Inference of molecular divertor density from filtered camera analysis of molecularly induced Balmer line emission during detachment in JET L-mode plasmas

A previously presented Monte Carlo method for estimating local plasma conditions in 2D based on intensity ratios of deuterium Balmer D α , D γ and D ɛ lines was amended to consider also the D α and D γ emission contributions arising from molecular processes. The obtained estimates were used to infer the molecular divertor density with the help of the molecular databases of EIRENE. The method was benchmarked against EDGE2D-EIRENE simulations and observed to reproduce the molecularly induced emission fractions and the molecular divertor densities primarily within 25% of the references. Experimental analysis of a JET L-mode density scan suggested molecularly induced D α and D γ contributions of up to 60–70% and 20%, respectively, during the process of detachment. The independent estimates of the molecular divertor density inferred from the obtained molecularly induced D α and D γ intensities agree within uncertainties with each other. Both estimates show the molecular density increasing up to approximately 1.0–2.0 × 1020 m−3 at the outer strike point in deep detachment with its ratio to the local electron density agreeing with EDGE2D-EIRENE predictions within the scatter of the experimental data.

A Study on Nano-Flow Control of Bio-Inspired Nanosized Ion Channel

This study presents the possibility of control of nanofluidics in the bio-inspired nanosized ion channel using a field effect transistor (FET) structure. We analyzed effects from main dominant factors to control the ion flow in nanosized channel such as electro-osmosis, diffusion effect, Coulomb force between ions and pressure force. Additionally, we suggest a strategy to control the ion flow accurately at the specific position in the nanochannel by handling the viscosity, ion molecular density, pressure, gate and trans-cis voltages of FET structure.

Nanoscale organization of Nicastrin, the substrate receptor of the γ-secretase complex, as independent molecular domains

Alterations in the canonical processing of Amyloid Precursor Protein generate proteoforms that contribute to the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease. Modified composition of γ-secretase or mutations in its subunits has been directly linked to altered generation of Amyloid beta. Despite biochemical evidence about the role of γ-secretase in the generation of APP, the molecular origin of how spatial heterogeneity in the generation of proteoforms arises is not well understood. Here, we evaluated the localization of Nicastrin, a γ-secretase subunit, at nanometer sized functional zones of the synapse. With the help of super resolution microscopy, we confirm that Nicastrin is organized into nanodomains of high molecular density within an excitatory synapse. A similar nanoorganization was also observed for APP and the catalytic subunit of γ-secretase, Presenilin 1, that were discretely associated with Nicastrin nanodomains. Though Nicastrin is a functional subunit of γ-secretase, the Nicastrin and Presenilin1 nanodomains were either colocalized or localized independent of each other. The Nicastrin and Presenilin domains highlight a potential independent regulation of these molecules different from their canonical secretase function. The collisions between secretases and substrate molecules decide the probability and rate of product formation for transmembrane proteolysis. Our observations of secretase nanodomains indicate a spatial difference in the confinement of substrate and secretases, affecting the local probability of product formation by increasing their molecular availability, resulting in differential generation of proteoforms even within single synapses.