Search results for "dam"
showing 10 items of 3828 documents
2015
Head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) is the 7th most common cancer worldwide. Despite the development of new therapeutic agents such as monoclonal antibodies, prognosis did not change for the last decades. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) presents the most promising new technology in cancer treatment. In this study the efficacy of a surface micro discharging (SMD) plasma device against two head and neck cancer cell lines was proved. Effects on the cell viability, DNA fragmentation and apoptosis induction were evaluated with the MTT assay, alkaline microgel electrophoresis (comet assay) and Annexin-V/PI staining. MTT assay revealed that the CAP treatment markedly decreases the cell viabil…
2019
Phobalysin P (PhlyP, for photobacterial lysin encoded on a plasmid) is a recently described small β-pore forming toxin of Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae (Pdd). This organism, belonging to the family of Vibrionaceae, is an emerging pathogen of fish and various marine animals, which occasionally causes life-threatening soft tissue infections and septicemia in humans. By using genetically modified Pdd strains, PhlyP was found to be an important virulence factor. More recently, in vitro studies with purified PhlyP elucidated some basic consequences of pore formation. Being the first bacterial small β-pore forming toxin shown to trigger calcium-influx dependent membrane repair, PhlyP ha…
The impact of beaver dam removal on the chemical properties of water in drainage ditches in peatland forests
2020
Despite near-extinction in the nineteenth century, after efficient restoration measures the population of Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) in Latvia currently is viable and growing. While the ecol...
Metabolic detoxification: implications for thresholds.
2000
The fact that chemical carcinogenesis involves single, isolated, essentially irreversible molecular events as discrete steps, several of which must occur in a row to finally culminate in the development of a malignancy, rather suggests that an absolute threshold for chemical carcinogens may not exist. However, practical thresholds may exist due to saturable pathways involved in the metabolic processing, especially in the metabolic inactivation, of such compounds. An important example for such a pathway is the enzymatic hydrolysis of epoxides via epoxide hydrolases, a group of enzymes for which the catalytic mechanism has recently been established. These enzymes convert their substrates via…
Of ostriches, pyramids, and Swiss cheese
2018
Abstract Risk management for translations is a relatively new topic in translation science. Damages caused by translation errors can have grave consequences for all agents involved in the translation process, especially in safety-critical sectors. In these sectors, effective models and instruments for risk mitigation have long been established, with near-misses management being one of the most effective instruments. In this paper, we examine the structure of damages caused by translation errors and compare them to the structure of damages in safety-critical sectors in general. We find that damages caused by translation errors in safety-critical sectors are comparable to damages in safety-cr…
Intrinsic adhesive and cohesive assessment of the moisture sensitivity of bio-rejuvenated recycled asphalt binders
2019
Alternative binders not derived from fossil fuels, known as biobinders, are opening new paths for multiple applications in road infrastructure. Biobinders, usually produced from bio-oils obtained from the processing of biomass and industry by-products, are tuneable materials whose properties can be adjusted to meet specific targets. For this reason, an interesting approach is to couple biobinders with Reclaimed Asphalt (RA) by taking advantage of their rejuvenating properties to design bio-asphalt mixtures with high-content RA and no additional virgin bitumen. Recent research has proven the feasibility of this approach through validation at full-scale (BioRePavation project). However certai…
Mass data gathering and surveillance: the fight against facial recognition technology in the globalized world
2020
The growing use of facial recognition technologies has put them under the regulatory spotlight all around the world. The EU considers to regulate facial regulation technologies as a part of initiative of creating ethical and legal framework for trustworthy artificial intelligence. These technologies are attracting attention of the EU data protection authorities, e.g. in Sweden and the UK. In May, San Francisco was the first city in the US to ban police and other government agencies from using facial recognition technology, soon followed by other US cities. The paper aims to analyze the impact of facial recognition technology on the fundamental rights and values as well as the development of…
Spontaneous domain formation of phospholipase A2 at interfaces: fluorescence microscopy of the interaction of phospholipase A2 with mixed monolayers …
1992
Abstract Fluorescence microscopy has recently been proven to be an ideal tool to investigated the specific interaction of phospholipase A 2 with oriented substrate monolayers. Using a dual labeling technique, it could be shown that phospholipase A 2 can specifically attack and hydrolyze solid analogous l -α-DPPC domains. After a critical extent of monolayer hydrolysis the enzyme itself starts to aggregate forming regular shaped protein domains (Grainger et al. (1990) Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1023. 365–379). In order to confirm that the existence of hydrolysis products in the mononlayer is necessary for the observed aggregation of phospholipase A 2 , mixed monolayers of d - and l -α-DPPC, l -α…
Evolution of external female genital mutilation : why do males harm their mates?
2017
Sperm competition may select for male reproductive traits that influence female mating or oviposition rate. These traits may induce fitness costs to the female; however, they may be costly for the males as well as any decrease in female fitness also affects male fitness. Male adaptations to sperm competition manipulate females by altering not only female behaviour or physiology, but also female morphology. In orb-weaving spiders, mating may entail mutilation of external structures of the female genitalia, which prevents genital coupling with subsequent males. Here, we present a game theoretical model showing that external female genital mutilation is favoured even under relatively high cost…