Wet-Spun Composite Filaments from Lignocellulose Nanofibrils/Alginate and Their Physico-Mechanical Properties

Lignocellulose nanofibrils (LCNFs) with different lignin contents were prepared using choline chloride (ChCl)/lactic acid (LA), deep eutectic solvent (DES) pretreatment, and subsequent mechanical defibrillation. The LCNFs had a diameter of 15.3–18.2 nm, which was similar to the diameter of commercial pure cellulose nanofibrils (PCNFs). The LCNFs and PCNFs were wet-spun in CaCl2 solution for filament fabrication. The addition of sodium alginate (AL) significantly improved the wet-spinnability of the LCNFs. As the AL content increased, the average diameter of the composite filaments increased, and the orientation index decreased. The increase in AL content improved the wet-spinnability of CNFs but deteriorated the tensile properties. The increase in the spinning rate resulted in an increase in the orientation index, which improved the tensile strength and elastic modulus.

Preparation and properties of wet-spun microcomposite filaments from cellulose nanocrystals and alginate using a microfluidic device

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were wet-spun in a coagulation bath for the fabrication of microfilaments, and the effect of sodium alginate (AL) addition on the wet-spinnability and properties of the microcomposite filament was investigated. The CNC suspension exhibited excellent wet-spinnability in calcium chloride (CaCl2) solution, and the addition of AL in CNC suspension resulted in the enhancement of the wet-spinnability of CNCs. As the AL content increased from 3% to 10%, the average diameter of the microcomposite filament decreased, and its tensile properties deteriorated. The increased spinning rate caused an increase in the orientation index of CNCs, resulting in an improvement in the tensile properties of the microcomposite filament.

Economic effectiveness of using fungicides in the protection of potato against Phytophthora infestans and Alternaria spp.

The aim of the research carried out in 2014–2016 at the Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute in Jadwisin was to assess the economic effectiveness of the use of fungicides in combating the causative agents of potato blight and alternaria on plants of four edible potato varieties with different resistance to Phytophthora infestans. The experiment included two objects: control – without chemical protection and protection – in which from 3 to 5 chemical treatments were performed. In the protected object obtained increase of yield of tubers was 20.4%. The value of saved production amounted to an average of 4.181.8 zł/ha. In the years of research in which meteorological conditions favored the development of late blight and alternaria, high profitability of using fungicides was found. Orientation index of profitability (E2) was in the range of 2.5–4.0, which means that the performed plant protection treatment constituted from 2.5 to 4.0% of the value of the obtained tuber yield per 1 hectare.

Commercial organization staff's customer centricity: the level of development and relationship with staff's communicative and emotional

The article analyzes the results of empirical research related to the levels of development of the main components and index of staff's customer orientation in commercial organizations. Among the commercial organization staff's customer orientation components, which were found to be at low levels, the most developed component was "'following customer orientation standards and using special technologies". It was followed by much less developed "organization's customer orientation policies and staff empowerment" and "staff' customer orientation training and encouraging". Only one in four respondents had a customer orientation index at high level. Commercial organization staff's communication and emotional characteristics were shown to have statistically significant positive relationships with some of staff's customer orientation components and customer orientation index (increased levels of staff's customer orientation-relevant characteristics corresponded to the increased levels of each of the staff's customer orientation components and index).

Physical Properties Characterization and Design Comparation of Knee Implant with Ti6Al4V Material

This study aims to describe the results of characterization of physical properties and design comparation of knee implant. the characterization of the material was intended to determine the morphology using SEM, crystal structure using XRD, and chemical composition using XRF. In both designs, the simulation was carried out to get the total deformation value. Simulation is carried out by loading humans walking, jumping, and downstairs in 0-1.1 seconds. While the comparation was focused on comparizing the total deformation value from the human activity of walking, jumping, and downstairs to determine the optimum design. The finding of this study were SEM showed that many parallel strokes on Ti6Al4V, then XRD test showed that the crystallinity peak was at position 40.5189˚ which were indicated by the crystal orientation index [200] reaching 29.35 counts (cts), and Full Width Half Maximum (FWHM) at an angle of 0.288˚ which had an atomic distance along the length of 2.2246 (Å ) with a relative intensity of 100%. And the XRF test showed the highest chemical content of Ti6Al4V was Ti, amounting to 85.12%. This was indicated by the total maximal deformation of the first design 0.23030 micormeter while the second design was 2.109600 micrometer, so the first design was more recommended for implant use. While comparation of total deformation showed that the first design had the lowest maximum average deformation value. The results showed that the first implant design was the optimum design.

Saving Education Received in Early Life and Future Orientation in Adulthood

We use data from a Dutch data set, the DNB Household Survey, annually covering the period 1996–2015, to study the relationship between informal parental saving education received when people were children or adolescents and two variables aimed to capture adult individuals' concerns for their future: planning horizon and future orientation. Our results indicate that the general future orientation positively correlates with informal saving education, and in particular having received financial teachings. Our findings also suggest that the future orientation index is rather stable over time (which is not trivial, especially because our dataset covers two full business cycles) and declines with age following the life-cycle.