Grafting of selected presynthesized macromonomers onto various dispersions of silica particles

A new process was developed which enables one to obtain surface‐modified silica with a high heavy metal ion complexing ability. The synthetic approach is based on grafting of vinyl‐terminated macromonomers onto silica via covalent bonding. A proper selection of the macromonomer structure, molecular weight, and molecular weight distribution allows materials to be obtained with a range of desirable properties. The process has been tested on various dispersions (ranging from 35 and 200 μm) of silica particles and two structurally related macromonomers. Native silica and the resulting mixed organic–inorganic products were fully characterized by IR spectroscopy, SEM, yield of grafting (elemental analysis and calcination), density (helium pycnometry), specific surface area (BET method), and pore size (gas adsorption and mercury porosimetry) measurements. It was found that the corresponding polymers are effectively grafted onto the surface; the density, surface area, and pore size of the silica particles decrease with polymer grafting. Preliminary results on metal‐ion uptake indicate that polymer‐grafted silica exhibits an excellent complexing ability. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 1287–1296, 2002     

Kinetics and Mechanism of Formation of Barium Zirconate from Barium Carbonate and Zirconia Powders

The formation of BaZrO₃ from very fine (70–90 nm) ZrO₂ powders and coarser (∼1 μm) BaCO₃ powders has been studied in dry and humid air up to 1300°C using TGA/DTA, XRD, SEM, TEM, and EDS microanalysis. In the temperature range 900°–1100°C, barium is rapidly transported at the surface of the ZrO₂ particles and reacts, forming BaZrO₃. The compound grows as a concentric layer with gradual consumption of the central ZrO₂ particle. The overall formation kinetics of BaZrO₃ is well described by a diminishing core model, and the most likely rate-determining step is a phase-boundary process at the ZrO₂–BaZrO₃ moving interface. The size and shape of the final particles is generally determined by the morphology of the starting ZrO₂ particles and not by that of the BaCO₃. The reaction is faster in humid air than in dry air, and the activation energy decreases from 294 kJ·mol⁻¹ (dry air) to 220 kJ·mol⁻¹ (humid air). When the fraction reacted is >80–90 mol%, the reaction rate rapidly decreases.     

Flavanones in Citrus fruit: Structure–antioxidant activity relationships

Epidemiological surveys have shown an inverse relationship between the intake of fruit and the incidence of coronary heart disease and some type of cancer. Data found in the literature regarding the flavonoids in general while this study focuses on flavanones, a subclass of flavonoids which occurs in Citrus fruit. The aim of this work is to elucidate the antioxidant or pro-oxidant behaviours of some common flavanones and to determine their activity–structure relationships as antioxidant using the crocin bleaching inhibition assay. The compounds studied were regarding both the aglycon form and the glycoside form. Data evidence that the substitution of the 7th OH group of the flavanones by a neohesperidoside influences the relationship between structure and antioxidant activity. In fact, the 3′,4′-catechol structure and the O-methylation, in the aglycone forms, do not result significant. On the other hands, in the glycosylate forms, the 3′,4′-catechol structure noticeably increases the antioxidant power and the O-methylation decreases the antioxidant activity. The influence of the O-glycosylation with a rutinose molecule is neglectable.     

水堆安全壳内气体分布模拟计算

本工作采用TH3SL程序对水堆事故后安全壳内的气体分布及蒸汽冷凝进行了随机模拟。校验计算表明 :此程序的模拟结果是可信的     

Surface chemical analysis of poly(ε‐caprolactone)–perfluoropolyether–poly(ε‐caprolactone) triblock copolymers by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy

The air‐side surface composition of a series of poly(ε‐caprolactone)–perfluoropolyether–poly(ε‐caprolactone) triblock copolymers with different compositions and block lengths have been studied by angle‐dependent X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The weight percentage of the perfluoropolyether (PFPE) and polycaprolactone (PCL) blocks, and ethylene oxide linker (R_H) has been calculated in different ways: from C1s, O1s and F1s photoemission peaks and by line fitting of the C1s and O1s envelopes. The atomic sensitivity factors and the parameters used to fit the peak envelopes have been experimentally determined using some reference materials. A critical discussion of the different methods used in the surface characterization and the degradation of PFPE segments, induced by irradiation beam, have been also reported. A large excess of PFPE with respect to the bulk composition was observed in all samples, and the angular dependence of the XPS signal demonstrated that the content of the fluorinated block segment increased by decreasing the sampling depth. The PFPE surface concentration was also decreased by increasing the PCL/PFPE ratio, but the surfaces of the samples were still dominated by PFPE segments for copolymers with a bulk PFPE composition lower than 10%. Moreover, copolymers with similar PCL/PFPE bulk ratios but with different PFPE block lengths, showed similar PFPE surface composition when the number‐average molecular weight (M_n) was 2000 and 3200 g mol^?1, while that observed for copolymers containing PFPE block with M_n 900 g mol^?1 was lower. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Coexistence of Granular Cell Tumor and Invasive Ductal Breast Cancer in Contralateral Breasts: A Case Report

Granular cell tumor (GCT) is a benign tumor of the breast that can mimic, on breast imaging, invasive carcinomas. Biological evolution of mammary GCT is unknown, especially if it is associated with an invasive carcinoma in the same or contralateral breast. This report details the morphological features of these synchronous lesions highlighting their biological characteristics and suggesting an appropriate follow up.     

Oxidative Stability of Commodity Fats and Oils: Modeling Based on Fatty Acid Composition

Although fatty acid (FA) composition is known to be of fundamental importance to oxidative stability in lipids, consistent quantifications of the magnitude of this association have proved elusive. The objective of this study was to quantify the relationship between FA composition and stability on a large scale within comparable lipid systems, with the numerical effects of individual outcome factors (e.g. output of a singular assay, oxidative products after a brief period of time, etc.) attenuated by incorporation into a comprehensive summation of stability. The stability of 50 plant‐based oils and fats was modeled according to FA composition, utilizing a quantification of stability that encompassed the complete oxidation curves of four distinct classical assays (two 1° and two 2° oxidation assessments) throughout 2 months of accelerated storage (60 °C). In our models, the concentrations of monounsaturated FA (MUFA), diunsaturated FA (DiUFA), and triunsaturated FA (TriUFA) together demonstrated a very strong correlation with our consolidated measure of stability (r² = 0.915; greater than observed with our assessments by individual assays). The resultant model also indicated the relative effect upon magnitude of oxidation of MUFA:DiUFA:TriUFA to be approximately 1:3:12—substantially greater than the 1:2:3 ratio of their relative unsaturation.     

Electrical ac and dc behavior of epoxy nanocomposites containing graphene oxide

This article deals with the investigation of electrical properties of epoxy‐based nanocomposites containing graphene oxide nanofillers dispersed in the polymer matrix through two‐phase extraction. Broadband dielectric spectroscopy and dc electrical conductivity as a function of electric field have been evaluated in specimens containing up to 0.5 wt % of nanofiller. Nanocomposites containing pristine graphene oxide do not show significant changes of electrical properties. On the contrary, the same materials after a proper thermal treatment at 135°C, able to provoke the in situ reduction of graphene oxide, exhibit higher permittivity and electrical conductivity, without showing large decrease of breakdown voltage. Moreover, a nonlinear behavior of the electrical conductivity is observed in the range of electric fields investigated, i.e. 2–30 kV mm^?1. A new relaxation phenomenon with a very low temperature dependence is also evidenced at high frequency in reduced graphene oxide composites, likely associated to induced polarization of electrically conductive nanoparticles. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41923.     

Shear behavior of ultra-high-performance concrete beams prestressed with external carbon fiber-reinforced polymer tendons

The ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC) and fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) are well-accepted high-performance materials in the field of civil engineering. The combination of these advanced materials could contribute to improvement of structural performance and corrosion resistance. Unfortunately, only limited studies are available for shear behavior of UHPC beams reinforced with FRP bars, and few suggestions exist for prediction methods for shear capacity. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the shear behavior of UHPC beams reinforced with glass FRP (GFRP) and prestressed with external carbon FRP (CFRP) tendons. The failure mode of all specimens with various shear span to depth ratios from 1.7 to 4.5 was diagonal tension failure. The shear span to depth ratio had a significant influence on the shear capacity, and the effective prestressing stress affected the crack propagation. The experimental results were then applied to evaluate the equations given in different codes/recommendations for FRP-reinforced concrete structures or UHPC structures. The comparison results indicate that NF P 18-710 and JSCE CES82 could appropriately estimate shear capacity of the slender specimens with a shear span to depth ratio of 4.5. Further, a new shear design equation was proposed to take into account the effect of the shear span to depth ratio and the steel fiber content on shear capacity.