Controlled packing and single-droplet resolution of 3D-printed functional synthetic tissues

3D-printing networks of droplets connected by interface bilayers are a powerful platform to build synthetic tissues in which functionality relies on precisely ordered structures. However, the structural precision and consistency in assembling these structures is currently limited, which restricts intricate designs and the complexity of functions performed by synthetic tissues. Here, we report that the equilibrium contact angle (θDIB) between a pair of droplets is a key parameter that dictates the tessellation and precise positioning of hundreds of picolitre-sized droplets within 3D-printed, multi-layer networks. When θDIB approximates the geometrically-derived critical angle (θc) of 35.3°, the resulting networks of droplets arrange in regular hexagonal close-packed (hcp) lattices with the least fraction of defects. With this improved control over droplet packing, we can 3D-print functional synthetic tissues with single-droplet-wide conductive pathways. Our new insights into 3D droplet packing permit the fabrication of complex synthetic tissues, where precisely positioned compartments perform coordinated tasks

Application of Synchrotron Radiation-Based Micro-Analysis on Cadmium Yellows in Pablo Picasso's Femme

The cultural heritage community is increasingly exploring synchrotron radiation (SR) based techniques for the study of art and archaeological objects. When considering heterogeneous and complex micro-samples, such as those from paintings, the combination of different SR X-ray techniques is often exploited to overcome the intrinsic limitations and sensitivity of the single technique. Less frequently, SR X-ray analyses are combined with SR micro-photoluminescence or micro-Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, which provide complementary information on the molecular composition, offering a unique integrated analysis approach. Although the spatial correlation between the maps obtained with different techniques is not straightforward due to the different volumes probed by each method, the combination of the information provides a greater understanding and insight into the paint chemistry. In this work, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of the combination of X-ray techniques and SR-based photoluminescence through the study of two paint micro-samples taken from Pablo Picasso's Femme (1907). The painting contains two cadmium yellow paints (based on CdS): one relatively intact and one visibly degraded. SR micro-analyses demonstrated that the two Cd-yellow paints differ in terms of structure, chemical composition, and photoluminescence properties. In particular, on the basis of the combination of different SR measurements, we hypothesize that the degraded yellow is based on nanocrystalline CdS with high presence of Cd(OH)Cl. These two characteristics have enhanced the reactivity of the paint and strongly influenced its stability

Effects of a strategy to improve offender assessment practices: Staff perceptions of implementation outcomes

Background: This implementation study examined the impact of an organizational process improvement intervention (OPII) on a continuum of evidence based practices related to assessment and community reentry of drug-involved offenders: Measurement/Instrumentation, Case Plan Integration, Conveyance/Utility, and Service Activation/Delivery. Methods: To assess implementation outcomes (staff perceptions of evidence-based assessment practices), a survey was administered to correctional and treatment staff (n = 1509) at 21 sites randomly assigned to an Early- or Delayed-Start condition. Hierarchical linear models with repeated measures were used to examine changes in evidence-based assessment practices over time, and organizational characteristics were examined as covariates to control for differences across the 21 research sites. Results: Results demonstrated significant intervention and sustainability effects for three of the four assessment domains examined, although stronger effects were obtained for intra- than inter-agency outcomes. No significant effects were found for Conveyance/Utility. Conclusions: Implementation interventions such as the OPII represent an important tool to enhance the use of evidence-based assessment practices in large and diverse correctional systems. Intra-agency assessment activities that were more directly under the control of correctional agencies were implemented most effectively. Activities in domains that required cross-systems collaboration were not as successfully implemented, although longer follow-up periods might afford detection of stronger effects

Caracterização da resistência em populações das pragas de grãos armazenados Tribolium castaneum, Oryzaephilus surinamensis e Lasioderma serricorne ao inseticida deltametrina.

Editado por Hugo Soares Kern, Regina Maria Villas Bôas de Campos Leite

The “Historical Materials BAG”: A New Facilitated Access to Synchrotron X-ray Diffraction Analyses for Cultural Heritage Materials at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility

The European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) has recently commissioned the new Extremely Brilliant Source (EBS). The gain in brightness as well as the continuous development of beamline instruments boosts the beamline performances, in particular in terms of accelerated data acquisition. This has motivated the development of new access modes as an alternative to standard proposals for access to beamtime, in particular via the “block allocation group” (BAG) mode. Here, we present the recently implemented “historical materials BAG”: a community proposal giving to 10 European institutes the opportunity for guaranteed beamtime at two X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) beamlines—ID13, for 2D high lateral resolution XRPD mapping, and ID22 for high angular resolution XRPD bulk analyses—with a particular focus on applications to cultural heritage. The capabilities offered by these instruments, the specific hardware and software developments to facilitate and speed-up data acquisition and data processing are detailed, and the first results from this new access are illustrated with recent applications to pigments, paintings, ceramics and wood

Phylogenetic Associations of Human and Simian T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphotropic Virus Type I Strains: Evidence for Interspecies Transmission

Homologous env sequences from 17 human T-leukemia/lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) strains from throughout the world and from 25 simian T-leukemia/lymphotropic virus type I (STLV-I) strains from 12 simian species in Asia and Africa were analyzed in a phylogenetic context as an approach to resolving the natural history of these related retroviruses. STLV-I exhibited greater overall sequence variation between strains (1 to 18% compared with 0 to 9% for HTLV-I), supporting the simian origin of the modern viruses in all species. Three HTLV-I phylogenetic clusters or clades (cosmopolitan, Zaire, and Melanesia) were resolved with phenetic, parsimony, and likelihood analytical procedures. Seven phylogenetic clusters of STLV-I were resolved with the most primitive (deeply rooted) divergence involving several STLV-I strains from Asian primate species. Combined analysis of HTLV-I and STLV-I revealed that neither STLV-I clusters nor HTLV-I clusters recapitulated host species specificity; rather, multiple clades from the same species were closer to clades from other species than to each other. We interpret these evolutionary associations as support for the occurrence of multiple discrete interspecies transmissions of ancestral viruses between primate species (including human) that led to recognizable phylogenetic clades that persist in modern species. Geographic concordance of divergent host species that harbor closely related viruses reinforces that physical feasibility for hypothesized interspecies virus transmission in the past and in the present