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Electronic Engineering and Design Innovations are both academic and practical engineering fields that involve systematic technological materialization through scientific principles and engineering designs [...]

The international symposium on remote sensing 2018 (ISRS 2018) was held in Pyeongchang, Korea, 9–11 May 2018 [...]

Providing adapted e-health services, applications, and platforms responds to a growing need for medical institutions like hospitals or even homes [...]

Following curative treatment for colorectal cancer (CRC), 30% to 50% of patients will develop recurrent disease. For CRC there are several lines of evidence supporting the hypothesis that early detection of metachronous disease offers a second opportunity for cure. This paper revisits the potential role of serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in follow-up. A comprehensive review of the literature (1978-2008) demonstrates that the initial promise of serum CEA as an effective surveillance tool has been tarnished through perpetuation of poorly designed studies. Specific limitations included: testing CEA as only an 'add-on' diagnostic tool; lack of standardization of threshold values; use of static thresholds; too low measurement frequency. Major changes in localizing imaging techniques and treatment of metastatic CRC further cause a decrease of clinical applicability of past trial outcomes. In 1982, Staab hypothesized that the optimal benefit of serum CEA as a surveillance tool is through high-frequency triage using a dynamic threshold (HiDT). Evidence supporting this hypothesis was found in the biochemical characteristics of serum CEA and retrospective studies showing the superior predictive value of a dynamic threshold. A multi-centred randomized phase III study optimizing the usage of HiDT against resectability of recurrent disease is commencing recruitment in the Netherlands.

Last year, Energies (ISSN 1996-1073) decided to award a prize to outstanding papers in the area of energy technologies and applications published in Energies . In 2014, the Prize Awarding Committee has decided to also grant awards in the category of “best review papers”. [...]

Marine Drugs initiated a “Best Paper Award” in 2013 [1] to recognize outstanding papers published in our journal in the area of research, development and production of drugs from the sea, including marine natural product chemistry. We are pleased to announce the second “Marine Drugs Best Paper Award” for 2014. Nominations were selected by the Editor-in-Chief, Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members of Marine Drugs from all papers published in 2010; reviews and articles being evaluated separately. [...]

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health started to institute an annual award in 2013 to recognize outstanding papers related to environmental health sciences and public health that meet the aims, scope and high standards of this journal. We are pleased to announce the second “International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health Best Paper Award” for 2014. Nominations were solicited from the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board members, with all papers published in 2010 eligible for consideration. [...]

International Journal of Molecular Science is instituting an annual award to recognize outstanding papers in the area of chemistry, molecular physics and molecular biology published in International Journal of Molecular Science. We are pleased to announce the third “International Journal of Molecular Science Best Paper Award” for 2014 [1,2]. Nominations were made by the Section Editors-in-Chief of International Journal of Molecular Science from all papers published in 2010. [...]

Research about spirituality has grown widely in the past decades and the interest in health care is also evident in Portugal. This literature review aims to identify and to characterize Portuguese theses, dissertations, and papers about spirituality in health, and to provide a systematic overview of the knowledge concerning this subject. The search was conducted in February 2017 and updated in January 2018. Four independent reviewers screened and analyzed all citations, and a total of 76 results were included. Publications started in 2002 and include master degree dissertations (n = 37), scientific papers (n = 31), and PhD theses (n = 8). Papers were published in 24 national and international journals. Most papers were psychology- and nursing-related and had a quantitative design (n = 55). Samples were mostly composed of patients living with a chronic disease (n = 20) or elderly (n = 11). The Spiritual Well-Being Questionnaire (SWBQ) was the most used tool. A multidisciplinary approach is regarded as foundational in implementing spirituality in the provision of health care and the results underline the interest on this topic from other disciplines rather than nursing. Further studies must provide a deeper understanding of spirituality in children, adolescents or families’ perspective bringing new insights to advanced health practice.

The Journal of Risk and Financial Management (JRFM) was inaugurated in 2008 and has continued publishing successfully with Volume 11 in 2018. Since the journal was established, JRFM has published in excess of 110 topical and interesting theoretical and empirical papers in financial economics, financial econometrics, banking, finance, mathematical finance, statistical finance, accounting, decision sciences, information management, tourism economics and finance, international rankings of journals in financial economics, and bibliometric rankings of journals in cognate disciplines. Papers published in the journal range from novel technical and theoretical papers to innovative empirical contributions. The journal wishes to encourage critical review papers on topical subjects in any of the topics mentioned above in financial economics and in cognate disciplines.

This paper suggests a methodology of academic paper classification for the scientist intending to contribute to peer-reviewed scientific literature. This will enable the progress of the typescript through the publication system to be accurately determined at any stage. The publication process is split into eight subdivisions of differing worth and import: in navel contemplation; in preparation; submitted; in review; revision, revised, and resubmitted; accepted; in press; and publication. Papers in navel contemplation are referred to as in preparation by many, which can be an embarrassment when asked exactly what has been prepared. Rather than listing papers as in preparation in academic submissions, it is better to list them as unpublished data until published. Efficient authors keep a close watch on their papers between submission and the proof stage. They must be sufficiently organized to manage their publications and to be aware when things slow down. The methodology is flexible and, if it does not work for some authors, then they have a simple framework to adapt to their own preferences. In short, scientists need to show care and not be overly optimistic about the progress of any paper.

Since 2012, International Journal of Molecular Science has instituted an annual award to recognize outstanding papers in the area of chemistry, molecular physics and molecular biology that meet the aims, scope and high standards of this journal [1]. We are pleased to announce the second “International Journal of Molecular Science Best Paper Award” for 2013. Nominations were made by the Section Editor-in-Chiefs of International Journal of Molecular Science, with all papers published in 2009 eligible for consideration. The awards are issued for reviews and articles separately. [...]

Materials is instituting an annual award to recognize the outstanding papers in the area of materials science and engineering published in Materials. We are pleased to announce the first “Materials Best Paper Award” for 2013. Nominations were selected by the Section Editor-in-Chiefs and Editorial Board members of Materials from all papers published in 2009. [...]

To better recognize the outstanding papers in the area of energy technologies and applications published in Energies, we announce the institution of an annual award. We are therefore pleased to announce the first “Energies Best Paper Award” for 2013. Nominations were made by the Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Board members from all papers published in 2009. The awards are issued to reviews and full research articles separately. [...]

Molecules has started to institute a "Best Paper" award to recognize the most outstanding papers in the area of natural products, medicinal chemistry and molecular diversity published in Molecules. We are pleased to announce the second "Molecules Best Paper Award" for 2013. Candidates were chosen by the Editor-in-Chief and selected editorial board members from among all the papers published in 2009.

To recognize the most outstanding papers in the area of research, development and production of drugs from the sea, including marine natural product chemistry, that have been published in Marine Drugs, we would like to start an annual “Best Paper Award”. [...]

A fiber optic interferometric sensor with an intrinsic transducer along a length of the fiber is presented for ultrasound measurements of the acoustic emission from partial discharges inside oil-filled power apparatus. The sensor is designed for high sensitivity measurements in a harsh electromagnetic field environment, with wide temperature changes and immersion in oil. It allows enough sensitivity for the application, for which the acoustic pressure is in the range of units of Pa at a frequency of 150 kHz. In addition, the accessibility to the sensing region is guaranteed by immune fiber-optic cables and the optical phase sensor output. The sensor design is a compact and rugged coil of fiber. In addition to a complete calibration, the in-situ results show that two types of partial discharges are measured through their acoustic emissions with the sensor immersed in oil.

During the last two decades, a systematic re-examination of the whole information science field has taken place around the FIS—Foundations of Information Science—initiative. With the occasion of its Fourth Conference in Beijing 2010, a group of selected contributors and leading practitioners of those fields have been invited to contribute to this Special Issue. What is the status of information science today? What is the relationship between information and the laws of nature? Is information merely “physical”? What is the difference between information and computation? Has the genomic revolution changed the contemporary views on information and life? And what about the nature of social information? Cogent answers to these questions and to quite many others are attempted in the contributions that follow.

Thanks to their capabilities of converting various energy into motions, micro/nanomachines are believed to bring about revolutionary changes in many fields[...].

Peer-reviewed journals are a pillar of modern science. Their aim is to achieve highest scientific standards by carrying out a rigorous peer review that is, as a minimum requirement, supposed to be able to identify fundamental methodological errors or false claims. Unfortunately, as many climate researchers and engaged observers of the climate change debate pointed out in various internet discussion fora, the paper by Spencer and Braswell [1] that was recently published in Remote Sensing is most likely problematic in both aspects and should therefore not have been published. After having become aware of the situation, and studying the various pro and contra arguments, I agree with the critics of the paper. Therefore, I would like to take the responsibility for this editorial decision and, as a result, step down as Editor-in-Chief of the journal Remote Sensing. [...]

With the start of 2011, Sensors is instituting an annual award to recognize outstanding papers related to sensing technologies and applications that meet the aims, scope and high standards of this journal. We are pleased to announce the first “Sensors Best Paper Award” for 2011. Nominations were solicited from the Section Editor-in-Chiefs of Sensors, with all papers published in 2005 eligible for consideration. [...]

The aging of oil-paper insulation in power transformers may cause serious power failures. Thus, effective monitoring of the condition of the transformer insulation is the key to prevent major accidents. The purpose of this study was to explore the feasibility of confocal laser Raman spectroscopy (CLRS) for assessing the aging condition of oil-paper insulation. Oil-paper insulation samples were subjected to thermal accelerated ageing at 120 °C for up to 160 days according to the procedure described in the IEEE Guide. Meanwhile, the dimension of the Raman spectrum of the insulation oil was reduced by principal component analysis (PCA). The 160 oil-paper insulation samples were divided into five aging stages as training samples by clustering analysis and with the use of the degree of polymerization of the insulating papers. In addition, the features of the Raman spectrum were used as the inputs of a multi-classification support vector machine. Finally, 105 oil-paper insulation testing samples aged at a temperature of 130 °C were used to further test the diagnostic capability and universality of the established algorithm. Results demonstrated that CLRS in conjunction with the PCA-SVM technique provides a new way for aging stage assessment of oil-paper insulation equipment in the field.

This paper presents an overview on applications of artificial neural networks (ANNs) to robot control systems and outlines the contributions of ANNs. Adaptive neurocontrol architectures are introduced and compared to traditional adaptive control methods.

An annual award has been instituted to recognize the outstanding papers published in Crystals. We are pleased to announce the first “Crystals Best Paper Award” for 2015. [...]

Econometrics has had a distinguished start publishing over 92 articles since 2013, with 76,475 downloads.[...]

Catalysts has established a new award, to be given annually, for the best original and review articles published in Catalysts.[...]

Remote Sensing has started to institute a “Best Paper” award to recognize the most outstanding papers in the area of remote sensing techniques, design and applications published in Remote Sensing. We are pleased to announce the first “Remote Sensing Best Paper Award” for 2013. Nominations were selected by the Editor-in-Chief and selected editorial board members from among all the papers published in 2009. Reviews and research papers were evaluated separately. [...]

unsatisfactory and their proposed reassignments of GC peaks and component identities raised even more questions about the accuracy of claims published in [2]. Furthermore, during our investigation of this matter we also became aware of numerous papers concerning this same topic [6-10], that had not been cited by the authors. Almost six months have now elapsed since this was communicated to the authors, who have failed to respond to our numerous e-mails requesting some action on this matter, so in consideration of the doubts about the validity of the contents of [2] and in the absence of any data supporting the authors' claims, as Editor-in-Chief of

We are proud to be publishing page 2000 of the current volume of Molecules, in this issue 8 (August 2007), while last year we published only 1014 pages during the whole year.[...]

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It has been brought to our attention by a member of our Editorial Board that substantial portions of this review article have been copied verbatim from earlier publications without credit.[...]

arefully and immediately indexed and abstracted by the leading indexing and abstracting services, includingChemical Abstracts; CAPLUS; Science Citation Index Expanded; SciSearch, Research Alert; ChemistryCitation Index and Current Contents. We strive to maintain a very fast editorial procedure and acceptedpapers are published immediately. We ask authors to present a comprehensive literature review of their research topic in an Introduction sectionand to publish as much as possible the full experimental details, particularly synthetic procedures, not only forhigh-yield examples but also for any low-yield examples, as well as the structures, not only of target productsbut also those of any isolated and characterized by-products and intermediates, and all the availablespectroscopic and other characterization information (see http://www.mdpi.org/molecules/edito96.htm for thereasons [1]). In short, we encourage authors to submit long or very long papers.

Recent achievements in the photoalignment technique for fabrication of optically rewritable electronic paper with high performance characteristics are surveyed with emphasis on temporal constraints on the exposure process. The possibility of creating electrode-free electronic paper has very important practical aspects. However, many existing studies do not include sufficient analysis on how to achieve acceptable reflective characteristics within short exposure time. In order to achieve this goal, we have applied the rotational diffusion model. We find that the parameters of the diffusion model can be adjusted to get acceptable light-reflecting characteristics within 10 s of exposure. In comparison with the long-time exposure, the reflectance coefficient reduces by 24%. The route to material improvements for optimized e-paper device is discussed.

The use of waste from the regional production of waste wood, waste paper, and cardboard in the form of briquettes may be causing an increase in local emissions, both of major elements and trace elements. When burning paper and cardboard briquettes, more than 70% of Mn, Zn, As, and Pb is released into the air from the total content of trace elements in the fuel. The largest amounts of major and trace elements are released when burning paper briquettes (56 g/kg of fuel), half of these amounts are released from burning briquettes from waste wood and coal (23 g/kg of fuel). The pursuit of alternative uses for those cardboard components that are not suitable for recycling cannot be directed to the production of briquettes for residential combustion in the framework of the application of the principles of the circular economy. In particular, the high concentrations of undesirable elements in the emissions released in the gas phase into the atmosphere are an obstacle existing even when the parameters of the PM10 emissions of a boiler are met. This is related to the high ash content of the cardboard (13.5%). Waste paper or cardboard could be added to waste wood at a maximum of 10% to make the pollution produced comparable to the burning of coal briquettes.

Large animal studies of long-term ischemia reperfusion are hampered by the use of immunosuppressive drugs to inhibit the influence of the allogeneic response. In small animals, this can be controlled by using inbred strains of the animal. For obvious reasons, this is not possible in large animals such as pigs. Since studies in pigs usually are the last step before first-in-man studies, this remains a problem trying to resemble a clinical situation. In the following short paper, we describe a novel auto kidney transplantation model that can be used for long term ischemia reperfusion studies. We also suggest a control setting to balance out the possible influence of an increased surgical trauma.

In addition to the traditional so-called Arctic states, non-Artic states and some other international organisations are now showing a growing interest in this area. China, for example, has achieved some progress, since becoming an Arctic Council permanent observer, through participation in resource development in the region and strengthening its bilateral relations with the Arctic states. The present study examines China’s Arctic policy and its implications for the governance of the Arctic Ocean. It also provides an insight into the existing relevant international legal instruments and examines China’s interest in the participation, governance, and resource protection activities in the Arctic Ocean region, to successfully implement Chinese Arctic policy. To this end, the study examines the connection between the “white paper” and “China’s Arctic Policy”, in the context of executing the “Belt and Road Initiative”, in particular the “Arctic Silk Road”. The study concludes that China intends to perform a dynamic role in governing the Arctic Ocean, as a less challenging but cooperative partner in this region.

The use of biofuels in vehicles becomes more advantageous than the consumption of fossil fuels, mainly because it uses renewable sources of energy. Recently there are some concerns about biodiesel sources, and hydrotreated vegetable oils (HVO) appear as a possible advanced solution. To understand the effect that the implementation of the new and old European type-approval test cycles (NEDC e WLTP) has on the results of these fuels considering pollutant emissions and fuel consumption results, a EURO V vehicle was subject to these cycles and also to engine performance evaluation tests. For this analysis, the fuels considered were: B0 (pure diesel), B7 (7% of biodiesel), B15 (15% of biodiesel), B100 (pure biodiesel), and HVO15 (15% of HVO). The findings lead to the conclusion that completely replacing fossil fuels with biofuels is not the most cost-effective approach. No significant differences were observed considering the two homologation cycles, the oldest (NEDC) and the actual (WLTP) and the use of HVO also does not present any relevant differences concerning the fuel consumption differences to B0 (+0.58% NEDC and +0.05%WLTP), comparing well with biodiesel behavior (−1.74% NEDC and −0.69%WLTP for B7 and +1.48% NEDC and 1.89% WLTP for B15). Considering the power of the engine obtained with the fuels, the differences are almost negligible, revealing variations smaller than 2% for B7, B15, and HVO15.

Algae biomass is perceived as a prospective source of many types of biofuels, including biogas and biomethane produced in the anaerobic digestion process, ethanol from alcoholic fermentation, biodiesel synthesized from lipid reserve substances, and biohydrogen generated in photobiological transformations. Environmental and economic analyses as well as technological considerations indicate that methane fermentation integrated with bio-oil recovery is one of the most justified directions of energy use of microalgae biomass for energy purposes. A promising direction in the development of bioenergy systems based on the use of microalgae is their integration with waste and pollution neutralization technologies. The use of wastewater, another liquid waste, or flue gases can reduce the costs of biofuel production while having a measurable environmental effect.

Energy consumption places growing demands on modern lifestyles, which have direct impacts on the world’s natural environment. To attain the levels of sustainability required to avoid further consequences of changes in the climate, alternatives for sustainable production not only of energy but also materials and chemicals must be pursued. In this respect, syngas fermentation has recently attracted much attention, particularly from industries responsible for high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Syngas can be obtained by thermochemical conversion of biomass, animal waste, coal, municipal solid wastes and other carbonaceous materials, and its composition depends on biomass properties and gasification conditions. It is defined as a gaseous mixture of CO and H2 but, depending on those parameters, it can also contain CO2, CH4 and secondary components, such as tar, oxygen and nitrogenous compounds. Even so, raw syngas can be used by anaerobic bacteria to produce biofuels (ethanol, butanol, etc.) and biochemicals (acetic acid, butyric acid, etc.). This review updates recent work on the influence of biomass properties and gasification parameters on syngas composition and details the influence of these secondary components and CO/H2 molar ratio on microbial metabolism and product formation. Moreover, the main challenges, opportunities and current developments in syngas fermentation are highlighted in this review.

In order to understand how these studies are evolving to respond to COVID-19 and to facilitate the containment of COVID-19, this paper accurately extracted the spatial and topic information from the metadata of papers related to COVID-19 using text mining techniques, and with the extracted information, the research evolution was analyzed from the temporal, spatial, and topic perspectives. From a temporal view, in the three months after the emergence of COVID-19, the number of published papers showed an obvious growth trend, and it showed a relatively stable cyclical trend in the later period, which is basically consistent with the development of COVID-19. Spatially, most of the authors who participated in related research are concentrated in the United States, China, Italy, the United Kingdom, Spain, India, and France. At the same time, with the continuous spread of COVID-19 in the world, the distribution of the number of authors has gradually expanded, showing to be correlated with the severity of COVID-19 at a spatial scale. From the perspective of topic, the early stage of COVID-19 emergence, the related research mainly focused on the origin and gene identification of the virus. After the emergence of the pandemic, studies related to the diagnosis and analysis of psychological health, personal security, and violent conflict are added. Meanwhile, some categories are most closely related to the control and prevention of the epidemic, such as pathology analysis, diagnosis, and treatment, epidemic situation and coping strategies, and prediction and assessment of epidemic situation. In most time periods, the majority of studies focused on these three categories.

Sources such as solar and wind energy are intermittent, and this is seen as a barrier to their wide utilization. The increasing grid integration of intermittent renewable energy sources generation significantly changes the scenario of distribution grid operations. Such operational challenges are minimized by the incorporation of the energy storage system, which plays an important role in improving the stability and the reliability of the grid. This study provides the review of the state-of-the-art in the literature on the economic analysis of battery energy storage systems. The paper makes evident the growing interest of batteries as energy storage systems to improve techno-economic viability of renewable energy systems; provides a comprehensive overview of key methodological possibilities for researchers interested in economic analysis of battery energy storage systems; indicates the need to use adequate economic indicators for investment decisions; and identifies key research topics of the analyzed literature: (i) photovoltaic systems with battery energy storage systems for residential areas, (ii) comparison between energy storage technologies, (iii) power quality improvement. The last key contribution is the proposed research agenda.

How can one best transform a paper-based publication into a living online resource? This is the theme of a project at The National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design in Norway, supported by the Arts Council Norway. The National Museum aims to create, publish and maintain an authority list of Norwegian artists, architects, designers and craftsmen. The objective is to ease the digitisation process for other museums, scholars and the public in general and contribute to better data quality in Norwegian online collections. The list will in part be based on the Norsk Kunstnerleksikon (Encyclopaedia of Norwegian Artists in English), published in 1982&ndash, 1986 and subsequently digitised in 2013. With the help of other public collections in Norway, the purpose is to make the new resource as complete as possible and available in both human- and machine-readable formats. Although the original paper publication contains biographical texts as well as lists of exhibitions, education, travels, publications and more, the data in the new authority list will be constrained to a set of core biographical data. It will however carry references to online biographical resources such as Norsk Kunstnerleksikon (NKL), Wikidata, Union List of Artist Names (ULAN) and Virtual International Authority File (VIAF). This article discusses the process of defining the scope of and setting constraints for the list, how to enrich and reconcile existing data, as well as strategies to ensure that other institutions contribute both as content publishers and end users. It will also shed light on issues concerning keeping such a resource updated and maintained.

This article aims to study the interest of spent coffee grounds (SCG) valorization through caffeine recovery. In an original way, this study takes into account all the parameters such as (i) the brewing coffee methods (household, coffee shops, etc.), (ii) the storage conditions, in particular the drying step, (iii) the solid/liquid extraction parameters such as the nature of solvent, the temperature, the extraction time and the solid/liquid ratio, and (iv) the liquid/liquid purification parameters such as the nature, the volume and the pH of extraction medium. Results have shown that spent coffee grounds from coffee-shops obtained by percolation contain a higher amount of caffeine than spent coffee grounds from households obtained from spent pods or filters. A drying treatment is not required when extraction is performed under one week after the spent coffee grounds collection with 96.4% of not degraded caffeine. Solid/liquid extraction performed with 25 mL.g−1SCG of hydroalcoholic solvent (water/EtOH, v/v 60/40) at 60 °C during 15 min have given a caffeine yield up to 4.67 mg.g−1SCG. When using ethyl acetate, 93.4% of the caffeine has been selectively recovered by liquid/liquid extraction. Finally, the extraction of caffeine for the valorization of spent coffee grounds is a promising and easy way, which fits with an already important and well established market.

Over the last decades, microalgal biomass has gained a significant role in the development of different high-end (nutraceuticals, colorants, food supplements, and pharmaceuticals) and low-end products (biodiesel, bioethanol, and biogas) due to its rapid growth and high carbon-fixing efficiency. Therefore, microalgae are considered a useful and sustainable resource to attain energy security while reducing our current reliance on fossil fuels. From the technologies available for obtaining biofuels using microalgae biomass, thermochemical processes (pyrolysis, Hydrothermal Liquefaction (HTL), gasification) have proven to be processed with higher viability, because they use all biomass. However, due to the complex structure of the biomass (lipids, carbohydrates, and proteins), the obtained biofuels from direct thermochemical conversion have large amounts of heteroatoms (oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur). As a solution, catalyst-based processes have emerged as a sustainable solution for the increase in biocrude production. This paper’s objective is to present a comprehensive review of recent developments on the catalyst-mediated conversion of algal biomass. Special attention will be given to operating conditions, strains evaluated, and challenges for the optimal yield of algal-based biofuels through pyrolysis and HTL.

The usage of lignocellulosic biomass in energy production for biofuels and other value-added products can extensively decrease the carbon footprint of current and future energy sectors. However, the infrastructure in the processing of lignocellulosic biomass is not well-established as compared to the fossil fuel industry. One of the bottlenecks is the production of the lignocellulolytic enzymes. These enzymes are produced by different fungal and bacterial species for degradation of the lignocellulosic biomass into its reactive fibers, which can then be converted to biofuel. The selection of an ideal feedstock for the lignocellulolytic enzyme production is one of the most studied aspects of lignocellulolytic enzyme production. Similarly, the fermentation enhancement strategies for different fermentation variables and modes are also the focuses of researchers. The implementation of fermentation enhancement strategies such as optimization of culture parameters (pH, temperature, agitation, incubation time, etc.) and the media nutrient amendment can increase the lignocellulolytic enzyme production significantly. Therefore, this review paper summarized these strategies and feedstock characteristics required for hydrolytic enzyme production with a special focus on the characteristics of an ideal feedstock to be utilized for the production of such enzymes on industrial scales.

The fertilizer framework in the European Union has recently been reviewed by EU Regulation 1009/2019 that excluded sewage sludge from the list of the possible constituents of organic fertilizers relying on their origin, not on their quality. This paper aimed to carry out a complete characterization of sewage sludge obtained from a pharmaceutical manufacturing process (PDSS) to demonstrate that sewage sludge obtained from a standardized and controlled manufacturing process can be safely recycled as organic fertilizer. The agronomic and environmental characteristics of the PDSS product were analyzed and compared to other organic fertilizers. Its fertilizing potential was also evaluated through plant growth trials. PDSS was characterized by a high concentration of total N (6.6% w/w), which was all present in organic form. PDSS also showed a low concentration of heavy metals, an absence of pathogens and low concentrations of organic contaminants. Plant growth trials showed that the PDSS was able to improve lettuce and carrot growth (+25 and +46% of dry weight compared to the unfertilized control), as well as their physiological status. Considering all the results, the exclusion of sewage sludge relying only on its origin and not on its quality appears to conflict with the principles of the circular bioeconomy.

A digital microfluidic modular interface (chip-to-chip interface) which possesses an electrode with an orifice to vertically transport core–shell droplets is presented. The electrodes were geometrically designed to promote droplet deformation and suspension. The droplets were then applied with an electrical potential for insertion into and passage through the orifice. The concepts were tested with three types of droplets at the volume of 0.75~1.5 μL, which is usually difficult to transfer through an orifice. The integration of electrowetting on dielectric (EWOD) with paper-based microfluidics was demonstrated: the droplet could be transported within 10 s. More importantly, most of the core droplet (~97%) was extracted and passed through with only minimal shell droplets accompanying it.

The integrated production of bioethanol and biogas makes it possible to optimise the production of carriers from renewable raw materials. The installation analysed in this experimental paper was a hybrid system, in which waste from the production of bioethanol was used in a biogas plant with a capacity of 1 MWe. The main objective of this study was to determine the energy potential of biomass used for the production of bioethanol and biogas. Based on the results obtained, the conversion rate of the biomass—maize, in this case—into bioethanol was determined as the efficiency of the process of bioethanol production. A biomass conversion study was conducted for 12 months, during which both maize grains and stillage were sampled once per quarter (QU-I, QU-II, QU-III, QU-IV; QU—quarter) for testing. Between 342 L (QU-II) and 370 L (QU-I) of ethanol was obtained from the organic matter subjected to alcoholic fermentation. The mass that did not undergo conversion to bioethanol ranged from 269.04 kg to 309.50 kg, which represented 32.07% to 36.95% of the organic matter that was subjected to the process of bioethanol production. On that basis, it was concluded that only two-thirds of the organic matter was converted into bioethanol. The remaining part—post-production waste in the form of stillage—became a valuable raw material for the production of biogas, containing one-third of the biodegradable fraction. Under laboratory conditions, between 30.5 m3 (QU-I) and 35.6 m3 (QU-II) of biogas per 1 Mg of FM (FM—fresh matter) was obtained, while under operating conditions, between 29.2 m3 (QU-I) and 33.2 m3 (QU-II) of biogas was acquired from 1 Mg of FM. The Biochemical Methane Potential Correction Coefficient (BMPCC), which was calculated based on the authors’ formula, ranged from 3.2% to 7.4% in the analysed biogas installation.

Intelligent packaging is an emerging technology, aiming to improve the standard communication function of packaging. Radio frequency identification (RFID) assisted smart packaging is of high interest, but the uptake is limited as the market needs cost-efficient and sustainable applications. The integration of screen printed antennas and RFID chips as smart labels in reusable cardboard packaging could offer a solution. Although paper is an interesting and recyclable material, printing on this substrate is challenging as the ink conductivity is highly influenced by the paper properties. In this study, the best paper/functional silver ink combinations were first selected out of 76 paper substrates based on the paper surface roughness, air permeance, sheet resistance and SEM characterization. Next, a flexible high frequency RFID chip (13.56 MHz) was connected on top of screen printed antennas with a conductive adhesive. Functional RFID labels were integrated in cardboard packaging and its potential application as reusable smart box for third party logistics was tested. In parallel, a web-based software application mimicking its functional abilities in the logistic cycle was developed. This multidisciplinary approach to developing an easy-scalable screen printed antenna and RFID-assisted smart packaging application is a good example for future implementation of hybrid electronics in sustainable smart packaging. ispartof: MATERIALS vol:14 issue:19 ispartof: location:Switzerland status: published

Waste biomass can be used as an alternative source of energy. However, such use requires prior treatment of the material. This paper describes the physicochemical characteristics of biochar obtained by the thermochemical decomposition of six types of agricultural waste biomass: residues from the production of flavored spirits (a pulp of lime, grapefruit and lemon), beetroot pulp, apple pomace, brewer&rsquo, s spent grain, bark and municipal solid waste (bark, sawdust, off-cuts and wood chips). The biomass conversion process was studied under conditions of limited oxygen access in a reactor. The temperature was raised from 450 to 850 &deg, C over 30 min, followed by a residence time of 60 min. The solid products were characterized in terms of their elemental compositions, mass, energy yield and ash content. The gaseous products from pyrolysis of the biomass were also analyzed and their compositions were characterized by GCMS (Gas Chromatography&ndash, Mass Spectrometry). The carbonization process increased the carbon content by, on average, 1.7 times, from an average percentage of 46.09% &plusmn, 3.65% for biomass to an average percentage of 74.72% &plusmn, 5.36% for biochars. After carbonization, the biochars were found to have a net calorific value of between 27 and 32 MJ/kg, which is comparable or even higher than good-quality coal (eco pea coal 24&ndash, 26 MJ/kg). The net calorific values show that the volatile products can also be considered as a valuable source of energy.