Development of a special purpose spacecraft interior coating, phase 1

Coating formulations were developed consisting of latex blends of fluorocarbon polymers, acrylic resins, stabilizers, modifiers, other additives, and a variety of inorganic pigments. Suitable latex primers were also developed from an acrylic latex base. The formulations dried to touch in about one hour and were fully dry in about twenty-four hours under normal room temperature and humidity conditions. The resulting coatings displayed good optical and mechanical properties, including excellent bonding to (pre-treated) substrates. In addition, the preferred compositions were found to be self-extinguishing when applied to nonflammable substrates and could meet the offgassing requirements specified by NASA for the intended application. Improvements are needed in abrasion resistance and hardness

Development of a special purpose spacecraft interior coating, phase 3

A variety of intumescent coatings based on a fluorocarbon latex resin modified with either an acrylic resin or an epoxy resin were prepared. Several intumescent systems were used for these studies including some based on ammonium polyphosphate and others based on sulfanilamide. The best coatings developed had a high concentration (60-70% by wt.) of intumescent additives and had to be applied thick, approximately 100 mils, in order to have adequate intumescent/fire protection properties

Development of a special purpose spacecraft interior coating. Phase 2

Numerous acrylic and epoxy modifiers for the fluorocarbon latex resin base were investigated. Optimum coatings were developed by modifying the fluorocarbon latex with an epoxy acrylic resin system. In addition, a number of other formulations, containing hard acrylics as modifiers, displayed attractive properties and potential for further improvements. The preferred formulations dried to touch in about one hour and were fully dried in about twenty four hours under normal room temperature and humidity conditions. In addition to physical and mechanical properties either comparable or superior to those of commercial solvent base polyurethane or polyester coatings, the preferred compositions meet the flammability and offgassing requirements specified by NASA

An overview on the natural enemies of Rhynchophorus palm weevils, with focus on R. ferrugineus.

Rhynchophorus palm weevils are large insects belonging to the family Dryophthoridae. All Rhynchophorus species are polyphagous and have a similar life history but some are major pests because of the serious economic damage they cause, in particular to several species of the family Arecaceae. Here we review the natural enemies of Rhynchophorus species in both their native and introduced regions of the world, to assess the possibility of biological control of this taxon. Moreover, particular attention is paid to the well-studied and harmful species Rhynchophorus ferrugineus, about which more information is available, and to its natural enemies in the Mediterranean region, because the impact of this pest in this recently colonized area is particularly remarkable and also the recent trend in species management is looking for indigenous natural enemies. More than 50 natural enemies have been reported to attack Rhynchophorus species, even if most of them are associated to R. ferrugineus (Olivier), highlighting the lack of information on the other species of the genus. Pros and cons of all the biological control agents are then discussed: among the considered organisms, fungi are noteworthy to be considered for inclusion in integrated pest management programs. Overall, our overview underlines the need to increase knowledge on natural enemies of all the species of the genus Rhynchophorus, to isolate more virulent strains and to determine the optimum conditions for the actions of the biocontrol agents

“TECAR® : terapia complementare nelle disfunzioni dell’atm” .

LaTECAR®(terapiaaTrasferimentoEnergeticoCapacitivoeResistivo),introdottainItaliadaalcunianni,è una apparecchiaturasempre piùdiffusanellariabilitazionedilesioniosteoartic olariemuscolarisiaacutechecroniche.Lasuautilitàèriconosciutaecertificatadadiversistudi1-5:abbreviaitempidirecuperoriabilitativoeriduceildolore6,7;stimolaenergiadall’internodeitessuti,attraversol’incrementodellatemperaturainternaelariattivazionedellacircolazione,stimolandoinaturaliprocessiriparativieantinfiammatori8-11. LaTecar®sfruttaunaformadiinterazioneelettromagnetica,chefariferimentoalmodellofisicodelcondensatore,conuncontattocapacitivoe/oresistivo9-,10. Nellaterapiadelledisfunzionidelsistemacranio-cervico-mandibolarealcuniprocessipatologici, intraedextraarticolari,risultanoparticolarmenteresistentialtrattamentoconfarmaci,biteefisioterapiamanuale. L’obiettivo di questo studio è quellodiillustrareilsistemaTECAR®,iprincipidifunzionamentoelecaratteristichegiàconosciutenellariabilitazionedeitraumimuscolotendinei12-15edipresentareunaprimavalutazioneclinicadelsuoutilizzocometerapiacomplementareperilrecuperodialcuniquadridelledisfunzioniacutecronichedell’ATM.Taleterapiaèd’appoggioallaterapiaglobaleodontoiatricagnatologica(bite)efisioterapica(terapiamanuale)

Tecar: principi di funzionamento e protocolli terapeutici poster

LaTecarterapia,introdottainItaliadaalcunianni,èl’ultimofruttodellaricercainfisioterapia.LaTecarterapiafunzionanell’ambitodelleradiofrequenzeaondelunghea0,5MHz,inferioridunqueallefrequenzeusateindiatermiaadondecorteesuperioriallefrequenzechedeterminanocontrazionimuscolari.Essasfruttaunaformadiinterazioneelettromagneticachefariferimentoalmodellofisicodelcondensatore:ilcontattocapacitivoe/oresistivo.Talesistema,graziealprincipiodifunzionamentocheutilizzailtessutobiologicocomepartediuncondensatore,consentediinteressareinmanieraomogeneaglistratisiasuperficialicheprofondideltessutostesso.Iltrasferimentoenergeticofunzioneconduemodalità:capacitivaeresistiva.DISCUSSIONEECONCLUSIONI:L’ideaditrasferireenergiaaitessutilesiècomuneamolteterapiefisioterapichechesifondanosull’irradiazionedienergia.CiòchedifferenziaperòlaTecarterapiaèlamodalitàditrasferimentoenergetico:nonpiùirradiazionedienergiaesternamautilizzodienergiaendogena,chesirealizzaattraversoilrichiamonell’areadatrattaredicaricheelettrichepresentineitessutisottoformadiioni.Questomeccanismocreaunafortestimolazionealivellocellulare,riattivalacircolazione,incrementalatemperaturainternaeinnescaprecocementeimeccanismifisiologici.Ilflussodicarichecomportaaumentodelmicrocircolo,vasodilatazionedeldistrettotrattatoeincrementodellatemperaturalocale.Lavasodilatazioneprovocaaumentodegliscambidisostanze,incrementodeldrenaggiodelsitoinfiammato,allontanamentodiscorieedetriti,miglioramentodellaperfusionetissutaleeaumentodell’afflussolocaledicelluledeputateaiprocessiriparativi.AllaTecarterapiavannodunquericonosciutecaratteristicheinnovativequali: Cessionedienergiabiocompatibile,attivasullesogliedelmetabolismocellulareesubcellulare; -Specificitàd’azioneinbaseallatipologiaditessuto(muscolareofibroconnettivale)connessaalladuplicemodalitàdiutilizzocapacitivaoresistiva; Efficaciaterapeuticaanchesutessutipocoreattiviperlaloronaturafibrotic

Therapeutic protocols with Tecar® System in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders

Inthetreatmentofdisordersofthecranio-cervical-mandibularsystemtherearedifferentpathologicalprocesses,intra-andextra-articular,capsular-tendonandmuscular,whichareparticularlyresistanttotreatmentwithmedication,manualphysiotherapyandbite.TheaimofthisstudyistopresentaninitialclinicalevaluationofusingTecar®systemasacomplementarytherapytorecoversomeacuteandchronicdisordersofthetemporomandibularjoint.Thistherapyisstillapartofcomprehensivedental-gnathologicaltherapy(bite)andphysiotherapy(manualtherapy). MATERIALSANDMETHODS: ThemachineusedinthispreliminarystudyistheTecar®UnibellHCR701.Fourteenpatientsweretreated: •6,withpainandfunctionallimitations,hadanamnesticallyclenchingandbruxism; •5withacutemonolateralTMD,including3acutedockingand2withrecent(lessthanamonth)mutualclick; •3withchronicdockinganamnesticallypresentforoverayear. Theprotocolusedisdifferentforthethreeclinicalsituationsset. RESULTS: Thetherapeuticactiondependsbothontheendothermiceffectandrisingenergypotentialofcellmembranes.Dependingonthepowerused,threephasescanbeobserved,characterizedbywell-definedbiologicaleffects:cellbio-stimulation,analgesia,increasedbloodflowandlymphaticdrainage.Tecartherapycanbeusedforthetreatmentofacuteandchronicjointdiseasesusingtwospecificprogramsthatcanproduceheatingoroperateinathery.InourpreliminaryresultsTecartherapywaseffectiveintreatingthefollowingdisorders:patientswithextra-articularchronicalmuscle-typediseases;patientswithacutetraumaandlossofarticulardisc;patientswithintraarticularchronicdiseaseandpermanentlossofthearticulardisc.Thesepatientswerefollowedfortherestwithnormaldentaltreatmentprotocols(bite)andphysiotherapy(Rocabadotecnique). CONCLUSIONS: Theobtainedresults,becauseofrapidresolutionoftheclinicalsymptoms,allowtoindicateTecartherapyasaneffectiveinstrumentinthecomplementarytreatmentofmuscularandosteoarticularTMD.However,thetrialisstillongoing,andrequiresanextensionoftheseriesandlongerfollow-up