Multifunctional polyurethane foams with thermal energy storage/release capability

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - In this work, polyurethane (PU) insulating panels containing different amounts of a microencapsulated paraffin with a nominal melting temperature of...     

Impact of Matrix Metalloproteinase-9 during Periodontitis and Cardiovascular Diseases

Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) has been shown to play a key role in endothelial function and perhaps pivotal in the correlation between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease (CVD). For the study, the impact of MMP-9 of periodontitis and CVD on serum and saliva concentrations was analyzed. For the study patients with periodontitis (n = 31), CVD (n = 31), periodontitis + CVD (n = 31), and healthy patients (n = 31) were enrolled. Clinical and demographic characteristics as well as serum and salivary MMP-9 were evaluated. MMP-9 concentrations in serum and saliva were statistically elevated in patients with CVD (p < 0.01) and in patients with periodontitis plus CVD (p < 0.001) compared to patients with periodontitis and healthy subjects. Multivariate regression analysis showed that c-reactive protein (hs-CRP) was the only significant predictor for MMP-9 serum (p < 0.001), whereas hs-CRP (p < 0.001) and total cholesterol (p = 0.029) were the statistically significant salivary MMP-9 predictors. This study evidenced that patients with CVD and periodontitis + CVD presented elevated MMP-9 concentrations in serum and saliva compared to patients with periodontitis and healthy subjects. Furthermore, hs-CRP was a negative predictor of serum and salivary MMP-9.     

Supercritical Carbon Dioxide-Based Processes in Photocatalytic Applications

Conventional methods generally used to synthesize heterogeneous photocatalysts have some drawbacks, mainly the difficult control/preservation of catalysts’ morphology, size or structure, which strongly affect the photocatalytic activity. Supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂)-assisted techniques have recently been shown to be a promising approach to overcome these limitations, which are still a challenge. In addition, compared to traditional methods, these innovative techniques permit the synthesis of high-performance photocatalysts by reducing the use of toxic and polluting solvents and, consequently, the environmental impact of long-term catalyst preparation. Specifically, the versatility of scCO₂ allows to prepare catalysts with different structures (e.g., nanoparticles or metal-loaded supports) by several supercritical processes for the photocatalytic degradation of various compounds. This is the first updated review on the use of scCO₂-assisted techniques for photocatalytic applications. We hope this review provides useful information on different approaches and future perspectives.     

From Fish Waste to Value: An Overview of the Sustainable Recovery of Omega-3 for Food Supplements

The disposal of food waste is a current and pressing issue, urging novel solutions to implement sustainable waste management practices. Fish leftovers and their processing byproducts represent a significant portion of the original fish, and their disposal has a high environmental and economic impact. The utilization of waste as raw materials for the production of different classes of biofuels and high-value chemicals, a concept known as “biorefinery”, is gaining interest in a vision of circular economy and zero waste policies. In this context, an interesting route of valorization is the extraction of omega-3 fatty acids (ω-3 FAs) for nutraceutical application. These fatty acids, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) have received attention over the last decades due to their beneficial effects on human health. Their sustainable production is a key process for matching the increased market demand while reducing the pressure on marine ecosystems and lowering the impact of waste production. The high resale value of the products makes this waste a powerful tool that simultaneously protects the environment and benefits the global economy. This review aims to provide a complete overview of the sustainable exploitation of fish waste to recover ω-3 FAs for food supplement applications, covering composition, storage, and processing of the raw material.     

An approach to the measurement of shunt resistance of individual subcells in thin‐film tandem devices

In this paper, the selective illumination approach is adopted to separately extract the shunt resistance of the individual subcells belonging to a tandem cell. The method relies on simple theoretical considerations and is based on the measurement of the current–voltage characteristic of the tandem cell by alternately keeping one of the subcells under dark conditions. Numerical simulations are employed to support the reliability of the technique, which is experimentally tested on micromorph devices deposited onto glass covered by a V‐shaped transparent conducting oxide and subject to different thermal treatments. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Comparison of thin epitaxial film silicon photovoltaics fabricated on monocrystalline and polycrystalline seed layers on glass

We fabricate thin epitaxial crystal silicon solar cells on display glass and fused silica substrates overcoated with a silicon seed layer. To confirm the quality of hot‐wire chemical vapor deposition epitaxy, we grow a 2‐µm‐thick absorber on a (100) monocrystalline Si layer transfer seed on display glass and achieve 6.5% efficiency with an open circuit voltage (V_OC) of 586 mV without light‐trapping features. This device enables the evaluation of seed layers on display glass. Using polycrystalline seeds formed from amorphous silicon by laser‐induced mixed phase solidification (MPS) and electron beam crystallization, we demonstrate 2.9%, 476 mV (MPS) and 4.1%, 551 mV (electron beam crystallization) solar cells. Grain boundaries likely limit the solar cell grown on the MPS seed layer, and we establish an upper bound for the grain boundary recombination velocity (S_GB) of 1.6x10⁴ cm/s. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical promenades: Exploring potential-energy surfaces with immersive virtual reality

The virtual-reality framework AVATAR (Advanced Virtual Approach to Topological Analysis of Reactivity) for the immersive exploration of potential-energy landscapes is presented. AVATAR is based on modern consumer-grade virtual-reality technology and builds on two key concepts: (a) the reduction of the dimensionality of the potential-energy surface to two process-tailored, physically meaningful generalized coordinates, and (b) the analogy between the evolution of a chemical process and a pathway through valleys (potential wells) and mountain passes (saddle points) of the associated potential energy landscape. Examples including the discovery of competitive reaction paths in simple A + BC collisional systems and the interconversion between conformers in ring-puckering motions of flexible rings highlight the innovation potential that augmented and virtual reality convey for teaching, training, and supporting research in chemistry.     

New Promising Therapeutic Avenues of Curcumin in Brain Diseases

Curcumin, the dietary polyphenol isolated from Curcuma longa (turmeric), is commonly used as an herb and spice worldwide. Because of its bio-pharmacological effects curcumin is also called “spice of life”, in fact it is recognized that curcumin possesses important proprieties such as anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, antiproliferative, anti-tumoral, and anti-aging. Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Diseases, Parkinson’s Diseases, and Multiple Sclerosis are a group of diseases characterized by a progressive loss of brain structure and function due to neuronal death; at present there is no effective treatment to cure these diseases. The protective effect of curcumin against some neurodegenerative diseases has been proven by in vivo and in vitro studies. The current review highlights the latest findings on the neuroprotective effects of curcumin, its bioavailability, its mechanism of action and its possible application for the prevention or treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.     

Chemical Composition and Evaluation of Insecticidal Activity of Calendula incana subsp. maritima and Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum Essential Oils against Stored Products Pests

The problems of the environment and human health related to the use of synthetic and broad-spectrum insecticides have increasingly motivated scientific research on different alternatives and among these, the use of green systems, such as essential oils, have been explored. Several species of the Apiaceae and Asteraceae families, aromatic herbs rich in secondary bioactive metabolites, are used in the industrial field for pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food purposes. Different essential oils extracted from some species of these families have shown acute toxicity and attractive and/or repellent effects towards different insects. In our work, we investigated the toxic potential of Calendula incana subsp. maritima and Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum essential oils against four insect species, Sitophilus oryzae, Lasioderma serricorne, Necrobia rufipes, and Rhyzoperta dominica, which are common pests of stored products. The composition of both oils, extracted by hydrodistillation from the aerial parts of the two plants, was evaluated by GC×GC-MS. Calendula incana subsp. maritima essential oil was rich in oxygenated sesquiterpenoids, such as cubebol (35.39%), 4-epi-cubebol (22.99%), and cubenol (12.77%), while the Laserpitium siler subsp. siculum essential oil was composed mainly of monoterpene hydrocarbons, such as β-phellandrene (42.16%), limonene (23.87%), and β-terpinene (11.80%). The toxicity Petri dish bioassays indicated that C. maritima oil killed a mean of 65.50% of S. oryzae and 44.00% of R. dominica adults, indicating a higher biocidal activity in comparison with L. siculum oil, while toward the other species, no significant differences in mortality were recorded. Calendula maritima oil could be, then, considered a promising candidate for further tests as an alternative biocide toward S. oryzae and R. dominica. The possibility that the relatively high content of oxygenated sesquiterpenoids in C. maritima essential oil determines its higher biocidal activity is discussed.