Activated carbon as catalyst support: precursors, preparation, modification and characterization.

The preparation of activated carbon materials is discussed along selected examples of precursor materials, of available production and modification methods and possible characterization techniques. We evaluate the preparation methods for activated carbon materials with respect to its use as catalyst support and identify important parameters for metal loading. The considered carbon sources include coal, wood, agricultural wastes or biomass as well as ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents or precursor solutions.

Nevirapine Biotransformation Insights: An Integrated In Vitro Approach Unveils the Biocompetence and Profile of a Human Hepatocyte-Like Cell 3D Model.

The need for competent in vitro liver models for toxicological assessment persists. The differentiation of stem cells into hepatocyte-like cells (HLC) has been adopted due to its human origin and availability. Our aim was to study the usefulness of an in vitro 3D model of mesenchymal stem cell-derived HLCs.

Azide-Functional Extracellular Matrix Coatings as a Bioactive Platform for Bioconjugation.

In recent years, the development and application of decellularized extracellular matrices (ECMs) for use as biomaterials have grown rapidly. These cell-derived matrices (CDMs) represent highly bioactive and biocompatible materials consisting of a complex assembly of biomolecules. Even though CDMs mimic the natural microenvironment of cells in vivo very closely, they still lack specifically addressable functional groups, which are often required to tailor a biomaterial functionality by bioconjugation.

Correction: Effect of temperature and moisture contents on dielectric properties at 2.45 GHz of fruit and vegetable processing by-products.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1039/C9RA10639A.].

Azido-functionalized gelatin via direct conversion of lysine amino groups by diazo transfer as a building block for biofunctional hydrogels.

Gelatin is one of the most prominent biopolymers in biomedical material research and development. It is frequently used in hybrid hydrogels, which combine the advantageous properties of bio-based and synthetic polymers. To prevent the biological component from leaching out of the hydrogel, the biomolecules can be equipped with azides.

Contribution of HDAC3 to transcriptional repression by the human papillomavirus 31 E8^E2 protein.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) such as HPV16 and HPV31 encode an E8^E2 protein that acts as a repressor of viral replication and transcription. E8^E2's repression activities are mediated via the interaction with host-cell NCoR (nuclear receptor corepressor)/SMRT (silencing mediator of retinoid and thyroid receptors) corepressor complexes, which consist of NCoR, its homologue SMRT, GPS2 (G-protein pathway suppressor 2), HDAC3 (histone deacetylase 3), TBL1 (transducin b-like protein 1) and its homologue TBLR1 (TBL1-related protein 1). We now provide evidence that transcriptional repression by HPV31 E8^E2 is NCoR/SMRT-dependent but surprisingly always HDAC3-independent when analysing different HPV promoters.

Confocal Raman microscopy to identify bacteria in oral subgingival biofilm models.

The study of oral disease progression, in relation to the accumulation of subgingival biofilm in gingivitis and periodontitis is limited, due to either the ability to monitor plaque in vitro. When compared, optical spectroscopic techniques offer advantages over traditional destructive or biofilm staining approaches, making it a suitable alternative for the analysis and continued development of three-dimensional structures. In this work, we have developed a confocal Raman spectroscopy analysis approach towards in vitro subgingival plaque models.

Cancer-Selective Treatment of Cancerous and Non-Cancerous Human Cervical Cell Models by a Non-Thermally Operated Electrosurgical Argon Plasma Device.

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) treatment is developing as a promising option for local anti-neoplastic treatment of dysplastic lesions and early intraepithelial cancer. Currently, high-frequency electrosurgical argon plasma sources are available and well established for clinical use. In this study, we investigated the effects of treatment with a non-thermally operated electrosurgical argon plasma source, a Martin Argon Plasma Beamer System (MABS), on cell proliferation and metabolism of a tissue panel of human cervical cancer cell lines as well as on non-cancerous primary cells of the cervix uteri.

WAT-on-a-chip integrating human mature white adipocytes for mechanistic research and pharmaceutical applications.

Obesity and its numerous adverse health consequences have taken on global, pandemic proportions. White adipose tissue (WAT) - a key contributor in many metabolic diseases - contributes about one fourth of a healthy human's body mass. Despite its significance, many WAT-related pathophysiogical mechanisms in humans are still not understood, largely due to the reliance on non-human animal models.

Advanced gelatin-based vascularization bioinks for extrusion-based bioprinting of vascularized bone equivalents.

Bone tissue is highly vascularized. The crosstalk of vascular and osteogenic cells is not only responsible for the formation of the strongly divergent tissue types but also for their physiological maintenance and repair. Extrusion-based bioprinting presents a promising fabrication method for bone replacement.

Recombinant Adenosine Deaminase Ameliorates Inflammation, Vascular Disease, and Fibrosis in Preclinical Models of Systemic Sclerosis.

Objective: Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is characterized by fibrosis, vascular disease, and inflammation. Adenosine signaling plays a central role in fibroblast activation. We undertook this study to evaluate the therapeutic effects of adenosine depletion with PEGylated adenosine deaminase (PEG-ADA) in preclinical models of SSc.

Patterns of Autologous and Nonautologous Interactions Between Core Nuclear Egress Complex (NEC) Proteins of α-, β- and γ-Herpesviruses.

Nuclear egress is a regulated process shared by α-, β- and γ-herpesviruses. The core nuclear egress complex (NEC) is composed of the membrane-anchored protein homologs of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) pUL50, murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) pM50, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) BFRF1 or varicella zoster virus (VZV) Orf24, which interact with the autologous NEC partners pUL53, pM53, BFLF2 or Orf27, respectively. Their recruitment of additional proteins leads to the assembly of a multicomponent NEC, coordinately regulating viral nucleocytoplasmic capsid egress.

Rapid Next-Generation Sequencing-Based Diagnostics of Bacteremia in Septic Patients.

The increasing incidence of bloodstream infections including sepsis is a major challenge in intensive care units worldwide. However, current diagnostics for pathogen identification mainly depend on culture- and molecular-based approaches, which are not satisfactory regarding specificity, sensitivity, and time to diagnosis. Herein, we established a complete diagnostic workflow for real-time high-throughput sequencing of cell-free DNA from plasma based on nanopore sequencing for the detection of the causative agents, which was applied to the analyses of eight samples from four septic patients and three healthy controls, and subsequently validated against standard next-generation sequencing results.

Draft Genome Sequence of sp. Strain IGB-42, a Chitinolytic Bacterium Isolated from a Soil Sample of an Anthill in Stuttgart, Germany.

sp. strain IGB-42 is a chitin-degrading bacterium isolated from the soil of an anthill. The genome contains 4.

Low-Energy Electron Irradiation Efficiently Inactivates the Gram-Negative Pathogen -A New Method for the Generation of Bacterial Vaccines with Increased Efficacy.

Bacterial pathogens cause severe infections worldwide in livestock and in humans, and antibiotic resistance further increases the importance of prophylactic vaccines. Inactivated bacterial vaccines (bacterins) are usually produced via incubation of the pathogen with chemicals such as formaldehyde, which is time consuming and may cause loss of immunogenicity due to the modification of structural components. We evaluated low-energy electron irradiation (LEEI) as an alternative method to generate a bacterin.

Biology-inspired microphysiological systems to advance patient benefit and animal welfare in drug development.

The first microfluidic microphysiological systems (MPS) entered the academic scene more than 15 years ago and were considered an enabling technology to human (patho)biology in vitro and, therefore, provide alternative approaches to laboratory animals in pharmaceutical drug development and academic research. Nowadays, the field generates more than a thousand scientific publications per year. Despite the MPS hype in academia and by platform providers, which says this technology is about to reshape the entire in vitro culture landscape in basic and applied research, MPS approaches have neither been widely adopted by the pharmaceutical industry yet nor reached regulated drug authorization processes at all.

Cold atmospheric plasma as antiviral therapy - effect on human herpes simplex virus type 1.

In previous studies, cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) was explored as an antibacterial and antiviral agent for the treatment of chronic wounds. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether CAP may also be suitable as an antiviral therapy against herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1). HSV-1 most frequently manifests as recurrent herpes labialis, but it can also cause encephalitis, conjunctivitis or herpes neonatorum as a perinatal infection.

Molecular cloning and functional characterization of a two highly stereoselective borneol dehydrogenases from Salvia officinalis L.

Enzymes for selective terpene functionalization are of particular importance for industrial applications. Pure enantiomers of borneol and isoborneol are fragrant constituents of several essential oils and find frequent application in cosmetics and therapy. Racemic borneol can be easily obtained from racemic camphor, which in turn is readily available from industrial side-streams.

Boosted acceleration of protons by tailored ultra-thin foil targets.

We report on a detailed experimental and numerical study on the boosted acceleration of protons from ultra-thin hemispherical targets utilizing multi-Joule short-pulse laser-systems. For a laser intensity of 1 × 10 W/cm and an on-target energy of only 1.3 J with this setup a proton cut-off energy of 8.

Low-pressure plasma activation enables enhanced adipose-derived stem cell adhesion.

Human adipose-derived stem cells (hASCs) have become an important cell source for the use in tissue engineering and other medical applications. Not every biomaterial is suitable for human cell culture and requires surface modifications to enable cell adhesion and proliferation. Our hypothesis is that chemical surface modifications introduced by low-discharge plasma enhance the adhesion and proliferation of hASCs.

Comparing the use of differentiated adipose-derived stem cells and mature adipocytes to model adipose tissue in vitro.

In vitro models of human adipose tissue may serve as beneficial alternatives to animal models to study basic biological processes, identify new drug targets, and as soft tissue implants. With this approach, we aimed to evaluate adipose-derived stem cells (ASC) and mature adipocytes (MA) comparatively for the application in the in vitro setup of adipose tissue constructs to imitate native adipose tissue physiology. We used human primary MAs and human ASCs, differentiated for 14 days, and encapsulated them in collagen type I hydrogels to build up a three-dimensional (3D) adipose tissue model.

Stable Redox-Cycling Nitroxide Tempol Has Antifungal and Immune-Modulatory Properties.

Invasive mycoses remain underdiagnosed and difficult to treat. Hospitalized individuals with compromised immunity increase in number and constitute the main risk group for severe fungal infections. Current antifungal therapy is hampered by slow and insensitive diagnostics and frequent toxic side effects of standard antifungal drugs.

Merging organoid and organ-on-a-chip technology to generate complex multi-layer tissue models in a human retina-on-a-chip platform.

The devastating effects and incurable nature of hereditary and sporadic retinal diseases such as Stargardt disease, age-related macular degeneration or retinitis pigmentosa urgently require the development of new therapeutic strategies. Additionally, a high prevalence of retinal toxicities is becoming more and more an issue of novel targeted therapeutic agents. Ophthalmologic drug development, to date, largely relies on animal models, which often do not provide results that are translatable to human patients.

Fucoxanthin, A Carotenoid Derived from Exerts Antiproliferative and Antioxidant Activities In Vitro.

Microalgae contain a multitude of nutrients and can be grown sustainably. Fucoxanthin, a carotenoid from could have beneficial health effects. Therefore, we investigated the anti-inflammatory, antioxidative and antiproliferative effects of fucoxanthin derived from this diatom in vitro.