scholarly journals Lubrication Performances of Carbon-Doped MoSe2 Nanoparticles and Their Biocompatibility Characterization In Vitro

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha Wang ◽  
Tao Hou ◽  
Yihong Li ◽  
Hailin Lu ◽  
Li Gao
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
Friction Coefficient ◽  
Ultrasonic Method ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Carbon Doped ◽  
Oil Additives ◽  
Lubrication Effect

Health and environmental protection issues have become major focus areas in many research and development projects. In this context, recent MTT cytotoxicity assessments performed on carbon-doped MoSe2 nanoparticles have indicated that they exhibit excellent biocompatibility. Therefore, these nanoparticles have attracted considerable interest from researchers worldwide. Herein, we report the successful synthesis of carbon-doped MoSe2 nanoparticles using an ultrasonic method to enhance their lubrication effect for use as oil additives. Carbon-doped MoSe2 nanoparticles are smaller than untreated MoSe2 nanoparticles and can easily access the contact area to form a tribofilm, reducing the friction coefficient and generating less wear. Moreover, carbon-doped MoSe2 nanoparticles and waste water prepared with the nanoparticles display excellent biocompatibility. Hence, they can be used in practical applications such as oil additives.

scholarly journals Lifecycle Design of Disruptive SCADA Systems for Waste-Water Treatment Installations

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4950
Author(s):  
Stelian Brad ◽  
Mircea Murar ◽  
Grigore Vlad ◽  
Emilia Brad ◽  
Mariuța Popanton
Keyword(s):  
Waste Water ◽  
Water Treatment ◽  
Waste Water Treatment ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Competitive Advantages ◽  
Major Focus ◽  
Scada System ◽  
Scada Systems ◽  
And Control ◽  
Lifecycle Design

Capacity to remotely monitor and control systems for waste-water treatment and to provide real time and trustworthy data of system’s behavior to various stakeholders is of high relevance. SCADA systems are used to undertake this job. SCADA solutions are usually conceptualized and designed with a major focus on technological integrability and functionality. Very little contributions are brought to optimize these systems with respect to a mix of target functions, especially considering a lifecycle perspective. In this paper, we propose a structured methodology for optimizing SCADA systems from a lifecycle perspective for the specific case of waste-water treatment units. The methodology embeds techniques for handling entropy in the design process and to assist engineers in designing effective solutions in a space with multiple constrains and conflicts. Evolutionary multiple optimization algorithms are used to handle this challenge. After the foundation of the theoretical model calibrated for the specific case of waste-water treatment units, a practical example illustrates its applicability. It is shown how the model can lead to a disruptive solution, which integrates cloud computing, IoT, and data analytics in the SCADA system, with some competitive advantages in terms of flexibility, cost effectiveness, and increased value added for both integrators and beneficiaries.

scholarly journals Heterodimer Formation of the Homodimeric ABC Transporter OpuA

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (11) ◽  
pp. 5912
Author(s):  
Patricia Alvarez-Sieiro ◽  
Hendrik R. Sikkema ◽  
Bert Poolman
Keyword(s):  
Abc Transporter ◽  
Conformational Dynamics ◽  
Host Organism ◽  
Affinity Tag ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Fundamental Research ◽  
Protein Multimerization ◽  
Biochemical Analyses

Many proteins have a multimeric structure and are composed of two or more identical subunits. While this can be advantageous for the host organism, it can be a challenge when targeting specific residues in biochemical analyses. In vitro splitting and re-dimerization to circumvent this problem is a tedious process that requires stable proteins. We present an in vivo approach to transform homodimeric proteins into apparent heterodimers, which then can be purified using two-step affinity-tag purification. This opens the door to both practical applications such as smFRET to probe the conformational dynamics of homooligomeric proteins and fundamental research into the mechanism of protein multimerization, which is largely unexplored for membrane proteins. We show that expression conditions are key for the formation of heterodimers and that the order of the differential purification and reconstitution of the protein into nanodiscs is important for a functional ABC-transporter complex.

Meta-analysis on reporting practices as a source of heterogeneity in in vitro cancer research

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timo Sander ◽  
Joly Ghanawi ◽  
Emma Wilson ◽  
Sajjad Muhammad ◽  
Malcolm Robert Macleod ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Cancer Research ◽  
Brain Cancer ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Development Projects ◽  
Early Step ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Drug Concentrations ◽  
Meta Regression

Background: Heterogeneity of results of exact same research experiments oppose a significant socio-economic burden. In vitro research presents the early step of basic science and drug development projects. Insufficient methodological reporting is likely to be one of the contributors to results heterogeneity, however, little knowledge on reporting habits of in vitro cancer research and their effects on results reproducibility is available. Glioblastoma is a form of brain cancer with largely unmet clinical need. Methods: Here we use systematic review to describe reporting practices in in vitro glioblastoma research using the U87-MG cell line and perform multilevel random-effects meta-analysis followed by meta-regression to explore sources of heterogeneity within that literature, and any associations between reporting characteristics and reported findings. Results: In 137 identified articles, the overall methodological reporting is disappointing, e.g., the control type, mediums glucose level and cell density are reported in only 36.5, 21.2 and 16.8 percent of the articles, respectively. After adjustments for different drug concentrations and treatment durations, a three-level meta-analysis proves meaningful results heterogeneity across the studies (I2 = 70.1%). Conclusions: Our results further support the ongoing efforts of establishing consensus reporting practices to elevate durability of results. By doing so, we hope that this work will raise awareness of how stricter reporting may help to improve the frequency of successful translation of preclinical results into human application, not only in neuro-oncology. Funding: We received no specific funding for this project.

scholarly journals An In-Vitro Study of Molecular Effects of a Combination Treat-ment with Antibiotics and Nanofluid Containing Carbon Nano-tubes on Klebsiella pneumoniae

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Mehdizadeh ◽  
Mojgan Sheikhpour ◽  
Iman Salahshourifar ◽  
Seyed Davar Siadat ◽  
Parvaneh Saffarian
Keyword(s):  
Klebsiella Pneumoniae ◽  
Virulence Genes ◽  
Ultrasonic Method ◽  
Virulence Gene ◽  
In Vitro Study ◽  
Negative Control ◽  
Resistant Isolate ◽  
Simultaneous Treatment ◽  
Virulence Gene Expression

Background: We aimed to prepare a nanofluid, containing f-MWCNTs, and investigate the antibacterial efficacy of f-MWCNTs+ ciprofloxacin (cip) on Klebsiella pneumoniae by evaluating the virulence gene expression. Methods: This study was carried out from 2019 to 2020, in the Department of Mycobacteriology and Pulmonary Research, Pasteur Institute of Iran. The nanofluid containing antibiotic and f-MWCNTs were prepared by the ultrasonic method. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of ciprofloxacin and f-MWCNTs were determined using the broth micro dilution MIC tests. For examining the antibacterial effects, the expression level of virulence genes, under the influence of f-MWCNTs, was evaluated by a real-time PCR. Results: The effect of 8 µg/ml ciprofloxacin + 400 µg/ml f-MWCNTs, completely inhibited the growth of the resistant isolate of K. pneumoniae, while, in the ATCC 700,603 isolate, 2 µg/ml ciprofloxacin with 100 µg/ml f-MWCNT could inhibit a bacterial growth. In the resistant K. pneumoniae clinical isolate, after f-MWCNT+cip treatment, the expression of fimA, fimD, wza, and wzi genes was significantly downregulated, compared to the ciprofloxacin treatment, and upregulated, compared to the negative control. For the ATCC 700,603 isolate treated with f-MWCNT+cip, the expression of fimA, fimD and wza virulence genes showed upregulation, compared to the negative control and downregulated in comparison with the ciprofloxacin treatment. Conclusion: Simultaneous treatment of resistant isolate of K. pneumoniae with f-MWCNTs +antibiotic could improve the effectiveness of antibiotic at lower doses, due to the reduced expression of virulence genes in comparison with antibiotic treatment, besides the increased cell wall permeability to antibiotics.

scholarly journals Extraction, Purification and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity Evaluation of Phenolic Compounds in California Olive Pomace

Foods ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 174
Author(s):  
Hefei Zhao ◽  
Roberto J. Avena-Bustillos ◽  
Selina C. Wang
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Antioxidant Activities ◽  
Natural Antioxidants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Total Phenolic ◽  
Olive Pomace ◽  
Antioxidant Power ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Crude Extracts

Olive pomace (OP) is a valuable food byproduct that contains natural phenolic compounds with health benefits related to their antioxidant activities. Few investigations have been conducted on OP from the United States while many studies on European OP have been reported. OP of Arbequina, the most common cultivar from California, was collected and extracted by water, 70% methanol and 70% ethanol, followed by purification using macroporous absorbing resin. Results showed that the extractable total phenolic content (TPC) was 36–43 mg gallic acid equivalents (GAE)/g in pitted, drum-dried defatted olive pomace (DOP), with major contributions from hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, rutin, verbascoside, 4-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid, hydroxytyrosol-glucoside and tyrosol-glucoside. Macroporous resin purification increased TPC by 4.6 times the ethanol crude extracts of DOP, while removing 37.33% total sugar. The antioxidant activities increased 3.7 times Trolox equivalents (TrE) by DPPH and 4.7 times TrE by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) in the resin purified extracts compared to the ethanol crude extracts. This study provided a new understanding of the extraction of the bioactive compounds from OP which could lead to practical applications as natural antioxidants, preservatives and antimicrobials in clean-label foods in the US.

Nanoparticle-functionalized microcapsules for in vitro delivery and sensing

Nanophotonics ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 171-180 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susana Carregal-Romero ◽  
Markus Ochs ◽  
Wolfgang J. Parak
Keyword(s):  
Quantum Dots ◽  
Magnetic Nanoparticles ◽  
Optical Excitation ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Inorganic Nanoparticles ◽  
Hybrid Particles ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Field Gradients ◽  
Magnetic Field Gradients

AbstractInorganic nanoparticles such as magnetic nanoparticles, fluorescent quantum dots, and plasmonic nanoparticles can be used as building blocks for designing multifunctional systems based on polymeric capsules. The properties of the inorganic nanoparticles hereby are harnessed to provide additional functionality to the polymer capsules. Biological applications towards in vitro sensing and delivery are discussed. Examples will be given in which magnetic nanoparticles are used to direct capsules with magnetic field gradients, colloidal quantum dots are used to identify capsules via the formation of optical barcodes, and gold nanoparticles are used as light-controlled heat-sources for opening capsules and releasing macromolecules from their cavity upon optical excitation. This demonstrates that combination of inorganic nanoparticles and organic/polymeric molecules as carrier matrices allow for tailoring multifunctional hybrid particles for practical applications.

Aptamers against viral proteins as a tool to answer biological questions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Carolina Camargo
Keyword(s):  
Lentiviral Vector ◽  
Rna Aptamers ◽  
Target Cells ◽  
University Of Missouri ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Intracellular Expression ◽  
The University ◽  
Further Development ◽  
Viral Surface

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] There are two experimental chapters in this dissertation in which the fundamental questions center around aptamers and viruses and how these two concepts interlace. The first experimental chapter (chapter two) seeks to utilize previously characterized aptamers against HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase (RT) that will be delivered by a lentiviral vector and which intracellular expression from different human promoters was evaluated. The goal of this study was to identify important elements of vector design that will impact transgene expression in target cells. This study was based on the hypothesis that intracellular expression of RNA aptamers delivered by a lentiviral vector could offer a platform to enable adequate aptamer expression that would translate into viral suppression. And the second experimental chapter (chapter four) describes an in vitro 2'FY-RNA selection against Filoviral glycoproteins and outlines three different strategies that were followed to achieve selection of specific aptamers. Aptamers described in this chapter were able to recognize Ebolavirus glycoprotein ectodomain as well as in its native conformation displayed on the viral surface. Taking the observations obtained in this dissertation, aptamer technology could be expanded into further development for practical applications.

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