In-field performance of an optical digitizer for the reverse engineering of free-form surfaces

The use of OPL-3D, a robust, flexible and easy-to-use optical digitizer, in conjunction with reverse engineering procedures is presented. The optical digitizer is used as a stand-alone (i.e., not in tandem with popular CMM’s) system, whose output point clouds can be manipulated, by means of both specifically-designed software and high-performance commercial software, to produce mesh surfaces and NURBS of the acquired shape. The digitizer-process combination yields accurate digital replicas of the target object, the accuracy of the whole combination being on the order of 1/1500 of the measurement range. The speed of acquisition, combined with the above high accuracy, the ease of use and the fact that recalibration is seldom required makes the digitizer ideal for reverse engineering in an enormous number of applications ranging from automotive to biomedical.     

Combined Nano‐ and Micro‐Scale Topographic Cues for Engineered Vascular Constructs by Electrospinning and Imprinted Micro‐Patterns

The major cause of synthetic vessel failure is thrombus and neointima formation. To prevent these problems the creation of a continuous and elongated endothelium inside lumen vascular grafts might be a promising solution for tissue engineering. Different micro‐ and nano‐surface topographic cues including grooved micro‐patterns and electrospun fibers have been previously demonstrated to guide the uniform alignment of endothelial cells (ECs). Here, with a very simple and highly versatile approach we combined electrospinning with soft lithography to fabricate nanofibrous scaffolds with oriented fibers modulated by different micro‐grooved topographies. The effect of these scaffolds on the behavior of the ECs are analyzed, including their elongation, spreading, proliferation, and functioning using unpatterned random and aligned nanofibers (NFs) as controls. It is demonstrated that both aligned NFs and micro‐patterns effectively influence the cellular response, and that a proper combination of topographic parameters, exploiting the synergistic effects of micro‐scale and sub‐micrometer features, can promote EC elongation, allowing the creation of a confluent ECs monolayer in analogy with the natural endothelium as assessed by the positive expression of vinculin. Combining different micro‐ and nano‐topographic cues by complementary soft patterning and spinning technologies could open interesting perspectives for engineered vascular replacement constructions.     

Wavelet transforms to probe long- and short-range forces by thermally excited dynamic force spectroscopy

The use of wavelet transforms in thermally excited dynamic force spectroscopy allows us to gain insight into the fundamental thermodynamical properties of a cantilever's Brownian motion as well as giving a meaningful and intuitive representation of the cantilever dynamics in time and frequency caused by the interaction with long- and short-range forces. The possibility of carrying out measurements across the jump-to-contact transition without interruption, providing information on both van der Waals forces and short-range adhesion surface forces, is remarkable.     

Effect of biological and chemical oxidation on the removal of estrogenic compounds (NP and BPA) from wastewater: an integrated assessment procedure

A major source of the wide presence of EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) in water bodies is represented by direct/indirect discharge of sewage. Recent scientific literature reports data about their trace concentration in water, sediments and aquatic organisms, as well as removal efficiencies of different wastewater treatment schemes. Despite the availability of a huge amount of data, some doubts still persist due to the difficulty in evaluating synergistic effects of trace pollutants in complex matrices. In this paper, an integrated assessment procedure was used, based on chemical and biological analyses, in order to compare the performance of two full scale biological wastewater treatment plants (either equipped with conventional settling tanks or with an ultrafiltration membrane unit) and tertiary ozonation (pilot scale).Nonylphenol and bisphenol A were chosen as model EDCs, together with the parent compounds mono- and di-ethoxylated nonylphenol (quantified by means of GC-MS). Water estrogenic activity was evaluated by applying the human breast cancer MCF-7 based reporter gene assay. Process parameters (e.g., sludge age, temperature) and conventional pollutants (e.g., COD, suspended solids) were also measured during monitoring campaigns.Conventional activated sludge achieved satisfactory removal of both analytes and estrogenicity. A further reduction of biological activity was exerted by MBR (Membrane Biological Reactor) as well as ozonation; the latter contributed also to decrease EDC concentrations.     

Relational aggression, gender, and peer acceptance: Invariance across culture, stability over time, and concordance among informants.

It has been proposed that overt physical and verbal aggression are more prevalent among boys and that covert aggression in the context of interpersonal relationships is more typical of girls. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend American research on this topic to Italy. Italian elementary school pupils (n?=?314) and their teachers provided nominations for aggression and prosocial behavior on 2 occasions within a single school year. Both peer and teacher nominations were highly stable, though there was very poor concordance between them. Peer nominations for both overt and relational aggression were linked to peer rejection. Contrary to expectations, boys scored higher than girls in both overt and relational aggression. Nevertheless, on the basis of the gender composition of extreme groups, the authors conclude that the distinction between overt and relational aggression is as useful in facilitating research on aggressiveness among girls in Italy as it is in the United States. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socially desirable response tendency as a correlate of accuracy of self-reported HIV serostatus for HIV seropositive injection drug users

PURPOSE: To compare field measures of average daily energy expenditure (ADEE) against criterion data by the doubly labeled water method (DLW) in overweight women. METHODS: The subject were 20 overweight (BMI 29.9 +a- 3.0 kg.m-2) premenopausal women. Energy expenditure was measured by DLW and by the factorial method (activity diary, two techniques differing by method to obtain resting energy expenditure, REE), heart-rate monitoring (HR, two techniques differing by the FLEX-point to discriminate sedentary and activity HR), accelerometer, and pedometer. RESULTS: The ADEE(DLW) was 10.26 +a- 1.1 MJ.d-1. The mean bias (ADEE by the alternative minus ADEE(DLW) was smallest for the accelerometer (+ 0.08 +a- 1.63 MJ) and HR-FLEX10 (+ 0.11 +a- 1.67 MJ). The HR-FLEX(0) technique (lower FLEX-point) overestimated ADEE by + 1.18 (+a- 1.97 MJ). However, the random error (SD of bias) was smaller for both factorial techniques (REE measured: -0.48 +2- 0.81 MJ; REE calculated from the WHO equation: -0.22 +2- 0.88 MJ). CONCLUSION: The results show that simple factorial methods may assess ADEE with small random errors in population with a rather narrow range of physical activity. The accelerometer and HR with the higher FLEX-point have comparable results with smaller bias but larger random error compared with the factorial techniques.     

Geometric modules in animals' spatial representations: A test with chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus).

Recent work has shown that in place-finding tasks rats rely on the geometric relations between the goal object and the shape of the environment. We tested young chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) on similar tasks in a reference memory paradigm to determine whether differences exist between species in the ability to use geometric and nongeometric spatial information. The main findings were that chicks: (a) encoded and used both geometric and nongeometric (featural) information; (b) did not use the overall spatial arrangement of the features; (c) relied primarily on nongeometric cues when faced with contradictory information. Two mechanisms are evident in chicks' spatial representations: a metric frame for encoding the spatial arrangement of surfaces as surfaces and a cue-guidance system for encoding conspicuous landmarks near the target. The possibility of hierarchical organization and species differences in these two mechanisms are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Global and local processing of hierarchical visual stimuli in tufted capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella).

Capuchin monkeys' (Cebus apella) relative accuracy in the processing of the global shape or the local features of hierarchical visual stimuli was assessed. Three experiments are presented featuring manipulations of the arrangement and the density of the local elements of the stimuli. The results showed a clear advantage for local level processing in this species, which is robust under manipulations of the density of the local elements of the stimuli. By contrast, the density of the component elements linearly affected accuracy in global processing. These findings, which support those from other studies in which a local superiority emerged in animals, challenge the generality of early claims concerning the adaptive value of global advantage in the processing of hierarchical visual patterns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Postcoital vaginal bleeding as a risk factor for transmission of the human immunodeficiency virus in a heterosexual partner study in Brazil. Rio de Janeiro Heterosexual Study Group

The partition coefficients P between n-octanol and water of pyridoxal isonicotinoyl hydrazone and 34 analogues have been determined experimentally; the values indicate that the partition coefficients calculated for these compounds, and previously reported (P. Ponka, D.R. Richardson, J.T. Edward, and F.L. Chubb. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 72: 659-666. 1994; D.R. Richardson, E.H. Tran, and P. Ponka. Blood, 86: 4294-4306. 1994), are too low by 2-3 orders of magnitude. The calculations, using Rekker's additive method, failed because the molecules have two or more hydrophilic sites close together. More recent additive schemes (CLOGP, KOWWIN, ACD/LogP) also failed. The only reliable method was the semi-empirical method of Hansch. This requires the experimental determination of the partition coefficient of at least one representative in each series of compounds of related structure. In the present paper, determination of log P of three representatives enabled us to calculate the partition coefficients of the other 32 compounds with acceptable accuracy. The new results show that apochelators have maximum activity in releasing 59Fe from reticulocytes when they have log P = 2.8 (P = 630), and not log P = 0 (P = 1), as reported by Ponka et al. (P. Ponka, D.R Richardson, J.T. Edward, and F.L Chubb. Can. J. Physiol. Pharmacol. 72: 659-666 1994).     

Anticancer Activity of Two Novel Hydroxylated Biphenyl Compounds toward Malignant Melanoma Cells

Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is still one of the most difficult cancers to treat despite recent advances in targeted and immune therapies. About 50% of advanced melanoma do not benefit of such therapies, and novel treatments are requested. Curcumin and its analogs have shown good anticancer properties and are being considered for use in combination with or sequence to recent therapies to improve patient outcomes. Our group previously published the synthesis and anticancer activity characterization of a novel curcumin-related compound against melanoma and neuroblastoma cells (D6). Here, two hydroxylated biphenyl compounds—namely, compounds 11 and 12—were selected among a small collection of previously screened C2-symmetric hydroxylated biphenyls structurally related to D6 and curcumin, showing the best antitumor potentiality against melanoma cells (IC₅₀ values of 1.7 ± 0.5 μM for 11 and 2.0 ± 0.7 μM for 12) and no toxicity of normal fibroblasts up to 32 µM. Their antiproliferative activity was deeply characterized on five melanoma cell lines by performing dose-response and clonal growth inhibition assays, which revealed long-lasting and irreversible effects for both compounds. Apoptosis induction was ascertained by the annexin V and TUNEL assays, whereas Western blotting showed caspase activation and PARP cleavage. A cell cycle analysis, following cell treatments with either compound 11 or 12, highlighted an arrest in the G2/M transition. Taking all this evidence together, 11 and 12 were shown to be good candidates as lead compounds to develop new anticancer drugs against malignant melanoma.