High-power CW ultraviolet ion lasers

Over 1 watt of continuous ultraviolet output has been obtained from an argon ion laser in the 3500-3700Å range. This paper describes the discharge tube structure used and the operating characteristics of high-power ultraviolet laser transitions in argon and other noble gas ions. Operation at new wavelengths as well as CW operation of transitions previously observed only in pulsed operation are reported. Measurements of the dependence of spontaneous emission intensity from different ionization states on current and pressure are related to the excitation mechanisms for visible and uv ion lasers. The technique of population modulation by intracavity interruption has been used to study processes in the throat and uniform bore regions of ion laser discharges. The results of these studies are described. Problems encountered in the CW operation of ion laser discharge tubes at current densities above 1000Å/cm^2 are described

A microfluidics and agent-based modeling framework for investigating spatial organization in bacterial colonies: The case of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa amd H1-type VI secretion interactions

The factors leading to changes in the organization of microbial assemblages at fine spatial scales are not well characterized or understood. However, they are expected to guide the succession of community development and function toward specific outcomes that could impact human health and the environment. In this study, we put forward a combined experimental and agent-based modeling framework and use it to interpret unique spatial organization patterns of H1-Type VI secretion system (T6SS) mutants of P. aeruginosa under spatial confinement. We find that key parameters, such as T6SS-mediated cell contact and lysis, spatial localization, relative species abundance, cell density and local concentrations of growth substrates and metabolites are influenced by spatial confinement. The model, written in the accessible programming language NetLogo, can be adapted to a variety of biological systems of interest and used to simulate experiments across a broad parameter space. It was implemented and run in a high-throughput mode by deploying it across multiple CPUs, with each simulation representing an individual well within a high-throughput microwell array experimental platform. The microfluidics and agent-based modeling framework we present in this paper provides an effective means by which to connect experimental studies in microbiology to model development. The work demonstrates progress in coupling experimental results to simulation while also highlighting potential sources of discrepancies between real-world experiments and idealized models

Effects of vitamin E supplementation on renal non-enzymatic antioxidants in young rats submitted to exhaustive exercise stress

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Exercise stress was shown to increase oxidative stress in rats. It lacks reports of increased protection afforded by dietary antioxidant supplements against ROS production during exercise stress. We evaluated the effects of vitamin E supplementation on renal non-enzymatic antioxidants in young rats submitted to exhaustive exercise stress.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Wistar rats were divided into three groups: 1) control group; 2) exercise stress group and; 3) exercise stress + Vitamin E group. Rats from the group 3 were treated with gavage administration of 1 mL of Vitamin E (5 mg/kg) for seven consecutive days. Animals from groups 2 and 3 were submitted to a bout of swimming exhaustive exercise stress. Kidney samples were analyzed for Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances to (TBARS) by malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and vitamin-E levels.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The group treated with vitamin E and submitted to exercise stress presented the lowest levels of renal MDA (1: 0.16+0.02 mmmol/mgprot vs. 2: 0.34+0.07 mmmol/mgprot vs. 3: 0.1+0.01 mmmol/mgprot; p < 0.0001), the highest levels of renal GSH (1: 23+4 μmol/gprot vs. 2: 23+2 μmol/gprot vs. 3: 58+9 μmol/gprot; p < 0.0001) and the highest levels of renal vitamin E (1: 24+6 μM/gtissue vs. 2: 28+2 μM/gtissue vs. 3: 43+4 μM/gtissue; p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Vitamin E supplementation improved non-enzymatic antioxidant activity in young rats submitted to exhaustive exercise stress.</p

Monilochaetes and allied genera of the Glomerellales, and a reconsideration of families in the Microascales

We examined the phylogenetic relationships of two species that mimic Chaetosphaeria in teleomorph and anamorph morphologies, Chaetosphaeria tulasneorum with a Cylindrotrichum anamorph and Australiasca queenslandica with a Dischloridium anamorph. Four data sets were analysed: a) the internal transcribed spacer region including ITS1, 5.8S rDNA and ITS2 (ITS), b) nc28S (ncLSU) rDNA, c) nc18S (ncSSU) rDNA, and d) a combined data set of ncLSU-ncSSU-RPB2 (ribosomal polymerase B2). The traditional placement of Ch. tulasneorum in the Microascales based on ncLSU sequences is unsupported and Australiasca does not belong to the Chaetosphaeriaceae. Both holomorph species are nested within the Glomerellales. A new genus, Reticulascus, is introduced for Ch. tulasneorum with associated Cylindrotrichum anamorph; another species of Reticulascus and its anamorph in Cylindrotrichum are described as new. The taxonomic structure of the Glomerellales is clarified and the name is validly published. As delimited here, it includes three families, the Glomerellaceae and the newly described Australiascaceae and Reticulascaceae. Based on ITS and ncLSU rDNA sequence analyses, we confirm the synonymy of the anamorph genera Dischloridium with Monilochaetes. Consequently Dischloridium laeënse, type species of the genus, and three related species are transferred to the older genus Monilochaetes. The teleomorph of D. laeënse is described in Australiasca as a new species. The Plectosphaerellaceae, to which the anamorph genus Stachylidium is added, is basal to the Glomerellales in the three-gene phylogeny. Stilbella annulata also belongs to this family and is newly combined in Acrostalagmus. Phylogenetic analyses based on ncLSU, ncSSU, and combined ncLSU-ncSSU-RPB2 sequences clarify family relationships within the Microascales. The family Ceratocystidaceae is validated as a strongly supported monophyletic group consisting of Ceratocystis, Cornuvesica, Thielaviopsis, and the type species of Ambrosiella. The new family Gondwanamycetaceae, a strongly supported sister clade to the Ceratocystidaceae, is introduced for the teleomorph genus Gondwanamyces and its Custingophora anamorphs. Four families are accepted in the Microascales, namely the Ceratocystidaceae, Gondwanamycetaceae, Halosphaeriaceae, and Microascaceae. Because of a suggested affinity of a Faurelina indica isolate to the Microascales, the phylogenetic position of the Chadefaudiellaceae is reevaluated. Based on the results from a separate ncLSU analysis of the Dothideomycetes, Faurelina is excluded from the Microascales and placed in the Pleosporales