In this review, we are considering an actively developing tool in neuroscience—robotic modeling. The new perspective and existing application fields, tools, and methods are discussed. We try to ...determine starting positions and approaches that are useful at the beginning of new research in this field. Among multiple directions of the research is robotic modeling on the level of muscles fibers and their afferents, skin surface sensors, muscles, and joints proprioceptors. Some examples of technical implementation for physical modeling are reviewed. They are software and hardware tools like event-related modeling algorithms, reduced neuron models, robotic drives constructions. We observe existing drives technologies and prospective electric motor types: switched reluctance and transverse flux motors. Next, we look at the existing examples and approaches for robotic modeling of the cerebellum and spinal cord neural networks. These examples show practical methods for the model neural network architecture and adaptation. Those methods allow the use of cortical and spinal cord reflexes for the network training and apply additional artificial blocks for data processing in other brain structures that transmit and receive data from biologically realistic models.
The possibility of creating a biofuel cell based on a metal stent was shown in this study. Given the existing stent implantation approaches, the integration of a biofuel cell into a stent naturally ...entails capacity for biofuel cells to be installed into a human body. As a counter electrode, a hydrogel based on iota-carrageenan, polyvinyl alcohol, and PEDOT:PSS, with an immobilized glucose oxidase enzyme, was proposed. Tension tests demonstrated that the hydrogel mechanical behavior resembles that of a bovine's vein. To obtain an analytical description, the deformation curves were fitted using Gent and Ogden models, prompting the fitting parameters which can be useful in further investigations. During cyclic biaxial studies the samples strength was shown to decreases insignificantly in the first 50 cycles and, further, remains stable up to more than 100 cycles. The biofuel cell was designed with the PEDOT:PSS based material as an anode and a Co–Cr self-expanding stent as a cathode. The maximum biofuel cell power density with a glucose concentration of 5 mM was 7.87 × 10−5 W in phosphate buffer and 3.98 × 10−5 W in blood mimicking buffer. Thus, the biofuel cell integration in the self-expanding stent was demonstrated.
Biosensors; PEDOT:PSS; Biotechnology; Internet of things; Biofuel cell.
•Polyethylenoxide was successfully applied as flocculant for biomass sedimentation.•New method of biomass flocculation by combine using of polymer and FeCl3 is developed.•Application of flocculated ...biomass as ballast agent for microalgae harvesting.
The effects of coagulant (FeCl3·6H2O), various flocculants based on polyacrylamide (PAA), polyethylenoxide (PEO) and flocculated biomass as ballast agent, dosage and sedimental time on flocculation efficiency of harvesting Chlorella vulgaris GKV1 cultivated in a laboratory were investigated. The results of this work indicated that the flocculation efficiency achieved about 90% after 5min of sedimentation when adding of coagulant and flocculant mixture (FeCl3 50mg/l+PEO based Sibfloc-718 7.5mg/l) or flocculant with ballast agent (Sibfloc-718 7.5mg/l+10% flocculated biomass). PAA and PEO showed good flocculation efficiency at dosage of 0.025 and 0.015g/l, respectively without pH adjustment. Finally, the most suitable flocculation method was discussed in this paper.
New NT:M/zeolite composites with functional nanoparticles of titanium(
iv
) oxides NT (η-phase and anatase) have been prepared by introducing nitrates with dopant metals (M = Ag, Ni, and V) and ...zeolites (H-Beta and H-ZSM-5) within the process of NT synthesis during the hydrolysis of TiOSO
4
·
n
H
2
O. The prepared composites have been characterized by X-ray diffraction, XAS-method, XPS-spectroscopy, UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller and chemoluminescence methods. The greatest photodegradation rate constants (visible light radiation) were achieved in the reaction of thiamethoxam pesticide and difenoconazole fungicide oxidation in the presence of NE:Ni/H-Beta (NE - η-phase with composition TiO
2−
x
·
n
H
2
O),
i.e. k
= 0.0270 min
−1
and
k
= 0.0147 min
−1
respectively, that is 2.5 times higher than the
k
value obtained for the commercial anatase Hombifine N (UV-irradiation). A relationship between the photocatalytic activity (PCA) and the NT:zeolite ratio, the type and concentration of M, the type of NT and zeolite, the content of OH groups and the reactive oxygen species (radical anions &z.rad;OH, &z.rad;O
2
−
and H
2
O
2
) on the surface, and the composition and structure of the decomposed pollutant has been found. The decisive role of the composition of the volume and surface of nanocomposites in the realization of PCA has been noted. The adsorption (removal of P(
v
), As(
v
), Se(
vi
) ions from aqueous solutions) and antimicrobial activities (against bacteria
Staphylococcus epidermidis
,
Bacillus antracoides
,
Escherichia coli
) of the NT:M/zeolite composites, in the absence of light emission, have been studied for the first time and their high performance has been demonstrated: the removal degrees of P(
v
), As(
v
), and Se(
vi
) ions from aqueous solutions in the presence of all composites were more than 99% and the inhibition growth zone of composites NA:Ag/zeolite was >13 mm. New composites could be recommended for preparing wound dressings, antiseptic ointments for external use and water filters.
The first prepared nanocomposites with zeolites H-Beta, H-ZSM-5 and anatase and η-phases, doped by V, Ni, Ag, are multifunctional materials for water purification from harmful pollutants and pathogenic bacteria.
Mass eutrophication of microalgae and cyanobacteria is observed in Lake Baikal in the past decade. In this paper, the concept of replaceable adsorption filter material based on chitosan flocculant ...filler and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride polymer nonwoven material are proposed. Functional and mechanical properties and morphology of the material are investigated depending on a packing density and a degree of chitosan filling. The introduction of 45% chitosan increases the Young's modulus up to 10 times, and it makes the material more rigid in 2.8 times. The high efficiency of sorption and growth inhibition of cumulative biomass culture was shown. The biomass source is taken from the coast of Barguzinsky Bay of Lake Baikal. Dominant species is microalgae of Scenedesmus genus.
Biopolymer-based composition with adding of conductive polymer poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT PSS) was made by mixing of iota-carrageenan (CRG), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) ...and PEDOT PSS followed by freezing/thawing cycles. The method is environmentally friendly and based on the formation of polymer matrix upon of mixing CRG, PVA and PEDOT PSS and formation of porous physical gel due to freezing/thawing cycles. It is necessary to mention that all components are well-known as biocompatible materials. The resulting material is stable in water and also has swelling capability both in distilled water and physiological solutions. Structure of material was characterized by means of X-ray diffraction, optical and electron microscopy. Electrophysical investigations also were performed. The conductivity of the gel immersed in distilled water is comparable with the dry gel value and close to 0.01 S/cm.
The paper proposed a new porous material for wound healing based on chitosan and C-phycocyanin (C-PC). In this work, C-PC was extracted from the cyanobacteria Arthrospira platensis biomass and ...purified through ammonium sulfate precipitation. The obtained C-PC with a purity index (PI) of 3.36 ± 0.24 was loaded into a chitosan sponge from aqueous solutions of various concentrations (250, 500, and 1000 mg/L). According to the FTIR study, chitosan did not form new bonds with C-PC, but acted as a carrier. The encapsulation efficiency value exceeded 90%, and the maximum loading capacity was 172.67 ± 0.47 mg/g. The release of C-PC from the polymer matrix into the saline medium was estimated, and it was found 50% of C-PC was released in the first hour and the maximum concentration was reached in 5–7 h after the sponge immersion. The PI of the released C-PC was 3.79 and 4.43 depending on the concentration of the initial solution.
High-strength composite hydrogels based on collagen or chitosan-genipin were obtained via mixing using highly porous polylactide (PLA) microparticles with diameters of 50-75 µm and porosity values of ...over 98%. The elastic modulus of hydrogels depended on the filler concentration. The modulus increased from 80 kPa to 400-600 kPa at a concentration of porous particles of 12-15 wt.% and up to 1.8 MPa at a filling of 20-25 wt.% for collagen hydrogels. The elastic modulus of the chitosan-genipin hydrogel increases from 75 kPa to 900 kPa at a fraction of particles of 20 wt.%. These elastic modulus values cover a range of strength properties from connective tissue to cartilage tissue. It is important to note that the increase in strength in this case is accompanied by a decrease in the density of the material, that is, an increase in porosity. PLA particles were loaded with C-phycocyanin and showed an advanced release profile up to 48 h. Thus, composite hydrogels mimic the structure, biomechanics and release of biomolecules in the tissues of a living organism.
The review considers modern research and development in bioregenerative life support systems (BLSS) for crewed spacecrafts, summarizes the information obtained in scientific research in this field, ...evaluates of current status of the astronaut life support problems, frames unsolved questions and determines areas for future study. This review shows that the most promising life support systems include phototrophic microorganisms which can be used to create carbon, oxygen and nitrogen cycles within one system, which, in turn, allows reducing the level of resupplied and/or stored stocks of resources and, therefore, total crewed expedition cost. However, there are still a number of issues that require additional research, and foremost it is a long-term large-scale microorganisms cultivation under the influence of significant stress factors like cosmic radiation, microgravity/weightlessness, low atmospheric pressure and high CO2 concentrations, whether it is a circumlunar/lunar space station or Mars expedition.
•Bioregenerative LSS for long-time expedition are discussed.•Prospects for the use of certain types of phototrophic microorganisms in LSS are considered.•The influence of space expedition stress factors on phototrophic microorganisms is summarized.•Areas for additional research to create reliable bioregenerative LSS are identified.
Photocatalytic activity of TiO2 (difenoconazole, thiamethoxam, methyl orange, UV-irradiation) is determined by the content of ROS (OH, O2―, H2O2).
Display omitted
•Nanosized titanium(IV) oxides ...(anatase, η-phase, peroxide phase, X-ray amorphous TiO2) have been prepared.•The chemiluminescence spectra in the presence of luminol and lucigenin under UV irradiation have been studied.•Graphic and mathematical dependencies of the organic compounds decomposition rate constants on the content of the ROS have been established.
The chemiluminescence spectra of the samples with nanosized titanium(IV) oxide, both commercial – Hombifine N, Hombikat UV100, Degussa P25, «Anatase I» (Sigma Aldrich), «Anatase II» (Russia), and that prepared in present research by hydrothermal and sol-gel methods (anatase, X-ray amorphous titania, η-phase – TiO2-x×mH2O, and peroxide phase – TiOx(O2)2-x×mH2O) in aqueous media in the presence of luminol or lucigenin under UV-irradiation have been studied. The auxiliary program for data processing and calculating of the Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS: O2−, OH radicals, and H2O2) concentration, which correlated with the amount of photoluminescence photons (quantity hν, eV), has been developed. Photocatalytic activity (PCA) of prepared samples has been studied in the reaction of photodegradation of model dyes (methyl orange - MeO and rhodamine 6 G) and harmful organic pollutant (fungicide – difenoconazole, pesticide – thiamethoxam) under UV-irradiation. The connection between the rate constant (k, min-1) of photooxidation of MeO and OH radicals content (in the presence of luminol) and O2−, H2O2 species content (in the presence of lucigenin) has been described by a transition function of an aperiodic link of the 1st order and a polynomial of 2nd degree, respectively. The maximum k value of the reaction of MeO, difenoconazole, and thiamethoxam photodecomposition under UV irradiation has been achieved in the presence of commercial samples with nanosized anatase, characterized by the optimal crystallite size for photocatalysis (Anatase Sigma-Aldrich) and the maximum specific surface area (Hombifine N «Sachtleben Chemie GmbH»). The k value of the reaction of MeO, difenoconazole, and thiamethoxam photodecomposition under UV irradiation was minimal in the presence of samples containing X-ray amorphous titanium(IV) oxide or η-phase. The role of different factors (sample composition and phase modification, the content of reactive oxygen species, the size of nanoparticles at all levels, specific surface area, etc.) in the exhibition of photocatalytic activity has been discussed.
PDF
