Interaction of microwave radiation undergoing stochastic phase jumps with plasmas or gases

New types of beam-plasma devices generating intense stochastic microwave radiation in the interaction of electron beams with hybrid plasma waveguides were developed and put into operation at the National Science Center Kharkov Institute of Physics and Technology (Ukraine). The objective of the paper is to discuss the results of theoretical and experimental studies and numerical simulations of the normal and oblique incidence of linearly polarized electromagnetic waves on an interface between a vacuum and an overcritical plasma. The main results of the reported investigations are as follows: (i) for the parameter values under analysis, the transmission coefficient for microwaves with a stochastically jumping phase is one order of magnitude greater than that for a broadband regular electromagnetic wave with the same spectral density; (ii) the electrons are heated most efficiently by obliquely incident waves with a stochastically jumping phase and, in addition, the electron distribution function has a high-energy tail; and (iii) necessary conditions for gas breakdown and for the initiation of a microwave discharge in stochastic fields in a light source are determined. The anomalously large transmission coefficient for microwaves, the anomalous character of the breakdown conditions, the anomalous behavior of microwave gas discharges, and the anomalous nature of collisionless electron heating, are attributed to stochastic jumps in the phase of microwave radiation.     

Characterization of PR-10 genes from eight Betula species and detection of Bet v 1 isoforms in birch pollen

Background  

Bet v 1 is an important cause of hay fever in northern Europe. Bet v 1 isoforms from the European white birch (Betula pendula) have been investigated extensively, but the allergenic potency of other birch species is unknown. The presence of Bet v 1 and closely related PR-10 genes in the genome was established by amplification and sequencing of alleles from eight birch species that represent the four subgenera within the genus Betula. Q-TOF LC-MS^E was applied to identify which PR-10/Bet v 1 genes are actually expressed in pollen and to determine the relative abundances of individual isoforms in the pollen proteome.     

Plasma electronics and plasma acceleration of charged particles

Preliminary results are summarized from studies on plasma electronics and plasma acceleration of charged particles, recent advances in this field are analyzed, and the challenging problems are outlined.     

Investigation of low-frequency waves in plasma-filled microwave oscillators

The excitation of microwave oscillations by an electron beam in a hybrid plasma waveguide—a slow-wave structure (a sequence of inductively coupled resonators) with a plasma-filled transport channel—is studied both experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that the governing role in the generation of microwaves and their transmission to a feeder line is played by the spatial and temporal plasma-density variations associated with low-frequency ion plasma oscillations. The microwave pressure gives rise to low-frequency plasma oscillations with a rise time shorter than their period. This nonlinear mechanism for the excitation of low-frequency oscillations has a threshold in terms of the microwave power. The unsteady character of the spatial distribution of the plasma density results in intermittent microwave generation and shortens the duration of microwave pulses.     

Recent advances in ABE fermentation: hyper-butanol producing Clostridium beijerinckii BA101

This is an overview of the mutant strain Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 which produces solvents (acetone–butanol–ethanol, ABE) at elevated levels. This organism expresses high levels of amylases when grown on starch. C. beijerinckii BA101 hydrolyzes starch effectively and produces solvent in the concentration range of 27–29 g l⁻¹. C. beijerinckii BA101 has been characterized for both substrate and butanol inhibition. Supplementing the fermentation medium (MP2) with sodium acetate enhances solvent production to 33 g l⁻¹. The results of studies utilizing commercial fermentation medium and pilot plant-scale reactors are consistent with the results using small-scale reactors. Pervaporation, a technique to recover solvents, has been applied to fed-batch reactors containing C. beijerinckii BA101, and solvent production as high as 165 g l⁻¹ has been achieved. Immobilization of C. beijerinckii BA101 by adsorption and use in a continuous reactor resulted in reactor productivity of 15.8 g l⁻¹ h⁻¹. Recent economic studies employing C. beijerinckii BA101 suggested that butanol can be produced at US$0.20–0.25 lb⁻¹ by employing batch fermentation and distillative recovery. Application of new technologies such as pervaporation, fed-batch culture, and immobilized cell reactors is expected to further reduce these prices. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2001) 27, 287–291. Received 12 September 2000/ Accepted in revised form 27 January 2001     

The effect of diethyl- -fluoroglutarate on phosphates and glutamate in slices of rabbit cerebral cortex

Abstract— The diethyl ester of α-fluoroglutarate (DEFG), an inhibitor of glutamate dehydrogenase, was prepared, and its effect on glutamate and phosphates in slices of rabbit cerebral cortex was examined. The primary effect of the drug on cortical slices incubating in a Krebs-Ringer glucose medium was to decrease the tissue levels of glutamate in association with decreased levels and turnover of high-energy phosphates. Assimilation of exogenous glutamate by the slices was partially blocked in the presence of the drug and severely depressed oxidative phosphorylation resulted when glutamate and DEFG were both present in the incubation mixture. The results suggested a significant relationship between the activity of cerebral glutamate dehydrogenase and oxidative phosphorylation. During incubation in a Krebs-Ringer glucose medium the endogenous pool of free amino acids in the cortical slice partitioned with the medium. Little or no glutamate, aspartate or GABA was present in the medium after incubation, but glycine, alanine, threonine, serine and glutamine did partition to varying degrees, with over one-half of the glutamine present in the incubation medium. With the exception of ‘leakage’ of aspartate, the partitioning patterns were relatively unaffected by the presence of added glutamate or DEFG.