Amount Of Uptake Research Articles

Hydrodeoxygenation of m-cresol as a depolymerized lignin probe molecule: Synergistic effect of NiCo supported alloys

Three bimetallic Ni-Co (Ni:Co ratio 1:3, 1:1 and 3:1) and two monometallic (Ni and Co) nanoparticles supported on Al2O3 were synthesized by incipient wet impregnation and characterized by various technics (N2-physisorption, XRD, H2-TPR, CO-chemisorption and elemental analysis). It was demonstrated by XRD that NiCo alloys nanoparticles were present on bimetallic solids. The catalytic properties of all catalysts were determined for the hydrodeoxygenation of m-cresol at 340 °C under 4 MPa of total pressure. It was demonstrated that NiCo alloy developed better deoxygenation catalytic properties than pure Ni metallic phase, these properties being evaluated both by the total reaction rate (kTOT) and the selectivity into deoxygenation products. Indeed, bimetallic NiCo(3:1)/Al2O3 was 1.2 times more active than Ni/Al2O3 and 8.8 times than Co/Al2O3, deoxygenated products being favored on bimetallic catalysts compared to Ni one. In addition, the kTOT values seems to be related to the amount of CO uptakes, indicating that active sites in HDO were of similar nature than those allowing the adsorption of CO, and could be oxygen vacancies which were promoted in bimetallic Ni-Co particles.

Multi-functionalized Cellulosic Biomass by Plasma-Assisted Bonding of α-Amino Carboxylic Acid to Enhance the Removal of Ibuprofen in Aqueous Solution

The present study concerns the removal of ibuprofen (IBP) from aqueous medium using glycine grafted plasma-modified cocoa shell as an effective and promising sorbent. The plasma pretreatment prior to the grafting process creates hydroxyl (–OH), carbonyl (–CO) and carboxyl (–COOH) groups, which were used as binder sites for glycine graft immobilization. The grafting technique was successful as an IR spectra of grafted biosorbent exhibited specific functional groups (N–H, C–N, –OH, C=O, COOH), which were characteristics of newly formed atomic bonds. The attachment to biomass was made through a single glycine and a glycine dipeptide esterified. The results of the removal tests demonstrated that the amounts of IBP uptake at equilibrium were higher with glycine grafted biomass (BG) than un-grafted, so going from 15.24 to 19.88 mg/g for initial 20 mg/L IBP and from 23.18 to 26.98 mg/g for 30 mg/L IBP. Amongst the tested kinetics model to predict adsorption behavior of the experimental results, the Avrami fractional-order model was the most suitable. The values of ΔH° and ΔG° suggested a spontaneous and exothermic process, which is typical for physical interaction in accordance with the Liu best-fitted isotherm model.

Adsorption of Reactive Blue 4 Dye onto Chitosan 10B in Aqueous Solution: Kinetic Modeling and Isotherm Analysis

The reactive blue 4 (RB4) dye adsorption onto chitosan 10B was studied in aqueous solution as a function of contact time, dye concentrations, ionic strength, temperature and solution pHs. The dye adsorption kinetics validated a pseudo second-order model while the rate determining step followed intraparticle diffusion mechanism. The equilibrium dye adsorption isotherms were nicely fitted with the Langmuir model. The maximum amount of dye uptake onto chitosan 10B was found to be 95.24 μmol/g. The mean adsorption energy (E) from the Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherm, the activation energy (Ea) from Arrhenius equation and apparent thermodynamic parameters such as changes in standard free energy (∆G°), standard enthalpy (∆H°) and standard entropy (∆S°) indicate that the present adsorption is a spontaneous endothermic physisorption process. Desorption of RB4 from dye-loaded chitosan was tested in NaOH solution (pH 13) and the chitosan flakes can be reused.

Microphase Arrangement of Smart Superhydrophilic Segmented Polyurethanes at Their Interface with Water.

Smart coatings have aroused a growing interest because of the performance of predefined surface functions upon reacting to external stimuli. Among them, responsive polymer coatings to water, which often benefit from the presence of a mobile hydrophilic material, are of great interest. Polyurethanes (PUs) are versatile materials with respect to the structure-property relationship. Therefore, the incorporation of hydrophilic segments in PUs is a rational way to produce water-sensitive smart coatings; however, having a considerable amount of hydrophilic material deteriorates the physical properties because of a large amount of water uptake. In this study, we have analyzed previously synthesized smart PUs, based on hydrophobic polycarbonate (PC) and hydrophilic polyethylene glycol (PEG) soft segments, in which only a limited amount of PEG is used. These coatings maintain, more or less, zero water contact angle, whereas the water uptake remains below 15 wt %. The combination of experimental analysis and coarse-grained molecular dynamics (CG MD) simulations reveals that PEG segments migrate to the coating/water interface and partially cover the surface, whereas the hydrophobic nature of the PC keeps the bulk of the coating intact when the coating is covered with water. Moreover, our CG MD simulations and experimental analysis suggest a reversible phase arrangement under wet/dry cycles on molecular and macroscopic scales.

Ultra-small nanodots coated with oligopeptides providing highly negative charges to enhance osteogenic differentiation of hBMSCs better than osteogenic induction medium

For bone regenerative engineering, it is a promising method to form skeletal tissues differentiating from human bone morrow mesenchyme stem cells (hBMSCs). However, it is still a critical challenge to efficiently control ostogenesis and clearly reveal the influence factor. To this end, the fluorescent gold nanodots (Au NDs) with highly negative charges as osteogenic induction reagent are successfully synthesized, which display better than commercial osteogenic induction medium through the investigations of ALP activity (2.5 folds) and cytoskeleton staining (1.5 folds). Two kinds of oligopeptides with different bio-structures (cysteine, Cys and glutathione, GSH) are selected for providing surficial charges on Au NDs. It is revealed that Au-Cys with more negative charges (−51 mV) play better role than Au-GSH (−19 mV) in osteogenic differentiation, when both of them have same size (∼2 nm), sphere shape and show similar cell uptake amount. To explore deeply, osteogenesis related signaling pathways are monitored, revealing that the enhancement of osteogenic differentiation was through autophagy signaling pathway triggered by Au-Cys. And the promotion of highly negative charges in osteogenic differentiation was further proved via sliver nanodots (Ag NDs, Ag-Cys and Ag-GSH) and carbon nanodots (CDs, Cys-CDs and GSH-CDs). This work indicates part of insights during hBMSCs differentiation and provides a novel strategy in osteogenic differentiation process.

An insight into anti-adipogenic properties of an Oroxylum indicum (L.) Kurz extract

BackgroundOroxylum indicum fruit extract (OIE) has been reported to inhibit the development of adipocytes. However, the exact mechanism of its metabolic activity is not clearly defined. This study attempted to investigate whether OIE was involved in disrupting the cell cycle, glucose metabolism, and mitochondrial function in 3 T3-L1 cells.MethodsThe effect of the OIE on cell cycle progression was measured by flow cytometry along with observing the expression of the cycle regulator by immunoblotting. The effect of the OIE on glucose metabolism was investigated. The amount of glucose uptake (2-NBDG) influenced by insulin was determined as well as the protein tyrosine phosphorylation (PY20), and glucose transporter4 (GLUT4) expression was determined by immunoblotting assay. Mitochondria are also essential to metabolic processes. This study investigated mitochondrial activity using fluorescent lipophilic carbocyanine dye (JC-1) and mitochondria mass by MitoTracker Green (MTG) staining fluorescence dyes. Finally, cellular ATP concentration was measured using an ATP chemiluminescence assay.ResultsTreatment with OIE plus adipogenic stimulators for 24 h arrested cell cycle progression in the G2/M phase. Moreover, 200 μg/mL of OIE significantly diminished the expression of the insulin receptor (IR) and GLUT4 protein compared to the untreated-adipocytes (P < 0.05). The mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) was significantly reduced (24 h) and increased (day 12) by OIE compared to untreated-adipocytes (P < 0.05). However, OIE maintained MMP and ATP at a similar level compared to the pre-adipocytes (day 12). Transmission electron microscope (TEM) results demonstrated that OIE could protect mitochondria deformation compared to the untreated-adipocytes.ConclusionThese results suggest that the inhibitory effect of the OIE on adipogenesis may potentially inhibit the cell cycle and phosphorylation of IR, leading to a decrease in glucose uptake to the cells. The OIE also slows down the mitochondrial activity of the early phase of cell differentiation, which can also inhibit the development of fat cells.

Poly-γ-glutamic acid improves water-stable aggregates, nitrogen and phosphorus uptake efficiency, water-fertilizer productivity, and economic benefit in barren desertified soils of Northwest China

Poly-γ-glutamic acid (γ-PGA) is proposed as an environmentally friendly super water-absorbable agent and fertilizer synergist. However, the influences of γ-PGA on soil aggregates, crop growth, nutrient uptake, water-fertilizer productivity, and economic benefit are still not well-understood. The objective of this study was therefore to explore the effects of γ-PGA on soil water storage (SWS), water-stable aggregates, aboveground dry matter, nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) uptake amount and efficiency, cotton yield, irrigation water productivity (IWP), partial factor productivity (PFP) for fertilizer (N, P, and K), and cost-benefit analysis in desertified soil of Northwest China. A field experiment, which consisted of five γ-PGA application rates (0, 20, 40, 80, and 160 kg ha−1, labeled as CK, P20, P40, P80, and P160), was conducted in the cotton growing seasons of 2015 and 2016. The results showed that γ-PGA application significantly increased the SWS of root zone and decreased water consumption. γ-PGA application significantly enhanced the proportion of soil macro-aggregates and the mean weight diameter (MWD) of water-stable aggregates. Compared with the CK, γ-PGA application significantly improved aboveground dry matter, cotton yield, N and P uptake amount and efficiency, IWP, and PFP for fertilizer (N, P, and K). Moreover, γ-PGA application significantly increased net profit of the farmer compared with the CK. However, water-fertilizer productivity and net profit could not maintain a trend of continuous increase with increasing γ-PGA application rates. According to analyzing the production and net profit functions of γ-PGA application, we found that the highest water-fertilizer productivity and net profit were achieved when γ-PGA application rate was 65 kg ha−1. Therefore, this study suggested that 65 kg ha−1 might be recommended as an appropriate γ-PGA application strategy to deal with water scarcity and improve economic benefit and water-fertilizer productivity in barren desertified soils of Northwest China.

Least Significant Changes and Reproducibility of 131I Uptake Test.

Radioactive iodine uptake (RAIU) is one of the important tests performed in the departments of nuclear medicine, testing thyroid function by measuring the amount of 131I uptake after oral administration. A RAIU value measured 4 and 24 h after administration has been widely used for differential diagnosis of thyroid function and for the calculation of treatment dose. This study was performed to define practical methods for reproducibility and least significant change (LSC) values replicating thyroid measurements. In the study were 119 patients referred to the nuclear medicine department for examination of thyroid gland function with the diagnosis of Graves' disease (60), toxic multinodular goiter (29), thyroiditis (10), thyroid cancer (6), and unknown etiology (14). The level of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) among the patients was 2.07 ± 6.74 μIU mL-1. RAIU measurements were carried out by two different technicians, who have performed an equal number of measurements from each diagnosis in reference to the clinical diagnosis. Measurement of each patient was performed twice at 4 and 24 h after the administration under stable geometry and counting conditions using a standard procedure. Data were evaluated using statistical methods. For assessment of the reproducibility, three parameters were used: reproducibility coefficient (RC), the root-mean-square standard deviation (SDRMS), and the least significant change values. The average RAIU values of the first and second measurements were found as 23.71 ± 16.52% and 23.94 ± 16.64% at 4 h (p >0.05), and 35.33 ± 19.22% and 35.49 ± 19.19% at 24 h (p >0.05), respectively. For thyroid uptake values repeated at 4 and 24 h after radioiodine administration, the mean difference was found to be -0.24 ± 0.62% [limits of agreement (%); -1.44 to 0.97] at 4 h and -0.16 ± 0.44% [limits of agreement (%); -1.02 to 0.70] at 24 h. Confidence intervals were within the limits of agreement (d̅-1.96 SD and d̅+1.96 SD). When the correlation between the repeated RAIU measurements was examined taking the differences and averages into account, there was a negative correlation between 4-h measurement pairs (r=-0.203, p <0.05). On the other hand, a significant correlation was not found between the 24-h measurement pairs (r=0.074, p >0.05). RC, SDRMS, and LSC were calculated as 0.70%, 0.46%, and 1.29% for the 4 h measurements and 0.54%, 0.33%, and 0.91% for the 24-h measurements, respectively. Although there was a minor difference between measurement pairs at 4 and 24 h post-administration, the difference appeared to be insignificant without an apparent effect in the clinical settings.

Effects of physiochemical characteristic of nano-sized TiO2 on the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells

Nano-sized titanium dioxide (TiO2) particles are produced on a large scale and are widely used. However, the effects of exposure to nano-sized TiO2 particles on the cardiovascular system remain elusive. The present study investigated how the crystal structure and surface characteristics of nano-sized TiO2 particles affect the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells, which is an essential process in atherosclerogenesis. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and human monocytic leukemia cells (THP-1) were exposed to anatase (NM102), rutile hydrophobic (NM103), and rutile hydrophilic (NM104) TiO2 nanoparticles. Incubation of HUVECs with NM102, NM103, or NM104 at 100 μg/ml significantly reduced cell viability, and cell viability was also significantly reduced after exposure to 75 μg/ml of the anatase particles (NM102). Brief exposure to NM102 and NM103 increased the level of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) in HUVECs. Exposure to NM102 also upregulated the expression of lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) in THP-1 cells, resulting in enhanced adhesion of these cells to HUVECs. The amount of titanium uptake of NM102 in cells was higher than that of NM103 or NM104, as evidenced by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). To examine the effects of long-term exposure to nano-sized TiO2 on the process of atherosclerosis, apolipoprotein E deficient (ApoE−/−) mice were exposed to TiO2 NPs (NM102, NM103, or NM104 at 10 or 40 μg/mouse) by pharyngeal aspiration once every other week for 10 weeks. As the results, NM102 (40 μg/mouse) increased plaque formation in the aorta, and this increase correlated with a significant upregulation of ICAM-1 and F4/80 expression in the aorta. Anatase, but not rutile, TiO2 nanoparticles promoted the adhesion of monocytes to endothelial cells, and enhanced atherosclerogenesis in a susceptible animal model.

The Antihelminthic Drug, Mebendazole, Induces Apoptosis in Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma Cancer Cells: In-Vitro Trial.

Background: Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is a poor prognostic Hematopoietic malignancy with various therapeutic challenges, which had been classified as non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The Drug switching, as a novel, innovative and promising approach, is an opportunity to overcoming on therapeutic challenges of hard-treating disease, e.g. ATLL. Our aim is evaluating the antiproliferative and apoptotic effect of Mebendazole (MBZ) on ATLL cancer cells in in-vitro conditions. Materials and Methods: We used Jurkat cell-line as ATLL cancer cells. After treatment of MBZ in different concentrations on jurkat cells, the cell viabilities were determined by MTT assay. After IC50 value determination, the 24-, 48- and 72-h treatments had been performed in IC50 concentration and control to evaluating the quantitative apoptosis rate by Annexin/PI Flowcytometry and qualitative apoptosis by DAPI Nuclear staining. Also, Glucose spectrophotometry were performed to evaluate the reduced amount of glucose uptake through MBZ treatment. Results: MBZ inhibits proliferation of jurkat cells and IC50 value had been estimated 10 μM (P< 0.01). According to the flowcytometric results, increasing in drug concentration is associated with decrease cell viability and the percentage of full-apoptosis. However, it inversely correlates with percentage of early-apoptosis rate. Also, the microscopic captures of DAPI Nuclear staining confirms the flowcytometry results in qualitative manner. In addition, it was found that inhibition of glucose uptake was inversely correlated with increased MBZ concentration (P< 0.05). Conclusion: MBZ potentially inhibits the proliferation of ATLL cancer cells in in-vitro condition. MBZ inhibits the growth of Jurkat cells by inducing apoptosis. Also, we suggest that indirectly inhibition of Glucose transporting occurs by MBZ, which could induce apoptosis in cancer cells.

Kinetic and thermodynamic study of CO2 storage in reversible gellan gum supported dry water clathrates

The effects of "Dry Gel" on the carbon dioxide hydrate formation and storage capacity were studied. Gel-supported dry water (Dry Gel) was prepared by mixing gelling agents, hydrophobic silica nanoparticles, water, and air in a high-speed blender. The kinetic parameters of carbon dioxide hydrate formation such as mole of consumed gas, induction time, gas uptake rate, storage capacity, final conversion of water to hydrate, and apparent rate constant were investigated in the presence of dry gel with different gel strength (0 to 15 wt.%) at two silica ratios (5 and 10 wt.%). The experiments of hydrate formation were performed using a 200 cc stainless-steel vessel with and without stirring under the initial condition of 21 bars and 15 °C. Meanwhile, the thermodynamic recyclability of both dry water and dry gels over multiple hydrate cycles were studied. Besides, we utilized the diffusion-reaction kinetics model of Englezos and Bishnoi for calculating the apparent rate constant of hydrate growth. The van der Waals-platteeuw model, through a reversed micelle approach, was used to obtain hydrate phase equilibrium conditions. Results revealed that the amount of gas uptake increased significantly in both dry water and dry gel systems compared to pure water. It was found that dry gel with 15 wt.% gellan gum could substantially improve the storage and recyclability of CO2 hydrate by decreasing the decay percent from 68.8 to 5.1 over repeating seven hydrate cycles.Moreover, the more Nano-silica content, the better the storage repeatability was observed. It was also shown that the equilibrium hydrate formation conditions were approximately stable in the presence of dry gels. Mixing seemed to be critical for multiple freezing-thawing hydrate cycles since it could reduce the reaction and induction time significantly. Finally, the dry water and dry gel can be used as a promising platform for carbon dioxide capturing using clathrate through the recyclability of hydrate formation.

Effects of Mono-Ammonium Phosphate and K-Humate Applications on Grain Yield and Phosphorus Uptake Efficiency of Bread Wheat Crop (Triticum aestivum L.)

Study was aimed to determine the effect of mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP, NH4H2PO4) and K-Humate application on grain yield and grain phosphorus uptake efficiency which applied on Central Anatolian calcareous and basic reaction soil. The research was conducted at Bahri Dağdaş Agricultural Research Institute field in dry conditions during 2018 - 19 to determine the effect of phosphorus doses @ 0, 17.5 and 35.0 kg ha-1 and K-Humate @ 0 and 12 kg ha-1 on Bayraktar 2000 variety of bread wheat crop grain yield, agronomic (AE), physiological (PE) and apparent recovery (AR) phosphorus uptake efficiency.&#x0D; Results of the research revealed that increased phosphorus rate, enhances grain yield and amount of grain phosphorus uptake increase, while the grain AE, PE and AR were decreasing significantly. Additionally, with the K-Humate application with respect to control, the grain yield was positively affected in P0 and P17.5, while the grain phosphorus uptake amount was increased by 13%, in the P35 application the grain yield and the grain phosphorus uptake amount decreased by 9% and 5% respectively. In another direction, with the K-Humate application depending on control, in P17.5 application grain AE and AR were increased by 13% and 12% respectively, while grain PE decreased by 54%. Besides, with the K-Humate application according to control and in the P35 application grain AE, PE and AR were decreased by 66%, 51% and 40% respectively.

The toxicity mechanism of different sized iron nanoparticles on human breast cancer (MCF7) cells

The toxicity mechanism of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) were examined multidimensionally to reduce the toxicity risks. A higher dosage and more suitable size of SPIONs enhanced the uptake amount into MCF7 cells, leading to a higher specific uptake rate of SPIONs with the formation of more reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS was an intrinsic factor of cell death. Interestingly, the smaller SPIONs (S1) liked to produce more ROS in mitochondria to damage mitochondria, while the larger SPIONs (S2 and S3) promoted ROS yield in plasma to destroy cytomembrane. Furthermore, ROS synthesis pathways were the partial of cell death pathways, and ferroptosis pathway was the main contributor to mitochondrial and cytomembrane damage. Meanwhile, ROS amount was well coincided to gene expression level of these cell death pathways, which inferred RNA-seq might be a new method to evaluate the oxidative stress and potential toxicity of nanomaterials.

Effect of acceptor and donor doping on the state of protons in block-layered structures based on BaLaInO4

The present work describes the effect of acceptor and donor doping on the state of protons in block-layered proton conductors based on BaLaInO4. It was proved that the increase of the dopant concentration (both Ba2+ and Ti4+) leads to the increase of the amount of water uptake and at the same time to the decrease in the contribution of protons, involved in the strong H-bonds. The main factor determined the increase of concentration of protonic species is not the nature of appeared oxygen defects (oxygen vacancy or oxygen interstitial), but the increase in the unit cell volume during doping.

Application of Octadecylamine-Based Adsorbent on Carbon Dioxide Capture

Porous surface of silica gel (SG) have been modified with alkyl fatty amine compounds (octadecylamine, ODA) via wet impregnation process. The ODA-based adsorbents were physically characterized by XRD. The presence of crystalline peaks on ODA/SG diffractograms were ascertained the well-dispersion of ODA on the SG surface. XRD analysis displayed the increasing intensity of crystalline ODA with higher percent amine loaded and shifting of the several crystalline peaks of ODA verified the interaction of SG600-ODA. Capacity of CO2 capture by prepared solid adsorbents were evaluated using CO2 adsorption-desorption isotherms. This study shows that increasing percentage of ODA were improved the amount of CO2 uptake by following this trend: 35ODA/SG &gt; 25ODA/SG &gt; 15ODA/SG &gt; SG &gt; 5ODA/SG. However, promotion of 5 wt.% ODA unabled to enhance the capacity of CO2 captured due to pore blockage and reduction in SG pore surface, thus hindered the physisorption between CO2 and SG.

Separation of Cu (II) Ions by Hydroxamic Acid Functionalized Poly (Methyl Methacrylate) Grafted Cellophane Membranes

Hydroxamic acid functionalized Poly (methyl methacrylate) grafted cellophane ions exchanger membranes have been used for Cu (II) ions separation from synthetic metal solutions. Factors affecting the adsorption process namely copper ions concentration, adsorption time, adsorption temperature, and grafting percentage have been studied. It was found that the Cu+2 uptakes increase by increasing the grafting percentage. The maximum uptake amount of Cu+2 ions obtained with membranes of grafting percentage 58%. However, the recovery of the adsorbed Cu+2 ions has not been affected by variation of the grafting percentage. Equilibrium has been obtained after 60 minutes of adsorption while the temperature was found of neglectable effect. Fourier transforms infrared analysis and thermal gravimetric analysis provided evidences of the adsorption processes. Moreover, the kinetics and isotherms of the adsorption process have been monitored. The membranes show a very good applicability and reusability where very slow reduction of the adsorption and regeneration processes has been detected after ten cycles.

Formulation of partition coefficient of impurities in a growing crystal based on the Burton-Cabrera-Frank model

This paper presents an extension of a classical model of the crystal growth, the Burton–Cabrera–Frank (BCF) model, to a system that includes impurity molecules and discusses the formulation of the amount of the impurity uptake into the crystal as a partition coefficient. The BCF model considers the following surface processes of host molecules: adsorption from a solution to a terrace, desorption from the terrace to the solution, surface diffusion on the terrace, incorporation at a step edge, and release from the step edge to the terrace. The above-mentioned processes have been formulated not only for the host molecules but also for the impurity molecules (Miura, 2020). In this paper, the author analytically solves the previous model and derives an analytic formula for the partition coefficient as a ratio of the uptake of the impurity molecule to that of the host molecule into the crystal. The dependence of the partition coefficient on supersaturation is systematically investigated. The analytic formula is applied to the data obtained in the experiments of protein crystal growth to discuss the behavior of impurity molecules on the growing crystal surface. This model provides a theoretical framework for eliciting quantitative data from the crystal growth experiments on impurity partitioning.

Shuttling of Peptide‐Drug Conjugates by G Protein‐Coupled Receptors Is Significantly Improved by Pulsed Application

G protein‐coupled receptors (GPCRs) can be used to shuttle peptide‐drug conjugates into cells. But, for efficient therapy, a high concentration of cargo needs to be delivered. To explore this, we studied the pharmacologically interesting neuropeptide Y1 receptor (Y1R) in one recombinant and three oncogenic cell systems that endogenously express the receptor. We demonstrate that recycled receptors behave identically to newly synthesized receptors with respect to ligand binding and internalization pathways. Depending on the cell system, biosynthesis, recycling efficiency, and peptide uptake differ partially, but shuttling was efficient in all systems. However, by comparing continuous application of the ligand for four hours to four cycles of internalization and recycling in between, a significantly higher amount of peptide uptake was achieved in the pulsed application (150–250 % to 300–400 %). Accordingly, in this well‐suited drug shuttle system pulsed application is superior under all investigated conditions and should be considered for innovative, targeted drug delivery in general.

Effect of dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride on CH4 hydrate growth and agglomeration in oil-water systems

Low dosage hydrate inhibitor (LDHI) is an effective choice to prevent hydrate formation and blockage in petroleum and natural gas processing industry. This study investigated the effect of dodecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride (DDBAC) on CH4 hydrate growth and agglomeration in oil-water systems. Hydrate formation kinetics and torque changes were determined with the isothermal-isochoric method. The kinetic experimental results revealed that 0.35 wt% DDBAC exerted a strong and stable inhibition effect on CH4 hydrate growth, represented by long induction time and low gas uptake amount. The chemical affinity modeling calculation results showed that DDBAC decreased normalized hydrate formation rate and increased the kinetic equilibrium time. The torque changes demonstrated that anti-agglomeration effect strengthened with the increase of DDBAC mass fraction. In addition, the mechanism of CH4 hydrate formation in studied system was proposed combining the experimental results, hydrate morphology and DDBAC’s properties. It showed that DDBAC could hinder gas dissolution in oil phase, separate hydrate particles from each other and make hydrate surface soft. These results are of fundamental value in developing LDHI and understanding the mechanism of hydrate formation, which are essential in preventing hydrate blockage and ensuring safety production of oil and gas.

Ultrafine Bubble Water Usefulness in Fecal Microbiota Transplantation: Recognition of Transplanted Microbiota in Intestinal Epithelial Cells

Background: Indications for various diseases such as diabetes mellitus and metabolic syndrome, etc. of Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) have been investigated. For the establishment of the FMT therapy, the examination of the solvent has not been carried out, though the use of the physiological saline is fixed, at present. We have produced the Mr. Shimizu made ultrafine bubble water (UFB) that produces a larger number of bubbles than existing UFB.Objective: To verify the usefulness of UFB, we prepared a conventional Saline and UFB-prepared microbial preparation (Bio3); (Bio3/Saline) and (Bio3/UFB). The bacterial preparations, Bio3, contain glycated bacteria, lactic acid bacteria, and butyric acid bacteria. FMT was carried out to the diabetic model mouse using these microbial preparations, and whether the disease state was improved was examined. Cultured intestinal epithelial cells (CaCO-2) were also used to test for differentiation by UFB and Saline from variations in several receptors that recognize microbiota-mRNA. In addition, glucose uptake into cells was measured.Methods: FMT with (Bio3/UFB) and (Bio3/Saline) was performed in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice (STZ-mice) in duplicate at 0, 7 days. Blood glucose levels (7, 14 days) and blood insulin levels (14 days) were measured. Cultured intestinal epithelial cells were also used to test for differentiation by UFB and Saline from change in several receptors that recognize microbiota-mRNA (Toll-like receptors, NOD-like receptors, and RIG-I-like receptors). In addition, glucose uptake into cells was measured using fluorescently labeled glucose analog (NBDG).Results: UFB could reduce the blood glucose level of STZ-induced diabetic model mice. However, no such effects were observed in Saline. Stimulation of serially diluted Bio3 with UFB-suspension were showed significant alteration in TLR4 and IL-1B-uPNA. The amount of glucose uptake in the (Bio3/UFB) group was significantly different at 30 min, inhibited or delayed. Conclusion: It is concluded that UFB-mediated cross-talk between intestinal bacteria and intestinal epithelial cells and inhibition or delay of intestinal epithelial glucose uptake may have been associated with the reduction of blood glucose levels in diabetic model mice. The superiority of UFB as a suspension used for the transfer of bacteria has been suggested.