The synaptic homeostasis hypothesis of sleep proposes that slow wave sleep (SWS) causes downscaling of synaptic networks potentiated during information uptake in prior wakefulness. Two studies in Neuron challenge this mechanism. Chauvette et al. (2012) show that SWS mediates an up- rather than downregulation of excitatory postsynaptic potential responses. Grosmark et al. (2012) find that downsc...

Process analytical technology (PAT)-tools were used to monitor freeze-drying of Bacille Calmette-Guérin (BCG) at pilot and production scale. Among the evaluated PAT-tools, there is the novel use of the vacuum valve open/close frequency for determining the endpoint of primary drying at production scale. The duration of primary drying, the BCG survival rate, and the residual moisture content (RMC...

Bovine viral diarrhoea virus 1 (BVDV-1) is arguably the most important viral disease of cattle. It is associated with reproductive, respiratory and chronic diseases in cattle across the world. In this study we have investigated the capacity of the major immunological determinant of BVDV-1, the E2 protein combined with hollow type mesoporous silica nanoparticles with surface amino functionalisat...

In recent years, platelets are reported to promote liver, as well as bone regeneration and dermal wound healing. Platelets are required not only for thrombocytopenia treating but also for regenerative therapy. Platelets cannot be stored beyond three days, therefore, shortage of fresh platelets sometimes occurs. To preserve platelets for a long duration without degrading growth factors, a freeze...

Time of Flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS) has been used to explore the distribution of phospholipids in the plasma membrane of Tetrahymena pyriformis during cell division. The dividing cells were freeze dried prior to analysis followed by line scan and region of interest analysis at various stages of cell division. The results showed no signs of phospholipid domain formation at ...

The influence of the freeze-thawing process on the size and lamellarity of multilamellar PEG-lipid liposomes prepared from a mixture of egg yolk phosphatidilcholine (EggPC) and distearoyl phosphatidylethanolamine polyethyleneglycol (DSPE-PEG) 2000 was investigated. Trapped volume measurement, quasielastic light scattering (QELS) and freeze-fracture electron microscopy were used to estimate the ...

introduction: it has been shown that some primary human tumors and their metastases, including prostate and breast tumors, over-express gastrin-releasing peptide (grp) receptors. bombesin is a neuropeptide with a high affinity for these grp receptors. the purpose of this study was to prepare and evaluate the characteristics of a new freeze-dried kit, [6-hydrazinopyridine-3-carboxylic acid (hyni...

saffron is an important spice values for its color, aroma and flavor in the food industry. a significant proportion of saffron compound is lost during processing and storage because of its volatility and sensitivity to oxidation. thepresent research microencapsulated saffron color compounds (crocin) by freeze drying. the freeze-dried aqueous saffron effective compound extract was first prepared...

Insects may survive subzero temperatures by two general strategies: Freeze-tolerant insects withstand the formation of internal ice, while freeze-avoiding insects die upon freezing. While it is widely recognized that these represent alternative strategies to survive low temperatures, and mechanistic understanding of the physical and molecular process of cold tolerance are becoming well elucidat...

Freeze-drying and gamma irradiation are the techniques widely use in tissue banking for preservation and sterilization of tissue grafts respectively. However, the effect of these techniques on biomechanical properties of bovine pericardium is poorly known. A total of 300 strips of bovine pericardium each measured 4 cm 1 cm were used in this study to evaluate the effect of freeze-drying on biome...