Piezoelectric properties of PVDF-conjugated polymer nanofibers

This study presents the development and characterization of PVDF-conjugated polymer nanofiber-based systems. Five different conducting polymers (CPs) were synthesized successfully and used to create the nanofiber systems. The CPs used are polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPY), polyindole (PIN), polyanthranilic acid (PANA), and polycarbazole (PCZ). Nanofiber systems were produced utilizing the Forcespinning® technique. The nanofiber systems were developed by mechanical stretching. No electrical field or post-process poling was used in the nanofiber systems. The morphology, structure, electrochemical and piezoelectric performance was characterized. All of the nanofiber PVDF/CP systems displayed higher piezoelectric performance than the fine fiber PVDF systems. The PVDF/PPY nanofiber system displays the highest piezoelectric performance of 15.56 V. The piezoelectric performance of the PVDF/CP nanofiber systems favors potential for an attractive source of energy where highly flexible membranes could be used in power actuators, sensors and portable, and wireless devices to mention some.     

Influence of the dispersion of Nanoclays on the cellular structure of foams based on polystyrene

In the present work blends of polystyrene (PS) with sepiolites have been produced using a melt extrusion process. The dispersion degree of the sepiolites in the PS has been analyzed by dynamic shear rheology and X-ray micro-computed tomography. Sepiolites treated with quaternary ammonium salts (O-QASEP) are better dispersed in the PS matrix than natural sepiolites (N-SEP) or sepiolites organo-modified with silane groups (O-SGSEP). A percolated network is obtained when using 6.0 wt% of O-QASEP, 8.0 wt% of N-SEP and 10.0 wt% of O-SGSEP. It has been shown that multiple extrusion processes have a negative effect on the polymer architecture. They produce a reduction in the length of the polymeric chains, and they do not lead to a better dispersion of the particles in the polymer matrix. Foams have been produced using a gas dissolution foaming process, where a strong effect of the dispersion degree on the cellular structure of the different foams was found. The effects on the cellular structure obtained by using different types of sepiolites, different contents of sepiolites and different extrusion conditions have been analyzed. The foams produced with the formulations containing O-QASEP present the lowest cell size and the most homogeneous cellular structures.     

FOS: a low-power cache organization for multicores

The Journal of Supercomputing - The cache hierarchy of current multicore processors typically consists of one or two levels of private caches per core and a large shared last-level cache. This...     

Flow Cytometry: From Experimental Design to Its Application in the Diagnosis and Monitoring of Respiratory Diseases

Recent advances in the field of flow cytometry (FCM) have highlighted the importance of incorporating it as a basic analysis tool in laboratories. FCM not only allows the identification of cell subpopulations by detecting the expression of molecules in the cell membrane or cytoplasm, but it can also quantify and identify soluble molecules. The proper functioning of the FCM requires six fundamental systems, from those related to the transport of events to the systems dedicated to the analysis of information. In this review, we have identified the main considerations that every FCM user must know for an optimal antibody panel design, the quality systems that must govern the FCM protocols to guarantee reproducible results in research or clinical laboratories. Finally, we have introduced the current evidence that highlights the relevance of FCM in the investigation and clinical diagnosis of respiratory diseases, establishing important advances in the basic and clinical study of diseases as old as Tuberculosis along with the recent proposals for the monitoring and classification of patients infected with the new SARS-CoV2 virus.     

Protective nature of nano-TiN coatings shaped by EPD on Ti substrates

The hardness and corrosion resistance of TiN coatings, processed by Electrophoretic Deposition (EPD) to cover polished and unpolished Ti substrates, have been evaluated. A deposition time of 5 min has been enough to obtain a cohesive layer of 7–8 μm in thickness. The coatings were thermally treated in vacuum atmosphere at 1200 °C for 1 h with heating and cooling rates of 5 °C min^?1. The surfaces have been covered homogeneously optimizing the properties of the Ti substrates. Uniform and dense TiN coatings have been obtained onto polished substrates, while on unpolished Ti the nitrogen diffuses toward the substrate, moderately dissolving TiN coating. The nanohardness values of the polished samples have been increased from 2.8–4.8 GPa up to 6.5–8.5 GPa. Besides, the corrosion current density has been reduced more than one order of magnitude obtaining a protective efficiency of 82%. These values have been compared with other works in literature where authors used complex and costly processing techniques, demonstrating the strong impact of the colloidal processing over the specific properties of the material.     

A Finite-Element Approach for the Partitioning of Carbon in Q&P Steel

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - This paper reports a Galerkin finite-element analysis of carbon partitioning from martensite into austenite during the quenching and partitioning...     

Metallocenyl 7-ACA Conjugates: Antibacterial Activity Studies and Atomic-Resolution X-ray Crystal Structure with CTX-M β-Lactamase

The conjugation of organometallic groups to current β-lactam antibiotics is a field of increasing study due to the ability of certain organometallic groups to enhance the antibiotic potency of these drugs. Herein, we report the antibacterial properties of two metallocenyl (ferrocenyl and ruthenocenyl) 7-aminocephalosporanic acid (7-ACA) antibiotic conjugates. Continuing a trend we found in our previous studies, the ruthenocenyl conjugate showed greater antibacterial activity than its ferrocenyl counterpart. Compared with the previously published 7-aminodesacetoxycephalosporanic acid (7-ADCA) conjugates, the 3-acetyloxymethyl group significantly improved the compounds’ activity. Furthermore, the Rc-7-ACA compound was more active against clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates than the ampicillin reference. Noticeably, neither of the two new compounds showed an undesirable toxic effect in HeLa and L929 cells at the concentrations at which they displayed strong antibacterial effects. The antibacterial activity of the two metallocenyl 7-ACA derivatives was further confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). SEM micrographs showed that bacteria treated with metallocenyl 7-ACA derivatives feature cell wall damage and morphology changes. Using a CTX-M-14 β-lactamase competition assay based on nitrocefin hydrolysis, we showed that the Rc-7-ACA bound more favorably to CTX-M-14 than its ferrocenyl counterpart, again confirming the superiority of the ruthenocenyl moiety over the ferrocenyl one in interacting with proteins. We also report a 1.47 Å resolution crystal structure of Rc-7-ACA in complex with the CTX-M-14 E166A mutant, an enzyme sharing a similar active site configuration with penicillin-binding proteins, the molecular target of β-lactam antibiotics. These results strengthen the case for the antibacterial utility of the Rc and Fc groups.