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Developing Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) for Composite Structural Batteries (CSBs) could revolutionise energy storage technology. CSBs offer an innovative solution by seamlessly integrating batteries into structures and effectively reducing weight and space constraints. Despite its successful implementation across various fields, EPD method still lacks comprehensive understanding of the underlying physical and chemical processes due to the number of variables involved. In this study the effects of key parameters associated with the process are investigated with a coupled FEM and analytical approach to find correlations with the deposition process. A Taguchi Design of Experiment with five parameters, namely voltage, concentration, relative weight ratio of LiFePO4 – carbon black particles, length and perimeter of the electrodes is implemented to identify the correlations with mass deposited, thickness of the coating and yield rate when LiFePO4 and Carbon Black particles in ethanol suspension are used. In order to capture the variation over time, each parameter is studied at six different time of deposition. A concentration that optimises yield rate resulting in thickness and mass deposition is identified. The resistivity of the suspension dictates the yield rate dynamics, allowing it to be designed within a specific range to meet requirements of different applications.

Sinapic acid, 3,5-dimethoxyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid, belonging to the class of hydroxycinnamic acids, shows antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, renoprotective, neuroprotective, antidiabetic, anxiolytic, and antibacterial activity. The aim of this work was to incorporate sinapic acid into solid lipid nanoparticles in order to improve its bioavailability. SLNs were prepared using the hot high-speed homogenization method. The pharmaco-technological properties and thermotropic profile of SLNs encapsulated with sinapic acid, as well as their interaction with biomembrane models, were evaluated. SLNs showed promising physicochemical properties and encapsulation efficiency, as well as a desirable release profile; moreover, they facilitated the interaction of sinapic acid with a biomembrane model made of multilamellar vesicles. In conclusion, this formulation can be used in further studies to assess its suitability to improve sinapic acid activity.

One can foresee a very near future where ionic liquids will be used in applications such as biomolecular chemistry or medicine. The molecular details of their interaction with biological matter, however, are difficult to investigate due to the vast number of combinations of both the biological systems and the variety of possible liquids. Here, we provide a computational study aimed at understanding the interaction of a special class of biocompatible ionic liquids (choline-aminoate) with two model biological systems: an oligopeptide and an oligonucleotide. We employed molecular dynamics with a polarizable force field. Our results are in line with previous experimental and computational evidence on analogous systems and show how these biocompatible ionic liquids, in their pure form, act as gentle solvents for protein structures while simultaneously destabilizing DNA structure.

Experiences from clinical practice suggest that hypochlorous acid (HOCl) used as adjuvant treatment can shorten the time to clinical resolution of blepharitis, particularly in relation to the ophthalmic complications that often occur with a blepharitis diagnosis. In addition, in clinical practice, HOCl adjuvant treatment also resulted in a viable option for the management of ophthalmic disorders other than blepharitis. This case series presents and discusses real-life experiences with using an HOCl ophthalmic spray to manage eye infections, further characterizing the use of HOCl for ophthalmic applications.

Context: Assessing the accuracy in operation of a Machine Learning (ML) system for image classification on arbitrary (unlabeled) inputs is hard. This is due to the oracle problem, which impacts the ability of automatically judging the output of the classification, thus hindering the accuracy of the assessment when unlabeled previously unseen inputs are submitted to the system. Objective: We propose the Image Classification Oracle Surrogate (ICOS), a technique to automatically evaluate the accuracy in operation of image classifiers based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs). Method: To establish whether the classification of an arbitrary image is correct or not, ICOS leverages three knowledge sources: operational input data, training data, and the ML algorithm. Knowledge is expressed through likely invariants - properties which should not be violated by correct classifications. ICOS infers and filters invariants to improve the correct detection of misclassifications, reducing the number of false positives. We evaluate ICOS experimentally on twelve CNNs – using the popular MNIST, CIFAR10, CIFAR100, and ImageNet datasets. We compare it to two alternative strategies, namely cross-referencing and self-checking. Results: Experimental results show that ICOS exhibits performance comparable to the other strategies in terms of accuracy, showing higher stability over a variety of CNNs and datasets with different complexity and size. Conclusions: ICOS likely invariants are shown to be effective in automatically detecting misclassifications by CNNs used in image classification tasks when the expected output is unknown; ICOS ultimately yields faithful assessments of their accuracy in operation. Knowledge about input data can also be manually incorporated into ICOS, to increase robustness against unexpected phenomena in operation, like label shift.

Abstract Ultrahigh temperature ceramics (UHTCs) were analyzed for their suitability in hypersonic flight conditions using balanced heat equations, transport equation, and finite element modeling technique. Mathematical model was derived on the assumption that the induced porosity follows linear and parabolic solutions of Laplace equation and applied external load mimicking hypersonic conditions with critical heat flux ranging between 7 and 44 MW/m2. Simulations were carried out with four different UHTCs combinations and the results outlined a temperature rise exceeding 4700°C with deformation observed on the fixed area and where the heat flux was generated. The influence of porosity had a greater impact on the performance of the material as it led to a reduction in deformation compared to dense samples. Porous UHTCs exhibited a good thermal shock resistance owing to the release of thermal stresses through pores, which also enhanced the thermal insulation of the structure.

Solid lipid nanoparticles (SLNs) are lipid-based colloidal systems used for the delivery of active compounds. Although SLNs have many benefits, they show important issues due to physical and chemical instability phenomena during storage. For these reasons, it is highly desirable to have a dried SLN formulation available. Therefore, the aim of the project was to identify suitable methods to obtain a dry powder formulation from an SLN suspension. The nanoparticle suspension was dried using both freeze- and spray-drying techniques. The suitability of these methods in obtaining SLN dry powders was evaluated from the analyses of nanotechnological parameters, system morphology and thermal behavior using differential scanning calorimetry. Results pointed out that both drying techniques, although at different yields, were able to produce an SLN dry powder suitable for pharmaceutical applications. Noteworthily, the freeze-drying of SLNs under optimized conditions led to a dry powder endowed with good reconstitution properties and technological parameters similar to the starting conditions. Moreover, freeze–thaw cycles were carried out as a pretest to study the protective effect of different cryoprotectants (e.g., glucose and mannitol with a concentration ranging from 1% to 10% w/v). Glucose proved to be the most effective in preventing particle growth during freezing, thawing, and freeze-drying processes; in particular, the optimum concentration of glucose was 1% w/v.

Colorectal cancer is one of the most diffused tumoral diseases. Since most medicaments employed for its treatment are debilitating, the use of naturally derived products, which can be effective against the mutated cells and, in addition, can reduce most inflammatory-related effects, could be extremely beneficial for the continued treatment of this disease. In this research, ethyl protocatechuate (PCAEE), a protocatechuic acid prodrug, was encapsulated in solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN) (prepared without and with Tween 80), which were characterized in terms of size, polydispersity index (PDI), zeta potential and thermotropic behavior. Encapsulation efficiency, release profile and interaction with a model of biomembrane were also assessed. The nanoparticles were tested in vitro on both healthy cells and on a model of tumoral cells. SLN prepared with Tween 80 was promising in terms of physicochemical properties (z-average of 190 nm, PDI 0.150 and zeta potential around −20 mV) and encapsulation efficiency (56%); they showed a desirable release profile, demonstrated an ability to penetrate and release the encapsulated PCAEE into a biomembrane model and were nontoxic on healthy cells. In addition, they caused a greater dose-dependent decrease in the viability of CaCo-2 cells than PCAEE alone. In conclusion, the formulation could be proposed for further studies to assess its suitability for the treatment of colorectal cancer.

Investigation of the interaction between drugs and biomembrane models, as a strategy to study and eventually improve drug/substrate interactions, is a crucial factor in preliminary screening. Synthesized peptides represent a source of potential anticancer and theragnostic drugs. In this study, we investigated the interaction of a novel synthesized peptide, called RH-23, with a simplified dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) model of the cellular membrane. The interaction of RH-23 with DMPC, organized either in multilamellar vesicles (MLVs) and in Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) monolayers, was assessed using thermodynamic techniques, namely differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and LB. The calorimetric evaluations showed that RH-23 inserted into MLVs, causing a stabilization of the phospholipid gel phase that increased with the molar fraction of RH-23. Interplay with LB monolayers revealed that RH-23 interacted with DMPC molecules. This work represents the first experimental thermodynamic study on the interaction between RH-23 and a simplified model of the lipid membrane, thus providing a basis for further evaluations of the effect of RH-23 on biological membranes and its therapeutic/diagnostic potential.

Skin is the first human barrier that is daily exposed to a broad spectrum of physical and chemical agents, which can increase reactive oxygen species (ROS) and lead to the formation of topical disorders. Antioxidant molecules, such as benzo[k,l]xanthene lignans (BXL), are ideal candidates to eliminate or minimize the effects of ROS. Herein, we aimed to formulate BXL-loaded solid lipid nanoparticles (SLN-BXL) to improve the bioavailability and interaction with the skin, and also to investigate the protective impact against intracellular ROS generation in HFF-1 in comparison with the drug-free situation. SLN-BXL were formulated using the PIT/ultrasonication method, and then were subjected to physicochemical characterizations, i.e., average size, zeta potential (ZP), polydispersity index (PDI), encapsulation efficiency (%EE), thermotropic behavior, and interaction with a biomembrane model. The results show a mean size around 200 nm, PDI of 0.2, and zeta potential of about −28 mV, with values almost unchanged over a period of three months, while the EE% is ≈70%. Moreover, SLN-BXL are able to deeply interact with the biomembrane model, and to achieve a double-action release in mildly hydrophobic matrices; the results of the in vitro experiments confirm that SLN-BXL are cell-safe and capable of attenuating the IL-2-induced high ROS levels. In conclusion, based on our findings, the formulation can be proposed as a candidate for a preventive remedy against skin disorders induced by increased levels of ROS.

Cell membrane models are useful for obtaining molecular-level information on the interaction of biologically active molecules whose activity is believed to depend also on their effects on the membrane. Cytarabine was conjugated with fatty acids to improve the drug lipophilicity and the interaction with the biomembrane model. Cytarabine was conjugated with fatty acids of different lengths to form the trimyristoyl cytarabine and the tristearoyl cytarabine derivatives. Their interaction with biomembrane models constituted by dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC) monolayers was studied by employing the Langmuir–Blodgett technique. DMPC/cytarabine, DMPC/trimyristoyl cytarabine and DMPC/tristearoyl cytarabine mixed monolayers at increasing molar fractions of the compound were prepared and placed on the subphase. The mean molecular area/surface pressure isotherms were recorded at 37 °C. Between the molecules of DMPC and those of cytarabine or prodrugs, repulsive forces act. However, these forces are very weak between DMPC and cytarabine and stronger between DMPC and the cytarabine derivatives, thus avoiding the expulsion of the compounds at higher surface pressure and modifying the stability of the mixed monolayer. The fatty acid moieties could then modulate the affinity of cytarabine for biomembranes.

We report a series of calculations to elucidate one possible mechanism of SO2 chemisorption in amino acid-based ionic liquids. Such systems have been successfully exploited as CO2 absorbents and, since SO2 is also a by-product of fossil fuels’ combustion, their ability in capturing SO2 has been assessed by recent experiments. This work is exclusively focused on evaluating the efficiency of the chemical trapping of SO2 by analyzing its reaction with the amino group of the amino acid. We have found that, overall, SO2 is less reactive than CO2, and that the specific amino acid side chain (either acid or basic) does not play a relevant role. We noticed that bimolecular absorption processes are quite unlikely to take place, a notable difference with CO2. The barriers along the reaction paths are found to be non-negligible, around 7–11 kcal/mol, and the thermodynamic of the reaction appears, from our models, unfavorable.

This paper presents a cloud-based hybrid simulation platform to test large-scale distributed system-of-systems for the management and control of maritime traffic, the so-called vessel traffic systems (VTS). A VTS consists of multiple, heterogeneous, distributed, and interoperating systems, including radar, automatic identification systems, direction finders, electro-optical sensors, and gateways to external VTSs, information systems; identifying, representing, and analyzing interactions is a challenge to the evaluation of the real risks for safety and security of the marine environment. The need for reproducing in fabric the system behaviors that could occur in situ demands for the ability of integrating emulated and simulated environments to cope with the different testability requirements of involved systems and to keep testing cost sustainable. The platform exploits hybrid simulation and virtualization technologies, and it is deployable on a private cloud, reducing the cost of setting up realistic and effective testing scenarios.

BeWeb – online ecclesiastical cultural heritage – is a project to establish a portal dedicated to the cultural and artistic heritage of the Catholic Church, by providing an integrated view of data regarding churches, the artwork and items of worship they contain, library and archive funds of diocesan and religious institutes, with a special focus on cultural, scientific and pastoral care aspects, in order to provide an authoritative tool for users to know more about these extraordinary assets. Our goal is to share the outcome of all activities carried out by dioceses and ecclesiastical cultural institutes to manage and enhance their cultural and artistic heritage, both through the catalogue – which provides a virtual map of buildings, items, cultural institutes, archives, funds and libraries – and also through content creation, by connecting different resources together and helping users find their way through this wealth of material, in order for them to appreciate aspects related to pastoral care and worship, in addition to history and culture. Integrating this kind of information leads to a clearer perception of the Church’s unique cultural heritage, which can be understood only by referring to local contexts that provide users with a fundamental key for interpretation. The digital inventory of ecclesiastical cultural and artistic heritage, that Italian dioceses have been urged to contribute to by the Italian Bishops’ Conference since 1997 – with the support of the National Office for Ecclesiastical Cultural Heritage (UNBCE) acting as coordinator – has led to the creation of a massive digital data bank in the last ten years. The inventory documents an extremely important, sizeable and peculiar cultural heritage, and testifies to the sense of responsibility and spirit of service of dioceses and religious institutes. UNBCE has laid down the methodology, identified strategies, provided means and support in the different work stages, but this project has been and still is a major networking effort, to which each diocese and institute contribute, safeguarding the added value that is given by the close union between information and heritage which, in several online projects, is sometimes undermined. The various inventory projects are the result of intense activity based on specific agreements signed with the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities and respective Central Institutes, to promote filing initiatives that comply with relevant national and international standards, safeguarding filing entities’ specifities. The traditionally active dialogue between UNBCE, Ministry officials and particular Churches has led to the pursuit of shared goals in implementing this ambitious project. Currently, BeWeb hosts the data banks of several Italian dioceses’ historic and artistic heritage, in addition to fact sheets regarding dioceses and cultural institutes (museums, archives and libraries). Over time, it will be enriched with data banks of architectural heritage, archival funds and library assets, thus becoming a cross-sectoral portal of ecclesiastical cultural heritage with and extraordinary potential. BeWeb engages in dialogue on a 360° radius: this project also includes continuous updates and reflections regarding national and international scenarios, through a semantic web, open data and integration with internationally-renowned archives such as VIAF, ULAN, TGN. All this is also made possible by the development of access point control and standardization (authority files).BeWeb’s aim is to provide for different navigation needs: from average users looking for basic information to specialists engaging in more sophisticated searches. BeWeb acts as a mediator between users and cultural institutions, to enhance the Church’s important cultural heritage through greater participation by making communication easier.