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Search results for: DEGRADATION MECHANISMS
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Diphosphinoboranes as Intramolecular Frustrated Lewis Pairs: P–B–P Bond Systems for the Activation of Dihydrogen, Carbon Dioxide, and Phenyl Isocyanate
PublicationHerein, we present the first example of the activation of small molecules by P-B-P bond systems. The reactivity study involves reactions of two selected diphosphinoboranes, (tBu2P)2BPh (1’) and (Cy2P)2BNiPr2 (2), that differ in terms of their structural and electronic properties for the activation of dihydrogen, carbon dioxide, and phenyl isocyanate. Diphosphinoborane 1’ activates H2 under very mild conditions in the absence of...
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Trends in Locally Balanced Energy Systems without the Use of Fossil Fuels: A Review
PublicationIn recent years, the idea of the operation of energy systems (power systems, heating systems) has changed significantly. This paper is an overview of locally balanced energy systems without the use of fossil fuels. The paper justifies the concept of local energy balancing in a new energy system that does not use fossil fuels (coal, natural gas, and crude oil), based on European Union guidelines and formal documents as well as the...
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Ongoing progress on novel nanocomposite membranes for the separation of heavy metals from contaminated water
PublicationMembranes, as the primary separation element of membrane-based processes, have greatly attracted the attention of researchers in several water treatment applications, including wastewater treatment, water purification, water disinfection, toxic and non-toxic chemical molecules, heavy metals, among others. Today, the removal of heavy metals from water has become challenging, in which chemical engineers are approaching new materials...
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An automated, low-latency environment for studying the neural basis of behavior in freely moving rats
PublicationBackground Behavior consists of the interaction between an organism and its environment, and is controlled by the brain. Brain activity varies at sub-second time scales, but behavioral measures are usually coarse (often consisting of only binary trial outcomes). Results To overcome this mismatch, we developed the Rat Interactive Foraging Facility (RIFF): a programmable interactive arena for freely moving rats with multiple feeding...
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3D X-ray Micro-CT Analysis of Rebar Corrosion in Reinforced Concrete Subjected to a Chloride-Induced Environment
PublicationThe paper presents experimental investigations of the concrete cover protective ability to coun-teract rebar corrosion in reinforced concrete cubes. To study and quantify the consequences of corrosion a reinforced concrete sample was subjected to chloride-induced environment in order to get corroded and combined with un-corroded sample. Chloride-accelerated technique can in-duce a high degree of corrosion within at a controlled...
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Modelling charge transfer processes in C2+ -tetrahydrofuran collision for ion-induced radiation damage in DNA building blocks
PublicationInvestigations of collision-induced processes involving carbon ions and molecules of biological interest in particular DNA building blocks, are crucial to model the effect of radiation on cells in order to improve medical treatments for cancer therapy. Using carbon ions appears to be one of the most efficient ways to increase biological effectiveness to damage cancerous cells by irradiating deep-seated tumors. Therefore, interest...
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The Role of Electron Transfer in the Fragmentation of Phenyl and Cyclohexyl Boronic Acids
PublicationIn this study, novel measurements of negative ion formation in neutral potassium-neutral boronic acid collisions are reported in electron transfer experiments. The fragmentation pattern of phenylboronic acid is comprehensively investigated for a wide range of collision energies, i.e., from 10 to 1000 eV in the laboratory frame, allowing some of the most relevant dissociation channels to be probed. These studies were performed in...
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The Quantum Efficiency Roll-Off Effect in Near-Infrared Organic Electroluminescent Devices with Iridium Complexes Emitters
PublicationThe electroluminescence quantum efficiency roll-off in iridium(III)-based complexes, namely Ir(iqbt)2(dpm) and Ir(iqbt)3(iqbt=1 (benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl)-isoquinolinate, dpm=2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionate) utilized as near-infrared emitters in organic light emitting diodes with remarkable external quantum efficiencies, up to circa 3%, 1.5% and 1%, are measured and analyzed. With a 5–6 weight % of emitters embedded...
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3D Metamaterial Ultra-Wideband Absorber for curved surface
PublicationThis paper proposes a three-dimensional metamaterial absorber based on a resistive film patch array to develop a low-cost, lightweight absorber for curved surfaces. An excellent absorption over a large frequency band is achieved through two different yet controllable mechanisms; In the first mechanism, a considerable attenuation in the wave power is achieved via graphite resistive films. The absorption is then intensified through...
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Interactions between polyphenolic antioxidants quercetin and naringenin dictate the distinctive redox-related chemical and biological behaviour of their mixtures
PublicationFood synergy concept is suggested to explain observations that isolated antioxidants are less bioactive than real foods containing them. However, mechanisms behind this discrepancy were hardly studied. Here, we demonstrate the profound impact of interactions between two common food flavonoids (individual: aglycones quercetin—Q and naringenin—N− or their glycosides rutin—R and naringin—N+ vs. mixed: QN− and RN+) on their electrochemical...
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The Interaction of Heptakis (2,6-di-O-Methyl)-β-Cyclodextrin with Mianserin Hydrochloride and Its Influence on the Drug Toxicity
PublicationOne tetracyclic antidepressant, mianserin hydrochloride (MIA), has quite significant side effects on a patients’ health. Cyclodextrins, which are most commonly used to reduce the undesirable features of contained drugs within their hydrophobic interior, also have the potential to alter the toxic behavior of the drug. The present paper contains investigations and the characteristics of interaction mechanisms for MIA and the heptakis...
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Electronic nose algorithm design using classical system identification for odour intensity detection
PublicationThe two elements considered crucial for constructing an efficient environmental odour intensity monitoring systems are sensors and algorithms typically addressed to as electronic nose sensor (e-nose). Due to operational complexity of biochemical sensors developed in human bodies algorithms based on computational methods of artificial intelligence are typically considered superior to classical model based approaches in development...
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Novel Biomass-Based Polymers: Synthesis, Characterization, and Application
PublicationA wide range of polymers were prepared from biomass-derivatives, using different polymerization mechanisms. Well-defined, fully hydroxy-functional polyesters based on aliphatic diols were synthesized, using either conventional metal-based catalysts or the organic superbase 1,5,7-triazabicyclododecene (TBD). Unsaturated polyesters were also made, offering additional functionality to these biobased resins. Metal-catalyzed or enzymatic...
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Experimental and analytical thermal study of PTFE composite sliding against high carbon steel as a function of the surface roughness, sliding velocity and applied load
PublicationThis study investigates the contact temperatures caused by frictional heating of sliding parallel pairs. In this case the materials studied are a PTFE composite in contact with a high carbon steel plate. These materials are commonly used for industrial applications, in particular as the main contacting components within a scroll expander system. The expected contact temperature values are important to be quantified in order to...
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Epigenetic Basis of Regeneration: Analysis of Genomic DNA Methylation Profiles in the MRL/MpJ Mouse
PublicationEpigenetic regulation plays essential role in cell differentiation and dedifferentiation, which are the intrinsic processes involved in regeneration. To investigate the epigenetic basis of regeneration capacity, we choose DNA methylation as one of the most important epigenetic mechanisms and the MRL/MpJ mouse as a model of mammalian regeneration known to exhibit enhanced regeneration response in different organs. We report the...
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Interactions of protons with furan molecules studied by collision-induced emission spectroscopy at the incident energy range of 50–1000 eV
PublicationInvestigations of the ion-molecule reactions provide insight into many fields ranging from the stellar wind interaction with interstellar media, up to medicine and industrial applications. Besides the applications, the understanding of these processes is itself a problem of fundamental importance. Thus, interactions of protons with the gas-phase furan molecules have been investigated for the first time in the energy range of 50–1000...
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Online sound restoration system for digital library applications.
PublicationAudio signal processing algorithms were introduced to the new online non-commercial service for audio restoration intended to enhance the content of digitized audio repositories. Missing or distorted audio samples are predicted using neural networks and a specific implementation of the Jannsen interpolation method based on the autoregressive model (AR) combined with the iterative restoring of missing signal samples. Since the distortion...
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Further Developments of the Online Sound Restoration System for Digital Library Applications
PublicationNew signal processing algorithms were introduced to the online service for audio restoration available at the web address: www.youarchive.net. Missing or distorted audio samples are estimated using a specific implementation of the Jannsen interpolation method. The algorithm is based on the autoregressive model (AR) combined with the iterative complementation of signal samples. Since the interpolation algorithm is computationally...
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Ionic liquids for nano- and microstructures preparation. Part 1: Properties and multifunctional role
PublicationIonic liquids (ILs) are a broad group of organic salts of varying structure and properties, used in energy conversion and storage, chemical analysis, separation processes, as well as in the preparation of particles in nano- and microscale. In material engineering, ionic liquids are applied to synthesize mainly metal nanoparticles and 3D semiconductor microparticles. They could generally serve as a structuring agent or as a reaction...
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Structural, physicochemical and anticancer study of Zn complexes with pyridyl-based thiazolyl-hydrazones
PublicationThiazolyl-hydrazones (THs) exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activity that can be enhanced by complexation with various metal ions. Zn(II) complexes with α-pyridine-1,3-TH ligands may represent an alternative to the standard platinum-based chemotherapeutics. In addition, they show photoluminescence properties and thus can be regarded as multifunctional materials. In this study, we synthesized and characterized three neutral...
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Studies on the formation of formaldehyde during 2-ethylhexyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate demethylation in the presence of reactive oxygen and chlorine species
PublicationIn order to protect the skin from UV radiation, personal care products (PCPS) often contain chemical UV-filters. These compounds can enter the environment causing serious consequences on the water ecosystems. The aim of this study was to examine, the effect of different factors, such as UV light, the presence of NaOCl and H2O2 on the formaldehyde formation during popular UV filter, 2-ethylhexyl 4-(dimethylamino)benzoate (ODPABA)...
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Encouraging pro-environmental behaviour through an educational mobile application: Preliminary insights from early adopters
PublicationThis article aims to explore the extent to which the educational mobile application PULA supports and promotes pro-environmental behaviours, identify the most utilised functionalities by early adopters, and explore the least engaged functionalities. The study employs a quantitative approach based on data collected from the application. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of users' experiences and behaviours within...
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Mechanical Properties of Additively Manufactured Polymeric Materials—PLA and PETG—For Biomechanical Applications
PublicationThe study presented herein concerns the mechanical properties of two common polymers for potential biomedical applications, PLA and PETG, processed through fused filament fabrication (FFF)—Material Extrusion (ME). For the uniaxial tension tests carried out, two printing orientations—XY (Horizontal, H) and YZ (Vertical, V)—were considered according to the general principles for part positioning, coordinates, and orientation typically...
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Agri-food waste biosorbents for volatile organic compounds removal from air and industrial gases – A review
PublicationApproximately 1.3 billion metric tons of agricultural and food waste is produced annually, highlighting the need for appropriate processing and management strategies. This paper provides an exhaustive overview of the utilization of agri-food waste as a biosorbents for the elimination of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from gaseous streams. The review paper underscores the critical role of waste management in the context of a...
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THE UNSUSTAINABILITY OF PUBLIC-SECTOR ORGANIZATIONAL NETWORKS: A CASE STUDY OF VOLUNTARY COURT NETWORKS
PublicationPurpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the problem of sustainability of public-sector 12 organizational networks on the example of common courts and what it implies for further 13 research. Methodology: The study used qualitative research tools in the form of structured 14 interviews. Interviews were conducted with 36 presidents and directors of common courts. 15 After conducting and transcribing each interview, their...
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CHEMOTHERAPY-MEDIATED COMPLICATIONS OF WOUND HEALING. AN UNDERSTUDIED SIDE EFFECT
PublicationSignificance: Chemotherapy is a primary method to treat cancer, but while cytotoxic drugs are designed to target rapidly dividing cancer cells, they can also affect other cell types, including dermal cells and macrophages involved in wound healing, which often leads to the development of chronic wounds. The situation becomes even more severe when chemotherapy is combined with surgical tumor excision. Recent advances: Despite its...
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Nanoparticles: Taking a Unique Position in Medicine
PublicationThe human nature of curiosity, wonder, and ingenuity date back to the age of humankind. In parallel with our history of civilization, interest in scientific approaches to unravel mechanisms underlying natural phenomena has been developing. Recent years have witnessed unprecedented growth in research in the area of pharmaceuticals and medicine. The optimism that nanotechnology (NT) applied to medicine and drugs is taking serious...
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Chemical hazard in glacial melt? The glacial system as a secondary source of POPs (in the Northern Hemisphere). A systematic review
PublicationToxicity of compounds belonging to persistent organic pollutants (POPs) iswidely known, and their re-emission from glaciers has been conclusively demonstrated. However, the harmful effects associated with such secondary emissions have yet to be thoroughly understood, especially in the spatial and temporal context, as the existing literature has a clear sampling biaswith the best recognition of sites in the European Alps. In this...
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Disaster Resilience of Optical Networks: State of the Art, Challenges, and Opportunities
PublicationFor several decades, optical networks, due to their high capacity and long-distance transmission range, have been used as the major communication technology to serve network traffic, especially in the core and metro segments of communication networks. Unfortunately, our society has often experienced how the correct functioning of these critical infrastructures can be substantially hindered by massive failures triggered by natural...
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DC and AC Conductivity, Biosolubility and Thermal Properties of Mg-Doped Na2O–CaO–P2O5 Glasses
PublicationBioactive glasses have recently been extensively used to replace, regenerate, and repair hard tissues in the human body because of their ability to bond with living tissue. In this work, the effects of replacing Na2O with MgO on the electrical, biosolubility, and thermal properties of the target glass 10Na2O–60P2O5–30CaO (in mol%) were investigated. The electrical properties of the glasses were studied with the impedance spectroscopy...
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A systematic review on cellular responses of Escherichia coli to nonthermal electromagnetic irradiation
PublicationInvestigation of Escherichia coli under electromagnetic fields is of significance in human studies owing to its short doubling time and human‐like DNA mechanisms. The present review aims to systematically evaluate the literature to conclude causality between 0 and 300 GHz electromagnetic fields and biological effects in E. coli. To that end, the OHAT methodology and risk of bias tool were employed. Exponentially growing cells exposed...
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Modifications to the anaerobic digestion model no. 1 (ADM1) for enhanced understanding and application of the anaerobic treatment processes – A comprehensive review
PublicationAnaerobic digestion (AD) is a promising method for the recovery of resources and energy from organic wastes. Correspondingly, AD modelling has also been developed in recent years. The International Water Association (IWA) Anaerobic Digestion Model No. 1 (ADM1) is currently the most commonly used structured AD model. However, as substrates become more complex and our understanding of the AD mechanism grows, both systematic and specific...
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Building Confidence and Trust in Ireland's National Maternity Services Workforce –What matters most and how?
PublicationNational surveys on care experiences are increasingly adopted as regulatory mechanisms for improving care quality and increasing public trust in healthcare services. Based on data collected as part of Ireland's 2020 National Maternity Experience Survey, this study investigates care-related factors that contribute most to confidence and trust in the professional workforce (or carers) within Irish maternity services. The survey covered...
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Encouraging Pro-environmental Behaviour Through an Educational Mobile Application: Preliminary Insights from Early Adopters
PublicationThis article aims to explore the extent to which the educational mobile application PULA supports and promotes pro-environmental behaviours, identify the most utilised functionalities by early adopters, and explore the least engaged functionalities. The study employs a quantitative approach based on data collected from the application. The analysis provides a comprehensive understanding of users' experiences and behaviours within...
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Telomerase inhibition - unfulfilled hopes in the perfect molecular target
PublicationTelomerase plays a pivotal role in cell proliferation, homeostasis, and neoplastic transformation, making it a promising molecular target for cancer chemotherapy. Of note, although hTERT has been explored thoroughly as a target, none of the promising molecules has been approved as a drug until now. The subject of research conducted as part of my doctoral dissertation is explaining the cellular and molecular mechanism of action...
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A Review on Metal–Organic Framework as a Promising Catalyst for Biodiesel Production ENERGY & FUELS
PublicationThe rapid depletion of fossil-derived fuels along with rising environmental pollution have motivated academics and manufacturers to pursue more environmentally friendly and sustainable energy options in today’s globe. Biodiesel has developed as an ecologically favorable alternative. However, the mass manufacturing of biodiesel on an industrial scale confronts substantial cost and pricing challenges. To address this issue, high-efficiency...
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The Mechanism of a Retro-Diels–Alder Fragmentation of Luteolin: Theoretical Studies Supported by Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry Results
PublicationThe mechanisms of retro-Diels–Alder fragmentation of luteolin are studied theoretically using the Density Functional Theory method (B3LYP hybrid functional) together with the 6-311++G(d,p) basis set and supported by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) results. The reaction paths leading to the formation of 1,3A and 1,3B fragment ions observed as the main spectral features in the ESI-MS spectrum are described...
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Influence of the grains shape on the mechanical behavior of granular materials
PublicationDiscrete Element Method is a numerical method suitable for modeling geotechnical problems concerning granular media. In most cases simple forms of grains, like discs or spheres, are used. But these shapes are capable of soil behavior modeling up to a certain point only, they cannot reflect all of the features of the medium (large shear resistance and large volumetric change). In order to reflect the complex behavior of the real...
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Epigenetic inhibitor zebularine activates ear pinna wound closure in the mouse
PublicationBackground:Most studies on regenerative medicine focus on cell-based therapies and transplantations.Small-molecule therapeutics, though proved effective in different medical conditions, have not been extensivelyinvestigated in regenerative research. It is known that healing potential decreases with development and devel-opmental changes are driven by epigenetic mechanisms, which suggests epigenetic repression of regenerativecapacity.Methods:We...
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Prophylaxis of Non-communicable Diseases: Why Fruits and Vegetables may be Better Chemopreventive Agents than Dietary Supplements Based on Isolated Phytochemicals?
PublicationThe World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2014 documented that non-communicable socalled civilization diseases such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer or type 2 diabetes are responsible for over 50% of all premature deaths in the world. Research carried out over the past 20 years has provided data suggesting that diet is an essential factor influencing the risk of development of these diseases....
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Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Poly(Lactic Acid) Blends Compatibilized by Peroxide Initiators: Comparison of Two Strategies
PublicationPoly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) and poly(lactic acid) (PLA) blends were compatibilized by reactive blending and by copolymers formed during reaction in the solution. The reactive blending of PCL/PLA was performed using di-(2-tert-butyl-peroxyisopropyl)benzene (BIB) or dicumyl peroxide (DCP) as radical initiator. PCL-g-PLA copolymers were prepared using 1.0 wt. % of DCP or BIB via reaction in solution, which was investigated through...
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Thermal Biomass Conversion: A Review
PublicationIn this paper, the most important methods of thermal conversion of biomass, such as: hydrothermal carbonization (180–250 °C), torrefaction (200–300 °C), slow pyrolysis (carbonization) (300–450 °C), fast pyrolysis (500–800 °C), gasification (800–1000 °C), supercritical steam gasification, high temperature steam gasification (>1000 °C) and combustion, were gathered, compared and ranked according to increasing temperature. A comprehensive...
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Compatibility of Crude Oil Blends─Processing Issues Related to Asphaltene Precipitation, Methods of Instability Prediction─A Review
PublicationProcessing crude oil of variable composition, especially due to the need to process crude oil blends obtained from various sources, presents a tremendous process challenge. This is mainly due to the destabilization of the colloidal system manifested mostly by the precipitation of the asphaltene fraction. The precipitation of asphaltenes from crude oil is a serious problem during extraction, transport, and processing. In the latter...
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How can systems thinking help us in the COVID‐19 crisis?
PublicationThe COVID-19 pandemic outbreak remains one of the most influential events in the global economy over the recent years. While being primarily public health related, it has a tremendous impact on many other aspects, including business management. Many businesses were forced to introduce rapid changes to their business models in order to survive. The aim of this paper is to show the complexity and interrelations of changes triggered...
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The potential interaction of environmental pollutants and circadian rhythm regulations that may cause leukemia
PublicationTumor suppressor genes are highly affected during the development of leukemia, including circadian clock genes. Circadian rhythms constitute an evolutionary molecular machinery involving many genes, such as BMAL1, CLOCK, CRY1, CRY2, PER1, PER2, REV-ERBa, and RORA, for tracking time and optimizing daily life during day-night cycles and seasonal changes. For circulating blood cells many of these genes coordinate their proliferation,...
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Rapid Variable-Resolution Parameter Tuning of Antenna Structures Using Frequency-Based Regularization and Sparse Sensitivity Updates
PublicationGeometry parameter tuning is an inherent part of antenna design process. While most often performed in a local sense, it still entails considerable computational expenses when carried out at the level of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) simulation models. Moreover, the optimization outcome may be impaired if good initial design is not available. This paper proposes a novel approach to fast and improved-reliability gradient-based...
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Relationship between Telomere Length, TERT Genetic Variability and TERT, TP53, SP1, MYC Gene Co-Expression in the Clinicopathological Profile of Breast Cancer
PublicationThe molecular mechanisms of telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) upregulation in breast cancer (BC) are complex. We compared genetic variability within TERT and telomere length with the clinical data of patients with BC. Additionally, we assessed the expression of the TERT, MYC, TP53 and SP1 genes in BC patients and in BC organoids (3D cell cultures obtained from breast cancer tissues). We observed the same correlation in the...
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Deciphering the Molecular Mechanism of Substrate-Induced Assembly of Gold Nanocube Arrays toward an Accelerated Electrocatalytic Effect Employing Heterogeneous Diffusion Field Confinement
PublicationThe complex electrocatalytic performance of gold nanocubes (AuNCs) is the focus of this work. The faceted shapes of AuNCs and the individual assembly processes at the electrode surfaces define the heterogeneous conditions for the purpose of electrocatalytic processes. Topographic and electron imaging demonstrated slightly rounded AuNC (average of 38 nm) assemblies with sizes of ≤1 μm, where the dominating patterns are (111) and...
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Fatigue of titanium alloy Ti6Al4V with diamond structure obtained by Laser Power Bed Fusion method
PublicationThis paper presents the results of fatigue tests conducted on Ti6Al4V titanium alloy with diamond structure obtained by the Laser Power Bed Fusion method. Samples used in tests were printed with porosities: 81%, 73%, 50%, 34% and near-zero porosity. Samples were subjected to cyclic tests with a constant stress amplitude. The number of cycles until sample failure was registered. Obtained fatigue test results made it possible to...
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Impact of aeration conditions on the removal of low concentrations of nitrogen in a tertiary partially aerated biological filter
PublicationA submerged biological aerated filter (BAF) partially aerated was used to study the removal of low concentrations of ammonia nitrogen (0.3 g N/m3 to 30.5 g N/m3) typically found in nutrient enriched river and lake waters, and treated effluents. Four series of experiments were performed with a synthetic wastewater at ammonia loading rates between 6 g N/m3 d and 903 g N/m3 d and C/N ratios from 2 to 20. The results showed that ammonia...