-velocity, or trapped state - to another. The probability of instantaneous transition from a high- or low-velocity state becomes small when the difference between the particle velocity and the mean phase velocity of the waves becomes high in comparison to the trapping velocity. Diffusive motion becomes negligible under these conditions also.

ITG-TEM turbulence simulation with bounce-averaged kinetic electrons in tokamak geometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Jae-Min; Qi, Lei; Yi, S.; Hahm, T. S.

2017-06-01

We develop a novel numerical scheme to simulate electrostatic turbulence with kinetic electron responses in magnetically confined toroidal plasmas. Focusing on ion gyro-radius scale turbulences with slower frequencies than the time scales for electron parallel motions, we employ and adapt the bounce-averaged kinetic equation to model trapped electrons for nonlinear turbulence simulation with Coulomb collisions. Ions are modeled by employing the gyrokinetic equation. The newly developed scheme is implemented on a global δf particle in cell code gKPSP. By performing linear and nonlinear simulations, it is demonstrated that the new scheme can reproduce key physical properties of Ion Temperature Gradient (ITG) and Trapped Electron Mode (TEM) instabilities, and resulting turbulent transport. The overall computational cost of kinetic electrons using this novel scheme is limited to 200%-300% of the cost for simulations with adiabatic electrons. Therefore the new scheme allows us to perform kinetic simulations with trapped electrons very efficiently in magnetized plasmas.

Long charged macromolecule in an entropic trap with rough surfaces.

PubMed

Mamasakhlisov, Yevgeni Sh; Hayryan, Shura; Hu, Chin-Kun

2012-11-01

The kinetics of the flux of a charged macromolecular solution through an environment of changing geometry with wide and constricted regions is investigated analytically. A model device consisting of alternating deep and shallow slits known as an "entropic trap" is used to represent the environment. The flux is supported by the external electrostatic field. The "wormlike chain" model is used for the macromolecule (dsDNA in the present study). The chain entropy in both the deep and the shallow slits, the work by the electric field, and the energy of the elastic bending of the chain are taken into account accurately. Based on the calculated free energy, the kinetics and the scaling behavior of the chain escaping from the entropic trap are studied. We find that the escape process occurs in two kinetic stages with different time scales and discuss the possible influence of the surface roughness. The scope of the accuracy of the proposed model is discussed.

Bistability in Doped Organic Thin Film Transistors (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

small molecules (e.g. pentacene ). As such, they do not necessarily compete with these more typical organic transistors, but rather have pertinence...involves dipping a substrate between two dilute polyelectrolyte solutions of opposite charge to build up a thin film via the electrostatic interactions...recovery is due to trapped O2(g) remaining in the film, which causes the reverse of reaction (1) to occur and the concomitant increase in the level of

Stability mechanical considerations, and AC loss in HTSC monoliths, coils, and wires

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sumption, M. D.; Collings, E. W.

1995-01-01

For monolithic high-T(sub c) superconductors (HTSC's) calculations are presented of: (1) the initial flux jump field, H(sub fj), in melt-processed YBCO based on a field and temperature dependent J(sub c), and (2) the radial and circumferential stresses in solid and hollow cylinders containing trapped magnetic flux. For model multi filamentary (MF) HTSC/Ag strands calculations are presented of: (1) the limiting filament diameters for adiabatic and dynamic stability, and (2) the hysteretic and eddy current components of AC loss. Again for MF HTSC/Ag composite strands the need for filamentary subdivision and twisting is discussed.

Complex Light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Secor, Jeff; Alfano, Robert; Ashrafi, Solyman

2017-01-01

The emerging field of complex light-the study and application of custom light beams with tailored intensity, polarization or phase-is a focal point for fundamental breakthroughs in optical science. As this review will show, those advances in fundamental understanding, coupled with the latest developments in complex light generation, are translating into a range of diverse and cross-disciplinary applications that span microscopy, high-data-rate communications, optical trapping and quantum optics. We can expect more twists along the way, too, as researchers seek to manipulate and control the propagation speed of complex light beams, while others push the more exotic possibilities afforded by complex light in quantum-entanglement experiments.

Inertial electrostatic confinement and nuclear fusion in the interelectrode plasma of a nanosecond vacuum discharge. I: Experiment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kurilenkov, Yu. K.; Skowronek, M.

2010-12-15

Properties of an aerosol substance with a high power density in the interelectrode space of a nano- second vacuum discharge are studied. The possibilities of emission and/or trapping of fast ions and hard X-rays by ensembles of clusters and microparticles are analyzed. The possibility of simultaneous partial trapping (diffusion) of X-rays and complete trapping of fast ions by a cluster ensemble is demonstrated experimentally. Due to such trapping, the aerosol ensemble transforms into a 'dusty' microreactor that can be used to investigate a certain class of nuclear processes, including collisional DD microfusion. Operating regimes of such a microreactor and theirmore » reproducibility were studied. On the whole, the generation efficiency of hard X-rays and neutrons in the proposed vacuum discharge with a hollow cathode can be higher by two orders of magnitude than that in a system 'high-power laser pulse-cluster cloud.' Multiply repeated nuclear fusion accompanied by pulsating DD neutron emission was reproducibly detected in experiment. Ion acceleration mechanisms in the interelectrode space and the fundamental role of the virtual cathode in observed nuclear fusion processes are discussed.« less

Effect of Trapped Ions on Shielding of a Charged Spherical Object in a Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lampe, Martin; Ganguli, Gurudas; Joyce, Glenn; Gavrishchaka, Valeriy

2001-04-01

The problem of electrostatic shielding around a small spherical collector immersed in plasma, and the related problem of electron and ion flow to the collector, date to the origins of plasma physics. Beginning with Langmuir[1], all calculations have neglected collisions, on the grounds that the mean free path is long compared to shielding length scales, i.e. the Debye length. However, investigators beginning with Bernstein and Rabinowitz[2] have known that negative-energy trapped ions, created by occasional collisions, might be important. We present an analytic calculation of the density of trapped and untrapped ions, self-consistent with a calculation of the potential. We show that under typical conditions for dust grains immersed in a discharge plasma, trapped ions dominate the shielding cloud in steady state, even in the limit of very long mean free path. As a result the shielded potential is quite different from the Debye form or the results of orbital motion limited theory. Collisions also modify the ion current to the grain, but to a lesser extent. [1]H. Mott-Smith and I. Langmuir, Phys. Rev. 28, 27 (1926). [2]I. Bernstein and I. Rabinowitz, Phys. Fluids 2,112(1959).

Enabling Exploration of Deep Space: High Density Storage of Antimatter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, Gerald A.; Kramer, Kevin J.

1999-01-01

Portable electromagnetic antiproton traps are now in a state of realization. This allows facilities like NASA Marshall Space Flight Center to conduct antimatter research remote to production sites. MSFC is currently developing a trap to store 10(exp 12) antiprotons for a twenty-day half-life period to be used in future experiments including antimatter plasma guns, antimatter-initiated microfusion, and the synthesis of antihydrogen for space propulsion applications. In 1998, issues including design, safety and transportation were considered for the MSFC High Performance Antimatter Trap (HiPAT). Radial diffusion and annihilation losses of antiprotons prompted the use of a 4 Tesla superconducting magnet and a 20 KV electrostatic potential at 10(exp -12) Torr pressure. Cryogenic fluids used to maintain a trap temperature of 4K were sized accordingly to provide twenty days of stand-alone storage time (half-life). Procurement of the superconducting magnet with associated cryostat has been completed. The inner, ultra-high vacuum system with electrode structures has been fabricated, tested and delivered to MSFC along with the magnet and cryostat. Assembly of these systems is currently in progress. Testing under high vacuum conditions, using electrons and hydrogen ions will follow in the months ahead.

Human Tau Isoforms Assemble into Ribbon-like Fibrils That Display Polymorphic Structure and Stability*

PubMed Central

Wegmann, Susanne; Jung, Yu Jin; Chinnathambi, Subashchandrabose; Mandelkow, Eva-Maria; Mandelkow, Eckhard; Muller, Daniel J.

2010-01-01

Fibrous aggregates of Tau protein are characteristic features of Alzheimer disease. We applied high resolution atomic force and EM microscopy to study fibrils assembled from different human Tau isoforms and domains. All fibrils reveal structural polymorphism; the “thin twisted” and “thin smooth” fibrils resemble flat ribbons (cross-section ∼10 × 15 nm) with diverse twist periodicities. “Thick fibrils” show periodicities of ∼65–70 nm and thicknesses of ∼9–18 nm such as routinely reported for “paired helical filaments” but structurally resemble heavily twisted ribbons. Therefore, thin and thick fibrils assembled from different human Tau isoforms challenge current structural models of paired helical filaments. Furthermore, all Tau fibrils reveal axial subperiodicities of ∼17–19 nm and, upon exposure to mechanical stress or hydrophobic surfaces, disassemble into uniform fragments that remain connected by thin thread-like structures (∼2 nm). This hydrophobically induced disassembly is inhibited at enhanced electrolyte concentrations, indicating that the fragments resemble structural building blocks and the fibril integrity depends largely on hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. Because full-length Tau and repeat domain constructs assemble into fibrils of similar thickness, the “fuzzy coat” of Tau protein termini surrounding the fibril axis is nearly invisible for atomic force microscopy and EM, presumably because of its high flexibility. PMID:20566652

Magnetic field extraction of trap-based electron beams using a high-permeability grid

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hurst, N. C.; Danielson, J. R.; Surko, C. M., E-mail: csurko@physics.ucsd.edu

2015-07-15

A method to form high quality electrostatically guided lepton beams is explored. Test electron beams are extracted from tailored plasmas confined in a Penning-Malmberg trap. The particles are then extracted from the confining axial magnetic field by passing them through a high magnetic permeability grid with radial tines (a so-called “magnetic spider”). An Einzel lens is used to focus and analyze the beam properties. Numerical simulations are used to model non-adiabatic effects due to the spider, and the predictions are compared with the experimental results. Improvements in beam quality are discussed relative to the use of a hole in amore » high permeability shield (i.e., in lieu of the spider), and areas for further improvement are described.« less

Compartmentalization of amino acids in surfactant aggregates - Partitioning between water and aqueous micellar sodium dodecanoate and between hexane and dodecylammonium propionate trapped water in hexane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fendler, J. H.; Nome, F.; Nagyvary, J.

1975-01-01

The partitioning of amino acids (glycine, alanine, leucine, phenylalanine, histidine, aspartic acid, glutamic acid, lysine, isoleucine, threonine, serine, valine, proline, arginine) in aqueous and nonaqueous micellar systems was studied experimentally. Partitioning from neat hexane into dodecylammonium propionate trapped water in hexane was found to be dependent on both electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, which implies that the interior of dodecylammonium propionate aggregates is negatively charged and is capable of hydrogen bonding in addition to providing a hydrophobic environment. Unitary free energies of transfer of amino acid side chains from hexane to water were determined and solubilities of amino acids in neat hexane substantiated the amino acid hydrophobicity scale. The relevance of the experiments to prebiotic chemistry was examined.

Studies of torsional properties of DNA and nucleosomes using angular optical trapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sheinin, Maxim Y.

DNA in vivo is subjected to torsional stress due to the action of molecular motors and other DNA-binding proteins. Several decades of research have uncovered the fascinating diversity of DNA transformations under torsion and the important role they play in the regulation of vital cellular processes such as transcription and replication. Recent studies have also suggested that torsion can influence the structure and stability of nucleosomes---basic building blocks of the eukaryotic genome. However, our understanding of the impact of torsion is far from being complete due to significant experimental challenges. In this work we have used a powerful single-molecule experimental technique, angular optical trapping, to address several long-standing issues in the field of DNA and nucleosome mechanics. First, we utilized the high resolution and direct torque measuring capability of the angular optical trapping to precisely measure DNA twist-stretch coupling. Second, we characterized DNA melting under tension and torsion. We found that torsionally underwound DNA forms a left-handed structure, significantly more flexible compared to the regular B-DNA. Finally, we performed the first comprehensive investigation of the single nucleosome behavior under torque and force. Importantly, we discovered that positive torque causes significant dimer loss, which can have implications for transcription through chromatin.

Review of Plasma Techniques Used to Trap Antihydrogen

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fajans, Joel

2011-10-01

Recently, the ALPHA collaboration at CERN trapped antihydrogen atoms. To date, over three hundred antiatoms have been confined, some for as long as 1000s. This was the first time that antiatoms had ever been trapped. The ultimate goal of the ALPHA collaboration is to test CPT invariance by comparing the spectra of hydrogen and antihydrogen, and to measure the gravitational attraction between matter and antimatter. Such studies might resolve the baryogenesis problem: why is there very little antimatter in the Universe? The ALPHA experiment brought together techniques from many different fields of physics, but the crucial breakthroughs were in plasma physics. The essential problem is this: How does one combine two Malmberg-Penning trapped plasmas, one made from antiprotons, and the other positrons, which have opposite electrostatic potentials of nearly one volt, in such a manner that the antiprotons traverse the positrons with kinetic energies of less than 40 μeV, this latter being the depth of the superimposed neutral antihydrogen trap? The plasma techniques ALPHA developed to accomplish this include: Minimizing the effects of the neutral trap multipole fields on the positron and antiproton plasma confinement. Compressing antiprotons down to less than 0.5mm. Using autoresonance to inject antiprotons into the positrons with very little excess energy. Evaporative cooling of the electrons and antiprotons to record low temperatures. Development of charge, radial profile, temperature, and antiproton loss location diagnostics. Careful and lengthy manipulations to finesse the plasmas into the best states for optimal antihydrogen production and trapping. The plasma techniques necessary to trap antihydrogen will be reviewed in this talk. This work was supported by DOE and NSF, and is reported on behalf of the ALPHA collaboration.

Tripartite ATP-independent Periplasmic (TRAP) Transporters Use an Arginine-mediated Selectivity Filter for High Affinity Substrate Binding*

PubMed Central

Fischer, Marcus; Hopkins, Adam P.; Severi, Emmanuele; Hawkhead, Judith; Bawdon, Daniel; Watts, Andrew G.; Hubbard, Roderick E.; Thomas, Gavin H.

2015-01-01

Tripartite ATP-independent periplasmic (TRAP) transporters are secondary transporters that have evolved an obligate dependence on a substrate-binding protein (SBP) to confer unidirectional transport. Different members of the DctP family of TRAP SBPs have binding sites that recognize a diverse range of organic acid ligands but appear to only share a common electrostatic interaction between a conserved arginine and a carboxylate group in the ligand. We investigated the significance of this interaction using the sialic acid-specific SBP, SiaP, from the Haemophilus influenzae virulence-related SiaPQM TRAP transporter. Using in vitro, in vivo, and structural methods applied to SiaP, we demonstrate that the coordination of the acidic ligand moiety of sialic acid by the conserved arginine (Arg-147) is essential for the function of the transporter as a high affinity scavenging system. However, at high substrate concentrations, the transporter can function in the absence of Arg-147 suggesting that this bi-molecular interaction is not involved in further stages of the transport cycle. As well as being required for high affinity binding, we also demonstrate that the Arg-147 is a strong selectivity filter for carboxylate-containing substrates in TRAP transporters by engineering the SBP to recognize a non-carboxylate-containing substrate, sialylamide, through water-mediated interactions. Together, these data provide biochemical and structural support that TRAP transporters function predominantly as high affinity transporters for carboxylate-containing substrates. PMID:26342690

Low-Frequency Microinstabilities in Rotating Tokamak Plasmas.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artun, Mehmet

1994-01-01

Low-frequency drift-type microinstabilities have often been suggested as the leading candidates to account for the anomalously large transport; observed in tokamak plasmas. The effects of sheared equilibrium flows on this important class of instabilities is systematically investigated in the present thesis. In particular, the analysis is carried out in two parts. In order to gain some insight into the key elements of this problem, the first part deals with the stability properties of the kinetic ion temperature gradient mode under the influence of parallel and perpendicular shear flows in a simplified sheared magnetic slab geometry. The eigenmode analysis is performed using a shooting code for long-wavelength modes (k_|rho _{i} << 1), and an integral eigenmode code for short-wavelength modes (k_ |rho_{i} ~ 1). Numerical results are cross-checked with analytical estimates in the fluid regime. While the differential analysis is mostly limited to ground state modes of the system--due to the requirement that the average perpendicular wavenumber be small--the integral eigenmode code has been used to calculate higher radial eigenmodes with confidence. New features observed through the introduction of shear flows are discussed. In the second part we present the shear flow generalization of the nonlinear electromagnetic gyrokinetic equation for realistic toroidal geometry. In accordance with the most natural choice for such studies, the coordinate frame is chosen to be shifted in velocity space and unchanged in configuration space. The natural equilibrium constraints of the toroidal problem limits the choice of the flow profile to that in which the angular velocity is a function of the flux surface. The general form of the gyrokinetic equation obtained is then used to derive the two-dimensional linear electrostatic eigenmode equation in circular toroidal geometry including trapped particle effects. In addition to magnetic trapping, electrostatic and centrifugal trapping are also found to play an important role here. A modified version of a finite element code is utilized to analyze shear flow effects on the trapped ion mode (TIM) in the long wavelength limit. Numerical results for fully coupled as well as single poloidal harmonic cases are presented. Implications of the results obtained in the present investigation are discussed and suggestions are given for future studies.

Ion Dynamic Capture Experiments With The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martin, James; Lewis, Raymond; Chakrabarti, Suman; Sims, William H.; Pearson, J. Boise; Fant, Wallace E.

2002-01-01

To take the first step towards using the energy produced from the matter-antimatter annihilation for propulsion applications, the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Propulsion Research Center (PRC) has initiated a research activity examining the storage of low energy antiprotons. The High Performance Antiproton Trap (HiPAT) is an electromagnetic system (Penning-Malmberg design) consisting of a 4 Tesla superconductor, a high voltage electrode confinement system, and an ultra high vacuum test section. It has been designed with an ultimate goal of maintaining 10(exp 12) charged particles with a half-life of 18 days. Currently, this system is being evaluated experimentally using normal matter ions that are cheap to produce, relatively easy to handle, and provide a good indication of overall trap behavior (with the exception of assessing annihilation losses). The ions are produced via a positive hydrogen ion source and transported to HiPAT in a beam line equipped with electrostatic optics. The optics serve to both focus and gate the incoming ions, providing microsecond-timed beam pulses that are dynamically captured by cycling the HiPAT forward containment field like a "trap door". Initial dynamic capture experiments have been successfully performed with beam energy and currents set to 1.9 kV and 23 micro-amps, respectively. At these settings up to 2x10(exp 9) ions have been trapped during a single dynamic cycle.

Selective passive adsorption of nitrate with surfactant treated porous electrode and electrostatic regeneration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oyarzun, Diego I.; Hemmatifar, Ali; Palko, James W.; Stadermann, Michael; Santiago, Juan G.; Stanford microfluidics lab Team; Lawrence Livermore National Lab Team

2017-11-01

Nitrate is an important pollutant in drinking water worldwide, and a number of methods exist for the removal of nitrate from water including ion exchange and reverse osmosis. However, these approaches suffer from a variety of disadvantages including the need for a regenerating brine supply and disposal of used brine for ion exchange and low water recovery ratio for reverse osmosis. We are researching and developing a form of capacitive deionization (CDI) for energy efficient desalination and selective removal of ionic toxins from water. In CDI an electrode is used to electrostatically trap ions in a pair of porous electrodes. Here, we demonstrate the use of high surface area activated carbon electrodes functionalized with ion exchange moieties for adsorption of nitrate from aqueous solution. Unlike a traditional ion exchanger, the functionalized surfaces can be repeatedly regenerated by the application of an electrostatic potential which displaces the bound NO3- while leaving an excess of electronic charge on the electrode. Trimethylammonium has an intrinsic selectivity, we are using this moiety to selectively remove nitrate over chloride. We performed adsorption/desorption cycles under several desorption voltages and ratios of concentrations.

On the nature of kinetic electrostatic electron nonlinear (KEEN) waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dodin, I. Y.; Fisch, N. J.

2014-03-15

An analytical theory is proposed for the kinetic electrostatic electron nonlinear (KEEN) waves originally found in simulations by Afeyan et al. [arXiv:1210.8105]. We suggest that KEEN waves represent saturated states of the negative mass instability (NMI) reported recently by Dodin et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 215006 (2013)]. Due to the NMI, trapped electrons form macroparticles that produce field oscillations at harmonics of the bounce frequency. At large enough amplitudes, these harmonics can phase-lock to the main wave and form stable nonlinear dissipationless structures that are nonstationary but otherwise similar to Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal modes. The theory explains why the formation ofmore » KEEN modes is sensitive to the excitation scenario and yields estimates that agree with the numerical results of Afeyan et al. A new type of KEEN wave may be possible at even larger amplitudes of the driving field than those used in simulations so far.« less

Comparison between the effects of positive noncatastrophic HMB ESD stress in n-channel and p-channel power MOSFET's

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zupac, Dragan; Kosier, Steven L.; Schrimpf, Ronald D.; Galloway, Kenneth F.; Baum, Keith W.

1991-10-01

The effect of noncatastrophic positive human body model (HBM) electrostatic discharge (ESD) stress on n-channel power MOSFETs is radically different from that on p-channel MOSFETs. In n-channel transistors, the stress causes negative shifts of the current-voltage characteristics indicative of positive charge trapping in the gate oxide. In p-channel transistors, the stress increases the drain-to-source leakage current, probably due to localized avalanche electron injection from the p-doped drain.

Electrostatic trapping as a key to the dynamics of plasmas, fluids and other collective systems [review article

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Luque, A.; Schamel, H.

2005-08-01

This review article focusses on the phenomenon of collective particle trapping in dilute plasmas and related fluid-like systems. A coherent electrostatic wave or fluctuation, being excited by some mechanism in a plasma, is able to trap collectively charged particles in its potential trough(s) with the ultimate feedback of stabilizing and manipulating the original cause of growth. This phenomenon is well-known from particle simulations of a current-driven two-stream instability and its subsequent quenching by particle trapping. But also the nonlinear Landau damping process resulting in a BGK-like (Bernstein, Green, Kruskal) trapped particle mode sets an example. However, as shown in this report, already a slightly driven plasma has many possibilities of generating trapped particle modes-the mentioned cases representing only two examples-through which it generally becomes nonlinearly unstable. A direct consequence of this feedback of particle trapping is that the macroscopic (dielectric) properties of such a structured plasma may have changed fundamentally such that the relationship to what is known from linear wave theory is lost. We, hence, have to deal with a nonlinear kinetic description which, in case of a collisionless, electrostatic plasma, is the Vlasov-Poisson description. The present report is devoted to a large extent to a 1D Vlasov-Poisson system but also consequences for other physical systems will be derived and mentioned. These and other findings will be developed in some detail culminating in a new paradigm for plasma stability which says: a current-carrying plasma is nonlinearly unstable in a much wider region of parameter space than predicted by linear wave theory with the consequence that the associated turbulence and anomalous transport are triggered much easier than suggested by standard linear wave analysis. Responsible for this new scenario are localized trapped particle modes-more specifically electron and ion holes of zero or negative energy-which are found to be excited well below the threshold of linear instability. In other words, a current-driven plasma shows a much larger sensibility to fluctuations than thought before and described in textbooks. The analysis presented reveals that a plasma, becoming structured by the generation of such modes, resides in a lower free energy state than the one without structures, being therefore in a preferred state that acts as an attractor in the system. Holes having this property will be briefly called negative energy holes (NEHs). For example, zero or negative energy ion holes are found to exist for any drift velocity between electrons and ions and for any temperature ratio. Two independent codes, a Vlasov-code and a PIC-(particle in cell)code, are used to approve this new scenario of instability. Moreover, by adding a Fokker-Planck collision term to the Vlasov-code, holes are shown to resist weak collisions, turn out to be robust and not only found in purely collisionless plasmas and cause an increase of resistivity. A natural outcome of this scenario, therefore, is that whenever free (kinetic) energy is available, holes (and double layers) are necessarily excited, penetrating intermittently the plasma. Satellite measurements, yielding holes and double layers as the most omnipresent structures found in space, provide a typical example. Having investigated classical plasmas this way, we show that many of these innovations can be transferred to other systems, as well. First, we perform a quantum-correction to electron holes by using the Wigner-Moyal description of quantum mechanics in phase-space. As a result we get a weakening of the hole for which tunneling of particles across the separatrix of the unperturbed, deterministic classical hole equilibrium is responsible. The formalism is then used to find a link between hole structures in classical plasmas and envelope solitons in nonlinear optical media. This gives rise to a new approximation method for wave envelope solutions of the nonlinear Schrödinger equation, which utilizes quasi-particle trapping and may be valuable in cases of nonlinearties for which a direct solution is missing. Another important application are particle beams in circular accelerators and storage rings. We prove analytically the existence of localized and periodic structures in coasting beams, as have been found experimentally for instance at Fermilab and at CERN, which are quite analogous to holes in classical plasmas. We also present an improved criterion for focusing. For bunched beams we describe and apply an iterative numerical procedure to find solitary hump and hole structures superimposed on the particle bunch, the former of which having been found recently in the Relativistic Hadron-Ion Collider (RHIC) at Brookhaven. Finally, we stress the mathematical equivalence between the 1D Vlasov-Poisson system and the equations describing a 2D incompressible, ideal fluid or the perpendicular dynamics of a strongly magnetized plasma in fluid or MHD approximation and other more complex fluids, such as rotating fluids, inhomogeneous plasmas, etc. This implies that tiny fluid elements trapped in coherent patches of shear flow motion, such as in secondary (tertiary) states that govern the transition to turbulence in ordinary hydrodynamics, do play a similar role than trapped particles in electrostatic waves, violating any linear wave ansatz. Or, said in different words, whenever a continues spectrum arises in a linearized fluid-like system associated with singular perturbations and a resonance between (quasi-)particles and the field, one has to consider this as a hint that the neglect of nonlinearity is not justified and that nonlinear wave solutions have to be taken into account in describing the evolution of the system correctly. This statement holds true already at an infinitesimal energy level of the coherent perturbations. Nonlinearity, and with it trapping structures, turns out to be a necessary requisite in all stages of the dynamical evolution not only at finite wave amplitudes, as commonly believed. In conclusion, in this report we emphasize the importance of collective trapping in (nearly) ideal plasmas and related systems bringing in at any level of wave activity a fundamental nonlinearity which is missed in standard linear wave theories as described in textbooks. The associated trapped particle modes challenge standard flow theories playing a key role in the interpretation of turbulence and anomalous transport.

Theory of type 3b solar radio bursts. [plasma interaction and electron beams

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smith, R. A.; Delanoee, J.

1975-01-01

During the initial space-time evolution of an electron beam injected into the corona, the strong beam-plasma interaction occurs at the head of the beam, leading to the amplification of a quasi-monochromatic large-amplitude plasma wave that stabilizes by trapping the beam particles. Oscillation of the trapped particles in the wave troughs amplifies sideband electrostatic waves. The sidebands and the main wave subsequently decay to observable transverse electromagnetic waves through the parametric decay instability. This process gives rise to the elementary striation bursts. Owing to velocity dispersion in the beam and the density gradient of the corona, the entire process may repeat at a finite number of discrete plasma levels, producing chains of elementary bursts. All the properties of the type IIIb bursts are accounted for in the context of the theory.

Compact modeling of total ionizing dose and aging effects in MOS technologies

DOE PAGES

Esqueda, Ivan S.; Barnaby, Hugh J.; King, Michael Patrick

2015-06-18

This paper presents a physics-based compact modeling approach that incorporates the impact of total ionizing dose (TID) and stress-induced defects into simulations of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices and integrated circuits (ICs). This approach utilizes calculations of surface potential (ψs) to capture the charge contribution from oxide trapped charge and interface traps and to describe their impact on MOS electrostatics and device operating characteristics as a function of ionizing radiation exposure and aging effects. The modeling approach is demonstrated for bulk and silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOS device. The formulation is verified using TCAD simulations and through the comparison of model calculations and experimentalmore » I-V characteristics from irradiated devices. The presented approach is suitable for modeling TID and aging effects in advanced MOS devices and ICs.« less

Superthermal Electron Magnetosphere-Ionosphere Coupling in the Diffuse Aurora in the Presence of ECH Waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khazanov, G. V.; Tripathi, A. K.; Singhal, R. P.; Himwich, Elizabeth; Glocer, A.; Sibeck, D. G.

2015-01-01

There are two main theories for the origin of the diffuse auroral electron precipitation: first, pitch angle scattering by electrostatic electron cyclotron harmonic (ECH) waves, and second, by whistler mode waves. Precipitating electrons initially injected from the plasma sheet to the loss cone via wave-particle interaction processes degrade in the atmosphere toward lower energies and produce secondary electrons via impact ionization of the neutral atmosphere. These secondary electrons can escape back to the magnetosphere, become trapped on closed magnetic field lines, and deposit their energy back to the inner magnetosphere. ECH and whistler mode waves can also move electrons in the opposite direction, from the loss cone into the trap zone, if the source of such electrons exists in conjugate ionospheres located at the same field lines as the trapped magnetospheric electron population. Such a situation exists in the simulation scenario of superthermal electron energy interplay in the region of diffuse aurora presented and discussed by Khazanov et al. (2014) and will be quantified in this paper by taking into account the interaction of secondary electrons with ECH waves.

Polaritonic Rabi and Josephson Oscillations

PubMed Central

Rahmani, Amir; Laussy, Fabrice P.

2016-01-01

The dynamics of coupled condensates is a wide-encompassing problem with relevance to superconductors, BECs in traps, superfluids, etc. Here, we provide a unified picture of this fundamental problem that includes i) detuning of the free energies, ii) different self-interaction strengths and iii) finite lifetime of the modes. At such, this is particularly relevant for the dynamics of polaritons, both for their internal dynamics between their light and matter constituents, as well as for the more conventional dynamics of two spatially separated condensates. Polaritons are short-lived, interact only through their material fraction and are easily detuned. At such, they bring several variations to their atomic counterpart. We show that the combination of these parameters results in important twists to the phenomenology of the Josephson effect, such as the behaviour of the relative phase (running or oscillating) or the occurence of self-trapping. We undertake a comprehensive stability analysis of the fixed points on a normalized Bloch sphere, that allows us to provide a generalized criterion to identify the Rabi and Josephson regimes in presence of detuning and decay. PMID:27452872

TITAN's multiple-reflection time-of-flight isobar separator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reiter, Moritz Pascal; Titan Collaboration

2016-09-01

At the ISAC facility located at TRIUMF exotic nuclei are produced by the ISOL method. Exotic nuclei are separated by a magnetic separator and transported to TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear science (TITAN). TITAN is a system of multiple ion traps for high precision mass measurements and in-trap decay spectroscopy. Although ISAC can deliver some of the highest yields for even many of the most exotic species many measurements suffer from a strong isobaric background. This background often prevents the high precision measurement of the species of interest. To overcome this limitation an additional isobar separator based on the Multiple-Reflection Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry (MR-TOF-MS) technique has been developed for TITAN. Mass selection is achieved using dynamic re-trapping of the species of interest after a time-of-flight analysis in an electrostatic isochronous reflector system. Additionally the MR-TOF-MS will, on its own, enable mass measurements of very short-lived nuclides that are weakly produced. Being able to measure all isobars of a given mass number at the same time the MR-TOF-MS can be used for beam diagnostics or determination of beam compositions. Results from the offline commissioning showing mass resolving power and separation power will be presented.

Electron holes in inhomogeneous magnetic field: Electron heating and electron hole evolution

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vasko, I. Y.; Space Research Institute of Russian Academy of Science, Moscow; Agapitov, O. V.

Electron holes are electrostatic non-linear structures widely observed in the space plasma. In the present paper, we analyze the process of energy exchange between electrons trapped within electron hole, untrapped electrons, and an electron hole propagating in a weakly inhomogeneous magnetic field. We show that as the electron hole propagates into the region with stronger magnetic field, trapped electrons are heated due to the conservation of the first adiabatic invariant. At the same time, the electron hole amplitude may increase or decrease in dependence on properties of distribution functions of trapped and untrapped resonant electrons. The energy gain of trappedmore » electrons is due to the energy losses of untrapped electrons and/or decrease of the electron hole energy. We stress that taking into account the energy exchange with untrapped electrons increases the lifetime of electron holes in inhomogeneous magnetic field. We illustrate the suggested mechanism for small-amplitude Schamel's [Phys. Scr. T2, 228–237 (1982)] electron holes and show that during propagation along a positive magnetic field gradient their amplitude should grow. Neglect of the energy exchange with untrapped electrons would result in the electron hole dissipation with only modest heating factor of trapped electrons. The suggested mechanism may contribute to generation of suprathermal electron fluxes in the space plasma.« less

Simulation and optimization of a 10 A electron gun with electrostatic compression for the electron beam ion source.

PubMed

Pikin, A; Beebe, E N; Raparia, D

2013-03-01

Increasing the current density of the electron beam in the ion trap of the Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS) in BNL's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider facility would confer several essential benefits. They include increasing the ions' charge states, and therefore, the ions' energy out of the Booster for NASA applications, reducing the influx of residual ions in the ion trap, lowering the average power load on the electron collector, and possibly also reducing the emittance of the extracted ion beam. Here, we discuss our findings from a computer simulation of an electron gun with electrostatic compression for electron current up to 10 A that can deliver a high-current-density electron beam for EBIS. The magnetic field in the cathode-anode gap is formed with a magnetic shield surrounding the gun electrodes and the residual magnetic field on the cathode is (5 ÷ 6) Gs. It was demonstrated that for optimized gun geometry within the electron beam current range of (0.5 ÷ 10) A the amplitude of radial beam oscillations can be maintained close to 4% of the beam radius by adjusting the injection magnetic field generated by a separate magnetic coil. Simulating the performance of the gun by varying geometrical parameters indicated that the original gun model is close to optimum and the requirements to the precision of positioning the gun elements can be easily met with conventional technology.

Simulation and optimization of a 10 A electron gun with electrostatic compression for the electron beam ion source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pikin, A.; Beebe, E. N.; Raparia, D.

Increasing the current density of the electron beam in the ion trap of the Electron Beam Ion Source (EBIS) in BNL's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider facility would confer several essential benefits. They include increasing the ions' charge states, and therefore, the ions' energy out of the Booster for NASA applications, reducing the influx of residual ions in the ion trap, lowering the average power load on the electron collector, and possibly also reducing the emittance of the extracted ion beam. Here, we discuss our findings from a computer simulation of an electron gun with electrostatic compression for electron current upmore » to 10 A that can deliver a high-current-density electron beam for EBIS. The magnetic field in the cathode-anode gap is formed with a magnetic shield surrounding the gun electrodes and the residual magnetic field on the cathode is (5 Division-Sign 6) Gs. It was demonstrated that for optimized gun geometry within the electron beam current range of (0.5 Division-Sign 10) A the amplitude of radial beam oscillations can be maintained close to 4% of the beam radius by adjusting the injection magnetic field generated by a separate magnetic coil. Simulating the performance of the gun by varying geometrical parameters indicated that the original gun model is close to optimum and the requirements to the precision of positioning the gun elements can be easily met with conventional technology.« less

Determining Energies and Cross Sections of Individual Ions Using Higher-Order Harmonics in Fourier Transform Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry (FT-CDMS)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harper, Conner C.; Elliott, Andrew G.; Lin, Haw-Wei; Williams, Evan R.

2018-06-01

A general method for in situ measurements of the energy of individual ions trapped and weighed using charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) is described. Highly charged (> 300 e), individual polyethylene glycol (PEG) ions are trapped and oscillate within an electrostatic trap, producing a time domain signal. A segmented Fourier transform (FT) of this signal yields the temporal evolution of the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of ion motion throughout the 500-ms trap time. The ratio of the fundamental frequency and second harmonic (HAR) depends on the ion energy, which is an essential parameter for measuring ion mass in CDMS. This relationship is calibrated using simulated ion signals, and the calibration is compared to the HAR values measured for PEG ion signals where the ion energy was also determined using an independent method that requires that the ions be highly charged (> 300 e). The mean error of 0.6% between the two measurements indicates that the HAR method is an accurate means of ion energy determination that does not depend on ion size or charge. The HAR is determined dynamically over the entire trapping period, making it possible to observe the change in ion energy that takes place as solvent evaporates from the ion and collisions with background gas occur. This method makes it possible to measure mass changes, either from solvent evaporation or from molecular fragmentation (MSn), as well as the cross sections of ions measured using CDMS.

Piezoelectrically-induced trap-depth reduction model of elastico-mechanoluminescent materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chandra, B. P.; Chandra, V. K.; Jha, Piyush

2015-03-01

Considering the detrapping of charge carriers due to reduction in trap-depth caused by piezoelectric field produced by applied pressure, an expression is derived for the detrapping rate of electrons. Then, an expression is obtained for the rate of generation of excited ions produced during capture of detrapped electrons by Eu3+ ions in persistent luminescent materials or by the energy released during electron-hole recombination in ZnS:Mn crystals. Finally, an expression is explored for the elastico-mechanoluminescence (EML) intensity, which is able to explain satisfactorily the characteristics of EML for the application of static pressure as well as for impact pressure. The total number of detrapped electrons and the total EML intensity are found to increase linearly with the electrostatic energy of the crystals in piezoelectric field. It is shown that the EML intensity should increase with the EML efficiency, number of crystallites (volume of sample), concentration of local piezoelectric regions in crystallites, piezoelectric constant of local piezoelectric regions, average length of the local piezoelectric regions, total number of electron traps, pressing rate, and applied pressure, and it should be higher for the materials having low value of threshold pressure and low value of trap-depth in unstressed condition. On the basis of the piezoelectrically-induced trap-depth reduction model of EML reported in the present investigation novel intense elastico mechanoluminescent materials having repetitive EML with undiminished intensity for successive loadings can be tailored which may find applications in sensing, imaging, lighting, colored displays, and other mechano-optical devices.

Vibrational Spectroscopy of Fluoroformate, FCO2-, Trapped in Helium Nanodroplets.

PubMed

Thomas, Daniel A; Mucha, Eike; Gewinner, Sandy; Schöllkopf, Wieland; Meijer, Gerard; von Helden, Gert

2018-05-03

Fluoroformate, also known as carbonofluoridate, is an intriguing molecule readily formed by the reductive derivatization of carbon dioxide. In spite of its well-known stability, a detailed structural characterization of the isolated anion has yet to be reported. Presented in this work is the vibrational spectrum of fluoroformate obtained by infrared action spectroscopy of ions trapped in helium nanodroplets, the first application of this technique to a molecular anion. The experimental method yields narrow spectral lines, providing experimental constraints on the structure that can be accurately reproduced using high-level ab initio methods. In addition, two notable Fermi resonances between a fundamental and combination band are observed. The electrostatic potential map of fluoroformate reveals substantial charge density on fluorine as well as on the oxygen atoms, suggesting multiple sites for interaction with hydrogen bond donors and electrophiles, which may in turn lead to intriguing solvation structures and reaction pathways.

Quantitative Analysis of Charge Injection and Discharging of Si Nanocrystals and Arrays by Electrostatic Force Microscopy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bell, L. D.; Boer, E.; Ostraat, M.; Brongersma, M. L.; Flagan, R. C.; Atwater, H. A.

2000-01-01

NASA requirements for computing and memory for microspacecraft emphasize high density, low power, small size, and radiation hardness. The distributed nature of storage elements in nanocrystal floating-gate memories leads to intrinsic fault tolerance and radiation hardness. Conventional floating-gate non-volatile memories are more susceptible to radiation damage. Nanocrystal-based memories also offer the possibility of faster, lower power operation. In the pursuit of filling these requirements, the following tasks have been accomplished: (1) Si nanocrystal charging has been accomplished with conducting-tip AFM; (2) Both individual nanocrystals on an oxide surface and nanocrystals formed by implantation have been charged; (3) Discharging is consistent with tunneling through a field-lowered oxide barrier; (4) Modeling of the response of the AFM to trapped charge has allowed estimation of the quantity of trapped charge; and (5) Initial attempts to fabricate competitive nanocrystal non-volatile memories have been extremely successful.

Analytic model of a laser-accelerated composite plasma target and its stability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khudik, Vladimir; Shvets, Gennady

2013-10-01

A self-consistent analytical model of monoenergetic acceleration of a one and two-species ultrathin target irradiated by a circularly polarized laser pulse is developed. In the accelerated reference frame, the bulk plasma in the target is neutral and its parameters are assumed to be stationary. It is found that the structure of the target depends strongly on the temperatures of electrons and ions, which are both strongly influenced by the laser pulse pedestal. When the electron temperature is large, the hot electrons bounce back and forth inside the potential well formed by ponderomotive and electrostatic potentials while the heavy and light ions are forced-balanced by the electrostatic and non-inertial fields forming two separated layers. In the opposite limiting case when the ion temperature is large, the hot ions are trapped in the potential well formed by the ion-sheath's electric and non-inertial potentials while the cold electrons are forced-balanced by the electrostatic and ponderomotive fields. Using PIC simulations we have determined which scenario is realized in practice depending on the initial target structure and laser intensity. Target stability with respect to Rayleigh-Taylor instability will also be discussed. This work is supported by the US DOE grants DE-FG02-04ER41321 and DE-FG02-07ER54945.

The Twist Box Domain is Required for Twist1-induced Prostate Cancer Metastasis

PubMed Central

Gajula, Rajendra P.; Chettiar, Sivarajan T.; Williams, Russell D.; Thiyagarajan, Saravanan; Kato, Yoshinori; Aziz, Khaled; Wang, Ruoqi; Gandhi, Nishant; Wild, Aaron T.; Vesuna, Farhad; Ma, Jinfang; Salih, Tarek; Cades, Jessica; Fertig, Elana; Biswal, Shyam; Burns, Timothy F.; Chung, Christine H.; Rudin, Charles M.; Herman, Joseph M.; Hales, Russell K.; Raman, Venu; An, Steven S.; Tran, Phuoc T.

2013-01-01

Twist1, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor, plays a key role during development and is a master regulator of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) that promotes cancer metastasis. Structure-function relationships of Twist1 to cancer-related phenotypes are underappreciated, so we studied the requirement of the conserved Twist box domain for metastatic phenotypes in prostate cancer (PCa). Evidence suggests that Twist1 is overexpressed in clinical specimens and correlated with aggressive/metastatic disease. Therefore, we examined a transactivation mutant, Twist1-F191G, in PCa cells using in vitro assays which mimic various stages of metastasis. Twist1 overexpression led to elevated cytoskeletal stiffness and cell traction forces at the migratory edge of cells based on biophysical single-cell measurements. Twist1 conferred additional cellular properties associated with cancer cell metastasis including increased migration, invasion, anoikis resistance, and anchorage-independent growth. The Twist box mutant was defective for these Twist1 phenotypes in vitro. Importantly, we observed a high frequency of Twist1-induced metastatic lung tumors and extra-thoracic metastases in vivo using the experimental lung metastasis assay. The Twist box was required for PCa cells to colonize metastatic lung lesions and extra-thoracic metastases. Comparative genomic profiling revealed transcriptional programs directed by the Twist box that were associated with cancer progression, such as Hoxa9. Mechanistically, Twist1 bound to the Hoxa9 promoter and positively regulated Hoxa9 expression in PCa cells. Finally, Hoxa9 was important for Twist1-induced cellular phenotypes associated with metastasis. These data suggest that the Twist box domain is required for Twist1 transcriptional programs and PCa metastasis. PMID:23982216

Ion source based on the cathodic arc

DOEpatents

Sanders, David M.; Falabella, Steven

1994-01-01

A cylindrically symmetric arc source to produce a ring of ions which leave the surface of the arc target radially and are reflected by electrostatic fields present in the source to a point of use, such as a part to be coated. An array of electrically isolated rings positioned in the source serves the dual purpose of minimizing bouncing of macroparticles and providing electrical insulation to maximize the electric field gradients within the source. The source also includes a series of baffles which function as a filtering or trapping mechanism for any macroparticles.

Stochastic nonlinear electrical characteristics of graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jun Shin, Young; Gopinadhan, Kalon; Narayanapillai, Kulothungasagaran; Kalitsov, Alan; Bhatia, Charanjit S.; Yang, Hyunsoo

2013-01-01

A stochastic nonlinear electrical characteristic of graphene is reported. Abrupt current changes are observed from voltage sweeps between the source and drain with an on/off ratio up to 103. It is found that graphene channel experiences the topological change. Active radicals in an uneven graphene channel cause local changes of electrostatic potential. Simulation results based on the self-trapped electron and hole mechanism account well for the experimental data. Our findings illustrate an important issue of reliable electron transports and help for the understanding of transport properties in graphene devices.

Jupiter plasma wave observations: an initial voyager 1 overview.

PubMed

Scarf, F L; Gurnett, D A; Kurth, W S

1979-06-01

The Voyager I plasma wave instrument detected low-frequency radio emissions, ion acoustic waves, and electron plasma oscillations for a period of months before encountering Jupiter's bow shock. In the outer magnetosphere, measurements of trapped radio waves were used to derive an electron density profile. Near and within the Io plasma torus the instrument detected high-frequency electrostatic waves, strong whistler mode turbulence, and discrete whistlers, apparently associated with lightning. Some strong emissions in the tail region and some impulsive signals have not yet been positively identified.

Planetary plasma waves

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gurnett, Donald A.

1993-01-01

The primary types of plasma waves observed in the vicinity of the planets Venus, Mars, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune are described. The observations are organized according to the various types of plasma waves observed, ordered according to decreasing distance from the planet, starting from the sunward side of the planet, and ending in the region near the closest approach. The plasma waves observed include: electron plasma oscillations and ion acoustic waves; trapped continuum radiation; electron cyclotron and upper hybrid waves; whistler-mode emissions; electrostatic ion cyclotron waves; and electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves.

Review of microscopic plasma processes of occurring during refilling of the plasmasphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, N.; Torr, D. G.

1988-01-01

Refilling of the plasmashere after geomagnetic storms involves both macroscopic and microscopic plasma processes. The latter types of processes facilitate the refilling by trapping the plasma in the flux tube and by thermalizing the interhemispheric flow. A review of studies on microscopic processes is presented. The primary focus in this review is on the processes when the density is low and the plasma is collisionless. The discussion includes electrostatic shock formation, pitch angle scatterring extended ion heating and localized ion heating in the equatorial region.

Ultrasensitive photodetectors exploiting electrostatic trapping and percolation transport

DOE PAGES

Zhang, Yingjie; Hellebusch, Daniel J.; Bronstein, Noah D.; ...

2016-06-21

The sensitivity of semiconductor photodetectors is limited by photocarrier recombination during the carrier transport process. We developed a new photoactive material that reduces recombination by physically separating hole and electron charge carriers. This material has a specific detectivity (the ability to detect small signals) of 5 × 10 17 Jones, the highest reported in visible and infrared detectors at room temperature, and 4-5 orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial single-crystal silicon detectors. The material was fabricated by sintering chloride-capped CdTe nanocrystals into polycrystalline films, where Cl selectively segregates into grain boundaries acting as n-type dopants. Photogenerated electrons concentratemore » in and percolate along the grain boundaries - a network of energy valleys, while holes are confined in the grain interiors. This electrostatic field-assisted carrier separation and percolation mechanism enables an unprecedented photoconductive gain of 10 10 e - per photon, and allows for effective control of the device response speed by active carrier quenching.« less

The physics of W transport illuminated by recent progress in W density diagnostics at ASDEX Upgrade

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Odstrcil, T.; Pütterich, T.; Angioni, C.; Bilato, R.; Gude, A.; Odstrcil, M.; ASDEX Upgrade Team; the EUROfusion MST1 Team

2018-01-01

Due to the high mass and charge of the heavy ions, centrifugal and electrostatic forces cause a significant variation in their poloidal density. The impact of these forces on the poloidal density profile of tungsten was investigated utilizing the detailed two-dimensional SXR emissivity profiles from the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak. The perturbation in the electrostatic potential generated by magnetic trapping of the non-thermal ions from neutral beam injection was found to be responsible for significant changes in the poloidal distribution of tungsten ions. An excellent match with the results from fast particle modeling was obtained, validating the model for the poloidal fast particle distribution. Additionally, an enhancement of the neoclassical transport due to an outboard side impurity localization was measured in the experiment when analyzing the tungsten flux between sawtooth crashes. A qualitative match with neoclassical modeling was found, demonstrating the possibility of minimizing neoclassical transport by an optimization of the poloidal asymmetry profile of the impurity.

Ultrasensitive photodetectors exploiting electrostatic trapping and percolation transport

PubMed Central

Zhang, Yingjie; Hellebusch, Daniel J.; Bronstein, Noah D.; Ko, Changhyun; Ogletree, D. Frank; Salmeron, Miquel; Alivisatos, A. Paul

2016-01-01

The sensitivity of semiconductor photodetectors is limited by photocarrier recombination during the carrier transport process. We developed a new photoactive material that reduces recombination by physically separating hole and electron charge carriers. This material has a specific detectivity (the ability to detect small signals) of 5 × 1017 Jones, the highest reported in visible and infrared detectors at room temperature, and 4–5 orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial single-crystal silicon detectors. The material was fabricated by sintering chloride-capped CdTe nanocrystals into polycrystalline films, where Cl selectively segregates into grain boundaries acting as n-type dopants. Photogenerated electrons concentrate in and percolate along the grain boundaries—a network of energy valleys, while holes are confined in the grain interiors. This electrostatic field-assisted carrier separation and percolation mechanism enables an unprecedented photoconductive gain of 1010 e− per photon, and allows for effective control of the device response speed by active carrier quenching. PMID:27323904

Regulation of anionic lipids in binary membrane upon the adsorption of polyelectrolyte: A Monte Carlo simulation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, Xiaozheng; Li, Yunqi; Zhang, Ran; Shi, Tongfei; An, Lijia; Huang, Qingrong

2013-06-01

We employ Monte Carlo simulations to investigate the interaction between an adsorbing linear flexible cationic polyelectrolyte and a binary fluid membrane. The membrane contains neutral phosphatidyl-choline, PC) and multivalent anionic (phosphatidylinositol, PIP2) lipids. We systematically study the influences of the solution ionic strength, the chain length and the bead charge density of the polyelectrolyte on the lateral rearrangement and the restricted mobility of the multivalent anionic lipids in the membrane. Our findings show that, the cooperativity effect and the electrostatic interaction of the polyelectrolyte beads can significantly affect the segregation extent and the concentration gradients of the PIP2 molecules, and further cooperate to induce the complicated hierarchical mobility behaviors of PIP2 molecules. In addition, when the polyelectrolyte brings a large amount of charges, it can form a robust electrostatic well to trap all PIP2 and results in local overcharge of the membrane. This work presents a mechanism to explain the membrane heterogeneity formation induced by the adsorption of charged macromolecule.

Semiconducting double-dot exchange-only qubit dynamics in the presence of magnetic and charge noises

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferraro, E.; Fanciulli, M.; De Michielis, M.

2018-06-01

The effects of magnetic and charge noises on the dynamical evolution of the double-dot exchange-only qubit (DEOQ) is theoretically investigated. The DEOQ consisting of three electrons arranged in an electrostatically defined double quantum dot deserves special interest in quantum computation applications. Its advantages are in terms of fabrication, control and manipulation in view of implementation of fast single and two-qubit operations through only electrical tuning. The presence of the environmental noise due to nuclear spins and charge traps, in addition to fluctuations in the applied magnetic field and charge fluctuations on the electrostatic gates adopted to confine the electrons, is taken into account including random magnetic field and random coupling terms in the Hamiltonian. The behavior of the return probability as a function of time for initial conditions of interest is presented. Moreover, through an envelope-fitting procedure on the return probabilities, coherence times are extracted when model parameters take values achievable experimentally in semiconducting devices.

Acceleration of ions and neutrals by a traveling electrostatic wave

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, K. H.; Lee, L. C.; Wong, A. Y.

2018-02-01

We propose a new scheme for accelerating a weakly ionized gas by externally imposing a sinusoidal electrostatic (ES) potential in a tubular system. The weakly ionized gas consists of three fluid components: neutral hydrogen fluid ( H ), positively charged fluid ( H + ), and negatively charged fluids ( H - and/or e - ), as an example. The sinusoidal ES potential is imposed on a series of conductive meshes in the tubular system, and its phase varies with time and space to mimic a traveling ES wave. The charged fluids are trapped and accelerated by the sinusoidal ES potential, while the neutral fluid is accelerated through neutral-ion collisions. The neutral fluid can be accelerated to the wave phase velocity in a few neutral-ion collision times. The whole device remains charge-neutral, and there is no build-up of space charge. The acceleration scheme can be applied to, for example, the propulsion of glider in the air, partially ionized plasma in a chamber, spacecraft, and wind tunnel.

Energy gain calculations in Penning fusion systems using a bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacón, L.; Miley, G. H.; Barnes, D. C.; Knoll, D. A.

2000-11-01

In spherical Penning fusion devices, a spherical cloud of electrons, confined in a Penning-like trap, creates the ion-confining electrostatic well. Fusion energy gains for these systems have been calculated in optimistic conditions (i.e., spherically uniform electrostatic well, no collisional ion-electron interactions, single ion species) using a bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck (BAFP) model. Results show that steady-state distributions in which the Maxwellian ion population is dominant correspond to lowest ion recirculation powers (and hence highest fusion energy gains). It is also shown that realistic parabolic-like wells result in better energy gains than square wells, particularly at large well depths (>100 kV). Operating regimes with fusion power to ion input power ratios (Q-value) >100 have been identified. The effect of electron losses on the Q-value has been addressed heuristically using a semianalytic model, indicating that large Q-values are still possible provided that electron particle losses are kept small and well depths are large.

Computational study of nonlinear plasma waves. [plasma simulation model applied to electrostatic waves in collisionless plasma

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Matsuda, Y.

1974-01-01

A low-noise plasma simulation model is developed and applied to a series of linear and nonlinear problems associated with electrostatic wave propagation in a one-dimensional, collisionless, Maxwellian plasma, in the absence of magnetic field. It is demonstrated that use of the hybrid simulation model allows economical studies to be carried out in both the linear and nonlinear regimes with better quantitative results, for comparable computing time, than can be obtained by conventional particle simulation models, or direct solution of the Vlasov equation. The characteristics of the hybrid simulation model itself are first investigated, and it is shown to be capable of verifying the theoretical linear dispersion relation at wave energy levels as low as .000001 of the plasma thermal energy. Having established the validity of the hybrid simulation model, it is then used to study the nonlinear dynamics of monochromatic wave, sideband instability due to trapped particles, and satellite growth.

Plasma regenerated particulate trap and NO.sub.x reduction system

DOEpatents

Penetrante, Bernardino M.; Vogtlin, George E.; Merritt, Bernard T.; Brusasco, Raymond M.

2000-01-01

A non-catalytic two-stage process for removal of NO.sub.x and particulates from engine exhaust comprises a first stage that plasma converts NO to NO.sub.2 in the presence of O.sub.2 and hydrocarbons, and a second stage, which preferably occurs simultaneously with the first stage, that converts NO.sub.2 and carbon soot particles to respective environmentally benign gases that include N.sub.2 and CO.sub.2. By preconverting NO to NO.sub.2 in the first stage, the efficiency of the second stage for NO.sub.x reduction is enhanced while carbon soot from trapped particulates is simultaneously converted to CO.sub.2 when reacting with the NO.sub.2 (that converts to N.sub.2). For example, an internal combustion engine exhaust is connected by a pipe to a chamber where carbon-containing particulates are electrostatically trapped or filtered and a non-thermal plasma converts NO to NO.sub.2 in the presence of O.sub.2 and hydrocarbons. Volatile hydrocarbons (C.sub.x H.sub.y) from the trapped particulates are oxidized in the plasma and the remaining soot from the particulates reacts with the NO.sub.2 to convert NO.sub.2 to N.sub.2, and the soot to CO.sub.2. The nitrogen exhaust components remain in the gas phase throughout the process, with no accompanying adsorption.

In-depth study of in-trap high-resolution mass separation by transversal ion ejection from a multi-reflection time-of-flight device.

PubMed

Fischer, Paul; Knauer, Stefan; Marx, Gerrit; Schweikhard, Lutz

2018-01-01

The recently introduced method of ion separation by transversal ejection of unwanted species in electrostatic ion-beam traps and multi-reflection time-of-flight devices has been further studied in detail. As this separation is performed during the ion storage itself, there is no need for additional external devices such as ion gates or traps for either pre- or postselection of the ions of interest. The ejection of unwanted contaminant ions is performed by appropriate pulses of the potentials of deflector electrodes. These segmented ring electrodes are located off-center in the trap, i.e., between one of the two ion mirrors and the central drift tube, which also serves as a potential lift for capturing incoming ions and axially ejecting ions of interest after their selection. The various parameters affecting the selection effectivity and resolving power are illustrated with tin-cluster measurements, where isotopologue ion species provide mass differences down to a single atomic mass unit at ion masses of several hundred. Symmetric deflection voltages of only 10 V were found sufficient for the transversal ejection of ion species with as few as three deflection pulses. The duty cycle, i.e., the pulse duration with respect to the period of ion revolution, has been varied, resulting in resolving powers of up to several tens of thousands for this selection technique.

In-depth study of in-trap high-resolution mass separation by transversal ion ejection from a multi-reflection time-of-flight device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fischer, Paul; Knauer, Stefan; Marx, Gerrit; Schweikhard, Lutz

2018-01-01

The recently introduced method of ion separation by transversal ejection of unwanted species in electrostatic ion-beam traps and multi-reflection time-of-flight devices has been further studied in detail. As this separation is performed during the ion storage itself, there is no need for additional external devices such as ion gates or traps for either pre- or postselection of the ions of interest. The ejection of unwanted contaminant ions is performed by appropriate pulses of the potentials of deflector electrodes. These segmented ring electrodes are located off-center in the trap, i.e., between one of the two ion mirrors and the central drift tube, which also serves as a potential lift for capturing incoming ions and axially ejecting ions of interest after their selection. The various parameters affecting the selection effectivity and resolving power are illustrated with tin-cluster measurements, where isotopologue ion species provide mass differences down to a single atomic mass unit at ion masses of several hundred. Symmetric deflection voltages of only 10 V were found sufficient for the transversal ejection of ion species with as few as three deflection pulses. The duty cycle, i.e., the pulse duration with respect to the period of ion revolution, has been varied, resulting in resolving powers of up to several tens of thousands for this selection technique.

Final Technical Report: "New Tools for Physics with Low-energy Antimatter"

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Surko, Clifford M.

2013-10-02

The objective of this research is to develop new tools to manipulate antimatter plasmas and to tailor them for specific scientific and technical uses. The work has two specific objectives. One is establishing the limits for positron accumulation and confinement in the form of single-component plasmas in Penning-Malmberg traps. This technique underpins a wealth of antimatter applications. A second objective is to develop an understanding of the limits for formation of cold, bright positron beams. The research done in this grant focused on particular facets of these goals. One focus was extracting tailored beams from a high-field Penning-Malmberg trap frommore » the magnetic field to form new kinds of high-quality electrostatic beams. A second goal was to develop the technology for colder trap-based beams using a cryogenically cooled buffer gas. A third objective was to conduct the basic plasma research to develop a new high-capacity multicell trap (MCT) for research with antimatter. Progress is reported here in all three areas. While the goal of this research is to develop new tools for manipulating positrons (i.e., the antiparticles of electrons), much of the work was done with test electron plasmas for increased data rate. Some of the techniques developed in the course of this work are also relevant to the manipulation and use of antiprotons.« less

Positron annihilation studies of the AlOx/SiO2/Si interface in solar cell structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Edwardson, C. J.; Coleman, P. G.; Li, T.-T. A.; Cuevas, A.; Ruffell, S.

2012-03-01

Film and film/substrate interface characteristics of 30 and 60 nm-thick AlOx films grown on Si substrates by thermal atomic layer deposition (ALD), and 30 nm-thick AlOx films by sputtering, have been probed using variable-energy positron annihilation spectroscopy (VEPAS) and Doppler-broadened spectra ratio curves. All samples were found to have an interface which traps positrons, with annealing increasing this trapping response, regardless of growth method. Thermal ALD creates an AlOx/SiOx/Si interface with positron trapping and annihilation occurring in the Si side of the SiOx/Si boundary. An induced positive charge in the Si next to the interface reduces diffusion into the oxides and increases annihilation in the Si. In this region there is a divacancy-type response (20 ± 2%) before annealing which is increased to 47 ± 2% after annealing. Sputtering seems to not produce samples with this same electrostatic shielding; instead, positron trapping occurs directly in the SiOx interface in the as-deposited sample, and the positron response to it increases after annealing as an SiO2 layer is formed. Annealing the film has the effect of lowering the film oxygen response in all film types. Compared to other structural characterization techniques, VEPAS shows larger sensitivity to differences in film preparation method and between as-deposited and annealed samples.

The influence of the self-consistent mode structure on the Coriolis pinch effect

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Peeters, A. G.; Camenen, Y.; Casson, F. J.

This paper discusses the effect of the mode structure on the Coriolis pinch effect [A. G. Peeters, C. Angioni, and D. Strintzi, Phys. Rev. Lett. 98, 265003 (2007)]. It is shown that the Coriolis drift effect can be compensated for by a finite parallel wave vector, resulting in a reduced momentum pinch velocity. Gyrokinetic simulations in full toroidal geometry reveal that parallel dynamics effectively removes the Coriolis pinch for the case of adiabatic electrons, while the compensation due to the parallel dynamics is incomplete for the case of kinetic electrons, resulting in a finite pinch velocity. The finite flux inmore » the case of kinetic electrons is interpreted to be related to the electron trapping, which prevents a strong asymmetry in the electrostatic potential with respect to the low field side position. The physics picture developed here leads to the discovery and explanation of two unexpected effects: First the pinch velocity scales with the trapped particle fraction (root of the inverse aspect ratio), and second there is no strong collisionality dependence. The latter is related to the role of the trapped electrons, which retain some symmetry in the eigenmode, but play no role in the perturbed parallel velocity.« less

A possible regulatory link between Twist 1 and PPARγ gene regulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes.

PubMed

Ren, Rui; Chen, Zhufeng; Zhao, Xia; Sun, Tao; Zhang, Yuchao; Chen, Jie; Lu, Sumei; Ma, Wanshan

2016-11-08

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is a critical gene that regulates the function of adipocytes. Therefore, studies on the molecular regulation mechanism of PPARγ are important to understand the function of adipose tissue. Twist 1 is another important functional gene in adipose tissue, and hundreds of genes are regulated by Twist 1. The aim of this study was to investigate the regulation of Twist 1 and PPARγ expression in 3T3-L1 mature adipocytes. We induced differentiation in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes and examined alterations in Twist 1 and PPARγ expression. We used the PPARγ agonist pioglitazone and the PPARγ antagonist T0070907 to investigate the effect of PPARγ on Twist 1 expression. In addition, we utilized retroviral interference and overexpression of Twist 1 to determine the effects of Twist 1 on PPARγ expression. The expression levels of Twist 1 and PPARγ were induced during differentiation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Application of either a PPARγ agonist (pioglitazone) or antagonist (T0070907) influenced Twist 1 expression, with up-regulation of Twist 1 under pioglitazone (1 μM, 24 h) and down-regulation of Twist 1 under T0070907 (100 μM, 24 h) exposure. Furthermore, the retroviral interference of Twist 1 decreased the protein and mRNA expression of PPARγ, while Twist 1 overexpression had the opposite effect. There was a possible regulatory link between Twist 1 and PPARγ in 3T3-L1 mature adipocytes. This regulatory link enhanced the regulation of PPARγ and may be a functional mechanism of Twist 1 regulation of adipocyte physiology and pathology.

Determining Energies and Cross Sections of Individual Ions Using Higher-Order Harmonics in Fourier Transform Charge Detection Mass Spectrometry (FT-CDMS).

PubMed

Harper, Conner C; Elliott, Andrew G; Lin, Haw-Wei; Williams, Evan R

2018-06-02

A general method for in situ measurements of the energy of individual ions trapped and weighed using charge detection mass spectrometry (CDMS) is described. Highly charged (> 300 e), individual polyethylene glycol (PEG) ions are trapped and oscillate within an electrostatic trap, producing a time domain signal. A segmented Fourier transform (FT) of this signal yields the temporal evolution of the fundamental and harmonic frequencies of ion motion throughout the 500-ms trap time. The ratio of the fundamental frequency and second harmonic (HAR) depends on the ion energy, which is an essential parameter for measuring ion mass in CDMS. This relationship is calibrated using simulated ion signals, and the calibration is compared to the HAR values measured for PEG ion signals where the ion energy was also determined using an independent method that requires that the ions be highly charged (> 300 e). The mean error of 0.6% between the two measurements indicates that the HAR method is an accurate means of ion energy determination that does not depend on ion size or charge. The HAR is determined dynamically over the entire trapping period, making it possible to observe the change in ion energy that takes place as solvent evaporates from the ion and collisions with background gas occur. This method makes it possible to measure mass changes, either from solvent evaporation or from molecular fragmentation (MS n ), as well as the cross sections of ions measured using CDMS. Graphical Abstract.

Endothelial TWIST1 Promotes Pathological Ocular Angiogenesis

PubMed Central

Li, Jie; Liu, Chi-Hsiu; Sun, Ye; Gong, Yan; Fu, Zhongjie; Evans, Lucy P.; Tian, Katherine T.; Juan, Aimee M.; Hurst, Christian G.; Mammoto, Akiko; Chen, Jing

2014-01-01

Purpose. Pathological neovessel formation impacts many blinding vascular eye diseases. Identification of molecular signatures distinguishing pathological neovascularization from normal quiescent vessels is critical for developing new interventions. Twist-related protein 1 (TWIST1) is a transcription factor important in tumor and pulmonary angiogenesis. This study investigated the potential role of TWIST1 in modulating pathological ocular angiogenesis in mice. Methods. Twist1 expression and localization were analyzed in a mouse model of oxygen-induced retinopathy (OIR). Pathological ocular angiogenesis in Tie2-driven conditional Twist1 knockout mice were evaluated in both OIR and laser-induced choroidal neovascularization models. In addition, the effects of TWIST1 on angiogenesis and endothelial cell function were analyzed in sprouting assays of aortic rings and choroidal explants isolated from Twist1 knockout mice, and in human retinal microvascular endothelial cells treated with TWIST1 small interfering RNA (siRNA). Results. TWIST1 is highly enriched in pathological neovessels in OIR retinas. Conditional Tie2-driven depletion of Twist1 significantly suppressed pathological neovessels in OIR without impacting developmental retinal angiogenesis. In a laser-induced choroidal neovascularization model, Twist1 deficiency also resulted in significantly smaller lesions with decreased vascular leakage. In addition, loss of Twist1 significantly decreased vascular sprouting in both aortic ring and choroid explants. Knockdown of TWIST1 in endothelial cells led to dampened expression of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2 (VEGFR2) and decreased endothelial cell proliferation. Conclusions. Our study suggests that TWIST1 is a novel regulator of pathologic ocular angiogenesis and may represent a new molecular target for developing potential therapeutic treatments to suppress pathological neovascularization in vascular eye diseases. PMID:25414194

Phosphorylation of basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor Twist in development and disease.

PubMed

Xue, Gongda; Hemmings, Brian A

2012-02-01

The transcription factor Twist plays vital roles during embryonic development through regulating/controlling cell migration. However, postnatally, in normal physiological settings, Twist is either not expressed or inactivated. Increasing evidence shows a strong correlation between Twist reactivation and both cancer progression and malignancy, where the transcriptional activities of Twist support cancer cells to disseminate from primary tumours and subsequently establish a secondary tumour growth in distant organs. However, it is largely unclear how this signalling programme is reactivated or what signalling pathways regulate its activity. The present review discusses recent advances in Twist regulation and activity, with a focus on phosphorylation-dependent Twist activity, potential upstream kinases and the contribution of these factors in transducing biological signals from upstream signalling complexes. The recent advances in these areas have shed new light on how phosphorylation-dependent regulation of the Twist proteins promotes or suppresses Twist activity, leading to differential regulation of Twist transcriptional targets and thereby influencing cell fate.

Twist functions in vertebral column formation in medaka, Oryzias latipes.

PubMed

Yasutake, Junichi; Inohaya, Keiji; Kudo, Akira

2004-07-01

Medaka twist, a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor, is expressed in the sclerotome during embryogenesis. We previously established a line of twist-EGFP transgenic medaka, whose EGFP expression is regulated by the twist promoter; therefore, we could observe the behavior of sclerotomal cells in vivo. In the transgenic medaka embryos, EGFP-positive sclerotomal cells migrated dorsally around the notochord and the neural tube, where at a later stage the vertebral column would be formed. This finding strongly suggests that twist-expressing sclerotomal cells participate in vertebral column formation in medaka. To clarify the function of twist gene in the sclerotome, we performed knockdown analysis of twist by using two kinds of morpholino antisense oligonucleotides targeted against twist (MO1 and MO2). Both the MO1 and MO2 morphants exhibited absence of neural arches, which are bilaterally paired, dorsomedially oriented bones on the dorsal aspect of the centrum. In addition, MO2, which blocks translation of only endogenous twist mRNA in the twist-EGFP transgenic medaka, did not affect the migration pattern of EGFP-positive cells, revealing that the migration of sclerotome-derived cells were normal in the absence of twist gene function. These results demonstrate that medaka twist functions in vertebral column formation by regulating the sclerotomal cell differentiation.

Zeroth-order phase-contrast technique.

PubMed

Pizolato, José Carlos; Cirino, Giuseppe Antonio; Gonçalves, Cristhiane; Neto, Luiz Gonçalves

2007-11-01

What we believe to be a new phase-contrast technique is proposed to recover intensity distributions from phase distributions modulated by spatial light modulators (SLMs) and binary diffractive optical elements (DOEs). The phase distribution is directly transformed into intensity distributions using a 4f optical correlator and an iris centered in the frequency plane as a spatial filter. No phase-changing plates or phase dielectric dots are used as a filter. This method allows the use of twisted nematic liquid-crystal televisions (LCTVs) operating in the real-time phase-mostly regime mode between 0 and p to generate high-intensity multiple beams for optical trap applications. It is also possible to use these LCTVs as input SLMs for optical correlators to obtain high-intensity Fourier transform distributions of input amplitude objects.

A light in the dark?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cartlidge, Edwin

2008-08-01

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, ...you'll be a Man my son! It is rare that poetry enters modern scientific discourse, which is why the above quote from the poem "If..." by Rudyard Kipling catches the attention of the visitor to the homepage of DAMA, a group of dark-matter hunters in Italy. Although the physicists in the group do not spell out explicitly what the poem refers to, its meaning seems fairly clear. The quote is an eloquent retort to their critics (the "knaves"), who for the last 10 years have been unconvinced of the researchers' claim to have made the first-ever direct observation of darkmatter particles ("the truth"). The poem illustrates the unusual intensity of the debate surrounding their claim.

Role of left ventricular twist mechanics in cardiomyopathies, dance of the helices

PubMed Central

Kauer, Floris; Geleijnse, Marcel Leonard; van Dalen, Bastiaan Martijn

2015-01-01

Left ventricular twist is an essential part of left ventricular function. Nevertheless, knowledge is limited in “the cardiology community” as it comes to twist mechanics. Fortunately the development of speckle tracking echocardiography, allowing accurate, reproducible and rapid bedside assessment of left ventricular twist, has boosted the interest in this important mechanical aspect of left ventricular deformation. Although the fundamental physiological role of left ventricular twist is undisputable, the clinical relevance of assessment of left ventricular twist in cardiomyopathies still needs to be established. The fact remains; analysis of left ventricular twist mechanics has already provided substantial pathophysiological understanding on a comprehensive variety of cardiomyopathies. It has become clear that increased left ventricular twist in for example hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be an early sign of subendocardial (microvascular) dysfunction. Furthermore, decreased left ventricular twist may be caused by left ventricular dilatation or an extensive myocardial scar. Finally, the detection of left ventricular rigid body rotation in noncompaction cardiomyopathy may provide an indispensible method to objectively confirm this difficult diagnosis. All this endorses the value of left ventricular twist in the field of cardiomyopathies and may further encourage the implementation of left ventricular twist parameters in the “diagnostic toolbox” for cardiomyopathies. PMID:26322187

Nonlinear saturation of the Weibel instability

DOE PAGES

Cagas, P.; Hakim, A.; Scales, W.; ...

2017-11-21

The growth and saturation of magnetic fields due to the Weibel instability (WI) have important implications for laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, and this has drawn significant interest recently. Since the WI can generate a large magnetic field from no initial field, the maximum magnitudes achieved can have significant consequences for a number of applications. Hence, an understanding of the detailed dynamics driving the nonlinear saturation of the WI is important. This work considers the nonlinear saturation of the WI when counter-streaming populations of initially unmagnetized electrons are perturbed by a magnetic field oriented perpendicular to the direction of streaming. Previousmore » works have found magnetic trapping to be important and connected electron skin depth spatial scales to the nonlinear saturation of the WI. The results presented in this work are consistent with these findings for a high-temperature case. However, using a high-order continuum kinetic simulation tool, this work demonstrates that when the electron populations are colder, a significant electrostatic potential develops that works with the magnetic field to create potential wells. The electrostatic field develops due to transverse flows induced by the WI and in some cases is strengthened by a secondary instability. This field plays a key role in saturation of the WI for colder populations. In conclusion, the role of the electrostatic potential in Weibel instability saturation has not been studied in detail previously.« less

Nonlinear saturation of the Weibel instability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cagas, P.; Hakim, A.; Scales, W.

The growth and saturation of magnetic fields due to the Weibel instability (WI) have important implications for laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, and this has drawn significant interest recently. Since the WI can generate a large magnetic field from no initial field, the maximum magnitudes achieved can have significant consequences for a number of applications. Hence, an understanding of the detailed dynamics driving the nonlinear saturation of the WI is important. This work considers the nonlinear saturation of the WI when counter-streaming populations of initially unmagnetized electrons are perturbed by a magnetic field oriented perpendicular to the direction of streaming. Previousmore » works have found magnetic trapping to be important and connected electron skin depth spatial scales to the nonlinear saturation of the WI. The results presented in this work are consistent with these findings for a high-temperature case. However, using a high-order continuum kinetic simulation tool, this work demonstrates that when the electron populations are colder, a significant electrostatic potential develops that works with the magnetic field to create potential wells. The electrostatic field develops due to transverse flows induced by the WI and in some cases is strengthened by a secondary instability. This field plays a key role in saturation of the WI for colder populations. In conclusion, the role of the electrostatic potential in Weibel instability saturation has not been studied in detail previously.« less

Ion source based on the cathodic arc

DOEpatents

Sanders, D.M.; Falabella, S.

1994-02-01

A cylindrically symmetric arc source to produce a ring of ions which leave the surface of the arc target radially and are reflected by electrostatic fields present in the source to a point of use, such as a part to be coated, is described. An array of electrically isolated rings positioned in the source serves the dual purpose of minimizing bouncing of macroparticles and providing electrical insulation to maximize the electric field gradients within the source. The source also includes a series of baffles which function as a filtering or trapping mechanism for any macroparticles. 3 figures.

Adiabatic description of long range frequency sweeping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Breizman, Boris; Nyqvist, Robert; Lilley, Matthew

2012-10-01

A theoretical framework is developed to describe long range frequency sweeping events in the 1D electrostatic bump-on-tail model with fast particle sources and collisions. The model includes three collision operators (Krook, drag (dynamical friction) and velocity space diffusion), and allows for a general shape of the fast particle distribution function. The behavior of phase space holes and clumps is analyzed, and the effect of particle trapping due to separatrix expansion is discussed. With a fast particle distribution function whose slope decays above the resonant phase velocity, hooked frequency sweeping is found for holes in the presence of drag collisions alone.

Extension-twist coupling of composite circular tubes with application to tilt rotor blade design

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nixon, Mark W.

1987-01-01

This investigation was conducted to determine if twist deformation required for the design of full-scale extension-twist-coupled tilt-rotor blades can be achieved within material design limit loads, and to demonstrate the accuracy of a coupled-beam analysis in predicting twist deformations. Two extension-twist-coupled tilt-rotor blade designs were developed based on theoretically optimum aerodynamic twist distributions. The designs indicated a twist rate requirement of between .216 and .333 deg/in. Agreement between axial tests and analytical predictions was within 10 percent at design limit loads. Agreement between the torsion tests and predictions was within 11 percent.

An Optical Trap for Relativistic Plasma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Ping

2002-11-01

Optical traps have achieved remarkable success recently in confining ultra-cold matter.Traps capable of confining ultra-hot matter, or plasma, have also been built for applications such as basic plasma research and thermonuclear fusion. For instance, low-density plasmas with temperature less than 1 keV have been confined with static magnetic fields in Malmberg-Penning traps. Low-density 10-50 keV plasmas are confined in magnetic mirrors and tokamaks. High density plasmas have been trapped in optical traps with kinetic energies up to 10 keV [J. L. Chaloupka and D. D. Meyerhofer, Phys. Rev. Lett. 83, 4538 (1999)]. We present the results of experiment, theory and numerical simulation on an optical trap capable of confining relativistic plasma. A stationary interference grating with submicron spacing is created when two high-power (terawatt) laser pulses of equal wavelength (1-micron) are focused from orthogonal directions to the same point in space and time in high density underdense plasma. Light pressure gradients bunch electrons into sheets located at the minima of the interference pattern. The density of the bunched electrons is found to be up to ten times the background density, which is orders-of-magnitude above that previously reported for other optical traps or plasma waves. The amplitudes and frequencies of multiple satellites in the scattered spectrum also indicate the presence of a highly nonlinear ion wave and an electron temperature about 100 keV. Energy transfer from the stronger beam to the weaker beam is also observed. Potential applications include a test-bed for detailed studies of relativistic nonlinear scattering, a positron source and an electrostatic wiggler. This research is also relevant to fast igniter fusion or ion acceleration experiments, in which laser pulses with intensities comparable to those used in the experiment may also potentially beat [Y. Sentoku, et al., Appl. Phys. B 74, 207215 (2002)]. The details of a specific application, the injection of electrons into laser-driven plasma waves, will also be presented. With crossed beams, the energy of a laser-accelerated electron beam is increased and its emittance is decreased compared with a single beam, potentially paving the way towards an all-optical monoenergetic electron injector.

The Twist Limit for Bipolar Active Regions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moore, Ron; Falconer, David; Gary, Allen

2008-01-01

We present new evidence that further supports the standard idea that active regions are emerged magnetic-flux-rope omega loops. When the axial magnetic twist of a cylindrical flux rope exceeds a critical amount, the flux rope becomes unstable to kinking, and the excess axial twist is converted into writhe twist by the kinking. This suggests that, if active regions are emerged omega loops, then (1) no active region should have magnetic twist much above the limit set by kinking, (2) active regions having twist near the limit should often arise from kinked omega loops, and (3) since active regions having large delta sunspots are outstandingly twisted, these arise from kinked omega loops and should have twist near the limit for kinking. From each of 36 vector magnetograms of bipolar active regions, we have measured (1) the total flux of the vertical field above 100 G, (2) the area covered by this flux, and (3) the net electric current that arches over the polarity inversion line. These three quantities yield an estimate of the axial magnetic twist in a simple model cylindrical flux rope that corresponds to the top of the active region s hypothetical omega loop prior to emergence. In all 36 cases, the estimated twist is below the critical limit for kinking. The 11 most twisted active regions (1) have estimated twist within a factor of approx.3 of the limit, and (2) include all of our 6 active regions having large delta sunspots. Thus, our observed twist limit for bipolar active regions is in good accord with active regions being emerged omega loops.

Processing mechanics of alternate twist ply (ATP) yarn technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elkhamy, Donia Said

Ply yarns are important in many textile manufacturing processes and various applications. The primary process used for producing ply yarns is cabling. The speed of cabling is limited to about 35m/min. With the world's increasing demands of ply yarn supply, cabling is incompatible with today's demand activated manufacturing strategies. The Alternate Twist Ply (ATP) yarn technology is a relatively new process for producing ply yarns with improved productivity and flexibility. This technology involves self plying of twisted singles yarn to produce ply yarn. The ATP process can run more than ten times faster than cabling. To implement the ATP process to produce ply yarns there are major quality issues; uniform Twist Profile and yarn Twist Efficiency. The goal of this thesis is to improve these issues through process modeling based on understanding the physics and processing mechanics of the ATP yarn system. In our study we determine the main parameters that control the yarn twist profile. Process modeling of the yarn twist across different process zones was done. A computational model was designed to predict the process parameters required to achieve a square wave twist profile. Twist efficiency, a measure of yarn torsional stability and bulk, is determined by the ratio of ply yarn twist to singles yarn twist. Response Surface Methodology was used to develop the processing window that can reproduce ATP yarns with high twist efficiency. Equilibrium conditions of tensions and torques acting on the yarns at the self ply point were analyzed and determined the pathway for achieving higher twist efficiency. Mechanistic modeling relating equilibrium conditions to the twist efficiency was developed. A static tester was designed to zoom into the self ply zone of the ATP yarn. A computer controlled, prototypic ATP machine was constructed and confirmed the mechanistic model results. Optimum parameters achieving maximum twist efficiency were determined in this study. The successful results of this work have led to the filing of a US patent disclosing the method for producing ATP yarns with high yarn twist efficiency using a high convergence angle at the self ply point together with applying ply torque.

Genomic pathways modulated by Twist in breast cancer.

PubMed

Vesuna, Farhad; Bergman, Yehudit; Raman, Venu

2017-01-13

The basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor TWIST1 (Twist) is involved in embryonic cell lineage determination and mesodermal differentiation. There is evidence to indicate that Twist expression plays a role in breast tumor formation and metastasis, but the role of Twist in dysregulating pathways that drive the metastatic cascade is unclear. Moreover, many of the genes and pathways dysregulated by Twist in cell lines and mouse models have not been validated against data obtained from larger, independant datasets of breast cancer patients. We over-expressed the human Twist gene in non-metastatic MCF-7 breast cancer cells to generate the estrogen-independent metastatic breast cancer cell line MCF-7/Twist. These cells were inoculated in the mammary fat pad of female severe compromised immunodeficient mice, which subsequently formed xenograft tumors that metastasized to the lungs. Microarray data was collected from both in vitro (MCF-7 and MCF-7/Twist cell lines) and in vivo (primary tumors and lung metastases) models of Twist expression. Our data was compared to several gene datasets of various subtypes, classes, and grades of human breast cancers. Our data establishes a Twist over-expressing mouse model of breast cancer, which metastasizes to the lung and replicates some of the ontogeny of human breast cancer progression. Gene profiling data, following Twist expression, exhibited novel metastasis driver genes as well as cellular maintenance genes that were synonymous with the metastatic process. We demonstrated that the genes and pathways altered in the transgenic cell line and metastatic animal models parallel many of the dysregulated gene pathways observed in human breast cancers. Analogous gene expression patterns were observed in both in vitro and in vivo Twist preclinical models of breast cancer metastasis and breast cancer patient datasets supporting the functional role of Twist in promoting breast cancer metastasis. The data suggests that genetic dysregulation of Twist at the cellular level drives alterations in gene pathways in the Twist metastatic mouse model which are comparable to changes seen in human breast cancers. Lastly, we have identified novel genes and pathways that could be further investigated as targets for drugs to treat metastatic breast cancer.

A Single-Ion Reservoir as a High-Sensitive Sensor of Electric Signals.

PubMed

Domínguez, Francisco; Arrazola, Iñigo; Doménech, Jaime; Pedernales, Julen S; Lamata, Lucas; Solano, Enrique; Rodríguez, Daniel

2017-08-21

A single-ion reservoir has been tested, and characterized in order to be used as a highly sensitive optical detector of electric signals arriving at the trapping electrodes. Our system consists of a single laser-cooled 40 Ca + ion stored in a Paul trap with rotational symmetry. The performance is observed through the axial motion of the ion, which is equivalent to an underdamped and forced oscillator. Thus, the results can be projected also to Penning traps. We have found that, for an ion oscillator temperature T axial  ≲ 10 mK in the forced-frequency range ω z  = 2π × (80,200 kHz), the reservoir is sensitive to a time-varying electric field equivalent to an electric force of 5.3(2) neV/μm, for a measured quality factor Q = 3875(45), and a decay time constant γ z  = 88(2) s -1 . This method can be applied to measure optically the strength of an oscillating field or induced (driven) charge in this frequency range within times of tens of milliseconds. Furthermore the ion reservoir has been proven to be sensitive to electrostatic forces by measuring the ion displacement. Since the heating rate is below 0.3 μeV/s, this reservoir might be used as optical detector for any ion or bunch of charged particles stored in an adjacent trap.

Characterization of sequences in human TWIST required for nuclear localization

PubMed Central

Singh, Shalini; Gramolini, Anthony O

2009-01-01

Background Twist is a transcription factor that plays an important role in proliferation and tumorigenesis. Twist is a nuclear protein that regulates a variety of cellular functions controlled by protein-protein interactions and gene transcription events. The focus of this study was to characterize putative nuclear localization signals (NLSs) 37RKRR40 and 73KRGKK77 in the human TWIST (H-TWIST) protein. Results Using site-specific mutagenesis and immunofluorescences, we observed that altered TWISTNLS1 K38R, TWISTNLS2 K73R and K77R constructs inhibit nuclear accumulation of H-TWIST in mammalian cells, while TWISTNLS2 K76R expression was un-affected and retained to the nucleus. Subsequently, co-transfection of TWIST mutants K38R, K73R and K77R with E12 formed heterodimers and restored nuclear localization despite the NLSs mutations. Using a yeast-two-hybrid assay, we identified a novel TWIST-interacting candidate TCF-4, a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor. The interaction of TWIST with TCF-4 confirmed using NLS rescue assays, where nuclear expression of mutant TWISTNLS1 with co-transfixed TCF-4 was observed. The interaction of TWIST with TCF-4 was also seen using standard immunoprecipitation assays. Conclusion Our study demonstrates the presence of two putative NLS motifs in H-TWIST and suggests that these NLS sequences are functional. Furthermore, we identified and confirmed the interaction of TWIST with a novel protein candidate TCF-4. PMID:19534813

Teaching Spatial Awareness for Better Twisting Somersaults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hennessy, Jeff T.

1985-01-01

The barani (front somersault with one-half twist) and the back somersault with one twist are basic foundation skills necessary for more advanced twisting maneuvers. Descriptions of these movements on a trampoline surface are offered. (DF)

Metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 promotes vasculogenic mimicry in gastric cancer by upregulating TWIST1/2

PubMed Central

Wang, Lin; Lin, Li; Chen, Xi; Sun, Li; Liao, Yulin; Huang, Na; Liao, Wangjun

2015-01-01

Vasculogenic mimicry (VM) is a blood supply modality that is strongly associated with the epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), TWIST1 activation and tumor progression. We previously reported that metastasis-associated in colon cancer-1 (MACC1) induced the EMT and was associated with a poor prognosis of patients with gastric cancer (GC), but it remains unknown whether MACC1 promotes VM and regulates the TWIST signaling pathway in GC. In this study, we investigated MACC1 expression and VM by immunohistochemistry in 88 patients with stage IV GC, and also investigated the role of TWIST1 and TWIST2 in MACC1-induced VM by using nude mice with GC xenografts and GC cell lines. We found that the VM density was significantly increased in the tumors of patients who died of GC and was positively correlated with MACC1 immunoreactivity (p < 0.05). The 3-year survival rate was only 8.6% in patients whose tumors showed double positive staining for MACC1 and VM, whereas it was 41.7% in patients whose tumors were negative for both MACC1 and VM. Moreover, nuclear expression of MACC1, TWIST1, and TWIST2 was upregulated in GC tissues compared with matched adjacent non-tumorous tissues (p < 0.05). Overexpression of MACC1 increased TWIST1/2 expression and induced typical VM in the GC xenografts of nude mice and in GC cell lines. MACC1 enhanced TWIST1/2 promoter activity and facilitated VM, while silencing of TWIST1 or TWIST2 inhibited VM. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) increased the nuclear translocation of MACC1, TWIST1, and TWIST2, while a c-Met inhibitor reduced these effects. These findings indicate that MACC1 promotes VM in GC by regulating the HGF/c-Met-TWIST1/2 signaling pathway, which means that MACC1 and this pathway are potential new therapeutic targets for GC. PMID:25895023

Numerical investigation of heat transfer and friction factor characteristics in a circular tube fitted with V-cut twisted tape inserts.

PubMed

Salman, Sami D; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H; Takriff, Mohd S; Mohamad, Abu Bakar

2013-01-01

Numerical investigation of the heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of a circular fitted with V-cut twisted tape (VCT) insert with twist ratio (y = 2.93) and different cut depths (w = 0.5, 1, and 1.5 cm) were studied for laminar flow using CFD package (FLUENT-6.3.26). The data obtained from plain tube were verified with the literature correlation to ensure the validation of simulation results. Classical twisted tape (CTT) with different twist ratios (y = 2.93, 3.91, 4.89) were also studied for comparison. The results show that the enhancement of heat transfer rate induced by the classical and V-cut twisted tape inserts increases with the Reynolds number and decreases with twist ratio. The results also revealed that the V-cut twisted tape with twist ratio y = 2.93 and cut depth w = 0.5 cm offered higher heat transfer rate with significant increases in friction factor than other tapes. In addition the results of V-cut twist tape compared with experimental and simulated data of right-left helical tape inserts (RLT), it is found that the V-cut twist tape offered better thermal contact between the surface and the fluid which ultimately leads to a high heat transfer coefficient. Consequently, 107% of maximum heat transfer was obtained by using this configuration.

Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer and Friction Factor Characteristics in a Circular Tube Fitted with V-Cut Twisted Tape Inserts

PubMed Central

Salman, Sami D.; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H.; Takriff, Mohd S.; Mohamad, Abu Bakar

2013-01-01

Numerical investigation of the heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of a circular fitted with V-cut twisted tape (VCT) insert with twist ratio (y = 2.93) and different cut depths (w = 0.5, 1, and 1.5 cm) were studied for laminar flow using CFD package (FLUENT-6.3.26). The data obtained from plain tube were verified with the literature correlation to ensure the validation of simulation results. Classical twisted tape (CTT) with different twist ratios (y = 2.93, 3.91, 4.89) were also studied for comparison. The results show that the enhancement of heat transfer rate induced by the classical and V-cut twisted tape inserts increases with the Reynolds number and decreases with twist ratio. The results also revealed that the V-cut twisted tape with twist ratio y = 2.93 and cut depth w = 0.5 cm offered higher heat transfer rate with significant increases in friction factor than other tapes. In addition the results of V-cut twist tape compared with experimental and simulated data of right-left helical tape inserts (RLT), it is found that the V-cut twist tape offered better thermal contact between the surface and the fluid which ultimately leads to a high heat transfer coefficient. Consequently, 107% of maximum heat transfer was obtained by using this configuration. PMID:24078795

Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.; Chung, T.-F.; Chen, Y. P.; Fei, Z.

2017-12-01

We report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly due to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.

Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.

Here, we report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly duemore » to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.« less

Hydrogen bonds and twist in cellulose microfibrils.

PubMed

Kannam, Sridhar Kumar; Oehme, Daniel P; Doblin, Monika S; Gidley, Michael J; Bacic, Antony; Downton, Matthew T

2017-11-01

There is increasing experimental and computational evidence that cellulose microfibrils can exist in a stable twisted form. In this study, atomistic molecular dynamics (MD) simulations are performed to investigate the importance of intrachain hydrogen bonds on the twist in cellulose microfibrils. We systematically enforce or block the formation of these intrachain hydrogen bonds by either constraining dihedral angles or manipulating charges. For the majority of simulations a consistent right handed twist is observed. The exceptions are two sets of simulations that block the O2-O6' intrachain hydrogen bond, where no consistent twist is observed in multiple independent simulations suggesting that the O2-O6' hydrogen bond can drive twist. However, in a further simulation where exocyclic group rotation is also blocked, right-handed twist still develops suggesting that intrachain hydrogen bonds are not necessary to drive twist in cellulose microfibrils. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Real-Space Imaging of the Tailored Plasmons in Twisted Bilayer Graphene

DOE PAGES

Hu, F.; Das, Suprem R.; Luan, Y.; ...

2017-12-13

Here, we report a systematic plasmonic study of twisted bilayer graphene (TBLG)—two graphene layers stacked with a twist angle. Through real-space nanoimaging of TBLG single crystals with a wide distribution of twist angles, we find that TBLG supports confined infrared plasmons that are sensitively dependent on the twist angle. At small twist angles, TBLG has a plasmon wavelength comparable to that of single-layer graphene. At larger twist angles, the plasmon wavelength of TBLG increases significantly with apparently lower damping. Further analysis and modeling indicate that the observed twist-angle dependence of TBLG plasmons in the Dirac linear regime is mainly duemore » to the Fermi-velocity renormalization, a direct consequence of interlayer electronic coupling. Our work unveils the tailored plasmonic characteristics of TBLG and deepens our understanding of the intriguing nano-optical physics in novel van der Waals coupled two-dimensional materials.« less

Gauge transformations for twisted spectral triples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landi, Giovanni; Martinetti, Pierre

2018-05-01

It is extended to twisted spectral triples the fluctuations of the metric as bounded perturbations of the Dirac operator that arises when a spectral triple is exported between Morita equivalent algebras, as well as gauge transformations which are obtained by the action of the unitary endomorphisms of the module implementing the Morita equivalence. It is firstly shown that the twisted-gauged Dirac operators, previously introduced to generate an extra scalar field in the spectral description of the standard model of elementary particles, in fact follow from Morita equivalence between twisted spectral triples. The law of transformation of the gauge potentials turns out to be twisted in a natural way. In contrast with the non-twisted case, twisted fluctuations do not necessarily preserve the self-adjointness of the Dirac operator. For a self-Morita equivalence, conditions are obtained in order to maintain self-adjointness that are solved explicitly for the minimal twist of a Riemannian manifold.

High-frequency electrostatic waves in the magnetosphere.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, T. S. T.

1973-01-01

High-frequency electrostatic microinstabilities in magnetospheric plasmas are considered in detail. Rather special plasma parameters are found to be required to match the theoretical wave spectrum with satellite observations in the magnetosphere. In particular, it is necessary to have a cold and a warm species of electrons such that (1) the warm component has an anomalous velocity distribution function that is nonmonotonic in the perpendicular component of velocity and is the source of free energy driving the instabilities, (2) the density ratio of the cold component to the hot component is greater than about 0.01, and (3) the temperature ratio of the two components for cases of high particle density is no less than 0.1. These requirements and the corresponding instability criteria are satisfied only in the trapping region; this is also the region in which the waves are most frequently observed. The range of unstable wavelengths and an estimate of the diffusion coefficient are also obtained. The wave are found to induce strong diffusion in velocity space for low-energy electrons during periods of moderate wave amplitude.

Effect of surface material on electrostatic charging of houseflies (Musca domestica L).

PubMed

McGonigle, Daniel F; Jackson, Chris W

2002-04-01

Houseflies (Musca domestica L) accumulated electrostatic charges when walking over clean, uncharged dielectric surfaces. The charges elicited on a walking housefly by a range of materials were quantified, allowing a triboelectric series to be determined relative to M domestica. This ranged from surfaces that charged individuals positively, e.g. Correx (corrugated polypropylene) [.1 (+/- 4.2)pC], to those that applied a negative charge, e.g. clear cast acrylic [-14.9 (+/- 2.9)pC]. Maximum positive and negative charges accumulated by individual M domestica were +73 and -27 pC. Replicate measurements on the same fly and surface showed little variation. Variation between individuals was not related to sex and was not consistent between surfaces. Different materials charged M domestica significantly differently and individual flies had significantly different charging properties. Variation in temperature between 21.3 degrees C and 24.7 degrees C and humidity between 24% and 41% RH significantly affected charge accumulated by M domestica on some surfaces, although further experimentation is needed to confirm this. The implications of this work are discussed in relation to insect trap design and pollination biology.

Impurities, temperature, and density in a miniature electrostatic plasma and current source

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Den Hartog, D.J.; Craig, D.J.; Fiksel, G.

1996-10-01

We have spectroscopically investigated the Sterling Scientific miniature electrostatic plasma source-a plasma gun. This gun is a clean source of high density (10{sup 19} - 10{sup 20} m{sup -3}), low temperature (5 - 15 eV) plasma. A key result of our investigation is that molybdenum from the gun electrodes is largely trapped in the internal gun discharge; only a small amount escapes in the plasma flowing out of the gun. In addition, the gun plasma parameters actually improve (even lower impurity contamination and higher ion temperature) when up to 1 kA of electron current is extracted from the gun viamore » the application of an external bias. This improvement occurs because the internal gun anode no longer acts as the current return for the internal gun discharge. The gun plasma is a virtual plasma electrode capable of sourcing an electron emission current density of 1 kA/cm{sup 2}. The high emission current, small size (3 - 4 cm diameter), and low impurity generation make this gun attractive for a variety of fusion and plasma technology applications.« less

Transient oligomerization of the SARS-CoV N protein--implication for virus ribonucleoprotein packaging.

PubMed

Chang, Chung-ke; Chen, Chia-Min Michael; Chiang, Ming-hui; Hsu, Yen-lan; Huang, Tai-huang

2013-01-01

The nucleocapsid (N) phosphoprotein of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) packages the viral genome into a helical ribonucleocapsid and plays a fundamental role during viral self-assembly. The N protein consists of two structural domains interspersed between intrinsically disordered regions and dimerizes through the C-terminal structural domain (CTD). A key activity of the protein is the ability to oligomerize during capsid formation by utilizing the dimer as a building block, but the structural and mechanistic bases of this activity are not well understood. By disulfide trapping technique we measured the amount of transient oligomers of N protein mutants with strategically located cysteine residues and showed that CTD acts as a primary transient oligomerization domain in solution. The data is consistent with the helical oligomer packing model of N protein observed in crystal. A systematic study of the oligomerization behavior revealed that altering the intermolecular electrostatic repulsion through changes in solution salt concentration or phosphorylation-mimicking mutations affects oligomerization propensity. We propose a biophysical mechanism where electrostatic repulsion acts as a switch to regulate N protein oligomerization.

Transfer matrix calculation for ion optical elements using real fields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mishra, P. M.; Blaum, K.; George, S.; Grieser, M.; Wolf, A.

2018-03-01

With the increasing importance of ion storage rings and traps in low energy physics experiments, an efficient transport of ion species from the ion source area to the experimental setup becomes essential. Some available, powerful software packages rely on transfer matrix calculations in order to compute the ion trajectory through the ion-optical beamline systems of high complexity. With analytical approaches, so far the transfer matrices are documented only for a few ideal ion optical elements. Here we describe an approach (using beam tracking calculations) to determine the transfer matrix for any individual electrostatic or magnetostatic ion optical element. We verify the procedure by considering the well-known cases and then apply it to derive the transfer matrix of a 90-degree electrostatic quadrupole deflector including its realistic geometry and fringe fields. A transfer line consisting of a quadrupole deflector and a quadrupole doublet is considered, where the results from the standard first order transfer matrix based ion optical simulation program implementing the derived transfer matrix is compared with the real field beam tracking simulations.

Study of nonlinear MHD equations governing the wave propagation in twisted coronal loops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Parhi, S.; DeBruyne, P.; Goossens, M.; Zhelyazkov, I.

1995-01-01

The solar corona, modelled by a low beta, resistive plasma slab, sustains MHD wave propagations due to shearing footpoint motions in the photosphere. By using a numerical algorithm the excitation and nonlinear development of MHD waves in twisted coronal loops are studied. The plasma responds to the footpoint motion by sausage waves if there is no twist. The twist in the magnetic field of the loop destroys initially developed sausage-like wave modes and they become kinks. The transition from sausage to kink modes is analyzed. The twist brings about mode degradation producing high harmonics and this generates more complex fine structures. This can be attributed to several local extrema in the perturbed velocity profiles. The Alfven wave produces remnants of the ideal 1/x singularity both for zero and non-zero twist and this pseudo-singularity becomes less pronounced for larger twist. The effect of nonlinearity is clearly observed by changing the amplitude of the driver by one order of magnitude. The magnetosonic waves also exhibit smoothed remnants of ideal logarithmic singularities when the frequency of the driver is correctly chosen. This pseudo-singularity for fast waves is absent when the coronal loop does not undergo any twist but becomes pronounced when twist is included. On the contrary, it is observed for slow waves even if there is no twist. Increasing the twist leads to a higher heating rate of the loop. The larger twist shifts somewhat uniformly distributed heating to layers inside the slab corresponding to peaks in the magnetic field strength.

Twist promotes tumor metastasis in basal-like breast cancer by transcriptionally upregulating ROR1.

PubMed

Cao, Jingying; Wang, Xin; Dai, Tao; Wu, Yuanzhong; Zhang, Meifang; Cao, Renxian; Zhang, Ruhua; Wang, Gang; Jiang, Rou; Zhou, Binhua P; Shi, Jian; Kang, Tiebang

2018-01-01

Rationale: Twist is a key transcription factor for induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), which promotes cell migration, invasion, and cancer metastasis, confers cancer cells with stem cell-like characteristics, and provides therapeutic resistance. However, the functional roles and targeted genes of Twist in EMT and cancer progression remain elusive. Methods: The potential targeted genes of Twist were identified from the global transcriptomes of T47D/Twist cells by microarray analysis. EMT phenotype was detected by western blotting and immunofluorescence of marker proteins. The dual-luciferase reporter and chromatin immunoprecipitation assays were employed to observe the direct transcriptional induction of ROR1 by Twist. A lung metastasis model was used to study the pro-metastatic role of Twist and ROR1 by injecting MDA-MB-231 cells into tail vein of nude mice. Bio-informatics analysis was utilized to measure the metastasis-free survival of breast cancer patients. Results: Twist protein was proved to directly activate the transcription of ROR1 gene, a receptor of Wnt5a in non-canonical WNT signaling pathway. Silencing of ROR1 inhibited EMT process, cell migration, invasion, and cancer metastasis of basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) cells. Knockdown of ROR1 also ameliorated the pro-metastatic effect of Twist. Furthermore, analyses of clinical specimens indicated that high expression of both ROR1 and Twist tightly correlates with poor metastasis-free survival of breast cancer patients. Conclusion: ROR1 is a targeted gene of Twist. Twist/ROR1 signaling is critical for invasion and metastasis of BLBC cells.

Twist for Snyder space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meljanac, Daniel; Meljanac, Stjepan; Mignemi, Salvatore; Pikutić, Danijel; Štrajn, Rina

2018-03-01

We construct the twist operator for the Snyder space. Our starting point is a non-associative star product related to a Hermitian realisation of the noncommutative coordinates originally introduced by Snyder. The corresponding coproduct of momenta is non-coassociative. The twist is constructed using a general definition of the star product in terms of a bi-differential operator in the Hopf algebroid approach. The result is given by a closed analytical expression. We prove that this twist reproduces the correct coproducts of the momenta and the Lorentz generators. The twisted Poincaré symmetry is described by a non-associative Hopf algebra, while the twisted Lorentz symmetry is described by the undeformed Hopf algebra. This new twist might be important in the construction of different types of field theories on Snyder space.

Effect of twist on single-mode fiber-optic 3 × 3 couplers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Dandan; Ji, Minning; Peng, Lei

2018-01-01

In the fabricating process of a 3 × 3 fused tapered coupler, the three fibers are usually twisted to be close-contact. The effect of twist on 3 × 3 fused tapered couplers is investigated in this paper. It is found that though a linear 3 × 3 coupler may realize equal power splitting ratio theoretically by twisting a special angle, it is hard to be fabricated actually because the twist angle and the coupler's length must be determined in advance. While an equilateral 3 × 3 coupler can not only realize approximate equal power splitting ratio theoretically but can also be fabricated just by controlling the elongation length. The effect of twist on the equilateral 3 × 3 coupler lies in the relationship between the equal ratio error and the twist angle. The more the twist angle is, the larger the equal ratio error may be. The twist angle usually should be no larger than 90° on one coupling period length in order to keep the equal ratio error small enough. The simulation results agree well with the experimental data.

Twisted supersymmetry: Twisted symmetry versus renormalizability

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dimitrijevic, Marija; Nikolic, Biljana; Radovanovic, Voja

We discuss a deformation of superspace based on a Hermitian twist. The twist implies a *-product that is noncommutative, Hermitian and finite when expanded in a power series of the deformation parameter. The Leibniz rule for the twisted supersymmetry transformations is deformed. A minimal deformation of the Wess-Zumino action is proposed and its renormalizability properties are discussed. There is no tadpole contribution, but the two-point function diverges. We speculate that the deformed Leibniz rule, or more generally the twisted symmetry, interferes with renormalizability properties of the model. We discuss different possibilities to render a renormalizable model.

Twist limits for late twisting double somersaults on trampoline.

PubMed

Yeadon, M R; Hiley, M J

2017-06-14

An angle-driven computer simulation model of aerial movement was used to determine the maximum amount of twist that could be produced in the second somersault of a double somersault on trampoline using asymmetrical movements of the arms and hips. Lower bounds were placed on the durations of arm and hip angle changes based on performances of a world trampoline champion whose inertia parameters were used in the simulations. The limiting movements were identified as the largest possible odd number of half twists for forward somersaulting takeoffs and even number of half twists for backward takeoffs. Simulations of these two limiting movements were found using simulated annealing optimisation to produce the required amounts of somersault, tilt and twist at landing after a flight time of 2.0s. Additional optimisations were then run to seek solutions with the arms less adducted during the twisting phase. It was found that 3½ twists could be produced in the second somersault of a forward piked double somersault with arms abducted 8° from full adduction during the twisting phase and that three twists could be produced in the second somersault of a backward straight double somersault with arms fully adducted to the body. These two movements are at the limits of performance for elite trampolinists. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Knockdown of TWIST1 enhances arsenic trioxide- and ionizing radiation-induced cell death in lung cancer cells by promoting mitochondrial dysfunction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seo, Sung-Keum; Kim, Jae-Hee; Choi, Ha-Na

Highlights: • Knockdown of TWIST1 enhanced ATO- and IR-induced cell death in NSCLCs. • Intracellular ROS levels were increased in cells treated with TWIST1 siRNA. • TWIST1 siRNA induced MMP loss and mitochondrial fragmentation. • TWIST1 siRNA upregulated the fission-related proteins FIS1 and DRP1. - Abstract: TWIST1 is implicated in the process of epithelial mesenchymal transition, metastasis, stemness, and drug resistance in cancer cells, and therefore is a potential target for cancer therapy. In the present study, we found that knockdown of TWIST1 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) enhanced arsenic trioxide (ATO)- and ionizing radiation (IR)-induced cell death in non-small-cellmore » lung cancer cells. Interestingly, intracellular reactive oxygen species levels were increased in cells treated with TWIST1 siRNA and further increased by co-treatment with ATO or IR. Pretreatment of lung cancer cells with the antioxidant N-acetyl-cysteine markedly suppressed the cell death induced by combined treatment with TWIST1 siRNA and ATO or IR. Moreover, treatment of cells with TWIST1 siRNA induced mitochondrial membrane depolarization and significantly increased mitochondrial fragmentation (fission) and upregulated the fission-related proteins FIS1 and DRP1. Collectively, our results demonstrate that siRNA-mediated TWIST1 knockdown induces mitochondrial dysfunction and enhances IR- and ATO-induced cell death in lung cancer cells.« less

TWIST1-WDR5-Hottip regulates Hoxa9 chromatin to facilitate prostate cancer metastasis

PubMed Central

Malek, Reem; Gajula, Rajendra P.; Williams, Russell D.; Nghiem, Belinda; Simons, Brian W.; Nugent, Katriana; Wang, Hailun; Taparra, Kekoa; Lemtiri-Chlieh, Ghali; Yoon, Arum R.; True, Lawrence; An, Steven S.; DeWeese, Theodore L.; Ross, Ashley E.; Schaeffer, Edward M.; Pienta, Kenneth J.; Hurley, Paula J.; Morrissey, Colm; Tran, Phuoc T.

2017-01-01

TWIST1 is a transcription factor critical for development which can promote prostate cancer metastasis. During embryonic development, TWIST1 and HOXA9 are co-expressed in mouse prostate and then silenced post-natally. Here we report that TWIST1 and HOXA9 co-expression are re-activated in mouse and human primary prostate tumors and are further enriched in human metastases, correlating with survival. TWIST1 formed a complex with WDR5 and the lncRNA Hottip/HOTTIP, members of the MLL/COMPASS-like H3K4 methylases, which regulate chromatin in the Hox/HOX cluster during development. TWIST1 overexpression led to co-enrichment of TWIST1 and WDR5 as well increased H3K4me3 chromatin at the Hoxa9/HOXA9 promoter which was dependent on WDR5. Expression of WDR5 and Hottip/HOTTIP was also required for TWIST1-induced upregulation of HOXA9 and aggressive cellular phenotypes such as invasion and migration. Pharmacological inhibition of HOXA9 prevented TWIST1-induced aggressive prostate cancer cellular phenotypes in vitro and metastasis in vivo. This study demonstrates a novel mechanism by which TWIST1 regulates chromatin and gene expression by cooperating with the COMPASS-like complex to increase H3K4 trimethylation at target gene promoters. Our findings highlight a TWIST1-HOXA9 embryonic prostate developmental program that is reactivated during prostate cancer metastasis and is therapeutically targetable. PMID:28484075

Twist1 Suppresses Senescence Programs and Thereby Accelerates and Maintains Mutant Kras-Induced Lung Tumorigenesis

PubMed Central

Thiyagarajan, Saravanan; Das, Sandhya T.; Zabuawala, Tahera; Chen, Joy; Cho, Yoon-Jae; Luong, Richard; Tamayo, Pablo; Salih, Tarek; Aziz, Khaled; Adam, Stacey J.; Vicent, Silvestre; Nielsen, Carsten H.; Withofs, Nadia; Sweet-Cordero, Alejandro; Gambhir, Sanjiv S.; Rudin, Charles M.; Felsher, Dean W.

2012-01-01

KRAS mutant lung cancers are generally refractory to chemotherapy as well targeted agents. To date, the identification of drugs to therapeutically inhibit K-RAS have been unsuccessful, suggesting that other approaches are required. We demonstrate in both a novel transgenic mutant Kras lung cancer mouse model and in human lung tumors that the inhibition of Twist1 restores a senescence program inducing the loss of a neoplastic phenotype. The Twist1 gene encodes for a transcription factor that is essential during embryogenesis. Twist1 has been suggested to play an important role during tumor progression. However, there is no in vivo evidence that Twist1 plays a role in autochthonous tumorigenesis. Through two novel transgenic mouse models, we show that Twist1 cooperates with KrasG12D to markedly accelerate lung tumorigenesis by abrogating cellular senescence programs and promoting the progression from benign adenomas to adenocarcinomas. Moreover, the suppression of Twist1 to physiological levels is sufficient to cause Kras mutant lung tumors to undergo senescence and lose their neoplastic features. Finally, we analyzed more than 500 human tumors to demonstrate that TWIST1 is frequently overexpressed in primary human lung tumors. The suppression of TWIST1 in human lung cancer cells also induced cellular senescence. Hence, TWIST1 is a critical regulator of cellular senescence programs, and the suppression of TWIST1 in human tumors may be an effective example of pro-senescence therapy. PMID:22654667

Transverse kink oscillations in the presence of twist

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terradas, J.; Goossens, M.

2012-12-01

Context. Magnetic twist is thought to play an important role in coronal loops. The effects of magnetic twist on stable magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves is poorly understood because they are seldom studied for relevant cases. Aims: The goal of this work is to study the fingerprints of magnetic twist on stable transverse kink oscillations. Methods: We numerically calculated the eigenmodes of propagating and standing MHD waves for a model of a loop with magnetic twist. The azimuthal component of the magnetic field was assumed to be small in comparison to the longitudinal component. We did not consider resonantly damped modes or kink instabilities in our analysis. Results: For a nonconstant twist the frequencies of the MHD wave modes are split, which has important consequences for standing waves. This is different from the degenerated situation for equilibrium models with constant twist, which are characterised by an azimuthal component of the magnetic field that linearly increases with the radial coordinate. Conclusions: In the presence of twist standing kink solutions are characterised by a change in polarisation of the transverse displacement along the tube. For weak twist, and in the thin tube approximation, the frequency of standing modes is unaltered and the tube oscillates at the kink speed of the corresponding straight tube. The change in polarisation is linearly proportional to the degree of twist. This has implications with regard to observations of kink modes, since the detection of this variation in polarisation can be used as an indirect method to estimate the twist in oscillating loops.

Nonlinear evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz instability in the double current sheet configuration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mao, Aohua; Li, Jiquan, E-mail: lijq@energy.kyoto-u.ac.jp; Kishimoto, Yasuaki

2016-03-15

The nonlinear evolution of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability driven by a radially antisymmetric shear flow in the double current sheet configuration is numerically investigated based on a reduced magnetohydrodynamic model. Simulations reveal different nonlinear fate of the KH instability depending on the amplitude of the shear flow, which restricts the strength of the KH instability. For strong shear flows far above the KH instability threshold, the linear electrostatic-type KH instability saturates and achieves a vortex flow dominated quasi-steady state of the electromagnetic (EM) KH turbulence with large-amplitude zonal flows as well as zonal fields. The magnetic surfaces are twisted significantlymore » due to strong vortices but without the formation of magnetic islands. However, for the shear flow just over the KH instability threshold, a weak EM-type KH instability is saturated and remarkably damped by zonal flows through modifying the equilibrium shear flow. Interestingly, a secondary double tearing mode (DTM) is excited subsequently in highly damped KH turbulence, behaving as a pure DTM in a flowing plasma as described in Mao et al. [Phys. Plasmas 21, 052304 (2014)]. However, the explosive growth phenomenon is replaced by a gradually growing oscillation due to the extremely twisted islands. As a result, the release of the magnetic energy becomes slow and the global magnetic reconnection tends to be gentle. A complex nonlinear interaction between the EM KH turbulence and the DTMs occurs for the medium shear flows above the KH instability threshold, turbulent EM fluctuations experience oscillatory nonlinear growth of the DTMs, finally achieves a quasi-steady state with the interplay of the fluctuations between the DTMs and the EM KH instability.« less

Modeling and control of active twist aircraft

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cramer, Nicholas Bryan

The Wright Brothers marked the beginning of powered flight in 1903 using an active twist mechanism as their means of controlling roll. As time passed due to advances in other technologies that transformed aviation the active twist mechanism was no longer used. With the recent advances in material science and manufacturability, the possibility of the practical use of active twist technologies has emerged. In this dissertation, the advantages and disadvantages of active twist techniques are investigated through the development of an aeroelastic modeling method intended for informing the designs of such technologies and wind tunnel testing to confirm the capabilities of the active twist technologies and validate the model. Control principles for the enabling structural technologies are also proposed while the potential gains of dynamic, active twist are analyzed.

Anderson transition in a multiply-twisted helix.

PubMed

Ugajin, R

2001-06-01

We investigated the Anderson transition in a multiply-twisted helix in which a helical chain of components, i.e., atoms or nanoclusters, is twisted to produce a doubly-twisted helix, which itself can be twisted to produce a triply-twisted helix, and so on, in which there are couplings between adjacent rounds of helices. As the strength of the on-site random potentials increases, an Anderson transition occurs, suggesting that the number of dimensions is 3 for electrons running along the multiply-twisted helix when the couplings between adjacent rounds are strong enough. If the couplings are weakened, the dimensionality becomes less, resulting in localization of electrons. The effect of random connections between adjacent rounds of helices and random magnetic fields that thread the structure is analyzed using the spectral statistics of a quantum particle.

Association between Twist and multidrug resistance gene-associated proteins in Taxol®-resistant MCF-7 cells and a 293 cell model of Twist overexpression.

PubMed

Wang, Li; Tan, Rui-Zhi; Zhang, Zhi-Xia; Yin, Rui; Zhang, Yong-Liang; Cui, Wei-Jia; He, Tao

2018-01-01

Multidrug resistance (MDR) severely limits the effectiveness of chemotherapy. Previous studies have identified Twist as a key factor of acquired MDR in breast, gastric and prostate cancer. However, the underlying mechanisms of action of Twist in MDR remain unclear. In the present study, the expression levels of MDR-associated proteins, including lung resistance-related protein (LRP), topoisomerase IIα (TOPO IIα), MDR-associated protein (MRP) and P-glycoprotein (P-gp), and the expression of Twist in cancerous tissues and pericancerous tissues of human breast cancer, were examined. In order to simulate Taxol ® resistance in cells, a Taxol ® -resistant human mammary adenocarcinoma cell subline (MCF-7/Taxol ® ) was established by repeatedly exposing MCF-7 cells to high concentrations of Taxol ® (up to 15 µg/ml). Twist was also overexpressed in 293 cells by transfecting this cell line with pcDNA5/FRT/TO vector containing full-length hTwist cDNA to explore the dynamic association between Twist and MDR gene-associated proteins. It was identified that the expression levels of Twist, TOPO IIα, MRP and P-gp were upregulated and LRP was downregulated in human breast cancer tissues, which was consistent with the expression of these proteins in the Taxol ® -resistant MCF-7 cell model. Notably, the overexpression of Twist in 293 cells increased the resistance to Taxol ® , Trichostatin A and 5-fluorouracil, and also upregulated the expression of MRP and P-gp. Taken together, these data demonstrated that Twist may promote drug resistance in cells and cancer tissues through regulating the expression of MDR gene-associated proteins, which may assist in understanding the mechanisms of action of Twist in drug resistance.

Cerclage handling for improved fracture treatment. A biomechanical study on the twisting procedure.

PubMed

Wähnert, D; Lenz, M; Schlegel, U; Perren, S; Windolf, M

2011-01-01

Twisting is clinically the most frequently applied method for tightening and maintaining cerclage fixation. The twisting procedure is controversially discussed. Several factors during twisting affect the mechanical behaviour of the cerclage. This in vitro study investigated the influence of different parameters of the twisting procedure on the fixation strength of the cerclage in an experimental setup with centripetal force application. Cortical half shells of the femoral shaft were mounted on a testing fixture. 1.0 mm, 1.25 mm and 1.5 mm stainless ste- el wire cerclages as well as a 1.0mm cable cerclage were applied to the bone. Pretension of the cerclage during the installation was measured during the locking procedure. Subsequently, cyclic testing was performed up to failure. Higher pretension could be achieved with increasing wire diameter. However, with larger wire diameter the drop of pre- tension due to the bending and cutting the twist also increased. The cable cerclage showed the highest pretension after locking. Cerclages twisted under traction revealed significantly higher initial cerclage tension. Plastically deformed twists offered higher cerclage pretension compared to twists which were deformed in the elastic region of the material. Cutting the wire within the twist caused the highest loss of cerclage tension (44% initial tension) whereas only 11 % was lost when cutting the wire ends separately. The bending direction of the twist significantly influenced the cerclage pretension. 45% pretension was lost in forward bending of the twist, 53% in perpendicular bending and 90% in backward bending. Several parameters affect the quality of a cerclage fixation. Adequate installation of cerclage wires could markedly improve the clinical outcome of cerclage.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang, Shyy Woei; Yang, Tsun Lirng; Liou, Jin Shuen

An experimental study measuring the axial heat transfer distributions and the pressure drop coefficients of the tube fitted with a broken twisted tape of twist ratio 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 or {infinity} is performed in the Re range of 1000-40,000. This type of broken twisted tape is newly invented without previous investigations available. Local Nusselt numbers and mean Fanning friction factors in the tube fitted with the broken twisted tape increase as the twist ratio decreases. Heat transfer coefficients, mean Fanning friction factors and thermal performance factors in the tube fitted with the broken twisted tape are, respectively, augmented tomore » 1.28-2.4, 2-4.7 and 0.99-1.8 times of those in the tube fitted with the smooth twisted tape. Empirical heat transfer and pressure drop correlations which evaluate the local Nusselt number and the mean Fanning friction factor for the tube with the broken twisted tape insert are generated to assist the industrial applications. (author)« less

Conical twist fields and null polygonal Wilson loops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Castro-Alvaredo, Olalla A.; Doyon, Benjamin; Fioravanti, Davide

2018-06-01

Using an extension of the concept of twist field in QFT to space-time (external) symmetries, we study conical twist fields in two-dimensional integrable QFT. These create conical singularities of arbitrary excess angle. We show that, upon appropriate identification between the excess angle and the number of sheets, they have the same conformal dimension as branch-point twist fields commonly used to represent partition functions on Riemann surfaces, and that both fields have closely related form factors. However, we show that conical twist fields are truly different from branch-point twist fields. They generate different operator product expansions (short distance expansions) and form factor expansions (large distance expansions). In fact, we verify in free field theories, by re-summing form factors, that the conical twist fields operator product expansions are correctly reproduced. We propose that conical twist fields are the correct fields in order to understand null polygonal Wilson loops/gluon scattering amplitudes of planar maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory.

The TWIST/Mi2/NuRD protein complex and its essential role in cancer metastasis.

PubMed

Fu, Junjiang; Qin, Li; He, Tao; Qin, Jun; Hong, Jun; Wong, Jiemin; Liao, Lan; Xu, Jianming

2011-02-01

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) converts epithelial tumor cells into invasive and metastatic cancer cells, leading to mortality in cancer patients. Although TWIST is a master regulator of EMT and metastasis for breast and other cancers, the mechanisms responsible for TWIST-mediated gene transcription remain unknown. In this study, purification and characterization of the TWIST protein complex revealed that TWIST interacts with several components of the Mi2/nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (Mi2/NuRD) complex, MTA2, RbAp46, Mi2 and HDAC2, and recruits them to the proximal regions of the E-cadherin promoter for transcriptional repression. Depletion of these TWIST complex components from cancer cell lines that depend on TWIST for metastasis efficiently suppresses cell migration and invasion in culture and lung metastasis in mice. These findings not only provide novel mechanistic and functional links between TWIST and the Mi2/NuRD complex but also establish new essential roles for the components of Mi2/NuRD complex in cancer metastasis.

In Silico Measurements of Twist and Bend Moduli for β-Solenoid Protein Self-Assembly Units.

PubMed

Heinz, Leonard P; Ravikumar, Krishnakumar M; Cox, Daniel L

2015-05-13

We compute potentials of mean force for bend and twist deformations via force pulling and umbrella sampling experiments for four β-solenoid proteins (BSPs) that show promise in nanotechnology applications. In all cases, we find quasi-Hooke's law behavior until the point of rupture. Bending moduli show modest anisotropy for two-sided and three-sided BSPs, and little anisotropy for a four-sided BSP. There is a slight clockwise/counterclockwise asymmetry in the twist potential of mean force, showing greater stiffness when the applied twist follows the intrinsic twist. When we extrapolate to beam theory appropriate for amyloid fibrils of the BSPs, we find bend/twist moduli which are somewhat smaller than those in the literature for other amyloid fibrils. Twist persistence lengths are on the order of a micron, and bend persistence lengths are several microns. Provided the intrinsic twist can be reversed, these results support the usage of BSPs in biomaterials applications.

Analysis of lead twist in modern high-performance grinding methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kundrák, J.; Gyáni, K.; Felhő, C.; Markopoulos, AP; Deszpoth, I.

2016-11-01

According to quality requirements of road vehicles shafts, which bear dynamic seals, twisted-pattern micro-geometrical topography is not allowed. It is a question whether newer modern grinding methods - such as quick-point grinding and peel grinding - could provide twist- free topography. According to industrial experience, twist-free surfaces can be made, however with certain settings, same twist occurs. In this paper it is proved by detailed chip-geometrical analysis that the topography generated by the new procedures is theoretically twist-patterned because of the feeding motion of the CBN tool. The presented investigation was carried out by a single-grain wheel model and computer simulation.

Highly sensitive torsion sensor based on long period fiber grating fabricated by femtosecond laser pulses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Xinran; Xie, Zheng; Song, Yuxin; Yin, Kai; Luo, Zhi; Duan, Ji'an; Wang, Cong

2017-12-01

A highly sensitive torsion sensor based on long period fiber grating (LPFG) fabricated by 800 nm femtosecond laser pulses is proposed and demonstrated. LPFG with an attenuation depth of ∼14 dB is achieved within the wavelength range of 1425-1575 nm. The experiment results show that the LP02 and LP03 resonant wavelengths experience red-shift when the twist direction is clockwise while they occur blue-shift in the twist counterclockwise direction as the twist rate increases. However, the LP04 resonant wavelength is always shifted toward shorter wavelength independently of the twist directions and higher twist sensitivity is observed. In addition, the loss peak amplitude of LPFG shows a tendency to decrease with the twist rate increases whether the LPFG is twisted clockwise or counterclockwise. Meanwhile, the resonant wavelength occurs splitting phenomenon in the case of higher twist rate as well as the high order resonant wavelength performs more significantly. Additionally, the sensor shows a twist sensitivity as high as 118.7 pm/(rad/m) in the range of -105 to -52.5 rad/m and that of 181.7 pm/(rad/m) in the range of 52.5-105 rad/m.

Experimental Analysis of the Thermo-Hydraulic Performance on a Cylindrical Parabolic Concentrating Solar Water Heater with Twisted Tape Inserts in an Absorber Tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Birendra; Nayak, Rajen Kumar; Singh, S. N.

2018-05-01

A twisted tape inserted in an absorber tube may be an excellent option to enhance the performance of a cylindrical parabolic concentrating solar collector (CPC). The present work is an experimental study of the flow and heat transfer with and without twisted tape inserts in the absorber tube of a CPC. Results are presented for mass flow rates of water, ṁ=0.0198-0.0525 kg/s, twist ratio, y=5-10 and Reynolds number, Re=2577.46-6785.55. In the present study, we found that the outlet water temperature, collector efficiency and Nusselt number (Nu) are higher in the twisted tapes as compared to those without the twisted tape inserts in the absorber tube of the CPC. For fixed mass flow rate of water ṁ, the To and η increased with the decrease in twist ratio, y, and is higher in lower twist ratio, y=5, of the twisted tapes. The whole experiment was performed at the Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) in Dhanbad, India during the months of March-April 2017. Based on the experimental data, the correlations for the Nu and friction factor were also developed.

Electronic and Optical Properties of Twisted Bilayer Graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Shengqiang

The ability to isolate single atomic layers of van der Waals materials has led to renewed interest in the electronic and optical properties of these materials as they can be fundamentally different at the monolayer limit. Moreover, these 2D crystals can be assembled together layer by layer, with controllable sequence and orientation, to form artificial materials that exhibit new features that are not found in monolayers nor bulk. Twisted bilayer graphene is one such prototype system formed by two monolayer graphene layers placed on top of each other with a twist angle between their lattices, whose electronic band structure depends on the twist angle. This thesis presents the efforts to explore the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene by Raman spectroscopy and scanning tunneling microscopy measurements. We first synthesize twisted bilayer graphene with various twist angles via chemical vapor deposition. Using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, the twist angles are determined. The strength of the Raman G peak is sensitive to the electronic band structure of twisted bilayer graphene and therefore we use this peak to monitor changes upon doping. Our results demonstrate the ability to modify the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene with doping. We also fabricate twisted bilayer graphene by controllable stacking of two graphene monolayers with a dry transfer technique. For twist angles smaller than one degree, many body interactions play an important role. It requires eight electrons per moire unit cell to fill up each band instead of four electrons in the case of a larger twist angle. For twist angles smaller than 0.4 degree, a network of domain walls separating AB and BA stacking regions forms, which are predicted to host topologically protected helical states. Using scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy, these states are confirmed to appear on the domain walls when inversion symmetry is broken with an external electric field. We observe a double-line profile of these states on the domain walls, only occurring when the AB and BA regions are gaped. These states give rise to channels that could transport charge in a dissipationless manner making twisted bilayer graphene a promising platform to realize controllable topological networks for future applications.

Twisting Neutron Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pushin, Dmitry

Most waves encountered in nature can be given a ``twist'', so that their phase winds around an axis parallel to the direction of wave propagation. Such waves are said to possess orbital angular momentum (OAM). For quantum particles such as photons, atoms, and electrons, this corresponds to the particle wavefunction having angular momentum of Lℏ along its propagation axis. Controlled generation and detection of OAM states of photons began in the 1990s, sparking considerable interest in applications of OAM in light and matter waves. OAM states of photons have found diverse applications such as broadband data multiplexing, massive quantum entanglement, optical trapping, microscopy, quantum state determination and teleportation, and interferometry. OAM states of electron beams have been used to rotate nanoparticles, determine the chirality of crystals and for magnetic microscopy. Here I discuss the first demonstration of OAM control of neutrons. Using neutron interferometry with a spatially incoherent input beam, we show the addition and conservation of quantum angular momenta, entanglement between quantum path and OAM degrees of freedom. Neutron-based quantum information science heretofore limited to spin, path, and energy degrees of freedom, now has access to another quantized variable, and OAM modalities of light, x-ray, and electron beams are extended to a massive, penetrating neutral particle. The methods of neutron phase imprinting demonstrated here expand the toolbox available for development of phase-sensitive techniques of neutron imaging. Financial support provided by the NSERC Create and Discovery programs, CERC and the NIST Quantum Information Program is acknowledged.

Loss of Twist1 in the Mesenchymal Compartment Promotes Increased Fibrosis in Experimental Lung Injury by Enhanced Expression of CXCL12

PubMed Central

Tan, Jiangning; Tedrow, John R.; Nouraie, Mehdi; Dutta, Justin A.; Miller, David T.; Li, Xiaoyun; Yu, Shibing; Chu, Yanxia; Juan-Guardela, Brenda; Kaminski, Naftali; Ramani, Kritika; Biswas, Partha S.; Zhang, Yingze

2017-01-01

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a disease characterized by the accumulation of apoptosis-resistant fibroblasts in the lung. We have previously shown that high expression of the transcription factor Twist1 may explain this prosurvival phenotype in vitro. However, this observation has never been tested in vivo. We found that loss of Twist1 in COL1A2+ cells led to increased fibrosis characterized by very significant accumulation of T cells and bone marrow–derived matrix-producing cells. We found that Twist1-null cells expressed high levels of the T cell chemoattractant CXCL12. In vitro, we found that the loss of Twist1 in IPF lung fibroblasts increased expression of CXCL12 downstream of increased expression of the noncanonical NF-κB transcription factor RelB. Finally, blockade of CXCL12 with AMD3100 attenuated the exaggerated fibrosis observed in Twist1-null mice. Transcriptomic analysis of 134 IPF patients revealed that low expression of Twist1 was characterized by enrichment of T cell pathways. In conclusion, loss of Twist1 in collagen-producing cells led to increased bleomycin-induced pulmonary fibrosis, which is mediated by increased expression of CXCL12. Twist1 expression is associated with dysregulation of T cells in IPF patients. Twist1 may shape the IPF phenotype and regulate inflammation in fibrotic lung injury. PMID:28179498

Tight Placement of Erich Arch Bar While Avoiding Wire Fatigue Failure.

PubMed

Kirk, Daniel; Whitney, Joseph; Shafer, David; Song, Liansheng

2016-03-01

To determine the number of wire twists needed to acquire ideal Erich arch bar tightness before wire fatigue failure (fracture) in relation to different distances and angles at which different gauge wires are grasped to provide information to improve the efficiency of arch bar application. This study mimicked surgical placement of arch bars with 24- and 26-gauge wires. The number of twists to tightness and failure was evaluated when the wire distance between the arch bar and wire holder tip changed (5 vs 10 mm) and when the degree at which the wire was held relative to the tooth axis was changed (45° vs 90°). A wire shearing test also was used to investigate the fatigability of wires tightened under these same conditions. Wires twisted to tightness, past tightness, and after shearing test movements were visualized with electron microscopy. For 24-gauge wire held at 5 mm, 2.6 to 2.8 twists were needed for wire tightness, with failure after 1.7 to 1.9 twists past tightness; for 24-gauge wire held at 10 mm, 4.4 to 4.9 twists produced tightness, with failure after 2.3 to 2.9 twists past tightness. For 26-gauge wire held at 5 mm, 3.3 to 3.5 twists provided tightness, with 1.6 to 1.8 twists past tightness causing failure; for 26-gauge wire held at 10 mm, 5.1 to 5.5 twists produced tightness, with 3.1 to 3.7 twists past tightness causing failure. At a 45° angle, the wire tightened with fewer twists and showed more resistance to failure with twists past tightness compared with 90° using 24- and 26-gauge wires. In contrast, 24-gauge wire held at a 5-mm distance showed the opposite result, with decreased resistance to failure at the 45° angle. However, the differences were not statistically meaningful. Scanning election microscopy showed no wire fatigue for either angle for 26-gauge wire held at a 5-mm distance and twisted to tightness. After overtightening and oscillation, the 90° angle trials showed fatigue, whereas the 45° angle trials did not. Holding a 24-gauge wire at 45° to the tooth axis is recommended owing to fewer twists to tightness and more resistance to failure. A 5-mm grasping distance is recommended for experienced surgeons owing to fewer twists to tightness, whereas a 10-mm grasping distance is recommended for novice surgeons owing to a greater tolerance for over-twisting before failure. Copyright © 2016 American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Adiabatic description of long range frequency sweeping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nyqvist, R. M.; Lilley, M. K.; Breizman, B. N.

2012-09-01

A theoretical framework is developed to describe long range frequency sweeping events in the 1D electrostatic bump-on-tail model with fast particle sources and collisions. The model includes three collision operators (Krook, drag (dynamical friction) and velocity space diffusion), and allows for a general shape of the fast particle distribution function. The behaviour of phase space holes and clumps is analysed in the absence of diffusion, and the effect of particle trapping due to separatrix expansion is discussed. With a fast particle distribution function whose slope decays above the resonant phase velocity, hooked frequency sweeping is found for holes in the presence of drag collisions alone.

TWIST1-WDR5-Hottip Regulates Hoxa9 Chromatin to Facilitate Prostate Cancer Metastasis.

PubMed

Malek, Reem; Gajula, Rajendra P; Williams, Russell D; Nghiem, Belinda; Simons, Brian W; Nugent, Katriana; Wang, Hailun; Taparra, Kekoa; Lemtiri-Chlieh, Ghali; Yoon, Arum R; True, Lawrence; An, Steven S; DeWeese, Theodore L; Ross, Ashley E; Schaeffer, Edward M; Pienta, Kenneth J; Hurley, Paula J; Morrissey, Colm; Tran, Phuoc T

2017-06-15

TWIST1 is a transcription factor critical for development that can promote prostate cancer metastasis. During embryonic development, TWIST1 and HOXA9 are coexpressed in mouse prostate and then silenced postnatally. Here we report that TWIST1 and HOXA9 coexpression are reactivated in mouse and human primary prostate tumors and are further enriched in human metastases, correlating with survival. TWIST1 formed a complex with WDR5 and the lncRNA Hottip/HOTTIP, members of the MLL/COMPASS-like H3K4 methylases, which regulate chromatin in the Hox/HOX cluster during development. TWIST1 overexpression led to coenrichment of TWIST1 and WDR5 as well as increased H3K4me3 chromatin at the Hoxa9/HOXA9 promoter, which was dependent on WDR5. Expression of WDR5 and Hottip/HOTTIP was also required for TWIST1-induced upregulation of HOXA9 and aggressive cellular phenotypes such as invasion and migration. Pharmacologic inhibition of HOXA9 prevented TWIST1-induced aggressive prostate cancer cellular phenotypes in vitro and metastasis in vivo This study demonstrates a novel mechanism by which TWIST1 regulates chromatin and gene expression by cooperating with the COMPASS-like complex to increase H3K4 trimethylation at target gene promoters. Our findings highlight a TWIST1-HOXA9 embryonic prostate developmental program that is reactivated during prostate cancer metastasis and is therapeutically targetable. Cancer Res; 77(12); 3181-93. ©2017 AACR . ©2017 American Association for Cancer Research.

Define the Twist ATX LPAR1 Signaling Axis in Promoting Obesity Associated Triple Negative Breast Cancer

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-05-01

developed CRISPR technology to examine if Twist enhances ATX and LPAR1 expression. Specifically, we performed lentiviral transduction of Twist...targeting gRNA into breast cancer cells MDA-MB-578 and SUM-1315, and selected single cell colony with Twist knockout. We chose CRISPR -gRNA over the...shRNA system which was originally proposed, as CRISPR provides higher specificity and fewer off-target effects. To verify knockout of Twist, we first

Highly sensitive twist sensor based on tilted fiber Bragg grating of polarization-dependent properties

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yanfang; Shen, Changyu; Chen, Debao; Chu, Jinlei; Wang, Qiang; Dong, Xinyong

2014-10-01

The transmission intensity of the tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is strongly dependent on the polarization properties of the TFBG. The polarization characteristic of the cladding modes can be used for twist measuring. In this paper, a highly sensitive fiber twist sensor is proposed. The transmission intensity on the strong loss wavelength showed a quasi-sin θ changing with the twist angle ranging from 0° to 180° for S- or P-polarized input. A high sensitivity of 0.299 dB/° is achieved, which is almost 17.9 times higher than that of the current similar existing twist sensor. The twist angle can be measured precisely with the matrix.

Au-coated tilted fiber Bragg grating twist sensor based on surface plasmon resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shen, Changyu; Zhang, Yang; Zhou, Wenjun; Albert, Jacques

2014-02-01

A fiber twist sensor based on the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) effect of an Au-coated tilted fiber Bragg grating (TFBG) is proposed. The SPR response to the twist effect on an Au-coated TFBG (immersing in distilled water) is studied theoretically and experimentally. The results show that the transmission power around the wavelength of SPR changes with the twist angle. For the twist ranging from 0° to 180° in clockwise or anti-clockwise directions, the proposed sensor shows sensitivities of 0.037 dBm/° (S-polarized) and 0.039 dBm/° (P-polarized), which are almost 7.5 times higher than that of the current similar existing twist sensor.

Twisted complex superfluids in optical lattices

PubMed Central

Jürgensen, Ole; Sengstock, Klaus; Lühmann, Dirk-Sören

2015-01-01

We show that correlated pair tunneling drives a phase transition to a twisted superfluid with a complex order parameter. This unconventional superfluid phase spontaneously breaks the time-reversal symmetry and is characterized by a twisting of the complex phase angle between adjacent lattice sites. We discuss the entire phase diagram of the extended Bose—Hubbard model for a honeycomb optical lattice showing a multitude of quantum phases including twisted superfluids, pair superfluids, supersolids and twisted supersolids. Furthermore, we show that the nearest-neighbor interactions lead to a spontaneous breaking of the inversion symmetry of the lattice and give rise to dimerized density-wave insulators, where particles are delocalized on dimers. For two components, we find twisted superfluid phases with strong correlations between the species already for surprisingly small pair-tunneling amplitudes. Interestingly, this ground state shows an infinite degeneracy ranging continuously from a supersolid to a twisted superfluid. PMID:26345721

The TWIST/Mi2/NuRD protein complex and its essential role in cancer metastasis

PubMed Central

Fu, Junjiang; Qin, Li; He, Tao; Qin, Jun; Hong, Jun; Wong, Jiemin; Liao, Lan; Xu, Jianming

2011-01-01

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) converts epithelial tumor cells into invasive and metastatic cancer cells, leading to mortality in cancer patients. Although TWIST is a master regulator of EMT and metastasis for breast and other cancers, the mechanisms responsible for TWIST-mediated gene transcription remain unknown. In this study, purification and characterization of the TWIST protein complex revealed that TWIST interacts with several components of the Mi2/nucleosome remodeling and deacetylase (Mi2/NuRD) complex, MTA2, RbAp46, Mi2 and HDAC2, and recruits them to the proximal regions of the E-cadherin promoter for transcriptional repression. Depletion of these TWIST complex components from cancer cell lines that depend on TWIST for metastasis efficiently suppresses cell migration and invasion in culture and lung metastasis in mice. These findings not only provide novel mechanistic and functional links between TWIST and the Mi2/NuRD complex but also establish new essential roles for the components of Mi2/NuRD complex in cancer metastasis. PMID:20714342

The Effect of a Twisted Magnetic Field on the Phase Mixing of the Kink Magnetohydrodynamic Waves in Coronal Loops

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ebrahimi, Zanyar; Karami, Kayoomars; Soler, Roberto, E-mail: z.ebrahimi@uok.ac.ir

There is observational evidence for the existence of a twisted magnetic field in the solar corona. This inspires us to investigate the effect of a twisted magnetic field on the evolution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) kink waves in coronal loops. With this aim, we solve the incompressible linearized MHD equations in a magnetically twisted nonuniform coronal flux tube in the limit of long wavelengths. Our results show that a twisted magnetic field can enhance or diminish the rate of phase mixing of the Alfvén continuum modes and the decay rate of the global kink oscillation depending on the twist model andmore » the sign of the longitudinal ( k{sub z} ) and azimuthal ( m ) wavenumbers. Also, our results confirm that in the presence of a twisted magnetic field, when the sign of one of the two wavenumbers m and k {sub z} is changed, the symmetry with respect to the propagation direction is broken. Even a small amount of twist can have an important impact on the process of energy cascading to small scales.« less

Comparison of split double and triple twists in pair figure skating.

PubMed

King, Deborah L; Smith, Sarah L; Brown, Michele R; McCrory, Jean L; Munkasy, Barry A; Scheirman, Gary I

2008-05-01

In this study, we compared the kinematic variables of the split triple twist with those of the split double twist to help coaches and scientists understand these landmark pair skating skills. High-speed video was taken during the pair short and free programmes at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics and the 2003 International Skating Union Grand Prix Finals. Three-dimensional analyses of 14 split double twists and 15 split triple twists from eleven pairs were completed. In spite of considerable variability in the performance variables among the pairs, the main difference between the split double twists and split triple twists was an increase in rotational rate. While eight of the eleven pairs relied primarily on an increased rotational rate to complete the split triple twist, three pairs employed a combined strategy of increased rotational rate and increased flight time due predominantly to delayed or lower catches. These results were similar to observations of jumps in singles skating for which the extra rotation is typically due to an increase in rotational velocity; increases in flight time come primarily from delayed landings as opposed to additional height during flight. Combining an increase in flight time and rotational rate may be a good strategy for completing the split triple twist in pair skating.

Heat Transfer Enhancement of Laminar Nanofluids Flow in a Circular Tube Fitted with Parabolic-Cut Twisted Tape Inserts

PubMed Central

Salman, Sami D.; Kadhum, Abdul Amir H.; Takriff, Mohd S.; Mohamad, Abu Bakar

2014-01-01

Numerical investigation has been carried out on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of copper-water nanofluid flow in a constant heat-fluxed tube with the existence of new configuration of vortex generator using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation. Two types of swirl flow generator: Classical twisted tape (CTT) and Parabolic-cut twisted tape (PCT) with a different twist ratio (y = 2.93, 3.91 and 4.89) and different cut depth (w = 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 cm) with 2% and 4% volume concentration of CuO nanofluid were used for simulation. The effect of different parameters such as flow Reynolds number, twist ratio, cut depth and nanofluid were considered. The results show that the enhancement of heat transfer rate and the friction factor induced by the Classical (CTT) and Parabolic-cut (PCT) inserts increases with twist ratio and cut depth decreases. The results also revealed that the heat transfer enhancement increases with an increase in the volume fraction of the CuO nanoparticle. Furthermore, the twisted tape with twist ratio (y = 2.93) and cut depth w = 0.5 cm offered 10% enhancement of the average Nusselt number with significant increases in friction factor than those of Classical twisted tape. PMID:24605055

Insulin-like growth factor-I induces CLU expression through Twist1 to promote prostate cancer growth.

PubMed

Takeuchi, Ario; Shiota, Masaki; Beraldi, Eliana; Thaper, Daksh; Takahara, Kiyoshi; Ibuki, Naokazu; Pollak, Michael; Cox, Michael E; Naito, Seiji; Gleave, Martin E; Zoubeidi, Amina

2014-03-25

Clusterin (CLU) is cytoprotective molecular chaperone that is highly expressed in castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). CRPC is also characterized by increased insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-I responsiveness which induces prostate cancer survival and CLU expression. However, how IGF-I induces CLU expression and whether CLU is required for IGF-mediated growth signaling remain unknown. Here we show that IGF-I induced CLU via STAT3-Twist1 signaling pathway. In response to IGF-I, STAT3 was phosphorylated, translocated to the nucleus and bound to the Twist1 promoter to activate Twist1 transcription. In turn, Twist1 bound to E-boxes on the CLU promoter and activated CLU transcription. Inversely, we demonstrated that knocking down Twist1 abrogated IGF-I induced CLU expression, indicating that Twist1 mediated IGF-I-induced CLU expression. When PTEN knockout mice were crossed with lit/lit mice, the resultant IGF-I deficiency suppressed Twist1 as well as CLU gene expression in mouse prostate glands. Moreover, both Twist1 and CLU knockdown suppressed prostate cancer growth accelerated by IGF-I, suggesting the relevance of this signaling not only in an in vitro, but also in an in vivo. Collectively, this study indicates that IGF-I induces CLU expression through sequential activation of STAT3 and Twist1, and suggests that this signaling cascade plays a critical role in prostate cancer pathogenesis. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Twist number and order properties of periodic orbits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petrisor, Emilia

2013-11-01

A less studied numerical characteristic of periodic orbits of area preserving twist maps of the annulus is the twist or torsion number, called initially the amount of rotation Mather (1984) [2]. It measures the average rotation of tangent vectors under the action of the derivative of the map along that orbit, and characterizes the degree of complexity of the dynamics. The aim of this paper is to give new insights into the definition and properties of the twist number and to relate its range to the order properties of periodic orbits. We derive an algorithm to deduce the exact value or a demi-unit interval containing the exact value of the twist number. We prove that at a period-doubling bifurcation threshold of a mini-maximizing periodic orbit, the new born doubly periodic orbit has the absolute twist number larger than the absolute twist of the original orbit after bifurcation. We give examples of periodic orbits having large absolute twist number, that are badly ordered, and illustrate how characterization of these orbits only by their residue can lead to incorrect results. In connection to the study of the twist number of periodic orbits of standard-like maps we introduce a new tool, called 1-cone function. We prove that the location of minima of this function with respect to the vertical symmetry lines of a standard-like map encodes a valuable information on the symmetric periodic orbits and their twist number.

How is the relationship between TWIST-1 and BCR-ABL1 gene expressions in chronic myeloid leukaemia patients?

PubMed

Heidari, Nazanin; Vosoughi, Tina; Mohammadi Asl, Javad; Saki Malehi, Amal; Saki, Najmaldin

2018-01-12

The activation and increased expression of BCR-ABL1 lead to malignant chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) cells, as well as the resistance to antitumour agents and apoptosis inducers. Moreover, TWIST-1 protein is a prognostic factor of leukemogenesis, and its level is raised in CML patients with cytogenetic resistance to imatinib. So, there is a likely relationship between BCR-ABL1 and TWIST-1 genes. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between TWIST-1 and BCR-ABL1 expressions. Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 44 CML patients under treatment and also from ten healthy subjects as normal controls. The expression of TWIST-1 and BCR-ABL1 genes was measured using real-time PCR, and ABL1 was used as the reference gene. The gene expression was evaluated by REST software. The expression levels of TWIST-1 and BCR-ABL1 genes in CML patients was changed 40.23 ± 177.75-fold and 6 ± 18-fold, respectively. No significant relationship was observed between the expressions of TWIST-1 and BCR-ABL1 genes. All patients with TWIST-1 expression levels ≥100-fold had failure of response to treatment. The probability of the relationship between BCR-ABL1 and TWIST-1 is still debatable, and the average of TWIST-1 expression has been higher in patients without response to treatment. Definitive conclusion needs further investigations.

Optimal flapping wing for maximum vertical aerodynamic force in hover: twisted or flat?

PubMed

Phan, Hoang Vu; Truong, Quang Tri; Au, Thi Kim Loan; Park, Hoon Cheol

2016-07-08

This work presents a parametric study, using the unsteady blade element theory, to investigate the role of twist in a hovering flapping wing. For the investigation, a flapping-wing system was developed to create a wing motion of large flapping amplitude. Three-dimensional kinematics of a passively twisted wing, which is capable of creating a linearly variable geometric angle of attack (AoA) along the wingspan, was measured during the flapping motion and used for the analysis. Several negative twist or wash-out configurations with different values of twist angle, which is defined as the difference in the average geometric AoAs at the wing root and the wing tip, were obtained from the measured wing kinematics through linear interpolation and extrapolation. The aerodynamic force generation and aerodynamic power consumption of these twisted wings were obtained and compared with those of flat wings. For the same aerodynamic power consumption, the vertical aerodynamic forces produced by the negatively twisted wings are approximately 10%-20% less than those produced by the flat wings. However, these twisted wings require approximately 1%-6% more power than flat wings to produce the same vertical force. In addition, the maximum-force-producing twisted wing, which was found to be the positive twist or wash-in configuration, was used for comparison with the maximum-force-producing flat wing. The results revealed that the vertical aerodynamic force and aerodynamic power consumption of the two types of wings are almost identical for the hovering condition. The power loading of the positively twisted wing is only approximately 2% higher than that of the maximum-force-producing flat wing. Thus, the flat wing with proper wing kinematics (or wing rotation) can be regarded as a simple and efficient candidate for the development of hovering flapping-wing micro air vehicle.

Epigenetic inactivation of TWIST2 in acute lymphoblastic leukemia modulates proliferation, cell survival and chemosensitivity

PubMed Central

Thathia, Shabnam H.; Ferguson, Stuart; Gautrey, Hannah E.; van Otterdijk, Sanne D.; Hili, Michela; Rand, Vikki; Moorman, Anthony V.; Meyer, Stefan; Brown, Robert; Strathdee, Gordon

2012-01-01

Background Altered regulation of many transcription factors has been shown to be important in the development of leukemia. TWIST2 modulates the activity of a number of important transcription factors and is known to be a regulator of hematopoietic differentiation. Here, we investigated the significance of epigenetic regulation of TWIST2 in the control of cell growth and survival and in response to cytotoxic agents in acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Design and Methods TWIST2 promoter methylation status was assessed quantitatively, by combined bisulfite and restriction analysis (COBRA) and pyrosequencing assays, in multiple types of leukemia and TWIST2 expression was determined by quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction analysis. The functional role of TWIST2 in cell proliferation, survival and response to chemotherapy was assessed in transient and stable expression systems. Results We found that TWIST2 was inactivated in more than 50% of cases of childhood and adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia through promoter hypermethylation and that this epigenetic regulation was especially prevalent in RUNX1-ETV6-driven cases. Re-expression of TWIST2 in cell lines resulted in a dramatic reduction in cell growth and induction of apoptosis in the Reh cell line. Furthermore, re-expression of TWIST2 resulted in increased sensitivity to the chemotherapeutic agents etoposide, daunorubicin and dexamethasone and TWIST2 hypermethylation was almost invariably found in relapsed adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (91% of samples hypermethylated). Conclusions This study suggests a dual role for epigenetic inactivation of TWIST2 in acute lymphoblastic leukemia, initially through altering cell growth and survival properties and subsequently by increasing resistance to chemotherapy. PMID:22058208

The Effects of Exercise Intensity vs. Metabolic State on the Variability and Magnitude of Left Ventricular Twist Mechanics during Exercise

PubMed Central

Armstrong, Craig; Samuel, Jake; Yarlett, Andrew; Cooper, Stephen-Mark; Stembridge, Mike; Stöhr, Eric J.

2016-01-01

Increased left ventricular (LV) twist and untwisting rate (LV twist mechanics) are essential responses of the heart to exercise. However, previously a large variability in LV twist mechanics during exercise has been observed, which complicates the interpretation of results. This study aimed to determine some of the physiological sources of variability in LV twist mechanics during exercise. Sixteen healthy males (age: 22 ± 4 years, V˙O2peak: 45.5 ± 6.9 ml∙kg-1∙min-1, range of individual anaerobic threshold (IAT): 32–69% of V˙O2peak) were assessed at rest and during exercise at: i) the same relative exercise intensity, 40%peak, ii) at 2% above IAT, and, iii) at 40%peak with hypoxia (40%peak+HYP). LV volumes were not significantly different between exercise conditions (P > 0.05). However, the mean margin of error of LV twist was significantly lower (F2,47 = 2.08, P < 0.05) during 40%peak compared with IAT (3.0 vs. 4.1 degrees). Despite the same workload and similar LV volumes, hypoxia increased LV twist and untwisting rate (P < 0.05), but the mean margin of error remained similar to that during 40%peak (3.2 degrees, P > 0.05). Overall, LV twist mechanics were linearly related to rate pressure product. During exercise, the intra-individual variability of LV twist mechanics is smaller at the same relative exercise intensity compared with IAT. However, the absolute magnitude (degrees) of LV twist mechanics appears to be associated with the prevailing rate pressure product. Exercise tests that evaluate LV twist mechanics should be standardised by relative exercise intensity and rate pressure product be taken into account when interpreting results. PMID:27100099

The Effects of Exercise Intensity vs. Metabolic State on the Variability and Magnitude of Left Ventricular Twist Mechanics during Exercise.

PubMed

Armstrong, Craig; Samuel, Jake; Yarlett, Andrew; Cooper, Stephen-Mark; Stembridge, Mike; Stöhr, Eric J

2016-01-01

Increased left ventricular (LV) twist and untwisting rate (LV twist mechanics) are essential responses of the heart to exercise. However, previously a large variability in LV twist mechanics during exercise has been observed, which complicates the interpretation of results. This study aimed to determine some of the physiological sources of variability in LV twist mechanics during exercise. Sixteen healthy males (age: 22 ± 4 years, [Formula: see text]O2peak: 45.5 ± 6.9 ml∙kg-1∙min-1, range of individual anaerobic threshold (IAT): 32-69% of [Formula: see text]O2peak) were assessed at rest and during exercise at: i) the same relative exercise intensity, 40%peak, ii) at 2% above IAT, and, iii) at 40%peak with hypoxia (40%peak+HYP). LV volumes were not significantly different between exercise conditions (P > 0.05). However, the mean margin of error of LV twist was significantly lower (F2,47 = 2.08, P < 0.05) during 40%peak compared with IAT (3.0 vs. 4.1 degrees). Despite the same workload and similar LV volumes, hypoxia increased LV twist and untwisting rate (P < 0.05), but the mean margin of error remained similar to that during 40%peak (3.2 degrees, P > 0.05). Overall, LV twist mechanics were linearly related to rate pressure product. During exercise, the intra-individual variability of LV twist mechanics is smaller at the same relative exercise intensity compared with IAT. However, the absolute magnitude (degrees) of LV twist mechanics appears to be associated with the prevailing rate pressure product. Exercise tests that evaluate LV twist mechanics should be standardised by relative exercise intensity and rate pressure product be taken into account when interpreting results.

Tyrosine kinase receptor c-ros-oncogene 1 inhibition alleviates aberrant bone formation of TWIST-1 haploinsufficient calvarial cells from Saethre-Chotzen syndrome patients.

PubMed

Camp, Esther; Anderson, Peter J; Zannettino, Andrew C W; Glackin, Carlotta A; Gronthos, Stan

2018-09-01

Saethre-Chotzen syndrome (SCS), associated with TWIST-1 mutations, is characterized by premature fusion of cranial sutures. TWIST-1 haploinsufficiency, leads to alterations in suture mesenchyme cellular gene expression patterns, resulting in aberrant osteogenesis and craniosynostosis. We analyzed the expression of the TWIST-1 target, Tyrosine kinase receptor c-ros-oncogene 1 (C-ROS-1) in TWIST-1 haploinsufficient calvarial cells derived from SCS patients and calvaria of Twist-1 del/+ mutant mice and found it to be highly expressed when compared to TWIST-1 wild-type controls. Knock-down of C-ROS-1 expression in TWIST-1 haploinsufficient calvarial cells derived from SCS patients was associated with decreased capacity for osteogenic differentiation in vitro. Furthermore, treatment of human SCS calvarial cells with the tyrosine kinase chemical inhibitor, Crizotinib, resulted in reduced C-ROS-1 activity and the osteogenic potential of human SCS calvarial cells with minor effects on cell viability or proliferation. Cultured human SCS calvarial cells treated with Crizotinib exhibited a dose-dependent decrease in alkaline phosphatase activity and mineral deposition, with an associated decrease in expression levels of Runt-related transcription factor 2 and OSTEOPONTIN, with reduced PI3K/Akt signalling in vitro. Furthermore, Crizotinib treatment resulted in reduced BMP-2 mediated bone formation potential of whole Twist-1 del/+ mutant mouse calvaria organotypic cultures. Collectively, these results suggest that C-ROS-1 promotes osteogenic differentiation of TWIST-1 haploinsufficient calvarial osteogenic progenitor cells. Furthermore, the aberrant osteogenic potential of these cells is inhibited by the reduction of C-ROS-1. Therefore, targeting C-ROS-1 with a pharmacological agent, such as Crizotinib, may serve as a novel therapeutic strategy to alleviate craniosynostosis associated with aberrant TWIST-1 function. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Superconducting flat tape cable magnet

DOEpatents

Takayasu, Makoto

2015-08-11

A method for winding a coil magnet with the stacked tape cables, and a coil so wound. The winding process is controlled and various shape coils can be wound by twisting about the longitudinal axis of the cable and bending following the easy bend direction during winding, so that sharp local bending can be obtained by adjusting the twist pitch. Stack-tape cable is twisted while being wound, instead of being twisted in a straight configuration and then wound. In certain embodiments, the straight length should be half of the cable twist-pitch or a multiple of it.

Twist-induced tuning in tapered fiber couplers.

PubMed

Birks, T A

1989-10-01

The power-splitting ratio of fused tapered single-mode fiber couplers can be reversibly tuned by axial twisting without affecting loss. The twist-tuning behavior of a range of different tapered couplers is described. A simple expression for twist-tuning can be derived by representing the effects of twist by a change in the refractive index profile. Good agreement between this expression and experimental results is demonstrated. Repeated tuning over tens of thousands of cycles is found not to degrade coupler performance, and a number of practical applications, including a freely tunable tapered coupler, are described.

Twirling and Whirling: Viscous Dynamics of Rotating Elastica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolgemuth, Charles; Powers, Thomas; Goldstein, Raymond

1999-10-01

The stability of forced elastic filaments arise in several important biological settings involving bend and twist elasticity at low Reynolds number. Examples include DNA transcription and replication and bacterial flagellar motion. In order to elucidate fundamental processes common to these systems, we consider the model problem of a rotationally forced filament with twist and bend elasticity. Competition between twist injection, twist diffusion, and writhing instabilities is described by a novel pair of PDEs for twist and bend evolution. Analytical and numerical methods elucidate the twist/bend coupling and reveal two dynamical regimes seperated by a Hopf bifurcation: (i) diffusion-dominated axial rotation, or twirling, and (ii) steady-state crankshafting motion, or whirling. Experiments are proposed to examine these phenomena and the consequences for swimming investigated.

The energetics of the primary proton transfer in bacteriorhodopsin revisited: it is a sequential light-induced charge separation after all.

PubMed

Braun-Sand, Sonja; Sharma, Pankaz K; Chu, Zhen T; Pisliakov, Andrei V; Warshel, Arieh

2008-05-01

The light-induced proton transport in bacteriorhodopsin has been considered as a model for other light-induced proton pumps. However, the exact nature of this process is still unclear. For example, it is not entirely clear what the driving force of the initial proton transfer is and, in particular, whether it reflects electrostatic forces or other effects. The present work simulates the primary proton transfer (PT) by a specialized combination of the EVB and the QCFF/PI methods. This combination allows us to obtain sufficient sampling and a quantitative free energy profile for the PT at different protein configurations. The calculated profiles provide new insight about energetics of the primary PT and its coupling to the protein conformational changes. Our finding confirms the tentative analysis of an earlier work (A. Warshel, Conversion of light energy to electrostatic energy in the proton pump of Halobacterium halobium, Photochem. Photobiol. 30 (1979) 285-290) and determines that the overall PT process is driven by the energetics of the charge separation between the Schiff base and its counterion Asp85. Apparently, the light-induced relaxation of the steric energy of the chromophore leads to an increase in the ion-pair distance, and this drives the PT process. Our use of the linear response approximation allows us to estimate the change in the protein conformational energy and provides the first computational description of the coupling between the protein structural changes and the PT process. It is also found that the PT is not driven by twist-modulated changes of the Schiff base's pKa, changes in the hydrogen bond directionality, or other non-electrostatic effects. Overall, based on a consistent use of structural information as the starting point for converging free energy calculations, we conclude that the primary event should be described as a light-induced formation of an unstable ground state, whose relaxation leads to charge separation and to the destabilization of the ion-pair state. This provides the driving force for the subsequent PT steps.

Coupling of radiofrequency with magnetic nanoparticles treatment as an alternative physical antibacterial strategy against multiple drug resistant bacteria

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chaurasia, Akhilesh K.; Thorat, Nanasaheb D.; Tandon, Anshula; Kim, Jin-Hahn; Park, Sung Ha; Kim, Kyeong Kyu

2016-09-01

Antibiotic resistant bacteria not only affect human health and but also threatens the safety in hospitals and among communities. However, the emergence of drug resistant bacteria is inevitable due to evolutionary selection as a consequence of indiscriminate antibiotic usage. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a novel strategy by which pathogenic bacteria can be eliminated without triggering resistance. We propose a novel magnetic nanoparticle-based physical treatment against pathogenic bacteria, which blocks biofilm formation and kills bacteria. In this approach, multiple drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300 and uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073 are trapped to the positively charged magnetic core-shell nanoparticles (MCSNPs) by electrostatic interaction. All the trapped bacteria can be completely killed within 30 min owing to the loss of membrane potential and dysfunction of membrane-associated complexes when exposed to the radiofrequency current. These results indicate that MCSNP-based physical treatment can be an alternative antibacterial strategy without leading to antibiotic resistance, and can be used for many purposes including environmental and therapeutic applications.

Trapping of muscle relaxant methocarbamol degradation product by complexation with copper(II) ion: Spectroscopic and quantum chemical studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansour, Ahmed M.; Shehab, Ola R.

2014-07-01

Structural properties of methocarbamol (Mcm) were extensively studied both experimentally and theoretically using FT IR, 1H NMR, UV-Vis., geometry optimization, Mulliken charge, and molecular electrostatic potential. Stability arises from hyper-conjugative interactions, charge delocalization and H-bonding was analyzed using natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis. Mcm was decomposed in ethanol/water mixture at 80 °C to guaifenesin [(RS)-3-(2-methoxyphenoxy)propane-1,2-diol] and carbamate ion [NH2COO-], where the degradation mechanism was explained by trapping the carbamate ion via the complexation with copper(II) ion. The structure of the isolated complex ([Cu(NH2COO)2(H2O)]ṡ4H2O) was elucidated by spectral, thermal, and magnetic tools. Electronic spectra were discussed by TD-DFT and the descriptions of frontier molecular orbitals and the relocations of the electron density were determined. Calculated g-tensor values showed best agreement with experimental values from EPR when carried out using both the B3LYP and B3PW91 functional.

Ion related problems for the XLS ring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozoki, Eva S.; Halama, Henry

1991-10-01

The electron beam in a storage ring collides with the residual gas in the vacuum chamber. As a consequence, low velocity positive ions are produced and trapped in the potential well of the electron beam. They perform stable or unstable oscillations around the beam under the repetitive Coulomb force of the bunches. If not cleared, the captured ions can lead to partial or total neutralization of the beam, causing both a decrease of lifetime and a change in the vertical tunes as well as an increase in the tune spread. It can also cause coherent and incoherent transverse instabilities. An electrostatic clearing electrodes system was designed to keep the neutralization below a desired limit. The location and the geometry of the clearing electrodes as well as the applied clearing voltage is based on the study of the ion production rate, longitudinal velocity of ions in field-free regions and in the dipoles, beam self-electric field, beam potential, critical mass for ion capture in the bunched beam and the bounce frequencies of the ions, tune shift and pressure rise due to trapped ions.

Temperature dependence of frequency dispersion in III–V metal-oxide-semiconductor C-V and the capture/emission process of border traps

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vais, Abhitosh, E-mail: Abhitosh.Vais@imec.be; Martens, Koen; DeMeyer, Kristin

2015-08-03

This paper presents a detailed investigation of the temperature dependence of frequency dispersion observed in capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements of III-V metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices. The dispersion in the accumulation region of the capacitance data is found to change from 4%–9% (per decade frequency) to ∼0% when the temperature is reduced from 300 K to 4 K in a wide range of MOS capacitors with different gate dielectrics and III-V substrates. We show that such significant temperature dependence of C-V frequency dispersion cannot be due to the temperature dependence of channel electrostatics, i.e., carrier density and surface potential. We also show that the temperaturemore » dependence of frequency dispersion, and hence, the capture/emission process of border traps can be modeled by a combination of tunneling and a “temperature-activated” process described by a non-radiative multi-phonon model, instead of a widely believed single-step elastic tunneling process.« less

Coupling of radiofrequency with magnetic nanoparticles treatment as an alternative physical antibacterial strategy against multiple drug resistant bacteria

PubMed Central

Chaurasia, Akhilesh K.; Thorat, Nanasaheb D.; Tandon, Anshula; Kim, Jin-Hahn; Park, Sung Ha; Kim, Kyeong Kyu

2016-01-01

Antibiotic resistant bacteria not only affect human health and but also threatens the safety in hospitals and among communities. However, the emergence of drug resistant bacteria is inevitable due to evolutionary selection as a consequence of indiscriminate antibiotic usage. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a novel strategy by which pathogenic bacteria can be eliminated without triggering resistance. We propose a novel magnetic nanoparticle-based physical treatment against pathogenic bacteria, which blocks biofilm formation and kills bacteria. In this approach, multiple drug resistant Staphylococcus aureus USA300 and uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073 are trapped to the positively charged magnetic core-shell nanoparticles (MCSNPs) by electrostatic interaction. All the trapped bacteria can be completely killed within 30 min owing to the loss of membrane potential and dysfunction of membrane-associated complexes when exposed to the radiofrequency current. These results indicate that MCSNP-based physical treatment can be an alternative antibacterial strategy without leading to antibiotic resistance, and can be used for many purposes including environmental and therapeutic applications. PMID:27670157

Trap-state-dominated suppression of electron conduction in carbon nanotube thin-film transistors.

PubMed

Qian, Qingkai; Li, Guanhong; Jin, Yuanhao; Liu, Junku; Zou, Yuan; Jiang, Kaili; Fan, Shoushan; Li, Qunqing

2014-09-23

The often observed p-type conduction of single carbon nanotube field-effect transistors is usually attributed to the Schottky barriers at the metal contacts induced by the work function differences or by the doping effect of the oxygen adsorption when carbon nanotubes are exposed to air, which cause the asymmetry between electron and hole injections. However, for carbon nanotube thin-film transistors, our contrast experiments between oxygen doping and electrostatic doping demonstrate that the doping-generated transport barriers do not introduce any observable suppression of electron conduction, which is further evidenced by the perfect linear behavior of transfer characteristics with the channel length scaling. On the basis of the above observation, we conclude that the environmental adsorbates work by more than simply shifting the Fermi level of the CNTs; more importantly, these adsorbates cause a poor gate modulation efficiency of electron conduction due to the relatively large trap state density near the conduction band edge of the carbon nanotubes, for which we further propose quantitatively that the adsorbed oxygen-water redox couple is responsible.

An Einzel lens apparatus for deposition of levitated graphene on a substrate in UHV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coppock, Joyce; Nagornykh, Pavel; McAdams, Ian; Kane, Bruce

The goal of our research is to levitate a charged micron-scale graphene flake in an electrical AC quadrupole trap in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) in order to study its properties and dynamics while decoupled from any substrate. As a complement to the optical measurements that can be performed on the levitated flake, we are developing a method of depositing the same flake on a substrate, which can be removed from the system for further study using such probes as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). As the flake is released from the trap and propelled toward the substrate, its trajectory will be controlled by an Einzel (electrostatic) lens to achieve accurate positioning on the substrate. This talk will discuss the design of the lens as well as particle tracing simulations to determine the proper lens voltage to focus the particle's trajectory. In the future, deposited graphene may be used to passivate H-terminated silicon. The method is expected to be generalizable to achieve deposition of 2D materials on surfaces in a clean UHV environment.

Effect of Magnetic Twist on Nonlinear Transverse Kink Oscillations of Line-tied Magnetic Flux Tubes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terradas, J.; Magyar, N.; Van Doorsselaere, T.

2018-01-01

Magnetic twist is thought to play an important role in many structures of the solar atmosphere. One of the effects of twist is to modify the properties of the eigenmodes of magnetic tubes. In the linear regime standing kink solutions are characterized by a change in polarization of the transverse displacement along the twisted tube. In the nonlinear regime, magnetic twist affects the development of shear instabilities that appear at the tube boundary when it is oscillating laterally. These Kelvin–Helmholtz instabilities (KHI) are produced either by the jump in the azimuthal component of the velocity at the edge of the sharp boundary between the internal and external part of the tube or by the continuous small length scales produced by phase mixing when there is a smooth inhomogeneous layer. In this work the effect of twist is consistently investigated by solving the time-dependent problem including the process of energy transfer to the inhomogeneous layer. It is found that twist always delays the appearance of the shear instability, but for tubes with thin inhomogeneous layers the effect is relatively small for moderate values of twist. On the contrary, for tubes with thick layers, the effect of twist is much stronger. This can have some important implications regarding observations of transverse kink modes and the KHI itself.

Sox5 induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition by transactivation of Twist1

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pei, Xin-Hong; Department of Pathology, The Basic Medical College of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan; Lv, Xin-Quan

2014-03-28

Highlights: • Depletion of Sox5 inhibits breast cancer proliferation, migration, and invasion. • Sox5 transactivates Twist1 expression. • Sox5 induces epithelial to mesenchymal transition through transactivation of Twist1 expression. - Abstract: The epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), a highly conserved cellular program, plays an important role in normal embryogenesis and cancer metastasis. Twist1, a master regulator of embryonic morphogenesis, is overexpressed in breast cancer and contributes to metastasis by promoting EMT. In exploring the mechanism underlying the increased Twist1 in breast cancer cells, we found that the transcription factor SRY (sex-determining region Y)-box 5(Sox5) is up-regulation in breast cancer cellsmore » and depletion of Sox5 inhibits breast cancer cell proliferation, migration, and invasion. Furthermore, depletion of Sox5 in breast cancer cells caused a dramatic decrease in Twist1 and chromosome immunoprecipitation assay showed that Sox5 can bind directly to the Twist1 promoter, suggesting that Sox5 transactivates Twist1 expression. We further demonstrated that knockdown of Sox5 up-regulated epithelial phenotype cell biomarker (E-cadherin) and down-regulated mesenchymal phenotype cell biomarkers (N-cadherin, Vimentin, and Fibronectin 1), resulting in suppression of EMT. Our study suggests that Sox5 transactivates Twist1 expression and plays an important role in the regulation of breast cancer progression.« less

Wire harness twisting aid

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casey, E. J.; Commadore, C. C.; Ingles, M. E.

1980-01-01

Long wire bundles twist into uniform spiral harnesses with help of simple apparatus. Wires pass through spacers and through hand-held tool with hole for each wire. Ends are attached to low speed bench motor. As motor turns, operator moves hand tool away forming smooth twists in wires between motor and tool. Technique produces harnesses that generate less radio-frequency interference than do irregularly twisted cables.

Twist Model Development and Results from the Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lizotte, Andrew M.; Allen, Michael J.

2007-01-01

Understanding the wing twist of the active aeroelastic wing (AAW) F/A-18 aircraft is a fundamental research objective for the program and offers numerous benefits. In order to clearly understand the wing flexibility characteristics, a model was created to predict real-time wing twist. A reliable twist model allows the prediction of twist for flight simulation, provides insight into aircraft performance uncertainties, and assists with computational fluid dynamic and aeroelastic issues. The left wing of the aircraft was heavily instrumented during the first phase of the active aeroelastic wing program allowing deflection data collection. Traditional data processing steps were taken to reduce flight data, and twist predictions were made using linear regression techniques. The model predictions determined a consistent linear relationship between the measured twist and aircraft parameters, such as surface positions and aircraft state variables. Error in the original model was reduced in some cases by using a dynamic pressure-based assumption. This technique produced excellent predictions for flight between the standard test points and accounted for nonlinearities in the data. This report discusses data processing techniques and twist prediction validation, and provides illustrative and quantitative results.

Twist Model Development and Results From the Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 Aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lizotte, Andrew; Allen, Michael J.

2005-01-01

Understanding the wing twist of the active aeroelastic wing F/A-18 aircraft is a fundamental research objective for the program and offers numerous benefits. In order to clearly understand the wing flexibility characteristics, a model was created to predict real-time wing twist. A reliable twist model allows the prediction of twist for flight simulation, provides insight into aircraft performance uncertainties, and assists with computational fluid dynamic and aeroelastic issues. The left wing of the aircraft was heavily instrumented during the first phase of the active aeroelastic wing program allowing deflection data collection. Traditional data processing steps were taken to reduce flight data, and twist predictions were made using linear regression techniques. The model predictions determined a consistent linear relationship between the measured twist and aircraft parameters, such as surface positions and aircraft state variables. Error in the original model was reduced in some cases by using a dynamic pressure-based assumption and by using neural networks. These techniques produced excellent predictions for flight between the standard test points and accounted for nonlinearities in the data. This report discusses data processing techniques and twist prediction validation, and provides illustrative and quantitative results.

Coexistence of twisted and untwisted crystals: An impurity/structural order model with implications for agate patterns

USGS Publications Warehouse

Comer, J.; Ortoleva, P.

2007-01-01

Coexistence of twisted and untwisted crystals is explained via a model that accounts for the coupling of the entropic and energetic effects of impurities and a supra-lattice-scale structural order parameter. It is shown that twisted impure crystals can be in equilibrium with untwisted purer ones. The model explains how coexistence can occur in agates and other systems under hydrostatic stress. The model implies that untwisted crystals grown under one set of conditions could undergo a phase separation that, when accompanied by an imposed compositional gradient, leads to commonly observed, alternating bands of twisted and untwisted crystals and, when occurring in the absence of an external gradient, mossy patterns of crystal texture can emerge. This phenomenon is not related to anisotropic applied stress. Rather coexistence is a consequence of a compositional segregation/twist phase transition. Since twist coexistence is a compositional equilibrium, it arises from the exchange between bulk phases; hence, the detailed nature of the atomic structure within an interface between twisted and untwisted zones is not relevant. The approach places crystal-twist phenomena within the theory of order/disorder phase transitions.

Operator constraints for twist-3 functions and Lorentz invariance properties of twist-3 observables

DOE PAGES

Kanazawa, Koichi; Pitonyak, Daniel; Koike, Yuji; ...

2016-03-14

We investigate the behavior under Lorentz transformations of perturbative coefficient functions in a collinear twist-3 formalism relevant for high-energy observables including transverse polarization of hadrons. We argue that those perturbative coefficient functions can, a priori, acquire quite different yet Lorentz-invariant forms in various frames. This somewhat surprising difference can be traced back to a general dependence of the perturbative coefficient functions on light cone vectors which are introduced by the twist-3 factorization formulas and which are frame-dependent. One can remove this spurious frame dependence by invoking so-called Lorentz invariance relations (LIRs) between twist-3 parton correlation functions. Some of those relationsmore » for twist-3 distribution functions were discussed in the literature before. In this paper we derive the corresponding LIRs for twist-3 fragmentation functions. We explicitly demonstrate that these LIRs remove the light cone vector dependence by considering transverse spin observables in the single-inclusive production of hadrons in lepton-nucleon collisions, ℓN→hX. Furthermore, with the LIRs in hand, we also show that twist-3 observables in general can be written solely in terms of three-parton correlation functions.« less

Experimental Investigation of the Electronic Properties of Twisted Bilayer Graphene by STM and STS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Longjing; Qiao, Jiabin; Wang, Wenxiao; Zuo, Weijie; He, Lin

The electronic properties of graphene multilayers depend sensitively on their stacking order. A twisted angle is treated as a unique degree of freedom to tune the electronic properties of graphene system. Here we study electronic structures of the twisted bilayers by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and spectroscopy (STS). We demonstrate that the interlayer coupling strength affects both the Van Hove singularities and the Fermi velocity of twisted bilayers dramatically. This removes the discrepancy about the Fermi velocity renormalization in the twisted bilayers and provides a consistent interpretation of all current data. Moreover, we report the experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers by STM and STS. At a magic twisted angle, about 1.11°, a pronounced sharp peak is observed in the tunnelling spectra due to the action of the non-Abelian gauge fields. Because of the effective non-Abelian gauge fields, the rotation angle could transfer the charge carriers in the twisted bilayers from massless Dirac fermions into well localized electrons, or vice versa, efficiently. This provides a new route to tune the electronic properties of graphene systems, which will be essential in future graphene nanoelectronics.

Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Kang Min; Kim, Keon Jung; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

2016-12-01

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO2). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO2 nanoparticles within the galleries of helically scrolled carbon nanotube sheets, which provide strength and electrical conductivity. Despite the high loading of brittle metal oxide particles, the biscrolled solid-state yarn supercapacitors are flexible and can be made elastically stretchable (up to 30% strain) by over-twisting to produce yarn coiling. The maximum areal capacitance of the yarn electrodes were up to 100 times higher than for previously reported fibres or yarn supercapacitors. Similarly, the energy density of complete, solid-state supercapacitors made from biscrolled yarn electrodes with gel electrolyte coating were significantly higher than for previously reported fibre or yarn supercapacitors.

Amyloid Polymorphism in the Protein Folding and Aggregation Energy Landscape.

PubMed

Adamcik, Jozef; Mezzenga, Raffaele

2018-02-15

Protein folding involves a large number of steps and conformations in which the folding protein samples different thermodynamic states characterized by local minima. Kinetically trapped on- or off-pathway intermediates are metastable folding intermediates towards the lowest absolute energy minima, which have been postulated to be the natively folded state where intramolecular interactions dominate, and the amyloid state where intermolecular interactions dominate. However, this view largely neglects the rich polymorphism found within amyloid species. We review the protein folding energy landscape in view of recent findings identifying specific transition routes among different amyloid polymorphs. Observed transitions such as twisted ribbon→crystal or helical ribbon→nanotube, and forbidden transitions such helical ribbon↛crystal, are discussed and positioned within the protein folding and aggregation energy landscape. Finally, amyloid crystals are identified as the ground state of the protein folding and aggregation energy landscape. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Smoke From Canadian Wildfires Trapped in Clouds

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-12-08

NASA's Aqua satellite captured this image of the clouds over Canada. Entwined within the clouds is the smoke billowing up from the wildfires that are currently burning across a large expanse of the country. The smoke has become entrained within the clouds causing it to twist within the circular motion of the clouds and wind. This image was taken by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Aqua satellite on May 9, 2016. Image Credit: NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team, GSFC NASA image use policy. NASA Goddard Space Flight Center enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Find us on Instagram

An analysis of rotor blade twist variables associated with different Euler sequences and pretwist treatments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alkire, K.

1984-01-01

A nonlinear analysis which is necessary to adequately model elastic helicopter rotor blades experiencing moderately large deformations was examined. The analysis must be based on an appropriate description of the blade's deformation geometry including elastic bending and twist. Built-in pretwist angles complicate the deformation process ant its definition. Relationships between the twist variables associated with different rotation sequences and corresponding forms of the transformation matrix are lasted. Relationships between the twist variables associated with first, the pretwist combined with the deformation twist are included. Many of the corresponding forms of the transformation matrix for the two cases are listed. It is shown that twist variables connected with the combined twist treatment are related to those where the pretwist is applied initially. A method to determine the relationships and some results are outlined. A procedure to evaluate the transformation matrix that eliminates the Eulerlike sequence altogether is demonstrated. The resulting form of the transformation matrix is unaffected by rotation sequence or pretwist treatment.

Aeroelastic Analysis of Helicopter Rotor Blades Incorporating Anisotropic Piezoelectric Twist Actuation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkie, W. Keats; Belvin, W. Keith; Park, K. C.

1996-01-01

A simple aeroelastic analysis of a helicopter rotor blade incorporating embedded piezoelectric fiber composite, interdigitated electrode blade twist actuators is described. The analysis consists of a linear torsion and flapwise bending model coupled with a nonlinear ONERA based unsteady aerodynamics model. A modified Galerkin procedure is performed upon the rotor blade partial differential equations of motion to develop a system of ordinary differential equations suitable for dynamics simulation using numerical integration. The twist actuation responses for three conceptual fullscale blade designs with realistic constraints on blade mass are numerically evaluated using the analysis. Numerical results indicate that useful amplitudes of nonresonant elastic twist, on the order of one to two degrees, are achievable under one-g hovering flight conditions for interdigitated electrode poling configurations. Twist actuation for the interdigitated electrode blades is also compared with the twist actuation of a conventionally poled piezoelectric fiber composite blade. Elastic twist produced using the interdigitated electrode actuators was found to be four to five times larger than that obtained with the conventionally poled actuators.

An aeroelastic analysis of helicopter rotor blades incorporating piezoelectric fiber composite twist actuation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilkie, W. Keats; Park, K. C.

1996-01-01

A simple aeroelastic analysis of a helicopter rotor blade incorporating embedded piezoelectric fiber composite, interdigitated electrode blade twist actuators is described. The analysis consist of a linear torsion and flapwise bending model coupled with a nonlinear ONERA based unsteady aerodynamics model. A modified Galerkin procedure is performed upon the rotor blade partial differential equations of motion to develop a system of ordinary differential equations suitable for numerical integration. The twist actuation responses for three conceptual full-scale blade designs with realistic constraints on blade mass are numerically evaluated using the analysis. Numerical results indicate that useful amplitudes of nonresonant elastic twist, on the order of one to two degrees, are achievable under one-g hovering flight conditions for interdigitated electrode poling configurations. Twist actuation for the interdigitated electrode blades is also compared with the twist actuation of a conventionally poled piezoelectric fiber composite blade. Elastic twist produced using the interdigitated electrode actuators was found to be four to five times larger than that obtained with the conventionally poled actuators.

Effect of twist on transverse impact response of ballistic fiber yarns

DOE PAGES

Song, Bo; Lu, Wei -Yang

2015-06-15

A Hopkinson bar was employed to conduct transverse impact testing of twisted Kevlar KM2 fiber yarns at the same impact speed. The speed of Euler transverse wave generated by the impact was measured utilizing a high speed digital camera. The study included fiber yarns twisted by different amounts. The Euler transverse wave speed was observed to increase with increasing amount of twist of the fiber yarn, within the range of this investigation. As a result, the higher transverse wave speeds in the more twisted fiber yarns indicate better ballistic performance in soft body armors for personal protection.

Combined detection of Twist1, Snail1 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen for the prognostic evaluation of invasion and metastasis in cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Yang, Huilun; Hu, Haiyang; Gou, Yanling; Hu, Yuhong; Li, Hui; Zhao, Hongwei; Wang, Beidi; Li, Peiling; Zhang, Zongfeng

2018-04-01

Cervical cancer is one of the most common malignant tumours of the female reproductive system, ranking second only to breast cancer in morbidity worldwide. Essential features of the progression of cervical cancer are invasion and metastasis, which are closely related to disease prognosis and mortality rate. At the present time there is no effective method to evaluate cancer invasion and metastasis before surgery. Here we report our study on molecular changes in biopsy tissue for the prognostic evaluation of cancer invasion and metastasis. Expression of the epithelial-mesenchymal transition-inducing transcription factors Twist1 and Snail1 was detected by immunohistochemistry in 32 normal, 36 low-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (LSIL), 54 high-grade squamous intraepithelial neoplasia (HSIL) and 320 cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) samples. The correlation between the expression of Twist1, Snail1 and squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCCA) in CSCC tissues and clinical pathology results was evaluated. A transwell migration and invasion assay was used to explore the roles of Twist1 and Snail1 in the invasion of cancer cells. Lymph node metastasis and lymphovascular space invasion (LVSI) rates for the following groups were analysed: SCCA(+) group, Twist1(+) group, Snail1(+) group, Twist1(+)Snail1(+)group, Twist1(+)SCCA(+)group, Snail1(+)SCCA(+)group and Twist1(+)Snail1(+)SCCA(+) group. The expression of Twist1 and Snail1 was significantly upregulated in HSIL and CSCC (p < 0.05). Twist1 and Snail1 expression levels were associated with LVSI, lymph node metastasis and histological grade (p < 0.05) but not with age or FIGO stage (p > 0.05). The expression of SCCA was associated with LVSI, lymph node metastasis, FIGO stage and histological grade (p < 0.05) but not with age (p > 0.05). Twist1 was an independent factor contributing to the invasion ability of cervical cancer cells. In addition, the positive rate of lymph node metastasis and LVSI was higher in the Twist1(+)Snail1(+)SCCA(+) group than in the SCCA(+) group, Twist1(+) group and Snail1(+) group, respectively (p < 0.05). Combined detection of Twist1 and Snail1 in SCCA-positive biopsy specimens may be a potential method for evaluating the invasion and metastasis of CSCC prior to surgery.

Anisotropic piezoelectric twist actuation of helicopter rotor blades: Aeroelastic analysis and design optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilkie, William Keats

1997-12-01

An aeroelastic model suitable for control law and preliminary structural design of composite helicopter rotor blades incorporating embedded anisotropic piezoelectric actuator laminae is developed. The aeroelasticity model consists of a linear, nonuniform beam representation of the blade structure, including linear piezoelectric actuation terms, coupled with a nonlinear, finite-state unsteady aerodynamics model. A Galerkin procedure and numerical integration in the time domain are used to obtain a soluti An aeroelastic model suitable for control law and preliminary structural design of composite helicopter rotor blades incorporating embedded anisotropic piezoelectric actuator laminae is developed. The aeroelasticity model consists of a linear, nonuniform beam representation of the blade structure, including linear piezoelectric actuation terms, coupled with a nonlinear, finite-state unsteady aerodynamics model. A Galerkin procedure and numerical integration in the time domain are used to obtain amited additional piezoelectric material mass, it is shown that blade twist actuation approaches which exploit in-plane piezoelectric free-stain anisotropies are capable of producing amplitudes of oscillatory blade twisting sufficient for rotor vibration reduction applications. The second study examines the effectiveness of using embedded piezoelectric actuator laminae to alleviate vibratory loads due to retreating blade stall. A 10 to 15 percent improvement in dynamic stall limited forward flight speed, and a 5 percent improvement in stall limited rotor thrust were numerically demonstrated for the active twist rotor blade relative to a conventional blade design. The active twist blades are also demonstrated to be more susceptible than the conventional blades to dynamic stall induced vibratory loads when not operating with twist actuation. This is the result of designing the active twist blades with low torsional stiffness in order to maximize piezoelectric twist authority. Determining the optimum tradeoff between blade torsional stiffness and piezoelectric twist actuation authority is the subject of the third study. For this investigation, a linearized hovering-flight eigenvalue analysis is developed. Linear optimal control theory is then utilized to develop an optimum active twist blade design in terms of reducing structural energy and control effort cost. The forward flight vibratory loads characteristics of the torsional stiffness optimized active twist blade are then examined using the nonlinear, forward flight aeroelastic analysis. The optimized active twist rotor blade is shown to have improved passive and active vibratory loads characteristics relative to the baseline active twist blades.

Twisting failure of centrally loaded open-section columns in the elastic range

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kappus, Robert

1938-01-01

In the following report a complete theory of twisting failure by the energy method is developed, based on substantially the same assumptions as those employed by Wagner and Bleich. Problems treated in detail are: the stress and strain condition under St. Venant twist and in twist with axial constraint; the concept of shear center and the energy method for problems of elastic stability.

On the twists of interplanetary magnetic flux ropes observed at 1 AU

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yuming; Zhuang, Bin; Hu, Qiang; Liu, Rui; Shen, Chenglong; Chi, Yutian

2016-10-01

Magnetic flux ropes (MFRs) are one kind of fundamental structures in the solar/space physics and involved in various eruption phenomena. Twist, characterizing how the magnetic field lines wind around a main axis, is an intrinsic property of MFRs, closely related to the magnetic free energy and stableness. Although the effect of the twist on the behavior of MFRs had been widely studied in observations, theory, modeling, and numerical simulations, it is still unclear how much amount of twist is carried by MFRs in the solar atmosphere and in heliosphere and what role the twist played in the eruptions of MFRs. Contrasting to the solar MFRs, there are lots of in situ measurements of magnetic clouds (MCs), the large-scale MFRs in interplanetary space, providing some important information of the twist of MFRs. Thus, starting from MCs, we investigate the twist of interplanetary MFRs with the aid of a velocity-modified uniform-twist force-free flux rope model. It is found that most of MCs can be roughly fitted by the model and nearly half of them can be fitted fairly well though the derived twist is probably overestimated by a factor of 2.5. By applying the model to 115 MCs observed at 1 AU, we find that (1) the twist angles of interplanetary MFRs generally follow a trend of about 0.6l/R radians, where l/R is the aspect ratio of a MFR, with a cutoff at about 12π radians AU-1, (2) most of them are significantly larger than 2.5π radians but well bounded by 2l/R radians, (3) strongly twisted magnetic field lines probably limit the expansion and size of MFRs, and (4) the magnetic field lines in the legs wind more tightly than those in the leading part of MFRs. These results not only advance our understanding of the properties and behavior of interplanetary MFRs but also shed light on the formation and eruption of MFRs in the solar atmosphere. A discussion about the twist and stableness of solar MFRs are therefore given.

Influence of orientation mismatch on charge transport across grain boundaries in tri-isopropylsilylethynyl (TIPS) pentacene thin films.

PubMed

Steiner, Florian; Poelking, Carl; Niedzialek, Dorota; Andrienko, Denis; Nelson, Jenny

2017-05-03

We present a multi-scale model for charge transport across grain boundaries in molecular electronic materials that incorporates packing disorder, electrostatic and polarisation effects. We choose quasi two-dimensional films of tri-isopropylsilylethynyl pentacene (TIPS-P) as a model system representative of technologically relevant crystalline organic semiconductors. We use atomistic molecular dynamics, with a force-field specific for TIPS-P, to generate and equilibrate polycrystalline two-dimensional thin films. The energy landscape is obtained by calculating contributions from electrostatic interactions and polarization. The variation in these contributions leads to energetic barriers between grains. Subsequently, charge transport is simulated using a kinetic Monte-Carlo algorithm. Two-grain systems with varied mutual orientation are studied. We find relatively little effect of long grain boundaries due to the presence of low impedance pathways. However, effects could be more pronounced for systems with limited inter-grain contact areas. Furthermore, we present a lattice model to generalize the model for small molecular systems. In the general case, depending on molecular architecture and packing, grain boundaries can result in interfacial energy barriers, traps or a combination of both with qualitatively different effects on charge transport.

Spectrally resolved single-molecule electrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruggeri, F.; Krishnan, M.

2018-03-01

Escape-time electrometry is a recently developed experimental technique that offers the ability to measure the effective electrical charge of a single biomolecule in solution with sub-elementary charge precision. The approach relies on measuring the average escape-time of a single charged macromolecule or molecular species transiently confined in an electrostatic fluidic trap. Comparing the experiments with the predictions of a mean-field model of molecular electrostatics, we have found that the measured effective charge even reports on molecular conformation, e.g., folded or disordered state, and non-uniform charge distribution in disordered proteins or polyelectrolytes. Here we demonstrate the ability to use the spectral dimension to distinguish minute differences in electrical charge between individual molecules or molecular species in a single simultaneous measurement, under identical experimental conditions. Using one spectral channel for referenced measurement, this kind of photophysical distinguishability essentially eliminates the need for accurate knowledge of key experimental parameters, otherwise obtained through intensive characterization of the experimental setup. As examples, we demonstrate the ability to detect small differences (˜5%) in the length of double-stranded DNA fragments as well as single amino acid exchange in an intrinsically disordered protein, prothymosin α.

A statistical study of gyro-averaging effects in a reduced model of drift-wave transport

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fonseca, Julio; Del-Castillo-Negrete, Diego B.; Sokolov, Igor M.

2016-08-25

Here, a statistical study of finite Larmor radius (FLR) effects on transport driven by electrostatic driftwaves is presented. The study is based on a reduced discrete Hamiltonian dynamical system known as the gyro-averaged standard map (GSM). In this system, FLR effects are incorporated through the gyro-averaging of a simplified weak-turbulence model of electrostatic fluctuations. Formally, the GSM is a modified version of the standard map in which the perturbation amplitude, K 0, becomes K 0J 0(more » $$\\hat{p}$$), where J 0 is the zeroth-order Bessel function and $$\\hat{p}$$ s the Larmor radius. Assuming a Maxwellian probability density function (pdf) for $$\\hat{p}$$ , we compute analytically and numerically the pdf and the cumulative distribution function of the effective drift-wave perturba- tion amplitude K 0J 0($$\\hat{p}$$). Using these results, we compute the probability of loss of confinement (i.e., global chaos), P c provides an upper bound for the escape rate, and that P t rovides a good estimate of the particle trapping rate. Lastly. the analytical results are compared with direct numerical Monte-Carlo simulations of particle transport.« less

Electrochemical Glucose Sensors—Developments Using Electrostatic Assembly and Carbon Nanotubes for Biosensor Construction

PubMed Central

Harper, Alice; Anderson, Mark R.

2010-01-01

In 1962, Clark and Lyons proposed incorporating the enzyme glucose oxidase in the construction of an electrochemical sensor for glucose in blood plasma. In their application, Clark and Lyons describe an electrode in which a membrane permeable to glucose traps a small volume of solution containing the enzyme adjacent to a pH electrode, and the presence of glucose is detected by the change in the electrode potential that occurs when glucose reacts with the enzyme in this volume of solution. Although described nearly 50 years ago, this seminal development provides the general structure for constructing electrochemical glucose sensors that is still used today. Despite the maturity of the field, new developments that explore solutions to the fundamental limitations of electrochemical glucose sensors continue to emerge. Here we discuss two developments of the last 15 years; confining the enzyme and a redox mediator to a very thin molecular films at electrode surfaces by electrostatic assembly, and the use of electrodes modified by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to leverage the electrocatalytic effect of the CNTs to reduce the oxidation overpotential of the electrode reaction or for the direct electron transport to the enzyme. PMID:22163652

Electrochemical glucose sensors--developments using electrostatic assembly and carbon nanotubes for biosensor construction.

PubMed

Harper, Alice; Anderson, Mark R

2010-01-01

In 1962, Clark and Lyons proposed incorporating the enzyme glucose oxidase in the construction of an electrochemical sensor for glucose in blood plasma. In their application, Clark and Lyons describe an electrode in which a membrane permeable to glucose traps a small volume of solution containing the enzyme adjacent to a pH electrode, and the presence of glucose is detected by the change in the electrode potential that occurs when glucose reacts with the enzyme in this volume of solution. Although described nearly 50 years ago, this seminal development provides the general structure for constructing electrochemical glucose sensors that is still used today. Despite the maturity of the field, new developments that explore solutions to the fundamental limitations of electrochemical glucose sensors continue to emerge. Here we discuss two developments of the last 15 years; confining the enzyme and a redox mediator to a very thin molecular films at electrode surfaces by electrostatic assembly, and the use of electrodes modified by carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to leverage the electrocatalytic effect of the CNTs to reduce the oxidation overpotential of the electrode reaction or for the direct electron transport to the enzyme.

Aeromechanical Evaluation of Smart-Twisting Active Rotor

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lim, Joon W.; Boyd, D. Douglas, Jr.; Hoffman, Frauke; van der Wall, Berend G.; Kim, Do-Hyung; Jung, Sung N.; You, Young H.; Tanabe, Yasutada; Bailly, Joelle; Lienard, Caroline;

Metallographic autopsies of full-scale ITER prototype cable-in-conduit conductors after full cyclic testing in SULTAN: III. The importance of strand surface roughness in long twist pitch conductors

DOE PAGES

Sanabria, Charlie; Lee, Peter J.; Starch, William; ...

2016-05-31

As part of the ITER conductor qualification process, 3 m long Cable-in-Conduit Conductors (CICCs) were tested at the SULTAN facility under conditions simulating ITER operation so as to establish the current sharing temperature, T cs, as a function of multiple full Lorentz force loading cycles. After a comprehensive evaluation of both the Toroidal Field (TF) and the Central Solenoid (CS) conductors, it was found that T cs degradation was common in long twist pitch TF conductors while short twist pitch CS conductors showed some T cs increase. However, one kind of TF conductors containing superconducting strand fabricated by the Bochvarmore » Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM) avoided T cs degradation despite having long twist pitch. In our earlier metallographic autopsies of long and short twist pitch CS conductors, we observed a substantially greater transverse strand movement under Lorentz force loading for long twist pitch conductors, while short twist pitch conductors had negligible transverse movement. With help from the literature, we concluded that the transverse movement was not the source of T cs degradation but rather an increase of the compressive strain in the Nb 3Sn filaments possibly induced by longitudinal movement of the wires. Like all TF conductors this TF VNIINM conductor showed large transverse motions under Lorentz force loading, but Tcs actually increased, as in all short twist pitch CS conductors. We here propose that the high surface roughness of the VNIINM strand may be responsible for the suppression of the compressive strain enhancement (characteristic of long twist pitch conductors). Furthermore, it appears that increasing strand surface roughness could improve the performance of long twist pitch CICCs.« less

Metallographic autopsies of full-scale ITER prototype cable-in-conduit conductors after full cyclic testing in SULTAN: III. The importance of strand surface roughness in long twist pitch conductors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanabria, Charlie; Lee, Peter J.; Starch, William

As part of the ITER conductor qualification process, 3 m long Cable-in-Conduit Conductors (CICCs) were tested at the SULTAN facility under conditions simulating ITER operation so as to establish the current sharing temperature, T cs, as a function of multiple full Lorentz force loading cycles. After a comprehensive evaluation of both the Toroidal Field (TF) and the Central Solenoid (CS) conductors, it was found that T cs degradation was common in long twist pitch TF conductors while short twist pitch CS conductors showed some T cs increase. However, one kind of TF conductors containing superconducting strand fabricated by the Bochvarmore » Institute of Inorganic Materials (VNIINM) avoided T cs degradation despite having long twist pitch. In our earlier metallographic autopsies of long and short twist pitch CS conductors, we observed a substantially greater transverse strand movement under Lorentz force loading for long twist pitch conductors, while short twist pitch conductors had negligible transverse movement. With help from the literature, we concluded that the transverse movement was not the source of T cs degradation but rather an increase of the compressive strain in the Nb 3Sn filaments possibly induced by longitudinal movement of the wires. Like all TF conductors this TF VNIINM conductor showed large transverse motions under Lorentz force loading, but Tcs actually increased, as in all short twist pitch CS conductors. We here propose that the high surface roughness of the VNIINM strand may be responsible for the suppression of the compressive strain enhancement (characteristic of long twist pitch conductors). Furthermore, it appears that increasing strand surface roughness could improve the performance of long twist pitch CICCs.« less

Plasma cleaning of nanoparticles from EUV mask materials by electrostatics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lytle, W. M.; Raju, R.; Shin, H.; Das, C.; Neumann, M. J.; Ruzic, D. N.

2008-03-01

Particle contamination on surfaces used in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) mask blank deposition, mask fabrication, and patterned mask handling must be avoided since the contamination can create significant distortions and loss of reflectivity. Particles on the order of 10nm are problematic during MLM mirror fabrication, since the introduced defects disrupt the local Bragg planes. The most serious problem is the accumulation of particles on surfaces of patterned blanks during EUV light exposure, since > 25nm particles will be printed without an out-of-focus pellicle. Particle contaminants are also a problem with direct imprint processes since defects are printed every time. Plasma Assisted Cleaning by Electrostatics (PACE) works by utilizing a helicon plasma as well as a pulsed DC substrate bias to charge particle and repel them electrostatically from the surface. Removal of this nature is a dry cleaning method and removes contamination perpendicular from the surface instead of rolling or sweeping the particles off the surface, a benefit when cleaning patterned surfaces where contamination can be rolled or trapped between features. Also, an entire mask can be cleaned at once since the plasma can cover the entire surface, thus there is no need to focus in on an area to clean. Sophisticated particle contamination detection system utilizing high power laser called DEFCON is developed to analyze the particle removal after PACE cleaning process. PACE has shown greater than 90 % particle removal efficiencies for 30 to 220 nm PSL particles on ruthenium capped quartz. Removal results for silicon surfaces and quartz surfaces show similar removal efficiencies. Results of cleaning 80 nm PSL spheres from silicon substrates will be shown.

Quasi-linear gyrokinetic predictions of the Coriolis momentum pinch in NSTX

DOE Data Explorer

Guttenfelder, W. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Kaye, S. M. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Ren, Y. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Solomon, W. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Bell, R. E. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Candy, J. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Gerhardt, S. P. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); LeBlanc, B. P. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States); Yuh, H. [Princeton Plasma Physics Lab. (PPPL), Princeton, NJ (United States)

2016-04-01

This paper presents quasi-linear gyrokinetic predictions of the Coriolis momentum pinch for low aspect-ratio NSTX H-modes where previous experimental measurements were focused. Local, linear calculations predict that in the region of interest (just outside the mid-radius) of these relatively high-beta plasmas, profiles are most unstable to microtearing modes that are only effective in transporting electron energy. However, sub-dominant electromagnetic and electrostatic ballooning modes are also unstable, which are effective at transporting energy, particles and momentum. The quasi-linear prediction of transport from these weaker ballooning modes, assuming they contribute transport in addition to that from microtearing modes in a nonlinear turbulent state, leads to a very small or outward convection of momentum, inconsistent with the experimentally measured inward pinch, and opposite to predictions in conventional aspect ratio tokamaks. Additional predictions of a low beta L-mode plasma, unstable to more traditional electrostatic ion temperature gradient-trapped electron mode instability, show that the Coriolis pinch is inward but remains relatively weak and insensitive to many parameter variations. The weak or outward pinch predicted in NSTX plasmas appears to be at least partially correlated to changes in the parallel mode structure that occur at finite beta and low aspect ratio, as discussed in previous theories. The only conditions identified where a stronger inward pinch is predicted occur either in the purely electrostatic limit or if the aspect ratio is increased. As the Coriolis pinch cannot explain the measured momentum pinch, additional theoretical momentum transport mechanisms are discussed that may be potentially important.

Spectral determinants for twist field correlators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belitsky, A. V.

2018-04-01

Twist fields were introduced a few decades ago as a quantum counterpart to classical kink configurations and disorder variables in low dimensional field theories. In recent years they received a new incarnation within the framework of geometric entropy and strong coupling limit of four-dimensional scattering amplitudes. In this paper, we study their two-point correlation functions in a free massless scalar theory, namely, twist-twist and twist-antitwist correlators. In spite of the simplicity of the model in question, the properties of the latter are far from being trivial. The problem is reduced, within the formalism of the path integral, to the study of spectral determinants on surfaces with conical points, which are then computed exactly making use of the zeta function regularization. We also provide an insight into twist correlators for a massive complex scalar by means of the Lifshitz-Krein trace formula.

Strength of surgical wire fixation. A laboratory study.

PubMed

Guadagni, J R; Drummond, D S

1986-08-01

Because of the frequent use of stainless steel wire in spinal surgery and to augment fracture fixation, several methods of securing wire fixation were tested in the laboratory to determine the relative strength of fixation. Any method of fixation stronger than the yield strength of the wire is sufficient. Square knots, knot twists, symmetric twists, and the AO loop-tuck techniques afforded acceptable resistance against tension loads, but the wire wrap and AO loop technique were unacceptable. The double symmetric twist, which is frequently used for tension banding, was barely acceptable. The symmetric twist technique was the most practical because it is strong enough, efficient in maintaining tension applied during fixation, and least likely to cause damage to the wire. To optimize the fixation strength of the symmetrical twist, at least two twists are required at a reasonably tight pitch.

THE EFFECT OF A TWISTED MAGNETIC FIELD ON THE PERIOD RATIO P{sub 1}/P{sub 2} OF NONAXISYMMETRIC MAGNETOHYDRODYNAMIC WAVES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Karami, K.; Bahari, K., E-mail: KKarami@uok.ac.ir, E-mail: K.Bahari@razi.ac.ir

2012-10-01

We consider nonaxisymmetric magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) modes in a zero-beta cylindrical compressible thin magnetic flux tube modeled as a twisted core surrounded by a magnetically twisted annulus, with both embedded in a straight ambient external field. The dispersion relation is derived and solved analytically and numerically to obtain the frequencies of the nonaxisymmetric MHD waves. The main result is that the twisted magnetic annulus does affect the period ratio P{sub 1}/P{sub 2} of the kink modes. For the kink modes, the magnetic twist in the annulus region can achieve deviations from P{sub 1}/P{sub 2} = 2 of the same order ofmore » magnitude as in the observations. Furthermore, the effect of the internal twist on the fluting modes is investigated.« less

To investigate the relation between pore size and twist angle in enhanced thermoelectric efficient porous armchair graphene nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaur, Sukhdeep; Randhawa, Deep Kamal Kaur; Bindra Narang, Sukhleen

2018-05-01

Based on Non-Equilibrium Green’s function method, we demonstrate that the twisted deformation is an efficient method to improve the figure of merit ZT of porous armchair graphene nanoribbons AGNRs. The peak value of ZT can be obtained for a certain tunable twist angle. Further analysis shows that the tunable twist angle exhibits an inverse relationship with the pore size laying forth the designers a choice for the larger twists to be replaced by smaller ones simply by increasing the size of the pore. Ballistic transport regime and semi-empirical method using Huckel basis set is used to obtain the electrical properties while the Tersoff potential is employed for the phononic system. These interesting findings indicate that the twisted porous AGNRs can be utilized as designing materials for potential thermoelectric applications.

Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticle Delivery of Chemically Modified siRNA Against TWIST1 Leads to Reduced Tumor Burden

PubMed Central

Finlay, James; Roberts, Cai M.; Dong, Juyao; Zink, Jeffrey I.; Tamanoi, Fuyuhiko; Glackin, Carlotta A.

2015-01-01

Growth and progression of solid tumors depends on the integration of multiple pro-growth and survival signals, including the induction of angiogenesis. TWIST1 is a transcription factor whose reactivation in tumors leads to epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), including increased cancer cell stemness, survival, and invasiveness. Additionally, TWIST1 drives angiogenesis via activation of IL-8 and CCL2, independent of VEGF signaling. In this work, results suggest that chemically modified siRNA against TWIST1 reverses EMT both in vitro and in vivo. siRNA delivery with a polyethyleneimine-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSN) led to reduction of TWIST1 target genes and migratory potential in vitro. In mice bearing xenograft tumors, weekly intravenous injections of the siRNA-nanoparticle complexes resulted in decreased tumor burden together with a loss of CCL2 suggesting a possible anti-angiogenic response. Therapeutic use of TWIST1 siRNA delivered via MSNs has the potential to inhibit tumor growth and progression in many solid tumor types. Chemically modified siRNA against TWIST1 was complexed to cation-coated mesoporous silica nanoparticles and tested in vitro and in vivo. In cell culture experiments, siRNA reduced expression of TWIST1 and its target genes, and reduced cell migration. In mice, injections of the siRNA-nanoparticle complex led to reduced tumor weight. Data suggest that diminished tumor burden was the result of reduced CCL2 expression and angiogenesis following TWIST1 knockdown. PMID:26115637

Research in space physics at the University of Iowa, 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Vanallen, J. A.; Frank, L. A.; Gurnett, D. A.; Shawhan, S. D.; Robison, E. D.; Robertson, T. D.

1983-01-01

The energetic particles and the electric, magnetic, and electromagnetic fields associated with the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the planets, comets, and the interplanetary medium are examined. Matters under current investigation are following: energetic particles trapped in the Earth's magnetic field, origin and propagation of very low frequency radio waves and electrostatic, the magnetospheres of Jupiter, Saturn and prospectively Uranus and Neptune, diffusion of energetic particles in Saturn's magnetosphere, radio emissions from Jupiter and Saturn, solar modulation and the heliocentric radial dependence of the intensity of galactic cosmic rays, interplanetary propagation and acceleration of energetic particles, the theory of wave phenomena in turbulent plasmas, and basic wave-particle-chemical processes in the ionospheric plasma.

Generating electrospray from microchip devices using electroosmotic pumping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ramsey, R.S.; Ramsey, J.M.

1997-03-15

A method of generating electrospray from solutions emerging from small channels etched on planer substrates in described. The fluids are delivered using electroosmotically induced pressures and are sprayed electrostatically from the terminus of a channel by applying an electrical potential of sufficient amplitude to generate the electrospray between the microchip and a conductor spaced from the channel terminus. No major modification of the microchip is required other than to expose a channel opening. The principles that regulate the fluid delivery are described and demonstrated. A spectrum for a test compound, tetrabutylammonium iodide, that was continuously electrophoresed was obtained by couplingmore » the microchip to an ion trap mass spectrometer. 35 refs., 6 figs.« less

Structural analysis and the effect of cyclo(His-Pro) dipeptide on neurotoxins--a dynamics and density functional theory study.

PubMed

Abiram, Angamuthu; Kolandaivel, Ponmalai

2010-02-01

The switching propensity and maximum probability of occurrence of the side chain imidazole group in the dipeptide cyclo(His-Pro) (CHP) were studied by applying molecular dynamics simulations and density functional theory. The atomistic behaviour of CHP with the neurotoxins glutamate (E) and paraquat (Pq) were also explored; E and Pq engage in hydrogen bond formation with the diketopiperazine (DKP) ring of the dipeptide, with which E shows a profound interaction, as confirmed further by NH and CO stretching vibrational frequencies. The effect of CHP was found to be greater on E than on Pq neurotoxin. A ring puckering study indicated a twist boat conformation for the six-membered DKP ring. Molecular electrostatic potential (MESP) mapping was also used to explore the hydrogen bond interactions prevailing between the neurotoxins and the DKP ring. The results of this study reveal that the DKP ring of the dipeptide CHP can be expected to play a significant role in reducing effects such as oxidative stress and cell death caused by neurotoxins.

Distinct docking and stabilization steps of the Pseudopilus conformational transition path suggest rotational assembly of type IV pilus-like fibers.

PubMed

Nivaskumar, Mangayarkarasi; Bouvier, Guillaume; Campos, Manuel; Nadeau, Nathalie; Yu, Xiong; Egelman, Edward H; Nilges, Michael; Francetic, Olivera

2014-05-06

The closely related bacterial type II secretion (T2S) and type IV pilus (T4P) systems are sophisticated machines that assemble dynamic fibers promoting protein transport, motility, or adhesion. Despite their essential role in virulence, the molecular mechanisms underlying helical fiber assembly remain unknown. Here, we use electron microscopy and flexible modeling to study conformational changes of PulG pili assembled by the Klebsiella oxytoca T2SS. Neural network analysis of 3,900 pilus models suggested a transition path toward low-energy conformations driven by progressive increase in fiber helical twist. Detailed predictions of interprotomer contacts along this path were tested by site-directed mutagenesis, pilus assembly, and protein secretion analyses. We demonstrate that electrostatic interactions between adjacent protomers (P-P+1) in the membrane drive pseudopilin docking, while P-P+3 and P-P+4 contacts determine downstream fiber stabilization steps. These results support a model of a spool-like assembly mechanism for fibers of the T2SS-T4P superfamily. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Distinct docking and stabilization steps of the pseudopilus conformational transition path suggest rotational assembly of type IV pilus-like fibers

PubMed Central

Nivaskumar, Mangayarkarasi; Bouvier, Guillaume; Campos, Manuel; Nadeau, Nathalie; Yu, Xiong; Egelman, Edward H.; Nilges, Michael; Francetic, Olivera

2014-01-01

SUMMARY The closely related bacterial type II secretion (T2S) and type IV pilus (T4P) systems are sophisticated machines that assemble dynamic fibers promoting protein transport, motility or adhesion. Despite their essential role in virulence, the molecular mechanisms underlying helical fiber assembly remain unknown. Here we use electron microscopy and flexible modeling to study conformational changes of PulG pili assembled by the Klebsiella oxytoca T2SS. Neural network analysis of 3900 pilus models suggested a transition path towards low-energy conformations driven by progressive increase in fiber helical twist. Detailed predictions of inter-protomer contacts along this path were tested by site-directed mutagenesis, pilus assembly and protein secretion analyses. We demonstrate that electrostatic interactions between adjacent protomers (P-P+1) in the membrane drive pseudopilin docking, while P-P+3 and P-P+4 contacts determine downstream fiber stabilization steps. These results support a new model of a spool-like assembly mechanism for fibers of the T2SS-T4P superfamily. PMID:24685147

Visualizing Gyrokinetic Turbulence in a Tokamak

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stantchev, George

2005-10-01

Multi-dimensional data output from gyrokinetic microturbulence codes are often difficult to visualize, in part due to the non-trivial geometry of the underlying grids, in part due to high irregularity of the relevant scalar field structures in turbulent regions. For instance, traditional isosurface extraction methods are likely to fail for the electrostatic potential field whose level sets may exhibit various geometric pathologies. To address these issues we develop an advanced interactive 3D gyrokinetic turbulence visualization framework which we apply in the study of microtearing instabilities calculated with GS2 in the MAST and NSTX geometries. In these simulations GS2 uses field-line-following coordinates such that the computational domain maps in physical space to a long, twisting flux tube with strong cross-sectional shear. Using statistical wavelet analysis we create a sparse multiple-scale volumetric representation of the relevant scalar fields, which we visualize via a variation of the so called splatting technique. To handle the problem of highly anisotropic flux tube configurations we adapt a geometry-driven surface illumination algorithm that places local light sources for effective feature-enhanced visualization.

Twisted surfaces with vanishing curvature in Galilean 3-space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dede, Mustafa; Ekici, Cumali; Goemans, Wendy; Ünlütürk, Yasin

In this work, we define twisted surfaces in Galilean 3-space. In order to construct these surfaces, a planar curve is subjected to two simultaneous rotations, possibly with different rotation speeds. The existence of Euclidean rotations and isotropic rotations leads to three distinct types of twisted surfaces in Galilean 3-space. Then we classify twisted surfaces in Galilean 3-space with zero Gaussian curvature or zero mean curvature.

Twisting integrin receptors increases endothelin-1 gene expression in endothelial cells

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chen, J.; Fabry, B.; Schiffrin, E. L.; Wang, N.; Ingber, D. E. (Principal Investigator)

2001-01-01

A magnetic twisting stimulator was developed based on the previously published technique of magnetic twisting cytometry. Using ligand-coated ferromagnetic microbeads, this device can apply mechanical stresses with varying amplitudes, duration, frequencies, and waveforms to specific cell surface receptors. Biochemical and biological responses of the cells to the mechanical stimulation can be assayed. Twisting integrin receptors with RGD (Arg-Gly-Asp)-containing peptide-coated beads increased endothelin-1 (ET-1) gene expression by >100%. In contrast, twisting scavenger receptors with acetylated low-density lipoprotein-coated beads or twisting HLA antigen with anti-HLA antibody-coated beads did not lead to alterations in ET-1 gene expression. In situ hybridization showed that the increase in ET-1 mRNA was localized in the cells that were stressed with the RGD-coated beads. Blocking stretch-activated ion channels with gadolinium, chelating Ca2+ with EGTA, or inhibiting tyrosine phosphorylation with genistein abolished twist-induced ET-1 mRNA elevation. Abolishing cytoskeletal tension with an inhibitor of the myosin ATPase, with an inhibitor of myosin light chain kinase, or with an actin microfilament disrupter blocked twisted-induced increases in ET-1 expression. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the molecular structural linkage of integrin-cytoskeleton is an important pathway for stress-induced ET-1 gene expression.

TiO2/water Nanofluid Heat Transfer in Heat Exchanger Equipped with Double Twisted-Tape Inserts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eiamsa-ard, S.; Ketrain, R.; Chuwattanakul, V.

2018-05-01

Nowadays, heat transfer enhancement plays an important role in improving efficiency of heat transfer and thermal systems for numerous areas such as heat recovery processes, chemical reactors, air-conditioning/refrigeration system, food engineering, solar air/water heater, cooling of high power electronics etc. The present work presents the experimental results of the heat transfer enhancement of TiO2/water nanofluid in a heat exchanger tube fitted with double twisted tapes. The study covered twist ratios of twisted tapes (y/w) of 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5) while the concentration of the nanofluid was kept constant at 0.05% by volume. Observations show that heat transfer, friction loss and thermal performance increase as twist ratio (y/w) decreases. The use of the nanofluid in the tube equipped with the double twisted-tapes with the smallest twist ratio (y/w = 1.5) results in the increases of heat transfer rates and friction factor up to 224.8% and 8.98 times, respectively as compared to those of water. In addition, the experimental results performed that double twisted tapes induced dual swirling-flows which played an important role in improving fluid mixing and heat transfer enhancement. It is also observed that the TiO2/water nanofluid was responsible for low pressure loss behaviors.

Charge transport properties of poly(dA)-poly(dT) DNA in variation of backbone disorder and amplitude of base-pair twisting motion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rahmi, Kinanti Aldilla, E-mail: kinanti.aldilla@ui.ac.id; Yudiarsah, Efta

By using tight binding Hamiltonian model, charge transport properties of poly(dA)-poly(dT) DNA in variation of backbone disorder and amplitude of base-pair twisting motion is studied. The DNA chain used is 32 base pairs long poly(dA)-poly(dT) molecule. The molecule is contacted to electrode at both ends. The influence of environment on charge transport in DNA is modeled as variation of backbone disorder. The twisting motion amplitude is taking into account by assuming that the twisting angle distributes following Gaussian distribution function with zero average and standard deviation proportional to square root of temperature and inversely proportional to the twisting motion frequency.more » The base-pair twisting motion influences both the onsite energy of the bases and electron hopping constant between bases. The charge transport properties are studied by calculating current using Landauer-Buttiker formula from transmission probabilities which is calculated by transfer matrix methods. The result shows that as the backbone disorder increases, the maximum current decreases. By decreasing the twisting motion frequency, the current increases rapidly at low voltage, but the current increases slower at higher voltage. The threshold voltage can increase or decrease with increasing backbone disorder and increasing twisting frequency.« less

Structural and electron diffraction scaling of twisted graphene bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Kuan; Tadmor, Ellad B.

2018-03-01

Multiscale simulations are used to study the structural relaxation in twisted graphene bilayers and the associated electron diffraction patterns. The initial twist forms an incommensurate moiré pattern that relaxes to a commensurate microstructure comprised of a repeating pattern of alternating low-energy AB and BA domains surrounding a high-energy AA domain. The simulations show that the relaxation mechanism involves a localized rotation and shrinking of the AA domains that scales in two regimes with the imposed twist. For small twisting angles, the localized rotation tends to a constant; for large twist, the rotation scales linearly with it. This behavior is tied to the inverse scaling of the moiré pattern size with twist angle and is explained theoretically using a linear elasticity model. The results are validated experimentally through a simulated electron diffraction analysis of the relaxed structures. A complex electron diffraction pattern involving the appearance of weak satellite peaks is predicted for the small twist regime. This new diffraction pattern is explained using an analytical model in which the relaxation kinematics are described as an exponentially-decaying (Gaussian) rotation field centered on the AA domains. Both the angle-dependent scaling and diffraction patterns are in quantitative agreement with experimental observations. A Matlab program for extracting the Gaussian model parameters accompanies this paper.

Twisted sigma-model solitons on the quantum projective line

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landi, Giovanni

2018-04-01

On the configuration space of projections in a noncommutative algebra, and for an automorphism of the algebra, we use a twisted Hochschild cocycle for an action functional and a twisted cyclic cocycle for a topological term. The latter is Hochschild-cohomologous to the former and positivity in twisted Hochschild cohomology results into a lower bound for the action functional. While the equations for the critical points are rather involved, the use of the positivity and the bound by the topological term lead to self-duality equations (thus yielding twisted noncommutative sigma-model solitons, or instantons). We present explicit nontrivial solutions on the quantum projective line.

Properties of the electrostatically driven helical plasma state

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akçay, Cihan; Finn, John M.; Nebel, Richard A.; Barnes, Daniel C.; Martin, Neal

2018-02-01

A novel plasma state has been found [Akçay et al., Phys. Plasmas 24, 052503 (2017)] in the presence of a uniform applied axial magnetic field in periodic cylindrical geometry. This state is driven by external electrostatic fields provided by helical electrodes with a (m =1 ,n =1 ) (helical) symmetry where m and n represent the poloidal and axial harmonics. The resulting plasma is a function of the cylinder radius r

Sub-discretized surface model with application to contact mechanics in multi-body simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, S; Williams, J

2008-02-28

The mechanics of contact between rough and imperfectly spherical adhesive powder grains are often complicated by a variety of factors, including several which vary over sub-grain length scales. These include several traction factors that vary spatially over the surface of the individual grains, including high energy electron and acceptor sites (electrostatic), hydrophobic and hydrophilic sites (electrostatic and capillary), surface energy (general adhesion), geometry (van der Waals and mechanical), and elasto-plastic deformation (mechanical). For mechanical deformation and reaction, coupled motions, such as twisting with bending and sliding, as well as surface roughness add an asymmetry to the contact force which invalidatesmore » assumptions for popular models of contact, such as the Hertzian and its derivatives, for the non-adhesive case, and the JKR and DMT models for adhesive contacts. Though several contact laws have been offered to ameliorate these drawbacks, they are often constrained to particular loading paths (most often normal loading) and are relatively complicated for computational implementation. This paper offers a simple and general computational method for augmenting contact law predictions in multi-body simulations through characterization of the contact surfaces using a hierarchically-defined surface sub-discretization. For the case of adhesive contact between powder grains in low stress regimes, this technique can allow a variety of existing contact laws to be resolved across scales, allowing for moments and torques about the contact area as well as normal and tangential tractions to be resolved. This is especially useful for multi-body simulation applications where the modeler desires statistical distributions and calibration for parameters in contact laws commonly used for resolving near-surface contact mechanics. The approach is verified against analytical results for the case of rough, elastic spheres.« less

Explicit formulae for Chern-Simons invariants of the twist-knot orbifolds and edge polynomials of twist knots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ham, J.-Y.; Lee, J.

2016-09-01

We calculate the Chern-Simons invariants of twist-knot orbifolds using the Schläfli formula for the generalized Chern-Simons function on the family of twist knot cone-manifold structures. Following the general instruction of Hilden, Lozano, and Montesinos-Amilibia, we here present concrete formulae and calculations. We use the Pythagorean Theorem, which was used by Ham, Mednykh and Petrov, to relate the complex length of the longitude and the complex distance between the two axes fixed by two generators. As an application, we calculate the Chern-Simons invariants of cyclic coverings of the hyperbolic twist-knot orbifolds. We also derive some interesting results. The explicit formulae of the A-polynomials of twist knots are obtained from the complex distance polynomials. Hence the edge polynomials corresponding to the edges of the Newton polygons of the A-polynomials of twist knots can be obtained. In particular, the number of boundary components of every incompressible surface corresponding to slope -4n+2 turns out to be 2. Bibliography: 39 titles.

Scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy of twisted trilayer graphene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zuo, Wei-Jie; Qiao, Jia-Bin; Ma, Dong-Lin; Yin, Long-Jing; Sun, Gan; Zhang, Jun-Yang; Guan, Li-Yang; He, Lin

2018-01-01

Twist, as a simple and unique degree of freedom, could lead to enormous novel quantum phenomena in bilayer graphene. A small rotation angle introduces low-energy van Hove singularities (VHSs) approaching the Fermi level, which result in unusual correlated states in the bilayer graphene. It is reasonable to expect that the twist could also affect the electronic properties of few-layer graphene dramatically. However, such an issue has remained experimentally elusive. Here, by using scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy (STM/STS), we systematically studied a twisted trilayer graphene (TTG) with two different small twist angles between adjacent layers. Two sets of VHSs, originating from the two twist angles, were observed in the TTG, indicating that the TTG could be simply regarded as a combination of two different twisted bilayers of graphene. By using high-resolution STS, we observed a split of the VHSs and directly imaged the spatial symmetry breaking of electronic states around the VHSs. These results suggest that electron-electron interactions play an important role in affecting the electronic properties of graphene systems with low-energy VHSs.

Experimental and theoretical study of the in- fiber twist sensor based on quasi-fan Solc structure filter.

PubMed

Sun, Chunran; Wang, Muguang; Jian, Shuisheng

2017-08-21

In this paper, a novel quasi-fan Solc structure filter based on elliptical-core spun fiber for twist sensing has been experimentally investigated and theoretically analyzed. The discrete model of spun fiber has been built to analyze the transmission characteristics of proposed sensor. Both experimental and simulated results indicate that the extinction ratio of the comb spectrum based on quasi-fan Solc birefringent fiber filter varies with twist angle and agrees well with each other. Based on the intensity modulation, the proposed twist sensor exhibits a high sensitivity of 0.02219 dB/(°/m). Moreover, thanks to the invariability of the fiber birefringence and the state of polarization of the input light, the proposed twist sensor has a very low temperature and strain sensitivity, which can avoid the cross-sensitivity problem existing in most twist sensors.

Two-pseudoscalar-meson decay of {chi}{sub cJ} with twist-3 corrections

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou Mingzhen; Zhou Haiqing; Department of Physics, Southeast University, Nanjing 211189

2009-11-01

The decays of {chi}{sub cJ}{yields}{pi}{sup +}{pi}{sup -}, K{sup +}K{sup -} (J=0,2) are discussed within the standard and modified hard-scattering approach when including the contributions from twist-3 distribution amplitudes and wave functions of the light pseudoscalar meson. A model for twist-2 and twist-3 distribution amplitudes and wave functions of the pion and kaon with BHL prescription are proposed as the solution to the end-point singularities. The results show that the contributions from twist-3 parts are actually not power suppressed comparing with the leading-twist contribution. After including the effects from the transverse momentum of light meson valence-quark state and Sudakov factors, themore » decay widths of the {chi}{sub cJ} into pions or kaons are comparable with the their experimental data.« less

Raman spectroscopy measurement of bilayer graphene's twist angle to boron nitride

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cheng, Bin; Wang, Peng; Pan, Cheng

2015-07-20

When graphene is placed on hexagonal boron nitride with a twist angle, new properties develop due to the resulting moiré superlattice. Here, we report a method using Raman spectroscopy to make rapid, non-destructive measurements of the twist angle between bilayer graphene and hexagonal boron nitride. The lattice orientation is determined by using flakes with both bilayer and monolayer regions, and using the known Raman signature for the monolayer to measure the twist angle of the entire flake. The widths of the second order Raman peaks are found to vary linearly in the superlattice period and are used to determine themore » twist angle. The results are confirmed by using transport measurements to infer the superlattice period by the charge density required to reach the secondary resistance peaks. Small twist angles are also found to produce a significant modification of the first order Raman G band peak.« less

Landau damping of Langmuir twisted waves with kappa distributed electrons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arshad, Kashif, E-mail: kashif.arshad.butt@gmail.com; Aman-ur-Rehman; Mahmood, Shahzad

2015-11-15

The kinetic theory of Landau damping of Langmuir twisted modes is investigated in the presence of orbital angular momentum of the helical (twisted) electric field in plasmas with kappa distributed electrons. The perturbed distribution function and helical electric field are considered to be decomposed by Laguerre-Gaussian mode function defined in cylindrical geometry. The Vlasov-Poisson equation is obtained and solved analytically to obtain the weak damping rates of the Langmuir twisted waves in a nonthermal plasma. The strong damping effects of the Langmuir twisted waves at wavelengths approaching Debye length are also obtained by using an exact numerical method and aremore » illustrated graphically. The damping rates of the planar Langmuir waves are found to be larger than the twisted Langmuir waves in plasmas which shows opposite behavior as depicted in Fig. 3 by J. T. Mendoça [Phys. Plasmas 19, 112113 (2012)].« less

Acoustic Aspects of Active-Twist Rotor Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Booth, Earl R., Jr.; Wilbur, Matthew L.

2002-01-01

The use of an Active Twist Rotor system to provide both vibration reduction and performance enhancement has been explored in recent analytical and experimental studies. Effects of active-twist control on rotor noise, however, had not been determined. During a recent wind tunnel test of an active-twist rotor system, a set of acoustic measurements were obtained to assess the effects of active-twist control on noise produced by the rotor, especially blade-vortex interaction (BVI) noise. It was found that for rotor operating conditions where BVI noise is dominant, active-twist control provided a reduction in BVI noise level. This BVI noise reduction was almost, but not quite, as large as that obtained in a similar test using HHC. However, vibration levels were usually adversely affected at operating conditions favoring minimum BVI noise. Conversely, operating conditions favoring minimum vibration levels affected BVI noise levels, but not always adversely.

Spectroscopic and Ab Initio Determination of the Ring-Twisting Potential Energy Function for 1,3-Cyclohexadiene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Autrey, Daniel; Choo, Jaebum; Laane, Jaan

2000-10-01

The ring-twisting vibration of 1,3-cyclohexadiene has been studied using Raman and infrared spectroscopy of the molecule in the vapor phase. The Raman spectrum shows five ring-twisting transitions in the 150 - 200 cm-1 region. The far-infrared spectrum shows only two transitions for this vibration, which is infrared forbidden in the C_2v (planar) approximation. Three ring-twisting combination bands were also observed off a fundamental vibration at 926.1 cm-1. A coordinate dependent kinetic energy expansion for the ring-twisting motion was calculated, and this was used to determine the ring-twisting potential function. Ab initio calculations were performed using Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) using different basis sets. The barrier to planarity of 1150 cm-1 was determined from the spectroscopic data. The various ab initio calculations gave barriers to planarity in the 1197 - 1593 cm-1 range.

Geometric Constraints and the Anatomical Interpretation of Twisted Plant Organ Phenotypes

PubMed Central

Weizbauer, Renate; Peters, Winfried S.; Schulz, Burkhard

2011-01-01

The study of plant mutants with twisting growth in axial organs, which normally grow straight in the wild-type, is expected to improve our understanding of the interplay among microtubules, cellulose biosynthesis, cell wall structure, and organ biomechanics that control organ growth and morphogenesis. However, geometric constraints based on symplastic growth and the consequences of these geometric constraints concerning interpretations of twisted-organ phenotypes are currently underestimated. Symplastic growth, a fundamental concept in plant developmental biology, is characterized by coordinated growth of adjacent cells based on their connectivity through cell walls. This growth behavior implies that in twisting axial organs, all cell files rotate in phase around the organ axis, as has been illustrated for the Arabidopsis spr1 and twd1 mutants in this work. Evaluating the geometry of such organs, we demonstrate that a radial gradient in cell elongation and changes in cellular growth anisotropy must occur in twisting organs out of geometric necessity alone. In-phase rotation of the different cell layers results in a decrease of length and angle toward organ axis from the outer cell layers inward. Additionally, the circumference of each cell layer increases in twisting organs, which requires compensation through radial expansion or an adjustment of cell number. Therefore, differential cell elongation and growth anisotropy cannot serve as arguments for or against specific hypotheses regarding the molecular cause of twisting growth. We suggest instead, that based on mathematical modeling, geometric constraints in twisting organs are indispensable for the explanation of the causal connection of molecular and biomechanical processes in twisting as well as normal organs. PMID:22645544

Enhanced epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) and upregulated MYC in ectopic lesions contribute independently to endometriosis.

PubMed

Proestling, Katharina; Birner, Peter; Gamperl, Susanne; Nirtl, Nadine; Marton, Erika; Yerlikaya, Gülen; Wenzl, Rene; Streubel, Berthold; Husslein, Heinrich

2015-07-22

Epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a process in which epithelial cells lose polarity and cell-to-cell contacts and acquire the migratory and invasive abilities of mesenchymal cells. These abilities are thought to be prerequisites for the establishment of endometriotic lesions. A hallmark of EMT is the functional loss of E-cadherin (CDH1) expression in epithelial cells. TWIST1, a transcription factor that represses E-cadherin transcription, is among the EMT inducers. SNAIL, a zinc-finger transcription factor, and its close relative SLUG have similar properties to TWIST1 and are thus also EMT inducers. MYC, which is upregulated by estrogens in the uterus by an estrogen response cis-acting element (ERE) in its promoter, is associated with proliferation in endometriosis. The role of EMT and proliferation in the pathogenesis of endometriosis was evaluated by analyzing TWIST1, CDH1 and MYC expression. CDH1, TWIST1, SNAIL and SLUG mRNA expression was analyzed by qRT-PCR from 47 controls and 74 patients with endometriosis. Approximately 42 ectopic and 62 eutopic endometrial tissues, of which 30 were matched samples, were collected during the same surgical procedure. We evaluated TWIST1 and MYC protein expression by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in the epithelial and stromal tissue of 69 eutopic and 90 ectopic endometrium samples, of which 49 matched samples were analyzed from the same patient. Concordant expression of TWIST1/SNAIL/SLUG and CDH1 but also of TWIST1 and MYC was analyzed. We found that TWIST1, SNAIL and SLUG are overexpressed (p < 0.001, p = 0.016 and p < 0.001) in endometriosis, while CDH1 expression was concordantly reduced in these samples (p < 0.001). Similar to TWIST1, the epithelial expression of MYC was also significantly enhanced in ectopic endometrium compared to eutopic tissues (p = 0.008). We found exclusive expression of either TWIST1 or MYC in the same samples (p = 0.003). Epithelial TWIST1 is overexpressed in endometriosis and may contribute to the formation of endometriotic lesions by inducing epithelial to mesenchymal transition, as CDH1 was reduced in ectopic lesions. We found exclusive expression of either TWIST1 or MYC in the same samples, indicating that EMT and proliferation contribute independently of each other to the formation of endometriotic lesions.

Description of the HiMAT Tailored composite structure and laboratory measured vehicle shape under load

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Monaghan, R. C.

1981-01-01

The aeroelastically tailored outer wing and canard of the highly maneuverable aircraft technology (HiMAT) vehicle are closely examined and a general description of the overall structure of the vehicle is provided. Test data in the form of laboratory measured twist under load and predicted twist from the HiMAT NASTRAN structural design program are compared. The results of this comparison indicate that the measured twist is generally less than the NASTRAN predicted twist. These discrepancies in twist predictions are attributed, at least in part, to the inability of current analytical composite materials programs to provide sufficiently accurate properties of matrix dominated laminates for input into structural programs such as NASTRAN.

Demonstration of an elastically coupled twist control concept for tilt rotor blade application

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lake, R. C.; Nixon, M. W.; Wilbur, M. L.; Singleton, J. D.; Mirick, P. H.

1994-01-01

The purpose of this Note is to present results from an analytic/experimental study that investigated the potential for passively changing blade twist through the use of extension-twist coupling. A set of composite model rotor blades was manufactured from existing blade molds for a low-twist metal helicopter rotor blade, with a view toward establishing a preliminary proof concept for extension-twist-coupled rotor blades. Data were obtained in hover for both a ballasted and unballasted blade configuration in sea-level atmospheric conditions. Test data were compared with results obtained from a geometrically nonlinear analysis of a detailed finite element model of the rotor blade developed in MSC/NASTRAN.

A photometric determination of twists in early-type galaxies. II

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, T. B.; Schwarzschild, M.

1979-01-01

In continuation of previous work, detailed photometric data have been obtained for two elliptical galaxies by using the Mount Lemmon 1.5-m telescope and a large SEC television camera. As before, the aim of this photometry is to gain additional information on the occurrence of twists in such galaxies; i.e., on the change of the position angle of the major axes of the isophotes from the center outward. No significant twist was found in NGC 1052. However, NGC 584 was found to have a securely observed twist of about 10 deg within 10 kpc from its center. These data strengthen previous indications that many ellipticals contain twists in their inner, bright portions.

Lifshits Tails for Randomly Twisted Quantum Waveguides

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kirsch, Werner; Krejčiřík, David; Raikov, Georgi

2018-03-01

We consider the Dirichlet Laplacian H_γ on a 3D twisted waveguide with random Anderson-type twisting γ . We introduce the integrated density of states N_γ for the operator H_γ , and investigate the Lifshits tails of N_γ , i.e. the asymptotic behavior of N_γ (E) as E \\downarrow \\inf supp dN_γ . In particular, we study the dependence of the Lifshits exponent on the decay rate of the single-site twisting at infinity.

Twisted Vanes Would Enhance Fuel/Air Mixing In Turbines

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nguyen, H. Lee; Micklow, Gerald J.; Dogra, Anju S.

1994-01-01

Computations of flow show performance of high-shear airblast fuel injector in gas-turbine engine enhanced by use of appropriately proportioned twisted (instead of flat) dome swirl vanes. Resultant more nearly uniform fuel/air mixture burns more efficiently, emitting smaller amounts of nitrogen oxides. Twisted-vane high-shear airblast injectors also incorporated into paint sprayers, providing advantages of low pressure drop characteristic of airblast injectors in general and finer atomization of advanced twisted-blade design.

Thymoquinone inhibits cancer metastasis by downregulating TWIST1 expression to reduce epithelial to mesenchymal transition.

PubMed

Khan, Md Asaduzzaman; Tania, Mousumi; Wei, Chunli; Mei, Zhiqiang; Fu, Shelly; Cheng, Jingliang; Xu, Jianming; Fu, Junjiang

2015-08-14

Proteins that promote epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) are associated with cancer metastasis. Inhibition of EMT regulators may be a promising approach in cancer therapy. In this study, Thymoquinone (TQ) was used to treat cancer cell lines to investigate its effects on EMT-regulatory proteins and cancer metastasis. We show that TQ inhibited cancer cell growth, migration and invasion in a dose-dependent manner. At the molecular level, TQ treatment decreased the transcriptional activity of the TWIST1 promoter and the mRNA expression of TWIST1, an EMT-promoting transcription factor. Accordingly, TQ treatment also decreased the expression of TWIST1-upregulated genes such as N-Cadherin and increased the expression of TWIST1-repressed genes such as E-Cadherin, resulting in a reduction of cell migration and invasion. TQ treatment also inhibited the growth and metastasis of cancer cell-derived xenograft tumors in mice but partially attenuated the migration and invasion in TWIST1-overexpressed cell lines. Furthermore, we found that TQ treatment enhanced the promoter DNA methylation of the TWIST1 gene in BT 549 cells. Together, these results demonstrate that TQ treatment inhibits TWIST1 promoter activity and decreases its expression, leading to the inhibition of cancer cell migration, invasion and metastasis. These findings suggest TQ as a potential small molecular inhibitor of cancer growth and metastasis.

Thymoquinone inhibits cancer metastasis by downregulating TWIST1 expression to reduce epithelial to mesenchymal transition

PubMed Central

Khan, Md. Asaduzzaman; Tania, Mousumi; Wei, Chunli; Mei, Zhiqiang; Fu, Shelly; Cheng, Jingliang; Xu, Jianming; Fu, Junjiang

2015-01-01

Proteins that promote epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT) are associated with cancer metastasis. Inhibition of EMT regulators may be a promising approach in cancer therapy. In this study, Thymoquinone (TQ) was used to treat cancer cell lines to investigate its effects on EMT-regulatory proteins and cancer metastasis. We show that TQ inhibited cancer cell growth, migration and invasion in a dose-dependent manner. At the molecular level, TQ treatment decreased the transcriptional activity of the TWIST1 promoter and the mRNA expression of TWIST1, an EMT-promoting transcription factor. Accordingly, TQ treatment also decreased the expression of TWIST1-upregulated genes such as N-Cadherin and increased the expression of TWIST1-repressed genes such as E-Cadherin, resulting in a reduction of cell migration and invasion. TQ treatment also inhibited the growth and metastasis of cancer cell-derived xenograft tumors in mice but partially attenuated the migration and invasion in TWIST1-overexpressed cell lines. Furthermore, we found that TQ treatment enhanced the promoter DNA methylation of the TWIST1 gene in BT 549 cells. Together, these results demonstrate that TQ treatment inhibits TWIST1 promoter activity and decreases its expression, leading to the inhibition of cancer cell migration, invasion and metastasis. These findings suggest TQ as a potential small molecular inhibitor of cancer growth and metastasis. PMID:26023736

Projection Moire Interferometry for Rotorcraft Applications: Deformation Measurements of Active Twist Rotor Blades

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fleming, Gary A.; Soto, Hector L.; South, Bruce W.

2002-01-01

Projection Moire Interferometry (PMI) has been used during wind tunnel tests to obtain azimuthally dependent blade bending and twist measurements for a 4-bladed Active Twist Rotor (ATR) system in simulated forward flight. The ATR concept offers a means to reduce rotor vibratory loads and noise by using piezoelectric active fiber composite actuators embedded in the blade structure to twist each blade as they rotate throughout the rotor azimuth. The twist imparted on the blades for blade control causes significant changes in blade loading, resulting in complex blade deformation consisting of coupled bending and twist. Measurement of this blade deformation is critical in understanding the overall behavior of the ATR system and the physical mechanisms causing the reduction in rotor loads and noise. PMI is a non-contacting, video-based optical measurement technique capable of obtaining spatially continuous structural deformation measurements over the entire object surface within the PMI system field-of-view. When applied to rotorcraft testing, PMI can be used to measure the azimuth-dependent blade bending and twist along the full span of the rotor blade. This paper presents the PMI technique as applied to rotorcraft testing, and provides results obtained during the ATR tests demonstrating the PMI system performance. PMI measurements acquired at select blade actuation conditions generating minimum and maximum rotor loads are provided to explore the interrelationship between rotor loads, blade bending, and twist.

Recurrent Mutations in the Basic Domain of TWIST2 Cause Ablepharon Macrostomia and Barber-Say Syndromes.

PubMed

Marchegiani, Shannon; Davis, Taylor; Tessadori, Federico; van Haaften, Gijs; Brancati, Francesco; Hoischen, Alexander; Huang, Haigen; Valkanas, Elise; Pusey, Barbara; Schanze, Denny; Venselaar, Hanka; Vulto-van Silfhout, Anneke T; Wolfe, Lynne A; Tifft, Cynthia J; Zerfas, Patricia M; Zambruno, Giovanna; Kariminejad, Ariana; Sabbagh-Kermani, Farahnaz; Lee, Janice; Tsokos, Maria G; Lee, Chyi-Chia R; Ferraz, Victor; da Silva, Eduarda Morgana; Stevens, Cathy A; Roche, Nathalie; Bartsch, Oliver; Farndon, Peter; Bermejo-Sanchez, Eva; Brooks, Brian P; Maduro, Valerie; Dallapiccola, Bruno; Ramos, Feliciano J; Chung, Hon-Yin Brian; Le Caignec, Cédric; Martins, Fabiana; Jacyk, Witold K; Mazzanti, Laura; Brunner, Han G; Bakkers, Jeroen; Lin, Shuo; Malicdan, May Christine V; Boerkoel, Cornelius F; Gahl, William A; de Vries, Bert B A; van Haelst, Mieke M; Zenker, Martin; Markello, Thomas C

2015-07-02

Ablepharon macrostomia syndrome (AMS) and Barber-Say syndrome (BSS) are rare congenital ectodermal dysplasias characterized by similar clinical features. To establish the genetic basis of AMS and BSS, we performed extensive clinical phenotyping, whole exome and candidate gene sequencing, and functional validations. We identified a recurrent de novo mutation in TWIST2 in seven independent AMS-affected families, as well as another recurrent de novo mutation affecting the same amino acid in ten independent BSS-affected families. Moreover, a genotype-phenotype correlation was observed, because the two syndromes differed based solely upon the nature of the substituting amino acid: a lysine at TWIST2 residue 75 resulted in AMS, whereas a glutamine or alanine yielded BSS. TWIST2 encodes a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor that regulates the development of mesenchymal tissues. All identified mutations fell in the basic domain of TWIST2 and altered the DNA-binding pattern of Flag-TWIST2 in HeLa cells. Comparison of wild-type and mutant TWIST2 expressed in zebrafish identified abnormal developmental phenotypes and widespread transcriptome changes. Our results suggest that autosomal-dominant TWIST2 mutations cause AMS or BSS by inducing protean effects on the transcription factor's DNA binding. Copyright © 2015 The American Society of Human Genetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Three-Dimensional Rotation, Twist and Torsion Analyses Using Real-Time 3D Speckle Tracking Imaging: Feasibility, Reproducibility, and Normal Ranges in Pediatric Population.

PubMed

Zhang, Li; Zhang, Jing; Han, Wei; Gao, Jun; He, Lin; Yang, Yali; Yin, Ping; Xie, Mingxing; Ge, Shuping

2016-01-01

The specific aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility, reproducibility and maturational changes of LV rotation, twist and torsion variables by real-time 3D speckle-tracking echocardiography (RT3DSTE) in children. A prospective study was conducted in 347 consecutive healthy subjects (181 males/156 females, mean age 7.12 ± 5.3 years, and range from birth to 18-years) using RT 3D echocardiography (3DE). The LV rotation, twist and torsion measurements were made off-line using TomTec software. Manual landmark selection and endocardial border editing were performed in 3 planes (apical "2"-, "4"-, and "3"- chamber views) and semi-automated tracking yielded LV rotation, twist and torsion measurements. LV rotation, twist and torsion analysis by RT 3DSTE were feasible in 307 out of 347 subjects (88.5%). There was no correlation between rotation or twist and age, height, weight, BSA or heart rate, respectively. However, there was statistically significant, but very modest correlation between LV torsion and age (R2 = 0.036, P< 0.001). The normal ranges were defined for rotation and twist in this cohort, and for torsion for each age group. The intra-observer and inter-observer variabilities for apical and basal rotation, twist and torsion ranged from 7.3% ± 3.8% to 12.3% ± 8.8% and from 8.8% ± 4.6% to 15.7% ± 10.1%, respectively. We conclude that analysis of LV rotation, twist and torsion by this new RT3D STE is feasible and reproducible in pediatric population. There is no maturational change in rotation and twist, but torsion decreases with age in this cohort. Further refinement is warranted to validate the utility of this new methodology in more sensitive and quantitative evaluation of congenital and acquired heart diseases in children.

Low-Frequency Interlayer Raman Modes to Probe Interface of Twisted Bilayer MoS 2

DOE PAGES

Huang, Shengxi; Liang, Liangbo; Ling, Xi; ...

2016-02-21

A variety of van der Waals homo- and hetero- structures assembled by stamping monolayers together present optoelectronic properties suitable for diverse applications. Understanding the details of the interlayer stacking and resulting coupling is crucial for tuning these properties. Twisted bilayer transition metal dichalcogenides offer a great platform for developing a precise understanding of the structure/property relationship. Here, we study the low-frequency interlayer shear and breathing Raman modes (<50 cm-1) in twisted bilayer MoS 2 by Raman spectroscopy and first-principles modeling. Twisting introduces both rotational and translational shifts and significantly alters the interlayer stacking and coupling, leading to notable frequency andmore » intensity changes of low-frequency modes. The frequency variation can be up to 8 cm-1 and the intensity can vary by a factor of ~5 for twisting near 0 and 60 , where the stacking is a mixture of multiple high-symmetry stacking patterns and is thus especially sensitive to twisting. Moreover, for twisting angles between 20 and 40 , the interlayer coupling is nearly constant since the stacking results in mismatched lattices over the entire sample. It follows that the Raman signature is relatively uniform. Interestingly, unlike the breathing mode, the shear mode is extremely sensitive to twisting: it disappears between 20 and 40 as its frequency drops to almost zero due to the stacking-induced mismatch. Note that for some samples, multiple breathing mode peaks appear, indicating non-uniform coupling across the interface. In contrast to the low-frequency interlayer modes, high-frequency intralayer Raman modes are much less sensitive to interlayer stacking and coupling, showing negligible changes upon twisting. Our research demonstrates the effectiveness of low-frequency Raman modes for probing the interfacial coupling and environment of twisted bilayer MoS2, and potentially other two-dimensional materials and heterostructures.« less

Sunspot rotation. II. Effects of varying the field strength and twist of an emerging flux tube

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sturrock, Z.; Hood, A. W.

2016-09-01

Context. Observations of flux emergence indicate that rotational velocities may develop within sunspots. However, the dependence of this rotation on sub-photospheric field strength and twist remains largely unknown. Aims: We investigate the effects of varying the initial field strength and twist of an emerging sub-photospheric magnetic flux tube on the rotation of the sunspots at the photosphere. Methods: We consider a simple model of a stratified domain with a sub-photospheric interior layer and three overlying atmospheric layers. A twisted arched flux tube is inserted in the interior and is allowed to rise into the atmosphere. To achieve this, the magnetohydrodynamic equations are solved using the Lagrangian-remap code, Lare3d. We perform a parameter study by independently varying the sub-photospheric magnetic field strength and twist. Results: Altering the initial magnetic field strength and twist of the flux tube significantly affects the tube's evolution and the rotational motions that develop at the photosphere. The rotation angle, vorticity, and current show a direct dependence on the initial field strength. We find that an increase in field strength increases the angle through which the fieldlines rotate, the length of the fieldlines extending into the atmosphere, and the magnetic energy transported to the atmosphere. This also affects the amount of residual twist in the interior. The length of the fieldlines is crucial as we predict the twist per unit length equilibrates to a lower value on longer fieldlines. No such direct dependence is found when we modify the twist of the magnetic field owing to the complex effect this has on the tension force acting on the tube. However, there is still a clear ordering in quantities such as the rotation angle, helicity, and free energy with higher initial twist cases being related to sunspots that rotate more rapidly, transporting more helicity and magnetic energy to the atmosphere.

Twist1 Transcriptional Targets in the Developing Atrio-Ventricular Canal of the Mouse

PubMed Central

Vrljicak, Pavle; Cullum, Rebecca; Xu, Eric; Chang, Alex C. Y.; Wederell, Elizabeth D.; Bilenky, Mikhail; Jones, Steven J. M.; Marra, Marco A.; Karsan, Aly; Hoodless, Pamela A.

2012-01-01

Malformations of the cardiovascular system are the most common type of birth defect in humans, frequently affecting the formation of valves and septa. During heart valve and septa formation, cells from the atrio-ventricular canal (AVC) and outflow tract (OFT) regions of the heart undergo an epithelial-to-mesenchymal transformation (EMT) and invade the underlying extracellular matrix to give rise to endocardial cushions. Subsequent maturation of newly formed mesenchyme cells leads to thin stress-resistant leaflets. TWIST1 is a basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor expressed in newly formed mesenchyme cells of the AVC and OFT that has been shown to play roles in cell survival, cell proliferation and differentiation. However, the downstream targets of TWIST1 during heart valve formation remain unclear. To identify genes important for heart valve development downstream of TWIST1, we performed global gene expression profiling of AVC, OFT, atria and ventricles of the embryonic day 10.5 mouse heart by tag-sequencing (Tag-seq). Using this resource we identified a novel set of 939 genes, including 123 regulators of transcription, enriched in the valve forming regions of the heart. We compared these genes to a Tag-seq library from the Twist1 null developing valves revealing significant gene expression changes. These changes were consistent with a role of TWIST1 in controlling differentiation of mesenchymal cells following their transformation from endothelium in the mouse. To study the role of TWIST1 at the DNA level we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation and identified novel direct targets of TWIST1 in the developing heart valves. Our findings support a role for TWIST1 in the differentiation of AVC mesenchyme post-EMT in the mouse, and suggest that TWIST1 can exert its function by direct DNA binding to activate valve specific gene expression. PMID:22815831

Experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Long-Jing; Qiao, Jia-Bin; Zuo, Wei-Jie; Li, Wen-Tian; He, Lin

2015-08-01

Non-Abelian gauge potentials are quite relevant in subatomic physics, but they are relatively rare in a condensed matter context. Here we report the experimental evidence for non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy. At a magic twisted angle, θ ≈(1.11±0.05 ) ∘ , a pronounced sharp peak, which arises from the nondispersive flat bands at the charge neutrality point, is observed in the tunneling density of states due to the action of the non-Abelian gauge fields. Moreover, we observe confined electronic states in the twisted bilayer, as manifested by regularly spaced tunneling peaks with energy spacing δ E ≈vF/D ≈70 meV (here vF is the Fermi velocity of graphene and D is the period of the moiré patterns). This indicates that the non-Abelian gauge potentials in twisted graphene bilayers confine low-energy electrons into a triangular array of quantum dots following the modulation of the moiré patterns. Our results also directly demonstrate that the Fermi velocity in twisted bilayers can be tuned from about 106m /s to zero by simply reducing the twisted angle of about 2∘.

Twist phase-induced characteristics changes of a radially polarized Gaussian Schell-Model beam in a uniaxial crystal orthogonal to the optical axis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cao, Pengfei; Fu, Wenyu

2017-10-01

Based on the extended Huygens-Fresnel integral formula and unified theory of coherence and polarization, we obtained the cross-spectral density matrix elements for a radially polarized partially coherent twist (RPPCT) beam in a uniaxial crystal. Moreover, compared with free space, we explore numerically the evolution properties of a RPPCT beam in a uniaxial crystal. The calculation results show that the evolution properties of a RPPCT beam in crystals are substantially different from its properties in free space. These properties in crystals are mainly determined by the twist factor and the ratio of extraordinary index to ordinary refractive index. In a uniaxial crystal, the distribution of the intensity of a RPPCT beam all exhibits non-circular symmetry, and these distributions change with twist factor and the ratio of extraordinary index to ordinary refractive index. The twist factor affects their rotation orientation angles, and the ratio of extraordinary index to ordinary refractive index impacts their twisted levels. This novel characteristics can be used for free-space optical communications, particle manipulation and nonlinear optics, where partially coherent beam with controlled profile and twist factor are required.

Statistical mechanics of ribbons under bending and twisting torques.

PubMed

Sinha, Supurna; Samuel, Joseph

2013-11-20

We present an analytical study of ribbons subjected to an external torque. We first describe the elastic response of a ribbon within a purely mechanical framework. We then study the role of thermal fluctuations in modifying its elastic response. We predict the moment-angle relation of bent and twisted ribbons. Such a study is expected to shed light on the role of twist in DNA looping and on bending elasticity of twisted graphene ribbons. Our quantitative predictions can be tested against future single molecule experiments.

Morphing wing structure with controllable twist based on adaptive bending-twist coupling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raither, Wolfram; Heymanns, Matthias; Bergamini, Andrea; Ermanni, Paolo

2013-06-01

A novel semi-passive morphing airfoil concept based on variable bending-twist coupling induced by adaptive shear center location and torsional stiffness is presented. Numerical parametric studies and upscaling show that the concept relying on smart materials permits effective twist control while offering the potential of being lightweight and energy efficient. By means of an experimental characterization of an adaptive beam and a scaled adaptive wing structure, effectiveness and producibility of the structural concept are demonstrated.

ON THE ORIGIN AND PHYSICS OF GAMMA FLARES IN CRAB NEBULA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Machabeli, George; Rogava, Andria; Shapakidze, David, E-mail: andria.rogava@iliauni.edu.ge

We consider parametric generation of electrostatic waves in the magnetosphere of the pulsar PSR0531. The suggested mechanism allows us to convert the pulsar rotational energy into the energy of Langmuir waves. The maximum growth rate is achieved in the “superluminal” area, where the phase velocity of perturbations exceeds the speed of light. Therefore, electromagnetic waves do not damp on particles. Instead, they create plasmon condensate, which is carried out outside of the pulsar magnetosphere and reaches the Crab Nebula. It is shown that the transfer of the energy of the plasmon condensate from the light cylinder to the active regionmore » of the nebula happens practically without losses. Unlike the plasma of the magnetosphere, the one of the nebula contains ions, i.e., it may sustain modulation instability, that leads to the collapse of the Langmuir condensate. Langmuir wave collapse, in turn, leads to the acceleration of the distribution function particles. Furthermore, the processes that lead to self-trapping of the synchrotron radiation are discussed. The self-trapping results in the growth of the radiation intensity, which manifests itself observationally as a flare. The condition for the self-trapping onset is derived, showing that if the phenomenon takes place at 100 MeV, then it does not happen at lower (or higher) energies. This specific kind of higher-/lower-energy cutoff could explain why when we observe the flare at 100 MeV that no enhanced emission is observed at lower/higher energies!.« less

Calibration function for the Orbitrap FTMS accounting for the space charge effect.

PubMed

Gorshkov, Mikhail V; Good, David M; Lyutvinskiy, Yaroslav; Yang, Hongqian; Zubarev, Roman A

2010-11-01

Ion storage in an electrostatic trap has been implemented with the introduction of the Orbitrap Fourier transform mass spectrometer (FTMS), which demonstrates performance similar to high-field ion cyclotron resonance MS. High mass spectral characteristics resulted in rapid acceptance of the Orbitrap FTMS for Life Sciences applications. The basics of Orbitrap operation are well documented; however, like in any ion trap MS technology, its performance is limited by interactions between the ion clouds. These interactions result in ion cloud couplings, systematic errors in measured masses, interference between ion clouds of different size yet with close m/z ratios, etc. In this work, we have characterized the space-charge effect on the measured frequency for the Orbitrap FTMS, looking for the possibility to achieve sub-ppm levels of mass measurement accuracy (MMA) for peptides in a wide range of total ion population. As a result of this characterization, we proposed an m/z calibration law for the Orbitrap FTMS that accounts for the total ion population present in the trap during a data acquisition event. Using this law, we were able to achieve a zero-space charge MMA limit of 80 ppb for the commercial Orbitrap FTMS system and sub-ppm level of MMA over a wide range of total ion populations with the automatic gain control values varying from 10 to 10(7). Copyright © 2010 American Society for Mass Spectrometry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Plasmas in compact traps: From ion sources to multidisciplinary research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mascali, D.; Musumarra, A.; Leone, F.; Galatà, A.; Romano, F. P.; Gammino, S.

2017-09-01

In linear (minimum-B) magneto-static traps dense and hot plasmas are heated by electromagnetic radiation in the GHz domain via the Electron Cyclotron Resonance (ECR). The values of plasma density, temperature and confinement times ( n_eτ_i>10^{13} cm ^{-3} s; T_e>10 keV) are similar to the ones of thermonuclear plasmas. The research in this field -devoted to heating and confinement optimization- has been supported by numerical modeling and advanced diagnostics, for probing the plasma especially in a non-invasive way. ECR-based systems are nowadays able to produce extremely intense (tens or hundreds of mA) beams of light ions (p, d, He), and relevant currents of heavier elements (C, O, N) up to heavy ions like Xe, Pb, U. Such beams can be extracted from the trap by a proper electrostatic system. The above-mentioned properties make these plasmas very attractive for interdisciplinary researches also, such as i) nuclear decays rates measurements in stellar-like conditions, ii) energy conversion studies, being exceptional sources of short-wavelength electromagnetic radiation (EUV, X-rays, hard X-rays and gammas, useful in material science and archaeometry), iii) environments allowing precise spectroscopical measurements as benchmarks for magnetized astrophysical plasmas. The talk will give an overview about the state-of-the-art in the field of intense ion sources, and some new perspectives for interdisciplinary research, with a special attention to the developments based at INFN-LNS.

Kinetic features and non-stationary electron trapping in paraxial magnetic nozzles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sánchez-Arriaga, G.; Zhou, J.; Ahedo, E.; Martínez-Sánchez, M.; Ramos, J. J.

2018-03-01

The paraxial expansion of a collisionless plasma jet into vacuum, guided by a magnetic nozzle, is studied with an Eulerian and non-stationary Vlasov-Poisson solver. Parametric analyzes varying the magnetic field expansion rate, the size of the simulation box, and the electrostatic potential fall are presented. After choosing the potential fall leading to a zero net current beam, the steady states of the simulations exhibit a quasi-neutral region followed by a downstream sheath. The latter, an unavoidable consequence of the finite size of the computational domain, does not affect the quasi-neutral region if the box size is chosen appropriately. The steady state presents a strong decay of the perpendicular temperature of the electrons, whose profile versus the inverse of the magnetic field does not depend on the expansion rate within the quasi-neutral region. As a consequence, the electron distribution function is highly anisotropic downstream. The simulations revealed that the ions reach a higher velocity during the transient than in the steady state and their distribution functions are not far from mono-energetic. The density percentage of the population of electrons trapped during the transient, which is computed self-consistently by the code, is up to 25% of the total electron density in the quasi-neutral region. It is demonstrated that the exact amount depends on the history of the system and the steady state is not unique. Nevertheless, the amount of trapped electrons is smaller than the one assumed heuristically by kinetic stationary theories.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eiamsa-ard, Smith; Seemawute, Panida; Wongcharee, Khwanchit

Effects of peripherally-cut twisted tape insert on heat transfer, friction loss and thermal performance factor characteristics in a round tube were investigated. Nine different peripherally-cut twisted tapes with constant twist ratio (y/W = 3.0) and different three tape depth ratios (DR = d/W = 0.11, 0.22 and 0.33), each with three different tape width ratios (WR = w/W = 0.11, 0.22 and 0.33) were tested. Besides, one typical twisted tape was also tested for comparison. The measurement of heat transfer rate was conducted under uniform heat flux condition while that of friction factor was performed under isothermal condition. Tests weremore » performed with Reynolds number in a range from 1000 to 20,000, using water as a working fluid. The experimental results revealed that both heat transfer rate and friction factor in the tube equipped with the peripherally-cut twisted tapes were significantly higher than those in the tube fitted with the typical twisted tape and plain tube, especially in the laminar flow regime. The higher turbulence intensity of fluid in the vicinity of the tube wall generated by the peripherally-cut twisted tape compared to that induced by the typical twisted tape is referred as the main reason for achieved results. The obtained results also demonstrated that as the depth ratio increased and width ratio decreased, the heat transfer enhancement increased. Over the range investigated, the peripherally-cut twisted tape enhanced heat transfer rates in term of Nusselt numbers up to 2.6 times (turbulent regime) and 12.8 times (laminar regime) of that in the plain tube. These corresponded to the maximum performance factors of 1.29 (turbulent regime) and 4.88 (laminar regime). (author)« less

Cytoplasmic expression of Twist1, an EMT-related transcription factor, is associated with higher grades renal cell carcinomas and worse progression-free survival in clear cell renal cell carcinoma.

PubMed

Rasti, Arezoo; Madjd, Zahra; Abolhasani, Maryam; Mehrazma, Mitra; Janani, Leila; Saeednejad Zanjani, Leili; Asgari, Mojgan

2018-05-01

Twist1 is a key transcription factor, which confers tumor cells with cancer stem cell (CSC)-like characteristics and enhances epithelial-mesenchymal transition in pathological conditions including tumor malignancy and metastasis. This study aimed to evaluate the expression patterns and clinical significance of Twist1 in renal cell carcinoma (RCC). The cytoplasmic and nuclear expression of Twist1 were examined in 252 well-defined renal tumor tissues, including 173 (68.7%) clear cell renal cell carcinomas (ccRCC), 45 (17.9%) papillary renal cell carcinomas (pRCC) and 34 (13.5%) chromophobe renal cell carcinoma, by immunohistochemistry on a tissue microarray. The association between expression of this marker and clinicopathologic parameters and survival outcomes were then analyzed. Twist1 was mainly localized to the cytoplasm of tumor cells (98.8%). Increased cytoplasmic expression of Twist1 was associated with higher grade tumors (P = 0.045), renal vein invasion (P = 0.031) and microvascular invasion (P = 0.044) in RCC. It was positively correlated with higher grade tumors (P = 0.026), shorter progression-free survival time (P = 0.027) in patients with ccRCC, and also with higher stage in pRCC patients (P = 0.036). Significantly higher cytoplasmic expression levels of Twist1 were found in ccRCC and pRCC subtypes, due to their more aggressive tumor behavior. Increased cytoplasmic expression of Twist1 had a critical role in worse prognosis in ccRCC. These findings suggest that cytoplasmic, rather than nuclear expression of Twist1 can be considered as a prognostic and therapeutic marker for targeted therapy of RCC, especially for ccRCC patients.

Metallographic autopsies of full-scale ITER prototype cable-in-conduit conductors after full cyclic testing in SULTAN: II. Significant reduction of strand movement and strand damage in short twist pitch CICCs

DOE PAGES

Sanabria, Charlos; Lee, Peter J.; Starch, William; ...

2015-10-14

Prototype cable in conduit conductors (CICCs) destined for use in the Toroidal Field (TF) and Central Solenoid (CS) coils of the ITER experimental fusion reactor underwent severe cyclic loading in the SULTAN facility. Their autopsies revealed significant and permanent transverse strand migration due to the large Lorentz forces of the SULTAN test. The movement resulted in a 3 7% void fraction increase on the Low Pressure (LP) side of the longer twist pitch CICCs. However, short twist pitch conductors exhibited less than 1% void fraction increase in the LP side, as well as a complete absence of the Nb 3Snmore » filament fractures observed in the longer twist pitch conductors. We report here a detailed strand to cable analysis of short and longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs. It was found that the use of Internal Tin strands in the longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs can be beneficial possibly because of their superior stiffness—which better resist strand movement—while the use of Bronze Process strands showed more movement and poorer cyclic test performance. This was not the case for the short twist pitch CICC. Such conductor design seems to work well with both strand types. But it was found that despite the absence of filament fractures, the short twist pitch CICC made from the Internal Tin strands studied here developed severe strand distortion during cabling which resulted in diffusion barrier breaks and Sn contamination of the Cu stabilizer during the heat treatment. Furthermore, the short twist pitch CICC made from Bronze Process strands preserved diffusion barrier integrity.« less

Analysis of a Caenorhabditis elegans Twist homolog identifies conserved and divergent aspects of mesodermal patterning

PubMed Central

Harfe, Brian D.; Gomes, Ana Vaz; Kenyon, Cynthia; Liu, Jun; Krause, Michael; Fire, Andrew

1998-01-01

Mesodermal development is a multistep process in which cells become increasingly specialized to form specific tissue types. In Drosophila and mammals, proper segregation and patterning of the mesoderm involves the bHLH factor Twist. We investigated the activity of a Twist-related factor, CeTwist, during Caenorhabditis elegans mesoderm development. Embryonic mesoderm in C. elegans derives from a number of distinct founder cells that are specified during the early lineages; in contrast, a single blast cell (M) is responsible for all nongonadal mesoderm formation during postembryonic development. Using immunofluorescence and reporter fusions, we determined the activity pattern of the gene encoding CeTwist. No activity was observed during specification of mesodermal lineages in the early embryo; instead, the gene was active within the M lineage and in a number of mesodermal cells with nonstriated muscle fates. A role for CeTwist in postembryonic mesodermal cell fate specification was indicated by ectopic expression and genetic interference assays. These experiments showed that CeTwist was responsible for activating two target genes normally expressed in specific subsets of nonstriated muscles derived from the M lineage. In vitro and in vivo assays suggested that CeTwist cooperates with the C. elegans E/Daughterless homolog in directly activating these targets. The two target genes that we have studied, ceh-24 and egl-15, encode an NK-2 class homeodomain and an FGF receptor (FGFR) homolog, respectively. Twist activates FGFR and NK-homeodomain target genes during mesodermal patterning of Drosophila and similar target interactions have been proposed to modulate mesenchymal growth during closure of the vertebrate skull. These results suggest the possibility that a conserved pathway may be used for diverse functions in mesodermal specification. PMID:9716413

Metallographic autopsies of full-scale ITER prototype cable-in-conduit conductors after full cyclic testing in SULTAN: II. Significant reduction of strand movement and strand damage in short twist pitch CICCs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sanabria, Charlos; Lee, Peter J.; Starch, William

Prototype cable in conduit conductors (CICCs) destined for use in the Toroidal Field (TF) and Central Solenoid (CS) coils of the ITER experimental fusion reactor underwent severe cyclic loading in the SULTAN facility. Their autopsies revealed significant and permanent transverse strand migration due to the large Lorentz forces of the SULTAN test. The movement resulted in a 3 7% void fraction increase on the Low Pressure (LP) side of the longer twist pitch CICCs. However, short twist pitch conductors exhibited less than 1% void fraction increase in the LP side, as well as a complete absence of the Nb 3Snmore » filament fractures observed in the longer twist pitch conductors. We report here a detailed strand to cable analysis of short and longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs. It was found that the use of Internal Tin strands in the longer “baseline” twist pitch CICCs can be beneficial possibly because of their superior stiffness—which better resist strand movement—while the use of Bronze Process strands showed more movement and poorer cyclic test performance. This was not the case for the short twist pitch CICC. Such conductor design seems to work well with both strand types. But it was found that despite the absence of filament fractures, the short twist pitch CICC made from the Internal Tin strands studied here developed severe strand distortion during cabling which resulted in diffusion barrier breaks and Sn contamination of the Cu stabilizer during the heat treatment. Furthermore, the short twist pitch CICC made from Bronze Process strands preserved diffusion barrier integrity.« less

Interaction between left ventricular twist mechanics and arterial haemodynamics during localised, non-metabolic hyperaemia with and without blood flow restriction.

PubMed

van Mil, Anke C C M; Pearson, James; Drane, Aimee L; Cockcroft, John R; McDonnell, Barry J; Stöhr, Eric J

2016-04-01

What is the central question of this study? Left ventricular (LV) twist is reduced when afterload is increased, but the meaning of this specific heart muscle response and its impact on cardiac output are not well understood. What is the main finding and its importance? This study shows that LV twist responds even when arterial haemodynamics are altered only locally, and without apparent change in metabolic (i.e. heat-induced) demand. The concurrent decline in cardiac output and LV twist during partial arterial occlusion despite the increased peripheral demand caused by heat stress suggests that LV twist may be involved in the protective sensing of heart muscle stress that can override the provision of the required cardiac output. Whether left ventricular (LV) twist and untwisting rate (LV twist mechanics) respond to localised, peripheral, non-metabolic changes in arterial haemodynamics within an individual's normal afterload range is presently unknown. Furthermore, previous studies indicate that LV twist mechanics may override the provision of cardiac output, but this hypothesis has not been examined purposefully. Therefore, we acutely altered local peripheral arterial haemodynamics in 11 healthy humans (women/men n = 3/8; age 26 ± 5 years) by bilateral arm heating (BAH). Ultrasonography was used to examine arterial haemodynamics, LV twist mechanics and the twist-to-shortening ratio (TSR). To determine the arterial function-dependent contribution of LV twist mechanics to cardiac output, partial blood flow restriction to the arms was applied during BAH (BAHBFR ). Bilateral arm heating increased arm skin temperatures [change (Δ) +6.4 ± 0.9°C, P < 0.0001] but not core temperature (Δ -0.0 ± 0.1°C, P > 0.05), concomitant to increases in brachial artery blood flow (Δ 212 ± 77 ml, P < 0.0001), cardiac output (Δ 495 ± 487 l min(-1) , P < 0.05), LV twist (Δ 3.0 ± 3.5 deg, P < 0.05) and TSR (Δ 3.3 ± 1.3, P < 0.05) but maintained carotid artery blood flow (Δ 18 ± 147 ml, P > 0.05). Subsequently, BAHBFR reduced all parameters to preheating levels, except for TSR and heart rate, which remained at BAH levels. In conclusion, LV twist mechanics responded to local peripheral arterial haemodynamics within the normal afterload range, in part independent of TSR and heart rate. The findings suggest that LV twist mechanics may be more closely associated with intrinsic sensing of excessive pressure stress rather than being associated with the delivery of adequate cardiac output. © 2016 The Authors. Experimental Physiology © 2016 The Physiological Society.

Fermion number of twisted kinks in the NJL2 model revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thies, Michael

2018-03-01

As a consequence of axial current conservation, fermions cannot be bound in localized lumps in the massless Nambu-Jona-Lasinio model. In the case of twisted kinks, this manifests itself in a cancellation between the valence fermion density and the fermion density induced in the Dirac sea. To attribute the correct fermion number to these bound states requires an infrared regularization. Recently, this has been achieved by introducing a bare fermion mass, at least in the nonrelativistic regime of small twist angles and fermion numbers. Here, we propose a simpler regularization using a finite box which preserves integrability and can be applied at any twist angle. A consistent and physically plausible assignment of fermion number to all twisted kinks emerges.

An empirically-based model for the lift coefficients of twisted airfoils with leading-edge tubercles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Zao; Su, Tsung-chow; Dhanak, Manhar

2018-04-01

Experimental data for untwisted airfoils are utilized to propose a model for predicting the lift coefficients of twisted airfoils with leading-edge tubercles. The effectiveness of the empirical model is verified through comparison with results of a corresponding computational fluid-dynamic (CFD) study. The CFD study is carried out for both twisted and untwisted airfoils with tubercles, the latter shown to compare well with available experimental data. Lift coefficients of twisted airfoils predicted from the proposed empirically-based model match well with the corresponding coefficients determined using the verified CFD study. Flow details obtained from the latter provide better insight into the underlying mechanism and behavior at stall of twisted airfoils with leading edge tubercles.

"Twisted Beam" SEE Observations of Ionospheric Heating from HAARP

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Briczinski, S. J.; Bernhardt, P. A.; Siefring, C. L.; Han, S.-M.; Pedersen, T. R.; Scales, W. A.

2015-10-01

Nonlinear interactions of high power HF radio waves in the ionosphere provide aeronomers with a unique space-based laboratory capability. The High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) in Gakona, Alaska is the world's largest heating facility, yielding effective radiated powers in the gigawatt range. New results are present from HAARP experiments using a "twisted beam" excitation mode. Analysis of twisted beam heating shows that the SEE results obtained are identical to more traditional patterns. One difference in the twisted beam mode is the heating region produced is in the shape of a ring as opposed to the more traditional "solid spot" region from a pencil beam. The ring heating pattern may be more conducive to the creation of stable artificial airglow layers because of the horizontal structure of the ring. The results of these runs include artificial layer creation and evolution as pertaining to the twisted beam pattern. The SEE measurements aid the interpretation of the twisted beam interactions in the ionosphere.

Structures of Highly Twisted Amides Relevant to Amide N-C Cross-Coupling: Evidence for Ground-State Amide Destabilization.

PubMed

Pace, Vittorio; Holzer, Wolfgang; Meng, Guangrong; Shi, Shicheng; Lalancette, Roger; Szostak, Roman; Szostak, Michal

2016-10-04

Herein, we show that acyclic amides that have recently enabled a series of elusive transition-metal-catalyzed N-C activation/cross-coupling reactions are highly twisted around the N-C(O) axis by a new destabilization mechanism of the amide bond. A unique effect of the N-glutarimide substituent, leading to uniformly high twist (ca. 90°) irrespective of the steric effect at the carbon side of the amide bond has been found. This represents the first example of a twisted amide that does not bear significant steric hindrance at the α-carbon atom. The (15) N NMR data show linear correlations between electron density at nitrogen and amide bond twist. This study strongly supports the concept of amide bond ground-state twist as a blueprint for activation of amides toward N-C bond cleavage. The new mechanism offers considerable opportunities for organic synthesis and biological processes involving non-planar amide bonds. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The association between left ventricular twisting motion and mechanical dyssynchrony: a three-dimensional speckle tracking study.

PubMed

Fujiwara, Shohei; Komamura, Kazuo; Nakabo, Ayumi; Masaki, Mitsuru; Fukui, Miho; Sugahara, Masataka; Itohara, Kanako; Soyama, Yuko; Goda, Akiko; Hirotani, Shinichi; Mano, Toshiaki; Masuyama, Tohru

2016-02-01

Left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony is a causal factor in LV dysfunction and thought to be associated with LV twisting motion. We tested whether three-dimensional speckle tracking (3DT) can be used to evaluate the relationship between LV twisting motion and dyssynchrony. We examined 25 patients with sick sinus syndrome who had received dual chamber pacemakers. The acute effects of ventricular pacing on LV wall motion after the switch from atrial to ventricular pacing were assessed. LV twisting motion and dyssynchrony during each pacing mode were measured using 3DT. LV dyssynchrony was calculated from the time to the minimum peak systolic area strain of 16 LV imaging segments. Ventricular pacing increased LV dyssynchrony and decreased twist and torsion. A significant correlation was observed between changes in LV dyssynchrony and changes in torsion (r = -0.65, p < 0.01). Evaluation of LV twisting motion can potentially be used for diagnosing LV dyssynchrony.

Kinetic study of ion acoustic twisted waves with kappa distributed electrons

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arshad, Kashif, E-mail: kashif.arshad.butt@gmail.com; Aman-ur-Rehman, E-mail: amansadiq@gmail.com; Mahmood, Shahzad, E-mail: shahzadm100@gmail.com

2016-05-15

The kinetic theory of Landau damping of ion acoustic twisted modes is developed in the presence of orbital angular momentum of the helical (twisted) electric field in plasmas with kappa distributed electrons and Maxwellian ions. The perturbed distribution function and helical electric field are considered to be decomposed by Laguerre-Gaussian mode function defined in cylindrical geometry. The Vlasov-Poisson equation is obtained and solved analytically to obtain the weak damping rates of the ion acoustic twisted waves in a non-thermal plasma. The strong damping effects of ion acoustic twisted waves at low values of temperature ratio of electrons and ions aremore » also obtained by using exact numerical method and illustrated graphically, where the weak damping wave theory fails to explain the phenomenon properly. The obtained results of Landau damping rates of the twisted ion acoustic wave are discussed at different values of azimuthal wave number and non-thermal parameter kappa for electrons.« less

Modeling and development of a twisting wing using inductively heated shape memory alloy actuators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saunders, Robert N.; Hartl, Darren J.; Boyd, James G.; Lagoudas, Dimitris C.

2015-04-01

Wing twisting has been shown to improve aircraft flight performance. The potential benefits of a twisting wing are often outweighed by the mass of the system required to twist the wing. Shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators repeatedly demonstrate abilities and properties that are ideal for aerospace actuation systems. Recent advances have shown an SMA torsional actuator that can be manufactured and trained with the ability to generate large twisting deformations under substantial loading. The primary disadvantage of implementing large SMA actuators has been their slow actuation time compared to conventional actuators. However, inductive heating of an SMA actuator allows it to generate a full actuation cycle in just seconds rather than minutes while still . The aim of this work is to demonstrate an experimental wing being twisted to approximately 10 degrees by using an inductively heated SMA torsional actuator. This study also considers a 3-D electromagnetic thermo-mechanical model of the SMA-wing system and compare these results to experiments to demonstrate modeling capabilities.

Twisted ultrathin silicon nanowires: A possible torsion electromechanical nanodevice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia, J. C.; Justo, J. F.

2014-11-01

Nanowires have been considered for a number of applications in nanometrology. In such a context, we have explored the possibility of using ultrathin twisted nanowires as torsion nanobalances to probe forces and torques at molecular level with high precision, a nanoscale system analogous to the Coulomb's torsion balance electrometer. In order to achieve this goal, we performed a first-principles investigation on the structural and electronic properties of twisted silicon nanowires, in their pristine and hydrogenated forms. The results indicated that wires with pentagonal and hexagonal cross-sections are the thinnest stable silicon nanostructures. Additionally, all wires followed a Hooke's law behavior for small twisting deformations. Hydrogenation leads to spontaneous twisting, but with angular spring constants considerably smaller than the ones for the respective pristine forms. We observed considerable changes on the nanowire electronic properties upon twisting, which allows to envision the possibility of correlating the torsional angular deformation with the nanowire electronic transport. This could ultimately allow a direct access to measurements on interatomic forces at molecular level.

Hover Testing of the NASA/Army/MIT Active Twist Rotor Prototype Blade

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilbur, Matthew L.; Yeager, William T., Jr.; Wilkie, W. Keats; Cesnik, Carlos E. S.; Shin, Sangloon

2000-01-01

Helicopter rotor individual blade control promises to provide a mechanism for increased rotor performance and reduced rotorcraft vibrations and noise. Active material methods, such as piezoelectrically actuated trailing-edge flaps and strain-induced rotor blade twisting, provide a means of accomplishing individual blade control without the need for hydraulic power in the rotating system. Recent studies have indicated that controlled strain induced blade twisting can be attained using piezoelectric active fiber composite technology. In order to validate these findings experimentally, a cooperative effort between NASA Langley Research Center, the Army Research Laboratory, and the MIT Active Materials and Structures Laboratory has been developed. As a result of this collaboration an aeroelastically-scaled active-twist model rotor blade has been designed and fabricated for testing in the heavy gas environment of the Langley Transonic Dynamics Tunnel (TDT). The results of hover tests of the active-twist prototype blade are presented in this paper. Comparisons with applicable analytical predictions of active-twist frequency response in hovering flight are also presented.

Reaction mechanism of the acidic hydrolysis of highly twisted amides: Rate acceleration caused by the twist of the amide bond.

PubMed

Mujika, Jon I; Formoso, Elena; Mercero, Jose M; Lopez, Xabier

2006-08-03

We present an ab initio study of the acid hydrolysis of a highly twisted amide and a planar amide analogue. The aim of these studies is to investigate the effect that the twist of the amide bond has on the reaction barriers and mechanism of acid hydrolysis. Concerted and stepwise mechanisms were investigated using density functional theory and polarizable continuum model calculations. Remarkable differences were observed between the mechanism of twisted and planar amide, due mainly to the preference for N-protonation of the former and O-protonation of the latter. In addition, we were also able to determine that the hydrolytic mechanism of the twisted amide will be pH dependent. Thus, there is a preference for a stepwise mechanism with formation of an intermediate in the acid hydrolysis, whereas the neutral hydrolysis undergoes a concerted-type mechanism. There is a nice agreement between the characterized intermediate and available X-ray data and a good agreement with the kinetically estimated rate acceleration of hydrolysis with respect to analogous undistorted amide compounds. This work, along with previous ab initio calculations, describes a complex and rich chemistry for the hydrolysis of highly twisted amides as a function of pH. The theoretical data provided will allow for a better understanding of the available kinetic data of the rate acceleration of amides upon twisting and the relation of the observed rate acceleration with intrinsic differential reactivity upon loss of amide bond resonance.

Enhanced intersystem crossing in core-twisted aromatics.

PubMed

Nagarajan, Kalaivanan; Mallia, Ajith R; Muraleedharan, Keerthi; Hariharan, Mahesh

2017-03-01

We describe the design, bottom-up synthesis and X-ray single crystal structure of systematically twisted aromatics 1c and 2d for efficient intersystem crossing. Steric congestion at the cove region creates a nonplanar geometry that induces a significant yield of triplet excited states in the electron-poor core-twisted aromatics 1c and 2d . A systematic increase in the number of twisted regions in 1c and 2d results in a concomitant enhancement in the rate and yield of intersystem crossing, monitored using femtosecond and nanosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. Time-resolved absorption spectroscopic measurements display enhanced triplet quantum yields ( Φ T = 10 ± 1% for 1c and Φ T = 30 ± 2% for 2d ) in the twisted aromatics when compared to a negligible Φ T (<1%) in the planar analog 3c . Twist-induced spin-orbit coupling via activated out-of-plane C-H/C 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 1111111111111111111111111111111111 1111111111111111111111111111111111 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 1111111111111111111111111111111111 1111111111111111111111111111111111 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 0000000000000000000000000000000000 C vibrations can facilitate the formation of triplet excited states in twisted aromatics 1c and 2d , in contrast to the negligible intersystem crossing in the planar analog 3c . The ease of synthesis, high solubility, access to triplet excited states and strong electron affinity make such imide functionalized core-twisted aromatics desirable materials for organic electronics such as solar cells.

Chirality-controlled spontaneous twisting of crystals due to thermal topochemical reaction.

PubMed

Rai, Rishika; Krishnan, Baiju P; Sureshan, Kana M

2018-03-20

Crystals that show mechanical response against various stimuli are of great interest. These stimuli induce polymorphic transitions, isomerizations, or chemical reactions in the crystal and the strain generated between the daughter and parent domains is transcribed into mechanical response. We observed that the crystals of modified dipeptide LL (N 3 -l-Ala-l-Val-NHCH 2 C≡CH) undergo spontaneous twisting to form right-handed twisted crystals not only at room temperature but also at 0 °C over time. Using various spectroscopic techniques, we have established that the twisting is due to the spontaneous topochemical azide-alkyne cycloaddition (TAAC) reaction at room temperature or lower temperatures. The rate of twisting can be increased by heating, exploiting the faster kinetics of the TAAC reaction at higher temperatures. To address the role of molecular chirality in the direction of twisting the enantiomer of dipeptide LL, N 3 -d-Ala-d-Val-NHCH 2 C≡CH (DD), was synthesized and topochemical reactivity and mechanoresponse of its crystals were studied. We have found that dipeptide DD not only underwent TAAC reaction, giving 1,4-triazole-linked pseudopolypeptides of d-amino acids, but also underwent twisting with opposite handedness (left-handed twisting), establishing the role of molecular chirality in controlling the direction of mechanoresponse. This paper reports ( i ) a mechanical response due to a thermal reaction and ( ii ) a spontaneous mechanical response in crystals and ( iii ) explains the role of molecular chirality in the handedness of the macroscopic mechanical response.

Design and analysis of variable-twist tiltrotor blades using shape memory alloy hybrid composites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, Jae-Sang; Kim, Seong-Hwan; Jung, Sung Nam; Lee, Myeong-Kyu

2011-01-01

The tiltrotor blade, or proprotor, acts as a rotor in the helicopter mode and as a propeller in the airplane mode. For a better performance, the proprotor should have different built-in twist distributions along the blade span, suitable for each operational mode. This paper proposes a new variable-twist proprotor concept that can adjust the built-in twist distribution for given flight modes. For a variable-twist control, the present proprotor adopts shape memory alloy hybrid composites (SMAHC) containing shape memory alloy (SMA) wires embedded in the composite matrix. The proprotor of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI) Smart Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SUAV), which is based on the tiltrotor concept, is used as a baseline proprotor model. The cross-sectional properties of the variable-twist proprotor are designed to maintain the cross-sectional properties of the original proprotor as closely as possible. However, the torsion stiffness is significantly reduced to accommodate the variable-twist control. A nonlinear flexible multibody dynamic analysis is employed to investigate the dynamic characteristics of the proprotor such as natural frequency and damping in the whirl flutter mode, the blade structural loads in a transition flight and the rotor performance in hover. The numerical results show that the present proprotor is designed to have a strong similarity to the baseline proprotor in dynamic and load characteristics. It is demonstrated that the present proprotor concept could be used to improve the hover performance adaptively when the variable-twist control using the SMAHC is applied appropriately.

Particle-in-cell/accelerator code for space-charge dominated beam simulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2012-05-08

Warp is a multidimensional discrete-particle beam simulation program designed to be applicable where the beam space-charge is non-negligible or dominant. It is being developed in a collaboration among LLNL, LBNL and the University of Maryland. It was originally designed and optimized for heave ion fusion accelerator physics studies, but has received use in a broader range of applications, including for example laser wakefield accelerators, e-cloud studies in high enery accelerators, particle traps and other areas. At present it incorporates 3-D, axisymmetric (r,z) planar (x-z) and transverse slice (x,y) descriptions, with both electrostatic and electro-magnetic fields, and a beam envelope model.more » The code is guilt atop the Python interpreter language.« less

How the antimicrobial peptides destroy bacteria cell membrane: Translocations vs. membrane buckling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Golubovic, Leonardo; Gao, Lianghui; Chen, Licui; Fang, Weihai

2012-02-01

In this study, coarse grained Dissipative Particle Dynamics simulation with implementation of electrostatic interactions is developed in constant pressure and surface tension ensemble to elucidate how the antimicrobial peptide molecules affect bilayer cell membrane structure and kill bacteria. We find that peptides with different chemical-physical properties exhibit different membrane obstructing mechanisms. Peptide molecules can destroy vital functions of the affected bacteria by translocating across their membranes via worm-holes, or by associating with membrane lipids to form hydrophilic cores trapped inside the hydrophobic domain of the membranes. In the latter scenario, the affected membranes are strongly corrugated (buckled) in accord with very recent experimental observations [G. E. Fantner et al., Nat. Nanotech., 5 (2010), pp. 280-285].

Space Environment Effects on Materials : An Overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garrett, Henry B.

2006-01-01

A general overview on the space environment and its effects on materials is presented. The topics include: 1) Impact of Space Effects on Spacecraft Costs; 2) Space Environment Effects on Spacecraft by Source; 3) Primary Source of Space Effects: The Sun; 4) The Earth's Environment; 5) Trapped Radiation Belts; 6) Aurora Are Everywhere; 7) Spacecraft Interactions; 8) Atmospheric Effects; 9) Contaminant Effects on Materials; 10) Meteoroid/Debris Effects on Materials; 11) Spacecraft Surface Charging; 12) Surface Discharge Effects; 13) Internal Electrostatic Discharge--Satellite Killer; 14) Plasma Interactions DS-1 Ion Engines; 15) Radiation Effects on Spacecraft Systems and Materials; 16) Total Ionizing Dose Effects Total Ionizing Dose Effects; 17) Man-Made Sources of Space Effects Man-Made Sources of Space Effects; and 18) Space Environments Versus Interactions.

Ion-mobility study of two functionalized pentacene structural isomers using a modified electrospray/triple quadrupole mass spectrometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prada, Svitlana V.; Bohme, Diethard K.; Baranov, Vladimir I.

2007-03-01

We report ion-mobility measurements with a modified triple quadrupole mass spectrometer fitted with an ion molecule reactor (IMR) designed to investigate ion molecule reactivity in organic mass spectrometry. Functionalized pentacene ions, which are generally unreactive were chosen for study to decouple drift/diffusion effects from reactivity (including clustering). The IMR is equipped with a variable axial electrostatic drift field (ADF) and is able to trap ions. These capabilities were successfully employed in the measurement of ion mobilities in different modes of IMR operation. Theoretical modeling of the drift dynamics and the special localization of the large ion packet was successfully implemented. The contribution of the quadrupole RF field to the drift dynamics also was taken into consideration.

Computer simulation of the pneumatic separator in the pneumatic-electrostatic separation system for recycling waste printed circuit boards with electronic components.

PubMed

Xue, Mianqiang; Xu, Zhenming

2013-05-07

Technologies could be integrated in different ways into automatic recycling lines for a certain kind of electronic waste according to practical requirements. In this study, a new kind of pneumatic separator with openings at the dust hooper was applied combing with electrostatic separation for recycling waste printed circuit boards. However, the flow pattern and the particles' movement behavior could not be obtained by experimental methods. To better control the separation quantity and the material size distribution, computational fluid dynamics was used to model the new pneumatic separator giving a detailed understanding of the mechanisms. Simulated results showed that the tangential velocity direction reversed with a relatively small value. Axial velocity exhibited two sharp decreases at the x axis. It is indicated that the bottom openings at the dust hopper resulted in an enormous change in the velocity profile. A new phenomenon that was named dusting was observed, which would mitigate the effect of particles with small diameter on the following electrostatic separation and avoid materials plugging caused by the waste printed circuit boards special properties effectively. The trapped materials were divided into seven grades. Experimental results showed that the mass fraction of grade 5, grade 6, and grade 7 materials were 27.54%, 15.23%, and 17.38%, respectively. Grade 1 particles' mass fraction was reduced by 80.30% compared with a traditional separator. Furthermore, the monocrystalline silicon content in silicon element in particles with a diameter of -0.091 mm was 18.9%, higher than that in the mixed materials. This study could serve as guidance for the future material flow control, automation control, waste recycling, and semiconductor storage medium destruction.

Consecutive monitoring of lifelong production of conidia by individual conidiophores of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei on barley leaves by digital microscopic techniques with electrostatic micromanipulation.

PubMed

Moriura, Nobuyuki; Matsuda, Yoshinori; Oichi, Wataru; Nakashima, Shinya; Hirai, Tatsuo; Sameshima, Takeshi; Nonomura, Teruo; Kakutani, Koji; Kusakari, Shin-Ichi; Higashi, Katsuhide; Toyoda, Hideyoshi

2006-01-01

Conidial formation and secession by living conidiophores of Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei on barley leaves were consecutively monitored using a high-fidelity digital microscopic technique combined with electrostatic micromanipulation to trap the released conidia. Conidial chains formed on conidiophores through a series of septum-mediated division and growth of generative cells. Apical conidial cells on the conidiophores were abstricted after the conidial chains developed ten conidial cells. The conidia were electrically conductive, and a positive charge was induced in the cells by a negatively polarized insulator probe (ebonite). The electrostatic force between the conidia and the insulator was used to attract the abstricted conidia from the conidiophores on leaves. This conidium movement from the targeted conidiophore to the rod was directly viewed under the digital microscope, and the length of the interval between conidial septation and secession, the total number of the conidia produced by a single conidiophore, and the modes of conidiogenesis were clarified. During the stage of conidial secession, the generative cells pushed new conidial cells upwards by repeated division and growth. The successive release of two apical conidia was synchronized with the successive septation and growth of a generative cell. The release ceased after 4-5 conidia were released without division and growth of the generative cell. Thus, the life of an individual conidiophore (from the erection of the conidiophore to the release of the final conidium) was shown to be 107 h and to produce an average of 33 conidia. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the direct estimation of life-long conidial production by a powdery mildew on host leaves.

Trapping characteristic of halloysite lumen for methyl orange

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Hao; Yan, Hua; Pei, Zhenzhao; Wu, Junyong; Li, Rongrong; Jin, Yanxian; Zhao, Jie

2015-08-01

The interaction of clay minerals and dyes is an area of great interest especially in the development of novel adsorbents. In this report, we demonstrated interaction of halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) and an anionic dye, methyl orange (MO), through a electrostatic attraction. Halloysite lumen has a trapping characteristic for methyl orange, which is mainly determined by the positively charged nature of the inner surface of HNTs. XRD results confirmed that intercalation of methyl orange into HNTs did not occur. SEM-EDS and photostability results showed that MO molecules were primarily in HNTs lumen. Adsorption isotherm studies revealed an interesting phenomenon, i.e., a sudden increase of adsorption capacity occurred in the initial dye concentration of about 75 mg/L, which was just the dye concentration corresponding to the onset of dye oligomer formation. This suggested dye aggregation state had a decisive influence to the adsorption behavior of MO on the halloysite. BET results demonstrated at low and high dye concentrations, single MO molecule and aggregation of several dimers through hydrophobic interaction, interacted with Al-OH2+ sites on the inner wall, respectively. Desorption experiments showed that MO in HNTs can be completely removed with deionized water, indicating halloysite is a low-cost and efficient adsorbent for anionic dye.

The MR-TOF-MS isobar separator for the TITAN facility at TRIUMF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jesch, Christian; Dickel, Timo; Plaß, Wolfgang R.; Short, Devin; Ayet San Andres, Samuel; Dilling, Jens; Geissel, Hans; Greiner, Florian; Lang, Johannes; Leach, Kyle G.; Lippert, Wayne; Scheidenberger, Christoph; Yavor, Mikhail I.

2015-11-01

At TRIUMF's Ion Trap for Atomic and Nuclear Science (TITAN) a multiple-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-TOF-MS) will extend TITAN's capabilities and facilitate mass measurements and in-trap decay spectroscopy of exotic nuclei that so far have not been possible due to strong isobaric contamination. This MR-TOF-MS will also enable mass measurements of very short-lived nuclides (half-life > 1 ms) that are produced in very low quantities (a few detected ions overall). In order to allow the installation of an MR-TOF-MS in the restricted space on the platform, on which the TITAN facility is located, novel mass spectrometric methods have been developed. Transport, cooling and distribution of the ions inside the device is done using a buffer gas-filled RFQ-based ion beam switchyard. Mass selection is achieved using a dynamic retrapping technique after time-of-flight analysis in an electrostatic isochronous reflector system. Only due to the combination of these novel methods the realization of an MR-TOF-MS based isobar separator at TITAN has become possible. The device has been built, commissioned off-line and is currently under installation at TITAN.

Universality, twisted fans, and the Ising model. [Renormalization, two-loop calculations, scale

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dash, J.W.; Harrington, S.J.

1975-06-24

Critical exponents are evaluated for the Ising model using universality in the form of ''twisted fans'' previously introduced in Reggeon field theory. The universality is with respect to scales induced through renormalization. Exact twists are obtained at ..beta.. = 0 in one loop for D = 2,3 with ..nu.. = 0.75 and 0.60 respectively. In two loops one obtains ..nu.. approximately 1.32 and 0.68. No twists are obtained for eta, however. The results for the standard two loop calculations are also presented as functions of a scale.

Twist-3 contributions to wide-angle photoproduction of pions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kroll, P.; Passek-Kumerički, K.

2018-04-01

We investigate wide-angle π0 photoproduction within the handbag approach to twist-3 accuracy. In contrast to earlier work both the 2-particle as well as the 3-particle twist-3 contributions are taken into account. It is shown that both are needed for consistent results that respect gauge invariance and crossing properties. The numerical studies reveal the dominance of the twist-3 contribution. With it fair agreement with the recent CLAS measurement of the π0 cross section is obtained. We briefly comment also on wide-angle photoproduction of other pseudoscalar mesons.

Moiré edge states in twisted graphene nanoribbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fleischmann, M.; Gupta, R.; Weckbecker, D.; Landgraf, W.; Pankratov, O.; Meded, V.; Shallcross, S.

2018-05-01

The edge physics of graphene based systems is well known to be highly sensitive to the atomic structure at the boundary, with localized zero mode edge states found only on the zigzag-type termination of the lattice. Here we demonstrate that the graphene twist bilayer supports an additional class of edge states, that (i) are found for all edge geometries and thus are robust against edge roughness, (ii) occur at energies coinciding with twist induced Van Hove singularities in the bulk and (iii) possess an electron density strongly modulated by the moiré lattice. Interestingly, these "moiré edge states" exist only for certain lattice commensurations and thus the edge physics of the twist bilayer is, in dramatic contrast to that of the bulk, not uniquely determined by the twist angle.

Composite material bend-twist coupling for wind turbine blade applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walsh, Justin M.

Current efforts in wind turbine blade design seek to employ bend-twist coupling of composite materials for passive power control by twisting blades to feather. Past efforts in this area of study have proved to be problematic, especially in formulation of the bend-twist coupling coefficient alpha. Kevlar/epoxy, carbon/epoxy and glass/epoxy specimens were manufactured to study bend-twist coupling, from which numerical and analytical models could be verified. Finite element analysis was implemented to evaluate fiber orientation and material property effects on coupling magnitude. An analytical/empirical model was then derived to describe numerical results and serve as a replacement for the commonly used coupling coefficient alpha. Through the results from numerical and analytical models, a foundation for aeroelastic design of wind turbines blades utilizing biased composite materials is provided.

Formation of Twisted Elephant Trunks in the Rosette Nebula

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carlqvist, P.; Gahm, G. F.; Kristen, H.

New observations show that dark elephant trunks in the Rosette nebula are often built up by thin filaments. In several of the trunks the filaments seem to form a twisted pattern. This pattern is hard to reconcile with current theory. We propose a new model for the formation of twisted elephant trunks in which electromagnetic forces play an important role. The model considers the behaviour of a twisted magnetic filament in a molecular cloud, where a cluster of hot stars has been recently born. As a result of stellar winds, and radiation pressure, electromagnetic forces, and inertia forces part of the filament can develop into a double helix pointing towards the stars. The double helix represents the twisted elephant trunk. A simple analogy experiment visualizes and supports the trunk model.

Slug, Twist, and E-Cadherin as Immunohistochemical Biomarkers in Meningeal Tumors

PubMed Central

Nagaishi, Masaya; Nobusawa, Sumihito; Tanaka, Yuko; Ikota, Hayato; Yokoo, Hideaki; Nakazato, Yoichi

2012-01-01

The overexpression of Twist and Slug and subsequent down-regulation of E-cadherin facilitate the acquirement of invasive growth properties in cancer cells. It is unclear which of these molecules are expressed in mesenchymal tumors in the central nervous system. Here, we investigated 10 cases each of hemangiopericytoma, solitary fibrous tumor, meningothelial, fibrous, angiomatous, and atypical meningiomas, and 5 cases of anaplastic meningioma for Slug, Twist, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin immunoexpression. Nuclear Slug expression was observed in 9/10 (90%) hemangiopericytomas and 5/10 (50%) solitary fibrous tumors, but not in any meningiomas, except for 1 case. Similarly, nuclear Twist expression was more extensive in hemangiopericytomas and solitary fibrous tumors than meningiomas. In contrast to Slug and Twist, the positive expression of E-cadherin was observed in 39/45 (87%) meningiomas, but not in any hemangiopericytomas or solitary fibrous tumors (P<0.0001). The fraction of tumor cells expressing E-cadherin in meningeal tumors was negatively correlated to those of Twist (P = 0.004) and Slug (P<0.0001). The overexpression of Slug and Twist with down-regulation of E-cadherin was characteristic findings in hemangiopericytomas and solitary fibrous tumors, but not in meningiomas. The immunohistochemical profiles of the two tumor groups may be useful as diagnostic markers in cases that present a differential diagnosis challenge. PMID:23029385

Full action of two deformation operators in the D1D5 CFT

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carson, Zaq; Hampton, Shaun; Mathur, Samir D.

2017-11-01

We are interested in thermalization in the D1D5 CFT, since this process is expected to be dual to black hole formation. We expect that the lowest order process where thermalization occurs will be at second order in the perturbation that moves us away from the orbifold point. The operator governing the deformation off of the orbifold point consists of a twist operator combined with a supercharge operator acting on this twist. In a previous paper we computed the action of two twist operators on an arbitrary state of the CFT. In the present work we compute the action of the supercharges on these twist operators, thereby obtaining the full action of two deformation operators on an arbitrary state of the CFT. We show that the full amplitude can be related to the amplitude with just the twists through an action of the supercharge operators on the initial and final states. The essential part of this computation consists of moving the contours from the twist operators to the initial and final states; to do this one must first map the amplitude to a covering space where the twists are removed, and then map back to the original space on which the CFT is defined.

Nanorobotic System iTRo for Controllable 1D Micro/nano Material Twisting Test.

PubMed

Lu, Haojian; Shang, Wanfeng; Wei, Xueyong; Yang, Zhan; Fukuda, Toshio; Shen, Yajing

2017-06-08

In-situ micro/nano characterization is an indispensable methodology for material research. However, the precise in-situ SEM twisting of 1D material with large range is still challenge for current techniques, mainly due to the testing device's large size and the misalignment between specimen and the rotation axis. Herein, we propose an in-situ twist test robot (iTRo) to address the above challenges and realize the precise in-situ SEM twisting test for the first time. Firstly, we developed the iTRo and designed a series of control strategies, including assembly error initialization, triple-image alignment (TIA) method for rotation axis alignment, deformation-based contact detection (DCD) method for sample assembly, and switch control for robots cooperation. After that, we chose three typical 1D material, i.e., magnetic microwire Fe 74 B 13 Si 11 C 2 , glass fiber, and human hair, for twisting test and characterized their properties. The results showed that our approach is able to align the sample to the twisting axis accurately, and it can provide large twisting range, heavy load and high controllability. This work fills the blank of current in-situ mechanical characterization methodologies, which is expected to give significant impact in the fundamental nanomaterial research and practical micro/nano characterization.

Electronic structure and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene calculated via time evolution of states in real space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Le, H. Anh; Do, V. Nam

2018-03-01

We investigate the electronic and optical properties of twisted bilayer graphene with arbitrary twist angles θ . Our results are based on a method of evolving in time quantum states in lattice space. We propose an efficient scheme of sampling lattice nodes that helps to reduce significantly computational cost, particularly for tiny twist angles. We demonstrate the continuous variation of the density of states and the optical conductivity with respect to the twist angle. It indicates that the commensurability between the two graphene layers does not play an essential role in governing the electronic and optical properties. We point out that, for the twist angles roughly in the range 0 .1∘<θ <3∘ , the density of states in the vicinity of the Fermi energy exhibits the typical W shape with a small peak locating at the Fermi energy. This peak is formed as the merging of two van Hove peaks and reflects the appearance of states strongly localized in the AA-like region of moiré zones. When decreasing the twist angle to zero, the W shape is gradually transformed to the U shape, which is seen as the behavior of the density of states in the limit of θ →0∘ .

Energy gain calculations in spherical IEC fusion systems using the BAFP code

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chacón, L.; Miley, G. H.; Barnes, D. C.; Knoll, D. A.

1999-11-01

The spherical IEC fusion concept takes advantage of the potential well generated by an inner spherical cathode (physical or virtual), biased negatively to several kV with respect to a concentric outer grounded boundary, to focus ions inwards and form a dense central core where fusion may occur. However, defocusing of the ion beams due to ion-ion collisions may prevent a satisfactory energy balance in the system. This research concentrates of spherically symmetric virtual cathode IEC devices, in which a spherical cloud of electrons, confined á la Penning trap, creates the ion-confining electrostatic well. A bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck model has been constructed to analyze the ion physics in ideal conditions (i.e., spherically uniform electrostatic well, no collisional interaction between ions and electrons, single ion species).(L. Chacon, D. C. Barnes, D. A. Knoll, 40^th) Annual Meeting of the APS Division of Plasma Physics, New Orleans, LA, Nov. 1998 Results will reproduce the phenomenology of previously published( W. Nevins, Phys. Plasmas), 2(10), 3804-3819 (1995) theoretical limits, and will show that, under some conditions, steady-state solutions with relatively high gains and small ion recirculation powers exist for the bounce-averaged Fokker-Planck transport equation. Variations in gain with parameter space will be presented.

Electrostatic-spray ionization mass spectrometry sniffing for perfume fingerprinting.

PubMed

Tobolkina, Elena; Qiao, Liang; Xu, Guobin; Girault, Hubert H

2013-11-15

The perfume market is growing significantly, and it is easy to find imitative fragrances of probably all types of perfume. Such imitative fragrances are usually of lower quality than the authentic ones, creating a possible threat for perfume companies. Therefore, it is important to develop efficient chemical analysis techniques to screen rapidly perfume samples. Electrostatic-spray ionization (ESTASI) was used to analyze directly samples sprayed or deposited on different types of paper. A linear ion trap mass spectrometer was used to detect the ions produced by ESTASI with a modified extended transfer capillary for 'sniffing' ions from the paper. Several commercial perfumes and a model perfume were analyzed by ESTASI-sniffing. The results obtained by paper ESTASI-MS of commercial fragrances were compared with those obtained from ESI-MS. In addition, a commercial fragrance was first nebulized on the hand and then soaked up by blotting paper, which was afterwards placed on an insulating plate for ESTASI-MS analysis. Analysis of peptides and proteins was also performed to show that the paper ESTASI-MS could be used for samples with very different molecular masses. Paper ESTASI-MS yields a rapid fingerprinting characterization of perfume fragrances, avoiding time-consuming sample-preparation steps, and thereby performing a rapid screening in a few seconds. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Magnetic helicity and flux tube dynamics in the solar convection zone: Comparisons between observation and theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nandy, Dibyendu

2006-12-01

Magnetic helicity, a conserved topological parameter in ideal MHD systems, conditions close to which are realized in the solar plasma, is intimately connected to the creation and subsequent dynamics of magnetic flux tubes in the solar interior. It can therefore be used as a tool to probe such dynamics. In this paper we show how photospheric observations of magnetic helicity of isolated magnetic flux tubes, manifested as the twist and writhe of solar active regions, can constrain the creation and dynamics of flux tubes in the solar convection zone and the nature of convective turbulence itself. We analyze the observed latitudinal distribution of twists in photospheric active regions, derived from solar vector magnetograms, in the largest such sample studied till-date. We confirm and put additional constraints on the hemispheric twist helicity trend and find that the dispersion in the active region twist distribution is latitude-independent, implying that the amplitude of turbulent fluctuations does not vary with latitude in the convection zone. Our data set also shows that the amplitude and dispersion of twist decreases with increasing magnetic size of active regions, supporting the conclusion that larger flux tubes are less affected by turbulence. Among the various theoretical models that have been proposed till-date to explain the origin of twist, our observations best match the Σ effect model, which invokes helical turbulent buffeting of rising flux tubes as the mechanism for twist creation. Finally, we complement our analysis of twists with past observations of tilts in solar active regions and tie them in with theoretical modeling studies, to build up a comprehensive picture of the dynamics of twisted magnetic flux tubes throughout the solar convection zone. This general framework, binding together theory and observations, suggests that flux tubes have a wide range of twists in the solar convection zone, with some as high as to make them susceptible to the kink instability mechanism that results in the formation of δ spot or non-Hale active regions.

Performance of twist-coupled blades on variable speed rotors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lobitz, D.W.; Veers, P.S.; Laino, D.J.

1999-12-07

The load mitigation and energy capture characteristics of twist-coupled HAWT blades that are mounted on a variable speed rotor are investigated in this paper. These blades are designed to twist toward feather as they bend with pretwist set to achieve a desirable twist distribution at rated power. For this investigation, the ADAMS-WT software has been modified to include blade models with bending-twist coupling. Using twist-coupled and uncoupled models, the ADAMS software is exercised for steady wind environments to generate C{sub p} curves at a number of operating speeds to compare the efficiencies of the two models. The ADAMS software ismore » also used to generate the response of a twist-coupled variable speed rotor to a spectrum of stochastic wind time series. This spectrum contains time series with two mean wind speeds at two turbulence levels. Power control is achieved by imposing a reactive torque on the low speed shaft proportional to the RPM squared with the coefficient specified so that the rotor operates at peak efficiency in the linear aerodynamic range, and by limiting the maximum RPM to take advantage of the stall controlled nature of the rotor. Fatigue calculations are done for the generated load histories using a range of material exponents that represent materials from welded steel to aluminum to composites, and results are compared with the damage computed for the rotor without twist-coupling. Results indicate that significant reductions in damage are achieved across the spectrum of applied wind loading without any degradation in power production.« less

Using 4th order Runge-Kutta method for solving a twisted Skyrme string equation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hadi, Miftachul; Anderson, Malcolm; Husein, Andri

2016-03-01

We study numerical solution, especially using 4th order Runge-Kutta method, for solving a twisted Skyrme string equation. We find numerically that the value of minimum energy per unit length of vortex solution for a twisted Skyrmion string is 20.37 × 1060 eV/m.

TWIST and p-Akt immunoexpression in normal oral epithelium oral dysplasia and in oral squamous cell carcinoma

PubMed Central

Yamamoto, Fernanda-Paula; Corrêa Pontes, Flávia-Sirotheau; Cury, Sérgio-Elias; Fonseca, Felipe-Paiva; Rebelo-Pontes, Hélder; Pinto-Júnior, Décio-dos Santos

2012-01-01

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the immunoexpression of TWIST and p-Akt proteins in oral leukoplakia (OL) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC), correlating their expressions with the histological features of the lesions. Study design: Immunohistochemical studies were carried out on 10 normal oral epithelium, 30 OL and 20 OSCC formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue samples. Immunoperoxidase reactions for TWIST and p-Akt proteins were applied on the specimens and the positivity of the reactions was calculated for 1000 epithelial cells. Results: Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn’s post tests revealed a significant difference in TWIST and p-Akt immunoexpression among normal oral mucosa, OL and OSCC. In addition, a significant positive correlation was found between TWIST and p-Akt expressions according to the Pearson’s correlation test. Conclusions: The results obtained in the current study suggest that TWIST and p-Akt may participate of the multi-step process of oral carcinogenesis since its early stages. Key words: Oral cancer, oral leukoplakia, dysplasia, immunohistochemistry. PMID:21743395

Torsional mechanics of DNA are regulated by small-molecule intercalation.

PubMed

Celedon, Alfredo; Wirtz, Denis; Sun, Sean

2010-12-23

Whether the bend and twist mechanics of DNA molecules are coupled is unclear. Here, we report the direct measurement of the resistive torque of single DNA molecules to study the effect of ethidium bromide (EtBr) intercalation and pulling force on DNA twist mechanics. DNA molecules were overwound and unwound using recently developed magnetic tweezers where the molecular resistive torque was obtained from Brownian angular fluctuations. The effect of EtBr intercalation on the twist stiffness was found to be significantly different from the effect on the bend persistence length. The twist stiffness of DNA was dramatically reduced at low intercalator concentration (<10 nM); however, it did not decrease further when the intercalator concentration was increased by 3 orders of magnitude. We also determined the dependence of EtBr intercalation on the torque applied to DNA. We propose a model for the elasticity of DNA base pairs with intercalated EtBr molecules to explain the abrupt decrease of twist stiffness at low EtBr concentration. These results indicate that the bend and twist stiffnesses of DNA are independent and can be differently affected by small-molecule binding.

Investigation friction factor and heat transfer characteristics of turbulent flow inside the corrugated tube inserted with typical and V-cut twisted tapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langeroudi, H. G.; Javaherdeh, K.

2018-07-01

In present paper the effects of using typical twisted tape (TT) and V-cut twisted tape (VTT) on Nusselt number (Nu), friction factor (f) and thermal performance factor (η) inside corrugated tube in the turbulent flow are experimentally investigated despite the fact that the wall is under uniform heat flux. The experiments are conducted by twisted tapes with different twist ratio (y = 4.5, 6.07), depth and width ratios ranging (0.285-0.5) and Reynolds number varied from 5300 to 25,700 and water was as a working fluid. The obtained results show that the Nusselt number for corrugated tube that equipped with twisted tapes increases with increasing Reynolds number and is remarkable at high Reynolds Number while the friction factor is low. Moreover, the thermal performance factor for fluid increases with increasing Reynolds number and also the thermal performance factor for all states of VTT are higher than of TT. The new empirical correlations for Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance factor are predicted and compared with experimental data.

Twist1-positive epithelial cells retain adhesive and proliferative capacity throughout dissemination

PubMed Central

Shamir, Eliah R.; Coutinho, Kester; Georgess, Dan; Auer, Manfred

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Dissemination is the process by which cells detach and migrate away from a multicellular tissue. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) conceptualizes dissemination in a stepwise fashion, with downregulation of E-cadherin leading to loss of intercellular junctions, induction of motility, and then escape from the epithelium. This gain of migratory activity is proposed to be mutually exclusive with proliferation. We previously developed a dissemination assay based on inducible expression of the transcription factor Twist1 and here utilize it to characterize the timing and dynamics of intercellular adhesion, proliferation and migration during dissemination. Surprisingly, Twist1+ epithelium displayed extensive intercellular junctions, and Twist1– luminal epithelial cells could still adhere to disseminating Twist1+ cells. Although proteolysis and proliferation were both observed throughout dissemination, neither was absolutely required. Finally, Twist1+ cells exhibited a hybrid migration mode; their morphology and nuclear deformation were characteristic of amoeboid cells, whereas their dynamic protrusive activity, pericellular proteolysis and migration speeds were more typical of mesenchymal cells. Our data reveal that epithelial cells can disseminate while retaining competence to adhere and proliferate. PMID:27402962

DC conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene: Angle-dependent transport properties and effects of disorder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andelković, M.; Covaci, L.; Peeters, F. M.

2018-03-01

The in-plane dc conductivity of twisted bilayer graphene is calculated using an expansion of the real-space Kubo-Bastin conductivity in terms of Chebyshev polynomials. We investigate within a tight-binding approach the transport properties as a function of rotation angle, applied perpendicular electric field, and vacancy disorder. We find that for high-angle twists, the two layers are effectively decoupled, and the minimum conductivity at the Dirac point corresponds to double the value observed in monolayer graphene. This remains valid even in the presence of vacancies, hinting that chiral symmetry is still preserved. On the contrary, for low twist angles, the conductivity at the Dirac point depends on the twist angle and is not protected in the presence of disorder. Furthermore, for low angles and in the presence of an applied electric field, we find that the chiral boundary states emerging between AB and BA regions contribute to the dc conductivity, despite the appearance of localized states in the AA regions. The results agree qualitatively with recent transport experiments in low-angle twisted bilayer graphene.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kanazawa, Koichi; Pitonyak, Daniel; Koike, Yuji

We investigate the behavior under Lorentz transformations of perturbative coefficient functions in a collinear twist-3 formalism relevant for high-energy observables including transverse polarization of hadrons. We argue that those perturbative coefficient functions can, a priori, acquire quite different yet Lorentz-invariant forms in various frames. This somewhat surprising difference can be traced back to a general dependence of the perturbative coefficient functions on light cone vectors which are introduced by the twist-3 factorization formulas and which are frame-dependent. One can remove this spurious frame dependence by invoking so-called Lorentz invariance relations (LIRs) between twist-3 parton correlation functions. Some of those relationsmore » for twist-3 distribution functions were discussed in the literature before. In this paper we derive the corresponding LIRs for twist-3 fragmentation functions. We explicitly demonstrate that these LIRs remove the light cone vector dependence by considering transverse spin observables in the single-inclusive production of hadrons in lepton-nucleon collisions, ℓN→hX. Furthermore, with the LIRs in hand, we also show that twist-3 observables in general can be written solely in terms of three-parton correlation functions.« less

A quality-of-life-oriented endpoint for comparing therapies.

PubMed

Gelber, R D; Gelman, R S; Goldhirsch, A

1989-09-01

An endpoint, time without symptoms of disease and toxicity of treatment (TWiST), is defined to provide a single measure of length and quality of survival. Time with subjective side effects of treatment and time with unpleasant symptoms of disease are subtracted from overall survival time to calculate TWiST for each patient. The purpose of this paper is to describe the construction of this endpoint, and to elaborate on its interpretation for patient care decision-making. Estimating the distribution of TWiST using actuarial methods is shown by simulation studies to be biased as a result of induced dependency between TWiST and its censoring distribution. Considering the distribution of TWiST accumulated within a specified time from start of therapy, L, allows one to reduce this bias by substituting estimated TWiST for censored values and provides a method to evaluate the "payback" period for early toxic effects. Quantile distance plots provide graphical representations for treatment comparisons. The analysis of Ludwig Trial III evaluating toxic adjuvant therapies versus a no-treatment control group for postmenopausal women with node-positive breast cancer illustrates the methodology.

Far-Infrared and Raman Spectra and The Ring-Twisting Potential Energy Function of 1,3-Cyclohexadiene

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Autrey, Daniel; Choo, Jaebum; Laane, Jaan

2001-10-01

The nu19 (A2) ring-twisting vibration of 1,3-cyclohexadiene has been analyzed from the vapor-phase Raman and infrared spectra. The Raman spectrum shows nine ring-twisting transitions in the 116 - 199 cm-1 region. The far-infrared spectrum confirms five of these transitions, despite the fact that the vibration is infrared forbidden in the C2v (planar) approximation. Other Raman and infrared combination bands verify the assignments and provide information on the vibrational coupling. A coordinate dependent kinetic energy expansion for the ring-twisting motion was calculated, and this was used to determine the ring-twisting potential function, which has a barrier to planarity of 1132 cm-1 and energy minima corresponding to twisting angles of 9.1º and 30.1º. Ab initio calculations were also carried out using Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) with a large number of different basis sets. The various ab initio calculations gave barriers to planarity in the 1197 - 1593 cm-1 range and calculated vibrational frequencies in excellent agreement with the experimental values.

High performance twisted and coiled soft actuator with spandex fiber for artificial muscles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Sang Yul; Cho, Kyeong Ho; Kim, Youngeun; Song, Min-Geun; Jung, Ho Sang; Yoo, Ji Wang; Moon, Hyungpil; Koo, Ja Choon; Nam, Jae-do; Ryeol Choi, Hyouk

2017-10-01

This paper reports the twisted and coiled soft actuator (abbreviated with STCA) with spandex fiber. The STCA exhibits higher actuation strain at lower temperature than the previous nylon twisted and coiled soft actuators (abbreviated with NTCAs). While NTCAs are fabricated using a twist-insertion process until coils are formed, a new method is developed to fabricate the STCA using the ultra-stretch of spandex, whereby the STCA is twisted again after the coil has been formed. A 6-gear-twist-insertion device that increases the stability and the fabrication speed is developed to fabricate the STCA. The superior performance exhibited by the STCA is due to the 14% contraction strain of the bare spandex (bare nylon: 4%) and the low spring constant of 0.0115 N mm-1. The maximum tensile actuation strain of STCA was 45% at 130 °C, and the maximum specific work was 1.523 kJ kg-1 at 130 °C. STCA could repeatedly actuate 100 times with a strain change of less than 0.4%.

New collinear twist-3 analysis of transverse SSA: Toward a resolution for the sign-mismatch problem

DOE PAGES

Kanazawa, Koichi; Pitonyak, Daniel; Koike, Yuji; ...

2014-10-19

We present a new collinear twist-3 analysis of the transverse SSA A N at RHIC. We use the TMD Sivers/Collins function to fix some of the relevant collinear twist-3 functions and perform a fit of the RHIC data with other parameterized twist-3 functions. This allows us to keep the consistency among descriptions in pp collision, SIDIS, and e +e – annihilation and thus could provide a unified description of the spin asymmetries in the low- and high-P T processes. In conclusion, by taking into account the twist-3 fragmentation contribution, we show for the first time this contribution could be themore » main source of A N in pp ↑ → hX and its inclusion could provide a solution for the sign-mismatch problem.« less

Scaling effects in resonant coupling phenomena between fundamental and cladding modes in twisted microstructured optical fibers.

PubMed

Napiorkowski, Maciej; Urbanczyk, Waclaw

2018-04-30

We show that in twisted microstructured optical fibers (MOFs) the coupling between the core and cladding modes can be obtained for helix pitch much greater than previously considered. We provide an analytical model describing scaling properties of the twisted MOFs, which relates coupling conditions to dimensionless ratios between the wavelength, the lattice pitch and the helix pitch of the twisted fiber. Furthermore, we verify our model using a rigorous numerical method based on the transformation optics formalism and study its limitations. The obtained results show that for appropriately designed twisted MOFs, distinct, high loss resonance peaks can be obtained in a broad wavelength range already for the fiber with 9 mm helix pitch, thus allowing for fabrication of coupling based devices using a less demanding method involving preform spinning.

The influence of vagal control on sex-related differences in left ventricular mechanics and hemodynamics.

PubMed

Williams, Alexandra Mackenzie; Shave, Robert E; Coulson, James M; White, Harriet; Rosser-Stanford, Bryn; Eves, Neil Derek

2018-06-01

Left ventricular (LV) twist mechanics differ between males and females during acute physiological stress, which may be partly mediated by sex differences in autonomic control. While males appear to have greater adrenergic control of LV twist, the potential contribution of vagal modulation to sex differences in LV twist remains unknown. Therefore, this study examined the role of vagal control on sex differences in LV twist during graded lower body negative pressure (LBNP) and supine cycling. On two separate visits, LV mechanics were assessed using 2-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography in 18 males (22{plus minus}2yr) and 17 females (21{plus minus}4yr) during -40 and -60 mmHg LBNP and 25% and 50% of peak supine cycling workload, with and without glycopyrrolate (vagal blockade). LV twist was not different at baseline but was greater in females during -60 mmHg in both control (F:16.0{plus minus}3.4º, M:12.9{plus minus}2.3º, p=0.004) and glycopyrrolate trials (F:17.7{plus minus}5.9{degree sign}, M:13.9{plus minus}3.3{degree sign}, p<0.001) due to greater apical rotation during control (F:11.9{plus minus}3.6º, M:7.8{plus minus}1.5º, p<0.001) and glycopyrrolate (F:11.6{plus minus}4.9{degree sign}, M:7.1{plus minus}3.6{degree sign}, p=0.009). These sex differences in LV twist consistently coincided with a greater LV sphericity index (i.e. ellipsoid geometry) in females compared to males. In contrast, LV twist did not differ between the sexes during exercise, with or without glycopyrrolate. Females have augmented LV twist compared to males during large reductions to preload, even during vagal blockade. As such, differences in vagal control do not appear to contribute to sex differences in the LV twist responses to physiological stress, but may be related to differences in ventricular geometry.

Bend-Twist Coupled Carbon-Fiber Laminate Beams: Fundamental Behavior and Applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babuska, Pavel

Material-induced bend-twist coupling in laminated composite beams has seen applications in engineered structures for decades, ranging from airplane wings to turbine blades. Symmetric, unbalanced, carbon fiber laminates which exhibit bend-twist coupling can be difficult to characterize and exhibit unintuitive deformation states which may pose challenges to the engineer. In this thesis, bend-twist coupled beams are investigated comprehensively, by experimentation, numerical modeling, and analytical methods. Beams of varying fiber angle and amount of coupling were manufactured and physically tested in both linear and nonlinear static and dynamic settings. Analytical mass and stiffness matrices were derived for the development of a beam element to use in the stiffness matrix analysis method. Additionally, an ABAQUS finite element model was used in conjunction with the analytical methods to predict and further characterize the behavior of the beams. The three regimes, experimental, analytical, and numerical, represent a full-field characterization of bend-twist coupling in composite beams. A notable application of bend-twist coupled composites is for passively adaptive turbine blades whereby the deformation coupling can be built into the blade structure to simultaneously bend and twist, thus pitching the blade into or away from the fluid flow, changing the blade angle of attack. Passive pitch adaptation has been implemented successfully in wind turbine blades, however, for marine turbine blades, the technology is still in the development phase. Bend-twist coupling has been shown numerically to be beneficial to the tidal turbine performance, however little validation has been conducted in the experimental regime. In this thesis, passively adaptive experiment scale tidal turbine blades were designed, analyzed, manufactured, and physically tested, validating the foundational numerical work. It was shown that blade forces and root moments as well as turbine thrust and power coefficients can be manipulated by inclusion of passive pitch adaption by bend-twist coupling.

Stromal Clues in Endometrial Carcinoma: Loss of Expression of β-Catenin, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Regulators, and Estrogen-Progesterone Receptor.

PubMed

Senol, Serkan; Sayar, Ilyas; Ceyran, Ayse B; Ibiloglu, Ibrahim; Akalin, Ibrahim; Firat, Ugur; Kosemetin, Duygu; Engin Zerk, Pinar; Aydin, Abdullah

2016-05-01

Epithelial-stroma interactions in the endometrium are known to be responsible for physiological functions and emergence of several pathologic lesions. Periglandular stromal cells act on endometrial cells in a paracrine manner through sex hormones. In this study, we immunohistochemically evaluated the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulators (SNAIL/SLUG, TWIST, ZEB1), adhesion molecules (β-catenin and E-cadhenin), estrogen (ER)-progesterone (PR) receptor and their correlation with each other in 30 benign, 148 hyperplastic (EH), and 101 endometrioid-type endometrial carcinoma (EC) endometria. In the epithelial component, loss of expression in E-cadherin, ER and PR, and overexpression of TWIST and ZEB1 were significantly higher in EC than in EH (P<0.01). In the periglandular stromal component, β-catenin and SNAIL/SLUG expression were significantly higher in normal endometrium and simple without atypical EH compared with complex atypical EH and EC (P<0.01). In addition, periglandular stromal TWIST expression was significantly higher in EH group compared with EC (P<0.05). There was significantly negative correlation between β-catenin and ER, TWIST and ER, and TWIST and PR in hyperplastic and carcinomatous glandular epithelium, whereas there was a significantly positive correlation between β-catenin and SNAIL-SLUG, β-catenin and TWIST, β-catenin and ER, β-catenin and PR, SNAIL-SLUG and ER, SNAIL-SLUG and PR, TWIST and ER, TWIST and PR, in periglandular/cancer-associated stromal cells (P<0.01). In conclusion, the pattern of positive and negative correlations in the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulators (SNAIL-SLUG and TWIST), sex hormone receptors (ER and PR), and β-catenin between ECs and hyperplasia, as well as between epithelium and stroma herein, is suggestive of a significant role for these proteins and their underlying molecular processes in the development of endometrial carcinomas.

Stromal Clues in Endometrial Carcinoma: Loss of Expression of β-Catenin, Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition Regulators, and Estrogen-Progesterone Receptor

PubMed Central

Sayar, Ilyas; Ceyran, Ayse B.; Ibiloglu, Ibrahim; Akalin, Ibrahim; Firat, Ugur; Kosemetin, Duygu; Engin Zerk, Pinar; Aydin, Abdullah

2016-01-01

Epithelial-stroma interactions in the endometrium are known to be responsible for physiological functions and emergence of several pathologic lesions. Periglandular stromal cells act on endometrial cells in a paracrine manner through sex hormones. In this study, we immunohistochemically evaluated the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulators (SNAIL/SLUG, TWIST, ZEB1), adhesion molecules (β-catenin and E-cadhenin), estrogen (ER)-progesterone (PR) receptor and their correlation with each other in 30 benign, 148 hyperplastic (EH), and 101 endometrioid-type endometrial carcinoma (EC) endometria. In the epithelial component, loss of expression in E-cadherin, ER and PR, and overexpression of TWIST and ZEB1 were significantly higher in EC than in EH (P<0.01). In the periglandular stromal component, β-catenin and SNAIL/SLUG expression were significantly higher in normal endometrium and simple without atypical EH compared with complex atypical EH and EC (P<0.01). In addition, periglandular stromal TWIST expression was significantly higher in EH group compared with EC (P<0.05). There was significantly negative correlation between β-catenin and ER, TWIST and ER, and TWIST and PR in hyperplastic and carcinomatous glandular epithelium, whereas there was a significantly positive correlation between β-catenin and SNAIL-SLUG, β-catenin and TWIST, β-catenin and ER, β-catenin and PR, SNAIL-SLUG and ER, SNAIL-SLUG and PR, TWIST and ER, TWIST and PR, in periglandular/cancer-associated stromal cells (P<0.01). In conclusion, the pattern of positive and negative correlations in the expression of epithelial-mesenchymal transition regulators (SNAIL-SLUG and TWIST), sex hormone receptors (ER and PR), and β-catenin between ECs and hyperplasia, as well as between epithelium and stroma herein, is suggestive of a significant role for these proteins and their underlying molecular processes in the development of endometrial carcinomas. PMID:26367784

High-order orbital angular momentum mode generator based on twisted photonic crystal fiber.

PubMed

Fu, Cailing; Liu, Shen; Wang, Ying; Bai, Zhiyong; He, Jun; Liao, Changrui; Zhang, Yan; Zhang, Feng; Yu, Bin; Gao, Shecheng; Li, Zhaohui; Wang, Yiping

2018-04-15

High-order orbital angular momentum (OAM) modes, namely, OAM +5 and OAM +6 , were generated and demonstrated experimentally by twisting a solid-core hexagonal photonic crystal fiber (PCF) during hydrogen-oxygen flame heating. Leaky orbital resonances in the cladding depend strongly on the twist rate and length of the helical PCF. Moreover, the generated high-order OAM mode could be a polarized mode. The secret of the successful observation of high-order modes is that leaky orbital resonances in the twisted PCF cladding have a high coupling efficiency of more than -20  dB.

Origin of chiral interactions in cellulose supra-molecular microfibrils.

PubMed

Khandelwal, Mudrika; Windle, Alan

2014-06-15

The formation of a chiral-nematic phase from cellulose nanowhiskers has been frequently reported in the literature. The most popular theory used to explain the chiral interactions is that of twisted morphology of cellulose nanowhiskers. Two possible origins of twist have been suggested: the intrinsic chirality of cellulose chains and result of interaction of chiral surfaces. High resolution SEM and AFM have been used to locate twists in cellulose microfibrils and nanowhiskers. The origin of the twisted morphology in cellulose microfibrils has been studied with reference to the protein aggregation theory. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Twirling and Whirling: Viscous Dynamics of Rotating Elastica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Powers, Thomas R.; Wolgemuth, Charles W.; Goldstein, Raymond E.

1999-11-01

Motivated by diverse phenomena in cellular biophysics, including bacterial flagellar motion and DNA transcription and replication, we study the overdamped nonlinear dynamics of a rotationally forced filament with twist and bend elasticity. The competition between twist diffusion and writhing instabilities is described by a novel pair of coupled PDEs for twist and bend evolution. Analytical and numerical methods elucidate the twist-bend coupling and reveal two dynamical regimes separated by a Hopf bifurcation: (i) diffusion-dominated axial rotation, or twirling, and (ii) steady-state crankshafting motion, or whirling. The consequences of these phenomena for self-propulsion are investigated, and experimental tests proposed.

Gravitation. [consideration of black holes in gravity theories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fennelly, A. J.

1978-01-01

Investigations of several problems of gravitation are discussed. The question of the existence of black holes is considered. While black holes like those in Einstein's theory may not exist in other gravity theories, trapped surfaces implying such black holes certainly do. The theories include those of Brans-Dicke, Lightman-Lee, Rosen, and Yang. A similar two-tensor theory of Yilmaz is investigated and found inconsistent and nonviable. The Newman-Penrose formalism for Riemannian geometries is adapted to general gravity theories and used to implement a search for twisting solutions of the gravity theories for empty and nonempty spaces. The method can be used to find the gravitational fields for all viable gravity theories. The rotating solutions are of particular importance for strong field interpretation of the Stanford/Marshall gyroscope experiment. Inhomogeneous cosmologies are examined in Einstein's theory as generalizations of homogeneous ones by raising the dimension of the invariance groups by one more parameter. The nine Bianchi classifications are extended to Rosen's theory of gravity for homogeneous cosmological models.

Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors

PubMed Central

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Kang Min; Kim, Keon Jung; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M.; Baughman, Ray H.; Kim, Seon Jeong

2016-01-01

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO2). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO2 nanoparticles within the galleries of helically scrolled carbon nanotube sheets, which provide strength and electrical conductivity. Despite the high loading of brittle metal oxide particles, the biscrolled solid-state yarn supercapacitors are flexible and can be made elastically stretchable (up to 30% strain) by over-twisting to produce yarn coiling. The maximum areal capacitance of the yarn electrodes were up to 100 times higher than for previously reported fibres or yarn supercapacitors. Similarly, the energy density of complete, solid-state supercapacitors made from biscrolled yarn electrodes with gel electrolyte coating were significantly higher than for previously reported fibre or yarn supercapacitors. PMID:27976668

Improvement of system capacitance via weavable superelastic biscrolled yarn supercapacitors.

PubMed

Choi, Changsoon; Kim, Kang Min; Kim, Keon Jung; Lepró, Xavier; Spinks, Geoffrey M; Baughman, Ray H; Kim, Seon Jeong

2016-12-15

Yarn-based supercapacitors having improved performance are needed for existing and emerging wearable applications. Here, we report weavable carbon nanotube yarn supercapacitors having high performance because of high loadings of rapidly accessible charge storage particles (above 90 wt% MnO 2 ). The yarn electrodes are made by a biscrolling process that traps host MnO 2 nanoparticles within the galleries of helically scrolled carbon nanotube sheets, which provide strength and electrical conductivity. Despite the high loading of brittle metal oxide particles, the biscrolled solid-state yarn supercapacitors are flexible and can be made elastically stretchable (up to 30% strain) by over-twisting to produce yarn coiling. The maximum areal capacitance of the yarn electrodes were up to 100 times higher than for previously reported fibres or yarn supercapacitors. Similarly, the energy density of complete, solid-state supercapacitors made from biscrolled yarn electrodes with gel electrolyte coating were significantly higher than for previously reported fibre or yarn supercapacitors.

Microscopic search for the carrier phase Q of the trapped planetary noble gases in Allende, Leoville, and Vigarano

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vis, R. D.; Mrowiec, A.; Kooyman, P. J.; Matsubara, K.; Heymann, D.

2002-10-01

High-resolution transmission electron microscopy micrographs of acid-resistant residues of the Allende, Leoville, and Vigarano meteorites show a great variety of carbon structures: curved and frequently twisted and intertwined graphene sheets, abundant carbon black-like particles, and hollow "sacs". It is suggested that perhaps all of these are carriers for the planetary Q-noble gases in these meteorites. Most of these materials are pyrocarbons that probably formed by the pyrolysis of hydrocarbons either in a gas phase, or on hot surfaces of minerals. An attempt was made to analyze for argon with particle-induced x-ray emission in 143 spots of grains of floating and suspended matter from freeze-dry cycles of an Allende bulk sample in water, and floating "black balls" from sonication in water of samples from the Allende meteorite. The chemical compositions of these particles were obtained, but x-ray signals at the wavelength of argon were obtained on only a few spots.

Unraveling the sequence-dependent polymorphic behavior of d(CpG) steps in B-DNA.

PubMed

Dans, Pablo Daniel; Faustino, Ignacio; Battistini, Federica; Zakrzewska, Krystyna; Lavery, Richard; Orozco, Modesto

2014-10-01

We have made a detailed study of one of the most surprising sources of polymorphism in B-DNA: the high twist/low twist (HT/LT) conformational change in the d(CpG) base pair step. Using extensive computations, complemented with database analysis, we were able to characterize the twist polymorphism in the d(CpG) step in all the possible tetranucleotide environment. We found that twist polymorphism is coupled with BI/BII transitions, and, quite surprisingly, with slide polymorphism in the neighboring step. Unexpectedly, the penetration of cations into the minor groove of the d(CpG) step seems to be the key element in promoting twist transitions. The tetranucleotide environment also plays an important role in the sequence-dependent d(CpG) polymorphism. In this connection, we have detected a previously unexplored intramolecular C-H···O hydrogen bond interaction that stabilizes the low twist state when 3'-purines flank the d(CpG) step. This work explains a coupled mechanism involving several apparently uncorrelated conformational transitions that has only been partially inferred by earlier experimental or theoretical studies. Our results provide a complete description of twist polymorphism in d(CpG) steps and a detailed picture of the molecular choreography associated with this conformational change. © The Author(s) 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Nucleic Acids Research.

Twist-induced Magnetosphere Reconfiguration for Intermittent Pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Lei; Yu, Cong; Tong, Hao

2016-08-01

We propose that the magnetosphere reconfiguration induced by magnetic twists in the closed field line region can account for the mode switching of intermittent pulsars. We carefully investigate the properties of axisymmetric force-free pulsar magnetospheres with magnetic twists in closed field line regions around the polar caps. The magnetosphere with twisted closed lines leads to enhanced spin-down rates. The enhancement in spin-down rate depends on the size of the region with twisted closed lines. Typically, it is increased by a factor of ˜2, which is consistent with the intermittent pulsars’ spin-down behavior during the “off” and “on” states. We find that there is a threshold of maximal twist angle {{Δ }}{φ }{{thres}}˜ 1. The magnetosphere is stable only if the closed line twist angle is less than {{Δ }}{φ }{{thres}}. Beyond this value, the magnetosphere becomes unstable and gets untwisted. The spin-down rate would reduce to its off-state value. The quasi-periodicity in spin-down rate change can be explained by long-term activities in the star’s crust and the untwisting induced by MHD instability. The estimated duration of on-state is about 1 week, consistent with observations. Due to the MHD instability, there exists an upper limit for the spin-down ratio (f˜ 3) between the on-state and the off-state, if the Y-point remains at the light cylinder.

Twisting short dsDNA with applied tension

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoli, Marco

2018-02-01

The twisting deformation of mechanically stretched DNA molecules is studied by a coarse grained Hamiltonian model incorporating the fundamental interactions that stabilize the double helix and accounting for the radial and angular base pair fluctuations. The latter are all the more important at short length scales in which DNA fragments maintain an intrinsic flexibility. The presented computational method simulates a broad ensemble of possible molecule conformations characterized by a specific average twist and determines the energetically most convenient helical twist by free energy minimization. As this is done for any external load, the method yields the characteristic twist-stretch profile of the molecule and also computes the changes in the macroscopic helix parameters i.e. average diameter and rise distance. It is predicted that short molecules under stretching should first over-twist and then untwist by increasing the external load. Moreover, applying a constant load and simulating a torsional strain which over-twists the helix, it is found that the average helix diameter shrinks while the molecule elongates, in agreement with the experimental trend observed in kilo-base long sequences. The quantitative relation between percent relative elongation and superhelical density at fixed load is derived. The proposed theoretical model and computational method offer a general approach to characterize specific DNA fragments and predict their macroscopic elastic response as a function of the effective potential parameters of the mesoscopic Hamiltonian.

Effect of the cross sectional aspect ratio on the flow past a twisted cylinder

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Jae Hwan; Yoon, Hyun Sik

2013-11-01

The cross-flow around twisted cylinders of cross sectional aspect ratio (A/B) from 1 to 2.25 is investigated at a subcritical Reynolds number (Re) of 3000 using large eddy simulation (LES). The flow past a corresponding smooth and wavy cylinder is also calculated for comparison and validation against experimental data. The effect of twisted surface assessed in terms of the mean drag and root-mean-square (RMS) value of fluctuating lift. The shear layer of the twisted cylinder covering the recirculation region is more elongated than those of the smooth and the wavy cylinder. Successively, vortex shedding of the twisted cylinder is considerably suppressed, compared with those of the smooth and the wavy cylinder. The maximum drag reduction of up to 13% compared with a smooth cylinder is obtained at a certain cross sectional aspect ratio. The fluctuating lift coefficient of the twisted cylinder is also significantly suppressed. We found that the cross sectional cross sectional aspect ratio (A/B) plays an essential role in determining the vortical structures behind the twisted cylinder which has a significant effect on the reduction of the fluctuating lift and suppression of flow-induced vibration. This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIP) through GCRC-SOP (No. 2011-0030013).

Combination Therapy with a Second-Generation Androgen Receptor Antagonist and a Metastasis Vaccine Improves Survival in a Spontaneous Prostate Cancer Model

PubMed Central

Ardiani, Andressa; Farsaci, Benedetto; Rogers, Connie J.; Protter, Andy; Guo, Zhimin; King, Thomas H.; Apelian, David; Hodge, James W.

2013-01-01

Purpose Enzalutamide, a second-generation androgen antagonist, was approved by the FDA for castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) treatment. Immunotherapy has been shown to be a promising strategy for prostate cancer. This study is performed to provide data to support the combination of enzalutamide and immunotherapy for CRPC treatment. Experimental Design Male C57BL/6 or TRAMP prostate cancer model mice were exposed to enzalutamide and/or a therapeutic vaccine targeting Twist, an antigen involved in epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition and metastasis. The physiological and immunological effects of enzalutamide were characterized. The generation of Twist-specific immunity by Twist-vaccine was evaluated. Finally, the combination of enzalutamide and Twist-vaccine to improve TRAMP mice overall survival was evaluated. Results Enzalutamide mediated immunogenic modulation in TRAMP-C2 cells. In vivo, enzalutamide mediated reduced genitourinary tissue weight, enlargement of the thymus, and increased levels of T-cell excision circles. Because no changes were seen in T-cell function, as determined by CD4+ T-cell proliferation and Treg functional assays, enzalutamide was determined to be immune inert. Enzalutamide did not diminish the Twist-vaccine’s ability to generate Twist-specific immunity. Twist was confirmed as a valid tumor antigen in TRAMP mice by immunohistochemistry. The combination of enzalutamide and Twist-vaccine resulted in significantly increased overall survival of TRAMP mice compared to other treatment groups (27.5 vs. 10.3 weeks). Notably, the effectiveness of the combination therapy increased with disease stage, i.e., the greatest survival benefit was seen in mice with advanced-stage prostate tumors. Conclusions These data support the combination of enzalutamide and immunotherapy as a promising treatment strategy for CRPC. PMID:24048332

Exact special twist method for quantum Monte Carlo simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dagrada, Mario; Karakuzu, Seher; Vildosola, Verónica Laura; Casula, Michele; Sorella, Sandro

2016-12-01

We present a systematic investigation of the special twist method introduced by Rajagopal et al. [Phys. Rev. B 51, 10591 (1995), 10.1103/PhysRevB.51.10591] for reducing finite-size effects in correlated calculations of periodic extended systems with Coulomb interactions and Fermi statistics. We propose a procedure for finding special twist values which, at variance with previous applications of this method, reproduce the energy of the mean-field infinite-size limit solution within an adjustable (arbitrarily small) numerical error. This choice of the special twist is shown to be the most accurate single-twist solution for curing one-body finite-size effects in correlated calculations. For these reasons we dubbed our procedure "exact special twist" (EST). EST only needs a fully converged independent-particles or mean-field calculation within the primitive cell and a simple fit to find the special twist along a specific direction in the Brillouin zone. We first assess the performances of EST in a simple correlated model such as the three-dimensional electron gas. Afterwards, we test its efficiency within ab initio quantum Monte Carlo simulations of metallic elements of increasing complexity. We show that EST displays an overall good performance in reducing finite-size errors comparable to the widely used twist average technique but at a much lower computational cost since it involves the evaluation of just one wave function. We also demonstrate that the EST method shows similar performances in the calculation of correlation functions, such as the ionic forces for structural relaxation and the pair radial distribution function in liquid hydrogen. Our conclusions point to the usefulness of EST for correlated supercell calculations; our method will be particularly relevant when the physical problem under consideration requires large periodic cells.

PARTIAL ERUPTION OF A FILAMENT WITH TWISTING NON-UNIFORM FIELDS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bi, Yi; Jiang, Yunchun; Yang, Jiayan

The eruption of a filament in a kinklike fashion is often regarded as a signature of kink instability. However, the kink instability threshold for the filament’s magnetic structure is not widely understood. Using Hα observations from the New Vacuum Solar Telescope, we present a partial eruptive filament. During the eruption, the filament thread appeared to split from its middle and to break out in a kinklike fashion. In this period, the remaining filament material stayed below and erupted without the kinking motion later on. The coronal magnetic field lines associated with the filament are obtained from nonlinear force-free field extrapolationsmore » using the twelve-minute-cadence vector magnetograms of the Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager (HMI) on board the Solar Dynamic Observatory. We studied the extrapolated field lines passing through the magnetic dips which are in good agreement with the observed filament. The field lines are non-uniformly twisted and appear to be composed of two twisted flux ropes winding around each other. One of them has a higher twist than the other, and the flux rope with the higher twist has its dips aligned with the kinking eruptive thread at the beginning of its eruption. Before the eruption, moreover, the flux rope with the higher twist was found to expand with an approximately constant field twist. In addition, the helicity flux maps deduced from the HMI magnetograms show that some helicity is injected into the overlying magnetic arcade, but no significant helicity is injected into the flux ropes. Accordingly, we suggest that the highly twisted flux rope became kink unstable when the instability threshold declined with the expansion of the flux rope.« less

Recombinant mouse periostin ameliorates coronal sutures fusion in Twist1+/- mice.

PubMed

Bai, Shanshan; Li, Dong; Xu, Liang; Duan, Huichuan; Yuan, Jie; Wei, Min

2018-04-17

Saethre-Chotzen syndrome is an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder caused by mutations in the twist family basic helix-loop-helix transcription factor 1 (TWIST1) gene. Surgical procedures are frequently required to reduce morphological and functional defects in patients with Saethre-Chotzen syndrome. Therefore, the development of noninvasive procedures to treat Saethre-Chotzen syndrome is critical. We identified that periostin, which is an extracellular matrix protein that plays an important role in both bone and connective tissues, is downregulated in craniosynostosis patients. We aimed to verify the effects of different concentrations (0, 50, 100, and 200 μg/l) of recombinant mouse periostin in Twist1 +/- mice (a mouse model of Saethre-Chotzen syndrome) coronal suture cells in vitro and in vivo. Cell proliferation, migration, and osteogenic differentiation were observed and detected. Twist1 +/- mice were also injected with recombinant mouse periostin to verify the treatment effects. Cell Counting Kit-8 results showed that recombinant mouse periostin inhibited the proliferation of suture-derived cells in a time- and concentration-dependent manner. Cell migration was also suppressed when treated with recombinant mouse periostin. Real-time quantitative PCR and Western blotting results suggested that messenger ribonucleic acid and protein expression of alkaline phosphatase, bone sialoprotein, collagen type I, and osteocalcin were all downregulated after treatment with recombinant mouse periostin. However, the expression of Wnt-3a, Wnt-1, and β-catenin were upregulated. The in vivo results demonstrated that periostin-treated Twist1 +/- mice showed patent coronal sutures in comparison with non-treated Twist1 +/- mice which have coronal craniosynostosis. Our results suggest that recombinant mouse periostin can inhibit coronal suture cell proliferation and migration and suppress osteogenic differentiation of suture-derived cells via Wnt canonical signaling, as well as ameliorate coronal suture fusion in Twist1 +/- mice.

Development and evaluation of TWIST Dixon for dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI with improved acquisition efficiency and fat suppression.

PubMed

Le, Yuan; Kroeker, Randall; Kipfer, Hal D; Lin, Chen

2012-08-01

To develop a new pulse sequence called time-resolved angiography with stochastic trajectories (TWIST) Dixon for dynamic contrast enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). The method combines dual-echo Dixon to generate separated water and fat images with a k-space view-sharing scheme developed for 3D TWIST. The performance of TWIST Dixon was compared with a volume interpolated breathhold examination (VIBE) sequence paired with spectrally selective adiabatic inversion Recovery (SPAIR) and quick fat-sat (QFS) fat-suppression techniques at 3.0T using quantitative measurements of fat-suppression accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) efficiency, as well as qualitative breast image evaluations. The water fraction of a uniform phantom was calculated from the following images: 0.66 ± 0.03 for TWIST Dixon; 0.56 ± 0.23 for VIBE-SPAIR, and 0.53 ± 0.14 for VIBE-QFS, while the reference value is 0.70 measured by spectroscopy. For phantoms with contrast (Gd-BOPTA) concentration ranging from 0-6 mM, TWIST Dixon also provides consistently higher SNR efficiency (3.2-18.9) compared with VIBE-SPAIR (2.8-16.8) and VIBE-QFS (2.4-12.5). Breast images acquired with TWIST Dixon at 3.0T show more robust and uniform fat suppression and superior overall image quality compared with VIBE-SPAIR. The results from phantom and volunteer evaluation suggest that TWIST Dixon outperforms conventional methods in almost every aspect and it is a promising method for DCE-MRI and contrast-enhanced perfusion MRI, especially at higher field strength where fat suppression is challenging. Copyright © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

New dualities and misleading anomaly matchings from outer-automorphism twists

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pal, Sridip; Song, Jaewon

We study four-dimensional N=1, 2 superconformal theories in class S obtained by compactifying the 6d N=(2, 0) theory on a Riemann surface C with outer-automorphism twist lines. From the pair-of-pants decompositions of C, we find various dual descriptions for the same theory having distinct gauge groups. We show that the various configurations of the twist line give rise to dual descriptions for the identical theory. We compute the ’t Hooft anomaly coefficients and the superconformal indices to test dualities. Surprisingly, we find that the class S theories with twist lines wrapping 1-cycles of C have the identical ’t Hooft anomaliesmore » as the ones without the twist line, whereas the superconformal indices differ. As a result, this provides a large set of examples where the anomaly matching is insufficient to test dualities.« less

New dualities and misleading anomaly matchings from outer-automorphism twists

DOE PAGES

Pal, Sridip; Song, Jaewon

2017-03-29

We study four-dimensional N=1, 2 superconformal theories in class S obtained by compactifying the 6d N=(2, 0) theory on a Riemann surface C with outer-automorphism twist lines. From the pair-of-pants decompositions of C, we find various dual descriptions for the same theory having distinct gauge groups. We show that the various configurations of the twist line give rise to dual descriptions for the identical theory. We compute the ’t Hooft anomaly coefficients and the superconformal indices to test dualities. Surprisingly, we find that the class S theories with twist lines wrapping 1-cycles of C have the identical ’t Hooft anomaliesmore » as the ones without the twist line, whereas the superconformal indices differ. As a result, this provides a large set of examples where the anomaly matching is insufficient to test dualities.« less

Families of vector-like deformations of relativistic quantum phase spaces, twists and symmetries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meljanac, Daniel; Meljanac, Stjepan; Pikutić, Danijel

2017-12-01

Families of vector-like deformed relativistic quantum phase spaces and corresponding realizations are analyzed. A method for a general construction of the star product is presented. The corresponding twist, expressed in terms of phase space coordinates, in the Hopf algebroid sense is presented. General linear realizations are considered and corresponding twists, in terms of momenta and Poincaré-Weyl generators or gl(n) generators are constructed and R-matrix is discussed. A classification of linear realizations leading to vector-like deformed phase spaces is given. There are three types of spaces: (i) commutative spaces, (ii) κ -Minkowski spaces and (iii) κ -Snyder spaces. The corresponding star products are (i) associative and commutative (but non-local), (ii) associative and non-commutative and (iii) non-associative and non-commutative, respectively. Twisted symmetry algebras are considered. Transposed twists and left-right dual algebras are presented. Finally, some physical applications are discussed.

Axial flow positive displacement worm gas generator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Giffin, Rollin George (Inventor); Fakunle, Oladapo (Inventor); Murrow, Kurt David (Inventor)

2010-01-01

An axial flow positive displacement engine has an inlet axially spaced apart and upstream from an outlet. Inner and outer bodies have offset inner and outer axes extend from the inlet to the outlet through first, second, and third sections of a core assembly in serial downstream flow relationship. At least one of the bodies is rotatable about its axis. The inner and outer bodies have intermeshed inner and outer helical blades wound about the inner and outer axes respectively. The inner and outer helical blades extend radially outwardly and inwardly respectively. The helical blades have first, second, and third twist slopes in the first, second, and third sections respectively. The first twist slopes are less than the second twist slopes and the third twist slopes are less than the second twist slopes. A combustor section extends axially downstream through at least a portion of the second section.

Dynamics of Scroll Wave in a Three-Dimensional System with Changing Gradient.

PubMed

Yuan, Xiao-Ping; Chen, Jiang-Xing; Zhao, Ye-Hua; Liu, Gui-Quan; Ying, He-Ping

2016-01-01

The dynamics of a scroll wave in an excitable medium with gradient excitability is studied in detail. Three parameter regimes can be distinguished by the degree of gradient. For a small gradient, the system reaches a simple rotating synchronization. In this regime, the rigid rotating velocity of spiral waves is maximal in the layers with the highest filament twist. As the excitability gradient increases, the scroll wave evolutes into a meandering synchronous state. This transition is accompanied by a variation in twisting rate. Filament twisting may prevent the breakup of spiral waves in the bottom layers with a low excitability with which a spiral breaks in a 2D medium. When the gradient is large enough, the twisted filament breaks up, which results in a semi-turbulent state where the lower part is turbulent while the upper part contains a scroll wave with a low twisting filament.

Formation and stability of twisted ribbons in mixtures of rod-like fd-virus and non-adsorbing polymer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dogic, Z.; Didonna, B.; Bryning, M.; Lubensky, T. C.; Yodh, A. G.; Janmey, P. A.

2003-03-01

We are investigating the behavior of mixtures of monodisperse fd-virus rods and non-adsorbing polymer. We observe the formation of isolated smectic disks. The single smectic disk is of a monolayer of aligned rods while its thickness equal to the length of a single rod. As disks coalesce they undergo shape transformations from flat structures to elongated twisted ribbons. A theoretical model is formulated wherein the chirality of the molecule favors the formation of the elongated ribbon structure while the line tension favors formation of untwisted disks. To check the validity of the theoretical model line tension and twist constants are experimentally measured. The line tension is deduced from thermal fluctuations of the interface. The twist constant is determined by unwinding the twisted ribbons using optical tweezers. This work is partially supported by NSF grants DMR-0203378, the PENN MRSEC, DMR-0079909, and NASA grant NAG8-2172.

A plant tendril mimic soft actuator with phototunable bending and chiral twisting motion modes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Meng; Lin, Bao-Ping; Yang, Hong

2016-12-01

In nature, plant tendrils can produce two fundamental motion modes, bending and chiral twisting (helical curling) distortions, under the stimuli of sunlight, humidity, wetting or other atmospheric conditions. To date, many artificial plant-like mechanical machines have been developed. Although some previously reported materials could realize bending or chiral twisting through tailoring the samples into various ribbons along different orientations, each single ribbon could execute only one deformation mode. The challenging task is how to endow one individual plant tendril mimic material with two different, fully tunable and reversible motion modes (bending and chiral twisting). Here we show a dual-layer, dual-composition polysiloxane-based liquid crystal soft actuator strategy to synthesize a plant tendril mimic material capable of performing two different three-dimensional reversible transformations (bending versus chiral twisting) through modulation of the wavelength band of light stimuli (ultraviolet versus near-infrared). This material has broad application prospects in biomimetic control devices.

A plant tendril mimic soft actuator with phototunable bending and chiral twisting motion modes.

PubMed

Wang, Meng; Lin, Bao-Ping; Yang, Hong

2016-12-22

In nature, plant tendrils can produce two fundamental motion modes, bending and chiral twisting (helical curling) distortions, under the stimuli of sunlight, humidity, wetting or other atmospheric conditions. To date, many artificial plant-like mechanical machines have been developed. Although some previously reported materials could realize bending or chiral twisting through tailoring the samples into various ribbons along different orientations, each single ribbon could execute only one deformation mode. The challenging task is how to endow one individual plant tendril mimic material with two different, fully tunable and reversible motion modes (bending and chiral twisting). Here we show a dual-layer, dual-composition polysiloxane-based liquid crystal soft actuator strategy to synthesize a plant tendril mimic material capable of performing two different three-dimensional reversible transformations (bending versus chiral twisting) through modulation of the wavelength band of light stimuli (ultraviolet versus near-infrared). This material has broad application prospects in biomimetic control devices.

Effects of styrene unit on molecular conformation and spectral properties of CNsbnd PhCHdbnd NPhCHdbnd CHPhsbnd CN

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fang, Zhengjun; Wu, Feng; Jiao, Yingchun; Wang, Nanfang; Au, Chaktong; Cao, Chenzhong; Yi, Bing

2018-05-01

Compound CN-PhCH=NPhCH=CHPh-CN with both stilbene and benzylidene aniline units was synthesized, and studied from the viewpoint of molecular conformation and spectroscopic property by a combined use of experimental and computational methods. The maximum UV absorption wavelength (λmax) of the compound in ethanol, acetonitrile, chloroform and cyclohexane solvents were measured, and the 13C NMR chemical shift value δC(Cdbnd N) in chloroform-d was determined. The crystal structure of the compound was determined by X-ray diffraction. The frontier molecular orbital was calculated by density functional theory method. The results show that the UV absorption spectrum of the titled compound is similar to those of Schiff bases, while there is a larger red shift of λmax comparing to that of CN-PhCH=NPh-CN. Moreover, the molecular configuration of the titled compound relative to Cdbnd N is anti-form, having a more obvious twisted structure. The spectral and structural behaviors are further supported by the results of frontier molecular orbital analyses, NBO, electrostatic potentials and TD-DFT calculations. The study provides deeper insights into the molecular conformation of Schiff bases.

Molecular Mechanics of the α-Actinin Rod Domain: Bending, Torsional, and Extensional Behavior

PubMed Central

Golji, Javad; Collins, Robert; Mofrad, Mohammad R. K.

2009-01-01

α-Actinin is an actin crosslinking molecule that can serve as a scaffold and maintain dynamic actin filament networks. As a crosslinker in the stressed cytoskeleton, α-actinin can retain conformation, function, and strength. α-Actinin has an actin binding domain and a calmodulin homology domain separated by a long rod domain. Using molecular dynamics and normal mode analysis, we suggest that the α-actinin rod domain has flexible terminal regions which can twist and extend under mechanical stress, yet has a highly rigid interior region stabilized by aromatic packing within each spectrin repeat, by electrostatic interactions between the spectrin repeats, and by strong salt bridges between its two anti-parallel monomers. By exploring the natural vibrations of the α-actinin rod domain and by conducting bending molecular dynamics simulations we also predict that bending of the rod domain is possible with minimal force. We introduce computational methods for analyzing the torsional strain of molecules using rotating constraints. Molecular dynamics extension of the α-actinin rod is also performed, demonstrating transduction of the unfolding forces across salt bridges to the associated monomer of the α-actinin rod domain. PMID:19436721

Designing Polyamide Inhibitors of TWIST 1 for Prosenescence Therapy

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-09-01

Pyrrole -Imidazole Polyamides; TWIST1; KRAS; non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC); senescence 16. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION OF: 17. LIMITATION OF... Pyrrole -Imidazole Polyamides (PIP) are a class of cell permeable programmable small-molecule heterocyclic amino acid oligomers that can be designed...The original specific aims are below: Specific Aim#1. Design and synthesize a TWIST1-inhibitory specific Pyrrole -Imidazole Polyamides (PIP

Mechanism of Twist1-Induced Invasion in Breast Cancer Metastasis

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-01-01

Breast Cancer Metastasis PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Mark Adam Eckert CONTRACTING...2011 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER Mechanism of Twist1-Induced Invasion in Breast Cancer Metastasis 5b. GRANT NUMBER W81XWH-09-1...an important mediator of breast cancer metastasis by driving the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. We find that Twist1 promotes metastasis by

AHPCRC - Army High Performance Computing Research Center

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-01-01

University) Birds and insects use complex flapping and twisting wing motions to maneuver, hover, avoid obstacles, and maintain or regain their...vehicles for use in sensing, surveillance, and wireless communications. HPC simulations examine plunging, pitching, and twisting motions of aeroelastic...wings, to optimize the amplitudes and frequencies of flapping and twisting motions for the maximum amount of thrust. Several methods of calculation

Trace of the Twisted Heisenberg Category

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Oğuz, Can Ozan; Reeks, Michael

2017-12-01

We show that the trace decategorification, or zeroth Hochschild homology, of the twisted Heisenberg category defined by Cautis and Sussan is isomorphic to a quotient of {W^-}, a subalgebra of W_{1+∞} defined by Kac, Wang, and Yan. Our result is a twisted analogue of that by Cautis, Lauda, Licata, and Sussan relating W_{1+∞} and the trace decategorification of the Heisenberg category.

Twisted bilayer graphene photoluminescence emission peaks at van Hove singularities.

PubMed

Alencar, Thonimar V; von Dreifus, Driele; Gabriela Cota Moreira, Maria; Eliel, Gomes S N; Yeh, Chao-Hui; Chiu, Po-Wen; Pimenta, Marcos A; Malard, Leandro M; Maria de Paula, Ana

2018-05-02

We report on photoluminescence emission imaging by femtosecond laser excitation on twisted bilayer graphene samples. The emission images are obtained by tuning the excitation laser energies in the near infrared region. We demonstrate an increase of the photoluminescence emission at excitation energies that depends on the bilayer twist angle. The results show a peak for the light emission when the excitation is in resonance with transitions at the van Hove singularities in the electronic density of states. We measured the photoluminescence excitation peak position and width for samples with various twist angles showing resonances in the energy range of 1.2 to 1.7 eV.

Twisted bilayer graphene photoluminescence emission peaks at van Hove singularities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alencar, Thonimar V.; von Dreifus, Driele; Cota Moreira, Maria Gabriela; Eliel, Gomes S. N.; Yeh, Chao-Hui; Chiu, Po-Wen; Pimenta, Marcos A.; Malard, Leandro M.; de Paula, Ana Maria

2018-05-01

We report on photoluminescence emission imaging by femtosecond laser excitation on twisted bilayer graphene samples. The emission images are obtained by tuning the excitation laser energies in the near infrared region. We demonstrate an increase of the photoluminescence emission at excitation energies that depends on the bilayer twist angle. The results show a peak for the light emission when the excitation is in resonance with transitions at the van Hove singularities in the electronic density of states. We measured the photoluminescence excitation peak position and width for samples with various twist angles showing resonances in the energy range of 1.2 to 1.7 eV.

Radiative capture of cold neutrons by protons and deuteron photodisintegration with twisted beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Afanasev, Andrei; Serbo, Valeriy G.; Solyanik, Maria

2018-05-01

We consider two basic nuclear reactions: capture of neutrons by protons, n + p → γ + d, and its time-reversed counterpart, photodisintegration of the deuteron, γ + d → n + p. In both of these cases we assume that the incoming beam of neutrons or photons is ‘twisted’ by having an azimuthal phase dependence, i.e., it carries an additional angular momentum along its direction of propagation. Taking a low-energy limit of these reactions, we derive relations between corresponding transition amplitudes and cross sections with plane-wave beams and twisted beams. Implications for experiments with twisted cold neutrons and twisted photon beams are discussed.

Wing Twist Measurements at the National Transonic Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Burner, Alpheus W.; Wahls, Richard A.; Goad, William K.

1996-01-01

A technique for measuring wing twist currently in use at the National Transonic Facility is described. The technique is based upon a single camera photogrammetric determination of two dimensional coordinates with a fixed (and known) third dimensional coordinate. The wing twist is found from a conformal transformation between wind-on and wind-off 2-D coordinates in the plane of rotation. The advantages and limitations of the technique as well as the rationale for selection of this particular technique are discussed. Examples are presented to illustrate run-to-run and test-to-test repeatability of the technique in air mode. Examples of wing twist in cryogenic nitrogen mode are also presented.

Fiber-Optic Sensors for Measurements of Torsion, Twist and Rotation: A Review.

PubMed

Budinski, Vedran; Donlagic, Denis

2017-02-23

Optical measurement of mechanical parameters is gaining significant commercial interest in different industry sectors. Torsion, twist and rotation are among the very frequently measured mechanical parameters. Recently, twist/torsion/rotation sensors have become a topic of intense fiber-optic sensor research. Various sensing concepts have been reported. Many of those have different properties and performances, and many of them still need to be proven in out-of-the laboratory use. This paper provides an overview of basic approaches and a review of current state-of-the-art in fiber optic sensors for measurements of torsion, twist and/or rotation.Invited Paper.

Fiber-Optic Sensors for Measurements of Torsion, Twist and Rotation: A Review †

PubMed Central

Budinski, Vedran; Donlagic, Denis

2017-01-01

Optical measurement of mechanical parameters is gaining significant commercial interest in different industry sectors. Torsion, twist and rotation are among the very frequently measured mechanical parameters. Recently, twist/torsion/rotation sensors have become a topic of intense fiber-optic sensor research. Various sensing concepts have been reported. Many of those have different properties and performances, and many of them still need to be proven in out-of-the laboratory use. This paper provides an overview of basic approaches and a review of current state-of-the-art in fiber optic sensors for measurements of torsion, twist and/or rotation. PMID:28241510

The Twist Tensor Nuclear Norm for Video Completion.

PubMed

Hu, Wenrui; Tao, Dacheng; Zhang, Wensheng; Xie, Yuan; Yang, Yehui

2017-12-01

In this paper, we propose a new low-rank tensor model based on the circulant algebra, namely, twist tensor nuclear norm (t-TNN). The twist tensor denotes a three-way tensor representation to laterally store 2-D data slices in order. On one hand, t-TNN convexly relaxes the tensor multirank of the twist tensor in the Fourier domain, which allows an efficient computation using fast Fourier transform. On the other, t-TNN is equal to the nuclear norm of block circulant matricization of the twist tensor in the original domain, which extends the traditional matrix nuclear norm in a block circulant way. We test the t-TNN model on a video completion application that aims to fill missing values and the experiment results validate its effectiveness, especially when dealing with video recorded by a nonstationary panning camera. The block circulant matricization of the twist tensor can be transformed into a circulant block representation with nuclear norm invariance. This representation, after transformation, exploits the horizontal translation relationship between the frames in a video, and endows the t-TNN model with a more powerful ability to reconstruct panning videos than the existing state-of-the-art low-rank models.

Twist drill craniostomy with closed drainage for chronic subdural haematoma in the elderly: an effective method.

PubMed

Ramnarayan, R; Arulmurugan, B; Wilson, Paul M; Nayar, Rani

2008-09-01

Chronic subdural haematoma is a disease of the elderly and surgery in these patients carries a much higher risk. The common surgical procedures for chronic subdural haematoma include twist drill craniostomy, burr hole evacuation or craniotomy. The aim of this study was to analyse the results of twist drill craniostomy with drainage in elderly patients with chronic subdural haematoma. Forty-two elderly patients (>65 years) with radiologically proven chronic subdural haematoma were analysed. All the patients underwent twist drill craniostomy and continuous drainage of the haematoma under local anaesthesia and total intravenous anaesthesia (TIVA). There were 24 males and 18 females. Headache and cognitive decline was seen in 50% and weakness of limbs in 60% of patients. CT scan was done in all cases. All patients underwent twist drill 2-3 cm in front of the parietal eminence under local anaesthesia. The drain was left for 24-72 h depending on the drainage. At 1 week, 88% of patients had a good outcome. Twist drill craniostomy with drainage under local anaesthesia is a safe and effective procedure for chronic subdural haematoma in the elderly and could be used as the first and only option in these people.

Strain, curvature, and twist measurements in digital holographic interferometry using pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution based method

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rajshekhar, G.; Gorthi, Sai Siva; Rastogi, Pramod

2009-09-15

Measurement of strain, curvature, and twist of a deformed object play an important role in deformation analysis. Strain depends on the first order displacement derivative, whereas curvature and twist are determined by second order displacement derivatives. This paper proposes a pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution based method for measurement of strain, curvature, and twist in digital holographic interferometry where the object deformation or displacement is encoded as interference phase. In the proposed method, the phase derivative is estimated by peak detection of pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution evaluated along each row/column of the reconstructed interference field. A complex exponential signal with unit amplitude and the phasemore » derivative estimate as the argument is then generated and the pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution along each row/column of this signal is evaluated. The curvature is estimated by using peak tracking strategy for the new distribution. For estimation of twist, the pseudo-Wigner-Ville distribution is evaluated along each column/row (i.e., in alternate direction with respect to the previous one) for the generated complex exponential signal and the corresponding peak detection gives the twist estimate.« less

A Geometric Construction of Cyclic Cocycles on Twisted Convolution Algebras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Angel, Eitan

2010-09-01

In this thesis we give a construction of cyclic cocycles on convolution algebras twisted by gerbes over discrete translation groupoids. In his seminal book, Connes constructs a map from the equivariant cohomology of a manifold carrying the action of a discrete group into the periodic cyclic cohomology of the associated convolution algebra. Furthermore, for proper étale groupoids, J.-L. Tu and P. Xu provide a map between the periodic cyclic cohomology of a gerbe twisted convolution algebra and twisted cohomology groups. Our focus will be the convolution algebra with a product defined by a gerbe over a discrete translation groupoid. When the action is not proper, we cannot construct an invariant connection on the gerbe; therefore to study this algebra, we instead develop simplicial notions related to ideas of J. Dupont to construct a simplicial form representing the Dixmier-Douady class of the gerbe. Then by using a JLO formula we define a morphism from a simplicial complex twisted by this simplicial Dixmier-Douady form to the mixed bicomplex of certain matrix algebras. Finally, we define a morphism from this complex to the mixed bicomplex computing the periodic cyclic cohomology of the twisted convolution algebras.

SET8 promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition and confers TWIST dual transcriptional activities

PubMed Central

Yang, Fen; Sun, Luyang; Li, Qian; Han, Xiao; Lei, Liandi; Zhang, Hua; Shang, Yongfeng

2012-01-01

SET8 is implicated in transcriptional regulation, heterochromatin formation, genomic stability, cell-cycle progression, and development. As such, it is predicted that SET8 might be involved in the development and progression of tumour. However, whether and how SET8 might be implicated in tumourigenesis is currently unknown. Here, we report that SET8 is physically associated with TWIST, a master regulator of epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT). We demonstrated that SET8 and TWIST are functionally interdependent in promoting EMT and enhancing the invasive potential of breast cancer cells in vitro and in vivo. We showed that SET8 acts as a dual epigenetic modifier on the promoters of the TWIST target genes E-cadherin and N-cadherin via its H4K20 monomethylation activity. Significantly, in breast carcinoma samples, SET8 expression is positively correlated with metastasis and the expression of TWIST and N-cadherin and negatively correlated with E-cadherin. Together, our experiments revealed a novel role for SET8 in tumour invasion and metastasis and provide a molecular mechanism underlying TWIST-promoted EMT, suggesting SET8 as a potential target for intervention of the metastasis of breast cancer. PMID:21983900

AKT-ions with a TWIST between EMT and MET.

PubMed

Tang, Huifang; Massi, Daniela; Hemmings, Brian A; Mandalà, Mario; Hu, Zhengqiang; Wicki, Andreas; Xue, Gongda

2016-09-20

The transcription factor Twist is an important regulator of cranial suture during embryogenesis. Closure of the neural tube is achieved via Twist-triggered cellular transition from an epithelial to mesenchymal phenotype, a process known as epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT), characterized by a remarkable increase in cell motility. In the absence of Twist activity, EMT and associated phenotypic changes in cell morphology and motility can also be induced, albeit moderately, by other transcription factor families, including Snail and Zeb. Aberrant EMT triggered by Twist in human mammary tumour cells was first reported to drive metastasis to the lung in a metastatic breast cancer model. Subsequent analysis of many types of carcinoma demonstrated overexpression of these unique EMT transcription factors, which statistically correlated with worse outcome, indicating their potential as biomarkers in the clinic. However, the mechanisms underlying their activation remain unclear. Interestingly, increasing evidence indicates they are selectively activated by distinct intracellular kinases, thereby acting as downstream effectors facilitating transduction of cytoplasmic signals into nucleus and reprogramming EMT and mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET) transcription to control cell plasticity. Understanding these relationships and emerging data indicating differential phosphorylation of Twist leads to complex and even paradoxical functionalities, will be vital to unlocking their potential in clinical settings.

Linear signaling in the Toll-Dorsal pathway of Drosophila: activated Pelle kinase specifies all threshold outputs of gene expression while the bHLH protein Twist specifies a subset.

PubMed

Stathopoulos, Angelike; Levine, Michael

2002-07-01

Differential activation of the Toll receptor leads to the formation of a broad Dorsal nuclear gradient that specifies at least three patterning thresholds of gene activity along the dorsoventral axis of precellular embryos. We investigate the activities of the Pelle kinase and Twist basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor in transducing Toll signaling. Pelle functions downstream of Toll to release Dorsal from the Cactus inhibitor. Twist is an immediate-early gene that is activated upon entry of Dorsal into nuclei. Transgenes misexpressing Pelle and Twist were introduced into different mutant backgrounds and the patterning activities were visualized using various target genes that respond to different thresholds of Toll-Dorsal signaling. These studies suggest that an anteroposterior gradient of Pelle kinase activity is sufficient to generate all known Toll-Dorsal patterning thresholds and that Twist can function as a gradient morphogen to establish at least two distinct dorsoventral patterning thresholds. We discuss how the Dorsal gradient system can be modified during metazoan evolution and conclude that Dorsal-Twist interactions are distinct from the interplay between Bicoid and Hunchback, which pattern the anteroposterior axis.

Finite element and analytical models for twisted and coiled actuator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Xintian; Liu, Yingxiang; Li, Kai; Chen, Weishan; Zhao, Jianguo

2018-01-01

Twisted and coiled actuator (TCA) is a class of recently discovered artificial muscle, which is usually made by twisting and coiling polymer fibers into spring-like structures. It has been widely studied since discovery due to its impressive output characteristics and bright prospects. However, its mathematical models describing the actuation in response to the temperature are still not fully developed. It is known that the large tensile stroke is resulted from the untwisting of the twisted fiber when heated. Thus, the recovered torque during untwisting is a key parameter in the mathematical model. This paper presents a simplified model for the recovered torque of TCA. Finite element method is used for evaluating the thermal stress of the twisted fiber. Based on the results of the finite element analyses, the constitutive equations of twisted fibers are simplified to develop an analytic model of the recovered torque. Finally, the model of the recovered torque is used to predict the deformation of TCA under varying temperatures and validated against experimental results. This work will enhance our understanding of the deformation mechanism of TCAs, which will pave the way for the closed-loop position control.

[Expression and mechanism of Twist2 in glioma].

PubMed

Wang, L Z; Wang, W J; Xiong, Y F; Xu, S; Wang, S S; Tu, Y; Wang, Z Y; Yan, X L; Mei, J H; Wang, C L

2017-12-08

Objective: To investigate the significance of Twist2 in glioma and whether it is involved in the malignant transformation of glioma by epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods: Using immunohistochemical method detected the expression level of Twist2 in 60 cases of gliomas (including WHO grades Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ, each for 20 cases) and 20 cases of non-tumor brain tissues. Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression level of Twist2 mRNA and protein in 61 cases of fresh glioma tissue (WHO grade Ⅱ 16 cases, Ⅲ 21 cases, Ⅳ 24 cases) and 12 cases of adjacent tissues, and the expression levels of E-cadherin, N-cadherin and vimentin were also investigated in fresh glioma tissue. Results: Immunohistochemistry results showed that the percentages of Twist2 expression in glioma was 90%(54/60) compared with 30%(6/20) in non-tumor brain tissues( P <0.01). The percentages of Twist2 expression were 75% (15/20), 95% (19/20), and 100% (20/20) in the WHO gradesⅡ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ gliomas, respectively. WHO grades Ⅳ and Ⅲ were significantly higher than that of WHO grade Ⅱ ( P <0.01). There was no significant difference between WHO grade Ⅳand WHO Ⅲ glioma ( P >0.05). Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR and Western blot showed that the expression level of Twist 2 in gliomas was significantly higher than that in para-cancerous tissues ( P <0.01), and those in WHO grades Ⅳ and Ⅲ gliomas were significantly higher than that in WHO grade Ⅱ glioma ( P <0.01). There was no significant difference between WHO grade Ⅳand grade Ⅲ glioma ( P >0.05). Detection of key protein expression in EMT by Western blot displayed that the expression of E-cadherin was negatively associated with Twist2 in glioma ( r =-0.972, P <0.01). The expression of N-cadherin and vimentin was positively associated with Twist2 in glioma( r =0.971, P <0.01; r =0.968, P <0.01). Conclusions: The expression of Twist2 in human glioma is positively correlated with the malignant grade of glioma, which may be involved in the malignant progression of glioma by EMT.

Reversible Twisting of Primary Amides via Ground State N-C(O) Destabilization: Highly Twisted Rotationally Inverted Acyclic Amides.

PubMed

Meng, Guangrong; Shi, Shicheng; Lalancette, Roger; Szostak, Roman; Szostak, Michal

2018-01-17

Since the seminal studies by Pauling in 1930s, planarity has become the defining characteristic of the amide bond. Planarity of amides has central implications for the reactivity and chemical properties of amides of relevance to a range of chemical disciplines. While the vast majority of amides are planar, nonplanarity has a profound effect on the properties of the amide bond, with the most common method to restrict the amide bond relying on the incorporation of the amide function into a rigid cyclic ring system. In a major departure from this concept, here, we report the first class of acyclic twisted amides that can be prepared, reversibly, from common primary amides in a single, operationally trivial step. Di-tert-butoxycarbonylation of the amide nitrogen atom yields twisted amides in which the amide bond exhibits nearly perpendicular twist. Full structural characterization of a range of electronically diverse compounds from this new class of twisted amides is reported. Through reactivity studies we demonstrate unusual properties of the amide bond, wherein selective cleavage of the amide bond can be achieved by a judicious choice of the reaction conditions. Through computational studies we evaluate structural and energetic details pertaining to the amide bond deformation. The ability to selectively twist common primary amides, in a reversible manner, has important implications for the design and application of the amide bond nonplanarity in structural chemistry, biochemistry and organic synthesis.

Design and simulation of the micromixer with chaotic advection in twisted microchannels.

PubMed

Jen, Chun-Ping; Wu, Chung-Yi; Lin, Yu-Cheng; Wu, Ching-Yi

2003-05-01

Chaotic mixers with twisted microchannels were designed and simulated numerically in the present study. The phenomenon whereby a simple Eulerian velocity field may generate a chaotic response in the distribution of a Lagrangian marker is termed chaotic advection. Dynamic system theory indicates that chaotic particle motion can occur when a velocity field is either two-dimensional and time-dependent, or three-dimensional. In the present study, micromixers with three-dimensional structures of the twisted microchannel were designed in order to induce chaotic mixing. In addition to the basic T-mixer, three types of micromixers with inclined, oblique and wavelike microchannels were investigated. In the design of each twisted microchannel, the angle of the channels' bottoms alternates in each subsection. When the fluids enter the twisted microchannels, the flow sways around the varying structures within the microchannels. The designs of the twisted microchannels provide a third degree of freedom to the flow field in the microchannel. Therefore, chaotic regimes that lead to chaotic mixing may arise. The numerical results indicate that mixing occurs in the main channel and progressively larger mixing lengths are required as the Peclet number increased. The swaying of the flow in the twisted microchannel causes chaotic advection. Among the four micromixer designs, the micromixer with the inclined channel most improved mixing. Furthermore, using the inclined mixer with six subsections yielded optimum performance, decreasing the mixing length by up to 31% from that of the basic T-mixer.

Linear particle accelerator with seal structure between electrodes and insulators

DOEpatents

Broadhurst, John H.

1989-01-01

An electrostatic linear accelerator includes an electrode stack comprised of primary electrodes formed or Kovar and supported by annular glass insulators having the same thermal expansion rate as the electrodes. Each glass insulator is provided with a pair of fused-in Kovar ring inserts which are bonded to the electrodes. Each electrode is designed to define a concavo-convex particle trap so that secondary charged particles generated within the accelerated beam area cannot reach the inner surface of an insulator. Each insulator has a generated inner surface profile which is so configured that the electrical field at this surface contains no significant tangential component. A spark gap trigger assembly is provided, which energizes spark gaps protecting the electrodes affected by over voltage to prevent excessive energy dissipation in the electrode stack.

Low-cost label-free electrical detection of artificial DNA nanostructures using solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors.

PubMed

Kim, Si Joon; Jung, Joohye; Lee, Keun Woo; Yoon, Doo Hyun; Jung, Tae Soo; Dugasani, Sreekantha Reddy; Park, Sung Ha; Kim, Hyun Jae

2013-11-13

A high-sensitivity, label-free method for detecting deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) using solution-processed oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) was developed. Double-crossover (DX) DNA nanostructures with different concentrations of divalent Cu ion (Cu(2+)) were immobilized on an In-Ga-Zn-O (IGZO) back-channel surface, which changed the electrical performance of the IGZO TFTs. The detection mechanism of the IGZO TFT-based DNA biosensor is attributed to electron trapping and electrostatic interactions caused by negatively charged phosphate groups on the DNA backbone. Furthermore, Cu(2+) in DX DNA nanostructures generates a current path when a gate bias is applied. The direct effect on the electrical response implies that solution-processed IGZO TFTs could be used to realize low-cost and high-sensitivity DNA biosensors.

Gate-tunable electron interaction in high-κ dielectric films

DOE PAGES

Kondovych, Svitlana; Luk’yanchuk, Igor; Baturina, Tatyana I.; ...

2017-02-20

The two-dimensional (2D) logarithmic character of Coulomb interaction between charges and the resulting logarithmic confinement is a remarkable inherent property of high dielectric constant (high-k) thin films with far reaching implications. Most and foremost, this is the charge Berezinskii-Kosterlitz-Thouless transition with the notable manifestation, low-temperature superinsulating topological phase. Here we show that the range of the confinement can be tuned by the external gate electrode and unravel a variety of electrostatic interactions in high-k films. Lastly, our findings open a unique laboratory for the in-depth study of topological phase transitions and a plethora of related phenomena, ranging from criticality ofmore » quantum metal- and superconductor-insulator transitions to the effects of charge-trapping and Coulomb scalability in memory nanodevices.« less

Ion acceleration by laser hole-boring into plasmas

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pogorelsky, I. V.; Dover, N. P.; Babzien, M.

By experiment and simulations, we study the interaction of an intense CO{sub 2} laser pulse with slightly overcritical plasmas of fully ionized helium gas. Transverse optical probing is used to show a recession of the front plasma surface with an initial velocity >10{sup 6} m/s driven by hole-boring by the laser pulse and the resulting radiation pressure driven electrostatic shocks. The collisionless shock propagates through the plasma, dissipates into an ion-acoustic solitary wave, and eventually becomes collisional as it slows further. These observations are supported by PIC simulations which prove the conclusion that monoenergetic protons observed in our earlier reportedmore » experiment with a hydrogen jet result from ion trapping and reflection from a shock wave driven through the plasma.« less

Highly excited electronic image states of metallic nanorings

PubMed Central

Fey, Christian; Jabusch, Henrik; Knörzer, Johannes; Schmelcher, Peter

2017-01-01

We study electronic image states around a metallic nanoring and show that the interplay between the attractive polarization force and a repulsive centrifugal force gives rise to Rydberg-like image states trapped several nanometers away from the surface. The nanoring is modeled as a perfectly conducting isolated torus whose classical electrostatic image potential is derived analytically. The image states are computed via a two-dimensional finite-difference scheme as solutions of the effective Schrödinger equation describing the outer electron subject to this image potential. These findings demonstrate not only the existence of detached image states around nanorings but allow us also to provide general criteria on the ring geometry, i.e., the aspect ratio of the torus, that need to be fulfilled in order to support such states. PMID:28527466

Current-voltage characteristics in organic field-effect transistors. Effect of interface dipoles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sworakowski, Juliusz

2015-07-01

The role of polar molecules present at dielectric/semiconductor interfaces of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) has been assessed employing the electrostatic model put forward in a recently published paper (Sworakowski et al., 2014). The interface dipoles create dipolar traps in the surface region of the semiconductor, their depths decreasing with the distance from the interface. This feature results in appearance of mobility gradients in the direction perpendicular to the dielectric/semiconductor interface, manifesting themselves in modification of the shapes of current-voltage characteristics. The effect may account for differences in carrier mobilities determined from the same experimental data using methods scanning different ranges of channel thicknesses (e.g., transconductances vs. transfer characteristics), differences between turn-on voltages and threshold voltages, and gate voltage dependence of mobility.

Wear characteristics of UHMW polyethylene by twist method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chișiu, G.; Popescu, A. M.; Tudor, A.; Petrescu, A. M.; Stoica, G. F.; Subhi, K. A.

2018-01-01

A wear test of the twist movement was performed as a new method to estimate the in vivo wear behavior of an acetabular cup material for total knee replacements. A series of UHMWPE samples was used to evaluate the dynamic coefficient of friction in twist movement in contact with steel. The experimental data were conducted to validate the related theoretical model developed in the present study.

Study of Spin through Gluon Poles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anikin, I. V.; Szymanowski, L.; Teryaev, O. V.; Volchanskiy, N.

2017-12-01

Based on the use of contour gauge and collinear factorization, we propose a new set of single spin asymmetry which can be measured in polarized Drell-Yan process by SPD@NICA. We stress that all of discussed single spin asymmetries exist owing to the gluon poles manifesting in the twist-3 or twist-2⊗twist-3 parton distributions related to the transverse-polarized Drell-Yan process.

Twisted Radio Waves and Twisted Thermodynamics

PubMed Central

Kish, Laszlo B.; Nevels, Robert D.

2013-01-01

We present and analyze a gedanken experiment and show that the assumption that an antenna operating at a single frequency can transmit more than two independent information channels to the far field violates the Second Law of Thermodynamics. Transmission of a large number of channels, each associated with an angular momenta ‘twisted wave’ mode, to the far field in free space is therefore not possible. PMID:23424647

Deformed D1D5 CFT: A Holographic Probe of Quantum Gravity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jardine, Ian Theodore

One of the big unsolved questions in gravity research is the black hole information problem. This problem, which pits the unitarity of quantum field theory against smooth classical spacetime, must have a solution in a complete theory of quantum gravity. This thesis will explore aspects of one approach to this problem in the context of string theory. The approach imagines black hole microstates as string theoretic objects. We look at a prototype system, the D1D5 system, and exploit holography to examine the dual conformal field theory (CFT). Specifically, we examine the CFT deformed from the free orbifold point, dual to a very stringy bulk, using a twisted operator that will take us towards the point with the supergravity description. The effects of twisted operators in the CFT are key to understanding physical processes such as emission and thermalization in black hole microstates. We will propose a component twist method for examining the effects of bare twist operators for higher twists in the continuum limit. Our method builds higher twists from simple 2-cycle twists, whose effects are known. We will find that, in this limit, the coefficients describing general states will follow a conjectured general functional form. We then explore the deformed CFT directly by examining operator mixing for untwisted operators. We will exploit the operator product expansion on the covering space, where twist operators of the orbifold are resolved. We use this to examine the mixing of a general supergravity operator, specifically examine the dilaton, and finish with the mixing of a non-supersymmetric candidate operator. We conjecture that this method could be extended to include twisted operators. We will also examine the mixing of the non-supersymmetric candidate operator by examining three point functions. To automate the lengthy and repetitive computations, we wrote a Mathematica package to compute correlation functions and OPEs in the D1D5 CFT. We will explain some of the main functions of this package and how it can be applied to computations. Finally, we will end with a short discussion on future directions.

Implications of the dependence of the elastic properties of DNA on nucleotide sequence.

PubMed

Olson, Wilma K; Swigon, David; Coleman, Bernard D

2004-07-15

Recent advances in structural biochemistry have provided evidence that not only the geometric properties but also the elastic moduli of duplex DNA are strongly dependent on nucleotide sequence in a way that is not accounted for by classical rod models of the Kirchhoff type. A theory of sequence-dependent DNA elasticity is employed here to calculate the dependence of the equilibrium configurations of circular DNA on the binding of ligands that can induce changes in intrinsic twist at a single base-pair step. Calculations are presented of the influence on configurations of the assumed values and distribution along the DNA of intrinsic roll and twist and a modulus coupling roll to twist. Among the results obtained are the following. For minicircles formed from intrinsically straight DNA, the distribution of roll-twist coupling strongly affects the dependence of the total elastic energy Psi on the amount alpha of imposed untwisting, and that dependence can be far from quadratic. (In fact, for a periodic distribution of roll-twist coupling with a period equal to the intrinsic helical repeat length, Psi can be essentially independent of alpha for -90 degrees < alpha <90 degrees.) When the minicircle is homogeneous and without roll-twist coupling, but with uniform positive intrinsic roll, the point at which Psi attains its minimum value shifts towards negative values of alpha. It is remarked that there are cases in which one can relate graphs of Psi versus alpha to the 'effective values' of bending and twisting moduli and helical repeat length obtained from measurements of equilibrium distributions of topoisomers and probabilities of ring closure. For a minicircle formed from DNA that has an 'S' shape when stress-free, the graphs of Psi versus alpha have maxima at alpha = 0. As the binding of a twisting agent to such a minicircle results in a net decrease in Psi, the affinity of the twisting agent for binding to the minicircle is greater than its affinity for binding to unconstrained DNA with the same sequence.

Tilted-ring models of the prolate spiral galaxies NGC 5033 and 5055

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christodoulou, Dimitris M.; Tohline, Joel E.; Steiman-Cameron, Thomas Y.

1988-01-01

Observations of the kinematics of H I in the disks of spiral galaxies have shown that isovelocity contours often exhibit a twisted pattern. The shape of a galaxy's gravitational potential well (whether due to luminous matter or dark matter) can be determined from the direction of the twist. If this twist is a manifestation of the precession of a nonsteady-state disk, it is shown that the twists of NGC 5033 and 5055 imply an overall prolate shape, with the major axis of the potential well aligned along the rotation axis of the disk. Therefore, the luminous disks of these galaxies must be embedded in dark halos that are prolate spheroids or prolatelike triaxial figures.

Optics of twisted nematic and supertwisted nematic liquid-crystal displays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leenhouts, F.; Schadt, M.

1986-11-01

For the first time calculations of the off-state transmission of twisted nematic liquid-crystal displays (LCD's) are presented which exhibit twist angles greater than the conventional 90 °. The transmission has been calculated using a treatment introduced by Priestley. In addition, the CIE (Commission Internationale d'Eclairage) color coordinates were evaluated which, together with the brightness, determine the optical appearance of an LCD. The finite efficiency of the polarizers was taken into account. The results are compared with those obtained for conventional 90 ° twisted nematic LCD's. From the calculations follow the conditions required to obtain optimal contrast and steep electro-optical characteristics in 180 ° supertwisted LCD's designed for high information content applications.

Mechanical strain energy shuttle for aircraft morphing via wing twist or structural deformation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clingman, Dan J.; Ruggeri, Robert T.

2004-07-01

Direct structural deformation to achieve aerodynamic benefit is difficult because large actuators must supply energy for structural strain and aerodynamic loads. This ppaer presents a mechanism that allows most of the energy required to twist or deform a wing to be stored in descrete springs. When this device is used, only sufficient energy is provided to control the position of the wing. This concept allows lightweight actuators to perform wing twisting and other structural distortions, and it reduces the onboard mass of the wing-twist system. The energy shuttle can be used with any actuator and it has been adapted for used with shape memory alloy, piezoelectric, and electromagnetic actuators.

Defects in crystalline packings of twisted filament bundles. I. Continuum theory of disclinations.

PubMed

Grason, Gregory M

2012-03-01

We develop the theory of the coupling between in-plane order and out-of-plane geometry in twisted, two-dimensionally ordered filament bundles based on the nonlinear continuum elasticity theory of columnar materials. We show that twisted textures of filament backbones necessarily introduce stresses into the cross-sectional packing of bundles and that these stresses are formally equivalent to the geometrically induced stresses generated in thin elastic sheets that are forced to adopt spherical curvature. As in the case of crystalline order on curved membranes, geometrically induced stresses couple elastically to the presence of topological defects in the in-plane order. We derive the effective theory of multiple disclination defects in the cross section of bundle with a fixed twist and show that above a critical degree of twist, one or more fivefold disclinations is favored in the elastic energy ground state. We study the structure and energetics of multidisclination packings based on models of equilibrium and nonequilibrium cross-sectional order.

The prediction of pressure distributions on an arrow-wing configuration including the effect of camber, twist, and a wing fin

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bobbitt, P. J.; Manro, M. E.; Kulfan, R. M.

1980-01-01

Wind tunnel tests of an arrow wing body configuration consisting of flat, twisted, and cambered twisted wings were conducted at Mach numbers from 0.40 to 2.50 to provide an experimental data base for comparison with theoretical methods. A variety of leading and trailing edge control surface deflections were included in these tests, and in addition, the cambered twisted wing was tested with an outboard vertical fin to determine its effect on wing and control surface loads. Theory experiment comparisons show that current state of the art linear and nonlinear attached flow methods were adequate at small angles of attack typical of cruise conditions. The incremental effects of outboard fin, wing twist, and wing camber are most accurately predicted by the advanced panel method PANAIR. Results of the advanced panel separated flow method, obtained with an early version of the program, show promise that accurate detailed pressure predictions may soon be possible for an aeroelasticity deformed wing at high angles of attack.

Quantification of a Helical Origami Fold

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Eric; Han, Xiaomin; Chen, Zi

2015-03-01

Origami, the Japanese art of paper folding, is traditionally viewed as an amusing pastime and medium of artistic expression. However, in recent years, origami has served as a source of inspiration for innovations in science and engineering. Here, we present the geometric and mechanical properties of a twisting origami fold. The origami structure created by the fold exhibits several interesting properties, including rigid foldibility, local bistability and finely tunable helical coiling, with control over pitch, radius and handedness of the helix. In addition, the pattern generated by the fold closely mimics the twist buckling patterns shown by thin materials, for example, a mobius strip. We use six parameters of the twisting origami pattern to generate a fully tunable graphical model of the fold. Finally, we present a mathematical model of the local bistability of the twisting origami fold. Our study elucidates the mechanisms behind the helical coiling and local bistability of the twisting origami fold, with potential applications in robotics and deployable structures. Acknowledgment to Branco Weiss Fellowship for funding.

Design and analysis of adaptive Super-Twisting sliding mode control for a microgyroscope.

PubMed

Feng, Zhilin; Fei, Juntao

2018-01-01

This paper proposes a novel adaptive Super-Twisting sliding mode control for a microgyroscope under unknown model uncertainties and external disturbances. In order to improve the convergence rate of reaching the sliding surface and the accuracy of regulating and trajectory tracking, a high order Super-Twisting sliding mode control strategy is employed, which not only can combine the advantages of the traditional sliding mode control with the Super-Twisting sliding mode control, but also guarantee that the designed control system can reach the sliding surface and equilibrium point in a shorter finite time from any initial state and avoid chattering problems. In consideration of unknown parameters of micro gyroscope system, an adaptive algorithm based on Lyapunov stability theory is designed to estimate the unknown parameters and angular velocity of microgyroscope. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by simulation results. The comparative study between adaptive Super-Twisting sliding mode control and conventional sliding mode control demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method.

All-fiber dynamic gain equalizer based on a twisted long-period grating written by high-frequency CO2 laser pulses.

PubMed

Zhu, T; Rao, Y J; Wang, J L

2007-01-20

A novel dynamic gain equalizer for flattening Er-doped fiber amplifiers based on a twisted long-period fiber grating (LPFG) induced by high-frequency CO(2) laser pulses is reported for the first time to our knowledge. Experimental results show that its transverse-load sensitivity is up to 0.34 dB/(g.mm(-1)), while the twist ratio of the twisted LPFG is approximately 20 rad/m, which is 7 times higher than that of a torsion-free LPFG. In addition, it is found that the strong orientation dependence of the transverse-load sensitivity of the torsion-free LPFG reported previously has been weakened considerably. Therefore such a dynamic gain equalizer based on the unique transverse-load characteristics of the twisted LPFG provides a much larger adjustable range and makes packaging of the gain equalizer much easier. A demonstration has been carried out to flatten an Er-doped fiber amplifier to +/-0.5 dB over a 32 nm bandwidth.

Adaptive twisting sliding mode algorithm for hypersonic reentry vehicle attitude control based on finite-time observer.

PubMed

Guo, Zongyi; Chang, Jing; Guo, Jianguo; Zhou, Jun

2018-06-01

This paper focuses on the adaptive twisting sliding mode control for the Hypersonic Reentry Vehicles (HRVs) attitude tracking issue. The HRV attitude tracking model is transformed into the error dynamics in matched structure, whereas an unmeasurable state is redefined by lumping the existing unmatched disturbance with the angular rate. Hence, an adaptive finite-time observer is used to estimate the unknown state. Then, an adaptive twisting algorithm is proposed for systems subject to disturbances with unknown bounds. The stability of the proposed observer-based adaptive twisting approach is guaranteed, and the case of noisy measurement is analyzed. Also, the developed control law avoids the aggressive chattering phenomenon of the existing adaptive twisting approaches because the adaptive gains decrease close to the disturbance once the trajectories reach the sliding surface. Finally, numerical simulations on the attitude control of the HRV are conducted to verify the effectiveness and benefit of the proposed approach. Copyright © 2018 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A zero torsional stiffness twist morphing blade as a wind turbine load alleviation device

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lachenal, X.; Daynes, S.; Weaver, P. M.

2013-06-01

This paper presents the design, analysis and realization of a zero stiffness twist morphing wind turbine blade. The morphing blade is designed to actively twist as a means of alleviating the gust loads which reduce the fatigue life of wind turbine blades. The morphing structure exploits an elastic strain energy balance within the blade to enable large twisting deformations with modest actuation requirements. While twist is introduced using the warping of the blade skin, internal pre-stressed members ensure that a constant strain energy balance is achieved throughout the deformation, resulting in a zero torsional stiffness structure. The torsional stability of the morphing blade is characterized by analysing the elastic strain energy in the device. Analytical models of the skin, the pre-stressed components and the complete blade are compared to their respective finite element models as well as experimental results. The load alleviation potential of the adaptive structure is quantified using a two-dimensional steady flow aerodynamic model which is experimentally validated with wind tunnel measurements.