SciCombinator

The aim of the present study was to establish a standard methodology for the extraction of epoxy resin precursors from several types of food packages (cans, multi-layered composite material, and cups) with selected simulation media (distilled water, 5% ethanol, 3% dimethyl sulfoxide, 5% acetic acid, artificial saliva) at different extraction times and temperatures (factors). Biological analyses were conducted to determine the acute toxicity levels of the extracts (with Vibrio fischeri bacteria) and their endocrine potential (with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts). In parallel, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was performed to determine levels of bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), bisphenol F diglycidyl ether (mixture of isomers, BFDGE), ring novolac glycidyl ether (3-ring NOGE), and their derivatives. The variation induced by the different experimental factors was statistically evaluated with analysis of variance simultaneous component analysis (ASCA). Our findings demonstrate the value of using a holistic approach to best partition the effects contributing to the end points of these assessments, and offer further guidance for adopting such a methodology, thus being a broadly useful reference for understanding the phenomena related to the impacts of food packaging materials on quality for long- and short-term storage, while offering a general method for analysis.

In this study, waste cotton fibers were environmentally reused. First, they were milled into fine powders with particle sizes of around 30 µm and dyed for use as pigments. Dyeing properties of the cellulose powder were explored by determining the dye uptake, K/S value, and bath ratio. Among the various samples, powders with owf (on weight of fabric) of 0% dye (pristine cellulose powder), and 10% and 50% dyed powders were selected; and these powders were characterized by several methods to compare the properties of dyed and undyed cellulose. The surface morphologies of the powders were observed with a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Combining the SEM images with the Brunauer-Emmet-Teller (BET) data, it was found that the smaller the particle size, the larger is the surface area. In addition, the X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results revealed that with increasing dye concentration, the intensity of the C peak reduced, while those of O and S increased. Moreover, the main components of the dyed and undyed cellulose powders were found to be almost the same from the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) results. Finally, the dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) data revealed that the loss modulus was significantly larger than the storage modulus, demonstrating that the material mainly undergoes viscous deformation.

Bullying and cyberbullying are important global issues with negative consequences for physical and mental health in education. The objective of this study was to analyze to what extent some dimensions of emotional intelligence predict certain manifestations of bullying and cyberbullying in adolescents. The total number of subjects recruited in compulsory secondary education schools, was 309 (53.1% female). Their ages ranged from 12 to 16 (M = 14.17, SD = 1.4). The used instruments were the school violence questionnaire and the emotional coefficient inventory; the study design was cross-sectional. Results showed that the score increases on some scales (adaptability, stress management, and interpersonal) involved a greater risk of increasing the likelihood of social perception the different manifestations of school violence. However, in the general mood, the increase in this variable score implied lower perceiving in likelihood of violent behavior. It is important to take into account preventive actions aimed at improving school life and, above all, to alleviate difficulties in managing stress, adaptability, and interpersonal relationships.

Glycosaminoglycan (GAG) lyase is an effective tool for the structural and functional studies of glycosaminoglycans and preparation of functional oligosaccharides. A new GAG lyase from Microbacterium sp. H14 was cloned, expressed, purified, and characterized, with a molecular weight of approximately 85.9 kDa. The deduced lyase HCLaseM belonged to the polysaccharide lyase (PL) family 8. Based on the phylogenetic tree, HCLaseM could not be classified into the existing three subfamilies of this family. HCLaseM showed almost the same enzyme activity towards hyaluronan (HA), chondroitin sulfate A (CS-A), CS-B, CS-C, and CS-D, which was different from reported GAG lyases. HCLaseM exhibited the highest activities to both HA and CS-A at its optimal temperature (35 °C) and pH (pH 7.0). HCLaseM was stable in the range of pH 5.0-8.0 and temperature below 30 °C. The enzyme activity was independent of divalent metal ions and was not obviously affected by most metal ions. HCLaseM is an endo-type enzyme yielding unsaturated disaccharides as the end products. The facilitated diffusion effect of HCLaseM is dose-dependent in animal experiments. These properties make it a candidate for further basic research and application.

The curing of composite materials is one of the parameters that most affects their mechanical behavior. The inspection methods used do not always allow a correct characterization of the curing state of the thermosetting resins. In this work, Raman spectroscopy technology is used for measuring the degree of cure. The results are compared with conventional thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and scanning electron microscope (SEM). Carbon fiber specimens manufactured with technologies out of autoclave (OoA) have been used, with an epoxy system Prepreg System, SE 84LV. The results obtained with Raman technology show that it is possible to verify the degree of polymerization, and the information is complementary from classical thermal characterization techniques such as TGA and DSC; thus, it is possible to have greater control in curing and improving the quality of the manufactured parts.

In-situ fibrillated polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) enhanced nanocomposites were successfully prepared by mixing thermoplastic polyether ester elastomer (TPEE) and PTFE using a twin-screw extruder. Well-dispersed, long aspect ratio PTFE nanofibrils with a diameter of less than 200 nm were generated and interwoven into networks. Differential scanning calorimetry and in-situ polarized optical microscopy showed that the PTFE nanofibrils can greatly accelerate and promote crystallization of the TPEE matrix and the crystallization temperature can be increased by 6 °C. Both shearing and elongational rheometry results confirmed that the introduction of PTFE nanofibrils can significantly improve the rheological properties. The remarkable changes in the strain-hardening effect and the melt viscoelastic response, as well as the promoted crystallization, led to substantially improved foaming behavior in the continuous extrusion process using supercritical CO2 as the blowing agent. The existing PTFE nanofibrils dramatically decreased the cell diameter and increased cell density, together with a higher expansion ratio and more uniform cell structure. The sample with 5% PTFE fibrils showed the best foaming ability, with an average diameter of 10.4-14.7 μm, an expansion ratio of 9.5-12.3 and a cell density of 6.6 × 107-8.6 × 107 cells/cm3.

Bone defects caused by osteoporosis, bone malignant tumors, and trauma are very common, but there are many limiting factors in the clinical treatment of them. Bone tissue engineering is the most promising treatment and is considered to be the main strategy for bone defect repair. We prepared polydopamine-coated poly-(lactic-co-glycolic acid)/β-tricalcium phosphate composite scaffolds via 3D printing, and a series of characterization and biocompatibility tests were carried out. The results show that the mechanical properties and pore-related parameters of the composite scaffolds are not affected by the coatings, and the hydrophilicities of the surface are obviously improved. Scanning electron microscopy and micro-computed tomography display the nanoscale microporous structure of the bio-materials. Biological tests demonstrate that this modified surface can promote cell adhesion and proliferation and improve osteogenesis through the increase of polydopamine (PDA) concentrations. Mouse cranial defect experiments are conducted to further verify the conclusion that scaffolds with a higher content of PDA coatings have a better effect on the formation of new bones. In the study, the objective of repairing critical-sized defects is achieved by simply adding PDA as coatings to obtain positive results, which can suggest that this modification method with PDA has great potential.

The objective of the present work is to study the influence of color additives used for the polylactic acid (PLA) filament on the final quality of fused filament fabrication (FFF) parts. The main processing parameters of FFF parts were evaluated, identifying the significant correlations between PLA properties and part performance, using a commercial FFF machine. The quality of the products was evaluated in terms of thermo-mechanical properties such as mechanical strength, principal material temperatures, and viscosity. These last properties were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) for the thermal measurements and a rotational rheometry (RHEO) for viscosity measurements. Cylindrical specimens were then produced for the compression test. The experimental activity and related testing of products are fully described, pointing out a significant difference in performance between parts made of different colored filaments.

The study examines the critical factors affecting Chinese social media (SM) users' intentions and behavior to seek and share information on genetically modified organisms/ genetically modified food (GMO/GMF). The proposed framework was conceptualized through benefit-risk analysis and subsequently mapped SM users' perceived benefits and risks to seeks and share information using Kurt Lewin’s valence view. Quantitative data was collected using survey questionnaires administered from 583 SM users. The results of the path analysis demonstrated two key findings related to SM users' perceived benefits and risks to seek and share information on GMO/GMF. Among risks, the psychological risk is the strongest predictor of perceived risk to use SM for GMO/GMF, which consequently determines the intentions and behaviors to share information about GMO/GMF on SM in People’s Republic of China. Among benefits, the results showed that perceived usefulness, creditability of GMO/GMF information, and information support are positively related to perceived benefits to use SM for GMO/GMF, which subsequently, predicts the intentions and behaviors to seek information about GMO/GMF on SM. This study suggests scholars and practitioners explore and utilize the efficient communication strategy to fulfill the potential of the SM to increase GMO/GMF acceptance in Chinese society.

Every second employee in Europe complains about work-related stress. Occupational stress due to an imbalance between efforts spent and rewards gained (effort-reward imbalance = ERI) is well investigated and it is associated with mental and physical health. A common guess is that leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) has beneficial effects on work-related stress. Yet, evidence in support of this assumption is weak, especially regarding ERI-stress. Longitudinal studies investigating the role of LTPA on ERI are missing. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the effect of LTPA on work-related stress by ERI over time.