New fabrication approach to ZnO multiple nanofiber sensors

In the presented work, ZnO nanofiber sensor structures designed and fabricated using a standard microelectronic device technology were studied. The structures in the configuration of a resistor with chemically active ZnO multiple nanofibers deposited by electrospinning method were prepared. Investigation of inclusion in the process reactive- ly sputtered AlN insulating film to improve the robustness of the nanofibres on the substrate was undertaken. Selective wet chemical etching of AlN film using photoresist developers and a photoresist mask to define the sensor active area was studied. The Ti/Au ohmic contacts were fabricated using the lift-off photolithography process. To- pography of the sensor structure details was investigated using AFM. Electrical charac- terization by means of I-V measurements was made. Sensitivity to the physiologically relevant concentration of Bovine Serum Albumin in water solution was shown. When you are citing the document, use the following link http://essuir.sumdu.edu.ua/handle/123456789/2058

Discovery of Juniperus sabina var. balkanensis R. P. Adams and A. N. Tashev in Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Central and Southern Italy and relictual polymorphisms found in nrDNA

Additional analyses of trnS-trnG and nrDNA from specimens from Bosnia-Herzegovina, southern and central, Italy, Croatia and Macedonia revealed the presence of J. sabina var. balkanensis in these areas west of the previously known populations in Greece, Bulgaria and western Turkey. Careful chromatogram analysis of eight (8) polymorphic sites in nrDNA revealed that nearly all of the populations of both var. balkanensis and var. sabina contained from 2 to 8 polymorphic sites. For these 8 heterozygous sites, two exclusive patterns were found in J. sabina. One type (GGACCCAG) was found in 16/62 plants and type 2 (ACGACAGT) was found in 4/62 plants. The majority of the plants examined (42/62) were heterozygous for 1 to 8 sites. These two nrDNA types appear to have arisen via hybridization with a J. thurifera ancestor. The two types appear in both v. sabina and v. balkanensis populations. Extant putative hybrids appear to have formed by crosses between present day type 1 and type 2 nrDNA. Publishe

Exposure to Environmental Radionuclides Associates With Tissue-Specific Impacts on Telomerase Expression and Telomere Length

Telomeres, the protective structures at the ends of chromosomes, can be shortened when individuals are exposed to stress. In some species, the enzyme telomerase is expressed in adult somatic tissues, and potentially protects or lengthens telomeres. Telomeres can be damaged by ionizing radiation and oxidative stress, although the effect of chronic exposure to elevated levels of radiation on telomere maintenance is unknown for natural populations. We quantified telomerase expression and telomere length (TL) in different tissues of the bank vole Myodes glareolus, collected from the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, an environment heterogeneously contaminated with radionuclides, and from uncontaminated control sites elsewhere in Ukraine. Inhabiting the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was associated with reduced TL in the liver and testis, and upregulation of telomerase in brain and liver. Thus upregulation of telomerase does not appear to associate with longer telomeres but may reflect protective functions other than telomere maintenance or an attempt to maintain shorter telomeres in a stressful environment. Tissue specific differences in the rate of telomere attrition and apparent radiosensitivity weaken the intra-individual correlation in telomere length among tissues in voles exposed to radionuclides. Our data show that ionizing radiation alters telomere homeostasis in wild animal populations in tissue specific ways

Quality-Controlled Small-Scale Production of a Well-Defined Bacteriophage Cocktail for Use in Human Clinical Trials

We describe the small-scale, laboratory-based, production and quality control of a cocktail, consisting of exclusively lytic bacteriophages, designed for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus infections in burn wound patients. Based on succesive selection rounds three bacteriophages were retained from an initial pool of 82 P. aeruginosa and 8 S. aureus bacteriophages, specific for prevalent P. aeruginosa and S. aureus strains in the Burn Centre of the Queen Astrid Military Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. This cocktail, consisting of P. aeruginosa phages 14/1 (Myoviridae) and PNM (Podoviridae) and S. aureus phage ISP (Myoviridae) was produced and purified of endotoxin. Quality control included Stability (shelf life), determination of pyrogenicity, sterility and cytotoxicity, confirmation of the absence of temperate bacteriophages and transmission electron microscopy-based confirmation of the presence of the expected virion morphologic particles as well as of their specific interaction with the target bacteria. Bacteriophage genome and proteome analysis confirmed the lytic nature of the bacteriophages, the absence of toxin-coding genes and showed that the selected phages 14/1, PNM and ISP are close relatives of respectively F8, φKMV and phage G1. The bacteriophage cocktail is currently being evaluated in a pilot clinical study cleared by a leading Medical Ethical Committee

Chorology of Juniperus thurifera (Cupressaceae) in Morocco

The geographic distribution and occurrence conditions of Juniperus thurifera subsp. africana in Morocco were studied. The literature and herbaria data, together with field observations formed the basis of detailed maps of distribution of the species in the Middle and High Atlas and allow us to analyze its vertical distribution. The taxon occurs in the sub-arid and arid zones of the Middle and High Atlas with a separate population in the Anti-Atlas, mostly between altitudes 2000 and 2700 m, with an altitudinal maximum at 3400 m and a minimum at 1700 m. It forms forests in the area of about 30 000 ha. In many places of the High Atlas it is the only wood source for local populations. It is strongly endangered because of over exploitation of the wood, over pasturing and lack of seedlings and young specimens

Loiseleuria procumbens (Ericaceae) in the Ukrainian Carpathians

Distribution of Loiseleuria procumbens (L.) Desv. in the Eastern Carpathians of Ukraine is presented on the basis of herbaria, literature and the authors' field studies. Site conditions of species occurrence and its phytocoenotic properties are described. The needs' of protection of L. procumbens and its plant communities are discussed

Chorological and synanthropodynamical analysis of trees and shrubs of the Stołowe Mts. (Middle Sudety)

The 153 taxa of trees and shrubs were reported from the Stołowe Mts. Two species (Betula nana and Erica tetralix) were reported probably by mistake,and 7 are now extinct (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi, Chamaecytisus ratisbonensis, Genista pilosa, Lembotropis nigricans, Rosa agrestis, Salix lapponum, Salix myrtilloides). The other 144 taxa of trees and shrubs were found in the natural and semi-natural site conditions. The 110 native taxa and 34 anthropophytes are forming the contemporary woody flora. The 44 native taxa belong to various local red data book categories (including extinct),the 63 are not endangered and next 10 are apophytes. A few altitudinal groups of species can be distinguished,which are characterized with specific reaction to the growth of the altitude of localities. The distinct limit in the altitudinal ranges of the woody species occur at elevation of 580-600 m. This altitude was considered as the limit between submontane and montane belts in the Stołowe mountains