What Fate for Plastics in Artworks? An Overview of Their Identification and Degradative Behaviour

This review is conceived as a guide for material science researchers and conservators aiming to face the problem of deterioration of contemporary artworks entirely or partially made of plastics. It initially illustrates the analytical approaches for identifying polymeric material components in 3D art objects, such as sculptures and installations, and provides a perspective of their limits and advantages. Subsequently, the methodologies used for studying the deterioration of contemporary art plastics are reviewed, emphasising the main effects of the different types of degradation (i.e., migration of additives, oxidation and hydrolysis) and suggesting the appropriate techniques for their detection. Finally, the application of artificial ageing tests is critically assessed. All the concepts are elaborated through case studies and examplesThis work was funded by the European Union H2020 project Nanorestart (646063) and the Xunta de Galicia (Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022 ED431G 2019/03, Consolidación e estructuración ED431B 2018/16, and the European Regional Development Fund—ERDF)S

Research Advances for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage

Because European Cultural Heritage is an invaluable legacy, the Ministry for Science and Innovation funded the Spanish Network on Science and Technology for the Conservation of Cultural Heritage (TechnoHeritage), which began its activities in March 2011.Currently seventy five groups participate in the Network, including Spanish National Research Council (CSIC) and Spanish universities teams, cultural institutions, foundations and museums, and private companies. One of the activities of the Network is the organization of annual meetings. This International Congress—organised on behalf of TechnoHeritage by the Universidade de Santiago de Compostela— has a goal of creating an interdisciplinary forum for discussion on all aspects of cultural heritage conservation while providing an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of the state-of-the-art investigations in this field

A Global View on Block Copolymers

In this systematic review, a total of 45,143 publications on block copolymers, issued between 1952 and 2019, are analyzed in terms of number, source, language, institution, country, keywords, and block copolymer type, to find out their evolution and predict research trends. The number of publications devoted to block copolymers has been growing for over six decades, maintaining a consistent level throughout the last few years. In their majority, documents came out of the United States, although more recently, Chinese institutions are those displaying the largest production. Keywords analysis indicated that one-third of the publications concerned synthesis, around 20% explored self-assembly and morphological aspects, and another 20% referred to block copolymer applications in solution. In particular, 2019 confirmed the expansion of studies related to drug delivery, and in minor extent, to a deeper view of self-assembling. Styrene–butadiene–styrene block copolymer was the most popular in studies covering both basic and industrially oriented aspects. Other highly investigated copolymers are PEO-b–PPO-b–PEO (Pluronic©) and amphiphilic block copolymers based on polycaprolactone or poly(lactic acid), which owed their success to their potential as delivery vehicles. Future trending topics will concern nanomedicine challenges and technology-related applications, with a special attention toward the orientation and ordering of mesophase-separated morphologiesThis research was funded by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PGC2018-101047). M.L. also acknowledges the Xunta de Galicia (Grupo con Potencial de Crecemento ED431B 2018/1 and Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022, ED431G 2019/03) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund-ERDF)S

Some Guidelines for the Synthesis and Melting Characterization of Azide Poly(ethylene glycol) Derivatives

We provide fundamental guidelines in the form of a tutorial to be taken into account for the preparation and characterization of a specific class of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) derivatives, namely azide-terminated PEGs. Special attention is given to the effect of these chain end groups and their precursors on properties affecting the PEGylation of proteins, nanoparticles and nanostructured surfaces. Notwithstanding the presence of 13C satellite peaks, we show that 1H NMR enables not only the routine quantitative determination of chain-end substitution, but is also a unique method to calculate the absolute number average molecular weight of PEG derivatives. In the use of size exclusion chromatography to get molecular weight distributions, we highlight the importance of distinguishing between eventual secondary reactions involving molecular weight changes and the formation of PEG complexes due to residual amounts of metal cations from reactants. Finally, we show that azide end groups affect PEG melting behavior. In contrast to oxygen-containing end groups, azides do not interact with PEG segments, thus inducing defect formation in the crystal lattice and the reduction of crystal sizes. Melting temperature and degree of crystallinity decrease become especially relevant for PEGs with very low molecular weight, and its comprehension is particularly important for solid-state applicationsThis research was funded by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (PGC2018-101047). M.L. also acknowledges the Xunta de Galicia (Grupo con Potencial de Crecemento ED431B 2018/1 and Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2019-2022, ED431G 2019/03) and the European Union (European Regional Development Fund-ERDF)S

La Telecardiologia

Telemedicine is a form of real-time sharing of patient information, so that the contribution of more health workers at the same time can ensure a higher level of care, reducing hospitalization costs and transport . This work is the fruit of a "handful" of traders, who for some time dealing with this issue and are often made promoters of cultural and scientific experiences to sensitize decision makers to bring up a new Health how to manage the patient...

Design and testing of a GPS/GSM collar prototype to combat cattle rustling

Rustling is an age-old practice that was widespread in Italy until the first half of the 20th century. Today, incidents of cattle rustling are again being reported. However, the problem is not only found in Italy. It is also becoming a plague for ranchers in the US and is still rampant in East Africa. In Italy, the cattle rustling phenomena have usually been limited through the direct control of the herdsmen. Global positioning system (GPS) and geographic information system (GIS) combined technologies are increasingly applied for tracking and monitoring livestock with greater spatial and temporal resolution. However, so far, no case studies of the use of GPS technology to combat cattle rustling have been reported in the literature. The aim of this research was to develop a GPS/GSM (global system for mobile communication) collar, using commercial hardware and implementing a specific software [ARVAshepherd 1.0; ARVAtec Srl, Rescaldina (MI), Italy] to track animals' movements outside their grazing area and to signal when animals are straying outside virtual perimeters. A phase I study was conducted from January to June 2011 to build the GPS/GSM collar and to assess its performances in terms of GPS accuracy and precision, while a phase II study was conducted in July 2011 to test the GPS collar under real-life operating conditions. The static GPS positioning error achieved a circular error probable (50%) and horizontal 95% accuracy of 1.462 m and 4.501 m, respectively. This is comparable with values obtained by other authors in static tests of a commercial GPS collar for grazing studies. In field tests, the system was able to identify the incorrect position of the cattle and the warning messages were sent promptly to the farmer, continuing until the animals had been repositioned inside the fence, thus highlighting the potential of the GPS/GSM collar as an anti-theft system

Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) in the visible range on scalable aluminum-coated platforms

We demonstrate the potential of combining plasmonic Bragg grating structures, with the scattering effect of a rough Al layer to tune SERS enhancement in the visible region. Novel Al-based substrates with good analytical reproducibility and enhancement factors in the range of 107–109 are produced by a scalable procedure which meets the development of producing sustainable SERS platformsS

Interactive simulator for e-Learning environments: a teaching software for health care professionals

There is an established tradition of cardiovascular simulation tools, but the application of this kind of technology in the e-Learning arena is a novel approach. This paper presents an e-Learning environment aimed at teaching the interaction of cardiovascular and lung systems to health-care professionals. Heart-lung interaction must be analyzed while assisting patients with severe respiratory problems or with heart failure in intensive care unit. Such patients can be assisted by mechanical ventilatory assistance or by thoracic artificial lung. "In silico" cardiovascular simulator was experimented during a training course given to graduate students of the School of Specialization in Cardiology at \u27Sapienza\u27 University in Rome. The training course employed CARDIOSIM(C): a numerical simulator of the cardiovascular system. Such simulator is able to reproduce pathophysiological conditions of patients affected by cardiovascular and/or lung disease. In order to study the interactions among the cardiovascular system, the natural lung and the thoracic artificial lung (TAL), the numerical model of this device has been implemented. After having reproduced a patient\u27s pathological condition, TAL model was applied in parallel and hybrid model during the training course. Results obtained during the training course show that TAL parallel assistance reduces right ventricular end systolic (diastolic) volume, but increases left ventricular end systolic (diastolic) volume. The percentage changes induced by hybrid TAL assistance on haemodynamic variables are lower than those produced by parallel assistance. Only in the case of the mean pulmonary arterial pressure, there is a percentage reduction which, in case of hybrid assistance, is greater (about 40%) than in case of parallel assistance (20-30%). At the end of the course, a short questionnaire was submitted to students in order to assess the quality of the course. The feedback obtained was positive, showing good results with respect to the degree of students\u27 learning and the ease of use of the software simulator