Base alumina ceramics with dispersoids: mechanical behaviour and tissue response afterin vivo implantation

Base alumina ceramics with dispersoids (BAC) are a new class of ceramics with improved mechanical properties as compared to pure alumina. They are obtained by dispersion of powder within an alumina matrix. Of the three new ceramics studied here, A20Z possesses the best mechanical properties as well as tribological properties superior to those of pure alumina whether it is used in ceramic-ceramic or ceramic-polyethylene combination.Mechanical behaviour and tissue response afterin vivo implantation were studied. Small four-point flexion bars obtained by pressureless sintering were implanted subcutaneously in the rat. The mechanical properties were unmodified even after one year from implantation.The tissue response was studied up to one year on cylinders implanted in the paravertebral muscles of Wistar rats, and was evaluated by qualitative examination of the encapsulating membrane and measurement of its thickness in relation to pure alumina. The tissue responses were comparable for both alumina and the three tested ceramics.     

Partial oxidation of methane towards hydrogen production over a promising class of catalysts: Rh supported on Ti-modified MgO

The partial oxidation of methane over the supported Rh (0.8 wt.%) catalysts was investigated. Two kinds of supports were used, MgO and Ti-modified MgO (prepared by grafting technique). Among the Ti-modified MgO supports, two different compounds were used as source of Ti: inorganic (chloride) and organic (alkoxide). The catalytic performance of Rh-supported catalysts depends on the support and varies in the sequence: Ti-MgO/I > Ti-MgO/O > MgO. Ti-containing catalysts exhibited higher activity and selectivity compared to MgO, which is especially noticeable at low temperature. Possible explanations for the phenomena observed were proposed on the basis of characterization results.     

Automatic multiple sclerosis lesion detection in brain MRI by FLAIR thresholding

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is frequently used to detect and segment multiple sclerosis lesions due to the detailed and rich information provided. We present a modified expectation-maximisation algorithm to segment brain tissues (white matter, grey matter, and cerebro-spinal fluid) as well as a partial volume class containing fluid and grey matter. This algorithm provides an initial segmentation in which lesions are not separated from tissue, thus a second step is needed to find them. This second step involves the thresholding of the FLAIR image, followed by a regionwise refinement to discard false detections. To evaluate the proposal, we used a database with 45 cases comprising 1.5T imaging data from three different hospitals with different scanner machines and with a variable lesion load per case. The results for our database point out to a higher accuracy when compared to two of the best state-of-the-art approaches.     

Three-dimensional analysis of boreholes considering spatial variability of properties and poroelastoplasticity

In general, analysis of oil producing wells is carried out considering that both hydraulic and mechanical parameters of the rock mass are deterministic. Mechanical and hydraulic properties of rock masses and in particular sedimentary rock masses may show a considerable degree of spatial variability. This paper focuses on the evaluation of the three-dimensional borehole response, particularly of the plastic zone, taking into account the spatial variability of both hydraulic and mechanical properties. The analysis is performed with a developed finite element program that incorporates spatial variability, coupled fluid-mechanical effects and elastoplastic behavior of the rock mass. Examples are shown and conclusions are drawn regarding the effect of spatial variability on the three-dimensional borehole analysis.     

Decentralised event-triggered cooperative control with limited communication

This note studies event-triggered control of Multi-Agent Systems (MAS) with first-order integrator dynamics. It extends previous work on event-triggered consensus by considering limited communication capabilities through strict peer-to-peer non-continuous information exchange. The approach provides both a decentralised control law and a decentralised communication policy. Communication events require no global information and are based only on local state errors; agents do not require a global sampling period or synchronous broadcasting as in sampled-data approaches. The proposed decentralised event-triggered control technique guarantees that the inter-event times for each agent are strictly positive. Finally, the ideas in this note are used to consider the practical scenario where agents are able to exchange only quantised measurements of their states.     

Influence of pH cycling and mechanical loading on the resin-dentin microtensile bond strength

The durability of adhesive interfaces is still a problem in adhesive restorations in dentistry. Laboratorial ageing methods have been proposed to predict the performance of materials, but they still require standardization. The objective of this study was to evaluate the resin-dentin microtensile bond strength of composite restorations subjected to pH cycling and different levels of mechanical loading. Resin blocks were built over a flat superficial dentin of bovine incisors (n = 40), using a three-step adhesive system. Half of the specimens were submitted to 10 cycles of pH cycling, followed by mechanical loading (0, 500,000; 1,000,000; 2,000,000 cycles – 98 N, 4 Hz). The other half was directly subjected to mechanical loading. After ageing, all groups were subjected to a microtensile bond test. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA and Tukey’s test (α = 0.05). The frequency of the early de-bonding was compared using the Chi-square test (α = 0.05). The statistical analysis revealed that the cross-product interaction ‘pH cycling’ vs. ‘number of mechanical loading cycles’ (p = 0.72) as well as the main factor ‘pH cycling’ (p = 0.49) was not statistically significant, and they were not able to reduce the resin–dentin bond strength values. Regarding the number of mechanical loading cycles, the groups subjected to 2,000,000 cycles showed lower bond strength values than the others (p = 0.003). The frequency of debonded specimens increased with mechanical loading. Therefore, it can be concluded that in this restorative model, at least 2,000,000 mechanical cycles are need to decrease the microtensile strength and simulate the ageing of the interface.     

An Alternative Method for the Incorporation of Silver in Ag-VOx/TiO2 Catalysts for the Total Oxidation of Benzene

An alternative way of synthesis, the “onion” method, was used to deposit silver nanoparticles on a VO_x/TiO₂ catalyst. This synthesis method consists in the impregnation of organic vesicles containing the metallic silver nanoparticles. In situ calcination is needed to remove the organic vesicles and to offer an access of the reactants to the silver nanoparticles. This removal is easier in presence of vanadium. The addition of silver induces a higher proportion of V⁵⁺. The Ag-VO_x/TiO₂ catalysts prepared with this method exhibit better performances in the total oxidation of benzene after moderate in situ calcination at 350 °C than at 450 °C. A synergy between silver and vanadium is evidenced after both kinds of calcination with a silver loading of 0.125 and 0.25 wt%. The extent of this synergy is higher after a moderate calcination. This effect is likely due to the fact that small nanoparticles prepared via the “onions” sinter less after in situ calcination at 350 °C than at 450 °C. A clear link between the extent of the synergy and the size of the silver nanoparticles is evidenced. A decrease of the nanoparticle size induces a higher extent for the synergy.     

Dynamics of Indigenous Microbial Populations of Butter Head Lettuce Grown in Mulch and on Bare Soil

ABSTRACT:  The native microflora of lettuce cultivated in mulch and on bare soil and its evolution during storage at optimal condition were evaluated. Inner, mid, and outer leaves of the lettuce heads were analyzed separately and the evolution of the microbial populations were fitted to Gompertz and logistic models. The cultivation method (bare soil and mulch) introduced differences in the initial counts, evolution, and tolerance to refrigeration temperatures for some of the microbial populations under study. Most microbial populations from mulch lettuce presented a decline or little growth under refrigerated storage. However, populations from bare soil lettuce presented some growth phase during storage. Lactic acid bacteria from bare soil lettuce presented significant growth after 8 d of storage while LAB from mulch grown lettuce did not. Concurrently with the LAB growth, there was a decline in the coliform counts in bare soil grown lettuce. At the end of storage, the inner and mid leaves of mulch lettuce presented lower counts of psychrotrophic bacteria, LAB, and yeast and molds.