Design and Characterization of a New Food Packaging Material by Recycling Blends Virgin and Recovered polyethylene terephthalate

This research is dealing with plastic wastes recycling environmental problem. The objective is the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) valorization from postconsumer bottles by the optimization of the most suitable virgin and recycled PET mixture to be used as food contact packaging. Mixtures of these materials were elaborated by extrusion and injection molding using different recycled PET rates. Rheological, mechanical, and thermal analyses were achieved, and then migration tests were investigated to assess the recycled PET compatibility for food contact packaging. The rheological analysis showed a PET degradation after the mechanical recycling, with PET viscosity decrease, compared to that of the virgin material. The blends properties showed that at low deformation, mechanical properties were significantly improved by adding recycled PET. Consequently, the new material was more rigid with a crystallinity degree improvement, increasing the materials resistance that enhanced their tenacity. However, at great deformations, the PET mixed materials were deteriorated through drastic ductility losses. The mixture 30/70 recycled/virgin PET seems to be the best blend. For all the studied mixtures, the overall migrations conformed the European Standard, allowing the use of the recycled PET for packaging as an issue in circular economy principles for a sustainable development. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 60: 250–256, 2019. © 2019 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Development of polyhydroxyalkanoate/beer spent grain fibers composites for film blowing applications

The high cost, narrow processing window, and poor mechanical properties of polyhydroxyalkanoates hamper their use as films for food packaging applications. We report the preparation, characterization, and film blowing of polyhydroxybutyrate‐valerate (PHBV)/beer spent grain fibers (BSGF) composites. Beer spent grains are by‐products of the beer industry submitted to an acid/caustic treatment and to successive grinding to achieve fibers with typical size of 30 microns. PHBV/BSGF compounds were extruded and successfully subjected to draw down ratios as high as 50. However, processability was lost for BSGF contents above 10 wt%, due to their percolation within the PHBV matrix. Two PHBV/BSGF compounds were processed into blown films. The resulting mechanical, structural, and barrier properties depend on processing parameters and BSGF content. The fully bio‐sourced and compostable PHBV based thin films produced under processing conditions scalable to industrial production show gas and water vapor barrier properties attractive for food packaging applications. POLYM. COMPOS., 36:1859–1865, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

众多产品亮相Wescon2004大会

今年的Wescon2004国际技术会议Wescon于2004．年9月21日至23日在美国加利福尼亚州阿纳海姆的阿纳海姆会议中心举行，与EnterpriseIntegrationExpo(研讨国防工业中以网络为中心的运作模式所产生的影响)和NANOWord(一项以纳米技术的教育、培训和商业应用展示为主线的活动)同地举行。来自众多学术领域的参展机构展示了其最新产品和技术。     

蓝色磷光材料的突破加速OLED发展

作为商用全色显示发展的里程碑，Universal Display公司开发的蓝色磷光OLED材料PHOLED输出亮度达200cd/m^2，寿命已突破15 000小时大关。这一有机蓝色磷光材料的量子效率为9.5%,光视效能为22cd/A，寿命从数量级上超越了以前寿命为1000小时的产品，并能够加速OLED技术在平板显示器、照明和其他光电应用中的商业化进程。     

Particle Densimetric Froude Number for Estimating Sediment Transport

It has been established that for ratios of flow depth to bed particle diameter less than ten (flow on very rough boundaries) neither the Reynolds number of the solid loose particles at a stream bed nor the Shields parameter are adequate variables to predict critical flow conditions for the initiation of motion. A particle densimetric Froude number F? = U/[(s?1)gD]1/2 (where U=mean velocity, s=ratio of sediment and fluid densities, g=acceleration due to gravity, and D=characteristic diameter of bed particle) is here proposed as an alternative criterion to predict hydraulic conditions for the initiation of motion. Values of critical F? were computed after calibration with available experimental data sets. After the critical conditions for the initiation of particle motion were exceeded, transport of bed particles was established. In order to evaluate the performance of a transport equation that contains F? in sediment transport, a set of the most employed formulations to estimate bed material transport in steep slope macrorough flows were tested. The comparison of the results shows that F? can be used to accurately predict sediment discharge.     

新型电池技术为电子、混合动力车带来更便宜的能源

MIT的研究者们正在开发用具有规则晶体结构的锂镍氧化锰材料制作电池的技术,希望用它来取代使用在混合动力和电动汽车上的电池。目前使用的锂化合物电池没有快速充电能力或不符合汽车上的安全要求,而用改进过的LiNiMnO材料制成的电池将比锂氧化钴电池更稳定,能在10分钟内充电或放电。     

Investigating Pathogenicity and Virulence of Staphylococcus pettenkoferi: An Emerging Pathogen

Staphylococcus pettenkoferi is a coagulase-negative Staphylococcus identified in 2002 that has been implicated in human diseases as an opportunistic pathogenic bacterium. Its multiresistant character is becoming a major health problem, yet the pathogenicity of S. pettenkoferi is poorly characterized. In this study, the pathogenicity of a S. pettenkoferi clinical isolate from diabetic foot osteomyelitis was compared with a Staphylococcus aureus strain in various in vitro and in vivo experiments. Growth kinetics were compared against S. aureus, and bacteria survival was assessed in the RAW 264.7 murine macrophage cell line, the THP-1 human leukemia monocytic cell line, and the HaCaT human keratinocyte cell line. Ex vivo analysis was performed in whole blood survival assays and in vivo assays via the infection model of zebrafish embryos. Moreover, whole-genome analysis was performed. Our results show that S. pettenkoferi was able to survive in human blood, human keratinocytes, murine macrophages, and human macrophages. S. pettenkoferi demonstrated its virulence by causing substantial embryo mortality in the zebrafish model. Genomic analysis revealed virulence factors such as biofilm-encoding genes (e.g., icaABCD; rsbUVW) and regulator-encoding genes (e.g., agr, mgrA, sarA, saeS) well characterized in S. aureus. This study thus advances the knowledge of this under-investigated pathogen and validates the zebrafish infection model for this bacterium.     

Postoperative management of partial or reconstructive pharyngo-laryngectomies

The multidisciplinary management of patients following pharyngolaryngeal surgery is an essential condition for its functional and socio-professional success. Early, overall rehabilitation, geared to each type of exeresis and to the personality of each patient, will enable both the voice and swallowing to regain their autonomy. A series of 195 patients after partial or reconstructive laryngectomy or pharyngectomy is analysed. The maintenance of a functional crico-arytenoid unity, the preservation of the mucosal sensitivity, the establishment of a facilitating posture and the dynamisation of the neoglottic sphincter are all equally important elements requiring the mobilisation of the entire health care team.     

众多元件亮相2005西部电子展

与Plastec、West Pack、太平洋设计与制造及医疗电子制造等诸多展览会同地举行的2005西部电子展(Electronics West 2005)吸引了来自众多不同学科领域的OEM制造商。以下是部分参展产品。     

Minimizing Place Capacities of Weighted Event Graphs for Enforcing Liveness

This paper addresses the problem of minimizing place capacities of weighted event graphs in order to enforce liveness. Necessary and sufficient conditions of the solution existence are derived. Lower bounds of place capacities while preserving liveness are established and a polynomial algorithm is proposed to determine an initial marking leading to these lower bounds while preserving the liveness.