Grain Refinement of Alloys in Fusion-Based Additive Manufacturing Processes

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - One of the less desirable aspects of fusion-based additive manufacturing is the propensity for coarse columnar grain structures crossing build layers to...     

Studies on the browning of fino sherry and its relation to polyphenolic compounds

Summary The contents of total polyphenols (using the Jerumanis method) as well as phenolic acids and aldehydes (using highperformance liquid chromatography) and their relationship to the browning of Jerez sherry were studied. The results were compared with the accelerated browning process (oxygen saturation and heating at 50° C for several days), which appears commonly in the bibliography, and the natural browning process (which occurs naturally in the bottle). It was shown that the accelerated browning process cannot be used to stimulate the natural browning phenomenon (remontado) of fino sherry, as different results were obtained.

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Studien über das Braunwerden des feinen Sherrys und seine Beziehung zu polyphenolischen Verbindungen

Zusammenfassung Es wurde der Gehalt der Gesamtpolyphenole mit der Jerumanis-Methode (einschließlich der phenolischen Säuren und Aldehyde unter Verwendung der HPLC-Technik) und deren Beziehung zum Braunwerden von Jerez Sherry verfolgt. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit der in der Literatur vorgeschlagenen Technik des beschleunigten Braunwerdens (Sauerstoffsättigung und mehrtägiges Erhitzen auf 50 °C) und dem Braunwerden in natürlicher Weise in der Flasche verglichen. Es konnte bewiesen werden, daß beschleunigtes Braunwerden kein guter Ersatz für das natürliche Braunwerden (remontado) des feinen Sherryweines ist. Verschiedene Resultate gegenüber natürlich braungewordenem Sherry bestätigen dies.

     

Deciphering the Therapeutic Resistance in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clonal hematopoietic disorder characterized by abnormal proliferation, lack of cellular differentiation, and infiltration of bone marrow, peripheral blood, or other organs. Induction failure and in general resistance to chemotherapeutic agents represent a hindrance for improving survival outcomes in AML. Here, we review the latest insights in AML biology concerning refractoriness to therapies with a specific focus on cytarabine and daunorubicin which still represent milestones agents for inducing therapeutic response and disease eradication. However, failure to achieve complete remission in AML is still high especially in elderly patients (40–60% in patients >65 years old). Several lines of basic and clinical research have been employed to improve the achievement of complete remission. These lines of research include molecular targeted therapy and more recently immunotherapy. In terms of molecular targeted therapies, specific attention is given to DNMT3A and TP53 mutant AML by reviewing the mechanisms underlying epigenetic therapies’ (e.g., hypomethylating agents) resistance and providing critical points and hints for possible future therapies overcoming AML refractoriness.     

Synthesis and Thermal Characterization of Some Novel ABA Block Copolymers

The synthesis of some novel ABA block copolymers is reported. The block A is a PPO while the block B is a random copoly(aryl ether sulfone), synthesized with three different molecular weights. The block copolymers were obtained by a two step procedure consisting on the functionalization of the random copoly(aryl ether sulfone) followed by a condensation with PPO. Spectroscopic techniques (¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR) were used to characterize the polymers obtained from each step. The NMR data proved the complete conversion of amino groups after the first reaction step and gave some useful insights on the completion of the second step. Copolymer formation is supported by a comparison of the thermal behavior of the block copolymers with respect to the physical blends of the two homopolymers. DSC and DMA analyses showed double glass transitions for the physical blends which could be related to the immiscibility of the two homopolymers, while, in contrast, the block copolymer showed single glass transition. Blends of ABA triblock copolymer/PPO and of ABA triblock/copoly(arylen ether sulfone)s were also prepared. These blends, tested by DSC, showed a good level of compatibility of the ABA copolymer with its singular constituents.

     

Catalytic combustion of volatile organic compounds on gold/iron oxide catalysts

Catalytic oxidation of 2-propanol, methanol, ethanol, acetone and toluene was investigated on coprecipitated Au/Fe₂O₃ catalysts in the presence of excess of oxygen. Gold catalysts have been found to be very active in the oxidation of tested volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The high activity of these systems has been related to the capacity of highly dispersed gold to weaken the Fe–O bond thus increasing the mobility of the lattice oxygen which is involved in the VOCs oxidation probably through a Mars–van Krevelen reaction mechanism.     

Automatic generation of incremental taxonomies for supporting the users in the development of an RPA project

The robotic process automation (RPA) paradigm is a discipline that is becoming increasingly popular thanks to the great interest shown by the industry. In such context, RPA solutions based on artificial intelligence, i.e., cognitive solutions, are receiving increasing attention. In a cognitive RPA project, the RPA developer is in charge of selecting the most suitable components that solve specific tasks from the sets of components provided by different RPA platforms. This selection is very challenging, especially since there is no homogeneity in component names or component classifications. Such a situation turns an RPA project’s development into a time-consuming, error-prone, and very tedious process. Therefore, supporting the RPA developer in developing a cognitive RPA project is desired. The industry has also pointed out this need. This work presents a proposal for supporting the users in developing a cognitive RPA project. To be more precise, an incremental method to automatically generate taxonomies from cognitive RPA platforms is proposed. Such taxonomies can be dynamically adapted when necessary. In previous work, the initial aspects of this research were presented. However, the current work greatly enhances such previous work by: (1) extending the proposed method to improve the management of real-world use cases from industry, (2) developing a proof-of-concept tool that is based on the proposed approach, (3) validating the proposed method by applying it to real-world use cases from industry, and (4) performing a literature review on related topics. The results obtained are auspicious and demonstrate that the proposed approach substantially improves the support given to users during the development of a cognitive RPA project.

     

Evolution of the colour,antioxidant activity and polyphenols in unusually aged Sherry wines

The present paper reports the results of a study monitoring several key analytical parameters in a set of aged samples of vintages from 1999 back to 1935. The analysed parameters were: colour, antioxidant activity, low molecular weight phenolics, index of total polyphenols and SO₂ content.     

Fully programmable single-photon detection module for InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes with clean and sub-nanosecond gating transitions

We present the design and characterization of a modern near-infrared photon counting module, able to exploit the best performance of InGaAs/InP single-photon avalanche diodes for the detection of fast and faint optical signals up to 1.7 μm. Such instrument is suitable for many applications, thanks to the user-friendly interface and the fully adjustable settings of all operating parameters. We extensively characterized both the electronics and the detector, and we validated such instrument up to 133 MHz gate repetition frequency, for photon-counting and photon-timing applications, with very clean temporal response and excellent timing performance of less than 100 ps.     

Study on epoxy/thermoplastic blends based on the addition of a novel aromatic block copolymer

In this article we present a study of the properties of some epoxy/thermoplastic blends based on the addition of a novel block copolymer of an ABA type. The block A was a commercial poly(2,6‐dimethyl‐1,4‐phenylene ether or oxide) (PPE or PPO) while block B was a random copolyethersulphone synthesized in our laboratory. The comparison with the epoxy blends modified only with the homopolymers A or B is also reported. The homopolymers were also mixed via solution blending and the resulting physical mixture was used as modifier for comparison purposes. The blends have been thoroughly characterized by parallel plate rheometry, dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), and scanning electron microscopy. Upon curing, the epoxy blends containing the physical mixture underwent phase separation showing a morphology which resembled the combination of those found for the blends modified with each of the homopolymers. On the contrary, the addition of the block copolymer resulted in a unique morphology. The viscoelastic properties of the blends both in the unreacted and cured state varied significantly when the block copolymer was added rather than the homopolymers or their physical mixture. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 47:2027–2033, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers