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Keywords
High gradient magnetic separation (HGMS) has been established since the early 1970s. A more recent application of these systems is the use in bioprocesses. To integrate the HGMS in a fermentation process, it is necessary to optimize the separation matrix with regard to the magnetic separation characteristics and permeability of the non-magnetizable components of the fermentation broth. As part of the work presented here, a combined fluidic and magnetic force finite element model simulation was created using the software COMSOL Multiphysics and compared with separation experiments. Finally, as optimal lattice orientation of the separation matrix, a transversal rhombohedral arrangement was defined. The high suitability of the new filter matrix has been verified by separation experiments.
Organisation
(2014)
Organizzare l’addizione
(2014)
The constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) and the pregnane X receptor (PXR) are closely related nuclear receptors involved in drug metabolism and play important roles in the mechanism of phenobarbital (PB)-induced rodent nongenotoxic hepatocarcinogenesis. Here, we have used a humanized CAR/PXR mouse model to examine potential species differences in receptor-dependent mechanisms underlying liver tissue molecular responses to PB. Early and late transcriptomic responses to sustained PB exposure were investigated in liver tissue from double knock-out CAR and PXR (CARᴷᴼ-PXRᴷᴼ), double humanized CAR and PXR (CARʰ-PXRʰ), and wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Wild-type and CARʰ-PXRʰ mouse livers exhibited temporally and quantitatively similar transcriptional responses during 91 days of PB exposure including the sustained induction of the xenobiotic response gene Cyp2b10, the Wnt signaling inhibitor Wisp1, and noncoding RNA biomarkers from the Dlk1-Dio3 locus. Transient induction of DNA replication (Hells, Mcm6, and Esco2) and mitotic genes (Ccnb2, Cdc20, and Cdk1) and the proliferation-related nuclear antigen Mki67 were observed with peak expression occurring between 1 and 7 days PB exposure. All these transcriptional responses were absent in CARᴷᴼ-PXRᴷᴼ mouse livers and largely reversible in wild-type and CARʰ-PXRʰ mouse livers following 91 days of PB exposure and a subsequent 4-week recovery period. Furthermore, PB-mediated upregulation of the noncoding RNA Meg3, which has recently been associated with cellular pluripotency, exhibited a similar dose response and perivenous hepatocyte-specific localization in both wild-type and CARʰ-PXRʰ mice. Thus, mouse livers coexpressing human CAR and PXR support both the xenobiotic metabolizing and the proliferative transcriptional responses following exposure to PB.
Background
True date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) are impressive trees and have served as an indispensable source of food for mankind in tropical and subtropical countries for centuries. The aim of this study is to differentiate date palm tree varieties by analysing leaflet cross sections with technical/optical methods and artificial neural networks (ANN).
Results
Fluorescence microscopy images of leaflet cross sections have been taken from a set of five date palm tree cultivars (Hewlat al Jouf, Khlas, Nabot Soltan, Shishi, Um Raheem). After features extraction from images, the obtained data have been fed in a multilayer perceptron ANN with backpropagation learning algorithm.
Conclusions
Overall, an accurate result in prediction and differentiation of date palm tree cultivars was achieved with average prediction in tenfold cross-validation is 89.1% and reached 100% in one of the best ANN.
Objectives
The aim of this study was to identify characteristics of phosphorus (³¹P) spectra of the human prostate and to investigate changes of individual phospholipid metabolites in prostate cancer through in vivo ³¹P magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) at 7 T.
Materials and Methods
In this institutional review board–approved study, 15 patients with biopsy-proven prostate cancer underwent T₂-weighted magnetic resonance imaging and 3-dimensional ³¹P MRSI at 7 T. Voxels were selected at the tumor location, in normal-appearing peripheral zone tissue, normal-appearing transition zone tissue, and in the base of the prostate close to the seminal vesicles. Phosphorus metabolite ratios were determined and compared between tissue types.
Results
Signals of phosphoethanolamine (PE) and phosphocholine (PC) were present and well resolved in most ³¹P spectra in the prostate. Glycerophosphocholine signals were observable in 43% of the voxels in malignant tissue, but in only 10% of the voxels in normal-appearing tissue away from the seminal vesicles. In many spectra, independent of tissue type, 2 peaks resonated in the chemical shift range of inorganic phosphate, possibly representing 2 separate pH compartments. The PC/PE ratio in the seminal vesicles was highly elevated compared with the prostate in 5 patients. A considerable overlap of ³¹P metabolite ratios was found between prostate cancer and normal-appearing prostate tissue, preventing direct discrimination of these tissues. The only 2 patients with high Gleason scores tumors (≥4+5) presented with high PC and glycerophosphocholine levels in their cancer lesions.
Conclusions
Phosphorus MRSI at 7 T shows distinct features of phospholipid metabolites in the prostate gland and its surrounding structures. In this exploratory study, no differences in ³¹P metabolite ratios were observed between prostate cancer and normal-appearing prostate tissue possibly because of the partial volume effects of small tumor foci in large MRSI voxels.
A microcavity-based deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) optical biosensor is demonstrated for the first time using synthetic sapphire for the optical cavity. Transmitted and elastic scattering intensity at 1510 nm are analyzed from a sapphire microsphere (radius 500 μm, refractive index 1.77) on an optical fiber half coupler. The 0.43 nm angular mode spacing of the resonances correlates well with the optical size of the sapphire sphere. Probe DNA consisting of a 36-mer fragment was covalently immobilized on a sapphire microsphere and hybridized with a 29-mer target DNA. Whispering gallery modes (WGMs) were monitored before the sapphire was functionalized with DNA and after it was functionalized with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA). The shift in WGMs from the surface modification with DNA was measured and correlated well with the estimated thickness of the add-on DNA layer. It is shown that ssDNA is more uniformly oriented on the sapphire surface than dsDNA. In addition, it is shown that functionalization of the sapphire spherical surface with DNA does not affect the quality factor (Q≈104) of the sapphire microspheres. The use of sapphire is especially interesting because this material is chemically resilient, biocompatible, and widely used for medical implants.
Picosecond dynamics in haemoglobin from different species: A quasielastic neutron scattering study
(2014)
Planar and three-dimensional (3D) interdigitated electrodes (IDE) with electrode digits separated by an insulating barrier of different heights were electrochemically characterized and compared in terms of their sensing properties. Due to the impact of the surface resistance, both types of IDE structures display a non-linear behavior in low-ionic strength solutions. The experimental data were fitted to an electrical equivalent circuit and interpreted taking into account the surface-charge-governed properties. The effect of a charged polyelectrolyte layer electrostatically assembled onto the sensor surface on the surface resistance in solutions with different KCl concentration is studied. In case of the same electrode footprint, 3D-IDEs show a larger cell constant and a higher sensitivity to molecular adsorption than that of planar IDEs. The obtained results demonstrate the potential of 3D-IDEs as a new transducer structure for a direct label-free sensing of charged molecules.
Successful bone sawing requires a high level of skill and experience, which could be gained by the use of Virtual Reality-based simulators. A key aspect of these medical simulators is realistic force feedback. The aim of this paper is to model the bone sawing process in order to develop a valid training simulator for the bilateral sagittal split osteotomy, the most often applied corrective surgery in case of a malposition of the mandible. Bone samples from a human cadaveric mandible were tested using a designed experimental system. Image processing and statistical analysis were used for the selection of four models for the bone sawing process. The results revealed a polynomial dependency between the material removal rate and the applied force. Differences between the three segments of the osteotomy line and between the cortical and cancellous bone were highlighted.
The problem of fair and privacy-preserving ordered set reconciliation arises in a variety of applications like auctions, e-voting, and appointment reconciliation. While several multi-party protocols have been proposed that solve this problem in the semi-honest model, there are no multi-party protocols that are secure in the malicious model so far. In this paper, we close this gap. Our newly proposed protocols are shown to be secure in the malicious model based on a variety of novel non-interactive zero-knowledge-proofs. We describe the implementation of our protocols and evaluate their performance in comparison to protocols solving the problem in the semi-honest case.
In co-operation with the German Aerospace Center, the Solar-Institut Jülich has been analyzing the different technologies that are available for methanol production from CO2 using solar energy. The aim of the project is to extract CO2 from industrial exhaust gases or directly from the atmosphere to recycle it by use of solar energy. Part of the study was the modeling and simulating of a methane reformer for the production of synthesis gas, which can be operated by solar or hybrid heat sources. The reformer has been simplified in such a way that the model is accurate and enables fast calculations. The developed pseudo-homogeneous one- dimensional model can be regarded as a kind of counter-current heat exchanger and is able to incorporate a steam reforming reaction as well as a dry reforming reaction.
In der Biotechnologie stellt Einzelstrang-DNA (ssDNA) eine Schlüsselrolle dar und fungiert z. B. als Baustein für die nanoskalige Feinmechanik oder als Affinitätsligand, ein sog. Aptamer. Hinsichtlich der industriellen Verwendung bieten Aptamere im Vergleich zu Antikörpern viele Vorteile, wie z. B. eine gute Renaturierung bzw. die Selektion für cytotoxische Moleküle. Aktuell wächst die Nachfrage für chimäre Aptamere von bis zu 200 n, um die simultane Bindung bzw. die Modifikation mehrerer Moleküle zu realisieren. Bis heute wird ssDNA mittels einer sequentiellen Synthese hergestellt, die eine Effizienz von ca. 99,5 % je Zyklus und bereits bei einer Produktlänge von 100 n nur noc hAusbeuten von max. 60 % zeigt. Um dem Bedarf an ssDNA im Bereich > 100 n zu entsprechen, wurden zwei enzymatische Verfahren zur Produktion dieser Makronukleotide entworfen. Die erste Technik basiert auf einerFestphasen-PCR und ermöglicht sowohlein Primer- als auch ein Templatrecycling. Das zweite Verfahren beruht auf einer Plasmidbasierten In-vivo-Amplifikation, der sog. AptaGENE®-Technologie. In einer einzigen Klonierung werden bis zu 100 Kopien des Monomers in einen Vektor kloniert. Nach einer Transformation folgt der reguläre Produktionsprozess in Form einer Kultivierung, Plasmidpräparation und sequenziellen Aufarbeitung von bis zu 6 · 10¹⁵ Makronukleotiden pro Milliliter Fermentationsvolumen.
Mobile Anwendungen nehmen mit der Verbreitung von Smartphones zu. Die Akzeptanz der Nutzer bestimmt den Erfolg solcher mobiler Applikationen dabei maßgeblich. Um diese Anerkennung zu schaffen, ist eine möglichst hohe Gebrauchstauglichkeit, auch Usability genannt, notwendig. Die Informationsbroschüre „Prototyping zur Verbesserung der Benutzerfreundlichkeit mobiler Software“ richtet sich an Personen, die an der Gestaltung und entwicklung von (mobiler) Software beteiligt sind. In dieser Broschüre werden mögliche Potenziale im Bereich einer effizienten und benutzerzentrierten Software-Entwicklung aufgezeigt.
Prozessintegrierte Magnetseparation im Labormaßstab mittels High-Gradient Magnetic Separator (HGMS)
(2014)
Die Hochgradient-Magnetseparation (HGMS) stellt eine Alternative zu konventionellen Methoden der Proteinaufarbeitung wie Filtration und Chromatographie dar und dient zudem als Prozessintensivierung. Bisherige Separatoren sind für Anwendungen von mehreren Litern Prozessvolumina Fermentationsmedium und Gramm Magnetpartikel ausgelegt. Bei der Entwicklung und Anwendung neuartiger Magnetpartikeloberflächen ist die Verfügbarkeit großer Mengen nicht gegeben. Bisherige Filterkammern erhöhen zudem den Arbeitsaufwand und verursachen größere Partikelverluste bei Spülvorgängen oder der Reinigung aufgrund der Partikeladsorption. Für Anwendungen im Maßstab < 500 mL wird deshalb ein Miniatur-Hochgradientfilter (miniHGF) entwickelt. Das Modell wird im 3D-Drucker Makerbot Replicator 2 gefertigt und magne-isierbare Drähte zur Partikelabscheidung eingesetzt. Die Vergleichbarkeit mit einem etablierten Magnetseparator wird anhand der Aufnahme von Durchbruchskurven und Bestimmung der Filtereffizienz untersucht. Die Praxistauglichkeit mit kleinen Volumina wird in wiederholten Batch-Versuchen mit auf Magnetpartikeln immobilisiertem Enzym und einem kolorimetrischen Assay geprüft.
Die Teilefertigung durch Rapid Prototyping (RP) verkürzt den Weg von der Idee bis zum Produkt, wobei unter anderem Optimierungszyklen in geringer Zeit durchlaufen werden können. Ferner eröffnen neue Entwicklungen in diesem Bereich die Möglichkeit individueller Produktionsverfahren. Im Unterschied zur klassischen Fertigung von Prototypen wird beim RP mit additiver Schichtfertigung (Additive Layer Manufacturing, ALM) gearbeitet. Je nach Methode werden Flüssigkeiten oder Pulver nach Vorgaben eines 3D-Computermodells sequentiell aufgetragen. Diese Verfahren existieren seit ca. 25 Jahren, jedoch sind seit kurzem ausgesprochen günstige Geräte verfügbar, die Objekte mit Genauigkeiten bis 20 lm fertigen können. Das RP hat in klinischen Anwendungsgebieten bzw. im Bereich des Tissue Engineering bereits vielfach Einzug gefunden. Aber auch chemisch-biotechnologische Entwicklungen können von den Verfahren profitieren. So wurden Mikrofluidiksysteme und Bioreaktoren bereits erfolgreich durch RP gefertigt. Durch ALM ist ebenso die Herstellung von Reaktionseinheiten aus biokompatiblen Materialien wie ionotropen Gelen möglich. Ferner sind sehr komplexe Strukturierungen von Oberflächen im Nanometerbereich realisierbar, die für die Auftragung heterogener Katalysatoren oder auch Mikroorganismen eingesetzt werden können. Auch der Bereich Reaktoren- und Apparatebau kann von den Fortschritten in der additiven Fertigung profitieren. Verfahren wie selektives Laser- oder Elektronenstrahlschmelzen erlauben es, metallische Komponenten in nahezu beliebigen Geometrien zu fertigen. Somit können Strukturen verwirklicht werden, die mit konventionellen Fertigungstechniken nur sehr schwer oder überhauptnicht herstellbar wären. Durch Anwendung von rechnergestützter Modellierung können optimale Strukturen identifiziert und additiv gefertigt werden. Eine anschließende katalytische Funktionalisierung der Oberfläche ermöglicht die Herstellung strukturierter Reaktoren mit maßgeschneiderten Eigenschaften.