We know that blood plasma contains many proteins and also other components that bind copper. The largest contributor to copper in the plasma is ceruloplasmin, which accounts for 40-70 percent. Apart ...from ceruloplasmin and albumin, most of these components have not been studied extensively, and even for ceruloplasmin and albumin, much remains to be discovered. New components with new functions, and new functions of known components are emerging, some warranting reconsideration of earlier findings. The author's laboratory has been actively involved in research on this topic. This review summarizes and updates our knowledge of the nature and functions of ceruloplasmin and the other known and emerging copper-containing molecules (principally proteins) in this fluid, to better understand how they contribute to copper homeostasis and consider their potential significance to health and disease.
In the recent past, there has been a rising interest in producing functional foods containing encapsulated probiotic bacteria. According to their perceived health benefits, probiotics have been ...incorporated into a range of dairy products but the major current challenge is to market new probiotic foods. In the research sector, many studies have been reported using dairy products like cheese, yogurt and ice cream as food carrier, and non-dairy products like meat, fruits, cereals, chocolate, etc. However, in the commercial sector only few products containing encapsulated probiotic cells can be found. Nutraceuticals are another important vector for probiotics already developed by several companies in a capsule or a tablet form. The review compiles the technologies used to encapsulate the cells in order to keep them alive and the food matrices used in the research and commercial sector for delivery to the consumer.
The role of curcumin (diferuloylmethane), for cancer treatment has been an area of growing interest. However, due to its low absorption, the poor bioavailability of curcumin limits its clinical use. ...In this study, we reported an approach of encapsulation a curcumin by nanoliposome to achieve an improved bioavailability of a poorly absorbed hydrophobic compound. We demonstrated that liposomal preparations to deliver curcumin increase its bioavailability. Liposomes composed of salmon's lecithin also improved curcumin bioavailability compared to those constituted of rapeseed and soya lecithins. A real-time label-free cell analysis system based on real-time cell impedance monitoring was used to investigate the in vitro cytotoxicity of liposomal preparations.
Rivaroxaban is an oral direct factor Xa inhibitor developed for prophylaxis and treatment of thromboembolic disorders. Laboratory monitoring is not necessary but the dose-dependent effects on common ...reagents and assay procedures are largely unknown.
To investigate the effect of rivaroxaban on commonly used coagulation assays.
Rivaroxaban was added to plasma from healthy subjects in the concentration range 0-1000 μg L(-1) and analyzed using different reagents for activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), antithrombin, fibrinogen and activated protein C (APC) resistance assays.
At an expected peak concentration of rivaroxaban in clinical use, the APTTs were almost invariably prolonged but at lower concentrations the effect was weak. The concentration needed to double the APTT varied between 389 ± 106 and 617 ± 149 μg L(-1) for different reagents. The PT assays showed a marked degree of difference. In general, the Quick PT type assays were more sensitive compared with the Owren type PT assays. The results from antithrombin assays were dependent on the type of reagent, with the Xa-based assay being sensitive for rivaroxaban with an estimated increase of 0.09 IU mL(-1) per 100 μg L(-1) rivaroxaban. There were only minor effects on fibrinogen assays based on thrombin reagents. The APTT-based assay for APC resistance is affected in a dose-dependent manner whereas an assay based on the activation of coagulation at the prothrombinase level was unaffected.
Different assays, and even different reagents within an assay group, display variable effects by therapeutic concentrations of rivaroxaban.
Micropatterning crystalline materials with oriented pores is necessary for the fabrication of devices with anisotropic properties. Crystalline and porous metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are ideal ...materials as their chemical and structural mutability enables precise tuning of functional properties for applications ranging from microelectronics to photonics. Herein, a patternable oriented MOF film is designed: by using a photomask under X‐ray exposure, the MOF film decomposes in the irradiated areas, remaining intact in the unexposed regions. The MOF film acts simultaneously as a resist and as functional porous material. While the heteroepitaxial growth from aligned Cu(OH)2 nanobelts is used to deposit oriented MOF films, the sensitivity to radiation is achieved by integrating a brominated dicarboxylate ligand (Br2BDC) into a copper‐based MOF Cu2L2DABCO (DABCO = 1,4‐diazabicyclo2.2.2octane; L = BDC/Br2BDC). The lithographed samples act as diffraction gratings upon irradiation with a laser, thus confirming the quality of the extended MOF micropattern. Furthermore, the oriented MOF patterns are functionalized with fluorescent dyes. As a result, by rotating the polarization angle of the laser excitation, the alignment of the dye in the MOF is demonstrated. By controlling the functional response to light, this MOF patterning protocol can be used for the microfabrication of optical components for photonic devices.
Deep X‐ray lithography is used for the fabrication of 3D‐oriented metal–organic framework (MOF) micropatterns. MOF films with X‐ray sensitivity are obtained by using a mixed‐linker strategy; the orientation of MOF crystals is achieved via heteroepitaxial growth. Fluorescent guest molecules are immobilized and aligned within spatially controlled and oriented MOF crystals. Such MOF micropatterns show anisotropic optical responses suitable for photonic applications.
•Experimental investigation of four granular calcium-based storage material bulks.•Analysis of mechanical stability and conversion of TGA-cycled samples.•Disintegration of shaped and encapsulated ...samples at high conversion.•Good mechanical stability at incomplete conversion.•Encapsulation inhibits fast hydration reaction.
Thermochemical energy storage using the gas-solid reaction of calcium oxide with water vapour is a promising approach especially for high-capacity applications such as CSP. Current research is mainly concerned with lowering reactor cost and therefore concentrating on dynamic systems with granules instead of powder as solid storage material. As stresses affecting the structural integrity of the granules increase with increasing bulk size, small samples as used for thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) might underestimate their impact on granule stability. This work complements existing literature on granule stability by experiments at bulk scale: two shaped granule samples and two ceramic encapsulated granule samples as well as a reference powder were cycled in a lab-scale reactor as well as within a TGA apparatus. Even though preservation of the granule structure was observed after cycling within the TGA apparatus, crushing strength measurements already indicated a decrease of mechanical stability of 81–88% for the shaped granules and 6–11% for the encapsulated granules. As a consequence, structural integrity of the granule bulk was only preserved in case of partial hydration. Given high reactivity, the granule structure – shaped and encapsulated – was destroyed after the first hydration causing a bulk volume expansion of up to a factor of 2.5. Reaction behaviour of the reference powder was consistent despite formation of cm-sized agglomerates. This work confirms that reaction conditions within a bulk are more challenging regarding structural integrity of storage material granules due to greater stresses acting on the single granule. These stresses can be significantly reduced by partial hydration.
To determine the accuracy of inertial measurement unit data from a mobile device using the mobile device relative to posturography to quantify postural stability in individuals with Parkinson disease ...(PD).
Criterion standard.
Motor control laboratory at a clinic.
A sample (N=28) of individuals with mild to moderate PD (n=14) and age-matched community-dwelling individuals without PD (n=14) completed the study.
Not applicable.
Center of mass (COM) acceleration measures were compared between the mobile device and the NeuroCom force platform to determine the accuracy of mobile device measurements during performance of the Sensory Organization Test (SOT). Analyses examined test-retest reliability of both systems and sensitivity of (1) the equilibrium score from the SOT and (2) COM acceleration measures from the force platform and mobile device to quantify postural stability across populations.
Metrics of COM acceleration from inertial measurement unit data and the NeuroCom force platform were significantly correlated across balance conditions and groups (Pearson r range, .35 to .97). The SOT equilibrium scores failed to discriminate individuals with and without PD. However, the multiplanar measures of COM acceleration from the mobile device exhibited good to excellent reliability across SOT conditions and were able to discriminate individuals with and without PD in conditions with the greatest balance demands.
Metrics employing medial-lateral movement produce a more sensitive outcome than the equilibrium score in identifying postural instability associated with PD. Overall, the output from the mobile device provides an accurate and reliable method of rapidly quantifying balance in individuals with PD. The portable and affordable nature of a mobile device with the application makes it ideally suited to use biomechanical data to aid in clinical decision making.
In case a metal hydride system is used for gaseous hydrogen storage application, the overall efficiency of the storage system can be significantly improved when the corresponding cooling or heating ...effect is additionally integrated into the application. In this study, it is analyzed how the efficiency of the gaseous hydrogen storage as well as the temperature level of the cold production can be adjusted using a simple, modular, air-cooled metal hydride reactor. For the study, a Hydralloy C5-graphite composite has been selected as reference material, and as geometry a simple tubular shape has been considered. In the first part of the manuscript, an analytical approach is presented analyzing the three different regimes in which a metal hydride reactor can be operated: to store hydrogen (Regime I), produce cold (Regime III), or to couple both options as “dual use” (Regime II), depending on the mass flow rates of hydrogen and air. In the second part of the manuscript, results of a detailed numerical study are presented and evaluated with respect to the outlet air temperature and the hydrogen utilization factor of the hydride reactor. It is shown that in Regime I, a high utilization factor and in Regime III, low outlet air temperature levels can be reached. Furthermore, in the “dual use” regime, the reactor can produce a cooling effect at different temperature levels and still show a high hydrogen utilization factor. In the last part of the manuscript, the effects of a modular reactor system as well as the operation of the reactor in pressure control mode are discussed to extend the basic description of the problem.
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•Analytical and numerical studies on hydrogen storage and cold production for metal hydride reactor.•Three regimes described based on air and hydrogen mass flow rates.•Evaluation based on outlet air temperature level and hydrogen utilization factor.•“Dual Use” regime exists with low temperature level and high utilization factor.
Open cooling systems based on metal hydrides (MH) are promising as they are purely driven by the on-board available compression work of the compressed hydrogen in a fuel cell vehicle. In this study, ...the plate reactor is numerically optimized for fast reaction dynamics leading to an increased power density. Experimental results for the thermodynamic characterization of the applied Hydralloy C2 (Ti0.98Zr0.02V0.41Fe0.09Cr0.05Mn1.46) in the temperature range of 0–50 °C and a mathematical expression for the pressure–concentration isotherms are presented. The model is validated with data from the experimental literature for different cooling temperatures (15–25 °C) and electrical fuel cell powers (4–6 kW). As the reactor alternately passes through two temperature levels in its continuous operation, the effects of thermal losses are evaluated in detail. The optimum thickness for the MH bed is close to the channel thickness of a commercially available reactor. A further increase of the cooling power can be obtained by reducing the distance of the hydrogen gas transport, porosity of the MH bed, and fuel cell backpressure.
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•Open cooling system is driven by the on-board available compression work.•Thermodynamic characterization of Hydralloy C2 from 0 to 50 °C.•Design recommendations for an increased power density of the system.
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