Development and diagnostics of atmospheric plasma jet and application on biological samples

Poslednjih desetak godina plazma mlazevi privlače veliku pažnju istraživača širom sveta zbog interesantnih fizičkih fenomena koji su zapaženi zahvaljujući razvoju novih eksperimentalnih tehnika, a posebno brzih i osetlјivih laboratorijskih kamera. Za razliku od klasičnih strimera, koji se kreću stohastično u prostoru, plazma mlazevi, odnosno vođeni jonizacioni talasi, su visoko reproducibilni i kreću se u stubu radnog gasa. Zbog pojave emisije visokog intenziteta u glavi strimera neki autori su ih nazvali plazma „mecima“ da bi se kasnije došlo do naziva „Pulsed Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Streams (PAPS)“. Takođe je primećeno da je brzina kretanja brzih jonizacionih paketa za nekoliko redova veličine veća od protoka radnog gasa...In the past ten years, the plasma jets have attracted great attention of researchers worldwide due to the interesting physical phenomena that have been observed thanks to development of new diagnostic techniques, especially the development of fast and sensitive laboratory cameras. Unlike the classical streamers, that are moving stochastically in space, plasma jets or guided ionization waves are highly reproducible trajectories and they are travelling in the column of buffer gas. Due to the emission of high intensity in the streamer and spherical head some authors have called them plasma “bullets” later on called „Pulsed Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Streams (PAPS)“. It was also noted that the speed of fast ionization packages are several orders of magnitude greater than the working gas velocity..

Genetic relationships among grapevine cultivars native to Croatia, Greece and Turkey

Three sets of grapevine cultivars were analysed: (1) 6 Croatian cultivars from the island of Hvar, (2) 5 Greek cultivars from the island of Paros and (3) 9 Turkish cultivars from the region of Anatolia. These cultivars were assayed by molecular markers (RAPDs with 8 primers and SSRs on 8 loci) and analyzed in terms of genetic similarity. Cluster analysis based on Dice genetic similarity indices resulted in dendrograms using two types of data. The cultivar DNA profiles showed that there were no synonyms among the groups of cultivars tested. Cluster analysis did not point to any particular relationship among cultivars from different regions, although AMOVA analysis showed greater genetic similarity between Greek and Croatian cultivars in contrast to Turkish cultivars.

Erratum

Genetic relationships among grapevine cultivars native to Croatia, Greece and TurkeyVitis 44 (2),73-77 (2005

Interfacial Polarization and Dielectric Properties of Epoxy/Graphite Flakes Composites

Dielectric properties of composites based on bisphenol-A-epoxy resin loaded with various content of graphite flakes (GF) have been studied. The dielectric permeability, tangent loss and ac conductivity have been examined in wide temperature (170 – 370 K) and frequency (20 Hz – 200 kHz) range. In composites loaded with GF flakes up to 10 wt.%, the dominant conduction mechanism is tunneling of electrons, while loading of 15 wt.% gives rise to electron conduction through direct contacts between fillers. Dielectric properties of composites are largely determined by the nature of the filler/matrix interface, the filler surface area and the inherent conductivity of the fillers. At low electric field frequencies, dominates socalled interfacial (or space charge) polarization due to accumulation of free charges at the interfaces between two phases (filler and matrix), which differ in electrical conductivity.Influence of the filler surface chemistry have been studied for composites loaded with 5 wt.% graphite flakes obtained: (i) under wet milling, without (GF) or with (GF-Tr100x) adding Triton-100x as a surfactant, or (ii) under dry milling in the presence of KOH (GF-KOH). The surface treatment with KOH notable increased dielectric constant of the epoxy/GF-KOH5 composite, keeping low tangent loss, comparable to the counterpart, the epoxy/GF5 composite

Morphometric and molecular analysis of a pink-berried mutant within the population of grape cultivar 'Plavac mali'

This study reports characteristics of pink-berried mutants found in the clone population of the Croatian red wine cultivar 'Plavac mali' on the basis of comparative ampelographic and DNA marker (SSR and Gret1) analysis. The pink-berried accession, also called 'Plavac mali sivi' (Croatian: sivi = English: grey or French: gris), along with the other 58 'Plavac mali' accessions of standard blue-black berry skin color, has been characterized for the first time using OIV descriptors and molecular markers. Using a set of 9 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers, an identical SSR profile for all the analyzed accessions was revealed, indicating their monozygotic status. The analysis of Gret1 insertion within the VvMYBA1 locus revealed no DNA polymorphism responsible for the pink-berried phenotype. Surface color of the berry skin was measured with the CIELab technique using a reflectance spectrophotometer at full ripeness. The results of colorimetric variables (L*, a* and b*) suggest a significantly lower accumulation of anthocyanins in the pink-berried accession compared to the standard blue-black berries. The pink-berried accession shares all assessed morphological and genetic traits of 'Plavac mali', with the only difference being the color of the berry skin. This suggests that the pinkberried genotype is the result of a spontaneous mutation of a standard 'Plavac mali' genotype

Analysis of phyllometric parameters efficiency in discrimination of Croatian native V. vinifera cultivars

The aims of this study were to achieve correct cultivar classification of leaf samples by using phyllometric parameters to determine the performance of parameters applied as the discriminant criteria and to determine the minimal number of leaf parameters needed to accurately classify leaf samples within cultivars. Seventy-nine phyllometric parameters were measured/calculated on 360 leaf samples from eleven grapevine cultivars, gathered during several years, from different growing conditions and with some differences in the sampling methods applied. Stepwise discriminant analysis was used to rank the phyllometric parameters according to their efficiency in the discrimination of cultivars. A series of discriminant analyses was performed with successive introduction of new parameters as discriminatory elements until 100 % correct classification of leaf samples into the correct cultivar was achieved. This was achieved using only the seven highest ranking phyllometric parameters from the stepwise discriminant analysis. Additionally, canonical discriminant analysis was performed to evaluate the differences between cultivars in the same parameters. This study represents a model for analysis of the efficiency of different ampelometric parameters for discrimination of V. vinifera cultivars.

Review of bacterial and viral pig diseases in exstensive and intensive breeding

U ovom radu je dat pregled oboljenja svinja bakterijske i virusne etiologije koja mogu da budu prisutna u ekstenzivnom i intenzivnom načinu držanja. Dobro zdravlje svinja je uslov dobre reprodukcije, odnosno rentabilne proizvodnje. Zdravlje zavisi od uslova držanja, nege, ishrane, kontrole i zdravstvene zaštite. Veliki broj bolesti koje su prisutne na farmama svinja industrijskog tipa, moguće je primenom profilaktičkih i terapeutskih mera, kao i pojačanom kontrolom stručnih službi držati pod kontrolom. Odgovarajućom saradnjom vlasnika farmi sa stručnim službama, uz poštovanje i sprovođenje stručnih saznanja, te primenom niza biotehničkih mera i stavljanjem akcenta na preveniranje bolesti svinja, a u cilju promocije dobrog zdravlja svinja, moguće je unaprediti proizvodnju. U ovom preglednom radu dali smo presek oboljenja bakterijske i virusne etilogije koje se srecu na komercijalnim farmama i u ekstenzivnom načinu držanja.This paper is an overview of the bacterial and viral swine diseases. Those diseases can apear in extensive as well as in intensive breeding. Good health is a prerequisite for good pig reproduction, and cost-effective production. Health depends on the conditions of keeping, care, food, health control and health care. A large number of diseases that are present on industrial swine farms, possibly with the application of prophylactic and therapeutic measures, as well as strengthened control of professional services can be kept under control. Appropriate cooperation between farm owners and professional services, respecting and implementing professional knowledge and application of range of biotechnical measures and putting emphasis on preventing disease in order to promote the good health of pigs, it is possible to improve production . In this review paper, we present a cross section of diseases of bacterial and viral etiology encountered on a comercial farm individual type of breeding

Cryopreservation and cryotherapy of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.)

This study aimed at testing the efficiency of a droplet-vitrification cryopreservation protocol in eliminating selected grapevine viruses. The cryopreservation protocol led to approximately 50 % recovery with cultivar 'Portan' and five international cultivars tested, but very low recovery was noted with Croatian cultivars. GFLV and GLRaV-3, two (economically important grapevine) viruses were eliminated in a high percentage (up to 100 %) of plants regenerated from cryopreserved shoot tips. Virus sanitation was observed as well in samples before liquid nitrogen exposure. Genetic stability of plants regenerated after cryopreservation was studied using AFLP markers. Polymorphic fragments were observed in non-cryopreserved and cryopreserved samples treated with PVS2 solution, the number of which increased with increasing durations of exposure to PVS2 solution

PREGLED BAKTERIJSKIH I VIRUSNIH OBOLJENJA SVINJA U EKSTENZIVNOM I INTENZIVNOM NAČINU DRŽANJA

U ovom radu je dat pregled oboljenja svinja bakterijske i virusne etiologije kojamogu da budu prisutna u ekstenzivnom i intenzivnom načinu držanja. Dobrozdravlje svinja je uslov dobre reprodukcije, odnosno rentabilne proizvodnje. Zdravljezavisi od uslova držanja, nege, ishrane, kontrole i zdravstvene zaštite. Veliki brojbolesti koje su prisutne na farmama svinja industrijskog tipa, moguće je primenomprofilaktičkih i terapeutskih mera, kao i pojačanom kontrolom stručnih službi držatipod kontrolom. Odgovarajućom saradnjom vlasnika farmi sa stručnim službama, uzpoštovanje i sprovođenje stručnih saznanja, te primenom niza biotehničkih mera istavljanjem akcenta na preveniranje bolesti svinja, a u cilju promocije dobrog zdravljasvinja, moguće je unaprediti proizvodnju. U ovom preglednom radu dali smo presekoboljenja bakterijske i virusne etilogije koje se srecu na komercijalnim farmama i uekstenzivnom načinu držanja

Concepts and characteristics of the 'COST Reference Microplasma Jet'

Biomedical applications of non-equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasmas have attracted intense interest in the past few years. Many plasma sources of diverse design have been proposed for these applications, but the relationship between source characteristics and application performance is not well-understood, and indeed many sources are poorly characterized. This circumstance is an impediment to progress in application development. A reference source with well-understood and highly reproducible characteristics may be an important tool in this context. Researchers around the world should be able to compare the characteristics of their own sources and also their results with this device. In this paper, we describe such a reference source, developed from the simple and robust micro-scaled atmospheric pressure plasma jet (μ-APPJ) concept. This development occurred under the auspices of COST Action MP1101 'Biomedical Applications of Atmospheric Pressure Plasmas'. Gas contamination and power measurement are shown to be major causes of irreproducible results in earlier source designs. These problems are resolved in the reference source by refinement of the mechanical and electrical design and by specifying an operating protocol. These measures are shown to be absolutely necessary for reproducible operation. They include the integration of current and voltage probes into the jet. The usual combination of matching unit and power supply is replaced by an integrated LC power coupling circuit and a 5 W single frequency generator. The design specification and operating protocol for the reference source are being made freely available