Non-Isothermal Crystallization Kinetics of PBSu/Biochar Composites Studied by Isoconversional and Model Fitting Methods

Non-isothermal crystallization of Poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu)/biochar composites was studied at various constant cooling rates using differential scanning calorimetry. The analysis of the kinetics data revealed that the overall crystallization rate and activation energy of the PBSu polymer were significantly influenced by the addition of biochar. Specifically, the PBSu/5% biochar composite with a higher filler content was more effective as a nucleation agent in the polymer matrix, as indicated by the nucleation activity (ψ) value of 0.45. The activation energy of the PBSu/5% biochar composite was found to be higher than that of the other compositions, while the nucleation activity of the PBSu/biochar composites decreased as the biochar content increased. The Avrami equation, which is commonly used to describe the kinetics of crystallization, was found to be limited in accurately predicting the non-isothermal crystallization behavior of PBSu and PBSu/biochar composites. Although the Nakamura/Hoffman–Lauritzen model performed well overall, it may not have accurately predicted the crystallization rate at the end of the process due to the possibility of secondary crystallization. Finally, the combination of the Šesták–Berggren model with the Hoffman–Lauritzen theory was found to accurately predict the crystallization behavior of the PBSu/biochar composites, indicating a complex crystallization mechanism involving both nucleation and growth. The Kg parameter of neat PBSu was found to be 0.7099 K2, while the melting temperature and glass transition temperature of neat PBSu were found to be 114.91 °C and 35 °C, respectively, very close to the measured values. The Avrami nucleation dimension n was found to 2.65 for PBSu/5% biochar composite indicating that the crystallization process is complex in the composites

The Effect of Biochar Addition on Thermal Stability and Decomposition Mechanism of Poly(butylene succinate) Bionanocomposites

In the present study, poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu) and its bionanocomposites containing 1, 2.5, and 5 wt.% biochar (MSP700) were prepared via in situ melt polycondensation in order to investigate the thermal stability and decomposition mechanism of the materials. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements were carried out to analyze the surface area of a biochar sample and PBSu/biochar nanocomposites. From XPS, it was found that only physical interactions were taking place between PBSu matrix and biochar nanoadditive. Thermal stability, decomposition kinetics, and the decomposition mechanism of the pristine PBSu and PBSu/biochar nanocomposites were thoroughly studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and pyrolysis–gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (Py−GC/MS). TGA thermograms depicted that all materials had high thermal stability, since their decomposition started at around 300 °C. However, results indicated a slight reduction in the thermal stability of the PBSu biochar nanocomposites because of the potential catalytic impact of biochar. Py−GC/MS analysis was employed to examine, in more detail, the thermal degradation mechanism of PBSu nanocomposites filled with biochar. From the decomposition products identified by Py−GC/MS after pyrolysis at 450 °C, it was found that the decomposition pathway of the PBSu/biochar nanocomposites took place mainly via β-hydrogen bond scission, which is similar to that which took place for neat PBSu. However, at higher biochar content (5 wt.%), some localized differences in the intensity of the peaks of some specific thermal degradation products could be recognized, indicating that α-hydrogen bond scission was also taking place. A study of the thermal stability and decomposition pathway of PBSu/biochar bionanocomposites is crucial to examine if the new materials fulfill the requirements for further investigation for mulch films in agriculture or in electronics as possible applications

Early Miocene gastropod and ectothermic vertebrate remains from the Lesvos Petrified Forest (Greece)

The Lesvos Petrified Forest (western Lesvos, Greece) has long been famous for its plant fossils. Recently, one proboscidean (from the Gavathas locality) and seven micromammalian species (from the Lapsarna locality) were described; these were the first animals to be found in the Early Miocene subtropical forest. For the first time, a fauna of gastropods and ectothermic vertebrates from the Lapsarna locality is now available. This fauna derives from lacustrine sediments under the pyroclastic material that contains the petrified plants. Based on fragmented mollusc remains, isolated fish pharyngeal teeth and utricular otoliths (lapilli), fragmented amphibian vertebrae and a tooth-bearing element, and reptile fragmented dentaries, teeth, osteoderms and vertebrae, the presence of eight freshwater and three terrestrial gastropod species, three freshwater cyprinid species, and two amphibian and five reptile taxa has been confirmed. Stratigraphical and radiometric data suggest an age older than 18.4 ± 0.5 Ma (latest Early Miocene), in good agreement with the faunal composition. This paper is the first report of the concurrent presence of three cyprinid fish species in a Greek Early Miocene locality, as well as the first documentation of an Early Miocene proteid amphibian in southeastern Europe. The present findings represent one of the best- documented Early Miocene gastropod and fish faunas in the Aegean/southern Balkans, thus adding to our knowledge of Early Miocene amphibians and reptiles from that region and providing valuable information on the local subtropical ecosystem

Synthesis and Study of Fully Biodegradable Composites Based on Poly(butylene succinate) and Biochar

Biodegradable polymers offer a promising alternative to the global plastic problems and especially in the last decade, to the microplastics problems. For the first time, samples of poly(butylene succinate) (PBSu) biocomposites containing 1, 2.5, and 5 wt% biochar (BC) were prepared by in situ polymerization via the two-stage melt polycondensation procedure. BC was used as a filler for the PBSu to improve its mechanical properties, thermal transitions, and biodegradability. The structure of the synthesized polymers was examined by 1H and 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and X-Ray diffraction (XRD) along with an estimation of the molecular weights, while differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and light flash analysis (LFA) were also employed to record the thermal transitions and evaluate the thermal conductivity, respectively. It was found that the amount of BC does not affect the molecular weight of PBSu biocomposites. The fine dispersion of BC, as well as the increase in BC content in the polymeric matrix, significantly improves the tensile and impact strengths. The DSC analysis results showed that BC facilitates the crystallization of PBSu biocomposites. Due to the latter, a mild and systematic increase in thermal diffusivity and conductivity was recorded indicating that BC is a conductive material. The molecular mobility of PBSu, local and segmental, does not change significantly in the biocomposites, whereas the BC seems to cause an increase in the overall dielectric permittivity. Finally, it was found that the enzymatic hydrolysis degradation rate of biocomposites increased with the increasing BC content

Building National Open Science Cloud Initiatives (NOSCIs) in Southeast Europe: supporting research and scholarly communication

The National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe (NI4OS Europe) project supports the development of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) by contributing to its portfolio of services, by involving national and regional research communities in the EOSC governance, by strengthening open science (OS) practices, and by promoting the FAIR principles (Macan et al., 2020; Garavelli et al., 2021) to help build the infrastructure and create a favourable environment for open and intensive scholarly communication. The main instrument in achieving this is the network of 15 national Open Science Cloud Initiatives (NOSCIs) established in the partner countries as national-level coalitions of Open Science stakeholders that have a prominent role and interest in the EOSC. The concept of NOSCI has been developed in response to the specific traits and challenges in the targeted region, based on complex and multilayered analyses of stakeholders, policies, and local contexts (Toli et al., 2020). Inclusive by nature, NOSCIs connect stakeholders from across the research lifecycle at the national level and provide not only a testbed for the formulation of OS policies but also a forum for knowledge dissemination and sharing. Drawing on a secondary analysis of the abundant data collected and materials produced during the project, this presentation focuses on the challenges identified as the NOSCIs were built – from data collection in the context of landscaping (Kosanović & Ševkušić, 2019) and policy analysis, through concept development, to implementation, testing, and verification (use cases). It highlights the relationship between individual challenges and NOSCI elements that address these challenges. The challenges are largely owed to diversities within the region, most notably the varying levels of integration into European structures (of the 15 partner countries, eight are not EU members), linguistic diversity, different research governance systems, policy traditions, and available funding. The framework for NOSCI development, the so-called blueprint (Toli et al., 2020), was designed in full recognition of these diversities. It relies on three modular workflows (Toli et al., 2021) and gives maximum flexibility to countries or national initiatives while making sure that all locally specific aspects are addressed. We believe that the approach adopted by the NI4OS-Europe team could be applied in other highlydiversified environments, as has been demonstrated by the NI4OS-Europe use cases, thanks to the flexible mechanism of interaction between challenges and responses underlying the very concept of NOSCI.Interactive poster: https://open.ac.rs/index.php/ni4os-europe-pubmet2022-posterPoster: [http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7315249]Full paper: [https://dais.sanu.ac.rs/admin/10.3390/publications10040042

Building National Open Science Cloud Initiatives (NOSCIs) in Southeast Europe: supporting research and scholarly communication

The National Initiatives for Open Science in Europe (NI4OS Europe) project supports the development of the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) by contributing to its portfolio of services, by involving national and regional research communities in the EOSC governance, by strengthening open science (OS) practices, and by promoting the FAIR principles (Macan et al., 2020; Garavelli et al., 2021) to help build the infrastructure and create a favourable environment for open and intensive scholarly communication.The main instrument in achieving this is the network of 15 national Open Science Cloud Initiatives (NOSCIs) established in the partner countries as national-level coalitions of Open Science stakeholders that have a prominent role and interest in the EOSC. The concept of NOSCI has been developed in response to the specific traits and challenges in the targeted region, based on complex and multilayered analyses of stakeholders, policies, and local contexts (Toli et al., 2020). Inclusive by nature, NOSCIs connect stakeholders from across the research lifecycle at the national level and provide not only a testbed for the formulation of OS policies but also a forum for knowledge dissemination and sharing.Drawing on a secondary analysis of the abundant data collected and materials produced during the project, this presentation focuses on the challenges identified as the NOSCIs were built – from data collection in the context of landscaping (Kosanović & Ševkušić, 2019) and policy analysis, through concept development, to implementation, testing, and verification (use cases). It highlights the relationship between individual challenges and NOSCI elements that address these challenges.The challenges are largely owed to diversities within the region, most notably the varying levels of integration into European structures (of the 15 partner countries, eight are not EU members), linguistic diversity, different research governance systems, policy traditions, and available funding. The framework for NOSCI development, the so-called blueprint (Toli et al., 2020), was designed in full recognition of these diversities. It relies on three modular workflows (Toli et al., 2021) and gives maximum flexibility to countries or national initiatives while making sure that all locally specific aspects are addressed.We believe that the approach adopted by the NI4OS-Europe team could be applied in other highlydiversified environments, as has been demonstrated by the NI4OS-Europe use cases, thanks to the flexible mechanism of interaction between challenges and responses underlying the very concept of NOSCI.The results presented in this poster were subsequently published in: Ševkušić M, Toli E, Lenaki K, Kanavou K, Sifakaki E, Kosanović B, Papastamatiou I, Papadopoulou E. Building National Open Science Cloud Initiatives (NOSCIs) in Southeast Europe: Supporting Research and Scholarly Communication. Publications. 2022; 10(4):42. [https://doi.org/10.3390/publications10040042]Interactive version: [https://open.ac.rs/index.php/ni4os-europe-pubmet2022-poster]Conference abstract: [https://doi.org/10.15291/pubmet.3952]Conference abstract: [https://hdl.handle.net/21.15107/rcub_dais_13397

The Geology, Geochemistry, and Origin of the Porphyry Cu-Au-(Mo) System at Vathi, Serbo-Macedonian Massif, Greece

The Vathi porphyry Cu-Au ± Mo mineralization is located in the Serbo-Macedonian metallogenic province of the Western Tethyan Metallogenic Belt. It is mainly hosted by a latite and is genetically associated with a quartz monzonite intrusion, which intruded the basement rocks of the Vertiskos Unit and the latite, 18 to 17 Ma ago. A phreatic breccia crosscuts the latite. The quartz monzonite was affected by potassic alteration, whereas the latite was subjected to local propylitic alteration. Both styles of alteration were subsequently overprinted by intense sericitic alteration. M-type and A-type veins are spatially associated with potassic alteration, whereas D-type veins are related to the sericitic alteration. Three ore assemblages are associated with the porphyry stage: (1) pyrite + chalcopyrite + bornite + molybdenite + magnetite associated with potassic alteration; (2) pyrite + chalcopyrite related to propylitic alteration; and (3) pyrite + chalcopyrite + native gold ± tetradymite associated with sericitic alteration. A fourth assemblage consisting of sphalerite + galena + arsenopyrite + pyrrhotite + pyrite ± stibnite ± tennantite is related to an epithermal overprint. Fluid inclusion data indicate that the A-type veins and related porphyry-style mineralization formed at 390–540 °C and pressures of up to 646 bars

Human activities and resultant pressures on key European marine habitats: An analysis of mapped resources

Human activities exert a wide range of pressures on marine ecosystems, often resulting in the loss of species and degradation of habitats. If effective policies and management practices to restore past damage and reduce future impacts to the marine environment are to be developed, knowledge of the extent, duration and severity of activities and pressures is essential, yet often lacking. As part of the EU H2020 project “Marine Ecosystem Restoration in Changing European Seas”, this study uses an exhaustive review of published records, web resources, and grey literature to comprehensively assess the degree to which human activities and pressures are mapped within European seas. The results highlight a number of limitations and gaps, including: (a) limited geographic coverage at both the regional and sub-regional level; (b) insufficient spatial resolution and accuracy in recorded data for the planning of conservation and restoration actions; (c) a lack of access to the background data and metadata upon which maps are based, thus limiting the potential for synthesis of multiple data sources. Based on the findings, several recommendations for future marine research initiatives arise, most importantly the need for coordinated, geographically extended baseline assessments of the distribution and intensity of human activities and pressures, complying with high-level standardization regarding methodological approaches and the treatment of produced data