Using avatars to tailor ideation process to innovation strategy

To face innovation challenges of the twenty-first century, companies should learn from proven successful strategies and draw on technological evolutions as well. Our proposal consists in aligning ideation to innovation strategies through the use of avatars in a virtual world. On the basis of the Persona method and the Proteus effect, we design avatars’ appearance so as to implement a Need-seeker or a Technology-driver innovation strategy. To test the effectiveness of this avatar-mediated innovation tool, we conducted an experiment in a French company. Two groups of highly qualified employees from the innovation department had to find applications for smart windows in public transportation. Both groups experienced immersion in a virtual transportation situation: one group embodied avatars resembling Inventors, whereas the other group embodied Personas representing users of public transportation. As expected, avatars’ appearance proved to influence the creative production: the Inventor condition led to a techno-centered ideation profile, oriented toward technological solutions, while the Persona condition led to more user-centered, needs-oriented ideas. Consistently, Inventors’ production tended to be better evaluated through industrial criteria and Personas’ production tended to be better evaluated by transportation users. We discuss the use of avatar-mediated creativity as a strategic tool for companies seeking to innovate.     

Phaseless imaging with experimental data: facts and challenges

Two-dimensional target characterization using inverse profiling approaches with total-field phaseless data is discussed. Two different inversion schemes are compared. In the first one, the intensity-only data are exploited in a minimization scheme, thanks to a proper definition of the cost functional. Specific normalization and starting guess are introduced to avoid the need for global optimization methods. In the second scheme [J. Opt. Soc. Am. A21, 622 (2004)], one exploits the field properties and the theoretical results on the inversion of quadratic operators to derive a two-step solution strategy, wherein the (complex) scattered fields embedded in the available data are retrieved first and then a traditional inverse scattering problem is solved. In both cases, the analytical properties of the fields allow one to properly fix the measurement setup and identify the more convenient strategy to adopt. Also, indications on the number and types of sources and receivers to be used are given. Results from experimental data show the efficiency of these approaches and the tools introduced.     

Effects of anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody in salivary glands of spontaneously diabetic mice

Background: Diabetes mellitus results in many complications, also compromising the salivary glands. The current treatment for this condition should be a substituting method to exogenous insulin. In this aspect, the immunotherapy has been tested, but, it can be inefficient as an agent for the control of damage caused by diabetes. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the anti‐CD3 monoclonal antibody as alternative immunotherapy in the recovery of salivary glands of spontaneously diabetic NOD (nonobese diabetic) mice. Methods: NOD mice were divided into two groups of 10 animals: group I (untreated diabetic mice) and group II (anti‐CD3‐treated diabetic mice). After treatment, the samples of salivary glands were collected for histological examination under both transmitted and polarized light microscopy. Results: Alterations in tissue architecture; increase in extracellular matrix and presence of inflammatory process were observed in untreated animals. Recovery of the salivary acinar cells occurred in treated animals. The parotid glands demonstrated a smaller amount of collagen fibers and were not observed severe inflammatory processes. Conclusion: These results indicate that immunotherapy contributed to reestablishment of tissue damaged by the hyperglycemic condition, demonstrating that the immunomodulation plays an important role in the recovery of salivary glands. Microsc. Res. Tech., 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Specification and verification of database dynamics

Summary A framework is proposed for the structured specification and verification of database dynamics. In this framework, the conceptual model of a database is a many sorted first order linear tense theory whose proper axioms specify the update and the triggering behaviour of the database. The use of conceptual modelling approaches for structuring such a theory is analysed. Semantic primitives based on the notions of event and process are adopted for modelling the dynamic aspects. Events are used to model both atomic database operations and communication actions (input/output). Nonatomic operations to be performed on the database (transactions) are modelled by processes in terms of trigger/reaction patterns of behaviour. The correctness of the specification is verified by proving that the desired requirements on the evolution of the database are theorems of the conceptual model. Besides the traditional data integrity constraints, requirements of the form Under condition W, it is guaranteed that the database operation Z will be successfully performed are also considered. Such liveness requirements have been ignored in the database literature, although they are essential to a complete definition of the database dynamics.

Notation

Classical Logic Symbols (Appendix 1) for all (universal quantifier) - exists at least once (existential quantifier) - ¬ no (negation) - implies (implication) - is equivalent to (equivalence) - and (conjunction) - or (disjunction) Tense Logic Symbols (Appendix 1) G always in the future - G ₀ always in the future and now - F sometime in the future - F ₀ sometime in the future or now - H always in the past - H ₀ always in the past and now - P sometime in the past - P ₀ sometime in the past or now - X in the next moment - Y in the previous moment - L always - M sometime Event Specification Symbols (Sects. 3 and 4.1) (x) means immediately after the occurrence of x - (x) means immediately before the occurrence of x - (x) means x is enabled, i.e., x may occur next - { } ({w ₁} x{w ₂}) states that if w ₁ holds before the occurrence of x, then w ₂ will hold after the occurrence of x (change rule) - [ ] ([oa₁, ..., oa_n]x) states that only the object attributes oa₁, ..., oa _n are modifiable by x (scope rule) - {{ }} ({{w}}x) states that if x may occur next, then w holds (enabling rule) Process Specification Symbols (Sects. 5.3 and 5.4) :: for causal rules - for behavioural rules Transition-Pattern Composition Symbols (Sects. 5.2 and 5.3) ; sequential composition - ¦ choice composition - parallel composition - :| guarded alternative composition Location Predicates (Sect. 5.2) (z) means immediately after the occurrence of the last event of z (after) - (z) means immediately before the occurrence of the first event of z (before) - (z) means after the beginning of z and before the end of z (during) - ( z) means before the occurrence of an event of z (at)     

Impact of Annealing on the Early Hydration of Tricalcium Silicate

It was recently proposed that the induction period observed during the hydration of tricalcium silicate could be explained by the build‐up of ions in solution. Due to the importance of defects in this mechanism, this work describes the effect of different annealing effects on the defect structure and hydration behavior of C₃S. The impact of annealing on the crystal structure was checked by X‐ray diffraction and the defect structure studied by transmission electron microscopy. The hydration kinetics were followed by isothermal calorimetry of pastes. Scanning electron microscopy was used to look at the microstructure formation. It was observed that grinding created a highly deformed layer on the surface of the grains, which disappeared after annealing. The defect structure was closely related to the length of the induction period observed in pastes by calorimetry. There was no observable effect on the morphology of C–S–H during hydration, but the number of calcium hydroxide nuclei was less in pastes from annealed material.     

Biomonitoring of biosurfactant production by green fluorescent protein‐marked Bacillus subtilis W1012

BACKGROUND: Biosurfactant production was investigated using two strains of Bacillus subtilis, one being a reference strain (B. subtilis 1012) and the other a recombinant of this (B. subtilis W1012) made able to produce the green fluorescent protein (GFP). RESULTS: Batch cultivations carried out at different initial levels of glucose (G₀) in the presence of 10 g L^?1 casein demonstrated that the reference strain was able to release higher levels of biosurfactants in the medium at 5.0≤G₀≤10 g L^?1 (B_max = 104–110 mg L^?1). The recombinant strain exhibited slightly lower levels of biosurfactants (B_max = 90–104 mg L^?1) but only at higher glucose concentrations (G₀ ≥ 20 g L^?1). Under these nutritional conditions, the fluorescence intensity linked to the production of GFP was shown to be associated with the cell concentration even after achievement of the stationary phase. CONCLUSION: The ability of the genetically‐modified strain to simultaneously overproduce biosurfactant and GFP even at low biomass concentration makes it an interesting candidate for use as a biological indicator to monitor indirectly the biosurfactant production in bioremediation treatments. Copyright © 2008 Society of Chemical Industry     

Formation Kinetics of Monomeric Cyclic Fatty Acid Methyl Esters of Alpha-Linolenic Acid: Effects of Mono cis/trans Isomers

Cyclic fatty acid monomers (CFAM) are formed at low levels in edible oils during thermal processing operations such as frying or refining, and inevitably become part of the diet. These proatherogenic agents may increase the levels of oxidative stress markers, and induce hepatomegaly and steatosis. However, the kinetics involved in their formation is not well known. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of cis and trans isomers on cyclization reactions involved in the thermal transformation of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Geometrical isomers of ALA were obtained from all-cis ALA by nitric acid treatment. Mono-trans isomers were concentrated using silver nitrate-silica gel chromatography. All-cis ALA, isomerized ALA, and a fraction at 85% mono-trans isomers were heat treated at 275 °C in hexadecane for periods up to 24 hours, and the formation of geometrical isomers and CFAM was monitored by GC. The results show that mono-trans isomers at carbon 9 and carbon 15 form CFAM at an accelerated rate, compared to the corresponding cis isomers, resulting in the formation of higher levels of CFAM over shorter time periods. The validation of the kinetic model was performed by solving simultaneously and nonlinearly fitting the system of coupled differential equations with experimental data. Good agreement was found between the experimental data and the predicted values. This work suggests that the use of polyunsaturated vegetable oils over extended periods for thermal processing of food may result in the formation of CFAM, in particular, if mono-trans isomers are present in the oil.     

Response Surface Analysis for Competition between Thermooxidation and Polycondensation Reactions of PET Flakes. Part 1: Low Vacuum Atmosphere

This work was accomplished employing solid-state polymerization (SSP) under less severe vacuum intensity (30 mmHg) in static mode at different times and temperatures. The influence of these parameters on intrinsic viscosity measurements was performed using Response Surface Methodology. The effect of temperature on intrinsic viscosity gains showed to be less pronounced than expected due to SSP being surface diffusion-controlled. The SSP efficiency for temperature as high as 230°C and dwell times higher than approximately 330 min showed lower increment on intrinsic viscosity than at immediately lower temperatures, although above approximately 215°C. This effect is a consequence of higher conversion rates of side reactions with increasing temperatures, their cumulative effect with increasing dwell time, and lower increment of polycondensation convertion rate with temperature under less severe vacuum intensity. The process temperatures and intervals determined, which allow PET recycling into new injected bottles, were moderates.     

Application of the photo-Fenton process to the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with diesel

The application of the photo-Fenton process for the treatment of wastewaters contaminated with diesel oil was investigated. This particular process has been widely studied for the photochemical degradation of highly toxic organic pollutants. Experiments were performed according to a factorial experimental design at two levels and two variables: H(2)O(2) concentration (5-200 mM) and Fe(2+) concentration (0.01-1 mM). Experimental results demonstrated that the photo-Fenton process is technically feasible for the treatment of wastewaters containing diesel oil constituents, with total mineralization. A combination of factorial experimental design and gradient descent techniques was employed to optimize the amount of the Fenton reagents, resulting in Fe(2+) (0.1 mM) and H(2)O(2) (50 mM). These optimized levels did not exceed the limit for disposal of ferrous ions (0.27 mM) proposed at the local environmental legislation.