Development of a photonic gauging sensor for hazardous liquids

Previous papers have described the use of a Long Period Grating (LPG) as a simple photonic level sensor. We show how a useful performance of 1 mm resolution over 1 m could be obtained in a system that requires only a low-cost interrogator rather than an Optical Spectrum Analyzer

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of diagnostic methods in adult food allergy

Food allergy has an increasing prevalence in the general population and in Italy concerns 8 % of people with allergies. The spectrum of its clinical manifestations ranges from mild symptoms up to potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. A number of patients can be diagnosed easily by the use of first- and second-level procedures (history, skin tests and allergen specific IgE). Patients with complex presentation, such as multiple sensitizations and pollen-food syndromes, frequently require a third-level approach including molecular diagnostics, which enables the design of a component-resolved sensitization profile for each patient. The use of such techniques involves specialists' and experts' skills on the issue to appropriately meet the diagnostic and therapeutic needs of patients. Particularly, educational programs for allergists on the use and interpretation of molecular diagnostics are needed

Accelerating the Research Approach to Ziegler-Natta Catalysts

Despite 60 years of history and a stunning success, Ti-based Ziegler-Natta catalysts for the production of isotactic polypropylene remain black-box systems, and progress still relies on trial and error. This represents a limitation in a moment when the most widely used industrial systems, containing phthalates as selective modifiers, need to be replaced because of a recent REACH ban. In-view of the great complexity of the chemical and physical variables and the heavy nonlinearity of their effects, a high-/medium-throughput approach to this catalysis is highly desirable; herein we introduce an integrated medium-throughput workflow spanning from propene polymerization to polypropylene micro structural characterization and combining a 10(2)-fold throughput intensification with quality standards equal or higher than conventional methods

A High Throughput Experimentation Protocol for Quantitative Measurements of Regioselectivity in Ziegler-Natta Polypropylene Catalysis

This paper introduces a High Throughput Experimentation method for fast and accurate evaluations of regioselectivity in Ziegler-Natta (ZN) propene polymerizations. With a simple protocol, the (very low) fraction of regioirregular 2,1 monomeric units in the polymers can be quantitated by means of 13C NMR chain-end analyses on single H2-terminated polypropylene samples. The method, that was successfully validated for three representative ZN catalyst systems, also provides information on catalyst ‘dormancy’ and propensity to undergo chain hydrogenolysis. This opens the door to the rapid and accurate implementation of Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship (QSAR) databases of regioselectivity and ‘hydrogen response’ in this important industrial catalysis

Accelerating the Research Approach to Ziegler–Natta Catalysts

Despite 60 years of history and a stunning success, Ti-based Ziegler–Natta catalysts for the production of isotactic polypropylene remain black-box systems, and progress still relies on trial and error. This represents a limitation in a moment when the most widely used industrial systems, containing phthalates as selective modifiers, need to be replaced because of a recent REACH ban. In view of the great complexity of the chemical and physical variables and the heavy nonlinearity of their effects, a high-/medium-throughput approach to this catalysis is highly desirable; herein we introduce an integrated medium-throughput workflow spanning from propene polymerization to polypropylene microstructural characterization and combining a 10²-fold throughput intensification with quality standards equal or higher than conventional methods