Informe del Decimoséptimo Período de Sesiones del Comité Plenario = Report of the Seventeenth Session of the Committee of the Whole = Rapport de la Dix-septième Session du Comité Plénier

El proyecto de informe fue publicado con el símbolo E/CEPAL/PLEN.17/L.5

Informe del Decimoctavo Período de Sesiones del Comité Plenario = Report of the Eighteenth Session of the Committee of the Whole = Rapport de la Dix-huitième Session du Comité Plénier

Presenta la organizacion y resumen de los debates de la reunion que tuvo por objetivo examinar aquellos aspectos de las politicas de desarrollo economico y social de largo plazo que constituirian las orientaciones necesarias para responder a la actual crisis y a las transformaciones que la economia internacional plantea a los paises de la region.

Informe del Decimonoveno Período de Sesiones del Comité Plenario = Report of the Nineteenth Session of the Committee of the Whole = Rapport de la Dix-neuviéme Session du Comité Plénier

Contiene asistencia, organizacion de los trabajos y resumen de los debates sobre los temas: estudio a fondo de la estructura intergubernamental de las Naciones Unidas y de sus funciones en las esferas economica y social - contribucion de la CEPAL, y manejo de la crisis economica. Incluye resolucion 489 (PLEN.19) e informe del 13. periodo de sesiones del CEGAN.

Informe del Vigésimo Período de Sesiones del Comité Plenario = Report of the Committee of the Whole = Rapport de la Vingtième Session du Comité Plénier

Contiene la organización de los trabajos y resumen de los debates sobre la evolución de las economías de la región posterior al 22 período de sesiones de CEPAL, y la preparación de la nueva Estrategia Internacional de Desarrollo (EID) para el Cuarto Decenio de las Naciones Unidas para el Desarrollo.

Mechanical properties of vulcanized natural rubber nanocomposites containing functional ceramic nanoparticles

Rubber nanocomposites containing different concentrations of ferroelectric and paramagnetic nanoparticles were fabricated. Nanostructures of ferroelectric potassium strontium niobate and paramagnetic nickel-zinc ferrite were synthesized using a modified polyol method. The nanoparticle characterization was carried out by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, showing that the materials were produced with nanometer dimensions, specific crystallinity and microstrain. Mechanical tests such as hardness type Shore A, stress-strain and compression resistance were performed. They showed that increasing the concentration of nanoparticles enhance the rigidity of vulcanized films of natural rubber and this change is more pronounce for the nanocomposites formed with ferrite nanoparticles, likely due to the effect of its morphological and surface properties. © 2013 by American Scientific Publishers.

Simple green approach to reinforce natural rubber with bacterial cellulose nanofibers

Natural rubber (NR) is a renewable polymer with a wide range of applications, which is constantly tailored, further increasing its utilizations. The tensile strength is one of its most important properties susceptible of being enhanced by the simple incorporation of nanofibers. The preparation and characterization of natural-rubber based nanocomposites reinforced with bacterial cellulose (BC) and bacterial cellulose coated with polystyrene (BCPS), yielded high performance materials. The nanocomposites were prepared by a simple and green process, and characterized by tensile tests, dynamical mechanical analysis (DMA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and swelling experiments. The effect of the nanofiber content on morphology, static, and dynamic mechanical properties was also investigated. The results showed an increase in the mechanical properties, such as Young's modulus and tensile strength, even with modest nanofiber loadings. © 2013 American Chemical Society.

Studies on thermal-oxidative degradation behaviours of raw natural rubber: PRI and thermogravimetry analysis

Thermal-oxidative degradation behaviours of raw natural rubber (NR) have been investigated by using thermogravimetry analysis in inert and oxidative atmospheres and the plasticity retention index (PRI). The activation energy E a, was calculated using Horowitz-Metzger and Coats-Redfern methods and compared with PRI. The E a values obtained by each method were in good agreement with each other. The June samples are the least stable rubbers among the studied ones, whereas February samples exhibited the highest values of activation energy, therefore in agreement with the PRI behaviour, which indicates that the thermo-oxidative stability of the June samples are the poorest during the thermo-oxidative degradation reaction. Natural rubber is a product of biological origin, and thus these variations in the values of thermal behaviour and PRI might be related to the genetic differences and alterations of climatic conditions that act directly on the synthesis of non-rubber constituents, which are generally reflected in latex and rubber properties. © 2013 Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining.

Characterization of natural rubber/gold nanoparticles SERS-active substrate

Natural rubber/gold nanoparticles membranes (NR/Au) were studied by ultrasensitive detection and chemical analysis through surface-enhanced Raman scattering and surface-enhanced resonance Raman scattering in our previous work (Cabrera et al., J. Raman Spectrosc. 2012, 43, 474). This article describes the studies of thermal stability and mechanical properties of SERS-active substrate sensors. The composites were prepared using NR membranes obtained by casting the latex solution as an active support (reducing/establishing agents) for the incorporation of colloidal gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The nanoparticles were synthesized by in situ reduction at different times. The characterization of these sensors was carried out by thermogravimetry, differential scanning calorimetry, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) microscopy, and tensile tests. It is suggested an influence of nanoparticles reduction time on the thermal degradation of NR. There is an increase in thermal stability without changing the chemical properties of the polymer. For the mechanical properties, the tensile rupture was enhanced with the increase in the amount of nanoparticles incorporated in the material. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.