Elastomeric properties of ethylene/propylene copolymers prepared by zirconocene/methylaluminoxane catalysts

Ethylene/propylene copolymers (EPM) have been prepared by a liquid propylene suspension process, using homogeneous catalysts based on nonbridged zirconocenes and methylaluminoxane (MAO). When bis(η⁵-cyclopentadienyl)zirconium dichloride (Cp₂ZrCl₂), bis(η⁵-cyclopentadienyl) dimethyl zirconium (Cp₂ZrMe₂) and bis(η⁵-cyclopentadienyl), dibenzyl zirconium (Cp₂ZrBz₂) were used as catalyst components, EPM having low average molecular weight (MW) were in general obtained in low yield. On the contrary, a very large improvement of productivity and MW was observed when bis(η⁵-indenyl)zirconium dichloride (Ind₂ZrCl₂) and bis(η⁵-indenyl) dimethyl zirconium (Ind₂ZrMe₂) as well as bis(η⁵-tetrahydroindenyl)zirconium dichloride [(IndH₄)₂ZrCI₂] were employed in combination with MAO. In particular, this last catalytic system allowed one to obtain EPM with a narrower distribution of MW in addition to the above characteristics. Better performances, in terms of rheological and elastomeric properties, were also found for the crude and vulcanized samples prepared by (IndH₄)₂ZrCl₂/MAO catalyst.     

A Survey of Airworthiness and Certification for UAS

The Italian SMAT project is a civilian program supported by Piemonte Region developed for the territorial monitoring and surveillance and for the prevention of natural hazards. In a different way from the previous surveillance programs, the SMAT project is based on the use of several unmanned platforms that are able to cooperate through ground coordination and control station. The flight in non-segregated airspace, needed in order to accomplish the territorial monitoring mission, is a main issue to be investigated and defined, because of the current lack of a common consensus and agreement on the regulations of UAS. The present work outlines the international initiatives that deal with the development of the regulatory framework on airworthiness and certification of UAS and their potential impact on the SMAT project.     

The multimod application framework: a rapid application development tool for computer aided medicine

This paper describes a new application framework (OpenMAF) for rapid development of multimodal applications in computer-aided medicine. MAF applications are multimodal in data, in representation, and in interaction. The framework supports almost any type of biomedical data, including DICOM datasets, motion-capture recordings, or data from computer simulations (e.g. finite element modeling). The interactive visualization approach (multimodal display) helps the user interpret complex datasets, providing multiple representations of the same data. In addition, the framework allows multimodal interaction by supporting the simultaneous use of different input-output devices like 3D trackers, stereoscopic displays, haptics hardware and speech recognition/synthesis systems. The Framework has been designed to run smoothly even on limited power computers, but it can take advantage of all hardware capabilities. The Framework is based on a collection of portable libraries and it can be compiled on any platform that supports OpenGL, including Windows, MacOS X and any flavor of Unix/linux.     

FMS for Unmanned Aerial Systems: HMI Issues and New Interface Solutions

To integrate UASs in the NAS, an improvement in navigation, planning, communication and 4D trajectory control capabilities is mandatory. A way to obtain this enhance is to adopt a Flight Management System. A FMS for an UAS has some differences with respect to one for a manned aircraft, in terms of architecture and performed functions. In particular, from HMI point of view, the specific UAS human factor issues shall be added to the current manned FMS interface lacks. Starting from these considerations, a new FMS HMI for the Alenia Aeronautica TCS has been developed, using as data entry devices two touch screens.     

Functionalized gold nanoparticles: a detailed in vivo multimodal microscopic brain distribution study

In the present study, the in vivo distribution of polyelectrolyte multilayer coated gold nanoparticles is shown, starting from the living animal down to cellular level. The coating was designed with functional moieties to serve as a potential nano drug for prion disease. With near infrared time-domain imaging we followed the biodistribution in mice up to 7 days after intravenous injection of the nanoparticles. The peak concentration in the head of mice was detected between 19 and 24 h. The precise particle distribution in the brain was studied ex vivo by X-ray microtomography, confocal laser and fluorescence microscopy. We found that the particles mainly accumulate in the hippocampus, thalamus, hypothalamus, and the cerebral cortex.     

In vitro fermentation characteristics of diets with different forage/concentrate ratios: comparison of rumen and faecal inocula

BACKGROUND: The aim of this trial was to evaluate the replacement of rumen fluid with faeces as inoculum in studying the in vitro fermentation characteristics of diets for ruminants using the in vitro gas production technique. Six iso‐protein diets with different forage/concentrate ratios were incubated with rumen fluid (RI) or faeces (FI) collected from sheep. RESULTS: Most of the fermentation parameters were influenced by diet and inoculum (P < 0.01). With both inocula, organic matter degradability (dOM), cumulative gas production (OMCV) and maximum fermentation rate (R_max) increased as the amount of concentrate in the diet increased. R_max was lower with FI vs RI (P < 0.01); dOM was higher with FI vs RI and the diet × inoculum interaction was significant. As expected, with both inocula, R_max increased as the neutral detergent fibre content of the diet decreased. Significant correlations were obtained using both inocula between OMCV/dOM and gas/volatile fatty acid (VFA), while the correlation VFA/dOM was significant only with FI. The microbial biomass yield calculated by stoichiometric analysis for all diets was higher with FI vs RI. With FI the organic matter used for microbial growth showed an overall decreasing trend as the amount of concentrate in the diet increased. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that both faeces and rumen fluid from sheep have the potential to be used as inoculum for the in vitro gas production technique. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry     

New photoactive oligo- and poly-alkylthiophenes

A new type of ω-methoxy-functionalized oligo-(OCT) and poly-(PQ) hexylthiophene characterized by a tetrameric repeating unit was synthesized and characterized. The configurational regularity and the mean degree of functionalization per thiophenic ring, lower than in commonly synthesized PATs, permitted the obtainment of more ordered chain conformations especially in the solid (film) state. Solar cells based on OCT and PQ films (as p-donor polymeric layer) mixed with Single-walled Carbon Nanotubes (SWCNTs, used as electron-acceptor system) were prepared and investigated. A power conversion efficiency of 0.52% with a fill factor of 0.42, an open-circuit voltage of 0.48 V and a short-circuit current of 1.93 mA/cm² under 70 mW/cm² white light illumination is reported for the polymeric sample. The obtained performance is comparable with that of devices made with regioregular P3HT but the easiness of the monomer synthesis and polymer preparation, giving OCT and PQ with good yields, as well as the enhanced workability and filmability of the latters from diluted solutions of common organic solvents together with their low sensitivity to the environmental conditions (air oxygen, moisture, temperature) makes the synthesized materials very promising for the set-up of polymer photovoltaic cells.     

Biobased surfactant-like molecules from organic wastes: the effect of waste composition and composting process on surfactant properties and on the ability to solubilize Tetrachloroethene (PCE)

In this work, four surfactant-like humic acids (HAs) obtained from garden lignocellulose wastes and kitchen food wastes mixed with garden-lignocellulose wastes, both before and after composting, were tested for surfactant properties and the ability to solubilize tetrachloroethene (PCE). The waste-derived HAs showed good surfactant properties, lowering the water surface tension from 74 mN m(-1) to 45.4 +/- 4.4 mN m(-1), with a critical micelle concentration (CMC) of 1.54 +/- 1.68 g L(-1), which is lower than many synthetic ionic surfactants. CMC was affected by both waste origin and composting processes. The addition of food waste and composting reduced CMC by adding alkyl-C (measured by CP MAS 13C NMR) and N- and S-HA contents (amide molecules), so that a multistep regression was found [CMC = 24.6 - 0.189 alkyl C - 2.64 (N + S); R2 = 0.77, P < 0.10, n = 6]. The four HAs solubilized PCE at the rate of 0.18-0.47 g PCE/g aqueous biosurfactant. These results were much higher than those reported in the literature for a commercial HA (0.026 g/g), but they were in line with those measured in this work for nonionic surfactants such as Tween-80 (0.69 g/g) and Triton X-100 (1.08 g/g).     

Finite-element modeling of bones from CT data: sensitivity to geometry and material uncertainties

The aim of this paper is to analyze how the uncertainties in modelling the geometry and the material properties of a human bone affect the predictions of a finite-element model derived from computed tomography (CT) data. A sensitivity analysis, based on a Monte Carlo method, was performed using three femur models generated from in vivo CT datasets, each subjected to two different loading conditions. The geometry, the density and the mechanical properties of the bone tissue were considered as random input variables. Finite-element results typically used in biomechanics research were considered as statistical output variables, and their sensitivity to the inputs variability assessed. The results showed that it is not possible to define a priori the influence of the errors related to the geometry definition process and to the material assignment process on the finite-element analysis results. The errors in the geometric representation of the bone are always the dominant variables for the stresses, as was expected. However, for all the variables, the results seemed to be dependent on the loading condition and to vary from subject to subject. The most interesting result is, however, that using the proposed method to build a finite-element model of a femur from a CT dataset of the quality typically achievable in the clinical practice, the coefficients of variation of the output variables never exceed the 9%. The presented method is hence robust enough to be used for investigating the mechanical behavior of bones with subject-specific finite-element models derived from CT data taken in vivo.