Interlaboratory comparisons to demonstrate the competence of two similar mobile laboratories

In order to maintain the RENAR (Romanian Accreditation Association) accreditation, each accredited laboratory must periodically participate in interlaboratory testing programs carried out with specialized providers or similar laboratories. In December 2021, an interlaboratory comparison in the field of environmental protection was organized by INCD ISEMEX PETROȘANI. The current paper examines the similarity of results of two auto-laboratories, in similar sampling points to demonstrate the competence of accredited laboratories. During the interlaboratory test session, immission measurements (nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen monoxide, carbon monoxide and sulphur dioxide), ambient noise measurements and determination of suspended dust concentration were performed. The main objective of the interlaboratory tests is to comply with limits established by the bilateral testing protocol, and all these results can be processed and achieved in situ due to systems endowing the auto-laboratories, which integrate all the measurements performed in situ. Results of the study indicate very close values found by the two mobile laboratories, which leads to the performance requirement for all components analysed, namely coefficients of variation below 20%

Identification of quantifiable biological parameters for rescue personnel in the context of relational analysis of hazardous environments

The previous events in the industry reflect the need to take action to stop or at least slow down the development of damage and to prevent or reduce, as far as possible, their extent. In the case of breakdowns in industrial technological processes, their management requires, in addition to plant maintenance personnel properly trained for such situations, the participation of specialized personnel for interventions in hazardous environments. To form an image, the intervention is described as a set of actions in the facilities of a technological flow in which an event out of technological control was triggered, which aims to stop the negative consequences. The systemic approach of the correlation of hazardous substances in connection with the hazardous environment, of the relationships between the hazardous environment, constructions, technological installations and personnel as well as the identification of the effects of hazardous environments allows the crystallization of a relational analysis of hazardous environments. In this context, rescuers involved in the liquidation of damage must have a high degree of practical and physical training. During the training / interventions, rescuers have the opportunity to constantly monitor their physiological parameters through wearables. This paper aims to identify quantifiable biometric parameters for rescue and rescue personnel in the context of relational analysis of hazardous environments

Preprocessing Algorithm for Deciphering Historical Inscriptions Using String Metric

The article presents the improvements in the preprocessing part of the deciphering method (shortly preprocessing algorithm) for historical inscriptions of unknown origin. Glyphs used in historical inscriptions changed through time; therefore, various versions of the same script may contain different glyphs for each grapheme. The purpose of the preprocessing algorithm is reducing the running time of the deciphering process by filtering out the less probable interpretations of the examined inscription. However, the first version of the preprocessing algorithm leads incorrect outcome or no result in the output in certain cases. Therefore, its improved version was developed to find the most similar words in the dictionary by relaying the search conditions more accurately, but still computationally effectively. Moreover, a sophisticated similarity metric used to determine the possible meaning of the unknown inscription is introduced. The results of the evaluations are also detailed

Transglutaminase 2 interacts with syndecan-4 and CD44 at the surface of human macrophages to promote removal of apoptotic cells

Tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is a multifunctional protein cross-linking enzyme that has been implicated in apoptotic cell clearance but is also important in many other cell functions including cell adhesion, migration and monocyte to macrophage differentiation. Cell surface-associated TG2 regulates cell adhesion and migration, via its association with receptors such as syndecan-4 and β1 and β3 integrins. Whilst defective apoptotic cell clearance has been described in TG2-deficient mice, the precise role of TG2 in apoptotic cell clearance remains ill-defined. Our work addresses the role of macrophage extracellular TG2 in apoptotic cell corpse clearance. Here we reveal TG2 expression and activity (cytosolic and cell surface) in human macrophages and demonstrate that inhibitors of protein crosslinking activity reduce macrophage clearance of dying cells. We show also that cell-impermeable TG2 inhibitors significantly inhibit the ability of macrophages to migrate and clear apoptotic cells through reduced macrophage recruitment to, and binding of, apoptotic cells. Association studies reveal TG2-syndecan-4 interaction through heparan sulphate side chains, and knockdown of syndecan-4 reduces cell surface TG2 activity and apoptotic cell clearance. Furthermore, inhibition of TG2 activity reduces crosslinking of CD44, reported to augment AC clearance. Thus our data define a role for TG2 activity at the surface of human macrophages in multiple stages of AC clearance and we propose that TG2, in association with heparan sulphates, may exert its effect on AC clearance via a mechanism involving the crosslinking of CD44

The role of tissue transglutaminase (TG2) in regulating the tumour progression of the mouse colon carcinoma CT26

The multifunctional enzyme tissue transglutaminase (TG2) is reported to both mediate and inhibit tumour progression. To elucidate these different roles of TG2, we established a series of stable-transfected mouse colon carcinoma CT26 cells expressing a catalytically active (wild type) and a transamidating-inactive TG2 (Cys277Ser) mutant. Comparison of the TG2-transfected cells with the empty vector control indicated no differences in cell proliferation, apoptosis and susceptibility to doxorubicin, which correlated with no detectable changes in the activation of the transcription factor NF-?B. TG2-transfected cells showed increased expression of integrin ß3, and were more adherent and less migratory on fibronectin than control cells. Direct interaction of TG2 with ß3 integrins was demonstrated by immunoprecipitation, suggesting that TG2 acts as a coreceptor for fibronectin with ß3 integrins. All cells expressed the same level of TGFß receptors I and II, but only cells transfected with active TG2 had increased levels of TGFß1 and matrix-deposited fibronectin, which could be inhibited by TG2 site-directed inhibitors. Moreover, only cells transfected with active TG2 were capable of inhibiting tumour growth when compared to the empty vector controls. We conclude that in this colon carcinoma model increased levels of active TG2 are unfavourable to tumour growth due to their role in activation of TGFß1 and increased matrix deposition, which in turn favours increased cell adhesion and a lowered migratory and invasive behaviour

Transglutaminase 2 in human diseases

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Waste water treatment by flotation

The flotation is succesfully applied as a cleaning method of waste water refineries, textile fabrics (tissues), food industry, paper plants, oils plants, etc. In the flotation process with the released air, first of all, the water is saturated with air compressed at pressures between 0,3 – 3 bar, followed by the relaxed phenomenon of the air-water solution in a flotation cell with slowly flowing. The supersaturation could be applied in the waste water treatment. In this case the waste water, which is in the atmospheric equilibrum, is introduced in a closed space where the depression is 0,3 – 0,5 bar. Our paper presents the hypobaric flotation cell and the technological flow of cleaning of domestic waste water

Assessment of explosion risk for wood dust in a ventilation-dust separation installation, by determining the concentration of total dust in suspension inside of the installation

Most of combustible dusts present both fire and explosion hazard. Explosion may occur at certain concentrations of dust mixed with air and in the presence of an ignition source. The threat posed by this real danger was confirmed by the events that took place in economic units such as: feed factories, wood products, textile industry, steel, etc. Among the parameters of explosiveness of combustible dust, which can cause an explosion, we mention: maximum explosion pressure, lower explosion limit, explosive index, minimum ignition energy, electrical resistivity of dust, minimum ignition temperature of dust layer and cloud, particle size and concentration of dust in suspension. The current paper presents the results of determinations of combustible wood dust concentrations, performed at an important economic unit, manufacturing veneer and wood panels, at a dusting ventilation installation composed of fan, cyclone and textile filter. These determinations were made in the pipe connecting the fan and the bag filter, to assess possible danger of explosion in the pipe, by relating the measured concentration to the lower explosion limit (concentration of wood dust)

Performing comparative determinations on pollutant immissions through reference methods and by means of infrared spectroscopy

Atmospheric pollutants come from a series of anthropic activities and natural processes. When feeding large amounts of polluting species into the atmospheric layer, the issue of air pollution phenomenology is stated. Atmospheric pollution implies a risk generated by exposure to harmful substances (under different forms of aggregation) for all living organisms in the biosphere. This paper aims to identify the possibility of using an alternative method of determining air quality compared to currently used reference methods. There is the question of checking through statistical tools of the advantage of using a single determination to obtain the pollutant species and the gas concentrations Currently, carbon oxide concentration is determined by non-dispersive IR spectroscopy, nitrogen oxides are determined by chemiluminescence and sulphur dioxide is determined by UV fluorescence, these being the reference methods. For the achievement of highlighting results, the gas concentrations will be determined both by the reference methods and by an alternative method involving Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, imposing on the alternative method quality assurance criteria. By knowing the pollutant levels, can develop various air pollution control technologies and strategies in order to reduce air pollution, also design effective and economically efficient air pollution control strategies for human protection. Expected results involve data processing, obtained from field measurements of polluting species (CO, NOx SO2), through statistical instruments (repeatability / reproducibility limit, bias, accuracy and uncertainty of measurement) and establishing the framing of the results in the performance requirements imposed by the specialized literature in order to use modern methods for quantifying the level of air pollution