Model of Precipitation Kinetics Induced by Strain for Microalloyed Steels

In microalloyed steels, static recrystallisation is temporarily inhibited by precipitation which is occurring at the same time. A high number of microalloyed steels containing various combinations of carbon, nitrogen and precipitate forming elements like V, Nb and Ti were recrystallised at different temperatures and strain rates. From these results recrystallisation‐precipitation–time‐temperature (RPTT) diagrams were established. The influence of grain size and strain rate on the RPTT diagrams was studied. The precipitation kinetics were mathematically described for isothermal conditions and converted to cooling conditions, which enables an application to hot rolling. Under cooling conditions, completion of recrystallisation is prevented, especially for Nb alloyed steels.     

Changes in bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity during convective drying of murta (Ugni molinae T.) berries

Murta (Ugni molinae T.) berries were air‐dried at five temperatures (40, 50, 60, 70 and 80 °C), and the changes in β‐carotene, phenolic acids, total phenolic and flavonoid contents and antioxidant capacities (DPPH and ORAC) were investigated. The berries showed a high content of β‐carotene, which decreased during drying temperature between 40 °C and 80 °C. Free and bound phenolic acids were also determined, showing gallic acid to be the prevalent phenolic acid. Total phenolic and flavonoid contents in the dried berries showed a higher decrease at lower temperature due to longer drying time. The radical‐scavenging activity also showed higher antioxidant activity at higher drying temperatures (70–80 °C) than at lower drying temperatures (40–50 °C). Total phenolic content (TPC) and flavonoids showed good correlation with antioxidant capacity. Murta berries proved to be an excellent source of antioxidants and bioactive compounds and are therefore a potential ingredient for new functional food products.     

CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> adsorption at high pressures in MCM-41 and derived alkali-containing samples: the role of the textural properties and chemical affinity

The adsorption properties of N₂ and CO₂ of MCM-41 and derived alkali-containing samples were analyzed over a wide range of pressures (up to ~4500 kPa) and temperatures (between 30 and 300 °C). The high-pressure and high-temperature experiments were carried out on pure MCM-41 and K- and Na-impregnated derived samples. It was analyzed the influence of pressure and temperature on the CO₂ capture capacity on pure and impregnated samples. The adsorption performance was correlated to the structure and textural properties of the materials using X-ray diffraction and N₂ adsorption–desorption measurements. The addition of an alkaline element changes the textural properties of the material increasing the pore size, which positively affected the CO₂ adsorption capacity of these materials at high pressure. In addition, the isosteric heats of adsorption gave information about the chemical affinity between the impregnated materials and CO₂. The CO₂ adsorption at ~ 4500 kPa for the samples with 5 wt% Na at 100 and 200 °C were 77.98 and 9.79 mmol g^?1, respectively, while the pure MCM-41 adsorbs only 8.92 mmol g^?1.     

Nanoscale assembly in biological systems: from neuronal cytoskeletal proteins to curvature stabilizing lipids

The review will describe experiments inspired by the rich variety of bundles and networks of interacting microtubules (MT), neurofilaments, and filamentous-actin in neurons where the nature of the interactions, structures, and structure-function correlations remain poorly understood. We describe how three-dimensional (3D) MT bundles and 2D MT bundles may assemble, in cell free systems in the presence of counter-ions, revealing structures not predicted by polyelectrolyte theories. Interestingly, experiments reveal that the neuronal protein tau, an abundant MT-associated-protein in axons, modulates the MT diameter providing insight for the control of geometric parameters in bio- nanotechnology. In another set of experiments we describe lipid-protein-nanotubes, and lipid nano-tubes and rods, resulting from membrane shape evolution processes involving protein templates and curvature stabilizing lipids. Similar membrane shape changes, occurring in cells for the purpose of specific functions, are induced by interactions between membranes and proteins. The biological materials systems described have applications in bio-nanotechnology.     

Cuticle and cortical cell morphology of alpaca and other rare animal fibres

The null hypothesis of the experiments reported is that the cuticle and cortical morphology of rare animal fibres are similar. The investigation also examined if the productivity and age of alpacas were associated with cuticle morphology and if seasonal nutritional conditions were related to cuticle scale frequency. Cuticle and cortical cell dimensions and ellipticity of the fibre cross section were investigated in 32 samples of cashmere, alpaca, mohair, bison, qiviut and vicuña from various origins. In addition, 24 Peruvian alpaca samples from animals ages 2–6 years and of varying fleece productivity were examined. Cuticle scale frequency, cuticle thickness and cortical cell dimensions (length, diameter, volume and ratio of length to diameter) and ellipticity differed between fibres and cuticle scale frequency also varied with mean fibre diameter. For Peruvian alpaca fleece samples, cuticle scale frequency varied with the age of alpaca and fleece productivity. Fibre ellipticity increased with increasing fibre diameter. Cortical cell length was strongly related to cortical cell diameter. The cuticle scale morphology of these rare animal fibres did not have fixed dimensions. Using cuticle scale morphology as a diagnostic tool to positively identify rare natural animal fibres needs to standardize measurements for fibre diameter but will still be affected by differences in animal productivity.     

Electrical properties of biomorphic SiC ceramics and SiC/Si composites fabricated from medium density fiberboard

A study has been made of the dependences of the electrical resistivity and the Hall coefficient on the temperature in the range 1.8-1300 K and on magnetic fields of up to 28 kOe for the biomorphic SiC/Si (MDF-SiC/Si) composite and biomorphic porous SiC (MDF-SiC) based upon artificial cellulosic precursor (MDF - medium density fiberboards). It has been shown that electric transport in MDF-SiC is effected by carriers of n-type with a high concentration of ∼10²⁰ cm⁻³ and a low mobility of ∼0.4 cm² V⁻¹ s⁻¹. The specific features in the conductivity of MDF-SiC are explained by quantum effects arising in disordered systems and requiring quantum corrections to conductivity. The TEM studies confirmed the presence of disordering structural features (nanocrystalline regions) in MDF-SiC. The conductivity of MDF-SiC/Si composite originates primarily from Si component in the temperature range 1.8-500 K and since ∼500 to 600 K the contribution of MDF-SiC matrix becomes dominant.     

DTT functionalization of Ag particles for conducting adhesives

We have studied the influence of the organic molecule DL-Dithiothreitol on the properties of isotropic conductive adhesives for application in microelectronics. The Ag fillers were prepared from commercial micro flakes or submicron particles from waste jewelry. The results show that coating of the Ag recycled fillers with thiol avoided the agglomeration of the particles improving the dispersion and the electrical and mechanical properties. By comparing the samples, the better properties were obtained from adhesives with recycled Ag particles relative to the ones formulated with commercial Ag flakes and improvement can be attributed to the absence of the lubricant layer and smaller size of the particles produced from recycled silver.