Search results for: BIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES
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Modeling the Structure, Dynamics, and Transformations of Proteins with the UNRES Force Field
PublicationThe physics-based united-residue (UNRES) model of proteins ( www.unres.pl ) has been designed to carry out large-scale simulations of protein folding. The force field has been derived and parameterized based on the principles of statistical-mechanics, which makes it independent of structural databases and applicable to treat nonstandard situations such as, proteins that contain D-amino-acid residues. Powered by Langevin dynamics...
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Balancing Energy Inputs/Outputs and GHG Emissions for Sustainable Wastewater Treatment – a Case Study
PublicationThe aim of the study is a model-based evaluation of the selected operating modes and technological upgrades on the energy balance and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in a large wastewater treatment plant in the city of Slupsk (northern Poland). The considered scenarios focus on energy savings for aeration, increasing energy recovery via biogas cogeneration and reduction of the CO2 equivalent emission from both direct processes (related...
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Offshore surface waters of Antarctica are free of microplastics, as revealed by a circum-Antarctic study
PublicationIn 2018, during a circum navigation of Antarctica below 62° S by the sailing boat Katharsis II, the presence of plastics was investigated with surface sampling nets at ten evenly spaced locations (every 36° of longitude). Although fibres that appeared to be plastic (particles up to 2 cm) were found in numbers ranging from 1 particle (0.002 particles per m3) to 171 particles (1.366 particles per m3) per station, a Fourier-transform...
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Towards Cancer Patients Classification Using Liquid Biopsy
PublicationLiquid biopsy is a useful, minimally invasive diagnostic and monitoring tool for cancer disease. Yet, developing accurate methods, given the potentially large number of input features, and usually small datasets size remains very challenging. Recently, a novel feature parameterization based on the RNA-sequenced platelet data which uses the biological knowledge from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, combined with a classifier...
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Quantum Coherence as a Resource
PublicationThe coherent superposition of states, in combination with the quantization of observables, represents one of the most fundamental features that mark the departure of quantum mechanics from the classical realm. Quantum coherence in many-body systems embodies the essence of entanglement and is an essential ingredient for a plethora of physical phenomena in quantum optics, quantum information, solid state physics, and nanoscale thermodynamics....
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Water chemistry of tundra lakes in the periglacial zone of the Bellsund Fiord (Svalbard) in the summer of 2013
PublicationClimate changes observed in the Arctic (e.g. permafrost degradation, glacier retreat) may have significant influence on sensitive polar wetlands. The main objectives of this paper are defining chemical features of water within six small arctic lakes located in Bellsund (Svalbard) in the area of continuous permafrost occurrence. The unique environmental conditions of the study area offer an opportunity to observe phenomena influencing...
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Effects of CO2 and utilization of spent trickling liquid towards plant growth
Open Research DataDataset presents the results of biomass yield for Phaseolus vulgaris pot cultures watered with diluted trickling liquid from biotrickling filtration experiments with or without additional CO2 in air by means of introducting post-biofilter air to the plant culture.
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Green Aspects of Miniaturized Sample Preparation Techniques
PublicationCorrect monitoring and control of the state of the environment and scientific research on the subject of environmental protection often require that determinations of compounds present at very low concentrations be made in samples characterized by a matrix of complex composition (e.g., biological samples, water and soil samples). Moreover, due to the limited number of analytical techniques which are sufficiently sensitive to conduct...
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The process generation of WWTP models for optimization of activated sludge systems
PublicationThe objective of water and wastewater utilities, which are responsible for optimization of wastewater treatment plant operation, is threefold: environmental protection, saving money, and mitigation of pollutant emissions, both to water and air. The performed study aimed to assess the process generation of WWTP models that improve activated sludge systems operation, by means of new developed Mantis2 model. This model accounts for...
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Occurrence and Determination of Volatile Fatty Acids in Landfill Leachate and Gas
PublicationIn landfills containing biological matter volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are generated at high rate at the early stage of waste disposal and their content in leachate is high as compared to the leachate from old parts of landfill since they are converted to methane gas. Monitoring of the leachate for the content of VFAs can help determine the processes occurring in waste and possible effect of the leachate on the environment in the...
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Occurrence and Determination of Volatile Fatty Acids in Landfill Leachate and Gas
PublicationIn landfills containing biological matter volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are generated at high rate at the early stage of waste disposal and their content in leachate is high as compared to the leachate from old parts of landfill since they are converted to methane gas. Monitoring of the leachate for the content of VFAs can help determine the processes occurring in waste and possible effect of the leachate on the environment in the...
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Types of wear and tear of biomaterials used in orthopaedic surgery
PublicationPurpose of this paper is presentation of observations on different kinds of wear and tear of biomaterials used in contemporary orthopaedic surgery. Types of prosthesis damage, encountered in medical practice, and their causes have been described. Results of many clinical studies were analysed to review prosthesis damage from the stage of implanting (such as intrusion of a foreign object between its components) to their natural...
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3D porous graphene-based structures- synthesis and applications
PublicationPorous carbon-based materials are of the great industrial and academic interest due to their high surface area, low density, good electrical conductivity, chemical inertness and low cost of fabrication. Up to now, the main approach to obtain porous carbon structures has involved the pyrolysis of carbonaceous natural or synthetic precursors. After the isolation of graphene, the interest in 3D porous graphene-based structures (called...
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Partial characterization of three Korean white lotus cultivars
PublicationThe nutritional and bioactive values of Korean white lotus cultivars (Muan, Chungyang, and Garam)extracted with methanol, water, and acetone solvents were evaluated by the contents of their bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity determined by ABTS, CUPRAC, FRAP, DPPH, and β-carotene-linoleic acid assays. HPLC, fluorometry, and FTIR spectroscopy were employed for evaluation of polyphenols and fatty acids. All lotus cultivar...
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Removal of Pharmaceutically Active Compounds in Sequencing Batch Reactor
PublicationIn recent years, considerable attention was paid to the presence of organic micro-pollutants such as Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (API) in the aquatic environment due to their negative impact on public health and aquatic ecosystems. Numerous papers have pointed out API presence as common constituents of effluents from Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTPs). This is the result of various efficiencies of API removal by conventional...
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Computational methods for calculation of binding free energy for ligand-receptor complexes
PublicationAccurate description of the molecular complexes energetic influence is required for understanding of many biological functions carried out by proteins. Therefore, estimation of binding free energy for ligand-receptor complexes is of highest importance for structure-based ligand design and drug discovery approaches.Experimental methods of determination of difference in Gibbs'es free energy have many limitations. Thus, computational...
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Determination of isoprostanes in exhaled breath condensate samples by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry
PublicationOxidative stress (OS) is a state of imbalance between continuously generating reactive oxygen species (ROS) during normal cell metabolism and mechanism of detoxifying oxygen radicals through a network of antioxidative enzymes. Isoprostanes are prostaglandin -like substances that are produced in vivo primarily by free radical-induced peroxidation of arachidonic acid. The measurement of isoprostanes in biological fluids and/or tissue...
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Pilot study of the influence of thermoplastic starch based polymer packaging material on the growth of diatom population in sea water environment
PublicationNovel polymeric packaging materials susceptible to environmentally friendly decomposition appeared on the global market. The paper is devoted to an investigation of the impact of degradable polymer packaging on marine life. The chosen polymer was a commercial packaging based on thermoplastic starch (TPS over 85%). The microorganism chosen was Phaeodactylum tricornutum diatom (identified in many aquatic reservoirs, with a tendency...
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The role of analytical chemistry in the study of the Anthropocene
PublicationThe term “Anthropocene” refers to not yet formalized epoch of geologic time during which geologic processes have been dominated by the human impact. This impact takes on many forms. Biological, physical and chemical changes to the Earth System caused by anthropogenic activity are recorded in natural archives either as new fossil assemblages (neobiota), anthropogenic deposits or a wide variety of pollutants emitted to the environment....
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The exposure to UV filters: Prevalence, effects, possible molecular mechanisms of action and interactions within mixtures
PublicationSubstances that can absorb sunlight and harmful UV radiation such as organic UV filters are widely used in cosmetics and other personal care products. Since humans use a wide variety of chemicals for multiple purposes it is common for UV filters to co-occur with other substances either in human originating specimens or in the environment. There is increasing interest in understanding such co-occurrence in form of potential synergy, antagonist,...
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Novel amides of mycophenolic acid and some heterocyclic derivatives as immunosuppressive agents
PublicationThe group of new amide derivatives of mycophenolic acid (MPA) and selected heterocyclic amines was synthesised as potential immunosuppressive agents functioning as inosine-5'-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) uncompetitive inhibitors. The synthesis employed uronium-type activating system (TBTU/HOBt/DIPEA) while or phosphonic acid anhydride method (T3P/Py) facilitating amides to be obtained in moderate to excellent yields without...
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Recent Issues and Challenges in the Study of Inland Waters
PublicationThis paper addresses several important problems and methods related to studies of inland waters based on the existing scientific literature. The use of UAVs in freshwater monitoring is described, including recent contact and non-contact solutions. Due to a decline in biological diversity in many parts of the globe, the main threats are described together with a modern method for algae and cyanobacteria monitoring utilizing chlorophyll...
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ELECTRON ATTACHMENT TO HETEROGENEOUS MOLECULAR CLUSTERS
PublicationHeterogeneous clusters are unique model species enabling studies of bulk and surface processes by vacuum restricted methods. This is of particular importance for the reactions of low-energy electrons which have extremely short penetration depth in bulk environments. This contribution overviews our recent experiments with low-energy electrons and clusters prepared by different techniques. First, the deposition of molecules on argon...
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Design, Synthesis, and Enzymatic Evaluation of Novel ZnO Quantum Dot-Based Assay for Detection of Proteinase 3 Activity
PublicationHerein, the synthesis and application of functionalized quantum dot-based protease probes is described. Such probes are composed of nontoxic ZnO nanocrystals decorated by amino groups followed by linker and labeled peptide attachment. Spherical NH2-terminated ZnO quantum dots (QDs) with the average size ranging from 4 to 8 nm and strong emission centered at 530 nm were prepared using the sol−gel method. The fluorescence of ZnO...
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Unconventional and user-friendly sampling techniques of semi-volatile organic compounds present in an indoor environment: An approach to human exposure assessment
PublicationThe commonly applied solutions used to assess the potential risk of human exposure to semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are based on the investigation of biological samples collected in an invasive or non-invasive manner. For SVOCs, which are typically introduced to humans through the respiratory system, dermal adsorption, or digestive system, sampling solutions generally used in the indoor environments are classified as...
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The occurrence and role of Nitrospira in nitrogen removal systems
PublicationApplication of the modern microbial techniques changed the paradigm about the microorganisms performing nitrification. Numerous investigations recognized representatives of the genus Nitrospira as a key and predominant nitrite-oxidizing bacteria in biological nutrient removal systems, especially under low dissolved oxygen and substrate conditions. The recent discovery of Nitrospira capable of performing complete ammonia oxidation...
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A vector-enzymatic DNA fragment amplification-expression technology for construction of artificial, concatemeric DNA, RNA and proteins for novel biomaterials, biomedical and industrial applications
PublicationA DNA fragment amplification/expression technology for the production of new generation biomaterials for scientific, industrial and biomedical applications is described. The technology enables the formation of artificial Open Reading Frames (ORFs) encoding concatemeric RNAs and proteins. It recruits the Type IIS SapI restriction endonuclease (REase) for an assembling of DNA fragments in an ordered head-to-tail-orientation. The...
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Antimicrobial molecular nanocarrier–drug conjugates
PublicationMany antimicrobial drugs are poorly active against pathogenic microbes causing intracellular infections, such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis or Plasmodium falciparum. On the other hand, several known antimicrobial agents are not effective enough because of their limited cellular penetration. A common feature of both challenges is the inability of an active agent to cross the biological membrane(s). One of the possible approaches...
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Removal of BTEX Compounds From Waste Gases; Destruction and Recovery Techniques
PublicationThe tendency for BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) to spread into all compartments of the environment together with their influence on both ecosystem and human health means that the emission of thesecompounds into the air is becoming the matter of worldwide concern. The legal regulations introduced by the European Union governing the assessment and management of air quality obliges member states to systematically...
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Two-Level Multivariable Control System of Dissolved Oxygen Tracking and Aeration System for Activated Sludge Processes
PublicationThe problem of tracking dissolved oxygen is one of the most complex and fundamental issues related to biological processes. The dissolved oxygen level in aerobic tanks has significant influence on behaviour and activity of microorganism inhabiting the plant. Aerated tanks are supplied with air from an aeration system (blowers, pipes, throttling valves, diffusers). It is a complex dynamic system governed by nonlinear hybrid dynamics....
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Spetiation of organic matter in Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands
PublicationThe object of the research were VFCWs which are a component of biological treatment of two hybrid hydrophyte systems located in Wieszyno and Wiklino, close to Słupsk, Poland. The facilities that are subject to analyses are unified in terms of structure (filtration material, depth of the bed and time of operation), but they differ in organic matter load, amounting respectively to: 8.0 gCOD/m2day and 31.0 gCOD/m2day.The intensity...
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Modified nanodiamond particle size studies by means of dynamic light scattering technique
PublicationThe Methods Utilizing the Phenomena of Light Scattering to Measure Particle Size distribution in different solvent, such as deionise water and alcohol and also to study the various structural formation when nanodiamond solution is placed on silicon surface. The purpose of this research project is divided into two parts to configure the measurement units for examining modified nanodiamond particles, examination...
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Modified nanodiamond particle size studies by means of dynamic light scattering technique
PublicationThe Methods Utilizing the Phenomena of Light Scattering to Measure Particle Size distribution in different solvent, such as deionise water and alcohol and also to study the various structural formation when nanodiamond solution is placed on silicon surface. The purpose of this research project is divided into two parts to configure the measurement units for examining modified nanodiamond particles, examination...
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Mobile wireless measurement system for potatoes storage management
PublicationThe paper discusses the idea and the design of a remote control system for a storage management of agricultural products which temperature may rise in a result of biological processes during the storage. Exemplary potatoes storehouse is discussed as an application of the automation system. Because of existing buildings and infrastructure in the farm, wireless data transfer system has been proposed for both sensors to data acquisition...
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Agricultural products' storage control system
PublicationThe paper discusses the idea and the design of a remote control system for storage management of agricultural products which temperature may rise as the result of biological processes during the storage. An actual potatoes storehouse is discussed as an application for the proposed automation system. Because of existing buildings and infrastructure at the farm, wireless data transfer system has been proposed for communication between...
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Solvent Exchange around Aqueous Zn(II) from Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Simulations
PublicationHydrated zinc(II) cations, due to their importance in biological systems, are the subject of ongoing research concerning their hydration shell structure and dynamics. Here, ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations are used to study solvent exchange events around aqueous Zn2+, for which observation in detail is possible owing to the considerable length of the generated trajectory. While the hexacoordinated Zn(H2O)62+ is the...
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Stardust - Investigation of Microbes in the Stratosphere
PublicationThe stratospheric microbiome has been investigated several times using the methods of classical microbiology. In this experiment, we have combined them with some novel approaches including whole- metagenome amplification, Maldi TOF mass spectrometry and Sanger DNA sequencing. The results of the experiment may provide the scientists with knowledge about the mechanisms of survivability of microorganisms in stratospheric conditions...
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Optimizing Construction Engineering Management Using Metaheuristic Methods and Bayesian Networks
PublicationThe construction of buildings invariably involves time and costs, and disruptions impact ongoing construction projects. Crisis situations in management strategies, structural confusion, and finan-cial miscalculations often arise due to misguided decision-making. This article proposes a method that combines the learning of Bayesian Networks and heuristic techniques to optimize deci-sion-making processes in construction scheduling....
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Microscale diamond protection for a ZnO coated fiber optic sensor
PublicationFiber optic sensors are widely used in environmental, biological and chemical sensing. Due to the demanding environmental conditions in which they can be used, there is a risk of damaging the sensor measurement head placed in the measuring field. Sensors using nanolayers deposited upon the fiber structure are particularly vulnerable to damage. A thin film placed on the surface of the fiber end-face can be prone to mechanical damage...
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Hydroperoxyl radical and formic acid formation from common DNA stabilizers upon low energy electron attachment
Publication2-Amino-2-(hydroxymethyl)-1,3-propanediol (TRIS) and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) are key components of biological buffers and are frequently used as DNA stabilizers in irradiation studies. Such surface or liquid phase studies are done with the aim to understand the fundamental mechanisms of DNA radiation damage and to improve cancer radiotherapy. When ionizing radiation is used, abundant secondary electrons are formed...
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Meconium analysis as a promising diagnostic tool for monitoring fetal exposure to toxic substances: Recent trends and perspectives
PublicationPrenatal exposure to toxic substances is an important public health problem. Many biological specimens obtained from the fetus or mother are used for biomonitoring. Each material reflects exposure in a specific time period and has different advantages and disadvantages in terms of accuracy, time window of detection and cost/benefit ratio. Recently, meconium has become the matrix of choice in toxicology screening for detecting exposure...
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Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of amino acid and peptide derivatives of mycophenolic acid
PublicationThe series of 16 novel amino acid and peptide mycophenolic acid (MPA) derivatives was obtained as potential antibacterial agents. Coupling of MPA with respective amines was optimized with condensing reagents such as EDCI/DMAP and T3P/TEA. Amino acid analogs were received both as methyl esters and also with the free carboxylic group. The biological activity of the products was tested on five references bacterial strains: Klebsiella...
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Nanotubular oxide layers and hydroxyapatite coatings on porous titanium alloy Ti13Nb13Zr
PublicationThe surface condition of an implant has a significant impact on response occurring at the implant-biosystem border. The knowledge of physical-chemical and biological processes allows for targeted modification of biomaterials to induce a specified response of a tissue. The present research was aimed at development of technology composing of obtaining the nanotube oxide layers on a porous titanium alloy Ti13Nb13Zr, followed by the...
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Role of the Synergistic Interactions of Environmental Pollutants in the Development of Cancer
PublicationThere is a growing awareness that the large number of environmental pollutants we are exposed to on a daily basis are causing major health problems. Compared to traditional studies that focus on individual pollutants, there are relatively few studies on how pollutants mixtures interact. Several studies have reported a relationship between environmental pollutants and the development of cancer, even when pollutant levels are below...
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Evaluation and start-up of an electro-Fenton-sequencing batch reactor for dairy wastewater treatment
PublicationThis study examined the performance of an integrated wastewater (WW) treatment system, namely an electro-Fenton (EF)-sequencing batch reactor (SBR), for dairy industry WW. The EF process was used as the first stage of the SBR. It degrades bio-refractory compounds via advanced oxidation processes, thereby resulting in the formation of simple biodegradable intermediates. Several factors, including the hydraulic retention time (HRT),...
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Synthetic strategies in construction of organic macromolecular carrier–drug conjugates
PublicationMany metabolic inhibitors, considered potential antimicrobial or anticancer drug candidates, exhibit verylimited ability to cross the biological membranes of target cells. The restricted cellular penetration ofthose molecules is often due to their highhydrophilicity. One of the possible solutions to this problem is aconjugation of an inhibitor with a molecular organic nanocarrier. The conjugate thus formed should beable to penetrate...
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Stabilizing lactate production through repeated batch fermentation of food waste and waste activated sludge
PublicationBio-valorization of organic waste streams, such as food waste and waste activated sludge, to lactic acid (LA) has recently drawn much attention. It offers an opportunity for resource recovery, alleviates environmental issues and potentially turns a profit. In this study, both stable and high LA yield (0.72 ± 0.15 g/g total chemical oxygen demand) and productivity rate (0.53 g/L•h) were obtained through repeated batch fermentation....
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The influence of selenium addition during germination of Brassica seeds on health-promoting potential of sprouts
PublicationThe correlation among selenium uptake, the content of bioactive compounds in sprouts, and biological activities triggered in cultured human cells by sprout extracts was investigated. Seeds of Brassica crops and rye were treated with SeO2 water solution. The selenium levels in sprouts increased from 1.0-4.1 to 53.3-382 μg/g dw with no influence on plant physiology according to the indices used. Neither the composition of glucosinolates...
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30 years of treatment wetland application in poland- progress and reserch
PublicationThe experiences with design and operation of constructed wetlands in the Pommerania region during last 30 years followed by carried out investigations of treatment processes lead to the following conclusions:First applications of constructed wetlands for biological sewage treatment were made in 1984-92. The later implementations of multi-stage constructed wetlands in the individual household and local scale enable wastewater treatment...
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Synthesis and steroid sulfatase inhibitory activities of N-phosphorylated 3-(4-aminophenyl)-coumarin-7-O-sulfamates
PublicationIn the present work, we report convenient methods for the synthesis and biological evaluation of N-phosphorylated derivatives of 3-(4-aminophenyl)-coumarin-7-O-sulfamate as potential steroid sulfatase (STS) inhibitors. Their binding modes were modeled using docking techniques. The inhibitory effects of the synthesized compounds were tested on STS isolated from human placenta. All of the newly synthesised coumarin derivatives were...