Is the List of Incomplete Open Cubes Complete?

Variations of Incomplete Open Cubes is the major project by the twentieth-century conceptual artist Sol LeWitt. In this paper we interpret the enumerative component of the project as embeddings of graphs. This formulation permits use of an algorithm to check the completeness of the list of the structures produced by the artist. Our conclusion is that the artist found the correct number of structures (that is, 122), but that his list contains a mistake in the presentation of a pair of incomplete cubes, a discovery that appears not to have been noted before.     

Apparent power-law distributions in animal movements can arise from intraspecific interactions

Lévy flights have gained prominence for analysis of animal movement. In a Lévy flight, step-lengths are drawn from a heavy-tailed distribution such as a power law (PL), and a large number of empirical demonstrations have been published. Others, however, have suggested that animal movement is ill fit by PL distributions or contend a state-switching process better explains apparent Lévy flight movement patterns. We used a mix of direct behavioural observations and GPS tracking to understand step-length patterns in females of two related butterflies. We initially found movement in one species (Euphydryas editha taylori) was best fit by a bounded PL, evidence of a Lévy flight, while the other (Euphydryas phaeton) was best fit by an exponential distribution. Subsequent analyses introduced additional candidate models and used behavioural observations to sort steps based on intraspecific interactions (interactions were rare in E. phaeton but common in E. e. taylori). These analyses showed a mixed-exponential is favoured over the bounded PL for E. e. taylori and that when step-lengths were sorted into states based on the influence of harassing conspecific males, both states were best fit by simple exponential distributions. The direct behavioural observations allowed us to infer the underlying behavioural mechanism is a state-switching process driven by intraspecific interactions rather than a Lévy flight.     

Optimization of Pathogen Capture in Flowing Fluids with Magnetic Nanoparticles

Magnetic nanoparticles have been employed to capture pathogens for many biological applications; however, optimal particle sizes have been determined empirically in specific capturing protocols. Here, a theoretical model that simulates capture of bacteria is described and used to calculate bacterial collision frequencies and magnetophoretic properties for a range of particle sizes. The model predicts that particles with a diameter of 460 nm should produce optimal separation of bacteria in buffer flowing at 1 L h⁻¹. Validating the predictive power of the model, Staphylococcus aureus is separated from buffer and blood flowing through magnetic capture devices using six different sizes of magnetic particles. Experimental magnetic separation in buffer conditions confirms that particles with a diameter closest to the predicted optimal particle size provide the most effective capture. Modeling the capturing process in plasma and blood by introducing empirical constants (c_e), which integrate the interfering effects of biological components on the binding kinetics of magnetic beads to bacteria, smaller beads with 50 nm diameters are predicted that exhibit maximum magnetic separation of bacteria from blood and experimentally validated this trend. The predictive power of the model suggests its utility for the future design of magnetic separation for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.     

Polymer derived ceramic materials from Si,B and MoSiB filler-loaded perhydropolysilazane precursor for oxidation protection

Silica-based coating systems were developed using polymer derived ceramics (PDCs) technology. Ceramic composites on the base of a SiO₂ and SiNO matrix and homogeneously distributed Mo₅SiB₂, SiB₆, Si and B fillers were manufactured. The coating systems have low porosity and provide a high oxidation resistance up to 100 h at 800 °C and 1100 °C in air. The influence of temperature and atmosphere of pyrolysis on the polymer precursor, the volume fraction of filler materials on the chemical composition of compacts as well as their high-temperature oxidation protection was investigated.     

Sex and Depot Differences in Palmitoleic Acid Content of Human Blood and Fat

Palmitoleic acid has been classified as an insulin-sensitizing lipokine, but evidence for this from human studies has been inconsistent. We hypothesized that this is related to either the types of samples or conditions under which samples are collected. We measured plasma palmitoleic acid and total free fatty acids (FFA) using ultra-performance liquid chromatography in blood samples collected from 34 adults under a variety of conditions. We collected duplicate samples of adipose (n = 10), FFA (n = 9), and very low density lipoprotein triacylglycerol (VLDL-TAG) (n = 7) to measure the palmitoleic acid as a percentage of total fatty acids. We tested whether the percentage of palmitoleic acid was correlated with insulin resistance, as measured by homeostatic model of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR). Adipose stearoyl-coenzyme A desaturase 1 (SCD-1) protein was measured by capillary Western blotting. FFA-palmitoleic acid percentage increased as a function of total FFA and was greater (p < 0.005) in females than males. Adipose palmitoleic acid percentage was greater in females than males (p < 0.001), as was adipose SCD-1. Palmitoleic acid was greater in femoral fat than in abdominal fat in both females and males (p < 0.001), and correlated positively with HOMA-IR only in females. The test–retest reliability values for percentage palmitoleic acid were 7 ± 10% for adipose, 24 ± 26% for VLDL, and 53 ± 31% for FFA. Because FFA-palmitoleic acid percentage varies as a function of total FFA, investigators should re-evaluate how palmitoleic acid data is presented. The positive relationship between adipose palmitoleic acid and HOMA-IR in females suggests that it is not a potent insulin-sensitizing lipokine in humans.     

Influence of the Temperature on Coccolith-Containing Systems from Emiliania huxleyi Cultivations

Thermogravimetric analysis of a coccolith-containing biogenic broth showed a three-step degradation process. According to this system behavior, the biogenic broth was heated to specific temperatures and characterized in terms of its morphology, surface chemistry, and crystallinity. The elemental and organic composition of the treated samples was also evaluated and compared to the reference material. The presented results were acquired in an effort to exploit pretreatment scenarios for such a biogenic system that would improve and support a separation process.     

High‐performance thermosets with tailored properties derived from methacrylated eugenol and epoxy‐based vinyl ester

A renewable chemical, eugenol, is methacrylated to produce methacrylated eugenol (ME) employing the Steglich esterification reaction without any solvent. The resulting ME is used as a low‐viscosity co‐monomer to replace styrene in a commercial epoxy‐based vinyl ester resin (VE). The volatility and viscosity of ME and styrene are compared. The effect of ME loading and temperature on the viscosity of the VE–ME resin is investigated. Moreover, the thermomechanical properties, curing extent and thermal stability of the fully cured VE–ME thermosets are systematically examined. The results indicate that ME is a monomer with low volatility and low viscosity, and therefore the incorporation of ME monomer in VE resins allows significant reduction of viscosity. Moreover, the viscosity of the VE–ME resin can be tailored by adjusting the ME loadings and processing temperature to meet commercial liquid molding technology requirements. The glass transition temperatures of VE–ME thermosets range from 139 to 199 °C. In addition, more than 95% of the monomer is incorporated and fixed in the crosslinked network structure of VE–ME thermosets. Overall, the developed ME monomer exhibits promising potential for replacing styrene as an effective low‐viscosity co‐monomer. The VE–ME resins show great advantages for use in polymer matrices for high‐performance fiber‐reinforced composites. This work is of great significance to the vinyl ester industry by providing detailed experimental support. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry     

Sleep Disorders Reduce Health-Related Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis (Nottingham Health Profile Data in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis)

Quality of Life (QoL) is decreased in multiple sclerosis (MS), but studies about the impact of sleep disorders (SD) on health-related quality of Life (HRQoL) are lacking. From our original cohort, a cross-sectional polysomnographic (PSG) study in consecutive MS patients, we retrospectively analysed the previously unpublished data of the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP). Those MS patients suffering from sleep disorders (n = 49) showed significantly lower HRQoL compared to MS patients without sleep disorders (n = 17). Subsequently, we classified the patients into four subgroups: insomnia (n = 17), restless-legs syndrome, periodic limb movement disorder and SD due to leg pain (n = 24), obstructive sleep apnea (n = 8) and patients without sleep disorder (n = 17). OSA and insomnia patients showed significantly higher NHP values and decreased HRQoL not only for the sleep subscale but also for the “energy” and “emotional” area of the NHP. In addition, OSA patients also showed increased NHP values in the “physical abilities” area. Interestingly, we did not find a correlation between the objective PSG parameters and the subjective sleep items of the NHP. However, this study demonstrates that sleep disorders can reduce HRQoL in MS patients and should be considered as an important confounder in all studies investigating HRQoL in MS.