Descripción: Plasma temperature and radial density profiles of the plasma species in a high energy density cutting arc have been obtained by using a quantitative schlieren technique. A Z-type two-mirror schlieren system was used in this research. Due to its great sensibility such technique allows measuring plasma composition and temperature from the arc axis to the surrounding medium by processing the gray-level contrast values of digital schlieren images recorded at the observation plane for a given position of a transverse knife located at the exit focal plane of the system. The technique has provided a good visualization of the plasma flow emerging from the nozzle and its interactions with the surrounding medium and the anode. The obtained temperature values are in good agreement with those values previously obtained by the authors on the same torch using Langmuir probes. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: A two-wavelength quantitative Schlieren technique that allows inferring the electron and gas densities of axisymmetric arc plasmas without imposing any assumption regarding statistical equilibrium models is reported. This technique was applied to the study of local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) departures within the core of a 30 A high-energy density cutting arc. In order to derive the electron and heavy particle temperatures from the inferred density profiles, a generalized two-temperature Saha equation together with the plasma equation of state and the quasineutrality condition were employed. Factors such as arc fluctuations that influence the accuracy of the measurements and the validity of the assumptions used to derive the plasma species temperature were considered. Significant deviations from chemical equilibrium as well as kinetic equilibrium were found at elevated electron temperatures and gas densities toward the arc core edge. An electron temperature profile nearly constant through the arc core with a value of about 14000-15000 K, well decoupled from the heavy particle temperature of about 1500 K at the arc core edge, was inferred. © 2011 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: A Three-Dimensional Finite Volume Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian simulation code was developed to study different plasma physics problems in 3D+t. The code is based on a complex multi-component species program with transport and radiation terms written and applied to plasma and fusion physics problems. Three different examples are shown: double-base chemical propellant combustion, ignition and propagation of a thermonuclear detonation wave, and, the development of the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) instability in local plane slab models of the magnetopause, showing the response of a background equilibrium to the excitation by finite amplitude perturbations generated upstream. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Descripción: A Three-Dimensional Finite Volume Arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian simulation code was developed to study different plasma physics problems in 3D+t. The code is based on a complex multi-component species program with transport and radiation terms written and applied to plasma and fusion physics problems. The integration domain is represented with a structured irregular mesh, with fixed connectivity made of hexahedral cells. Coordinates and velocities are assigned to cell vertices. After each calculation cycle, mesh vertices are moved arbitrary over the fluid. The adaptive method consists of shifting mesh vertices over the fluid in order to keep a reasonable mesh structure and increase the spatial resolution where the physical solution demands. The code was a valuable tool for parametric study of different physical problems, mainly optimization of Plasma Focus Machine, detonation and propagation of thermonuclear reactions, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instabilities in the boundary layer of the terrestrial magnetopause. © 2009 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Descripción: We analyze two magnetic clouds (MCs) observed in different points of the heliosphere. The main aim of the present study is to provide a link between the different aspects of this phenomenon, starting with information on the origins of the MCs at the Sun and following by the analysis of in-situ observations at 1 AU and at Ulysses. The candidate source regions were identified in SOHO/EIT and SOHO/MDI observations. They were correlated with H-± images that were obtained from ground-based observatories. Hints on the internal magnetic field configuration of the associated coronal mass ejections are obtained from LASCO C2 images. In interplanetary space, magnetic and plasma moments of the distribution function of plasma species (ACE/Ulysses) were analyzed together with information on the plasma composition, and the results were compared between both spacecraft in order to understand how these structures interact and evolve in their cruise from the Sun to 5 AU. Additionally, estimates of global magnitudes of magnetic fluxes and helicity were obtained from magnetic field models applied to the data in interplanetary space. We have found that these magnetic characteristics were well kept from their solar source, up to 5 AU where Ulysses provided valuable information which, together with that obtained from ACE, can help to reinforce the correct matching of solar events and their interplanetary counterparts.

Descripción: A study is presented of the role of cholesterol content on the gel-to-liquid crystalline phase transition of freeze-dried liposomes stabilized with trehalose, a well known lyoprotectant. The phospholipids considered in this work, DPPC and DPPE, belong to the two predominant phospholipid species found in numerous biological membranes. Cholesterol is found in abundance in mammalian plasma membranes. DSC measurements reveal that cholesterol-containing liposomes exhibit multiple phase transitions upon dehydration. Addition of trehalose to these systems lowers the phase transition temperature and limits the phase separation of the lipidic components upon freeze-drying. This work provides strong evidence for the effectiveness of trehalose in stabilizing cholesterol-containing membranes upon lyophilization. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Descripción: To gain insights into the natural variation of root hydraulics and its molecular components, genotypic differences related to root water transport and plasma membrane intrinsic protein (PIP) aquaporin expression were investigated in 13 natural accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana). The hydraulic conductivity of excised root systems (Lpr) showed a 2-fold variation among accessions. The contribution of aquaporins to water uptake was characterized using as inhibitors mercury, propionic acid, and azide. The aquaporin-dependent and -independent paths of water transport made variable contributions to the total hydraulic conductivity in the different accessions. The distinct suberization patterns observed among accessions were not correlated with their root hydraulic properties. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction revealed, by contrast, a positive overall correlation between Lpr and certain highly expressed PIP transcripts. Root hydraulic responses to salt stress were characterized in a subset of five accessions (Bulhary-1, Catania-1, Columbia-0, Dijon-M, and Monte-Tosso-0 [Mr-0]). Lpr was down-regulated in all accessions except Mr-0. In Mr-0 and Catania-1, cortical cell hydraulic conductivity was unresponsive to salt, whereas it was down-regulated in the three other accessions. By contrast, the five accessions showed qualitatively similar aquaporin transcriptional profiles in response to salt. The overall work provides clues on how hydraulic regulation allows plant adaptation to salt stress. It also shows that a wide range of root hydraulic profiles, as previously reported in various species, can be observed in a single model species. This work paves the way for a quantitative genetics analysis of root hydraulics. © 2011 American Society of Plant Biologists.