Silicon resonant microcantilevers for absolute pressure measurement

This work is focused on the developing of silicon resonant microcantilevers for the measurement of the absolute pressure. The microcantilevers have been fabricated with a two-mask bulk micromachining process. The variation in resonance response of microcantilevers was investigated as a function of pressure 10−1-105 Pa, both in terms of resonance frequency and quality factor. A theoretical description of the resonating microstructure is given according to different molecular and viscous regimes. Also a brief discussion on the different quality factors contributions is presented. Theoretical and experimental data show a very satisfying agreement. The microstructure behavior demonstrates a certain sensitivity over a six decade range and the potential evolution of an absolute pressure sensor working in the same rang

Open Innovation Networks: the role of innovative marketplaces for small and medium enterprises’ value creation

The article is focused on the explanation of the benefits of an open innovation approach in order to drive small and medium enterprises within the actual dynamic environment. In particular, the article gives evidence of the capability of the new paradigm in enabling innovative patterns of growth and development, especially for the small segment, not able to overpass a lot of constraints for achieving high performance by itself. We argue that firms’ innovation can be carried out through open innovation platforms, in which they will grasp the most important benefits and opportunities in order to catch the value creation

Exploiting the knowledge shared among the members of a virtual community: collaborative innovation processes in a global automotive company

The rising of Web 2.0 technologies is changing the traditional way companies search and interact on the web, enabling open knowledge sharing processes and collaborative innovation. This paper describes a methodology to consolidate a collaborative Innovation approach based on exploitation of knowledge shared on the web and active participation of customers within new product development process. We tested the methodology in a case of a global automotive company that has enhanced its new product development process by launching a forum and creating a virtual customers community. The research has been articulated into three main steps: 1) identification of the main areas of analysis: New Product Development Strategies and Collaborative Innovation Tools; 2) data collection through the observation of the Company’s forum and forum/blogs launched by other firms; questionnaires and face-to-face meetings with a manager in charge of new product development; 3) application of a web text mining model (Yin, et al., 2007) to extract relevant data from the information exchanged on the company’s forum. The preliminary results indicate that the ideas exchanged by customers on the company’s forum could be used in the phase of “New Ideas Generation” and “Product Concept Design”. The next step of this research is to implement the web text mining tool within the Company’s platform for relational marketing, in order to explore the links among the emerging ideas and recognize lead users

Liver stiffness measurements by 2-dimensional shear wave elastography compared to histological and ultrasound parameters in primary biliary cholangitis

Background and aims: Liver stiffness measurements (LSMs) by 2-dimensional-shear-wave elastography (LSM2D-SWE) are now widely used in hepatology. However, relevant information for primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is scant. We compare LSM2D-SWE with liver biopsy (LB) in a cohort of PBC patients in Greece. Methods: Data of 68 LBs from 53 PBC patients were retrospectively analyzed and fibrosis stage was compared to LSM2D-SWE. Forty-six patients (86.8%) were females and at the time of LBx median (IQR) age was 62.6 (53.2–72.1). Demographic, UDCA treatment, histological and B-mode ultrasound data were tested for their influence on LSM2D-SWE estimates. Results: Liver fibrosis stages F0–F4 were found in 4, 19, 19, 16 and 10 cases, respectively. Across stages F0–F4, the LSM2D-SWE was 5.6 (5.1–6.1), 7.0 (5.8–7.7), 9.1 (7.3–11.5), 10.8 (9.9–12.2) and 14.5 (11.9–25.7) kPa, respectively, with highly significant difference (p<.001). The LSM2D-SWE differed also significantly between F0 vs. F1 (p=.027), F1 vs. F2 (p=.005) and F3 vs. F4 (p=.017). The discriminatory ability of LSM2D-SWE for mild, significant, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis was highly significant in all comparisons (p<.001), with AUC2D-SWE 95.3%, 87.4%, 85.3% and 95.3% and accuracy 89.7%, 85.3%, 80.9% and 86.8%, respectively. Among 21 parameters tested, significant predictors of LSM2D-SWE by multiple linear regression were fibrosis stage, portal inflammation and parenchymal heterogeneity. The portal inflammation grade accounted for 32.2% of LSM variation with adjusted R 2 0.428. Conclusions: In patients with PBC, LSM measurements by 2D-SWE can reliably discriminate between mild, significant, severe fibrosis and cirrhosis. Measurements are significantly affected by portal inflammation grade. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group