Decision Support for the Comparative Evaluation and Selection of Analytical Methods: Detection of Genetically Modified Organisms as an Example

The selection of the best-fit-for-purpose analytical method to be implemented in the laboratory is difficult due to availability of multiple methods, targets, aims of detection, and different kinds and sources of more or less reliable information. Several factors, such as method performance, practicability, cost of setup, and running costs need to be considered together with personnel training when selecting the most appropriate method. The aim of our work was to prepare a flexible multicriteria decision analysis model suitable for evaluation and comparison of analytical methods used for the purpose of detecting and/or quantifying genetically modified organisms, and to use this model to evaluate a variety of changing analytical methods. Our study included selection of PCR-, isothermal-, protein-, microarray-, and next-generation sequencing-based methods in simplex and/or multiplex formats. We show that the overall result of their fitness for purpose is relatively similar; however, individual criteria or a group of related criteria exposed more substantial differences between the methods. The proposed model of this decision support system enables easy modifications and is thus suitable for any other application of complex analytical methods.     

Carbon Cathode Wear in Aluminium Electrolysis Cells

JOM - Autopsies of six spent potlinings with different carbon cathode block grades, amperage regimes and cell designs were conducted at three separate smelters to reveal possible mechanisms causing...     

Sintering,microwave properties,and circulator applications of textured Sc-substituted M-type ferrite thick films

Sc³⁺ substituted M-type ferrites are effective microwave magnetic materials with a ferromagnetic resonance frequency in the range of 20 GHz–50 GHz. We report on the fabrication of oriented ferrite thick films as microwave components for application in the K_a-band at 30 GHz. Films of BaFe_11.5.Sc_0.5O₁₉ were prepared by screen-printing on alumina substrates, drying in an external magnetic field, and sintering at 900 °C. Low-temperature sintering is achieved through use of a mixed BBSZ/CuO sintering aid. A strong anisotropy of the sintered ferrite films is revealed by XRD analysis. Microwave properties of the films were determined in a coplanar waveguide setup. The ferromagnetic resonance frequency of the films is at 30 GHz and the textured films possess good nonreciprocal properties which scale with film thickness. The films were tested in a Y-junction circulator, and represent promising materials for self-biased microwave components fabricated in thick film technology.     

Design trade-offs in self-management technology: the HeartMan case

ABSTRACT

Health self-management technology has the potential to significantly improve the Quality of Life of patients suffering from chronic diseases. However, designing the technology involves numerous highly context-dependent design decisions. In this paper, we analyse a case study of self-monitoring technology in the field of congestive heart failure. We analyse the design process of the technology from the perspective of design trade-offs. Three important trade-offs related to health self-monitoring technology are described in detail, related to patient autonomy, technology appropriation, and patient well-being. For each of the trade-offs, various mediating factors that influence design decisions are described in detail. On a practical level, this analysis can inform future developments in self-management technology. In addition, this design trade-off analysis provides intermediary knowledge that can contribute to a better theoretical understanding of health self-management technology.     

Scavenging Bacterial Siderophores with Engineered Lipocalin Proteins as an Alternative Antimicrobial Strategy

Iron acquisition mediated by siderophores, high-affinity chelators for which bacteria have evolved specific synthesis and uptake mechanisms, plays a crucial role in microbiology and in host–pathogen interactions. In the ongoing fight against bacterial infections, this area has attracted biomedical interest. Beyond several approaches to interfere with siderophore-mediated iron uptake from medicinal and immunochemistry, the development of high-affinity protein scavengers that tightly complex the siderophores produced by pathogenic bacteria has appeared as a novel strategy. Such binding proteins have been engineered based on siderocalin—also known as lipocalin 2—an endogenous human scavenger of enterobactin and bacillibactin that controls the systemic spreading of commensal bacteria such as Escherichia coli. By using combinatorial protein design, siderocalin was reshaped to bind several siderophores from Pseudomonas aeruginosa and, in particular, petrobactin from Bacillus anthracis, none of which is recognized by the natural protein. Such engineered versions of siderocalin effectively suppress the growth of corresponding pathogenic bacteria by depriving them of their iron supply and offer the potential to complement antibiotic therapy in situations of acute or persistent infection.     

Influence of compounding conditions,treatment of wood particles with fire-retardants and artificial weathering on properties of wood-polymer composites for façade applications

European Journal of Wood and Wood Products - Various fire-retardants (FR) for the pre-treatment of wood flour, for example, ammonium polyphosphate and different formulations based on phosphorus-...     

Sintering behavior,microstructure and thermoelectric properties of calcium cobaltite thick films for transversal thermoelectric multilayer generators

The sintering behavior and the thermoelectric performance of Ca₃Co₄O₉ multilayer laminates were studied, and a multilayer thermoelectric generator was fabricated. Compacts and multilayer samples with anisotropic microstructure and residual porosity were obtained after conventional sintering at 920 °C, whereas dense and isotropic multilayer samples were prepared by firing at 1200 °C and reoxidation at 900 °C. A hot-pressed sample has a dense and anisotropic microstructure. Samples sintered at 920 °C exhibit low electrical conductivity due to the low density, whereas the Seebeck coefficient is not sensitive to preparation conditions. However, thermal conductivity of multilayers is very low, and, hence acceptable ZT values are obtained. A transversal multilayer thermoelectric generator (TMLTEG) was fabricated by stacking layers of Ca₃Co₄O₉ green tapes, AgPd conductor printing, and co-firing at 920 °C. The TMLTEG has a power output of 3 mW at ΔT = 200 K in the temperature interval of 25 °C to 300 °C.     

Blends of Two Perylene Derivatives: Mesogenic Properties and Application As Emitter Materials in OLEDs

Blends consisting of two components, namely a liquid crystalline perylene ester and a bilaterally extended perylene ester, were studied. The liquid crystalline properties of these blends were investigated in detail by means of polarized optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. The resulting phase diagram was used to explore the potential of these blends as emitter layers in OLEDs, which were prepared via thermal evaporation in a vacuum and spin coating of solutions.