FoodPackLab 2.0 lessons learned and best practices

This is the second deliverable of Workpackage 5. It aims to provide tips and tools for the organization of international events for SMEs, both online and in presence. At the time of the proposal writing, almost all the events were designed for running in presence, and the experience of the clusters (partners of the project) was mainly related to the organization of this kind of networking and business events. The clusters are used to face Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA): four main challenges in the cluster mission to support European SMEs in increasing their competitiveness and resilience. These challenges were exacerbated by Covid 19 pandemic and made the whole consortium to re-think and re-build the organization of events and networking opportunities for SMEs. The management of the typical cluster activities thus changed during the project duration, and the partners had the possibility to explore new ways of building relationships with SMEs and with the selected countries outside Europe, carefully evaluating the changing travelling conditions due to the sanitary emergency and also studying new and innovative tools for creating business meeting. During the pandemic, clusters constantly monitored markets in search for new challenges and trends to develop, test, and evaluate targeted services for their members. Lastly, they established strategic partnerships with other ecosystems as gateways to go-to-market opportunities and support for companies. By acting this way, clusters became an important tool for SMEs to stay connected with the markets. This was done by organizing webinars to provide market insights, enhance companies´ visibility and matchmaking opportunities. Moreover, by strengthening the exchange of information between organizations, clusters acted as a marketplace with collaboration offers and hints on funding opportunities for their members. All these changes also affected the FoodPackLab 2.0 activities and the planned events. In this deliverable we are thus presenting the know-how of the consortium partners in the organization of in-presence events (i.e. before pandemic); the new digital tools that were adopted for networking during pandemic; new approaches for b2b meetings to face travelling restrictions; tips and tricks for hybrid meetings organized in the last months of the project. In the final conclusion paragraph a new way of managing this kind of projects is highlighted

Organosilicon phantom for photoacoustic imaging

Photoacoustic imaging is an emerging technique. Although commercially available photoacoustic imaging systems currently exist, the technology is still in its infancy. Therefore, the design of stable phantoms is essential to achieve semiquantitative evaluation of the performance of a photoacoustic system and can help optimize the properties of contrast agents. We designed and developed a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) phantom with exceptionally fine geometry; the phantom was tested using photoacoustic experiments loaded with the standard indocyanine green dye and compared to an agar phantom pattern through polyethylene glycol-gold nanorods. The linearity of the photoacoustic signal with the nanoparticle number was assessed. The signal-to-noise ratio and contrast were employed as image quality parameters, and enhancements of up to 50 and up to 300%, respectively, were measured with the PDMS phantom with respect to the agar one. A tissue-mimicking (TM)-PDMS was prepared by adding TiO2 and India ink; photoacoustic tests were performed in order to compare the signal generated by the TM-PDMS and the biological tissue. The PDMS phantom can become a particularly promising tool in the field of photoacoustics for the evaluation of the performance of a PA system and as a model of the structure of vascularized soft tissues. (C) 2015 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE

Photon correlation in GaAs self-assembled quantum dots

We report on photon coincidence measurement in a single GaAs self-assembled quantum dot (QD) using a pulsed excitation light source. At low excitation, when a neutral exciton line was present in the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, we observed nearly perfect single photon emission from an isolated QD at 670 nm wavelength. For higher excitation, multiple PL lines appeared on the spectra, reflecting the formation of exciton complexes. Cross-correlation functions between these lines showed either bunching or antibunching behavior, depending on whether the relevant emission was from a biexciton cascade or a charged exciton recombination.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figure

Micro-photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs triple concentric quantum rings

A systematic optical study, including micro, ensemble and time resolved photoluminescence of GaAs/AlGaAs triple concentric quantum rings, self-assembled via droplet epitaxy, is presented. Clear emission from localized states belonging to the ring structures is reported. The triple rings show a fast decay dynamics, around 40 ps, which is expected to be useful for ultrafast optical switching applications

FoodPackLab 2.0 monitoring scoreboard

This is the first deliverable of Workpackage 5 of the FoodPackLab 2 project. It aims to provide an instrument to monitor project activities and their timings. The main purpose is to point out if the activities are on time, and, in case of a delay, it enables the consortium to react on time and, eventually, to activate the appropriate contingency plan. Moreover, the sketch of a scoreboard to monitor the efficacy of the events organized for SMEs and matchmaking sessions has been proposed

Evidence of intermolecular pi-stacking enhancement of second-harmonic generation in a family of single chain magnets.

WOSInternational audienceThe second-order nonlinear optical properties of a family of rare-earth-based single chain magnets are presented (using a fundamental field at wavelength l = 766 nm), together with an analysis of the origin of the second-harmonic generation (SHG) process. By studying the fundamental crystal symmetries and the geometrical arrangement of the constituting elements of the system in the unit cell we show that the main contribution to the nonlinear process arises from intermolecular p-stacking interactions

Photostability of Contrast Agents for Photoacoustics: The Case of Gold Nanorods

Plasmonic particles as gold nanorods have emerged as powerful contrast agents for critical applications as the photoacoustic imaging and photothermal ablation of cancer. However, their unique efficiency of photothermal conversion may turn into a practical disadvantage, and expose them to the risk of overheating and irreversible photodamage. Here, we outline the main ideas behind the technology of photoacoustic imaging and the use of relevant contrast agents, with a main focus on gold nanorods. We delve into the processes of premelting and reshaping of gold nanorods under illumination with optical pulses of a typical duration in the order of few ns, and we present different approaches to mitigate this issue. We undertake a retrospective classification of such approaches according to their underlying, often implicit, principles as: constraining the initial shape; or speeding up their thermal coupling to the environment by lowering their interfacial thermal resistance; or redistributing the input energy among more particles. We discuss advantages, disadvantages and contexts of practical interest where one solution may be more appropriate than the other

Optically activated and interrogated plasmonic hydrogels for applications in wound healing

We disclose the use of hybrid materials featuring Au/Ag core/shell nanorods in porous chitosan/polyvinyl alcohol scaffolds for applications in tissue engineering and wound healing. The combination of Au and Ag in a single construct provides synergistic opportunities for optical activation of functions as near infrared laser tissue bonding, and remote interrogation to return parameters of prognostic relevance in wound healing monitoring. In particular, the bimetallic component ensures optical tunability, enhanced shelf life and photothermal stability, serves as a reservoir of germicidal silver cations, and changes in near-infrared and visible color according to the environmental level of oxidative stress. At the same time, the polymeric blend is ideal to bind connective tissue upon photothermal activation, and to support fabrication processes that provide high porosity, such as electrospinning, thus putting all the premises for cellular repopulation and antimicrobial protection