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Search results for: biological processes
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Make lighting healthier
PublicationLife on Earth evolved in day-and-night cycles. Plants and animals, including insects such as the fruit fly, have a biological clock that controls their circadian rhythms — as the 2017 winners of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine showed. Now, humans’ increasing reliance on artificial lighting is changing those rhythms.
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In vitro studies of antimicrobial activity of Gly-His-Lys conjugates as potential and promising candidates for therapeutics in skin and tissue infections
PublicationWe presented in vitro studies of antimicrobial activity of Gly-His-Lys conjugates that are important point in preliminary biological evaluation of their potential application in skin and tissue therapy. The novel compounds include the conjugation of fatty acids with a modification of the amino acid sequence in the primary structure of Gly-His-Lys.
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Quadratic stochastic operators as a tool in modelling the dynamics of a distribution of a population trait
PublicationQuadratic stochastic operators can exhibit a wide variety of asymptotic behaviours and these have been introduced and studied recently. In the present work we discuss biological interpretations that can be attributed to them. We also propose a computer simulation method to illustrate the behaviour of iterates of quadratic stochastic operators.
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Green porous benzamide-like nanomembranes for hazardous cations detection, separation, and concentration adjustment
PublicationGreen biomaterials play a crucial role in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases as well as health-related problem-solving. Typically, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and mechanical strength are requirements centered on biomaterial engineering. However, in-hospital therapeutics require an elaborated synthesis of hybrid and complex nanomaterials capable of mimicking cellular behavior. Accumulation of hazardous cations like...
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A BODIPY‐Based Molecular Rotor in Giant Unilamellar Vesicles: A Case Study by Polarization‐Resolved Time‐Resolved Emission and Transient Absorption Spectroscopy
PublicationBODIPY and BODIPY-derived systems are widely applied as fluorophores and as probes for viscosity detection in solvents and biological media. Their orientational and rotational dynamics in biological media are thus of vital mechanistic importance and extensively investigated. In this contribution, polarization-resolved confocal microscopy is used to determine the orientation of an amphiphilic BODIPY-cholesterol derivative in homogeneous...
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Olfactory receptor-based biosensors as potential future tools in medical diagnosis
PublicationThe detection of biomarkers is the future of non-invasive medical diagnosis and screening. Discovery and identification of reliable disease specific volatile organic compounds is dependent on repeatable, accurate analysis of trace level gaseous analytes mainly in breath samples. Natural variety of the olfactory systems and the compounds capable of gas molecules binding creates wide possibilities of acquisition and implementation...
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Anatomy of noise in quantitative biological Raman spectroscopy
PublicationRaman spectroscopy is a fundamental form of molecular spectroscopy that is widely used to investigate structures and properties of molecules using their vibrational transitions. It relies on inelastic scattering of monochromatic laser light irradiating the specimen. After appropriate filtering the scattered light is dispersed onto a detector to determine the shift from the excitation wavelength, which appears in the form of...
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Characteristics of odors emitted from municipal wastewater treatment plant and methods for their identification and deodorization techniques
PublicationOdors emitted from municipal wastewater treatment plants belong to a group of pollutants, which is the main cause of people complaining about atmospheric air quality. The limitation of emissions of unpleasant odors generated by wastewater treatment plants by using appropriate deodorization methods is omitted on numerous occasions. This can have a negative inflence on public trust and the quality of atmospheric air. The article...
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Haemocompatibility Of Non-Functionalized And Plasmachemical Functionalized Detonation Nanodiamond Particles
PublicationThe purpose of this paper is to present the innovative design of microwave plasma system for modification of detonation nanodiamond particles (DNP) using a special rotating drum placed inside the reactor. Nanodiamond particles manufactured by detonation method reveal the biological activity depending on surface functionalization. Plasmachemical modification of detonation nanodiamond particles gives the possibility of controlling...
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Analytical Strategies and Applications in Lipidomics
PublicationLipidomics is a field of study aiming at a comprehensive analysis of a set of lipids in biological systems. This includes both quantitative and qualitative characterization of lipid profiles, comparative studies of lipidomes, and analysis of lipid-protein interactions. Lipids are structurally diversified that make their analysis a challenging task. The constant advances in analytical technologies, especially in the field of high-performance...
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A state of the art review on the use of fungi in biofiltration to remove volatile hydrophobic pollutants
PublicationThe physical/chemical abatement of gas pollutants creates many technical problems, is costly and entails significant environmental impacts. Biological purification of off-gases is a cheap and ecologically safe way of neutralization of gas pollutants. Despite the recent advances, the main technological challenge nowadays is the purification of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of hydrophobic character due to their low solubility...
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Structural changes of bacterial cellulose due to incubation in conditions simulating human plasma in the presence of selected pathogens
PublicationBacterial nanocellulose (BNC) is a natural biomaterial with a wide range of medical applications. However, it cannot be used as a biological implant of the circulatory system without checking whether it is biodegradable under human plasma conditions. This work aimed to investigate the BNC biodegradation by selected pathogens under conditions simulating human plasma. The BNC was incubated in simulated biological fluids with or...
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Analytical methods for exhaustive characterization of Brassica plants and dietary products based on them
PublicationGlucosinolates (GLs), and particularly two classes of their degradation products - isothiocyanates (ITC) and indoles - released upon myrosinase catalyzed hydrolysis, belong to the most promising chemopreventive dietary components. Despite their wide use in plant research, studies on chemopreventive mechanisms and industrial utilization in the production of e.g. dietary supplements, the methods of reliable characterization of myrosinase-GLs...
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Application of 3D- printed hydrogels in wound healing and regenerative medicine
PublicationHydrogels are three-dimensional polymer networks with hydrophilic properties. The modifiable properties of hydrogels and the structure resembling living tissue allow their versatile application. Therefore, increasing attention is focused on the use of hydrogels as bioinks for three-dimensional (3D) printing in tissue engineering. Bioprinting involves the fabrication of complex structures from several types of materials, cells,...
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Biological and antibacterial properties of chitosan-based coatings with AgNPs and CuNPs obtained on oxidized Ti13Zr13Nb titanium alloy
PublicationDespite numerous studies, the antibacterial efficiency and cytotoxicity of chitosan-based coatings with nanometals need further studies. The purpose of this research was to determine the biological properties of chitosan coatings implemented with either silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) or copper nanoparticles (CuNPs), that were electrophoretically deposited on electrochemically oxidized Ti13Zr13Nb alloy. The SEM tests were used to...
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Fractionation and origin of dissolved and colloidal organic nitrogen in BNR plant effluent
PublicationThe characteristics of effluent dissolved and colloidal organic nitrogen (DON and CON) as well as their origin, fate and biodegradability in wastewater treatment plants and receiving waters were identified as the major issues that limit the ability to achieve low total N in the effluent. This study presents the results of a comprehensive survey, which was conducted in eight biological nutrient removal (BNR) WWTPs in northern Poland....
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Analysis of MArkers of Exposure to Constituents of Environmental Tobacco Smoke (ETS)
PublicationTobacco smoke is a complex mixture of more than 4000 chemical compounds, many of which are harmful to human health. These compounds belong to various chemical classes, including amides, imides, lactams, carboxylic acids, aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, phenols, amines, hydrocarbons, ethers, and inorganic compounds. There are three types of tobacco smoke streams: the mainstream, the sidestream, and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS)....
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Cannabinoids: Challenges, opportunities and current techniques towards its extraction and purification for edibles
PublicationDue to the multiple health benefits associated with the consumption of cannabinoids, there is a current trend on continuing to explore their biological properties. Cannabidiol (CBD) is likely to be the most investigated endocannabinoid from the cannabis plant. Unfortunately, the purification of CBD from its natural source and psychotropic analogue (tetrahydrocannabinol, THC) is timely challenging for the research community based...
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Localization and Orientation of Xanthophylls in a Lipid Bilayer
PublicationXanthophylls (polar carotenoids) play diverse biological roles, among which are modulation of the physical properties of lipid membranes and protection of biomembranes against oxidative damage. Molecular mechanisms underlying these functions are intimately related to the localization and orientation of xanthophyll molecules in lipid membranes. In the present work, we address the problem of localization and orientation of two xanthophylls...
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Recent developments in biological sample testing methods for the confirmation of gestational exposure to tobacco smoke anddrugs of abused
PublicationSubstance use is most prevalent in reproductive-aged people also by women during pregnancy. In national prevalence surveys among women aged 15 to 44 years, 10.8 % of women reported using alcohol during pregnancy, 17 % reported smoking during pregnancy, and 4.4 % reported abusing any illicit substances during pregnancy. Virtually all illegal drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, pose dangers to a pregnant woman. Legal substances, such...
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Relationship between the betalain composition in Opuntia ficus indica and Beta vulgaris varieties and biological activity of their extracts
PublicationBetalains are a class of pigments that are much less com- monly found in nature than anthocyanins or carotenoids. They occur only in a few edible plants such as red beetroot (Beta vulgaris), prickly pears (Opuntia ficus indica), amaranth (Amaranthus sp.) and some mushrooms. This group of pig- ments can be divided into two major groups: yellow vulgax- anthins and red betanins. Despite their structural similarity to compounds from...
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Honey antibacterial activity: A neglected aspect of honey quality assurance as functional food
PublicationBackground Honey is considered as a functional food with health-promoting properties. Its potent antibacterial and antibiofilm effects are the major attributes of so called ‘medical-grade honey’ which is topically used for the treatment of burns, wounds and skin disorders. Nevertheless, the current set of honey quality parameters adopted in the European Union do not include its biological properties. Furthermore, in light of the...
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Non invasive optical cellular imaging in humans.
PublicationOne of the most appealing and still unsolved problems in biological and medical imaging is the possibility of noninvasive visualization of tissue in vivo with an accuracy of microscopic examination. A major difficulty to solve in biomedical imaging is a degradation of image quality caused by the presence of optical inhomogeneity of tissue. Is there any chance to develop a microscopic method that allows non-invasive observation...
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Bioterrorism — characteristics and possibilities of prevention
PublicationIn the paper bioterrorist threats have been presented. Historical background and possible methods of attacks have been described. The most dangerous pathogens and disease entities have been classified. Selected methods of detection and identification of biological weapon have been presented. The wireless system for threats monitoring — developed at Gdansk University of Technology — has been described.
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The influence of biological environment on the appearance of silver-coated implants
PublicationDespite antibiotics preventive treatment before and after implantation, risk of infection is real. The infections at the implant surface developein a few months after applying them into the body. To prevent the development of bacteria and to reduce the risk of infection, implants coated with silver layer come into use. The paper presents the research results in biological environment on vein and orthopaedicimplants covered with...
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The impact of interactions between polyphenolic antioxidants on the redox-related chemical and biological properties of their mixtures – the extension of food synergy concept.
PublicationThe results of studies indicate that chemopreventive efficiency of isolated phytochemicals is lower than that of polyphenol-rich foods. This discrepancy has been ascribed to the food synergy concept that assumes additive or even synergistic influence of different food ingredients on human health. The results presented in the dissertation made it possible to propose an alternative and innovative explanation of these observations. The...
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Novel chalcone-derived pyrazoles as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer
PublicationLung cancer is considered to account for approximately one-fifth of all malignant tumor-related deaths worldwide and is therefore one of the most lethal malignancies. Pyrazole scaffold possesses a wide range of biological and pharmacological activities, which play important roles in medicinal chemistry. The present study reports the synthesis and in vitro biological characterization of nine pyrazoles derived from chalcones as potential...
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Utilizing Genome-Wide mRNA Profiling to Identify the Cytotoxic Chemotherapeutic Mechanism of Triazoloacridone C-1305 as Direct Microtubule Stabilization
PublicationRational drug design and in vitro pharmacology profiling constitute the gold standard in drug development pipelines. Problems arise, however, because this process is often dicult due to limited information regarding the complete identification of a molecule’s biological activities. The increasing aordability of genome-wide next-generation technologies now provides an excellent opportunity to understand a compound’s diverse eects...
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Bioelectronic nose: Current status and perspectives
PublicationA characteristic feature of human and animal organs of smell is the ability to identify hundreds of thousands of odours. It is accompanied by particular smell sensations, which are a basic source of information about odour mixture. The main structural elements of biological smell systems are the olfactory receptors. Small differences in a structure of odorous molecules (odorants) can lead to significant change of odour, which is...
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Synthesis and Cholinesterase Inhibitory Activity of N-Phosphorylated /N-Tiophosphorylated Tacrine
PublicationNovel phosphorus and thiophosphorus tacrine derivatives were designed, synthesized and their biological activity and molecular modeling was investigated as a new potential anti-Alzheimer's disease (AD) agents. All new synthesized compound exhibited lower toxicity against neuroblastoma cell line (SH-SY5Y) in comparison with tacrine. Two analogues in the series, 7 and 9, demonstrated lack of cytotoxicity against hepatocellular cells...
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Modelling of Graphene Field-Effect Transistor for lectronic sensing applications
PublicationA top-gated Graphene Field-Effect Transistor (GFET) suitable for electronic sensing applications was modelled. The applied simulation method reproduces correctly the output transfer GFET characteristics and allows to investigate doping effect caused by different physical, chemical or biological factors. The appearance of additional charge in the system results in the shift of the current-voltage characteristic. This feature could...
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An insight into the mixed quantum mechanical-molecular dynamics simulation of a ZnII-Curcumin complex with a chosen DNA sequence that supports experimental DNA binding investigations
PublicationAn important aspect of research pertaining to Curcumin (HCur) is the need to arrest its degradation in aqueous solution and in biological milieu. This may be achieved through complex formation with metal ions. For this reason, a complex of HCur was prepared with ZnII, that is not likely to be active in redox pathways, minimizing further complications. The complex is monomeric, tetrahedral, with one HCur, an acetate and a molecule...
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Fabrication of Composite Polyurethane/Hydroxyapatite Scaffolds Using Solvent-Casting Salt Leaching Technique
PublicationScaffolds are porous three-dimensional structures which are used to fill bone losses and make them possible to cells to grow. Many different structural and biological properties are required from them: porosity, mechanical strength and biocompability. The present research is aimed at development of composite polyurethane/hydroxyapatite scaffolds by using the solvent-casting salt leaching method. The SEM examinations were applied...
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Recent applications and future prospects of magnetic biocatalysts
PublicationMagnetic biocatalysts combine magnetic properties with the catalytic activity of enzymes, achieving easy recovery and reuse in biotechnological processes. Lipases immobilized by magnetic nanoparticles dominate. This review covers an advanced bibliometric analysis and an overview of the area, elucidating research advances. Using WoS, 34,949 publications were analyzed and refined to 450. The prominent journals, countries, institutions, and...
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The influence of pre- and postharvest treatments on selected biological and epigenetic activities of Brassica sprouts
PublicationIntroduction The Brassica vegetables are rich in glucosinolates (GLs), which are enzymatically hydrolysed to bioactive isothiocynates (ITC) and indoles, regarded as the most promising chemopreventing agents. However, in the majority of brassica sprouts the GL conversion into these beneficial derivatives occurs at the level of about 1 %, while in cabbage leaves exceeds 70%. Since sprouts represent plant material, which is frequently...
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Application of ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection for the determination of trace cyanide in biological samples, including breast milk
PublicationCyanide (CN) is the biomarker of exposure to the components of tobacco smoke, although its presence in biological samples is also due to the consumption of products containing cyanogenic glycosides. In this work, we determine the concentration of the free cyanide in urine, saliva and breast milk matrices, using ion chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (IC-PAD). IC-PAD is an emerging method, with only few documented...
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Green Polymer Nanocomposites for Skin Tissue Engineering
PublicationFabrication of an appropriate skin scaffold needs to meet several standards related to the mechanical and biological properties. Fully natural/green scaffolds with acceptable biodegradability, biocompatibility, and physiological properties quite often suffer from poor mechanical properties. Therefore, for appropriate skin tissue engineering and to mimic the real functions, we need to use synthetic polymers and/or additives as complements...
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What should we know when choosing feather, blood, egg or preen oil as biological samples for contaminants detection? A non-lethal approach to bird sampling for PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs and PFASs
PublicationBirds are considered as good bio-monitors and they can provide highly valuable data about the level of contamination in their habitat. During the design of biomonitoring studies one of the first issues after choosing species is the choice of biological material. Non-lethally collected samples have recently been gaining greater attention as they offer several ethical and practical advantages. However, not all sample matrices are...
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Chromatographic analyses of Lavandula angustifolia and Rosmarinus officinalis extracts and their biological effects in mammalian cells and cell-free systems
PublicationKnowledge of biological properties of natural compounds allows to understand their therapeutic value, efficacy and security. We investigated: composition of Lavandula angustifolia (LA) and Rosmarinus officinalis (RO) extracts, their antioxidant capacity, cytotoxicity and genotoxicity, their DNA-protective potential against DNA damage induced in hamster V79 cells by several genotoxins or in plasmid DNA by Fe2+ ions and activity...
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Bioelectronic tongue: Current status and perspectives
PublicationIn the course of evolution, nature has endowed humans with systems for the recognition of a wide range of tastes with a sensitivity and selectivity which are indispensable for the evaluation of edibility and flavour attributes. Inspiration by a biological sense of taste has become a basis for the design of instruments, operation principles and parameters enabling to mimic the unique properties of their biological precursors. In...
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Metal enhanced fluorescence of flavin mononucleotide using new plasmonic platform
PublicationNew plasmonic platform was successfully obtained to investigate the increase of fluorescence intensity of a fluorophore in the presence of silver nanoparticles. A flavin mononucleotide, was selected by us as a fluorophore for this study as a very important biological compound playing a key role in many biochemical process. Plasmonic platforms were characterized by means of luminescence spectroscopy. Flavin mononucleotide deposited...
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Conducting polymer films for biodegradable metallic cardiovascular stents
PublicationIn recent years, there is increasing interest to create biodegradable metallic cardiovascular stents instead of using their permanent form. The most interesting materials for this purpose are iron and its alloys. However, in order to use it in clinical application, their degradation rate and biological performance need to be optimized. One promising solution is coating the metal with conducting polymer films. In this work, short...
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The use of various species of fungi in biofiltration of air contaminated with odorous volatile organic compounds
PublicationAir pollution with odorous compounds is a significant social and environmental problem. This paper presents biological deodorization methods. The attention is focused on the application of biotrickling filters for air deodorization. Principles of their operation are discussed, indicating the key role of the selection of microorganisms responsible for the degradation of odorous compounds. A literature overview of the used fungal...
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Novel therapeutic compound acridine–retrotuftsin action on biological forms of melanoma and neuroblastoma
PublicationPURPOSE: As a continuation of our search for anticancer agents, we have synthesized a new acridine-retrotuftsin analog HClx9-[Arg(NO2)-Pro-Lys-Thr-OCH3]-1-nitroacridine (named ART) and have evaluated its activity against melanoma and neuroblastoma lines. Both tumors develop from cells (melanocytes, neurons) of neuroectodermal origin, and both are tumors with high heterogeneity and unsatisfactory susceptibility to chemotherapies....
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Prenatal exposure to substance of abuse: A worldwide problem
PublicationSubstance abuse during pregnancy is an important public health issue affecting the mother and the growing infant. Preterm labor, miscarriage, abruption and postpartum hemorrhage are obstetric complications which have been associated with women who are dependent on abused substances. Moreover, women are also at an increased risk of medical problems such as poor nutrition, anemia, urinary tract infections as well as sexually transmitted...
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ANTIOXIDANT POWER SERIES (APS) AS A TOOL FOR RATIONAL DESIGN AND ASSESSMENT OF HEALTH PROMOTING PROPERTIES OF FUNCTONAL FOODS BASED ON ANTIOXIDANT PHYTOCHEMICALS
PublicationOver past decades, plantborne antioxidants dominated so called "translational research" in the area of food, nutrition, and disease prevention. Among consumers and producers, such phytochemicals are synonyms of nutriceuticals. Popularity and commercial success of antioxidants stems from mechanistic studies suggesting the involvement of reactive oxygen species in etiology of chronic diseases. However, epidemiology failed to provide...
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The use of fungi in biofiltration to remove hydrophobic volatile organic compounds
PublicationThe growing importance placed on air quality by environmental regulations and public opinion necessitate the minimization and removal of volatile organic compound emissions (VOCs), including odours. The removal of hydrophobic VOCs from the air by biological methods remains a major technical challenge (despite its importance in the shift to green engineering). A potential solution to this challenge is the use of fungi in biofiltration....
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Porównanie efektywności biologicznego usuwania związków biogennych w procesach MUCT i A2/O na przykładzie oczyszczalni w Gdańsku
PublicationThis paper presents a comparison of the efficiency of nutrient removal in two different technological systems functioning in WWTP in Gdansk. The upgrade was necessary in order to adjust the parameters of wastewater treatment to more stringent requirements for Total Nitrogen removal (Total Nitrogen concentration < 10 mg/L). Since 2012 the biological treatment line has operated based on modified A2/O process instead of MUCT process....
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Coherent-wave Monte Carlo method for simulating light propagation in tissue
PublicationSimulating propagation and scattering of coherent light in turbid media, such as biological tissues, is a complex problem. Numerical methods for solving Helmholtz or wave equation (e.g. finite-difference or finite-element methods) require large amount of computer memory and long computation time. This makes them impractical for simulating laser beam propagation into deep layers of tissue. Other group of methods, based on radiative...
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Clonal selection algorithm for vehicle routing
PublicationOver the years several successful computing techniques have been inspired by biological mechanisms. Studies of the mechanisms that allow the immune systems of vertebratesto adapt and learn have resulted in a class of algorithms called artificial immune systems. Clonal selection is a process that allows lymphocytes to launch a quick response to known pathogens and to adapt to new, previously unencountered ones. This paper presents...