Laser-induced plasma formation in water with up to 400 mJ double-pulse LIBS

Double-pulse LIBS is a promising technique for deep-sea applications.LIBS measurements in shallow water with up to 400 mJ each pulse were done to select laser parameters which promote optimized spectral line emission from plasma even at elevated pressures,where line broadening until loss of most of the spectral information can occur.Optical emission spectroscopy,using a Czerny-Turner spectrometer,has been applied to investigate the dependence of the emitted radiation on laser parameters and hydrostatic pressure.It has been found,that higher laser pulse energies,especially with short pulse delay as required in high water pressure,can also have an adverse effect on the measured spectrum.

Brucella spp. Lumazine synthase as a novel immunomodulator to produce egg yolk antibodies

Lumazine synthase from Brucella spp. (BLS) is a highly immunogenic decameric protein. It has been previously described as a carrier of peptides or proteins to increase their immunogenicity in different animal species, but its activity has never been evaluated in chickens. In this work, the use of BLS to improve the antibody response against bovine rotavirus (BRV) VP8d protein in laying hens was assessed. VP8d is the inner domain of the VP8 spike protein which preserves the sialic acid binding activity and the neutralizing epitopes present in the viral protein. Hens were immunized three times with 2 μg of VP8d alone or fused to BLS. Hens inoculated with BLSVP8d developed higher antibody titers (evaluated by ELISA and viral neutralization test) than hens immunized either with VP8d alone or the mixture of VP8d and BLS. Furthermore, IgY antibodies against BLSVP8d were able to fully protect mice against challenge with virulent BRV in a dose-depent-manner. Overall, these results demonstrate that BLS is a potent immonumodulator that enhances the antibody response in hens, thus increasing the concentration of specific IgY in the egg yolk, one of the main issues to be adressed in order to improve the use of the IgY technology.

Comparison of corona effect prediction criteria on sphere-plane configuration

When designing high-voltage elements,knowing if the corona effect will be present during their life cycle is relevant.Therefore,designers consider several prediction criteria based on physical features related to breakdown discharge principles to predict the corona effect.The introduced practical set-up consists of a concave cone electrode with a hemispheric tip above a plate to evaluate selected corona prediction criteria.The hemisphere has a fixed diameter of 7 mm,and the electrode separation ranges from 2.5 to 39 cm.Information about the corona mode inception under different voltage sources was extracted using an intensified charge-coupled device camera and a partial discharge metre.The prediction criteria were connected to a specific corona mode depending on the main discharge structure behind its development.The average deviation between these criteria and experimental results was around eight percent.Underlying assumptions in criteria are also discussed in light of the experimental results.