As a first step in assessing the viability of periphyton-based fish production in South Asian pond aquaculture systems, the effects of artificial substrates on development of periphyton and on water quality were evaluated. Earthen ponds (10 × 7.5 m) were provided with an artificial substrate constructed from poles of either bamboo, kanchi or hizol tree branches (1.0 m artificial substrate per m...

Green roofs provide ecosystem services through evapotranspiration and nutrient cycling that depend, among others, on plant species, substrate type, and substrate depth. However, no study has assessed thoroughly how interactions between these factors alter ecosystem functions and multifunctionality of green roofs. We simulated some green roof conditions in a pot experiment. We planted 20 plant s...

   Micro-electroactive polymers have wide applications from industry to healthcare. Artificial muscles, microvalves, microswitches, haptic sensing, blood pressure and pulse monitoring are some potential applications for micro-electroactive polymers. The most advantage of micro-electroactive polymers as sensors and actuators is bio-compatibility and low power threshold for large deformations...

Various studies report contrasting results on the substrate-type effect diatom community composition, but particularly important question is whether or not it affects diatom-based assessments of water quality. We investigated substrate type a significant predictor composition and if lake quality assessment based indices. This study took place in Sava Lake (Serbia). used glass, ceramic, willow y...

Several peptide nucleic acid based artificial nucleases (PNAzymes) are designed to create a bulge in the target RNA, which is a short model of the leukemia related bcr/abl mRNA. The target RNA is cleaved by the PNAzymes with a half-life of down to 11 h (using a 1 : 1 ratio of PNA-conjugate to target) and only upon base-pairing with the substrate. The PNA based systems are also shown to act in a...

Although the proteolytic activity of the Cu(II) complex of cyclen (Cyc) is greatly enhanced upon attachment to a cross-linked polystyrene (PS), the Cu(II)Cyc-containing PS derivatives reported previously hydrolyzed only a very limited number of proteins. The PS-based artificial metalloproteases can overcome thermal, mechanical, and chemical instabilities of natural proteases, but the narrow sub...