Impact of antioxidants dispersions on the stability and oxidation of water-in-olive-oil emulsions

Water-in-olive-oil emulsion stability was studied as a function of the composition of the water dispersed phase. In particular, different polyphenolic extracts from natural sources were dispersed in the olive oil and their impact on emulsion kinetic stability and susceptibility to oxidation was evaluated. As natural sources, extra virgin olive oil, olive mill waste and green tea leaves were chosen. To test their impact on emulsion properties, the emulsions were prepared with fixed aqueous phase content. As emulsifiers, a fixed percentage of a mixture Span 80 (sorbitan monoleate)/Tween 80 (polysorbate 80) was used. The effect of the antioxidant dispersion on emulsion oxidation was studied by triggering the oxidation reaction in the oil phase with the lipophilic radical initiator AMVN (2,2-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile). Then, the oxidation reaction was followed by using diphenyl-1-pyrenylphosphine, which becomes fluorescent when it is oxidized by hydroperoxides. The impact of antioxidant dispersions on emulsion kinetic stability was studied by UV–Vis turbidity measurements. The oxidation results were correlated to antioxidant extracts oxygen radical adsorption capacity (ORAC) and to emulsion kinetic stability. On the whole, antioxidants dispersions delayed the oxidation reaction to different extents in dependence on their ORAC values and their components amphiphilicity. Remarkably, among the antioxidants tested, the aqueous polyphenol extract from virgin olive oil was the most effective because it protected emulsions both from oxidation and from phase separation. Additionally, from this set of experiments, the primary role of the interfacial properties of olive oil polyphenols was highlighted.     

Transfer of physically-based models from process to device simulations: Application to advanced SOI MOSFETs

Dopant implantation, followed by spike annealing is one of the main focus areas in the simulation of silicon processing due to its ability to form highly-activated ultra-shallow junctions. Coupled with the growing interest in the use of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafers, modelling and simulation of the influence of SOI structure on damage evolution and ultra-shallow junction formation on one hand, and on electrical MOSFET device characteristics on the other hand, are required.In this work, physically-based models of dopant implantation and diffusion, including amorphization, defect interactions and evolution, as well as dopant-defect interactions in both bulk silicon and SOI are integrated within a unique simulation tool to model the different physical mechanisms involved in the process of ultra-shallow junction formation.The application to 65 nm SOI MOSFET devices demonstrated the strong impact of the process simulation models on the simulated electrical device characteristics, in particular for both defect evolution and defect dopant interaction with the additional silicon/buried oxide (Si/BOX) interface. Simulation results of the threshold voltage (V_th) and the variation of the on- and off-state currents of the explored structures are in good agreement with experimental data and can provide important insight for optimizing the process in both bulk silicon and SOI technologies.     

Application of multiattribute decision analysis to quality functiondeployment for target setting

In the product design and development process, quality function deployment (QFD) provides a comprehensive, systematic approach to support the design of new products intended to meet or exceed customer expectations. The authors use multiattribute value theory to support new product design and hence to augment a design team's experience and judgment. We introduce the concept of a target set, the set of all value score vectors that are at least as preferred as the value score vectors of any of the given design alternatives. Assuming mutually preferential independence, we characterize the target set and indicate how it can be used to support selecting targets: 1) for the level of customer satisfaction to be attained by the new product, for each customer requirement and 2) for design requirements, presumably based in part on information from engineering competitive assessments. We then use the target set concept to augment the product planning phase of QFD. The concepts are illustrated and evaluated through the retrospective application of the methodology to an actual surgical product (universal converter). Although the analysis was performed retrospectively, without knowledge of the market success of the product and its competitors, the results were consistent with product acceptance and provided valuable insights to the lead engineer     

Morphological and Biological Evaluations of Human Periodontal Ligament Fibroblasts in Contact with Different Bovine Bone Grafts Treated with Low-Temperature Deproteinisation Protocol

Several types of deproteinised bovine bone mineral (DBBM) are available on the market, and each one is obtained with a thermic and chemical process that can differ, achieving different results. Currently, several protocols using low temperature are suggested to reduce the possible particle crystallisation during the production process. This study aimed to evaluate the biomorphological reaction of periodontal fibroblast cultures in contact with different DBBM particles treated with a low-temperature protocol (Thermagen^®) and without exposure to sodium hydroxide (NaOH). Morphological evaluation was performed using light, confocal laser, and scanning electron microscopy, and the biological reaction in terms of proliferation was performed using an XTT proliferation assay at 24 h (T1), 72 h (T2), and 7 days (T3). The morphological analysis highlighted how the presence of the materials stimulated a change in the morphology of the cells into a polygonal shape, surface reactions with the thickening of the membrane, and expression of actin. In particular, the morphological changes were appreciable from T1, with a progressive increase in the considered morphological characteristics at T2 and T3 follow-ups. The proliferation assay showed a statistical significance between the different experimental materials and the negative control in T2 and T3 follow-ups. The post hoc analysis did not reveal any differences between the materials. In conclusion, the grafts obtained with the low-temperature extractions protocol and not exposed to NaOH solution showed positive morphological reactions with no differences in the sizes of particles.     

Synchronisation control of electric motors through adaptive disturbance cancellation

A master–slave synchronisation control problem is addressed for current-fed DC and permanent magnet synchronous motors with all uncertain parameters. A measurable exogenous rotor position reference signal, which belongs to the class of biased sinusoidal signals with uncertain bias, amplitude, angular frequency, phase, is to be tracked without assuming its a priori knowledge. An innovative modification of disturbance cancellation techniques allows to prove that an output feedback adaptive nonlinear control scheme, which simply generalises the classical internal-model-based input law, solves the aforementioned problem, with an overall stability proof concerning the entire closed-loop system. The practical effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated by experimental results.     

Global Analysis of the Dynamics of a Piecewise Linear Vector Field Model for Prostate Cancer Treatment

Oncological therapies usually are applied intermittently, i.e., not continuously over time. In the periods in between, though, the cancer cells are usually left free to grow. This intermittency is a key issue in prostate cancer hormonal therapies based on androgen suppression. Here, we address this treatment modality by analyzing a piecewise smooth vector field approach. In fact, using the PSA (prostate-specific antigen) serum level as a control variable to switch between treatment and no-treatment periods of hormone therapy (androgen withdrawal), by means of typical parameter values, our theoretical analysis supports the idea that intermittent androgen suppression may prevent a prostate cancer relapse for a specific class of patients.

     

Characterization of extended defects in SiGe alloys formed by high dose Ge implantation into Si

The synthesis of SiGe/Si heterostructures by Ge⁺ ion implantation is reported. 400 keV Ge⁺ ions were implanted at doses ranging from 3 × 10¹⁶ to 10 × 10¹⁶ ions/cm² into (001) Si wafers, followed by Si⁺ amorphisation and low temperature Solid Phase Epitaxial Regrowth (SPER). TEM investigations show that strained alloys can be fabricated if the elastic strain energy (E_el) of the SiGe layer does not exceed a critical value (E′_el) of about 300 mJ/m², which is independent of the implantation energy. Our analysis also suggests that “hairpin” dislocations are formed as strain relieving defects in relaxed structures. A “strain relaxation” model is proposed to explain their formation.     

An agent that increases tumor suppressor transgene product coupled with systemic transgene delivery inhibits growth of metastatic lung cancer in vivo

Low levels of gene expression following systemic delivery have impaired the effectiveness of tumor suppressor gene replacement in treating metastases. We asked whether combined treatment with 2-methoxyestradiol (2-Me), which increases levels of wild-type p53 protein in cancer cells, and the systemic administration of an adenoviral vector expressing wild-type p53 (Ad-p53) would inhibit the growth of human metastatic lung cancer cells in vivo. The simultaneous administration of p53 and 2-Me resulted in a greater than additive reduction with the lung colony count reduced to 33% of its control value. These results suggest that the synergistic effect of 2-Me and Ad-p53 in combination treatment may have application in the systemic treatment of cancer.