Effect of the type of nylon chain‐end on the compatibilization of PP/PP‐GMA/nylon 6 blends

Polyamide and polypropylene (PP) are two important classes of commercial polymers; however, their direct mixing leads to incompatible blends with poor properties. Polypropylene functionalized with glycidyl methacrylate (PP‐GMA) was used as a compatibilizer in blends of PP and nylon 6, because of the possible reaction of ? NH₂ and ? COOH groups with the epoxide group of GMA. Two types of nylon 6 with different ratios between ? NH₂ and ? COOH groups were used. The one with higher concentration of ? COOH groups was less compatible with PP in a binary blend. When PP‐GMA was used as a compatibilizer, a better dispersion of nylon in the PP matrix was obtained together with better mechanical properties for both nylons used in this work. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry     

Command governor for constrained switched systems with scheduled model transition dwell times

In this paper, a switched control architecture for constrained control systems is presented. The strategy is based on command governor ideas that are here specialized to ‘optimally’ schedule switching events on the plant dynamics for improving control performance at the expense of low computational burdens. The significance of the method mainly lies in its capability to avoid constraints violation and loss of stability regardless of any configuration change occurrence in the plant/constraint structure. To this end, the concept of model transition dwell time is used within the proposed control framework to formally define the minimum time necessary to enable a switching event under guaranteed conditions on the overall stability and constraint fulfilment. Simulation results on a simple linear system and on a Cessna 182 aircraft model show the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sensorless supervision of linear dynamical systems: The Feed-Forward Command Governor approach

This paper proposes a novel class of Command Governor (CG) strategies for input and state-related constrained discrete-time LTI systems subject to bounded disturbances in the absence of explicit state or output measurements. While in traditional CG schemes the set-point manipulation is undertaken on the basis of either the actual measure of the state or its suitable estimation, it is shown here that the CG design problem can be solved, with limited performance degradation and with similar properties, also in the case that such an explicit measure is not available. This approach, which will be referred to as the Feed-Forward CG (FF-CG) approach, may be a convenient alternative CG solution in all situations whereby the cost of measuring the state may be a severe limitation, e.g. in distributed or decentralized applications. In order to evaluate the method proposed here, numerical simulations on a physical example have been undertaken and comparisons with the standard state-based CG solution reported.     

Discovery of an Allosteric Ligand Binding Site in SMYD3 Lysine Methyltransferase

SMYD3 is a multifunctional epigenetic enzyme with lysine methyltransferase activity and various interaction partners. It is implicated in the pathophysiology of cancers but with an unclear mechanism. To discover tool compounds for clarifying its biochemistry and potential as a therapeutic target, a set of drug-like compounds was screened in a biosensor-based competition assay. Diperodon was identified as an allosteric ligand; its R and S enantiomers were isolated, and their affinities to SMYD3 were determined (K_D=42 and 84 μM, respectively). Co-crystallization revealed that both enantiomers bind to a previously unidentified allosteric site in the C-terminal protein binding domain, consistent with its weak inhibitory effect. No competition between diperodon and HSP90 (a known SMYD3 interaction partner) was observed although SMYD3–HSP90 binding was confirmed (K_D=13 μM). Diperodon clearly represents a novel starting point for the design of tool compounds interacting with a druggable allosteric site, suitable for the exploration of noncatalytic SMYD3 functions and therapeutics with new mechanisms of action.     

A distributed command governor based on graph colorability theory

In this paper, a distributed command governor (CG) strategy is introduced that, by the use of graph colorability theory, improves the scalability property and the performance of recently introduced distributed noncooperative sequential CG strategies. The latter are characterized by the fact that only 1 agent at a decision time is allowed to update its command, whereas all the others keep applying their previously computed commands. The scalability of these early CG distributed schemes and their performance are limited because the structure of the constraints is not taken into account in their implementation. Here, by exploiting the idea that agents that are not directly coupled by the constraints can simultaneously update their control actions, the agents in the network are grouped into particular subsets (turns). At each time instant, on the basis of a round‐robin policy, all agents belonging to a turn are allowed to update simultaneously their commands, whereas agents in other turns keep applying their previous commands. Then, a turn‐based distributed CG strategy is proposed and its main properties are analyzed. Graph colorability theory is used to determine the minimal number of turns and to distribute each agent in at least a turn. A novel graph colorability problem that allows one to maximize the frequency at which agents can update their commands is proposed and discussed. A final example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.     

Esophageal perforation. An unusual presentation with a benign clinical course

A case of esophageal perforation occurring in a 75-year-old man is presented. The clinical presentation was benign and the diagnosis of esophageal perforation was made incidental to an upper gastrointestinal barium examination. Conservative management consisting of nasogastric suctioning, antibiotics and antacids was effective in minimizing the clinical course. This represents a rare instance of a successful nonsurgical approach to esophageal perforation.     

Microwave emission from dry snow: a comparison of experimental andmodel results

Field measurements of microwave emission from snow-covered soil were carried out in 1996, 1997, and 1999 on the Italian Alps using a three-frequency dual polarized microwave system. At the same time, nivological time measurements were carried out using standard methods and an electromagnetic contact probe. Collected data confirmed the possibility of separating wet from dry snow and of estimating the water equivalent of dry snow. Simulations performed by means of a model based on the dense medium radiative theory (DMRT) were able to reproduce experimental data very well     

Genotoxic potential of aqueous extracts of Artemisia verlotorum on the cell cycle of Allium cepa

Artemisia verlotorum, popularly ‘infalivina’, is a medicinal herb used for respiratory, circulatory and digestive treatments. Antiproliferative and genotoxic effects of A. verlotorum aqueous extracts in three different concentrations (6, 32 and 48 g/L) were evaluated on the Allium cepa cell cycle. Results clearly showed a significant difference using the χ² test (p = 0.05) among treatments with a decrease in the mitotic index as the concentration of the extract increased. Extracts of A. verlotorum proved to be genotoxic and showed antiproliferative potential on the A. cepa cell cycle. This study suggests the use of infusions of A. verloturum for medicinal purposes only after selecting suitable concentrations.     

Direct myocardial effects of OPC-18790 in human heart failure: beneficial effects on contractile and diastolic function demonstrated by intracoronary infusion with pressure-volume analysis

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine the precise myocardial effects of OPC-18790 as demonstrated by intracoronary administration. BACKGROUND: Although previous studies have determined the cardiovascular effects of a novel intravenous inotrope, OPC-18790, the observed benefits on contractile and diastolic function may have been confounded by the marked changes in peripheral loading associated with this drug when given intravenously. METHODS: Eight heart failure patients received intracoronary OPC-18790 at 31.25 microg/min for 20 min, and then at 62.5 microg/min for another 20 min. Hemodynamic variables and pressure-volume indexes using the conductance catheter method were determined at baseline and then after the two doses. RESULTS: There were no significant effects on heart rate, cardiac output or loading conditions, including afterload as determined by systemic vascular resistance and arterial elastance (Ea) and preload as determined by end-diastolic volume (EDV). There were significant increases in end-systolic elastance (Ees) from 0.74+/-0.11 to 0.90+/-0.16 mm Hg/ml at 31.25 microg/min and to 137+/-0.33 mm Hg/ml at 62.5 microg/min (p < 0.05 by analysis of variance [ANOVA]). Diastolic function improved, as determined by the time constant for isovolumetric relaxation tau, which decreased significantly from baseline to 31.25 microg/min (94+/-9 to 79+/-9 ms, p < 0.05), and did not shorten further at 62.5 microg/min (78+/-8 ms, p=NS). There were significant decreases in right atrial pressure (9+/-1 to 7+/-1 mm Hg, p < 0.01 by ANOVA) and mean pulmonary artery wedge pressure (21+/-3 to 16+/-2 mm Hg, p < 0.05 by ANOVA). This fall in filling pressures was not accompanied by any change in EDV. Inspection of the diastolic portion of the pressure-volume curve confirmed a downward shift consistent with pericardial release in five of the eight patients. CONCLUSIONS: Intracoronary administration of OPC-18790 demonstrates that the direct myocardial effects of this agent include a modest increase in inotropy and improvement in diastolic function, both of which occur without increases in heart rate, indicating that this agent may be beneficial for the intravenous treatment of congestive heart failure.