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Search results for: biological processes
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Strategies for mitigating nitrous oxide production and decreasing the carbon footprint of a full-scale combined nitrogen and phosphorus removal activated sludge system
PublicationNitrous oxide (N2O) emitted from biological nutrient removal activated sludge systems contributes significantly to the total carbon footprint of modern wastewater treatment plants. In the present study, N2O production and emissions were experimentally determined in a large-scale plant (220,000 PE) employing combined nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removal. As a modelling tool, the Activated Sludge Model 2d (ASM2d) was extended...
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pH-dependent composite coatings for controlled drug delivery system - Review
PublicationNowadays in case of long-term implants, the most common postoperative complications are bacterial infections, which in consequence may provoke loos- ening of the implants in the primary phase of stabilization. Bacterial infections are currently the most frequent cause of revision surgery of the implants such as hip joint endoprosthesis, knee joint endoprosthesis and dental implants. In order to provide the local and long-term antibacterial...
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Prophylaxis of Non-communicable Diseases: Why Fruits and Vegetables may be Better Chemopreventive Agents than Dietary Supplements Based on Isolated Phytochemicals?
PublicationThe World Health Organization (WHO) report from 2014 documented that non-communicable socalled civilization diseases such as cardiovascular disease, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer or type 2 diabetes are responsible for over 50% of all premature deaths in the world. Research carried out over the past 20 years has provided data suggesting that diet is an essential factor influencing the risk of development of these diseases....
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Integrated plant-wide modelling for evaluation of the energy balance and greenhouse gas footprint in large wastewater treatment plants
PublicationModern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) should maintain a balance between three combined sustainability criteria, including effluent quality, energy performance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. All of these criteria were considered in the integrated plant-wide model developed in this study. The proposed model incorporates new features, including: (i) the addition of associated facilities to the overall energy balance and...
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Biological and mechanical properties of bone cement with nanoarticles - in vitro and in vivo research
PublicationDespite antibiotic preventive treatment both before and after implant implementation, the risks of infection are real. These infections develop at the implant surface a few months after inserting them into the body. To prevent the development of bacteria and reduce the risk of infection, implants coated with nanoparticles are used. The Mechanical Department of the Technical University of Gdansk carries out research into using bone...
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Quantum Dots as a Good Carriers of Unsymmetrical Bisacridines for Modulating Cellular Uptake and the Biological Response in Lung and Colon Cancer Cells
PublicationNanotechnology-based drug delivery provides a promising area for improving the efficacy of cancer treatments. Therefore, we investigate the potential of using quantum dots (QDs) as drug carriers for antitumor unsymmetrical bisacridine derivatives (UAs) to cancer cells. We examine the influence of QD–UA hybrids on the cellular uptake, internalization (Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope), and the biological response (flow cytometry...
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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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Determination of long-chain aldehydes using a novel quartz crystal microbalance sensor based on a biomimetic peptide
PublicationThere is an increasingly popular trend aimed at improvement of fundamental metrological parameters of sensors via implementation of materials mimicking biological olfactory systems. This study presents investigation on usefulness of the peptide mimicking HarmOBP7 region as a receptor element of the piezoelectric sensor for selective analysis of long-chain aldehydes. Identification of odorant binding proteins creates new possibilities...
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The Substantial Improvement of Amphotericin B Selective Toxicity Upon Modification of Mycosamine with Bulky Substituents
PublicationAbstract: Background: It is assumed that the unfavorable selective toxicity of an antifungal drug Amphotericin B (AmB) can be improved upon chemical modification of the antibiotic molecule. Objective: The aim of this study was verification of the hypothesis that introduction of bulky substituents at the amino sugar moiety of the antibiotic may result in diminishment of mammalian vitro toxicity of thus prepared AmB derivatives. Methods:...
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Comprehensive Evaluation of the Biological Properties of Surface-Modified Titanium Alloy Implants
PublicationAn increasing interest in the fabrication of implants made of titanium and its alloys results from their capacity to be integrated into the bone system. This integration is facilitated by different modifications of the implant surface. Here, we assessed the bioactivity of amorphous titania nanoporous and nanotubular coatings (TNTs), produced by electrochemical oxidation of Ti6Al4V orthopedic implants’ surface. The chemical composition...
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In Vitro Studies on Nanoporous, Nanotubular and Nanosponge-Like Titania Coatings, with the Use of Adipose-Derived Stem Cells
PublicationIn vitro biological research on a group of amorphous titania coatings of different nanoarchitectures (nanoporous, nanotubular, and nanosponge-like) produced on the surface of Ti6Al4V alloy samples have been carried out, aimed at assessing their ability to interact with adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) and affect their activity. The attention has been drawn to the influence of surface coating architecture and its physicochemical...
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The mechanisms of degradation of titanium dental implants
PublicationTitanium dental implants show very good properties, unfortunately there are still issues regarding material wear due to corrosion, implant loosening, as well as biological factors—allergic reactions and inflammation leading to rejection of the implanted material. In order to avoid performing reimplantation operations, changes in the chemical composition and/or modifications of the surface layer of the materials are used. This research...
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Reliability and efficiency of pollution removal during long-term operation of a one-stage constructed wetland system with horizontal flow
PublicationThe paper presents the results of a study of the reliability and efficiency of pollutant removal during long term operation of a one-stage constructed wetland system with horizontal flow. The flow rate of the wastewater treatment plant was 1.2 m3·d-1 during the research period. Physical and chemical analyses of raw wastewater and treated effluent were carried out in the years 1997–2010 (14 years). During this study period, 56 series...
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Possibilities of Leachate Co-Treatment Originating from Biogas Production in the Deammonification Process
PublicationIn the methane fermentation process, sewage sludge is the single substrate or serves as a co-substrate with the addition of various waste products. After the treatment stable digestate is obtained, which consists of two phases solid and liquid. Liquid phase, called as a leachate, due to the high content of nutrients must be treated before they are discharged into the final receiver. Physical and chemical methods of leachate treatment...
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Convolutional Neural Networks for C. Elegans Muscle Age Classification Using Only Self-Learned Features
PublicationNematodes Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) have been used as model organisms in a wide variety of biological studies, especially those intended to obtain a better understanding of aging and age-associated diseases. This paper focuses on automating the analysis of C. elegans imagery to classify the muscle age of nematodes based on the known and well established IICBU dataset. Unlike many modern classification methods, the proposed...
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Mercury in suspended matter of the Gulf of Gdańsk: Origin, distribution and transport at the land–sea interface
PublicationThe coastal regions of inland seas are particularly vulnerable to Hg pollution. An important carrier of toxic Hg in the marine environment is suspended matter originating from multiple sources. The present study was conducted in the Gulf...
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Hydration of aprotic donor solvents studied by means of FTIR spectroscopy
PublicationThe paper attempts to explain the mutual influence of nonpolar and electron-donor groups on solute hydration,the problem of big importance for biological aqueous systems. Aprotic organic solvents have been used asmodel solutes, differing in electron-donating power. Hydration of acetonitrile, acetone, 2-butanone, andtriethylamine has been studied by HDO and (partially) H2O spectra. The quantitative version of...
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PVA-Based Films with Strontium Titanate Nanoparticles Dedicated to Wound Dressing Application
PublicationBioactive materials may be applied in tissue regeneration, and an example of such materials are wound dressings, which are used to accelerate skin healing, especially after trauma. Here, we proposed a novel dressing enriched by a bioactive component. The aim of our study was to prepare and characterize poly(vinyl alcohol) films modified with strontium titanate nanoparticles. The physicochemical properties of films were studied,...
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Assessment of Sewage Molecular Markers: Linear Alkylbenzenes in Sediments of an Industrialized Region in Peninsular Malaysia
PublicationIn this study, the use of linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) was employed to pinpoint the sources of human activity that cause detrimental impacts on the coastal environment and river ecosystems. LABs were detected using GC–MS in sediment samples assembled from Kim Kim River (KKR) and the Port Dickson coast (PDC). To assess the significance of variations in the distribution and concentrations of LABs across the sampling sites, this study...
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Evaluation of adhesion strength, corrosion, and biological properties of the MWCNT/TiO2 coating intended for medical applications
PublicationMulti-wall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) coatings are gaining increasing interest because of their special properties used in many science fields. The titania coatings are known for their improvement of osteoblast adhesion, thus changing the surface architecture. Bi-layer coatings comprising 0.25 wt% of the MWCNTs and 0.30 wt% of titania (anatase structure) were synthesized in a two-stage procedure using the electrophoretic deposition...
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Seasonal variability and morphological structure of bacteria in the Admiralty Bay (King George Island, Antarctic).
PublicationIntroduction: The aim of investigations was to state whether melting glaciers cause mass mortality of the sea stenohalyne organisms, what in consequence can lead to an increase of accumulation and growth of psychrophilic bacteria. It may be also that fresh melting water is unfavourable to the sea bacteria and front glacier's regions are not the areas of their intensive development. Methods: Field investigations were done in Admiralty...
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Characteristics and fate of organic nitrogen in municipal biological nutrient removal wastewater treatment plants
PublicationThe aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence and fate of colloidal and dissolved organic nitrogen (CON and DON) across biological nutrient removal (BNR) activated sludge bioreactors. Primary and secondary effluent total nitrogen (TN) measurements and component fractionation, CON and DON concentration profiles across BNR bioreactors, and laboratory batch experiments with the process mixed liquor were carried out at several...
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Hydrophobic (deep) eutectic solvents (HDESs) as extractants for removal of pollutants from water and wastewater – A review
PublicationDeep eutectic solvents (DESs) are a new generation of solvents that attracted increasing attention in diverse applications. In last years, growing number of studies on hydrophobic (deep) eutectic solvents (HDESs) as an alternative extractants for various chemicals from aqueous environments have been reported. This article provides an overview on the usage of HDESs in liquid–liquid extraction (LLE) of different pollutants from water...
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Multidirectional Characterization of Phytochemical Profile and Health-Promoting Effects of Ziziphora bungeana Juz. Extracts
PublicationZiziphora species (Lamiaceae) have been used in traditional medicine as sedatives, anti-septics, carminatives, or expectorants. Despite their common applications in phytotherapy, there is still lack of evidence about the composition of their extracts and its impact on biological properties of the plants. The aim of this study was to evaluate the content of Ziziphora bungeana, a less studied species growing in Kazakhstan, using...
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CaZnO-based nanoghosts for the detection of ssDNA, pCRISPR and recombinant SARS-CoV-2 spike antigen and targeted delivery of doxorubicin
PublicationOverexpression of proteins/antigens and other gene-related sequences in the bodies could lead to significant mutations and refractory diseases. Detection and identification of assorted trace concentrations of such proteins/antigens and/or gene-related sequences remain challenging, affecting different pathogens and making viruses stronger. Correspondingly, coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) mutations/alterations and spread could lead to overexpression...
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Validated HPTLC method for determination of ledol and alloaromadendrene in the essential oil fractions of Rhododendron tomentosum plants and in vitro cultures and bioautography for their activity screening
PublicationRhododendron tomentosum (Ledum palustre) is a bog shrub used in traditional medicine for treatment of respiratory and rheumatic diseases. Due to the large variability of the chemical composition of its essential oil, depending on the habitat, the in vitro cultures were established as the alternative source of the volatile fraction. There is a need to monitor a quality of the field grown as well as in vitro plant material, especially...
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Blood concentrations of a new psychoactive substance 4-chloromethcathinone (4-CMC) determined in 15 forensic cases
PublicationPurpose: The 4-chloromethcathinone (4-CMC) is a synthetic derivative of cathinone and belongs to new psychoactive substances. Neither data on the effects of 4-CMC on the human body, nor on nontoxic, toxic and lethal concentrations in biological materials have been published in the literature. This paper describes the results of an analysis of the blood concentrations of 4-CMC determined in 15 forensic cases related to nonfatal...
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Study on a polish peat bog “Rucianka” as a source of yeast strains capable of effective phenol biodegradation
PublicationPhenol is one of the most widely distributed environmental pollutants which can be found in wastewaters and industrial effluents. Due to its toxicity and resistance to self-degradation, it could become even lethal for humans and animals. The treatment of this toxic compound is focused on psychical–chemical methods, although biological treatment of phenol is preferable for economic aspects related to relatively...
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Synthesis, Chemical Characterization and Multiscale Biological Evaluation of a dimericcRGD Peptide for Targeted Imaging of αVβ3 Integrin Activity
PublicationCyclic peptides containing the Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) sequence have been shown to specifically bind the angiogenesis biomarker α V β3 integrin. We report the synthesis, chemical characterization, and biological evaluation of two novel dimeric cyclic RGD-based molecular probes for the targeted imaging of α V β3 activity (a radiolabeled version, 64Cu-NOTA-PEG4-cRGD2, for PET imaging, and a fluorescent version, FITC-PEG4-cRGD2, for in...
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Structural investigations of niobium-doped bioactive calcium-phosphate glass-ceramics by means of spectroscopic studies
PublicationSynthetic calcium-phosphate based glasses and glass-ceramics play a crucial role in the development of tissue engineering. These materials have a high biocompatibility with biological analogues, excellent ability to undergo varying degrees of resorbability and due to their non-toxicity and relatively high bioactivity they are commonly used as bone and dental implants. A substantial research effort is devoted to improve synthetic...
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Molecular Dynamics to Predict Cryo-EM: Capturing Transitions and Short-Lived Conformational States of Biomolecules
PublicationSingle-particle cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) has revolutionized the field of the structural biology, providing an access to the atomic resolution structures of large biomolecular complexes in their near-native environment. Today’s cryo-EM maps can frequently reach the atomic-level resolution, while often containing a range of resolutions, with conformationally variable regions obtained at 6 Å or worse. Low resolution...
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Bioreactor shoot cultures of Rhododendron tomentosum (Ledum palustre) for a large-scale production of bioactive volatile compounds
PublicationRhododendron tomentosum Harmaja (Ledum palustre), a peat bog plant from Ericaceae family, has been used in traditional medicine as the anti-arthritis agent. Although modern researches confirm its anti-inflammatory properties, it remains threatened by habitat degradation and possibilities to collect this endangered species from its natural environment for further biological activity studies are limited. Therefore, R. tomentosum...
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Polyurethane porous scaffolds (PPS) for soft tissue regenerative medicine applications
PublicationTissue engineering requires suitable polymeric scaffolds, which act as a physical support for regenerated tissue. A promising candidate might be polyurethane (PUR) scaffold, due to the ease of the PUR properties design, which can be adjusted directly to the intended purpose. In this study, we report a successful fabrication of porous polyurethane scaffolds (PPS) using solvent casting/particulate leaching technique combined with...
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Electrically Conductive Carbon‐based (Bio)‐nanomaterials for Cardiac Tissue Engineering
PublicationA proper self-regenerating capability is lacking in human cardiac tissue which along with the alarming rate of deaths associated with cardiovascular disorders makes tissue engineering critical. Novel approaches are now being investigated in order to speedily overcome the challenges in this path. Tissue engineering has been revolutionized by the advent of nanomaterials, and later by the application of carbon-based nanomaterials...
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Emerging strategies for enhancing detection of explosives by artificial olfaction
PublicationExplosives detection systems need to be able to reliably detect a wide range of explosive materials and their vapours. The continued development and improvement of artificial olfaction techniques, including electronic nose (EN), remains important to overcome existing challenges and meet requirements posed by new improvements in the field of explosives. There is an increasingly popular trend aimed at improvement of fundamental metrological...
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Photoresponsive Amide-Based Derivatives of Azobenzene-4,4′-Dicarboxylic Acid—Experimental and Theoretical Studies
PublicationAzobenzene derivatives are one of the most important molecular switches for biological and material science applications. Although these systems represent a well-known group of compounds, there remains a need to identify the factors influencing their photochemical properties in order to design azobenzene-based technologies in a rational way. In this contribution, we describe the synthesis and characterization of two novel amides...
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Support for research biobanks among medical students in the Republic of Kazakhstan
PublicationBackground: Over the past few years, several biobanks have been organized in the Republic of Kazakhstan (RoK). As research biobanks are becoming an increasingly important tool for precision medicine, they require competent biobankers who will help disseminate the idea of biobanking throughout the society and support donation for research purposes. This study aimed to assess the support for research...
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Investigation of Microbes in the Stratosphere – Stardust Project
PublicationThe stratospheric microbiota has been investigated many times using the methods of classical microbiology. In this research a few modern methods, including NGS sequencing and multiple displacement amplification of DNA, were in use. The analysis of metagenome helped to determine the content of various species of bacteria in the sample collected in the stratosphere by a hydrogen-filled balloon holding...
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Cluster donation: How medical students bound certain types of tissues and biomedical research and how it affects their willingness to donate.
PublicationAlthough biomedical research requires cooperation with a large number of donors, its success also depends on the input of healthcare professionals who play a crucial role in promoting biomedical research and influencing an individual’s decision to donate one’s biospecimens that are left over after a medical procedure. This work was aimed at investigating the correlation between medical and healthcare students’ willingness to...
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DETERMINATION OF SURFACTANTS IN ENVIRONMENTAL SAMPLES - PART I. CATIONIC COMPOUNDS = Oznaczanie Surfaktantów W Próbkach Środowiskowych. Część I. Związki Kationowe
PublicationCompounds from the group of cationic surfactants are widely applied in household, industrial, cleaning, disinfectant, cosmetic and pharmaceutical products as their specific properties (antimicrobial, emulsifying, anticorrosion, softening). After use, cationic surfactants are disposed to wastewater-treatment plants and finally with effluent water to surface waters due to their incomplete degradation. Moreover, they can freely circulate...
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The influence of phosphorus fractions in bottom sediments on phosphate removal in semi-natural systems as the 3rd stage of biological wastewater treatment
PublicationThe research was carried out in two semi-natural systems (the polishing ponds in Swarzewo and the free water surface constructed wetland in Zarnowiec) in Poland. They were built as the 3rd stage of a conventional mechanical–biological wastewater treatment plant. These systems were built to improve the quality of the effluent of treated wastewater. In the polishing ponds and FWS wetland system, suspended solids, organic matter as...
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Improving in-situ biomethanation of sewage sludge under mesophilic conditions: Performance and microbial community analysis
PublicationThis research investigated the application of in-situ biological hydrogen methanation within a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) system under mesophilic conditions, with sewage sludge used as the substrate. Two CSTRs with an effective capacity of 5 L were installed and loaded with inoculum sludge with a volatile solid (VS) concentration of 1.2–1.5 %. They were fed mixed waste sludge with an organic loading rate (OLR) of 1.5...
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Genetic variations as predictors of dispositional and dyadic empathy - a couple study
PublicationBiological drivers of empathy have been explored in an interdisciplinary manner for decades. Research that merges the psychological and genetic perspectives of empathy has recently gained interest, and more complex designs and analyses are needed. Empathy is a multidimensional construct that might be regarded both dispositionally (as a personality trait) and contextually (experienced and/or expressed in a particular relationship/situation)....
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Effect of hybrid modification by ceramic layer formation in MAO process and laser remelting on the structure of titanium bio-alloy Ti13Nb13Zr
PublicationTo improve the biological properties of titanium alloy Ti13Nb13Zr, hybrid modifications involving micro-arc oxidation (MAO) and Nd: YAG laser remelting were carried out in two combinations. The first consisted of laser modification before the production of the ceramic layer by the micro-arc oxidation process, and the second combination involved Nd: YAG laser modification after the MAO process. The creation of developed surface...
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Statistical Data Pre-Processing and Time Series Incorporation for High-Efficacy Calibration of Low-Cost NO2 Sensor Using Machine Learning
PublicationAir pollution stands as a significant modern-day challenge impacting life quality, the environment, and the economy. It comprises various pollutants like gases, particulate matter, biological molecules, and more, stemming from sources such as vehicle emissions, industrial operations, agriculture, and natural events. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), among these harmful gases, is notably prevalent in densely populated urban regions. Given...
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Electrochemical detection of bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on gold electrode modified with DAL-PEG-DK5-PEG-OH - Antimicrobial peptide conjugate
PublicationThis work describes fabrication of gold electrodes modified with peptide conjugate DAL-PEG-DK5-PEG-OH that enables ultra-sensitive detection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) isolated from the reference strain of Escherichia coli O26:B6. The initial step of the established procedure implies immobilization of the fully protected DAL-PEG-DK5-PEG-OH peptide on the surface of the gold electrode previously modified by cysteamine. Then side...
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Dual-Activity Fluoroquinolone-Transportan 10 Conjugates offer alternative Leukemia therapy during Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation
PublicationHematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) is often considered a last resort leukemia treatment, fraught with limited success due to microbial infections, a leading cause of mortality in leukemia patients. To address this critical issue, we explored a novel approach by synthesizing antileukemic agents containing antibacterial substances. This innovative strategy involves conjugating fluoroquinolone antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin...
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Between therapy effect and false-positive result in animal experimentation
PublicationDespite the animal models’ complexity, researchers tend to reduce the number of animals in experiments for expenses and ethical concerns. This tendency makes the risk of false-positive results, as statistical significance, the primary criterion to validate findings, often fails if testing small samples. This study aims to highlight such risks using an example from experimental regenerative therapy and propose a machine-learning...
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A novel analytical approach in the assessment of unprocessed Kaffir lime peel and pulp as potential raw materials for cosmetic applications
PublicationVolatile fraction of fruits is a rich source of bioactive and aroma compounds, which can be used in the cosmetics industry after meeting relevant criteria. This is particularly evident in citrus fruits, especially in Citrus hystrix, in which the headspace consists mainly of terpenes. Due to the insufficient sensitivity of analytical methods, essential oils are used in investigations in contrast to fresh fruits. Therefore, a novel...
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Synthesis, physicochemical and theoretical studies on new rhodium and ruthenium dimers. Relationship between structure and cytotoxic activity
PublicationTwo dimeric compounds of the general formulae (Et3NH)2[Rh2(μ2-L)4Cl2] (1) (where L = thiophene-2-carboxylate) and [((η6-p-cymene)Ru)2(μ-Cl)3]PF6 (2) have been synthesized using a new method. The unique anionic complex 1 (space group P bca) has octahedral coordination in which the equatorial positions are occupied by the oxygen atoms of four thiophene-2-carboxylates in a paddle wheel fashion. In complex 2 (space group ), each Ru(II)...