Unlocking innovation in the sport industry through additive manufacturing

Fast changing customer demands and rising requirements in product performance constantly challenge sports equipment manufacturers to come up with new and improved products to stay competitive. Additive Manufacturing (AM), also referred to as 3D Printing, can enhance the development of new products by providing an efficient approach of rapid prototyping. This research aims to analyse the current adoption of AM technologies in the innovation process of the sports industry i.e. level of awareness; how it is implemented; and it impact on the innovation process. Literature research shows that AM brings many possibilities to enhance the innovation process, and case studies indicated several obstacles that hinder the technology from fully unfolding. AM is still at the early stage of entering the sports equipment industry and its potential benefits have not been fully exploited yet. The findings generated from the research of real life practices show that AM provides several benefits when it comes to the innovation process, such as a faster development process, an optimised output, as well as the possibility to create new designs. However, companies are not yet able to enhance the innovation process in a way that leads to new products and new markets with AM. Limitations, including a small range of process able material and an inefficient mass production, still restrain the technology and lead to unused capability. Nevertheless, future prospects indicate the growing importance of AM in the innovation process and show that its advancement paves the way to new and innovative products

CO2 Reforming of CH4 over Ni/SBA-15: Influence of Ni Loading on the Metalsupport Interaction and Catalytic Activity

The influence of Ni loading on the properties of Ni/SBA-15 and CO2 reforming of CH4 were studied. XRD, BET and TGA results indicated that the increasing Ni loading (3–10 wt%) decreased the crystallinity, surface area and physically adsorbed water content of the catalysts. FTIR, TEM and H2-TPR analysis confirmed the formation of Ni–O–Si by the substitution of surface silanol groups with Ni species and the maximum substitution of surface silanol groups with Ni were achieved at 5 wt%, while further increased in Ni loading stimulate the agglomeration of Ni particles. The activity of catalysts followed the order of 5Ni/SBA-15 > 3Ni/SBA-15 ≈ 10Ni/SBA-15 > SBA-15, with the conversion of CH4 and CO2 over 5Ni/SBA-15 was about 89% and 88% respectively, and CO2/CH4 ratio of 1.02. The superior catalytic performance of 5Ni/SBA-15 towards CO2 reforming of CH4 probably was related with the formation of metal-support interaction, Ni–O–Si, which enhanced the stabilization of the active Ni species on SBA-15 support and altered the properties of catalyst towards an excellent catalytic performance. The analysis of spent catalysts found that the presence of Ni–O–Si minimizes the growth of encapsulating graphite carbon and thus enhanced the stability of catalyst. This study provides new perspectives on the Ni-based catalyst, particularly on the influence of Ni on the metal-support interaction and catalytic performance of Ni/SBA-15 towards CO2 reforming of CH4

Identification and Functional Validation of Caldesmon as a Potential Gastric Cancer Metastasis-Associated Protein

Ph.DDOCTOR OF PHILOSOPH

Distribution and inter-regional relationship of amyloid-beta plaque deposition in a 5xFAD mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia. Although previous studies have selectively investigated the localization of amyloid-beta (Aβ) deposition in certain brain regions, a comprehensive characterization of the rostro-caudal distribution of Aβ plaques in the brain and their inter-regional correlation remain unexplored. Our results demonstrated remarkable working and spatial memory deficits in 9-month-old 5xFAD mice compared to wildtype mice. High Aβ plaque load was detected in the somatosensory cortex, piriform cortex, thalamus, and dorsal/ventral hippocampus; moderate levels of Aβ plaques were observed in the motor cortex, orbital cortex, visual cortex, and retrosplenial dysgranular cortex; and low levels of Aβ plaques were located in the amygdala, and the cerebellum; but no Aβ plaques were found in the hypothalamus, raphe nuclei, vestibular nucleus, and cuneate nucleus. Interestingly, the deposition of Aβ plaques was positively associated with brain inter-regions including the prefrontal cortex, somatosensory cortex, medial amygdala, thalamus, and the hippocampus. In conclusion, this study provides a comprehensive morphological profile of Aβ deposition in the brain and its inter-regional correlation. This suggests an association between Aβ plaque deposition and specific brain regions in AD pathogenesis

Western oceanus procellarum as seen by c1xs on chandrayaan-1

We present the analysis of an X-ray fluorescence (XRF) observation of the western part of Oceanus Procellarum on the Moon’s nearside made by the Chandrayaan-1 X-ray Spectrometer on 10th February 2009. Through forward modelling of the X-ray spectra, we provide estimates of the MgO/SiO2 and Al2O3/SiO2 ratios for seven regions along the flare’s ground track. These results are combined with FeO and TiO2 contents derived from Clementine multispectral reflectance data in order to investigate the compositional diversity of this region of the Moon. The ground track observed consists mainly of low-Ti basaltic units, and the XRF data are largely consistent with this expectation. However, we obtain higher Al2O3/SiO2 ratios for these units than for most basalts in the Apollo sample collection. The widest compositional variation between the different lava flows is in wt% FeO content. A footprint that occurs in a predominantly highland region, immediately to the north of Oceanus Procellarum, has a composition that is consistent with mixing between low-Ti mare basaltic and more feldspathic regoliths. In contrast to some previous studies, we find no evidence for systematic differences in surface composition, as determined through X-ray and gamma-ray spectroscopy techniques

Vasorelaxant effect of a phenylethylamine analogue based on schwarzinicine A an alkaloid isolated from the leaves of Ficus schwarzii

N-Phenethyl-1-phenyl-pentan-3-amine (1) is a new compound synthesised as a simplified analogue of schwarzinicine A (2), a natural compound extracted from Ficus schwarzii. Compound 1 differs from compound 2 due to its structural simplification, featuring two phenyl rings without methoxy substitution, as opposed to compound 2, which possesses three 3,4-dimethoxy aromatic rings. Our previous research findings highlighted the calcium-inhibitory effects of compound 2, but the mechanism of action for compound 1 remains unexplored, serving as the primary focus of this study. Building upon our earlier research, this study aimed to elucidate compound 1's calcium-modulating potential by using rat-isolated aortae in an organ bath set-up and HEK cells expressing hTRPC channels with the fluorometric assay to measure calcium influx. Compound 1 elicited a vasorelaxation response (Emax 111.4%) similar to its parent compound 2 (Emax 123.1%), and inhibited hTRPC3-, hTRPC4-, hTRPC5-, and hTRPC6-mediated calcium influx into HEK cells with IC50 values of 6, 2, 2, 5 µM, respectively. Compound 1 has a similar pharmacological profile as its parent compound 2, whereby it exerts a vasorelaxant effect by attenuating calcium influx and inhibits multiple TRPC channels

Trust Building in Electronic Markets: Relative Importance and Interaction Effects of Trust Building Mechanisms

We examine the relative and complementary effectiveness of trust-building strategies in online environments. While prior research has examined various antecedents to trust, we investigated two trust-building mechanisms more in depth: Web site trust and vendor reputation. We tried to understand the relative effectiveness of these two important mechanisms to provide online businesses with a clear recommendation of how to establish trust in an effective and efficient manner. Drawing from the literature on trust, we proposed vendor reputation to be more effective than Web site trust. Moreover, we examined a potential complementary effect of these mechanisms so as to provide online businesses with a deeper understanding of how to derive superior trust. We hypothesize a small such effect. The study proposes a laboratory experiment to test the model

A conventional multiplex PCR for the detection of four common soil-transmitted nematodes in human feces : development and validation

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections, mainly caused by Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, and hookworms, are among the most common intestinal parasites that infect humans. The infections are widely distributed throughout tropical and subtropical countries, including Malaysia, particularly in underprivileged communities. Microscopic and culture techniques have been used as a gold standard for diagnostic techniques. However, these methods yield low sensitivity and specificity, laborious and time-consuming. Therefore, simple, rapid, and accurate alternative methods are needed for the simultaneous detection of STH infections. Although advanced technologies such as real-time multiplex PCR have been established, the use of this technique as a routine diagnostic is limited due to the high cost of the instrument. Therefore, a single-round multiplex conventional PCR assay for rapid detection of four STH species in the fecal sample was developed in this study. To perform the single-round multiplex PCR, each pair of species-specific primers was selected from target genes, including Ancylostoma duodenale (Internal Transcribed Spacer 2; accession No. AJ001594; 156 base pair), Necator americanus (ITS 2; accession No. AJ001599; 225 base pair), Ascaris lumbricoides (Internal Transcribed Spacer 1; accession No. AJ000895; 334 base pair) and Trichuris triciura (partial ITS 1, 5.8s rRNA and partial ITS 2; accession No. AM992981; 518 base pair). The results showed that the newly designed primers could detect the DNA of STH at low concentrations (0.001 ng/μl) with no cross-amplification with other species. This assay enables the differentiation of single infections as well as mixed infections. It could be used as an alternative and is a convenient method for the detection of STHs, especially for the differentiation of N. americanus and A. duodenale

Constitutive expression and distinct properties of IFN-epsilon protect the female reproductive tract from Zika virus infection

The immunological surveillance factors controlling vulnerability of the female reproductive tract (FRT) to sexually transmitted viral infections are not well understood. Interferon-epsilon (IFNε) is a distinct, immunoregulatory type-I IFN that is constitutively expressed by FRT epithelium and is not induced by pathogens like other antiviral IFNs α, β and λ. We show the necessity of IFNε for Zika Virus (ZIKV) protection by: increased susceptibility of IFNε -/- mice; their “rescue” by intravaginal recombinant IFNε treatment and blockade of protective endogenous IFNε by neutralising antibody. Complementary studies in human FRT cell lines showed IFNε had potent anti-ZIKV activity, associated with transcriptome responses similar to IFNλ but lacking the proinflammatory gene signature of IFNα. IFNε activated STAT1/2 pathways similar to IFNα and λ that were inhibited by ZIKV-encoded non-structural (NS) proteins, but not if IFNε exposure preceded infection. This scenario is provided by the constitutive expression of endogenous IFNε. However, the IFNε expression was not inhibited by ZIKV NS proteins despite their ability to antagonise the expression of IFNβ or λ. Thus, the constitutive expression of IFNε provides cellular resistance to viral strategies of antagonism and maximises the antiviral activity of the FRT. These results show that the unique spatiotemporal properties of IFNε provides an innate immune surveillance network in the FRT that is a significant barrier to viral infection with important implications for prevention and therapy.Rosa C. Coldbeck-Shackley, Ornella Romeo, Sarah Rosli, Linden J. Gearing, Jodee A. Gould, San S. Lim, Kylie H. Van der Hoek, Nicholas S. Eyre, Byron Shue, Sarah A. Robertson, Sonja M. Best, Michelle D. Tate, Paul J. Hertzog, Michael R. Bear

Heavy Quarks and Heavy Quarkonia as Tests of Thermalization

We present here a brief summary of new results on heavy quarks and heavy quarkonia from the PHENIX experiment as presented at the "Quark Gluon Plasma Thermalization" Workshop in Vienna, Austria in August 2005, directly following the International Quark Matter Conference in Hungary.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Quark Gluon Plasma Thermalization Workshop (Vienna August 2005) Proceeding