Development and Test Results of a Calorimetric Technique for Solar Thermal Testing Loops, Enabling Mass Flow and Cp Measurements Independent from Fluid Properties of the HTF Used

Thermal heat transfer fluids (HTF) used in solar collectors (e.g. synthetic oils) are known to age and degrade [1]. This degradation is impossible to control, affecting the fluid heat transfer capacity and thus the ability of measuring the performance of an HTF heating device (e.g. a solar collector) based on known specific heat values. Collector testing is also crucially dependent on an accurate measurement of HTF mass flow rate. Such measurement relies on flow meters suitable for the accuracy, operating temperature and flow range requirements of the testing procedures, often an expensive and demanding component in particular when no-intrusive measurements are to be done ia a close circuit. For power measurement purposes, as those performed in solar collector testing procedures, a direct measurement of the product between specific heat and mass flow rather than a separate measurement of both quantities is suitable. A calorimetric technique delivering this direct measurement is thus a suitable strategy to overcome such difficulties with acceptable (and even higher) measurement accuracy. Solutions of this kind have already been proposed [2,3]. In this paper we revisit and improve the solution presented in [2] and demonstrate its usefulness in a solar collector testing loop, for temperatures up to 200 °C. A calorimeter prototype was thoroughly tested and calibrated with water as HTF (enabling accurate independent measurement of specific heat and mass flow rates values). Calorimeter calibration results where then used in the testing with thermal oil whose specific heat values were previously known from manufacturer and independent laboratory measurements. A comparison of Cp measured by the calorimeter with the value given by the HTF manufacturer is used to test the calorimeter capacities. The agreement achieved was very good. It is noted that the technique can be easily implemented in any high temperature loops, large or small

Development of polyclonal antibodies for the detection of recombinant human erythropoietin

Recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) is detected by using direct pharmacological assays and indirect haematological assays. However, both methods have several limitations including technical challenges and  cost-related issues. The aim of this study was to develop polyclonal antibodies against rHuEPO (anti-rHuEPO pAb) that can be used in immunoassays. In this study, we purified anti-rHuEPO pAb that could be used in immunoblotting assays to efficiently detect rHuEPO. Furthermore, these antirHuEPO pAb which could also detect rHuEPO that was expressed in a eukaryotic expression system (CHO cells). Thus, the anti-rHuEPO pAb developed in this study may be useful for rHuEPO detection.Keywords: Antibodies, rHuEPO, immunoassays, pAb.African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(37), pp. 5595-559

SoundAnchoring: Content-based Exploration of Music Collections With Anchored Self-organized Maps

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Substituted diaryl diselenides: Cytotoxic and apoptotic effect in human colon adenocarcinoma cells

AbstractAimsTo investigate the effects and study the underlying cell death mechanisms of diaryl diselenides, including: diphenyl diselenide (C6H5Se)2; 4-chlorodiphenyl diselenide (4-ClC6H4Se)2; 3-(trifluoromethyl)-diphenyl diselenide (3-CF3C6H4Se)2 and 4-methoxydiphenyl diselenide (4-MeOC6H4Se)2, on the human colon adenocarcinoma cell line HT-29.Main methodsThe viability of HT-29 cells after exposure to the diaryl diselenides and its substituted structures was based on the MTT assay. To verify if cell death was mediated throughout apoptosis mechanisms, flow cytometry and real-time PCR (qPCR) analyses were conducted.Key findingsThe MTT assay and flow cytometry analyses showed that (3-CF3C6H4Se)2 and (4-MeOC6H4Se)2 induced cytotoxicity through apoptosis mechanisms in HT-29 cells. qPCR revealed there was an up-regulation of pro-apoptotic (Bax, casapase-9, caspase-8, apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) and Endonuclease G (EndoG)) and cell-cycle arrest genes (p53 and p21) and down-regulation of anti-apoptotic (Bcl-2 and survivin) and Myc genes.SignificanceThese results demonstrate that (3-CF3C6H4Se)₂ and (4-MeOC6H4Se)2 have the potential to induce apoptosis in HT-29 cells through the activation of caspase-dependent and independent pathways and through cell-cycle arrest

Resina Adesiva Experimental com Adição de Vidro Bioativo

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