Experimental study on the flame acceleration of premixed hydrocarbons-hydrogen/air mixtures in tee pipes

The benefits of using hydrogen as a source of fuel seem to be limited due to a number of difficulties. To overcome the drawbacks of hydrogen, hydrocarbon-hydrogen fuel mixtures are the best substitutions. However, in literature, the flame acceleration of hydrogen-hydrocarbons/air mixtures in tee pipes has not yet been fully explored. Thus, the aim of this work is to report some new experimental data and provide an understanding of the explosion development in the geometry of tee pipes. In this study, premixed C2H4-H2/air, NG-H2/air and C3H8-H2/air mixtures with different ratios of 10:90, 30:70, 50:50, 70:30 and 90:10 were ignited at six ignition positions at two tee pipe configurations. Hydrocarbon fuels were considered as the primary gases. For the overall observation, it can be said that the flame reactivity of ethylene-hydrogen/air and NG-hydrogen/air was much higher. The kinetic reaction of these mixtures contributed to the overall explosion development. However, the dynamics of flame deployment in the tee junctions had a significant effect on the recorded maximum overpressure and flame speeds along the pipes. Moreover, the obtained data show that the lower distance of tee junction to ignition point caused a higher explosion severity in terms of the rate of pressure rise

Single-walled carbon nanotube, multi-walled carbon nanotube and Fe2O3 nanoparticles induced mitochondria mediated apoptosis in melanoma cells

Purpose: Nanomaterials (NM) exhibit novel anticancer properties. Materials and methods: The toxicity of three nanoparticles that are currently being produced in high tonnage including single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and Fe2O3 nanoparticles, were compared with normal and melanoma cells. Results: All tested nanoparticles induced selective toxicity and caspase 3 activation through mitochondria pathway in melanoma cells and mitochondria cause the generating of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential decline (MMP collapse), mitochondria swelling, and cytochrome c release. The pretreatment of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a cell-permeable antioxidant and cyclosporine A (Cs. A), a mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), pore sealing agent decreased cytotoxicity, caspase 3 activation, ROS generation, and mitochondrial damages induced by SWCNT, MWCNT, and IONPs. Conclusions: Our promising results provide a potential approach for the future therapeutic use of SWCNT, MWCNT, and IONPs in melanoma through mitochondrial targeting. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Single-walled carbon nanotube, multi-walled carbon nanotube and Fe2O3 nanoparticles induced mitochondria mediated apoptosis in melanoma cells

Purpose: Nanomaterials (NM) exhibit novel anticancer properties. Materials and methods: The toxicity of three nanoparticles that are currently being produced in high tonnage including single-walled carbon nanotube (SWCNT), multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and Fe2O3 nanoparticles, were compared with normal and melanoma cells. Results: All tested nanoparticles induced selective toxicity and caspase 3 activation through mitochondria pathway in melanoma cells and mitochondria cause the generating of reactive oxygen species (ROS), mitochondrial membrane potential decline (MMP collapse), mitochondria swelling, and cytochrome c release. The pretreatment of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), a cell-permeable antioxidant and cyclosporine A (Cs. A), a mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT), pore sealing agent decreased cytotoxicity, caspase 3 activation, ROS generation, and mitochondrial damages induced by SWCNT, MWCNT, and IONPs. Conclusions: Our promising results provide a potential approach for the future therapeutic use of SWCNT, MWCNT, and IONPs in melanoma through mitochondrial targeting. © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Toxicological assessment of 3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) as a main contaminant of foodstuff in three different in vitro models: Involvement of oxidative stress and cell death signaling pathway

3-Monochloropropane-1,2-diol (3-MCPD) as a main source of food contamination has always been known as a carcinogenic agent. Kidney, liver, testis, and heart seem to be the main target organs for 3-MCPD. Because oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been realized to be involved in 3-MCPD-induced cytotoxicity, the present study aimed to investigate the probable toxicity mechanisms of 3-MCPD in isolated mitochondria, HEK-293 cell line, and cell isolated from the ratsâ�� liver and kidney through measuring multiparametric oxidative stress assay. Based on the data indicating no significant difference between 3-MCPD-treated groups and control group, metabolites of 3-MCPD have a key role in organ toxicity caused by them. To further investigating the suggested hypothesis, the effect of 3-MCPD toxicity on HEK-293 cell line was examined. Although the proliferation declined after exposure to a low dose of 3-MCPD (10 to 200 µM), controversial responses in higher concentration (2 to 10 mM) have led to studies on the effect of oxidative stress and cell death signaling on isolated kidney and liver cells. Treatment of the isolated kidney and liver cells with 3-MCPD resulted in an increase in the level of reactive oxygen species (ROS), the collapse of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and activation of cell death signaling without creating any significant difference in the amount of reduced glutathione. In fact, 3-MCPD can disrupt the mitochondrial electron transfer in isolated cells, which is correlated with the impairment of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation system, the rise of ROS level, and the failure of MMP, leading to the release of cytochrome c from mitochondria to cytosol and finally the activation of cell death signaling. © 2020 Institute of Food TechnologistsÂ

Metal-Based Nanostructures/PLGA Nanocomposites: Antimicrobial Activity, Cytotoxicity, and Their Biomedical Applications

Among the different synthetic polymers developed for biomedical applications, poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has attracted considerable attention because of its excellent biocompatibility and biodegradability. Nanocomposites based on PLGA and metal-based nanostructures (MNSs) have been employed extensively as an efficient strategy to improve the structural and functional properties of PLGA polymer. The MNSs have been used to impart new properties to PLGA, such as antimicrobial properties and labeling. In the present review, the different strategies available for the fabrication of MNS/PLGA nanocomposites and their applications in the biomedical field will be discussed, beginning with a description of the preparation routes, antimicrobial activity, and cytotoxicity concerns of MNS/PLGA nanocomposites. The biomedical applications of these nanocomposites, such as carriers and scaffolds in tissue regeneration and other therapies are subsequently reviewed. In addition, the potential advantages of using MNS/PLGA nanocomposites in treatment illnesses are analyzed based on in vitro and in vivo studies, to support the potential of these nanocomposites in future research in the biomedical field. © 2019 American Chemical Society

Effectiveness of diluent gases on hydrogen flame propagation in tee pipe (part II) – Influence of tee junction position

Gas explosions in obstructed vessels have been investigated for many years. However, the flame acceleration mechanism of enriched-hydrogen fuels with diluents in the piping system has received little systematic study in the literature. This particular study aimed to analyse the flame front mechanism of hydrogen-diluents/air explosion inside the pipe by considering the influence of tee junction distance from the ignition points. The tests were performed using H2/diluents-air at different concentrations and ignition positions, in two different tee junction pipe configurations. From the results, the worst case of explosion severity was found in 95% H2–2.5% Ar–2.5% N2/air for all ignition positions. In general, if ignition happened at the tee junction, the overpressure and rate of pressure rise profiles showed almost a similar trend on both configurations. Similar trend was also observed for the flame flow characteristic analysis. Overall, it was clearly demonstrated that a shorter distance between ignition point and obstacles resulted in higher explosion severity

Gold nanorods reinforced silk fibroin nanocomposite for peripheral nerve tissue engineering applications

Nowadays, regenerating peripheral nerves injuries (PNIs) remain a major clinical challenge, which has gained a great attention between scientists. Here, we represent a nanocomposite based on silk fibroin reinforced gold nanorods (SF/GNRs) to evaluate the proliferation and attachment of PC12 cells. The morphological characterization of nanocomposites with transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that the fabricated scaffolds have porous structure with interconnected pores that is suitable for cell adhesion and growth. GNRs significantly improved the poor electrical conductivity of bulk silk fibroin scaffold. Evaluating the morphology of PC12 cells on the scaffold also confirmed the normal morphology of cells with good rate of adhesion. SF/GNRs nanocomposites showed better cellular attachment, growth and proliferation without any toxicity compared with bulk SF scaffold. Moreover, immunostaining studies represented the overexpression of neural specific proteins like nestin and neuron specific enolase (NSE) in the cells cultured on SF/GNRs nanocomposites in comparison to neat SF scaffolds. © 2019 Elsevier B.V