The Sorption of Amoxicillin on Engineered Polyethylene Terephthalate Microplastics

The adsorption studies of contaminants on microplastics (MPs) collected from the marine environment are very hard to carry out mainly due to the difficulties associated with both to filtration of MPs and separation from biofilm and organic matrices. In this work, MPs were produced by a top-down protocol from polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles collected on the beach, thus already aged in the natural environment, and compared with engineered MPs obtained from PET pellets. Both types of MPs (size < 150 mu m) were used to study the adsorption of amoxicillin, which is one of the most widely consumed antibiotics in the world and is found unchanged in the aquatic environment. The results of sorption kinetics and isotherm tests indicated that aged MPs absorbed a higher antibiotic content than unaged ones since the two kinds of microplastics had different specific surface areas. The experimental results were explained by analysing the thermodynamic affinity among amoxicillin and PET MPs and comparing it with several pharmaceuticals and other microplastics by evaluating Hansen's solubility parameters (HSPs), which account for dispersive, polarizable and hydrogen bonding contributions to the overall cohesive energy of a compound. The possible interaction mechanism among amoxicillin and PET MPs, based on hydrogen bond interactions among the antibiotic and the ester groups of the polymer, was hypothesised. The results of adsorption tests demonstrated that PET MPs can be pollutant carriers with potential long-range transport in the aquatic environment

A study on monitoring the curing process of structural adhesives using wave propagation

Structural adhesive can be used to bond fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites onto existing structures for strengthening and retrofitting purposes.Monitoring the curing process of the adhesive is desirable in order to confirm the strength and integrity between the FRP and the structure. This paper reports the application of the wave propagation (WP) technique, employing Lead Zirconate Titanate (PZT) transducers, for monitoring the curing process of structural adhesives. The wave velocities of solidwaves propagating across adhesive samples were experimentally measured throughout the curing process. Results show that the wave velocities increased rapidly in the first 24 h. However, the rate of increase declined significantly thereafter. Ultimately, this study successfully demonstrates the capability of theWP technique for monitoring the curing of structural adhesives.Z. S. Tang, Y. Y. Lim and S. T. Smit

Smart IoT system empowered by customized energy-aware wireless sensors integrated in graphene-based tissues to improve workers thermal comfort

none17Thermal stress is a factor that must be considered, particularly in working environments where severe microclimatic conditions can lead to a loss of well-being or, in the worst-case scenario, to worker health damage. When it comes to thermal comfort, the best conditions for ensuring worker activity, productivity, and well-being include not only the proper design of spaces and cooling/heating systems, but also constant, real-time monitoring of the worker's physical condition. This work aims to present a complete system comprising various components capable not only of ensuring the worker's thermal comfort through the use of innovative textiles for optimal heat exchange between the individual and the environment, but also of continuously monitoring certain physiological parameters useful in determining whether the worker is subject to thermal stress. The system developed also allows the worker to be warned in the event of thermal stress and provides control and analysis tools to safety operators. This work, in particular, provides ample space for the description and validation of the textile component, in addition to presenting the system architecture and describing the main components. Finally, the wireless sensors designed to monitor physiological parameters are described and validated, and a brief functional validation of some of the architecture's software components is presented.Catarinucci, Luca; Colella, Riccardo; Corcione, Carola Esposito; Ingrosso, Chiara; Greco, Antonio; Ferrari, Francesca; Curri, Maria Lucia; Leo, Carlo Giacomo; Mandriota, Giacomo; Molinaro, Vincenzo; Montanaro, Teodoro; Patrono, Luigi; Sabina, Saverio; Sergi, Ilaria; Shumba, Angela Tafadzwa; Spedicato, Luigi; Striani, RaffaellaCatarinucci, Luca; Colella, Riccardo; Corcione, Carola Esposito; Ingrosso, Chiara; Greco, Antonio; Ferrari, Francesca; Curri, Maria Lucia; Leo, Carlo Giacomo; Mandriota, Giacomo; Molinaro, Vincenzo; Montanaro, Teodoro; Patrono, Luigi; Sabina, Saverio; Sergi, Ilaria; Shumba, Angela Tafadzwa; Spedicato, Luigi; Striani, Raffaell