An ancestral molecular response to nanomaterial particulates

The varied transcriptomic response to nanoparticles has hampered the understanding of the mechanism of action. Here, by performing a meta-analysis of a large collection of transcriptomics data from various engineered nanoparticle exposure studies, we identify common patterns of gene regulation that impact the transcriptomic response. Analysis identifies deregulation of immune functions as a prominent response across different exposure studies. Looking at the promoter regions of these genes, a set of binding sites for zinc finger transcription factors C2H2, involved in cell stress responses, protein misfolding and chromatin remodelling and immunomodulation, is identified. The model can be used to explain the outcomes of mechanism of action and is observed across a range of species indicating this is a conserved part of the innate immune system.Peer reviewe

Experimental characterisation on the behaviour of PLLA for stretch blowing moulding of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds

Processing tubes from poly (l-lactic acid) (PLLA) by stretch blow moulding (SBM) is used in the manufacture of bioresorbable vascular scaffolds (BVS) to improve their mechanical performance. To better understand this processing technique, a novel experimental setup by free stretch blow inside a water bath was developed to visualise the tube forming process and analyse the deformation behaviour. PLLA tubes were heated, stretched and blown with no mould present inside a temperature-controlled water bath whilst recording the processing parameters (axial force, inflation pressure). The onset of pressure activation relative to the axial stretch was controlled deliberately to produce a simultaneous (SIM) or sequential (SEQ) mode of deformation. Real-time images of the tube during forming were captured using high speed cameras and the surface strain of the patterned tube was extracted using digital image correlation (DIC). The deformation characteristics of PLLA tubes in SBM was quantified by analysis of shape evolution, strain history and stress-strain relationship

The Essential Elements of a Risk Governance Framework for Current and Future Nanotechnologies

Societies worldwide are investing considerable resources into the safe development and use of nanomaterials. Although each of these protective efforts is crucial for governing the risks of nanomaterials, they are insufficient in isolation. What is missing is a more integrative governance approach that goes beyond legislation. Development of this approach must b

An open-source implementation of a quasi harmonic approach to compute the intramolecular entropy of particle systems

The implementation of a quasi harmonic approach to determine the intramolecular entropy of particle systems in an open-source python code is presented. The code makes use of platform-independent tools and can be readily transferred to any computer platform which can run python. It is straightforward to incorporate the code into the LAMMPS software as well as into other molecular simulation programs. In the computational part of this work, we evaluate the intramolecular entropy of atactic polystyrene and polyethylene melts in an all atom as well as in a coarse grained (CG) resolution at five temperatures between 400 and 450 K. For both polymers, coarse graining with its reduced system degrees of freedom and its softened bonded radial potential, causes a strong reduction of the entropy. However, the averaged entropy per degree of freedom in the CG case exceeds the one under atomistic resolution. Also the temperature dependence of the intramolecular entropy becomes weaker in the transition from an atomistic to a coarse grained description. The larger entropy of polyethylene in comparison to polystyrene under both resolutions is a consequence of its longer chain length. To simplify a comparison of the two polymers in the two considered resolutions, we analyze the total intramolecular entropy as well as its temperature gradient via a scaling of both quantities by the number of degrees of freedom. In the two studied systems and for both levels of resolution, a linear dependence of the intramolecular entropy on the temperature is identified

The effect of post-storage hydration treatments on viability of onion seeds

Bu çalışma, 11-15 Ekim 2020 tarihleri arasında Selanik[Yunanistan]'de düzenlenen 2. Balkan Symposium on Vegetables and Potatoes'da bildiri olarak sunulmuştur.The effects of hydration (priming and humidification) treatments at 15degreesC on the germination of onion seeds (i.e., long-day cvs Valencia and Corum; short-day cvs TEG-502 and Banko) with reduced viability were investigated. Osmotic solutions of PEG-8000 at -0.5 and -1.0 MPa were used for 1, 2 and 3 days. Humidification treatments were also conducted for 1, 2 and 3 days, considering the results of preliminary experiments. At the end of the experiments, in cv. Valencia, all the priming treatments leaded to a decline in the germination percentages of the seeds. Priming treatment with -0.5 MPa for 1 and 2 days decreased the germination percentage in cv. Corum, while the other treatments increased it. Nevertheless, all the priming treatments increased the germination percentage in cvs TEG-502 and Banko. As far as the mean germination time is concerned, there was no significant difference compared with control, following the priming treatments with PEG-8000 in cvs Valencia and Corum. However, all the treatments increased the mean germination time in cvs TEG-502 and Banko. Humidification treatments increased the germination percentages of seeds in all cultivars. Moreover, all humidification treatments shortened the mean germination time. Humidification treatments gave better results compared with priming treatments, in terms of both germination percentage and mean germination time. The best results were obtained from 1-day and 3-day humidification treatments in long-day and short-day onion seeds, respectively.Municipal ThermiHellen Minist AgrN AG RE F Agr Res Ctr Macedonia & ThraceMinist Macedonia & ThraceAfg Bank GreeceHellen Sugar Indu S AElgaBios AgrSystGeotherm Greenhouses - EquipmentRockwool Grodan MED S AScientact S APlastika KritisPsyllakis NikolaosYpsilonRigas LabsAgribousAsteriadis S AFerror Plas

Causality between food prices and other goods prices: Evidence from the EU member-states

The purpose of this paper was to investigate and measure the causation between food consumer price index and all-other-items consumer price index in 14 European Union member-states, using monthly data covering the period from 1985:12 to 1998:12. For this purpose a four stages approach was employed: Firstly, the non-stationarity of the data involved was investigated using the Augmented Dickey-Fuller tests. Secondly, causation was investigated using the Granger causality tests. Thirdly, the long-run equilibrium relationship between the two variables involved was estimated employing the Johansen cointegration approach. Fourthly, the short-term disequilibrium relationship between these two variables was estimated employing the Error-Correction-Models methodology. The findings of the paper generally support the hypothesis that for the vast majority of the EU member-states there exist a unidirectional Granger causality from all-other-items consumer prices to food consumer prices