Towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Lead Userness: The Search for Individual Creativity

In innovation research the identification of lead users has attracted considerable research effort. While lead user research has made important advances, there is still a significant lack in terms of understanding antecedents to lead userness. Therefore the aim of this paper is to offer a framework which is rooted in creativity psychology in order to provide a more comprehensive understanding of who leading‐edge users are. It will allow for a systematic investigation and detection of innovative users. We conducted an empirical study in the field of small kitchen appliances in co‐operation with Philips Consumer Lifestyle, a field which lacks some of the typical characteristics that have been emphasized in markets traditionally studied in lead user research. With our research we show that (1) lead userness is fundamentally linked to individual creativity; (2) particularly creativity‐ and domain‐relevant skills (cognitive style, product knowledge and use experience) are related to lead userness; (3) creativity‐relevant skills can be explained by personal characteristics, such as education, gender and openness to experience.     

Assessment of TSPAN Expression Profile and Their Role in the VSCC Prognosis

The role and prognostic value of tetraspanins (TSPANs) in vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) remain poorly understood. We sought to primarily determine, at both the molecular and tissue level, the expression profile of the TSPANs CD9, CD63, CD81, and CD82 in archived VSCC samples (n = 117) and further investigate their clinical relevance as prognostic markers. Our studies led us to identify CD63 as the most highly expressed TSPAN, at the gene and protein levels. Multicomparison studies also revealed that the expression of CD9 was associated with tumor size, whereas CD63 upregulation was associated with histological diagnosis and vascular invasion. Moreover, low expression of CD81 and CD82 was associated with worse prognosis. To determine the role of TSPANs in VSCC at the cellular level, we assessed the mRNA levels of CD63 and CD82 in established metastatic (SW962) and non-metastatic (SW954) VSCC human cell lines. CD82 was found to be downregulated in SW962 cells, thus supporting its metastasis suppressor role. However, CD63 was significantly upregulated in both cell lines. Silencing of CD63 by siRNA led to a significant decrease in proliferation of both SW954 and SW962. Furthermore, in SW962 particularly, CD63-siRNA also remarkably inhibited cell migration. Altogether, our data suggest that the differential expression of TSPANs represents an important feature for prognosis of VSCC patients and indicates that CD63 and CD82 are likely potential therapeutic targets in VSCC.     

Chebyshev approaches for imbalanced data streams regression models

Data Mining and Knowledge Discovery - In recent years data stream mining and learning from imbalanced data have been active research areas. Even though solutions exist to tackle these two problems,...     

Photodiode-like behavior of jelly dye-sensitized donor-acceptor dendrimers

Hybrid photodiodes (HPD) systems are on the rise. The growing interest on these devices is mainly due to their power in image sensing and bioengineering solutions. In this work, a new class of donor-acceptor dendrimers was synthesized and incorporated, along with a ruthenium sensitizer dye, into low cost devices comprised of one single layer of a biocompatible matrix (agarose). Exploring different electrodes, low current devices with a counter-electrode dependent response have been successfully assembled at room temperature. Using a stainless steel electrode, sensitized donor-acceptor dendrimers provide photodiode-like systems having nA dark currents. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48635.     

Effect of rare-earth oxides on properties of silicon nitride obtained by normal sintering and sinter-HIP

This paper presented the microstructure,mechanical properties and oxidation behavior of silicon nitride obtained by both conventional sintering and sintering followed by hot isostatic pressing(HIP).Silicon nitride with additives such as 5 wt.% Al2O3 and 5 wt.% Ln2O3(Ln= La,La concentrate,Gd or La+Gd) were studied.The results revealed that Gd2O3 additions increased the formation of elongated grains of β-Si3N4,the fracture toughness and oxidation resistance.La2O3 additions led to higher densification and hardness values,while addition of La2O3 concentrate promoted the formation of materials with intermediate properties,compared to the other studied compositions.Hot isostatic pressing increased the hardness but decreased the fracture toughness of the material,mainly because it allowed residual pores to close and also reduced the average aspect ratio of β-Si3N4 grains.     

New constructive algorithms for leather nesting in the automotive industry

In this paper, we address one of the hardest two-dimensional cutting stock problems that can be found in industry. The problem is called the Leather Nesting Problem, and it consists in finding the best layouts for a set of irregular shapes within large natural leather hides with highly irregular contours, and which may have holes and quality zones. Here, we focus on a real case from the automotive industry, and in particular on the production of car seats. In this case, the irregular shapes that have to be cut from the hides are pieces of the car seats.The practical relevance of this problem, and the potential value of the savings that good solutions may generate, contrasts with the very small number of contributions that have been reported in the literature. In this paper, we aim to contribute to the efficient resolution of this problem by exploring in depth many new different constructive procedures. Our approaches rely on the computation of no-fit polygons, and try to use the information provided by these polygons as much as possible. Different strategies for sorting, selecting and placing the pieces, and for evaluating the placement of these pieces are proposed and discussed. We also report on an extensive set of computational experiments using real instances. To evaluate our approaches, we applied the real criteria used by companies operating in this sector. These experiments show that our approaches can generate very high quality layouts within the same time limits as those needed by human operators.     

Engineered organic/inorganic hybrids for superhydrophobic coatings by wet and vapour procedures

Siloxane/oxide hybrids have attracted growing attention thanks to their ability to modulate the surface energy, wettability, or self-lubricity of a material. Here, we compare two functionalisation procedures (chemical vapour deposition and wet impregnation) on substrate films composed by preformed oxide particles. Three kinds of particles, characterised by different natures (SiO₂ and TiO₂) and average particle size, were studied to highlight possible effects related to the chemical and morphological state of the substrate surface. Morphological characterisations were carried out using dynamic light scattering and scanning electron microscopy, while the structure of the hydrophobing layer was studied by combining Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance. The degree of functionalisation and the features of the siloxane layer vary significantly among the adopted oxides and functionalisation methods. The wettability features of the different hybrids closely mirror the results of the spectroscopic characterisations, giving rise to either Lotus leaf or patch-wise hydrophobic systems depending on the adopted conditions.     

Photoacoustic Analysis of the Penetration Kinetics of Cordia verbenacea DC in Human Skin

Phonophoresis consists of the utilization of ultrasound radiation associated to pharmacological agents in order to enhance transdermal penetration of applied drugs. It is a widely employed resource in physiotherapy practice, normally associated with anti-inflammatory drugs, such as Acheflan. This drug was developed in Brazil from the essential oil of Cordia verbenacea DC, a native plant of the Brazilian southern coast. In previous studies, the photoacoustic (PA) technique proved effective in the study of the penetration kinetics of topically applied products and in the evaluation of drug delivery after phonophoresis application. The present work aimed to evaluate the penetration kinetics of Acheflan in human skin, employing in vivo PA measurements after massage application or phonophoresis application. Ten volunteers (aged between 18 and 30?years) took part in the study. Time evolution of the PA signal was fitted to a Boltzmann curve, S-shaped. After statistical analysis, PA measurements have shown drug penetration for both application forms, but drug delivery was more evident after phonophoresis application, with a characteristic penetration time of less than 15?min for the stratum corneum.