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Soils are essential components of terrestrial ecosystems that experience strong pollution pressure. Microplastic contamination of soils is being increasingly documented, with potential consequences for soil biodiversity and function. Notwithstanding, data on effects of such contaminants on fundamental properties potentially impacting soil biota are lacking. The present study explores the potential of microplastics to disturb vital relationships between soil and water, as well as its consequences for soil structure and microbial function. During a 5-weeks garden experiment we exposed a loamy sand soil to environmentally relevant nominal concentrations (up to 2%) of four common microplastic types (polyacrylic fibers, polyamide beads, polyester fibers, and polyethylene fragments). Then, we measured bulk density, water holding capacity, hydraulic conductivity, soil aggregation, and microbial activity. Microplastics affected the bulk density, water holding capacity, and the functional relationship between the microbial activity and water stable aggregates. The effects are underestimated if idiosyncrasies of particle type and concentrations are neglected, suggesting that purely qualitative environmental microplastic data might be of limited value for the assessment of effects in soil. If extended to other soils and plastic types, the processes unravelled here suggest that microplastics are relevant long-term anthropogenic stressors and drivers of global change in terrestrial ecosystems.
Gußeisen mit Kugelgraphit und ferritischer bzw. ferritisch-perlitischer Matrix gehören zu einer Werkstoffgruppe, die ausreichende Festigkeiten mit hohen Duktilitäten verbindet. Mit der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die Kenntnisse über die Zusammenhänge zwischen der chemischen Zusammensetzung, der Gefügeausbildung und den mechanischen Eigenschaften erweitert. Dabei wurden sowohl unterschiedliche Gießverfahren (Sand- und Kokillenguß) in der Herstellung, als auch die Auswirkungen von Umwandlungsprozessen im Gefüge infolge von Wärmebehandlungen diskutiert. Die statistische Auswertung von Einzelergebnissen aus der qualitätssichernden Begutachtung von Lager- und Transportbehältern für radioaktive Stoffe wurden durch mechanische und bruchmechanische Untersuchungen an 24 Werkstoffsorten aus Gußeisen mit Kugelgraphit ergänzt.
Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) comprise mainly ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn´s disease (CD). Both forms present with a chronic inflammation of the (gastro) intestinal tract, which induces excessive changes in the composition of the associated extracellular matrix (ECM). In UC, the inflammation is limited to the colon, whereas it can occur throughout the entire gastrointestinal tract in CD. Tools for early diagnosis of IBD are still very limited and highly invasive and measures for standardized evaluation of structural changes are scarce. To investigate an efficient non-invasive way of diagnosing intestinal inflammation and early changes of the ECM, very small superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (VSOPs) in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) were applied in two mouse models of experimental colitis: the dextran sulfate sodium (DSS)-induced colitis and the transfer model of colitis. For further validation of ECM changes and inflammation, tissue sections were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. For in depth ex-vivo investigation of VSOPs localization within the tissue, Europium-doped VSOPs served to visualize the contrast agent by imaging mass cytometry (IMC). VSOPs accumulation in the inflamed colon wall of DSS-induced colitis mice was visualized in T2* weighted MRI scans. Components of the ECM, especially the hyaluronic acid content, were found to influence VSOPs binding. Using IMC, colocalization of VSOPs with macrophages and endothelial cells in colon tissue was shown. In contrast to the DSS model, colonic inflammation could not be visualized with VSOP-enhanced MRI in transfer colitis. VSOPs present a potential contrast agent for contrast-enhanced MRI to detect intestinal inflammation in mice at an early stage and in a less invasive manner depending on hyaluronic acid content.
Concrete technology results more and more in the development of materiale with enhanced properties, such as high strength, higher durability and increased ecological compatibility. One exceptional example is Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC). Its advantages are very high compressive strength and an improved durability, caused by their dense micro structure. Curing under water vapor Saturation pressure (autoclaving) can improve these properties by affecting the micro structure and better the mechanical properties of UHPC. Autoclaving leads to an enhanced cement hydration and accelerated reaction rate of supplementary cementitious materials (SCM) and mineral additions, Used at the production of aerated autoclaved concrete (AAC) and sand-lime bricks, the process of autoclaving is well known, especially in highly porous Systems. One well known requirement to autoclave effectively is a porosity of at least 10%. There is no sufficient heat transfer and also not enough water available if the porosity is lower, Nevertheless, autoclaving also works in the dense structure of UHPC with porosities lower than 2%, as former investigations have shown. There is only a visible difference between the outer parts of the samples compared to their core. Investigations on the chemistry, the micro structure as well as the mechanical properties where performed to find an explanation to this effect and to explain the functionality of autoclaving UHPC in spite of the low porosity.
A method for the analysis of Pt–protein complexes in biological samples, previously subjected to cisplatin treatment, has been developed. Proteins were separated by gel electrophoresis, and those bound to Pt were detected with high sensitivity by LA-ICP-(SF)-MS. Pt-containing spots were in-gel digested with trypsin, and the peptides produced identified using nHPLC-ESI-LTQ-FT-MS/MS. The influence of protein separation conditions, staining and gel processing prior to laser ablation on Ptprotein bonds preservation have been evaluated using standard proteins incubated with cisplatin. 2-DE separation under non-reducing conditions followed by either Coomassie blue brilliant or silver staining is appropriate for Pt–protein complexes, achieving a good separating resolution of the proteins in biological samples. Direct LA-ICP-MS analysis of glycerol-treated dried gels for Pt–protein monitoring resulted in better sensitivity, more reliable relative Pt signals and a simpler and less time-consuming approach compared to the analysis of blotted membranes. Ablation of gels allowed tackling protein identification of Pt-spots in the remaining non-ablated material in the gel, making it unnecessary to run several gels in parallel for separate Pt detection and protein identification. By using this approach, Pt coordinated to proteins, such as α-2-macroglobulin, transferrin, albumin or hemoglobin, was detected in the serum from a rat treated in vivo with cisplatin after nrSDS-PAGE separation. Furthermore, the first complete LA-ICP-MS metalloprotein contour map in a 2-DE gel has been produced, in this case for the detection of Pt–protein complexes in renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTECs) incubated with cisplatin. Several proteins were identified in those spots containing Pt, which may have a connection with the drug-induced nephrotoxicity mainly affecting this cell type in the kidney.
Microbead-based technologies represent elegant and versatile approaches for highly parallelized quantitative multiparameter assays. They also form the basis of various techniques for detection and quantification of nucleic acids and proteins. Nucleic acid-based methods include hybridization assays, solid-phase PCR, sequencing, and trapping assays. Microbead assays have been improved in the past decades and are now important tools in routine and point-of-care diagnostics as well as in life science. Its advances include low costs, low workload, high speed and high-throughput automation. The potential of microbead-based assays therefore is apparent, and commercial applications can be found in the detection and discrimination of single nucleotide polymorphism, of pathogens, and in trapping assays. This review provides an overview on microbead-based platforms for biosensing with a main focus on nucleic acid detection (including amplification strategies and on selected probe systems using fluorescent labeling). Specific sections cover chemical properties of microbeads, the coupling of targets onto solid surfaces, microbead probe systems (mainly oligonucleotide probes), microbead detection schemes (with subsections on suspension arrays, microfluidic devices, and immobilized microbeads), quantification of nucleic acids, PCR in solution and the detection of amplicons, and methods for solid-phase amplification. We discuss selected trends such as microbead-coupled amplification, heterogeneous and homogenous DNA hybridization assays, real-time assays, melting curve analysis, and digital microbead assays. We finally discuss the relevance and trends of the methods in terms of high-level multiplexed analysis and their potential in diagnosis and personalized medicine. Contains 211 references.
One of the most commonly used bonds between two biomolecules is the bond between biotin and streptavidin (SA) or streptavidin homologues (SAHs). A high dissociation constant and the consequent high-temperature stability even allows for its use in nucleic acid detection under polymerase chain reaction (PCR) conditions. There are a number of SAHs available, and for assay design, it is of great interest to determine as to which SAH will perform the best under assay conditions. Although there are numerous single studies on the characterization of SAHs in solution or selected solid phases, there is no systematic study comparing different SAHs for biomolecule-binding, hybridization, and PCR assays on solid phases. We compared streptavidin, core streptavidin, traptavidin, core traptavidin, neutravidin, and monomeric streptavidin on the surface of microbeads (10–15 μm in diameter) and designed multiplex microbead-based experiments and analyzed simultaneously the binding of biotinylated oligonucleotides and the hybridization of oligonucleotides to complementary capture probes. We also bound comparably large DNA origamis to capture probes on the microbead surface. We used a real-time fluorescence microscopy imaging platform, with which it is possible to subject samples to a programmable time and temperature profile and to record binding processes on the microbead surface depending on the time and temperature. With the exception of core traptavidin and monomeric streptavidin, all other SA/SAHs were suitable for our investigations. We found hybridization efficiencies close to 100% for streptavidin, core streptavidin, traptavidin, and neutravidin. These could all be considered equally suitable for hybridization, PCR applications, and melting point analysis. The SA/SAH–biotin bond was temperature-sensitive when the oligonucleotide was mono-biotinylated, with traptavidin being the most stable followed by streptavidin and neutravidin. Mono-biotinylated oligonucleotides can be used in experiments with temperatures up to 70 °C. When oligonucleotides were bis-biotinylated, all SA/SAH–biotin bonds had similar temperature stability under PCR conditions, even if they comprised a streptavidin variant with slower biotin dissociation and increased mechanostability.