Comparison of novel fungal mycelia strains and sustainable growth substrates to produce humidity-resistant biocomposites

Fungal mycelia are versatile, highly productive and sustainable sources for biocomposites to replace conventional plastics. However, with only very few fungal strains that have been characterized, numerous strains still remain unexplored as potential competitors against traditional non-biodegradable materials. Moreover, the functionality of mycelium composites at commonly occurring, challenging ambient conditions such as changing humidity and temperature is not well characterized. Here we evaluated the properties of the fungal composite material produced by novel fungal strains, including Trichoderma asperellum and Agaricus bisporus, grown on oat husk and rapeseed cake after oil pressing. The results showed that the mycelium composites were hydrophobic and strong, particularly when grown on rapeseed cake. A. bisporus grown on rapeseed cake exhibited increased stiffness after humidity was successively increased and decreased. The moisture-resistance of these novel mycelium composites is encouraging for novel sustainable material solutions.Peer reviewe

State-of-the-art neonatal cerebral ultrasound: technique and reporting

In the past three decades, cerebral ultrasound (CUS) has become a trusted technique to study the neonatal brain. It is a relatively cheap, non-invasive, bedside neuroimaging method available in nearly every hospital. Traditionally, CUS was used to detect major abnormalities, such as intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH), periventricular hemorrhagic infarction, post-hemorrhagic ventricular dilatation, and (cystic) periventricular leukomalacia (cPVL). The use of different acoustic windows, such as the mastoid and posterior fontanel, and ongoing technological developments, allows for recognizing other lesion patterns (e.g., cerebellar hemorrhage, perforator stroke, developmental venous anomaly). The CUS technique is still being improved with the use of higher transducer frequencies (7.5-18\u2009MHz), 3D applications, advances in vascular imaging (e.g. ultrafast plane wave imaging), and improved B-mode image processing. Nevertheless, the helpfulness of CUS still highly depends on observer skills, knowledge, and experience. In this special article, we discuss how to perform a dedicated state-of-the-art neonatal CUS, and we provide suggestions for structured reporting and quality assessment

CONSIDERATIONS REGARDING THE PROCESS OF COMPACTION AND SOIL LOOSENING

The soil works are a series of agrotechnical operations that modify the physical condition of the soil using mechanical means. The purpose of the soil work is to create optimal conditions for the crop in order to obtain harvests as large as possible, through soil works being able influencing both the content of air, water and soil temperature and nutrient content adjustment. This paper presents some considerations concerning the characteristics and the properties of soil, respectively the measures to be taken to reduce compactness

RESEARCH ON THE APPLICATION OF AGRICULTURAL CONSERVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES WITH DEEP LOOSENING WORKS IN ROMANIA AND WORLDWIDE

This paper presents the status of research carried out in Romania and worldwide for the development of equipment and agricultural machines that perform superficial or deep loosening of soils, in order to decompact them and to create a layer that allows the movement of water and nutrients towards plants

TRACEABILITY AND FOOD LABELING CONSIDERATIONS

This article presents the current traceability and labeling of foods and how this can be improved with WEB and Cloud Computing applications. The paper label contains details on the traceability and labeling elements applied to products, traceability and labeling elements that are listed under EU and Consumer Guidance on Food (EU) and ways to make this information simpler understandable for end-users and for the competent authorities there is a transparent method of verifying all the information necessary to track and verify the activity of all factors involved in the production, distribution and sale of food product

International lower limb collaborative (INTELLECT) study: a multicentre, international retrospective audit of lower extremity open fractures

Trauma remains a major cause of mortality and disability across the world1, with a higher burden in developing nations2. Open lower extremity injuries are devastating events from a physical3, mental health4, and socioeconomic5 standpoint. The potential sequelae, including risk of chronic infection and amputation, can lead to delayed recovery and major disability6. This international study aimed to describe global disparities, timely intervention, guideline-directed care, and economic aspects of open lower limb injuries

A Review on the Mechanical Modeling of Composite Manufacturing Processes

© 2016, The Author(s). The increased usage of fiber reinforced polymer composites in load bearing applications requires a detailed understanding of the process induced residual stresses and their effect on the shape distortions. This is utmost necessary in order to have more reliable composite manufacturing since the residual stresses alter the internal stress level of the composite part during the service life and the residual shape distortions may lead to not meeting the desired geometrical tolerances. The occurrence of residual stresses during the manufacturing process inherently contains diverse interactions between the involved physical phenomena mainly related to material flow, heat transfer and polymerization or crystallization. Development of numerical process models is required for virtual design and optimization of the composite manufacturing process which avoids the expensive trial-and-error based approaches. The process models as well as applications focusing on the prediction of residual stresses and shape distortions taking place in composite manufacturing are discussed in this study. The applications on both thermoset and thermoplastic based composites are reviewed in detail