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Search results for: energy conversion
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The importance of anchoring ligands of binuclear sensitizers on electron transfer processes and photovoltaic action in dye-sensitized solar cells
PublicationThe relatively low photon-to-current conversion efficiency of dye-sensitized solar cells is their major drawback limiting widespread application. Light harvesting, followed by a series of electron transfer processes, is the critical step in photocurrent generation. An in-depth understanding and fine optimization of those processes are crucial to enhance cell performance. In this work, we synthesize two new bi-ruthenium sensitizers...
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Ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis as a tool for monitoring methanogenic archaea changes in an anaerobic digester
PublicationThe applicability of a newly-designed PCR primer pair in examination of methanogenic Archaea in a digester treating plant biomass was evaluated by Ribosmal Intergenic Spacer Analysis (RISA). To find a suitable approach, three variants of RISA were tested: (1) standard, polyacrylamide gel-based, (2) automated, utilized capillary electrophoresis (GA-ARISA), and (3) automated microfluidics-based (MF-ARISA). All three techniques yielded...
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Visible light activity of rare earth metal doped (Er3+, Yb3+ or Er3+/Yb3+) titania photocatalysts
PublicationA series of Er3+-TiO2, Yb3+-TiO2 and Er3+/Yb3+-TiO2 photocatalysts were obtained via sol-gel method, using rare earth metal (RE) precursor ranging from 0.25 to 10 mol%. The experiments demonstrated that phenol in aqueous solutions was successfully degraded under visible light (> 450 nm) using RE3+-TiO2. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron emission spectroscopy (XPS), UV-Vis...
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Pathways of Nitrogen Removal in Hybrid Treatment Wetlands
PublicationHybrid Treatment Wetlands (HTWs) are composed of two or more filters with different modes of flow, allowing the benefits of both types of bed to be combined, resulting in better effluent quality (nitrogen and organic compounds removal). Such a heterogeneous environment creates possibilities for different mechanisms of nitrogen removal. The objective of the present study was to investigate the removal of nitrogen versus a range...
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Homoisocitrate dehydrogenase from Candida albicans: properties, inhibition, and targeting by an antifungal pro-drug
PublicationThe LYS12 gene from Candida albicans, coding for homoisocitrate dehydrogenase was cloned and expressed as a His-tagged protein in Escherichia coli. The purified gene product catalyzes the Mg2+- and K+-dependent oxidative decarboxylation of homoisocitrate to alpha-ketoadipate. The recombinant enzyme demonstrates strict specificity for homoisocitrate. SDS-PAGE of CaHIcDH revealed its molecular mass of 42.6±1 kDa, while in size-exclusion...
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Methods for biomaterials printing: A short review and perspective
PublicationPrinting technologies have opened larger windows of innovation and creativity to biomaterials engineers by providing them with the ability to fabricate complex shapes in a reasonable time, cost, and weight. However, there has always been a trouble with function adjusting in printing technologies in view of the multiplicity of materials and apparatus parameters. 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, revolutionized biomaterials...
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The Impact of Ground Tire Rubber Oxidation with H2O2 and KMnO4 on the Structure and Performance of Flexible Polyurethane/Ground Tire Rubber Composite Foams
PublicationThe use of waste tires is a very critical issue, considering their environmental and economic implications. One of the simplest and the least harmful methods is conversion of tires into ground tire rubber (GTR), which can be introduced into different polymer matrices as a filler. However, these applications often require proper modifications to provide compatibility with the polymer matrix. In this study, we examined the impact...
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Pre-Treatment of Furniture Waste for Smokeless Charcoal Production
PublicationThe aim of this study was to assess the possibility of using furniture waste for smokeless fuel production using the pyrolysis process. Four types of wood-based wastes were used in the pyrolysis process: pine sawdust (PS), chipboard (CB), medium-density fiberboard (MDF), and oriented strand board (OSB). Additionally, the slow and fast types of pyrolysis were compared, where the heating rates were 15 C/min and 100 C/min, respectively....
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Bio-Based Polyurethane Networks Derived from Liquefied Sawdust
PublicationThe utilization of forestry waste resources in the production of polyurethane resins is a promising green alternative to the use of unsustainable resources. Liquefaction of wood-based biomass gives polyols with properties depending on the reagents used. In this article, the liquefaction of forestry wastes, including sawdust, in solvents such as glycerol and polyethylene glycol was investigated. The liquefaction process was carried...
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Management of Dark Fermentation Broth via Bio Refining and Photo Fermentation
PublicationLignocellulose and starch-based raw materials are often applied in the investigations regarding biohydrogen generation using dark fermentation. Management of the arising post-fermentation broth becomes a problem. The Authors proposed sequential processes, to improve the efficiency of both hydrogen generation and by-products management carried under model conditions. During the proposed procedure, the simple sugars remaining in...
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Nitrogen transformations and mass balances in anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic batch experiments with full-scale biomasses from BNR activated sludge systems.
PublicationThe aim of this study was to investigate nitrogen mass balances occurring inside full-scale BNR activated sludge systems, with special attention to colloidal and dissolved organic nitrogen (CON and DON) transformations. For this purpose, laboratory experiments were carried out using process biomass from two large BNR plants in northern Poland. Two parallel batch reactors were operated in a 3-phase (anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic) cycle....
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Nitrogen transformations and mass balances in anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic batch experiments with full-scale biomasses from BNR activated sludge systems.
PublicationThe aim of this study was to investigate nitrogen mass balances occurring inside full-scale BNR activated sludge systems, with special attention to colloidal and dissolved organic nitrogen (CON and DON) transformations. For this purpose, laboratory experiments were carried out using process biomass from two large BNR plants in northern Poland. Two parallel batch reactors were operated in a 3-phase (anaerobic/anoxic/aerobic) cycle....
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Importance of the combined effects of dissolved oxygen and pH on optimization of nitrogen removal in anammox-enriched granular sludge
PublicationThe combined effects of dissolved oxygen (DO) and pH on nitrogen removal were investigated in a laboratory-scale sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with anammox-enriched granular sludge obtained from a nitritation/anammox system. The highest specific nitrogen removal rate (SNRR) (1.1 gN gVSS−1 d−1) was observed under non-aerated conditions, resulting in the nitrogen removal efficiency of 81.6%. Although nitrogen removal was readily...
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Barcelona - from the province to Metropolis.The cogent strategy of branding the city
PublicationThe phenomenon of rebranding Barcelona's image, called the Barcelona effect or 'Barcelona Model', is exampled as one of the most spectacular transformations of the city perception in the last decade. Why has Barcelona been successful? Is it the effect of the recently intensified revitalization practice, or has the city of Barcelona built its brand market value for years? The aim of the research is to name these transition...
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Improved Empirical Coefficients for Estimating Water Vapor Weighted Mean Temperature over Europe for GNSS Applications
PublicationDevelopment of the so-called global navigation satellite system (GNSS) meteorology is based on the possibility of determining a precipitable water vapor (PWV) from a GNSS zenith wet delay (ZWD). Conversion of ZWD to the PWV requires application of water vapor weighted mean temperature (Tm) measurements, which can be done using a surface temperature (Ts) and its linear dependency to the Tm. In this study we analyzed up to 24 years...
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Incorporation of the complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) process for modeling nitrification in suspended growth wastewater treatment systems
PublicationThe newly discovered process complete ammonia oxidation (comammox) has changed the traditional under-standing of nitrification. In this study, three possible concepts of comammox were developed and incorporated as part of an extended two-step nitrification model. For model calibration and validation, two series of long-term biomass washout experiments were carried out at 12 ◦C and 20 ◦C in a laboratory sequencing batch reactor....
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Electrochemical and in silico approaches for liver metabolic oxidation of antitumor-active triazoloacridinone C -1305
Publication5-Dimethylaminopropylamino-8-hydroxytriazoloacridinone (C-1305) is a promising antitumor compound developed in our laboratory. A better understanding of its metabolic transformations is still needed to explain the multidirectional mechanism of pharmacological action of triazoloacridinone derivatives at all. Thus, the aim of the current work was to predict oxidative pathways of C-1305 that would reflect its phase I metabolism. The...
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Phase I and phase II metabolism simulation of antitumor-active 2-hydroxyacridinone with electrochemistry coupled on-line with mass spectrometry.
PublicationHere, we report the metabolic profile and the results of associated metabolic studies of 2-hydroxyacridinone (2-OH-AC), the reference compound for antitumor-active imidazo- and triazoloacridinones. Electrochemistry coupled with mass spectrometry was applied to simulate the general oxidative metabolism of 2-OH-AC for the first time. The reactivity of 2-OH-AC products to biomolecules was also examined. The usefulness of the electrochemistry...
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High Frequency Harmonics Emission in Smart Grids
PublicationPulse-width modulated rectifiers are nowadays commonly used for AC to DC power conversion. PWM rectification technology is very effective and allows for bidirectional power flow with the possibility of power factor improvement and low-order harmonic emission limitation. Unfortunately, employed PWM boost topology results with generation of input current harmonic distortions in a frequency range tightly correlated to modulation frequency....
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Low Frequency Conducted Emissions of Grid Connected Static Converters
PublicationPulse-width modulated rectifiers are nowadays commonly used for AC to DC power conversion. PWM rectification technology is very effective and allows for bidirectional power flow with the possibility of power factor improvement and low-order harmonic emission limitation. Unfortunately, employed PWM boost topology results with generation of input current harmonic distortions in a frequency range tightly correlated to modulation frequency....
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Scarabaeidae as human food – A comprehensive review
PublicationRising global population and sustainable protein demand have sparked interest in unique food sources. Entomophagy, or insect consumption, presents a solution and Scarab beetles, part of the Scarabaeidae family, offer a novel food option. The comprehensive review underscores their potential as human food, with strong nutrition, low environmental impact, and the ability to ease strain on conventional agriculture. Nutritional analysis...
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THE 3D MODEL OF WATER SUPPLY NETWORK WITH APPLICATION OF THE ELEVATION DATA
Publication3D visualization is a key element of research and analysis and as the source used by experts in various fields e.g.: experts from water and sewage systems. The aim of this study was to visualize in three-dimensional space model of water supply network with relief. The path of technological development of GESUT data (Geodezyjna Ewidencja Sieci Uzbrojenia Terenu – geodetic records of public utilities) for water supply and measurement...
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Catalytic Activity of Nickel and Ruthenium–Nickel Catalysts Supported on SiO2, ZrO2, Al2O3, and MgAl2O4 in a Dry Reforming Process
PublicationDry reforming of methane (DRM) is an eco-friendly method of syngas production due to the utilization of two main greenhouse gases—methane and carbon dioxide. An industrial application of methane dry reforming requires the use of a catalyst with high activity, stability over a long time, and the ability to catalyze a reaction, leading to the needed a hydrogen/carbon monoxide ratio. Thus, the aim of the study was to investigate the...
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Deep Learning Optimization for Edge Devices: Analysis of Training Quantization Parameters
PublicationThis paper focuses on convolution neural network quantization problem. The quantization has a distinct stage of data conversion from floating-point into integer-point numbers. In general, the process of quantization is associated with the reduction of the matrix dimension via limited precision of the numbers. However, the training and inference stages of deep learning neural network are limited by the space of the memory and a...
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Pilot-Scale Studies of WO3/S-Doped g-C3N4 Heterojunction toward Photocatalytic NOx Removal
PublicationDue to the rising concentration of toxic nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the air, effective methods of NOx removal have been extensively studied recently. In the present study, the first developed WO3/S-doped g-C3N4 nanocomposite was synthesized using a facile method to remove NOx in air efficiently. The photocatalytic tests performed in a newly designed continuous-flow photoreactor with an LED array and online monitored NO2 and NO system...
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COVID-19 and digital deprivation in Poland
PublicationResearch background: The problem of digital deprivation is already known, but the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted its negative consequences. A global change in the way of life, work and socialisation resulting from the epidemic has indicated that a basic level of digital integration is becoming necessary. During the lockdown, people were forced to use ICTs to adapt to a rapidly changing reality. Current experience with coronavirus...
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Application of mechanistic and data-driven models for nitrogen removal in wastewater treatment systems
PublicationIn this dissertation, the application of mechanistic and data-driven models in nitrogen removal systems including nitrification and deammonification processes was evaluated. In particular, the influential parameters on the activity of the Nitrospira activity were assessed using response surface methodology (RSM). Various long-term biomass washout experiments were operated in two parallel sequencing batch reactor (SBR) with a different...
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Effect of Polymerization Statistics on the Electronic Properties of Copolymers for Organic Photovoltaics
PublicationStatistical block copolymers, composed of donor (D) and acceptor (A) blocks, are a novel type of material for organic photovoltaics (OPVs) devices. In particular a new series of polymers based on PBTZT-stat-BDTT-8, recently developed by Merck, offers high solubility in different solvents, and a high power conversion efficiency (PCE) in different device architectures. Although it is known that the electronic properties of these...
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First highly effective non-catalytic nitrobenzene reduction in UV/dithionite system with aniline production – Advanced reduction process (ARP) approach
PublicationAdvanced reduction processes (ARPs) are currently intensively investigated as an alternative to Advanced Oxidation Processes (AOPs). The study presents efficient reduction of nitrobenzene under non-catalytic conditions through reaction with free radicals having reductive potential. Effective conversion of nitrobenzene in a model wastewater solution, was obtained for sodium dithionite (SDT)/ dithionite (DTN). The developed process...
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Atmospheric opacity estimation based on IWV derived from GNSS observations for VLBI applications
PublicationThermal emission of atmospheric water vapor has a great influence on the calibration of radio astronomical observations at millimeter wavelengths. The phenomenon of an atmospheric water vapor emits noise signal and attenuates astronomical emission. At 22 GHz, integrated water vapor (IWV) obtained from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) is strictly related to atmospheric opacity (τ0), which is a crucial parameter for data...
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The coexistence and competition of canonical and comammox nitrite oxidizing bacteria in a nitrifying activated sludge system – Experimental observations and simulation studies
PublicationThe second step of nitrification can be mediated by nitrite oxidizing bacteria (NOB), i.e. Nitrospira and Nitrobacter, with different characteristics in terms of the r/K theory. In this study, an activated sludge model was developed to account for competition between two groups of canonical NOB and comammox bacteria. Heterotrophic denitrification on soluble microbial products was also incorporated into the model. Four 5-week washout...
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Crystalline Silicon (c-Si)-Based Tunnel Oxide Passivated Contact (TOPCon) Solar Cells: A Review
PublicationContact selectivity is a key parameter for enhancing and improving the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based solar cells. Carrier selective contacts (CSC) are the key technology which has the potential to achieve a higher PCE for c-Si-based solar cells closer to their theoretical efficiency limit. A recent and state-of-the-art approach in this domain is the tunnel oxide passivated contact (TOPCon)...
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Reactions of cobalt(ii) chloride and cobalt(ii) acetate with hemisalen-type ligands: ligand transformation, oxidation of cobalt and complex formation. Preliminary study on the cytotoxicity of Co(ii) and Co(iii) hemisalen complexes
PublicationSeveral molecular cobalt(II) complexes, one Co(II) coordination polymer, and one ionic cobalt(III) complex with imine hemisalen ligands were synthesized. The hemisalen ligands were synthesized from o-vanillin (oVP) and diverse aminopyridines (compounds HL1–HL4) or aminophenol (compound HL5). It was observed that cobalt(II) chloride in dry acetonitrile catalyzes a transformation of HL1 and HL3 instead of complex formation. The conversion...
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Antifungal Effect of Penicillamine Due to the Selective Targeting of L-Homoserine O-Acetyltransferase
PublicationDue to the apparent similarity of fungal and mammalian metabolic pathways, the number of established antifungal targets is low, and the identification of novel ones is highly desirable. The results of our studies, presented in this work, indicate that the fungal biosynthetic pathway of L-methionine, an amino acid essential for humans, seems to be an attractive perspective. The MET2 gene from Candida albicans encoding L-homoserine...
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Analysis of Transformation Methods of Hydroacoustic and Optoelectronic Data Based on the Tombolo Measurement Campaign in Sopot
PublicationMeasurements in the coastal zone are carried out using various methods, including Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), hydroacoustic and optoelectronic methods. Therefore, it is necessary to develop coordinate transformation models that will enable the conversion of data from the land and marine parts to one coordinate system. The article presents selected issues related to the integration of geodetic and hydrographic data....
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Preparation and photocatalytic activity of Nd-modified TiO2 photocatalysts: Insight into the excitation mechanism under visible light
PublicationTitanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles (NPs) modified with neodymium (Nd) in the range between 0.1 and 1.0 mol% were prepared via the hydrothermal method. The samples obtained were characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray fluorescence (EDX), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, X-ray powder diffraction analysis (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and photoluminescence...
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Green products from herbal medicine wastes by subcritical water treatment
PublicationHerbal medicine wastes (HMWs) are byproducts of medicine factories, which are mainly landfilled for their environmental problems. Only bearing in mind the contamination and concerns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental emissions, the worth of herbal medicine wastes management and conversion to green products can be understood. In this work, subcritical water treatment was carried out batch-wise in a stainless tube...
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Anticancer Properties of Amino Acid and Peptide Derivatives of Mycophenolic Acid
PublicationBackground: Although Mycophenolic Acid (MPA) is applied as prodrugs in clinic as an immunosuppressant, it also possesses anticancer activity. MPA acts as Inosine-5’-Monophosphate Dehydrogenase (IMPDH) inhibitor, where the carboxylic group at the end of the side chain interacts with Ser 276 of the enzyme via hydrogen bonds. Therefore, MPA derivatives with other polar groups indicated high inhibition too. On the other hand, potent...
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A new cold-adapted beta-D-galactosidase from the Antarctic Arthrobacter sp. 32c - gene cloning, overexpression, purification and properties
PublicationThe development of a new cold-active β-D-galactosidases and microorganisms that efficiently ferment lactose is of high biotechnological interest, particularly for lactose removal in milk and dairy products at low temperatures and for cheese whey bioremediation processes with simultaneous bio-ethanol production. In this article, we present a new β-D-galactosidase as a candidate to be applied in the above mentioned biotechnological...
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Broken rotor bar impact on sensorless control of induction machine
PublicationThe aim of the research is analysis of the sensorless control system of induction machine with broken rotor for diagnostic purposes. Increasing popularity of sensorless controlled variable speed drives requires research in area of reliability, range of stable operation, fault symptoms and application of diagnosis methods. T transformation (Cunha et al.,2003) used for conversion of instantaneous rotor currents electrical circuit...
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Electrochemical simulation of metabolic reduction and conjugation reactions of unsymmetrical bisacridine antitumor agents, C-2028 and C-2053
PublicationElectrochemistry (EC) coupled with analysis techniques such as liquid chromatography (LC) and mass spectrometry (MS) has been developed as a powerful tool for drug metabolism simulation. The application of EC in metabolic studies is particularly favourable due to the low matrix contribution compared to in vitro or in vivo biological models. In this paper, the EC(/LC)/MS system was applied to simulate phase I metabolism of the representative...
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Effects of Deck-Abutment Pounding on the Seismic Fragility Curves of Box-Girder Highway Bridges
PublicationEarthquake-induced pounding in bridges is a complex contact phenomenon in which the dynamic responses of structures, including collisions between deck and abutments, are strongly related to structural properties and earthquake excitation. The goal of this study is to develop and compare the seismic fragility curves of overall system and individual components of regular and irregular box-girder highway bridges in two cases: with...
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Desensitization of glucosamine-6-phosphate synthase to inhibition by UDP-GlcNAc
PublicationGlucosamine-6-phosphate (GlcN-6-P) synthase, known also as L-Glutamine: D-fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase, catalyzes the first committed step in the pathway leading to the ultimate formation of UDP-GlcNAc. The final product of this pathway is an activated precursor of numerous macromolecules containing amino sugars, including chitin and mannproteins in fungi, peptidoglycan and lipopolysaccharides in bacteria, and glycoproteins...
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Tribo-Environment Dependent Chemical Modification of Sliding Interfaces in Ultrananocrystalline Diamond Nanowall Film: A Correlation with Friction and Wear
PublicationTribological properties of ultrananocrystalline diamond nanowall (UNCD NW) films were investigated quantitatively in three different and controlled tribo-environmental conditions, proposing the passivation and graphitization mechanisms. However, these mechanisms are rather complicated and possibly can be understood in well-controlled tribological conditions. It was shown that the friction and wear of these films were high in highPage 1...
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Anthra[1,2-d][1,2,3]triazine-4,7,12(3H)-triones as a New Class of Antistaphylococcal Agents: Synthesis and Biological Evaluation
PublicationThe development and spread of resistance of human pathogenic bacteria to the action of commonly used antibacterial drugs is one of the key problems in modern medicine. One of the especially dangerous and easily developing antibiotic resistant bacterial species is Staphylococcus aureus. Anthra[1,2-d][1,2,3]triazine-4,7,12(3H)-triones 22–38 have been developed as novel effective antistaphylococcal agents. These compounds have been...
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Electrochemical simulation of enzymatic transformations studied for the selected antitumor acridine derivatives
PublicationThe elucidation of the metabolic pathways and the biotransformation mechanisms of potential drugs is a crucial point in drug development. It allows to know the activation routes of the new biologically active compounds, especially in respect to their possible toxicity. Generally, in vivo or in vitro experiments with liver microsomes or hepatocytes are performed. However, these testing schemes are tedious, time consuming and of...
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Electrochemistry meets enzymes: Investigation of the biotransformation pathway of C-1311 based on electrochemical simulation in comparison to in vitro methods.
PublicationThe knowledge of the metabolic pathways and the biotransformation of new drugs is one of the major challenges in pharmaceutical research. It is crucial for elucidation of degradation routes of the new biologically active compounds, especially in the area of possible toxicity. Conventional in vitro drug metabolism studies are based on incubating drug candidate with e.g. hepatocytes or, most importantly, liver cell microsomes and...
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Genome-Wide DNA Methylation and Gene Expression in Patients with Indolent Systemic Mastocytosis
PublicationMastocytosis is a clinically heterogenous, usually acquired disease of the mast cells with a survival time that depends on the time of onset. It ranges from skin-limited to systemic disease, including indolent and more aggressive variants. The presence of the oncogenic KIT p. D816V gene somatic mutation is a crucial element in the pathogenesis. However, further epigenetic regulation may also affect the expression of genes that...
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Synergism of floated paperboard sludge cake /sewage sludge for maximizing biomethane yield and biochar recovery from digestate: A step towards circular economy
PublicationAnaerobic digestion of floated paperboard sludge (PS) cake suffers from volatile fatty acids (VFAs) accumulation, nutrient unbalanced condition, and generation of digestate with a risk of secondary pollution. To overcome these drawbacks, sewage sludge (SS) was added to PS cake for biogas recovery improvement under a co-digestion process followed by the thermal treatment of solid fraction of digestate for biochar production. Batch...
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The bile salt/phospholipid ratio determines the extent of in vitro intestinal lipolysis of triglycerides: Interfacial and emulsion studies
PublicationThis study focused on the protein-stabilised triglyceride (TG)/water interfaces and oil-in-water emulsions, and explored the influence of varying molar ratios of bile salts (BSs) and phospholipids (PLs) on the intestinal lipolysis of TGs. The presence of these two major groups of biosurfactants delivered with human bile to the physiological environment of intestinal digestion was replicated in our experiments by using mixtures...