Plastic production pellets collected from beaches of south west England contain variable concentrations of trace metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) that, in some cases, exceed concentrations reported for local estuarine sediments. The rates and mechanisms by which metals associate with virgin and beached polyethylene pellets were studied by adding a cocktail of 5 μg L(-1) of trace metals to...

Akademisk avhandling som med tillstånd av KTH i Stockholm, framlägges till offentlig granskning för avläggande av Teknisk Doktorsexamen, tisdagen den 20 december kl. iii To my beloved parents iv v Abstract This study focuses on two different types of micro-particles selected from different stages off iron and steelmaking processes. These particles are dust particles generated due to mechanical ...

In this work, grinding or microcutting tools in the form of pellets were manufactured using a bounded alumina abrasive grains. The bound used is a vitreous material containing quartz feldspars, kaolinite and a quantity of hematite. The pellets were used in glass grinding process to replace the free abrasive grains lapping process. The study of the elaborated pellets were done to define their ef...

The Chaco leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri (Forel) inhabits large and deep subterranean nests composed of a large number of fungus and refuse chambers. The ants dispose of the excavated soil by forming small pellets that are carried to the surface. For ants in general, the organisation of underground soil transport during nest building remains completely unknown. In the laboratory, we invest...

To the best of our knowledge, there is the lack of sufficient information concerning bamboo pellets. In the preliminary research, bamboo pellets showed a low bulk density which could not meet requirement of Pellet Fuels Institute Standard Specification for Residential/Commercial Densified (PFI). To improve its bulk density, pellets were manufactured using mixtures of bamboo and pine particles a...

Cues previously paired with rewarding stimuli induce a time-dependent increase in the motivational craving state (incubation of craving). Whether there is an increase in craving for high-fat (HF) food over time, which may contribute to overeating and obesity, has not been determined. We hypothesized that cues paired with HF pellets would elicit a greater incubation of craving effect than those ...

The objective of this study was to develop solid self-emulsifying pellets to deliver the poorly bioavailable Milk Thistle extract (Silybum Marianum) [1]. These pellets were prepared via extrusion/spheronization procedure, using a self-emulsifying system or SES (composed of Akoline MCM, Miglyol, Tween 80, Soy Lecithin and Propylene Glycol), microcrystalline cellulose and lactose monohydrate. To ...

BACKGROUND Interleukin-1β (IL-1β) is a major mediator of local inflammation present in injured joints. In this study, we aimed at comparing the effect of IL-1β on engineered tissues from MCs, BMSCs and co-cultured MCs and BMSCs. METHODS We compared the effect of IL-1β in 3 groups: (1) MCs, (2) BMSCs and, (3) co-cultures of MCs and BMSCs. We selected 1 to 3 ratio of MCs to BMSCs for the co-cul...

Glucocorticoid receptors (GRs) are present at a high density in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), an area of the dorsal hindbrain (DHB) that is critical for blood pressure regulation. However, whether these receptors play any role in the regulation of blood pressure is unknown. We tested the hypothesis that glucocorticoids act in the DHB to increase arterial pressure using two experiment...

Paleozoologists and taphonomists have long recognized various properties of quantification and sampling with respect to collections they study. Those same properties attend samples of modern owl pellets. The particular skeletal elements identified and the way in which prey remains are grouped for tallying both influence measures of relative prey abundance in a collection of 56 barn-owl (Tyto al...