Basement sliding and the formation of fault systems on Mt Etna volcano

The influence of faulting on the eruptive mechanisms of Mt Etna has been intensively studied, especially regarding the importance of regional tectonics, magma pressure, gravitational spreading and east flank instability. Here we examine the influence of an additional process: the wholesale sliding of the Etna massif along its sloping basement. Using laboratory analogue experiments, we create a series of model volcanoes on sloping basements, with obstructions to represent the mountains and hills surrounding Etna, and an unconstrained downslope edge to represent the unbuttressed seaward slopes. We find that analogues of all the Etna fault systems can be produced in the same model. Furthermore, we find that the relative velocities of transcurrent faulting and extension of each model flank fault system match those of Mt Etna in every case. We also find convincing evidence that gravitational spreading of the summit cone, combined with downslope sliding, controls the position of future eruptive vents around the summit, by creating faults and fractures that form paths of least resistance for magma intrusions. The intruding magma in turn augments fracture opening by an order of magnitude, in a feedback process that dominates within the summit graben. We conclude that gravitational spreading and sliding are the dominant processes in creating faults at Etna, and that these two processes, augmented by magma pressure, are responsible for the rapid seaward movement of the eastern slopes, tectonically cut off from the stable western flanks. The influence of regional tectonism is up to two orders of magnitude lower. The conceptual model derived here could make an important contribution to the investigation and monitoring of eruptive, seismic and landslide hazards, by providing a unified mechanical system that can be used to understand deformation.

Salt Heat Treatment and Passivation to Improve the Corrosion Resistance of Nitinol (Ni-Ti)

Corrosion of nitinol (NiTi) is a major factor in the failure of implantable materials. Recently, as the importance of corrosion of metals has increased, testing according to international guidelines is essential. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the corrosion resistance of NiTi wire through heat treatment and passivation process. In this study, NiTi wire used two commercially available products and a self-manufactured stent. Experimental consideration was carried out according to ASTM standards. Heat treatment was carried out in an air or a salt furnace, and the corrosion was measured after additional process, such as passivation and scratch tests. As a result, the metal potential was rapidly decreased in the air furnace group. On the other hand, the potential of wires was dramatically increased in the salt furnace group compared to the air furnace group. The dislocation decreased below the acceptance criteria (>600 mV) within 60 s of heat treatment time in the air furnace. Moreover, the potential was dramatically improved, even after only 20 min of passivation treatment (1076 mV, 442% compared to the non-passivated group), and it continued to rise until 180 min. This phenomenon was similarly observed in the group of self-manufactured stents. The potential slightly decreased by the scratch process (93.1%) was significantly reduced by the air furnace process (315 mV, 24.4% of the nontreated group). In the passivated group of the air furnace sample with reduced potential, the potential was restored to the level before the air furnace (scratch stage) (1032 mV). In conclusion, the heat treatment is preferably carried out in a salt furnace rather than an air furnace, and the passivation process can be an advantageous tool to improve corrosion resistance by suppressing the oxidation process.

IMPROVE PRODUCTIVITY THROUGH DIGITAL MANUFACTURING

In the future the digitalization and "Industry 4.0” will be in every step of the product lifecycle from design to the manufacture, service, and maintenance. Through digitalization, the companies will be able to operate and program the complex CNC machine tools that will be ready to respond more flexibly to the market demands and at the same time to boost their productivity. Work preparation and production can be breaking down further into additional process steps, ranging from tendering to quality assurance. The demand for digitalization solution can be illustrated thru the following targets and questions what every production company must define and establish: 1. How long time will be the part on the machine to be manufacturi; 2. Is that CNC machine tools (what is able and have the technical characteristics) available; 3. Are necessary new cutting tools for this new job; 4.The CNC operator is familiar with the CNC control equipment; 5. Does the workpiece tolerance correspond with the customer specifications. Is not so easy to link up all this requests and to find the best solutions in time and to have high productivity. Digital manufacturing will give us the preliminary units costs and delivery deadline that must be determined to be able to tender for a job correctly. Today, the amount of time a workpiece will require for machining can be calculated quickly reliably and very important, without trial runs, using CNC simulation solutions. This recommendations from our paper can be an answer at the production companies and the advantage of this implementations is that can be made step by step. The solution of this implementation should be in concordance with the company’s requirements and resources.

Experimental Whisky Fermentations: Influence of Wort Pretreatments

In addition to ethanol yield, the production of flavour congeners during fermentation is a major consideration for Scotch whisky producers. Experimental whisky fermentations can provide useful information to the industry, and this is the focus of this paper. This study investigated the impact of wort pretreatments (boiled, autoclaved, filtered) on fermentation performance and flavour development in Scotch whisky distillates as an alternative to freezing wort for storage. Our study showed that no significant sensorial differences were detected in low wines (first distillates), while the chemical compositions showed clear changes in increased levels of esters and higher alcohols in boiled and autoclaved wort. In contrast, filtered wort comprised overall lower levels of congeners. Regarding alcohol yield, all three pretreatments resulted in decreased yields. In practice, the pretreatment of wort prior to fermentation requires additional process operations, while freezing requires large storage units. The pretreatments adopted in this study significantly influence the composition of the malt wort used for experimental whisky fermentations, and this results in a poorer fermentation performance compared with untreated wort. We recommend the use of fresh or frozen wort as the best options for small-scale fermentation trials.

The Role of MSCs and Cell Fusion in Tissue Regeneration

Regenerative medicine is concerned with the investigation of therapeutic agents that can be used to promote the process of regeneration after injury or in different diseases. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and their secretome – including extracellular vesicles (EVs) are of great interest, due to their role in tissue regeneration, immunomodulatory capacity and low immunogenicity. So far, clinical studies are not very conclusive as they show conflicting efficacies regarding the use of MSCs. An additional process possibly involved in regeneration might be cell fusion. This process occurs in both a physiological and a pathophysiological context and can be affected by immune response due to inflammation. In this review the role of MSCs and cell fusion in tissue regeneration is discussed.

RETURN PACKAGING IN THE SHIPMENT PROCESS OF READY PRODUCTS ON THE EXAMPLE OF VOLKSWAGEN MOTOR POLSKA SP. Z O.O.

Nowadays, the effectiveness of the enterprise depends on all departments of enterprises, including logistics. One of the strategic areas of logistics, although often overlooked, is the turnover of returnable packaging. Turnover of packages is an additional process in the enterprise that creates additional costs. With the optimal management of this process throughout the entire supply chain, enterprises can minimize the costs associated with it. This study presents the process of managing returnable packaging. The aim of the work is to identify and analyze the possibility of using returnable packaging in the process of preparing shipment and transport of finished products in the automotive industry. The article uses a case study of one of the companies operating in the automotive industry - Volkswagen Motor Polska sp. z o.o. The article presents three possible solutions for the transport of engines manufactured by the described company. One of the solutions is currently used by enterprises. The other two are a proposal to apply. When analyzing the costs of these solutions, the best one was presented, the costs of which will be the most profitable in the long run.

The temporal dynamics of the Stroop effect from childhood to young and older adulthood

It is well admitted that children and older adults tend to show longer response latencies at the Stroop task than young adults. The present study aims at clarifying the rational of such changes from childhood to adulthood and in ageing by comparing the impacted cognitive processes across age groups. More precisely, the aim was to clarify if all processes take more time to be executed, hence implying that longer latencies rely mainly on processing speed or if an additional process lengthens the resolution of the conflict in children and/or older adults. To this aim we recorded brain electrical activity using EEG in school-age children, young and older adults while they performed a classic verbal Stroop task. To decompose the signal in the underlying brain networks, we used microstates analyses and compared congruent, incongruent and neutral trials across the three age-groups. Behaviorally, children and older adults presented longer latencies and larger Stroop effects relative to young adults. The microstates results showed that children tend to present different brain configurations compared to both adult groups, even though some brain configurations remained identical among the three groups. In particular, additional brain networks were involved in children to perform the Stroop task, which party account for the longer latencies in this group. By contrast, in aging the results favor the general slowing hypothesis rather than a decline in a specific process since all involved brain networks were similar in the two adult groups but slowed down in the older one.

Microcrystal Morphology

Framboids are constituted by microcrystals with approximately log-normal size-frequency distributions, and 95% of framboidal microcrystals are between 0.1 and 3.1 μ‎m. Nanocrystals are not generally observed in framboids. Packing efficiencies vary between close-packings in which the microcrystals occupy up to 74% of the framboid volume and random packings with a 56% volume of microcrystals. The ratios between framboid diameter and microcrystal size show a clear bimodal distribution which reflects the populations of close-packed ordered framboids and randomly organized framboids. Framboids may contain up to 500,000 microcrystals. The average numbers of microcrystals in both disordered and ordered framboids are similar, which suggests that the organization of microcrystals is the result of an additional process. Minerals that do not commonly produce equant crystals forms are unlikely to display the framboidal texture. Framboid microcrystals are essentially limited to isometric minerals like pyrite which produce equant crystals. Pyrite displays the greatest variety of crystal shapes among the common minerals. This means that pyrite is able to approximate forbidden fivefold symmetries such as the pentagonal dodecahedron, but with asymmetric pentagonal faces, and the icosahedron, again with different-sized triangular faces, as a combination of the octahedron and pyritohedron.

Energy Production and vapor condensating in Desalination of seawater by successive heating of thin layers of water using solar radiations from a Fresnel concentrator"

This paper aims to present the outline of two additional process for "Desalination of seawater by successive heating of thin layers of water using solar radiations from a Fresnel concentrator"[1]. For more detail information refer to the article "Desalination of seawater by successive heating of thin layers of water using solar radiations from a Fresnel concentrator"[1], the preprint "Detail Design - Linear Fresnel concentrator Steam Generator"[2] , the preprint Steam Flow formulation of the Linear Fresnel concentrator Steam Generator[3] and the preprint ‘Solar Heat Transfer formulation for the Steam generation from seawater based on Linear Fresnel Concentrator’[4].The first process is the condensation process which reuse an existing process. We recommend to use the HeatSink technology combined to cooling plate. For more information about this condensation process we can refer to this article ‘Improvement of condensation step of water vapor in solar desalination of seawater and the development of three-ply membrane system’[5]. The second process, which the innovation aspect for this paper, is to generate hydro-electrical energy from the condensate water in the first process.

DESIGNING A MODEL-BASED, MULTI-PERSPECTIVE PROCESS DESIGN ENVIRONMENT

The development of engineered systems is a complex process, involving many activities and development artifacts. The challenges introduced by this complexity calls for a model-based design environment. The PROVE methodology is an artifact-centric, model-based development process design methodology. In this paper, we present the first, fully model-based design environment of the PROVE. Furthermore, our environment incorporates additional process design perspectives that are applied in real-time and in a completely consistent manner, based on a formally defined information model. We discuss the details of our environment's design as well as highlight its potential benefits.