Investigation of a Method to Increase the Sensitivity of Counter-Current Immunoelectrophoresis Using Direct-Contact Photography

Counter-current Immunoelectrophoresis (CIE) has been used to detect bacterial capsular polysaccharides in both cerebrospinal fluids and blood serum of children with systemic meningococcal diseases. The sensitivity of the method depends upon the titre of the antisera. It was found that the sensitivity of CIE could not be increased by the method of direct-contact ultraviolet photography. The sensitivity could be increased by one serial dilution, on the average, by the treatment of a 0.25% tannic acid wash for 15 minutes

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion