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The promotion of participatory processes in initiatives such as Energy Communities (ECs) can prompt behav-ioural change in ecological transition The paper presents the experience of the Municipality of Cesena and the University in the EN-ACTION project aimed at in-creasing awareness among students and cifeens about energy transition through initiatives involving various stakeholders. The first section outlines the state of the art on energy cifeenship and universities in ecological transition. The conclusions emphasise the central role of active citi-zenship in the transition, and the role of the public in shared management of energy. Keywords: Ecological transition; Energy cifeenship; Participatory processes; Renewable Energy Communities; Student citizenship.

Utilizing colloidal probe, lateral force microscopy and simultaneous confocal microscopy, combined with finite element analysis, we investigate how a microparticle starts moving laterally on a soft, adhesive surface. We find that the surface can form a self-contacting crease at the leading front, which results from a buildup of compressive stress. Experimentally, creases are observed on substrates that exhibit either high or low adhesion when measured in the normal direction, motivating the use of simulations to consider the role of adhesion energy and interfacial strength. Our simulations illustrate that the interfacial strength plays a dominating role in the nucleation of a crease. After the crease forms, it progresses through the contact zone in a Schallamach wave-like fashion. Interestingly, our results suggest that this Schallamach wave-like motion is facilitated by free slip at the adhesive, self-contacting interface within the crease. Soft friction remains elusive due to the complication at microscales where the elastic forces are comparable to capillarity and adhesion. Glover et al. show that a moving microparticle can induce a cease at the leading front of the underlying soft surface as a result of a build-up of compressive stress.

The stability of the wrinkling mode experienced by a compressed half-space of neo-Hookean material is investigated using analytical and numerical methods to study the post-bifurcation behaviour of periodic solutions. It is shown that wrinkling is highly unstable owing to the nonlinear interaction among the multiple modes associated with the critical compressive state. Concomitantly, wrinkling is sensitive to exceedingly small initial imperfections that significantly reduce the compressive strain at which the instability occurs. The study provides insight into the connection between wrinkling and an alternative surface mode, the finite amplitude crease or sulcus. The shape of the critical combination of wrinkling modes has the form of an incipient crease, and a tiny initial imperfection can trigger a wrinkling instability that collapses into a crease.

In this study, cotton fabrics were chemically crosslinked with Chitosan–Cyanuric Chloride hybrid (Ch–Cy) in order to improve their physical–chemical properties. The effect of operational parameters (e.g., initial concentration of Ch–Cy, temperature, reaction time and pH) on the grafting process was evaluated. A high weight gain of the cotton fabrics (~ 4%) was obtained under optimum conditions at initial concentration [Ch–Cy] = 30% over weight of fabric (o.w.f.), at 50 °C, pH 4 after 3 h. The treated and untreated cotton samples were dyed with three natural dyes (i.e., cochineal, madder and weld). The dye absorption of the treated samples was improved noticeably and according to the grafted amount of Ch–Cy on the fabrics. Despite the dye adsorption enhancement, the fastness properties (washing, light, rubbing) of the dyed samples remained at acceptable level. The wrinkle recovery angle of the treated samples increased minimum 60° showing the enhancement in the crease recovery of the fabrics. The treated cotton samples also showed promising antimicrobial behavior against gram negative and gram positive bacteria. This study shows that the dye adsorption, antimicrobial and anti-creasing properties of the treated samples are enhanced by this chemical treatment without any adverse effects on their tensile strength and color fastness properties.

The work is motivated by the growing use of paperboard in eco-friendly packaging solutions, driven by its recyclability, mechanical properties, and compliance with European Union environmental regulations. This study presents a comparative analysis of the microstructure of two commercially used paperboard packaging materials: solid bleached sulfate and folding box board, using scanning electron microscopy. The investigation examines both unprocessed samples and those subjected to the creasing process, with a focus on surface morphology, fiber orientation and internal structural behavior. Cross-sectional scanning electron Microscopy imaging reveals significant differences in surface morphology. Solid bleached sulfate maintains its structural integrity more effectively, while folding box board shows higher effect of delamination, particularly at interfaces between its layers. Images of the surfaces of the folded box board showed the structure of the fibers, so a directionality analysis was performed using FIJI software. Photos of These findings highlight how material composition influences key packaging properties such as mechanical performance, printability, and recyclability. The study also reinforces the utility of scanning electron microscopy in assessing the suitability of fiber-based packaging materials, especially in the development of sustainable alternatives to plastic.

Considerable research is ongoing, examining opportunities for substituting plastic packaging with more sustainable alternatives, and some encouraging results have been achieved. Coated paper and paperboard demonstrate promising performance; however, several serious drawbacks still need to be overcome. Recent research in this area is reviewed in the current work, including mechanical and machinery aspects of paperboard converting, as well as barrier properties of coated materials before and after processing. The main objective of the study was to establish how coated paperboard behaves during converting operations and investigate what changes in its properties occur, considering not only the convertibility of the material as a whole but also effects on substrates and coatings. The results of the literature review show that creasing, folding, and the presence of forming stresses severely damage barrier and pigment coatings even if the paperboard-based product is reported as having good oxygen and water vapour barrier or oil resistance after production. Thus far, most materials cannot fully match the performance of plastic packaging materials due to a noticeable reduction in barrier properties after converting. The work presents factors linking the convertibility of coated materials and their subsequent barrier properties as valuable knowledge to support future development of sustainable materials.

A novel hierarchical sectorized neural network module for a fast direction of arrival (DoA) estimation (HSNN-DoA) of the signal received by a textile wearable antenna array (TWAA) under strong noise conditions is presented. The developed DoA module accounts for variations in antenna element gain, inter-element spacing, and resonant frequencies under the conditions of textile crumpling caused by the motion of the TWAA wearer. The proposed model consists of a sector identification phase, which aims to determine the spatial sector in which the radio gateway (RG) is currently located based on the elements of the spatial correlation matrix of the signal sampled by the TWAA, and a DoA estimation phase, which aims to accurately determine the angular position of the RG in the azimuthal plane. The architecture of the HSNN-DoA module, with different time window lengths in which angular position of RG is recorded, is investigated and compared with the DoA module based on a stand-alone MLP network and the corresponding Root-MUSIC DoA module in terms of accuracy and speed of DoA estimation under variable noise conditions.

The unsaturated permeability coefficient of granite residual soil (GRS) increases rapidly with rising moisture content, as the loss of matric suction enhances the continuity of the water phase within the soil pores. This can lead to slope instability and embankment collapse during rainfall. This study investigated the effects of wet-dry cycles on the hydraulic and microstructural evolution of GRS, introducing key innovations over prior research. First, microstructure changes were investigated using mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) tests, investigates the evolution of bimodal pore structure under cyclic wetting and drying. Second, the entire range of matric suction was comprehensively measured by integrating the pressure plate method (PPM), filter paper method (FPM), and vapor equilibrium method (VEM), capturing both low and high suction regimes comprehensively. Third, the Li model was applied to fit the bimodal SWCC across different wet-dry cycles, the unsaturated permeability coefficient was calculated using the Zhai model. The results indicate that the microstructure of GRS under different wet-dry cycles presents a clear bimodal pore size distribution (PSD), intra-aggregate pores peaked near 450 nm, while inter-aggregate pores ranged between 20,000–60,000 nm.. After six wet-dry cycles, the volume of the dominant intra-aggregate pores decreased by approximately 25%, while the larger inter-aggregate pores saw a reduction of about 15%, indicating a coarsening of the pore network. Meanwhile, there is a clear decrease in inter-aggregate pore distribution density. The combination of measurement methods can cover the entire matric suction range. The Li model is applied to fit the SWCC under different wet-dry cycles, and the correlation coefficient (R2) are all higher than 0.95. The unsaturated permeability coefficient of GRS exhibits a nonlinearly variation with saturation, in-creasing with the increase in saturation or the increase in wet-dry cycles. The unsaturated permeability coefficient of bimodal GRS was calculated based on the Zhai model and the lgk(s) and saturation can be expressed by a logarithmic function, with the correlation coefficient (R2) higher than 0.99 under different wet-dry cycles. The study contributes useful insights into the evolution of pore structure and hydraulic behavior of GRS under cyclic wetting and drying, which is important for slope stability and hydrological modeling in subtropical regions.

Citrus creasing is a physiological rind disorder. Satsuma mandarin (Citrus unshiu Marc.) is the most widely cultivated mandarin variety worldwide and exhibits a high susceptibility to creasing. To investigate the physiological mechanisms underlying creasing, satsuma mandarin trees were treated with different drought stress during fruit expansion, then the relationship between the soil water content and creasing incidence was analyzed, while also examining the rind morphology, oil gland distribution in the flavedo, antioxidant enzyme activities, hormone concentrations, cell wall components, mineral content of creasing fruit, and the impact of creasing on fruit quality. Results showed that severe water stress (35% SRWC) increased the creasing incidence rate by 28% compared to well-irrigated treatments (80% SRWC). The creasing fruit oil gland diameter reduced by 35.7% and the density increased by 149.7% compared to healthy fruits. Simultaneously, the content of H2O2 and proline elevated by 47.1% and 8.3% respectively, and the activities of SOD, POD, and CAT of the creasing rind were enhanced significantly. Additionally, the content of IAA, ZR, and MeJA decreased by 17.2%, 7.8%, and 50.2%, respectively. Cell wall components such as cellulose, hemicellulose, and protopectin content reduced by 44.6%, 31.7%, and 33.1%, while soluble pectin increased by 36.3%. Significant alterations were observed in several minerals (Al, Fe, Na, Ni, V, Ga, Zn, Ba, Sn, Hg, Sc, Y, and La). However, fruit quality remained unaffected by creasing. These results demonstrate that drought is a key factor inducing creasing. Increased oil gland density, the degradation of cell wall components, elevated oxidative stress, reductions in phytohormones, and altered mineral element content work together to contribute to rind cells’ structural instability and lead to creasing in the satsuma mandarin.

A soft solid subjected to a large compression develops sharp self-contacting folds at its free surface, known as creases. Creasing is physically different from structural elastic instabilities, like buckling or wrinkling. Indeed, it is a fully nonlinear material instability, similar to a phase-transformation. This work provides theoretical insights of the physics behind crease nucleation. Creasing is proved to occur after a global bifurcation allowing the co-existence of an outer deformation and an inner solution with localised self-contact at the free surface. The most fundamental result here is the analytic prediction of the nucleation threshold, in excellent agreement with experiments and numerical simulations. A matched asymptotic solution is given within the intermediate region between the two co-existing states. The self-contact acts like the point-wise disturbance in the Oseen’s correction for the Stokes flow past a circle. Analytic expressions of the matching solution and its range of validity are also derived. Our understanding of material instabilities in soft solids remains elusive mainly due to the mathematical challenges in capturing localised phenomena within nonlinear elastic materials. Ciarletta develops an analytical theory to describe the nucleation threshold of creases in agreement with experiments.