Exploring the EU plastic value chain: A material flow analysis

The accounting of plastic flows across the economy is pivotal to assess circularity of production and consumption and to define transitions scenarios at systems level. This study established a top-down mass flow analysis model for the EU27 (2019) plastic value chain, focusing on 9 sectors and 10 polymers. Estimates indicate that 4.46Mt of plastic recyclates are produced and consumed in the EU27 territory. On average, the EU27 recycling rate was equal to 19%. Total plastic losses amounted to 4% of the total plastic production, mostly occurring during the use phase. Future 2025 scenarios were prepared considering expected trends in the plastic value chain and compared with industry targets. In the cases of combined scenarios, the total recyclates consumed by plastic converters in 2025 ranged between 9.11Mt and 11.13Mt. Considering the key commitments for actions at the EU level, an evidence-based transformation of the plastic value chain is essential

The Origanum Collection of Gaetano Savi (1769-1844) in the Herbarium Horti Pisani (PI)

The Origanum Collection of Gaetano Savi (1769-1844) in the Herbarium Horti Pisani (PI). The collection of exsiccata of the genus Origanum, studied by Gaetano Savi and kept in the Herbarium Horti Pisani (PI) represents a valuable document of Savi's work as a taxonomist. It provides useful news for researchers of systematics and history of botany. The collection is enriched by some original drawings and includes the lectotypes of Origanum confertum Savi and O. fortuitum Savi

Lectotypification of two Origanum names (Lamiaceae) described by Gaetano Savi

Origanum confertum Savi and O. fortuitum Savi are typified on herbarium specimens kept in PI. These taxa are identifiable, as heterotypic synonyms, with O. majorana L. and O. xpaniculatum W.D.J.Koch, respectively

Salification Controls the In-Vitro Release of Theophylline

Sustained released formulation is the most used strategy to control the efficacy and the adverse reactions of an API (active pharmaceutical ingredient) with a narrow therapeutic index. In this work, we used a different way to tailor the solubility and diffusion of a drug. Salification of Theophylline with Squaric Acid was carried out to better control the absorption of Theophylline after administration. Salification proved to be a winning strategy decreasing the dissolution of the APIs up to 54% with respect to Theophylline. Most importantly, this was accomplished in the first 10 min of the dissolution process, which are the most important for the API administration. Two polymorphs were identified and fully characterized. Theophylline squarate was discovered as trihydrate (SC-XRD) and as a metastable anhydrous form. Indeed, during the Variable Temperature-XRPD experiment, the trihydrate form turned back into the two starting components after losing the three molecules of water. On the other hand, the synthesis of the trihydrate form was observed when a simple mixing of the two starting components were exposed to a high humidity relative percentage (90% RH)

Renormalization group approach to vibrational energy transfer in protein

Renormalization group method is applied to the study of vibrational energy transfer in protein molecule. An effective Lagrangian and associated equations of motion to describe the resonant energy transfer are analyzed in terms of the first-order perturbative renormalization group theory that has been developed as a unified tool for global asymptotic analysis. After the elimination of singular terms associated with the Fermi resonance, amplitude equations to describe the slow dynamics of vibrational energy transfer are derived, which recover the result obtained by a technique developed in nonlinear optics [S.J. Lade, Y.S. Kivshar, Phys. Lett. A 372 (2008) 1077].Comment: 11 page

ProDy: Protein Dynamics Inferred from Theory and Experiments

Summary: We developed a Python package, ProDy, for structure-based analysis of protein dynamics. ProDy allows for quantitative characterization of structural variations in heterogeneous datasets of structures experimentally resolved for a given biomolecular system, and for comparison of these variations with the theoretically predicted equilibrium dynamics. Datasets include structural ensembles for a given family or subfamily of proteins, their mutants and sequence homologues, in the presence/absence of their substrates, ligands or inhibitors. Numerous helper functions enable comparative analysis of experimental and theoretical data, and visualization of the principal changes in conformations that are accessible in different functional states. ProDy application programming interface (API) has been designed so that users can easily extend the software and implement new methods

LifeWatch observatory date: zooplankton observations in the Belgian part of the North Sea

Through regular sampling surveys, the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) is generating a long‐term data series for the Belgian coastal water and sandbank system, a designated site in the Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) network. The data series is built from sampling activities initiated in 2012 in the framework of the LifeWatch marine observatory. Nine nearshore stations are sampled monthly, with an additional eight offshore stations sampled seasonally. This paper presents the gen-erated data series for zooplankton densities and size measurements, analysed using a ZooScan plankton imaging device together with the ZooProcess and Plankton Identifier software packages. To date 673.017 biological particles have been collected and identified. The collection and processing of the 2012–2018 dataset is described, along with its data curation and quality control. Yearly versions of the data are published in a standardized format together with environmental parameters, accompanied by an extensive metadata description and labelled with digital identifiers for traceability. The data are published under a CC‐BY 4.0 license, allowing use of the data under the condition of providing the reference to the original sourc