Observing Proteins as Single Molecules Encapsulated in Surface‐Tethered Polymeric Nanocontainers

Protein unfolding inside immobilized polymerosomes : One of the most interesting properties of polymeric vesicles is their remarkable stability against extreme temperatures and osmotic stress, and their longevity even under harsh environmental conditions. We have demonstrated, in an application on protein folding, that surface‐tethered polymerosomes are suitable for performing time‐resolved single molecule studies with encapsulated proteins, as illustrated here.

     

NaWuReT-Workshop: Forschung in der Reaktionstechnik für und mit der Gesellschaft

In this article, the results of the NaWuReT (Early Career Reaction Engineers) workshop on the topic “Are we doing relevant science?” are presented. The topics “(In)surmountable hurdles for Citizen Scientists in reaction engineering?” and “Circular Economy in reaction engineering with/for society?” were discussed. Therefrom, a variety of ideas and suggestions were extracted.     

Evaluation of a Novel Plasmid for Simultaneous Gene Electrotransfer-Mediated Silencing of CD105 and CD146 in Combination with Irradiation

Targeting tumor vasculature through specific endothelial cell markers represents a promising approach for cancer treatment. Here our aim was to construct an antibiotic resistance gene-free plasmid encoding shRNAs to simultaneously target two endothelial cell markers, CD105 and CD146, and to test its functionality and therapeutic potential in vitro when delivered by gene electrotransfer (GET) and combined with irradiation (IR). Functionality of the plasmid was evaluated by determining the silencing of the targeted genes using qRT-PCR. Antiproliferative and antiangiogenic effects were determined by the cytotoxicity assay tube formation assay and wound healing assay in murine endothelial cells 2H-11. The functionality of the plasmid construct was also evaluated in malignant melanoma tumor cell line B16F10. Additionally, potential activation of immune response was measured by induction of DNA sensor STING and proinflammatory cytokines by qRT-PCR in endothelial cells 2H-11. We demonstrated that the plasmid construction was successful and can efficiently silence the expression of the two targeted genes. As a consequence of silencing, reduced migration rate and angiogenic potential was confirmed in 2H-11 endothelial cells. Furthermore, induction of DNA sensor STING and proinflammatory cytokines were determined, which could add to the therapeutic effectiveness when used in vivo. To conclude, we successfully constructed a novel plasmid DNA with two shRNAs, which holds a great promise for further in vivo testing.     

Depassivation and repassivation of stainless steels by stepwise pH change

Immersion tests with different stainless steels have been performed, while the pH was stepwise decreased and then increased again. During 8.5-day exposure, the depassivation and repassivation pH values as a function of pitting resistance equivalent number were determined. There is always a gap between both pH values (depassivation and repassivation), indicating that for every steel, there are conditions where an existing passive layer can be maintained but cannot be rebuilt after depassivation. In such environments, the passive layer is thicker, consisting mainly of molybdenum and iron rich oxides, while chromium is dissolved. Usually, depending on conditions, the passive layer is more chromium-rich, especially the inner layer. This is relevant, for example, for acidizing jobs in oil and gas industry, proving that repassivation after acidizing will happen promptly, when the pH is increased again.     

Possibilities of using the ultrasonic wave transmission method to estimate initial setting time of cement paste

In this paper, the applicability of the ultrasonic wave transmission method to estimate the initial setting time of an arbitrary cement paste is discussed. Ultrasonic pulse velocity measurements were fully automated and measured continuously. The Vicat Needle Test was used in order to determine the initial setting time of cement pastes. Different cement pastes were prepared in order to check the influence of the water/cement ratio, type of cement, curing temperature, cement fineness, and some clinker compositions, on the relationship between the initial setting time and ultrasonic pulse velocity. It was found that the initial setting time of an arbitrary cement paste can be estimated very accurately by the time the first inflection point appears on the ultrasonic pulse velocity curve. Moreover, it can be estimated quite accurately by the time the ultrasonic pulse velocity reaches a fixed value, close to the value of the ultrasonic pulse velocity in water.     

Casting process and comparison of the properties of adapted load-sensitive magnesium alloys

Magnetic magnesium alloys can be utilized as a load sensitive material, in which the inverse magnetostrictive effect is used in order to measure the actual loads in structural components manufactured from such lightweight sensor alloys. To achieve a material which exhibits magnetic properties, Mg is alloyed with ferromagnetic materials like cobalt or samarium-cobalt. Alloying elements commonly used with Mg are utilized to improve the mechanical properties of these alloys, which however may have a slight negative impact on the magnetic sensitivity. In this work, two separate magnetic Mg alloys are compared, each with properties matched to the opposing requirements: (a) high load sensitivity and (b) satisfactory mechanical properties, respectively. The precipitation behavior of the ferromagnetic constituent Co in Mg together with other alloying elements is shown on the basis of SEM images. In addition, the dissolving behavior of the Co powder during the casting process of a binary Mg–Co alloy is investigated. Cyclic loading tests employing harmonic analyses of eddy current signals are utilized in order to verify the alloys’ sensory properties. The mechanical properties are investigated using tensile tests.     

Dynamic Boundary Conditions and Boundary Control for the One-Dimensional Heat Equation

In this note we show how the theory of one-sided coupled operator matrices developed by K.-J. Engel [6-8] can be applied to boundary control problems. We illustrate the abstract results by considering the one-dimensional heat equation with dynamic boundary conditions and boundary control.     

Gaussian process modeling of EEG for the detection of neonatal seizures

Gaussian process (GP) probabilistic models have attractive advantages over parametric and neural network modeling approaches. They have a small number of tuneable parameters, can be trained on relatively small training sets, and provide a measure of prediction certainty. In this paper, these properties are exploited to develop two methods of highlighting the presence of neonatal seizures from electroencephalograph (EEG) signals. In the first method, the certainty of the GP model prediction is used to indicate the presence of seizures. In the second approach, the hyperparameters of the GP model are used. Tests are carried out with a feature set of ten EEG measures developed from various signal processing techniques. Features are evaluated using a neural network classifier on 51 h of real neonatal EEG. The GP measures, in particular, the prediction certainty approach, produce a high level of performance compared to other modeling methods and methods currently in clinical use for EEG analysis, indicating that they are an important and useful tool for the real-time detection of neonatal seizures.