27 research outputs found
Removal of Hepatitis B virus surface HBsAg and core HBcAg antigens using microbial fuel cells producing electricity from human urine
© 2019, The Author(s). Microbial electrochemical technology is emerging as an alternative way of treating waste and converting this directly to electricity. Intensive research on these systems is ongoing but it currently lacks the evaluation of possible environmental transmission of enteric viruses originating from the waste stream. In this study, for the first time we investigated this aspect by assessing the removal efficiency of hepatitis B core and surface antigens in cascades of continuous flow microbial fuel cells. The log-reduction (LR) of surface antigen (HBsAg) reached a maximum value of 1.86 ± 0.20 (98.6% reduction), which was similar to the open circuit control and degraded regardless of the recorded current. Core antigen (HBcAg) was much more resistant to treatment and the maximal LR was equal to 0.229 ± 0.028 (41.0% reduction). The highest LR rate observed for HBsAg was 4.66 ± 0.19 hâ1 and for HBcAg 0.10 ± 0.01 hâ1. Regression analysis revealed correlation between hydraulic retention time, power and redox potential on inactivation efficiency, also indicating electroactive behaviour of biofilm in open circuit control through the snorkel-effect. The results indicate that microbial electrochemical technologies may be successfully applied to reduce the risk of environmental transmission of hepatitis B virus but also open up the possibility of testing other viruses for wider implementation
Questions and Answers on the Belgian Model of Integral End-of-Life Care: Experiment? Prototype?
Adaptation of a microbead assay for the easy evaluation of traditional anti-sickling medicines: application to DREPANOSTAT and FACA
Dihydroroseoside, a new cyclohexanone glucoside, from the leaves of shirakamba (Betula platyphylla Sukatchev var.japonica Hara)
Conditioned medium from activated spleen cells supports the survival of rat retinal cells in vitro
Cytokines are a heterogeneous group of molecules that have been associated with several functions in the nervous system, such as survival and differentiation of neuronal and glial cells. In the present study, we demonstrated that conditioned medium from spleen cells activated with concanavalin A increased neuritogenesis and survival of retinal cells, as measured by biochemical and morphological criteria. Our data showed that conditioned medium induced a five-fold increase in the amount of protein after 120 h in vitro. This effect was not inhibited by the blockade of voltage-dependent L-type calcium channels with 5.0 ”M nifedipine. However, the use of an intracellular calcium chelator (15.0 ”M BAPTA-AM) inhibited this effect. Our results support the idea that factors secreted by activated lymphocytes, such as cytokines, can modulate the maintenance and the differentiation of rat retinal cells in vitro, indicating a possible role of these molecules in the development of retinal cells, as well as in its protection against pathological condition