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The study presents the electrokinetic properties of the zeta potential and the isoelectric point for cellulose diacetate (CA) in the forms of powder, nonporous film, and porous film. Surface zeta potential (ζ) and isoelectric point (IEP) are important properties that reflect the material's behavior in contact with liquids, as a consequence of the surface charge density and the morphology of the material. Nonporous films are prepared by casting CA solution on glass and Teflon dishes, while the porous film is prepared by the solution blow spinning (SBS) technique. The ζ potential is determined using the streaming potential method in the pH range from 2.5 to 9.5. The influence of the material's crystallinity (CI) and surface roughness (Sa) on the zeta potential is studied. The form of the material (powder, porous film, or nonporous film) influences the electrokinetic properties, which may have consequences on their behavior in contact with liquid (e.g., for processes such as oxidation, surface modification, grafting, or aging during use). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Supply chain risk management (SCRM) literature acknowledges that the choice of SCRM strategies should fit with contextual factors. Yet empirical support for this premise is scarce, mainly relies on just a single type of fit analysis, and lacks any consideration of organisational structures. Accordingly, this article combines two perspectives of fit analysis: 'fit as profile deviation' and 'fit as moderation'. The former supports the introduction of two concepts: risk management incoherence (RMI) and risk management efficacy (RME). Whereas RMI refers to the lack of fit between the perceived usefulness of different mitigation strategies and their degree of implementation; RME pertains to the fit between the perceived relevance of different SCRM objectives and the degree to which they are achieved. The latter allows us to posit a negative effect of RMI on RME and a negative moderation of the time assigned to a Risk Manager on that effect. A sample of 106 companies confirms the proposed model. Therefore, this study expands existing literature on contingent SCRM and on organisational structures for SCRM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, materials with potential biomedical applications constituted by fibrous poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, are prepared by solution blow spinning (SBS). The SBS setup has a cylindrical collector for which the rotational speed and size are varied to study its effect on the final morphology of the materials. The morphology is inspected using field emission scanning electron microscopy and studied using image analysis. As a result, many doubts were generated because of the use of different methods of image analysis, therefore a simpler and more conventional method using Image J open-source software was used to ensure the accuracy of the final interpretation. It is shown that fiber size and orientation depend on the linear speed associated with the surface of the collector more than on its rotational speed; therefore, it can be said that the morphology of materials prepared by SBS will depend on the size, shape, and rotational speed of the collector. When the linear speed of the cylindrical collector increases, fibers get thinner, less entangled, and more oriented. It is clear, therefore, that the linear speed of material collection by solution blow spinning is a very important parameter of processing to control the final morphology of materials manufactured by that method. Since morphology can affect the final properties of the materials the simple variation of the linear speed might have important implications on their final performance for different biomedical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explores the influence on manufacturing backshoring of improved key manufacturing resources in the home location of firms. Analysis of recent cases of backshoring in the European manufacturing industry shows that the production processes of firms that have backshored to their home location offer greater optimisation in terms of workforce, are more production assets intensive and have a higher technological level than when they offshored. The results highlight the relevance of internal factors in manufacturing backshoring analysis. This is of special interest from a production systems perspective because it is these internal factors that managers can control and therefore gain decision-making power regarding the location of manufacturing activities. This study also contributes to the debate on how innovations and improvements in manufacturing processes could increase industrial production and employment in advanced economies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]