A healthy diet is becoming increasingly relevant as recognizing dietary deficiencies often leads to actionable results that can improve the individual’s overall health. However, to identify areas of potential improvement, tracking food intake is necessary. Manual methods have traditionally been used to perform this tracking, but these methods have a …
This work focuses on a group of diatoms, belonging to the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, which is a globally important phytoplankton genus. Some species of the genus produce the toxin domoic acid, which is responsible for shellfish intoxication known as the amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP). These diatoms have few morphological features that …
The P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is responsible for the elimination of a wide variety of substances from the cell, thus it is thought to play an important role in detoxification functions. The P-gp also affects the ADMET (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity in pharmacokinetics) properties of drugs. It is involved in …
Tin (IV) oxide, SnO2 (cassiterite), is an n-type semiconductor with an advantageous combination of chemical, electric and optical properties that make it suitable for a range of applications, from solid-state gas sensors, transparent conductive coatings, oxidation catalysts and varistors. In varistor ceramics, grain growth studies are of particular interest, because …
SrTiO3 (STO) thin films are used as buffer layers that enable epitaxial integration of various functional oxides with silicon. When pulsed laser deposition (PLD) is used to grow STO on Si, a thin amorphous layer is formed at the STO-Si interface that limits the use of such heterostructures in certain …
Wear is one of the key problems with many types of engineering components as it can limit their life expectancy. The same is true for tools and tool steels, which are the focus of this doctoral thesis. Tool-wear response and behaviour are closely related to a material’s final microstructure and …
Bisphenols are a group of industrial chemicals increasingly recognized as contaminants of emerging concern because of their presence in the environment and endocrine disrupting effects. They are used in the production of polycarbonate plastic, epoxy resins and thermal paper, in most cases without restriction. The global exception is bisphenol A, …
RNA viruses are the largest group of viruses. Among them are some of the most notorious human, animal and plant pathogens. Many insects and nematodes are vectors of plant and animal RNA viruses. The latest studies of RNA viral diversity in invertebrates have demonstrated that the Protostomia lineage represents the …
Bismuth ferrite, BiFeO3 (BFO), has been recognized as a promising lead-free material for high-temperature piezoelectric applications due to its high Curie temperature of 825 °C. However, the practical use of BFO has been limited in particular by its elevated electrical conductivity. In addition, BFO shows the characteristics of ferroelectric hardening, …
The use of hydrogen peroxide as enviromentally benign oxidant for the oxidative iodination of organic molecules with iodine in the presence of halide ions as catalysts for the formation of iodine(I) species was investigated. The study of the reaction system iodine/ hydrogen peroxide/ acid revealed the formation of iodine(I) compound …