167 research outputs found
Chitosan and Polyethylene Glycol Nanocomposites Designed to Deliver Anticancer Drug: Molecular Dynamics Simulations
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Desulfurization efficiency of polydimethylsiloxane/silica nanoparticle nanocomposite membranes: MD simulations
No full textTherapeutic Techniques for Soliciting Talk: Addressing Delicate Matters in Family Therapy
No full textIncludes bibliographical references (pages 47-50).Family therapy sessions are designed to help individuals understand, mend, and improve troubled relationships, difficult past experiences, communication difficulties and other related issues with family members. Conversation Analysis was used in this study to identify social actions and communication patterns in therapist-client conversations. Analysis of this study focused on video recordings of three family therapy sessions. A collection of twenty-eight moments were used to demonstrate four main therapeutic approaches that a single therapist utilized to solicit talk with family members about delicate matters. The four main practices identified, organized as the emerged in phases of interaction, are 1) ordinary talk about everyday activities, 2) imagining non-realistic scenarios, 3) directly addressing delicate issues, and 4) techniques for seeking resolution. Findings shed light on the significance of examining conversations in order for therapists' to effectively communicate with family members by improvising and implementing alternative therapeutic techniques, working in collaboration with clients to improve the overall process of therapeutic care, and managing interactions to promote healing and improved quality of living
Platform and product design for markets with quality and feature sensitive customers
No full textTo cost effectively offer distinctive products to the market, many companies resort to product platforms, defined as a common base from which a set of products are derived. Yet, the interaction between both types of decisions (product development versus product portfolio design) is poorly understood. Indeed, operational aspects (such as platform production costs and customization costs) and marketing aspects (e.g., the customer's sensitivity to product quality and features, along with his price sensitivity) jointly impact the optimal product portfolio, and the optimal platform design.
In this article, we analytically study the joint optimization of platform and product portfolio decisions. We highlight the impact of operational parameters on the optimal product differentiation (horizontal vs vertical), and, vice versa, the impact of marketing parameters on the optimal product development strategy (independent vs platform development). The marketing parameters do not always impact the optimal product development strategy: we obtain two necessary conditions under which the impact of marketing parameters disappears. Interestingly, we find that the use of platforms may actually counteract vertical differentiation, especially when the customization cost is high. We also find that the optimal platform quality is independent of the product differentiation strategy; with vertical differentiation, though, the optimal platform is not necessarily underdesigned. Numerical simulation results show that our insights remain stable under different conditions. The model and insights can be helpful for companies to evaluate their current strategies, as illustrated in a case studyThe first author is grateful to the support of the Value Chain and Operations Complexity research group at NEOMA Business School. The authors wish to thank the anonymous referees and the editor for their time and constructive comments
Particle detection using closed-loop active model diagnosis
No full textWe demonstrate a novel closed-loop input design technique on the detection of particles in an imaging system such as a fluorescence microscope. The probability of misdiagnosis is minimized while constraining the input energy such that for instance phototoxicity is reduced. The key novelty of the closed-loop design is that each next input is designed based on the most recent information. Using updated hypothesis probabilities, the input energy distribution is optimized for detection such that unresolved pixels have increased illumination next image acquisition. As compared to conventional open-loop, the results show that (regions of) particles are diagnosed using less energy in the closed-loop approach. Besides the closed-loop approach being viable for particle detection in fluorescence microscopy measurements, it can be developed further to apply in different areas such as sequential object segmentation for reliable and efficient product inspection in Industry 4.0.Team Michel VerhaegenTeam Carlas Smit
Synergistic antibacterial activity of chitosan-polyethylene glycol nanocomposites films containing ZIF-8 and doxycycline
No full textAbstract Background Antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat due to antibiotic overuse and limited treatment options. Multidrug-resistant bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, increase infection complexity and mortality. This study explores nanocomposite films of ZIF-8 nanoparticles and Doxycycline (Dox) to enhance antibacterial efficacy. In this study, nanocomposite films composed of chitosan (CS) and polyethylene glycol (PEG), incorporating zeolitic imidazolate framework-8 (ZIF-8) nanoparticles and DOX, were developed. These films were characterized by their morphological, mechanical, antibacterial, and drug-release properties. Antibacterial efficacy was evaluated using disk diffusion, broth microdilution, and checkerboard assay methods to determine MICs and potential synergistic effects. Results The nanocomposite films demonstrated flexibility, semi-transparency, and a yellowish-brown hue, with films containing ZIF-8 nanoparticles being thicker (79 ± 0.2 μm) than those without (54 ± 0.5 μm). The tensile strength was enhanced with the incorporation of ZIF-8, peaking at 53.12 MPa for the CS-PEG-G-10% DOX-4% ZIF-8 film. XRD analysis confirmed the crystallinity of the ZIF-8 and DOX, with distinct peaks observed for each material. The drug release studies revealed an initial burst followed by sustained release, with higher release rates in acidic environments compared to neutral and alkaline media. The CS-PEG-G-10% DOX-4% ZIF-8 nanocomposite film demonstrated significantly higher antibacterial activity, achieving the lowest MIC values, particularly against S. aureus (22.5 mm inhibition zone) compared to E. coli (14 mm inhibition zone). Additionally, a notable synergistic effect was observed between CS-PEG-G-10% DOX and CS-PEG-G-10% DOX, with FICI values below 0.5. Conclusions The CS-PEG-G-10% DOX-4% ZIF-8 nanocomposite exhibits enhanced antibacterial efficacy and optimal properties, positioning it as a strong candidate for developing effective treatments against multidrug-resistant pathogens
My Favorite Place: Reza Jalali
No full textThe author and director of the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center explains the importance of Pleasant Mountain in Bridgton in his life. It was where he went in his early days in Maine, as a Kurdish refugee from Iran, to pray for new Kurdish refugees fleeing the Persian Gulf War
Modeling and estimating the feedback mechanisms among depression, rumination, and stressors in adolescents
No full textThis is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The systemic interactions among depressive symptoms, rumination, and stress are important to understanding depression but have not yet been quantified. In this article, we present a system dynamics simulation model of depression that captures the reciprocal relationships among stressors, rumination, and depression. Building on the response styles theory, this model formalizes three interdependent mechanisms: 1) Rumination contributes to 'keeping stressors alive'; 2) Rumination has a direct impact on depressive symptoms; and 3) Both 'stressors kept alive' and current depressive symptoms contribute to rumination. The strength of these mechanisms is estimated using data from 661 adolescents (353 girls and 308 boys) from two middle schools (grades 6-8). These estimates indicate that rumination contributes to depression by keeping stressors 'alive'-and the individual activated- even after the stressor has ended. This mechanism is stronger among girls than boys, increasing their vulnerability to a rumination reinforcing loop. Different profiles of depression emerge over time depending on initial levels of depressive symptoms, rumination, and stressors as well as the occurrence rate for stressors; levels of rumination and occurrence of stressors are stronger contributors to long-term depression. Our systems model is a steppingstone towards a more comprehensive understanding of depression in which reinforcing feedback mechanisms play a significant role. Future research is needed to expand this simulation model to incorporate other drivers of depression and provide a more holistic tool forstudying depression.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Award R21MH100515)National Institute of Mental Health (U.S.) (Award R21MH100515
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