Polymeric multilayer films are widely used in food packaging due to their versatility. However, there are still some properties that might be improved, such as gas and vapor barrier behaviors. The ...incorporation of boron nitride into polymer matrixes is emerging as a potential method for the improvement of barrier properties due to its lamellar structure. In this context, our work investigates the addition of boron nitride into a bicomponent reactive polyurethane (PU), which could be used as an adhesive and improve the barrier layer. This material could be used as an alternative to aluminum foil in food packaging. Different concentrations of two different sizes of boron nitride (BN) particles were added to the PU adhesive: micro-structured boron nitride (BNm) and nano-structured boron nitride (BNn). The aim was to investigate the influence on the barrier properties against moisture and the peeling resistance. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were performed to characterize the boron nitride samples. The effect of BNm or BNn addition on the glass transition of the nanocomposites was investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Barrier properties were measured by a water vapor permeation test and the practical adhesion of laminates with BN/PU adhesives was characterized using peeling tests. The nanocomposites achieved reduction in water vapor permeance of up to 50% and a 37% increase in mechanical adhesion properties compared to the PU adhesive. The results revealed the high potential of boron nitride/PU adhesives for food packaging applications.
Predicting panic is of critical importance in many areas of human and animal behavior, notably in the context of economics. The recent financial crisis is a case in point. Panic may be due to a ...specific external threat or self-generated nervousness. Here we show that the recent economic crisis and earlier large single-day panics were preceded by extended periods of high levels of market mimicry--direct evidence of uncertainty and nervousness, and of the comparatively weak influence of external news. High levels of mimicry can be a quite general indicator of the potential for self-organized crises.
QCD challenges from pp to A–A collisions Adolfsson, J.; Andronic, A.; Bierlich, C. ...
The European physical journal. A, Hadrons and nuclei,
2020, Letnik:
56, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
This paper is a write-up of the ideas that were presented, developed and discussed at the third International Workshop on QCD Challenges from pp to A–A, which took place in August 2019 in Lund, ...Sweden (Workshop link:
https://indico.lucas.lu.se/event/1214/
). The goal of the workshop was to focus on some of the open questions in the field and try to come up with concrete suggestions for how to make progress on both the experimental and theoretical sides. The paper gives a brief introduction to each topic and then summarizes the primary results.
Objective To establish the relationship between vitamin D serum levels, pulmonary function, and asthma control in children. Study design We studied the relationship between 25-hydroxy cholecalciferol ...25(OH)D concentrations and baseline spirometry and levels of asthma control, assessed according to Global Initiative for Asthma guidelines and the Childhood Asthma Control Test, in 75 children with asthma (age range 5-11 years; 43 males) in a cross-sectional study carried out during the winter and early spring. Results Only 9.4% of our children had a sufficient serum 25(OH)D (at least 30 to 40 ng/mL). A significant positive correlation was found between forced vital capacity percent predicted and serum 25(OH)D (r = 0.25, P = .040). This was true also for forced expiratory volume in 1 second, even though it was not statistically significant (r = 0.16, P = .157). Subjects with well-controlled asthma had higher serum levels of 25(OH)D than children with partially controlled or noncontrolled asthma, with values of (median Q1; Q3) 22.2 (16.3; 25.4), 17.8 (11.8; 22.1) and 18.1 (15.0; 18.5), respectively ( P = .023). Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between 25(OH)D and the Childhood Asthma Control Test (r = 0.28; P = .011). Conclusions Our results indicate that hypovitaminosis D is frequent in children with asthma living in a Mediterranean country. In those children, lower levels of vitamin D are associated with reduced asthma control.
We present studies that show how multi-parton interaction and color reconnection affect the hadro-chemistry in proton-proton (pp) collisions with special focus on the production of resonances using ...the pythia8 event generator. We find that color reconnection suppresses the relative production of meson resonances such as ρ0 and K*, providing an alternative explanation for the K*/K decrease observed in proton-proton collisions as a function of multiplicity by the ALICE collaboration. Detailed studies of the underlying mechanism causing meson resonance suppression indicate that color reconnection leads to shorter, less energetic strings whose fragmentation is less likely to produce more massive hadrons for a given quark content, therefore reducing ratios such as K*/K and ρ0/π in high-multiplicity pp collisions. In addition, we have also studied the effects of allowing string junctions to form and found that these may also contribute to resonance suppression.
•Organic waste was treated in a plug-flow reactor without dilution and co-substrates.•Stability is possible without recirculation, with a gas production of 0.67 m3/kgVS.•Small, easy-to-operate and ...cost-effective anaerobic plants are achievable.•A city of 36,500 inhabitants could support the full operation of a 235 m3 plant.•Capital and Operating Expenditure are estimated in 2.6 M€ and 170 k€/y respectively.
Currently, centralised plants are the most favoured approach for the anaerobic treatment of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW). However, centralised solutions imply certain environmental impacts, which prevent large-scale implementation of the anaerobic digestion (AD). As a result, we are digesting <5% of organic waste both in Europe and the USA even today. Pursuing the criteria for maximising the balance between profit and impacts, an innovative layout with the ultimate goal of promoting the use of small, decentralised AD plants is proposed. In this study, source-separated OFMSW (SS-OFMSW) was treated in a mesophilic plug flow reactor by applying an atypical combination of conditions such as high SS-OFMSW solid content (214.5 g·kg−1), high organic loading rate (6.2 kg VS·m−3·d−1), and no dilution or co-substrate addition. A suitable and an efficient mixing system is essential to control the process. Accordingly, the process was stable in a single-stage reactor, in the absence of digestate recirculation, obtaining specific gas production of 0.67 m3·kg−1 VS in terms of biogas and 0.41 m3·kg−1 VS in terms of methane. High reactor volume exploitation and small plant construction were feasible, reaching a gas production rate of 4.5 m3·m−3 d−1. The estimated costs in terms of capital and operating expenditure are expected to realize gross economic sustainability of full-scale installation.
Evidences show that around 20% of biosimilar or originator erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) users are hyporesponsive. Controversial post-marketing data exist on the predictors of ESA ...hyporesponsiveness. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of ESA hyporesponsiveness in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) or cancer in clinical practice.
During the years 2009-2015, a multi-center, population-based, cohort study was conducted using claims databases of Treviso and Caserta Local Health Units (LHUs). All incident ESA users were characterized at baseline and the differences between the baseline hemoglobin (Hb) value, that is the Hb registered within 30 days prior to the first ESA dispensing (index date, ID) and each outcome Hb value (registered between 30 and 180 days after ID) were calculated and defined as delta Hb (ΔHb). Incident ESA users were defined as hyporesponsive if, during follow-up, they registered at least one ΔHb < 0 g/dL. Including all potential predictors of ESA hyporesponsiveness and stratifying by indication for use, univariate and multivariate binary logistic regression models and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were carried out.
In general, 1080 incident ESA users (CKD: 57.0%; cancer: 43.0%) were identified. In CKD, predictors of ESA hyporesponsiveness were C-reactive protein (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0-1.5; P-value = 0.060) and high levels of baseline Hb (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.2-2.2; P-value< 0,001), the latter being also predictor of ESA hyporesponsiveness in cancer (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.4; P-value = 0.007). Both in CKD and in cancer, the type of ESA, biosimilar or originator, was not a predictor of ESA hyporesponsiveness. In CKD, concomitant use of iron preparations (OR = 0.3, 95% CI: 0.2-0.7; P-value = 0.002) and of high dosage of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors/angiotensin II-receptor blockers (OR = 0.5, 95% CI: 0.3-0.9; P-value = 0.022) were protective factors against ESA hyporesponsiveness.
The study confirmed traditional potential predictors of hyporesponsiveness to ESA. The use of biosimilar or originator ESA was not a predictor of hyporesponsiveness in an outpatient setting from two large Italian areas. A better knowledge of the predictors of ESA response would allow a better anemia management to improve patients' quality of life.
Summary
Background Vitamin D deficiency could be associated with the prevalence of atopic dermatitis (AD).
Objectives We carried out a study to see whether deficient/insufficient levels of vitamin ...D correlate with the severity of atopic skin disease.
Methods Using the SCORAD index, we evaluated the severity of disease in 37 children (17 girls and 20 boys) aged between 8 months and 12 years with AD, consecutively enrolled in the study. Serum levels of 25‐hydroxyvitamin D 25(OH)D were determined by a chemiluminescent method. Specific IgE (sIgE) to Staphylococcus aureus enterotoxins and sIgE to Malassezia furfur were assayed by the ImmunoCAP system. anova and the Pearson correlation test were used for statistical evaluation.
Results We found severe, moderate and mild AD in nine (24%), 13 (35%) and 15 (41%) children, respectively. Mean ± SD serum levels of 25(OH)D were significantly higher (P < 0·05) in patients with mild disease (36·9 ± 15·7 ng mL−1) compared with those with moderate (27·5 ± 8·3 ng mL−1) or severe AD (20·5 ± 5·9 ng mL−1). The prevalence of patients with sIgE to microbial antigens increased in relation to vitamin D deficiency and AD severity.
Conclusions These data suggest that vitamin D deficiency may be related to the severity of AD and advocate the need for studies evaluating the use of vitamin D as a potential treatment in patients with this disease.
We propose a redefinition of the principal component analysis (PCA) of anisotropic flow that makes it more directly connected to fluctuations of the initial geometry of the system. Then, using ...state-of-the-art hydrodynamic simulations, we make an explicit connection between flow fluctuations and a cumulant expansion of the initial transverse geometry. In particular, we show that the second principal component of elliptic flow is generated by higher-order cumulants, and therefore probes smaller length scales of the initial state. With this information, it will be possible to put new constraints on properties of the early-time dynamics of a heavy-ion collision, including small-scale structure, as well as properties of the quark-gluon plasma.
The Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory Aab, A.; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M. ...
Nuclear instruments & methods in physics research. Section A, Accelerators, spectrometers, detectors and associated equipment,
10/2015, Letnik:
798, Številka:
C
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
The Pierre Auger Observatory, located on a vast, high plain in western Argentina, is the world׳s largest cosmic ray observatory. The objectives of the Observatory are to probe the origin and ...characteristics of cosmic rays above 1017eV and to study the interactions of these, the most energetic particles observed in nature. The Auger design features an array of 1660 water Cherenkov particle detector stations spread over 3000km2 overlooked by 24 air fluorescence telescopes. In addition, three high elevation fluorescence telescopes overlook a 23.5km2, 61-detector infilled array with 750m spacing. The Observatory has been in successful operation since completion in 2008 and has recorded data from an exposure exceeding 40,000km2sryr. This paper describes the design and performance of the detectors, related subsystems and infrastructure that make up the Observatory.
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