Search results for " Chemical Engineering"
showing 10 items of 2965 documents
In vitro 30 nm silver nanoparticles promote chondrogenesis of human mesenchymal stem cells
2015
Silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs) are one of the most widely used products in nano-medicine due to their broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity. In tissue engineering, Ag NPs are often incorporated as antibacterial agents in scaffolds, which are subsequently loaded with human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs). In this study, we investigated the effect of Ag NPs on chondrogenesis of hMSCs. The synthesized Ag NPs were spherical in shape, with a mean diameter of ∼30 nm. After 24 h exposure, Ag NPs were taken up into hMSCs and mainly distributed in the cytoplasm, the nucleus and different sized vesicles. We examined the chondrogenesis through several methods, including glycosaminogl…
Electrochemical treatment of aqueous solutions of catechol by various electrochemical advanced oxidation processes: Effect of the process and of oper…
2017
Abstract Catechol, one of the most abundant compounds in olive mills wastewaters, which is generated in the Fenton degradation of various aromatic compounds, is a toxic, possible carcinogen, persistent pollutant and it is not readily biodegradable. Hence, its degradation requires the utilization of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs). Here, the electrochemical treatment of aqueous solutions of catechol was investigated. The utilization of various electrochemical processes, such as electro-Fenton (EF), direct anodic oxidation (AO), indirect oxidation by electro-generated active chlorine and coupled processes was investigated. Furthermore, the effect of various operating conditions (including…
El capital psíquico. Aportes de la Psicología Positiva.
2006
The article presents a brief analysis of the central proposals of contemporary Positive Psychology. The notion of Psychologiocal Capital is presented and a proposal for categorization of its principal components in terms of cognitive, affective and psychosocial processes is explained.
Utilization of metabolic energy in treatment of ocular surface disorders: polyphosphate as an energy source for corneal epithelial cell proliferation.
2019
Impaired regeneration of the corneal epithelium, as found in many ocular surface diseases, is a major clinical problem in ophthalmology. We hypothesized that corneal epithelial regeneration can be promoted by the physiological, energy-delivering as well as “morphogenetically active” polymer, inorganic polyphosphate (polyP). Corneal limbal explants (diameter, 4 mm) were cultivated on collagen-coated well plates in the absence or presence of polyP (chain length, ∼40 Pi units; 50 μg ml−1) or human platelet lysate (hp-lysate; 5% v/v). Cell outgrowth and differentiation were analyzed after staining with DRAQ5 (nuclei) and rhodamine phalloidin (cytoskeleton), as well as by environmental scanning …
Double In Utero Electroporation to Target Temporally and Spatially Separated Cell Populations.
2020
In utero electroporation is an in vivo DNA transfer technique extensively used to study the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying mammalian corticogenesis. This procedure takes advantage of the brain ventricles to allow the introduction of DNA of interest and uses a pair of electrodes to direct the entrance of the genetic material into the cells lining the ventricle, the neural stem cells. This method allows researchers to label the desired cells and/or manipulate the expression of genes of interest in those cells. It has multiple applications, including assays targeting neuronal migration, lineage tracing, and axonal pathfinding. An important feature of this method is its temporal a…
Lineage-reprogramming of Pericyte-derived Cells of the Adult Human Brain into Induced Neurons
2014
Direct lineage-reprogramming of non-neuronal cells into induced neurons (iNs) may provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying neurogenesis and enable new strategies for in vitro modeling or repairing the diseased brain. Identifying brain-resident non-neuronal cell types amenable to direct conversion into iNs might allow for launching such an approach in situ, i.e. within the damaged brain tissue. Here we describe a protocol developed in the attempt of identifying cells derived from the adult human brain that fulfill this premise. This protocol involves: (1) the culturing of human cells from the cerebral cortex obtained from adult human brain biopsies; (2) the in vitro expansio…
Two-Step Nucleation Process of Calcium Silicate Hydrate, the Nanobrick of Cement
2018
Despite a millennial history and the ubiquitous presence of cement in everyday life, the molecular processes underlying its hydration behavior, like the formation of calcium–silicate–hydrate (C–S–H), the binding phase of concrete, are mostly unexplored. Using time-resolved potentiometry and turbidimetry combined with dynamic light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering, and cryo-TEM, we demonstrate C–S–H formation to proceed via a complex two-step pathway. In the first step, amorphous and dispersed spheroids are formed, whose composition is depleted in calcium compared to C–S–H and charge compensated with sodium. In the second step, these amorphous spheroids crystallize to tobermorite-typ…
Comparison of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation and separate hydrolysis and fermentation processes for butanol production from rice straw
2020
Abstract Rice straw (RS) is one of the lignocellulosic wastes with the highest global production. The main objective of this study was to maximise the butanol production by Clostridium beijerinckii DSM 6422 from RS pretreated by microwave-assisted hydrothermolysis. Two different fermentation strategies were compared: separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF, two-step process) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF, one-step process). In parallel, the variables that significantly affected the butanol production were screened by using fractional factorial designs. Butanol concentration and productivity at 48 h were, respectively, 8% and 173% higher in SSF than in SHF. A one-…
Evolution of Free Volumes in Polycrystalline BaGa2O4 Ceramics Doped with Eu3+ Ions
2021
H.K. and Y.K. would like to thank A. Ingram for assistance in PAL experiments. The authors thank E.A. Kotomin and M. Brik for the many useful discussions. The research was (partly) performed in the Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia ISSP UL. ISSP UL as the Center of Excellence is supported through the Framework Program for European universities Union Horizon 2020, H2020-WIDESPREAD-01–2016–2017-TeamingPhase2 under Grant Agreement No. 739508, CAMART2 project.
Impact of Thermal Treatment on the Surface of Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3-Based Ceramics
2021
This research was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, grant number 1.1.1.2/VIAA/3/19/558. The Institute of Solid State Physics, University of Latvia as the Center of Excellence has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, grant number 739508.