International statements and definitions of the precautionary principle

The precautionary principle (PP), according to one of its definitions, says that lack of certainty, given the current scientific and technological knowledge, shall not delay effective and proportionate actions to prevent hazards, taking into account cost-benefit considerations. Rather than being a single principle, a variety of statements of the PP are found in international treaties and other documents. Apart from any specific legal force of the documents, countries (e.g., France) have used these statements as a starting point for their own guidance documents and regulations for addressing specific environmental and health issues, for example regulation of genetically modified organisms. Thus, any discussion of the precautionary principle must address a complex legal and regulatory situation. We briefly review different statements of the PP and important commentary, largely from the European Union. We provide references to the original source documents (many of which are found in English on the World Wide Web).     

A three‐dimensional model describing stress‐temperature induced solid phase transformations: solution algorithm and boundary value problems

An always increasing knowledge on material properties as well as a progressively more sophisticated production technology make shape memory alloys (SMA) extremely interesting for the industrial world. At the same time, SMA devices are typically characterized by complex multi‐axial stress states as well as non‐homogeneous and non‐isothermal conditions both in space and time. This aspect suggests the finite element method as a useful tool to help and improve application design and realization. With this aim, we focus on a three‐dimensional macroscopic thermo‐mechanical model able to reproduce the most significant SMA features (Int. J. Numer. Methods Eng. 2002; 55 : 1255–1264), proposing a simple modification of such a model. However, the suggested modification allows the development of a time‐discrete solution algorithm, which is more effective and robust than the one previously discussed in the literature. We verify the computational tool ability to simulate realistic mechanical boundary value problems with prescribed temperature dependence, studying three SMA applications: a spring actuator, a self‐expanding stent, a coupling device for vacuum tightness. The effectiveness of the model to solve thermo‐mechanical coupled problems will be discussed in a forthcoming work. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of cytokines, including IL4, IL7, stem cell factor, insulin-like growth factor on childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

We have investigated the effects of some interleukins, such as interleukin (IL) 4, IL7, stem cell factor (SCF) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), known to be involved in human lymphopoiesis, on proliferation, clonal growth and differentiation of cells from two acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) derived pre-B cell lines, that is, Nalm 1, Nalm 6 and purified blasts from 37 childhood ALL. IL4 did not display any promoting activity, an inhibitory effect being observed in two patients. IL7 showed an heterogeneous responsiveness, not related to immunophenotype or cytogenetic features, proliferation and clonal growth being observed in a minority of ALL. In other patients no or even inhibitory effects on proliferation were observed. In one case this inhibition of DNA synthesis was accompanied by maturation of the cells, as demonstrated by the induced expression of surface immunoglobulins (slg); other IL7 treated samples failed to express slg, but showed a decreased expression of terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and cALL antigen, suggesting that the cells have a potential of limited maturation by IL7. SCF, known to synergize with IL7 in the most primitive stages of normal B cell development, did not enhance the IL7 response in B cell precursor ALL. Finally IGF-1 failed to induce a proliferative response and clonal growth in BCP ALL either alone or in combination with IL7.     

Interferon-alpha in the idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome: consideration of five cases

A consortially developed continuing education series for rural nurses was implemented using videoconferencing technology. This article provides an overview of distance education technologies, the history and goals of the demonstration project at Edinboro University, and the coordination activities and instructional issues faced by the faculty. Participants became acquainted with distance education technology as they developed a process for program development, delivery, evaluation, and for awarding continuing education credits. The project was well received by instructors and students and testified to previous findings in the literature that distance education is a viable delivery system in terms of a teaching tool, learner satisfaction, and cost effectiveness.     

Structural characterization of Ti centres in Ti-silicalite and reaction mechanisms in cyclohexanone ammoximation

The main results obtained by means of many physical methods (IR, Raman, UV-Vis and XAFS spectroscopies) concerning the structure of the Ti centre in titanium silicalite and the reaction intermediates in the ammoximation of cyclohexanone are concisely reviewed.

The Ti is in tetrahedral coordination in vacuo and expands its coordination sphere upon interaction with adsorbates. In the presence of H₂O and H₂O/H₂O₂ solutions one of the SiOTi bridges is hydrolyzed with formation of (SiO)₃L₂TiOH (LH₂O) and (SiO)₃L₂TiOOH species, respectively. When NH₃ is dosed on (SiO)₃L₂TiOOH structures (SiO)₃L₂TiOO⁻NH₄⁺ species are formed. These species are thought to play an important role in the ammoximation reaction. The geometries of the peroxidic species (open or bridged) are discussed also on the basis of ab initio calculations.     

A three-dimensional model describing stress-temperature induced solid phase transformations: thermomechanical coupling and hybrid composite applications

Between composite materials, shape memory alloy (SMA) composites are having a more and more relevant role. Typically, SMA wires are embedded in a metallic or a polymeric matrix to obtain materials with native multi-functionality and adaptive properties. This work approaches the computational study of the mechanical response of a composite in which SMA wires, previously deformed, are activated by electrical current heating, and accordingly try to recover the original shape inducing a shape change or a prestress in the structure. In particular, since the SMA behaviour is strongly affected by the thermo-mechanical coupling, in the first part of this work we present a 3D phenomenological model able to take into account this aspect. The model time-discrete counterpart is used to develop a 3D solid finite element able to describe the thermo-electro-mechanical coupled problem due to shape memory alloy response and to Joule effect. Finally, in the second part of the paper, we employ the developed computational tool to simulate different feasible SMA composite applications. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Pectins from Aloe Vera: Extraction and production of gels for regenerative medicine

Extraction, purification, and gel preparation of Aloe Vera pectin and the evaluation of the biocompatibility of the pectin gels were studied, considering as end use as implantable materials for regenerative medicine. A. Vera was chosen as source of pectin, as this pectin was described to possess high molecular weight and a low degree of esterification. As the properties of pectins are strictly dependent upon the extraction methods in combination with the natural source, the extraction method was modified in order to optimize the yield of the final product, its purity, the duration of the process and the selection of non‐toxic chemical reagents. Changing the experimental conditions resulted in four different extraction processes and products with different physical and chemical characteristics. The optimal extraction resulted to be the process: with enzimatic deactivation by microwave and the use of sodium citrate as chelating agent the molecular weight of the pectin extracted was estimated to be 118 kDa and the 2.93% esterification degree. Cytocompatibility of pectin gels, prepared by ionotropic gelation, showing an improved cell adhesion if compared to commercial pectin. The results suggest that the extracted A. Vera pectins possess interesting properties to be exploited for the production of mechanically stable gels by ionotropic gelation and high rhamnose content matrices for application in regenerative medicine. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 39760.     

Time-optimal velocity planning along predefined path for static formations of mobile robots

International Journal of Control, Automation and Systems - This paper is concerned with the problem of finding a time-optimal velocity profile along the predefined path for static formations of...     

Expression of multidrug resistance (mdr) gene(s) in primary lymphoid organs of chicken immune system during embryonic development

The present study investigated the processing of painful electrical stimuli in patients with unilateral frontal or parietal lobe damage and matched control subjects. Patients with frontal lesions showed increased pain thresholds when the stimuli were administered contralateral to the lesion. While the peak-to-peak amplitudes of the N150/P250 components of the somatosensory potentials increased linearly with stimulus intensity in the control subjects, the responses in the frontal group did not change significantly between stimulation at pain and tolerance threshold. There was no evidence for altered pain processing in patients with parietal lobe lesions. The findings of the present study support the hypothesis of an involvement of the frontal cortex in pain perception in humans.     

Ion track formation in low temperature silicon dioxide

Low temperature silicon dioxide layers (LTO), deposited on crystalline silicon substrates, and thermally densified at 750 °C for 90 min or 900 °C for 30 min, jointly with thermally grown silicon dioxide layers, were irradiated with low fluence 11 MeV Ti ions. A selective chemical etch of the latent tracks generated by the passage of swift ions was performed by wet or vapour HF solution. The wet process produced conically shaped holes, while the vapour procedure generated almost cylindrical nanopores. In both cases thermal SiO₂ showed a lower track etching velocity V_t, but with increasing the densification temperature of the LTO samples, the V_t differences reduced. LTO proved to be suitable for wet and vapour ion track formation, and, as expected, for higher densification temperatures, its etching behaviour approached that of thermal silicon dioxide.