scholarly journals Precise nanofiltration in a fouling-resistant self-assembled membrane with water-continuous transport pathways

2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. eaav9308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunda Feng ◽  
Qaboos Imran ◽  
Yizhou Zhang ◽  
Lucas Sixdenier ◽  
Xinglin Lu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Medium ◽  
Antimicrobial Properties ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Size Selectivity ◽  
Transport Pathways ◽  
Selective Transport ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Nanostructured Polymer ◽  
Self Assembled ◽  
Potential Use

Self-assembled materials are attractive for next-generation membranes. However, the need to align self-assembled nanostructures (e.g. cylinders, lamellae) and the narrow stability windows for ordered bicontinuous systems present serious challenges. We propose and demonstrate a novel approach that circumvents these challenges by exploiting size-selective transport in the water-continuous medium of a nanostructured polymer templated from a self-assembled lyotropic H1 mesophase. Optimization of the mesophase composition enables high-fidelity retention of the H1 structure on photoinduced cross-linking. The resulting material is a mechanically robust nanostructured polymer possessing internally and externally cross-linked nanofibrils surrounded by a continuous aqueous medium. Fabricated membranes show size selectivity at the 1- to 2-nm length scale and water permeabilities of ~10 liters m−2 hour−1 bar−1 μm. Moreover, the membranes display excellent antimicrobial properties due to the quaternary ammonium groups on the nanofibril surfaces. These results represent a breakthrough for the potential use of polymerized lyotropic mesophase membranes in practical water purification applications.

scholarly journals High-Fidelity Simulated Players for Interactive Narrative Planning

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pengcheng Wang ◽  
Jonathan Rowe ◽  
Wookhee Min ◽  
Bradford Mott ◽  
James Lester
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
Interactive Narrative ◽  
Interaction Data ◽  
Convolutional Networks ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Adaptation Policies ◽  
Narrative Planning ◽  
Prior State

Interactive narrative planning offers significant potential for creating adaptive gameplay experiences. While data-driven techniques have been devised that utilize player interaction data to induce policies for interactive narrative planners, they require enormously large gameplay datasets. A promising approach to addressing this challenge is creating simulated players whose behaviors closely approximate those of human players. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to generating high-fidelity simulated players based on deep recurrent highway networks and deep convolutional networks. Empirical results demonstrate that the proposed models significantly outperform the prior state-of-the-art in generating high-fidelity simulated player models that accurately imitate human players’ narrative interactions. Using the high-fidelity simulated player models, we show the advantage of more exploratory reinforcement learning methods for deriving generalizable narrative adaptation policies.

scholarly journals O Ensino da Antibioterapia: Estado da arte

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 ◽  
pp. 632-637
Author(s):  
Maria José Saavedraa ◽  
João Carlos Sousa
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Antimicrobial Properties ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Multidrug Resistant ◽  
World Health ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Paul Ehrlich ◽  
Alexander Fleming

Resumo A elevada mortalidade pelas doenças infecciosas, sobretudo epidémicas, mobilizou os cientistas na pesquisa de compostos naturais e produtos de síntese química dotados de propriedades antimicrobianas. Fazendo um pouco de história, referimos Paul Ehrlich, que utilizou o primeiro agente quimioterapêutico -Salvarsan, mais tarde Gerhard Domagk, que utilizou um pro-fármaco percursor de uma sulfamida. Em 1928, Alexander Fleming, descobriu de forma “casual” a penicilina, o primeiro antibiótico. Posteriormente em 1941 Howard Florey e Ernest Chain isolam e purificam a penicilina o que permitiu a sua utilização em larga escala -Era dos Antibióticos. A utilização dos antibióticos (AB) no tratamento das doenças infecciosas constituiu um dos maiores avanços da Medicina no séc. XX. No entanto a sua utilização em larga escala promoveu o aumento da incidência de estirpes multiresistentes aos AB, sobretudo em ambiente hospitalar. Adicionalmente verifica-se uma ocorrência cada vez mais elevada de estirpes resistentes na comunidade–humanos, animais e ambiente. O conhecimento dos mecanismos de ação e da ineficácia dos diferentes grupos farmacológicos de antibióticos é vital para o desenvolvimento de futuros microbianos, estando a ser estudados microrganismos do solo com a finalidade de encontrara novos fármacos. De realçar que a OMS preconiza que caminhamos rumo a uma "era pós-antibiótico”. Se não houver um plano de ação global para o "uso racional de antibióticos" a OMS prevê que em 2050 a resistência aos antibióticos, poderá matar mais de 10 milhões de pessoas.Palavras-chave: antibioterapia; resistência; antibióticos Abstract The current research on infectious diseases, especially with epidemic potential, has mobilized the scientific community to research on the natural substance and chemical probing products with antimicrobial properties. In a brief history of antibiotics, we refer to Paul Ehrlich, who used the first chemotherapeutic agent - Salvarsan, later Gerhard Domagk, who used a sulfamide precursor prodrug. In 1928 Alexander Fleming "casually" discovered penicillin, the first antibiotic. Later in 1941 Howard Florey and Ernest Chain isolate and purify penicillin that can be used on a large scale - Antibiotics Era. The use of antibiotics (AB) in the treatment of infectious diseases is one of the greatest advances of medicine in the 19th century. However, its large-scale use has increased the incidence of multidrug-resistant processes in AB, especially in a hospital setting. Besides, there is an increasing occurrence of resistant strains in different communities - humans, animals and in the environment. Understand the mechanisms of action and the ineffectiveness of the diverse pharmacological groups of antibiotics is crucial to provide further new antibiotic therapies in the near future. Recent studies have highlighted the soil-derived microorganisms as a novel approach to identify new drug substances. In this context, it is noteworthy that the World Health Organization (WHO) considers that we are moving towards a “post-antibiotic era”. If there is no global action plan for “rational use of antibiotics” WHO predicts that in 2050 the global impacts of antibiotic resistance on human heath will be catastrophic, killing more than 10 million people worldwide. Keywords: antibiotic therapy; resistence; antibiotics

scholarly journals Focused ion beam milling of self-assembled magnetic superstructures: an approach to fabricate nanoporous materials with tunable porosity

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (6) ◽  
pp. 1211-1218 ◽  
Author(s):  
Verner Håkonsen ◽  
Gurvinder Singh ◽  
Jianying He ◽  
Zhiliang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Porous Materials ◽  
Focused Ion Beam ◽  
Ion Beam ◽  
Nanoporous Materials ◽  
Porous Network ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Self Assembled ◽  
Focused Ion Beam Milling

Focused ion beam milling of self-assembled magnetic superstructures is demonstrated as a novel approach to fabricate porous materials with tunable porosity. During exposure to the ion beam, nanoparticles in the superstructure are subjected to combined milling and melting, thus merging together into a porous network.

High fidelity simulation – a novel approach to end of life teaching

2012 ◽  
Vol 2 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. A33.3-A34
Author(s):  
Nikki Reed ◽  
Lisa Boulstridge ◽  
Annmarie Nelson
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
High Fidelity ◽  
High Fidelity Simulation ◽  
Novel Approach

scholarly journals A Novel Approach to Managing Fuelwood Harvest Using Bark Beetle Pheromones

2000 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 183-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Vandygriff ◽  
L.A. Rasmussen ◽  
J.F. Rineholt
Keyword(s):  
Pinus Contorta ◽  
Mountain Pine Beetle ◽  
Tree Mortality ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Mountain Pine ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Pine Beetle ◽  
Additional Protection ◽  
Recreation Area ◽  
Potential Use

Abstract A multiyear study of synthesized mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae) pheromones was conducted within lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) stands on the Sawtooth National Recreation Area to demonstrate their potential use as a management tool for fuelwood harvest. The use of mountain pine beetle aggregant baits was shown to be highly effective in relocating beetles into designated bait blocks, dramatically increasing the amount of beetle-related tree mortality. Treatment of blocks with antiaggregant verbenone capsules appeared to provide little or no additional protection when compared with associated control blocks. Given defined objectives and appropriate stand and insect population conditions, pheromone baits can be used to improve management of fuelwood harvest and potentially improve stand health. West. J. Appl. For. 15(4):183–188.

scholarly journals Zinc(II) Complexes with Amino Acids for Potential Use in Dermatology: Synthesis, Crystal Structures, and Antibacterial Activity

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 951 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Abendrot ◽  
Lilianna Chęcińska ◽  
Joachim Kusz ◽  
Katarzyna Lisowska ◽  
Katarzyna Zawadzka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amino Acids ◽  
Antibacterial Activity ◽  
Antibacterial Properties ◽  
Antimicrobial Properties ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
Organic Zinc ◽  
Counter Ions ◽  
Open Issue ◽  
Potential Use ◽  
Active Substances

The multifunctional profile of Zn2+ has influenced its great popularity in various pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic products. Despite the use of different inorganic and organic zinc derivatives, the search for new zinc-containing compounds with a safer skin profile still remains an open issue. The present paper describes the synthesis, structural characterization, and antibacterial activity of zinc(II) complexes with proteinogenic amino acids as potential candidates for dermatological treatments. The obtained complexes are of the general formula [Zn(AA)2], where AA represents an amino acid (L-Glu, Gly, L-His, L-Pro, L-Met, and L-Trp). Their synthesis was designed in such a way that the final bis(aminoacidate) zinc(II) complexes did not contain any counter-ions such as Cl−, NO3−, or SO42− that can cause some skin irritations. The chemical structure and composition of the compounds were identified by 1H NMR spectroscopy and elemental analysis, and four were also characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The Hirshfeld surface analysis for the Zn2+ metallic center helped to determine its coordination number and geometry for each complex. Finally, the antibacterial properties of the complexes were determined with respect to three Gram-positive strains, viz. Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538, Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228, and Streptococcus pyogenes ATCC 19615, and two Gram-negative bacteria, viz. Escherichia coli ATCC 25992 and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, and were compared with the activity of zinc 2-pirrolidone 5-carboxylate (ZnPCA), commonly applied in dermatology. It was found that the Zn(II) complexes with methionine and glycine exhibited a higher antibacterial activity than the tested standard, and the antimicrobial properties of complex with Trp were satisfactory. The results of the antimicrobial activity examination allow us to postulate that the obtained zinc complexes might become new active substances for use in dermatological products.

Plasmonic platform based on nanoporous alumina membranes: order control via self-assembly

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (16) ◽  
pp. 9565-9577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Previdi ◽  
Igor Levchenko ◽  
Matthew Arnold ◽  
Marc Gali ◽  
Kateryna Bazaka ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Self Assembly ◽  
Nanoporous Membranes ◽  
Nanoporous Alumina ◽  
Alumina Membranes ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Self Assembled

A novel approach to significantly enhance and comprehensively assess the level of nanochannel ordering in self-assembled nanoporous membranes is proposed and tested.

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