The thermodynamics and kinetics of the fcc (delta) to monoclinic (alpha-prime) phase transformation and its reversion in a plutonium-gallium alloy have been studied using differential scanning calorimetry, resistometry, and dilatometry. Under ambient conditions, the delta phase is metastable in a Pu-2.0 at% Ga alloy. Thermal cycling to below the ambient temperature results in a partial transformation to the alpha-prime phase; this transformation is composition-invariant and exhibits martensitic behavior. Because this transformation results in an unusually invariant large 25% volume contraction that cannot be fully accommodated by purely elastic adjustments, the transformation mode is expected to involve burst formation of individual alpha-prime particles. However, upon cooling, these individual bursts were not resolved by the above techniques, although signals corresponding to the overall accumulation of many alpha-prime particles were observed. On the other hand, upon heating, signals from differential scanning calorimetry, resistometry, and dilatometry showed a series of discrete changes occurring in periodic increments beginning at approximately 32 C. These features correspond to the cooperative reversion of many alpha-prime particles to the delta phase; they appear to be the result of an interplay between the autocatalytically driven reversion of a cascade of individual martensite units, and self-quenching caused by small changes of …

We use Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) to image and classify individual cells based on their characteristic mass spectra. Using statistical data reduction on the large data sets generated during TOF-SIMS analysis, similar biological materials can be differentiated based on a combination of small changes in protein expression, metabolic activity and cell structure. We apply this powerful technique to image and differentiate three carcinoma-derived human breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, T47D and MDA-MB-231). In homogenized cells, we show the ability to differentiate the cell types as well as cellular compartments (cytosol, nuclear and membrane). These studies illustrate the capacity of TOF-SIMS to characterize individual cells by chemical composition, which could ultimately be applied to detect and identify single aberrant cells within a normal cell population. Ultimately, we anticipate characterizing rare chemical changes that may provide clues to single cell progression within carcinogenic and metastatic pathways.

'Static' structure functions are the probabilistic distributions computed from the square of the light-front wavefunctions of the target hadron. In contrast, the 'dynamic' structure functions measured in deep inelastic lepton-hadron scattering include the effects of rescattering associated with the Wilson line. Initial- and final-state rescattering, neglected in the parton model, can have a profound effect in QCD hard-scattering reactions, producing single-spin asymmetries, diffractive deep inelastic scattering, diffractive hard hadronic reactions, the breakdown of the Lam-Tung relation in Drell-Yan reactions, nuclear shadowing, and non-universal nuclear antishadowing|novel leading-twist physics not incorporated in the light-front wavefunctions of the target computed in isolation. I also review how 'direct' higher-twist processes--where a proton is produced in the hard subprocess itself--can explain the anomalous proton-to-pion ratio seen in high centrality heavy ion collisions.

More than a decade after the explosion of SN 1987A, unresolved discrepancies still remain in attempts to numerically simulate the mixing processes initiated by the passage of a very strong shock through the layered structure of the progenitor star. Numerically computed velocities of the radioactive {sup 56}Ni and {sup 56}CO, produced by shock-induced explosive burning within the silicon layer for example, are still more than 50% too low as compared with the measured velocities. In order to resolve such discrepancies between observation and simulation, an experimental testbed has been designed on the Omega Laser for the study of hydrodynamic issues of importance to supernovae (SNe). In this paper, we present results from a series of scaled laboratory experiments designed to isolate and explore several issues in the hydrodynamics of SN explosions. The results of the experiments are compared with numerical simulations and are generally found to be in reasonable agreement.

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Spin depolarizing resonances due to coupling may account for as much as a 30 percent loss in polarization in the AGS. The major source of coupling in the AGS is the solenoidal snake. In the past some preliminary work was done to understand this phenomena [1], and a method to overcome these resonances was attempted [2]. However, in the polarized proton run of 2002, the response of these coupled spin.resonances to the strength of the solenoidal snake, skew quadrupoles and vertical and horizontal betatron tune separation was studied to provided a benchmark for a modified DEPOL program [3]. Then using the new DEPOL program, a method to cure the coupled spin resonances in the AGS via spin matching rather than global or local decoupling was explored.

We have synthesized (110)-oriented epitaxial thin films of the bilayer (n=2) manganite, La{sub 1.2}Sr{sub 1.8}Mn{sub 2}O{sub 7}, with the metallic/ferromagnetic a-b planes lying perpendicular to the substrate surface and the c-axis aligned in the plane of the film. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy confirm the alignment of the a-b planes along the [1{bar 1}0] substrate direction. The films consist primarily of the n=2 phase with a minor component of the n=1 (La,Sr){sub 2}MnO{sub 4} and n={infinity} (La,Sr)MnO{sub 3} phases. A resistivity maximum coincides with a ferromagnet/paramagnet transition at a reduced T{sub c}{approx}90K (vs. 120K for bulk), indicative of the effects of epitaxial strain. The films display similar anisotropic properties to their bulk counterpart with the magnetically easy direction confined to the a-b planes and 20-200 times lower resistivity for current flowing along the a-b planes compared to the c-axis.

CD81 is a tetraspanin family member involved in diverse cellular interactions in the immune and nervous systems and in cell fusion events. However, the mechanism of action of CD81 and of other tetraspanins has not been defined. We reasoned that identifying signaling molecules downstream of CD81 would provide mechanistic clues. We engaged CD81 on the surface of Blymphocytes and identified the induced tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins by mass spectrometry. This analysis showed that the most prominent tyrosine phosphorylated protein was ezrin, an actin binding protein and a member of the ezrin-radixin-moesin family. We also found that CD81 engagement induces spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) and that Syk was involved in tyrosine phosphorylation of ezrin. Ezrin colocalized with CD81 and F-actin upon stimulation and this association was disrupted when Syk activation was blocked. Taken together, these studies suggest a model in which CD81 interfaces between the plasma membrane and the cytoskeleton by activating Syk, mobilizing ezrin, and recruiting F-actin to facilitate cytoskeletal reorganization and cell signaling. This may be a mechanism explaining the pleiotropic effects induced in response to stimulating cells by anti-CD81 antibodies or by the hepatitis C virus, which uses this molecule as its key receptor.