Reversible Fragmentation and Self‐Assembling of Nematic Liquid Crystal Droplets on Functionalized Pyroelectric Substrates

Investigation on the behavior of nematic liquid crystals on functionalized polar dielectric crystal substrates is accomplished. Very interesting effects can be observed in maneuvering liquid crystal droplets on the substrate surface, driven by electric fields generated by pyroelectric effect. Reversible drops fragmentation and self‐assembling in different configurations can be achieved. The dynamics of the observed phenomena is studied and the repeatability of the process is full assessed.     

Simultaneous Microwave Extraction and Separation of Volatile and Non-Volatile Organic Compounds of Boldo Leaves. From Lab to Industrial Scale

Microwave extraction and separation has been used to increase the concentration of the extract compared to the conventional method with the same solid/liquid ratio, reducing extraction time and separate at the same time Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) from non-Volatile Organic Compounds (NVOC) of boldo leaves. As preliminary study, a response surface method has been used to optimize the extraction of soluble material and the separation of VOC from the plant in laboratory scale. The results from the statistical analysis revealed that the optimized conditions were: microwave power 200 W, extraction time 56 min and solid liquid ratio of 7.5% of plants in water. Lab scale optimized microwave method is compared to conventional distillation, and requires a power/mass ratio of 0.4 W/g of water engaged. This power/mass ratio is kept in order to upscale from lab to pilot plant.     

General Framework for Rotation Invariant Texture Classification Through Co-occurrence of Patterns

The use of co-occurrences of patterns in image analysis has been recently suggested as one of the possible strategies to improve on the bag-of-features model. The intrinsically high number of features of the method, however, is a potential limit to its widespread application. Its extension into rotation invariant versions also requires careful consideration. In this paper we present a general, rotation invariant framework for co-occurrences of patterns and investigate possible solutions to the dimensionality problem. Using local binary patterns as bag-of-features model, we experimentally evaluate the potential advantages that co-occurrences can provide in comparison with bag-of-features. The results show that co-occurrences remarkably improve classification accuracy in some datasets, but in others the gain is negligible, or even negative. We found that this surprising outcome has an interesting explanation in terms of the degree of association between pairs of patterns in an image, and, in particular, that the higher the degree of association, the lower the gain provided by co-occurrences in comparison with bag-of-features.     

Adaptive Quadrature for Maximum Likelihood Estimation of a Class of Dynamic Latent Variable Models

Maximum likelihood estimation of models based on continuous latent variables generally requires to solve integrals that are not analytically tractable. Numerical approximations represent a possible solution to this problem. We propose to use the adaptive Gaussian–Hermite (AGH) numerical quadrature approximation for a particular class of continuous latent variable models for time-series and longitudinal data. These dynamic models are based on time-varying latent variables that follow an autoregressive process of order 1, AR(1). Two examples are the stochastic volatility models for the analysis of financial time series and the limited dependent variable models for the analysis of panel data. A comparison between the performance of AGH methods and alternative approximation methods proposed in the literature is carried out by simulation. Empirical examples are also used to illustrate the proposed approach.     

Critical Role for the Protons in FRTL-5 Thyroid Cells: Nuclear Sphingomyelinase Induced-Damage

Proliferating thyroid cells are more sensitive to UV-C radiations than quiescent cells. The effect is mediated by nuclear phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin metabolism. It was demonstrated that proton beams arrest cell growth and stimulate apoptosis but until now there have been no indications in the literature about their possible mechanism of action. Here we studied the effect of protons on FRTL-5 cells in culture. We showed that proton beams stimulate slightly nuclear neutral sphingomyelinase activity and inhibit nuclear sphingomyelin-synthase activity in quiescent cells whereas stimulate strongly nuclear neutral sphingomyelinase activity and do not change nuclear sphingomyelin-synthase activity in proliferating cells. The study of neutral sphingomyelinase/sphingomyelin-synthase ratio, a marker of functional state of the cells, indicated that proton beams induce FRTL-5 cells in a proapoptotic state if the cells are quiescent and in an initial apoptotic state if the cells are proliferating. The changes of cell life are accompanied by a decrease of nuclear sphingomyelin and increase of bax protein.     

Synthesis and characterization of conjugated polymers for the obtainment of conductive patterns through laser tracing

This article describes the preparation of thin films of conjugated polymers which can enhance their specific electrical conductivity by several orders of magnitude by changing their state from insulating to conducting materials. The examined polymers, i.e., a polyacetylenic and a polythiophenic derivative, are functionalized with thioalkylic side chains and are soluble in common organic solvents from which they lead to thick homogeneous films. The films can be deposited on different substrates, either rigid or flexible, and can be easily exposed to laser radiation to make them conductive. The process is irreversible, and the final conductivity is stable over time, even in the presence of high temperatures (up to 180 °C), moisture, and air. The high stability of treated samples, easy polymer synthesis and quick and inexpensive suitably tailored laser tracing procedure make these materials very promising for applications in organic electronics and in the development of new electronic circuitry.     

Mechanical processing of Fe powders

Fe powders were mechanically processed by ball milling. The average size of coherent diffraction domains and the average strain content were determined by X-ray diffraction. A mathematical model was developed to describe the microstructural refinement process as a function of the number of collisions and to estimate the amount of powder effectively processed at individual collisions. The density of dislocations was also estimated. The obtained values suggest that Fe powders can locally undergo extremely severe deformation conditions.     

A polyfluoroalkyl imidazolium ionic liquid as iodide ion source in dye sensitized solar cells

We report on the use of a fluorinated imidazolium ionic liquid as a source of iodide ions in solvent-based electrolytes for DSSCs. Efficient dye regeneration and fast charge transport in the fluorinated electrolyte result in an overall improvement of the device performances compared to conventional hydrogenated ionic liquids.     

Non-Intensive Care Unit Acquired Pneumonia: A New Clinical Entity?

Hospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) is a frequent cause of nosocomial infections, responsible for great morbidity and mortality worldwide. The majority of studies on HAP have been conducted in patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU), as mechanical ventilation represents a major risk factor for nosocomial pneumonia and specifically for ventilator-associated pneumonia. However, epidemiological data seem to be different between patients acquiring HAP in the ICU vs. general wards, suggesting the importance of identifying non ICU-acquired pneumonia (NIAP) as a clinical distinct entity in terms of both etiology and management. Early detection of NIAP, along with an individualized management, is needed to reduce antibiotic use and side effects, bacterial resistance and mortality. The present article reviews the pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of NIAP.