Copper Oxide Nanoparticles Impact Several Toxicological Endpoints and Cause Neurodegeneration in \u3cem\u3eCaenorhabditis elegans\u3c/em\u3e

Engineered nanoparticles are becoming increasingly incorporated into technology and consumer products. In 2014, over 300 tons of copper oxide nanoparticles were manufactured in the United States. The increased production of nanoparticles raises concerns regarding the potential introduction into the environment or human exposure. Copper oxide nanoparticles commonly release copper ions into solutions, which contribute to their toxicity. We quantified the inhibitory effects of both copper oxide nanoparticles and copper sulfate on C. elegans toxicological endpoints to elucidate their biological effects. Several toxicological endpoints were analyzed in C. elegans, including nematode reproduction, feeding behavior, and average body length. We examined three wild C. elegans isolates together with the Bristol N2 laboratory strain to explore the influence of different genotypic backgrounds on the physiological response to copper challenge. All strains exhibited greater sensitivity to copper oxide nanoparticles compared to copper sulfate, as indicated by reduction of average body length and feeding behavior. Reproduction was significantly reduced only at the highest copper dose, though still more pronounced with copper oxide nanoparticles compared to copper sulfate treatment. Furthermore, we investigated the effects of copper oxide nanoparticles and copper sulfate on neurons, cells with known vulnerability to heavy metal toxicity. Degeneration of dopaminergic neurons was observed in up to 10% of the population after copper oxide nanoparticle exposure. Additionally, mutants in the divalent-metal transporters, smf-1 or smf-2, showed increased tolerance to copper exposure, implicating both transporters in copper-induced neurodegeneration. These results highlight the complex nature of CuO nanoparticle toxicity, in which a nanoparticle-specific effect was observed in some traits (average body length, feeding behavior) and a copper ion specific effect was observed for other traits (neurodegeneration, response to stress)

Implementing the Information Technology Information Library (Itil) Framework

This project proposes the implementation of the Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) framework for a mid-sized Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) specializing in commercial warehouses. Due to rapid growth, lack of process and lack of business visibility, the Information Technology (IT) department struggles to provide highly reliable business systems that meet the requirements for the business. The gap in business relationships results in a negative image for the IT department and causes situations where individual business groups contract directly with outsourced IT providers. After developing the IT solution, the business group contacts the internal IT department for involvement with the deployment. The IT department must ensure the outsourced solution will work with internal IT systems or networks regardless of the technology stack or support model. Often, the costs associated with this last minute support are not captured or reported within the overall outsourced IT project. The IT department consulted with Forrester research and Capgemini to review the overall IT environment and process maturity. After performing the review and analyzing the findings, IT management determined that process improvement was required to improve overall IT services and IT service delivery speed. Rather than focus on what led to the decision to implement ITIL, this project will discuss how ITIL provided the foundation to ensure timely, consistent and reliable delivery of IT Services. ITIL also helped improve the IT departments\u27 image with the business by assisting in higher quality implementations and consistency resulting in less IT downtime and more controlled IT systems. When asked about the benefit of ITIL, Carie Zoellner-Buell, a VP of Global Infrastructure and Operations said, ITIL has taken the organization to a whole new level of operation that we were never able to attain in the past. Using ITIL based processes has allowed us to be much more effective in managing IT by adding structure and efficiency

Space Resources and Space Settlements

The technical papers from the five tasks groups that took part in the 1977 Ames Summer Study on Space Settlements and Industrialization Using Nonterrestrial Materials are presented. The papers are presented under the following general topics: (1) research needs for regenerative life-support systems; (2) habitat design; (3) dynamics and design of electromagnetic mass drivers; (4) asteroids as resources for space manufacturing; and (5) processing of nonterrestrial materials

Master of Science

thesisCurrent United States Air Force (USAF) Damage Tolerance Analysis (DTA) methodology yields short crack growth lives for webs in built-up beams as used in the construction of wing spars. This results in very short inspection intervals for these types of structures. Inspection data from fleet usage and fatigue tests do not support the analytically-based assertion that spar webs are as damage tolerant critical as typically predicted. Current analytical methods involve short edge distances predicting failure when the crack reaches the edge-of- part. In reality, there is remaining residual strength in the spar web. Current continuing damage methods allow for cracks that grow up into the part after the lower ligament fails. The assumption for this secondary cracking has been to use the same driving force as in the initial crack. However, the high driving force from bending found near the extreme fiber diminishes as the crack grows toward the neutral axis. This paper utilizes the test results from two specimens to help validate an analytical approach toward crack growth predictions in spar webs. The goal of this approach is to extend short inspection intervals currently required on some USAF aircraft. I would like to thank my wife, Mindy, for all of her encouragement and support during this long effort. Without you, I never would have started. Thanks to my children, Evan, Austin and Erin for your patience during the long hours away from home that this effort required. Thanks also to Dr. Paul Clark and Dr. Mark Thomsen of the United States Air Force. You rekindled my love of learning and convinced me that I had what it takes to tackle graduate work. A final thanks to Dr. David Hoeppner of the University of Utah Mechanical Engineering department. You have inspired me to pursue professional development and to strive to blend wisdom, skill, and ethics in all of my engineering endeavors

Nonterrestrial utilization of materials: Automated space manufacturing facility

Four areas related to the nonterrestrial use of materials are included: (1) material resources needed for feedstock in an orbital manufacturing facility, (2) required initial components of a nonterrestrial manufacturing facility, (3) growth and productive capability of such a facility, and (4) automation and robotics requirements of the facility

Characterization of non-driver mutations and identification of different outcomes and treatment strategies based on NGS results in myelofibrosis patients in different clinical stages

Myelofibrosis (MF), a chronic Ph-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm, is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disease. Beside driver mutations that represent the hallmark of pathogenesis, the rapid advancements in gene sequencing technology, like Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), have led to discover additional mutations revealing biological insights in MF and possible novel prognostic markers. However, current clinical prognostic risk-stratification models are the most used in clinical practice. The aim of our project is to use and validate NGS technology in transplant-eligible MF patients, prospectively refining a more reliable prognostic risk assessment and risk-adapted treatment strategy, in real-life setting. We enrolled 68 MF patients, consecutively diagnosed and followed at Sapienza University. Twenty-two out of 68 (32%) subjects had secondary MF (SMF), diagnosed post essential thrombocythemia and polycythaemia vera. As for driver mutations, 52%, 28% and 3% of patients, carried JAK2V617F, CALR and MPL mutation, respectively. One patient had double mutation (JAK2V617F/MPL); 10 (15%) patients were identified as triple negative. We found 72 non-driver mutations; 13 out of 68 (19%) patients had a high molecular risk (HMR) profile. The most frequently mutated genes were TET2 (n=14, 20%), DNMT3A (n=7, 10%) and ASXL1 (n=11, 16%). ASXL1 mutated patients carried distinct high-risk clinical features, including higher value of LDH (p<0.001), monocytes (p<0.001), spleen diameter (p=0.035) and symptoms (p=0.042). Focusing on mutational profile, no significant differences were detected comparing PMF and SMF. According to the IPSS survival risk distribution at diagnosis in PMF, 32 patients were classified as low risk (70%), 9 as intermediate-1 (20%), 3 as intermediate-2 (6%) and 2 as high (4%). In SMF, the MYSEC-PM risk distribution identified 7 patients as low risk (32%), 13 (59%) as intermediate-1 and 2 as intermediate-2 (9%). The real-life application of MIPSS70 model identified 22 patients, who were previously categorized as low risk according to IPSS/MYSEC-PM, in intermediate risk and allocated 3 patients, previously considered as intermediate risk, in high-risk category. Category shift was due to HMR profile in 7 (10%) patients. Allotransplant was recommended in 5 high-risk patients immediately after NGS results. HMR profile was determinant in proposing transplant choice in 3/9 (33%) intermediate MIPSS70 risk patients. High-risk MIPSS70 category showed inferior OS (p=0.017) and EFS (p=0.005) than low/intermediate risks. HMR profile negatively influenced overall outcome, both in terms of OS and EFS (p<0.05). ASXL1 mutated patients had inferior EFS (p=0.012) compared to ASXL1 wt. These findings were confirmed only in PMF. Moreover, RUNX1 mutated patients had significantly shorter OS than RUNX1 wt (p=0.002). We analysed 21 patients who received ruxolitinib confirming its clinical benefit irrespective of biological findings. Overall, 28 (41%) patients were on clinical treatment-free follow-up. Thirty-nine (57%) patients needed a treatment: 21 (54%) ruxolitinib, 3 (8%) interferon, 14 (36%) hydroxyurea, 1 (2%) allotransplant without a bridge therapy. Globally, 7 patients were allografted. Overall, 4 out of 68 (6%) patients died: 2 due to blast crisis, 1 for transplant complication and 1 for SARS-CoV-2 infection in MF progression. In our monocentric prospective real-life study, NGS analysis allows a better risk stratification and a more accurate risk-adapted therapy of MF patients, contributing to characterize mutational landscape of the disease

Ariel - Volume 2 Number 8

Editors Richard J. Bonanno Robin A. Edwards Associate Editors Steven Ager Stephen Flynn Shep Dickman Tom Williams Lay-out Editor Eugenia Miller Contributing Editors Michael J. Blecker Milton Packe James J. Nocon Lynne Porter Editors Emeritus Delvyn C. Case, Jr. Paul M. Fernhof

Desenvolvimento de sensores em fibra ótica para avaliação do desempenho e segurança de baterias de iões de lítio

Society’s dependency on fossil fuels is becoming a critical obstacle regarding environmental sustainability. The concentrated political power on institutions related to the fossil fuel market represents a worldwide energy dependence. Alternative energy sources could be explored to supply the energetic needs of human activity and better distribute the energy supply around the world. However, to be able to make use of these alternative energies is mandatory to consume them right away or to store them as potential energy, otherwise, they would be wasted. Multiple initiatives are investing and aiming to reduce the usage of fossil fuels by stimulating the research and development of alternative energy sources, together with energy storage development is crucial to potentialize the utilization and adoption of such alternative energies. Nowadays, rechargeable Li-ion batteries are the most adopted, scalable, and demanded energy storage devices in the world. The scarcity of information regarding the interior of the LiBs currently hinders the improvement of the accuracy and predicting capabilities of current battery management algorithms and models, while equally limiting attempts to refine the battery thermal design due to the absence of heat-transfer information. This has led to increasing interest in spatiotemporal imaging of the thermal flows within a cell using temperature sensors. The tracking of gas production and/or pressure variations are also very recent topics of sensing inside the LIBs. However, due to the difficulty and complexity of sensing, the integration of the sensors inside the battery cells being necessary, they were not yet so explored. In this work, hybrid optical fiber sensors based on Fabry-Perot Interferometers (FPIs) and Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors were successfully developed and characterized to discriminate two impactful parameters (pressure and temperature) internally and externally simultaneously on cylindrical lithium-ion batteries (LiB) in order to improve their operation in safety conditions. The proposed hybrid sensors consist of a photosensitive single-mode fiber (SMF), where the FBGs were inscribed and spliced to a small section of a hollow-core fiber (HCF). To create the FPI, the HCF’s tip was submerged in a UV-photosensitive polymer, creating three cavities and two observable light beam interferences in the optical spectrum, resulting in two Fabry-Perot responses. Out of four created sensors with different HCF and liquid polymer cavity’s lengths, three of them were calibrated to temperature and pressure. By tracking the FP fringes and the resulting envelope shifts of the spectral responses, it achieved higher sensitivities for the hybrid sensor with 175.86 μm and 26.38 μm of cavities’ lengths for the envelope analysis, with 31.65 nm/bar and 1.53 nm/°C, with the pressure sensitivity being the highest recorded value for this type of configuration. After calibrating steps, the hybrid sensor D was selected and embedded inside a commercial LG 18650 LiB to internally dual-parameter sensing. The placement of the FBGs and the Fabry-Perot cavity allow the detection of pressure in all battery and temperature changes near the negative and positive terminals, and in the middle of the battery during several galvanostatic cycles. Externally, were also placed one optical fiber with four FBGs to acquire external temperature variations in the outer case, being one of them outside of the case to ambient temperature control. Galvanostatic cyclic tests were performed through different temperatures, 25.0 and 40.0 °C. The online detection of the FP fringes and FBGs peaks allows, through a matrixial method discrimination, obtain the temperature and pressure variations. It resulted in successful temperature and pressure readings, resembling some occurrences presented in the available literature and other findings which concerns to pressure and temperature behaviours in different battery locations can be highlighted, like some of the thermal events were undetected by the external FBG sensors. Although some key factors need to be further studied to understand the potential of this sensor, like the long-term stability, however this hybrid sensor design has enormous potential to perform simultaneous measurements of internal pressure and temperature shifts during normal and abnormal working conditions of an 18650 LiB.A dependência da sociedade em combustíveis fósseis está a tornar-se num grande obstáculo no que toca à sustentabilidade ambiental. O poder político concentrado nas instituições relacionadas com o mercado de combustíveis fósseis representa uma dependência energética global. Fontes de energia alternativas podem ser exploradas para fornecer toda a energia da atividade humana e distribuí-la melhor pelo mundo. Todavia, para se utilizar estas energias alternativas, é necessário consumi-las imediatamente ou armazená-las como energia potencial, senão serão desperdiçadas. Múltiplas áreas estão a investir para procurar reduzir o uso de combustíveis fósseis ao estimular a investigação e o desenvolvimento de fontes de energia alternativas que, juntamente com o desenvolvimento de formas de armazenar energia, é crucial para potencializar a utilização e adoção de tais energias. Atualmente, baterias de iões de Lítio (LiBs) são as mais utilizadas, escaladas e pedidas fontes de armazenamento de energia pelo mundo. A falta de informação sobre o interior das baterias atualmente dificulta o aumento da precisão e capacidade de previsão dos atuais algoritmos e modelos dos sistemas de gestão das baterias (BMS), enquanto limita as tentativas para refinar o design térmico das baterias devido à ausência de informação sobre as transferências de calor. Isto levou ao aumento do interesse nas imagens tempo-espaciais dos fluxos térmicos dentro de uma bateria através de sensores de temperatura. O acompanhamento da variação de produção de gases e/ou de pressão são também tópicos recentes em sensores dentro de LiBs. No entanto, devido à dificuldade e complexidade de deteção, a integração dos sensores dentro de baterias, sendo necessárias, não estão a ser exploradas. Neste trabalho, sensores de fibra ótica híbridos baseados em Interferómetros Fabry-Perot (FPIs) e em redes de Bragg (FBGs) foram desenvolvidos e caraterizados com sucesso para discriminar simultaneamente dois fatores impactantes, pressão e temperatura, em LiBs cilíndricas para melhorar a sua operação em condições de segurança. O sensor híbrido proposto consiste numa fibra monomodo (SMF), onde foram gravadas FBGs, fundida com um curto segmento de tubo oco cilíndrico (HCF). Para criar o FPI, a ponta da HCF foi mergulhada num polímero líquido, fotossensível (PS) a radiação ultravioleta (UV), criando três cavidades e duas interferências visíveis no espetro ótico, resultando em duas respostas Fabry-Perot. Dos quatro sensores fabricados com diferentes comprimentos de HCF, três deles foram calibrados à temperatura e à pressão. Ao seguir a variação das franjas das respostas Fabry-Perot e dos envelopes resultantes, atingiu-se maiores sensibilidades para o sensor híbrido com 175.86 μm e 26.38 μm de comprimento das cavidades através da análise dos envelopes com 31.65 nm/bar e 1.53 nm/°C, sendo a sensibilidade à pressão o maior valor registado para sensores nesta configuração. Após a calibração, o sensor híbrido D foi selecionado e colocado dentro de uma LiB comercial LG 18650 para medir internamente os dois parâmetros. O posicionamento das FBGs e da cavidade Fabry-Perot permitem a deteção de variações de pressão no terminal positivo da bateria, e de temperatura perto dos terminais negativos e positivos, e no meio da mesma, durante os testes cíclicos galvanostáticos. Externamente, foi acrescentada uma fibra ótica com quatro FBGs para adquirir as variações de temperatura externas na cápsula protetora da bateria, sendo uma delas destinadas ao controlo da temperatura ambiente. Os testes galvanostáticos foram realizados a diferentes temperaturas, 25.0 °C e a 40.0 °C. A deteção em tempo real das franjas Fabry-Perot e dos picos das FBGs permitiu, através de um método de discriminação matricial, obter as variações de temperatura e pressão. Resultou em leituras bem-sucedidas de temperatura e pressão, apresentando comportamentos similares a descritos pela literatura e vários comportamentos referentes aos sinais de temperatura e pressão foram identificados, tal como alguns eventos térmicos que foram detetados pelas FBGs externas. Apesar de alguns fatores importantes ainda precisarem de algum aprofundamento para se avaliar o potencial deste sensor híbrido, como a estabilidade a longo termo, este sensor tem um enorme potencial para realizar medições simultâneas das variações de pressão e temperatura nas 18650 LiBs, durante os seus períodos de normal e anormal funcionamento.Mestrado em Engenharia Físic

Towards guidelines for building a business case and gathering evidence of software reference architectures in industry

Background: Software reference architectures are becoming widely adopted by organizations that need to support the design and maintenance of software applications of a shared domain. For organizations that plan to adopt this architecture-centric approach, it becomes fundamental to know the return on investment and to understand how software reference architectures are designed, maintained, and used. Unfortunately, there is little evidence-based support to help organizations with these challenges. Methods: We have conducted action research in an industry-academia collaboration between the GESSI research group and everis, a multinational IT consulting firm based in Spain. Results: The results from such collaboration are being packaged in order to create guidelines that could be used in similar contexts as the one of everis. The main result of this paper is the construction of empirically-grounded guidelines that support organizations to decide on the adoption of software reference architectures and to gather evidence to improve RA-related practices. Conclusions: The created guidelines could be used by other organizations outside of our industry-academia collaboration. With this goal in mind, we describe the guidelines in detail for their use.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version