Analysis of multiphoton ionization of metal atoms in the saturation regime using subpicosecond KrF laser pulses

Singly and multiply charged ion yield curves are reported for resonant and nonresonant two photon- ionization processes for a collection of 31 metal atoms. The atoms are created by sputtering from a solid target using an Ar-ion gun. Single and multiple ionization of these atoms is performed using linearly polarized 248.6-nm (KrF) laser pulses with a full width at half maximum duration of 500 fs, employing intensities between 109 and 1012 W cm-2. A four-grid high-resolution reflecting time-of-flight spectrometer is used for ion detection. This advanced spectrometer has a well-defined and small source volume, enabling absolute measurements of ionization probabilities and saturation intensities. Because our measurements are not affected by the increase of the interaction volume for increasing intensities, we can discriminate between resonant and nonresonant multiphoton ionization processes without varying the laser pulse duration. For many metals, the intensity dependence of the ion yield can be accurately reproduced by rate calculations based on a resonantly enhanced two-photon-ionization scheme. As a result, we can determine absolute values of the one-photon cross sections in the resonant processes and these are compared to theoretical values we calculated. For the nonresonant processes, we give generalized multiphoton-ionization cross sections and compare these to a scaling law of Lambropoulos [J. Opt. Soc. Am. B 4, 821 (1987)]

Do the dominant plant species impact the substrate and vegetation composition of post-coal mining spoil heaps?

This is an accepted manuscript of an article published by Elsevier in Ecological Engineering on 03/12/2019, available online: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoleng.2019.105685 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version�� 2019 Dominant species influence both species and functional composition of the vegetation as well as soil properties of the substrate. However, knowledge about the role played by dominant species in the process of shaping their habitat within post-industrial ecosystems is still limited. We aimed to assess the impact of four dominant species (Calamagrostis epigejos, Daucus carota, Poa compressa and Tussilago farfara) on soil abiotic and biotic properties, and to detect differences in species and functional composition of the vegetation types studied. We hypothesized that (1) dominant species of higher mean biomass cause lower aboveground biodiversity and (2) dominant species of higher mean biomass have a higher impact than the others on soil properties. We measured soil chemistry (TOC, N, P, K, Na, Mg content, EC, pH and enzyme activities) as well as biomass, species diversity and functional diversity of vegetation on 15 study plots (28.3 m2) for each species studied. The DCA analysis revealed a clear distinction between the patches dominated by studied species. Vegetation patches dominated by Calamagrostis epigejos were correlated with amount of biomass, canopy height CWM and specific leaf CWM. Patches dominated by Daucus carota were related to the light requirements (EIV-L), Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and K content. The vegetation patches dominated by Poa compressa were related to dehydrogenase activity, higher Mg content and species richness of the vegetation patches. The highest TOC content was recorded for T. farfara substrates, and the lowest for C. epigejos substrates. The content of potassium does not differ statistically significantly in the substrates from sites dominated by D. carota and P. compressa. The highest values of Mg content were recorded for D. carota and were statistically different from Poa compressa sites, while the higher phosphorus content (statistically significantly different) was recorded for patches dominated by T. farfara and P. compressa. Despite our assumptions, the species with the highest mean biomass (Calamagrostis epigejos) did not cause lower species or functional diversity. In contrast, Tussilago farfara has the highest impact on postindustrial site habitats on coal mine heaps, as extreme values of four soil substratum parameters were recorded on these plots. This species also decreased both species and functional diversity of vegetation. The knowledge about relationship existing between plants (aboveground vegetation) and soil organisms seems important in order to undertake suitable reclamation measures and to restore variety of functions as well as to create diverse vegetation based on native species.Published versio

Relaxin: Review of Biology and Potential Role in Treating Heart Failure

Relaxin is a naturally occurring human peptide initially identified as a reproductive hormone. More recently, relaxin has been shown to play a key role in the maternal hemodynamic and renal adjustments that accommodate pregnancy. An understanding of these physiologic effects has led to the evaluation of relaxin as a pharmacologic agent for the treatment of patients with acute heart failure. Preliminary results have been encouraging. In addition, the other known biologic properties of relaxin, including anti-inflammatory effects, extracellular matrix remodeling effects, and angiogenic and anti-ischemic effects, all may play a role in potential benefits of relaxin therapy. Ongoing, large-scale clinical testing will provide additional insights into the potential role of relaxin in the treatment of heart failure

INNODIA Master Protocol for the evaluation of investigational medicinal products in children, adolescents and adults with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes

Background The INNODIA consortium has established a pan-European infrastructure using validated centres to prospectively evaluate clinical data from individuals with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes combined with centralised collection of clinical samples to determine rates of decline in beta-cell function and identify novel biomarkers, which could be used for future stratification of phase 2 clinical trials. Methods In this context, we have developed a Master Protocol, based on the “backbone” of the INNODIA natural history study, which we believe could improve the delivery of phase 2 studies exploring the use of single or combinations of Investigational Medicinal Products (IMPs), designed to prevent or reverse declines in beta-cell function in individuals with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes. Although many IMPs have demonstrated potential efficacy in phase 2 studies, few subsequent phase 3 studies have confirmed these benefits. Currently, phase 2 drug development for this indication is limited by poor evaluation of drug dosage and lack of mechanistic data to understand variable responses to the IMPs. Identification of biomarkers which might permit more robust stratification of participants at baseline has been slow. Discussion The Master Protocol provides (1) standardised assessment of efficacy and safety, (2) comparable collection of mechanistic data, (3) the opportunity to include adaptive designs and the use of shared control groups in the evaluation of combination therapies, and (4) benefits of greater understanding of endpoint variation to ensure more robust sample size calculations and future baseline stratification using existing and novel biomarkers

Self-calibrating method for measuring local multiphotonionization yields as a function of absolute intensity

We present a self-calibrating method for measuring local multiphoton-ionization yields as a function of absolute intensity. In contrast to the method recently described by Walker et al. [Phys. Rev. A 57, R701 (1998)], our method does not require any assumption on the intensity distribution inside a laser focus, nor does it use any mathematical procedure such as deconvolution that would be based on such an assumption. In this sense, our method is self-calibrating. The proposed method immediately gives ion yields as a function of absolute intensity. Furthermore, it allows the intensity distribution inside the focal volume to be measured with a spatial resolution of a few μm. The proposed method uses a five-grid high-resolution reflecting time-of-flight ion spectrometer, in combination with an electron spectrometer. The advanced design of the ion spectrometer allows detection of ions originating exclusively from a well-defined source volume with μm-size dimensions, thus enabling absolute measurements of ionization probabilities and saturation intensities. By moving the source volume of the ion spectrometer through the focal region, we can quantitatively measure local ion densities inside the focus. The corresponding spatial absolute intensity distribution is measured by electron-ion coincidence measurements via the ponderomotive shifts in the electron spectrum of a suitable target gas, e.g., He. Both aspects of the proposed method (ion measurements from a confined volume and intensity measurements based on ponderomotive shifts) have been successfully applied in the past

Photoionization and photofragmentation of gaseous toluene using 80-fs, 800-nm laser pulses

This paper presents ion yields resulting from multiphoton ionization and fragmentation of gaseous toluene (C7H8) in the focus of an 80 fs Ti:sapphire laser beam (λ = 800 nm) with a sufficiently small B-integral [Siegman, Lasers (University Science Books, Mill Valley, CA, 1986)]. The peak intensity was varied between 1.9x1013 and 2.8x1013Wcm-2, and both linear and circular polarization were used. Over the whole range of intensities studied, only the singly charged parent ion and its fragment, C7H7+, are found. Although the Keldysh adiabaticity parameter equals 0.86 for the saturation intensity of ~1x1014W cm-2, there is no indication of tunneling. The parent ion yield is found to be effectively proportional to the sixth power of the peak intensity. This is shown to be in good agreement with a multiple lowest-order perturbation multiphoton ionization model which takes into account successive channel closing for increasing peak intensities and orders up to 11 inclusive. On the assumption that the excess energy acquired by the toluene cation as a result of the interaction with the electromagnetic field is of the order of the ponderomotive energy for the intensity prevailing at the moment of the ionization, the internal energy distribution of the toluene cations created that is brought about by this multiple-order multiphoton ionization model is calculated. This internal energy distribution is in perfect agreement with the measured C7H7+ yield, if the rate-energy curve for the fragmentation of excited toluene cations as given by Golovin et al. [Sov. J. Chem. Phys. 2, 632 (1985)] is moderately reduced by a factor of 4.5

White-Light-Induced Fragmentation of Toluene

We investigate the influence of continuum generation on the photofragmentation dynamics of the toluene molecule. By sending an 80-fs Ti:sapphire laser beam through a 2-mm-thick CaF2 plate we show that even moderately broadened laser frequency spectra considerably increase the degree of fragmentation, while it is nearly absent without continuum generation. The measured broadening of the frequency spectra and the known Raman-active vibrational modes of toluene afford an explanation in terms of a stimulated Raman scattering scheme, in which the molecule absorbs large amounts of vibrational energy