A robot-based burr measurement system for the automotive industry

Burrs are often difficult to detect and measure because of their intrinsic variability in shape and dimension. No automotive standard had been established about their acceptable dimensions and measurement techniques for sheet steel products. For the automotive industry, even burrs of the size of 100 μm are perceived as damaging because of their dramatic impact upon panel corrosion resistance and assembly performance. It is critical to measure burrs during panel manufacture in order to control the process. The characterization of the typical burr produced has been carried out employing 3D measurements with a surface profilometer and a SEM. This analysis has shown a typical triangular burr shape and some characteristic dimensions. A contact method and two laser-triangulation systems have been developed. The instrument accuracy was analyzed, based upon a full factorial experimentation over a set of typical panels edges

Engineered Sleeping Beauty Transposon as Efficient System to Optimize Chimp Adenoviral Production

Sleeping Beauty (SB) is the first DNA transposon employed for efficient transposition in vertebrate cells, opening new applications for genetic engineering and gene therapies. A transposon-based gene delivery system holds the favourable features of non-viral vectors and an attractive safety profile. Here, we employed SB to engineer HEK293 cells for optimizing the production of a chimpanzee Adenovector (chAd) belonging to the Human Mastadenovirus C species. To date, chAd vectors are employed in several clinical settings for infectious diseases, last but not least COVID-19. A robust, efficient and quick viral vector production could advance the clinical application of chAd vectors. To this aim, we firstly swapped the hAd5 E1 with chAd-C E1 gene by using the CRISPR/Cas9 system. We demonstrated that in the absence of human Ad5 E1, chimp Ad-C E1 gene did not support HEK293 survival. To improve chAd-C vector production, we engineered HEK293 cells to stably express the chAd-C precursor terminal protein (ch.pTP), which plays a crucial role in chimpanzee Adenoviral DNA replication. The results indicate that exogenous ch.pTP expression significantly ameliorate the packaging and amplification of recombinant chAd-C vectors thus, the engineered HEK293ch.pTP cells could represent a superior packaging cell line for the production of these vectors

Perfil hormonal em mudas Bordô/VR043-43 pós-forçagem a partir de estacas com diferentes épocas de coleta e tempos de armazenagem.

Híbridos Vitis rotundifolia (ex.: VR043-43) têm sido empregados como porta-enxertos em vinhedos com problemas de estresses bióticos, principalmente no estado de Santa Catarina. Entretanto, a produção de mudas é dificultada com estacas lignificadas, pela restrição em calogênese de enxertia e enraizamento desses genótipos.CLAUDIO DE ANDRADE BARROS, CNPUV, 29742

Qualidade de mudas de videira em pós-forçagem submetidas a aplicação de etefom, diferentes épocas de coleta e tempo de câmara fria.

A procura por mudas de videira com qualidade superior tem se intensificado ultimamente, exigindo aprimoramento no processo de produção pelos viveiristas. A cultivar Bordô (B) enxertada nos porta-enxertos P1103 (P) e VR043-43 (VR) são as combinações tradicionais utilizadas no Rio Grande do Sul e em Santa Catarina, respectivamente.Daniel Antunes Souza, 333734, CNPU

Photoaging skin therapy with PRP and ADSC: a comparative study

Background: Stem cells from adipose tissue (ADSCs) and platelet-rich plasma (PRP) are innovative modalities that arise due to their regenerative potential. Objective: The aim of this study was to characterize possible histological changes induced by PRP and ADSC therapies in photoaged skin. Methods: A prospective randomized study involving 20 healthy individuals, showing skin aging. They underwent two therapeutic protocols (protocol 1: PRP; protocol 2: ADSCs). Biopsies were obtained before and after treatment (4 months). Results: PRP protocol showed unwanted changes in the reticular dermis, mainly due to the deposition of a horizontal layer of collagen (fibrosis) and elastic fibers tightly linked. Structural analyses revealed infiltration of mononuclear cells and depot of fibrotic material in the reticular dermis. The ADSC protocol leads to neoelastogenesis with increase of tropoelastin and fibrillin. There was an improvement of solar elastosis inducing an increment of macrophage polarization and matrix proteinases. These last effects are probably related to the increase of elastinolysis and the remodeling of the dermis. Conclusions: The PRP promoted an inflammatory process with an increase of reticular dermis thickness with a fibrotic aspect. On the other hand, ADSC therapy is a promising modality with an important antiaging effect on photoaged human skin

Digital dermoscopic changes during follow-up of de-novo and nevus-associated melanoma: a cohort study

Background: Nevus-associated melanoma (NAM) has been regarded as a distinct biological entity from de-novo melanoma (DNM); however, static dermoscopy often fails in differentiating these entities. Digital dermoscopic monitoring allows to identify dynamic changes occurring during follow-up; this may improve diagnostic accuracy and potentially our knowledge on NAM biology. We aimed to define main independent factors associated with NAM diagnosis and those influencing follow-up time in a population of melanomas excised at follow-up. Methods: A cohort of melanomas excised at follow-up was retrospectively and consecutively selected. NAMs and DNMs were compared according to baseline features and main dermoscopic changes occurring during follow-up. Univariate and multivariable logistic and Cox's regression analysis were performed to respectively define factors associated with NAM diagnosis and those influencing the risk for excision. Results: Eighty-six melanomas were enrolled, of which 21 (24.4%) were nevus-associated. During follow-up NAMs mainly underwent atypical network modifications (47.6%), followed by inverse network (28.6%) and dermoscopic island (23.8%) worsening or appearance. DNMs were also mainly characterized by atypical network modifications (47.7%), however, a significant proportion of cases underwent irregular pigmentation/dots/globules or regression changes (29.2%), which were rarely seen among NAMs. Furthermore, both multivariable logistic and Cox's regression analysis demonstrated a significant association between NAM and a longer follow-up. Conclusions: We demonstrated that among melanomas excised at follow-up, different patterns of dermoscopic changes may be found between NAMs and DNMs. This finding, together with the association of NAM with a longer follow-up time, supports the hypothesis of different biological behavior of these two entities

Polarizing a stored proton beam by spin flip?

We discuss polarizing a proton beam in a storage ring, either by selective removal or by spin flip of the stored ions. Prompted by recent, conflicting calculations, we have carried out a measurement of the spin flip cross section in low-energy electron-proton scattering. The experiment uses the cooling electron beam at COSY as an electron target. The measured cross sections are too small for making spin flip a viable tool in polarizing a stored beam. This invalidates a recent proposal to use co-moving polarized positrons to polarize a stored antiproton beam.Comment: 18 pages, 6 figure

Measurement of the Spin-Dependence of the pbar-p Interaction at the AD-Ring

We propose to use an internal polarized hydrogen storage cell gas target in the AD ring to determine for the first time the two total spin-dependent pbar-p cross sections sigma_1 and sigma_2 at antiproton beam energies in the range from 50 to 450 MeV. The data obtained are of interest by themselves for the general theory of pbar-p interactions since they will provide a first experimental constraint of the spin-spin dependence of the nucleon-antinucleon potential in the energy range of interest. In addition, measurements of the polarization buildup of stored antiprotons are required to define the optimum parameters of a future, dedicated Antiproton Polarizer Ring (APR), intended to feed a double-polarized asymmetric pbar-p collider with polarized antiprotons. Such a machine has recently been proposed by the PAX collaboration for the new Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) at GSI in Darmstadt, Germany. The availability of an intense stored beam of polarized antiprotons will provide access to a wealth of single- and double-spin observables, thereby opening a new window on QCD spin physics.Comment: 51 pages, 23 figures, proposal submitted to the SPS committee of CER

Deficiência de nutrientes com efeitos no desenvolvimento de morangueiros.

A adubação do morangueiro é uma das principais práticas responsáveis pelo aumento da produção. Entretanto, ainda são insuficientes as informações sobre o efeito da omissão dos nutrientes minerais sobre o desenvolvimento do morangueiro. Neste contexto, o objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o crescimento dos morangueiros, visualizar os sintomas de deficiência nutricionais e os teores de nutrientes nas folhas decorrentes da omissão de macro e micro nutrientes. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi o inteiramente casualizado, com dez tratamentos e três repetições. Os tratamentos constituíram-se de solução completa e omissão individual de cada um dos seguintes nutrientes: nitrogênio (N), fósforo (P), potássio (K), cálcio (Ca), magnésio (Mg), cobre (Cu), manganês (Mn), zinco (Zn) e ferro (Fe). Avaliou-se: a massa fresca e seca da raiz, da parte aérea e da coroa, número de folhas e coroas, teores de macro e micronutrientes nas folhas e sintomas visuais de deficiência nutricional. A massa fresca e seca da parte aérea, o número de coroa e o número de folhas são mais prejudicados pela ausência de macronutrientes. O desenvolvimento do sistema radicular do morangueiro é menor na omissão dos macronutrientes. Menores teores de N, P, K, Ca, Mg e Fe nas folhas de morangueiro ocorrem quando são realizadas omissão desses elemento