Electron emission at locked phases from the laser-driven surface plasma wave.

By irradiating a flat Al target with femtosecond laser pulses at moderate intensities of ∼10(17) W/cm(2), we obtained stable collimated quasimonoenergetic electrons in the specular direction but deviated somewhat toward the target normal. An associated local minimum located on the other side of the specular direction seems to indicate that the peak actually results from the deflection of the collimated electrons from their initial ejection direction. We have proposed a two-step model in which some laser-accelerated electrons are able to leave the plasma in a narrow phase-locked window of the moving wave interference pattern, and are then steered toward the target normal by the ponderomotive force of the interference field. The periodic repetition of the electron emission leads to a pulse train of collimated quasimonoenergetic electrons with subcycle duration.

Influence of pointing fluctuation on intense laser beams propagation in plasma channels.

An off-axis incident model is presented to analyze the influence of beam pointing fluctuation on the propagation properties of intense laser beams in plasma channels. The equations for the beam spot size and centroid are obtained by applying the variational method. The beam pointing fluctuation contributes additional focusing effect by amplifying relativistic self-focusing, leading to periodically modified oscillations of the spot size. The beam centroid oscillates along the channel axis with the amplitude close to its initial off-axis displacement, while the oscillation frequency is scaled as the square of the dimensionless channel strength parameter.

Acrolein Scavenger Hydralazine Prevents Streptozotocin-Induced Painful Diabetic Neuropathy and Spinal Neuroinflammation in Rats.

Diabetes-induced neuropathic pain (DNP) substantially influences people's life qualities. Hyperglycemia-induced excess free radicals have been considered as the most critical mechanisms underlying DNP. As an unsaturated aldehyde and a reactive product of lipid peroxidation, acrolein plays critical roles in diabetic nephropathy and inflammatory pain. We sought to determine whether acrolein is involved in DNP in this study. Diabetes was induced by a single intraperitoneal (i.p.) injection of 60 mg/kg streptozotocin (STZ). An acrolein scavenger hydralazine (5 mg/kg) was administered through a daily injection for 4 weeks, starting immediately within 30 min after STZ injection. Western blot showed that hydralazine could effectively inhibit STZ-induced upregulation of acrolein in the spinal dorsal horn on day 7-28 after STZ injection. Behavioral tests showed that STZ injection induced significant mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia, which could be alleviated by hydralazine. Immunofluorescent histochemistry and Western blot showed that STZ induced significant microglial activation. ELISA data indicated upregulation of inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and TNF-α expression in the spinal dorsal horn. Furthermore, hydralazine effectively attenuated microglial activation and expression of inflammatory mediators. Our data indicate that acrolein might be involved in the development of neuroinflammation and behavioral consequences of DNP. Anat Rec, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Anat Rec, 300:1858-1864, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Note: Low density and long plasma channels generated by laser transversely ignited ablative capillary discharges.

A technique is developed to reduce the jitter associated with ablative capillary discharges. A laser pulse propagating perpendicularly to the axis of the capillary and focused onto a copper wire creates a plasma that initiates the discharge. This transverse laser ignition method has several advantages over previous techniques employing a laser pulse collinear with the capillary, including increased capillary lifetime and simpler arrangement of the igniting and the driving pulses for laser-wakefield acceleration. Using this technique long, low density plasma channels are produced with low jitter.