Recycling of Wastes Deriving from the Production of Epoxy-Carbon Fiber Composites in the Production of Polymer Composites

The formulation of composites reinforced with shredded epoxy-carbon fibers wastes is investigated. Poly (buthylene terephthalate) PBT was selected as the matrix for the composites. In order to increase the interaction between the epoxy resin still coating the carbon fibers and the PBT matrix, polycarbonate (PC) was added either to the matrix formulation or as a waste coating. The flexural strength, impact strength, and dynamic-mechanical analysis of the new composites was investigated, as well as their microstructure by scanning electron microscopy. Experimental results show that the recycled fibers can be dispersed in both pure PBT and in its blend, enhancing the mechanical properties of the composites. An increase in the investigated properties is found specifically in the elastic modulus below 50 degrees C and in the impact strength. The extent of the increase depends on the obtained microstructure

From Ownership to Service-oriented Business Models: A Survey in Capital Goods Companies and a PSS Typology

AbstractThe evolution of capital goods companies towards a “service-oriented” business model is challenging and requires fundamental changes in the company. Main aims of this study, that is a part of a large research project, are to understand how business models of companies that operate in capital goods sector are configured and to identify different PSS types that can help companies to better understand the shifting toward a service-oriented business model. To achieve these results, we developed a framework, based on the Canvas model and carried out an exploratory survey among 95 European companies to understand the relevant issues that characterize business model configuration in servitization context

Redefinition of the Ligurian Units at the Alps–Apennines junction (NW Italy) and their role in the evolution of the Ligurian accretionary wedge: constraints from mélanges and broken formations

We document that the undifferentiated chaotic Ligurian Units of the Monferrato–Torino Hill sector (MO-TH) at the Alps–Apennines junction consist of three different units that are comparable with the Cassio, Caio and Sporno Units of the External Ligurian Units of the Northern Apennines. Their internal stratigraphy reflects the character of units deposited in an ocean–continent transition (OCT) zone between the northwestern termination of the Ligurian–Piedmont oceanic basin and the thinned passive margin of Adria microcontinent. The inherited wedge-shaped architecture of this OCT, which gradually closed toward the north in the present-day Canavese Zone, controlled the Late Cretaceous–early Eocene flysch deposition at the trench of the External Ligurian accretionary wedge during the oblique subduction. This favoured the formation of an accretionary wedge increasing in thickness and elevation toward the SE, from the MO-TH to the Emilia Northern Apennines. Our results therefore provide significant information on both the palaeogeographical reconstruction of the northwestern termination of the Ligurian–Piedmont oceanic basin and the role played by inherited along-strike variations (stratigraphy, structural architecture and morphology) of OCT zones in controlling subduction–accretionary processes

A European survey on capital goods manufacturers

New trends for capital goods manufacturers push towards selling the products usage or performance rather than the product itself. This evolution from traditional business models, based on the product sales, to new service-oriented business models (BMs), has received increasingly attention both in the academic and managerial community. Despite this, a limited application of service offerings has been observed in the capital goods sector. This article reports the results from a survey carried out during the T-REX project, funded by the European Union under the Seventh Framework Programme, and has two objectives: (a) to empirically investigate the way BMs of capital goods companies are configured and (b) to analyse the degree of service orientation of such BMs. Finally, the main challenges for practitioners emerged from the survey are discussed in this article, highlighting directions for future research

An investigation on the possible use of coffee silverskin in PLA/PBS composites

The production of degradable packaging materials is a task that can be no lon-ger postponed. Moreover, high amounts of agricultural wastes are landfilledwithout any recycling. In this research, the possibility to formulate particulatecomposites made of biopolymers filled with coffee waste with acceptable physi-cal and mechanical characteristics that will degrade is investigated. The addi-tion of this agricultural waste, by reducing the requested amount ofbiopolymer, can decrease the overall price of the material presently the mainlimiting factor to the use of biopolymers in the packaging industry. Silverskin,the integument of coffee beans discarded during the roasting process, after amilling step, is added up to a 30 wt% either to polylactic acid (PLA) or to ablend of PLA and polybutylene succinate. The filler can be homogeneously dis-persed in both systems. The data shows that the silverskin filler increases theelastic modulus but decreases the tensile strength of the material and helps thedevelopment of crystal phase in the matrix. The thermal stability and thehydrophobicity of the materials stay almost unchanged on filler addition.Moreover, data shows that the addition of silverskin increases the materialssusceptibility to microbial attack

Regulation of the Chemokine Receptor CXCR4 by Hypoxia

Cell adaptation to hypoxia (Hyp) requires activation of transcriptional programs that coordinate expression of genes involved in oxygen delivery (via angiogenesis) and metabolic adaptation (via glycolysis). Here, we describe that oxygen availability is a determinant parameter in the setting of chemotactic responsiveness to stromal-derived factor 1 (CXCL12). Low oxygen concentration induces high expression of the CXCL12 receptor, CXC receptor 4 (CXCR4), in different cell types (monocytes, monocyte-derived macrophages, tumor-associated macrophages, endothelial cells, and cancer cells), which is paralleled by increased chemotactic responsiveness to its specific ligand. CXCR4 induction by Hyp is dependent on both activation of the Hyp-inducible factor 1 α and transcript stabilization. In a relay multistep navigation process, the Hyp–Hyp-inducible factor 1 α–CXCR4 pathway may regulate trafficking in and out of hypoxic tissue microenvironments

Generating Realistic Synthetic Relational Data through Graph Variational Autoencoders

Synthetic data generation has recently gained widespread attention as a more reliable alternative to traditional data anonymization. The involved methods are originally developed for image synthesis. Hence, their application to the typically tabular and relational datasets from healthcare, finance and other industries is non-trivial. While substantial research has been devoted to the generation of realistic tabular datasets, the study of synthetic relational databases is still in its infancy. In this paper, we combine the variational autoencoder framework with graph neural networks to generate realistic synthetic relational databases. We then apply the obtained method to two publicly available databases in computational experiments. The results indicate that real databases' structures are accurately preserved in the resulting synthetic datasets, even for large datasets with advanced data types

The Environmental Effects of the Innovative Ejectors Plant Technology for the Eco-Friendly Sediment Management in Harbors

A sediment bypassing plant based on innovative jet pump, ejectors, has been tested in the first-of-a-kind demo application at the harbor of Cervia (Italy, Northern Adriatic Sea). The ejector is a jet pump aimed to reduce sediment accumulation in navigation channels and coastal areas. Herein we present results of the first study assessing the potential ecological effects of the ejectors plant. Sediment characteristics, benthic, and fish assemblages before and after the plant activation have been analyzed in the putatively impacted (the sediment removal and discharge) areas and four control locations, one time before and two times after plant activation. Ejectors plant operation resulted in a reduction of the mud and organic matter content in the sediment, as well as in changes in shell debris amount in the impacted areas. Abundance and species richness of benthic macroinvertebrates, initially reduced in the impacted areas, probably due to the previous repeated dredging, returned to higher values during demo plant continuous operation. Higher diversity of fish fauna was observed in the study area during plant operation period. Observed dynamics of the ecological status of the marine habitat suggest that an ejectors plant could represent an eco-friendly solution alternative to dredging operations to solve harbor siltation problems

In‐hospital and long‐term mortality for acute heart failure: analysis at the time of admission to the emergency department

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