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This study explores the fire behavior of wood–glass and jute–glass hybrid laminates, with a focus on the influence of jute and wood veneers as new materials for composite production. Five-layer hybrid laminates were manufactured using the vacuum infusion process (VIP). Combustion and carbonization performances were assessed using a cone calorimeter based on the ISO 5660 method. This study evaluates flammability through key parameters including ignition time, heat release rate, and smoke production. The results indicated that the ignition time was significantly longer (ca. 64 s) for the glass–jute laminate (GJGJG), compared to the wood–glass laminate (WGWGW) (ca. 53 s). The heat release rate of laminates containing organic components was higher than the sample composed only of glass mat (G5) but their rates were all lower than the polyester reference resin. WGWGW, compared to the GJGJG sample, was able to produce a good-quality protective shield and, therefore, postpone the occurrence of the heat release peak. In this way, the fire growth rate index (FIGRA) best performance was accomplished by the WGWGW sample (2.7 ± 0.3 kW/m2 × s), which was even better than that of the G5 sample. The total-smoke-released value was highest for polyester, 7361 ± 839 m2/m2, followed by WGWGW, 2873 ± 188 m2/m2, and J5, 2484 ± 216 m2/m2. Among the hybrid laminates, the best performance was obtained by GJGJG, 1860 ± 49 m2/m2, but compared to the G5 laminates, it was only ~36% higher. The specific extinction area (SEA) is a smoke parameter related to the mass of the samples; the best result was obtained by WGWGW with 697 ± 31 m2/kg. Finally, the neat polyester and all laminates achieved UL 94HB classification, with firing rates below 40 mm/min.

Summary: Metabolic rewiring is essential for cancer onset and progression. We previously showed that one-carbon metabolism-dependent formate production often exceeds the anabolic demand of cancer cells, resulting in formate overflow. Furthermore, we showed that increased extracellular formate concentrations promote the in vitro invasiveness of glioblastoma cells. Here, we substantiate these initial observations with ex vivo and in vivo experiments. We also show that exposure to exogeneous formate can prime cancer cells toward a pro-invasive phenotype leading to increased metastasis formation in vivo. Our results suggest that the increased local formate concentration within the tumor microenvironment can be one factor to promote metastases. Additionally, we describe a mechanistic interplay between formate-dependent increased invasiveness and adaptations of lipid metabolism and matrix metalloproteinase activity. Our findings consolidate the role of formate as pro-invasive metabolite and warrant further research to better understand the interplay between formate and lipid metabolism.

We developed a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium (DSGE) model for a small, open economy with a banking sector and endogenous default to assess two macroprudential tools: countercyclical capital buffers (CCB) and dynamic provisions (DP). The model is estimated with data for Uruguay, where dynamic provisioning has existed since the early 2000s. Both tools force banks to build buffers, but DP seem to outperform the CCB in smoothing the cycle. We also find that the source of the shock affecting the financial system matters in assessing the relative performance of both tools. Given a positive external shock, the credit-to-GDP ratio decreases, which should discourage its use as an indicator variable to activate countercyclical regulation.

Food packaging waste-stream is a serious threat for current lifestyle sustainability. Among all the materials, Tetra Pak® is one of the most employed to produce food and beverage containers. Its composition represents a challenge for waste management due the simultaneous presence of poly(ethylene), paper and aluminum, wrapped together into a multilayered packaging. In this work, we report on the pyrolytic conversion of Tetra Pak® to produce alumina-rich biochar (BC), to be used as a flame retardant for an ethylene-vinyl-acetate (EVA) copolymer. In particular, the obtained biochar was incorporated either into bulk EVA through compounding or just as a surface coating. For the surface approach, a masterbatch of biochar and EVA was prepared and then applied to the surface of unfilled EVA specimens. Both the strategies turned out to significantly improve the overall flame retardant features of the copolymer: as compared to unfilled EVA, the bulk approach promoted a remarkable decrease of peak of heat release rate (-45 and -65%, for the compounds containing 20 and 40 wt.% of BC, respectively) and of total heat release (-16.9% for the compounds filled with 40 wt.% of BC), combined with a significant increase of the residues at the end of forced combustion tests; conversely, the surface approach was capable of delaying the time to ignition and the time to peak of heat release rate, depending of the BC amount: more specifically, for the surface-coated EVA with the lowest BC loading (i.e. 3 wt.%), the two parameters increased by about 34 and 21%, respectively. The thermal, rheological and mechanical properties were also investigated, as well as the morphology of the BC particles and their dispersion in the copolymer matrix. In particular, increasing the biochar loading promoted an increase of the stiffness of the resulting compounds, as well as a decrease of their ductility with respect to unfilled EVA.

Low band gap benzothiadiazole–oligothiophene conjugated polymer thin films are prepared using oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD). The synthesis and deposition occur simultaneously from the gas phase in oCVD; no solubilizing groups are attached to the benzothiadiazole or thienyl moieties, which allows molecular packing and charge carrier mobility to increase. Moreover, oCVD, which is a solventless, scalable and substrate independent approach, readily leads to the formation of dense and low surface roughness benzothiadiazole–oligothiophene conjugated polymer thin films. Polymerization yield, doping and conductivity of the benzothiadiazole–oligothiophene conjugated polymers are shown to be strongly influenced by the oxidant-to-monomer ratio. Interestingly, benzothiadiazole–oligothiophene conjugated polymer thin films synthesized by oCVD exhibit hole mobilities up to 4.0 cm2 V−1 s−1, surpassing those of previously reported benzothiadiazole–oligothiophene conjugated polymers prepared by spin-coating, dip-coating and drop casting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) is routinely implemented as the reference method for the swift and straightforward identification of microorganisms. However, this method is not flawless and there is a need to upgrade the current methodology in order to free the routine lab from incubation time and shift from a culture-dependent to an even faster independent culture system. Over the last two decades, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) gained tremendous popularity in life sciences, including microbiology, due to its ability to simultaneously detect biomolecules, as well as their spatial distribution, in complex samples. Through this literature review, we summarize the latest applications of MALDI-MSI in microbiology. In addition, we discuss the challenges and avenues of exploration for applying MSI to solve current MALDI-TOF MS limits in routine and research laboratories.

In this work, blends that were based on first use PP added with talc (PPt) and recycled polypropylene (r-PP) were designed and formulated, aiming at producing filaments that are suitable for 3D printing fused filament fabrication (FFF) processes. A preliminary characterization of PPt/r-PP blends at different weight ratios allowed selecting two systems showing adequate rheological behavior for FFF. The selected blends were melt compounded in a twin-screw extruder, optimizing the processing conditions through a design of experiments approach, involving the use of Taguchi’s method. The materials that were prepared with the optimized processing conditions, hence showing the best performance in terms of rheological behavior and thermal characteristics, were then selected for the production of the filament and for the subsequent FFF processing. Finally, the morphology of the filament and the mechanical properties of 3D-printed samples were assessed, demonstrating the achievement of satisfactory results in terms of performances. In general, the obtained results clearly demonstrated that a proper optimization of both material and processing conditions offers the possibility of using recycled PP-based formulations for additive manufacturing processes, hence allowing a remarkable valorization of a low added-value material through its utilization for an innovative and sustainable manufacturing approach.