Multiscale Problems in Polymer Science: Simulation Approaches

MRS Bulletin ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-210 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Kremer ◽  
F. Müller-Plathe
Keyword(s):  
Glassy State ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
Polymer Science ◽  
Multiscale Problems ◽  
Plastic Bags ◽  
Optical Applications ◽  
The Way

Polymer materials range from industrial commodities, such as plastic bags, to high-tech polymers used for optical applications, and all the way to biological systems, where the most prominent example is DNA. They can be crystalline, amorphous (glasses, melts, gels, rubber), or in solution. Polymers in the glassy state are standard materials for many applications (yogurt cups, compact discs, housings for technical equipment, etc.).

scholarly journals Movement Variability and the Use of Nonlinear Tools: Principles to Guide Physical Therapist Practice

2009 ◽  
Vol 89 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Regina T Harbourne ◽  
Nicholas Stergiou
Keyword(s):  
Complex Systems ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Physical Therapist ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Movement Variability ◽  
Functional Movement ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
New Directions ◽  
The Way

Fields studying movement generation, including robotics, psychology, cognitive science, and neuroscience, utilize concepts and tools related to the pervasiveness of variability in biological systems. The concepts of variability and complexity and the nonlinear tools used to measure these concepts open new vistas for physical therapist practice and research in movement dysfunction of all types. Because mounting evidence supports the necessity of variability for health and functional movement, this perspective article argues for changes in the way therapists view variability, both in theory and in action. By providing clinical examples, as well as applying existing knowledge about complex systems, the aim of this article is to create a springboard for new directions in physical therapist research and practice.

Zar, Inc.: A Case in Earnings Quality

2002 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 419-429 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jimmy W. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Audit Committee ◽  
Earnings Quality ◽  
Accounting Standards ◽  
Controversial Issue ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Way

Zar, Inc., a high-tech company, has recently experienced turnover in its CEO and CFO positions. Zar, like other firms in its industry, is undergoing a down year due to the declining economy. Thomas Brown, who has recently been hired as the CFO, quickly realizes that there is little he can do to avoid the firm's first loss in many years. However, Thomas also understands that there are things that he can do to pave the way toward greater profits in the future. You are invited to listen in on three separate conversations that the CFO has with the CEO, the firm's audit committee, and finally with Zar's independent auditor. After hearing each conversation, you will be asked to evaluate the CFO's ideas as well as those of other parties to the dialogue. Some of the questions are rather straightforward and can be answered by recalling or researching specific accounting standards. Other questions are more open-ended and will require your best judgment based on the facts given in the case. Some questions may require you to provide additional information before making a definite decision. All of the scenarios focus on earnings quality and should enhance your understanding of this critical and controversial issue that pervades financial reporting today.

The Principles of Simple Technologies

2020 ◽  
pp. 49-80
Author(s):  
Philippe Bihouix
Keyword(s):  
Technical Efficiency ◽  
Standard Of Living ◽  
Successful Outcome ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Plastic Bags ◽  
Single Use ◽  
To Come ◽  
Design And Manufacture ◽  
Rate Of Consumption

This chapter explores the principles of a low-tech approach that are developed and rooted in the search for simplicity and conviviality, localization, design, and manufacture for true sustainability. It describes paths to be taken and general principles on low-tech based on the conscious rejection of the hope of a successful outcome based on technological breakthroughs still to come. It also elaborates the principle of simplicity as the immense advantage of the pure and simple suppression of need that aims to effectively reduce the rate of consumption of resources. The chapter mentions examples of ways to reduce the non-negotiable standard of living, such as a ban on advertising materials, trainers that flash when walking, or single-use plastic bags. It analyses the main problem of the high-tech world under the pretext of seeking greater effectiveness and technical efficiency.

scholarly journals Recent Applications of Advanced Atomic Force Microscopy in Polymer Science: A Review

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1142 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phuong Nguyen-Tri ◽  
Payman Ghassemi ◽  
Pascal Carriere ◽  
Sonil Nanda ◽  
Aymen Amine Assadi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atomic Force Microscopy ◽  
Chemical Characterization ◽  
Super Resolution ◽  
Polymeric Materials ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Polymer Science ◽  
Force Microscopy ◽  
Atomic Force ◽  
Nanoscale Characterization

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) has been extensively used for the nanoscale characterization of polymeric materials. The coupling of AFM with infrared spectroscope (AFM-IR) provides another advantage to the chemical analyses and thus helps to shed light upon the study of polymers. This paper reviews some recent progress in the application of AFM and AFM-IR in polymer science. We describe the principle of AFM-IR and the recent improvements to enhance its resolution. We also discuss the latest progress in the use of AFM-IR as a super-resolution correlated scanned-probe infrared spectroscopy for the chemical characterization of polymer materials dealing with polymer composites, polymer blends, multilayers, and biopolymers. To highlight the advantages of AFM-IR, we report several results in studying the crystallization of both miscible and immiscible blends as well as polymer aging. Finally, we demonstrate how this novel technique can be used to determine phase separation, spherulitic structure, and crystallization mechanisms at nanoscales, which has never been achieved before. The review also discusses future trends in the use of AFM-IR in polymer materials, especially in polymer thin film investigation.

scholarly journals Nanobiohybrids: Materials approaches for bioaugmentation

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (12) ◽  
pp. eaaz0330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ziyi Guo ◽  
Joseph J. Richardson ◽  
Biao Kong ◽  
Kang Liang
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Emergent Properties ◽  
Processing Technologies ◽  
Materials Engineering ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Recent Developments ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Critical Overview ◽  
And Robotics

Nanobiohybrids, synthesized by integrating functional nanomaterials with living systems, have emerged as an exciting branch of research at the interface of materials engineering and biological science. Nanobiohybrids use synthetic nanomaterials to impart organisms with emergent properties outside their scope of evolution. Consequently, they endow new or augmented properties that are either innate or exogenous, such as enhanced tolerance against stress, programmed metabolism and proliferation, artificial photosynthesis, or conductivity. Advances in new materials design and processing technologies made it possible to tailor the physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials coupled with the biological systems. To date, many different types of nanomaterials have been integrated with various biological systems from simple biomolecules to complex multicellular organisms. Here, we provide a critical overview of recent developments of nanobiohybrids that enable new or augmented biological functions that show promise in high-tech applications across many disciplines, including energy harvesting, biocatalysis, biosensing, medicine, and robotics.

Structures and morphologies of biocompatible and biodegradable block copolymers

RSC Advances ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (47) ◽  
pp. 24566-24583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaoyong Huang ◽  
Shichun Jiang
Keyword(s):  
Block Copolymers ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Polymer Science ◽  
Potential Applications

Biocompatible and biodegradable block copolymers (BBCPs) have become increasingly important in polymer science, and have many potential applications in polymer materials.

NATURE–INSPIRED INTELLIGENCE: A REVIEW OF SELECTED METHODS AND APPLICATIONS

2009 ◽  
Vol 18 (04) ◽  
pp. 487-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
VASSILIOS VASSILIADIS ◽  
GEORGIOS DOUNIAS
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Real World ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Biological Systems ◽  
Artificial Immune Systems ◽  
Rapid Evolution ◽  
Successful Implementation ◽  
Human Immune System ◽  
Survey Paper ◽  
The Way

The successful handling of numerous real–world complex problems has increased the popularity of nature–inspired intelligent (NII) algorithms and techniques. Their successful implementation primarily on difficult and complicated optimization problems, stresses their upcoming importance in the broader area of artificial intelligence. NII techniques take advantage of the way that biological systems deal with real–world situations. Specifically, they simulate the way real biological systems, such as the human brain, ant colonies and human immune system work, when solving complex real–world situations. In this survey paper, we briefly present a number of selected NII approaches and we point particular suitable areas of application for each of them. Specifically, five major categories of nature inspired approaches are presented, namely, Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), DNA computing, artificial immune systems and membrane computing. Applications include problems related to optimization (financial, industrial and medical), task scheduling, system design (optimization of the system's parameters), image processing and data processing (feature selection and classification). We also refer to collaboration between NII techniques and classical AI methodologies, such as neural networks, genetic algorithms, fuzzy logic, etc. The current survey states that NII techniques are likely to become the next step in the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence tools.

FEATURES OF FUNCTIONING OF PEREYASLAV-KHMELNYTSKY BAKERY IN 1977–1985

2019 ◽  
pp. 142-148
Author(s):  
Valentina Shakula
Keyword(s):  
Raw Materials ◽  
Production Capacity ◽  
High Tech ◽  
Technical Equipment ◽  
Bakery Products ◽  
Personnel Turnover ◽  
Analytical Review ◽  
History Of ◽  
Leading Enterprises ◽  
The City

The article deals with the peculiarities of the activity of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky bakery in the period from 1977 to 1985, when Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky bakery at the food factory was reorganized into an independent enterprise. This theme has been studied already fragmentarily by such scholars as M. Sikorsky, D. Shvydky, I. Goncharenko, O. Goncharenko, N. Onoprienko, but fundamentally is developed for the first time. In the process of work, the author used methods of search, analysis, synthesis and generalization, which allowed to investigate the problem and find out some facts from the history of the enterprises. The purpose of this study was to establish the peculiarities of the production activity of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky bakery in the period of its establishment as an independent food enterprise through an analytical review of archival sources, publications of periodicals and systematization of the information received. According to the intended purpose, the following tasks are set: to investigate the history of the functioning of the Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky bread factory in 1977-1985, to establish the main directions of the development of production and personnel policy, to identify the features of the range, directions and problems of its implementation. It was revealed that during this period of its production, Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky bakery has undergone a long path of formation and development: from a small half-baked of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky foodstuff factory, that baked bread in brick burning stoves on solid fuels to a powerful enterprise, that works on high-tech equipment and provides high-quality bakery products, not only to the population of the city of Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky and the district, but also to the nearest settlements of Boryspil, Baryshiv, Yagotyn districts of the Kyiv region, Zolotonosha and Drabiv districts of Cherkasy region. It is important that the gross output figures increase each year. The range of bakery products and the quality of products have increased significantly, despite the periodic problems associated with providing the bakery with quality raw materials and fuel materials for continuous operation. This influenced positively the economic performance of the enterprise and the entire region. It was also established that the administration of the bakery in the specified period paid special attention to the increase of professional qualifications of its employees, improvement of conditions and safety of their work, legal education and social security of people, which significantly reduced the percentage of personnel turnover. It was emphasized, that the important point of the backery's activity was the re-equipment of sanitary rooms and food units, because of the duration of work shift on bakery department was 24 hours for workers. Workers were provided by quality rest during lunch breaks. It has been proved, that the modernization of industrial baking equipment was not actually carried out at this time, if not taking into account the annual fragmentary and cosmetic repairs, because it was built also a new premises with the latest at that time technical equipment with a production capacity of 65 tons per day. The administration and the team of the bakery were seriously preparing themselves for work under the new conditions, as new mechanisms required not only experience, but also knowledge of the technical characteristics of the equipment and the release of new types of bakery products. Pereyaslav-Khmelnytsky bakery played an important role in the economy of the city and the region during the first half of the 80's. XX century, as it was one of the leading enterprises of the food industry in the region.

Van der Waals forces in biological systems

1973 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 341-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob N. Israelachvili
Keyword(s):  
Biological Systems ◽  
Van Der Waals ◽  
Van Der Waals Forces ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Theoretical Investigations ◽  
The Way

The theory of van der Waals forces has now developed to a stage where it constitutes a powerful tool in theoretical investigations of many biological systems. In this review we shall consider both the theoretical and conceptual aspects of these forces with the emphasis on the way they may be involved in various biological processes.

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