Positron microanalysis with high intensity beams

One of the more common applications for a high intensity slow positron facility will be microanalysis of solid materials. In the first section of this paper some examples are given of procedures that can be developed. Since most of the attendees of this workshop are experts in positron spectroscopy, comprehensive descriptions will be omitted. With the exception of positron emission microscopy, most of the procedures will be based on those already in common use with broad beams. The utility of the methods have all been demonstrated, but material scientists use very few of them because positron microbeams are not generally available. A high intensity positron facility will make microbeams easier to obtain and partially alleviate this situation. All microanalysis techniques listed below will have a common requirement, which is the ability to locate the microscopic detail or area of interest and to focus the positron beam exclusively on it. The last section of this paper is a suggestion of how a high intensity positron facility might be designed so as to have this capability built in. The method will involve locating the specimen by scanning it with the microbeam of positrons and inducing a secondary electron image that will immediately reveal whether or not the positron beam is striking the proper portion of the specimen. This scanning positron microscope' will be a somewhat prosaic analog of the conventional SEM. It will, however, be an indispensable utility that will enhance the practicality of positron microanalysis techniques. 6 refs., 1 fig

Preliminary considerations of an intense slow positron facility based on a sup 78 Kr loop in the high flux isotopes reactor

Suggestions have been made to the National Steering Committee for the Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) by Mills that provisions be made to install a high intensity slow positron facility, based on a {sup 78}Kr loop, that would be available to the general community of scientists interested in this field. The flux of thermal neutrons calculated for the ANS is E + 15 sec{sup {minus}1} m{sup {minus}2}, which Mills has estimated will produce 5 mm beam of slow positrons having a current of about 1 E + 12 sec {sup {minus}1}. The intensity of such a beam will be a least 3 orders of magnitude greater than those presently available. The construction of the ANS is not anticipated to be complete until the year 2000. In order to properly plan the design of the ANS, strong considerations are being given to a proof-of-principle experiment, using the presently available High Flux Isotopes Reactor, to test the {sup 78}Kr loop technique. The positron current from the HFIR facility is expected to be about 1 E + 10 sec{sup {minus}1}, which is 2 orders of magnitude greater than any other available. If the experiment succeeds, a very valuable facility will be established, and important formation will be generated on how the ANS should be designed. 3 refs., 1 fig

The ionization of organic molecules by slow positrons

The ionization of organic molecules by positrons having energies above and below their positronium formation thresholds is reviewed. The sensitivity of sub-positronium ionization yields to chemical and structural properties of the molecules is discussed, and possible mechanisms for ionization and fragmentation are suggested. Plans are presented for future experiments to further elucidate mechanisms and to search for evidence of positronium compound formation

Positron-molecule interactions: resonant attachment, annihilation, and bound states

This article presents an overview of current understanding of the interaction of low-energy positrons with molecules with emphasis on resonances, positron attachment and annihilation. Annihilation rates measured as a function of positron energy reveal the presence of vibrational Feshbach resonances (VFR) for many polyatomic molecules. These resonances lead to strong enhancement of the annihilation rates. They also provide evidence that positrons bind to many molecular species. A quantitative theory of VFR-mediated attachment to small molecules is presented. It is tested successfully for selected molecules (e.g., methyl halides and methanol) where all modes couple to the positron continuum. Combination and overtone resonances are observed and their role is elucidated. In larger molecules, annihilation rates from VFR far exceed those explicable on the basis of single-mode resonances. These enhancements increase rapidly with the number of vibrational degrees of freedom. While the details are as yet unclear, intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution to states that do not couple directly to the positron continuum appears to be responsible for these enhanced annihilation rates. Downshifts of the VFR from the vibrational mode energies have provided binding energies for thirty species. Their dependence upon molecular parameters and their relationship to positron-atom and positron-molecule binding energy calculations are discussed. Feshbach resonances and positron binding to molecules are compared with the analogous electron-molecule (negative ion) cases. The relationship of VFR-mediated annihilation to other phenomena such as Doppler-broadening of the gamma-ray annihilation spectra, annihilation of thermalized positrons in gases, and annihilation-induced fragmentation of molecules is discussed.Comment: 50 pages, 40 figure

Nicotiana alata defensin chimeras reveal differences in the mechanism of fungal and tumor cell killing and an enhanced antifungal variant

The plant defensin NaD1 is a potent antifungal molecule that also targets tumor cells with a high efficiency. We examined the features of NaD1 that contribute to these two activities by producing a series of chimeras with NaD2, a defensin that has relatively poor activity against fungi and no activity against tumor cells. All plant defensins have a common tertiary structure known as a cysteine-stabilized alpha-beta motif which consists of an alpha helix and a triple-stranded beta-sheet stabilized by four disulfide bonds. The chimeras were produced by replacing loops 1 to 7, the sequences between each of the conserved cysteine residues on NaD1, with the corresponding loops from NaD2. The loop 5 swap replaced the sequence motif (SKILRR) that mediates tight binding with phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate [PI(4,5)P-2] and is essential for the potent cytotoxic effect of NaD1 on tumor cells. Consistent with previous reports, there was a strong correlation between PI(4,5)P-2 binding and the tumor cell killing activity of all of the chimeras. However, this correlation did not extend to antifungal activity. Some of the loop swap chimeras were efficient antifungal molecules, even though they bound poorly to PI(4,5)P-2, suggesting that additional mechanisms operate against fungal cells. Unexpectedly, the loop 1B swap chimera was 10 times more active than NaD1 against filamentous fungi. This led to the conclusion that defensin loops have evolved as modular components that combine to make antifungal molecules with variable mechanisms of action and that artificial combinations of loops can increase antifungal activity compared to that of the natural variants

Implications of heavy-ion-induced satellite x-ray emission. II. Production of K and L x rays by 0. 9 to 2. 6 MeV/u Ar ions in thick targets of V, Cu, Nb, Ta, and Pt

Cross sections are reported for x-ray production in targets of /sup 23/V, /sup 29/Cu, /sup 41/Nb, /sup 73/Ta, and /sup 78/Pt by /sup 40/Ar ions of 36.0, 56.4, 76.6, and 103 MeV. Because the targets were relatively thick, approx. 1 mg/cm/sup 2/, the data were corrected, using a novel approach, for projectile energy loss and x-ray attenuation in the targets. The cross sections so analyzed are compared with the predictions of the first Born approximation as well as with those of a more extensive treatment which includes energy loss, Coulomb deflection, perturbed stationary-state, and relativistic effects. The significant discrepancies between the data and this latter theory are atrributed primarily to the influence of multiple ionization on the x-ray emission probabilities

Moving beyond size and phosphatidylserine exposure: evidence for a diversity of apoptotic cell-derived extracellular vesicles in vitro

Apoptosis is a form of programmed cell death that occurs throughout life as part of normal development as well as pathologic processes including chronic inflammation and infection. Although the death of a cell is often considered as the only biological outcome of a cell committed to apoptosis, it is becoming increasingly clear that the dying cell can actively communicate with other cells via soluble factors as well as membrane-bound extracellular vesicles (EVs) to regulate processes including cell clearance, immunity and tissue repair. Compared to EVs generated from viable cells such as exosomes and microvesicles, apoptotic cell-derived EVs (ApoEVs) are less well defined and the basic criteria for ApoEV characterization have not been established in the field. In this study, we will examine the current understanding of ApoEVs, in particular, the ApoEV subtype called apoptotic bodies (ApoBDs). We described that a subset of ApoBDs can be larger than 5 μm and smaller than 1 μm based on flow cytometry and live time-lapse microscopy analysis, respectively. We also described that a subset of ApoBDs can expose a relatively low level of phosphatidylserine on its surface based on annexin A5 staining. Furthermore, we characterized the presence of caspase-cleaved proteins (in particular plasma membrane-associated or cytoplasmic proteins) in samples enriched in ApoBDs. Lastly, using a combination of biochemical-, live imaging- and flow cytometry-based approaches, we characterized the progressive lysis of ApoBDs. Taken together, these results extended our understanding of ApoBDs

Gasdermin E Does Not Limit Apoptotic Cell Disassembly by Promoting Early Onset of Secondary Necrosis in Jurkat T Cells and THP-1 Monocytes

During the progression of necroptosis and pyroptosis, the plasma membrane will become permeabilized through the activation of mixed lineage kinase domain like pseudokinase (MLKL) or gasdermin D (GSDMD), respectively. Recently, the progression of apoptotic cells into secondary necrotic cells following membrane lysis was shown to be regulated by gasdermin E (GSDME, or DFNA5), a process dependent on caspase 3-mediated cleavage of GSDME. Notably, GSDME was also proposed to negatively regulate the disassembly of apoptotic cells into smaller membrane-bound vesicles known as apoptotic bodies (ApoBDs) by promoting earlier onset of membrane permeabilisation. The presence of a process downstream of caspase 3 that would actively drive cell lysis and limit cell disassembly during apoptosis is somewhat surprising as this could favor the release of proinflammatory intracellular contents and hinder efficient clearance of apoptotic materials. In contrast to the latter studies, we present here that GSDME is not involved in regulating secondary necrosis in human T cells and monocytes, and also unlikely in epithelial cells. Furthermore, GSDME is evidently not a negative regulator of apoptotic cell disassembly in our cell models. Thus, the function of GSDME in regulating membrane permeabilization and cell disassembly during apoptosis may be more limited

A novel family of diversified immunoregulatory receptors in teleosts is homologous to both mammalian Fc receptors and molecules encoded within the leukocyte receptor complex

Three novel and closely related leukocyte immune-type receptors (IpLITR) have been identified in channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). These receptors belong to a large polymorphic and polygenic subset of the Ig superfamily with members located on at least three independently segregating loci. Like mammalian and avian innate immune regulatory receptors, IpLITRs have both putative inhibitory and stimulatory forms, with multiple types coexpressed in various lymphoid tissues and clonal leukocyte cell lines. IpLITRs have an unusual and novel relationship to mammalian and avian innate immune receptors: the membrane distal Ig domains of an individual IpLITR are related to fragment crystallizable receptors (FcRs) and FcR-like proteins, whereas the membrane proximal Ig domains are related to several leukocyte receptor complex encoded receptors. This unique composition of Ig domains within individual receptors supports the hypothesis that functionally and genomically distinct immune receptor families found in tetrapods may have evolved from such ancestral genes by duplication and recombination events. Furthermore, the discovery of a large heterogeneous family of immunoregulatory receptors in teleosts, reminiscent of amphibian, avian, and mammalian Ig-like receptors, suggests that complex innate immune receptor networks have been conserved during vertebrate evolution. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: Supplementary material is available for this article at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00251-006-0134-1 and is accessible for authorized users