In the fuel reactor, the capability of certain metal oxides to spontaneously release molecular oxygen at high temperatures is exploited to promote the direct conversion of coal in an oxygen-rich atmosphere.
Bioremediation based on the capability of certain microorganisms to dispose halogenated pollutants is a promising and cost-effective technology ([Beeman and Bleckmann 2002], Marzorati et al., [2006], Megharaj et al., [2011], Vlieg et al., [2000]).
The evaluation of ROS production may provide useful information regarding the capability of certain substances or environments in inducing oxidative stress.
The rapidly induced animal tumors that potentiate the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect may not be representative of all human tumors; therefore, caution must be observed in predicting the translational capability of certain NPs evaluated in these models.
Recent studies have highlighted the peculiar capability of certain systems to respond to fold-changes in the input signal, rather than to absolute differences in numbers of molecules [ 20, 21].
Therefore, the prognostic or predictive capability of certain miRNAs may depend on the status of particular miRNA-processing enzymes, which may in fact explain the discrepancy found between several studies.
In addition, differentially expressed genes have been successfully used to predict the response of RA patients to therapeutic approaches, for example, the capability of certain (type I interferon-responsive) genes to predict rituximab nonresponders [ 32] and anti-tumor necrosis factor nonresponders [ 33] or to define homogeneous subgroups within a heterogeneous disease such as RA [ 22].
The same authors have demonstrated the capability of certain NPs to cross an in vitro model of ABB, in experiments that used a membrane filter with 3 μm pore size and A549 cell line, which were not able to form TJs. Our data thus suggest that in presence of a functional ABB, the possibility of NPs to cross the barrier is rather scanty, although additional data are needed.
