Re-Heating Effect on the Enhancement of Plasma Emission Generated from Fe Under Femtosecond Double-Pulse Laser Irradiation

In this paper, we present a study on the effect of inter-pulse delay using femtosecond double-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy in a collinear geometry. The temporal evolution of spectral intensity is performed for the lines of Fe I 423.60 nm, Fe I 425.08 nm and Fe I 427.18 nm. It is found that, by selecting appropriate inter-pulse delay, the signal enhancement can be significantly increased compared with the single-pulse case. A three-fold enhancement in the current experiment is obtained. The plasma temperature and electron density are also investigated based on the theory of Boltzmann plot and Stark broadening. We attribute the main mechanism for emission enhancement to the plasma re-heating effect.

Simulation of Intermediate State Absorption Enhancement in Rare-Earth Ions by Polarization Modulated Femtosecond Laser Field

We extend the third perturbation theory to study the polarization control behavior of the intermediate state absorption in Nd^（3＋）ions. The results show that coherent interference can occur between the single-photon and three-photon excitation pathways, and depends on the central frequency of the femtosecond laser field. Moreover,single-photon and three-photon absorptions have different polarization control efficiencies, and the relative weight of three-photon absorption in the whole excitation processes can increase with increasing the laser intensity.Therefore, the enhancement or suppression of the intermediate state absorption can be realized and manipulated by properly designing the intensity and central frequency of the polarization modulated femtosecond laser field.This research can not only enrich theoretical research methods for the up-conversion luminescence manipulation of rare-earth ions, but also can provide a clear physical picture for understanding and controlling multi-photon absorption in a multiple energy level system.

Coherent Features of Resonance-Mediated Two-Photon Absorption Enhancement by Varying the Energy Level Structure,Laser Spectrum Bandwidth and Central Frequency

The femtosecond pulse shaping technique has been shown to be an effective method to control the multi-photon absorption by the light–matter interaction. Previous studies mainly focused on the quantum coherent control of the multi-photon absorption by the phase, amplitude and polarization modulation, but the coherent features of the multi-photon absorption depending on the energy level structure, the laser spectrum bandwidth and laser central frequency still lack in-depth systematic research. In this work, we further explore the coherent features of the resonance-mediated two-photon absorption in a rubidium atom by varying the energy level structure, spectrum bandwidth and central frequency of the femtosecond laser field. The theoretical results show that the change of the intermediate state detuning can effectively influence the enhancement of the near-resonant part, which further affects the transform-limited （TL）-normalized final state population maximum. Moreover, as the laser spectrum bandwidth increases, the TL-normalized final state population maximum can be effectively enhanced due to the increase of the enhancement in the near-resonant part, but the TL-normalized final state population maximum is constant by varying the laser central frequency. These studies can provide a clear physical picture for understanding the coherent features of the resonance-mediated two-photon absorption, and can also provide a theoretical guidance for the future applications.

Experimental investigation for temperature and emissivity by flame emission spectrum in a cavity of rocket based combined cycle combustor chamber

Flame temperature and spectral emissivity were the important parameters characterizing the sufficient degree of fuel combustion and the particle radiative characteristics in the Rocket Based Combined Cycle(RBCC)combustor.To investigate the combustion characteristics of the complex supersonic flame in the RBCC combustor,a new radiation thermometry combined with Levenberg-Marquardt(LM)algorithm and the least squares method was proposed to measure the temperature,emissivity and spectral radiative properties based on the flame emission spectrum.In-situ measurements of the flame temperature,emissivity and spectral radiative properties were carried out in the RBCC direct-connected test bench with laser-induced plasma combustion enhancement(LIPCE)and without LIPCE.The flame average temperatures at fuel global equivalence ratio(a)of 1.0b and 0.6 with LIPCE were 4.51%and 2.08%higher than those without LIPCE.The flame combustion oscillation of kerosene tended to be stable in the recirculation zone of cavity with the thermal and chemical effects of laser induced plasma.The differences of flame temperature at a=1.0b and 0.6 were 503 K and 523 K with LIPCE,which were 20.07%and42.64%lower than those without LIPCE.The flame emissivity with methane assisted ignition was 80.46%lower than that without methane assisted ignition,due to the carbon-hydrogen ratio of kerosene was higher than that of methane.The spectral emissivities at 600 nm with LIPCE were 1.25%,22.2%,and 4.22%lower than those without LIPCE at a=1.0a(with methane assisted ignition),1.0b(without methane assisted ignition)and 0.6.The effect of concentration in the emissivity was removed by normalization to analyze the flame radiative properties in the RBCC combustor chamber.The maximum differences of flame normalized emissivity were 50.91%without LIPCE and 27.53%with LIPCE.The flame radiative properties were stabilized under the thermal and chemical effects of laser induced plasma at a=0.6.

Serum Amyloid A Protein: A Potential Biomarker Correlated With Clinical Stage of Lung Cancer

Objective To identify serum diagnosis or progression biomarkers in patients with lung cancer using protein chip profiling analysis. Method Profiling analysis was performed on 450 sera collected from 213 patients with lung cancer, 19 with pneumonia, 16 with pulmonary tuberculosis, 65 with laryngeal carcinoma, 55 with laryngopharyngeal carcinoma patients, and 82 normal individuals. A new strategy was developed to identify the biomarkers on chip by trypsin pre-digestion. Results Profiling analysis demonstrated that an 11.6kDa protein was significandy elevated in lung cancer patients, compared with the control groups （P〈0.001）. The level and percentage of 11.6kDa protein progressively increased with the clinical stages Ⅰ-Ⅳ and were also higher in patients with squamous cell carcinoma than in other subtypes. This biomarker could be decreased after operation or chemotherapy. On the other hand, 11.6kDa protein was also increased in 50% benign diseases of lung and 13% of other cancer controls. After trypsin pre-digestion, a set of new peptide biomarkers was noticed to appear only in the samples containing a 11.6kDa peak. Further identification showed that 2177Da was a fragment of serum amyloid A （SAA, MW 11.6kDa）. Two of the new peaks, 1550Da and 1611Da, were defined from the same protein by database searching. This result was further confirmed by partial purification of 11.6kDa protein and MS analysis. Conclusion SAA is a useful biomarker to monitor the progression of lung cancer and can directly identify some biomarkers on chip.

Preoperatively molecular staging with CM10 ProteinChip and SELDI-TOF-MS for colorectal cancer patients

Objectives： To detect the serum proteomic patterns by using SELDI-TOF-MS （surface enhanced laser desorption/ ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry） technology and CM10 ProteinChip in colorectal cancer （CRC） patients, and to evaluate the significance of the proteomic patterns in the tumour staging of colorectal cancer. Methods： SELDI-TOF-MS and CM10 ProteinChip were used to detect the serum proteomic patterns of 76 patients with colorectal cancer, among them, 10 Stage Ⅰ, 19 Stage Ⅱ, 16 Stage Ⅲ and 31 Stage Ⅳ samples. Different stage models were developed and validated by support vector machines, disctiminant analysis and time-sequence analysis. Results： The Model Ⅰ formed by 6 protein peaks （m/z： 2759.58, 2964.66, 2048.01, 4795.90, 4139.77 and 37761.60） could be used to distinguish local CRC patients （Stage Ⅰ and Stage Ⅱ） from regional CRC patients （Stage Ⅲ） with an accuracy of 86.67% （39/45）. The Model Ⅱ formed by 3 protein peaks （m/z： 6885.30, 2058.32 and 8567,75） could be used to distinguish locoregional CRC patients （Stage Ⅰ, Stage Ⅱ and Stage Ⅲ） from systematic CRC patients （Stage IV） With an accuracy of 75.00% （57/76）. The Model Ⅲ could distinguish Stage Ⅰ from Stage Ⅱ with an accuracy of 86.21% （25/29）. The Model Ⅳ could distinguish Stage Ⅰ from Stage Ⅲ with accuracy of 84.62% （22/26）. The Model Ⅴ could distinguish Stage Ⅱ from Stage Ⅲ with accuracy of 85.71% （30/35）. The Model Ⅵ could distinguish Stage Ⅱ from Stage Ⅳ with accuracy of 80.00% （40/50）. The Model Ⅶ could distinguish Stage Ⅲ from Stage Ⅳ with accuracy of 78.72% （37/47）. Different stage groups could be distinguished by the two-dimensional scattered spots figure obviously. Conclusion： This method showed great success in preoperatively determining the colorectal cancer stage of patients.

Upregulation of macrophage migration inhibitory factor and calgizzarin by androgen in TM4 mouse Sertoli cells

Aim： To identify proteins induced by androgen in Sertoli cells during spermatogenesis. Methods： We analyzed protein profiles in TM4 Sertoli cells treated with dihydrotestosterone （DHT） using surface enhanced laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry （SELDI-TOF-MS）. Results： We found increases in the expression of a 5.0-kDa protein at 15 min, an 11.3-kDa protein at 24 h and 4.3 kDa, 5.7 kDa, 5.8 kDa, 9.95 kDa and 9.98 kDa proteins at 48 h after the treatment. In contrast, the expression of 6.3 kDa and 8.6 kDa proteins decreased at 30 min, and 4.9 kDa, 5.0 kDa, 12.4 kDa and 19.8 kDa proteins at 48 h after the treatment. The ll.3-kDa protein was identified as macrophage migration inhibitory factor （MIF） known to having various functions. The 9.98-kDa protein was identified as calgizzarin related to calcium channels. The timing of their expression suggests that MIF and calgizzarin are involved in late regulation of spermatogenesis in Sertoli cells by androgen. Conclusion： MIF and calgizzarin are two important androgen-responsive proteins produced by Sertoli cells and they might play a role in regulating spermatogenesis.

Modulated bandwidth enhancement in an amplified feedback laser

We report a direct, modulated bandwidth enhancement in a amplified feedback laser （AFL）, both experimen- tally and numerically. By means of fabricated devices, an enhanced -3 dB bandwidth of 27 GHz with an in-band flatness of ±3 dB is experimentally confirmed at 13℃. It is numerically confirmed that the modulated bandwidth of the AFL can be enhanced to two times its original bandwidth, with more controlled flexibility to realize a flat, small-signal response.

Ablation enhancement by defocused irradiation assisted femtosecond laser fabrication of stainless alloy

We evaluate the effects of the holes geometry drilled by a femtosecond laser on a stainless alloy with various defocused irradiation time, which ranges from 0 min to 1 h. The laser ablation efficiency is increased by a factor of3 when the irradiation time is elevated from 0 to 30 min. Also, the morphology of the hole is observed by a scanning electron microscope, where the result indicates that the defocused irradiation time has a significant influence on the morphology changes. The reason for such changes is discussed based on the pretreatment effect and the confined plasma plume. As an application example, the microchannel is fabricated by a femtosecond laser combined with the defocused irradiation to demonstrate the advantage of the proposed method in fabricating functional structures.

Diagnosis of Tumor-Like Polypoid Lesions of Gallbladder by Serum Proteomic Fingerprint

Objective： To search the specific serum proteins in tumor-like polypoid lesions of the gallbladder（PLG） patients. Methods： Surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry （SELDI-TOF-MS） technique and WCX Magnetic Beads were used to detect the serum proteomic fingerprint of 23 patients with tumor-like PLG, 21 patients with non tumor-like PLG and 26 normal persons. Biomarker Wizard and Biomarker Patterns Software were used in combination to analyze the data. Results： In the preliminary screening, 22 representative specific proteins for tumor-like PLG were found. Seven specific proteins showed increased expression and 15 specific proteins showed decreased expression in the tumor-like PLG patients. Three specific proteins are selected for the diagnosis of the tumor-like PLG.. Conclusion： SELDI-TOF-MS technique can be used to select specific proteins for tumor-like PLG patients, which may be useful for the diagnosis of the tumor-like PLG and the differential diagnosis with the non tumor-like PLG.

The role of microwaves in the enhancement of laser-induced plasma emission

We studied experimentally the effect of microwaves （MWs） on the enhancement of plasma emission achieved by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS）. A laser plasma was generated on a calcium oxide pellet by a Nd：YAG laser （5 m J, 532 nm, 8 ns） in reduced-pressure argon surrounding gas. A MW radiation （400 W） was injected into the laser plasma via a loop antenna placed immediately above the laser plasma to enhance the plasma emission. The results confirmed that when tile electromagnetic field was introduced into the laser plasma region by the MWs, the lifetime of the plasma was extended from 50 to 500 μs, similar to the MW duration. Furthermore, the plasma temperature and electron density increased to approximately 10900 K and 1.5×10^18 cm^-3, respectively and the size of the plasma emission was extended to 15 mm in diameter. As a result, the emission intensity of Ca lines obtained using LIBS with MWs was enhanced by approximately 200 times compared to the case of LIBS without MWs.

Association between specific proteins and dimorphic growth of penicillium marneffei

Objective： To investigate the difference of proteome between yeast form and mould form of Penicillium mameffei, and to investigate the association of specific proteins expressed with biochemical properties, susceptibility of antifungal agent with dimorphic growth. Methods： Biochemistry identity plates were used to test the assimilation of carbohydrates and E-test strips were used to detect the minimum inhibitory concentration （MIC） of mould form and yeast form 16 P. mameffei. Surface enhanced laser desorption/ionization （SELDI） mass spectrometry with ProteinChip WCX2 was performed to compare the expressed proteins in yeast form and mould form. Protein profiles were read by PBSⅡ proteinchip reader and the proteome database was analyzed by proteincbip software 3.2.0. Results： Mould form assimilated lactose, melibiose significantly stronger （ P 〈0.01）, while yeast form assimilated sorbinose significantly stronger （ P 〈 0.05）. The mean MIC of fluconazole against mould form increased significantly （ P 〈 0.01 ） compared with yeast form. Seventy-five distinct proteins were found in yeast form and mould form of P. mameffei, in which proteins of 2900Da and 3151Da were specifically expressed in yeast form and other two proteins of 13151Da and 13285Da were specifically expressed in mould form （ P 〈 0.01 ）. Conclusion： The assimilation of carbohydrates and drug susceptibility of P. mameffei may change partly due to the morphogenetic conversion and different texture. Specific proteins may he involved in the regulation, the change of biochemical reaction and drug susceptibility during dimorpbic growth.

Experimental study on resonance frequency enhancement of strong optical injection-locked semiconductor lasers

Enhancing resonance frequency of strong optical studied. Resonance frequency is increased from technique. We experimentally demonstrate that injection-locked semiconductor lasers is experimentally 4.1 to 53.9 GHz by the optical injection locking （OIL） resonance frequency is strictly equal to the frequency spacing between the cavity modes of the master and slave lasers under strong OIL condition. This result provides valuable information to improve OIL theory.

Enhancing the expansion of a plasma shockwave by crater-induced laser refocusing in femtosecond laser ablation of fused silica

The dynamics of plasma and shockwave expansion during two femtosecond laser pulse ablation of fused silica are studied using a time-resolved shadowgraph imaging technique. The experimental results reveal that during the second pulse irradiation on the crater induced by the first pulse, the expansion of the plasma and shockwave is enhanced in the longitudinal direction. The plasma model and Fresnel diffraction theory are combined to calculate the laser intensity distribution by considering the change in surface morphology and transient material properties. The theoretical results show that after the free electron density induced by the rising edge of the pulse reaches the critical density, the originally transparent surface is transformed into a transient high-reflectivity surface(metallic state). Thus, the crater with a concave-lens-like morphology can tremendously reflect and refocus the latter part of the laser pulse, leading to a strong laser field with an intensity even higher than the incident intensity. This strong refocused laser pulse results in a stronger laser-induced air breakdown and enhances the subsequent expansion of the plasma and shockwave. In addition, similar shadowgraphs are also recorded in the single-pulse ablation of a concave microlens, providing experimental evidence for the enhancement mechanism.

Prognosis of the short-term efficacy of thymectomy for myasthenia gravis with serum protein profiles

Background The extended thymectomy for myasthenia gravis （MG） is currently available, but in 20%-40% of the patients the results were not satisfactory. There are no ideal indicators forecasting surgical results before operation. The surface enhanced laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectroscopy （SELDI-TOF-MS） is a currently new technique for detection of protein profiles, and some progresses have been made in cancer diagnosis and efficacy evaluation, but there is no report on efficacy forecasting of MG surgery. This study aimed to establish an efficacy prognosis model for forecasting the efficacy of surgery for MG by analysis of serum protein profiles of MG patients before surgery. Methods Fifty-six MG patients 6 months after extended thymectomy were enrolled in the study. They were classified into effective or non-effective groups according to symptoms and medication. Their pre-operative blood samples were analyzed for protein profiles by the SELDI-TOF MS technique, and protein peaks were identified for establishment of the efficacy prognosis model of MG surgery. Additional 100 MG patients were subjected to model validation and their pre-operation protein profiles reviewed for post-operative results. The results were compared with those of the post-operative follow-up so as to validate the prognosis model. Results For the model establishment, symptoms were improved in 33 patients and not improved in 18 patients, with an effective rate of 64.7%. Five （8.9%） patients were lost to follow-up. Within the molecular weight range of 1 000 to 20 000, 3 specific protein peaks were found to be significantly different between the effective and non-effective groups, ie M4110-76, M3394-58, and M1258-55. Using the efficacy prognosis model constructed with these data, the accuracy rate of classification was 87.9% for the effective group, and 83.3% for the non-effective group, with a total accuracy rate of 86.3%. For the model evaluation, 2 （8.9%） patients were lost to follow-up, 62 patients were effective and 36 were non- effective. By comparing with the real results of follow-up with 65 effective and 33 non-effective patients with an effective rate of 66.3%, the accuracy rate of prediction by the prognosis model was 86.2% for the effective group, and was 81.8% for the non-effective group with a total accuracy rate of 84.5%. Conclusions By protein profiles analysis of pre-operative blood samples taken from MG patients with the SELDI-TOF MS technique, protein peaks correlated with surgery efficacy in MG patients can be found for primary forecasting short-term efficacy of surgery for MG patients.