Investigation of confined ionic liquid in nanostructured materials by a combination of SANS, contrast-matching SANS, and nitrogen adsorption

Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), contrast-matching SANS, and nitrogen adsorption have been utilized to investigate the confined ionic liquid (IL) [bmim][PF(6)] phase in ordered mesoporous silica MCM-41 and SBA-15. The results suggest that the pores of SBA-15 are completely filled with IL whereas a small fraction of the pore volume, the pore "core", of MCM-41 is empty. The contrast-matching SANS measurements confirm the enhanced solubility of water in IL. In addition, they provide strong evidence that water does not enter the empty pore core of MCM-41, possibly because of the preferred orientation of the IL molecules in the adsorbed layer.     

Simple method for detection of extremely diluted anti beta-casein antibodies from glass bead based receptors

The current work describes the elaboration of a simple, sensitive and reliable β-casein modified glass beads, for the detection and quantification of its specific antibody anti β-casein. This is an elementary receptor without electronic part, developed by grafting glass bead surface with the antigenic β-casein via 3-aminopropyltriethoxy silane and then glutaraldehyde as cross-linker. The whole is realized by a classical process, called in two steps and in mild conditions where chemical protocol is optimized for β-casein use. The detection and quantification of the specific reaction antibody-receptor is carried out by the technique of the second antibody labeled with horse radish peroxidase (HRP). Our receptor can detect the β-casein antibody present in the serum at dilutions up to a factor 10⁷ in strong ionic strength medium. The same antibody of the same serum and in the same conditions can be detected by ELISA test at dilutions up to a factor 10⁵. The whole test, after our receptor realization, takes about 5 h.     

Accessing the structural diversity of pyridone alkaloids: concise total synthesis of rac-citridone A

A unique route to the structural diversity of pyridone alkaloids is described based on the concept of a common synthetic strategy. Three different core structure analogues corresponding to akanthomycin, septoriamycin A, and citridone A have been prepared by using a highly selective and novel carbocyclization reaction.     

The E3 architecture: enabling future cellular networks with cognitive and self‐x capabilities

Future mobile networks are expected to be complex heterogeneous systems. On the one hand this will enable users to take advantage of a number of different access technologies. On the other hand it will seriously affect network management procedures since more extensive operations and decisions will have to be dealt with. To tackle these challenges a number of new dynamic mechanisms need to be designed. It is imperative that certain network management tasks have to be performed without human intervention to reduce the OPEX costs and achieve faster responses in different events. To achieve this goal, the introduction of self‐x functionalities, combined with cognitive mechanisms and the ability to reconfigure network entities and terminals, is required. Moreover, the introduction of a new pilot channel needs to be considered to assist the terminals in selecting the most suitable radio access technology according to their requirements. We present the functional architecture of an evolved network that was designed in the context of the EU‐funded IP project ‘E³: End‐to‐End Efficiency’. This architecture aims to enhance existing procedures usually performed in traditional operation and maintenance systems (e.g. spectrum management, network planning, configuration actions). We explain the rationale of our design and provide specific examples to illustrate the role of the different functional entities and their interfaces. A considerable part of this architecture has recently been approved as a feasibility study by the ETSI Committee Reconfigurable Radio System. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A novel method for urinary tract infection diagnosis and antibiogram using Raman spectroscopy

Urinary tract infection (UTI) diagnosis and antibiogram require a 48‐h waiting period using the standard conventional clinical methods. This long waiting period results in ineffective treatments, increased costs and, most importantly, in increased resistance to antibiotics. In this work, a novel method for classifying bacteria and determining their sensitivity to an antibiotic using Raman spectroscopy is described. Raman spectra belonging to three species of gram‐negative enterobacteria, which are most commonly responsible for UTIs, are classified with over 94% accuracy using novel feature extraction and discriminant analysis. Sensitivity to ciprofloxacin is also clearly evident as early as 2 h after treatment by differences in the Raman spectra of bacteria treated or not treated with this antibiotic. The proposed technique can become the basis for the development of new technology for UTI diagnosis and antibiogram with same day results, thus avoiding urine cultures and all undesirable consequences of current practice. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evolutionary games and matching rules

This study considers evolutionary games with non-uniformly random matching when interaction occurs in groups of \(n\ge 2\) individuals using pure strategies from a finite strategy set. In such models, groups with different compositions of individuals generally co-exist and the reproductive success (fitness) of a specific strategy varies with the frequencies of different group types. These frequencies crucially depend on the matching process. For arbitrary matching processes (called matching rules), we study Nash equilibrium and ESS in the associated population game and show that several results that are known to hold for population games under uniform random matching carry through to our setting. In our most novel contribution, we derive results on the efficiency of the Nash equilibria of population games and show that for any (fixed) payoff structure, there always exists some matching rule leading to average fitness maximization. Finally, we provide a series of applications to commonly studied normal-form games.     

On Some Ideals in the Free Nonassociative Algebra

The free Lie, right, and left Leibniz algebras are obtained as quotients of the free nonassociative algebra by suitable ideals. In this article, we prove some remarkable properties of these ideals.     

Classification of Raman spectra using the correlation kernel

The classification of Raman spectra can be very useful in a wide range of diagnostic applications including bacterial identification. Before any form of classification can be carried out on the Raman spectra, some form of pre‐processing is commonly applied. This pre‐processing greatly affects the accuracy of the results and introduces user bias and over‐fitting effects. In this paper, we propose using support vector machines with the correlation kernel. The use of the correlation kernel on Raman spectra has not been presented before in any published work. Our results illustrate that the correlation kernel is ‘self‐normalizing’ and produces superior classification performance with minimal pre‐processing, even on highly noisy data obtained using inexpensive equipment. Such effective classification approaches can lead to clinically valuable diagnostic applications of Raman Spectroscopy. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimizing Melt‐Processing Conditions for the Preparation of iPP/Fumed Silica Nanocomposites: Morphology,Mechanical and Gas Permeability Properties

A series of iPP/SiO₂ nanocomposites, containing 1, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10 wt.‐% fumed silica nanoparticles, were prepared by melt mixing in a twin screw co‐rotating extruder. The effect of different extrusion parameters was evaluated. The size of aggregates increased with increase in SiO₂ content and repetition of the mixing process improved the filler's dispersion. A similar effect was also exhibited by either increasing the rotor speed or the mixing temperature, with the latter being more pronounced at the ranges studied. The mechanical properties of the prepared nanocomposites were evaluated and various models used to explain the observed enhancements. However, only the three‐phase model could provide some correlation with the experimental results. All nanocomposites displayed lower permeability to gases.