Investigations on matrix network characteristics in NBR/silica nanocomposites: Resolving matrix bulk density and network molecular weight and their alterations due to filler‐curing agent interactions

Presence of filler in an elastomeric composite can affect curing characteristics due to possible interaction with curing agents. Alteration of the curing characteristics can change intrinsic properties of elastomer including its bulk density and swelling behavior. In this study, a series of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (NBR) with various curing levels was prepared. From the experimental data the bulk density and network molecular weight (M_c,sw) were specified and a relationship was established between these parameters. In order to determine the swelling characteristics of NBR in presence of filler, another series of NBR/silica nanocomposites was prepared with various nanosilica loadings under a constant content of curing agents and curing conditions. With the use of the swelling data and applying the obtained relationship, the M_c,sw and bulk density of the filled NBR matrix were resolved. The M_c,sw values obtained by considering the influence of nanosilica on curing characteristics of NBR were compared with those obtained simply based on bulk density of raw rubber. This comparison confirmed that there are considerable differences between these values. With increasing nanosilica contents, and hence, increasing the negative impact of the filler on reducing curing degree of NBR, the bulk density of filled NBR matrix was decreased. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46170.     

Temperature dependency of gas barrier properties of biodegradable PP/PLA/nanoclay films: Experimental analyses with a molecular dynamics simulation approach

Polypropylene (PP)/poly(lactic acid) (PLA)/clay nanocomposite films with various compositions (PP‐rich and PLA‐rich) were prepared. Their structural and barrier properties against CO₂, O₂, and N₂ were investigated. The microstructure of the nanocomposites was studied by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and wide angle X‐ray scattering. The PP‐rich with 75/25 composition revealed the best barrier properties against all the gases which could be justified according to its microstructure. Selectivity of O₂/N₂ and CO₂/N₂ was also measured. It was found that the addition of nanoclay as a gas barrier component reduced the permeability in both systems. The permselectivity was also reduced in the PP‐rich films while it was increased in the PLA‐rich system. Moreover, the temperature dependency of permeability, selectivity, and permselectivity for PP, PLA, and PP/PLA (75/25) samples was examined. The results showed that the temperature dependence of permeability obeyed an Arrhenius equation and order of activation energy of permeability for O₂, CO₂, and N₂ gases was found to be E_P < E_P/PLA < E_PLA. According to solubility measurements, the order of solubility coefficient for gases was as follows: CO₂ > O₂ > N₂. Finally, the molecular dynamics (MD) simulation was performed to estimate the diffusivity coefficients of the gases and showed that solubility increases with increasing temperature, which was in accordance with the experiments. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018 , 135, 46665.     

Physical,morphological, and biological studies on PLA/nHA composite nanofibrous webs containing Equisetum arvense herbal extract for bone tissue engineering

A series of herbal extract incorporated into poly(lactic acid) (PLA) composite nanofibrous scaffolds were successfully prepared by using electrospinning technique. Equisetum arvense extract (EE) and nanohydroxyapatite (nHA) in different quantities were loaded into PLA solution to fabricate composite nanofibrous webs under various electrospinning conditions. Uniform nanofibers were obtained with an average diameter of 157 ± 47 nm in the case of those containing the herbal extract. Characterization of the webs was carried out by means of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, field emission‐scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX), and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) techniques. Mechanical properties, porosity, and contact angle of the prepared webs were also determined. Releasing behavior was investigated in phosphate buffer solution (pH 7.2) medium. Moreover, cell studies and osteogenic capacity were assessed in vitro using human adipose tissue‐derived mesenchymal stem cell (AT‐MSC). Evaluations of cell attachment, spreading, and proliferation of AT‐MSC were done by SEM observation and thiazolyl blue (MTT) assay. Osteogenic differentiation capability of AT‐MSC on the nanofibrous webs was analyzed by alkaline phosphatase activity and calcium content assay. It was found that with the addition of nHA and EE to PLA nanofibrous webs, their surface hydrophobicity was reduced while the tensile strength and Young's modulus were increased satisfactorily. Regarding the samples containing EE and nHA, cellular adhesion was observed with flattened normal morphology. Osteogenic differentiation of AT‐MSC on PLA/nHA/EE webs showed the highest mineralization capacity after 3 weeks which, was about 1.8 and 3 times higher than that of PLA/nHA and tissue culture polystyrene as control, respectively. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 45343.     

High‐performance carboxylate superplasticizers for concretes: Interplay between the polymerization temperature and properties

Polycarboxylate superplasticizers based on acrylic acid (AA) and maleic anhydride (MAn) were synthesized via free‐radical copolymerization with an ethylene glycol monomer and characterized. The copolymerization temperature (ranging from 50 to 90 °C) appeared to be the key operating factor governing the chemical structure of the superplasticizers. The chemical structures of the products were analyzed by gel permeation chromatography, whereas an optimized sample was further analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and ¹H‐NMR. Superplasticizers of the AA and MAn classes were then incorporated into concrete, and their performances were measured by slump and slump loss tests, where a large dependency of the microstructure on the synthesis temperature was recognized. The optimum temperatures were found to be 50 and 80 °C for the AA and MAn modifiers, respectively. At their own optimum temperatures, the AA and MAn superplasticizer revealed slump losses from 23 to 4 cm and 15 to 5 cm, respectively, after 45 min. The chemical structures of the plasticizers were patterned illustratively to speculate the performance of each superplasticizer according to changes that took place in the backbone length and side‐chain density. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017 , 134, 44908.     

Microstructures and mechanical properties of friction stir welded dissimilar steel-copper joints

Welding dissimilar metals by fusion welding is challenging. It results in welding defects. Friction stir welding (FSW) as a solid-state joining method can overcome these problems. In this study, 304L stainless steel was joined to copper by FSW. The optimal values of the welding parameters traverse speed, rotational speed, and tilt angle were obtained through Response surface methodology (RSM). Under optimal welding conditions, the effects of welding pass number on the microstructures and mechanical properties of the welded joints were investigated. Results indicated that appropriate values of FSW parameters could be obtained by RSM and grain size refinement during FSW mainly affected the hardness in the weld regions. Furthermore, the heat from the FSW tool increased the grain size in the Heat-affected zones (HAZs), especially on the copper side. Therefore, the strength and ductility decreased as the welding pass number increased because of grain size enhancement in the HAZs as the welding pass number increased.     

Three-Dimensional Chaotic Autonomous System with a Circular Equilibrium: Analysis,Circuit Implementation and Its Fractional-Order Form

A three-dimensional autonomous chaotic system with a circular equilibrium is investigated in this paper. Some dynamical properties and behaviors of this system are described in terms of equilibria, eigenvalue structures, bifurcation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents, time series and phase portraits. For specific parameters, the system displays periodic and chaotic attractors. The physical existence of the chaotic behavior found in the proposed system is verified by using the Orcad-PSpice software and experimental verification. A good qualitative agreement is shown between the experimental results, PSpice and numerical simulations. Furthermore, the commensurate fractional-order version of the system with a circular equilibrium is numerically studied. It is found that chaos exists in this system with order less than three. By tuning the commensurate fractional order, the system with a circular equilibrium displays chaotic and periodic attractors, respectively. Finally, chaos synchronization of identical fractional-order chaotic systems with a circular equilibrium is achieved by using the unidirectional linear error feedback coupling. It is shown that the fractional-order chaotic system can achieve synchronization for appropriate coupling strength.     

Neonatal catecholamine content of adrenal and extra-adrenal chromaffin tissue after prenatal exposure to dexamethasone

BACKGROUND: We hypothesize that serum levels of the soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (s-ICAM-1) in patients with cervical cancer are significantly higher than that in healthy donors and this is examined in vivo, and in vitro. METHODS: We measured the serum levels of the s-ICAM-1 in patients with cervical cancer. Furthermore, in vitro, we examined the relationship between the expression of ICAM-1 on the cell surface of cultured cervical cancer cells and the s-ICAM-1 levels in the spent media. RESULTS: The mean+/-s.d. in the patients with cervical cancer 884.4+/-332.4 ng/ml were significantly (all, p<0.001) higher than those of normal controls (mean 364.6+/-134.8 ng/ml) and in patients with benign disease (536.3+/-204.8 ng/ml). Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) treated cells expressed more ICAM-1 on cell surfaces than did the non-treated cells, and s-ICAM-1 shed in the spent media from IFN-gamma treated cells were much higher than those of non-treated cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the reason for increase of s-ICAM-1 in the patients with cervical cancer were both expression and shedding of ICAM-1 from cervical cancer cells especially influenced by cytokines, for example, IFN-gamma from surrounding lymphocytes.     

Impact strength and dynamic mechanical properties correlation in elastomer‐modified polypropylene

This article describes the impact and dynamic mechanical properties of rubber‐modified binary blends of polypropylene (PP). Two conventional elastomers [viz. ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA) and ethylene propylene diene terpolymer (EPDM)] were used as an impact modifier for PP. It is clearly indicated by the results that EPDM is better than EVA as an impact modifier of PP. Analysis of data of dynamic mechanical properties and impact properties at various compositions of the blends revealed a direct correlation between impact properties and dynamic mechanical loss tangent. The energy dissipation due to viscoelastic relaxation is therefore suggested as a mechanism of impact toughening of PP, in addition to the other commonly known mechanisms of toughening (viz. shear yielding and crazing induced by deformation of rubber‐phase domains). © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 78: 962–971, 2000     

Wear Behavior of Biodegradable Mg–5Zn–1Y–(0–1)Ca Magnesium Alloy in Simulated Body Fluid

Metals and Materials International - In this study, wear behavior of biodegradable Mg–5Zn–1Y–(0–1)Ca alloys is investigated in simulated body fluid. Wear test is performed...