Functional inks and indicators for Smart Tag based intelligent packaging applications

Smart Tags are functional, information transmitting elements that combine 2D barcodes and environmental sensing into a cost effective tag that can be attached to e.g. product packages, where additional elements should not increase the product costs significantly. Important feature of these Smart Tags is that they can be attached to products in very high-speed production lines, which makes them suitable to fast moving consumer goods. Because the Smart Tags are sensitive to environmental conditions, they are dynamic, but they also enable context aware services as each of them can be unique. The enabling technologies behind these Smart Tags are i) 2D barcodes and ii) functional inks, such as thermochromic and photochromic inks, and iii) printed visual indicators. In this paper, different ink and indicator technologies are used to build Smart Tags. Both commercial inks and developmental grades are in focus. Furthermore, it is evaluated if these tags can be detected by mobile phone reader

Modern features for capital portfolio monitoring

Purpose: Banking activity calls for new requirements, approaches, conditions, and mechanisms of the bank's liabilities management. Capital portfolio monitoring is an integral part of bank management. This study focuses on and proposes a quality criterion for the bank's capital portfolio, which has never been used by banking institutions so far. Design/Methodology/Approach: The proposed criterion represents a link between the banking sector and the common vector of Russia's current economic development and functioning. It takes into consideration the condition of macroeconomics, tendencies of the modern financial market and basic guidelines of the banking sector. Findings: Authors proved that the banking institution's capital portfolio analysis is impossible without monitoring activities. The process of permanent monitoring of the formation used, and the performance of banking capital need to be constantly improved, according to current trends in economic, social, political, and financial spheres. The study proposes new schemes, considering the current condition of the banking sector, macroeconomics and the regional social-economic environment. Practical Implications: The results may be implemented into activity of the Russian banking sector to improve the effectiveness of its business activity. Originality/Value: The study proposes a unique quality criterion for the bank's capital portfolio monitoring as an integral part of bank management.peer-reviewe

User Experiences from L2 Children Using a Speech Learning Application : Implications for Developing Speech Training Applications for Children

We investigated user experiences from 117 Finnish children aged between 8 and 12 years in a trial of an English language learning programme that used automatic speech recognition (ASR). We used measures that encompassed both affective reactions and questions tapping into the children' sense of pedagogical utility. We also tested their perception of sound quality and compared reactions of game and nongame-based versions of the application. Results showed that children expressed higher affective ratings for the game compared to nongame version of the application. Children also expressed a preference to play with a friend compared to playing alone or playing within a group. They found that assessment of their speech is useful although they did not necessarily enjoy hearing their own voices. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for user interface (UI) design in speech learning applications for children.Peer reviewe

Sustainable roll-to-roll manufactured multi-layer smart label

International audienceAbstract Sustainability in electronics has a growing importance due to, e.g. increasing electronic waste, and global and European sustainability goals. Printing technologies and use of paper as a substrate enable manufacturing of sustainable electronic devices for emerging applications, such as the multi-layer anti-counterfeit label presented in this paper. This device consisted of electrochromic display (ECD) element, NFC (near field communication) tag and circuitry, all fully roll-to-roll (R2R) printed and assembled on plastic-free paper substrate, thus leading to a sustainable and recyclable device. Our setup uses harvested energy from HF field of a smartphone or reader, to switch an electrochromic display after rectification to prove authenticity of a product. Our novelty is in upscaling the manufacturing process to be fully printable and R2R processable in high-throughput conditions simulating industrial environment, i.e. in pilot scale. The printing workflow consisted of 11 R2R printed layers, all done in sufficient quality and registration. The printed antennas showed sheet resistance values of 32.9±1.9 mΩ/sq. The final yield was almost 1500 fully printed devices, and in R2R assembly over 1400 labels were integrated with 96.5% yield. All the assembled tags were readable with mobile phone NFC reader. The optical contrast (ΔE*) measured for the ECDs was over 15 for all the printed displays, a progressive switching time with a colour change visible in less than 5 s. The smart tag is ITO-free, plastic-free, fully printed in R2R and has a good stability over 50 cycles and reversible colour change from light to dark blue

Valtioiden rajat ylittäviä viranomaispalveluja ja viranomaisten tietojenvaihtoa

Selvityksessä on muodostettu kokonaiskuva Suomena ja muiden maiden rajat ylittävän viranomaisten tiedon vaihdon ja sähköisten palvelujen nykytilanteesta ja kehittämistarpeista. Selvityksen taustalla oli OECD helmikuussa 2015 julkaisema Suomen ja Viron hallintopolitiikkaa koskeva maa-arviointi, joka muiden suositusten ohella sisältää neljä suositusta rajat ylittävän yhteistyön lisäämisestä yhteisen sähköisten palvelujen kehittämiseksi erityisesti verotuksen, terveydenhuollon, sosiaaliturvan ja yritystoiminnan edistämisen alueilla. Vaikka OECD:n suositukset koskivat erityisesti Suomen ja Viron välistä tiedonvaihtopalveluja, selvityksessä kartoitettiin samalla myös vastaavia palveluja Suomen ja muiden ympäröivien maiden kanssa. Selvitys toteutettiin kyselynä. Vastauksia saatiin 19:ta julkisen hallinnon organisaatiosta kattaen 65:n palvelua. Rajat ylittävät tiedonvaihdot ja palvelut jaettiin neljään eri kategoriaan: Ylikansallisten rekisterien ylläpitoon ja tilastointiin liittyvä tiedonvaihto; ylikansallista asiainhoitoa helpottavat palvelut; liikkuvuutta tukevat tiedonvaihtoratkaisut EU tai ylikansallisella tasolla sekä henkilöiden ja yritysten liikkuvuutta edistävät kahdenväliset tai pohjoismaiset tiedonvaihtopalvelut. Ensimainittu on lukumääräisesti suurin, mutta viimeksi mainittu on Suomen kannalta merkittävin. Selvityksen perusteella rajat ylittävää tiedonvaihtoa on selvästi oletettua enemmän. Suurin osa tiedonvaihdosta painottuu ylikansallisiin rekistereihin, joiden hyödyntäminen Suomessa on vähäistä. Manuaalisen työn suuri osuus on myös tullut yllätyksenä. Palveluiden kehittämiseen löytyy viranomaisten keskuudesta mielenkiintoa ja palveluiden kehittämisessä on suurta potentiaalia. Rajat ylittävän sähköisen tiedonvaihdon kehittämistyötä suositellaan tehtäväksi kolmen eri toimintaympäristöjen sisällä, jotka muodostuvat EU & ETA maista, Pohjoismaista ja Virosta. EU:n tasoiset ja ylikansalliset hankkeet vaativat paljon resursseja. Niissä on kuitenkin suositeltavaa olla mukana, jotta voidaan varmistaa riittävät vaikutusmahdollisuudet lopputulokseen. Erityisen suositeltavaa on keskittää kansallisia resursseja lähinaapureiden kanssa kehitettäviin palveluihin, joissa kehitystyö johtaa käytännössä nopeammin tuloksiin, ja ne vastaavat täsmällisemmin Suomen viranomaisten ja kansalaisten sekä yritysten tarpeisiin

Immunohistochemistry in Ovarian Malignancies: A Comparative Study in Two Different Time Eras

Background: To assess role of immunohistochemistry in identifying primary and secondary ovarian malignancies. Methods: In this descriptive cross sectional study 65 cases of ovarian malignancies diagnosed during the year 2001, with a limited immunohistochemistry support were included. An equal number of cases (65 cases) diagnosed during the year 2012, with an extended immunochemistry support, were used for the comparison. Immunostains used in these cases were CK, CK7, CK20, Cdx2, PLAP, WT1, inhibin, Calretenin, Melan A, CD99, GCDFP15, Mammoglobin LCA, CEA, AFP, CD30 and CD10. Results: The frequency of metastatic carcinoma has changed tremendously being 3% in 2001 and 35.4% in 2012. The frequencies of other malignancies in 2001 in descending order of frequency were surface epithelial tumour (74.2%), germ cell tumours (16.2%), sex cord stromal tumours (1.5%) and others (3%). In 2012, apart from metastatic carcinoma, the frequency in descending order of frequency was surface epithelial tumours (35.4%), germ cell tumours (18.5%), sex cord stromal tumours (16.2%), and others (4.6%). There was not much difference in median ages (42.74 +15.4 and 39.54 + 15.8) Conclusion: IHC has helped in identifying primary and secondary ovarian malignancies

SIAK – A Game for Foreign Language Pronunciation Learning

Peer reviewe

Carbono orgânico dissolvido e biodisponibilidade de N e P como indicadores de qualidade do solo

Nas últimas décadas, qualidade do solo tem se tornado um tópico importante na ciência do solo. Embora esforços consideráveis tenham sido dedicados com o intuito de definir "qualidade do solo", ainda não há um conceito amplamente aceito pela comunidade cientifica. A seleção de índices qualitativos para definir qualidade do solo é uma tarefa extremamente difícil, e diversas propriedades químicas, físicas e biológicas tem sido sugeridas como potenciais indicadores. A matéria orgânica do solo está associada com processos químicos, físicos e biológicos no solo, e, portanto, é considerada um dos melhores indicadores de qualidade do solo. O manejo do solo pode influenciar significativamente a dinâmica do carbono orgânico e o ciclo de N, P, e S. Entretanto, mudanças na concentração total da matéria organica em resposta ao manejo pode ser dificil de ser detectada devido à variabilidade natural do solo. Quando comparada com a matéria orgânica total do solo, a fração mais prontamente disponível, como o carbono orgânico dissolvido (COD), é mais sensível às mudanças no manejo do solo a curto e médio prazo e, portanto, pode ser utilizada como indicador fundamental de qualidade do solo ou das alterações das condições naturais. Embora a fração dissolvida represente apenas uma pequena porção da matéria orgânica total do solo, o COD é móvel no solo e constitui uma importante fonte de C para os microorganismos, podendo facilmente refletir os efeitos de diferentes sistemas de manejo. Inúmeros métodos são utilizados para caracterizar o COD, mas os processos que influenciam sua mineralização e a disponibilidade dos elementos associado com a matéria orgânica (N, P, e S) ainda não são completamente entendidos. Pesquisas futuras devem buscar entender os processos que governam a dinâmica de nutrientes e do COD e como os mesmos afetam a qualidade do solo.Soil quality has become an important issue in soil science. Considerable attempts have been made to define soil quality, but a general concept has not yet been accepted by the scientific community. The selection of quantitative indices for soil quality is extremely difficult, and a considerable number of chemical, physical, and biochemical properties have been suggested as potential indicators of soil quality. Because soil organic matter (SOM) can be associated with different soil chemical, physical and biological processes, it has been widely considered as one of the best soil quality indicator. Land use can significantly influence dynamics of organic carbon and N, P, and S cycle. However, changes in total soil organic carbon (SOC) contents in response to land use may be difficult to detect because of the natural soil variability. In the short to medium term, biological properties and readily decomposable fractions of SOC, such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), are much more sensitive to soil management than is SOM as a whole, and can be used as a key indicator of soil natural functions. Despite the fact that labile C accounts for a small portion of the total organic matter in the soils, DOC is the most mobile and important C-source for microorganisms, and can easily reflect the effects of land use on soil quality. Although several methods are used to characterize DOC, the factors influencing mineralization and bioavailability of elements associated with organic matter (N, P, and S) remains unclear. Future research should focus on the processes that govern DOC and nutrient dynamics and how they affect soil quality

Improved chromosome-level genome assembly of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) integrating Pacific Biosciences long reads and a high-density linkage map

Background The Glanville fritillary (Melitaea cinxia) butterfly is a model system for metapopulation dynamics research in fragmented landscapes. Here, we provide a chromosome-level assembly of the butterfly's genome produced from Pacific Biosciences sequencing of a pool of males, combined with a linkage map from population crosses. Results The final assembly size of 484 Mb is an increase of 94 Mb on the previously published genome. Estimation of the completeness of the genome with BUSCO indicates that the genome contains 92-94% of the BUSCO genes in complete and single copies. We predicted 14,810 genes using the MAKER pipeline and manually curated 1,232 of these gene models. Conclusions The genome and its annotated gene models are a valuable resource for future comparative genomics, molecular biology, transcriptome, and genetics studies on this species.Peer reviewe

Allelopathy of Bracken Fern (Pteridium arachnoideum): New Evidence from Green Fronds, Litter, and Soil

The neotropical bracken fern Pteridium arachnoideum (Kaulf.) Maxon. (Dennstaedtiaceae) is described as an aggressive pioneer plant species. It invades abandoned or newly burned areas and represents a management challenge at these invaded sites. Native to the Atlantic Forest and Cerrado (Tropical Savanna) Brazilian biomes, P. arachnoideum has nevertheless become very problematic in these conservation hotspots. Despite some reports suggesting a possible role of allelopathy in this plant’s dominance, until now there has been little evidence of isolated and individually identified compounds with phytotoxic activities present in its tissues or in the surrounding environment. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the allelopathic potential of P. arachnoideum by isolating and identifying any secondary metabolites with phytotoxic activity in its tissues, litter, and soil. Bioguided phytochemical investigation led to the isolation and identification of the proanthocyanidin selligueain A as the major secondary compound in the green fronds and litter of this fern. It is produced by P. arachnoideum in its green fronds, remains unaltered during the senescence process, and is the major secondary compound present in litter. Selligueain A showed phytotoxic activity against the selected target species sesame (Sesamum indicum) early development. In particular, the compound inhibited root and stem growth, and root metaxylem cell size but did not affect chlorophyll content. This compound can be considered as an allelochemical because it is present in the soil under P. arachnoideum patches as one of the major compounds in the soil solution. This is the first report of the presence of selligueain A in any member of the Dennstaedtiaceae family and the first time an isolated and identified allelochemical produced by members of the Pteridium species complex has been described. This evidence of selligueain A as a putative allelochemical of P. arachnoideum reinforces the role of allelopathy in the dominance processes of this plant in the areas where it occurs