Search results for "active"
showing 10 items of 5361 documents
Advances in the understanding of mast cell function
2008
Mast cells were formerly thought to contribute mainly to, sometimes even, fatal allergic reactions through the release of biologically highly active cytokines, chemokines, lipid mediators, proteases and biogenic amines. This potential harmful response is triggered by crosslinking of cell-bound IgE by the respective allergen. This review updates our current understanding of the emerging roles of mast cells with an emphasis on their relevance in protective host immunity. The activation of mast cells independently of Immunoglobulin E can lead to the initiation of fast inflammatory reactions, which were shown to be life-saving in murine models of bacterial infections. Besides their critical fun…
Toll-like receptor-2 is essential in murine defenses against Candida albicans infections
2004
In this work, we studied the role of toll-like receptor-2 (TLR2) in murine defenses against Candida albicans. TLR2-deficient mice experimentally infected intraperitoneally (i.p.) or intravenously (i.v.) in vivo had very significant impaired survival compared with that of control mice. In vitro production of TNF-alpha and macrophage inhibitory protein-2 (MIP-2) by macrophages from TLR2-/- mice in response to yeasts and hyphae of C. albicans were significantly lower (80% and 40%, respectively; P <0.05) than production by macrophages from wild-type mice. This impaired production of TNF-alpha and MIP-2 probably contributed to the 41% decreased recruitment of neutrophils to the peritoneal cavity…
Energy performance evaluation of a demo solar desiccant cooling system with heat recovery for the regeneration of the adsorption material
2012
Abstract Since July 2008, a Solar Desiccant Evaporative Cooling (DEC) system has been operating as a test plant at the solar laboratory of the Dipartimento di Energia (ex DREAM) of the University of Palermo. The system is composed of an air handling unit (AHU) designed for ventilation of the laboratory coupled with a radiant ceiling that provides most of the required sensible cooling/heating energy. Flat plate collectors deliver part of the regeneration heat of the desiccant wheel during the summertime and are used for space heating during the wintertime. The system was designed for high humidity loads because of the typical climate conditions at the site and the need to support a radiant c…
Bubble fractionation of enantiomers from solution using molecularly imprinted polymers as collectors.
1998
Adsorptive bubble separation methods have been used to enrich components from both heterogeneous and homogeneous solutions. These methods are particularly effective for processing large solution volumes at low cost. Previous work demonstrated that chiral, surface-active collectors could be used to enrich enantiomers from homogeneous solution in a foam fractionation process. In a significant extension of this work, the use of highly selective molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) and heterogeneous solutions for the bubble flotation of enantiomers was evaluated. The high selectivity and ease of recycling of the MIP make this a potentially powerful approach for process-scale separations from l…
Demonstration of an efficient pumping scheme for a 7.36-nm Ni-like samarium soft x-ray laser
2010
The demonstration of a 7.36 nm Ni-like Sm soft x-ray laser pumped by 36 J of a Nd:glass chirped pulse amplification laser is presented. Double-pulse single-beam non-normal incidence pumping was applied for the efficient soft x-ray laser generation. Here the applied technique included a new single optic focusing geometry for large beam diameters, a single-pass grating compressor traveling-wave tuning capability and an optimized high energy laser double-pulse. This scheme has the potential for even shorter wavelength soft x-ray laser pumping.
Using ATR-FTIR Spectroscopy To Design Active Antimicrobial Food Packaging Structures Based on High Molecular Weight Chitosan Polysaccharide
2007
ATR-FTIR spectroscopy has been used in this study to characterize the molecular mechanisms and kinetic processes that take place when a chitosonium acetate thin coating is put in contact with water solutions, Staphylococcus aureus solutions, microbial nutrient solutions, and with a high water activity TSA hydrogel medium to simulate the effect of direct contact with high moisture foods such as fresh meats, fish, and seafood products or beverages. The results of this work suggest that the biocide carboxylate groups that form when chitosan is cast from acetic acid solutions are being continuously evaporated from the formed film in the form of acetic acid (mechanism I) in the presence of envir…
Influence of Heavy Metal Concentration on Chlorophyll Content in Pleurozium schreberi Mosses
2020
Abstract The aim of biomonitoring is assessment of environment condition. Biomonitoring studies with the use of mosses focus mainly on analytes accumulation and determining elements’ concentrations in the study area. It is often forgotten that a bioindicator should be alive during biomonitoring studies (which can be determined by, e.g., analysis of chlorophyll content). The objective of the carried out research was an assessment of the influence of selected heavy metals concentration: Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb accumulated by Pleurozium schreberi mosses during 3-month exposition within active biomonitoring, on their vitality, assessed by an analysis of a and b chlorophyll concentrations. The stu…
Lichen rehydration in heavy metal polluted environments: Pb modulates the oxidative response of both Ramalina farinacea thalli and its isolated micro…
2014
Lichens are adapted to desiccation/rehydration and accumulate heavy metals, which induce ROS especially from the photobiont photosynthetic pigments. Although their mechanisms of abiotic stress tolerance are still to be unravelled, they seem related to symbionts' reciprocal upregulation of antioxidant systems. With the aim to study the effect of Pb on oxidative status during rehydration, the kinetics of intracellular ROS, lipid peroxidation and chlorophyll autofluorescence of whole Ramalina farinacea thalli and its isolated microalgae (Trebouxia TR1 and T. TR9) was recorded. A genetic characterization of the microalgae present in the thalli used was also carried out in order to assess possib…
Impaired cellular cholesterol efflux by oxysterol-enriched high density lipoproteins.
1997
One of the proposed antiatherogenicity role of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) is believed to stimulate removal of cholesterol from the peripheral cells back to the liver for excretion. We have investigated the effects of oxidation-related modifications of HDL on their ability to stimulate cholesterol efflux from cultured cells. Human HDL (HDL3, 1.13 < d < 1.21 g/ml) have been modified either by malondialdehyde or by copper-mediated oxidation (Ox-HDL3). Compared with native HDL3, the modified HDL3 resulted in a significantly reduced efflux of labeled cholesterol from preloaded macrophages (P388D1 cell line). Analysis of lipid composition of Ox-HDL3 by gas chromatography revealed the presenc…
Performance of short-chain alcohols versus acetonitrile in the surfactant-mediated reversed-phase liquid chromatographic separation of β-blockers
2010
Organic solvents are traditionally added to micellar mobile phases to achieve adequate retention times and peak profiles, in a chromatographic mode which has been called micellar liquid chromatography (MLC). The organic solvent content is limited to preserve the formation of micelles. However, at increasing organic solvent contents, the transition to a situation where micelles do not exist is gradual. Also, there is no reason to neglect the potentiality of mobile phases containing only surfactant monomers instead of micelles (high submicellar chromatography, HSC). This is demonstrated here for the analysis of β-blockers. The performance of four organic solvents (methanol, ethanol, 1-propano…