Partial removal of protein associated with arabinoxylans: Impact on the viscoelasticity,crosslinking content,and microstructure of the gels formed

Arabinoxylans (AX) treated with protease and dialyzed (AXP) or only dialyzed (AXD) formed gels showing an increase in the elastic modulus G′ (1291 and 1419 Pa, respectively) and the ferulic acid dimers (3.34 and 3.10 μg/mg polysaccharide, respectively) and trimers (0.51 and 0.53 μg/mg polysaccharide, respectively) in comparison to AX gels (767 Pa, 0.56 and 0.12 μg/mg polysaccharide, respectively). Nevertheless, the G′ values and crosslinking contents were not different among the AXP and AXD gels, suggesting that the amount of protein removed (54%) does not affect these parameters. Confocal laser scanning microscopy analysis showed that AXP treatment promotes the homogeneity of the gels. In addition, scanning electron microscopy observations indicated that AXD and particularly AXP gels had a more compact microstructure. Thus, the partial removal of protein associated with AX does not impact the viscoelasticity and crosslinking content of the gels formed but could improve their microstructural characteristics. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019 , 136, 47300.     

Tunable Drug Loading and Reinforcement of Polycaprolactone Films by Means of Electrospun Nanofibers of Glycolide Segmented Copolymers

Electrospinning of a segmented copolymer having polyglycolide hard segments is successfully performed from 1,1,1,3,3,3‐hexafluoroisopropanol solutions. During the process, a bactericidal agent, i.e., chlorhexidine (CHX), is effectively loaded, which results in nanofibers with a smaller diameter because of the change in solution conductivity. New fabrics based on molding of alternate layers of poly(ε‐caprolactone) (PCL) films and the electrospun scaffolds of the segmented copolymer are prepared and characterized. The thermal molding process renders a PCL matrix homogeneously reinforced with nanofibers that compensate for the loss of mechanical properties caused by incorporation of CHX. Release of CHX is evaluated in different media. Results vary depending on the layer where the drug is incorporated. Thus, systems with an immediate bacteriostatic effect, as well as systems with a potential long term antimicrobial effect, are obtained. Growth inhibition and adhesion assays demonstrate the fast bactericidal effect of samples with CHX loaded in its outer layers.     

Object-based urban structure type pattern recognition from Landsat TM with a Support Vector Machine

This study evaluates the potential of object-based image analysis in combination with supervised machine learning to identify urban structure type patterns from Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images. The main aim is to assess the influence of several critical choices commonly made during the training stage of a learning machine on the classification performance and to give recommendations for classifier-dependent intelligent training. Particular emphasis is given to assess the influence of size and class distribution of the training data, the approach of training data sampling (user-guided or random) and the type of training samples (squares or segments) on the classification performance of a Support Vector Machine (SVM). Different feature selection algorithms are compared and segmentation and classifier parameters are dynamically tuned for the specific image scene, classification task, and training data. The performance of the classifier is measured against a set of reference data sets from manual image interpretation and furthermore compared on the basis of landscape metrics to a very high resolution reference classification derived from light detection and ranging (lidar) measurements. The study highlights the importance of a careful design of the training stage and dynamically tuned classifier parameters, especially when dealing with noisy data and small training data sets. For the given experimental set-up, the study concludes that given optimized feature space and classifier parameters, training an SVM with segment-shaped samples that were sampled in a guided manner and are balanced between the classes provided the best classification results. If square-shaped samples are used, a random sampling provided better results than a guided selection. Equally balanced sample distributions outperformed unbalanced training sets.     

A semantic-based platform for R&D project funding management

Innovation is one of the keys to success in the business world, particularly within the current economic climate. R&D projects constitute the building blocks of the innovation process, hence the importance of searching for funding for these projects. As ontologies and semantic technologies mature, they provide a consistent and reliable means to represent and aggregate knowledge from different sources. The present work explores the use of ontologies to model R&D grant funding calls and the application of semantic technologies to the development of an enhanced funding management system. Our experiments confirm the success of the proposed approach, and reveal that it may bring considerable benefits to R&D funding.     

Migration of antimony from PET containers into regulated EU food simulants

Antimony migration from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) containers into aqueous (distilled water, 3% acetic acid, 10% and 20% ethanol) and fatty food simulants (vegetable oil), as well as into vinegar, was studied. Test conditions were according to the recent European Regulation 10/2011 (EU, 2011). Sb migration was assayed by ICP-MS and HG-AFS. The results showed that Sb migration values ranged from 0.5 to 1.2 μg Sb/l, which are far below the maximum permissible migration value for Sb, 40 μg Sb/kg, (EU, Regulation 10/2011). Parameters as temperature and bottle re-use influence were studied. To assess toxicity, antimony speciation was performed by HPLC-ICP-MS and HG-AFS. While Sb(V) was the only species detected in aqueous simulants, an additional species (Sb–acetate complex) was measured in wine vinegar. Unlike most of the studies reported in the literature, migration tests were based on the application of the EU directive, which enables comparison and harmonisation of results.     

A TEXT THEORY OF ECOLOGICAL SYSTEM

In this paper, the authors continue with the development of an ecological models theory from the viewpoint of mathematical linguistics. The model is considered as a text, which complies with the text theory TT conditions. The variable transformed functions are defined as symbols, the flow equations are defined as words, the flow functions or right hand of differential equations are defined as sentences, resting on the author particular methodology inspired inspired in the system dynamic illustrated in other papers. Three meaning levels are established in each model text and the duality significance or explanation adjustment and significance or interpretation for the observer is defined as getting in the indexes for its indirect measure. A model interpretation theory is given also.     

Dynamics of value co-creation in complex IT service engagements

The hallmark of service—value co-creation—is not easy to achieve in B2B IT service engagements. Typically, client and provider are both complicated organizational entities with multiple agendas and diverse stakeholders, and engagements often extend over years. We analyzed a number of IT service engagements to better understand their complex dynamics, with the ultimate goal of improving their outcomes. This paper reports on our study of how value co-creation unfolds over time, and identifies basic dynamics central to the modeling of service systems—actualization of service and realization of value—that are reflected in the proposed framework.     

Pd@Al2O3‐Catalyzed Hydrogenation of Allylbenzene to Propylbenzene in Methanol and Aqueous Micellar Solutions

The palladium on alumina (Pd@Al₂O₃)‐catalyzed hydrogenation of allylbenzene to propylbenzene was studied in methanol and aqueous micellar solutions of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), decyltrimethylammonium bromide (DTAB), and t‐octylphenoxypolyethoxyethanol (TX‐100). Over Pd@Al₂O₃, propylbenzene was obtained via direct hydrogenation of allylbenzene and isomerization to β‐methylstyrene which was hydrogenated afterwards. In aqueous micellar solutions, the reaction was faster than in pure water, but slower than in methanol due to lower hydrogen solubility. In the H₂O/SDS system, a higher activation energy was obtained than in methanol. For the investigated surfactants, the initial reaction rate in the micellar systems decreased in the order SDS > TX‐100 > DTAB.