Über keramische Schwämme als Kolonneneinbauten : Grundlegende Untersuchungen zu Morphologie, Fluiddynamik und Stoffübergang bei der mehrphasigen Durchströmung im Gegenstrom

Die Anwendbarkeit keramischer Schwämme als Kolonneneinbauten wurde grundlegend charakterisiert. Es wurde überprüft, ob das Verhalten der Schwämme mit für herkömmliche Kolonneneinbauten entwickelten Korrelationen beschrieben werden kann. Variationsparameter waren Porengröße, Porosität und Packungselementhöhe. Bestimmt wurden dabei u.a. geometrische Oberflächen, Flüssigkeitsinhalte, feuchte Druckverluste und Betriebsbereiche sowie Stoffübergangskoeffizienten und effektive Phasengrenzflächen

Light intensity dependence of the kinetics of the photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen(ii) oxide at the surface of TiO2

Air pollution by nitrogen oxides represents a serious environmental problem in urban areas where numerous sources of these pollutants are concentrated. One approach to reduce the concentration of these air pollutants is their light-induced oxidation in the presence of molecular oxygen and a photocatalytically active building material which uses titanium dioxide as the photocatalyst. Herein, results of an investigation concerning the influence of the photon flux and the pollutant concentration on the rate of the photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen(ii) oxide in the presence of molecular oxygen and UV(A) irradiated titanium dioxide powder are presented. A Langmuir-Hinshelwood-type rate law for the photocatalytic NO oxidation inside the photoreactor comprising four kinetic parameters is derived being suitable to describe the influence of the pollutant concentration and the photon flux on the rate of the photocatalytic oxidation of nitrogen(ii) oxide. © 2013 the Owner Societies

A changing Arctic Ocean

The Arctic is the fastest changing region on the planet. It is also intrinsically tied to global processes, whether they are climatic, environmental or socio-economic. The impacts of climate change on the vast and multiple interacting Arctic systems are inherently complex, although can be broadly summarised as an increase in temperature and the subsequent loss of sea-ice cover. This will ultimately result in the emergence of new physical and ecological statesNon peer reviewe

Deciphering transcriptome profiles of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in response to PRRSV vaccination in pigs

List of DEGs in PBMCs of pigs at 6 hpv of PRRSV vaccination in pigs compared to control. (XLSX 57 kb

Transcriptome profile of lung dendritic cells after in vitro porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) infection

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) is an infectious disease that leads to high financial and production losses in the global swine industry. The pathogenesis of this disease is dependent on a multitude of factors, and its control remains problematic. The immune system generally defends against infectious diseases, especially dendritic cells (DCs), which play a crucial role in the activation of the immune response after viral infections. However, the understanding of the immune response and the genetic impact on the immune response to PRRS virus (PRRSV) remains incomplete. In light of this, we investigated the regulation of the host immune response to PRRSV in porcine lung DCs using RNA-sequencing (RNA-Seq). Lung DCs from two different pig breeds (Pietrain and Duroc) were collected before (0 hours) and during various periods of infection (3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 hours post infection (hpi)). RNA-Seq analysis revealed a total of 20,396 predicted porcine genes, which included breed-specific differentially expressed immune genes. Pietrain and Duroc infected lung DCs showed opposite gene expression courses during the first time points post infection. Duroc lung DCs reacted more strongly and distinctly than Pietrain lung DCs during these periods (3, 6, 9, 12 hpi). Additionally, cluster analysis revealed time-dependent co-expressed groups of genes that were involved in immune-relevant pathways. Key clusters and pathways were identified, which help to explain the biological and functional background of lung DCs post PRRSV infection and suggest IL-1β1 as an important candidate gene. RNA-Seq was also used to characterize the viral replication of PRRSV for each breed. PRRSV was able to infect and to replicate differently in lung DCs between the two mentioned breeds. These results could be useful in investigations on immunity traits in pig breeding and enhancing the health of pigs

Candida albicans β-Glucan Differentiates Human Monocytes Into a Specific Subset of Macrophages

β-Glucan derived from cell walls of Candida albicans is a potent immune modulator. It has been shown to induce trained immunity in monocytes via epigenetic and metabolic reprogramming and to protect from lethal sepsis if applied prior to infection. Since β-glucan-trained monocytes have not been classified within the system of mononuclear phagocytes we analyzed these cells metabolically, phenotypically and functionally with a focus on monocyte-to-macrophage differentiation and compared them with naïve monocytes and other types of monocyte-derived cells such as classically (M1) or alternatively (M2) activated macrophages and monocyte-derived dendritic cells (moDCs). We show that β-glucan inhibits spontaneous apoptosis of monocytes independent from autocrine or paracrine M-CSF release and stimulates monocyte differentiation into macrophages. β-Glucan-differentiated macrophages exhibit increased cell size and granularity and enhanced metabolic activity when compared to naïve monocytes. Although β-glucan-primed cells expressed markers of alternative activation and secreted higher levels of IL-10 after lipopolysaccharide (LPS), their capability to release pro-inflammatory cytokines and to kill bacteria was unaffected. Our data demonstrate that β-glucan priming induces a population of immune competent long-lived monocyte-derived macrophages that may be involved in immunoregulatory processes