Antibacterial Drugs — From Basic Concepts to Complex Therapeutic Mechanisms of Polymer Systems

Infections caused by diverse bacteria represent a major problem that threats the health of humans. This stimulates the scientists to find new solutions for treating these diseases by clarifying the interactions of antibacterial compounds with the biological medium. In this context, the chapter presents some basic concepts regarding the antibacterial drugs. The synthesis routes of novel compounds and specific design techniques with polymer materials are described in correlation with the in vitro and in vivo activity of antibacterial substances. Essential data about the mechanism of action, selected in vivo efficacy and mechanisms of resistance to the most used antibacterial drugs are reviewed

ON THE ROLE OF BENCHMARKING IN THE HIGHER EDUCATION QUALITY ASSESSMENT

Increasing competition, demands for accountability, and higher volumes ofavailable information are changing the methods of how institutions of higher educationoperate in nowadays. For higher education to enact substantial and sustainable changesin efficiency and productivity a new way of thinking or paradigm that builds efficiencyand a desire for continual learning must be integrated into institutional structures. Toolsare also being developed that measure or benchmark the progress and success of theseefforts. Among the improvement strategies and techniques, benchmarking has emerged asa useful, easily understood, and effective tool for staying competitive. This is why thepresent article aims to emphasize the importance of benchmarking in the highereducation quality assessment.benchmarking, higher education, quality, management

Viscoelastic Behavior of Liquid-Crystal Polymer in Composite Systems

Some basic concepts regarding the viscoelastic properties of polymers in solution phase, highlighting the effects of the some experimental variables, such as system composition, temperature or time, are reviewed. The main attention is given to experiments involving shear deformation of polymer solutions, since it provides the most significant data concerning the optimal processing of final product. The response of polymers to a mechanical perturbation involves several types of molecular motions, which are reflected in the microstructure changes. The elastic constants, which determine the motion of macromolecules, become anisotropic in case of liquid-crystal polymer (LCP). The state of art concerning the viscoelastic behavior of liquid crystal polymers in composite systems is described. The main aspects that are discussed include the effects on the viscoelasticity given by molecular orientation, system composition and interactions. Finally, some particular cases are presented to illustrate the potential applications of these principles to practical problems in the processing and use of the described materials

Reducing the Parameter Count through a Sensitivity Analysis Performed on a Mathematical Model Used for Estimating Energy Consumption in a Passive House

AbstractEnergy efficiency in the buildings sector is one of the main research areas on which the European Union has focused its efforts. Reducing energy consumption has become a priority, as well as its estimation and prediction. There are a number of different models used to achieve the latter, from white-box models (fully informed) to black-box models (all necessary information is inferred from data), as well as hybrid approaches. However, these existing gray-box models rely on mathematical models which can easily be over-parameterized. We have implemented a gray-box model and propose an improved Sensitivity Analysis method which we have used to identify the correlated parameters. Moreover, upon analyzing the results of this analysis, we propose a simplification applied on the mathematical model, without actually modifying it