Characterizing generated charged inverse micelles with transient current measurements

We investigate the generation of charged inverse micelles in nonpolar surfactant solutions relevant for applications such as electronic ink displays and liquid toners. When a voltage is applied across a thin layer of a nonpolar surfactant solution between planar electrodes, the generation of charged inverse micelles leads to a generation current. From current measurements it appears that such charged inverse micelles generated in the presence of an electric field behave differently compared to those present in equilibrium in the absence of a field. To examine the origin of this difference, transient current measurements in which the applied voltage is suddenly increased are used to measure the mobility and the amount of generated charged inverse micelles. The mobility and the corresponding hydrodynamic size are found to be similar to those of charged inverse micelles present in equilibrium, which indicates that other properties determine their different behavior. The amplitude and shape of the transient currents measured as a function of the surfactant concentration confirm that the charged inverse micelles are generated by bulk disproportionation. A theoretical model based on bulk disproportionation with simulations and analytical approximations is developed to analyze the experimental transient currents

Comparison of efficacy of the biological preparation with some Phlebiopsis gigantea isolates used to protect Scots pine stumps against primary infection of Heterobasidion annosum on post agricultural lands

Three products (RotstopF, RotstopS and PGSuspension) based on lyophylised spores of registered isolates of Phlebiopsis gigantea and non−registered Polish PgIBL as a control were tested in Scots pine stumps locat−ed in 3 forest regions (north−west, north, east) of Poland in autumn 2007, spring 2008 and autumn 2008. One year later the presence of: a) subcortical mycelium and b) the fruit bodies of P. gigantea, and c) symp−toms of sapwood decay were counted and compared as Biological Treatment Efficacy (BTE) index. Obtained BTE values inform that generally PgSuspension preparation was the most effective if applied in spring 2008, whereas both Rotstop preparates showed similar and compared effectiveness in all terms of application. The differences in preparation efficacy between forest regions were found