Urban freight transport sustainability leaders
- Company Manager: Angel Batalla
Category: PI Companies
Skill Level: Beginner
Primary Human Mononuclear Cells (PHMCs) play a pivotal role in immunology, hematology, and various fields of biomedical research. These cells are crucial components of the immune system and are primarily isolated from blood. PHMCs consist mainly of lymphocytes and monocytes, which are instrumental in the body’s defense mechanisms against pathogens and are vital in various therapeutic applications, including cancer treatment, vaccine development, and autoimmune disease research.
PHMCs are characterized by their single, large nuclei and are typically divided into two main populations: lymphocytes and monocytes. Lymphocytes can be further classified into T cells, B cells, and natural killer (NK) cells, each with distinctive roles within the immune response. Monocytes, on the other hand, differentiate into macrophages and dendritic cells, which are essential for phagocytosis and presenting antigens to T cells, respectively.
The isolation of these cells usually involves density gradient centrifugation, which separates mononuclear cells from other blood components, such as erythrocytes and granulocytes. This process is critical for obtaining a high yield and viability of PHMCs, ensuring they remain functional for downstream applications.
The versatility of PHMCs makes them valuable in various research areas. In immunology, they are used to study immune responses to infections and vaccines. Researchers can analyze how different populations of these cells respond to pathogens, helping to understand mechanisms of immunity and informing vaccine design.
In cancer research, PHMCs are utilized to explore tumor microenvironments and interactions between immune cells and cancer cells. By examining how PHMCs recognize and respond to tumor antigens, scientists can identify potential targets for immunotherapy and develop new treatment strategies.
Furthermore, in the realm of autoimmune diseases, PHMCs provide insights into the dysregulation of immune responses. By comparing PHMCs from healthy individuals and those with autoimmune conditions, researchers can identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets that could lead to more effective treatments.
Culturing PHMCs is essential for conducting functional assays and understanding their behavior in vitro. These cells can be stimulated using various cytokines and mitogens to study their proliferation, differentiation, and activation pathways. Techniques such as flow cytometry enable researchers to analyze surface markers and intracellular signaling events, providing detailed information on cell function.
Moreover, the ability to manipulate PHMCs through genetic engineering techniques, such as CRISPR/Cas9, allows for the exploration of specific genes’ roles in immune function. This capability opens new avenues for understanding genetic predispositions to diseases and developing targeted therapies.
Despite their benefits, working with PHMCs presents several challenges. The isolation process can introduce variability, and the cells’ functional properties may change over time in culture. Additionally, the viability of PHMCs can be affected by the methods used for collection and processing. Researchers must optimize protocols to ensure consistent quality and reproducibility in their experiments.
Primary Human Mononuclear Cells are indispensable in the study of the human immune system and have far-reaching applications in biomedical research. Their ability to provide insights into both normal immune functions and pathological conditions makes them a focal point for researchers aiming to develop innovative therapies and enhance our understanding of health and disease. As techniques for isolating and manipulating PHMCs continue to advance, they will undoubtedly remain at the forefront of scientific discovery.
First on-the-way delivery network providing a new crowdshipping model.
The app-based community utilizes unused capacity in passenger vehicles, connecting people with stuff to send with drivers already heading in that direction. Simply put, Roadie is a faster, cheaper, friendlier way to get your goods, no matter its shape or size, from where it is to where it needs to be.
The Roadie app
enables efficient, low-cost delivery for senders and rewards drivers for
trips they were already taking, offering members of the community a
variety of benefits including free roadside assistance, roadside
discounts, and tax write-offs on miles they were already driving.
Roadie works with top retailers, airlines, and grocers to provide them with a faster, more efficient, and more scalable solution for same-day and last-mile deliveries nationwide. Since the launch in 2015, the company delivered everything from cupcakes to couches to customers in more than 9,000 cities nationwide — a larger footprint than Amazon Prime.
Etheclo is pioneer in passive cooling transport units that are boxes that can be customized in dimensions, reused from 150 to 250 times and guarantees temperature compliancy up to 36 hours; each box has a unique GS1 barcode for optimal storage management and can be optionally equipped with an integrated temperature sensor that can be followed online in real-time. The passive aspect of the cooling unit can act as a lever to adopt new ways of realizing urban freight concepts however, also for sensitive goods. It certainly could be a solution to combine different kind of loads and to increase the load factor.
CodeZERO is a transformative three-year initiative to create sustainable, zero-emission last-mile delivery and return solutions for e-commerce. Our mission is to make these solutions attractive and viable for retailers, logistics service providers and consumers.
FlexCURB is improving urban last-mile logistics by creating a planning platform and associated driver’s app to maximise use of curbside spaces. Curbside management refers to the techniques, and practices used to administrate curbside spaces in high-demand, multi-use areas. The app and platform will be tested in four living labs in Toulouse and Strasbourg in France, Leuven in The Netherlands, and Funchal, Portugal.
The platform and app will help reduce traffic congestion caused by double-parking of delivery vehicles while improving efficiency in delivery times and trips, and potentially increase the revenues of delivery businesses. Effective use of the platform and app could also minimise conflicts with other curbside users including pedestrians, cyclists and emergency vehicles. Freight providers can access valuable information regarding traffic flows and restrictions, parking and curb regulations and access to loading areas and times, while public sector partners can optimise underutilised spaces, and plan traffic and curbside regulations.
In 2017 the comprehensive view on the Physical Internet from the IPIC conference merged with the technical and intralogistic view from the Logistikwerkstatt Graz for a promising format. Both the IPIC and the Logistikwerkstatt Graz are well established international conferences with broad contribution from industry and research. The purpose of our fourth Physical Internet conference was to bring together all interested parties and continue sharing of ideas to further build foundations and momentum towards the emergence of efficient and sustainable interconnected logistics. The Institute of Logistics Engineering (ITL) at Graz University of Technology hosted this international event July 4-6, 2017 in Austria on its campus.
The conference included keynotes from key stakeholders of supply chains (manufacturers, retailers, 3PL and academics) and stimulated the discussions in several workshop sessions. New business models, enabling technologies and experimentations already underway were presented, making this meeting a unique opportunity to learn, network and discuss the latest results and challenges about interconnected logistics.
In this content area you will find all contributions made to IPIC 2017 in Graz www.pi.events/IPIC2017/