Public–private contribution to biopharmaceutical discoveries: a bibliometric analysis of biomedical research in UK

Scientometrics - Basic research creates new knowledge that fuels technological advances. However, budgetary concerns and escalating R&D prices are challenging organizations to show returns...     

Volatility spillovers, interdependence and comovements: A Markov Switching approach

The transmission mechanisms of volatility between markets can be characterized within a new Markov Switching bivariate model where the state of one variable feeds into the transition probability of the state of the other. A number of model restrictions and hypotheses can be tested to stress the role of one market relative to another (spillover, interdependence, comovement, independence, Granger noncausality). The model is estimated on the weekly high-low range of five Asian markets, assuming a central (but not necessarily dominant) role for Hong Kong. The results show plausible market characterizations over the long run with a spillover from Hong Kong to Korea and Thailand, interdependence with Malaysia and comovement with Singapore.     

Surface characterization of Ba-β-alumina

The surface properties of a Ba-β-alumina sample (Ba ∶ Al ratio 1∶ 12) very stable to sintering (15 m²/g after calcination at 1670 K for 10 h) have been investigated by FT-IR spectroscopy of adsorbed probe molecules (water, pyridine and CO₂) and by measuring the isoelectric point. The surface has a medium-strong basic character, justified by the preferential exposition of Ba-O-containing “mirror planes”, parallel to 0001 planes, on the surface of plate-like particles. This behavior has been associated to the resistance to sintering, typical of this material, possibly originated by the difficulty of the very big Ba²⁺ ions to migrate into the spinel-type alumina blocks. This should imply the blocking of the crystal growth along the crystallographicc axis.     

Electrospun polymeric coatings on aluminum alloy as a straightforward approach for corrosion protection

Several metals and alloys are susceptible to corrosion attack and this usually implies the accurate selection of a specific material depending on the working conditions and the characteristics of the environment to which it will be exposed to. However, it could represent a restriction at the same time because a limited range of materials can be practically considered. In addition, they could be also characterized by unsuitable properties for the intended application and high costs. To address this issue, polymeric coatings exhibit high potentiality to be a valid alternative to toxic chromates, allowing to deal with the most appropriate metallic materials and affordable deposition procedures. In this work, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) fibrous coating was successfully collected onto aluminum alloy‐6082 by means of electrospinning technique. The anticorrosion performance of the final system has been evaluated in 3 wt % NaCl solution by means of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). To avoid PVA disintegration in aqueous environment, several crosslinking procedures were assessed using glyoxal. The two most promising ones (120°C for 60 min and 150°C for 15 min) were then considered for a further investigation. Crosslinked PVA mats showed improved properties as compared to the as‐spun case, as demonstrated by mechanical and thermal analyses. Electrochemical tests revealed that crosslinked coatings can protect aluminum substrates against corrosion, especially for the electrospun PVA coating treated at 120°C. In this case, after 270 h, a significant corrosion resistance of about 26 kΩ was recorded with respect to the blank alloy (about 3.8 kΩ). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41250.     

Comparison of point matching algorithms for the UAV aerial refueling problem

This paper describes the results of a study focused on the evaluation of the performance of specific algorithms for the “point matching” task within the general problem of applying machine vision-based control laws for the problem of aerial refueling (AR) for UAVs. Two different point matching algorithms for the identification of the corner-points of the tanker are proposed. A detailed study of the algorithms is performed with special emphasis on the correct matching and required computational effort. The results show the importance of a correct point-matching scheme for obtaining accurate pose estimation; furthermore, the analysis highlights the tradeoffs involved in the selection of the appropriate algorithms.     

Quasi-Conservative Formulation of the One-Dimensional Saint-Venant–Exner Model

Coupling the Saint-Venant equations with the Exner equation a morphodynamic model is produced, which can be used to describe flow and bed evolution in natural rivers. The system of governing equations is hyperbolic and is expressed in nonconservative form. For this reason, fully primitive formulations of the model are often adopted for the solution, which however are known to incorrectly compute strength and celerity of shock waves (bores). In the present work a quasi-conservative formulation of the differential system is proposed, which aims at reducing these errors to a minimum. The performances of the model are assessed by comparison with primitive formulations applied to some schematic cases and with experimental observations obtained on a physical model of a river reach. Results are satisfactory and overcome predictions based on fully primitive formulations.     

Effect of Fermentation and Drying on Procyanidins, Antiradical Activity and Reducing Properties of Cocoa Beans

This work was aimed to determine the effect of fermentation and drying on the content and profile of procyanidins (from monomers P1 to polymers P10) as well as on the antiradical and scavenging properties of cocoa beans. To this purpose, three experiments were carried out: a traditional fermentation process followed by air drying and two pilot-scale fermentation processes by either natural microbiota or starter followed by sun drying. Procyanidins were evaluated by HPLC analysis, while the total polyphenol index (TPI), the antiradical activity as well as the reducing power were determined by means of the reaction with the Folin–Ciocalteu reagent, the decolorization assays of the ABTS radical (TEAC) and the Ferric Reducing Antioxidant Power (FRAP) methods, respectively. Both the traditional and pilot-scale processes resulted to affect the profile and content of the procyanidins fractions as well as the antiradical and reducing power functionality. Drying caused a severe reduction of compounds and thus resulted to be the critical step for the loss of procyanidins and monomers in particular. The indices of functionality generally showed a decreasing trend as a consequence of processing, and their evolution was similar to that observed in procyanidins content. To study the relationship between the individual procyanidins and the antioxidant activity expressed as TEAC, FRAP and TPI, the data set were processed by modified partial least squares regression. The obtained models presented a good predictive ability. Normalised regression coefficients showed that the relative contribution of each single class of compounds to total antioxidant activity resulted as follows: P1?>?P2?>?P3?>?P4?>?P6?>?P8?>?P5?>?P7?>?P9?>>?P10.     

Low-emitting surfaces prepared by applying transparent aluminum-doped zinc oxide coatings via a sol-gel process

Polycrystalline transparent conductive oxide thin films based on aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) have been prepared on soda-lime glass by using an inorganic sol-gel process and the dip-coating technique. The multilayered films were crystallized on the substrate and subsequently annealed in a reducing atmosphere to enhance the number of free charge carriers. Significant characteristics of the functional coatings, such as crystallinity, surface smoothness, layer thickness, electrical conductivity, as well as the optical properties in a large spectral range between 0.25 and 35 μm were analyzed. The obtained samples are highly transparent with a visual transmittance above 0.85 and show specific resistivities of up to 1.6·10^− 3 Ω·cm. Applying an optimized AZO-coating with at most 500 nm is sufficient to reduce the surface emittance from 0.89 to less than 0.45 in the infrared.     

Towards sewage sludge based biofuels via thermochemical conversion – A review

Wastewater treatment leads to an increase in sewage sludge production. Sewage sludge consists, in general, of non-toxic organic matter and therefore can be utilized as a biomass resource for energy production. Energy recovery from sewage sludge via thermochemical valorization processes seems of great potential. Processes’ products can be used as bio-fuels, while minimization of the environmental impacts can be also achieved. In particular, wet sewage sludge pyrolysis-partial gasification at high temperatures and especially gasification give a new perspective for hydrogen-rich fuel gas production. Co-processing of sewage sludge with biomass improves the fuel's characteristics and enhances the processes efficiency. In addition, blends of sewage sludge with biomass contribute in diluting the inorganic and toxic compounds. Towards that direction, algae production using wastewater resources and then to be used for biofuels production seems a sustainable solution that is the reason why exploitation of such a material through thermochemical processes is under intensive discussion.