Introduction, Context, and Motivations of a Circular Economy for Composite Materials

Circular Economy is an emerging production-consumption paradigm showing the potential to recover and re-use functions and materials from post-use, end-of-life, products. Even if several barriers still exist at different levels, from legislation to customer acceptance, the transition to this sustainable industrial model has been demonstrated to potentially bring economic, environmental, and social benefits, at large scale. Composite materials, which usage is constantly increasing, are composed by a fiber reinforcement in a resin matrix. Among them, the most widely adopted are Glass Fiber Reinforced Plastics (GFRP) and Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastics (CFRP). Their applications range from wind blades to automotive, construction, sporting equipment and furniture. The post-use treatment of composite-made products is still an open challenge. Today, they are either sent to landfill, where not banned, or incinerated. The application of Circular Economy principles may lead to the creation of new circular value-chains aiming at re-using functions and materials from post-use composite-made products in high value-added applications, thus increasing the sustainability of the composite industry as a whole

Comparison of Volume-Guaranteed or -Targeted, Pressure-Controlled Ventilation with Volume-Controlled Ventilation during Elective Surgery: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

For perioperative mechanical ventilation under general anesthesia, modern respirators aim at combining the benefits of pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV) and volume-controlled ventilation (VCV) in modes typically named volume-guaranteed or volume-targeted pressure-controlled ventilation (PCV-VG). This systematic review and meta-analysis tested the hypothesis that PCV-VG modes of ventilation could be beneficial in terms of improved airway pressures (P-peak, P-plateau, P-mean), dynamic compliance (C-dyn), or arterial blood gases (PaO2, PaCO2) in adults undergoing elective surgery under general anesthesia. Three major medical electronic databases were searched with predefined search strategies and publications were systematically evaluated according to the Cochrane Review Methods. Continuous variables were tested for mean differences using the inverse variance method and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated. Based on the assumption that intervention effects across studies were not identical, a random effects model was chosen. Assessment for heterogeneity was performed with the chi(2) test and the I-2 statistic. As primary endpoints, P-peak, P-plateau, P-mean, C-dyn, PaO2, and PaCO2 were evaluated. Of the 725 publications identified, 17 finally met eligibility criteria, with a total of 929 patients recruited. Under supine two-lung ventilation, PCV-VG resulted in significantly reduced P-peak (15 studies) and P-plateau (9 studies) as well as higher C-dyn (9 studies), compared with VCV [random effects models; P-peak: CI -3.26 to -1.47; p < 0.001; I-2 = 82%; P-plateau: -3.12 to -0.12; p = 0.03; I-2 = 90%; C-dyn: CI 3.42 to 8.65; p < 0.001; I-2 = 90%]. For one-lung ventilation (8 studies), PCV-VG allowed for significantly lower P-peak and higher PaO2 compared with VCV. In Trendelenburg position (5 studies), this effect was significant for P-peak only. This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrates that volume-targeting, pressure-controlled ventilation modes may provide benefits with respect to the improved airway dynamics in two- and one-lung ventilation, and improved oxygenation in one-lung ventilation in adults undergoing elective surgery

Sulfonated red and far-red rhodamines to visualize SNAP- and Halo-tagged cell surface proteins

The (in)ability to permeate membranes is a key feature of chemical biology probes that defines their suitability for specific applications. Here we report sulfonated rhodamines that endow xanthene dyes with cellular impermeability for analysis of surface proteins. We fuse charged sulfonates to red and far-red dyes to obtain Sulfo549 and Sulfo646, respectively, and further link these to benzylguanine and choloralkane substrates for SNAP-tag and Halo-tag labelling. Sulfonated rhodamine-conjugated fluorophores maintain desirable photophysical properties, such as brightness and photostability. While transfected cells with a nuclear localized SNAP-tag remain unlabelled, extracellular exposed tags can be cleanly visualized. By multiplexing with a permeable rhodamine, we are able to differentiate extra- and intracellular SNAP- and Halo-tags, including those installed on the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor, a prototypical class B G proteincoupled receptor. In more complex biological systems, Sulfo549 and Sulfo646 labelled transfected neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), allowing STED nanoscopy of the axonal membrane. Together, this work provides a new avenue for rendering dyes impermeable for exclusive extracellular visualization via self-labelling protein tags. We anticipate that Sulfo549, Sulfo646 and their congeners will be useful for a number of cell biology applications where labelling of intracellular sites interferes with accurate surface protein analysis

Sulfonated red and far-red rhodamines to visualize SNAP- and Halo-tagged cell surface proteins

The (in)ability to permeate membranes is a key feature of chemical biology probes that defines their suitability for specific applications. Here we report sulfonated rhodamines that endow xanthene dyes with cellular impermeability for analysis of surface proteins. We fuse charged sulfonates to red and far-red dyes to obtain Sulfo549 and Sulfo646, respectively, and further link these to benzylguanine and choloralkane substrates for SNAP-tag and Halo-tag labelling. Sulfonated rhodamine-conjugated fluorophores maintain desirable photophysical properties, such as brightness and photostability. While transfected cells with a nuclear localized SNAP-tag remain unlabelled, extracellular exposed tags can be cleanly visualized. By multiplexing with a permeable rhodamine, we are able to differentiate extra- and intracellular SNAP- and Halo-tags, including those installed on the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor, a prototypical class B G proteincoupled receptor. In more complex biological systems, Sulfo549 and Sulfo646 labelled transfected neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), allowing STED nanoscopy of the axonal membrane. Together, this work provides a new avenue for rendering dyes impermeable for exclusive extracellular visualization via self-labelling protein tags. We anticipate that Sulfo549, Sulfo646 and their congeners will be useful for a number of cell biology applications where labelling of intracellular sites interferes with accurate surface protein analysis