Biopolymers and biomaterials based on elastomeric proteins

Elastomeric proteins represent a very interesting subject of investigation, not only for their molecular mechanism(s) of elasticity, but also for their great potential as novel biomaterials. This review is intended to give an overview of the properties of the main elastic proteins, with particular focus on elastin and, at the same time, a report on the most recent acquisitions in the field of elastomeric biomaterials.

TEM image of poly(OrnGlyGlyOrnGly) after crosslinking reaction with GTA. The bar represents 100 nm.     

Optimizing ICA in fMRI using information on spatial regularities of the sources

Spatial independent component analysis (ICA) is a well-established technique for multivariate analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data. It blindly extracts spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity from functional measurements by seeking for sources that are maximally independent. Additional information on one or more sources (e.g., spatial regularity) is often available; however, it is not considered while looking for independent components. In the present work, we propose a new ICA algorithm based on the optimization of an objective function that accounts for both independence and other information on the sources or on the mixing model in a very general fashion. In particular, we apply this approach to fMRI data analysis and illustrate, by means of simulations, how inclusion of a spatial regularity term helps to recover the sources more effectively than with conventional ICA. The improvement is especially evident in high noise situations. Furthermore we employ the same approach on data sets from a complex mental imagery experiment, showing that consistency and physiological plausibility of relatively weak components are improved.     

Illustration of a bimodal system in Intralipid-20% by polarized light scattering: experiments and modeling

Intralipid suspensions behave like phantoms of human tissues concerning their light scattering properties. We present experimental measurements of the angular distribution of polarized light scattering at various incidence angles on Intralipid-20%. A comparison of the absolute values of these measurements with simulations using a vector radiative transfer model (N-flux) developed for multilayered media demonstrates a stratified structure of the samples with a double distribution of the size of scatterers. This result is confirmed by polarimetry imaging.     

High temperature Mars atmosphere. Part I: transport cross sections

In the perspective of higher approximations of the Chapman-Enskog theory for transport property calculations, existing transport cross sections databases for interactions involving Earth atmosphere species have been updated and extended to Mars atmosphere components, proposing a phenomenological approach for the derivation of the relevant elastic collision integrals in neutral-neutral and neutral-ion interactions. Inelastic collision integrals terms, due to resonant charge exchange channels, have been considered and the asymptotic approach extended to the estimation of charge transfer cross section of multiple resonant processes. Electronic supplementary material  Supplementary Online Material     

High temperature Mars atmosphere. Part II: transport properties

Transport coefficients of equilibrium Martian atmosphere have been calculated in the second non-vanishing Chapman-Enskog approximation and compared with existing literature results. The present work improves previous calculations by considering a very detailed chemistry model of Martian atmosphere that includes 53 species and by extending the temperature range up to 50 000 K.     

Butene concentration prediction in ethylene/propylene/1-butene terpolymers by FT-IR spectroscopy through multivariate statistical analysis and artificial neural networks

This paper reports the development of calibration models for quality control in the production of ethylene/propylene/1-butene terpolymers by the use of multivariate tools and FT-IR spectroscopy.1-Butene concentration prediction is achieved in terpolymers by coupling FT-IR spectroscopy to multivariate regression tools. A dataset of 26 terpolymers (14 coming from a constrained experimental design for mixtures, plus 12 terpolymers used for external validation) was analysed by FT-IR spectroscopy. An internal method of “Polimeri Europa” plant, based on ¹³C NMR spectroscopy is used to determine the percentage of 1-butene in the samples. Then, different multivariate tools are used for 1-butene concentration prediction based on the FT-IR spectra recorded. Different multivariate calibration methods were explored: principal component regression (PCR), partial least squares (PLS), stepwise OLS regression (SWR) and artificial neural networks (ANNs). The model obtained by back-propagation neural networks turned out to be the best one. The performances of the BP-ANN model were further improved by variable selection procedures based on the calculation of the first derivative of the network.The proposed approach allows the monitoring in real time of the polymer synthesis and the estimation of the characteristics of the product attainable from the concentration of 1-butene.     

Biharmonic Green Functions on Homogeneous Trees

The study of biharmonic functions under the ordinary (Euclidean) Laplace operator on the open unit disk \mathbbD{\mathbb{D}} in \mathbbC{\mathbb{C}} arises in connection with plate theory, and in particular, with the biharmonic Green functions which measure, subject to various boundary conditions, the deflection at one point due to a load placed at another point. A homogeneous tree T is widely considered as a discrete analogue of the unit disk endowed with the Poincaré metric. The usual Laplace operator on T corresponds to the hyperbolic Laplacian. In this work, we consider a bounded metric on T for which T is relatively compact and use it to define a flat Laplacian which plays the same role as the ordinary Laplace operator on \mathbbD{\mathbb{D}}. We then study the simply-supported and the clamped biharmonic Green functions with respect to both Laplacians.     

Microwave-assisted extraction of coumarin and related compounds from Melilotus officinalis (L.) Pallas as an alternative to Soxhlet and ultrasound-assisted extraction

Soxhlet extraction, ultrasound-assisted extraction (USAE) and microwaves-assisted extraction (MAE) in closed system have been investigated to determine the content of coumarin, o-coumaric and melilotic acids in flowering tops of Melilotus officinalis. The extracts were analyzed with an appropriate HPLC procedure. The reproducibility of extraction and of chromatographic analysis was proved. Taking into account the extraction yield, the cost and the time, we studied the effects of extraction variables on the yield of the above-mentioned compounds. Better results were obtained with MAE (50% v/v aqueous ethanol, two heating cycles of 5 min, 50 degrees C). On the basis of the ratio extraction yield/extraction time, we therefore propose MAE as the most efficient method.     

Imbibition, desiccation and mechanical deformations of zein pills in relation to their porosity

This paper deals with the interaction between zein (the main protein component of corn grain) and water. It induces macroscopic properties changes and may allow for the understanding of the basis of zein endosperm structure: vitreous endosperm is compact and floury endosperm is porous, giving the endosperm its hard and soft textures, respectively. In that aim porous pills made by compaction of zein powder submitted to different hydration/dehydration processes have been prepared and studied. In particular, imbibition measurements of a pure-water drop deposited onto a zein pill were performed. Also, desiccation of a zein pill previously imbibed induces strong mechanical stresses leading to crack formation and/or large deformations.     

A Numerical Approach to Marine Circulation Using Free Surface or Rigid-lid Modeling: Application in the Bay of Calvi

When establishing a model of fluid flow in marine modeling, a key issue is the choice between a rigid-lid approach or a free surface level model. This is not a trivial issue as it plays an important role, not only in the choice of the numerical techniques, but also in the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the numerical results. Most software use either free surface or rigid-lid hypotheses, but comparing their results is difficult, since the numerical tools used are in general, extremely different. In this work, some numerical investigations comparing rigid-lid and free surface models are presented. A numerical method using Galerkin's method, but with a new basis, is applied to solve the rigid-lid equations in a realistic domain with varying bottom. A numerical method, similar to the one already used for free surface equations (the same truncating method and precision level) is applied, where the main differences between the simulation results depend only on the model employed. In addition, a comparative simulation between rigid-lid and free surface models to study marine circulation in the bay of Calvi (Corsica) is presented, and numerical results in the non-stratified case only (fluid with constant density) are described, as no further difficulties appear in the stratified case.