Application of inline imaging for monitoring crystallization process in a continuous oscillatory baffled crystallizer

In this study, an in situ imaging system has been analysed to characterize the crystal size, the shape and the number of particles during a continuous crystallization process in a Continuous Oscillatory Baffled Crystallizer (COBC). Two image analysis approaches were examined for particle characterization in the suspension containing both small nuclei and larger grown crystals (nonspherical and irregular in shape). The pattern matching approach, in which the particles are approximated to be spherical, did result in an overestimation of the size. Alternatively, a segmentation‐based algorithm resulted in reliable crystal size and shape characteristics. The laser diffraction analysis in comparison to the image analysis overestimated the particle sizes due to the agglomeration of particles upon filtration and drying. The trend in the particle counts during the start of crystallization process, including nucleation, determined by the image analysis probe was comparable with the one measured by FBRM, highlighting the potential of in situ imaging for process monitoring. © 2018 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 64: 2450–2461, 2018     

Human CD22-Transgenic,Primary Murine Lymphoma Challenges Immunotherapies in Organ-Specific Tumor Microenvironments

Targeted immunotherapies have greatly changed treatment of patients with B cell malignancies. To further enhance immunotherapies, research increasingly focuses on the tumor microenvironment (TME), which differs considerably by organ site. However, immunocompetent mouse models of disease to study immunotherapies targeting human molecules within organ-specific TME are surprisingly rare. We developed a myc-driven, primary murine lymphoma model expressing a human-mouse chimeric CD22 (h/mCD22). Stable engraftment of three distinct h/mCD22⁺ lymphoma was established after subcutaneous and systemic injection. However, only systemic lymphoma showed immune infiltration that reflected human disease. In this model, myeloid cells supported lymphoma growth and showed a phenotype of myeloid-derived suppressor cells. The human CD22-targeted immunotoxin Moxetumomab was highly active against h/mCD22⁺ lymphoma and similarly reduced infiltration of bone marrow and spleen of all three models up to 90-fold while efficacy against lymphoma in lymph nodes varied substantially, highlighting relevance of organ-specific TME. As in human aggressive lymphoma, anti-PD-L1 as monotherapy was not efficient. However, anti-PD-L1 enhanced efficacy of Moxetumomab suggesting potential for future clinical application. The novel model system of h/mCD22⁺ lymphoma provides a unique platform to test targeted immunotherapies and may be amenable for other human B cell targets such as CD19 and CD20.     

BOX: Browsing objects in XML

The latest Internet markup languages support the representation of structured information and vector graphics. In this paper we describe how these languages can be used to publish software engineering diagrams on the Internet. We introduce BOX, a portable, distributed and interoperable approach to browsing UML models with off‐the‐shelf technology. Our approach to browsing UML models leverages XML and related specifications, such as the Document Object Model (DOM), the XML Metadata Interchange (XMI) and the Vector Markup Language (VML). BOX translates a UML model that is represented in XMI into VML. VML can be directly displayed in Internet browsers, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 5. BOX enables software engineers to access and review UML models without the need to purchase licenses of tools that produced the models. BOX has been successfully evaluated in two industrial case studies. The case studies used BOX to make extensive domain and enterprise object models available to a large number of stakeholders over corporate intranets and the Internet. We show how XML and the BOX architecture can be applied to other software engineering notations. We also argue that the approach taken in BOX can be applied to other domains that have already started to adopt XML and have a need for graphic representation of XML information. These include browsing gene sequences, chemical molecule structures and conceptual knowledge representations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of hydrolysis and denaturation of wheat gluten on adhesive bond strength of wood joints

In this study the adhesive bond strength of different wheat gluten modifications and the relationship between molecular weight and adhesive strength was examined. Guanidine hydrochloride and sodium hydroxide were used as denaturation and dispersing agent. Additionally wheat proteins were hydrolyzed by alkaline conditions and enzymes. Effects of different treatments were observed by viscosity measurements and gel electrophoresis. Wood lap joints were prepared with modified proteins and tensile shear strength was tested under dry and wet conditions. In situ hardening of different formulations was analyzed by means of DMA with two‐layered specimens in a three‐point bending test set‐up. Higher solubility had no positive effect on dry bonding strength and wet bonding strength was even reduced. Depending on the degree of hydrolysis, significant improvement of adhesive bond strength was observed. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Liposomal 1,25 (OH)2 vitamin D3 compounds block proliferation and induce differentiation in myelomonocytic leukaemia cells

Using the giant patch technique, we combined two fast relaxation methods on excised patches from guinea pig cardiomyocytes to compare the rate constants of the involved reaction steps. Experiments were done in the absence of intra- or extracellular K+. Fast ATP concentration jumps were generated by photolysis of caged ATP at pH 6.3 with laser flash irradiation at a wavelength of 308 nm and 10 ns duration, as described previously. Transient outward currents with a fast rising phase, followed by a slower decay and a small stationary current, were obtained. Voltage pulses were applied to the same patch in the presence or absence of intracellular ATP. Subtraction of the voltage jump-induced currents in the absence of ATP from those taken in the presence of ATP yielded monoexponential transient current signals, which were dependent on external Na+ but did not differ between intracellular pH (pHi) values 6.3 or 7.4. Rate constants showed a characteristic voltage dependence, i.e., saturating at positive potentials (approximately 200 s-1, 24 degrees C) and exponentially rising with increasing negative potentials. Rate constants of the fast component from transient currents obtained after an ATP concentration jump agree well with rate constants from currents obtained after a voltage jump to zero or positive potentials (pHi 6.3), and the two exhibit the same activation energy of approximately 80 kJ.mol-1. For a given membrane patch, the amount of charge that is moved across the plasma membrane is roughly the same for each of the two relaxation techniques.     

Influence of ageing on mechanical properties of wood to wood bonding with wheat flour glue

Earlier research into native wheat flour for wood to wood bonding showed excellent bonding properties comparable to synthetic adhesives, but no data about ageing behaviour is available. Short and long term effects on mechanical properties were analysed by lap joint testing and modified DCB-specimens. Results showed no significant reduction in bonding properties, but a trend to lower adhesive strength after 12 months of storage was noticeable. Changes in wheat polymers were observed by means of DSC and FTIR-ATR. Soluble degradation products of starch were analysed by GC-FID after methanolysis and derivatisation. FTIR measurements indicated changes in the structure of starch, but no appreciable alteration of proteins. Investigations by DSC showed increasing crystallinity during 3 months of storage. After 6 months more degradation products were detected. Results indicated that hydrolysis of starch is responsible for a moderate decrease of bonding performance; wheat proteins seem to be less affected.     

Engineered versus standard evolutionary algorithms: A case study in batch scheduling with recourse

An engineered evolutionary algorithm for a realistic chemical batch scheduling problem with uncertain data is developed systematically. The problem is formulated as a two stage stochastic integer program with discrete scenarios. The model is solved by a stage decomposition-based hybrid algorithm using an evolutionary algorithm combined with mixed-integer programming. Earlier experiments with a standard evolutionary algorithm led to the hypothesis that the constrained search space is not covered well such that in some cases the population converges to a subset of the solution space which does not include the best known solution. An efficient engineered evolutionary algorithm is developed which is shown to cover the feasible set significantly better such that a high quality feasible schedule can be generated comparatively fast. As the hierarchical structure of the case study is typical for many batch scheduling problems, some general principles may be postulated from the experience gained here.