Silk fibroin is a biobased material with excellent biocompatibility and mechanical properties, but its use in bioelectronics is hampered by the difficult dissolution and low intrinsic conductivity. Some ionic liquids are known to dissolve fibroin but removed after fibroin processing. However, ionic liquids and fibroin can cooperatively give rise to functional materials, and there are untapped opportunities in this combination. The dissolution of fibroin, followed by gelation, in designer ionic liquids from the imidazolium chloride family with varied alkyl chain lengths (2–10 carbons) is shown here. The alkyl chain length of the anion has a large impact on fibroin secondary structure which adopts unconventional arrangements, yielding robust gels with distinct hierarchical organization. Furthermore, and due to their remarkable air-stability and ionic conductivity, fibroin ionogels are exploited as active electrical gas sensors in an electronic nose revealing the unravelled possibilities of fibroin in soft and flexible electronics.

The paper describes the three-dimensional numerical implementation of the Lade-Duncan criterion in a finite element limit analysis (FELA) code. Validation is done using examples with a known solution. To conclude the proposed numerical tool is applied to the calculation of the ultimate bearing capacity of square footing.

Findings of Iron Age metallurgical activities related to tin metal and mining are very rare. In the present work, we present a detailed study of the Outeiro de Baltar hillfort, dated to the Late Iron Age/Early Roman period, located in a place where 20th century tin mining work took place. Elemental and microstructural analysis by portable, micro and wavelength dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (pXRF, micro-XRF and WDXRF) and scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersion spectrometer (SEM-EDS) showed that metallurgical debris found at the archaeological site is related to tin smelting and binary and ternary bronze productions. Analysis of the artefacts of diverse typologies found at the site showed that a variety of metals and alloys were in circulation and use. Samples of tin ores (cassiterite) from the region were analyzed for comparison with an archaeological tin slag from the site. The analytical results point to the production of tin metal using local cassiterite and the production of bronze by directly adding cassiterite into a smelting process. Furthermore, data of remote sensing (airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and historical aerial imagery) and Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping were combined with archival mining documentation and maps to retrieve a landscape context for the site. The study showed that the place of the Outeiro de Baltar hillfort (NW Iberia) was mined periodically over time.

The use of optic measurements such as digital image correlation to take strain measurements of fibre-reinforced polymers bonded to a substrate has been on the increase recently. This technique has proven to be useful to fully characterize the bond behaviour between two materials. Although modern digital cameras can take high-definition photos, this task is far from simple due to the tiny displacements that need to be measured. Consequently, digital image correlation measurements lead to relative errors that, at an initial stage of the debonding process, are higher than those calculated close to the debonding of the fibre-reinforced polymer from the substrate. This study aims to evaluate and analyse the use of the digital image correlation technique on the bond between carbon fibre-reinforced polymer laminates and timber when subjected to a pull-out load consistent with fracture Mode II. To allow the quantification of the relative errors obtained from the digital image correlation measurements during the full debonding process, several strain gauges were used to measure the strains in the carbon fibre-reinforced polymer composite. The accuracy of the digital image correlation measurements is analysed by comparing it with those obtained from the strain gauges, which is a very well-established measuring technique. Another contribution of this study is to check the versatility of the digital image correlation measurements on a broader range of situations. To that end, several timber prisms were bonded with seven different bonding techniques with and without the installation of a mechanical anchorage at the carbon fibre-reinforced polymer unpulled end. The results showed that the digital image correlation technique was able to track the slips calculated from the strain gauge measurements until the debonding load, but after that, some difficulties to measure the displacements of the anchored carbon fibre-reinforced polymer-to-timber joints were detected. The digital image correlation technique also over predicted bond stresses when compared with those taken from the strain gauges, which led to bond–slip relationships with higher bond stresses. © The Author(s) 2021.

Phys. Rev. C 105, 014611 (2022). doi:10.1103/PhysRevC.105.014611

Radiation Physics and Chemistry, 194 (2022) 110048. doi:10.1016/j.radphyschem.2022.110048

Relative humidity is simultaneously a sensing target and a contaminant in gas and volatile organic compound (VOC) sensing systems, where strategies to control humidity interference are required. An unmet challenge is the creation of gas-sensitive materials where the response to humidity is controlled by the material itself. Here, humidity effects are controlled through the design of gelatin formulations in ionic liquids without and with liquid crystals as electrical and optical sensors, respectively. In this design, the anions [DCA]− and [Cl]− of room temperature ionic liquids from the 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium family tailor the response to humidity and, subsequently, sensing of VOCs in dry and humid conditions. Due to the combined effect of the materials formulations and sensing mechanisms, changing the anion from [DCA]− to the much more hygroscopic [Cl]−, leads to stronger electrical responses and much weaker optical responses to humidity. Thus, either humidity sensors or humidity-tolerant VOC sensors that do not require sample preconditioning or signal processing to correct humidity impact are obtained. With the wide spread of 3D- and 4D-printing and intelligent devices, the monitoring and tuning of humidity in sustainable biobased materials offers excellent opportunities in e-nose sensing arrays and wearable devices compatible with operation at room conditions.

Abstract Long-haul travel does not constitute an obstacle for tourists to travel and is fast gaining the attention of tourists in new and unique experiences. This study was conducted to identify the long-haul travel motivation by international tourists to Penang. A total of 400 respondents participated in this survey, conducted around the tourist attractions in Penang, using cluster random sampling. However, only 370 questionnaires were only used for this research. Data were analysed using SPSS software 22 version. The findings, ‘knowledge and novelty seeking' were the main push factors that drove long-haul travel by international tourists to Penang. Meanwhile, the main pull factor that attracts long- haul travel by international tourists to Penang was its ‘culture and history'. Additionally, there were partly direct and significant relationships between socio-demographic, trip characteristics and travel motivation (push factors and pull factors). Overall, this study identified the long-haul travel motivations by international tourists to Penang based on socio-demographic, trip characteristics and travel motivation and has indirectly helped in understanding the long-haul travel market particularly for Penang and Southeast Asia. This research also suggested for an effective marketing and promotion strategy in pro- viding useful information that is the key to attract international tourists to travel long distances. Keywords:

The degradation of organic pollutants in wastewaters assisted by oxide semiconductor nanostructures has been the focus of many research groups over the last decades, along with the synthesis of these nanomaterials by simple, eco-friendly, fast, and cost-effective processes. In this work, porous zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures were successfully synthesized via a microwave hydrothermal process. A layered zinc hydroxide carbonate (LZHC) precursor was obtained after 15 min of synthesis and submitted to different calcination temperatures to convert it into porous ZnO nanostructures. The influence of the calcination temperature (300, 500, and 700 °C) on the morphological, structural, and optical properties of the ZnO nanostructureswas investigated. All ZnO samples were tested as photocatalysts in the degradation of rhodamine B (RhB) under UV irradiation and natural sunlight. All samples showed enhanced photocatalytic activity under both light sources, with RhB being practically degraded within 60 min in both situations. The porous ZnO obtained at 700 °C showed the greatest photocatalytic activity due to its high crystallinity, with a degradation rate of 0.091 and 0.084 min−1 for UV light and sunlight, respectively. These results are a very important step towards the use of oxide semiconductors in the degradation of water pollutants mediated by natural sunlight.

Zinc-tin oxide (ZTO) nanostructures appear as one of the most promising material systems for a new generation of nanodevices. In this work, a microwave-assisted hydrothermal synthesis to produce different shapes of Zn2SnO4 nanostructures (nanoparticles, octahedrons and nanoplates) is presented. Reproducible and homogeneous results were obtained with the advantage of reducing up to 20 h the synthesis time when compared to using a conventional oven. Furthermore, the photocatalytic activity of the Zn2SnO4 nanostructures in the degradation of rhodamine B under UV light was studied. Zn2SnO4 nanoparticles demonstrated better performance with >90% of degradation being achieved in 2.5 h.