Synthesis of unsaturated polyesters of increased solubility in styrene

The present study presents the synthesis of unsaturated polyester resins using only one glycol i.e., ethylene glycol. Polyesters of inorganic solubility in styrene were prepared. Properties of the resins in the noncrosslinked state in the process of crosslinking and after curing were studied. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 101: 3143–3150, 2006     

Collaborative cross-checking to enhance resilience

Resilience, the ability to adapt or absorb disturbance, disruption, and change, may be increased by team processes in a complex, socio-technical system. In particular, collaborative cross-checking is a strategy where at least two individuals or groups with different perspectives examine the others’ assumptions and/or actions to assess validity or accuracy. With this strategy, erroneous assessments or actions can be detected quickly enough to mitigate or eliminate negative consequences. In this paper, we seek to add to the understanding of the elements that are needed in effective cross-checking and the limitations of the strategy. We define collaborative cross-checking, describe in detail three healthcare incidents where collaborative cross-checks played a key role, and discuss the implications of emerging patterns.     

Perceptual primitives from an extended 4D Hough transform

Directional features extracted from Gabor wavelets responses were used to train a structure of self-organising maps, thus classifying each pixel in the image within a neuron-map. Resulting directional primitives were grouped into perceptual primitives introducing an extended 4D Hough transform to group pixels with similar directional features. These can then be used as perceptual primitives to detect salient structures. The proposed method has independently fixed parameters that do not need to be tuned for different kind or quality of images. We present results in application to noisy FLIR images and show that line primitives for complex structures, such as bridges, or simple structures, such as runways, can be found by this approach. We compare and demonstrate the quality of our results with those obtained through a parameter-dependent traditional Canny edge detector and Hough line finding process.     

Identification of aroma components of Spanish ‘Verdejo’ wine

Aroma components of ine resulting from fermentation of grape must from the Verdejo cultivar ere isolated by continuous liquid-liquid extraction and further fractionation on a silica gel column. One hundred and thirty-to substances, including alcohols, esters, carbonyl compounds, terpenes, acids and sulphur compounds, ere identified by using GC-MS; some had not been previously detected in ines. Data are given hich could lead to the characterisation of the Verdejo cultivar and the effect of the elaboration of young ines. The sensory contribution of some volatile compounds to the flavour of Verdejo ine is also studied.     

Collaborating freight forwarding enterprises

The paper presents a model for the collaboration among independent freight forwarding entities. In the modern highly competitive transportation branch freight forwarders reduce their fulfillment costs by exploiting different execution modes (self-fulfillment and subcontraction). For self-fulfillment they use their own vehicles to execute the requests and for subcontracting they forward the orders to external freight carriers. Further enhancement of competitiveness can be achieved if the freight forwarders cooperate in coalitions in order to balance their request portfolios. Participation in such a coalition gains additional profit for the entire coalition and for each participant, therefore reinforcing the market position of the partners. The integrated operational transport problem as well as existing collaboration approaches are introduced. The presented model for collaboration is based on theoretical foundations in the field of combinatorial auctions and operational research game theory. It is applicable for coalitions of freight forwarders, especially for the collaboration of Profit Centres within large freight forwarding companies. The proposed theoretical approach and the presented collaboration model are suitable for a coalition of freight forwarding companies with nearly similar potential on the market.     

200°C, 96-nm wavelength range, continuous-wave lasing fromunbonded GaAs MOVPE-grown vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers

We report record temperature and wavelength range attained using MOVPE-grown AlGaAs vertical cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL's). Unbonded continuous-wave lasing is achieved at temperatures up to 200°C from these top-emitting VCSEL's and operation over a 96-nm wavelength regime near 850 nm is also achieved from the same nominal design. Temperature and wavelength insensitive operation is also demonstrated; threshold current is controlled to within a factor of 2 (2.5-5 mA) for a wavelength range exceeding 50 nm and to within ±30% (5-10 mA) for a temperature range of 190°C at 870 nm     

Automatic verification of concurrent stochastic systems

Formal Methods in System Design - Automated verification techniques for stochastic games allow formal reasoning about systems that feature competitive or collaborative behaviour among rational...     

The Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane Model: A New In Vivo Tool to Evaluate Breast Cancer Stem Cell Activity

The high plasticity of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) allows them to differentiate and proliferate, specifically when xenotransplanted subcutaneously into immunocompromised mice. CSCs are highly tumorigenic, even when inoculated in small numbers. Thus, in vivo limiting dilution assays (LDA) in mice are the current gold standard method to evaluate CSC enrichment and activity. The chick embryo chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) is a low cost, naturally immune-incompetent and reproducible model widely used to evaluate the spontaneous growth of human tumor cells. Here, we established a CAM-LDA assay able to rapidly reproduce tumor specificities—in particular, the ability of the small population of CSCs to form tumors. We used a panel of organotropic metastatic breast cancer cells, which show an enrichment in a stem cell gene signature, enhanced CD44⁺/CD24^−/low cell surface expression and increased mammosphere-forming efficiency (MFE). The size of CAM-xenografted tumors correlate with the number of inoculated cancer cells, following mice xenograft growth pattern. CAM and mice tumors are histologically comparable, displaying both breast CSC markers CD44 and CD49f. Therefore, we propose a new tool for studying CSC prevalence and function—the chick CAM-LDA—a model with easy handling, accessibility, rapid growth and the absence of ethical and regulatory constraints.     

Microstructured Lipid Carriers (MLC) Based on N-Acetylcysteine and Chitosan Preventing Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilm

The aim of this work was the development of microstructured lipid carriers (MLC) based on chitosan (CH) and containing N-acetylcysteine (NAC), a mucolytic and antioxidant agent, to inhibit the formation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilm. MLC were prepared using the high shear homogenization technique. The MLC were characterized for morphology, particle size, Z potential, encapsulation efficiency and drug release. The antioxidant properties of NAC-loaded microstructured carriers were evaluated through an in vitro spectrophotometer assay. Finally, the activity of NAC-CH-MLC on biofilm production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa was also evaluated. Results obtained from this study highlighted that the use of chitosan into the inner aqueous phase permitted to obtain microstructured particles with a narrow size range and with good encapsulation efficiency. NAC-loaded MLC showed higher antioxidant activity than the free molecule, demonstrating how encapsulation increases the antioxidant effect of the molecule. Furthermore, the reduction of biofilm growth resulted extremely high with MLC being 64.74% ± 6.2% and 83.74% ± 9.95%, respectively, at 0.5 mg/mL and 2 mg/mL. In conclusion, this work represents a favorable technological strategy against diseases in which bacterial biofilm is relevant, such as cystic fibrosis.