Incorporation of cellulose nanocrystals and reactive surfactants for improved pressure-sensitive adhesive performance

Pressure-sensitive adhesives (PSAs), which achieve instantaneous adhesion with the application of light pressure, are used in a large range of commodity applications. In this work, PSAs enriched with cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) and stabilized with a reactive surfactant (Hitenol AR-1025, AR) were synthesized via in situ emulsion polymerization. Incorporation of CNCs into AR-stabilized PSAs lead to improvements of peel strength, shear strength, and loop tack with significant increases observed at a CNC concentration of 0.75 parts per hundred monomer (phm). A comparative investigation of PSAs stabilized with reactive (AR) and non-reactive (sodium dodecyl sulfate) surfactant revealed that the enhanced performance can be attributed to the synergistic combination of CNCs and reactive surfactant, as only modest improvements can be attributed to surfactant type. In contrast to previous studies that report a trade-off in adhesive properties, we present a well-rounded PSA with exceptional peel strength, shear strength, and loop tack.     

Solubility and structure of calcium silicate hydrate

The poorly crystalline calcium silicate hydrate (C-S-H) phases that form near room temperature, which include the technically important C-S-H gel phase formed during the hydration of Portland cement, have a broad similarity to the crystalline minerals tobermorite and jennite, but are characterized by extensive atomic imperfections and structural variations at the nanometer scale. Relationships between the aqueous solubility and chemical structure are reported for specimens formed by different preparation methods and with a broad range of compositions. Both new and previously published data show that these phases generate a family of solubility curves in the CaO-SiO₂-H₂O system at room temperature. As demonstrated by ²⁹Si magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR data and by charge balance calculations, the observed solubility differences arise from systematic variations in Ca/Si ratio, silicate structure, and Ca-OH content. Based on this evidence, the solubility curves are interpreted as representing a spectrum of metastable phases whose structures range from purely tobermorite-like to largely jennite-like. These findings give an improved understanding of the structure of these phases and reconcile some of the discrepancies in the literature regarding the structure of C-S-H at high Ca/Si ratios.     

Does C–S–H particle shape matter? A discussion of the paper ‘Modelling elasticity of a hydrating cement paste’, by Julien Sanahuja,Luc Dormieux and Gilles Chanvillard. CCR 37 (2007) 1427–1439

In their inspiring paper, Sanahuja et al. (CCR (37) 1427–1439) add a new dimension and degree of freedom for implementing the Materials Science Paradigm between microstructure and properties of cement-based materials, which is the particle aspect ratio of C–S–H elementary building block. The question addressed in this discussion is how far this departure from the perfect disordered morphology of C–S–H is truly relevant for cement-based materials.     

Model for the Developing Microstructure in Portland Cement Pastes

A method is proposed for quantitatively predicting the volume of the major phases in hydrated cement pastes as a function of (1) the composition of the cement, (2) the degree of reaction, and (3) the initial water:cement ratio. This procedure is then used to develop a quantitative model for the surface area and volume of porosity that is accessible to nitrogen in C-S-H. Published values for surface areas and volume of pores are compared with the predictions made by the model. An implication of the model is that there are two types of C-S-H, or perhaps regions within the C-S-H: one that nitrogen can penetrate and one that it cannot.     

Review of Transference: Its meaning and function in psychoanalytic therapy.

Reviews the book, Transference: its meaning and function in psychoanalytic therapy by Benjamin Wolstein (see record 1955-01021-000). The book reflects the groping trends of opinion developing from therapeutic experience and from increased awareness of the problems of definition. Many questions related to transference are brought closer to the status of answerable questions. The author sees transference in terms of observable here-and-now behavior. He keeps the focus on present interactions with careful attention to the therapist as an interbehaving organism (countertransference) rather than as a hypnotic authority. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Use of chemical fingerprinting to establish the presence of spilled crude oil in a residential area following Hurricane Katrina, St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana

Hurricane Katrina's storm surge displaced and damaged a 250,000 barrel storage tank causing a Nigerian crude oil blend (API 36.4 degrees) to be released and dispersed into the adjacent evacuated residential area by the retreating floodwaters. The subsequent environmental assessment involved sampling and chemical fingerprinting of nearly 15,000 wipe and soil samples collected both inside and outside of buildings to determine which properties were impacted by the spilled crude oil. Tier 1 qualitative analysis of gas chromatograms and Tier 2 quantitative (revised Nordtest-type) and qualitative (ASTM D5739-type) analysis of petroleum biomarkers revealed the extent of crude oil contamination-as well as the widespread occurrence of hydrocarbons derived from (i) lubricating, hydraulic, and transmission oils, most likely from vehicles in the flooded area, and (ii) allochthonous natural organic matter (NOM) from the surrounding bayous. Conventional oil spill fingerprinting protocols and two-component mixing models (crude oil/lube oil and crude oil/NOM) were used to confirm the presence of the spilled crude oil-even when mixed at low concentrations with other hydrocarbon sources-as a means to develop and govern a settlement and remedial program with the affected property owners.     

A multi-technique investigation of the nanoporosity of cement paste

The nanometer-scale structure of cement paste, which is dominated by the colloidal-scale porosity within the C-S-H gel phase, has a controlling effect on concrete properties but is difficult to study due to its delicate structure and lack of long-range order. Here we present results from three experimental techniques that are particularly suited to analyzing disordered nanoporous materials: small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), weight and length changes during equilibrium drying, and nanoindentation. Particular attention is paid to differences between pastes of different ages and cured at different temperatures. The SANS and equilibrium drying results indicate that hydration of cement paste at 20 °C forms a low-density (LD) C-S-H gel structure with a range of gel pore sizes and a relatively low packing fraction of solid particles. This fine structure may persist indefinitely under saturated conditions. However, if the paste is dried or is cured at elevated temperatures (60 °C or greater) the structure collapses toward a denser (less porous) and more stable configuration with fewer large gel pores, resulting in a greater amount of capillary porosity. Nanoindentation measurements of pastes cured at different temperatures demonstrate in all cases the existence of two C-S-H structures with different characteristic values of the indentation modulus. The average value of the modulus of the LD C-S-H is the same for all pastes tested to date, and a micromechanical analysis indicates that this value corresponds to the denser and more stable configuration of LD C-S-H. The experimental results presented here are interpreted in terms of a previously proposed quantitative “colloid” model of C-S-H gel, resulting in an improved understanding of the microstructural changes associated with drying and heat curing.     

Attachment to the nuclear matrix mediates specific alterations in chromatin structure

The DNA in eukaryotic chromosomes is organized into a series of loops that are permanently attached at their bases to the nuclear scaffold or matrix at sequences known as scaffold-attachment or matrix-attachment regions. At present, it is not clear what effect affixation to the nuclear matrix has on chromatin architecture in important regulatory regions such as origins of replication or the promoter regions of genes. In the present study, we have investigated cell-cycle-dependent changes in the chromatin structure of a well characterized replication initiation zone in the amplified dihydrofolate reductase domain of the methotrexate-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cell line CHOC 400. Replication can initiate at any of multiple potential sites scattered throughout the 55-kilobase intergenic region in this domain, with two subregions (termed ori-beta and ori-gamma) being somewhat preferred. We show here that the chromatin in the ori-beta and ori-gamma regions undergoes dramatic alterations in micrococcal nuclease hypersensitivity as cells cross the G1/S boundary, but only in those copies of the amplicon that are affixed to the nuclear matrix. In contrast, the fine structure of chromatin in the promoter of the dihydrofolate reductase gene does not change detectably as a function of matrix attachment or cell-cycle position. We suggest that attachment of DNA to the nuclear matrix plays an important role in modulating chromatin architecture, and this could facilitate the activity of origins of replication.     

Distal sequences, but not ori-beta/OBR-1, are essential for initiation of DNA replication in the Chinese hamster DHFR origin

In the Chinese hamster dihydrofolate reductase replication initiation zone, the ori-beta locus is preferred over other start sites. To test the hypothesis that ori-beta contains a genetic replicator, we restored a deletion in the 3' end of the DHFR gene with a cosmid that provides the missing sequence and simultaneously knocks out the downstream ori-beta locus. Replication initiates normally in ori-beta knockout cell lines, and the DHFR domain is still synthesized in early S phase. However, initiation is completely suppressed in the starting deletion variant lacking the 3' end of the gene. We conclude that ori-beta does not contain an essential replicator, but that distant sequence elements have profound effects on origin activity in this locus.