Enhanced Antiviral Function of Magnesium Chloride-Modified Heparin on a Broad Spectrum of Viruses

Previous studies reported on the broad-spectrum antiviral function of heparin. Here we investigated the antiviral function of magnesium-modified heparin and found that modified heparin displayed a significantly enhanced antiviral function against human adenovirus (HAdV) in immortalized and primary cells. Nuclear magnetic resonance analyses revealed a conformational change of heparin when complexed with magnesium. To broadly explore this discovery, we tested the antiviral function of modified heparin against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and found that the replication of HSV-1 was even further decreased compared to aciclovir. Moreover, we investigated the antiviral effect against the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and measured a 55-fold decreased viral load in the supernatant of infected cells associated with a 38-fold decrease in virus growth. The advantage of our modified heparin is an increased antiviral effect compared to regular heparin.     

Identifying the Molecular Mechanisms and Types of Cell Death Induced by bio- and pyr-Silica Nanoparticles in Endothelial Cells

The term “nanosilica” refers to materials containing ultrafine particles. They have gained a rapid increase in popularity in a variety of applications and in numerous aspects of human life. Due to their unique physicochemical properties, SiO₂ nanoparticles have attracted significant attention in the field of biomedicine. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanism underlying the cellular response to stress which is induced by the exposure of cells to both biogenic and pyrogenic silica nanoparticles and which may lead to their death. Both TEM and fluorescence microscopy investigations confirmed molecular changes in cells after treatment with silica nanoparticles. The cytotoxic activity of the compounds and intracellular RNS were determined in relation to HMEC-1 cells using the fluorimetric method. Apoptosis was quantified by microscopic assessment and by flow cytometry. Furthermore, the impact of nanosilica on cell migration and cell cycle arrest were determined. The obtained results compared the biological effects of mesoporous silica nanoparticles extracted from Urtica dioica L. and pyrogenic material and indicated that both types of NPs have an impact on RNS production causing apoptosis, necrosis, and autophagy. Although mesoporous silica nanoparticles did not cause cell cycle arrest, at the concentration of 50 μg/mL and higher they could disturb redox balance and stimulate cell migration.     

Experiences,appearances, and interprofessional training: The instructional use of video in post-simulation debriefings

Through close analyses of the interaction that takes place between students and facilitators, this study investigates the instructional use of video in post-simulation debriefings. The empirical material consists of recordings of 40 debriefings that took place after simulation-based training scenarios in health care education. During the debriefings, short video-recorded sequences of the students’ collaboration in the scenarios were shown, after which the facilitators asked the students questions about the teamwork and their performance as displayed in these sequences. The aim of the study is to show: a) how the video is consequential for the ways in which the students talk about the teamwork and their own performance; b) how the facilitators’ questions guide the students’ contributions and collaborative sense making of prior events. Regularly, the facilitators’ questions were posed in terms of “seeing”. The design and sequential environment of the questions made it relevant for the students to comment on how the displayed situations appeared audiovisually and how these appearances contrasted with their experiences from the situation. In this way, the video enabled the students to talk about their own conduct, including their collaboration with their peers, from a third-person perspective. The study highlights the central role of instructions and instructional questions in the debriefings, how the video was used to make the students reconceptualise their performance together with others, and the importance of contributions from fellow students.     

Identification and Biosynthesis of Novel Male Specific Esters in the Wings of the Tropical Butterfly,Bicyclus martius sanaos

Representatives of the highly speciose tropical butterfly genus Bicyclus (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) are characterized by morphological differences in the male androconia, a set of scales and hair pencils located on the surface of the wings. These androconia are assumed to be associated with the release of courtship pheromones. In the present study, we report the identification and biosynthetic pathways of several novel esters from the wings of male B. martius sanaos. We found that the volatile compounds in this male butterfly were similar to female-produced moth sex pheromones. Components associated with the male wing androconial areas were identified as ethyl, isobutyl and 2-phenylethyl hexadecanoates and (11Z)-11-hexadecenoates, among which the latter are novel natural products. By topical application of deuterium-labelled fatty acid and amino acid precursors, we found these pheromone candidates to be produced in patches located on the forewings of the males. Deuterium labels from hexadecanoic acid were incorporated into (11Z)-11-hexadecenoic acid, providing experimental evidence of a Δ11-desaturase being active in butterflies. This unusual desaturase was found previously to be involved in the biosynthesis of female-produced sex pheromones of moths. In the male butterflies, both hexadecanoic acid and (11Z)-11-hexadecenoic acid were then enzymatically esterified to form the ethyl, isobutyl and 2-phenylethyl esters, incorporating ethanol, isobutanol, and 2-phenylethanol, derived from the corresponding amino acids L-alanine, L-valine, and L-phenylalanine.     

An efficient demodulation technique for wind turbine tower resonance monitoring

In this paper, a demodulation technique based on narrowband post‐processing is proposed as a wind turbine tower resonance‐monitoring tool. This method provides resonance estimation in time domain, and a confidence interval is given per estimation. The algorithm deployment and its capability of circumventing the modulation effect in the dynamics involved in the tower acceleration response make this method an appropriate candidate for post‐processing, especially in automated routines. In this work, the impact of the main parameters needed to adjust this algorithm is analyzed. The benefits related to its robustness and computational requirements will be stressed and compared with other demodulation techniques. This will be demonstrated with either modulated synthetic signals or real tower turbine acceleration registers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling the field soft error rate of DRAMs by varying the critical cell charge

The Field Soft Error Rate (FSER) has been determined by the variation of the critical charge and the measurement of the charge collection volume determined by alpha-particle irradiation. The modelled FSER versus critical charge dependence agrees well to the one of the Field Soft Error measurements. The results futher show, that the impact of the on-chip Alpha-Particle flux can be neglected.     

Coupled-line metamaterial coupler having co-directional phase but contra-directional power flow

A coupled-line coupler comprising a microstrip line, edge-coupled to a negative-refractive-index line, exhibits co-directional phase but contra-directional Poynting vectors on the lines, leading to backward coupling. A key feature of this coupler is that it can support complex coupled modes. The resulting exponential field decay enables enhanced coupling with moderate line lengths and spacing. An example 3 dB device has been implemented and tested at 3 GHz.     

Rating causal relations: Role of probability in judgments of response-outcome contingency.

Investigated the possible role of the conditional probabilities of an outcome given a response P(O/R) and of an outcome given the absence of a response P(O/NoR) in mediating college students' judgments of response–outcome contingency. A total of 150 Ss in 3 experiments were asked to describe the effect that telegraph key tapping had on the brief illumination of a lamp. Ss' ratings along a prevent–cause scale closely approximated the scheduled contingencies between response (R?=?key tapping) and outcome (O?=?lamp illumination), as measured by the delta coefficient δP?=?P(O/R)?–?P(O/NoR) (Exps 1 and 3). Ss also sensitively rated the conditional probabilities of an outcome when they tapped the key and when they refrained from doing so (Exps 2 and 3). Nevertheless, the evidence failed to support the hypothesis that causal ratings were mediated by subjective judgments of P(O/R) and P(O/NoR) because the errors made in judging the conditional probabilities were not consistent with the errors made judging δP. The authors suggest that an associative explanation derived from a model devised by R. A. Rescorla and A. R. Wagner (1972) might account for these and other results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A mathematical model with a combined analytical and numerical approach for predicting the thickness profile of a cold-rolled strip

In order to investigate the edge drop effect in cold rolling of strip a mathematical model was developed. It combines well-known classical and analytical solutions in the rolling direction with a numerical approach in the width direction. For the computation the strip is divided into small stripes across the width. For each stripe the roll force is determined with the equations of elementary theory of plasticity. Deflection of the roll bodies is computed by the theory of elasticity. A solution is obtained by solving the equations of global equilibrium between forces due to plastic deformation of the strip and elastical deflections of the roll system. Up to ten passes on two or four-high mills can be simulated. A wide range of rolling parameters can be specified. Computed results have been validated by experiments on 2- and 4-high mills under various rolling conditions. Numerical simulations show the influence of different rolling parameters on the thickness profile and the shape of the strip.     

Development of new methods for determining the formability and flow stress of materials based on intermetallic compounds

The following test methods were developed: the small-cup tension test, the mantle compression test, and the ball compression test. They are applicable up to very high temperatures. The experiments with model materials and NiAl- and TiAl-compounds were combined with plastomechanical calculations by the method of upper bound of deformation power and by the method of finite elements.