Proprietary Technology Research Articles

Geotechnical parameter study and solidification of Marine Sediment for Road Engineering

The Chinese coastal areas are the environment of multiple activities, and navigation occupies an important place. Dredging operations maintain access to port structures carried out regularly. These sediments’ fate is problematic in Jiangsu province due to significant contamination of organic and mineral pollutants. A company called Nature Way aims to solve this problem. It is deeply committed to the treatment and use of sediment dredged from the seabed and uses proprietary solidification technology to transform all kinds of silt waste into new engineered materials that replace sand and sand. Gravel and traditional techniques and can be used as foundation materials for various projects in loose soil areas. In this work, we first studied the physic-chemical characterization of raw materials sediments supplied by Nature Way Corporation from Jiangsu province. Secondly, we have to mix the raw sediment and the solidifying agents and test the mechanical performance at 3%, 5% and 7% in a time interval of 7 days, 14 days, and 28 days. Finally, we have to measure the (CBR) “California Bearing Ratio” after 28 days, mix with the binder at 3%, 5%, 7%.

Hardware Implementation of an OPC UA Server for Industrial Field Devices

Industrial plants suffer from a high degree of complexity and incompatibility in their communication infrastructure, caused by a wild mix of proprietary technologies. This prevents transformation toward Industry 4.0 and the Industrial Internet of Things. Open platform communications unified architecture (OPC UA) is a standardized protocol that addresses these problems with uniform and semantic communication across all levels of the hierarchy. However, its adoption in embedded field devices, such as sensors and actuators, is still lacking due to prohibitive memory and power requirements of software implementations. We have developed a dedicated hardware engine that offloads processing of the OPC UA protocol and enables the realization of compact and low-power field devices with OPC UA support. As part of a proof-of-concept embedded system, we have implemented this engine in a 22-nm FDSOI technology, representing the first ASIC implementation of an OPC UA server. We measured performance, power consumption, and memory footprint of our test chip and compared it with a software implementation based on open62541 and a Raspberry Pi 2B. Our OPC UA hardware engine is 50 times more energy efficient and only requires 36 KiB of memory. The complete system consumes only 24 mW under full load, making it suitable for low-power embedded applications.

On the Gray Indexing in LoRa PHY

Long range wide area network (LoRaWAN) is one of the most widely used low power wide area (LPWA) network technologies operating in the unlicensed ISM band. Its physical layer (that is, LoRa PHY) which is Semtech's proprietary technology uses Gray indexing in LoRa symbol mapping. In this paper, we will investigate the effect of Gray indexing to the performance of LoRa PHY. Specifically, through computer simulations, we will compare FER performances according to with and without Gray indexing in AWGN and Rician fading environments.

Amino acid complex (AAComplex) benefits in cosmetic products: In vitro and in vivo clinical studies.

BackgroundAmino acids are major components of skin's natural moisturizing factors and play a role in regulating skin hydration and skin pH.ObjectiveThis research examines a proprietary amino acid complex technology (AAComplex) designed to help reduce skin irritation and repair skin damage.Methods In‐ vitro Scratch Assay HaCaT cells are scratched, and the wounds are imaged at different time points until the closure of the scratch wound is detected. In‐vitro 3D Reconstructed Human Tissue Evaluation The concentration of heat shock protein 27 (HSP‐27) extracted from 3D reconstructed human skin equivalent tissues and IL‐1a released to the media was determined using enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays. In Vivo Clinical Study 37 subjects were enrolled in a split‐face study design. On test days 1, 2, 4, and 8, subjects visited the test facility to have their face assessed by facial swabbing and bio‐instrumentation measurements.Results In‐ vitro Scratch Assay The AAComplex demonstrated a strong cell renewal benefit in the HaCaT (human) cells scratch assay. In Vitro 3D Reconstructed Human Tissue Evaluation AAComplex demonstrated a significant skin repair benefit by quantifying Heat Shock Protein, HSP‐27. Induced skin irritation was significantly reduced by quantifying interleukin‐1 alpha biomarker, IL‐1a. In Vivo Clinical Study The test products delivered skin benefits by reducing visual redness and skin irritation while increasing moisturization.ConclusionThe in vitro and in vivo clinical studies demonstrated that the AAComplex technology formulated in the commercially available Skin Recovery System effectively reduced skin irritation and redness as well as accelerating the skin repair process.

Natural Competence for Transformation in Lactobacili

Natural Competence for Transformation in Lactobacili

INFLUENCE OF COST LEADERSHIP STRATEGY ON PERFORMANCE OF THE INSURANCE COMPANIES IN KENYA

Purpose: The study sought to determine the influence of cost leadership strategy on performance of the insurance companies in Kenya. Specifically, the study aimed at establishing the influence of price of premiums, maturity period, market segment and nature of products.
 Methodology: The study adopted the descriptive research design method to ascertain and describe the characteristics of the variables. A sample size of 55 insurance companies was reached, and a semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data from the respondents. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software, from which appropriate findings were presented.
 Findings: The study findings showed that the cost leadership strategy was largely applied in the insurance companies in Kenya, and most of them have realized great performance. Nonetheless, the study found that most insurance companies’ distribution channels for products are moderately entrenched and hence firms may not have been perfectly efficient in reducing associated costs.
 Unique Contribution to Theory, Practice and Policy: The study recommends that insurance firms should devote more resources to execution of cost leadership programs, adoption of effective premium pricing, and enhanced use of proprietary technology in enhancing the products’ quality. The study as well recommends that insurance forms should come up with effective strategies that will help them to gain a large market segment in Kenya in order to enhance their performance, as this will effectively help them in overcoming competition in their industry.

Identification of the Technology Frontier

The subject of this study is the innovation market. To understand the laws of its functioning, this article introduces the concept of a technology frontier. This is understood as the relative productivity of labor (relative to the technological leader – the United States), the achievement of which makes it justified for developing economies to move from large-scale borrowing of foreign new technologies to their development within the country. The purpose of the article is to determine the specified frontier, for which a simple econometric model based on international statistics for 61 countries is proposed. To improve the accuracy of the calculations, countries were clustered into two groups: advanced, for which the technology frontier has been crossed and their own developments of new technologies prevail, and developing, for which the problem of the technology frontier remains important. The current value of the technology frontier is in the region of 70% of labor productivity in the United States. The comparison with previous estimates shows that this value tends to increase, which creates additional difficulties for the transition of catching-up countries from the mode of borrowing to the mode of creating new technologies. Taking into account the technological frontier allows avoiding both an undue delay in the development of proprietary technologies as well as a premature transition to the creation of innovations while ignoring the possibilities of borrowing.

Estandarización y validación de un western blot para el diagnóstico del virus de inmunodeficiencia humana

Objectives: To standardize and validate a western blot test for the diagnosis of human immunodeficiency virus. Methods: A prospective observational study was carried out during 2017 and 2018. The western blot test was standardized, using the polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technique with sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS PAGE), being the nitrocellulose blot strips prepared with an Optimal HIV-1 antigen concentration of 2.71 µg / mm. The western blot was validated in the laboratory against 400 reference samples (300 sera and 100 plasmas): 200 positive and 200 negatives for antibodies against HIV-1, being the reference test the Immunoblot of the Fujirebio brand. Diagnostic performance parameters were estimated using Epidat v3.1 and Excel. Results: Eight important bands of the HIV-1 antigen were identified: p17, p24, p31, p39, gp41, p55, p66, and gp120. According to the Consortium for the normalization of serology for retroviruse, those that were taken as specific diagnostic bands were: p24, p31, gp41, and gp120. The sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value and validity index against sera were: 96.7%, 96.0%, 96.0%, 96.6%, 96.3%; and against plasmas: 98.0%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 98.0%, 99.0% respectively. No false positives and negatives were found, but some were undetermined. Conclusion: The development of this western blot test with proprietary technology presented similar diagnostic performance to the reference test, without showing cross-reactions, being useful for confirming HIV.

Upcycling to a circular food system

Upcycling to a circular food system

Facilitating implementation of organs-on-chips by open platform technology.

Organ-on-chip (OoC) and multi-organs-on-chip (MOoC) systems have the potential to play an important role in drug discovery, disease modeling, and personalized medicine. However, most devices developed in academic labs remain at a proof-of-concept level and do not yet offer the ease-of-use, manufacturability, and throughput that are needed for widespread application. Commercially available OoC are easier to use but often lack the level of complexity of the latest devices in academia. Furthermore, researchers who want to combine different chips into MOoC systems are limited to one supplier, since commercial systems are not compatible with each other. Given these limitations, the implementation of standards in the design and operation of OoCs would strongly facilitate their acceptance by users. Importantly, the implementation of such standards must be carried out by many participants from both industry and academia to ensure a widespread acceptance and adoption. This means that standards must also leave room for proprietary technology development next to promoting interchangeability. An open platform with standardized interfacing and user-friendly operation can fulfill these requirements. In this Perspective article, the concept of an open platform for OoCs is defined from a technical perspective. Moreover, we discuss the importance of involving different stakeholders in the development, manufacturing, and application of such an open platform.

THE ISSUE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES WITHIN CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURES

Abstract: Taking into account the need for computerisation and process automation within critical infrastructures, a whole process of choosing the most appropriate software technologies is born, both in terms of security, but also in terms of costs and development opportunities. This problem is encountered by all states, but also by private companies, has favoured the creation of an environment conducive to the development of computing technologies in three directions, namely: in-house software, open-source technologies and proprietary technologies. The current challenge is to find medium and long-term solutions for the rapid interconnection or redesign of these three types of information technology in order to process data from government systems, in order to perform complex analyses that can meet current needs, keeping in -an equable balance of costs and security level and identifying the most effective solution.

A Digital Signature Model Using XAdES Standard as a Rest Service

The digital signature of documents and degrees is a topic widely discussed in the Federal Public Administration. Several laws and ordinances were created to standardize the issuance, validation and legal validity of digitally signed documents in national territory, such as the ordinances created by the Ministry of Education (MEC) to regulate the issuance of degrees in digital format. These ordinances created guidelines and standards that must be adopted by Federal Universities for the signing of in digital format. The main objective of this work is to study these ordinances, the main technologies and digital signature standards used in the literature to create a digital signature system model for University of Brasília-UnB, which complies with the MEC and ICP-Brazil standards. Moreover, the model must be developed with the main standards and technologies in the market, cohesive to the current UnB architecture, easy to maintain and update to new standards that may emerge, and also be a fully open source project. An architectural model and a prototype in Java language were developed using XAdES4j library as a microservice intermediated by the bus used in UnB. The prototype developed was compared with the current digital signature system named C3Web. The comparative tests and results between the two solutions showed that the current system used in UnB does not perform the signature in accordance with the standard proposed by the MEC, in addition to being a private system using proprietary technologies for the execution of digital signatures. The tests performed with the proposed model demonstrated that it performs the digital signature in accordance with the XAdES-T standard, regulations of the MEC and ICP-Brazil. In addition, the solution presented a performance comparable to the current system used by UnB with a little more effective security than the current system used. The current model developed in this work can be a basis for the creation of future subscription systems for Brazilian Universities.

Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells for 90% Post Combustion CO2 Capture From a New Build CCGT

This paper presents the findings of the techno-economic assessment undertaken by Wood for the UK Government Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on the large-scale deployment of Molten Carbonate Fuel Cells (MCFCs) for post-combustion CO2 capture integrated with a new build combined cycle gas turbine power plant for the generation of low carbon electricity. The findings are compared with a state of the art proprietary amine scrubbing technology. Based on a new build power plant to be installed in the North East of England, with a power train comprising two trains of H-class gas turbines each with a dedicated steam turbine, the configuration presented utilises MCFCs between the gas turbine exhausts and their heat recovery steam generators and cryogenic separation for unconverted fuel recycle and CO2 purification. It was found that the proposed configuration could achieve 92% CO2 capture from the overall power plant with MCFCs while achieving 42% of additional new power production with only 2.6 %-points of thermal efficiency penalty compared to a conventional proprietary amine benchmark. While the total project capital cost increased by 65%, the high overall thermal efficiency and additional power generated resulted in a Levelised Cost of Electricity almost identical to the benchmark at £70/MWh (US$97/MWh). A number of areas are identified for potential further improvement in this scheme. It is concluded that use of MCFC technology, which also has the capability to be tailored for hydrogen production and combined heat and power services, shows significant potential to be competitive with, or exceed, the cost and technical performance of current state of the art technologies for post-combustion CO2 capture.

Abstract LB123: A high value pharmacological platform dedicated to the real time study of stimulatory immune checkpoint signaling pathways

Abstract Immune checkpoint (ICP) co-receptors play a key role in the fine modulation of the immune response. While inhibitory ICP co-receptors are mainly characterized in cancer by the exhaustion of the immune response, stimulatory ICP co-receptors are clearly involved in an anarchic activation of the immune system leading to autoimmune diseases. But in another hand, this subtype of co-receptor shows a great asset in cancer therapy by increasing anti-tumoral response. All together, these co-receptors show a great interest for the development of innovative therapies in immunology or immuno-oncology. Nowadays, treatments targeting these co-receptors are currently tested in clinical trials or approved for use in man, especially antibodies targeting both inhibitory and stimulatory ICP. Small molecule-based strategy is tested in early drug discovery and in early clinical trials. In order to screen and assess the potency and efficiency of these therapies, robust and reliable cell-based assays are urgently needed. At Domain Therapeutics, using our powerful proprietary BRET technology: bioSens-AllTM, we successfully develop and validate a cell-based assay platform to assess immune checkpoint pharmacology. The activation or blockade of the signaling of checkpoint co-receptors are monitored in real time and in living cells. BRET assays dedicated to stimulatory ICPs: 4-1BB/4-1BB Ligand and OX-40/OX-40 Ligand were designed. BRET assay development is inspired by the natural recruitment and proximity of specific cytoplasmic partners very close to their co-receptors in an activated pathway. Indeed, the first assay design is based on the co-receptor fused with rGFP and its cytoplasmic partner fused with a rLucII. In the second assay design, the co-receptor is no longer fused, but is co-transfected with a membrane anchor fused with the rGFP and co-transfected with the cytoplasmic partner fused with rLucII. So, in an activated system (soluble ligand, antibody or in co-culture system) a modulation of BRET can be observed. For ICP assays dedicated to 4-1BB, BRET signal is triggered using soluble ligand, agonist antibody, or co-culture where TRAF1 is the biosensor fused with rLucII. Further validation was obtained for OX-40/OX-40 Ligand. Those BRET assays complement once previously developed for inhibitory ICPs axis: PD-1/PD-Ligand 1 or PD-Ligand 2 and CTLA-4/CD80-CD86. The ICP Platform set up here shows a good accuracy and robustness and represents a strong and reliable technology for drug discovery dedicated to ICPs. Our spatio-temporal cell-based functional assays can support broad drug programs, including: High Throughput Functional Screening, Lead Optimization and Bioanalytical QC lot Release. Citation Format: Alice GENTIL DIT MAURIN, Christel FRANCHET, Stephan SCHANN, Xavier LEROY. A high value pharmacological platform dedicated to the real time study of stimulatory immune checkpoint signaling pathways [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr LB123.

Computer-assisted Anesthesia Care: Avoiding the Highway to HAL

Computer-assisted Anesthesia Care: Avoiding the Highway to HAL

Focus on lasers, imaging, microscopy, and nanoscience

Focus on lasers, imaging, microscopy, and nanoscience

Abstract 1501: Employing 3D-ACT platform to assess the ability of stromal-targeting agents to improve penetration and efficacy of cell therapy

Abstract Background: Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT) has demonstrated great clinical success for the treatment of hematological malignancies. However, the unique challenges presented by solid tumors has significantly limited their utility. The primary characteristic of an effective ACT is the ability to selective identify tumor cells. In case of solid tumors, the ACT faces the additional hurdle requiring penetration into the tumor microenvironment (TME) while retaining function. Tumors develop highly immunosuppressive stroma which serves as a mechanical hinderance for the penetration and function of activated effector cells. In this study we used our 3D-ACT platform to investigate the ability of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) inhibitors to enhance the penetration of engineered cells into the intact patient tumor stroma and their efficacy within the tumor immune microenvironment. Methods: All tumor samples were obtained with patient consent and relevant IRB approval. Unpropagated 3D tumoroids with intact TME measuring 150 µm in size were prepared from fresh tumor samples of renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and colorectal carcinoma (CRC) using proprietary technology developed at Nilogen Oncosystems. Engineered T cells were labeled with different cell tracker fluorescent dyes to monitor cell movements and locations within tumoroids by confocal analysis. 3D tumoroids were treated with vehicle only or FAK inhibitors and exposed to CAR-T cells at 10:1 E:T ratio. Cell penetration within tumoroids and tumor cell killing was measured by high-content confocal imaging combined with 3D-image analysis. ACT cell activation was monitored using multiparameter flow cytometry analysis and multiplex cytokine release assays to assess changes in the TME. Results: Our studies demonstrated that the confocal-based high-content real time imaging platform, combined with custom image analysis algorithms, allowed for monitoring of treatment-mediated tumor cell killing with structural analysis of engineered T-cells in the intact 3D tumoroids. Our data revealed that CAR-T cell penetration into tumoroids greatly varied between different tumor types and was heavily influenced by the tumor's stromal components. Treatment with FAK-inhibitors led to alterations within the TME, which subsequently impacted penetration and efficacy of CAR-T cells as assessed by flow cytometry and confocal imaging. Conclusion: The ex vivo model described here (3D-ACT) retains the TME and replicate the heterogeneity of tumor stroma to provide provides a clinically relevant platform to evaluate the influence of the tumor stromal components on engineered T cell functions. We believe the 3D-ACT platform can effectively be used to screen for drugs that can promote ACT penetration into the tumor stroma and survival within the tumor microenvironment. Citation Format: Zhisong Tong, Stephen Iwanowycz, Jared Ehrhart, Mibel M. Pabón, Tina Pastoor, Soner Altiok. Employing 3D-ACT platform to assess the ability of stromal-targeting agents to improve penetration and efficacy of cell therapy [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1501.

Abstract 1622: Block-Removed Immunoglobulin Technology (BRITE) to enhance rituximab effector function by counteracting CA125/MUC16-mediated immunosuppression

Abstract Rituximab is a CD20-targeting antibody that is the standard-of-care for patients with Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) cases. Rituximab's mechanism of action includes complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC) and antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) - herein referred to as Humoral Immuno-Oncology (HIO) mechanism. Recent clinical evidence suggest that high serum levels of the tumor-produced MUC16/CA125 protein has a negative impact on the effectiveness of rituximab clinical activity on up to 40% of follicular lymphoma patients. In this study we demonstrate that CA125 binds to rituximab and reduces its tumor cell killing activity. Moreover, we describe the generation of a rituximab variant, named NAV-006, using a proprietary technology called Block-Removed Immunoglobulin Technology (BRITE) that employs randomized amino substitution and high-throughput screening to identify HIO-refractory rituximab variants. Here, we demonstrate that NAV-006 is more refractory to the immunosuppressive effects mediated by CA125 as shown by its reduced CA125 interaction and increased HIO activity. These data warrants further investigation of NAV-006 as a next generation anti-CD20 antibody that could improve upon the efficacy of the parent rituximab in NHL patients with high levels of CA125. Citation Format: Luigi Grasso, J. Bradford Kline, Nicholas C. Nicolaides. Block-Removed Immunoglobulin Technology (BRITE) to enhance rituximab effector function by counteracting CA125/MUC16-mediated immunosuppression [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2021; 2021 Apr 10-15 and May 17-21. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2021;81(13_Suppl):Abstract nr 1622.

NEW NANO-TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE EXTRACTION AND USE OF HYDROCARBONS, BASED ON THE USE OF UNIVERSAL MODULES OF INDUSTRIAL DISINTEGRATORS/ACTIVATORS

UMoID/A, developed by the authors of this work, have unique technical characteristics (extremely high magnetic induction density, close to one hundred percent efficiency, low material consumption. reliability), which allows them to provide grinding of various materials up to nano-sizes for various fields of industrial production, chemistry and medicine. These unique characteristics of UMoID/A allowed to effectively use these disintegrators into proprietary technologies to produce cheap alkaline nano-cement /concrete, cheap and ecologically-safe wood concrete, diesel/fuel oil, local ash, clean processing of toxic heavy fuel oil, increasing the final yield of light fractions of oil, further the standard process of cracking as mixers for high-quality suspensions in the oil, coal and construction industries and all this for the first time in the world to obtain fundamentally new and previously unknown materials and products, existing superior in quality and economy.

Zymbilan®-PSO cream with nano-encapsulated RetileX-A®-PRO mitigates the clinical severity and relieves the symptoms of chronic plaque psoriasis: an interventional clinical study

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Skin psoriasis is a serious inflammatory disorder with increased risk of rheumatic, cardiometabolic and psychosocial complications. At present, >50% of patients are dissatisfied with their treatment; thus, novel approaches are in high clinical demand. Retinoids are a major group of anti-psoriatic compounds; nonetheless, dose-dependent topical side effects have limited their effective topical application. RetileX-A<sup>®</sup>-PRO (Pharma Medico, Aarhus, Denmark) is a novel nano-encapsulated retinol ester designed to minimise the risk of skin irritation. The proprietary nano-encapsulation technology used in this compound can protect retinoid molecules from degradation, and thereby prolong and stabilise its release profile. The safety and efficacy of RetileX-A<sup>®</sup>-PRO were evaluated in this study.</p><p><strong>Methods:</strong> 45 patients (58% female, aged 18-80 years) with mild to moderate skin psoriasis were enrolled in a 4-week interventional study. Participants were treated once daily with Zymbilan<sup>®</sup>-PSO cream with RetileX-A<sup>®</sup>-PRO and evaluated both objectively and subjectively at baseline, after 8 hours and at endpoint.</p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Our observations demonstrated that Zymbilan<sup>®</sup>-PSO cream possesses both short-term and long-term anti-psoriatic effects. Shortly after application, objective skin characteristics were improved, and itching reduced in >84% of subjects. At endpoint, 87% of skin lesions improved, 9% did not change and 4% progressed as assessed by a dermatologist. Patients’ self-evaluation yielded similar results: 78% judged Zymbilan<sup>®</sup>-PSO cream as a ‘good’ to ‘very good’ skin care product with suitable cosmetic parameters. No side effects recorded in 95% of participants.</p><p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> In conclusion, Zymbilan<sup>®</sup>-PSO cream is a well-tolerated treatment that can mitigate both clinical severity and subjective symptoms of chronic skin psoriasis.</p>