Synthesis of calcium peroxide nanoparticles as an innovative reagent for in situ chemical oxidation

Chemical oxidation is one of the many different methods of site remediation that has emerged lately as an alternative method to traditional techniques. According to this research calcium peroxide is suitable choice for contaminant biodegradation in soil and ground water but speed of oxidation reaction between calcium peroxide and contaminant is slow. Synthesis of calcium peroxide in nano size by increased ratio of surface to volume can increase the speed of reaction and solve the problem. We have developed a simple surface modification technique to avoid irreversible agglomeration of calcium peroxide nanoparticles. The technique is based on hydrolysis-precipitation procedure, using CaCl₂ as a precursor. Polyethylene glycol 200 (PEG200) is used as a surface modifier. CaO₂ was identified and studied by characterization techniques, including XRD and TEM. The results indicate the ability of this method for synthesis of new reagent in nano size and improve quality of in situ chemical oxidation. Size determination by TEM image indicates the size of calcium peroxide nanoparticles approximately 15-25 nm.     

Damage behaviour of laminated composites during fatigue loading

This study deals with the modelling of damage evolution in the carbon/epoxy laminated composites under static and fatigue loading. A cumulative damage model is developed on the basis of damage evolution due to static and fatigue during cyclic loading. A continuum damage mechanics (CDM)‐based damage model coupling with the micromechanics has been utilized to predict the fatigue behaviour of laminate composites. A multicriterion approach has been introduced to predict the damage behaviour in the longitudinal, transverse, and shear direction at the ply scale. Extensive experimental results on T300/EPL1012 carbon/epoxy laminates are prepared to characterize under static and fatigue loading and to evaluate the proposed model in different conditions. The obtained results show that at the beginning of the cyclic loading, the damage grows suddenly and increases until final failure, which justifies the proposed method is able to predict the evolution of the damage due to static and fatigue loading separately during cyclic loading. The obtained results show that considering damage due to static loading leads to more accurate results, particularly in low‐cycle fatigue.     

Isothermal aging effect on the microstructure and dry sliding wear behavior of Co–28Cr–5Mo–0.3C alloy

In this study, an attempt to investigate the role of isothermal aging on the microstructure and dry sliding wear behavior of Co–28Cr–5Mo–0.3C alloy was made. Regarding the results, it is clear that isothermal aging at 850 °C for 8 and 16 h contributed to the formation of lamellar type carbides (γ-fcc + M₂₃C₆) at the grain boundary regions. Moreover, at higher aging times (24 h), the lamellar type carbides decreased whereas severe precipitation of carbides was found to occur on the stacking faults. Furthermore, according to X-ray diffraction results, 24 h isothermal aging of solution treated specimens did not lead to complete fcc → hcp transformation. The wear properties of as-cast and heat treated samples were determined at 0.5 ms⁻¹ speed several under normal applied loads such as 50, 80, and 110 N. At the lowest load applied (50 N), isothermally aged specimens for 8 and 16 h have higher wear resistance probably due to more volume fraction of lamellar-type carbides when compared to as-cast for both 4 and 24 h aged specimens. But, at higher applied loads (80 and 110 N) due to the formation of adhesive oxide layer on the as-cast specimen surface, the wear rate of as-cast samples is lower compared with all heat treated specimens.     

Iron-deficiency anemia among children in southwest Iran

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency is a major health problem worldwide and especially in developing countries. Iron-deficiency anemia has adverse effects on the development of children. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia in children under 5 years of age in southwest Iran. The study also sought to investigate the association between socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, and nutritional factors and iron-deficiency anemia in the selected area. METHODS: A randomized, cross-sectional study was performed of children 6 to 59 months of age living in urban and rural areas of Ahwaz District in Khuzestan Province. At eight randomly selected health centers, the children's height (or length) and weight were measured, and information on length and weight at birth was obtained from growth charts. Blood samples were taken from 337 randomly selected children. RESULTS: The results showed that 43.9% of the children had anemia and 29.1% iron-deficiency anemia. The highest prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia was in the 12- to 24-month age group. In the urban areas, infants 6 to 11 months of age had the highest prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of iron-deficiency anemia among children in southwest Iran indicates a major nutrition and health problem.     

Improved Dissolution of Indomethacin in Coprecipitates with Phospholipids-I

Indomethacin powders were blended with phospholipids to prepare physical mixtures or made into solid dispersions by the solvent method and their comparative dissolution profiles were studied. Indomethacin exhibited significantly improved dissolution rates in phospholipid coprecipitates compared to either the physical mixtures or the pure indomethacin. The coprecipitates of lecithin-indomethacin 1:16 weight ratio had a 6.5 fold greater initial dissolution rate, and the total amount dissolved after 60 minutes was 140% greater compared to indomethacin alone. Increasing the lecithin content to 1:4 resulted in only a modest additional increase in the initial dissolution rate (40%) and the limiting concentration (14%)     

Using the TPS method for determining the thermal properties of concrete and wood at elevated temperature

The transient plane source (TPS) method is shown to be very promising for determining thermal properties of materials at room temperature as well as temperatures up to 700°C. To investigate the applicability of the method it has been used in the study for determining thermal properties of wood (spruce) and concrete. Conductivity (λ) and diffusivity (α) were determined simultaneously. The thermal properties thus obtained have been compared with some values found in literature. The paper also presents results where calculations using properties obtained with the TPS method are compared with fire test measurements. The results are very encouraging. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Design and in Vitro Evaluation of a Controlled Release Drug Delivery System of Sulfasomidine

A controlled release oral drug delivery system of Sulfasomidine was developed by spray congealing micropelleting technique using gelatin as the embedding matrix. The pellets were hardened by treating with Formalin-Isopropanol mixture. The in vitro release rate studies of Sulfasomidine from the micropelleted dosage form, revealed that the drug release can be prolonged upto eight hours and not more than 39% of the embedded drug released in the first hour of the in vitro dissolution study. The in vitro release patterns correlated with the reported in vivo studies. The method of formulation was optimized.     

The effect of magnesium on bioactivity,rheology and biology behaviors of injectable bioactive glass-gelatin-3-glycidyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane nanocomposite-paste for small bone defects repair

Injectable bioactive glass-based pastes represent promising biomaterials to fill small bone defects thus improving and speed up the self-healing process. Accordingly, injectable nanocomposite pastes based on bioactive glass-gelatin-3-glycidyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane (GPTMS) were here synthesized via two different glasses 64SiO₂. 27CaO. 4MgO. 5P₂O₅ (mol.%) and 64SiO₂.31CaO. 5P₂O₅ (mol.%). In particular, the effects of MgO on bioactivity, rheology, injectability, disintegration resistance, compressive strength and cellular behaviors were investigated. The results showed that the disintegration resistance and compressive strength of the composite were improved by the replacement of MgO; thus, leading to an increase in the amount of storage modulus (G′) from 26800 to 43400 Pa, equal to an increase in the viscosity of the paste from 136 × 10³ to 219 × 10³ Pa s. Since the release rate of ions became more controllable, the formation of calcite was decreased after immersion of the Mg bearing samples in the SBF solution. Specimens’ cytocompatibility was firstly verified towards human osteoblasts by metabolic assay as well as visually confirmed by the fluorescent live/dead staining; finally, the ability of human fibroblasts to penetrate within the pores of 3D composites was verified by a migration assay simulating the devices repopulation upon injection in the injured site.     

Experimental studies on the development of a cast film

The cast film process is of significant industrial interest. This work presents quantitative experimental results for the characterization of a film casting operation in the region between the die exit and the chill roll. The polymer melt employed is a commercial PET sample that has been characterized in both shear and extension‐dominated flows. Pointwise measurements of both the film temperature and the local velocity are made over the entire region between the die and the chill roll. The velocity increases in the gap, although the strain rate decreases as the polymer moves from the die to the chill roll. For a particular axial position, the velocity decreases significantly near the edges of the film. There are modest (～20 °C) decreases in the temperature between the die and the chill roll, with the greatest variations again occurring near the edges of the film. The experimental results are explained by the coupling between the temperature, velocity fields, and geometry of the experimental apparatus. POLYM. ENG. SCI. 45:443–450, 2005. © 2005 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Preparation of silicone oil nanoemulsion softeners using different surfactants and their effect on physical characteristics of polyester fabric

Silicone oil nanoemulsion softeners with different particle sizes can be prepared using different surfactants with various ratios aminosilicone oil, surfactants concentration and time of mixing. The silicone oil nanoemulsion softeners could penetrate well into the polyester fibers; therefore, they can induce desirable physicochemical properties in the fabric. In current study, we first prepared silicone oil nanoemulsion softeners by designing via DOE software and with different particle sizes using nonyl phenol, octyl phenyl ether and fatty alcohol surfactants, and we investigated them using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and transmission electron microscope (TEM) techniques. In DOE software, the effect of various independent variables of emulsification process such as surfactant type, oil weight fraction, surfactant concentration and time of mixing on dependent variables were studied including particle size, z-average and width. Then, we examined the physical characteristics of polyester fabric by applying silicone oil macro, micro and nanoemulsion softeners. The treated fabrics with these softeners were compared with each other through the physical properties. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis showed the polyester fabric treated with silicone nanoemulsion softeners appeared to have smoother fiber surface. To prove the penetration of silicone particles into the fabric fibers, a cross section was taken from the cross section of polyester fabric by microtome in liquid nitrogen. The TEM images from cross section of fabrics treated with the silicone oil nanoemulsion softeners confirmed that the nanoparticles had penetrated well into the polyester fibers; therefore, they could induce desirable physicochemical properties in the fabric.