In this paper, electrochemical behavior of epoxy paints embedded by modified calcium carbonate particles was investigated during exposure to 3.5 wt% NaCl solution. The precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) and ground calcium carbonate (GCC) particles were utilized as inexpensive filler for epoxy paints. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), polarization tests and pin-on-disk method w...

The overarching goal of this in situ study was to investigate the integrated impact(s) that metal/metalloid contamination might have on the overall health and performance of the ecologically important aquatic macrophyte, Vallisneria neotropicalis. Morphological (i.e., shoot growth-based endpoints) and photo-physiological (i.e., photosynthetic activity measured as chlorophyll a fluorescence and ...

In vitro fruiting bodies were produced from ten different isolates of Cordyceps militaris EFCC C-5736, EFCC C-5941, EFCC C-5976, EFCC C-6040, EFCC C-6849, EFCC C-7268, EFCC C-7342, EFCC C-7992, EFCC C-8027 and EFCC C-8549. Single ascospores were isolated from in vitro grown fruiting bodies and used for fruiting body production in brown rice medium by both intra-strain crossing and out-crossing....

A hairy roots culture of Stephania suberosa was established using Agrobacterium rhizogenes ATCC15834. The production of dicentrine was found to be (8.92 +/- 0.07) mg/g dry wt on day 35 of culture. Effects of sucrose content, tyrosine, and medium strength on growth and dicentrine production of S. suberosa were investigated. 6% (w/v) sucrose was an optimum content for the growth and dicentrine ac...

Pueraria candollei Wall. ex Benth. var. mirifica (Airy Shaw & Suvat.) Niyomdham was investigated for callus induction using Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing different plant growth regulators. After 8 weeks of culture, 66-100% of leaf or stem explants formed calli. Calli from stem explants cultured on MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l thidiazuron (TDZ) gave the maximum of shoot indu...

Wear tests were performed with polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) + Al2O3 nanocomposites on various manufactured surfaces to determine whether or not the wear resistance of these nanocomposites is a strong function of surface preparation. Four different surface finishes of grade 304 stainless steel counterfaces were used: electropolished (Rq = 88 nm), lapped (Rq = 161 nm), wet-sanded (Rq = 390 nm),...

The distribution of perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) in Baiyangdian Lake, China, was determined in this study. Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) was the dominant PFC in lake water (1.70–73.5 ng L , median 9.72 ng L ), while perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was the dominant PFC in sediments (0.06–0.64 ng g 1 dry wt, median 0.19 ng g 1 dry wt) and in aquatic animals (0.57–13.7 ng g 1 wet wt, median 2....

Compressional wave velocities (Vp) in quartz aggregate were measured to quantify the effect of pore fluid (H2O) on Vp at high pressure-temperature (P-T). Ultrasonic measurements were conducted on dry and wet quartz aggregate from room temperature to 500°C at 0.5 GPa using a piston cylinder apparatus. The experiment showed a 4% decrease in measured Vp in quartz aggregate with increasing H2O cont...

BACKGROUND TGF-β is a pleiotropic cytokine that can have pro- or anti-inflammatory effects depending on the context. Elevated levels of bioactive TGF-β1 in tears and elevated TGF-β1mRNA transcripts in conjunctiva and minor salivary glands of human Sjögren's Syndrome patients has also been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the response to desiccating stress (DS), an experimenta...