Split Up. Smart feature per contenitori asettici per liquidi basata sulla progettazione strutturale e grafica di finestre trasparenti

Il lavoro di tesi concerne la progettazione di un contenitore asettico per liquidi. In particolare, consiste nella creazione di aree/finestre trasparenti, ricavate sulla superficie del contenitore, con la funzione di indicatore di livello del liquido. Gli step che hanno delineato il lavoro consistono in un'analisi brevettuale, studio dei materiali di produzione, verifica tecnica e strutturale, progettazione grafica e test di validazione dell'idea.

High-performance flexible hybrid field-effect transistors based on cellulose fiber paper

IEEE Electron Device Letters, VOL. 29, NO. 9,

Desenvolvimento de indicadores enzimáticos inteligentes para monitoramento da qualidade de alimentos

A dificuldade em conhecer o histórico de temperatura de um alimento, desde sua produção até o consumo, torna difícil prever sua verdadeira vida-útil. O uso de indicadores de tempo e temperatura (ITT) pode ser uma alternativa inovadora empregada para garantir a validade de produtos de forma dinâmica. Assim, este trabalho visa desenvolver novos indicadores enzimáticos de tempo e temperatura para monitorar a qualidade de alimentos perecíveis durante o seu processamento e armazenamento, baseados na reação de complexação entre o amido e o iodo (azul), e na posterior atuação de uma enzima amilase sobre esse complexo, para causar uma redução da intensidade da cor azul a uma taxa dependente do tempo e da temperatura de armazenagem. Os sistemas inteligentes propostos possuem versatilidade de atuação em função do tipo e quantidade de amilase empregada. Desta forma, foi utilizada uma amilase termoestável para a formulação de um indicador inteligente de processamento, utilizado para o controle de tratamentos térmicos industriais (pasteurização);e uma amilase termosensível na formulação de um indicador de armazenamento, empregada para o controle das condições de temperatura durante a cadeia de frio de produtos perecíveis. Na elaboração dos ITT de processamento foram realizadas simulações em laboratório e testes em planta fabril, os quais avaliaram diferentes concentrações de amilase termoestável nos protótipos de ITT quando submetidos as condições de tempo e temperatura de pasteurização. Os resultados evidenciaram que a resposta de cor dos indicadores foi visualmente interpretada, como adaptável à medição usando equipamentos, apresentando boa reprodutibilidade em todas as condições estudadas. O ITT contendo 6,5 % de amilase termoestável (penzima/pamido) foi aquele cujo resultado melhor se adequou à utilização na validação de cozimento de presunto. Nesta condição, o protótipo anexado à embalagem primária do produto indicou o processo de pasteurização de forma fácil, precisa e não destrutiva. Já durante o desenvolvimento do ITT de armazenamento foram realizadas simulações em laboratório, testes em planta fabril e ponto de venda, os quais avaliaram o uso de diferentes concentrações de amilase termosensível nos protótipos de ITT quando submetidos a diversas condições de cadeia de frio. Os resultados evidenciaram que devido à possibilidade de definir a vida-útil destes protótipos variando as concentrações de enzima termosensível, os indicadores podem ser facilmente adaptados para controlar as condições de temperatura durante a cadeia de diversos alimentos perecíveis. O protótipo contendo 60 % de amilase termosensível (penzima/pamido) foi aquele cujo resultado melhor se adequou à utilização no controle da cadeia avícola. Assim, o ITT indicou visualmente o histórico de tempo e temperatura de produtos à base de frango de forma fácil e precisa. Os resultados obtidos na avaliação das percepções dos consumidores frente ao emprego de indicadores inteligentes em embalagens alimentícias mostraram que o uso de ITT é uma inovação receptiva, com consequente aceitação e intenção de compra elevada pela população brasileira. Assim, com este trabalho espera-se contribuir efetivamente para que o conceito de embalagens inteligentes possa ser aceito comercialmente e que sejam estabelecidas no Brasil normas que regulamentem seu uso, conferindo benefícios à conservação de grande variedade de alimentos.

Development of an intelligent bio-based packaging system

[Extrat] Currently there is a growing interest in the development of eco-efficient bio-based packaging, being active, smart and intelligent packaging the most highlighted among various innovations. Intelligent packaging has the ability to detect and mark, in real time, changes that might occur within the package/in the food product. Their main purpose is to help the consumer decide whether to buy a certain food product, ensuring that when it is bought it has not suffered significant changes influencing its quality and safety. (...)

Natural additives and agricultural wastes in biopolymer formulations for food packaging

The main directions in food packaging research are targeted toward improvements in food quality and food safety. For this purpose, food packaging providing longer product shelf-life, as well as the monitoring of safety and quality based upon international standards, is desirable. New active packaging strategies represent a key area of development in new multifunctional materials where the use of natural additives and/or agricultural wastes is getting increasing interest. The development of new materials, and particularly innovative biopolymer formulations, can help to address these requirements and also with other packaging functions such as: food protection and preservation, marketing and smart communication to consumers. The use of biocomposites for active food packaging is one of the most studied approaches in the last years on materials in contact with food. Applications of these innovative biocomposites could help to provide new food packaging materials with improved mechanical, barrier, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. From the food industry standpoint, concerns such as the safety and risk associated with these new additives, migration properties and possible human ingestion and regulations need to be considered. The latest innovations in the use of these innovative formulations to obtain biocomposites are reported in this review. Legislative issues related to the use of natural additives and agricultural wastes in food packaging systems are also discussed.

Photonic packaging: transforming silicon photonic integrated circuits into photonic devices

Dedicated multi-project wafer (MPW) runs for photonic integrated circuits (PICs) from Si foundries mean that researchers and small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) can now afford to design and fabricate Si photonic chips. While these bare Si-PICs are adequate for testing new device and circuit designs on a probe-station, they cannot be developed into prototype devices, or tested outside of the laboratory, without first packaging them into a durable module. Photonic packaging of PICs is significantly more challenging, and currently orders of magnitude more expensive, than electronic packaging, because it calls for robust micron-level alignment of optical components, precise real-time temperature control, and often a high degree of vertical and horizontal electrical integration. Photonic packaging is perhaps the most significant bottleneck in the development of commercially relevant integrated photonic devices. This article describes how the key optical, electrical, and thermal requirements of Si-PIC packaging can be met, and what further progress is needed before industrial scale-up can be achieved.

Finite element homogenization technique for the characterization of d(15) shear piezoelectric macro-fibre composites

A finite element homogenization method for a shear actuated d(15) macro-fibre composite (MFC) made of seven layers (Kapton, acrylic, electrode, piezoceramic fibre and epoxy composite, electrode, acrylic, Kapton) is proposed and used for the characterization of its effective material properties. The methodology is first validated for the MFC active layer only, made of piezoceramic fibre and epoxy, through comparison with previously published analytical results. Then, the methodology is applied to the seven-layer MFC. It is shown that the packaging reduces significantly the shear stiffness of the piezoceramic material and, thus, leads to significantly smaller effective electromechanical coupling coefficient k(15) and piezoelectric stress constant e(15) when compared to the piezoceramic fibre properties. However, it is found that the piezoelectric charge constant d(15) is less affected by the softer layers required by the MFC packaging.

DNA packaging by L1 and L2 capsid proteins of bovine papillomavirus type 1

Encapsidation of circular DNA by papillomavirus capsid protein was investigated in Cos-1 cells. Plasmids carrying both an SV40 origin of replication (or) and an E. coli on were introduced into Cos-1 cells by DNA transfection. PV capsid proteins were supplied in trans by recombinant vaccinia viruses. Pseudovirions were purified from infected cells and their packaged DNA was extracted and used to transform E. coil as an indication of packaging efficacy. VLPs assembled from BPV-1 L1 alone packaged little plasmid DNA, whereas VLPs assembled from BPV-1 L1+L2 packaged plasmid DNA at least 50 times more effectively. BPV-1 L1+L2 VLPs packaged a plasmid containing BPV-1 sequence 8.2 +/- 3.1 times more effectively than a plasmid without BW sequences. Using a series of plasmid constructs comprising a core BPV-1 sequence and spacer DNA it was demonstrated that BW VLPs could accommodate a maximum of about 10.2 kb of plasmid DNA, and that longer closed circular DNA was truncated to produce less dense virions with shorter plasmid sequences. The present study suggests that packaging of genome within PV virions involves interaction of L2 protein with specific DNA sequences, and demonstrates that PV pseudovirions have the potential to be used as DNA delivery vectors for plasmids of up to 10.2 kb. (C) 1998 Academic Press.

Smart Alerts: Development of Software to Optimize Data Monitoring

Dherte PM, Negrao MPG, Mori Neto S, Holzhacker R, Shimada V, Taberner P, Carmona MJC - Smart Alerts: Development of a Software to Optimize Data Monitoring. Background and objectives: Monitoring is useful for vital follow-ups and prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of several events in anesthesia. Although alarms can be useful in monitoring they can cause dangerous user`s desensitization. The objective of this study was to describe the development of specific software to integrate intraoperative monitoring parameters generating ""smart alerts"" that can help decision making, besides indicating possible diagnosis and treatment. Methods: A system that allowed flexibility in the definition of alerts, combining individual alarms of the parameters monitored to generate a more elaborated alert system was designed. After investigating a set of smart alerts, considered relevant in the surgical environment, a prototype was designed and evaluated, and additional suggestions were implemented in the final product. To verify the occurrence of smart alerts, the system underwent testing with data previously obtained during intraoperative monitoring of 64 patients. The system allows continuous analysis of monitored parameters, verifying the occurrence of smart alerts defined in the user interface. Results: With this system a potential 92% reduction in alarms was observed. We observed that in most situations that did not generate alerts individual alarms did not represent risk to the patient. Conclusions: Implementation of software can allow integration of the data monitored and generate information, such as possible diagnosis or interventions. An expressive potential reduction in the amount of alarms during surgery was observed. Information displayed by the system can be oftentimes more useful than analysis of isolated parameters.

A new chemorheological analysis of highly filled thermosets used in integrated circuit packaging

Chemorheology (and thus process modeling) of highly filled thermosets used in integrated circuit (IC) packaging has been complicated by their highly filled nature, fast kinetics of curing, and viscoelastic nature. This article summarizes a more thorough chemorheological analysis of a typical IC packaging thermoset material, including novel isothermal and nonisothermal multiwave parallel-plate chemorheology. This new chemorheological analysis may be used to optimize existing and design new IC packaging processes. (C) 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Coupling between replication and packaging of flavivirus RNA: Evidence derived from the use of DNA-based full-length cDNA clones of kunjin virus

In order to study whether flavivirus RNA packaging is dependent on RNA replication, we generated two DNA-based Kunjin virus constructs, pKUN1 and pKUN1dGDD, allowing continuous production of replicating (wild-type) and nonreplicating (with a deletion of the NS5 gene RNA-polymerase motif GDD) full-length Kunjin virus RNAs, respectively, via nuclear transcription by cellular RNA polymerase II. As expected, transfection of pKUN1 plasmid DNA into BHK cells resulted in the recovery of secreted infectious Kunjin virions. Transfection of pKUN1dGDD DNA into BHK cells, however, did not result in the recovery of any secreted virus particles containing encapsidated dGDD RNA, despite an apparent accumulation of this RNA in cells demonstrated by Northern blot analysis and its efficient translation demonstrated by detection of correctly processed labeled structural proteins (at least prM and E) both in cells and in the culture fluid using coimmunoprecipitation analysis with anti-E antibodies. In contrast, when dGDD RNA was produced even in much smaller amounts in PKUN1dGDD DNA-transfected repBHK cells (where it was replicated via complementation), it was packaged into secreted virus particles, Thus, packaging of defective Kunjin virus RNA could occur only when it was replicated. Our results with genome-length Kunjin virus RNA and the results with poliovirus replicon RNA (C, I. Nugent et al,, J, Virol, 73:427-435, 1999), both demonstrating the necessity for the RNA to be replicated before it can be packaged, strongly suggest the existence of a common mechanism for minimizing amplification and transmission of defective RNAs among the quasispecies in positive-strand RNA viruses, This mechanism may thus help alleviate the high-copy error rate of RNA-dependent RNA polymerases.