Abstract: In order to obtaining the dynamic evolution image of Tungsten array for foam padding, and to research the form of interaction between Tungsten plasma and foam column, a shadow imaging system of four-frame ultraviolet probe laser (266nm)has been designed on 1MA pulse power device. The time resolution of the system is 2.5ns, and static space resolution is superior to 70μm. The radial shadowgraphy image reveals the whole process from the melting and expansion of solid wire to the interaction of the precursor plasma and the foam, from the pinch to rebound inflation. The image shows the continuous interaction of Tungsten plasma and foam in a form of “Raining" within a time of about 50ns, the plasma shell structure has not been found in the whole period of pinch. The quantitative analysis indicates the minimum pinching speed of the foam column is 1.0×106cm/s, and maximum pinching speed is 6.0×106cm/s, and the axial stagnation diameter is approx 1mm.
Abstract: In electronegative-electropositive gas mixtures plasma, at a total pressure varying in the range of ten to hundred Torr, the appearance of a quasi-mochromatization effect of the emitted radiation was reported. This radiation could be the result of the generating mechanisms at molecular level, which is the case of the excimer radiation but also at atomic level. Thus, in the last case, in (Ne+1%Ar/Xe+H2) gas mixtures plasma in a dielectric barrier discharge, this effect, called M-effect, consists in the reduction of the discharge emission spectrum practice at one single, strong spectral line with λ = 585.3 nm. The present paper is concerned with the characteristics comparative investigation of the principal reaction mechanisms involved in the quasi-monochromatization effect existence in the case of the excimer radiation, respectively of the Meffect. Also, the paper points out the role of the metastable electronegative atoms in the appearance of the monochromatization – effect at atomic level.
Abstract: The present study has been conducted to characterize
the prophenoloxidase (PPO) system of the desert locust, Schistocerca
gregaria following injection of Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki (Bt).
The bulk of PPO system was associated with haemocytes and a little
amount was found in plasma. This system was activated by different
activators such as laminarin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and trypsin
suggesting that the stimulatory mechanism may involve an enzyme
cascade of one or more associated molecules. These activators did
not activate all the molecules of the cascade. Presence of
phenoloxidase activity (PO) coincides with the appearance of protein
band with molecular weight (MW) 70.154 KD (Kilo Dalton).
Abstract: Dynamics of laser radiation – metal target interaction
in water at 1064 nm by applying Mach-Zehnder interference
technique was studied. The mechanism of generating the well
developed regime of evaporation of a metal surface and a spherical
shock wave in water is proposed. Critical intensities of the NIR for
the well developed evaporation of silver and gold targets were
determined. Dynamics of shock waves was investigated for earlier
(dozens) and later (hundreds) nanoseconds of time. Transparent
expanding plasma-vapor-compressed water object was visualized and
measured. The thickness of compressed layer of water and pressures
behind the front of a shock wave for later time delays were obtained
from the optical treatment of interferograms.
Abstract: The current sheath dynamics in plasma focus facilities
is the most important factors. In this paper the current sheath velocity
at three dimensional with Sahand plasma focus facility is
investigated. For this purpose the discharge is produced in argon gas
with deposited energy lying in the range of 20-37kJ. The current
sheath is monitored using two tridimensional magnetic probes. These
probes installed near the surface of the interior electrode (anode) at
125mm from the anode axis (pinch place). The effect of gas pressure
on the current sheath velocity also is investigated.
Abstract: Recent studies demonstrated that high-fat diet increases oxidative stress in plasma and in a variety of tissues. Many researchers have been looking for natural products, which can reverse the effect of high fat diet. Recently, buckwheat is becoming common ingredient in functional food because of it properties. In study on buckwheat, it is known that, this plant plays roles as anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and anti-hypertensive. Nevertheless still little is known about buckwheat groats. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of addition of buckwheat groats to the fat diet (30% lard), on some antioxidant and oxidant stress parameters in plasma and selected tissues in Wistar rats. The experiment was carried out with three months old male Wistar rats ca. 250g of body weight fed for 5 weeks with either a high-fat (30% of lard) diet or control diet, with or without addition of buckwheat groats. In plasma biochemistry and the activities of the antioxidant enzymes were measured selected tissues: glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT) and the levels of total and reduced glutathione (GSH), free thiol groups (pSH), antioxidant potential of plasma (FRAP) and oxidant stress indices - proteins carbonyl groups (CO) and malonyldialdehyde concentration (MDA). Activity of catalase (CAT) in plasma of rats was significantly increased in buckwheat groats groups and activity of GPx3 in plasma of rats was decreased in buckwheat groups as compared to control group. The reduced glutathione (GSH) in plasma of rats was significantly increased and protein CO was significantly decreased in buckwheat groups as compared to controls. The lowered concentration of GSH was found in serum of rats fed buckwheat groats addition but it accompanied in 7-fold increase in reduced-to-oxidized glutatione ratio, significant increase in HDL and decrease in nonHDL concentration. Conclusions: Buckwheat groats indicate a beneficial effect in inhibiting protein and lipid peroxidation in rats and improved lipid profile. These results suggest that buckwheat groats exert a significant antioxidant potential and may be used as normal food constituent to ameliorate the oxidant-induced damage in organism.
Abstract: Neonatal lupus erythematous (NLE) is a rare disease marked by clinical characteristic and specific maternal autoantibody. Many cutaneous, cardiac, liver, and hematological manifestations could happen with affect of one organ or multiple. In this case, both babies were premature, low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA) and born through caesarean section from a systemic lupus erythematous (SLE) mother. In the first case, we found a baby girl with dyspnea and grunting. Chest X ray showed respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) great I and echocardiography showed small atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD). She also developed anemia, thrombocytopenia, elevated C-reactive protein, hypoalbuminemia, increasing coagulation factors, hyperbilirubinemia, and positive blood culture of Klebsiella pneumonia. Anti-Ro/SSA and Anti-nRNP/sm were positive. Intravenous fluid, antibiotic, transfusion of blood, thrombocyte concentrate, and fresh frozen plasma were given. The second baby, male presented with necrotic tissue on the left ear and skin rashes, erythematous macula, athropic scarring, hyperpigmentation on all of his body with various size and facial haemorrhage. He also suffered from thrombocytopenia, mild elevated transaminase enzyme, hyperbilirubinemia, anti-Ro/SSA was positive. Intravenous fluid, methyprednisolone, intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), blood, and thrombocyte concentrate transfution were given. Two cases of neonatal lupus erythematous had been presented. Diagnosis based on clinical presentation and maternal auto antibody on neonate. Organ involvement in NLE can occur as single or multiple manifestations.
Abstract: The Iranian bentonite was first characterized by
Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Inductively Coupled Plasma
mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray
Diffraction (XRD) and BET. The bentonite was then treated
thermally between 150°C-250°C at 15min, 45min and 90min and
also was activated chemically with different concentration of
sulphuric acid (3N, 5N and 10N). Although the results of thermal
activated-bentonite didn-t show any considerable changes in specific
surface area and Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), but the results of
chemical treated bentonite demonstrated that such properties have
been improved by acid activation process.
Abstract: The objective of this manuscript is to find area under the plasma concentration- time curve (AUC) for multiple doses of salbutamol sulphate sustained release tablets (Ventolin® oral tablets SR 8 mg, GSK, Pakistan) in the group of 18 healthy adults by using computational mathematics techniques. Following the administration of 4 doses of Ventolin® tablets 12 hourly to 24 healthy human subjects and bioanalysis of obtained plasma samples, plasma drug concentration-time profile was constructed. AUC, an important pharmacokinetic parameter, was measured using integrated equation of multiple oral dose regimens. The approximated AUC was also calculated by using computational mathematics techniques such as repeated rectangular, repeated trapezium and repeated Simpson's rule and compared with exact value of AUC calculated by using integrated equation of multiple oral dose regimens to find best computational mathematics method that gives AUC values closest to exact. The exact values of AUC for four consecutive doses of Ventolin® oral tablets were 150.5819473, 157.8131756, 164.4178231 and 162.78 ng.h/ml while the closest values approximated AUC values were 149.245962, 157.336171, 164.2585768 and 162.289224 ng.h/ml, respectively as found by repeated rectangular rule. The errors in the approximated values of AUC were negligible. It is concluded that all computational tools approximated values of AUC accurately but the repeated rectangular rule gives slightly better approximated values of AUC as compared to repeated trapezium and repeated Simpson's rules.
Abstract: Indium-tin oxide films are deposited by low plasma
temperature RF sputtering on highly flexible modification of glycol
polyethyleneterephtalate substrates. The produced layers are
characterized with transparency over 82 % and sheet resistance of
86.9 Ω/square. The film’s conductivity was further improved by
additional UV illumination from light source (365 nm), having power
of 250 W. The influence of the UV exposure dose on the structural
and electro-optical properties of ITO was investigated. It was
established that the optimum time of illumination is 10 minutes and
further UV treatment leads to polymer substrates degradation.
Structural and bonds type analysis show that at longer treatment
carbon atoms release and diffuse into ITO films, which worsen their
electrical behavior. For the optimum UV dose the minimum sheet
resistance was measured to be 19.2 Ω/square, and the maximum
transparency remained almost unchanged – above 82 %.
Abstract: Charging and discharging phenomenon on the surface
of materials can be found in plasma display panel, spacecraft
charging, high voltage insulator, etc. This report gives a simple
explanation on this phenomenon. A scanning electron microscope
was used not only as a tool to produce energetic electron beam to
charge an insulator without metallic coating and to produce a surface
discharging (surface breakdown/flashover) but also to observe the
visible charging and discharging on the sample surface. A model of
electric field distribution on the surface was developed in order to
explain charging and discharging phenomena. Since charging and
discharging process involves incubation time, therefore this process
can be used to evaluate the insulation property of materials under
electron bombardment.
Abstract: In this paper, a simple microfluidic device for monitoring algal cell behavior is proposed. An array of algal microwells is fabricated by PDMS soft-lithography using X-ray LIGA mold, placed on a glass substrate. Two layers of replicated PDMS and substrate are attached by oxygen plasma bonding, creating a microchannel for the microfluidic system. Algal cell are loaded into the microfluidic device, which provides positive charge on the bottom surface of wells. Algal cells, which are negative charged, can be attracted to the bottom of the wells via electrostatic interaction. By varying the concentration of algal cells in the loading suspension, it is possible to obtain wells with a single cell. Liquid medium for cells monitoring are flown continuously over the wells, providing nutrient and waste exchange between the well and the main flow. This device could lead to the uncovering of the quantitative biology of the algae, which is a key to effective and extensive algal utilizations in the field of biotechnology, food industry and bioenergy research and developments.
Abstract: There is strong evidence that water channel proteins
'aquaporins (AQPs)' are central components in plant-water relations
as well as a number of other physiological parameters. We had
previously reported the isolation of 24 plasma membrane intrinsic
protein (PIP) type AQPs. However, the gene numbers in rice and the
polyploid nature of bread wheat indicated a high probability of
further genes in the latter. The present work focused on identification
of further AQP isoforms in bread wheat. With the use of altered
primer design, we identified five genes homologous, designated
PIP1;5b, PIP2;9b, TaPIP2;2, TaPIP2;2a, TaPIP2;2b. Sequence
alignments indicate PIP1;5b, PIP2;9b are likely to be homeologues of
two previously reported genes while the other three are new genes
and could be homeologs of each other. The results indicate further
AQP diversity in wheat and the sequence data will enable physical
mapping of these genes to identify their genomes as well as genetic to
determine their association with any quantitative trait loci (QTLs)
associated with plant-water relation such as salinity or drought
tolerance.
Abstract: Toxoplasma gondii is an intracellular parasite capable
of infecting all nucleated cells in a diverse array of species.
Toxoplasma plaque assay have been described using Bacto Agar.
Because of its experimental advantages carboxymethyl cellulose
overlay, medium viscosity was choosing and the aim of this work
was to develop alternative method for formation of T. gondii plaques.
Tachyzoites were inoculated onto monolayers of Vero cells and
cultured at 37° C under 5 % CO2. The cultures were followed up by
microscopy inspection. Small plaques were visible by naphtol blue
stain 4 days after infection. Larger plaques could be observed by day
10 of culture. The carboxymethyl cellulose is a cheap reagent and the
methodology is easier, faster than assays under agar overlay. This is
the first description of the carboxymethyl cellulose overlay use for
obtaining the formation of T. gondii plaques and may be useful in
consequent obtaining tachyzoites for detailed studies.
Abstract: Evolution of one-dimensional electron system under
high-energy-density (HED) conditions is investigated, using the
principle of least-action and variational method. In a single-mode
modulation model, the amplitude and spatial wavelength of the
modulation are chosen to be general coordinates. Equations of motion
are derived by considering energy conservation and force balance.
Numerical results show that under HED conditions, electron density
modulation could exist. Time dependences of amplitude and
wavelength are both positively related to the rate of energy input.
Besides, initial loading speed has a significant effect on modulation
amplitude, while wavelength relies more on loading duration.
Abstract: Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a very toxic gas that is produced in very large quantities in the oil and gas industry. It cannot be flared to the atmosphere and Claus process based gas plants are used to recover the sulfur and convert the hydrogen to water. In this paper, we present optical characterization of an atmospheric pressure microwave plasma torch for H2S dissociation into hydrogen and sulfur. The torch is operated at 2.45 GHz with power up to 2 kW. Three different gases can simultaneously be injected in the plasma torch. Visual imaging and optical emission spectroscopy are used to characterize the plasma for varying gas flow rates and microwave power. The plasma length, emission spectra and temperature are presented. The obtained experimental results validate our earlier published simulation results of plasma torch.
Abstract: Plasma plume will be produced and arrive at spacecraft when the electric thruster operates on orbit. It-s important to characterize the thruster plasma parameters because the plume has significant effects or hazards on spacecraft sub-systems and parts. Through the ground test data of the desired parameters, the major characteristics of the thruster plume will be achieved. Also it is very important for optimizing design of Ion thruster. Retarding Potential Analyzer (RPA) is an effective instrument for plasma ion energy per unit charge distribution measurement. Special RPA should be designed according to certain plume plasma parameters range and feature. In this paper, major principles usable for good RPA design are discussed carefully. Conform to these principles, a four-grid planar electrostatic energy analyzer RPA was designed to avoid false data, and details were discussed including construction, materials, aperture diameter and so on. At the same time, it was designed more suitable for credible and long-duration measurements in the laboratory. In the end, RPA measurement results in the laboratory were given and discussed.
Abstract: (Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3 doped with 8 mol % BaTiO3 powder
(BNT-BT0.08), prepared by sol-gel method was compacted and
sintered by Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) process. The influence of
SPS temperature on the densification of BNT-BT0.08 ceramic was
investigated. Starting from sol-gel nanopowder of BNT-BT
containing 8 mol % BaTiO3 with an average particles size of about
30 nm, were obtained ceramics with density around 98 % of the
theoretical density value when the SPS temperature used was about
850 °C. The average grain size of the resulting ceramics was 80 nm.
The BNT-BT0.08 ceramic sample obtained by SPS method has shown
good electric properties at various frequencies.
Abstract: Titanium dioxide coatings were deposited by utilizing
atmospheric plasma spraying (APS) system. The agglomerated nanopowder
and different spraying parameters were used to determine
their influences on the microstructure surface feature and photoabsorption
of the coatings. The microstructure of as-sprayed TiO2
coatings were characterized by scanning electron microscope (SEM).
Surface characteristics were investigated by Fourier Transform
Infrared (FT-IR). The photo absorption was determined by UV-VIS
spectrophotometer. It is found that the spray parameters have an
influence on the microstructure, surface feature and photo-absorption
of the TiO2 coatings.
Abstract: Nonlinear solitary structures of electron plasma waves
have been investigated by using nonlinear quantum fluid equations for electrons with an arbitrary temperature. It is shown that the electron degeneracy parameter has significant effects on the linear and nonlinear properties of electron plasma waves. Depending on its
value both compressive and rarefactive solitons can be excited in the model plasma under consideration.