19 research outputs found
Biobased materials for skin-contact products promoted by POLYBIOSKIN project
No full textThe skin is the body outermost tissue and acts as a barrier and defense line to protect our organs [...]
Le sacred waters di Leslie Marmon Silko
No full textIn Sacred Water, Leslie Marmon Silko's collection of 41 short pieces and 39 black and white photographs, water is the thread guiding the author through a ritual and a celebration. The water stories form a collective story. They bond with the innumerable narrations of Indian land which speak of the landscape as a direct manifestation of time's cyclical continuity and cohesion
THE CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND BUILT ENVIRONMENT. MAINTENANCE, REHABILITATION AND ADAPTIVE REUSE: CHALLENGING STRATEGIES FOR CLOSING LOOPS
No full textThis paper discusses attitudes towards maintenance, rehabilitation, and adaptive reuse as strategies to give new life to decaying and abandoned spatial and social contexts (World Economic Forum, 2018). The methodology is based on a mixed deductive and inductive approach, following three main steps: 1) conceptual framework; 2) design actions; 3) best practices screening. Through matching values preservation with resource optimization, life cycle lengthening emerges as a privileged medium for passing past identities to the future. Saving the performance of spaces or devicesis the approach suggested to fit best within a built system with high prior degrees of stiffness, working procedures, operators, and scheduled times. Integrating new systems and processes alongsideexisting ones is a way to manage aging processes, as well as transferring, planning, and testing final suitability
Skin and pollution: the smart nano-based cosmeceutical-tissues to save the planet’ ecosystem
No full textNanotechnology is key to the design and manufacture of the new generation of cosmetics. Nanotechnology can enhance the performance and properties of cosmetics, including colour, transparency, solubility, texture, and durability. Sunscreen products, such as UV nano-filters, nano-TiO2 and nano-ZnO particles, can offer an advantage over their traditional counterparts due to their broad UV-protection and non-cutaneous side effects. For perfumes, nano‐droplets can be found in cosmetic products including Eau de Toilette and Eau de Parfum.
Nanomaterials can also be used in cosmetics as transdermal drug delivery systems. By using smart nanocontainers, active compounds such as vitamins, antioxidants, nutrients, and anti-inflammatory, anti-infective agents, can be delivered effectively. These smart nanocontainers are typically related with the smart releasing property for their embedded active substances. These smart releases could be obtained by using the smart coatings as their outer nano-shells. These nano-shells could prevent the direct contact between these active agents and the adjacent local environments.
Nanocosmetics: Fundamentals, Applications and Toxicity explores the formulation design concepts and emerging applications of nanocosmetics. The book also focuses on the mitigation or prevention of their potential nanotoxicity, potential global regulatory challenges, and the technical challenges of mass implementation. It is an important reference source for materials scientists and pharmaceutical scientists looking to further their understanding of how nanotechnology is being used for the new generation of cosmetics
MECHANICAL, RHEOLOGICAL AND THERMAL EVALUATION OF POLY(LACTIC ACID) (PLA)/MICRO FIBRILLATED CELLULOSE (MFC) PLASTICIZED BIOCOMPOSITES PRODUCED WITH FLAT DIE EXTRUSION AND CALENDERING
No full textThe use of Micro Fibrillated Cellulose (MFC) as filler for polymeric matrices attempts
an increasing interest both in academia and industry. In this framework, encouraging results have been obtained using plasticizers, as dispersing aids, during twin-screw extrusion that optimizes the process parameters and avoid MFC agglomeration. In this work, two commercial typologies of waterborne solution of MFC (Exilva and Celish) were melt-compounded in a PLA matrix through semi-industrial twin-screw extruder and calendered, producing films of 150 μm thickness. These films were mechanically and thermally characterized, moreover the migration of the plasticizer along the time was evaluated through analytical model and the diffusion coefficient was calculated
Fracture behavior and mechanical, thermal, and rheological properties of biodegradable films extruded by flat die and calender
No full textThe development of biodegradable materials for tailored applications, particularly in the field of polymeric films and sheets, is a challenging technological goal as well as a contribution to help protect the environment. Poly(lactic) acid (PLA) is a promising substitute for several oil-based polymers; however, to overcome its thermal and mechanical drawbacks, researchers have developed solutions such as blending PLA with polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT), which is capable of increasing the ductility of the final material. In this study, PLA/PBAT binary blends, with minimum possible content of nonrenewable materials, were examined from processing, thermal, morphological, and rheological perspective. An optimized PLA/PBAT ratio was chosen as the polymeric basis to obtain a biodegradable formulation by adding a biobased plasticizer and appropriate fillers to produce a micrometer film with tailored flexibility and tear resistance. The processing technology involved flat-die extrusion, followed by calendering. The tearing resistance of the produced film was investigated, and the results were compared with literature data. A study on the essential work of fracture was implemented to explore the mode III out-of-plane fracture resistance starting from a trouser tear test
Characterization of chitin and chitosan derived from Hermetia illucens, a further step in a circular economy process
No full textDue to their properties and applications, the growing demand for chitin and chitosan has stimulated the market to find more sustainable alternatives to the current commercial source (crustaceans). Bioconverter insects, such as Hermetia illucens, are the appropriate candidates, as chitin is a side stream of insect farms for feed applications. This is the first report on production and characterization of chitin and chitosan from different biomasses derived from H. illucens, valorizing the overproduced larvae in feed applications, the pupal exuviae and the dead adults. Pupal exuviae are the best biomass, both for chitin and chitosan yields and for their abundance and easy supply from insect farms. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope analysis revealed the similarity of insect-derived polymers to commercial ones in terms of purity and structural morphology, and therefore their suitability for industrial and biomedical applications. Its fibrillary nature makes H. illucens chitin suitable for producing fibrous manufacts after conversion to chitin nanofibrils, particularly adults-derived chitin, because of its high crystallinity. A great versatility emerged from the evaluation of the physicochemical properties of chitosan obtained from H. illucens, which presented a lower viscosity-average molecular weight and a high deacetylation degree, fostering its putative antimicrobial properties
The representation of trauma in narrative : a study of six late twentieth century novels
No full textThis thesis conducts a close analysis of representations of trauma in six
late twentieth century novels. I construct a theoretical framework by examining
debates about trauma and narrative which have taken place in the fields of
historiography, social studies, psychoanalysis and literary fiction. By drawing on
these debates, I argue that the relationship between narrative and trauma is
paradoxical: narrative is an essential tool, both for working-through and bearing
witness to the trauma, but it can also intentionally or unintentionally be used to
create an inauthentic version of events.
I illustrate the need felt by many late twentieth century theorists for the
development of a narrative form that will be able to produce an effective version
of trauma. This narrative needs to facilitate working-through and enable
witnessing of trauma. However, it must strive to avoid producing a falsifying
version of the trauma. I argue that it can achieve this by acknowledging its own
provisionality and therefore highlighting the limitations but also the necessity of
narrative representations of trauma.
I argue that the six contemporary novels I have chosen are examples of
narratives that strive to develop a more effective means of representing trauma.
The novels explore their concerns about trauma and narrative on both a thematic
and formal level. The story told in each novel follows a similar pattern of events:
in each novel the protagonist is depicted as suffering from the effects of trauma;
they all try to evade their traumas by creating falsifying versions of their
experiences; and they all offered a means of interpreting which will allow them to
work-though and, therefore, bear witness to their traumas. Finally, the six authors
utilise their narrative strategies to teach their readers this therapeutic and ethical
hermeneutics which corresponds with contemporary concerns about trauma and
narrative
Validation of a novel Multi-Gas sensor for volcanic HCl alongside H2S and SO2 at Mt. Etna
No full textErratum to: Bull Volcanol (2017) 79: 36DOI 10.1007/s00445-017-1114-zDuring the steps of corrections, the publisher inadvertently changed the author affiliations so that they were no longer correct. The correct information is given below. The publisher regrets this mistake.International audienceVolcanic gas emission measurements inform predictions of hazard and atmospheric impacts. For these measurements, Multi-Gas sensors provide low-cost in situ monitoring of gas composition but to date have lacked the ability to detect halogens. Here, two Multi-Gas instruments characterized passive outgassing emissions from Mt. Etna’s (Italy) three summit craters, Voragine (VOR), North-east Crater (NEC) and Bocca Nuova (BN) on 2 October 2013. Signal processing (Sensor Response Model, SRM) approaches are used to analyse H2S/SO2 and HCl/SO2 ratios. A new ability to monitor volcanic HCl using miniature electrochemical sensors is here demonstrated. A “direct-exposure” Multi-Gas instrument contained SO2, H2S and HCl sensors, whose sensitivities, cross-sensitivities and response times were characterized by laboratory calibration. SRM analysis of the field data yields H2S/SO2 and HCl/SO2 molar ratios, finding H2S/SO2 = 0.02 (0.01–0.03), with distinct HCl/SO2 for the VOR, NEC and BN crater emissions of 0.41 (0.38–0.43), 0.58 (0.54–0.60) and 0.20 (0.17–0.33). A second Multi-Gas instrument provided CO2/SO2 and H2O/SO2 and enabled cross-comparison of SO2. The Multi-Gas-measured SO2-HCl-H2S-CO2-H2O compositions provide insights into volcanic outgassing. H2S/SO2 ratios indicate gas equilibration at slightly below magmatic temperatures, assuming that the magmatic redox state is preserved. Low SO2/HCl alongside low CO2/SO2 indicates a partially outgassed magma source. We highlight the potential for low-cost HCl sensing of H2S-poor HCl-rich volcanic emissions elsewhere. Further tests are needed for H2S-rich plumes and for long-term monitoring. Our study brings two new advances to volcano hazard monitoring: real-time in situ measurement of HCl and improved Multi-Gas SRM measurements of gas ratios
Immunomodulatory activity of electrospun polyhydroxyalkanoate fiber scaffolds incorporating olive leaf extract
No full textOlive tree is a well-known source of polyphenols. We prepared an olive leaf extract (OLE) and characterized it via high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. OLE was blended with different polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), namely, poly(hydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBHV) and polyhydroxybutyrate/poly(hydroxyoctanoate-co-hydroxydecanoate) (PHB/PHOHD), to produce fiber meshes via electrospinning: OLE/PHBV and OLE/ (PHB/PHOHD), respectively. An 80–90% (w/w%) release of the main polyphenols from the OLE/PHA fibers occurred in 24 h, with a burst release in the first 30 min. OLE and the produced fiber meshes were assayed using human dermal keratinocytes (HaCaT cells) to evaluate the expression of a panel of cytokines involved in the inflammatory process and innate immune response, such as the antimicrobial peptide human beta defensin 2 (HBD-2). Fibers containing OLE were able to decrease the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines at 6 h up to 24 h. All the PHA fibers allowed an early downregulation of the pro-inflammatory cytokines in 6 h, which is suggestive of a strong anti-inflammatory activity exerted by PHA fibers. Differently from pure OLE, PHB/PHOHD fibers (both with and without OLE) upregulated the expression of HBD-2. Our results showed that PHA fiber meshes are suitable in decreasing pro-inflammatory cytokines and the incorporation of OLE may enable indirect antibacterial properties, which is essential in wound healing and tissue regeneration
