Stimulus evoked neurotransmitter release requires that Na+ channel-dependent nerve terminal depolarization be transduced into synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Inhaled anesthetics block presynaptic Na+ channels and selectively inhibit glutamate over GABA release from isolated nerve terminals, indicating mechanistic differences between excitatory and inhibitory transmitter release. We compared the effects of isoflurane on depolarization-evoked [3H]glutamate and [14C]GABA release from isolated nerve terminals prepared from four regions of rat CNS evoked by 4-aminopyridine (4AP), veratridine (VTD), or elevated K+. These mechanistically distinct secretegogues distinguished between Na+ channel- and/or Ca2+ channel-mediated presynaptic effects. Isoflurane completely inhibited total 4AP-evoked glutamate release (IC50=0.42 ± 0.03 mM) more potently than GABA release (IC50=0.56 ± 0.02 mM) from cerebral cortex (1.3-fold greater potency), hippocampus and striatum, but inhibited glutamate and GABA release from spinal cord terminals equipotently. Na+ channel-specific VTD-evoked glutamate release from cortex was also significantly more sensitive to inhibition by isoflurane than was GABA release. Na+ channel-independent K+-evoked release was insensitive to isoflurane at clinical concentrations in all four regions, consistent with a target upstream of Ca2+ entry. Isoflurane inhibited Na+ channel-mediated (tetrodotoxin-sensitive) 4AP-evoked glutamate release (IC50=0.30 ± 0.03 mM) more potently than GABA release (IC50=0.67 ± 0.04 mM) from cortex (2.2-fold greater potency). The magnitude of inhibition of Na+ channel-mediated 4AP-evoked release by a single clinical concentration of isoflurane (0.35 mM) varied by region and transmitter: Inhibition of glutamate release from spinal cord was greater than from the three brain regions and greater than GABA release for each CNS region. These findings indicate that isoflurane selectively inhibits glutamate release compared to GABA release via Na+ channel-mediated transduction in the four CNS regions tested, and that differences in presynaptic Na+ channel involvement determine differences in anesthetic pharmacology.
The addition of the acceleration stage to a micro-cathode vacuum arc thruster (μCAT) increases the thrust and the specific impulse. This improves the control of small satellites' orbital parameters and, therefore, the overall efficiency of this thruster for CubeSats. In this article, we show that the second accelerating stage based on the magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) approach allows improvements not only to the thrust (almost twice, from 9 to 18 μN), but the thrust-to-power ratio (in 53%, from 3.2 to 4.9 μN W −1 ) of the low-power (several W) miniature (several cm-size) μCAT, firing at a pulse repetition rate of 10 Hz. A significant advantage of the μCAT-MPD approach is the griddle construction, a design that helps to overcome the loss of ions along the grid cells in the case of gridded ion acceleration stage.
Electric propulsion has become popular nowadays owing to the trend of miniaturizing the size and mass of satellites. However, the main drawback of the most popular approach—Hall thrusters—is that their efficiency and thrust-to-power ratio (TPR) markedly deteriorate when its size and power level are reduced. Here, we demonstrate an alternative approach—a minute low-power (<50 W), lightweight (~100 g), two-stage propulsion system. The system is based on a micro-cathode vacuum arc thruster with magnetoplasmadynamic second stage (μCAT-MPD), which achieves the following parameters: a thrust of up to 1.7 mN at a TPR of 37 μN/W and an efficiency of ~50%. A μCAT-MPD system, in addition to “traditional” inverse, displays the anomalous direct (growing) “TPR versus specific impulse I sp ” trend at high I sp values and allows multimodality at high efficiency.
Small, lightweight low-power micro-cathode arc thrusters (µCATs) with micronewton thrust are well suited to the altitude control of small satellites like CubeSats. For some applications (orbit raising, maneuvering) their thrust level needs to be improved. A possible approach for this could be the two-staged thruster—a micro-cathode thruster with a magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) stage and an external magnetic field. In this article, we discuss some discharge features that such a two-stage µCAT-MPD experiences in each configuration of the magnetic field—formed with either a permanent magnet, or a pulsed magnetic coil. We found that in both configurations of the magnetic field, the thrust can be enhanced significantly (up to factor of 10) after some threshold voltage is applied to the second stage. The pulsed magnetic coil ensures better controllability of the magnetic field; however, it causes an undesirable time delay between the plasma generation moments in both stages, which consequently results in a moderate thrust increase. The permanent magnet provides a stable thrust increase; however, it cannot be switched off, which seems to be impractical for its use in micro-satellites. In both magnetic field configurations, the emissive electromagnetic noise level was found to be low-frequency (within tens of kHz) and quite moderate in amplitude, and mechanical noise was found to be two orders of magnitude lower than the thrust generated in the normal working regime.
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