Use of experimental design to empirically model atmospheric corrosion of galvanised steel

Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in 500–1100 μm large liquid droplets containing chloride and sulphate ions has been used to investigate the local corrosion rate of galvanised steel. The objective was the empirical modelling of the corrosion rate as a function of temperature, electrolyte thickness, and chloride and sulphate concentrations. The first experiments showed that the corrosion time was one of the critical parameters; it was then included in the investigation. An empirical numerical model was obtained for steel and galvanised steel. The statistical model highlighted the respective importance of the five parameters on atmospheric corrosion and gave qualitative results in accordance with the literature. The statistical study also suggested that the corrosion potential was easier to model than corrosion currents.     

Buckwheat in Tibet （TAR）

The Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) is one of the poorest provinces in China. Buckwheat is mostly cultivated in areas with sloping infertile land on which other crops cannot be grown.It is a valuable crop in remote and food deficient mountain areas, and the potential of enhanced buckwheat utilization in TAR is high and diverse.     

Functional Selectivity of Coumarin Derivates Acting via GPR55 in Neuroinflammation

Anti-neuroinflammatory treatment has gained importance in the search for pharmacological treatments of different neurological and psychiatric diseases, such as depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. Clinical studies demonstrate a reduction of the mentioned diseases’ symptoms after the administration of anti-inflammatory drugs. Novel coumarin derivates have been shown to elicit anti-neuroinflammatory effects via G-protein coupled receptor GPR55, with possibly reduced side-effects compared to the known anti-inflammatory drugs. In this study, we, therefore, evaluated the anti-inflammatory capacities of the two novel coumarin-based compounds, KIT C and KIT H, in human neuroblastoma cells and primary murine microglia. Both compounds reduced PGE₂-concentrations likely via the inhibition of COX-2 synthesis in SK-N-SH cells but only KIT C decreased PGE₂-levels in primary microglia. The examination of other pro- and anti-inflammatory parameters showed varying effects of both compounds. Therefore, the differences in the effects of KIT C and KIT H might be explained by functional selectivity as well as tissue- or cell-dependent expression and signal pathways coupled to GPR55. Understanding the role of chemical residues in functional selectivity and specific cell- and tissue-targeting might open new therapeutic options in pharmacological drug development and might improve the treatment of the mentioned diseases by intervening in an early step of their pathogenesis.     

AB186 Inhibits Migration of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells and Interacts with α-Tubulin

Breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer-related death among females worldwide. A major challenge is to develop innovative therapy in order to treat breast cancer subtypes resistant to current treatment. In the present study, we examined the effects of two Troglitazone derivatives Δ2-TGZ and AB186. Previous studies showed that both compounds induce apoptosis, nevertheless AB186 was a more potent agent. The kinetic of cellular events was investigated by real-time cell analysis system (RTCA) in MCF-7 (hormone dependent) and MDA-MB-231 (triple negative) breast cancer (TNBC) cells, followed by cell morphology analysis by immuno-localization. Both compounds induced a rapid modification of both impedance-based signals and cellular morphology. This process was associated with an inhibition of cell migration measured by wound healing and transwell assays in TNBC MDA-MB-231 and Hs578T cells. In order to identify cytoplasmic targets of AB186, we performed surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and pull-down analyses. Subsequently, 6 cytoskeleton components were identified as potential targets. We further validated α-tubulin as one of the direct targets of AB186. In conclusion, our results suggested that AB186 could be promising to develop novel therapeutic strategies to treat aggressive forms of breast cancer such as TNBC.     

Assessing Framing of Uncertainties in Water Management Practice

Dealing with uncertainties in water management is an important issue and is one which will only increase in light of global changes, particularly climate change. So far, uncertainties in water management have mostly been assessed from a scientific point of view, and in quantitative terms. In this paper, we focus on the perspectives from water management practice, adopting a qualitative approach. We consider it important to know how uncertainties are framed in water management practice in order to develop practice relevant strategies for dealing with uncertainties. Framing refers to how people make sense of the world. With the aim of identifying what are important parameters for the framing of uncertainties in water management practice, in this paper we analyze uncertainty situations described by decision-makers in water management. The analysis builds on a series of “Uncertainty Dialogues” carried out within the NeWater project with water managers in the Rhine, Elbe and Guadiana basins in 2006. During these dialogues, representatives of these river basins were asked what uncertainties they encountered in their professional work life and how they confronted them. Analysing these dialogues we identified several important parameters of how uncertainties get framed. Our assumption is that making framing of uncertainty explicit for water managers will allow for better dealing with the respective uncertainty situations.     

In vitro behavior of layer-by-layer deposited molecular oligoelectrolyte films on Ti–6Al–4V surfaces

Layer-by-layer self-assembled films of molecular oligoelectrolytes were used to modify Ti–6Al–4V surfaces in order to test their ability as potential drug delivery system. With regard to medical application the in vitro behavior of the modified material was investigated. The Ti–6Al–4V (6% aluminium, 4% vanadium) material was treated in a layer-by-layer (LbL) process with 2, 4, 6 and 8 layers of molecular oligoelectrolytes 1 and 2 and thereby doped with a fluorescent reporter molecule 2. Human osteoblasts were cultured for a period up to 5 days on the modified material. Ti–6Al–4V surfaces without modification were used as control. In order to investigate the in vitro behavior of the coating as well as the influence of components of the coating on osteoblastic cells, respectively, cell proliferation, differentiation and attachment of hFOB cells were observed by means of cell number, osteoblastic gene expression and fluorescence microscopy. Degradation behavior of the OEM (oligoelectrolyte multilayer film) was examined using optical spectroscopy. Measurement data imply that the layer-by-layer coating was successfully assembled on the Ti surface and endures steam sterilization. The fluorescence signal in cell culture medium increased strictly linear with increasing pre-assembled number of layers on the surface. Proliferation rates of the cells in experimental groups did not differ significantly from each other (P ≥ 0.783). Differentiation pattern was not significantly changed by the coating. The fluorescent reporter component of the film was absorbed by osteoblastic cells and was detected by fluorescence microscopy.     

Sensitization and radiation hardening of the photostimulable X-ray storage phosphor CsBr:Eu<Superscript>2+</Superscript>

The X-ray storage phosphor CsBr:Eu²⁺ in form of needle image plates is believed to be a promising alternative to the granular BaFBr:Eu²⁺ with regard to PSL yield and spatial resolution. Unfortunately, CsBr:Eu²⁺ exhibits poor radiation hardness, which is caused by a migration of europium ions initiated by naturally existing defect centers like (Eu²⁺-V_Cs)-centers and X-ray generated M_Eu-centers. It will be shown that the formation of (Eu²⁺-O^2?)-dipoles at the expense of (Eu²⁺-V_Cs)-dipoles, incorporated by thermal annealing in O₂-containing and humid atmosphere, does not improve the radiation stability. There is, however, a strong improvement in the radiation hardness by codoping of CsBr:Eu²⁺ with lithium ions, which is accompanied by a complete suppression of the previously observed M_Eu-center formation.     

Impact of climate policy uncertainty on the adoption of electricity generating technologies

This paper presents a real options model where multiple options are evaluated simultaneously so that the effect of the individual options on each other is accounted for. We apply this model to the electricity sector, where we analyze three typical technologies based on fossil fuel, fossil fuel with carbon capture and renewable energy, respectively. In this way, we can analyze the transition from CO₂-intensive to CO₂-neutral electricity production in the face of rising and uncertain CO₂ prices. In addition, such a modelling approach enables us to estimate precisely the expected value of (perfect) information, i.e. the willingness of investors and producers to pay for information about the correct CO₂ price path. As can be expected, the expected value of information rises with increasing CO₂ price uncertainty. In addition, the larger the price uncertainty, the larger are the cumulative CO₂ emissions over the coming century. The reason for this is that the transition to less CO₂-intensive technologies is increasingly postponed with rising CO₂ price uncertainty. By testing different price processes (geometric Brownian motion versus jump processes with different jump frequencies), we can also make useful recommendations concerning the importance of policy predictability. We find that it is better to have climate change policies that are stable over a certain length of time and change abruptly than less abrupt but more frequently changing policies. Less frequent fluctuations reduce the expected value of information and result in smaller cumulative CO₂ emissions.