Five white-rot basidiomycetes (WRB) species have been evaluated for their potential to tolerate and to degrade 0.2 mM 2, 4, 6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) as well as to produce laccase and manganese peroxidase (MnP) in presence of this xenobiotic. The tested fungal strains produced laccase in both glycerol and mandarin peels-containing media, whereas in the glycerol-containing medium only Cerrena unic...

We investigate the relaxation dynamics of a quantum dipole emitter (QDE), e.g., a molecule or quantum dot, located near a metal nanoparticle (MNP) exhibiting a dipolar localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance at the frequency of the QDE radiative transition. A generic three-level QDE, which is pumped with an external laser pulse and thereby brought into an optically active excited state, is co...

Defensins are small cationic peptides that could be used as the potential substitute for antibiotics. However, there is no efficient method for producing defensins. In this study, we developed a new strategy to produce defensin in nitrate reductase (NR)-deficient C. ellipsoidea (nrm-4). We constructed a plant expression vector carrying mutated NP-1 gene (mNP-1), a mature α-defensin NP-1 gene fr...

Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) of Fe(3)O(4) have been widely applied in many medical fields, but few studies have clearly shown the outcome of particles following intravenous injection. We performed a magnetic examination using scanning SQUID biosusceptometry (SSB). Based on the results of SSB analysis and those of established in vitro nonmagnetic bioassays, this study proposes a model of MNP me...

Introduction In the future, the use of plant biomass as a feedstock for chemical synthesis may become more widespread. Approximately 95% of plant biomass is composed of lignocellulosic material. Lignocellulose typically contains 50% cellulose, 25% hemicellulose and 25% lignin. Lignin is a stereoirregular polymer that protects cellulose and hemicellulose from enzymatic hydrolysis. Microorganisms...

This report contains the Tool Catalogue of the RIVM/MNP Guidance for Uncertainty Assessment and Communication. The Guidance has been developed under the direction of Peter Janssen (RIVM/MNP) and Jeroen van der Sluijs (Utrecht University) as part of the strategic research project 'Uncertainty Analysis' (S/550002) at RIVM.

Two heterogeneous catalysts, MNP@SiO2-N-Xantphos/Rh(I) and MNP@SiO2-NH-C-scorpionate/Fe(II), were prepared by reaction of chloro-functionalized MNP@SiO2 with N-Xantphos amino-functionalized iron(II)/C-allyl-scorpionate through nucleophilic substitution hydroaminomethylation reactions, respectively. All catalysts characterized using standard spectroscopic means, transmission electron microscopy ...

The main problem when treating industrial wastewater is the removal of dyes. Some of the physical and chemical treatment techniques were effective but they might result in the production of toxic by-products and could also be the cause of a secondary pollution problem due to excessive chemical use. In order to overcome the drawbacks, the present work has focused on the biodegradation of dyes us...

The purpose of this study is to compare the performances of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and Multinomial Probit (MNP) approaches in modeling the choice decision within fast moving consumer goods sector. To do this, based on 2597 toothpaste purchases of a panel sample of 404 households, choice models are built and their performances are compared on the 861 purchases of a test sample of 135 h...