Olive leaf extract as a crosslinking agent for the preparation of electrospun zein fibers

Incorporating active agents, reinforcing structure by crosslinking, thus changing release properties, can be listed as possible modifications in preparation methods of biopolymer fibers. This study introduces oleuropein, major component of olive leaf extract (OLE), as a natural functional crosslinker for electrospun zein fibers, owing to its antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. Incorporation of OLE causes morphological and structural changes indicated by a decrease in fiber diameter up to 27%, an increase in intensity of NH bending region due to interaction with –OH groups and observation of characteristic oleuropein bands. Extract addition also enhances thermal stability. Zein fibers without OLE is fully degraded at 600°C, whereas 10% of OLE loaded zein fibers is left undegraded. Fifty percent of initial phenolic content loaded into fibers is released which indicate the effect of OLE incorporation as accumulation of oleuropein. OLE‐incorporated fibers immersed in PBS are less fused than pure zein fibers, due to the crosslinking effect. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41338.     

Poly(2,6‐di(thiophene‐2‐yl)‐3,5bis(4‐(thiophene‐2‐yl)phenyl)dithieno [3,2‐b;2',3'‐d]thiophene)/carbon nanotube composite for capacitor applications

A novel monomer, 2,6‐di(thiophene‐2‐yl)‐3,5bis(4‐(thiophene‐2‐yl)phenyl)dithieno[3,2‐b;2',3'‐d]thiophene ( Th₄DTT) has been synthesized and used as an electro‐active material. It has been electropolymerized onto glassy carbon (GC) electrode in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) solution (0.1 M) together with multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). A good capacitive characteristics for P(Th₄DTT)/MWCNT composite has been obtained by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), which is, to our best knowledge, the first report on capacitor behavior of a dithienothiophene. A synergistic effect has been resolved by Nyquist, Bode‐magnitude—phase and admittance plots. Specific capacitance of the conducting polymer/MWCNT, calculated from cyclic voltammogram (CV) together with area and charge formulas, has been found to be 20.17 F g^?1. Long‐term stability of the capacitor has also been tested by CV, and the results indicated that, after 500 cycles, the specific capacitance is 87.37% of the initial capacitance. An equivalent circuit model of R_s(C₁(R₁(Q(R₂W))))(C₂R₃) has been obtained to fit the experimental and theoretical data. The double layer capacitance (C_dl) value of P(Th₄DTT)/MWCNT (4.43 mF cm^?2) has been found to be 25 times higher than P(Th₄DTT) (C_dl= 0.18 mF cm^?2). © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40061.     

Dynamic Multicore Resource Management: A Machine Learning Approach

A machine learning approach to multicore resource management produces self-optimizing on-chip hardware agents capable of learning, planning, and continuously adapting to changing workload demands. This results in more efficient and flexible management of critical hardware resources at runtime.     

Spectroscopic imaging of bone marrow composition in vertebral bodies

The proton spectroscopic imaging technique that uses read gradient during acquisition was used for the measurement of the proton spectra in the lumbar and thoracic part of the spine of a patient with breast cancer without known skeletal métastases. The bone marrow fat water ratios were evaluated in the same location before and after chemotherapy treatment. The results were corrected for relaxation effects. The fat/water ratios showed a significant increase as a consequence of the bone marrow degradation process due to chemotherapy. The proposed spectroscopic imaging technique offers rapid acquisition of proton spectra from large volumes of the vertebral bodies.     

Sparse-then-dense alignment-based 3D map reconstruction method for endoscopic capsule robots

Despite significant progress achieved in the last decade to convert passive capsule endoscopes to actively controllable robots, robotic capsule endoscopy still has some challenges. In particular, a fully dense three-dimensional (3D) map reconstruction of the explored organ remains an unsolved problem. Such a dense map would help doctors detect the locations and sizes of the diseased areas more reliably, resulting in more accurate diagnoses. In this study, we propose a comprehensive medical 3D reconstruction method for endoscopic capsule robots, which is built in a modular fashion including preprocessing, keyframe selection, sparse-then-dense alignment-based pose estimation, bundle fusion, and shading-based 3D reconstruction. A detailed quantitative analysis is performed using a non-rigid esophagus gastroduodenoscopy simulator, four different endoscopic cameras, a magnetically activated soft capsule robot, a sub-millimeter precise optical motion tracker, and a fine-scale 3D optical scanner, whereas qualitative ex-vivo experiments are performed on a porcine pig stomach. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first complete endoscopic 3D map reconstruction approach containing all of the necessary functionalities for a therapeutically relevant 3D map reconstruction.     

Operational Conditions of Activated Sludge: Influence on Flocculation and Dewaterability

Selected operational conditions of activated sludge are investigated in relation to their effect on flocculation and dewatering. Semi-continuous reactors with 2 -L volume were operated at different mean cell residence times, C/N ratios, and three different influent cations. Results show that MCRT, C/N ratio, and the cation type affect the bioflocculation capacity of activated sludge measured by the quantity of extracellular polymeric substances. As the MCRT value operated in the reactors and the C/N ratio of the influent wastewater increase, total amount of polymers produced increases. High MCRT values and low C/N values cause good dewatering of the sludge. All cations are shown to stimulate the EPS production in a way that the highest total EPS concentrations are observed at the highest cation dosages. The dewaterability of the sludges improves only with increasing calcium and magnesium concentrations and deteriorates with increasing potassium concentration.     

Etiological and clinical patterns of urolithiasis in Turkish children

A beta-glucan binding protein (BGBP) was identified in both white (Penaeus vannamei) and blue shrimp (P. stylirostris) plasma. White shrimp BGBP was purified by affinity chromatography using immobilized laminarin, and its molecular and biological properties were described. White shrimp BGBP is a monomeric protein with a molecular mass of 100 kDa, similar to those described for other crustacean BGBPs. White and blue shrimp BGBPs can be detected with antisera against crayfish BGBP and brown shrimp BGBP. Both amino acid composition and N-terminal sequence are markedly similar to brown shrimp (P. californiensis) and crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) BGBP, indicating that this recognition protein is present in freshwater and marine crustaceans.     

Human Reliability Analysis in Spaceflight Applications

Predicting and mitigating human error in manned spaceflight can be the difference between mission success and lost vehicle or crewmember. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has used the Cognitive Reliability Error Analysis Model analysis developed by the nuclear industry during the last 30 years of manned spaceflight to predict human error. Although the analysis has proven to be reliable, it does not take into account operations specific for long duration spaceflight such as crew training and ground support. This article first explains the principles of the Cognitive Reliability Error Analysis Model and how it is used at NASA. Then, the probability for error for an International Space Station ingress procedure is calculated using standard performance shaping factors developed for the nuclear power industry. Lastly, the environmental and operational constraints of space flight are used to develop new performance shaping factors specific to a NASA‐operated spacecraft. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of different surface treatments on the repair bond strength of resin composites with titanium

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of different surface treatment combinations on the bonding of composite resins to NiCr and titanium alloys after thermal cycling. Square-shaped specimens (10?mm x 10?mm x 2?mm) were made from NiCr and titanium alloys. The specimens were divided into 6 pretreatment groups (n?=?11): (1) machined titanium (control, no treatment); (2) CoJet sand application; (3) grinding with a diamond bur; (4) metal primer application; (5) CoJet sand?+?metal primer application; and (6) grinding with a diamond bur?+?metal primer application. The surface roughness of the mechanically treated specimens (control, grinding, CoJet sand) was evaluated. The surface morphology of both metals and elemental composition were examined with SEM and EDS. The composite resin was applied to the specimens. Shear bond strength (SBS) was tested after thermal cycling (5000 cycles, 5?°C to 55?°C). Failure modes were determined. The data were analyzed using the Shapiro-Wilk test, two-way ANOVA and post hoc Fisher’s LSD test (p?=?.05). For titanium specimens, the grinding?+?metal primer exhibited higher values than the other groups, and all groups showed higher SBS values than the control group. Combined use of CoJet sand, grinding with a diamond bur, and metal primer application would be useful for enhancing the bond strength of composite resin to titanium. The grinding of the NiCr surface with a diamond bur is the only method that could improve the bond strength of a composite resin compared to the other methods.     

The effect of different surface pretreatments on the bond strength of veneering resin to polyetheretherketone

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different surface pretreatment methods on the bond strength of veneering resin to polyetheretherketone (PEEK) based aesthetic frameworks. Five hundred and forty PEEK disks were fabricated and divided into 6 pretreatment groups (n = 90); (C) untreated control group, (B) airborne-particle abrasion, (S) silica coating, (L) etching with Er:YAG (erbium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet) laser, (LB) etching with Er:YAG laser and airborne-particle abrasion and (LS) etching with Er:YAG laser and silica coating. After topographical surface examinations, specimens were conditioned with adhesive and veneering resin was polymerized onto the PEEK specimens. Twenty-four hours after veneering, specimens were subjected to thermal aging. Afterwards, shear bond strength (SBS) tests were performed and the obtained data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA and Tukey test at a significance level of α = .05. Group B (1.58 ± 0.15 μm), Group L (1.79 ± 0.29 μm), Group LB (2.20 ± 0.23 μm) and Group LS (2.31 ± 0.52 μm) demonstrated significantly higher surface roughness (SR) values compared to Group C (1.03 ± 0.11 μm). Group B (10.97 ± 2.88 MPa), Group S (12.07 ± 2.82 MPa), Group LB (12.09 ± 2.08 MPa) and Group LS (13.14 ± 1.45 MPa) demonstrated significantly higher SBS values compared to Group C (6.35 ± 1.21 MPa). Airborne-particle abrasion, silica coating or their combined use with Er:YAG laser system establish durable bond between PEEK and resin; however, only Er:YAG laser treatment has no positive effect on resin-PEEK bond.