Workflow management system with smart procedures

Supervision of repair and diagnostic works aimed at improving the safety of maintenance crews is one of the key objectives of the distributed INRED system. Working in a real industrial environment, the INRED system includes, among others, the so-called INRED-Workflow, which provides an infrastructure for process automation. Participants of the service processes, managed by the INRED-Workflow, are controlled at each stage of the performed service procedures, both by the system and other process participants, such as quality managers and technologists. All data collected from the service processes is stored in the System Knowledge Repository (SKR) for further processing by using advanced algorithms, and the so-called Smart Procedures merge services supplied by other INRED system modules. The applicability of workflow management systems in conjunction with image recognition and machine learning methods has not yet been thoroughly explored. The presented paper shows the innovative usage of such systems in the supervision of the repair and diagnostic works.

     

Hydroxyalkylation of parabanic acid. I. Reactions with formaldehyde

The results of investigations into the reaction of parabanic acid with formaldehyde at different molar ratios of the reagents are presented. A fast and effective method of synthesis of N,N′‐bis(hydroxymethyl)parabanate was developed. The reaction of parabanic acid with an excess of formaldehyde was analyzed and the structure of the products proposed. Conditions at which the hydroxymethyl derivatives of parabanic acid undergo self‐condensation as well as prospects of using them in subsequent oxyalkylation with oxiranes are specified. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2858–2872, 2002; DOI 10.1002/app.10274     

HDS and HDN activity of molybdenum and nickel–molybdenum catalysts supported on alumina–titania carriers

Alumina–titania supports containing 5–50 wt.% of TiO₂ were prepared by coprecipitation method using inorganic precursors (sodium aluminate and titanium chloride). DTA-TGA, XRD, SEM, TPD_NH3, and IR spectroscopy were used to characterise these materials. The study shows that the promoting effect of nickel on the HDS activity of molybdenum catalysts supported on Al₂O₃TiO₂ is significantly lower than that for molybdenum catalyst supported on Al₂O₃, and depends on the TiO₂ content. The SEM results show that in the case of rich Al support (20 wt.% of TiO₂) molybdenum was aggregated on the external surface of the catalyst, whereas it was uniformly dispersed on the external surface of alumina. Results also show that molybdenum is preferably supported on aluminum oxide. Application of Al₂O₃TiO₂ oxides enhances the HDN activity of nickel–molybdenum catalysts. The highest HDN efficiency was obtained for the NiMo/Al₂O₃TiO₂ catalyst containing 50 wt.% of TiO₂. HDN activity was found to depend on protonic acidity and anatase content.     

Preparation and thermal characterization of poly(ethylene oxide)/griseofulvin solid dispersions for biomedical applications

In this work, a series of poly(ethylene oxide)/griseofulvin (PEO/gris) solid dispersions has been prepared and characterized by PLM, FTIR, DSC, and MT‐DSC. It has been found that the crystalline phase morphology depends strongly on the PEO molecular weight and, in the PEO/gris systems, griseofulvin molecules stay in amorphous phase of PEO, which enhances the solubility of a drug and increases its biological access. For PEO‐drug systems containing 5, 10, and 15% gris, FTIR bands due to stretching vibrations of the O? H groups were found at 3436, 3436, and 3413 cm^?1, respectively, whereby for pure PEO 3400, they were located at 3513 cm^?1—the observed shift proves the existence of hydrogen bonds between PEO and griseofulvin. The presence of griseofulvin caused lowering of the systems' melting temperature in the whole concentration range and, as evidenced by MT‐DSC results, recrystallization of PEO in the PEO/griseofulvin systems during melting does occur. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Influence of ligno-cellulosic particles on tribological properties of boards

There are two main possibilities to substitute conventional wood material in the panel production: the use of wood of fast-growing trees plantations and/or the use of alternative ligno-cellulosic raw materials. Especially particleboards produced from the ‘‘energetic’’ willow present the same or better mechanical parameters compared to particleboards conventionally produced mainly from soft woods. Increasing bio-fuel production, mostly from rape, will cause an escalation of the rape cultivation area and, as a result, will augment the amount of waste (rape straw) to be utilized. The aim of this study was to verify the friction coefficient of the new board types in tribological contact with tools surfaces. The investigations were performed in situ. The results of the friction coefficient related to the tools surfaces as well as lingo-cellulose materials are presented.     

The study of the interactions between graphene and Ge(001)/Si(001)

The interaction between graphene and germanium surfaces was investigated using a combination of microscopic and macroscopic experimental techniques and complementary theoretical calculations.Density functional theory (DFT) calculations for different reconstructions of the Ge(001) surface showed that the interactions between graphene and the Ge(001) surface introduce additional peaks in the density of states,superimposed on the graphene valence and conduction energy bands.The growth of graphene induces nanofaceting of the Ge(001) surface,which exhibits well-organized hill and valley structures.The graphene regions covered by hills are of high quality and exhibit an almost linear dispersion relation,which indicates weak graphene-germanium interactions.On the other hand,the graphene component occupying valley regions is significantly perturbed by the interaction with germanium.It was also found that the stronger graphene-germanium interaction observed in the valley regions is connected with a lower local electrical conductivity.Annealing of graphene/Ge(001)/Si(001) was performed to obtain a more uniform surface.This process results in a surface characterized by negligible hill and valley structures;however,the graphene properties unexpectedly deteriorated with increasing uniformity of the Ge(001) surface.To sum up,it was shown that the mechanism responsible for the formation of local conductivity inhomogeneities in graphene covering the Ge(001) surface is related to the different strength of graphene-germanium interactions.The present results indicate that,in order to obtain high-quality graphene,the experimental efforts should focus on limiting the interactions between germanium and graphene,which can be achieved by adjusting the growth conditions.     

Physicochemical and Biological Characterisation of Diclofenac Oligomeric Poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate) Hybrids as β-TCP Ceramics Modifiers for Bone Tissue Regeneration

Nowadays, regenerative medicine faces a major challenge in providing new, functional materials that will meet the characteristics desired to replenish and grow new tissue. Therefore, this study presents new ceramic-polymer composites in which the matrix consists of tricalcium phosphates covered with blends containing a chemically bounded diclofenac with the biocompatible polymer—poly(3-hydroxyoctanoate), P(3HO). Modification of P(3HO) oligomers was confirmed by NMR, IR and XPS. Moreover, obtained oligomers and their blends were subjected to an in-depth characterisation using GPC, TGA, DSC and AFM. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the hydrophobicity and surface free energy values of blends decreased with the amount of diclofenac modified oligomers. Subsequently, the designed composites were used as a substrate for growth of the pre-osteoblast cell line (MC3T3-E1). An in vitro biocompatibility study showed that the composite with the lowest concentration of the proposed drug is within the range assumed to be non-toxic (viability above 70%). Cell proliferation was visualised using the SEM method, whereas the observation of cell penetration into the scaffold was carried out by confocal microscopy. Thus, it can be an ideal new functional bone tissue substitute, allowing not only the regeneration and restoration of the defect but also inhibiting the development of chronic inflammation.     

Phenotypic consequences of LYS4 gene disruption in Candida albicans

A BLAST search of the Candida Genome Database with the Saccharomyces cerevisiae LYS4 sequence known to encode homoaconitase (HA) revealed ORFs 19.3846 and 19.11327. Both alleles of the LYS4 gene were sequentially disrupted in Candida albicans BWP17 cells using PCR‐based methodology. The null lys4Δ mutant exhibited lysine auxotrophy in minimal medium but was able to grow in the presence of l ‐Lys and α‐aminoadipate, an intermediate of the α‐aminoadipate pathway, at millimolar concentrations. The presence of d ‐Lys and pipecolic acid did not trigger lys4Δ growth. The C. albicans lys4Δ mutant cells demonstrated diminished germination ability. However, their virulence in vivo in a murine model of disseminated neonatal candidiasis appeared identical to that of the wild‐type strain. Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference in fungal burden of infected tissues between the strains. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.