SafeNet: A methodology for integrating general-purpose unsafe devices in safe-robot rehabilitation systems

Robot-assisted neurorehabilitation often involves networked systems of sensors (“sensory rooms”) and powerful devices in physical interaction with weak users. Safety is unquestionably a primary concern. Some lightweight robot platforms and devices designed on purpose include safety properties using redundant sensors or intrinsic safety design (e.g. compliance and backdrivability, limited exchange of energy). Nonetheless, the entire “sensory room” shall be required to be fail-safe and safely monitored as a system at large. Yet, sensor capabilities and control algorithms used in functional therapies require, in general, frequent updates or re-configurations, making a safety-grade release of such devices hardly sustainable in cost-effectiveness and development time. As such, promising integrated platforms for human-in-the-loop therapies could not find clinical application and manufacturing support because of lacking in the maintenance of global fail-safe properties.     

Conformational Stabilization of Gp41-Mimetic Miniproteins Opens Up New Ways of Inhibiting HIV-1 Fusion

Inhibition of the HIV-1 fusion process constitutes a promising strategy to neutralize the virus at an early stage before it enters the cell. In this process, the envelope glycoprotein (Env) plays a central role by promoting membrane fusion. We previously identified a vulnerability at the flexible C-terminal end of the gp41 C-terminal heptad repeat (CHR) region to inhibition by a single-chain miniprotein (named covNHR-N) that mimics the first half of the gp41 N-terminal heptad repeat (NHR). The miniprotein exhibited low stability, moderate binding to its complementary CHR region, both as an isolated peptide and in native trimeric Envs, and low inhibitory activity against a panel of pseudoviruses. The addition of a disulfide bond stabilizing the miniprotein increased its inhibitory activity, without altering the binding affinity. Here, to further study the effect of conformational stability on binding and inhibitory potency, we additionally stabilized these miniproteins by engineering a second disulfide bond stapling their N-terminal end, The new disulfide-bond strongly stabilizes the protein, increases binding affinity for the CHR target and strongly improves inhibitory activity against several HIV-1 strains. Moreover, high inhibitory activity could be achieved without targeting the preserved hydrophobic pocket motif of gp41. These results may have implications in the discovery of new strategies to inhibit HIV targeting the gp41 CHR region.     

技术的盛宴——香港PISSARRO餐厅

Michael Young毫无疑问是一位知名度很高的工业设计师。他最近的产品设计里面包括一些自行车、水瓶、U盘和稀奇古怪的各种“小”东西。所以，他在接手这个餐厅的时候，Michael还是有点犹豫的：这和一个独立的产品设计在规模上有很大的不同，不得不考虑很多在产品设计中不存在的因素。     

Friction Measurements on Contact Lenses in Their Operating Environment

An important issue concerning the use of soft contact lenses is comfort, which, among other factors, has been related to the level of friction between the anterior side of the lens and the inner eyelid. Although several studies have been carried out to investigate the frictional properties of contact lenses, these have not taken the physiological environment of the eye into account. In use, lenses are in contact with proteins present in tears, with corneal cells and with the palpebral conjunctiva (clear membrane on inner eyelid). The focus of this study was to establish a biologically relevant measurement protocol for the investigation of friction of contact lenses that would mimic the eye’s physiological environment. By optimizing parameters such as the composition of the friction counter surface, the lubricant solution, the normal load and the velocity, an ideal protocol and setup for microtribological testing could be established and used to perform a comparative study of various commercially available soft contact lenses.     

赤裸的自然

1986年,一对来自意大利南部的年轻的兄弟, Ennio与Carlo Capasa,在米兰工作很长时间之后, 创立一个新的时装店——Costume National。在短短几年之后,这个服装品牌迅速成为五光十色的意大利时尚界最为著名的品牌之一。Costume National与其他成熟品牌一样崇尚自然存在主义精神,这种精神也深深扎根在两位创立者的血液中。但又有所不同, Costume National受到了非意大利传统的影响。因此,它的形象很难与常规的民族风尚联系在一起。很多人并不知道Capasa兄弟来自Lecce(位于意大利东南沿海),这个名字很容易让人联想到这可能是起源于日本,例如由Rei Kawakubo创立的 commes des Garcons品牌就是如此。这个结论是有根据的：Ennio Capasa曾经在东京与Yohji Ya－ mamoto一起工作过很多年,在他的作品中有明显的日式风格。然而,Costume National的服装并不与日本趋同,在服装的款式上有自己的独到之处。与 Yohji Yamamoto所树立的样式不同,Capasa的设计与意大利传统的裁缝业密切联系,这样做并没有约束到品牌的发展,反而提高了自身的品质。     

准备出发

在经过多年品牌形象的发展后，意大利国家航空公司（Alitatia）决定聘请著名的设计师马西莫伊欧萨·吉尼（Massimo losa Ghini）为该品牌设计一种新型的现代形象。马西莫伊欧萨·吉尼本人与Ferrari形象品牌的合作在近年取得了巨大的成功。     

Prediction of condensation in steam ejector for a refrigeration system

An experimental refrigeration system based on a two-stage steam ejector was set-up in the Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer Laboratory of our Department. The system optimization and realization have been described elsewhere ( [Grazzini and Mariani, 1998] and [Grazzini and Rocchetti, 2008] ). In both stages, primary flows are highly supersonic and reach low pressure and temperature levels. As usual in the literature, an ideal gas model was used during the design process. This paper is intended to check the validity of this assumption. In order to understand the actual working condition of our system, several models have been compared. The presence of high flow speed suggests the existence of metastable conditions. To set the border for the metastable region, the spinodal curve has been drawn. Isentropic expansion of vapour through the nozzle, modelled as ideal gas, seems well within the metastable zone. However, the Classic Nucleation Theory shows that the Wilson line is crossed at the nozzle throat. Condensation produces a marked difference in the conditions at the nozzle exit. Results coming from the present analysis will be used in further optimization of the experimental ejector design.     

奢侈的水上盛宴

时尚和经典是Galaxy号设计的关键词，这艘5层的游艇反映了Benedetti造船所的最高水平。