Adaptive Shape Diagrams for Multiscale Morphometrical Image Analysis

Shape diagrams are integral geometric representations in the Euclidean plane introduced to study 2D connected compact sets. Such a set is represented by a point within a shape diagram whose coordinates are morphometrical functionals defined as normalized ratios of geometrical functionals. In addition, the General Adaptive Neighborhoods (GANs) are spatial neighborhoods defined around each point of the spatial support of a gray-tone image, that fit with the image local structures. The aim of this paper is to introduce and study the GAN-based shape diagrams, which allow a gray-tone image morphometrical analysis to be realized in a local, adaptive and multiscale way. The GAN-based shape diagrams will be illustrated on standard images and also applied in the biomedical and materials areas.     

Carbon nanotubes for electronics manufacturing and packaging:from growth to integration

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) possess excellent electrical, thermal and mechanical properties. They are light in weight yet stronger than most of the other materials. They can be made both highly conductive and semi-conductive. They can be made from nano-sized small catalyst particles and extend to tens of millimeters long. Since CNTs emerged as a hot topic in the early 1990s, numerous research efforts have been spent on the study of the various properties of this new material. CNTs have been proposed as alternative materials of potential excellence in a lot of applications such as electronics, chemical sensors, mechanical sensors/actuators and composite materials, etc. This paper reviews the use of CNTs particularly in electronics manufacturing and packaging
field. The progresses of three most important applications, including CNT-based thermal interface materials, CNT-based interconnections and CNT-based cooling devices are reviewed. The growth and post-growth processing of CNTs for specific applications are introduced and the tailoring of CNTs properties, i.e., electrical resistivity, thermal  conductivity and strength, etc., is discussed with regard to specific application requirement. As the semiconductor industry is still driven by the need of getting smaller and faster, CNTs and the related composite systems as emerging new materials are likely to provide the solution to the future challenges as we make more and more complex electronics devices and systems.     

Effect of rye bread breakfasts on subjective hunger and satiety: a randomized controlled trial

Background  

Several studies report that dietary fibre from different sources promotes the feeling of satiety and suppresses hunger. However, results for cereal fibre from rye are essentially lacking. The aim of the present study was to investigate subjective appetite during 8 h after intake of iso-caloric rye bread breakfasts varying in rye dietary fibre composition and content.     

Copolymers of Cyclopentadithiophene and Electron‐Deficient Aromatic Units Designed for Photovoltaic Applications

Alternating copolymers based on cyclopentadithiophene (CPDT) and five different electron‐deficient aromatic units with reduced optical band gaps are synthesized via Suzuki coupling. All polymers show a significant photovoltaic response when mixed with a fullerene acceptor. The frontier orbital levels of the new polymers are designed to minimize energy losses by increasing the open‐circuit voltage with respect to the optical band gap, while maintaining a high coverage of the absorption with the solar spectrum. The best cells are obtained for a copolymer of CPDT and benzooxadiazole (BO) with a band gap of 1.47 eV. This cell gives a short‐circuit current of 5.4 mA cm^?2, an open‐circuit voltage of 0.78 V, and a fill factor of 0.6, resulting in a power conversion efficiency of about 2.5%.     

Partially hydrolyzed whey proteins prevent clinical symptoms in a cow's milk allergy mouse model and enhance regulatory T and B cell frequencies

1 Scope

Partially hydrolyzed cow's milk proteins are used to prevent cow's milk allergy in children. Here we studied the immunomodulatory mechanisms of partial cow's milk hydrolysates in vivo.

2 Methods and results

Mice were sensitized with whey or partially hydrolyzed whey using cholera toxin. Whey‐specific IgE levels were measured to determine sensitization and immune cell populations from spleen, mesenteric lymph nodes and Peyer's patches after oral whey administration were measured by flowcytometry. Whey‐specific IgE and IgG1 levels in partial whey hydrolysate sensitized animals were enhanced, but challenge did not induce clinical symptoms. This immunomodulatory effect of partial whey hydrolysate was associated with increased regulatory B and T cells in the spleen, together with a prevention of IgM‐IgA class switching in the mesenteric lymph nodes and an increased Th1 and activated Th17 in the Peyer's patches.

3 Conclusion

Partial hydrolysate sensitization did not induce whey‐induced clinical symptoms, even though sensitization was established. Increased regulatory cell populations in the systemic immune system and a prevention of increased total Th1 and activated Th17 in the intestinal immune organs could contribute to the suppression of allergic symptoms. This knowledge is important for a better understanding of the beneficial effects of hydrolysates.