Experimental characterization of proteins immobilized on Si-based materials

We studied the possibility to use techniques that are traditionally employed in microelectronics to detect biological molecules immobilized on and into Si-based materials having, as final goal, the structural characterization of a glucose biosensor. The inorganic immobilization surfaces used were both bulk and porous silicon dioxide and the biological molecule to monitor was the enzyme glucose oxidase, widely used as a sensing element in glucose biosensors. Bulk SiO₂ was used to optimize the immobilization protocol and the step-by-step characterization was mainly carried out by Atomic Force Microscopy measurements. Once optimized, the same protocol was used to anchor the enzyme in a porous Si dioxide matrix. Traditional measurement techniques may fail in biological molecule detection since C, basic element of such biological molecules, is present in Si as a contaminant, or introduced during sample preparation, e.g. for TEM cross section analysis.The enzyme monitoring was carried out by electron diffraction X-ray measurements coupled with scanning electron microscopy and to be sure of the protein presence, it was previously labelled with gold nano particles. We believe that this last measurement technique could be implemented for quantitative direct measurements of the biological molecules concentration in complex matrixes.     

Polymeric systems bearing side-chain 2,6-dimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide moieties for UV curable coatings: Synthesis and photoinitiation activity

Polymeric photoinitiators with pendant 2,6-dimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide moieties were prepared by reacting the hompolymer of 4-acryloyloxy-2,6-dimethyl benzoic acid, and its copolymers with n-butyl acrylate with thionyl chloride followed by methoxydiphenylphosphine. These polymeric systems were characterized and their photoinitiation activity checked in the UV curing of a standard acrylic mixture, by irradiation both at 330 and over 380 nm, the latter conditions being applied to simulate a TiO₂-pigmented coating formulation. The results were compared with those obtained by using the low molecular weight analog 2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide and previously prepared polymeric systems based on the benzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide moiety. The stability to light and to hydrolytic conditions of the polymeric photoinitiators with respect to the model compound was also tested. The results obtained are discussed and related to the structural requirements of these systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Polymeric photoinitiators bearing side-chain benzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide moieties for UV curable coatings

Polymeric photoinitiators bearing side-chain benzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide moieties have been prepared by reacting poly(4-vinylbenzoic acid) or 4-vinylbenzoic acid/methyl methacrylate copolymers with thionyl chloride followed by methoxydiphenylphosphine. The activity of the above polymeric systems has been checked in the UV curing of the acrylic clear-coating formulation HDDA/BA and compared with that of the low molecular weight model 4-isoprophylbenzoyldiphenylphosphinoxide. The stability to light and to hydrolytic conditions of the polymeric photoinitiators with respect ot the model has also been tested. The results obtained are discussed in terms of composition and structural features of these systems. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Path Planning Strategies for UAVS in 3D Environments

The graph-search algorithms developed between 60s and 80s were widely used in many fields, from robotics to video games. The A* algorithm shall be mentioned between some of the most important solutions explicitly oriented to motion-robotics, improving the logic of graph search with heuristic principles inside the loop. Nevertheless, one of the most important drawbacks of the A* algorithm resides in the heading constraints connected with the grid characteristics. Different solutions were developed in the last years to cope with this problem, based on post-processing algorithms or on improvements of the graph-search algorithm itself. A very important one is Theta* that refines the graph search allowing to obtain paths with “any” heading. In the last two years, the Flight Mechanics Research Group of Politecnico di Torino studied and implemented different path planning algorithms. A Matlab based planning tool was developed, collecting four separate approaches: geometric predefined trajectories, manual waypoint definition, automatic waypoint distribution (i.e. optimizing camera payload capabilities) and a comprehensive A*-based algorithm used to generate paths, minimizing risk of collision with orographic obstacles. The tool named PCube exploits Digital Elevation Maps (DEMs) to assess the risk maps and it can be used to generate waypoint sequences for UAVs autopilots. In order to improve the A*-based algorithm, the solution is extended to tri-dimensional environments implementing a more effective graph search (based on Theta*). In this paper the application of basic Theta* to tri-dimensional path planning will be presented. Particularly, the algorithm is applied to orographic obstacles and in urban environments, to evaluate the solution for different kinds of obstacles. Finally, a comparison with the A* algorithm will be introduced as a metric of the algorithm performances.     

Membrane filtration and sonication for industrial wastewater reuse

This paper presents an experimental study aimed at estimating the efficiency of the innovative process of ultrafiltration (UF) combined with sonication (Son.) for the refinement of treated effluent to be reused in wet textile processes. Such a novel approach, which has not yet been employed on a full industrial scale, has been experienced at pilot scale on the secondary effluent of the Baciacavallo wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), which treats part of the effluent from one of the largest textile industry districts in Italy. The combined treatment efficiency was assessed both on ozonated and non-ozonated Baciacavallo secondary effluent. The membrane filtration process was optimized in terms of running time, backwash, chemical addition and cleaning procedures. The sonication treatment was optimized on laboratory-scale with synthetic solutions (demineralized water added with dyestuffs) in terms of hydroxyl radicals formation rate, frequency, acoustic power, hydrogen peroxide addition, contact time and pH. The optimal conditions have been applied on the pilot-scale sonicator which was used in combination with the UF treatment. According to the experimental results, the best configuration within the Baciacavallo WWTP was the sonication of non-ozonated wastewater followed by the UF. The combined treatment guaranteed the compliance with the target values for wastewater reuse in wet textile industries. This study is part of the Research Project PURIFAST (Purification of industrial and mixed wastewater by combined membrane filtration and sonochemical technologies) LIFE + ENV/IT/000439.     

Multimod Data Manager: a tool for data fusion

Nowadays biomedical engineers regularly have to combine data from multiple medical imaging modalities, biomedical measurements and computer simulations and this can demand the knowledge of many specialised software tools. Acquiring this knowledge to the depth necessary to perform the various tasks can require considerable time and thus divert the researcher from addressing the actual biomedical problems. The aim of the present study is to describe a new application called the Multimod Data Manager, distributed as a freeware, which provides the end user with a fully integrated environment for the fusion and manipulation of all biomedical data. The Multimod Data Manager is generated using a software application framework, called the Multimod Application Framework, which is specifically designed to support the rapid development of computer aided medicine applications. To understand the general logic of the Data Manager, we first introduce the framework from which it is derived. We then illustrate its use by an example--the development of a complete subject-specific musculo-skeletal model of the lower limb from the Visible Human medical imaging data to be used for predicting the stresses in the skeleton during gait. While the Data Manager is clearly still only at the prototype stage, we believe that it is already capable of being used to solve a large number of problems common to many biomedical engineering activities.     

Polymeric photoinitiators bearing side-chain acyldiphenylphosphinoxide moieties for uv surface coatings

Polymeric photoinitiators bearing side-chain acyldiphenylphosphinoxide moieties have been prepared by reacting poly(methacryloyl chloride) and methacryloyl chloride/methyl methacrylate copolymers with methoxydiphenylphosphine. The activity of the above polymeric systems has been checked in the UV curing of both clear and pigmented coating formulations and compared with that of the low molecular weight analog pivaloyldiphenyl-phosphinoxide. The stability to light and to different hydrolitic conditions of the polymeric photoinitiators with respect to pivaloyldiphenylphosphinoxide has also been tested. The data concerning activity and stability are discussed in terms of structural features of the above systems. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Novel polymeric photoinitiators bearing side-chain α-aminoacetophenone moieties for ultraviolet-curable pigmented coatings

New polymeric photoinitiators with pendant α-aminoacetophenone moieties, such as the homopolymers of 1-(4-morpholinophenyl)-2-benzyl-2-[N-methyl-N-(3-methacryloyloxypropyl)]aminopropan-1-one and of 1-(4-morpholinophenyl)-2-benzyl-2-[N-methyl-N-(3-methacryloyloxypropyl)]aminobutan-1-one have been prepared and fully characterized. Their photoinitiation activity has been also checked in the ultraviolet cure of a standard acrylic mixture, under irradiation over 380 nm, thus simulating the absorption conditions of a TiO₂-pigmented coating formulation. The results have been compared with those found by using the corresponding low-molecular-weight structural models, purposely synthesized. The activity data obtained are discussed and related to the structural requirements of the above systems. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 2237–2246, 1997     

Copolymeric systems bearing side-chain thioxanthone and α-aminoacetophenone moieties as photoinitiators for ultraviolet-curable pigmented coatings

Copolymers of 1-(4-morpholinophenyl)-2-benzyl-2-[N-methyl-N-(3-meth-acryloyloxy propyl)]aminopropan-1-one and of 1-(4-morpholinophenyl)-2-benzyl-2-[N-methyl-N-(3-methacryloyloxypropyl)]aminobutan-1-one with 1-[(2-methacryloyloxy)ethoxycarbonyl]thioxanthone were prepared and structurally characterized. The above systems were also checked in the ultraviolet cure of an acrylic mixture upon irradiation over 380 nm, thus simulating the conditions of a TiO₂-pigmented formulation. The curing results were compared with those obtained in the presence of the mixtures of the corresponding homopolymers as well as of their low-molecular-weight models. The copolymeric systems display synergistic effects of activity with respect to the structural models but show lower photoinitiation efficiency against the homopolymers mixtures. These data are discussed and interpreted in terms of structural requirements and photochemical mechanistic aspects of the above systems. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 64: 2247–2258, 1997