Systemic circular economy solutions for fiber reinforced composites

This open access book provides an overview of the work undertaken within the FiberEUse project, which developed solutions enhancing the profitability of composite recycling and reuse in value-added products, with a cross-sectorial approach. Glass and carbon fiber reinforced polymers, or composites, are increasingly used as structural materials in many manufacturing sectors like transport, constructions and energy due to their better lightweight and corrosion resistance compared to metals. However, composite recycling is still a challenge since no significant added value in the recycling and reprocessing of composites is demonstrated. FiberEUse developed innovative solutions and business models towards sustainable Circular Economy solutions for post-use composite-made products. Three strategies are presented, namely mechanical recycling of short fibers, thermal recycling of long fibers and modular car parts design for sustainable disassembly and remanufacturing. The validation of the FiberEUse approach within eight industrial demonstrators shows the potentials towards new Circular Economy value-chains for composite materials

Process study of the formation of biodegradable polymer microspheres for tissue engineering

A series of polymer microspheres was prepared via solvent evaporation by dispersing dichloromethane solutions of polylactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA) in water. The dimensions of the final dry particles were measured by laser diffraction and correlated to the main fluid-dynamic parameters of the dispersion process, namely viscosity ratio, volume fraction of dispersed phase, intensity of stirring, and Weber number (We). Data analysis indicated that the system under study can be quantitatively well described by empirical models present in the literature and concerning the dispersion of liquid-liquid immiscible systems. The PLGA microspheres obtained in this way may be employed for fabrication of biodegradable scaffolds for tissue engineering

Bibliometric analysis as mesaure [sic] of long-term performance in pancreatic cancer research.

Introduction: Research on pancreatic cancer consists in basic, translational and clinical research. Bibliometric indexes as IF and H-Index have been proposed as measures of quality and performance for medical research. Our goal was to analyze the IF and the 5-years H-Index of the publications about pancreatic cancer research

The combination of kinetic and flow cytometric semen parameters as a tool to predict fertility in cryopreserved bull semen.

Within recent years, there has been growing interest in the prediction of bull fertility through in vitro assessment of semen quality. A model for fertility prediction based on early evaluation of semen quality parameters, to exclude sires with potentially low fertility from breeding programs, would therefore be useful. The aim of the present study was to identify the most suitable parameters that would provide reliable prediction of fertility. Frozen semen from 18 Italian Holstein-Friesian proven bulls was analyzed using computer-assisted semen analysis (CASA) (motility and kinetic parameters) and flow cytometry (FCM) (viability, acrosomal integrity, mitochondrial function, lipid peroxidation, plasma membrane stability and DNA integrity). Bulls were divided into two groups (low and high fertility) based on the estimated relative conception rate (ERCR). Significant differences were found between fertility groups for total motility, active cells, straightness, linearity, viability and percentage of DNA fragmented sperm. Correlations were observed between ERCR and some kinetic parameters, and membrane instability and some DNA integrity indicators. In order to define a model with high relation between semen quality parameters and ERCR, backward stepwise multiple regression analysis was applied. Thus, we obtained a prediction model that explained almost half (R 2=0.47, P<0.05) of the variation in the conception rate and included nine variables: five kinetic parameters measured by CASA (total motility, active cells, beat cross frequency, curvilinear velocity and amplitude of lateral head displacement) and four parameters related to DNA integrity evaluated by FCM (degree of chromatin structure abnormality Alpha-T, extent of chromatin structure abnormality (Alpha-T standard deviation), percentage of DNA fragmented sperm and percentage of sperm with high green fluorescence representative of immature cells). A significant relationship (R 2=0.84, P<0.05) was observed between real and predicted fertility. Once the accuracy of fertility prediction has been confirmed, the model developed in the present study could be used by artificial insemination centers for bull selection or for elimination of poor fertility ejaculates

Cervical syringomyelia secondary to single space-occupying intracranial lesions in dogs: magnetic resonance imaging findings and risk factors

This study has identified risk factors for the development of SCSM in dogs with a single space-occupying intracranial lesion. When one or more of these risk factors are identified, it is advisable to extend the MRI study to the cervical spine, to investigate the presence of SCSM. Conversely, in dogs with SCSM and no concurrent cervical or congenital caudal fossa disease, the MRI study should be extended to the brain to investigate for a potential mass lesion

The Low Energy Tagger for the KLOE-2 experiment

The KLOE experiment at the upgraded DAFNE e+e- collider in Frascati (KLOE-2) is going to start a new data taking at the beginning of 2010 with its detector upgraded with a tagging system for the identification of gamma-gamma interactions. The tagging stations for low-energy e+e- will consist in two calorimeters The calorimeter used to detect low-energy e+e- will be placed between the beam-pipe outer support structure and the inner wall of the KLOE drift chamber. This calorimeter will be made of LYSO crystals readout by Silicon Photomultipliers, to achieve an energy resolution better than 8% at 200 MeV.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figures, in the proceedings of "Frontier detectors for frontier physics", isola d'Elba, Italy, May 200

Teleological Essentialism

Placeholder essentialism is the view that there is a causal essence that holds category members together, though we may not know what the essence is. Sometimes the placeholder can be filled in by scientific essences, such as when we acquire scientific knowledge that the atomic weight of gold is 79. We challenge the view that placeholders are elaborated by scientific essences. On our view, if placeholders are elaborated, they are elaborated Aristotelian essences, a telos. Utilizing the same kinds of experiments used by traditional essentialists—involving superficial change (study 1), transformation of insides (study 2), acquired traits (study 3) and inferences about offspring (study 4)—we find support for the view that essences are elaborated by a telos. And we find evidence (study 5) that teleological essences may generate category judgments

Long-term thermal stability of high-efficiency polymer solar cells based on photocrosslinkable donor-acceptor conjugated polymers

Highly efficient polymer solar cells based on novel photocrosslinkable donor–acceptor conjugated polymers are fabricated and their long-term thermal stability is reported. After 72 h of thermal annealing at 150 °C, a stable power conversion efficiency as high as 4.7% is maintained. The control of active layer morphology and device performance through annealing is correlated with the synthetic design of the photocrosslinkable polymer

Thermoresponsive Host Polymer Matrix for Self-Healing Luminescent Solar Concentrators

© 2019 American Chemical Society. Luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) are a promising solar energy technology for reducing architectural barriers to the integration of photovoltaic systems into the built environment. In this work, the first demonstration of thin-film LSCs based on a thermally reversible cross-linked host polymer is presented. This smart material is obtained via a dynamic-chemistry approach based on the Diels-Alder (DA) reaction between a furan-functionalized acrylic copolymer and an aliphatic bismaleimide to obtain optically clear, cross-linked systems capable of healing mechanical damage upon heat treatment. By carefully tuning the concentration of a perylene-based luminophore dopant, an optical efficiency as high as 4.9% can be achieved with this DA-based LSC. In addition, full recovery of device efficiency is demonstrated after complete thermal healing of mechanically induced surface damages as a result of the embedded DA functionality. The approach presented here paves the way to the development of highly efficient multifunctional thermoresponsive smart LSC systems.European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 818762