Hancornia speciosa latex for biomedical applications: physical and chemical properties,biocompatibility assessment and angiogenic activity

The latex obtained from Hancornia speciosa is used in folk medicine for treatment of several diseases, such as acne, warts, diabetes, gastritis and inflammation. In this work, we describe the biocompatibility assessment and angiogenic properties of H. speciosa latex and its potential application in medicine. The physical–chemical characterization was carried out following different methodologies (CHN elemental analyses; thermogravimetric analyses and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy). The biocompatibility was evaluated through cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests in fibroblast mouse cells and the angiogenic properties were evaluated using the chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay model. The physical–chemical results showed that the structure of Hancornia speciosa latex biomembrane is very similar to that of Hevea brasiliensis (commercially available product). Moreover, the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity assays showed that H. speciosa latex is biocompatible with life systems and can be a good biomaterial for medical applications. The CAM test showed the efficient ability of H. speciosa latex in neovascularization of tissues. The histological analysis was in accordance with the results obtained in the CAM assay. Our data indicate that the latex obtained from H. speciosa and eluted in water showed significant angiogenic activity without any cytotoxic or genotoxic effects on life systems. The same did not occur with H. speciosa latex stabilized with ammonia. Addition of ammonia does not have significant effects on the structure of biomembranes, but showed a smaller cell survival and a significant genotoxicity effect. This study contributes to the understanding of the potentialities of H. speciosa latex as a source of new phytomedicines.     

Charge carrier transport anisotropy in ultrananocrystalline diamond films

The optoelectronic properties of ultrananocrystalline diamond films (UNCD) grown using N₂ = 0 and 5% in the deposition gas mixture, are investigated by transient photocurrent measurements under nanosecond light pulses, both in planar and sandwich contact arrangements.Independent of contact configuration and N₂% value, very similar characteristic times in the 6-7 ns range are detected in the nanosecond range, reflecting a homogeneous distribution of states responsible for such decay times. On a longer time scale, nitrogen addition appears to slow down carrier transport promoting trapping and detrapping processes responsible for single and two power law photocurrent decays in films deposited using N₂ = 5% for sandwich and planar contact arrangements, respectively. Such a result suggests a nitrogen induced transport anisotropy tentatively related to structural modifications occurring at relatively low N₂%.     

Kriging metamodel management in the design optimization of a CNG injection system

This paper deals with the use of Kriging metamodels in multi-objective engineering design optimization. The metamodel management issue to find the tradeoff between accuracy and efficiency is addressed. A comparative analysis of different strategies is conducted for a case study devoted to the design of a component of the injection system for Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) engines. The computational results are reported and analyzed for a performance assessment conducted with a data envelopment analysis approach.     

Olfactory coordinated area coverage

This paper proposes an olfaction based methodology to automatically cover an unknown area enabling the decoupled cooperation of a group of floor cleaning mobile robots. This method is based on the utilisation of low cost chemical sensors in cleaning mobile robots, in order to differentiate clean from dirty areas. The experimental results show that the use of olfactory capabilities allows to efficiently cover and clean a certain area, and demonstrate the possibility of coordinating several mobile robots without the need of expensive sensing capabilities, map building or complex algorithms for task scheduling.     

Image restoration in chirp-pulse microwave CT (CP-MCT)

Chirp-pulse microwave computed tomography (CP-MCT) is a technique for imaging the distribution of temperature variations inside biological tissues. Even if resolution and contrast are adequate to this purpose, a further improvement of image quality is desirable. In this paper, we discuss the blur of CP-MCT images and we propose a method for estimating the corresponding point spread function (PSF). To this purpose we use both a measured and a computed projection of a cylindrical phantom. We find a good agreement between the two cases. Finally the estimated PSF is used for deconvolving data corresponding to various kinds of cylindrical phantoms. We use an iterative nonlinear deconvolution method which assures nonnegative solutions and we demonstrate the improvement of image quality which can be obtained in such a way.     

CdTe and HgTe surface growth kinetics for molecular and metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy

The surface growth kinetics of CdTe and HgTe have been investigated during molecular and metalorganic molecular beam epitaxy. The surface growth kinetics was studied through in-situ measurements of the growth rate as a function of flux ratio and substrate temperature on the (001), (111)B, and (211)B CdTe surface orientations. For the (001) and (111)B CdTe growth kinetics, the existence of low binding energy surface precursor sites was proposed for both molecular and atomic growth species before lattice incorporation. Intensity oscillations were observed during HgTe growth on misoriented (111)B surfaces and during CdTe growth on the (211)B orientation. The (211)B surface reconstructions displayed both vicinal and singular surface characteristics, depending on the growth flux ratio.     

Empiricism versus science in the teaching of nephrology

Recent changes in medical courses in Italy reflect a recognition that both theoretical education and clinical practice are essential components of a doctor's training. These two parallel branches of medical education find their origins in the beliefs of Galen, mentor of medicine as a pure science, and of Alexander of Aphrodisias, promoter of the predominant role of empiricism. Neither a dogmatic nor an empiric approach to the study of medicine, however, is sufficient on its own.     

A solid-phase microextraction device for the analysis of electrochemical reaction products by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry

Presented is a solid-phase microextraction syringe-electrode assembly that may be used to identify electrode reaction products. After an electrochemical experiment, the electrode within this syringe-electrode assembly can be introduced into the injection port of a gas chromatograph. Electrochemical reaction products can be analyzed, provided they adhere to the electrode surface and are amenable to gas chromatographic/mass spectrometric analysis. We highlight the potential usefulness of this device using well-known electrochemical reaction of quinones.     

An adaptive sharing elitist evolution strategy for multiobjective optimization

Almost all approaches to multiobjective optimization are based on Genetic Algorithms (GAs), and implementations based on Evolution Strategies (ESs) are very rare. Thus, it is crucial to investigate how ESs can be extended to multiobjective optimization, since they have, in the past, proven to be powerful single objective optimizers. In this paper, we present a new approach to multiobjective optimization, based on ESs. We call this approach the Multiobjective Elitist Evolution Strategy (MEES) as it incorporates several mechanisms, like elitism, that improve its performance. When compared with other algorithms, MEES shows very promising results in terms of performance.