3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 Secondly, the capacity of BNC to match these requirements is assessed. Finally, a biofabrication process to produce patient-specific BNC auricular implants is demonstrated.BNC samples (n = 78) with varying cellulose content (2.5 -15%) were compared using stressrelaxation indentation with human ear cartilage (n = 17, from 4 males, aged 49 -93 years old).Additionally, an auricle from a volunteer was scanned using a 3T MRI with a spoiled gradientecho sequence. A negative ear mold was produced from the MRI data in order to investigate if an ear-shaped BNC prototype could be produced from this mold.The results show that the instantaneous modulus E in , equilibrium modulus E eq , and maximum stress σ max of the BNC samples are correlated to effective cellulose content. Despite significantly different relaxation kinetics, the E in , E eq and σ max of BNC at 14% effective cellulose content reached values equivalent to ear cartilage (for E eq , BNC: 2.4 ± 0.4 MPa and ear cartilage: 3.3 ± 1.3 MPa). Additionally, this work shows that BNC can be fabricated into patient-specific auricular shapes. In conclusion, BNC has the capability to reach mechanical properties of relevance for ear cartilage replacement, and can be produced in patient-specific ear shapes.

From the assignment of the solid-state (13)C NMR signals in the C4 region, distinct types of crystalline cellulose, cellulose at crystalline surfaces, and disordered cellulose can be identified and quantified. For regenerated cellulose, complete (13)C assignments of the other carbon regions have not previously been attainable, due to signal overlap. In this study, two-dimensional (2D) NMR correlation methods were used to resolve and assign (13)C signals for all carbon atoms in regenerated cellulose. (13)C-enriched bacterial nanocellulose was biosynthesized, dissolved, and coagulated as highly crystalline cellulose II. Specifically, four distinct (13)C signals were observed corresponding to conformationally different anhydroglucose units: two signals assigned to crystalline moieties and two signals assigned to non-crystalline species. The C1, C4 and C6 regions for cellulose II were fully examined by global spectral deconvolution, which yielded qualitative trends of the relative populations of the different cellulose moieties, as a function of wetting and drying treatments.

Abstract:The aim of this paper is to suggest and discuss policy instruments that could lead towards a more sustainable waste management. The paper is based on evaluations from a large scale multi-disciplinary Swedish research program. The evaluations focus on environmental and economic impacts as well as social acceptance. The focus is on the Swedish waste management system but the results should be relevant also for other countries. Through the assessments and lessons learned during the research program we conclude that several policy instruments can be effective and possible to implement. Particularly, we put forward the following policy instruments: "Information"; "Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials"; "Weight-based waste fee in combination OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2013, 5 842 with information and developed recycling systems"; "Mandatory labeling of products containing hazardous chemicals", "Advertisements on request only and other waste minimization measures"; and "Differentiated VAT and subsidies for some services". Compulsory recycling of recyclable materials is the policy instrument that has the largest potential for decreasing the environmental impacts with the configurations studied here. The effects of the other policy instruments studied may be more limited and they typically need to be implemented in combination in order to have more significant impacts. Furthermore, policy makers need to take into account market and international aspects when implementing new instruments. In the more long term perspective, the above set of policy instruments may also need to be complemented with more transformational policy instruments that can significantly decrease the generation of waste.

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