System of Implantable Electrodes for Neural Signal Acquisition and Stimulation for Wirelessly Connected Forearm Prosthesis.

There is great interest in the development of prosthetic limbs capable of complex activities that are wirelessly connected to the patient's neural system. Although some progress has been achieved in this area, one of the main problems encountered is the selective acquisition of nerve impulses and the closing of the automation loop through the selective stimulation of the sensitive branches of the patient. Large-scale research and development have achieved so-called "cuff electrodes"; however, they present a big disadvantage: they are not selective. In this article, we present the progress made in the development of an implantable system of plug neural microelectrodes that relate to the biological nerve tissue and can be used for the selective acquisition of neuronal signals and for the stimulation of specific nerve fascicles. The developed plug electrodes are also advantageous due to their small thickness, as they do not trigger nerve inflammation. In addition, the results of the conducted tests on a sous scrofa subject are presented.

Environmental sustainability for traditional energy small and medium enterprises.

The improvement of production processes, the development and use of new technologies, materials and energy infrastructure, the transition to new fuels, and the growth of energy consumption-all gives impetus to the advancement and continuous modernization of the energy sector. Hence, the transition to the concept of sustainable development poses new challenges to the energy sector: meeting the increasing demand for energy should occur while reducing the sector's anthropogenic impact on the environment. The energy sector must meet the requirements of sustainable development, for this, it needs to carry out a large-scale eco-modernization of the energy infrastructure, when the environmental component comes to the fore when developing long-term development programs for individual enterprises. Although the introduction of the principles of sustainable development may become one of the drivers for improving the efficiency of energy enterprises and achieving environmental sustainability, they have been introduced in a small part of enterprises. The purpose of this study is to define key principles and factors that should be included in the concept of environmental sustainability in traditional energy SMEs. Based on the results of the study, a list of factors that have a direct impact on the environmental sustainability of traditional energy facilities has been formed.

Production and properties assessment of biochars from rapeseed and poplar waste biomass for environmental applications in Romania.

Biochar obtained by pyrolysis is receiving great research interest as it is perceived to be a renewable resource available for agronomic and environmental applications. Since biochar is a highly heterogeneous material with chemical composition that varies widely depending on feedstock and pyrolysis conditions, this study compares the characteristics of biochar produced by pyrolysis at six temperature levels ranging between 300 and 800 °C of two types of biomass, i.e. rapeseed straw (RS)-agriculture waste and poplar tree shavings (PP)-forest waste from furniture making. Twelve biochars were generated via pyrolysis under low oxygen conditions of the selected biomasses in an electrically heated batch reactor. To determine how pyrolysis temperature affects the properties of biochars and consequently their possible utilization, physical, chemical, thermal, porosity and EDX analysis were measured for all biochars and for the corresponding feedstocks. SEM images of the biochar revealed that an increase in temperature led to a higher number of pores for PP biochar compared to RS biochar, and that PP biochar pores tended to shrink with temperature. The elemental composition and the pH of biochars were also compared. Based on the experimental results a utilization matrix was designed as to offer indications concerning possible applications of RS and PP biochars in substitution to fossil derived products for soil remediation (e.g., agriculture fertilizers) and in environmental applications (e.g., removal of pollutants).

Entropy-Based Behavioural Efficiency of the Financial Market.

The most known and used abstract model of the financial market is based on the concept of the informational efficiency (EMH) of that market. The paper proposes an alternative which could be named the behavioural efficiency of the financial market, which is based on the behavioural entropy instead of the informational entropy. More specifically, the paper supports the idea that, in the financial market, the only measure (if any) of the entropy is the available behaviours indicated by the implicit information. Therefore, the behavioural entropy is linked to the concept of behavioural efficiency. The paper argues that, in fact, in the financial markets, there is not a (real) informational efficiency, but there exists a behavioural efficiency instead. The proposal is based both on a new typology of information in the financial market (which provides the concept of implicit information-that is, that information "translated" by the economic agents from observing the actual behaviours) and on a non-linear (more exactly, a logistic) curve linking the behavioural entropy to the behavioural efficiency of the financial markets. Finally, the paper proposes a synergic overcoming of both EMH and AMH based on the new concept of behavioural entropy in the financial market.

Zooming on light packaging waste differences by scanning electron microscopy.

In the present paper, different types of pure and commercial plastic waste from different EU countries (UK, France, Italy, and Romania) were investigated for microstructure surface morphology and chemical properties by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS). The goal of the current investigation was to determine the chemical composition of selected packaging materials and compare these measurements with data obtained through a carbon-hydrogen-nitrogen-sulfur-oxygen (CHNS-O) elemental analyzer, which is conventionally used to characterize waste materials. The capabilities of the experimental approach are discussed in connection with their application to the study of waste sample materials and in comparison with alternative experimental methods such as elemental analysis. The CHNS-O comparison is made between the present data obtained with SEM-EDXS instrument and EA 3000 elemental analyzer used in previews studies conducted by the authors. Results show a difference of composition among packaging from different countries that can affect the treatment adopted for its valorization and the strategies of circular economy.

Social Entropy and Normative Network.

The paper introduces a new concept of social entropy and a new concept of social order, both based on the normative framework of society. From these two concepts, typologies (logical and historical) of societies are inferred and examined in their basic features. To these ends, some well-known concepts such as entropy, order, system, network, synergy, norm, autopoieticity, fetality, and complexity are revisited and placed into an integrated framework. The core body of this paper addresses the structure and the mechanism of social entropy, understood as an institutionally working counterpart of social order. Finally, this paper concludes that social entropy is an artefact, like society itself, and acts through people's behavior.

Mechanical, Corrosion and Biological Properties of Room-Temperature Sputtered Aluminum Nitride Films with Dissimilar Nanostructure.

Aluminum Nitride (AlN) has been long time being regarded as highly interesting material for developing sensing applications (including biosensors and implantable sensors). AlN, due to its appealing electronic properties, is envisaged lately to serve as a multi-functional biosensing platform. Although generally exploited for its intrinsic piezoelectricity, its surface morphology and mechanical performance (elastic modulus, hardness, wear, scratch and tensile resistance to delamination, adherence to the substrate), corrosion resistance and cytocompatibility are also essential features for high performance sustainable biosensor devices. However, information about AlN suitability for such applications is rather scarce or at best scattered and incomplete. Here, we aim to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the morpho-structural, compositional, mechanical, electrochemical and biological properties of reactive radio-frequency magnetron sputtered AlN nanostructured thin films with various degrees of c-axis texturing, deposited at a low temperature (~50 °C) on Si (100) substrates. The inter-conditionality elicited between the base pressure level attained in the reactor chamber and crystalline quality of AlN films is highlighted. The potential suitability of nanostructured AlN (in form of thin films) for the realization of various type of sensors (with emphasis on bio-sensors) is thoroughly probed, thus unveiling its advantages and limitations, as well as suggesting paths to safely exploit the remarkable prospects of this type of materials.

Sampling, characterisation and processing of solid recovered fuel production from municipal solid waste: An Italian plant case study.

This article presents the classification of solid recovered fuel from the Massafra municipal solid waste treatment plant in Southern Italy in compliancy with the EN 15359 standard. In order to ensure the reproducibility of this study, the characterisation methods of waste input and output flow, the mechanical biological treatment line scheme and its main parameters for each stage of the processing chain are presented in details, together with the research results in terms of mass balance and derived fuel properties. Under this study, only 31% of refused municipal solid waste input stream from mechanical biological line was recovered as solid recovered fuel with a net heating value (NC=HV) average of 15.77 MJ kg-1; chlorine content average of 0.06% on a dry basis; median of mercury <0.0064 mg MJ-1 and 80th percentile <0.0068 mg MJ-1. The solid recovered fuel produced meets the European Union standard requirements and can be classified with the class code: Net heating value (3); chlorine (1); mercury (1).

Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of 4-fluorophenyl-imidazole p38α MAPK, CK1δ and JAK2 kinase inhibitors.

The synthesis and structure-activity relationships of novel 4-(4'-fluorophenyl)imidazoles as selective p38α MAPK, CK1δ and JAK2 inhibitors with improved water solubility are described. Microwave-assisted multicomponent reactions afforded 4-fluorophenyl-2,5-disubstituted imidazoles. Carboxylate and phosphonate groups were introduced via 'click' reactions. The kinase selectivity was influenced by the heteroaryl group at imidazole C-5 and the position of a carboxylic acid or tetrazole at imidazole C-2. For example, pyrimidines 15 and 34 inhibited p38α MAPK with IC50=250 nM and 96 nM, respectively. Pyridine 3 gave CK1δ inhibition with IC50=89 nM and pyridin-2-one 31 gave JAK2 inhibition with IC50=62 nM.

Syntheses and structure-activity relationships for some triazolyl p38α MAPK inhibitors.

The design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel triazolyl p38α MAPK inhibitors with improved water solubility for formulation in cationic liposomes (SAINT-O-Somes) targeted at diseased endothelial cells is described. Water-solubilizing groups were introduced via a 'click' reaction of functional azides with 2-alkynyl imidazoles and isosteric oxazoles to generate two small libraries of 1,4-disubstituted 1,2,3-triazolyl p38α MAPK inhibitors. Triazoles with low IC50 values and desired physicochemical properties were screened for in vitro downregulation of proinflammatory gene expression and were formulated in SAINT-O-Somes. Triazolyl p38α MAPK inhibitor 88 (IC50=0.096 µM) displayed the most promising in vitro activity.