Surviving on Mars: test with LISA simulator

We present the biological results of some experiments performed in the Padua simulators of planetary environments, named LISA, used to study the limit of bacterial life on the planet Mars. The survival of Bacillus strains for some hours in Martian environment is shortly discussed.Comment: To be published on Highlights of Astronomy, Volume 15 XXVIIth IAU General Assembly, August 2009 Ian F Corbett, ed. 2 pages, 1 figur

Evaluating Mesolithic settlement patterns in mountain environments (Dolomites, Eastern Italian Alps): the role of research biases and locational strategies

The wealth of Mesolithic evidence in the Alpine environments makes it possible to attempt a reconstruction of highland settlement patterns based on the distribution of known sites. However, just how representative this site distribution is has not yet been fully tested and the impact of research biases on the spatial organisation of Mesolithic findspots is not clear. In order to tackle these issues the locational pattern of Mesolithic sites recorded in an upland area of the Venetian Dolomites (North-Eastern Italy) was analysed. Point pattern analysis was used to correlate site distribution with two sets of covariates mirroring research biases and prehistoric settlement preferences. Point-process models were created and compared using both standard Akaike and Bayesian Information Criteria. Results indicate that both factors equally influence the current site distribution. The low number of statistically significant variables - slope and land-use - suggests the existence of additional variables that were not considered. An additional model helped us explore the importance of alternative variables and provided new perspectives for future investigation of high-altitude Mesolithic landscapes, with particular attention to highland mobility

Hopf bifurcation and related stability problems for periodic differential systems

This paper deals with 2π-periodic one parameter differential systems in the plane. Those systems all admit the null solution which is asymptotically stable for a fixed value, say μ=0, and completely unstable for μ>0 small. We find that for the perturbed systems 2π-periodic solutions occur only if another parameter ε which regulates the angular velocity is involved. In any other case an annulus which is asimptotically stable replaces the 2π-periodic solutions

Can medical products be developed on a non-profit basis? Exploring product development partnerships for neglected diseases

Reliance on market forces can lead to underinvestment in social welfare enhancing innovation. The lack of new medical products in the area of neglected diseases is a case in point. R&D for neglected diseases has increased with new funding and collaborations taking place mainly through product development partnerships (PDPs). PDPs are self-governing, private non-profit R&D organizations. In contrast to push and pull instruments designed to address private-sector R&D underinvestment, PDPs have emerged voluntarily to address this public health challenge. In this study we examine how non-profit R&D collaboration for neglected diseases takes place through PDPs. We find that PDPs act as ‘system integrators' that leverage the resources and capabilities of a network of public, philanthropic and private-sector partners. This paper contributes to an understanding of R&D in a non-profit context and highlights the importance of collaboration and non-market institutions for promoting innovation where market failures occu

Octopus-Inspired Suction Cups with Embedded Strain Sensors for Object Recognition

The octopus has unique capacities are sources of inspiration in developing soft robotic-enabling technologies. Herein, soft, sensorized, suction cups inspired by the suckers of Octopus vulgaris are presented. The suction cups using direct casting are fabricated, so that materials with different mechanical properties can be combined to optimize sensing and grasping capabilities. The artificial suckers integrate four embedded strain sensors, individually characterized and placed in a 90 degrees configuration along the rim of the suction cup. Based on this arrangement, how well the sensory suction cup can detect 1) the direction and 2) the angle (from 30 degrees to 90 degrees) of a touched inclined surface and 3) the stiffness of a touched flat object (shore hardness between 0010 and D50) both in air and underwater is evaluated. Data processing on neural networks is based using a multilayer perceptron to perform regression on individual properties. The results show a mean absolute error of 0.98 for angles, 0.02 for directions, and 97.9% and 93.5% of accuracy for the material classification in air and underwater, respectively. In view of the results and scalability in manufacturing, the proposed artificial suckers would seem to be highly effective solutions for soft robotics, including blind exploration and object recognition

Multisource energy conversion in plants with soft epicuticular coatings

Living plants have recently been exploited for unusual tasks such as energy conversion and environmental sensing. Yet, using plants as small-scale autonomous energy sources is often impeded by multicable and -electrode installations on the plants. Moreover, insufficient power outputs for steadily driving even low-power electronics made a realization challenging. Here, we show that plants, by a modification of the leaf epicuticular region can be transformed into cable-free, fully plant-enabled integrated devices for multisource energy conversion. In detail, leaf contact electrification caused by wind-induced inter-leaf tangency is magnified by a transparent elastomeric coating on one of two interacting leaves. This enables converting wind energy into harvestable electricity. Further, the same plant is used as an unmatched Marconi-antenna for multi-band radio frequency (RF) energy conversion. This enables the use of the same plant as a complementary multi-energy system with augmented power output if both sources are used simultaneously. In combination, we observed over 1000% enhanced energy accumulation respective to single source harvesting in the specific application case and common plants like ivy could power a commercial sensing platform wirelessly transmitting environmental data. This shows that living plants have potential to autonomously supply application-oriented electronics while maintaining the positive environmental impact by their intrinsic sustainability and benefits such as O-2 production, CO2 fixation, self-repair, and many more

A critical review of palladium organometallic anticancer agents

With the aim of overcoming the well-known limitations of platinum-based antineoplastic drugs, recent efforts have focused on the development of new anticancer agents containing metals other than platinum. Among these agents, organopalladium compounds have received significant recent attention due to their generally high stability under physiological conditions. A significant number of these compounds have shown promising in vitro and in vivo antiproliferative activity toward several cisplatin-sensitive and cisplatin-resistant tumors and have sometimes exhibited a different mechanism of action compared to platinum-based drugs. In this review, recent advances in the field of organopalladium compounds as potential anticancer agents are discussed

Application of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to predict gelatinized starch, fiber fractions, and mineral content of ground and intact extruded dry dog food

The aim of the present study was to investigate the ability of a handheld near-infrared spectrometer to predict total and gelatinized starch, insoluble fibrous fractions, and mineral content in extruded dry dog food. Intact and ground samples were compared to determine if the homogenization could improve the prediction performance of the instrument. Reference analyses were performed on 81 samples for starch and 99 for neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), acid detergent lignin (ADL), and minerals, and reflectance infrared spectra (740 to 1070 nm) were recorded with a SCiO™ near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer. Prediction models were developed using modified partial least squares regression and both internal (leave-one-out cross-validation) and external validation. The best prediction models in cross-validation using ground samples were obtained for gelatinized starch (residual predictive deviation, RPD = 2.54) and total starch (RPD = 2.33), and S (RPD = 1.92), while the best using intact samples were obtained for gelatinized starch (RPD = 2.45), total starch (RPD = 2.08), and K (RPD = 1.98). Through external validation, the best statistics were obtained for gelatinized starch, with an RPD of 2.55 and 2.03 in ground and intact samples, respectively. Overall, there was no difference in prediction models accuracy using ground or intact samples. In conclusion, the miniaturized NIR instrument offers the potential for screening purposes only for total and gelatinized starch, S, and K, whereas the results do not support its applicability for the other traits