Properties of polyamide‐zirconia nanocomposites prepared from sol‐gel technique

Transparent nanocomposites were prepared by producing zirconia network in glassy polyamide matrix using sol‐gel technique. Different amounts of tetrapropyl zirconate (TPZ) were added in polymer solution using anhydrous dimethylformamide as solvent. TPZ was hydrolyzed and condensed in situ in the matrix for the generation of inorganic networks using diethylamine. Thin and transparent films containing different proportions of zirconia were obtained by evaporating the solvent. Mechanical, dynamic mechanical thermal and morphological analyses of these films were carried out. An increase in tensile modulus was observed with the films containing zirconia contents up to 15 wt%, but the elongation at rupture was found to decrease sharply on further addition of zirconia. Toughness of the hybrid materials decreased with increased amount of zirconia. Dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA) performed on the samples indicates an increase in the glass transition temperature; 102°C with pure polyamide to 132°C with polyamide containing 15 wt% zirconia contents. The storage modulus was also found to increase with increase in zirconia proportion in the matrix. The decrease in the storage modulus of the hybrids with rise in temperature was observed to be much smaller as compared with that of pure polymer. Thermal decomposition temperatures of the hybrids were found in the range of 450–500°C. The weights of the residues left at 700°C were nearly proportional to the zirconia contents in the original hybrids. The morphological studies suggest a uniform dispersion of zirconia domains in the matrix. POLYM. COMPOS., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Thermal and mechanical properties of aramid-based titania hybrid composites

The sol–gel process has been used to prepare various types of aramid–titania hybrid materials. Specifically, a mixture of m- and p-phenylenediamines was reacted with terephthaloyl chloride to produce linear polyamide chains in a dimethylacetamide solvent. Various proportions of tetrapropylorthotitanate (TPOT) were added, and its subsequent hydrolysis–condensation in the polymer solution produced a titania (TiO₂) network in the aramid matrix. Thin films prepared from these materials were tested for their tensile strength, which was found to decrease with increasing proportions of titania. To remedy this through chemical bonding between the matrix and the inorganic network, a slight excess of terephthaloyl chloride or 1,3,5-benzenetricarbonyl chloride was added near the end of the polymerization reaction. These aramid chains were thus end-capped with single or double carbonyl chloride groups. This allowed the chains to be further modified, with aminophenyltrimethoxysilane end caps. Chemically bonding the titania network to the aramid chains was then achieved by in situ hydrolysis–condensation of TPOT along with that of aminophenyltrimethoxysilane. In this way, thin transparent and tough films could be obtained with up to 30 wt % titania. The values of the tensile strength in the case of bonded hybrid materials increased with the addition of titania, and the polyamide system with nonlinear end groupings showed larger increases than did those with the linear chains ends. The systems with linear and nonlinear aramid chain ends were able to withstand maximum tensile stresses of the order of 193 and 246 MPa, respectively. This is presumably due to the extensive bonding between the polymeric chain ends and the inorganic phases as compared to the unbonded system. The thermal decomposition temperature of these composites was found to be in the range of 500–600°C and the overall weight loss was found to be minimized in an inert atmosphere. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 70: 297–302, 1998     

Agile practices and performance: Examining the role of psychological empowerment

This study draws on the literature on psychological empowerment to conceptualize agile practices as a source of intrinsic motivation that enables the agile teams to deliver innovative outcomes. Then, drawing on the resource based view of innovative projects, the innovative behaviour of agile teams is cast as a project capability that affects project performance. To test this original conceptualization, data was collected to find support for the hypothesized relationships between agile practices, psychological empowerment, innovative behaviour and project performance. The statistical results showed that the agile practices of team autonomy and agile communication contributed to psychological empowerment that led to the innovative behaviour of agile teams. The innovative behaviour also affected project performance. The empirical validation of agile practices as a source of empowerment and motivation for agile teams is a new finding in the literature which has strong implications for both the theory and practice.     

Crosslinking of polyamides using dianhydrides,diacid chloride and dialdehyde: a promising approach for water treatment

New crosslinked polyamides were successfully produced from the condensation of pre‐synthesized monomer, 5‐(2,2,2‐trifluoroacetamido)isophthaloylchloride (TFAIAC) and diamines at low temperature. These polyamides were used as promising metal‐chelating adsorbents due to the presence of O and N donor sites on the crosslinked polyamides. For this purpose, trifluoroacetic anhydride was used to protect the amino group of 5‐aminoisophthalic acid, thus generating 5‐(2,2,2‐trifluoroacetamido)isophthalic acid (TFAIA). TFAIA was converted into TFAIAC using oxalyl chloride, which was exploited as a suitable monomer for the synthesis of aromatic polyamides. Amino groups were then set free under basic conditions and the crosslinking was carried out through amino groups present on the polyamide chains with different dianhydrides, isophthaloyl chloride and 2,5‐thiophenedicarboxaldehyde. The synthesis of monomers and polymers was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy and molar masses of the polyamides were measured by gel permeation chromatography. The crosslinked macromolecules were found to possess enough chain alignment as depicted by their XRD patterns. The thermal stability of the crosslinked polyamides was increased as their decomposition temperatures were improved from 420 to 619 °C. Metal ion uptake was scrutinized through atomic absorption spectroscopy with 83%–85% adsorption capacity at optimized parameters, i.e. a contact time of 3 h at pH 6. The mechanism of adsorption was further investigated through the Freundlich and Langmuir adsorption isotherms. The results reveal that uptake of metal ions followed monolayer adsorption of cations owing to coordination to electronegative centers on the macromolecules, confirming the Langmuir adsorption model. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Statistical Inference of User Experience of Multichannel Audio on Mobile Phones

Mobile phones and other handheld electronic devices are now ubiquitous and play an important role in our everyday lives. Over the last decade, we have seen a sharp rise in the sophistication of both hardware and software for these devices, thus significantly increasing their utility and use. Electronic devices are now commonly used for the streaming of audio and video and for the regular playback of music. Multichannel audio has now become a popular format and with recent updates in software, the latest audio codecs that support this format can effectively be played back on most electronic devices. As a result, more audio content that is now compatible with these devices is being produced. It is important to perform subjective quality tests for multichannel audio verses traditional stereo and mono on devices like mobile phones while using headphones. This paper presents the results and analysis of such listening tests that evaluate basic audio quality and quality of experience. The results show that while multichannel audio scores higher than stereo and mono for both of these attributes, the difference in score was less for the ratings of quality of experience. The results were processed using an Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) to show the statistical significance. Calculation of the effect size showed that the audio content had little bearing on the results.     

Protective Effects of Black Cumin (Nigella sativa) and Its Bioactive Constituent,Thymoquinone against Kidney Injury: An Aspect on Pharmacological Insights

The prevalence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) is increasing worldwide, and a close association between acute kidney injury (AKI) and CKD has recently been identified. Black cumin (Nigella sativa) has been shown to be effective in treating various kidney diseases. Accumulating evidence shows that black cumin and its vital compound, thymoquinone (TQ), can protect against kidney injury caused by various xenobiotics, namely chemotherapeutic agents, heavy metals, pesticides, and other environmental chemicals. Black cumin can also protect the kidneys from ischemic shock. The mechanisms underlying the kidney protective potential of black cumin and TQ include antioxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-apoptosis, and antifibrosis which are manifested in their regulatory role in the antioxidant defense system, NF-κB signaling, caspase pathways, and TGF-β signaling. In clinical trials, black seed oil was shown to normalize blood and urine parameters and improve disease outcomes in advanced CKD patients. While black cumin and its products have shown promising kidney protective effects, information on nanoparticle-guided targeted delivery into kidney is still lacking. Moreover, the clinical evidence on this natural product is not sufficient to recommend it to CKD patients. This review provides insightful information on the pharmacological benefits of black cumin and TQ against kidney damage.     

Nitrogen dilution effect on flame stability in a lifted non-premixed turbulent hydrogen jet with coaxial air

The nitrogen dilution effect on flame stability was experimentally investigated in a lifted non-premixed turbulent hydrogen jet with coaxial air. Hydrogen gas was used as the fuel and coaxial air was injected to initiate flame liftoff. Hydrogen was injected into an axisymmetric inner nozzle (d_F = 3.65 mm) and coaxial air jetted from an axisymmetric outer nozzle (d_A = 14.1 mm). The fuel jet and coaxial air velocities were fixed at u_F = 200 m/s and u_A = 16 m/s, while the mole fraction of the nitrogen diluent gas varied from 0.0 to 0.2 with a 0.1 step. For the analysis of the flame structure and the flame stabilization mechanism, the simultaneous measurement of PIV/OH PLIF was performed. The stabilization point was in the region of the flame base with the most upstream region and was defined as the point where the turbulent flame propagation velocity was found to be balanced with the axial component of the local flow velocity. The turbulent flame propagation velocity increased as the nitrogen mixture fraction decreased. The nitrogen dilution makes the flame structure more premixed. That is, the stabilization mechanism shifts from edge flame propagation based mechanism toward premixed flame propagation based mechanism. We concluded that the turbulent flame propagation velocity was expressed as a function of the turbulent intensity and the axial strain rate, even though the mole fraction of the nitrogen diluent varied.     

QbD-driven development and evaluation of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) of Olmesartan medoxomil employing multivariate statistical techniques

Purpose: This research work entails quality by design (QbD)-based systematic development of nanostructured lipid carriers (NLCs) of Olmesartan medoxomil (OLM) with improved biopharmaceutical attributes.

Methods: Quality target product profile (QTPP) was defined and critical quality attributes (CQAs) were earmarked. Solubility of drug was performed in various lipids for screening of them. NLCs were prepared by hot-microemulsion method using solid lipids, liquid lipids and surfactants with maximal solubility. Failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) was carried out for identifying high risk formulation and process parameters. Further, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied on high risk parameters for evaluating the effect of type and concentration of lipids and surfactants on CQAs. Further, systematic optimization of critical material attributes (CMAs) was carried out using face centered cubic design and optimized formulation was identified in the design space.

Results: FMEA and PCA suggested suitability of stearic acid, oleic acid and Tween 80 as the CMAs for NLCs. Response surface optimization helped in identifying the optimized NLC formulation with particle size ～250?nm, zeta potential <25?mV, entrapment efficiency >75%, in vitro drug release >80% within 6?h. Release kinetic modeling indicated drug release through Fickian-diffusion mechanism.

Conclusions: Overall, these studies indicated successful development of NLCs using multivariate statistical approaches for improved product and process understanding.     

The progressive salination of groundwater in Beirut,Lebanon

The degradation in groundwater quality in Greater Beirut, the subject of several investigations in the past two decades, is attributable to seawater infiltration into the coastal aquifer induced by the excessive and uncontrolled groundwater utilization. The present study elucidates the increasing trend in seawater infiltration from 1971 to 1985. The brackish groundwater, generally used domestically for washing and flushing, is now creating extensive corrosion and scale‐formation problems that have to be faced by the users. At this critical stage, effective measures must be instituted that include the provision of adequate public water supplies to facilitate the control of groundwater utilization.