Search results for "CONTACT"
showing 10 items of 1003 documents
A new perspective of innovation toward a non-contact society - Amazon's initiative in pioneering growing seamless switching
2022
This paper elucidates the inside of the black box of Amazon's unique research and development (R&D) dynamism that made it the world's top R&D leader by transforming “routine or periodic alterations” into “significant improvement” during the R&D process. This dynamism also succeeded in transforming the COVID-19 pandemic period into a springboard for new innovation, leading to Amazon's notable growth notwithstanding the pandemic. An empirical analysis using a techno-economic approach focusing on Amazon's endeavor to develop a series of advanced digital fashions (ADFs) and online-based luxury brands (neo-luxury) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic was conducted. Amazon became a global appa…
Survey of the mean pressure exerted by a wide range of tractors on the soil
2010
In order to predict the mean pressure exerted by a vehicle tyre on the soil, in 1984 Plackett suggested measuring the contact area of a tyre on a hard surface. The model proposed by Hallonborg in 1996, based on the “super ellipse theory”, provided the best results in terms of prediction of the tyre-soil contact area. In this study 82 4WD tractors with different power, mass and age of manufacture were surveyed. Relying on their technical features, the contact area of the front and rear tyres of each tractor and, therefore, their pressure on the soil was calculated, in order to assess the attention paid by manufacturers to soil compaction. The results of this survey showed that the mean press…
Nanostructured Polymer Brushes With Reversibly Changing Properties
2002
AbstractWe investigated the interplay between different mechanisms of the lateral and vertical segregation in the synthesized via “grafting from” approach symmetric A/B (where A and B are poly(styrene-co-2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorostyrene) and poly(methylmethacrylate), respectively) polymer brushes upon exposure to different solvents. We used X-ray photoemission electron spectroscopy and microscopy (X-PEEM), AFM, water contact angle measurements, and oxygen plasma etching to study morphology of the brushes. The ripple morphology after toluene (nonselective solvent) revealed elongated lamellar-like domains of A and B polymers alternating across the surface. The dimple-A morphology consisting of ro…
Reactive surface coatings based on polysilsesquioxanes: universal method toward light-responsive surfaces.
2011
Reactive surface coatings were used as an ideal precursor coating for the fabrication of three different photoswitchable surface coatings in parallel. Different light-responsive moieties, such as azobenzene, salicylideneaniline, and spiropyran, were immobilized on glass, polycarbonate, and steel surfaces. Independent from the underlying substrate, wettability could be switched reversibly by UV irradiation. The maximum switching range was obtained after functionalization of the reactive coating with spiropyran, resulting in a contact angle difference between the two isomeric states of almost 30°.
Safety assessment of food-contact paper and board using a battery of short-term toxicity tests: European union BIOSAFEPAPER project.
2005
International audience; An European Union (EU)-funded project QLK1-CT-2001-00930 (BIOSAFEPAPER) involves the development, validation and intercalibration of a short-term battery of toxicological tests for the safety assessment of food-contact paper and board. Dissemination of the results to industry, legislators (e.g. DG Consumer Protection, DG Enterprises, DG Research), standardization bodies such as CEN, and consumers will create an agreed risk evaluation procedure. The project involves pre-normative research in order to establish a set of in-vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity tests that will be easily adaptable to food-contact fibre-based materials and have endpoints relevant to consume…
Towards Laser-Textured Antibacterial Surfaces
2018
AbstractEscherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacterial retention on mirror-polished and ultrashort pulse laser-textured surfaces is quantified with a new approach based on ISO standards for measurement of antibacterial performance. It is shown that both wettability and surface morphology influence antibacterial behavior, with neither superhydrophobicity nor low surface roughness alone sufficient for reducing initial retention of either tested cell type. Surface structures comprising spikes, laser-induced periodic surface structures (LIPSS) and nano-pillars are produced with 1030 nm wavelength 350 fs laser pulses of energy 19.1 μJ, 1.01 μJ and 1.46 μJ, respectively. SEM analysis, optic…
Control of biofilm formation by poly-ethylene-co-vinyl acetate films incorporating nisin.
2010
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of poly-ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA) films incorporating different concentrations (0.1%, 0.5% and 1%) of nisin on the biofilm-forming ability of Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 7644, Staphylococcus aureus 815 and Staphylococ-cus epidermidis ATCC 35984. Nisin was incorporated into two grades of EVA (EVA14 and EVA28) in the melt during a common film-blowing operation. The efficacy of EVA/nisin films was evaluated by biofilm biomass measurements and Live/Dead staining in combination with fluorescence microscopy. In order to evaluate whether the nisin incorporation could modify the film surface properties, contact angle measurements and scanning e…
Directed random walk on the backbone of an oriented percolation cluster
2012
We consider a directed random walk on the backbone of the infinite cluster generated by supercritical oriented percolation, or equivalently the space-time embedding of the ``ancestral lineage'' of an individual in the stationary discrete-time contact process. We prove a law of large numbers and an annealed central limit theorem (i.e., averaged over the realisations of the cluster) using a regeneration approach. Furthermore, we obtain a quenched central limit theorem (i.e.\ for almost any realisation of the cluster) via an analysis of joint renewals of two independent walks on the same cluster.
Studies of Molecular Orientation and Order in Self-Assembled Semifluorinated n-Alkanethiols: Single and Dual Component Mixtures
1997
The structure, orientation and morphology of self-assembled monolayers of a semifluorinated n-alkanethiol, F(CF2)8(CH2)11SH (F8H11SH), have been investigated by polarized IR, angular dependent XPS, ToF-SIMS, contact angle, and ellipsometric measurements. The orientation of the all trans hydrocarbon segment was found to be tilted much less from the surface normal than the 30° tilt found for octadecanethiol. This has been attributed to the steric constraints imposed by the larger cross section fluorocarbon helices that subsequently are tilted from the surface normal. In addition, studies of dual component mixtures of F8H11SH/F8SH and F8SH/F8H2SH have revealed that competitive adsorption occur…
Association of Urogenital Symptoms with History of Water Contact in Young Women in Areas Endemic for S. haematobium. A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural…
2016
Female genital schistosomiasis is a neglected tropical disease caused by Schistosoma haematobium. Infected females may suffer from symptoms mimicking sexually transmitted infections. We explored if self-reported history of unsafe water contact could be used as a simple predictor of genital schistosomiasis. In a cross-sectional study in rural South Africa, 883 sexually active women aged 16–22 years were included. Questions were asked about urogenital symptoms and water contact history. Urine samples were tested for S. haematobium ova. A score based on self-reported water contact was calculated and the association with symptoms was explored while adjusting for other genital infections using m…