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Biomedical subjects

M Drescher

Publications and source records attributed to M Drescher.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Design, fabrication, and analysis of chirped multilayer mirrors for reflection of extreme-ultraviolet attosecond pulses.

Chirped Mo/Si multilayer coatings have been designed, fabricated, and characterized for use in extreme-ultraviolet attosecond experiments. By numerically simulating the reflection of the attosecond pulse from a multilayer mirror during the optimization procedure based on a genetic algorithm, we obtain optimized layer designs. We show that normal incidence chirped multilayer mirrors capable of reflecting pulses of approximately 100 attoseconds (as) duration can be designed by enhancing the reflectivity bandwidth and optimizing the phase-shift behavior. The chirped multilayer coatings have been fabricated by electron-beam evaporation in an ultrahigh vacuum in combination with ion-beam polishing of the interfaces and in situ reflectivity measurement for layer thickness control. To analyze the aperiodic layer structure by hard-x-ray reflectometry, we have developed an automatic fitting procedure that allows us to determine the individual layer thicknesses with an error of less than 0.05 nm. The fabricated chirped mirror may be used for production of 150-160 as pulses.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Control of electron localization in molecular dissociation.

We demonstrated how the subcycle evolution of the electric field of light can be used to control the motion of bound electrons. Results are presented for the dissociative ionization of deuterium molecules (D2 --> D+ + D), where asymmetric ejection of the ionic fragment reveals that light-driven intramolecular electronic motion before dissociation localizes the electron on one of the two D+ ions in a controlled way. The results extend subfemtosecond electron control to molecules and provide evidence of its usefulness in controlling reaction dynamics.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2006

Conduction-electron drift velocity measurement via electron spin resonance.

In analogy with NMR, motion induced phase shift of pulsed ESR signals enables in principle the direct detection of electron drift velocity or electronic current, respectively. Overcoming the difficulties with additional magnetic field gradients induced by the current itself, we succeeded in demonstrating the detection of electron flow via ESR. Measuring the electron drift velocity in the organic conductor (fluoranthene)2PF6 the microscopic Ohmic law could be observed in a current range of more than +/-0.25 A.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2005

Zebralike patterned organic conductor with periodic modulation of mobility and Peierls transition.

We manipulated the defect concentration in a (fluoranthene)2PF6 crystal by proton irradiation through a periodic grid, resulting in a striped defect pattern. Spatially resolved pulsed X-band ESR analysis was used to quantify the resulting local defect concentrations, spin diffusion coefficients, and electron spin concentrations. The temperature dependence of the data proves that spin diffusion coefficient and Peierls transition can be tailored in a controlled way via the defect concentrations.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Direct measurement of light waves.

The electromagnetic field of visible light performs approximately 10(15) oscillations per second. Although many instruments are sensitive to the amplitude and frequency (or wavelength) of these oscillations, they cannot access the light field itself. We directly observed how the field built up and disappeared in a short, few-cycle pulse of visible laser light by probing the variation of the field strength with a 250-attosecond electron burst. Our apparatus allows complete characterization of few-cycle waves of visible, ultraviolet, and/or infrared light, thereby providing the possibility for controlled and reproducible synthesis of ultrabroadband light waveforms.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2004

Large-scale homogeneous molecular templates for femtosecond time-resolved studies of the guest-host interaction.

Self-assembled monolayer films based on iodobenzoyloxy-functionalized resorc[4]arenes were prepared on gold substrates to serve as model systems for future time-resolved studies of molecular recognition, a mechanism of outstanding importance in bioorganic systems. The film properties were tested using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and imaging ellipsometry. An apparatus for time-resolved electron spectroscopy utilizing femtosecond soft X-ray pulses is capable of detecting iodine core-level photolines and the photoinduced dissociation after ultraviolet illumination. The developed technique holds promise for tracking the temporal evolution of chemical shifts of atomic markers as local probes for the dynamics of the guest-host interaction.

Benzoates↗
PubMed2004

Effects of cyclic longitudinal mechanical strain and dexamethasone on osteogenic differentiation of human bone marrow stromal cells.

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of cyclic mechanical strain on differentiation markers in the presence or absence of dexamethasone. Human bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC) from seven donors (32.5+/-6.2 years) were cultivated with (D+) or without (D-) dexamethasone. A cyclic mechanical strain with an elongation of 2% (D+2; D-2) or 8% (D+8; D-8) was applied for three days with a stimulation time of three times two hours each day. Levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and osteocalcin (OC) were compared after time intervals of four and seven days. mRNA expression of Collagen I, III and Cbfa1 was investigated after one, four, and seven days. ALP levels were significantly increased in the D+8 group after four and seven days (147.1+/-6.3%; p<0.05 and 168.6+/-6,5%; p<0.03) and in the D-8 group after 7 days (197.4+/-10.4; p<0.04). Cyclic strain had a significant influence on ALP-secretion (F=7.5; p<0.01). In the D-8 group there was a significant increase in OC secretion after 4 days (140.9+/-12.5%; p<0.05).; p<0.01). The effect of stretching was significantly stronger than that of dexamethasone (F=17.2 vs. 1.8). Collagen I (Col I) expression was upregulated in D+8 cultures after 4 days (215.0+/-53.3 p<0.04) and after seven days (166.7+/-55.7; p<0.04). Collagen III (Col III) expression was upregulated in D+2 and D+8 cultures after 4 days (200.7+/-16.3 and 185.9+/-12.7; p<0.04) and after seven days (154.4+/-10.1 and 118.8+/-16.4; p<0.04). There was a significant increase of Cbfa1 expression in D+8 cultures at all investigated time intervals (day 1: 105.5+/-3.7%; day 4: 104.7+/-3.0%; day 7: 104.4+/-2.1%; p<0.03). Stretching (F=20.0; p<0.01) was a stronger contributor to Cbfa-1 expression than dexamethasone (F=12.1; p<0.01). Cyclical mechanical stimulation with 8% elongation increases ALP and OC levels and upregulates Col I and III synthesis and Cbfa1 expression. In the short term, cyclical stretching is a stronger differentiation factor than dexamethasone. Cyclical stretching and dexamethasone both enhance the osteogenic commitment of hBMSC.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Atomic transient recorder.

In Bohr's model of the hydrogen atom, the electron takes about 150 attoseconds (1 as = 10(-18) s) to orbit around the proton, defining the characteristic timescale for dynamics in the electronic shell of atoms. Recording atomic transients in real time requires excitation and probing on this scale. The recent observation of single sub-femtosecond (1 fs = 10(-15) s) extreme ultraviolet (XUV) light pulses has stimulated the extension of techniques of femtochemistry into the attosecond regime. Here we demonstrate the generation and measurement of single 250-attosecond XUV pulses. We use these pulses to excite atoms, which in turn emit electrons. An intense, waveform-controlled, few cycle laser pulse obtains 'tomographic images' of the time-momentum distribution of the ejected electrons. Tomographic images of primary (photo)electrons yield accurate information of the duration and frequency sweep of the excitation pulse, whereas the same measurements on secondary (Auger) electrons will provide insight into the relaxation dynamics of the electronic shell following excitation. With the current approximately 750-nm laser probe and approximately 100-eV excitation, our transient recorder is capable of resolving atomic electron dynamics within the Bohr orbit time.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Time-resolved atomic inner-shell spectroscopy.

The characteristic time constants of the relaxation dynamics of core-excited atoms have hitherto been inferred from the linewidths of electronic transitions measured by continuous-wave extreme ultraviolet or X-ray spectroscopy. Here we demonstrate that a laser-based sampling system, consisting of a few-femtosecond visible light pulse and a synchronized sub-femtosecond soft X-ray pulse, allows us to trace these dynamics directly in the time domain with attosecond resolution. We have measured a lifetime of 7.9(-0.9)(+1.0) fs of M-shell vacancies of krypton in such a pump-probe experiment.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Experimental verification of quadrupole-dipole interference in spin-resolved photoionization.

We have measured the spin polarization of Xe (4p)(-1) photoelectrons after ionization with circularly polarized light at photon energies close to the ionization threshold where a resonant enhancement of quadrupole transitions has recently been predicted. At a reaction angle of 90 degrees a nonvanishing longitudinal spin polarization component of about 4% clearly indicates a quadrupole contribution to the photoexcitation. This is the first experimental evidence for the influence of nondipole transitions on the photoionization process at excitation energies much below 1 keV in an observable other than the intensity angular distribution.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2002

Steering attosecond electron wave packets with light.

Photoelectrons excited by extreme ultraviolet or x-ray photons in the presence of a strong laser field generally suffer a spread of their energies due to the absorption and emission of laser photons. We demonstrate that if the emitted electron wave packet is temporally confined to a small fraction of the oscillation period of the interacting light wave, its energy spectrum can be up- or downshifted by many times the laser photon energy without substantial broadening. The light wave can accelerate or decelerate the electron's drift velocity, i.e., steer the electron wave packet like a classical particle. This capability strictly relies on a sub-femtosecond duration of the ionizing x-ray pulse and on its timing to the phase of the light wave with a similar accuracy, offering a simple and potentially single-shot diagnostic tool for attosecond pump-probe spectroscopy.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

Attosecond metrology.

The generation of ultrashort pulses is a key to exploring the dynamic behaviour of matter on ever-shorter timescales. Recent developments have pushed the duration of laser pulses close to its natural limit-the wave cycle, which lasts somewhat longer than one femtosecond (1 fs = 10-15 s) in the visible spectral range. Time-resolved measurements with these pulses are able to trace dynamics of molecular structure, but fail to capture electronic processes occurring on an attosecond (1 as = 10-18 s) timescale. Here we trace electronic dynamics with a time resolution of </= 150 as by using a subfemtosecond soft-X-ray pulse and a few-cycle visible light pulse. Our measurement indicates an attosecond response of the atomic system, a soft-X-ray pulse duration of 650 +/- 150 as and an attosecond synchronism of the soft-X-ray pulse with the light field. The demonstrated experimental tools and techniques open the door to attosecond spectroscopy of bound electrons.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2001

X-ray pulses approaching the attosecond frontier.

Single soft-x-ray pulses of approximately 90-electron volt (eV) photon energy are produced by high-order harmonic generation with 7-femtosecond (fs), 770-nanometer (1.6 eV) laser pulses and are characterized by photoionizing krypton in the presence of the driver laser pulse. By detecting photoelectrons ejected perpendicularly to the laser polarization, broadening of the photoelectron spectrum due to absorption and emission of laser photons is suppressed, permitting the observation of a laser-induced downshift of the energy spectrum with sub-laser-cycle resolution in a cross correlation measurement. We measure isolated x-ray pulses of 1.8 (+0.7/-1.2) fs in duration, which are shorter than the oscillation cycle of the driving laser light (2.6 fs). Our techniques for generation and measurement offer sub-femtosecond resolution over a wide range of x-ray wavelengths, paving the way to experimental attosecond science. Tracing atomic processes evolving faster than the exciting light field is within reach.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

Sudden interchannel interaction in the Tl 6p ionization above the 5d threshold

The linear magnetic dichroism in the angular distribution of Tl 5d and 6p photoelectrons and their dynamical spin polarization have been measured between hnu = 30 and 50 eV. In contrast to the Xe 5p photoionization at the 4d threshold, our results show that above the Tl 5d threshold strong interchannel coupling effects induce a sudden increase in the asymptotic phase difference of the s and d waves for the Tl 6p ionization. This shows that the valence excitation is different for resonant (Xe 4d) and nonresonant (Tl 5d) excitation from subvalence shells.

Journal Article↗
PubMed2000

How Stable Are Epoxides? A Novel Synthesis of Epothilone B.

Remarkable stability of the oxirane function is displayed over a number of synthetic operations in a novel synthesis of the antitumor compound epothilone B (see scheme). The cis-epoxide, generated very early by dihydroxylation of an (E)-olefin, was resistant to more than ten synthetic steps under a wide variety of reaction conditions. TBS=tert-butyldimethylsilyl.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1996

De novo AML with dysplastic hematopoiesis: cytogenetic and prognostic significance.

Dysplastic hematopoiesis is the morphological hallmark of myelodysplastic syndromes. Dysplastic features in one or more lineages are also found frequently in bone marrow aspirates from patients with de novo AML and have been associated with an unfavorable prognosis. We asked whether dyshematopoiesis is an independent prognostic factor or an indicator of unrecognized secondary leukemia, identified by characteristic chromosomal abnormalities. Bone marrow aspirates from 102 patients with newly diagnosed AML were analyzed. Morphological analysis was obtained in all patients, flow cytometric analysis in 96 and successful cytogenetic analysis in 65 bone marrow aspirates. Dysgranulopoiesis (DysG) was found in 55, dysmegakaryopoiesis (DysM) in 32 and dyserythropoiesis (DysE) in 23 patients. Decreased side scatter signals of neutrophils in the flow cytometric analysis (DysS) were detected in 32 patients. DysG and DysS showed a highly significant correlation (P = 0.0005). DysG was an adverse negative prognostic factor for remission rate and event-free survival (P = 0.04, P = 0.02). An unfavorable karyotype was associated with a significantly lower chance for event-free survival (P = 0.002). The incidence of an unfavorable karyotype was significantly higher in patients with DysG (P = 0.01), DysM (P = 0.02) and DysS (P = 0.01). In patients with an unfavorable karyotype, dysplasia had no additional prognostic influence, however, in patients with a normal, favorable or prognostically uncertain karyotype DysG remained a predictor of lower remission rate (P = 0.03). We conclude that dysgranulopoiesis, dysmegakaryopoiesis and decreased side scatter signals of neutrophils are indicators of secondary leukemias in bone marrow aspirates from patients with de novo AML.

Bone Marrow↗