In the paper, a 3 µm mid-infrared (MIR) high energy ultrafast Er:ZBLAN fiber laser and amplification system is presented. The 3µm seed pulses were generated through an Yb-doped ultrafast fiber laser pumped optical parametric amplification (OPA). A pulse energy of 12.4 µJ is generated at a repetition rate of 100 kHz with a pulse duration of 103 fs. A Er:ZBLAN fiber amplifier was used to further ...

A new crystalline form of abrin has been obtained from the most toxic constituent of the seed extract of Abrus precatorius. An x-ray diffraction study shows that the toxin crystallizes in a monoclinic unit cell of probable symmetry P21 and parameters (I = 113 A, b = 72 A, c = 71 A, and /3 = 103”. The asymmetric unit contains 2 protein molecules of molecular weight 63,800 and has a solvent conte...

Monospecific polyclonal antibodies against maize leaf phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (PEPC, EC 4.1.1.31) were utilized to examine the subunit composition and developmental profile of endosperm PEPC in developing and germinating castor oil seeds (Ricinus communis L. cv Baker 296). PEPC from developing endosperm consists of a single type of 100-kilodalton subunit, whereas the enzyme from 2- to 5...

The behaviour of high pressure helium afterglows has been measured by means of conductivity and light intensity decay measurements. The plasma was created in a pulsed discharge of typically 30 usee length and then investigated by means of time resolved spectroscopy and probing pulse diagnostics under conditions which are of interest for noble gas afterglow MHD generators, i. e. a pressure range...

Chia (Salvia sp) seeds were investtgated as a source of natural lipid antioxidants. Methanolic and aqueous extracts of defatted chia seeds possessed potent antioxidant activity. Analysis of 2 batches of cbia-seed oils demonstrated marked difference in the fatty acid composition of the oils, In both batches, the oils had high concentrations of polyunsauarated fatty acids. The major antioxidant a...

Lodgepole pine dwarf mistletoe (DM), Arceuthobium americanum, is a parasitic flowering plant and forest pathogen in North America. Seed dispersal in DM occurs by explosive discharge. Notably, slight warming of ripe DM fruit in the laboratory can trigger explosions. Previously, we showed that alternative oxidase, a protein involved in endogenous heat production (thermogenesis) in plants, is pres...

BACKGROUND Some neotropical, fleshy-fruited plants have fruits structurally similar to paleotropical fruits dispersed by megafauna (mammals > 10(3) kg), yet these dispersers were extinct in South America 10-15 Kyr BP. Anachronic dispersal systems are best explained by interactions with extinct animals and show impaired dispersal resulting in altered seed dispersal dynamics. METHODOLOGY/PRINCI...