Search results for: FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS
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Port Cities within Port Regions: Shaping Complex Urban Environments in Gdańsk Bay, Poland
PublicationPort cities located within various metropolitan or functional regions face very different development scenarios. This applies not only to entire municipalities but also to particular areas that play important roles in urban development—including ports as well as their specialized parts. This refers also to the various types of maritime industries, including the processing of goods, logistics operations, shipbuilding, or ship repairing,...
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Innovative Research Into Road Restraint Systems
PublicationKey to understanding the needs and building road infrastructure management tools to prevent and mitigate run-off-road accidents is to identify hazards and their sources which are a result of wrong design, construction, installation and maintenance of road restraint systems [1]. Building such tools requires advanced studies with field tests, simulations and models to demonstrate the effects of selected parameters on road user safety...
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Functional safety and cyber security analysis for life cycle management of industrial control systems in hazardous plants and oil port critical infrastructure including insurance
PublicationThis report addresses selected methodological aspects of proactive reliability, functional safety and cyber security management in life cycle of industrial automation and control systems (IACS) in hazardous plants and oil port critical installations based on the analysis of relevant hazards / threats and evaluation of related risks. In addition the insurance company point of view has been also considered, because nowadays the insurer,...
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Technical and Economic Analysis of the Implementation of Selected Variants of Road Investment
PublicationThe aim of the article is to analyze three variants of modernization and reconstruction of a road intersection, which in practice is the cause of numerous collisions and accidents. Detailed design solutions are presented for them. The aim of the analyses is to indicate an effective solution that, taking into account technical modifications of the road system elements, will ensure the functionality of the road system to the highest...
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Shrinking-shifting and amplifying-shifting device using transformation optics
PublicationBased on transformation optics (TO), this paper uses geometric divisions and linear coordinate transformations to design “shrinking-shifting—and reshaping”, and “amplifying-shifting—and reshaping” devices. The proposed devices can reshape the sizes and locations of the wrapped-objects inside the core-region. The shrinking-shifting device shrinks the larger object into a smaller one and shifts it to different location, whereas the...
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Impedimetric sensing of α-amino acids driven by micro-patterned 1,8-Diazafluoren-9-one into titania- boron- doped maze-like nanocarbons
PublicationThe development of impedimetric, non-faradaic label-free sensors for the detection of α-amino acids constitutes a trailblazing technology for the fast and inexpensive quantification of such biomarkers. Since α-amino acids, such as glycine and sarcosine, are basic constituents in biological processes, a variation in their concentration may be an indicator of cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders or neurological conditions....
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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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Cu( II ) ions removal from wastewater using starch nanoparticles ( SNPs ): An Eco‐sustainable approach
PublicationThe complex structured starch particles were reduced to the nanoscale size range through hydrolysis utilizing low concentration acid assisted with ultrasound irradiation. The synthesized starch nanoparticles (SNPs) were characterized by TEM, FTIR, and XRD techniques. The synthesized SNPs possessed surface activated entities, as many cationic functional groups were confirmed through the FTIR spectrum. Also, these SNPs were effectively...
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Efficacious Alkaline Copper Corrosion Inhibition by a Mixed Ligand Copper(II) Complex of 2,2′-Bipyridine and Glycine: Electrochemical and Theoretical Studies
PublicationA mixed ligand copper(II) complex, namely, [Cu(BPy)(Gly)Cl]⋅2H2O (CuC) (BPy=2,2′-bipyridine and Gly=glycine), was synthesized and characterized. The synthesized CuC complex was tested as inhibitor to effectively mitigate the corrosion of copper in alkaline solutions using the linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and linear polarization resistance (LPR) techniques. For the sake of comparison, such two D.C. electrochemical techniques were...
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How Machine Learning Contributes to Solve Acoustical Problems
PublicationMachine learning is the process of learning functional relationships between measured signals (called percepts in the artificial intelligence literature) and some output of interest. In some cases, we wish to learn very specific relationships from signals such as identifying the language of a speaker (e.g. Zissman, 1996) which has direct applications such as in call center routing or performing a music information retrieval task...
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Recent advancements in molecularly imprinted polymers for the removal of heavy metal ions and dyes
PublicationContamination set off by highly toxic metal ions and dyes is a big threat to the environment and living beings. Various industries like metal plating, mining, pesticides, battery manufacturing, and dyeing release metal ions and toxic dyes directly into the water. It is necessary to remove these toxic substances from the environment. Molecular imprinting technology (MIT) got a lot of attention in the last two decades because of...
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Problemy zarządzania bezpieczeństwem obiektu przemysłowego podwyższonego ryzyka
PublicationW rozdziale przedstawiono wybrane zagadnienia dotyczące zarządzania bezpieczeństwem w zautomatyzowanym złożonym obiekcie podwyższonego ryzyka. Pokazano, że ryzyko strat można istotnie ograniczyć stosując odpowiednie rozwiązania techniczne w postaci warstwowego systemu zabezpieczeń, który obejmuje podstawowy system sterowania procesem, człowieka-operatora i system automatyki zabezpieczeniowej. Podkreślono znaczenie właściwego zaprojektowania...
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Novel single-stranded DNA-binding proteins from extreme psychrophilic bacterium Psychromonas ingrahamii 37
PublicationWe report the identification and characterization of the single-stranded DNA binding protein (SSB) from extreme psychrophilic bacterium Psychromonas ingrahamii 37 (PinSSB) that grows expotentially at -12°C and may well grow at even lower temperatures. PinSSB is one of the largest known bacterial SSB protein consisting 222 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 25.1 kDa. The analysis by gel filtration chromatography...
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Characterization of exceptionally thermostable single-stranded DNA-binding proteins from Thermotoga maritima and Thermotoga neapolitana
PublicationBACKGROUND: In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in SSBs because they find numerous applications in diverse molecular biology and analytical methods.RESULTS: We report the characterization of single-stranded DNA binding proteins (SSBs) from the thermophilic bacteria Thermotoga maritima (TmaSSB) and Thermotoga neapolitana (TneSSB). They are the smallest known bacterial SSB proteins, consisting of 141 and 142 amino...
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Comparison of classical and modern approach of determination of highly polar compounds by High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled with Tandem Mass Spectrometry
PublicationAbstract: Sugars and sugar alcohols are known as highly polar compounds. Four analytes were taken into consideration for comparison of classical and modern approach of separation of highly polar substances. Mannitol was chosen as an example of simple sugar alcohol, sucrose and lactulose as examples of disaccharides and structural isomers, raffinose as an example of complex trisaccharide. Raffinose was also used as internal standard...
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Density functional theory calculations on entire proteins for free energies of binding: Application to a model polar binding site
PublicationIn drug optimization calculations, the molecular mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann surface area (MM-PBSA) method can be used to compute free energies of binding of ligands to proteins. The method involves the evaluation of the energy of configurations in an implicit solvent model. One source of errors is the force field used, which can potentially lead to large errors due to the restrictions in accuracy imposed by its empirical nature....
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Microgrinding with single-disk lapping kinematics.
PublicationGrinding operations are carried out with a variety of tool-workpiece configurations. The selection of a grinding process for a particular application depends on part shape, part size, ease of fixture, requirements concerning the acceptable shape errors. It is evident that lapping is very effective in eliminating the waviness while surface grinding is not. Dual disk machines for the double face grinding with planetary kinematics...
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Microporous Polyurethane Thin Layer as a Promising Scaffold for Tissue Engineering
PublicationThe literature describes that the most efficient cell penetration takes place at 200–500 µm depth of the scaffold. Many different scaffold fabrication techniques were described to reach these guidelines. One such technique is solvent casting particulate leaching (SC/PL). The main advantage of this technique is its simplicity and cost efficiency, while its main disadvantage is the scaffold thickness, which is usually not less than...
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Connected & Automated Urban Mobility, Zombie Cars and Kitchen Knives: Will Autonomous Automobiles, Self-Driving Car-Sharing and Ride-Hailing, and Driverless Shuttles Harm Cities?
PublicationThere is a deficiency of supportive evidence to verify thesis that cities are prepared for mobility revolution which already begun and will advance exponentially. Furthermore, present revisions mostly emphasize how emerging mobility solutions will alter transport efficiency or affect mass transit usage, rather than on urban morphology, metropolitan society, nor local communities. Author is thoroughly concerned that municipalities...
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Iron–Sulfur Cluster Biogenesis Chaperones: Evidence for Emergence of Mutational Robustness of a Highly Specific Protein–Protein Interaction
PublicationBiogenesis of iron–sulfur clusters (FeS) is a highly conserved process involving Hsp70 and J-protein chaperones. However, Hsp70 specialization differs among species. In most eukaryotes, including Schizosaccharomyces pombe, FeS biogenesis involves interaction between the J-protein Jac1 and the multifunctional Hsp70 Ssc1. But, in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and closely related species, Jac1 interacts with the specialized Hsp70 Ssq1,...
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Linear-scaling calculation of Hartree-Fock exchange energy with Non-orthogonal Generalised Wannier Functions
PublicationWe present a method for the calculation of four-centre two-electron repulsion integrals in terms of localised non-orthogonal generalised Wannier functions (NGWFs). Our method has been imple- mented in the ONETEP program and is used to compute the Hartree-Fock exchange energy component of Hartree-Fock and Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations with hybrid exchange-correlation functionals. As the NGWFs are optimised in situ...
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Modernization of historic healthcare buildings
PublicationThe practice of transforming and adapting the existing healthcare facilities to meet the growing demands of modern medicine applies not only to buildings of historical value. Of course, one can set a time point from which hospitals, erected mostly with industrialized technologies, undergo upgrades for better or worse effect. Existing healthcare buildings or facilities, including historic ones, have to be refurbished and adapted...
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Machining process sequencing and machine assignment in generative feature-based CAPP for mill-turn parts
PublicationProcess selection and sequencing, as one of the most complex issues when evaluated from a mathematical point of view and crucial in CAPP, still attract research attention. For the current trend of intelligent manufacturing, machining features (MFs) are the information carriers for workpiece geometry and topology representation. They are basically derived from CAD models and are used by downstream engineering applications. A feature-based...
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Modernisation of existing hospitals
PublicationProgress in medicine and development of medical technologies directly affect the evolution of methods for treating patients in hospitals. The main task of 19th-century hospitals was patient care and nursing, while the aim of hospitals today is to diagnose and treat patients effectively in the shortest time possible. The changes which are taking place in methods of treatment affect the functional-spatial layout of hospitals. This...
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Web-based real-time simulation system
PublicationThe paper presents the development of a simulation system composed of a real-time plant simulator with real-time controller included in the software-in-the-loop structure using web-based communication. The client-server architecture build in a TCP/IP network environment was introduced, where the server is a computing unit for real-time high temporal resolution plant simulation (and optionally also as controllers' platform) and...
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Solid state versus fiber picosecond infrared lasers applied to two-photon vision tests
PublicationDevelopment of new microperimetric tools dedicated for imaging of early functional changes in the retina may help in the monitoring of various ocular diseases progression e.g. Age-Related Macular Degeneration. Recently described two-photon vision may be applied to microperimetric devices. Many subjects with well-known disease history could be investigated with newly developed instrumentation that tests ability of human eye to perceive...
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Multi-Criteria Approach in Multifunctional Building Design Process
PublicationThe paper presents new approach in multifunctional building design process. Publication defines problems related to the design of complex multifunctional buildings. Currently, contemporary urban areas are characterized by very intensive use of space. Today, buildings are being built bigger and contain more diverse functions to meet the needs of a large number of users in one capacity. The trends show the need for recognition of...
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Screening stability, thermochemistry, and chemical kinetics of 3-hydroxybutanoic acid as a bifunctional biodiesel additive
PublicationThe thermo-kinetic aspects of 3-hydroxybutyric acid (3-HBA) pyrolysis in the gas phase were investigated using density functional theory (DFT), specifically the M06-2X theoretical level in conjunction with the cc-pVTZ basis set. The obtained data were compared with benchmark CBS-QB3 results. The degradation mechanism was divided into 16 pathways, comprising 6 complex fissions and 10 barrierless reactions. Energy profiles were calculated...
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Advanced Potential Energy Surfaces for Molecular Simulation
PublicationAdvanced potential energy surfaces are defined as theoretical models that explicitly include many-body effects that transcend the standard fixed-charge, pairwise-additive paradigm typically used in molecular simulation. However, several factors relating to their software implementation have precluded their widespread use in condensed-phase simulations: the computational cost of the theoretical models, a paucity of approximate models...
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Targeting Spike‐ACE2 Interface of SARS‐CoV‐2 and its Omicron Variant: A Comparative Screening of Potential Inhibitors for Existing and Anticipating Variants Using Molecular Modelling Approach
PublicationThe recent COVID pandemic has shown major impact on public health and economic crisis. Despite the development of many vaccines and drugs against the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus 2, the pandemic still persists. The continued spread of the virus is largely driven by the emergence of viral variants such as α, β, γ, delta, epsilon spike, omicron and its subvariants (BA.1,2,3) which can evade the current vaccines...
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Synthesis of Cyano-Benzylidene Xanthene Synthons Using a Diprotic Brønsted Acid Catalyst, and Their Application as Efficient Inhibitors of Aluminum Corrosion in Alkaline Solutions
PublicationNovel cyano-benzylidene xanthene derivatives were synthesized using one-pot and condensation reactions. A diprotic Brønsted acid (i.e., oxalic acid) was used as an effective catalyst for the promotion of the synthesis process of the new starting xanthene–aldehyde compound. Different xanthene concentrations (ca. 0.1–2.0 mM) were applied as corrosion inhibitors to control the alkaline uniform corrosion of aluminum. Measurements were...
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Magnetic deep eutectic solvents as efficient media for extraction of furfural and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural from aqueous samples
PublicationThe extraction of furfural (FF) and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) from hydrolysates is currently one of the main challenges in bio-refinery. In this work, the separation of FF and HMF from the aqueous phase was carried out using a new type of green solvents – Magnetic Deep Eutectic Solvents (MDES). A conductor-like screening model for realistic solvents (COSMO-RS) was used for the preselection of 400 MDES. MDES which exhibit the...
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Singlet oxygen in the removal of organic pollutants: An updated review on the degradation pathways based on mass spectrometry and DFT calculations
PublicationThe degradation of pollutants by a non-radical pathway involving singlet oxygen (1O2) is highly relevant in advanced oxidation processes. Photosensitizers, modified photocatalysts, and activated persulfates can generate highly selective 1O2 in the medium. The selective reaction of 1O2 with organic pollutants results in the evolution of different intermediate products. While these products can be identified using mass spectrometry...
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Development and validation of lumbar spine finite element model
PublicationThe functional biomechanics of the lumbar spine have been better understood by finite element method (FEM) simulations. However, there are still areas where the behavior of soft tissues can be better modeled or described in a different way. The purpose of this research is to develop and validate a lumbar spine section intended for biomechanical research. A FE model of the 50th percentile adult male (AM) Total Human Model for Safety...
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Bulk-Surface Modification of Nanoparticles for Developing Highly-Crosslinked Polymer Nanocomposites
PublicationSurface modification of nanoparticles with functional molecules has become a routine method to compensate for diffusion-controlled crosslinking of thermoset polymer composites at late stages of crosslinking, while bulk modification has not carefully been discussed. In this work, a highly-crosslinked model polymer nanocomposite based on epoxy and surface-bulk functionalized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) was developed. MNPs were...
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Comprehensive evaluation of the carbon footprint components of wastewater treatment plants located in the Baltic Sea region
PublicationFinland and Poland share similar environmental interests with regard to their wastewater effluents eventually being discharged to the Baltic Sea. However, differences in the influent wastewater characteristics, treatment processes, operational conditions, and carbon intensities of energy mixes in both countries make these two countries interesting for carbon footprint (CF) comparison. This study aimed at proposing a functional...
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DIAGNOSTIC INFORMATION ANALYSIS OF QUICKLY CHANGING TEMPERATURE OF EXHAUST GAS FROM MARINE DIESEL ENGINE PART I SINGLE FACTOR ANALYSIS
PublicationIn this paper, attention was paid to the problem of low controllability of marine medium- and high-speed engines during operation, which significantly limits the parametric diagnosis. The measurement of quickly changing temperature of engine exhaust gas was proposed, the courses of which can be a source of diagnostic information. The F statistic of the Fisher-Snedecor distribution was chosen as a statistical tool. Laboratory tests...
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The Changing Nature of In‐Between Spaces in the Transformation Process of Cities
PublicationIn the in‐between spaces of cities, there are many problems of various nature and scale: functional, spatial, economic, environmental, visual, and social. There are also some hidden potentials that can be activated. The aim of the article is to explore the possibilities of solving existing problems and to show the possibilities of using the potentials of in‐between spaces with regard to the changing nature of a city. The article,...
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Optical and photocatalytic properties of rare earth metal-modified ZnO quantum dots
PublicationA series of novel ZnO quantum dots modified with rare earth metals was successfully prepared by a simple sol-gel approach. The effects of types (Eu, Er, Tb, Yb, Ho, La) and amounts (from 0.09 to 0.45 mmol) of lanthanides on the optical properties, structural characterization and photocatalytic activity of ZnO/RE QDs were systematically investigated. The X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform...
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Tool Wear Monitoring Using Improved Dragonfly Optimization Algorithm and Deep Belief Network
PublicationIn recent decades, tool wear monitoring has played a crucial role in the improvement of industrial production quality and efficiency. In the machining process, it is important to predict both tool cost and life, and to reduce the equipment downtime. The conventional methods need enormous quantities of human resources and expert skills to achieve precise tool wear information. To automatically identify the tool wear types, deep...
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Bortezomib induces methylation changes in neuroblastoma cells that appear to play a significant role in resistance development to this compound
PublicationThe anticancer activity of bortezomib (BTZ) has been increasingly studied in a number of indications and promising results for the use of this treatment have been shown in neuroblastoma. As BTZ treatment is usually administered in cycles, the development of resistance and side effects in patients undergoing therapy with BTZ remains a major challenge for the clinical usage of this compound. Common resistance development also means...
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Two bacterial small heat shock proteins, IbpA and IbpB, form a functional heterodimer
PublicationSmall heat shock proteins (sHsps) are a conserved class of ATP-independent chaperones which in stress conditions bind to unfolded protein substrates and prevent their irreversible aggregation. Substrates trapped in sHsps-containing aggregates are efficiently refolded into native structures by ATP-dependent Hsp70 and Hsp100 chaperones. Most γ-proteobacteria possess a single sHsp (IbpA), while in a subset of Enterobacterales, as...
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PAYMENT TRANSACTIONS’ ENERGY EFFICIENCY
PublicationThe payment system and infrastructure is a sector that is not given enough attention today in the context of energy efficiency. This sector plays a big role in organizing and ensuring money circulation and funds. It has its value consisting on the one hand of the cost of payment equipment, infrastructure, payment instruments. On other hand, its value consists of the cost of energy for their manufacture and maintenance. The European...
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Multi-pathway mechanism of polydopamine film formation at vertically aligned diamondised boron-doped carbon nanowalls
PublicationBoron-doped carbon nanowall (B:CNW) electrodes were used as a platform for studying the electropolymerisation of dopamine. Due to the unique properties of B:CNW, including the fast charge-transfer kinetics and high surface conductivity, a high degree of reversibility of redox reactions was achieved. Three separated redox peaks were observed on voltammograms and attributed to three fundamental reactions in the dopamine polymerisation...
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Emerging oxidized and defective phases in low-dimensional CrCl3
PublicationTwo-dimensional (2D) magnets such as chromium trihalides CrX3 (X ¼ I, Br, Cl) represent a frontier for spintronics applications and, in particular, CrCl3 has attracted research interest due its relative stability under ambient conditions without rapid degradation, as opposed to CrI3. Herein, mechanically exfoliated CrCl3 flakes are characterized at the atomic scale and the electronic structures of pristine, oxidized, and defective...
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Chitosan-based inks for 3D printing and bioprinting
PublicationThe advent of 3D-printing/additive manufacturing in biomedical engineering field has introduced great potential for the preparation of 3D structures that can mimic native tissues. This technology has accelerated the progress in numerous areas of regenerative medicine, especially led to a big wave of biomimetic functional scaffold developments for tissue engineering demands. In recent years, the introduction of smart bio-inks has...
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Properties of Oxygen Vacancy and Hydrogen Interstitial Defects in Strontium Titanate: DFT + Ud,p Calculations
PublicationThis work presents extensive theoretical studies focused on the mixed ion-electron transport in cubic strontium titanate (STO). A new approach to the description of this difficult system was developed within the framework of linear-scaling Kohn–Sham density functional theory, as realized in the ONETEP program. The description we present is free of any empirical parameters and relies on the Hubbard U and Hund’s J corrections applied...
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Updating a hospital building. A task for innovation design
PublicationRefurbishment of a hospital, especially located in a historical building, is a task that goes far beyond a standard framework of architectural practice. A concept of modularity in the architecture of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century was only just to happen, building system installations and technical equipment appeared as the simplest solutions. Inscribing complex functional solutions into such a space is an interesting...
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Phenotypic consequences of the LYS4 gene disruption in Candida albicans
PublicationThe main scientific purpose of our studies was to verify the hypothesis that homoaconitase (HA) from Candida albicans, an enzyme catalyzing a second step of the α-aminoadipate pathway (AAP) of L-Lys biosynthesis may become a new target for antifungal chemotherapy. Previous studies indicated that the A. fumigatus mutant lacking the functional lysF gene, encoding HA, exhibited attenuated virulence in a low-dose mouse infection model...
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Formation of chlorinated breakdown products during degradation of sunscreen agent, 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate in the presence of sodium hypochlorite
PublicationIn this study, a new degradation path of sunscreen active ingredient, 2-ethylhexyl-4-methoxycinnamate (EHMC) and 4-methoxycinnamic acid (MCA) in the presence of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), was discussed. The reaction products were detected using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Since HOCl treatment leads to more polar products than EHMC, application of polar extracting agents, dichloromethane and ethyl acetate/n-hexane...