Photocuring of Epoxidized Cardanol for Biobased Composites with Microfibrillated Cellulose

Cardanol is a natural alkylphenolic compound derived from Cashew NutShell Liquid (CNSL), a non-food annually renewable raw material extracted from cashew nutshells. In the quest for sustainable materials, the curing of biobased monomers and prepolymers with environmentally friendly processes attracts increasing interest. Photopolymerization is considered a green technology owing to low energy requirements, room temperature operation with high reaction rates, and absence of solvents. In this work we study the photocuring of a commercially available epoxidized cardanol, and explore its use in combination with microfibrillated cellulose (MFC) for the fabrication of fully biobased composites. Wet MFC mats were prepared by filtration, and then impregnated with the resin. The impregnated mats were then irradiated with UV light. Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to investigate the photocuring of the epoxidized cardanol, and of the composites. The thermomechanical properties of the composites were assessed by thermogravimetric analysis, differential scanning calorimetry and dynamic mechanical analysis. We confirmed that fully cured composites could be obtained, although a high photoinitiator concentration was needed, possibly due to a side reaction of the photoinitiator with MFC

Proposta di sottotitolaggio di un episodio della serie "Der Tatortreiniger"

In questo elaborato viene proposto il sottotitolaggio di una puntata della serie tedesca "Tatortreiniger". Questa puntata ha la caratteristica di essere in rima. Si commentano le scelte traduttive e inoltre si analizzano le tecniche adoperate nel sottotitolaggio e le soluzioni adottate durante questo processo. Inoltre trattandosi di un episodio di genere umoristico si analizza il problema del tradurre l'umorismo da una lingua ad un'altra

Photoinduced Processes as a Way to Sustainable Polymers and Innovation in Polymeric Materials

Photoinduced processes have gained considerable attention in polymer science and have greatly implemented the technological developments of new products. Therefore, a large amount of research work is currently developed in this area: in this paper we illustrate the advantages of a chemistry driven by light, the present perspectives of the technology, and summarize some of our recent research works, honoring the memory of Prof. Aldo Priola who passed away in March 2021 and was one of the first scientists in Italy to contribute to the field

Enhancing properties and water resistance of PEO-based electrospun nanofibrous membranes by photo-crosslinking

Abstract In this study, modified fibrous mats of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) were fabricated through the versatile technique of electrospinning. Acrylic monomers were added to PEO with different composition ratios, and the mats were irradiated. The kinetics of photo-cross-linking reaction in the presence of the acrylic cross-linkers, as well as the structural, thermal and mechanical properties of the nanofibers, were studied. The morphology of the fibrous membranes before and after water treatment was monitored, and the insoluble fraction of the fibers was measured. As a result, by tuning the photo-cross-linking reaction, the control over fibers properties was feasible. The photo-cured PEO-based nanofibrous mats showed the solubility resistance needed to use them as membranes and to apply them in aqueous environments, as in water treatment processes and biomedical applications. Graphical Abstrac

Compositionally Graded Hydrophobic UV-Cured Coatings for the Prevention of Glass Stress Corrosion

The use of glass in architecture is growing and is moving towards structural applications. However, the tensile strength of glass cannot be fully exploited because of stress corrosion. This is a corrosion triggered by stress applied to the material and dependent on environmental factors such as humidity and temperature. To protect glass from stress corrosion, we developed a UV-cured coating, characterized by hydrophobicity, barrier to water vapor properties, and good adhesion to glass, thanks to a compositional profile. The coating was obtained by combining a cycloaliphatic diacrylate resin with a very low amount of a perfluoropolyether methacrylate co-monomer, which migrated to the free surface, creating a compositionally graded coating. The adhesion to glass was improved, using as a primer an acrylated silane able to co-react with the resins. With a mechanical load test using the coaxial double ring set-up, we proved that the coating is effective in the inhibition of stress corrosion of glass plates, with an increase of 76% of tensile strength

Intellectual Property and the Politics of Public Good in COVID-19: Framing Law, Institutions, and Ideas during TRIPS Waiver Negotiations at the WTO

Context: To facilitate the manufacturing of COVID-19 medical products, in October 2020, India and South Africa proposed a waiver of certain WTO intellectual property (IP) provisions. After 18 months, a narrow agreement that did little for vaccine access passed the ministerial, despite the pandemic’s impact on global trade, which the WTO is mandated to safeguard. Methods: The authors conducted a content analysis of WTO legal texts, key actor statements, media reporting, and the WTO’s procedural framework to explore legal, institutional, and ideational explanations for the delay. Findings: IP waivers are neither legally complex nor unprecedented within WTO law, yet TRIPS waiver negotiations exceeded their mandated 90-day negotiation period by nearly 2 years. Waiver opponents and supporters engaged in escalating strategic framing, which justified and eventually secured political attention at head-of-state level, sidelining other pandemic solutions. The frames deployed discouraged consensus on a meaningful waiver, which ultimately favored the status quo that opponents preferred. WTO institutional design encouraged drawn-out negotiation while limiting legitimate players in debate to trade ministers, empowering narrow interest group politics. Conclusions: Despite global political attention, the WTO process contributed little to emergency vaccine production, suggesting a pressing need for reforms aimed at more efficient and equitable multilateral processes

Factors affecting the diet of Peregrine Falcon in Italy

The diet of top predators can provide useful information on phenology and abundance of their prey. The cosmopolitan and specialist Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) is an ideal model to assess whether food changes have occurred in the long-term. In this contribution, we reviewed all available literature on Peregrine Falcon diet in Italy which contained 11 detailed datasets useful for our review, and also included analysis of pellets, collected at three breeding sites of Sicily during 2014 and 2015. These data allowed us to shed light on the Peregrine Falcon’s diet over the last forty years (1978-2015). We calculated the numerical and biomass percentage of the resident and not-resident prey proportions, as well as the trophic diversity of diet in each site using the Simpson diversity index. To describe the Peregrine Falcon food niche and investigate whether year, habitat and latitude effects existed in its diet, we used a 2nd-degree factorial ANOVA. Over 1,550 preys, 110 bird species accounted for 98.58% of frequency and 99.79% of biomass. Modelling showed a year effect, with the quota and biomass of resident prey species increasing across the forty years of the study period, in a way complementary to the decrease of the quota and biomass of not-resident prey species. Conversely, habitat and latitude predicted significantly trophic diversity that was larger in rural than urban habitats, and at northern than southern latitudes. The strong numerical and biomass decrease of not-resident preys in the trophic niche of Peregrine Falcon in Italy could be related to the negative population trends of both migratory and summer-breeder farmland species. Actually the bulk of prey of the Peregrine Falcon in Italy is formed by a restricted group of resident Corvidae and Columbidae, which have remarkably increased in the last years. This could trigger more dependence on resident prey in the long term, making the Peregrine Falcons more vulnerable to control programs or eradication of specific prey populations or exposing them locally to high risk of infections (chlamydiosis, avian trichomiasis) transferred by feral species

Changes in eggshell ultrastructure of Falco naumanni and Tyto alba exposed to pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

Changes in the quality of eggs of birds exposed to environmental contaminants have been described, but few reports concern eggshell ultrastructure. In this study, infertile or addled Lesser Kestrels (Falco naumanni) and Barn owls (Tyto alba) eggs were collected from the polluted area of Gela plain (Sicily) during 2007, and compared in terms of organophosphate and organochlorine pesticides, and PCBs levels, and eggshell ultrastructure as determined by scanning electron microscopy. Pesticide and PCB residues in eggs were determined by Gas chromatography/ mass spectrometry (GC/MS) [GC Agilent 7890A/MS Agilent 5975C (Agilent technologies) using a DB-5 capillary column in the selected ion monitoring mode]. The GC/MS analysis revealed that eggs contained measurable amounts of some pesticides and PCBs. There was a low detection of organophosphate pesticides while the most abundant organochlorine residues detected were p,p’ DDT, p,p’ DDE, and Hexachlorobenzene. While, the most abundant PCBs detected congeners were PCB 138, 153, 170, 180, and 187. Although the general structure of the eggshell layers was maintained, the results showed ultrastructural differences in mammillary and palisade eggshell layers between high level and low level contaminated eggs in Tyto alba. Furthermore, mammillary cores of the eggshell had an increased distance between themselves with respect to well organized structures present in uncontaminated egg. In this paper we verify the presence of environmental contaminants in the eggs and document structural changes in bird of prey eggshells. The data could suggest that some contaminants can contribute to reduced reproductive performance (infertile or addled egg) by structural changes in the eggshell. The alteration in morphological disposition of mammillary cores could also suggest an impairment of gas exchange