ALBERT

Description: Magnetic field data obtained by the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft in the heliosphere from 1972-1982 and earth orbiting satellite data are examined in terms of radial and latitudinal gradients in the field components and magnitude. The data reveal that higher than expected gradients are observed in the magnetic field and time variations affect the field throughout the low-latitude heliosphere. It is determined that the high radial gradient is caused by meridional flux transport with low-latitude field lines moving to higher heliographic latitudes. High pressure near the solar equator and pressure due to heating in compressive solar wind interaction regions and the large field magnitudes that occur in these regions are investigated as mechanisms that produce the meridional flux. A solar cycle variation in the level of flux transport is analyzed.

Description: Observations of the azimuthal component of the IMF are evaluated through the use of an MHD model which shows the effect of magnetic flux tubes opening in the outer solar system. It is demonstrated that the inferred meridional transport of magnetic flux is consistent with predictions by the MHD model. The computed azimuthal and radial magnetic flux deficits are almost identical to the observations. It is suggested that the simplest interpretation of the observations is that meridional flows are created by a direct body force on the plasma. This is consistent with the analytic model of Nerney and Suess (1975), in which such flux deficits in the IMF arise naturally from the meridional gradient in the spiralling field.

Description: The magnetic field data from the Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft show that the field directions between 1 and 8.5 AU are in accordance with the Parker spiral directions within quiet and interaction regions. The included angle between the inward and outward sectored field directions is near 180 deg; the field direction manifests greater variability in quiet regions than in interaction zones. The fractional polarities below 10 deg heliographic latitude are dominated by temporal variations; however, dual-spacecraft investigations permitted a significant latitudinal gradient to be extracted. The sector structure extended occasionally to 16 deg heliographic latitude during the period of average current sheet inclination in 1976; it is proposed that the fast streams associated with interaction regions may move the current sheet to higher latitudes when the source of the fast plasma is in the southern solar hemisphere.

Description: Canavalin crystals grown from material purified and not purified by High Performance Liquid Chromatography were studied by atomic force microscopy and x-ray diffraction. After purification, resolution was improved from 2.55Angstroms to 2.22Angstroms and jagged isotropic spiral steps transformed into regular, well polygonized steps.

Description: High angular-resolution x-ray diffraction and phase contrast x-ray imaging were combined to study defects and perfection of protein crystals. Imperfections including line defects, inclusions and other microdefects were observed in the diffraction images of a uniformly grown lysozyme crystal. The observed line defects carry distinct dislocation features running approximately along the 〈110〉 growth front and have been found to originate mostly in a central growth area and occasionally in outer growth regions. Slow dehydration led to the broadening of a fairly symmetric 4 4 0 rocking curve by a factor of approximately 2.6, which was primarily attributed to the dehydration-induced microscopic effects that are clearly shown in diffraction images. X-ray imaging and diffraction characterization of the quality of apoferritin crystals will also be discussed in the presentation.

Description: Ferritin is a well-known iron-storage protein, and is a spherical shell that consists of 24 identical subunits packed in a 432 symmetry. The typically large protein size and its distinction from lysozyme as to chemical and physical characteristics make ferritin an attractive model protein for crystal growth and perfection investigation-as an alternative to the most widely studied lysozyme. In this contribution, the latest results obtained from coherence-based x-ray diffraction imaging and diffraction experiments will be presented on octahedral apoferritin (a demetalized form of ferritin) crystals grown from various growth conditions. Crystal specimens, which have the measured rocking-curve widths varying from a few arcseconds to several tens arcseconds (or more), are comparatively examined by intrinsically highly sensitive mapping of lattice perfection and defects. The richness of the observed defects and growth features offers insight into perfection and growth of protein crystals. Beautiful interference fringe patterns formed in diffraction images and fine oscillation structure of rocking curves observed will be discussed for understanding of physical origins and the underlying impact.

Description: Characterization of defects and/or disorder in biological macromolecular crystals presents much greater challenges than in conventional small-molecule crystals. The lack of sufficient contrast of defects is often a limiting factor in x-ray diffraction topography of protein crystals. This has seriously hampered efforts to understand mechanisms and origins of formation of imperfections, and the role of defects as essential entities in the bulk of macromolecular crystals. In this report, we employ a phase sensitive x-ray diffraction imaging approach for augmenting the contrast of defects in protein crystals.

Description: Recently. much progress has been made in understanding the nucleation and crystallization of globular proteins, including the formation of compositional and structural crystal defects, Insight into the interactions of (screened) protein macro-ions in solution, obtained from light scattering, small angle X-ray scattering and osmotic pressure studies. can guide the search for crystallization conditions. These studies show that the nucleation of globular proteins is governed by the same principles as that of small molecules. However, failure to account for direct and indirect (hydrodynamic) protein interactions in the solutions results in unrealistic aggregation scenarios. Microscopic studies of numerous proteins reveal that crystals grow by the attachment of growth units through the same layer-spreading mechanisms as inorganic crystals. Investigations of the growth kinetics of hen-egg-white lysozyme (HEWL) reveal non-steady behavior under steady external conditions. Long-term variations in growth rates are due to changes in step-originating dislocation groups. Fluctuations on a shorter timescale reflect the non-linear dynamics of layer growth that results from the interplay between interfacial kinetics and bulk transport. Systematic gel electrophoretic analyses suggest that most HEWL crystallization studies have been performed with material containing other proteins at percent levels. Yet, sub-percent levels of protein impurities impede growth step propagation and play a role in the formation of structural/compositional inhomogeneities. In crystal growth from highly purified HEWL solutions, however, such inhomogeneities are much weaker and form only in response to unusually large changes in growth conditions. Equally important for connecting growth conditions to crystal perfection and diffraction resolution are recent advances in structural characterization through high-resolution Bragg reflection profiling and X-ray topography.

Description: Low-dispersion UV spectra taken by the IUE satellite of an S star HD 35155 are presented. It is shown that the spectra contain strong emission lines of multiply ionizes species and an excess continuous emission shortward of 2000 A. Because neither the photospheres nor chromospheres of S stars are expected to produce multiply ionized ions, the emission lines and the excess short-wave emission seen in the HD 35155 spectra are interpreted as an evidence of the presence of a hot nearby compact companion. Some inferences regarding the compact companion and the possible location of the source of the emission lines of multiply ionized ions are discussed.