Functional agrobiodievrsity - a novel approach to optimize pest control in fruit production

Functional agrobiodiversity was implemented in organic apple orchards in Denmark, by perennial flower strips. Two techniques were tested with the purpose of enhancing natural enemies and reducing damage of the rosy apple aphid

Cognitive walkthrough - an element in system development and evaluation:experiences from the eWALL telehealth system

AbstractEpidemiological changes in the population lead to an increasing number of elderly people with a chronic disease. Telehealth is proposed as one of the solutions for the growing challenges of the health care system caused by these changes. The telehealth system eWALL seeks to promote the independent living of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mild cognitive impairment or age related impairments. The eWALL system is in a developmental stage in which partners from 14 different European countries are included. A three phase cognitive walkthrough-approach was performed on the eWALL system in order to evaluate the usability of the system. First the cognitive walkthrough performed by experts, second, rating of the identified usability problems identified by other medical partners, and third, discussion on a plenary telecommunication call among medical partners and technical partners. (n=119) usability problems were identified distributed among the 14 functionalities of the telehealth system. The majority of the usability problems were discovered in the functionalities: ‘TV’ (n=21), ‘Calendar’ (n=20), and ‘Environmental box’ (n=18). The least usability problems were identified in the functionalities: ‘My sleep’ (n=1), ‘Photo frame’ (n=2), and ‘My Everyday Life’ (n=3).The results of the cognitive walkthrough served as a concrete, structured and constructive collaborative tool between the medical partners and the technical partners involved in the eWALL project

Self‐Assembled Monolayers of Carbohydrate Derivatives on Gold Surfaces

Self‐assembled monolayers (SAMs) presenting carbohydrates (glycans) have been widely prepared on gold surfaces to mimic the carbohydrate surfaces that are involved in molecular recognition phenomena in living cells. The binding affinity of carbohydrate immbolized on SAM surfaces to various carbohydrate‐binding proteins (such as lectins) can be studied by optical, electrochemical, piezoelectrical and thermal sensing techniques. The lectins present on the surface of pathogens (e.g., bacteria or viruses) can be used as targets for capturing onto carbohydrates immobilized on SAM surfaces. The immobilized carbohydrates can also be used for detecting different types of disease biomarkers present in bodily fluids. Synergistic properties of carbohydrate SAMs and gold nanoparticles can be used for vaccine preparation and drug delivery. By studying different types of glycans, their properties, and the behavior toward recognition of specific pathogens and biomarkers, we can develop not only new therapeutics but also enhance the diagnostic strategies of various diseases. In this chapter, we discuss carbohydrate‐terminated SAMs and their common preparation strategies. Next, we focus on roles of different components of SAMs, characterization techniques, and applications

Difference in membrane repair capacity between cancer cell lines and a normal cell line

Electroporation-based treatments and other therapies that permeabilize the plasma membrane have been shown to be more devastating to malignant cells than to normal cells. In this study, we asked if a difference in repair capacity could explain this observed difference in sensitivity. Membrane repair was investigated by disrupting the plasma membrane using laser followed by monitoring fluorescent dye entry over time in seven cancer cell lines, an immortalized cell line, and a normal primary cell line. The kinetics of repair in living cells can be directly recorded using this technique, providing a sensitive index of repair capacity. The normal primary cell line of all tested cell lines exhibited the slowest rate of dye entry after laser disruption and lowest level of dye uptake. Significantly, more rapid dye uptake and a higher total level of dye uptake occurred in six of the seven tested cancer cell lines (p < 0.05) as well as the immortalized cell line (p < 0.001). This difference in sensitivity was also observed when a viability assay was performed one day after plasma membrane permeabilization by electroporation. Viability in the primary normal cell line (98 % viable cells) was higher than in the three tested cancer cell lines (81–88 % viable cells). These data suggest more effective membrane repair in normal, primary cells and supplement previous explanations why electroporation-based therapies and other therapies permeabilizing the plasma membrane are more effective on malignant cells compared to normal cells in cancer treatment