Search results for "PSU"
showing 10 items of 678 documents
Temperature Sensing in Cells Using Polymeric Upconversion Nanocapsules
2020
Monitoring local temperature inside cells is crucial when interpreting biological activities as enhanced cellular metabolism leads to higher heat production and is commonly correlated with the presence of diseases such as cancer. In this study, we report on polymeric upconversion nanocapsules for potential use as local nanothermometers in cells by exploiting the temperature dependence of the triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion phenomenon. Nanocapsules synthesized by the miniemulsion solvent evaporation technique are composed of a polymer shell and a liquid core of rice bran oil, hosting triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion active dyes as sensitizer and emitter molecules. The sens…
Applications of spray-drying in microencapsulation of food ingredients: An overview
2007
International audience; Spray-drying process has been used for decades to encapsulate food ingredients such as flavors, lipids, and carotenoids. During this drying process, the evaporation of solvent, that is most often water, is rapid and the entrapment of the interest compound occurs quasi-instantaneously. This required property imposes a strict screening of the encapsulating materials to be used in addition to an optimization of the operating conditions. Likewise, if the encapsulated compound is of hydrophobic nature, the stability of the feed emulsion before drying should also be considered. Thus, spray-drying microencapsulation process must rather be considered as an art than a science…
Silica-coated calcium pectinate beads for colonic drug delivery
2013
The aim of this work is to develop novel organic-inorganic hybrid beads for colonic drug delivery. For this purpose, calcium pectinate beads with theophylline are prepared by a cross-linking reaction between amidated low-methoxyl pectin and calcium ions. The beads are then covered with silica, starting from tetraethyoxysilane (TEOS), by a sol-gel process. The influence of TEOS concentration (0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.00 M) during the process is studied in order to modulate the thickness of the silica layer around the pectinate beads and thus to control the drug release. The interactions between the silica coating and the organic beads are weak according to the physicochemical characterizations…
Anterior Capsule Opening Contraction and Late Intraocular Lens Dislocation after Cataract Surgery in Patients with Weak or Partially Absent Zonular S…
2021
Background and Objectives: To evaluate anterior capsule opening (ACO) contraction and late intraocular lens (IOL) dislocation after cataract surgery in patients with weak or partially absent zonular support and assess methods of reducing these complications. Materials and Methods: For this prospective study, we enlisted cataract surgery patients in our hospital with preoperative diagnoses of weak zonules. All patients received phacoemulsification surgery with implantation of a hydrophobic acrylic IOL and capsular tension ring (CTR). ACO reductions were measured for six months after enrolment. Data on late IOL dislocations were collected five years after enrolment of the last patient. Result…
Opportunistic Germination Behaviour of Gypsophila (Caryophyllaceae) in Two Priority Habitats from Semi-arid Mediterranean Steppes
2011
Gypsophila tomentosa and G. struthium are closely related species, characteristic of two European priority habitats, salt and gypsum inland steppes, respectively. Germination strategies of the two taxa were investigated in plants from two nearby populations, growing under the same climatic conditions but on different types of soil, and belonging to different plant communities. Their germination patterns were studied at five constant temperatures in darkness: 5oC, 10oC, 15oC, 20oC and 25oC, and the base temperature and the thermal time requirement were calculated. As the distribution area of both species is subjected to a Mediterranean continental climate with significant differences between…
Pedogenic carbonates and carbon pools in gypsiferous soils of a semiarid Mediterranean environment in south Italy
2013
Abstract Soil carbonates are key features in soils of arid and semiarid environment, playing an important role from pedogenetic, landscape history, paleoclimatic and environmental points of view. The objectives of this work were (i) to study pathways of pedogenic carbonate (PC) formation, (ii) to distinguish between lithogenic and pedogenic inorganic C by using the natural C isotope abundance, and (iii) to estimate the soil C pools in a gypsiferous semiarid Mediterranean environment (Sicily, Italy). Five soil pedons developed on calcareous and non-calcareous parent materials from Holocene (10,000 years BP) to Upper Tortonian (7.2–5.3 Ma BP) in age were surveyed. During field soil descriptio…
On the Presence of Pipistrelle Bats (PipistrellusandHypsugo; Chiroptera: Vespertilionidae) in Sardinia
2011
Islands are biodiversity hotspots, often containing numerous endemic species. This makes them also hotspots for conservation. Within the Mediterranean region, Sardinia is known for its comparatively high degree of endemism, including cryptic diversity. In this paper we aim to elucidate the variability of pipistrelles (Pipistrellus and Hypsugo) on Sardinia. More specifically, we ask which species occur on Sardinia and we describe the geographic affiliations of these evolutionary lineages. We sequenced ca. 560 bp of the 16S rRNA gene from 36 pipistrelle specimens representing 17 localities from all major parts of Sardinia. For comparison we added samples from the entire Mediterranean region a…
Degradation of simazine by microorganisms isolated from soils of Spanish olive fields.
2005
Special Issue: Pesticides, Microbial Functions and Biodiversity in Soil; The capability of the microbial flora isolated from an olive field soil from Andalusia to mineralize simazine has been analyzed. From this soil, a group of bacteria capable of degrading 60 mg simazine litre-1 in less than a week has been isolated. These microorganisms showed a low capacity for degrading this herbicide to carbon dioxide. When total DNA was isolated from this group of bacteria, we were able to detect by PCR the presence of only the atzC and the trzN genes. Some components of this bacterial population have been identified by sequencing of specific fragments from bacterial 16S rDNA, including Variovorax sp…
Immunogenicity and reactogenicity of HbOC vaccine administered simultaneously with acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) into either arms or thighs of i…
1997
To evaluate the reactogenicity and immunogenicity of a Haemophilus influenzae type b conjugate vaccine (HbOC) and of a tricomponent acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) when injected simultaneously into either contralateral arms or into contralateral thighs, 110 infants were enrolled to receive three doses of DTaP at 3, 4, and 5 months and two HbOC doses at 3 and 5 months of age. Administration of either of the two vaccines into arms was associated with significantly more local side effects than administration into thighs. There was no difference in geometric mean concentration (GMC) values for any of the four vaccine antigens between subjects who had been vaccinated into arms or thighs. Afte…