Quality by design (QbD), Process Analytical Technology (PAT), and design of experiment applied to the development of multifunctional sunscreens

Multifunctional formulations are of great importance to ensure better skin protection from harm caused by ultraviolet radiation (UV). Despite the advantages of Quality by Design and Process Analytical Technology approaches to the development and optimization of new products, we found in the literature only a few studies concerning their applications in cosmetic product industry. Thus, in this research work, we applied the QbD and PAT approaches to the development of multifunctional sunscreens containing bemotrizinol, ethylhexyl triazone, and ferulic acid. In addition, UV transmittance method was applied to assess qualitative and quantitative critical quality attributes of sunscreens using chemometrics analyses. Linear discriminant analysis allowed classifying unknown formulations, which is useful for investigation of counterfeit and adulteration. Simultaneous quantification of ethylhexyl triazone, bemotrizinol, and ferulic acid presented at the formulations was performed using PLS regression. This design allowed us to verify the compounds in isolation and in combination and to prove that the antioxidant action of ferulic acid as well as the sunscreen actions, since the presence of this component increased 90% of antioxidant activity in vitro.     

Designing visualizations of temporal relations for children: action research meets HCI

The diffusion of ICT products in everyday life is bringing into the realm of technological artifacts new users and their demands, which translate into novel design/research issues, like in the case of children-oriented Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) systems. In this paper we report our experience within the framework of the EU project TERENCE, which developed an adaptive learning system supporting 7–11 years old children characterized by “poor text comprehension”, a cognitive disability related to reading activities. In particular we discuss how our design approach allowed us to overcome the inadequacy of existing consolidated techniques for visualization of temporal relations and data gathering, which turned out not to comply with constraints typical of children-oriented TEL systems. We show how the definition of a novel children-oriented data gathering technique allowed us to carry out a study on the children mental model of time and, based on it, to design a children-oriented integrated “read-n-play” visual environment able to force the acquisition of the capability of reasoning about temporal events within a story. Since the aim of the stimulation is to drive children towards a mature mental model of time, the challenge was to overcome the drawbacks of adult-oriented techniques by building on concepts already possessed by children, while at the same time retaining some basic features of adult-oriented temporal visualization to favor the transition.     

基于木薯淀粉含β-胡萝卜素和纳米胶囊β合成的可生物降解薄膜

β-胡萝卜素可能是一种优良的天然抗氧化剂,可能有助于纳米封装新技术的发展为主动包装添加抗氧化剂。这项工作的目的是开发加自由β-胡萝卜素或β-胡萝卜素胶囊和与聚合物基体的相互作用的评估活动的可生物降解薄膜。结果表明,生物活性化合物可以作为天然抗氧化剂和疏水活性可降解包装维护食品安全添加。     

Electrochemically driven phenothiazine modification of carbon nanodots

Nano Research - Carbon nanodots (CNDs) with enriched periphery carboxylic groups were synthesized using the low-cost starting material glucose. The obtained CNDs were assembled onto Au electrodes...     

Factors affecting the eating quality of pork

In the last decade studies with the specific objective of improving the sensory quality of pork have come to the forefront of meat research, likely a result of consumer complaints of blandness levelled against modern lean meat and the frequent reference to the more strongly flavored meat that was available years ago. Regardless of the lack of scientific evidence to substantiate or refute these claims, the consumer perception of deteriorated quality is real and presents a challenge for the pork industry. Hence, this review has been undertaken with the aim of providing insight into potential sources of amelioration of the eating quality of fresh pork. Existing works are collated, encompassing animal effects, such as, species, breed, muscle type, fat, and ultimate pH, as well as environmental influences, including pre-slaughter conditions of and housing and exercise, and post-slaughter parameters, such as, electrical stimulation, chilling, and cooking.     

Evolution and distribution of phospholipids in cheese and whey during the manufacturing of fresh cheese from cows' milk

In this study, we report on the evolution of phospholipid contents and their distribution in cheese and whey, during the production of fresh cheese. We found that the phospholipid content in the total mass of whey and fresh cheese together was greater than the content of phospholipids in the starting milk used to make them. This increase was probably due to bacterial growth during fermentation and the consequent synthesis of phospholipids to generate cell membranes. In the coagulation process, ≈20% of the phospholipids were drained in the whey. Based on this result, we conclude that whey might be an interesting source of phospholipids, mainly phosphatidylethanolamine and sphingomyelin, for the food industry.     

Nanograined Ferroelectric Ceramics Prepared by High-Pressure Densification Technique

For the first time, nanograined Pb_{1−1.5 x} La _x TiO₃ ferroelectric ceramics, with x =0.2, were produced by a process based on a high-pressure densification technique (HPD) that eliminates the need of high-temperature sintering. Our results showed the production of workable dense ceramics with average grain size around 100 nm and free from secondary phase. Regarding the dielectric measurements, the samples showed satisfactory dielectric losses as well as remarkable diffusivity in the dielectric curves. Moreover, ferroelectric hysteresis measurements showed that samples produced by the HPD technique can stand high electric fields necessary to switch the polarization and thus to induce piezoelectric activity. Our results demonstrated clearly the viability of the proposed method to produce nanograined ferroelectric bulk ceramics, then opening the possibility of developing new technologies.     

游戏机扩大视频流服务

最近欧美与over-the-top视频流服务相关的诸多动态显示,游戏机正在通过扩大服务来使自己成为娱乐中心. 在美国和加拿大,Netflix Watch Instantly现在成了索尼PS3和任天堂Wii游戏机上的集成服务.以前,订阅Netflix的PS3和Wii用户只能利用订阅DVD出租公司提供的一张使用光盘来通过Netflix访问电影和电视流媒体.     

An object detection and recognition system for weld bead extraction from digital radiographs

With base in object detection and recognition techniques, we developed and implemented a new methodology to perform the first head-function of a weld quality interpretation system: the weld bead extraction from a digital radiograph. The proposed methodology uses a genetic algorithm to manage the search for suitable parameters values (position, width, length, and angle) that best defines a window, in the radiographic image, matching with the model image of a weld bead sample. The search results are verified in a classification process that recognize true detections using image matching parameters also proposed in this work. To test the proposed methodology, two groups of images were used; one consisting of 110 radiographs from pipelines welded joints and the other containing 6 images with different numbers of radiographs per image. The tests results showed that, besides automatically check the number of weld beads per image, the proposed methodology is also able to supply the respective position, width, length, and angle of each weld bead, with an accurate rate of 94.4%. As a result, the detected weld beads are correctly extracted from the original image and made available to be inspected through others algorithms for failure detection and classification.     

Formation of Branched Ruthenium Nanoparticles for Improved Electrocatalysis of Oxygen Evolution Reaction

Branched nanoparticles are one of the most promising nanoparticle catalysts as their branch sizes and surfaces can be tuned to enable both high activity and stability. Understanding how the crystallinity and surface facets of branched nanoparticles affect their catalytic performance is vital for further catalyst development. In this work, a synthesis is developed to form highly branched ruthenium (Ru) nanoparticles with control of crystallinity. It is shown that faceted Ru branched nanoparticles have improved stability and activity in the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) compared with polycrystalline Ru nanoparticles. This work achieves a low 180 mV overpotential at 10 mA cm^?2 for hours, demonstrating that record‐high stability for Ru nanocrystals can be achieved while retaining high activity for OER. The superior electrocatalytic performance of faceted Ru branched nanoparticles is ascribed to the lower Ru dissolution rate under OER conditions due to low‐index facets on the branch surfaces.