A vision system for symbolic interpretation of dynamic scenes using arsom

We describe an artificial high-level vision system for the symbolic interpretation of data coming from a video camera that acquires the image sequences of moving scenes. The system is based on ARSOM neural networks that learn to generate the perception-grounded predicates obtained by image sequences. The ARSOM neural networks also provide a three-dimensional estimation of the movements of the relevant objects in the scene. The vision system has been employed in two scenarios: the monitoring of a robotic arm suitable for space operations, and the surveillance of an electronic data processing (EDP) center.     

Allergenicity of different apple cultivars assessed by means of skin prick test and sensitisation to recombinant allergens Mal d 1 and Mal d 3 in a group of Italian apple‐allergic patients

To evaluate differences in skin prick test response to apple cultivars in patients with apple allergy, 19 patients (10 adults and 9 children) underwent prick‐to‐prick skin prick test with eleven commercial and noncommercial apple cultivars, and evaluation of specific IgE to apple and recombinant apple allergens Mal d 1 and Mal d 3. The results show that different reactions might be evoked in a single patient by different apple cultivars and also separately for the peel and the pulp of a single cultivar. The cultivars were ranked according to their allergenicity level, being Jonathan, Jonagold, Golden Delicious and Fiesta the most allergenic when considering the pulp and Gala, Fiesta and Golden Delicious for the peel. Further investigations are needed to clarify if a single patient can be allergic only to well‐defined apple cultivars and which allergometric tests are necessary to ascertain this.     

HPLC-Chip-Multiple Reaction Monitoring (MRM) method for the label-free absolute quantification of γ-conglutin in lupin: Proteotypic peptides and standard addition method

In food science there is a growing demand of methods for the absolute quantification of proteins, such as allergens or bioactive proteins, and shotgun proteomics based on mass spectrometry is a promising analytical tool in this area. This paper describes an innovative label-free method for the absolute quantification of γ-conglutin, one of the most relevant lupin seed proteins, which is hypoglycaemic and a major allergen. The main features of the method are: (a) the chromatographic separation was performed on an HPLC-chip system coupled with an ion trap mass spectrometer; (b) five proteotypic peptides of γ-conglutin were selected and analysed with a multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) method; (c) absolute quantification was obtained by the standard addition method after purification of a reference sample of γ-conglutin from lupin seed; (d) the matrix effect was overcome by spiking with an exogenous protein, i.e. BSA, as internal standard.     

The effect of chain packing on the thermal and dynamic mechanical behaviour of liquid‐crystalline epoxy thermosets

Liquid‐crystalline thermosets (LCTs) have received considerable attention since they exhibit many interesting properties. However, some aspects concerning LCTs are still unexplored. In particular, the structure–property relationships, as far as the organization of liquid‐crystalline (LC) domains in cured thermosets is concerned, have not been fully elucidated yet. We investigated the effect of the presence of a nematic mesophase on the thermal and dynamic mechanical behaviour of p‐(2,3‐epoxypropoxy)phenyl‐p‐(2,3‐epoxypropoxy)benzoate cured with 2,4‐diaminotoluene. Fourier transform infrared spectral analysis showed that epoxy group conversion was complete in both LC and isotropic (ISO) systems; moreover, a greater amount of intermolecular hydrogen bonding in the LC material was found. Thermogravimetric analysis evidenced similar thermal stability for the two systems, but a kinetic analysis of the data showed that the degradation process is more complex for the LC sample, and is characterized by higher activation energy. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) showed lower glass transition temperature values for the LC system. Solid‐state NMR analysis evidenced lower paramagnetic oxygen absorption for this system. DMTA results show that the ISO material possesses a larger number of physical crosslinks, which act as extra constraints on the molecular motions. In the case of the LCT, the formation of a locally more dense structure is postulated, where the presence of more extended macromolecular segments leads to a smaller number of physical crosslinks, as also confirmed by solid‐state NMR analysis. A more compact molecular packing also leads to an increase of the activation energies of the thermal degradation process of the LC system. Copyright © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry     

Technological properties and non-enzymatic browning of white lupin protein enriched spaghetti

Spaghetti was prepared by replacing semolina with different amounts of lupin protein, in order to increase the protein content. A detailed investigation of the rheological properties of the dough and the cooking quality of pasta was performed in comparison to standard semolina spaghetti. Moreover, the effect of the addition of lupin protein on non-enzymatic browning was evaluated by measuring ε-furoylmethyllysine (furosine) and 5-hydroxymethyl-2-furancarboxaldehyde (HMF), which are considered useful indices of semolina quality and pasta processing conditions. Dried spaghetti fortified with 5% of lupin protein isolate has a colour and rheological features comparable with the semolina sample and also the behaviour during cooking results to be satisfactory. As far as the thermal damage is concerned, the furosine values of fortified spaghetti differ only marginally from standard pasta and the percentage lysine loss is quite small (ranging from 12.1% to 15.7%).     

Polyphenol Conjugates and Human Health: A Perspective Review

In recent years, antioxidants have gained great importance because of their potential use in food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic industries. This interest is rooted in the cumulative evidence connecting active oxygen and free radicals with numerous human degenerative disorders, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, aging, and atherosclerosis. Polyphenols are the major class of antioxidant able to reduce the oxidative damages of lipids, proteins, enzymes, carbohydrates, and DNA in living cells and tissues. Among the realm of polyphenol compounds, polyphenol conjugates have been proposed as innovative materials which, by combining the advantageous properties of both the components, can increase the efficiency of antioxidants and their range of application in nutritional and biomedical fields. This work is an overview of the different class of polyphenol conjugates, which will be analyzed in terms of nutritional and biological properties, showing how these bio-conjugates will positively affect the human health.     

Nanofabricated atom optics: Atom chips

Abstract

Small tight trapping and guiding potentials can be created for neutral atoms moving microns above surfaces patterned with nanofabricated charged and current-carrying structures. Surfaces holding such structures form atom chips which, for coherent matter wave optics, may form the basis for a variety of novel applications and research tools, similar to integrated circuits in electronics. In this paper we describe the basic principles of atom chip experiments.     

An electronic driver for improving the open and closed loop electro-mechanical response of Dielectric Elastomer actuators

Actuators based on Dielectric Elastomers are a promising technology in robotic and mechatronic applications. The overall actuator performances are influenced by the non-linear and highly coupled electrical and mechanical behavior of the employed materials. To date, the practical electro-mechanical response and controllability of actuators based on Dielectric Elastomers are limited by the inadequacy of the employed driving circuits, which are based on voltage-regulated converters. In this paper, first a novel activation strategy is proposed for Dielectric Elastomer actuators, which is based on a custom electronic driver derived from the flyback transformer topology. Second, two closed-loop controllers employing the proposed electronic driver are presented and compared for the accurate and fast regulation of the position of Dielectric Elastomer actuators. Experimental results are reported which show that the proposed electronic driver outperforms the traditional driving circuits in terms of energy efficiency, fast open-loop actuator activation and good closed-loop actuator controllability.