| 1. |
- Betts, Bruce H, et al.
(author)
-
Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment).
- 2019
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In: Astrobiology. - 1531-1074 .- 1557-8070.
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Planetary Society's Phobos Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (Phobos LIFE) flew in the sample return capsule of the Russian Federal Space Agency's Phobos Grunt mission and was to have been a test of one aspect of the hypothesis that life can move between nearby planets within ejected rocks. Although the Phobos Grunt mission failed, we present here the scientific and engineering design and motivation of the Phobos LIFE experiment to assist with the scientific and engineering design of similar future experiments. Phobos LIFE flew selected organisms in a simulated meteoroid. The 34-month voyage would have been the first such test to occur in the high-radiation environment outside the protection of Earth's magnetosphere for more than a few days. The patented Phobos LIFE "biomodule" is an 88 g cylinder consisting of a titanium outer shell, several types of redundant seals, and 31 individual Delrin sample containers. Phobos LIFE contained 10 different organisms, representing all three domains of life, and one soil sample. The organisms are all very well characterized, most with sequenced genomes. Most are extremophiles, and most have flown in low Earth orbit. Upon return from space, the health and characteristics of organisms were to have been compared with controls that remained on Earth and have not yet been opened.
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| 2. |
- Betts, Bruce H, et al.
(author)
-
Phobos LIFE (Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment).
- 2019
-
In: Astrobiology. - : Mary Ann Liebert Inc.. - 1531-1074 .- 1557-8070.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The Planetary Society's Phobos Living Interplanetary Flight Experiment (Phobos LIFE) flew in the sample return capsule of the Russian Federal Space Agency's Phobos Grunt mission and was to have been a test of one aspect of the hypothesis that life can move between nearby planets within ejected rocks. Although the Phobos Grunt mission failed, we present here the scientific and engineering design and motivation of the Phobos LIFE experiment to assist with the scientific and engineering design of similar future experiments. Phobos LIFE flew selected organisms in a simulated meteoroid. The 34-month voyage would have been the first such test to occur in the high-radiation environment outside the protection of Earth's magnetosphere for more than a few days. The patented Phobos LIFE "biomodule" is an 88 g cylinder consisting of a titanium outer shell, several types of redundant seals, and 31 individual Delrin sample containers. Phobos LIFE contained 10 different organisms, representing all three domains of life, andone soil sample. The organisms are all very well characterized, most with sequenced genomes. Most are extremophiles, and most have flown in low Earth orbit. Upon return from space, the health and characteristics of organisms were to have been compared with controls that remained on Earth and have not yet been opened.
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| 3. |
- de Vera, Jean-Pierre, et al.
(author)
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Limits of Life and the Habitability of Mars : The ESA Space Experiment BIOMEX on the ISS
- 2019
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In: Astrobiology. - : Mary Ann Liebert. - 1531-1074 .- 1557-8070. ; 19:2, s. 145-157
-
Journal article (other academic/artistic)abstract
- BIOMEX (BIOlogy and Mars EXperiment) is an ESA/Roscosmos space exposure experiment housed within the exposure facility EXPOSE-R2 outside the Zvezda module on the International Space Station (ISS). The design of the multiuser facility supports-among others-the BIOMEX investigations into the stability and level of degradation of space-exposed biosignatures such as pigments, secondary metabolites, and cell surfaces in contact with a terrestrial and Mars analog mineral environment. In parallel, analysis on the viability of the investigated organisms has provided relevant data for evaluation of the habitability of Mars, for the limits of life, and for the likelihood of an interplanetary transfer of life (theory of lithopanspermia). In this project, lichens, archaea, bacteria, cyanobacteria, snow/permafrost algae, meristematic black fungi, and bryophytes from alpine and polar habitats were embedded, grown, and cultured on a mixture of martian and lunar regolith analogs or other terrestrial minerals. The organisms and regolith analogs and terrestrial mineral mixtures were then exposed to space and to simulated Mars-like conditions by way of the EXPOSE-R2 facility. In this special issue, we present the first set of data obtained in reference to our investigation into the habitability of Mars and limits of life. This project was initiated and implemented by the BIOMEX group, an international and interdisciplinary consortium of 30 institutes in 12 countries on 3 continents. Preflight tests for sample selection, results from ground-based simulation experiments, and the space experiments themselves are presented and include a complete overview of the scientific processes required for this space experiment and postflight analysis. The presented BIOMEX concept could be scaled up to future exposure experiments on the Moon and will serve as a pretest in low Earth orbit.
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| 4. |
- Kirchhof, Paulus, et al.
(author)
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A roadmap to improve the quality of atrial fibrillation management : proceedings from the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference
- 2016
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In: Europace. - : Oxford University Press (OUP). - 1099-5129 .- 1532-2092. ; 18:1, s. 37-50
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At least 30 million people worldwide carry a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation (AF), and many more suffer from undiagnosed, subclinical, or 'silent' AF. Atrial fibrillation-related cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, including cardiovascular deaths, heart failure, stroke, and hospitalizations, remain unacceptably high, even when evidence-based therapies such as anticoagulation and rate control are used. Furthermore, it is still necessary to define how best to prevent AF, largely due to a lack of clinical measures that would allow identification of treatable causes of AF in any given patient. Hence, there are important unmet clinical and research needs in the evaluation and management of AF patients. The ensuing needs and opportunities for improving the quality of AF care were discussed during the fifth Atrial Fibrillation Network/European Heart Rhythm Association consensus conference in Nice, France, on 22 and 23 January 2015. Here, we report the outcome of this conference, with a focus on (i) learning from our 'neighbours' to improve AF care, (ii) patient-centred approaches to AF management, (iii) structured care of AF patients, (iv) improving the quality of AF treatment, and (v) personalization of AF management. This report ends with a list of priorities for research in AF patients.
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| 5. |
- Kuppe, Christoph, et al.
(author)
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Inverse correlation between vascular endothelial growth factor back-filtration and capillary filtration pressures
- 2018
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In: Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS. - 0931-0509 .- 1460-2385. ; 33:9, s. 1514-1525
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Vascular endothelial growth factor A (VEGF) is an essential growth factor during glomerular development and postnatal homeostasis. VEGF is secreted in high amounts by podocytes into the primary urine, back-filtered across the glomerular capillary wall to act on endothelial cells. So far it has been assumed that VEGF back-filtration is driven at a constant rate exclusively by diffusion.Methods: In the present work, glomerular VEGF back-filtration was investigated in vivo using a novel extended model based on endothelial fenestrations as surrogate marker for local VEGF concentrations. Single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) and/or local filtration flux were manipulated by partial renal mass ablation, tubular ablation, and in transgenic mouse models of systemic or podocytic VEGF overexpression or reduction.Results: Our study shows positive correlations between VEGF back-filtration and SNGFR as well as effective filtration rate under physiological conditions along individual glomerular capillaries in rodents and humans.Conclusion: Our results suggest that an additional force drives VEGF back-filtration, potentially regulated by SNGFR.
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| 6. |
- Trost, Fabian, et al.
(author)
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Imaging via Correlation of X-Ray Fluorescence Photons
- 2023
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In: Physical Review Letters. - : American Physical Society. - 0031-9007 .- 1079-7114. ; 130:17
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- We demonstrate that x-ray fluorescence emission, which cannot maintain a stationary interference pattern, can be used to obtain images of structures by recording photon-photon correlations in the manner of the stellar intensity interferometry of Hanbury Brown and Twiss. This is achieved utilizing femtosecondduration pulses of a hard x-ray free-electron laser to generate the emission in exposures comparable to the coherence time of the fluorescence. Iterative phasing of the photon correlation map generated a model-free real-space image of the structure of the emitters. Since fluorescence can dominate coherent scattering, this may enable imaging uncrystallised macromolecules.
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| 7. |
- Vlachopoulos, Nick, et al.
(author)
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Electrochemical aspects of display technology based on nanostructured titanium dioxide with attached viologen chromophores
- 2008
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In: Electrochimica Acta. - : PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD. - 0013-4686 .- 1873-3859. ; 53:11, s. 4065-4071
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Progress in recent years in the field of electrochromic displays based on viologen modified high-surface area TiO2 electrodes (Vio(2+)/TiO2) has moved the technology towards commercialisation. Viologen molecules (Vio(2+)), derivatised with phosphonic acid attachment groups can be chemisorbed on nanostructured TiO2 layers of thickness 2-10 mu m. Characterisation by cyclic voltammetry, spectroelectrochemistry and impedance spectroscopy demonstrates that colourless Vio(2+)/TiO2 is reversibly reduced to the strongly coloured cation radical species Vio(+center dot)/TiO2. This system can constitute the working electrode of an electrochromic display with a capacitive doped SnO2 electrode as counter electrode, the latter coated by an electrochemically inert white fight-reflecting layer. Such a device is stable upon repeated colouration-bleaching cycles with a bleached-to-coloured state contrast ratio exceeding 5. Multicolour displays can be achieved by patterning different electrochromophores onto different areas of one working electrode. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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