Core-level shift analysis of amorphous CdTeOx materials

We show the importance of considering the detailed local distributions of oxygen atoms around tellurium in CdTeO _x glasses when interpreting X-ray photoemission experiments. We perform first principles calculations of core-level shifts that are used to compute X-ray photo-electron spectra. The core-level shifts are investigated by means of atomic density of states and a structural Voronoi analysis. We find that the dominating effect on the atomic core-level shift of tellurium is charge redistribution due to the oxygen atoms. There is however also a prominent effect from the geometrical arrangement of the oxygen neighbors.     

Characterization of Bacillus sporothermodurans IC4 spores; putative indicator microorganism for optimisation of thermal processes in food sterilisation

Spore-forming bacteria with high heat resistance increasingly challenge industrial sterilisation processes in foods. To ensure stability of manufactured foods, generally worst case scenarios are applied often leading to unwanted over processing of foods. This means bigger requirements of energy and larger emissions of CO₂ into the atmosphere. A heat-resistant spore-forming bacterium, Bacillus sporothermodurans, was tested for its ability to produce consistently highly heat-resistant spore crops to be used to more precisely determine the minimal thermal process that is compatible with microbial stability, thus avoiding the indicated overprocessing. Isothermal survival curves of B. sporothermodurans IC4 spores were determined in distilled water at temperatures up to 125 °C using the capillary tube technique and a thermoresistometer Mastia. B. sporothermodurans consistently produced crops of heat-resistant spores with k_max values at 121 °C up to 0.46 min^?1. After consecutive sporulation cycles, the measured heat resistance of B. sporothermodurans was not reduced. Survival curves showed shoulders that were characterized by means of existing models (Geeraerd, Weibull) that were compared with the classical, log-linear one. Shoulders are a common phenomenon in heat-resistant spore-forming bacteria and may be related to the need of more stringent processing conditions. B. sporothermodurans spores were considered adequate to optimize sterilisation processes of low acid foods under a wide variety of conditions. Establishing precise heat treatments can be a way to guarantee food safety and stability while reducing the use of energy and contaminating emissions.     

Commutation Signaling to Combat ISI over Nakagami and Ricean Fading

Bandwidth expanding signaling with quasi-orthogonal short codes is considered. The evaluation of the average probability of error analytically and by simulation is presented, for channels with multipath induced intersymbol interference (ISI) and for two different fading distributions. Namely Nakagami and Ricean fading distributions. The effect of intercell interference due to frequency reuse is also taken into account. Bit error rates (BER) for rake receiver with equal gain combining and postdetection integrator are presented. Both DBPSK and /41 DQPSK modulations with noncoherent demodulation are analysed. The effect of TCM coding, in the expected BER is also evaluated.     

Environmentally friendly disposable sensors with microfabricated on-chip planar bismuth electrode for in situ heavy metal ions measurement

This paper presents an environmentally friendly disposable heavy metal ion sensor for in situ and online monitoring in the nature and physiological systems. The miniaturized sensor chip consists of a non-toxic microfabricated bismuth (Bi) working electrode that replaces the conventional mercury electrodes, an integrated Ag/AgCl reference electrode, a gold counter electrode, and microfluidic channels. In this work, the electrochemical behavior of the Bi working electrode was characterized in several non-deaerated buffer solutions using cyclic voltammetry. The detection and quantification of Pb (II) and Cd (II) were statically performed using anodic stripping voltammetry inside the microchannels, in the Pb (II) concentration range of 25–400 ppb (R² = 0.991) with limit of detection of 8 ppb for 60 s deposition, and in the Cd (II) concentration range of 28–280 ppb (R² = 0.986) with limit of detection of 9.3 ppb for 90 s deposition. Particularly, the applications of this sensor chip have been reported with the examples of in situ measurement of Cd (II) concentration in soil pore and ground water and online direct measurement of Cd (II) concentration in cell culture media in its native environment.     

Partially interactive evolutionary artists

User fatigue is probably the most pressing problem in current Interactive Evolutionary Computation systems. To address it we propose the use of automatic seeding procedure, phenotype filters, and partial automation fitness assignment. We test this approaches in the visual arts domain. To further enhance interactive evolution applications in aesthetic domains, we propose the use of artificial art critics—systems that perform stylistic and aesthetic valuations of art—presenting experimental results. Penousal Machado: He is a researcher at Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra (CISUC). He is the author of more than 20 journals and conference papers, and chair of several international workshops. His main research interest is the study and development of evolutionary approaches to creativity and artificial art. Juan Romero, Ph.D.: He is the founder of the “Creative Computer Group” of the RNASA Lab. His present research focuses on (i) Hybrid Society, which consists of an egalitarian society composed of creative computers and human beings (ii) Artificial Art, using artificial art critics and creators based on connectionist and evolutionary techniques. Amílcar Cardoso, Ph.D.: He is an Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics Engineering of the University of Coimbra. He is the leader of the CISUC AILab, and founder of the Creative Systems Group. His main research interest is the study and implementation of computer models of creativity. He has background as professional musician and composer. Antonino Santos, Ph.D.: He is the author/editor of more than 25 articles and 7 books. He participated as researcher in 7 funded research proposals concerning to Artificial Intelligence, Neural Networks and Internet Security. His present research focuses in hybrid systems, creative systems, computer security, artificial neural networks and evolutionary computation.     

Transport of ionizable drugs and proteins in crosslinked poly(acrylic acid) and poly(acrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogels. I. Polymer characterization

The purpose of this investigation was to define the polymer structure and elucidate the swelling behavior of ionizable hydrophilic polymers (hydrogels) in water and buffered media. Poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) and poly(acrylic acid-co-2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate) [P(AA-co-HEMA)] hydrogels were synthesized with varying degrees of hydrophilicity and crosslinking and were designed as potential bioadhesive controlled-release dosage forms. The thermal initiation procedure employed during polymerization was optimized to eliminate unreacted residuals. Equilibrium and dynamic swelling studies were undertaken to determine the polymer mesh size and molecular weight between crosslinks of the hydrogels in the ionized and nonionized states. The PAA hydrogel mesh sizes ranged from 100 to 400 Å over pH values of 3–7, whereas the P(AA-co-HEMA) hydrogel mesh sizes were between 13 and 140 Å. These results demonstrated the significance of the swelling medium pH on the hydrated state of the polymers relative to crosslinking or copolymerization composition. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Serum beta-carotene and antioxidant micronutrients in children with cancer. The 'Cancer in Children and Antioxidant Micronutrients' French Study Group

Serum antioxidant vitamins A (retinol) and E (alpha-tocopherol), beta-carotene, zinc and selenium for 418 children with newly diagnosed malignancy were compared with those of 632 cancer-free controls. Incident cancer cases and controls were 1-16 years old and recruited in 1986-1989. Age- and sex-adjusted serum concentrations of retinol, beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol were significantly inversely associated with cancer. In similar models, the odds ratio (OR) comparing the highest with the lowest quintile was 2.06 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.40-3.02) for retinol, 3.87 (95% CI: 2.54-5.90) for beta-carotene, 2.15 (95% CI: 1.48-3.10) for alpha-tocopherol, 1.29 (95% CI: 0.75-2.23) for selenium, and 1.94 (95% CI: 1.17-2.23) for zinc. The cancer sites that were associated with serum beta-carotene were, in general, leukaemia, lymphoma, central nervous system, bone and renal tumours. Moreover, leukaemia was associated with low mean serum levels of retinol, selenium and zinc. Subjects with lymphoma, bone and renal tumours also had lower mean retinol and alpha-tocopherol levels than controls. Brain tumour patients had low vitamin E levels. Low serum values of antioxidant vitamins were associated with childhood neoplasm occurrence. Some site-specific effect was reported. Low peripheral nutrient levels are not considered as cancer promoters but rather as an impairment of the body's defence mechanism occurring during the cancer-related metabolic and nutritional disturbances and inflammation processes.     

Adhesives based on polyurethane graft multiblock copolymers: Tack,rheology and first morphological analyses

In this contribution, we report on the characterization of novel polyurethane graft-copolymers containing poly(n-butyl acrylate) side chains and, when extended, crystallizable polycaprolactone segments. Based on the previously reported synthesis, we attempt in the present work to correlate polymer structure and properties of segmented polyurethanes focussing on its potential interest as pressure-sensitive adhesive nanomaterial. For that purpose, thermomechanical analyses were coupled with complementary tack tests, rheology experiments and atomic force microscopy (AFM) imaging. Parameters such as relative hard and soft segments fraction or the introduction of crystallisable fragments that can play an important role on the adhesive comportment are described as well.     

Polyurethane fibrous membranes tailored by rotary jet spinning for tissue engineering applications

Polymeric membranes have gained popularity as fibrous structures for tissue regeneration. This research focuses on the rotary jet spinning (RJS) process combined with a polymer as a strategy for designing membranes. To this end, RJS-polyurethane (RJS-PU) membranes with different microstructures were produced. Considering the effects of solution properties on fiber production, the viscosity of PU solutions was evaluated. Membrane morphology was studied based on scanning electron microscopy and 2D fast Fourier transform analysis. The chemical and thermal properties were characterized by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, respectively. 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide and Live/Dead cell assays were performed to determine the material cytotoxicity by assessment of the profile of proliferation and cell viability. The results indicated that the combination of PU and RJS was an effective one for the production of fibrous structures for tissue engineering applications, demonstrating good compatibility with the cultured osteoblastic cell line. © 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2020 , 137, 48455.