Electrical and thermomechanical properties of epoxy-POSS nanocomposites

Two types of the epoxy-POSS nanocomposites were prepared and their electrical/dielectric and thermomechanical properties were determined. The mono- and octa-epoxyfunctionalized POSS (POSS,E1 and POSS,E8) were covalently incorporated in the epoxy network matrix DGEBA-3,3′-dimethyl-4,4′-diaminocyclohexylmethane (Laromin C260) as pendant units or as polyhedral junctions, respectively. While the POSS junctions are well dispersed in the hybrid network DGEBA-Laromin-POSS,E8, the pendant POSS aggregate to form large crystalline POSS domains.The properties of the nanocomposites correlate with the morphology. The nanocomposites with inhomogeneously dispersed large aggregates of pendant POSS,E1 show poor properties, including low T_g and thermal stability, and the high dielectric loss factor at higher temperatures. On the contrary, the well homogeneous nanocomposites containing POSS,E8 dispersed units display improved electrical properties in the range of 1–10 wt.% POSS. The hybrid exhibits the high resistivity (1 × 10¹⁵ Ω m) and polarization index p_i1 characterizing electrical relaxation, as well as the low dielectric loss factor tan δ, mainly at temperatures above 50 °C. Moreover, the material shows improved thermo oxidative stability and enhanced thermomechanical behavior. Consequently, this nanocomposite was proved to be a prospective insulation material particularly for a high temperature electrotechnical application. In contrast to electrical properties being the best at a low POSS content, the thermomechanical properties, such as rubbery modulus and T_g, are gradually improving with increasing POSS content due to growing crosslinking density.     

Catalytic activity and stability of laccase entrapped in sol–gel silica with additives

This study investigated the effects of different additives and precursors on the catalytic activity of laccase entrapped in sol–gel silica. It was found that the laccase catalytic activity and stability of sol–gel laccase could be enhanced if the entrapment was performed in the presence of additives such as PVA, PEG and APTS. The use of TEOS as a precursor showed slightly higher laccase catalytic activity compared to TMOS. The PVA as an additive showed a better catalytic activity enhancement compared to the PEG and APTMS with the optimum PVA concentration of 0.03 mg/mL. The optimal temperatures of sol–gel laccase without and with additives were found to be at 40 and 27°C, respectively. After 70 days of storage at 27°C, the catalytic activity of the immobilized sol–gel laccase with additives maintained its catalytic activity compared to only 30% of its original catalytic activity for the sol–gel laccase without additives.     

Determination of thermophysical properties of high temperature alloy IN713LC by thermal analysis

The presented paper deals with the study of thermophysical properties of cast and complex alloyed nickel based on superalloy Inconel 713LC (IN713LC). In this work, the technique of Differential Thermal Analysis was selected for determination of the phase transformation temperatures and for the study of the effect of varying heating/cooling rate at these temperatures. The samples taken from as-received state of superalloy were analysed at heating and cooling rates of 1, 5, 10, 20 and 50?°C?min^?1 with the help of the experimental system Setaram SETSYS 18_TM. Moreover, the transformation temperatures at zero heating/cooling rate were calculated. The recommended values for IN713LC after correcting to a zero heating rate, are 1,205?°C (T _?á?,solvus), 1,250?°C (solidus) and 1,349?°C (liquidus). Influence of heating/cooling rate on shift of almost all temperatures of phase transformations was established from the DTA curves. Undercooling was observed at the cooling process. The samples before and after DTA analysis were also subjected to the phase analysis by scanning electron microscopy using the microscope JEOL JSM-6490LV equipped with an energy dispersive analyser EDAX (EDS INCA x-act). Documentation of the microstructure was made in the mode of secondary (SEI) and backscattered (BEI) electron imaging. On the basis of DTA analysis and phase analysis it may be stated that development of phase transformations of the alloy IN713LC will probably correspond to the following scheme: melting?????? phase; melting???????+?MC; melting????eutectics ??/?á?; melting???????+?minority phases (e.g. borides); and matrix ???????á?.     

Anti-tumour promoting activity and antioxidant properties of girinimbine isolated from the stem bark of Murraya koenigii S

Girinimbine, a carbazole alkaloid isolated from the stem bark of Murraya koenigii was tested for the in vitro anti-tumour promoting and antioxidant activities. Anti-tumour promoting activity was determined by assaying the capability of this compound to inhibit the expression of early antigen of Epstein-Barr virus (EA-EBV) in Raji cells that was induced by the tumour promoter, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The concentration of this compound that gave an inhibition rate at fifty percent was 6.0 μg/mL and was not cytotoxic to the cells. Immunoblotting analysis of the expression of EA-EBV showed that girinimbine was able to suppress restricted early antigen (EA-R). However, diffused early antigen (EA-D) was partially suppressed when used at 32.0 μg/mL. Girinimbine exhibited a very strong antioxidant activity as compared to a-tocopherol and was able to inhibit superoxide generation in the 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA)-induced differentiated premyelocytic HL-60 cells more than 95%, when treated with the compound at 5.3 and 26.3 μg/mL, respectively. However girinimbine failed to scavenge the stable diphenyl picryl hydrazyl (DPPH)-free radical.     

Synthesis and characterization of a new conducting polymer composite

Organic conductive composite films have been synthesized by electropolymerization of pyrrole in the presence of chitosan and p-toluene sulfonic acid sodium salt. The obtained conductive polymer composite films have been characterized by Fourier Transform Infrared spectroscopy, dynamic mechanical analysis, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and conductivity measurements. The prepared polymer composite films had the amorphous structure and exhibited the enhanced conductivity and mechanical properties due to the presence of chitosan in the composite films.     

Experimental demonstration of novel end-pumping method for double-clad fiber devices

We present experimental demonstration of an end-pumping scheme based on splicing the multimode pump and single-mode signal fibers directly to a double-clad fiber with a tailored cross section. The method is used to pump a double-clad, erbium- and ytterbium-doped, fiber ring laser. The efficiency of the end-pumping method is tested by determining the slope efficiencies of the fiber ring laser and the fiber laser in a Fabry-Perot configuration. Comparable slope efficiencies are found when both laser configurations have similar output coupler ratios. The developed pumping scheme and double-clad fiber can find applications in cost-effective power fiber amplifiers and lasers.     

Vertical mixing and ecological effects of ultraviolet radiation in planktonic communities

We present a mathematical model for a phytoplankton-zooplankton system, based on a predator-prey scheme. The model considers the effects of sinking in the phytoplankton, vertical mixing and attenuation of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) and ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in the water column. In a first approach, the model was studied under conditions of average PAR irradiance and shows fluctuations and stable equilibrium points. Secondly, we introduced the effects of photoperiod and photoinhibition by UVR and vertical mixing. Under these conditions, the phytoplankton biomass oscillates depending on the combined effects of UVR and mixing. Higher inhibition by UVR and longer mixing periods can induce strong fluctuations in the system but can also produce higher plankton peaks.     

Physiological, biochemical and molecular characteristics of cryopreserved Hypericum perforatum L. shoot tips

Hypericum perforatum L. in vitro cultured shoot tips were characterised at the physiological, biochemical and molecular levels following recovery from cryogenic treatment using the plant vitrification solutions PVS2 and PVS3. This comparative study revealed an increase in recovery and regrowth of explants cryoprotected with PVS3. Among the physiological markers only lipid peroxidation in the regenerants treated with PVS2 significantly increased indicating membrane damage. Genotype-specific interactions were found in most characteristics studied, with some variation detected within control and cryopreserved samples. Analyses of metabolite biosynthesis and genetic stability showed no significant differences in hypericin content, RAPD and minisatellite amplification profiles between PVS2- and PVS3-treated explants. This study demonstrates and discusses the criteria selective for PVS3 to improve the cryopreservation of H. perforatum L.     

Effect of POSS on thermomechanical properties of epoxy–POSS nanocomposites

The epoxy–POSS hybrid networks with POSS bound as pendant cages or with untethered POSS dispersed in the matrix were prepared and their structure was controlled. Formation of the hybrid network was followed by chemorheology. In situ development of physical crosslinks in the pregel stage of the network build-up was observed in case of the hybrids with tethered POSS. The complex effect of POSS on mechanical properties is manifested by either increase or decrease in rubbery modulus of different hybrids. This behavior reflects (a) reinforcement due to POSS hard aggregates, (b) diminishing of crosslinking density of the epoxy network by tethered monofunctional POSS and (c) physical crosslinking via POSS domains. Theories of network formation and rubbery elasticity as well as the model of mechanical behavior of particulate composites were applied to interpret the mechanical properties of the hybrids.     

Multicomponent synthesis of acylated short peptoids with antifungal activity against plant pathogens

In this article, we describe the synthesis of a small library of short peptoids composed of four glycine residues and acylated with a fatty acid that showed a remarkable in vitro activity against two fungal plant pathogens. Their straightforward synthesis implied two consecutive Ugi reactions and can be efficiently extended to the construction of highly diverse libraries.