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Field Frequency (field + frequency)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Life Sciences	44%

Selected Abstracts

Effect of Moderate Electric Field Frequency on Growth Kinetics and Metabolic Activity of Lactobacillus acidophilus

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 1 2008
Laleh Loghavi
Moderate electric fields (MEF) have been previously shown to alter the metabolic activity of microbial cells; thus, the effect of frequency and electric field would be of considerable interest. We investigated herein the effects of MEF frequency on microbial growth kinetics and bacteriocin (Lacidin A) production of Lactobacillusacidophilus OSU 133 during fermentation. The following fermentation treatments were compared: conventional (for 40 h), MEF (1 V cm -1, for 40 h), combination of MEF (1 V cm -1, for the first 5 h) and conventional (for 35 h) at various frequency levels (45, 60, and 90 Hz) all at 30 °C, and control (conventional) fermentation at 37 °C. MEF treatments with purely sinusoidal waveforms at all frequencies at 30 °C produced a shorter lag phase than conventional fermentation. However, no lag phase reduction was found for a 60 Hz waveform that contained high-frequency harmonics. There was, however, a significant increase in the bacteriocin production under early MEF treatment at 60 Hz with high-frequency harmonics. On the basis of these observations, the fermentation process is accelerated by applying pure sinusoidal MEF at the early stage of growth while a significant increase in the bacteriocin production occurs when sinusoidal field at 60 Hz with harmonics is applied at the early stage of the growth. [source]

Electric Field-Directed Convective Assembly of Ellipsoidal Colloidal Particles to Create Optically and Mechanically Anisotropic Thin Films

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 20 2009
Manish Mittal
Abstract A method of simultaneous field- and flow-directed assembly of anisotropic titania (TiO2) nanoparticle films from a colloidal suspension is presented. Titania particles are oriented by an alternating (ac) electric field as they simultaneously advect towards a drying front due to evaporation of the solvent. At high field frequencies (,,>,,25,kHz) and field strengths (E,>,300,V cm,1), the particles orient with their major axis along the field direction. As the front recedes, a uniform film with thicknesses of 1,10,µm is deposited on the substrate. The films exhibit a large birefringence (,n,,,0.15) and high packing fraction (,,=,0.75,±,0.08), due to the orientation of the particles. When the frequency is lowered, the particle orientation undergoes a parallel,random,perpendicular transition with respect to the field direction. The orientation dependence on field frequency and strength is explained by the polarizability of ellipsoidal particles using an interfacial polarization model. Particle orientation in the films also leads to anisotropic mechanical properties, which are manifested in their cracking patterns. In all, it is demonstrated that the field-directed assembly of anisotropic particles provides a powerful means for tailoring nanoparticle film properties in situ during the deposition process. [source]

Matrix perturbation theory for driven three-level systems with damping

ANNALEN DER PHYSIK, Issue 10 2004
B.N. Sanchez
Abstract We investigate the dynamics of the , system driven by two resonant laser fields in presence of dissipation for coupling strengths where the rotating-wave approximation starts to break down. This regime is characterised by Rabi frequencies being approximately equal or smaller than the field frequencies. A systematic procedure to obtain an expansion for the solution of the Bloch evolution equations of the system is presented. The lowest contribution results to be the well-known rotating-wave approximation. The method is based on a semi-classical treatment of the problem, and its predictions are interpreted fully quantum mechanically. The theory is illustrated by a detailed study of the disappearance of coherent population trapping as the intensities of the fields increase. [source]

Alternating current electric field effects on neural stem cell viability and differentiation,

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 3 2010
Marvi A. Matos
Abstract Methods utilizing stem cells hold tremendous promise for tissue engineering applications; however, many issues must be worked out before these therapies can be routinely applied. Utilization of external cues for preimplantation expansion and differentiation offers a potentially viable approach to the use of stem cells in tissue engineering. The studies reported here focus on the response of murine neural stem cells encapsulated in alginate hydrogel beads to alternating current electric fields. Cell viability and differentiation was studied as a function of electric field magnitude and frequency. We applied fields of frequency (0.1,10) Hz, and found a marked peak in neural stem cell viability under oscillatory electric fields with a frequency of 1 Hz. We also found an enhanced propensity for astrocyte differentiation over neuronal differentiation in the 1 Hz cultures, as compared to the other field frequencies we studied. Published 2010 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2010 [source]

Electric Field-Directed Convective Assembly of Ellipsoidal Colloidal Particles to Create Optically and Mechanically Anisotropic Thin Films

Effect of halothane on type 2 immobility-related hippocampal theta field activity and theta-on/theta-off cell discharges

HIPPOCAMPUS, Issue 1 2003
Brian H. Bland
Abstract Rats were studied in acute and chronic (freely moving) recording conditions during exposure to different levels of the volatile anesthetic halothane, in order to assess effects on hippocampal theta field activity in the chronic condition and on theta-related cellular discharges in the acute condition. Previous work has shown that the generation of hippocampal type 2 theta depends on the coactivation of cholinergic and GABAergic inputs from the medial septum. Based on these data and recent findings that halothane acts on interneuron GABAA receptors, we predicted that exposure of rats to subanesthetic levels would result in the induction of type 2 theta field activity. In the chronic condition, exposure to subanesthetic levels of halothane (0.5,1.0 vol %) was found to induce theta field activity during periods of immobility (type 2 theta) with a mean increase of 39% in amplitude (mV) compared to control levels during movement. The total percentage of signal power (V2) associated with peak theta frequencies (80% compared to control levels of 47%) was also increased by halothane. Over the whole range of administered halothane concentrations, theta field frequency progressively declined from a mean peak frequency of 6.5 ± 0.8 Hz at 0.5 vol % halothane to a mean peak frequency of 4.0 ± 1.8 Hz at 2.0 vol % halothane. Subsequent administration of a muscarinic cholinergic antagonist, atropine sulfate, selectively abolished all type 2 immobility-related theta field activity, while type 1 movement-related theta was still intact. At anesthetic levels (1.5,2.0 vol %) in acute experiments, hippocampal field activity spontaneously cycled between theta and large-amplitude irregular activity. Analysis of depth profiles in four experiments revealed they were identical to those previously described for rats under urethane anesthesia conditions. In addition, the discharge properties of 31 theta-related cells, classified as tonic and phasic theta-on and tonic and phasic theta-off cells, did not differ significantly from those described previously in rats anesthetized with urethane. These data provide further support for an involvement of GABAA receptors in the generation of hippocampal theta. Hippocampus 2003;13:38,47. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

Dielectric properties of pharmaceutical materials relevant to microwave processing: Effects of field frequency, material density, and moisture content

JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCES, Issue 2 2010
Paul W.S. Heng
Abstract The rising popularity of microwaves for drying, material processing and quality sensing has fuelled the need for knowledge concerning dielectric properties of common pharmaceutical materials. This article represents one of the few reports on the density and moisture content dependence of the dielectric properties of primary pharmaceutical materials and their relevance to microwave-assisted processing. Dielectric constants and losses of 13 pharmaceutical materials were measured over a frequency range of 1,MHz,1,GHz at 23,±,1°C using a parallel-electrode measurement system. Effects of field frequency, material density and moisture content on dielectric properties were studied. Material dielectric properties varied considerably with frequency. At microwave frequencies, linear relationships were established between cube-root functions of the dielectric parameters ( and ) and density which enabled dielectric properties of materials at various densities to be estimated by regression. Moisture content was the main factor that contributed to the disparities in dielectric properties and heating capabilities of the materials in a laboratory microwave oven. The effectiveness of a single frequency density-independent dielectric function for moisture sensing applications was explored and found to be suitable within low ranges of moisture contents for a model material. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 99:941,957, 2010 [source]

Effect of moderate electric field frequency and growth stage on the cell membrane permeability of Lactobacillus acidophilus

BIOTECHNOLOGY PROGRESS, Issue 1 2009
Laleh Loghavi
Abstract Changes in growth kinetics and metabolic activity of microorganisms under the presence of a moderate electric field (MEF) have been hypothesized as being due to temporary permeabilization of cell membranes. We investigated herein the effects of frequency and growth stage on cell membrane permeabilization of Lactobacillus acidophilus OSU 133 during MEF fermentation. Cells were stained with two fluorescent nucleic acid stains: the green, nonselective, cell membrane permeable SYTO 9, and the red, cell membrane impermeable propidium iodide (PI). Fluorescence exhibition post-treatment was assessed using fluorescence microscopy. Total plate counting was done to determine whether or not the permeabilized population represented live cells. Fermentation treatments investigated were conventional (control) and MEF (2 V/cm, 45, 60, 1,000, 10,000 Hz) at 30°C. Studies were conducted at 45 Hz for lag, exponential, and stationary phases of growth. Low frequency MEF treated cells exhibited significantly greater numbers of red cell counts than conventional treatments; further, no significant differences existed in viable counts between MEF and conventional treatments, suggesting that the red counts represent permeabilized live cells. MEF treatments at the early stage of bacterial growth at 45 Hz exhibited the maximum permeabilization followed by treatments at 60 Hz. MEF treated samples at frequencies higher than 60 Hz did not exhibit red fluorescence. Cells at lag phase showed the greatest susceptibility to permeabilization followed by those at exponential phase. No evidence of electroporation was observed during the stationary phase. To our knowledge, these observations provide the first evidence that cell membrane permeabilization occurs under the presence of electric fields as low as those under MEF. © 2009 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog., 2009 [source]