Tension testing of polycarbonate at high strain rates

Dynamic tensile tests were performed on polycarbonate using a split Hopkinson tension bar (SHTB) system. A prefixed short metal bar was used to generate the incident stress pulse. The shape of the incident pulse was controlled to meet the requirement of the one-dimensional experimental principle of SHTB. The dynamic tensile stress–strain responses of polycarbonate at high strain rates up to a rate of 1750 s⁻¹ were obtained. Experimental results indicate that the tensile behavior of polycarbonate is dependent on the strain rate. Its yield stress and unstable strain all increase with the increased strain rate. The yield behavior was modeled for a wide range of strain rates based on the thermally activated theory. The correlation between the experimental data and the model is good.     

Quantification of eight active ingredients in crude and processed radix polygoni multiflori applying miniaturized matrix solid‐phase dispersion microextraction followed by UHPLC

A rapid, efficient, and green sample preparation method has been developed to extract eight active ingredients (gallic acid, catechins, epicatechin, polydatin, 2,3,5,4′‐tetrahydroxystilbene‐2‐O‐β‐d ‐glucoside, resveratrol, emodin, and physcion) in radix polygoni multiflori by miniaturized matrix solid‐phase dispersion microextraction. Simple and sensitive ultra high performance liquid chromatography combined with ultraviolet detection has been applied to analyze the multiple compounds. The best results were obtained by adding 25 mg sample into 25 mg adsorbent and grinding for 2 min with disorganized silica as adsorbent and 1 mL 150 mM 1‐dodecyl‐3‐methylimidazolium bromide as a green eluting solvent. Good linearity (r² > 0.998) for each analyte was obtained by this method. The intra‐day and inter‐day precision (RSD) were both below 5.31%, and the recoveries of the analytes ranged from 93.3 to 100.0%. This simple miniaturized matrix solid‐phase dispersion microextraction method for analyzing the compounds in radix polygoni multiflori needs a short time and requires little sample and reagent. Thus, this method is far more eco‐friendly and efficient than traditional extraction methods (reflux and ultrasound‐assisted extraction). The present investigation provided a promising method for the fast preparation and discrimination of chemical differences in crude and processed radix polygoni multiflori.     

Transport and sorption of <Superscript>85</Superscript>Sr and <Superscript>125</Superscript>I in crushed crystalline rocks under dynamic flow conditions

Transport and sorption of water-soluble ⁸⁵Sr²⁺ and ¹²⁵I⁻ in the columns with beds of crushed crystalline rocks from synthetic groundwater has been studied under dynamic flow conditions. Samples of crystalline rocks: diorite-I, diorite-II, gabbro, granite and tonalite, having the grain size between 0.25 and 0.80 mm, were used. Plastic syringes of 8.8 cm length and 2.1 cm in diameter were applied as columns. The synthetic groundwater was pumped downward through the columns with a seepage velocity of about 0.2 cm/min and the given radioactive nuclide was added into the water stream individually in a form of a short pulse. In case of ⁸⁵Sr, desorption from diorite-I was also studied using an artificial acid rainfall and then, the longitudinal distribution of the residual ⁸⁵Sr activity along the bed was measured. Retardation, distribution and hydrodynamic dispersion coefficients were determined by the evaluation of respective breakthrough curves. A corrected integral form of a simple advection–dispersion equation was derived and used for fitting the experimental data. The K _d-parameters resulting from dynamic experiments were also compared with the results of static sorption experiments.     

Effect of MWCNT on the performances of the rounded shape natural graphite as anode material for lithium-ion batteries

Multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) with bundle-type morphology was introduced as a new functional additive working as a particle connector or an expansion absorber in the anodes of lithium-ion batteries. By controlling the dispersion process, the MWCNT bundles were successfully divided and dispersed between the host particles. The composite anode consisting of rounded shape natural graphite and 2 wt.% of MWCNT exhibited the capacity of 300 mAh g⁻¹ at 3 C rate and excellent cyclability. The well-dispersed MWCNT bundles made it possible to relieve the large strains developed at high discharge C rates and to keep the electrical contact between the host particles during repeated intercalation/deintercalation. This study has also emphasized that when high C-rate applications of lithium-ion batteries are targeted, it is important to get optimum content of MWCNT as well as uniform dispersion of their bundles in the composite anodes.     

Compression stress relaxation in carbon black reinforced HNBR at low temperatures

Findings of a study of stress relaxation behaviour of hydrogenated nitrile butadiene rubber (HNBR) at nominal compressive strains up to 0.4 and temperatures above and below the glass transition temperature T_g are reported. Two formulations of a model HNBR with 36% acrylonitrile content and carbon black (CB) loading of 0 and 50 phr were investigated. The relaxation function of HNBR is found to be independent of strain at temperatures right above the T_g or at times longer than 10⁻³ s for the deformations employed. CB imparts higher long-term stiffness and also larger relaxation strength at times longer than 10⁻⁴ s to the HNBR, but it does not affect the relaxation behaviour of the rubber in the time span from 10⁻³ – 10⁴ s. In addition, the relationship between the strain energy function of HNBR and temperature is demonstrated to have a complex concave-downward shape which is affected by two competing contributions of entropy elasticity and the stress relaxation.     

Depth profile study of natural radionuclides in the environment of coastal Kerala

The present work investigated the activity concentrations of natural radionuclides ²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K in beach sand samples along coastal Kerala including high background radiation area. The activity of ²³²Th ranges from below detectable level to 23029.9 Bq kg⁻¹ with a mean value of 2660.2 Bq kg⁻¹ for 0–10 cm depth interval. For 10–20 cm depth, the ²³²Th activity ranged from below detectable to 4452.2 Bq kg⁻¹ with a mean value of 815.5 Bq kg⁻¹. The variation of ²²⁶Ra activity with depth is parallel with the ²³²Th activity distribution in beach sand. Its activity varied from below detectable to 5169.5 Bq kg⁻¹ with a mean value 487.6 Bq kg⁻¹ at 0–10 cm depth. For 10–20 cm depth interval, the ²²⁶Ra activity ranges from below detectable to 1823.6 Bq kg⁻¹ with a mean value 296.0 Bq kg⁻¹. Similarly the activity varies from below detectable to 1826.6 Bq kg⁻¹ with a mean value of 211.0 Bq kg⁻¹ for a depth interval of 20–30 cm. The activity of ⁴⁰K at different depth is also discussed. Statistical analysis of radioactivity was also carried out. The results of these investigations are presented in this paper.     

Profiling of the reactive oxygen species-related ecotoxicity of CuO, ZnO, TiO2, silver and fullerene nanoparticles using a set of recombinant luminescent Escherichia coli strains: differentiating the impact of particles and solubilised metals

We propose a novel combination of high-throughput luminescent bacterial tests for the evaluation of the reactive oxygen species (ROS)-generating potential of engineered nanoparticles (eNPs) and the role of solubilised metal ions in this process. The set of tests consists of differently engineered recombinant Escherichia coli strains: (1) a new sensor strain, which bioluminescence is induced by superoxide anions; (2) six recombinant E. coli strains (superoxide dismutase (sod) single, double and triple mutants and a respective wild-type strain), transformed with luxCDABE genes responding to toxic compounds by decreasing their luminescence; and (3) three strains in which bioluminescence is specifically induced by bioavailable metals (Cu, Zn and Ag). The applicability of this battery of tests in profiling oxidative potential of eNPs was evaluated on nTiO₂, nCuO, nZnO and nAg (25, 30, 70 and <100 nm, respectively) NPs and fullerenes. As controls for the size or solubility, the bulk formulations (bTiO₂, bCuO and bZnO) and soluble salts (ZnSO₄, CuSO₄ and AgNO₃) were also analysed. Bacterial toxicity tests showed that nCuO was four-fold more toxic, and nAg was 15-fold more toxic to triple sod mutant than to wild type (2-h EC₅₀ values were 8.1 and 2.0 mg Cu l⁻¹, respectively, and 46 and 3.1 mg Ag l⁻¹, respectively). Formation of ROS by nCuO and nAg was proved by superoxide anion-inducible strain. The metal sensor bacteria showed that the ROS formation by CuO NPs was caused by solubilised Cu ions, but in case of nAg, particles also had an effect. nZnO was remarkably more toxic to sod triple mutant than to wild type strain (2-h EC₅₀ were 4.5 and 54 mg Zn l⁻¹, respectively). Fullerenes inhibited the bioluminescence of sod triple mutant at 3,882 mg l⁻¹ but had no effect on the wild-type strain even at 20,800 mg l⁻¹. Nano and bTiO₂ showed some effect on viability of bacteria only at high concentrations (>4,000 mg l⁻¹) although nTiO₂ (but not bTiO₂) induced the bioluminescence of the superoxide anion sensing bacteria starting from 100 mg l⁻¹. Thus, our innovative combined approach is expected to provide more consistent and informative data concerning the general toxicity, ROS-production potential and also solubilisation of metals in the case of metallic NPs.     

Melt elongation flow behaviour of LDPE/LLDPE blends

The extensional rheological properties of low density polyethylene (LDPE)/linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) blend melts were measured using a melt spinning technique under temperatures ranging from 160 to 200 °C and die extrusion velocities varying from 9 to 36 mm/s. The results showed that the melt elongation stress decreased with a rise of temperature while it increased with increasing extensional strain rate and the LDPE weight fraction. The dependence of the melt elongation viscosity on temperature roughly obeyed the Arrhenius equation, it increased with increasing extensional strain rate and the LDPE weight fraction when the extensional strain rate was lower than 0.5 s⁻¹, and it reached a maximum when the extensional strain rate was about 0.5 s⁻¹, which can be attributed to the stress hardening effect.     

Electron momentum density in ZnSe: Theory and experiment

We present experimental Compton profiles of ZnSe along [1 0 0] and [1 1 0] directions using our 740 GBq ¹³⁷Cs Compton spectrometer. We have also computed the momentum densities, energy bands, density of states (DOS) and band gaps using density functional theory (local density and generalized gradient approximations) and pseudopotential (PP) approach. The anisotropy in the momentum density is well reproduced by the density functional calculations. The energy bands and bond length are interpreted in terms of the anisotropies.     

A Novel Glutamate Transport System in Poly(γ-Glutamic Acid)-Producing Strain <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bacillus subtilis</Emphasis> CGMCC 0833

Bacillus subtilis CGMCC 0833 is a poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA)-producing strain. It has the capacity to tolerate high concentration of extracellular glutamate and to utilize glutamate actively. Such a high uptake capacity was owing to an active transport system for glutamate. Therefore, a specific transport system for l-glutamate has been observed in this strain. It was a novel transport process in which glutamate was symported with at least two protons, and an inward-directed sodium gradient had no stimulatory effect on it. K _m and V _m for glutamate transport were estimated to be 67 μM and 152 nmol⁻¹ min⁻¹ mg⁻¹ of protein, respectively. The transport system showed structural specificity and stereospecificity and was strongly dependent on extracellular pH. Moreover, it could be stimulated by Mg²⁺, NH₄⁺, and Ca²⁺. In addition, the glutamate transporter in this strain was studied at the molecular level. As there was no important mutation of the transporter protein, it appeared that the differences of glutamate transporter properties between this strain and other B. subtilis strains were not due to the differences of the amino acid sequence and the structure of transporter protein. This is the first extensive report on the properties of glutamate transport system in γ-PGA-producing strain.     

Simultaneous isolation of six fluoroquinolones in serum samples by selective molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion

A simple and sensitive method for the simultaneous determination of six fluoroquinolones from serum samples was developed by selective molecularly imprinted matrix solid-phase dispersion (MI-MSPD) coupled with chromatographic separation. By using ethylene glycol dimethacrylate as crosslinker and reformative methanol–water system as reaction medium, the improved water-compatible imprinted polymers were synthesized which show higher affinity to template and its analogues in aqueous environment. The molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) were applied as the selective dispersant of matrix solid-phase dispersion (MSPD) could selectively extracted the six fluoroquinolones from serum, while interferences originated from serum matrices were eliminated simultaneously. Good linearity was obtained in a range of 0.05–100 μg mL⁻¹ with the correlation coefficients >0.999. The average recoveries of the six fluoroquinolones at four different spiked levels (0.25–10 μg mL⁻¹) were ranged from 72.2% to 114.1% with the relative standard deviations less than 6.6%. This method is simple and sensitive, and can be used as an alternative tool to the existing HPLC methods for analyzing the residues of fluoroquinolones in biological samples.     

Noncovalently functionalized water-soluble multiwall-nanotubes through azocarmine B and their application in nitric oxide sensor

A new noncovalent approach for the dissolution of MWNTs in water by azocarmine B (ACB) is reported. Through a simple electro-polymerization procedure, a novel electrochemical NO sensor based on water-soluble MWNTs and polyazocarmine B (PACB) nanofilm electrode was prepared, which showed excellent electrocatalytic activity towards the oxidation of nitric oxide (NO). The oxidation current linearly increased with the nitric oxide concentration in the range of 2.2 × 10⁻⁷–1.2 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ with a low detection limit of 2.8 × 10⁻⁸ mol L⁻¹. The sensor has the merit of good stability, reproducibility, high sensitivity and selectivity, and it can be used to monitor NO released from rat liver cells effectively.     

Fraunhofer-type absorption line splitting and polarization in confocal double-pulse laser induced plasma

Strong line splitting and polarization are observed in Fraunhofer-type absorption lines in Pb, Sn, Si, Cd, In, and Zn in confocal double-pulse laser induced plasma (DP-LIP) experiments. This effect is detectable using medium laser power densities: (~ 1–2) × 10¹³ W/m² for the first laser pulse and 1 × 10¹⁴ W/m² for the second laser pulse. Polarization and splitting effects exist only during the second laser pulse (~ 7 ns). Absorption line polarization and splitting phenomena may be explained by a high overall magnetic field and motional Stark effect caused by the second laser pulse inside the laser plasma created by the first pulse.     

An electropolymerized Nile Blue sensing film-based nitrite sensor and application in food analysis

This paper reports a poly-Nile Blue (PNB) sensing film based electrochemical sensor and the application in food analysis as a possible alternative for electrochemical detection of nitrite. The PNB-modified electrode in the sensor was prepared by in situ electropolymerization of Nile Blue at a prepolarized glassy carbon (GC) electrode and then characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and pulse voltammetry in phosphate buffer (pH 7.1). Several key operational parameters affecting the electrochemical response of PNB sensing film were examined and optimized, such as polarization time, PNB film thickness and electrolyte pH values. As the electroactive PNB sensing film provides plenty of active sites for anodic oxidation of nitrite, the nitrite sensor exhibited high performance including high sensitivity, low detection limit, simple operation and good stability at the optimized conditions. The nitrite sensor revealed good linear behavior in the concentration range from 5.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹ to 1.0 × 10⁻⁴ mol L⁻¹ for the quantitative analysis of nitrite anion with a limit of detection of 1.0 × 10⁻⁷ mol L⁻¹. Finally, the application in food analysis using sausage as testing samples was investigated and the results were consistent with those obtained by standard spectrophotometric method.     

Temperature and variable strain rate sensitivity in recycled HDPE

The recycling of post-consumer plastics and their utilization as raw materials to develop value-added products has become an important goal worldwide. The present work is concerned with the thermo-mechanical analysis of recycled high-density polyethylene (HDPE) under uniaxial tensile loading. The main focus is to propose a one-dimensional phenomenological model able to describe the influence of temperature and strain rate on the mechanical behavior. Tensile tests were performed over a wide range of temperatures (from 25°C to 100°C). Each experiment was performed under controlled strain rate varying from 7.25 × 10⁻⁵ s⁻¹ to 7.25 × 10⁻³ s⁻¹ in steps. It is shown that only one tensile test performed at three different temperatures is necessary to fully identify experimentally all material parameters that arise in the theory. Thus, with this experimental procedure, the number of tests used to evaluate the mechanical properties of recycled HDPE is significantly reduced. The experiments are compared with the model predictions and show good agreement.     

Doi-Edwards theory evaluation in double-step strain flows

It is widely accepted that for reversing double-step strain deformations, predictions based on the Doi-Edwards (DE) molecular theory without the independent alignment approximation (IAA) are superior to predictions obtained with the IAA, or equivalently, the Kaye-Bernstein-Kearsley-Zapas (K-BKZ) theory. This summation, however, is based on data obtained over limited ranges of strain and time: the time both between the step strains (t₁) and following the second step strain (t–t₁). In this study, a thorough evaluation of the DE theory is carried out using a comprehensive double-step strain flow data set. The results of this study indicate that the DE theory is an improvement over the K-BKZ theory in flows with strain reversal but only for cases when the criteria t₁, t–t₁ ? τ_k is satisfied. The constant τ_k, defined as the time beyond which the stress relaxation modulus is factorable: G(γ, t) = h(γ)G(t), is believed to represent the end of the chain retraction process in the DE theory. It appears that the dynamics of chain retraction have an important influence on double-step strain behavior and, therefore, should be accounted for in molecular-based theories devised to have general validity in this important deformation history. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cell inactivation studies on yeast cells under euoxic and hypoxic condition using electron beam from microtron accelerator

In the case of sparsely ionizing radiation such as electron, the dose rate and the pattern of energy deposition of the radiation are the important physical factors which can affect the amount of damage in living cells. In the present study, the differences in the cell survival efficiency and dose rate effect in diploid yeast strains Saccharomyces cerevisiae X2180 and Saccharomyces cerevisiae D7 under euoxic and hypoxic condition have been quantified. Irradiation was carried out using 8 MeV pulsed electron beam from Microtron accelerator. The dose per pulse and pulse width of the beam used was 0.6 Gy and 2.3 μs, respectively, which correspond to an instantaneous dose rate of 2.6 × 10⁵ Gy s⁻¹. For survival studies doses were delivered at a rate of 50 pulses per second (an average dose rate of 1,800 Gy s⁻¹). Fricke and alanine dosimeters were used to measure the dose delivered to the sample. A significant difference in the dose response has been observed under euoxic and hypoxic condition. Dose rate effect has been studied by changing the pulse repetition rate of the Microtron and the dose rate used was from 180 to 1800 Gy min⁻¹. A significant dose rate effect was observed under euoxic condition for Saccharomyces cerevisiae X2180 but the same was absent under hypoxic condition. The dose rate effect was absent for Saccharomyces cerevisiae D7 under both irradiation condition. The survival curves are found to be sigmoidal in shape under both condition but with a wider shoulder under hypoxic condition. The D₀ value and the Oxygen Enhancement Ratio (OER) at that point have been derived.     

Uranium determination in water samples with elevated salinity from Southern Poland by micro coprecipitation using alpha spectrometry

Due to the importance of water in human life, its quality must be strictly controlled; so simple and reliable analytical methods must be available. For this purpose a rapid procedure for the determination of uranium isotopes in natural water samples with elevated salinity was adopted. It was tested in 16 water samples from Upper and Lower Silesia Regions in Poland. Water samples had salinity in a range of 290–26,925 mg l^{− 1}.In water samples the concentrations of ²³⁴U and ²³⁸U ranged from 2.07 to 52.08 mBq l^{– 1} and from 2.18 to 43.38 mBq l^{– 1} respectively, while ²³⁵U level was below MDA (0.7 mBq l^{− 1}).The isotopic ratio of ²³⁴U/²³⁸U varies in the range from 0.949 to 3.344 in all investigated waters which means that there is usually no radioactive equilibrium between the parent nuclide ²³⁸U and its daughter product ²³⁴U.These results do not show a correlation between total dissolved solids (TDS) values and concentration of dissolved uranium isotopes.Committed effective dose for adults due to uranium intake as a result of drinking water usage was in range of 0.15–3.29 µSv y^{− 1} with an average value of 1.09 µSv y^{− 1} far below the 100 µSv y^{− 1} WHO recommendation.     

Characterization of a mesophilic aliphatic-aromatic copolyester-degrading fungus

We isolated 5 mesophilic microorganisms that form clear zones around the colony on an opaque medium containing the aliphatic-aromatic copolyester poly(60 mol% butylene adipate-co-40 mol% butylene terephthalate) (PBAT). Among all strains, the fungal strain NKCM1712 degraded PBAT at the fastest rate (3.5 ± 0.3 μg cm⁻² h⁻¹). Genetic and morphological analyses revealed that this strain was closely related to Isaria fumosorosea (phylum Ascomycota). Mass spectroscopic analysis revealed that the degradation products were T, AB, TB, BAB, and ABT (T, terephthalic acid unit; A, adipic acid unit; B, 1,4-butanediol unit)] in the culture of the strain that used PBAT as the sole carbon source. Furthermore, the PBAT degradation ability of this strain in terms of BOD suggested that it could utilize the PBAT degradation products as growth substrates. This is the first report of a mesophilic strain that can mineralize an aliphatic-aromatic polyester into carbon dioxide on its own.