Rheology and fiber degradation during shear flow of carbon-fiber-reinforced polypropylenes

The processing of fiber-reinforced thermoplastics is often accompanied by a significant fiber fracture. Therefore, it is important to assess the effect of processing variables on the extent of fiber damage occurring during product fabrication, such as extrusion or injection molding. The present paper discusses fiber damage caused by shear forces exerted on the composite by a molten matrix in both experimental and theoretical terms. The degradation process in carbon fiber-polypropylene composites is studied in a broad range of shear rates, although it occurs significantly only under high shearing in a capillary. Changes in fiber length and its distribution during the multi-flow through a capillary, as well as the materials’ rheological properties found in research after shearing, are discussed and the results are compared with a model of fiber-length analysis for the mixing-regrinding process. Published in Russian in Vysokomolekulyamye Soedineniya, Ser. A, 2006, Vol. 48, No. 9, pp. 1628–1639. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Supercapacitive Swing Adsorption of Carbon Dioxide

An electrical effect, the supercapacitive swing adsorption (SSA) effect is reported, which allows for reversible adsorption and desorption of carbon dioxide by capacitive charge and discharge of electrically conducting porous carbon materials. The SSA effect can be observed when an electrically conducting, nanoporous carbon material is brought into contact with carbon dioxide gas and an aqueous electrolyte. Charging the supercapacitor electrodes initiates the spontaneous organization of electrolyte ions into an electric double layer at the surface of each porous electrode. The presence of this double layer leads to reversible, selective uptake and release of the CO₂ as the supercapacitor is charged and discharged.     

Pressure-dependent viscosity of powder injection moulding compounds

A single piston capillary rheometer was modified by the addition of a second chamber with a restricting valve (developed at the Polymer Centre, Zlín, Czech Republic), which provides backpressure and increasing the pressure in the melted material during the flow through the die. The Carreau–Yasuda model was employed to fit the measured viscosity data and determine the temperature and pressure coefficients for polyolefin based binder and its compounds with carbide powder. Both temperature and pressure sensitivity coefficients are largely dependent on the structure of a polymer, which should be taken into account for binder-formation’s development. Increasing the loading level of the powder in the compound diminishes the pressure sensitivity of their flow properties.     

Modulating Properties of Piroxicam,Meloxicam and Oxicam Analogues against Macrophage-Associated Chemokines in Colorectal Cancer

The mechanisms underlying the antineoplastic effects of oxicams have not been fully elucidated. We aimed to assess the effect of classic and novel oxicams on the expression/secretion of macrophage-associated chemokines (RTqPCR/Luminex xMAP) in colorectal adenocarcinoma cells, and on the expression of upstream the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-activated genes NAG1, NFKBIA, MYD88, and RELA, as well as at the chemokine profiling in colorectal tumors. Meloxicam downregulated CCL4 9.9-fold, but otherwise the classic oxicams had a negligible/non-significant effect. Novel analogues with a thiazine ring substituted with arylpiperazine and benzoyl moieties significantly modulated chemokine expression to varying degree, upregulated NAG1 and NFKBIA, and downregulated MYD88. They inhibited CCL3 and CCL4, and their effect on CCL2 and CXCL2 depended on the dose and exposure. The propylene linker between thiazine and piperazine nitrogens and one arylpiperazine fluorine substituent characterized the most effective analogue. Only CCL19 and CXCL2 were not upregulated in tumors, nor was CXCL2 in tumor-adjacent tissue compared to normal mucosa. Compared to adjacent tissue, CCL4 and CXCL2 were upregulated, while CCL2, CCL8, and CCL19 were downregulated in tumors. Tumor CCL2 and CCL7 increased along with advancing T and CCL3, and CCL4 along with the N stage. The introduction of arylpiperazine and benzoyl moieties into the oxicam scaffold yields effective modulators of chemokine expression, which act by upregulating NAG1 and interfering with NF-κB signaling.     

Linear viscoelastic properties of high‐density polyethylene/polyamide‐6 blends extruded in the presence of ultrasonic oscillations

Blends of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE) and polyamide‐6 (PA6) were produced by ultrasonic extrusion. Ultrasonic irradiation leads to degradation of polymers and in situ compatibilization of blends as confirmed by variations in linear viscoelastic properties. The results showed that the effect of ultrasonic irradiation on dynamic rheological properties depends on the composition and experimental temperature. At the same time, the relationship between storage modulus and loss modulus indicated the effect of ultrasonic irradiation on compatibility of HDPE/PA6 blends. Based on an emulsion model, the interfacial tension between the matrix and the dispersed phase was predicted. The data obtained showed that ultrasonic irradiation can decrease the interfacial tension and then enhance the compatibility of HDPE/PA6 blends. This finding was consistent with our previous work. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 1260–1269, 2005     

Time-Resolved Study of the Photo-Curing Process of Dental Resins with the NMR-MOUSE

The photo-curing reaction of dental resins has been examined with unilateral nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR-MOUSE) allowing nondestructive high-resolution measurement of depth profiles as a function of time and space. The NMR signal is sensitive to both the monomer concentration and changes in molecular mobility. Upon irradiation with blue light, it first increases due to molecular mobility enhanced by the reaction heat and then decreases exponentially with the monomer concentration as the polymer signal is lost in the dead time of the instrument upon curing. The space and time dependence of the NMR signal can be described by the photo-polymerization reaction kinetics together with a heuristic approximation of the temperature dependence.     

Synthesis and thermal behaviour of new benzo-1,2-thiazine long-chain aryl-piperazine derivatives

A series of potential biologically active 2-[3-(4-phenyl-1-piperazinyl)propyl]-3-(4-substituted-benzoyl)-4-hydroxy-2H-1,2-benzothiazine 1,1-dioxides was synthesized in a straightforward manner by condensation of respective 3-substituted-4-hydroxy-1,2-benzothiazine 1,1-dioxides with 1-(1-chloropropyl)-4-phenylpiperazine. The structures of all of the newly formed compounds were identified by elemental analysis, FTIR and ¹H NMR. The synthesized compounds were subjected to preliminary evaluation using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the existence of multiple crystal forms. The DSC scans for all compounds show more than one endothermic effect, which might suggest dynamic proton transfer between two or three possible tautomeric forms: O-keto/O-enol, O-enol/O-keto and O-keto/O-keto/CH₂ in crystals 2-[3-(4-phenyl-1-piperazinyl)propyl]-3-(4-substituted-benzoyl)-4-hydroxy-2H-1,2-benzothiazine 1,1-dioxides.