Search results for "Extracellular"
showing 10 items of 1220 documents
Ethanol reduces zincosome formation in cultured astrocytes.
2010
Aims Zinc is an ion that participates in basic cellular and tissular functions. Zinc deficiency is present in many physiological and health problems affecting most body organs, including the brain. Among the circumstances involved in zinc deficiency, ethanol consumption is probably one of the most frequent. A dietary zinc supplement has been proposed as possibly being an efficient method to palliate zinc deficiency. Astrocytes form part of the hematoencephalic barrier, and they are apparently implicated in the homeostasis of the neuronal medium. In this work, we analyze the effect of ethanol on extracellular zinc management by rat astrocytes in culture. Methods Intracellular levels of 'free…
Choline Fluxes to and from the Rat Cerebral Cortex Studied with the “Cup Technique” in Vivo
1986
Since MacIntosh and Oborin (11) and later Mitchell (12) introduced the “cup technique” as a mean to study acetylcholine release from the cerebral cortex in vivo, this technique has been widely used for investigating the release of various neurotransmitters in anaesthetized as well as unanaesthetized mammals (2, 13, 14). Recently we proposed the “cup technique” as a way for studying the efflux of endogenous choline (Ch) from the rat cerebral cortex (4, 5) and to estimate changes in the extracellular concentration of Ch, if we consider the fluid filling the cup as an extension of the extracellular space.
Unjamming overcomes kinetic and proliferation arrest in terminally differentiated cells and promotes collective motility of carcinoma.
2019
During wound repair, branching morphogenesis and carcinoma dissemination, cellular rearrangements are fostered by a solid-to-liquid transition, known as unjamming. The biomolecular machinery behind unjamming and its pathophysiological relevance remain, however, unclear. Here, we study unjamming in a variety of normal and tumorigenic epithelial two-dimensional (2D) and 3D collectives. Biologically, the increased level of the small GTPase RAB5A sparks unjamming by promoting non-clathrin-dependent internalization of epidermal growth factor receptor that leads to hyperactivation of the kinase ERK1/2 and phosphorylation of the actin nucleator WAVE2. This cascade triggers collective motility effe…
Extracellular vesicles shuffling intercellular messages: for good or for bad
2015
The release of extracellular vesicles (EVs) is a highly conserved process exploited by diverse organisms as a mode of intercellular communication. Vesicles of sizes ranging from 30 to 1000. nm, or even larger, are generated by blebbing of the plasma membrane (microvesicles) or formed in multivesicular endosomes (MVEs) to be secreted by exocytosis as exosomes. Exosomes, microvesicles and other EVs contain membrane and cytosolic components that include proteins, lipids and RNAs, a composition that differs related to their site of biogenesis. Several mechanisms are involved in vesicle formation at the plasma membrane or in endosomes, which is reflected in their heterogeneity, size and composit…
Dewaterability of CAS and MBR Sludge: Effect of Biological Stability and EPS Composition
2018
The dewaterability of sludge from two conventional activated sludge (CAS) and three membrane bioreactor (MBR)-based wastewater treatment plants is investigated prior to and after anaerobic digestion. The concentration and composition of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) mostly affect the dewaterability of all raw sludge samples. Better sludge dewaterability is observed when the concentration of proteins, carbohydrates, uronic acids, and humic acids is below approximately 400, 250, 200, and 40 mg/L, respectively. In contrast, the specific resistance to filtration (SRF) increases in the sludge samples with a higher EPS concentration. The MBR results in a lower EPS production and a uron…
Effect of extended famine conditions on aerobic granular sludge stability in the treatment of brewery wastewater
2017
Results obtained from three aerobic granular sludge reactors treating brewery wastewater are presented. Reactors were operated for 60 d days in each of the two periods under different cycle duration: (Period I) short 6 h cycle, and (Period II) long 12 h cycle. Organic loading rates (OLR) varying from 0.7 kg COD m-3 d-1 to 4.1 kg COD m-3 d-1 were tested. During Period I, granules successfully developed in all reactors, however, results revealed that the feast and famine periods were not balanced and the granular structure deteriorated and became irregular. During Period II at decreased 12 h cycle time, granules were observed to develop again with superior structural stability compared to the…
Foaming in membrane bioreactors: Identification of the causes
2012
Membrane bioreactors (MBRs) represent by now a well established alternative for wastewater treatment. Their increasing development is undoubtedly related to the several advantages that such technology is able to guarantee. Nevertheless, this technology is not exempt from operational problems; among them the foaming still represents an "open challenge" of the MBR field, due to the high complexity of phenomenon. Unfortunately, very little work has been done on the foaming in MBRs and further studies are required. Actually, there is not a distinct difference between conventional activated system and MBR: the main difference is that the MBR plants can retain most Extracellular Polymeric Substan…
The role of EPS concentration in MBR foaming: analysis of a submerged pilot plant.
2010
Foaming in Membrane BioReactor (MBR) is a frequently discussed topic. Some authors reported that the phenomenon is due to filamentous organisms, like at Conventional Activated Sludge (CAS) plants. However, in recent years, other authors reported that the Extra-cellular Polymer Substances (EPSs) concentration is an important factor for controlling foam as well. Nevertheless, even if a number of MBR plants are affected by foaming, presently there are no suitable methods to evaluate the phenomenon. To facilitate the study of this controversial phenomenon in an MBR system, certain foam tests proposed in the past for CASPs were investigated. The results of the tests were able to adequately measu…
Pilot scale experiment with MBR operated in intermittent aeration condition: analysis of biological performance.
2014
The effect of intermittent aeration (IA) on a MBR system was investigated. The study was aimed at ana- lyzing different working conditions and the influence of different IA cycles on the biological performance of the MBR pilot plant, in terms of organic carbon and ammonium removal as well as extracellular poly- meric substances (EPSs) production. The membrane modules were placed in a separate compartment, continuously aerated. This configuration allowed to disconnect from the filtration stage the biological phenomena occurring into the IA bioreactor. The observed results highlighted good efficiencies, in terms of organic carbon and ammonium removal. It was noticed a significant soluble micr…
The role of EPS in the foaming and fouling for a MBR operated in intermittent aeration conditions
2016
Abstract This work investigates the causes of foaming and fouling in an Intermittent Aerated – Membrane BioReactor (IA-MBR) used for wastewater treatment. The experiment was divided into three periods with different aerated regimes expressed with different t aeration /t cycle ratio (Period I: 60 min/180 min, Period II: 80 min/180 min, Period III: 30 min/90 min). The advanced foaming tests used allow the study of the role of extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs) on foaming and fouling. In general, in the Periods I and II, good correlations between the EPSs and the Modified Scum Index without purification (MSI 0 ) and the Foam Power were observed. The results shown that the filamentous mi…