Despite continuous technological enhancements of metal Additive Manufacturing (AM) systems, the lack of process repeatability and stability still represents a barrier for the industrial breakthrough. ...The most relevant metal AM applications currently involve industrial sectors (e.g. aerospace and bio-medical) where defects avoidance is fundamental. Because of this, there is the need to develop novel in situ monitoring tools able to keep under control the stability of the process on a layer-by-layer basis, and to detect the onset of defects as soon as possible. On the one hand, AM systems must be equipped with in situ sensing devices able to measure relevant quantities during the process, a.k.a. process signatures. On the other hand, in-process data analytics and statistical monitoring techniques are required to detect and localize the defects in an automated way. This paper reviews the literature and the commercial tools for in situ monitoring of powder bed fusion (PBF) processes. It explores the different categories of defects and their main causes, the most relevant process signatures and the in situ sensing approaches proposed so far. Particular attention is devoted to the development of automated defect detection rules and the study of process control strategies, which represent two critical fields for the development of future smart PBF systems.
ABSTRACT This contribution argues that the fossil fuel industry has played a major role in human‐driven climate change and should agree to shoulder the burden of the associated damages. To this end, ...the article develops a responsibility‐based approach to operationalize and quantify fossil fuel companies’ climate reparations and locate them in the current political economy context. It explains the rationale for a responsibility‐based approach to climate reparations, investigates their foundational elements and proposes a Global Climate Reparations Fund to manage them. The article continues by providing a typology of climate reparations and their operational aspects, which makes it possible to quantify the financial burden as amounting to hundreds of billions of dollars annually over the coming decades. The political economy of climate reparations, with particular attention to their feasibility, is then analysed. The article lays the groundwork for a reasoned dialogue within and between civil society and political representatives of different backgrounds on the responsibility of fossil fuel companies in the climate crisis and on their role in rectifying climate damages through reparations.
Since it is not beneficial to everyone, the sustainability transition is a complex process and many mechanisms hinder its evolution. Some agents involved in this transition shoulder significant costs ...and burdens: even if some agents can shoulder part of them, it is unlikely that all agents will spontaneously comply with the responsibi-lity that the sustainability transition imposes on them. This paper intends to investigate how, in the context of the sustainability transition, the relevant agents must/can comply with the duties demanded by this responsibility (which can be defined as “first order” responsibility). Indeed, some agents do not comply with their own (first order) responsibility and with the consequent obligations. To induce such (first order) agents to act in accordance with their (first order) responsibility, the notion of “second order” responsibility – that is, the responsibility that other agents ensure that the first order agents act on the basis of their (first order) responsibility – should be employed. In this normative perspective, the work proposes a theoretical-analytical framework within which second order agents – which in a pragmatic perspective can be defined as “agents of destabilization” (divided into primary and operational) – take action to win the resistance of first order agents in order to favor the sustainability transition.
Alcohol-related hepatitis (AH) is a clinical syndrome characterized by recent-onset jaundice in the context of alcohol consumption. In patients with severe AH “unresponsive” to steroid therapy, ...mortality rates exceed 70% within six months. According to European and American guidelines, liver transplantation (LT) may be considered in highly selected patients who do not respond to medical therapy. The aim of this narrative review is to summarize current knowledge from medical therapy to liver transplantation in acute alcohol-related hepatitis. Due to the impossibility to guarantee six-month abstinence, LT for AH is controversial. Principal concerns are related to organ scarcity in the subset of stigma of “alcohol use disorder” (AUD) and the risk of relapse to alcohol use after LT. Return to alcohol use after LT is a complex issue that cannot be assessed as a yes/no variable with heterogeneous results among studies. In conclusion, present data indicate that well-selected patients have excellent outcomes, with survival rates of up to 100% at 24 and 36 months after LT. Behavioral therapy, ongoing psychological support, and strong family support seem essential to improve long-term outcomes after LT and reduce the risk in relapse of alcohol use.
In this study, the cyclic compression and crush behavior of chiral auxetic lattice structures produced from titanium alloy (Ti6Al4V) metallic powder using electron beam melting (EBM) additive ...manufacturing technology is investigated numerically and experimentally. For material characterization and understanding the material behavior of EBM printed parts, tensile and three-point flexural tests were conducted. Log signals produced during the EBM process were investigated to confirm the stability of process and the health of the produced parts. Furthermore, a compressive cyclic load profile was applied to the EBM printed chiral units having two different thicknesses to track their Poisson's ratios and displacement limits under large displacements in the absence of degradation, permanent deformations and failures. Chiral units were also crushed to investigate the effect of failure and deformation mechanisms on the energy absorption characteristics. Moreover, a surface roughness study was conducted due to high surface roughness of EBM printed parts, and an equation is offered to define load-carrying effective areas to prevent misleading cross-section measurements. In compliance with the equation and tensile test results, a constitutive equation was formed and used after a selection and calibration process to verify the numerical model for optimum topology design and mechanical performance forecasting using a non-linear computational model with failure analysis. As a result, the cyclic compression and crush numerical analyses of EBM printed Ti6Al4V chiral cells were validated with the experimental results. It was shown that the constitutive equation of EBM printed as-built parts was extracted accurately considering the build orientation and surface roughness profile. Besides, the cyclic compressive and crush behavior of chiral units were investigated. The regions of the chiral units prone to prematurely fail under crush loads were determined, and deformation modes were investigated to increase the energy absorption abilities.
The fossil industry has greatly contributed to the increase of the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This evidence and five morally relevant facts establish its moral ...responsibility for climate harm. This responsibility imposes on fossil fuel companies a duty of reparation for the climate crisis which requires them to redress their wrongful actions that have led to climate harm by disgorging funds. The article justifies and develops such duty of reparation in terms of financial rectification of climate-related harm. This duty provides a framework for an informed dialogue with civil society and between political representatives on the accountability of fossil fuel companies in the climate crisis and on their role in rectifying the harm they have concurred to create. Fossil fuel companies' duty of reparation is a moral determination with direct relevance for the ethics, politics, and policy of climate change.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is currently the fastest growing indication to liver transplantation (LT) in Western Countries, both for end stage liver disease and hepatocellular ...carcinoma. NAFLD/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is often expression of a systemic metabolic syndrome; therefore, NAFLD/NASH patients require a multidisciplinary approach for a proper pre-surgical evaluation, which is important to achieve a post-transplant outcome comparable to that of other indications to LT. NAFLD/NASH patients are also at higher risk of post-transplant cardiovascular events, diabetes, dyslipidemia, obesity, renal impairment and recurrent NASH. Lifestyle modifications, included diet and physical activity, are key to improve survival and quality of life after transplantation. A tailored immunosuppressive regimen may be proposed in selected patients. Development of new drugs for the treatment of recurrent NASH is awaited.
To establish and justify the oil industry's responsibilities for climate change in a non-arbitrary way, it is necessary to formulate a solid morally relevant factual basis. Analysing the morally ...relevant facts helps clarify the conduct of oil and gas companies, understand the moral context within which they operate, evince their intentions and, overall, it provides a normative foundation for the actions such responsibilities would compel them to undertake, as well as for their possible liability.
After outlining the dimensions of the responsibility oil and gas companies should assume with regards to climate change and their relationship with morally relevant facts, this article will analyse them in detail. Oil and gas companies have known for decades that their activities caused climate change (Fact A – Awareness); they did not take steps to modify their fossil-fuel centred behaviour (Fact B – Behaviour), even though less carbon-intensive alternatives were possible (Fact C – Capacity). Additionally, oil and gas companies funded and orchestrated climate change denial campaigns, through which they successfully opposed political action against climate change (Fact D – Denial), while at the same time amassing and distributing fabulous wealth (Fact E – Enrichment) to the privileged few.
Covering the ethical dimensions of international-level adaptation funding, a subject of growing interest in the climate change debate, this book provides a theoretical analysis of the ethical ...foundations of the UNFCCC regime on adaptation funding, one that culminates in the definition of a framework of justice. The text features an interpretative analysis of the ethical contents of the UNFCCC funding architecture by applying the framework of justice proposed to different areas of empirical investigation. The book offers scholars working on climate change, international relations, and environmental politics an analysis characterized by both theoretical soundness and empirical richness. The comprehensiveness of the book`s approach should make it possible to plan and implement international adaptation funding more effectively, and eventually to define more just funding policies and practices. TOC:Acknowledgments.- 1. Introduction.- 2 Adaptation to climate change.- 3 The ethical bases of international adaptation funding.- 4 The framework of justice.- 5 The international institutions and instruments governing adaptation funding.- 6 Evaluation of procedural justice in international adaptation funding.- 7 Evaluation of distributive justice, analysis of fairness and equity criteria and of the role of justice in international adaptation funding.- 8 Further application of the framework of justice and concluding remarks.- Appendices.- Appendix I - List of Non-Principal documents.- Appendix II - Analysis of documents (procedural justice).- Appendix III - Analysis of documents (distributive justice).- Glossary.- Index.
Bone marrow‐derived cells contribute to tissue repair, but traffic of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) is impaired in diabetes. We therefore tested whether HSPC mobilization with the CXCR4 ...antagonist plerixafor improved healing of ischemic diabetic wounds. This was a pilot, phase IIa, double‐blind, randomized, placebo‐controlled trial (NCT02790957). Patients with diabetes with ischemic wounds were randomized to receive a single subcutaneous injection of plerixafor or saline on top of standard medical and surgical therapy. The primary endpoint was complete healing at 6 months. Secondary endpoints were wound size, transcutaneous oxygen tension (TcO2), ankle‐brachial index (ABI), amputations, and HSPC mobilization. Twenty‐six patients were enrolled: 13 received plerixafor and 13 received placebo. Patients were 84.6% males, with a mean age of 69 years. HSPC mobilization was successful in all patients who received plerixafor. The trial was terminated after a preplanned interim analysis of 50% of the target population showed a significantly lower healing rate in the plerixafor vs the placebo group. In the final analysis data set, the rate of complete healing was 38.5% in the plerixafor group vs 69.2% in the placebo group (chi‐square P = .115). Wound size tended to be larger in the plerixafor group for the entire duration of observation. No significant difference was noted for the change in TcO2 and ABI or in amputation rates. No other safety concern emerged. In conclusion, successful HSPC mobilization with plerixafor did not improve healing of ischemic diabetic wounds. Contrary to what was expected, outside the context of hematological disorders, mobilization of diabetic HSPCs might exert adverse effects on wound healing.
We randomized patients with diabetic ischemic wounds to receive stem cell mobilization with the CXCR4 antagonist plerixafor or placebo. Despite the fact that plerixafor successfully mobilized hematopoietic stem cells, no significant difference was observed between the two groups in the rates of wound healing and in surrogate measures of perfusion.
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