Study of secondary relaxations of poly(ethylene terephthalate) by photoluminescence technique

The α and β relaxation processes in two types of poly(ethylene terephthalate) with different degrees of crystallinity were studied by means of three methods, differential scanning calorimetry, dynamic-mechanical analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy. Information provided is complementary in the mean that every method sense phenomena that may occur at different times and length scales. Several probes, Coumarin 152 (C152), Coumarin 153 (C153), Coumarin 337 (C337) and 4′-dimethylamino-4-nitrostilbene (DMANS), were adsorbed in polymer films, and their fluorescence analysed over the temperature range from −150 to 150 °C. In general, a decrease in fluorescence intensity of probes as temperature increase was observed. This behaviour has been explained as a consequence of the enhancement of the free volume fraction that favoured the radiationless process of the lowest excited singlet state. Plots of fluorescence intensity versus temperature showed changes around the secondary relaxation temperatures. Therefore, good correlations between fluorescence and dynamic mechanical and calorimetric analysis were established. The obtained results indicated that the fluorescence from the probes incorporated to the material was dependent on the crystallinity of polymer. It would indicate that the fluorescence emission from those probes can be used to analyse annealing processes in semicrystalline polymers.     

Patenting and licensing by Spanish firms: Available survey evidence

This paper presents the results of the OEPM (Spanish Patent and Trademark Office)/OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) survey on the economic and financial uses of patents carried out in 2008 among Spanish business applicants of OEPM patents. It also summarizes evidence from previous surveys. All available information indicates that only a few Spanish firms holding patents license them out. Results from the OEPM/OECD survey also reveal that obtaining public support is the first financial use of patents for Spanish firms. Responses to the same OECD questionnaire by EPO patent applicants from several European countries are quite different: licensing out is an extended practice among EPO patent holders from different countries, including Spain, and convincing venture capitalists and private investors are their two most important financial uses of patents. In our view this suggests that there are significant differences across European countries as regards the development of national technology markets and results from international surveys are driven by responses from the largest and more developed countries. The drivers and actors in markets for patents that only protect inventions nationally may be quite distinct from those in markets for patents that protect inventions regionally, such as EPO patents within Europe.     

Multi-source energy systems analysis using a multi-criteria decision aid methodology

In this article, an original multi-criteria approach is applied to multi-source systems used for the design and the choice of the optimal alternative. The high number of alternatives and potential solutions when dealing with multi-source systems require a decision support method to be implemented and easy to use. Information data on the economic variables, energy performance and impact on the environment of the systems are presently data which analysis and quantification is difficult. To deal with this high level of complexity and uncertainty, an evaluation approach is needed. The multi-criteria decision support methodology concept is described (ELECTRE III) and then applied for a case study. The decision support algorithm has its bases on the developed models and makes the outranking of possible solutions. It is also shown that multi-criteria analysis can provide a technical–scientific decision-making support that is capable to justify the clearly rank of the alternatives in the renewable energy sector. The use of multi-criteria decision aid for assessing the multi-source systems showed encouraging results and interesting insights.     

Development of Novel DNA Cleavage Systems Based on Copper Complexes. Synthesis and Characterisation of Cu(II) Complexes of Hydroxyflavones

Copper(II) complexes of several hydroxyflavones were prepared and characterised through their physico-chemical properties. The nuclease activity of three synthesised complexes is reported. These copper(II) complexes present more nuclease activity than the ligands and the copper(II) ion.     

A unified approach to modelling the performance of concurrent systems

Quantitative design is crucial to ICT and it is therefore important to integrate performance modelling techniques into support environments that facilitate the correct construction of computer systems. We consider Performance Modelling Interchange Formats (PMIFs), which allow models to be specified in a uniform way and ported to a number of tools that solve them. We focus on extending the class of models describable in a PMIF that can be solved analytically – specifically, yielding a product-form solution for their equilibrium state probabilities. We use an extension of an established theorem, called the ‘reversed compound agent theorem’ (RCAT) as the basis of the analytical modelling tool into which the extended PMIF feeds models. We describe the RCAT methodology in practical terms, how it is integrated into an extended PMIF, and illustrate our methodology with three examples.     

Comparing different methods to fix and to dehydrate cells on alginate hydrogel scaffolds using scanning electron microscopy

Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is commonly used in the analysis of scaffolds morphology, as well as cell attachment, morphology and spreading on to the scaffolds. However, so far a specific methodology to prepare the alginate hydrogel (AH) scaffolds for SEM analysis has not been evaluated. This study compared different methods to fix/dehydrate cells in AH scaffolds for SEM analysis. AH scaffolds were prepared and seeded with NIH/3T3 cell line; fixed with glutaraldehyde, osmium tetroxide, or the freeze drying method and analyzed by SEM. Results demonstrated that the freeze dried method interferes less with cell morphology and density, and preserves the scaffolds structure. The fixation with glutaraldehyde did not affect cells morphology and density; however, the scaffolds morphology was affected in some level. The fixation with osmium tetroxide interfered in the natural structure of cells and scaffold. In conclusion the freeze drying and glutaraldehyde are suitable methods for cell fixation in AH scaffold for SEM, although scaffolds structure seems to be affected by glutaraldehyde. Microsc. Res. Tech. 78:553–561, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

An Interpretation Model For The UV-VIS Spectra Of Microorganisms

Multiwavelength UV-vis spectra of microorganisms and cell suspensions contain quantitative information on their properties such as number, size, shape, chemical composition, and internal structure. These properties are essential for the identification and classification of cells. The complexity of microorganisms in terms of their chemical composition and internal structure makes the interpretation of their spectral signature a difficult task. In this article a model is proposed for the interpretation of the multiwavelength spectra of microorganisms. The proposed interpretation model is based on light scattering theory, spectral deconvolution techniques, and the approximation of the frequency-dependent optical properties of the basic constituents of living organisms. The optical properties as functions of wavelength and available literature data on the size and chemical composition of E. coli cells and Bacillus globigii spores were used to explore the sensitivity of the calculated spectra to the model parameters. It is shown that the proposed model can reproduce the features of experimentally measured spectra. The sensitivity of the spectra to the model parameters suggests that the proposed model can be used for the quantitative deconvolution of the UV-vis spectra in terms of critical information necessary for the detection and identification of microorganisms.     

Adolescents' Performance on the Iowa Gambling Task: Implications for the Development of Decision Making and Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex.

Healthy adolescents (79 girls, 66 boys), ages 9-17, completed the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT; A. Bechara, A. R. Damasio, H. Damasio, & S. W. Anderson, 1994) as well as working memory (digit span) and behavioral inhibition (go/no-go) tasks. Cross-sectional age-related changes were seen on all 3 tasks. Gender differences were seen in IGT deck preference and attentional variables (i.e., go/no-go hit rate and forward digit span). After age, gender, and general intellectual abilities were controlled for, IGT performance was not predicted by working memory or behavioral inhibition scores. Findings suggest that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex or its connections are functionally maturing during adolescence in a manner that can be distinguished from maturation of other prefrontal regions. Development of these functions may continue into young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identifying author–inventors from Spain: methods and a first insight into results

The purpose of this paper is twofold: methodological and empirical. Methodologically, we describe a matching and disambiguation procedure for the identification of author–inventors (researchers who publish and patent) located in the same country. Our methodology aims to maximize precision and recall rates by taking into account national name writing customs and country-specific dictionaries for person and institution names (academic and non-academic) in the name matching stage and by including a recursive validation step in the person disambiguation stage. An application of this methodology to the identification of Spanish author–inventors is described in detail. Empirically, we present the first results of applying the described methodology to the matching of all SCOPUS 2003–2008 publications of Spanish authors to all 1978–2009 EPO applications with Spanish inventors. Using this data, we identify 4,194 Spanish author–inventors. A first look at their patenting and publication patterns reveals that they make quite a significant contribution to the country’s overall scientific and technological production in the time period considered: 27 % of all EPO patent applications invented in Spain and 15 % of all SCOPUS publications authored in Spain, excluding non-technological disciplines. To our knowledge, this is the first time that a large scale identification of author–inventors from Spain has been done, with no limitation in terms of fields, regions or types of institutions. We also make available online for scientific use an anonymized subset of the database (patent applications invented by authors affiliated to Spanish public universities).