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Search results for: biological properties
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Immersive Technologies that Aid Additive Manufacturing Processes in CBRN Defence Industry
PublicationTesting unique devices or their counterparts for CBRN (C-chemical, B-biological, R-radiological, N-nuclear) defense relies on additive manufacturing processes. Immersive technologies aid additive manufacturing. Their use not only helps understand the manufacturing processes, but also improves the design and quality of the products. This article aims to propose an approach to testing CBRN reconnaissance hand-held products developed...
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What defines excellent lighting design for humans and animals?
PublicationWhat defines excellent lighting design for humans and animals? The answer to the above question is more than complex. It is not enough nowadays to design a project to make it aesthetically pleasing. Nor is it sufficient to create nicely lit environments, or simply to achieve the light levels required by the lighting norms or standards. With the new scientific research of the last few decades that relates directly or indirectly...
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Recent trends in determination of neurotoxins in aquatic environmental samples
PublicationAnatoxins, saxitoxins, ciguatoxins, beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine and its isomers are groups of neurotoxins which have a highly specific effect on the nervous system of animals, including humans, by interfering with the transmission of nerve impulses. In order to assess the human exposure to these neurotoxins, selective, interlaboratory-validated analytical methods are being developed to facilitate obtaining reliable results on...
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Polymeric porous membranes as solid support and protective material in microextraction processes: A review
PublicationPolymeric porous membranes have proven to be a versatile and efficient material for microextraction processes. In analytical practice, they are used both as a solid support and as a protective medium for improved sample preparation in various analytical applications. Polymeric porous membranes offer unique advantages in microextraction due to their large surface area and controllable pore size, eliminating interfering effects from...
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The interaction between bacterial abundance and selected pollutants concentration levels in an arctic catchment (southwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard)
PublicationPersistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been a topic of interest in environmental sciences for > 60 years. POPs in the Arctic have been investigated since the 1970s, when first atmospheric measurements revealed the presence of these pollutants in the polar regions. Major contaminant transport routes to the Arctic include atmospheric and oceanic transport, as well as inflow from rivers and sea ice. The sources of pollutants, such...
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Marine and Cosmic Inspirations for AI Algorithms
PublicationArtificial Intelligence (AI) is a scientific area that currently sees an enormous growth. Various new algorithms and methods are developed and many of them meets practical, successful applications. Authors of new algorithms draw different inspirations. Probably the most common one is the nature. For example, Artificial Neural Networks were inspired by the structure of human brain and nervous system while the classic Genetic Algorithm...
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Synthesis of disubstituted 1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano-[3,4-b]indole-1-acetic acids derivatives
Publication1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano[3,4-b ]indole-1-acetic acid derivatives are of interest for pharmaceutical research as a core structure for synthesis of biological active substance - Etodolac (selective Cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, which belongs to the Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug, NSAID, that shows a clin-ically effective analgesic and anti-inflammatory activity). Here the way of synthesis of two 1,3,4,9-tetrahydropyrano[3,4-b...
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Evolution of artificial single-cell organisms foraging for resources in a 3-dimensional environment
PublicationForaging for resources is a simple cognitive task that even one-celled biological organisms can ac- complish. We present an Artificial Life system in which artificial unicellular organisms (animats) forage for food in a 3-dimensional simulated liquid environment. The movement of animats is controlled by evolving artificial gene regulatory networks encoded in linear genomes. When an animat consumes enough food, it produces offspring...
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Influence of nitrogen and organic matter fractions on wastewater treatment in treatment wetland
PublicationMunicipal wastewater contains both biodegradable and non-degradable pollutants. Moreover, they are present in dissolved, colloidal and particulate forms. These fractions are characterised by various decomposition rates, hence their bioavailability during microbial respiration. It was confirm that biological degradation rate in terms of COD reduction is influenced by particle size speciation. Therefore, the objective of the study...
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Distillation cleanup preceded gc determination of short-chain monocarboxylic acids in aqueous and solid samples of wastewater origin = Oznaczanie krótkołańcuchowych kwasów monokarboksylowych w próbkach wodnych i stałych pochodzących z oczyszczalni ścieków z wykorzystaniem chromatografii gazowej poprzedzonej destylacją
PublicationShort-chain monocarboxylic acids (SCMAs) (C2-C5) formed in the process of aerobic biodegradation of larger organic molecules should often be monitored to optimize wastewater biological treatment and study the processes of converting organic waste matter into methane, etc. Gas chromatography (GC) seems a method of choice for such a task. Majority of samples require clean up before they can be injected into GC system. In this work...
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Balancing Energy Inputs/Outputs and GHG Emissions for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment – a Case Study
PublicationThe aim of the study is a model-based evaluation of the selected operating modes and technological upgrades on the energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a large wastewater treatment plant in the city of Slupsk (northern Poland). The considered scenarios focus on energy savings for aeration, increasing energy recovery via biogas cogeneration and reduction of the CO2 equivalent emission from both direct processes (related...
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Spectral measurement of birefringence using particle swarm optimization analysis
PublicationThe measurement of birefringence is useful for the examination of both technical and biological objects. One of the main problems is that the polarization state of light in birefringent media changes periodically. Without the knowledge of the period number, the birefringence of a given medium cannot be determined reliably. We propose to analyse the spectrum of light in order to determine the birefringence. We use a Particle Swarm...
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Modern solutions in the field of microextraction using liquid as a medium of extraction
PublicationThe monitoring of compounds present in samples at trace/ultra-trace level usually requires a preliminary step of isolation and/or enrichment of analytes. Against, sample preparation is considered as crucial part of whole analytical procedures, in particular in samples characterized by complex matrices composition. Several new miniaturized extraction techniques is introduced and extensively applied to different type of samples....
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DO WE NEED NAVIER NUMBER? – FURTHER REMARKS AND COMPARISON WITH ANOTHER DIMENSIONLESS NUMBERS
PublicationThis paper presents a role of the Navier number (Na-dimensionless slip-length) in universal modelling of flow reported in micro- and nano-channels like: capillary biological flows, fuel cell systems, micro-electro-mechanical systems and nano-electro-mechanical systems. Similar to another bulk-like and surface-like dimensionless numbers, the Na number should be treated as a ratio of internal viscous to external viscous momentum...
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IMPACT OF DIRECT CURRENT ON NITRIFYING BIOMASS
PublicationEffects of short term exposure of nitrifying biomass to direct current were studied. DC was applied to mixed liquor from municipal BNR plant using graphite electrodes in no substrate limiting conditions. Both, ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB) populations were affected by the current, however in opposite ways. The AOB population activity was inhibited by applied voltage. Activity decrease was...
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Occurrence of Cyanobacteria in the Gulf of Gdańsk (2008–2009)
PublicationBlooms of cyanobacteria develop each summer in the Baltic Sea. Collecting complete data on this phenomenon is helpful in understanding the changes taking place in the Baltic Sea and forecasting the occurrence of these phenomena in the future. This dataset includes unpublished information about the occurrence of cyanobacteria in the Gulf of Gdańsk (Southern Baltic) in 2008 and 2009. The presented data combines basic physic-ochemical...
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Towards Cancer Patients Classification Using Liquid Biopsy
PublicationLiquid biopsy is a useful, minimally invasive diagnostic and monitoring tool for cancer disease. Yet, developing accurate methods, given the potentially large number of input features, and usually small datasets size remains very challenging. Recently, a novel feature parameterization based on the RNA-sequenced platelet data which uses the biological knowledge from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, combined with a classifier...
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Modeling the Structure, Dynamics, and Transformations of Proteins with the UNRES Force Field
PublicationThe physics-based united-residue (UNRES) model of proteins ( www.unres.pl ) has been designed to carry out large-scale simulations of protein folding. The force field has been derived and parameterized based on the principles of statistical-mechanics, which makes it independent of structural databases and applicable to treat nonstandard situations such as, proteins that contain D-amino-acid residues. Powered by Langevin dynamics...
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Offshore surface waters of Antarctica are free of microplastics, as revealed by a circum-Antarctic study
PublicationIn 2018, during a circum navigation of Antarctica below 62° S by the sailing boat Katharsis II, the presence of plastics was investigated with surface sampling nets at ten evenly spaced locations (every 36° of longitude). Although fibres that appeared to be plastic (particles up to 2 cm) were found in numbers ranging from 1 particle (0.002 particles per m3) to 171 particles (1.366 particles per m3) per station, a Fourier-transform...
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Modern trends in solid phase extraction: New sorbent media
PublicationBased on the recently published literature, this review provides an update of the most important features and application of formats and devices employed in solid phase extraction (SPE). Special attention was paid on new trapping media proposed in SPE prior the chromatography analysis, based on the use of nanostructured materials, including carbon nanomaterials, electrospun nanofibers, dendrimes and magnetic nanoparticles, molecular...
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Biomimetic torene shells
PublicationThe genome inside the eukaryotic cells is guarded by a unique shell structure, called the nuclear envelope (NE), made of lipid membranes. This structure has an ultra torus topology with thousands of torus-shaped holes that imparts the structure a high flexural stiffness. Inspired from this biological design, here we present a novel ‘‘torene’’ architecture to design lightweight shell structures with ultra-stiffness for engineering...
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Influence of configurations of the beds on contaminations removal in hybrid constructed wetlands.
PublicationThree hybrid constructed wetlands in configuration HF-VF-HF in Poland and one with another configuration VF-HF-Pond in Gremany were analysed. These hybrid constructed wetlands provide the second stage biological treatment. They are located in Pommerania region, in Sarbsk, Wiklino and Wieszyno, and their capacities are 29.7, 18.6 and 24.5 m3/day, respectively. The analysed system in Germany in Waizenfeld (Gemeinde Pommelsbrunn,...
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Quantum Coherence as a Resource
PublicationThe coherent superposition of states, in combination with the quantization of observables, represents one of the most fundamental features that mark the departure of quantum mechanics from the classical realm. Quantum coherence in many-body systems embodies the essence of entanglement and is an essential ingredient for a plethora of physical phenomena in quantum optics, quantum information, solid state physics, and nanoscale thermodynamics....
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Water chemistry of tundra lakes in the periglacial zone of the Bellsund Fiord (Svalbard) in the summer of 2013
PublicationClimate changes observed in the Arctic (e.g. permafrost degradation, glacier retreat) may have significant influence on sensitive polar wetlands. The main objectives of this paper are defining chemical features of water within six small arctic lakes located in Bellsund (Svalbard) in the area of continuous permafrost occurrence. The unique environmental conditions of the study area offer an opportunity to observe phenomena influencing...
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Removal of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds in Sequencing Batch Reactor
PublicationIn recent years, considerable attention was paid to the presence of organic micro-pollutants such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in the aquatic environment due to their negative impact on public health and aquatic ecosystems. Numerous papers have pointed out API presence as common constituents of effluents from Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). This is the result of various efficiencies of API removal by conventional...
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Occurrence and Determination of Volatile Fatty Acids in Landfill Leachate and Gas
PublicationIn landfills containing biological matter volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are generated at high rate at the early stage of waste disposal and their content in leachate is high as compared to the leachate from old parts of landfill since they are converted to methane gas. Monitoring of the leachate for the content of VFAs can help determine the processes occurring in waste and possible effect of the leachate on the environment in the...
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Occurrence and Determination of Volatile Fatty Acids in Landfill Leachate and Gas
PublicationIn landfills containing biological matter volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are generated at high rate at the early stage of waste disposal and their content in leachate is high as compared to the leachate from old parts of landfill since they are converted to methane gas. Monitoring of the leachate for the content of VFAs can help determine the processes occurring in waste and possible effect of the leachate on the environment in the...
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The role of analytical chemistry in the study of the Anthropocene
PublicationThe term “Anthropocene” refers to not yet formalized epoch of geologic time during which geologic processes have been dominated by the human impact. This impact takes on many forms. Biological, physical and chemical changes to the Earth System caused by anthropogenic activity are recorded in natural archives either as new fossil assemblages (neobiota), anthropogenic deposits or a wide variety of pollutants emitted to the environment....
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Green Aspects of Miniaturized Sample Preparation Techniques
PublicationCorrect monitoring and control of the state of the environment and scientific research on the subject of environmental protection often require that determinations of compounds present at very low concentrations be made in samples characterized by a matrix of complex composition (e.g., biological samples, water and soil samples). Moreover, due to the limited number of analytical techniques which are sufficiently sensitive to conduct...
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The process generation of WWTP models for optimization of activated sludge systems
PublicationThe objective of water and wastewater utilities, which are responsible for optimization of wastewater treatment plant operation, is threefold: environmental protection, saving money, and mitigation of pollutant emissions, both to water and air. The performed study aimed to assess the process generation of WWTP models that improve activated sludge systems operation, by means of new developed Mantis2 model. This model accounts for...
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Types of wear and tear of biomaterials used in orthopaedic surgery
PublicationPurpose of this paper is presentation of observations on different kinds of wear and tear of biomaterials used in contemporary orthopaedic surgery. Types of prosthesis damage, encountered in medical practice, and their causes have been described. Results of many clinical studies were analysed to review prosthesis damage from the stage of implanting (such as intrusion of a foreign object between its components) to their natural...
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Partial characterization of three Korean white lotus cultivars
PublicationThe nutritional and bioactive values of Korean white lotus cultivars (Muan, Chungyang, and Garam)extracted with methanol, water, and acetone solvents were evaluated by the contents of their bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity determined by ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, DPPH, and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays. HPLC, fluorometry, and FTIR spectroscopy were employed for evaluation of polyphenols and fatty acids. All lotus cultivar...
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Computational methods for calculation of binding free energy for ligand-receptor complexes
PublicationAccurate description of the molecular complexes energetic influence is required for understanding of many biological functions carried out by proteins. Therefore, estimation of binding free energy for ligand-receptor complexes is of highest importance for structure-based ligand design and drug discovery approaches.Experimental methods of determination of difference in Gibbs'es free energy have many limitations. Thus, computational...
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Determination of isoprostanes in exhaled breath condensate samples by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry
PublicationOxidative stress (OS) is a state of imbalance between continuously generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) during normal cell metabolism and mechanism of detoxifying oxygen radicals through a network of antioxidative enzymes. Isoprostanes are prostaglandin -like substances that are produced in vivo primarily by free radical-induced peroxidation of arachidonic acid. The measurement of isoprostanes in biological fluids and/or tissue...
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Pilot study of the influence of thermoplastic starch based polymer packaging material on the growth of diatom population in sea water environment
PublicationNovel polymeric packaging materials susceptible to environmentally friendly decomposition appeared on the global market. The paper is devoted to an investigation of the impact of degradable polymer packaging on marine life. The chosen polymer was a commercial packaging based on thermoplastic starch (TPS over 85%). The microorganism chosen was Phaeodactylum tricornutum diatom (identified in many aquatic reservoirs, with a tendency...
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Novel amides of mycophenolic acid and some heterocyclic derivatives as immunosuppressive agents
PublicationThe group of new amide derivatives of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and selected heterocyclic amines was synthesised as potential immunosuppressive agents functioning as inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) uncompetitive inhibitors. The synthesis employed uronium-type activating system (TBTU/HOBt/DIPEA) while or phosphonic acid anhydride method (T3P/Py) facilitating amides to be obtained in moderate to excellent yields without...
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Unconventional and user-friendly sampling techniques of semi-volatile organic compounds present in an indoor environment: An approach to human exposure assessment
PublicationThe commonly applied solutions used to assess the potential risk of human exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are based on the investigation of biological samples collected in an invasive or non-invasive manner. For SVOCs, which are typically introduced to humans through the respiratory system, dermal adsorption, or digestive system, sampling solutions generally used in the indoor environments are classified as...
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The occurrence and role of Nitrospira in nitrogen removal systems
PublicationApplication of the modern microbial techniques changed the paradigm about the microorganisms performing nitrification. Numerous investigations recognized representatives of the genus Nitrospira as a key and predominant nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in biological nutrient removal systems, especially under low dissolved oxygen and substrate conditions. The recent discovery of Nitrospira capable of performing complete ammonia oxidation...
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3D porous graphene-based structures- synthesis and applications
PublicationPorous carbon-based materials are of the great industrial and academic interest due to their high surface area, low density, good electrical conductivity, chemical inertness and low cost of fabrication. Up to now, the main approach to obtain porous carbon structures has involved the pyrolysis of carbonaceous natural or synthetic precursors. After the isolation of graphene, the interest in 3D porous graphene-based structures (called...
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Molecularly imprinted polymers based on deep eutectic solvents as a greenest materials for selective extraction of emerging contaminants from complex samples
PublicationSome of the reagents applied in the synthesis of molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) may impact on health and the environment. Thus, a new generation of promising green chemicals are nowadays introduced and investigated, including deep eutectic solvents (DESs). DESs seems to be a reasonable choice as they are characterized as non-toxic, low cost, easy to prepare and biodegradable chemicals. This review presents the information...
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ELECTRON ATTACHMENT TO HETEROGENEOUS MOLECULAR CLUSTERS
PublicationHeterogeneous clusters are unique model species enabling studies of bulk and surface processes by vacuum restricted methods. This is of particular importance for the reactions of low-energy electrons which have extremely short penetration depth in bulk environments. This contribution overviews our recent experiments with low-energy electrons and clusters prepared by different techniques. First, the deposition of molecules on argon...
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Design, Synthesis, and Enzymatic Evaluation of Novel ZnO Quantum Dot-Based Assay for Detection of Proteinase 3 Activity
PublicationHerein, the synthesis and application of functionalized quantum dot-based protease probes is described. Such probes are composed of nontoxic ZnO nanocrystals decorated by amino groups followed by linker and labeled peptide attachment. Spherical NH2-terminated ZnO quantum dots (QDs) with the average size ranging from 4 to 8 nm and strong emission centered at 530 nm were prepared using the sol−gel method. The fluorescence of ZnO...
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The exposure to UV filters: Prevalence, effects, possible molecular mechanisms of action and interactions within mixtures
PublicationSubstances that can absorb sunlight and harmful UV radiation such as organic UV filters are widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products. Since humans use a wide variety of chemicals for multiple purposes it is common for UV filters to co-occur with other substances either in human originating specimens or in the environment. There is increasing interest in understanding such co-occurrence in form of potential synergy, antagonist,...
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Recent Issues and Challenges in the Study of Inland Waters
PublicationThis paper addresses several important problems and methods related to studies of inland waters based on the existing scientific literature. The use of UAVs in freshwater monitoring is described, including recent contact and non-contact solutions. Due to a decline in biological diversity in many parts of the globe, the main threats are described together with a modern method for algae and cyanobacteria monitoring utilizing chlorophyll...
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A vector-enzymatic DNA fragment amplification-expression technology for construction of artificial, concatemeric DNA, RNA and proteins for novel biomaterials, biomedical and industrial applications
PublicationA DNA fragment amplification/expression technology for the production of new generation biomaterials for scientific, industrial and biomedical applications is described. The technology enables the formation of artificial Open Reading Frames (ORFs) encoding concatemeric RNAs and proteins. It recruits the Type IIS SapI restriction endonuclease (REase) for an assembling of DNA fragments in an ordered head-to-tail-orientation. The...
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Removal of BTEX Compounds From Waste Gases; Destruction and Recovery Techniques
PublicationThe tendency for BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) to spread into all compartments of the environment together with their influence on both ecosystem and human health means that the emission of thesecompounds into the air is becoming the matter of worldwide concern. The legal regulations introduced by the European Union governing the assessment and management of air quality obliges member states to systematically...
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Antimicrobial molecular nanocarrier–drug conjugates
PublicationMany antimicrobial drugs are poorly active against pathogenic microbes causing intracellular infections, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Plasmodium falciparum. On the other hand, several known antimicrobial agents are not effective enough because of their limited cellular penetration. A common feature of both challenges is the inability of an active agent to cross the biological membrane(s). One of the possible approaches...
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Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of amino acid and peptide derivatives of mycophenolic acid
PublicationThe series of 16 novel amino acid and peptide mycophenolic acid (MPA) derivatives was obtained as potential antibacterial agents. Coupling of MPA with respective amines was optimized with condensing reagents such as EDCI/DMAP and T3P/TEA. Amino acid analogs were received both as methyl esters and also with the free carboxylic group. The biological activity of the products was tested on five references bacterial strains: Klebsiella...
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Hydroperoxyl radical and formic acid formation from common DNA stabilizers upon low energy electron attachment
Publication2-Amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol (TRIS) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) are key components of biological buffers and are frequently used as DNA stabilizers in irradiation studies. Such surface or liquid phase studies are done with the aim to understand the fundamental mechanisms of DNA radiation damage and to improve cancer radiotherapy. When ionizing radiation is used, abundant secondary electrons are formed...
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Two-Level Multivariable Control System of Dissolved Oxygen Tracking and Aeration System for Activated Sludge Processes
PublicationThe problem of tracking dissolved oxygen is one of the most complex and fundamental issues related to biological processes. The dissolved oxygen level in aerobic tanks has significant influence on behaviour and activity of microorganism inhabiting the plant. Aerated tanks are supplied with air from an aeration system (blowers, pipes, throttling valves, diffusers). It is a complex dynamic system governed by nonlinear hybrid dynamics....