Sensitivity of Viscosity on Molten Ti Infusion into a B4C-Packed Bed at the Microscale

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - The effect of the surface tension–viscosity dissipation driving liquid Ti flow into a B4C packed bed was analyzed at 1941 K and 2573 K. The model...     

A general framework to study the price‐color relationship in paintings with an application to Mark Rothko rectangular series

We propose a general framework to study the relationship between the price of a painting and its color‐related attributes. To this end we focus on four key aspects: dominant colors, features of the color palette, color harmony, and color emotions. We demonstrate the usefulness of this approach with an example based on Mark Rothko's post‐1950 paintings (the “rectangular” series), and auction data from the 1994 to 2018 period. We identify two distinct price‐color regimes in Rothko's market: (a) [1994‐2005], a period in which prices are explained mainly by the growing popularity of the artist regardless of the color attributes of the paintings sold; and (b) [2006‐2018], a period in which color‐related attributes explain most of the prices. Furthermore, we find that in this second period, the dominant colors and the diversity of the color palette, are by far the most relevant attributes that influence the price; color harmony and color emotions hold almost no explanatory power during this period. Finally, we propose a new metric based on the Herfindahl Index to describe color diversity; this metric seems to be promising at characterizing the effect of the color palette on the price of a painting.     

The (Poly)Pharmacology of Cannabidiol in Neurological and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Molecular Mechanisms and Targets

Cannabidiol (CBD), the major nonpsychoactive Cannabis constituent, has been proposed for the treatment of a wide panel of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders, including anxiety, schizophrenia, epilepsy and drug addiction due to the ability of its versatile scaffold to interact with diverse molecular targets that are not restricted to the endocannabinoid system. Albeit the molecular mechanisms responsible for the therapeutic effects of CBD have yet to be fully elucidated, many efforts have been devoted in the last decades to shed light on its complex pharmacological profile. In particular, an ever-increasing number of molecular targets linked to those disorders have been identified for this phytocannabinoid, along with the modulatory effects of CBD on their cascade signaling. In this view, here we will try to provide a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the molecular basis underlying the therapeutic effects of CBD involved in the treatment of neurological and neuropsychiatric disorders.     

Phenylvinilbisquinolines as fluorescent markers in functionalized polypropylene films

Polymer Bulletin - In this work, polypropylene films (PP) and maleic anhydride graft polypropylene (PPgMA) at different concentrations of a photoluminescent dye 2,2′-(1,4-phenylenedivinylene)...     

Statistical design of sustainable composites from poly(lactic acid) and grape pomace

Biocomposites from poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and grape pomace (GP) were created via injection molding to examine the effects of GP in a PLA matrix. To optimize the mechanical performance the biocomposites were compatibilized with maleic anhydride grafted PLA (MA-g-PLA). The objective of this work was to create a model that could accurately predict the mechanical properties of GP/PLA biocomposites. A region of feasibility for the biocomposites was determined using a statistical design of experiments. Linear regression was used to model the mechanical performance and predicted results with an error of 10% for both tensile and flexural strength and 16% for impact strength. The model was verified with a biocomposite of PLA/GP/MA-g-PLA with a ratio of 62/36/2. This biocomposite had a tensile strength, flexural modulus, and impact strength of 25.8 MPa, 40.0 MPa, and 18.4 J/m, respectively. It was found that a linear model can accurately predict the mechanical properties of PLA/GP/MA-g-PLA biocomposites.     

A generalized global adaptive tracking control scheme for robot manipulators with bounded inputs

In this work, a generalized adaptive scheme for the global motion control of robot manipulators with constrained inputs is proposed. It gives rise to various families of bounded adaptive controllers defined through a general class of saturation functions. Compared with adaptive tracking control algorithms previously developed in a bounded input context, the proposed adaptive approach guarantees the motion control objective for any initial condition, avoiding discontinuities throughout the scheme, preventing the inputs to reach their natural saturation bounds, and permitting innovation on the saturating structure through its generalized form, giving a wide range of possibilities for performance improvement. Experimental results corroborate the efficiency of the proposed scheme. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mechanical and thermal characterization of as-received recycled polyethylene filled with rice husk and their relationship to the end use of these composites

ABSTRACT

Waste can be considered a crisis across the world, especially in the Global South where landfills are collapsing and vector-borne illnesses are increasing. Due to the increase in the amount of waste plastic in the environment, different uses of recycled plastics are being investigated. One such use is roofing tiles. This has been put in place in Sri Lanka through the Waste for Life organization. Here, recycled polyethylene is filled with rice husk particles. Due to the hydrophilic nature of the rice husk, the strength of the polyethylene composites decreased with increasing rice husk filler. Since the roofing tiles do not need to support a large load, the loss in strength should not be too detrimental. However, the creep behavior was improved with 10% and 20% filler. This is important in that the temperature on the roof can reach high temperatures.