Vesicles of double hydrophilic pullulan and poly(acrylamide) block copolymers : a combination of synthetic- and bio-derived blocks

The formation of vesicular structures with average diameters from 200 to 300 nm consisting of double hydrophilic diblock copolymers pullulan-b-poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (Pull-b-PDMA) and pullulan-b-poly(N-ethylacrylamide) (Pull-b-PEA) in aqueous solution is described. Bio-derived pullulan was depolymerized and functionalized with alkyne endgroups. Furthermore, azide end functionalized acrylamide blocks PDMA and PEA were synthesized via RAFT polymerization. Individual blocks were conjugated via copper catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) to afford defined double hydrophilic block copolymers. Aqueous solutions of the synthesized block copolymers showed formation of completely hydrophilic vesicles that were observed via various techniques including dynamic light scattering (DLS), static light scattering (SLS), laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM), and cryogenic scanning electron microscopy (SEM)

Antibiotic utilization in hospitalized children under 2 years of age with influenza or respiratory syncytial virus infection - a comparative, retrospective analysis

Background: Infections due to Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) and Influenza virus (FLU) are leading causes of hospitalization in young children. Yet, there is little data on factors associated with antibiotic use in these patients. Methods: We conducted a retrospective, single-center study of all patients below 2 years of age hospitalized between 2014 and 2018. We compared children with RSV infection to children with FLU infection analyzing clinical characteristics and factors contributing to an increased rate of antimicrobial utilization. Results: RSV infection was diagnosed in 476/573 (83.1%), FLU in 95/573 (16.6%), and RSV-FLU-co-infection in 2/573 (0.3%) patients. Median age was lower for RSV compared to FLU (4 vs. 12 months; p < 0.0001). Children with RSV had longer hospitalization (5 vs. 4 days; p = 0.0023) and needed oxygen more frequently (314/476 vs. 23/95; p < 0.0001) than FLU patients. There was no significant difference in the overall antibiotic utilization between RSV and FLU patients (136/476 vs. 21/95; p = 0.2107). Logistic regression analyses revealed that septic appearance on admission (odds ratio [OR] 8.95, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5–54.1), acute otitis media (OR 4.5, 95% CI 2.1–9.4), a longer oxygen therapy (OR 1.40; 95% CI 1.13–1.74) and a higher C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.5–2.0) were significantly associated with antibiotic use in both groups, but not age or pneumonia. Conclusions: In our cohort, the rate of antibiotic utilization was comparable between RSV and FLU patients, while for both groups distinct clinical presentation and a high CRP value were associated with higher antibiotic use

Aggregation and crosslinking of poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide)-b-pullulan double hydrophilic block copolymers

The self‐assembly of polymers is a major topic in current polymer chemistry. In here, the self‐assembly of a pullulan based double hydrophilic block copolymer, namely pullulan‐b ‐poly(N,N ‐dimethylacrylamide)‐co ‐poly(diacetone acrylamide) (Pull‐b ‐(PDMA‐co ‐PDAAM)) is described. The hydrophilic block copolymer induces phase separation at high concentration in aqueous solution. Additionally, the block copolymer displays aggregates at lower concentration, which show a size dependence on concentration. In order to stabilize the aggregates, crosslinking via oxime formation is described, which enables preservation of aggregates at high dilution, in dialysis and in organic solvents. With adequate stability by crosslinking, double hydrophilic block copolymer (DHBC) aggregates open pathways for potential biomedical applications in the future

Perencanaan unit pengolahan pangan home industry pudding in cup dengan kapasitas produksi 60 cup/hari

Hidangan penutup (dessert) adalah hidangan yang pada umumnya disajikan pada tahap akhir waktu makan. Salah satu hidangan penutup yang disukai anak-anak hingga orang dewasa ialah pudding. Pudding merupakan makanan pencuci mulut dengan tekstur yang lembut, rasanya manis, dan disajikan dalam bentuk dingin. Pudding susu merupakan salah satu produk olahan susu serta merupakan inovasi produk agar konsumen tidak merasa bosan untuk mengkonsumsi susu. Pudding in cup diproduksi sebanyak 60 cup/hari dengan empat macam varian rasa, yaitu chocolate, milo, oreo, dan strawberry dengan jumlah masing-masing 15 cup. Lokasi produksi terletak di Jalan Kutisari Indah Utara 5/15 Surabaya, Jawa Timur. Usaha pudding in cup dijalankan oleh satu orang pemilik dan tambahan pekerja sebanyak satu orang dengan jam kerja enam jam per hari. Pemasaran pudding in cup dilakukan di area Surabaya melalui media sosial, penyebaran brosur, dan ikut serta dalam berbagai event yang ada. Berdasarkan faktor teknis dan ekonomi, usaha pudding in cup layak didirikan dan dioperasikan karena memiliki laju pengembalian modal sesudah pajak (ROR) sebesar 281,65% yang menunjukkan lebih besar dari nilai MARR 12,87%, waktu pengembalian modal sesudah pajak selama 4,20 bulan., dan titik impas atau Break Even Point (BEP) sebesar 32,80%

Selective partitioning of (biomacro)molecules in the crowded environment of double hydrophilic block copolymers

The phase separation in aqueous solutions of a double-hydrophilic block copolymer (DHBC) at concentrations mimicking the crowded environment in cells and its performance as a potential protein purification system are investigated. Similar to processes of self-coacervation, the coexistence of aqueous polymer-rich and polymer-depleted microscopic phases is observed and the partitioning of various species in them is investigated. Whereas small molecules, poly(ethylene glycol), and dextran can moderately partition in both phases, proteins and DNA are strongly enriched in the polymer-depleted phase, offering a pathway for biomacromolecule purification. While aqueous two-phase systems based on a pair of polymers are also used for purification of biological material, DHBC has the remarkable advantage that the proteins and DNA segregate in the polymer-depleted phase, enhancing and facilitating purification. Future optimization of DHBC chemistry may offer higher partition efficiency and a way for large-scale applications

Invariant Representative Cocycles of Cohomology Generators using Irregular Graph Pyramids

Structural pattern recognition describes and classifies data based on the relationships of features and parts. Topological invariants, like the Euler number, characterize the structure of objects of any dimension. Cohomology can provide more refined algebraic invariants to a topological space than does homology. It assigns `quantities' to the chains used in homology to characterize holes of any dimension. Graph pyramids can be used to describe subdivisions of the same object at multiple levels of detail. This paper presents cohomology in the context of structural pattern recognition and introduces an algorithm to efficiently compute representative cocycles (the basic elements of cohomology) in 2D using a graph pyramid. An extension to obtain scanning and rotation invariant cocycles is given.Comment: Special issue on Graph-Based Representations in Computer Visio

Innovation marketing : water treatment

Gegenstand dieser Arbeit ist die Erläuterung innovativer Marketingprozesse. Durch die unterschiedliche Anwendung von Marketingstrategien, als auch Markenführungskonzepte werden neue, innovative Produkte am Markt positioniert. Ziel ist es dabei einen möglichst hohen Marktanteil zu generieren. Diese Prozesse werden detailliert aufgelistet und näher dargestellt. Zudem werden zur Orientierung der Positionierung auf Unternehmensgrundlagen hingewiesen. Anhand eines Praxisbeispiels aus der Wasseraufbereitungsbranche werden die Handlungsweisen aufgezeigt

Parallel Graph Contraction For Dual Irregular Pyramids

Hierarchical representation of images is a crucial building principle of a system architecture that can cope with the complexity of visual perception. This paper presents an algorithm that builds a hierarchy which is flexible enough to provide a shift and scale invariant abstract representation of image content. The hierarchy is irregular in the sense that an element of the representation may have an arbitrary number of neighbors. At the same time, the representation can be described by a bounded data structure. Main properties of the algorithm with respect to visual perception are proved