Search results for "barrier"
showing 10 items of 678 documents
Flotillin-involved uptake of silica nanoparticles and responses of an alveolar-capillary barrier in vitro
2013
AbstractDrug and gene delivery via nanoparticles across biological barriers such as the alveolar-capillary barrier of the lung constitutes an interesting and increasingly relevant field in nanomedicine. Nevertheless, potential hazardous effects of nanoparticles (NPs) as well as their cellular and systemic fate should be thoroughly examined. Hence, this study was designed to evaluate the effects of amorphous silica NPs (Sicastar) and (poly)organosiloxane NPs (AmOrSil) on the viability and the inflammatory response as well as on the cellular uptake mechanisms and fate in cells of the alveolar barrier. For this purpose, the alveolar epithelial cell line (NCI H441) and microvascular endothelial…
A Neurovascular Blood–Brain Barrier In Vitro Model
2014
The cerebral microvasculature possesses certain cellular features that constitute the blood-brain barrier (BBB) (Abbott et al., Neurobiol Dis 37:13-25, 2010). This dynamic barrier separates the brain parenchyma from peripheral blood flow and is of tremendous clinical importance: for example, BBB breakdown as in stroke is associated with the development of brain edema (Rosenberg and Yang, Neurosurg Focus 22:E4, 2007), inflammation (Kuhlmann et al., Neurosci Lett 449:168-172, 2009; Coisne and Engelhardt, Antioxid Redox Signal 15:1285-1303, 2011), and increased mortality. In vivo, the BBB consists of brain endothelial cells (BEC) that are embedded within a precisely regulated environment conta…
Thermophysical-Property-Based Selection of Tool Protective Coatings for Dry Machining of Steels
2003
A method is proposed for determining the optimum cutting conditions in dry turning of carbon and stainless steels using multilayer coated tools for physical criteria such as the maximum temperature of a cutting tool or maximum heat flux. The modified thermal number describing the tool-chip behavior, is introduced. The correlation between the thermal number and the average tool-chip interface temperature and frictional heat flux is examined for both flat-faced and grooved rake configurations. Although not shown here directly, the thermal barrier effect observed for multilayer coatings with an intermediate Al2O3 layer increases the heat partition to the chip at substantially reduced cutting t…
Increasing understanding and confidence in THM simulations of engineered barrier systems
2020
Previous studies on the modelling of coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical (THM) processes in bentonite-based engineered barrier systems (EBSs) showed the sensitivity of the output quantities to changes in the input parameters. To investigate the effects of uncertainties on the modelling results, to improve the understanding of the coupled processes active in the repository near field and to gain in-depth understanding of model uncertainties of different codes, a sensitivity analysis and code comparison of EBS simulations was performed within the Task Force on Engineered Barrier Systems. The analysis included variations in material parameter values, boundary and initial conditions, considered phy…
A Review of Building Information Modelling for Construction in Developing Countries
2016
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is wide ly seen as a catalyst for innovation and productivity in the construction industry. BIM can assist a more sustainable construction process that in turn may contribute to eradicating poverty in developing c ountries (Un ited Nation Millennium Goals). While BIM is increasingly be ing adopted in developed coun tries, implementations in the developing country context are rare. Research has establishe d how construction firms struggle from several limitations having to do with the socio - economic and technological environment found in developing countries. Examples of issues preventing BIM adoption include a shortage of IT - literate personnel as wel…
Evaluation of the Safety Performance of Turbo Roundabouts by Means of a Potential Accident Rate Mode
2015
Turbo roundabouts are a particular road intersection layout, designed to increase the safety of double-lane roundabouts, while maintaining their excellent capacity. The main feature of this new concept of roundabout is the impossibility to move from one lane to another, provided by physical barriers marking the lanes. The paper shows an application to turbo roundabouts of a potential accident rate model, aiming to evaluate their safety improvement. Themodel is based on the concept of potential conflict: each vehicle involved in a general intersection performs a series of maneuvers which potentially imply a crash, according to the actual traffic. The number of accidents related to each criti…
Barriers to Integrated Marketing Communications: The Case of Latvia (small markets)
2012
Abstract No promotional tool should be used in isolation or without regard to the others; hence there is a trend toward integrated marketing communications. Many conclusions of researchers and most of the studies justify the effectiveness of the IMC and point to multiple advantages in comparison to the classical MC. In comparison to the classical MC, the IMC also in small markets declare exigency and ensure higher effectiveness. But the development and application of the IMC also has several problems or barriers. The purpose of this study is to investigate barriers to Integrated Marketing Communications in Latvian market (small markets). According to accomplished interrogation, the most imp…
Reconstruction and simulation of the vehicle to road safety barrier oblique collision based on the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm
2012
Vehicle crash modeling and reconstruction is an important field for research since the safety statistics from many countries show that the fatality rate of passenger vehicle occupants involved in road accidents is high. In particular, side impact are considered to be a serious problem. For this reason, in this paper, there is presented a methodology to reconstruct a given vehicle to road safety barrier oblique collision. An easy to analyze, viscoelastic model is established to represent a vehicle crash event. The reasonable modeling simplifications are assumed (namely: the vehicle is rigid and deformation of the safety barrier is negligible) which let the computational efficiency of the pro…
Bolstering firm growth : Kasvu Open 2014
2015
There has been a significant increase in SME growth research in recent years as its macroeconomic effect has become better understood. Firm growth has a significant influence on national economic health, especially small economies such as Finland, yet scholars agree that little is known about the phenomena. Authors of this study aim deliver a broader and more holistic approach to firm growth research and integrate currently fragmented constructs. By studying participants of Kasvu Open 2014, this study contributes to firm growth research by providing a new and unique context. Existing firm growth research has examined the effect of growth intention on firm growth, but few studies have addres…
Water reuse from wastewater treatment: The transition towards circular economy in the water sector
2022
Water is crucial for economic development since it interacts with the agricultural, production, and energy sec-tors. However, the increasing demand and climate change put pressure on water sources. This paper argued the necessity of using reclaimed water for irrigation within the scope of a circular economy. The barriers (i.e., technological and economic, institutional/regulatory, and social) to water reuse practices were revealed. Lessons on how to overcome the barriers were learned from good practices. The roadmaps adopted in the European Union for the transition towards the circular economy were reviewed. It has been observed that these roadmaps are generally on the circularity of solid …