114 research outputs found
Superradiance from an ultrathin film of three-level V-type atoms: Interplay between splitting, quantum coherence and local-field effects
We carry out a theoretical study of the collective spontaneous emission
(superradiance) from an ultrathin film comprised of three-level atoms with
-configuration of the operating transitions. As the thickness of the system
is small compared to the emission wavelength inside the film, the local-field
correction to the averaged Maxwell field is relevant. We show that the
interplay between the low-frequency quantum coherence within the subspace of
the upper doublet states and the local-field correction may drastically affect
the branching ratio of the operating transitions. This effect may be used for
controlling the emission process by varying the doublet splitting and the
amount of low-frequency coherence.Comment: 15 pages, 5 figure
The hydrodynamic efficiency of laser-target acceleration
The acceleration of a thin foil using a laser pulse is studied. It is shown that the acceleration efficiency eta H is heavily dependent on the behaviour of the corona ejected by the foil: there is no universal relation eta H( Delta M/M0),M0 and Delta M being initial foil mass and ablated mass, respectively. Known results on the coronal flow are used to check the theory against experimental data available in the literature; effects due to both a non-planar corona, and the time-dependence of the laser irradiance, are considered. The agreement with experiments is substantially better than that for previous analyses. Acceleration of thin spherical shells is also discussed
Detailed Kinematic Study of the Ionized and Neutral Gas in the Complex of Star Formation in the Galaxy IC 1613
We carried out detailed kinematic studies of the complex of multiple HI and
HII shells that represent the only region of ongoing star formation in the
dwarf irregular galaxy IC 1613. We investigated the ionized-gas kinematics by
using Fabry--Perot H-alpha observations with the 6-m Special Astrophysical
Observatory telescope and the neutral-gas kinematics by using VLA 21-cm radio
observations. We identified three extended (300-350 pc) neutral shells with
which the brightest HII shells in the complex of star formation are associated.
The neutral-gas kinematics in the complex has been studied for the first time
and the H~I shells were found to expand at a velocity of 15--18 km/s. We
constructed velocity ellipses for all HII shells in the complex and refined
(increased) the expansion velocities of most of them. The nature of the
interacting ionized and neutral shells is discussed.Comment: 14 pages, 9 EPS-figure
GRP78 Knockdown Enhances Apoptosis via the Down-Regulation of Oxidative Stress and Akt Pathway after Epirubicin Treatment in Colon Cancer DLD-1 Cells
INTRODUCTION: The 78-kDa glucose-regulated protein (GRP78) is induced in the cancer microenvironment and can be considered as a novel predictor of responsiveness to chemotherapy in many cancers. In this study, we found that intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) and nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) nuclear translocation were higher in GRP78 knockdown DLD-1 colon cancer cells compared with scrambled control cells. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Treatment with epirubicin in GRP78 knockdown DLD-1 cells enhanced apoptosis and was associated with decreased production of intracellular ROS. In addition, apoptosis was increased by the antioxidants propyl gallate (PG) and dithiothreitol (DTT) in epirubicin-treated scrambled control cells. Epirubicin-treated GRP78 knockdown cells resulted in more inactivated Akt pathway members, such as phosphorylated Akt and GSK-3β, as well as downstream targets of β-catenin expression. Knockdown of Nrf2 with small interfering RNA (siRNA) increased apoptosis in epirubicin-treated GRP78 knockdown cells, which suggested that Nrf2 may be a primary defense mechanism in GRP78 knockdown cells. We also demonstrated that epirubicin-treated GRP78 knockdown cells could decrease survival pathway signaling through the redox activation of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), which is a serine/threonine phosphatase that negatively regulates the Akt pathway. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate that epirubicin decreased the intracellular ROS in GRP78 knockdown cells, which decreased survival signaling through both the Akt pathway and the activation of PP2A. Together, these mechanisms contributed to the enhanced level of epirubicin-induced apoptosis that was observed in the GRP78 knockdown cells
Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases
The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of
aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs)
can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves
excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological
concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can
lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl
radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic
inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the
involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a
large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and
inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation
of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many
similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e.
iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The
studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic
and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and
lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and
longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is
thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As
systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have
multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent
patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of
multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the
decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference
The method of dynamic programming in problems of optimization of temperature fields during thermal treatment of products made from composite polymer materials (CPM)
Benchmark experiment on a model of the blanket of a fusion reactor with uranium neutron breeder
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