Search results for "ARTICLES"
showing 10 items of 9626 documents
Extremophilic microbial communities on photovoltaic panel surfaces: a two‐year study
2020
Solar panel surfaces can be colonized by microorganisms adapted to desiccation, temperature fluctuations and solar radiation. Although the taxonomic and functional composition of these communities has been studied, the microbial colonization process remains unclear. In the present work, we have monitored this microbial colonization process during 24 months by performing weekly measurements of the photovoltaic efficiency, carrying out 16S rRNA gene high‐throughput sequencing, and studying the effect of antimicrobial compounds on the composition of the microbial biocenosis. This is the first time a long‐term study of the colonization process of solar panels has been performed, and our results…
EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF DILUTE SOLID-LIQUID SUSPENSION IN AN UNBAFFLED STIRRED VESSELS BY A NOVEL PULSED LASER BASED IMAGE ANALYSIS TECHNIQUE
2009
The availability of experimental information on solid distribution inside stirred tanks is a topic of great importance in several industrial applications. The measurement of solid particle distribution in turbulent multiphase flow is not simple and the development of suitable measurement techniques is still in progress. In this work a novel non-intrusive technique for measuring particle concentration fields in solid-liquid systems is employed. The technique makes use of a laser sheet, a high sensitivity digital camera for image acquisition and a Matlab procedure for post-processing the acquired images. Experimental data are here obtained for the case of an unbaffled stirred tank. Stable tor…
Tolerance through Education: How Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells Shape Immunity
2017
Dendritic cells (DCs) are central players in the initiation and control of responses, regulating the balance between tolerance and immunity. Tolerogenic DCs are essential in the maintenance of central and peripheral tolerance by induction of clonal T cell deletion and T cell anergy, inhibition of memory and effector T cell responses, and generation and activation of regulatory T cells. Therefore, tolerogenic DCs are promising candidates for specific cellular therapy of allergic and autoimmune diseases and for treatment of transplant rejection. Studies performed in rodents have demonstrated the efficacy and feasibility of tolerogenic DCs for tolerance induction in various inflammatory diseas…
Current Progress in Particle-Based Systems for Transdermal Vaccine Delivery
2020
Transcutaneous immunization (TCI) via needle-free and non-invasive drug delivery systems is a promising approach for overcoming the current limitations of conventional parenteral vaccination methods. The targeted access to professional antigen-presenting cell (APC) populations within the skin, such as Langerhans cells (LCs), various dermal dendritic cells (dDCs), macrophages, and others makes the skin an ideal vaccination site to specifically shape immune responses as required. The stratum corneum (SC) of the skin is the main penetration barrier that needs to be overcome by the vaccine components in a coordinated way to achieve optimal access to dermal APC populations that induce priming of…
Structural characterization of site-modified nanocapsid with monodispersed gold clusters
2017
AbstractHepatitis E Virus-like particles self-assemble in to noninfectious nanocapsids that are resistant to proteolytic/acidic mucosal delivery conditions. Previously, the nanocapsid was engineered to specifically bind and enter breast cancer cells, where successful tumor targeting was demonstrated in animal models. In the present study, the nanocapsid surface was modified with a solvent-exposed cysteine to conjugate monolayer protected gold nanoclusters (AuNC). Unlike commercially available gold nanoparticles, AuNCs monodisperse in water and are composed of a discrete number of gold atoms, forming a crystalline gold core. Au102pMBA44 (Au102) was an ideal conjugate given its small 2.5 nm s…
A Role for Judges in Assisted Dying
2009
Medically provoked death, whether euthanasia or assisted suicide, is a common issue for discussion in various forums, participants coming from widely differing fields of knowledge, among who are, of course, doctors. Substantial legal differences exist in Europe on this issue and in an ever-wider Europe, it is essential, for practical reasons, that legislation be standardised. We would like to propose possible regulations that would provide effective safeguards in the application of euthanasia or assisted suicide.
The Synthesis, Characterization and Sintering of Nickel and Cobalt Ferrite Nanopowders
2012
The NiFe2O4 and CoFe2O4 ferrites were synthesized by two methods – chemical sol-gel self-combustion method and the high frequency plasma chemical synthesis and magnetic properties, crystallite size, specific surface area of synthesized products are characterized. Nanopowders synthesized in the high frequency plasma are with specific surface area in the range of (28 – 30) m2/g (the average particle size (38 – 40) nm, crystallite size ~40 nm). The ferrite nanopowders obtained by sol-gel self-combustion method have the specific surface area of (37 – 43) m2/g (average particle size (26 – 31) nm, crystallite size (10 – 20) nm). All synthesized nanopowders were sintered via pressure-less sinterin…
Heading at Enabling Settings for Learning
2021
The paper draws on two cases of learning settings that were converted to meet up-to-date educational requirements within these learning contexts. The authors address the role of stakeholder perspectives. Focusing on the learning situation, they present an articulation tool to aid dialogue between key stakeholder perspectives in a (re)design process. Dialogue is a way to figure out relevant issues and to establish the common ground between participants. The goal of a redesign process is that user requirements are well understood, and the design is embedded into local practices, informed of constraints and aware of potential opportunities regarding educational technology.
Searches for lepton number violation and resonances in K± → πμμ decays
2017
The NA48/2 experiment at CERN collected a large sample of charged kaon decays to final states with multiple charged particles in 2003–2004. A new upper limit on the rate of the lepton number violating decay K±→π∓μ±μ± is reported: B(K±→π∓μ±μ±)<8.6×10−11 at 90% CL. Searches for two-body resonances X in K±→πμμ decays (such as heavy neutral leptons N4 and inflatons χ ) are also presented. In the absence of signals, upper limits are set on the products of branching fractions B(K±→μ±N4)B(N4→πμ) and B(K±→π±X)B(X→μ+μ−) for ranges of assumed resonance masses and lifetimes. The limits are in the (10−11,10−9) range for resonance lifetimes below 100 ps.
Temperature effects explain continental scale distribution of cyanobacterial toxins
2018
Insight into how environmental change determines the production and distribution of cyanobacterial toxins is necessary for risk assessment. Management guidelines currently focus on hepatotoxins (microcystins). Increasing attention is given to other classes, such as neurotoxins (e.g., anatoxin-a) and cytotoxins (e.g., cylindrospermopsin) due to their potency. Most studies examine the relationship between individual toxin variants and environmental factors, such as nutrients, temperature and light. In summer 2015, we collected samples across Europe to investigate the effect of nutrient and temperature gradients on the variability of toxin production at a continental scale. Direct and indirect…