Dependence of the microwave effect on modulation parameters (pulse width, duty ratio, and peak intensity) was studied in an isolated frog auricle preparation. The rate and amplitude of spontaneous auricle twitches were measured during and after a 2 min exposure to 915 or 885 MHz microwaves and were compared to preexposure values. The studied ranges of modulation parameters were: pulse width, 10(-6)-10(-2) s; duty ratio, 7:100000, and peak specific absorption rate, 100-3000 W/kg. Combinations of the parameters were chosen by chance, and about 400 various exposure regimes were tested. The experiments established that no regime was effective unless the average microwave power was high enough to induce preparation heating (0.1-0.4 degree C). The twitch rate instantly increased, and the amplitude decreased, as the temperature rose; similar changes could be induced by equivalent conventional heating. The data provide evidence that the effect of short-term microwave exposure on the isolated heart pacemaker and contractile functions depends on pulse modulation just as much as modulation determines the average absorbed power. These functions demonstrated no specific dependence on exposure parameters such as frequency or power windows.
The cell lethality and permeability induced in Escherichia coli B/r, Escherichia coli Bs-1 and Zygosaccharomyces bailii cells by high temperature (52 degrees C) after heating at different rates (mean s 0.015, 0.25 and 1.50 degrees C per s) and in media of different tonicity and content (isotonic YEP broth versus 0.01 M phosphate buffer, pH 7.0 containing different concentrations of NaCl) and with versus without chloramphenicol (10 micrograms/ml) have been investigated. Hyperthermic treatment in YEP broth of isotonic 0.01 M phosphate buffer resulted in markedly reduced cytotoxicity with decreasing heat rate. The heating rate effect was larger when the cells were treated in YEP broth. Chloramphenicol, which is known to inhibit expression of heat shock proteins in bacteria, did not affect the viability of cells or the development of thermotolerance in cells heated at different heating rates in isotonic phosphate buffer but prevented the development of an additional degree of thermotolerance in cells heated slowly in YEP broth. In contrast, the differential effect of heating rate on cytotoxicity and cell permeability was not demonstrated when cells were heated in hypertonic solution (1M NaCl in phosphate buffer, pH 7.0). It is proposed that heat destabilization of the osmotic cell homeostasis, which is more profound after rapid heating, plays a major part in heat induced cellular lethality.
The combined effects of microwave radiation and some drugs were studied in an isolated frog auricle preparation. The experiments established that exposure to pulse-modulated 915 MHz microwaves for up to 40 min had no effect on either the rate or the amplitude of spontaneous auricle twitches, unless the average absorbed power was high enough to produce preparation heating. Treatment of the preparation with saline containing (0.6-3.0) 10(-5) M of propranolol or (0.5-1.5) 10(-7) M of atropine altered neither its pacemaker nor its contractile functions; these drugs also had no effect when they were combined with nonthermal microwave irradiation. Caffeine (1 mM) strongly increased the average heart power, which was calculated as the product of twitch rate and amplitude. The caffeine effect appeared to be significantly augmented (by about 15%, P < 0.02) under exposure to burst-type pulsed microwaves (pulse width, 1.5 msec; pause, 2.5 msec; 8 pulses/burst, 16 bursts/s; average SAR, 8-10 W/kg). By itself, this modulation was not effective; the heating of the preparation and saline during exposure was approximately 0.1 degrees C, which could not account for the detected changes. The experimental results demonstrate that caffeine treatment increases the microwave sensitivity of the frog auricle preparation and reveals primarily subthreshold, nonthermal microwave effect.
Functioning of the giant axon of the isolated earthworm ventral nerve cord was examined during exposure to 6.45 GHz microwaves. We used continuous wave and pulsed irradiation, either synchronized with stimuli or asynchronous, lasting for 10-50 min at specific absorption rate from 30 to 230 W/kg. Action potential (AP) conduction velocity and the capability of nerve fiber to answer long-lasting high-frequency stimulation served as indices of microwave effect. Under some experimental conditions the nerve appeared to have extreme sensitivity to subtle temperature changes, induced by irradiation, but no non-thermal microwave effects were detected.
185
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.