Microstructural modifications in bitumens rejuvenated by oil from pyrolysis of waste tires.

Introduction: Bitumen is the viscoelastic fluid binding the crushed stones and mineral aggregates in the asphalt material used to pave roads around the world. During the paving procedure, the volatile compounds are lost and oxidization occurs with variation of the mechanical characteristics (aging); thus, the material becomes rigid and brittle over time and may need replacement. Instead of being landfilled, aged asphalts can be reused in new pavements after pretreatment with specific additives to restore their original properties.

Biocompatible Hybrid Graphenic Thin Coatings on Flexible Substrates through Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE).

This work reports the production of biocompatible thin layers for biomedical applications based on a graphene-like material (GL), a graphene-related material (GRM) obtained from carbon black. GL was combined in a hybrid fashion with polydopamine (pDA), a mussel-inspired water-resistant wet adhesive bonding obtained by the oxidative polymerization of dopamine (DA), and polyvinyl pyrrolidinone (PVP), a nontoxic synthetic polymer with intrinsic adhesion properties, to obtain a tighter adhesion of the thin layer to the substrate (silicone slices). Matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) was used to coat PDMS slices with thin films of GL-pDA and GL-PVP directly from their frozen suspensions in water.

An integrated design strategy coupling additive manufacturing and matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (MAPLE) towards the development of a new concept 3D scaffold with improved properties for tissue regeneration.

Bioinspired strategies for scaffold design and optimization were improved by the introduction of Additive Manufacturing (AM), thus allowing for replicating and reproducing complex shapes and structures in a reliable manner, adopting different kinds of polymeric and nanocomposite materials properly combined according to the features of the natural host tissues. Benefiting from recent findings in AM, a Matrix-Assisted Pulsed Laser Evaporation (MAPLE) technique was employed for obtaining graphene-like material (GL) uniform coatings on 3D scaffolds for tissue repair strategies, towards the development of a new concept 3D scaffold with controlled morphological/architectural and surface features and mechanical and biological properties. The effect of the material-design combination through an integrated technological approach (, MAPLE deposition of GL on 3D AM PCL scaffolds) was assessed through scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, contact angle measurements, mechanical measurements and biological analyses (cell viability assay and alkaline phosphatase activity) in conjunction with confocal laser scanning microscopy.

[Multidimensional evaluation of a 12-month intensive outpatient program for the treatment of substance use disorder. Experience in Argentina].

Objective: The purpose of this study was to asess the efficacy of an intensive outpatient treatment (IOT) for substance use disorder (SUD) using a multidimensional approach.

Methods: All the patients consecutively admitted to a private institution between May 2019 and May 2020 were invited to participate in the study. The program consisted in a 12-month set of psychosocial, medical and recreative interventions requiring an attendance of at least 9 hours per week.

Multi-step Strategies Toward Regioselectively Sulfated M-Rich Alginates.

Sulfated alginates (ASs), as well as several artificially sulfated polysaccharides, show interesting bioactivities. The key factors for structure-activity relationships studies are the degree of sulfation and the distribution of the sulfate groups along the polysaccharide backbone (sulfation pattern). The former parameter can often be controlled through stoichiometry, while the latter requires the development of suitable chemical or enzymatic, regioselective methods and is still missing for ASs.