Short‐Term Morphology Relaxation of Thermoplastic Polyurethane Elastomers after Fast Strain Steps

Strain steps are applied to elastomers in a pneumatic relaxometer and monitored by small‐angle X‐ray scattering (SAXS). The relaxometer provides a rise time of 13 ms for strain pulses of step height Δε = ±1 in strain. The basic character of the 2D SAXS frames is examined and corresponding invariants Q(t) are analyzed. Three thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU) of hardness 85 Shore A with different soft segments are studied both unannealed and annealed. The first response of all materials is a fast morphology conversion which finishes within t_mc =250 ms. Because it has been untraceable, it is characterized by a settling stroke Q(t_mc) ? Q(0). The second response is a slow morphology adjustment process which complies with logarithmic relaxation. It is characterized by a relaxation rate D_Q = Q(10 t)/Q(t) ? 1. Comparison indicates that the nanoscopic morphology relaxation processes appear to have little direct relation to the macroscopic stress relaxation curves. The materials differ with respect to hard‐domain morphology stability and morphology recovery. Most unstable is the morphology of the annealed polyether‐based material. It forms nanofibrillary entities when strained.     

From Spheroids to Organoids: The Next Generation of Model Systems of Human Cardiac Regeneration in a Dish

Organoids are tiny, self-organized, three-dimensional tissue cultures that are derived from the differentiation of stem cells. The growing interest in the use of organoids arises from their ability to mimic the biology and physiology of specific tissue structures in vitro. Organoids indeed represent promising systems for the in vitro modeling of tissue morphogenesis and organogenesis, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering, drug therapy testing, toxicology screening, and disease modeling. Although 2D cell cultures have been used for more than 50 years, even for their simplicity and low-cost maintenance, recent years have witnessed a steep rise in the availability of organoid model systems. Exploiting the ability of cells to re-aggregate and reconstruct the original architecture of an organ makes it possible to overcome many limitations of 2D cell culture systems. In vitro replication of the cellular micro-environment of a specific tissue leads to reproducing the molecular, biochemical, and biomechanical mechanisms that directly influence cell behavior and fate within that specific tissue. Lineage-specific self-organizing organoids have now been generated for many organs. Currently, growing cardiac organoid (cardioids) from pluripotent stem cells and cardiac stem/progenitor cells remains an open challenge due to the complexity of the spreading, differentiation, and migration of cardiac muscle and vascular layers. Here, we summarize the evolution of biological model systems from the generation of 2D spheroids to 3D organoids by focusing on the generation of cardioids based on the currently available laboratory technologies and outline their high potential for cardiovascular research.     

Effect of the sintering temperature on microstructure and properties of Al2O3–Cu–Ni hybrid composites obtained by PPS

In the present research, the influence of sintering temperature on the microstructure and properties of Al₂O₃–Cu–Ni hybrid composites prepared by the Pulse Plasma Sintering (PPS) technique were described. In this research, three temperatures have been selected: 1250°C, 1300°C, and 1350°C. SEM observations were carried out to determine the distribution of the metallic phase in the composite depending on the sintering temperature. The conducted experiments and microscopic observations enabled a better understanding of the phenomena occurring between the ceramic matrix and metallic phase in the obtained materials. The mechanical properties like a hardness and fracture toughness were measured. The technology applied allowed us to obtain ceramic-metal composites with a homogeneous microstructure. It was found that the sintering temperature influences the selected physical and mechanical properties of the composites produced. It was found that samples produced at 1300°C are characterized by the highest relative density and the mechanical properties.     

Nutrient balance of shifting cultivation by burning or mulching in the Eastern Amazon – evidence for subsoil nutrient accumulation

For over a hundred years shifting cultivation with slash-and-burn land preparation has been the predominant type of land use by smallholders in the Bragantina region of the Brazilian Eastern Amazon. This study contrasts the nutrient balance of slash-and-burn agriculture with a fire-free cultivation. Therefore, one half of a 3.5-year-old (28.7 t DM ha^–1) and a 7-year-old woody fallow vegetation (46.5 t DM ha^–1) was burnt and the other half mulched, leaving the biomass as a surface residue. Subsequently, a sequence of maize, beans and cassava was cropped for 1.5 year. Burning the 3.5- and 7-year-old fallow removed 97 and 94% of the C, 98 and 96% of the N, 90 and 63% of the P-stocks, and between 45 and 70% of the cations K, Mg and Ca of the aboveground biomass by volatilization or ash-particle transfer. These losses were avoided with the slash-and-mulch land preparation. Mulching did not increase the losses of nutrients by leaching, despite the high amount of rapidly decomposing surface mulch. Also the length of preceding fallow had no significant influence on leaching losses. At a depth of 3 m, leached nutrients were quantitatively negligible in both treatments. Comparing the nutrient fluxes at soil depths of 0.9 m, 1.8 m and 3 m, the amounts of all mobile nutrients, and also of chloride and sodium were markedly reduced during percolation and must have been retained. It is likely that nutrient retention in the subsoil layer is only temporary, emphasizing the need for a rapid re-establishment of the naturally deep-rooting secondary vegetation after abandonment of sites to enable uptake of these nutrients. The overall nutrient balance was highly negative for slash-and-burn. 291 and 403 kg N ha^–1, 21 and 18 kg P ha^–1, and 70 and 132 kg K ha^–1 were removed from the burnt plots with a preceding fallow of 3.5 and 7 years, respectively. A reduced fallow period (3.5 years), which is a common trend in the region, resulted in a higher mean annual rate of nutrient loss averaged over the duration of the cycle than a fallow period of 7 years. Eliminating the burning losses by mulching brought the agricultural system back to an equilibrated or even slightly positive nutrient balance, even after a reduced fallow period. Thus, slash-and-mulch is a viable alternative to maintain agricultural productivity and ecosystem functioning.     

In Situ EXAFS Study on the Chemical State of Arsenic Deposited on a NiMoP/Al2O3 Hydrotreating Catalyst

The chemical state of arsenic deposited on a NiMoP/Al₂O₃ hydrotreating catalyst exposed to ppb levels of arsenic over several years in a refinery reactor has been studied by in situ EXAFS. In the as-received As-NiMoP catalyst, arsenic is exclusively coordinated to oxygen atoms. Upon sulfiding the sample in 2%H₂S/2%H₂/96%He, the As atoms become surrounded by approximately two sulfur atoms. No evidence was found for Ni–As bond formation. A possible model for the As local environment is suggested on the basis of combined EXAFS results, STM data and FEFF8.0 simulations (program for ab initio calculations on multiple scattering XAFS and XANES). The FEFF8.0 simulations of the proposed model are in accord with the experimental data measured at the As K edge. In this model, an As atom is located at the edge of a hexagonally truncated Ni-MoS₂ slab and is blocking the active NiMoS site.     

Light metal compound casting

‘Compound casting’simplifies joining processes by directly casting a metallic melt onto a solid metal substrate. A continuously metallurgic transition is very important for industrial applications, such as joint structures of spaceframe constructions in transport industry. In this project, ‘compound casting’ of light metals is investigated, aiming at weight-saving. The substrate used is a wrought aluminium alloy of type AA5xxx, containing magnesium as main alloying element. The melts are aluminium alloys, containing various alloying elements (Cu, Si, Zn), and magnesium. By replacing the natural oxygen layer with a zinc layer, the inherent wetting difficulties were avoided, and compounds with flawless interfaces were successfully produced (no contraction defects, cracks or oxides). Electron microscopy and EDX investigations as well as optical micrographs of the interfacial areas revealed their continu- ously metallic constitution. Diffusion of alloying elements leads to heat-treatable microstructures in the vicinity of the joining interfaces in Al-Al couples. This permits significant variability of mechanical properties. Without significantly cutting down on wettability, the formation of low-melting intermetallic phases (Al3Mg2 and Al12Mg17 IMPs) at the interface of Al-Mg couples was avoided by applying a protective coating to the substrate.     

Deformation-mediated superstructures and cavitation of poly (l-lactide): In-situ small-angle X-ray scattering study

Cavitation and superstructure evolution of polymers during stretching play crucial roles to influence the mechanical properties of materials. In this study, we investigated deformation-mediated superstructures and cavitation of poly (l-lactide) (PLA) as well as their dependence on stretching temperatures by in-situ small-angle X-ray (SAXS) analysis coupled with mechanical testing. It is found that the cavitation and crystalline deformation are strongly influenced by stretching stress during deformation, which significantly depends on the stretching temperature. At lower stretching temperature (70 °C), the cavitation is initiated before the yielding and then stimulates the crystallite shearing. At higher stretching temperature (90 °C), however, the crystallites shear firstly and then crystalline deformation promotes the formation of cavities orientated along the stretching direction. High stretching temperature benefits the formation of relatively perfect crystals with high orientation. The results provide the basic knowledge of how to adjust the mechanical properties of polymer materials by controlling their superstructure in the deformation process.     

Start-up phase of the HELOKA-LP low pressure helium test facility for IFMIF irradiation modules

As part of the Engineering Validation and Engineering Design Activities (EVEDA) for the International Fusion Materials Irradiation Facility (IFMIF) [1], it is foreseen to design and test a 1:1 scale prototype of the IFMIF High Flux Test Module (HFTM) [2]. The module has been designed to be cooled by a low pressure helium gas flowing through minichannels to remove the nuclear heat.The Helium Loop Karlsruhe-Low Pressure (HELOKA-LP) has been designed to provide coolant at 1:1 HFTM operational conditions: massflow 12–120 g/s, inlet pressure 0.3–0.6 MPa, inlet temperature RT – 250 °C. A secondary objective is to use the experience gained with HELOKA-LP for the planning of the IFMIF helium cooling system.The facility has been put into operation in 2009, and has since then been in a test and optimization phase. It was proven, that the above mentioned requirements for the facility are achieved. The paper describes the process layout and components of the facility. The performance is characterized by the results of several steady state and transient benchmark tests. Typical start-up and transition times relevant for the operation mode in the IFMIF irradiation campaigns are obtained. Additionally first results on the impurity ingress and the cooling gas chemistry are described.     

Atomic RMI: A Distributed Transactional Memory Framework

This paper presents Atomic RMI, a distributed transactional memory framework that supports the control flow model of execution. Atomic RMI extends Java RMI with distributed transactions that can run on many Java virtual machines located on different network nodes. Our system employs SVA, a fully-pessimistic concurrency control algorithm that provides exclusive access to shared objects and supports rollback and fault tolerance. SVA is capable of achieving a relatively high level of parallelism by interweaving transactions that access the same objects and by making transactions that do not share objects independent of one another. It also allows any operations within transactions, including irrevocable ones, like system calls, and provides an unobtrusive API. Our evaluation shows that in most cases Atomic RMI performs better than fine grained mutual-exclusion and read/write locking mechanisms. Atomic RMI also performs better than an optimistic transactional memory in environments with high contention and a high ratio of write operations, while being competitive otherwise.