Stress Field Evolution under Mechanically Simulated Hull Slamming Conditions

The effect of repeated loading from mechanically simulated hull slamming on foam core sandwich composites was investigated utilizing a novel technique that simultaneously measured temperature and displacement while cyclic loading occurred. Thermoelastic Stress Analysis (TSA) and Digital Image Correlation (DIC) techniques were combined using a single infrared camera for characterization of the foam core. Improved stress fields with TSA results were found through deformation compensation. Initial work approximating hull slamming conditions mechanically utilizing a custom device were performed. Mechanically loading offers several benefits over water impact investigations, including easy access to the sample during the slamming event, an unobstructed optical path, and accelerated testing. Evolving stress fields under long-duration, repeated simulated hull slamming loading were observed around a growing delamination crack between the foam core and skin.     

Synchronization and Non-Smooth Dynamical Systems

In this article we establish an interaction between non-smooth systems, geometric singular perturbation theory and synchronization phenomena. We find conditions for a non-smooth vector fields be locally synchronized. Moreover its regularization provide a singular perturbation problem with attracting critical manifold. We also state a result about the synchronization which occurs in the regularization of the fold-fold case. We restrict ourselves to the 3-dimensional systems (ℓ = 3) and consider the case known as a T-singularity.     

On the radius of spatial analyticity for the modified Kawahara equation on the line

First, by using linear and trilinear estimates in Bourgain type analytic and Gevrey spaces, the local well‐posedness of the Cauchy problem for the modified Kawahara equation on the line is established for analytic initial data that can be extended as holomorphic functions in a strip around the x‐axis. Next we use this local result and a Gevrey approximate conservation law to prove that global solutions exist. Furthermore, we obtain explicit lower bounds for the radius of spatial analyticity given by , where can be taken arbitrarily small and c is a positive constant.     

Isomorphisms of spaces with large distortion

Let K and S be locally compact Hausdorff spaces and let X be a strictly convex Banach space of finite dimension at least 2. In this paper, we prove that if there exists an isomorphism T from onto satisfying then K and S are homeomorphic. Here denotes the Schäffer constant of X. Even for the classical cases , and , this result is the X‐valued Banach–Stone theorem via isomorphism with the largest distortion that is known so far, namely . On the other hand, it is well known that this result is not true for , even though K and S are compact Hausdorff spaces.     

Composition of sulfated glycosaminoglycans and immunodistribution of chondroitin sulfate in deeply infiltrating endometriosis affecting the rectosigmoid

The composition of sulfated glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) and the tissue distribution of chondroitin sulfate (CS) were analyzed in deeply infiltrating endometriosis (DIE) of rectosigmoid, using metachromatic staining, and biochemical analysis employing electrophoresis before and after specific enzymatic or chemical degradations, and immunostaining with an antibody against CS. The sulfated GAGs were characterized as dermatan sulfate (DS), heparan sulfate (HS) and CS; and DS strongly predominated compared to HS and CS. Immunostaining procedures showed that CS was concentrated in the endometriosis foci, distributed throughout the stroma around the glands. This is the first report describing the composition of sulfated GAGs and the tissue location of CS in DIE by means of histochemical, biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses. These results confirmed that in DIE of rectosigmoid, as in eutopic endometrium [Nasciutti, L.E., Ferrari, R., Berardo, P.T., Souza, M.L.S., Takiya, C.M., Borojevic, R., Abrao, M.S., Silva, L.C.F., 2006. Distribution of chondroitin sulfate in human endometrium. Micron 37, 544–550], CS was the dominant sulfated GAG in stroma of the lesion foci.     

On the effective potential in higher-derivatives superfield theories

We study the one-loop quantum corrections for higher-derivative superfield theories, generalizing the approach for calculating the superfield effective potential. In particular, we calculate the effective potential for two versions of higher-derivative chiral superfield models. We point out that the equivalence of the higher-derivative theory for the chiral superfield and the one without higher derivatives but with an extended number of chiral superfields occurs only when the mass term is contained in the general Lagrangian. The presence of divergences can be taken as an indication of that equivalence.     

The role of nanocellulose fibers, starch and chitosan on multipolysaccharide based films

Thin nanocomposite films of thermoplastic starch, chitosan and cellulose nanofibers (bacterial cellulose or nanofibrillated cellulose) were prepared for the first time by solvent casting of water based suspensions of the three polysaccharides. The role of the different bioploymers on the final properties (thermal stability, transparency, mechanical performance and antimicrobial activity) of the films was related with their intrinsic features, contents and synergic effects resulting from the establishment of interactions between them. Thermoplastic starch displays an important role on the thermal stability of the films because it is the most stable polysaccharide; however it has a negative impact on the mechanical performance and transparency of the films. The addition of chitosan improves considerably the transparency (up to 50 % transmittance for 50 % of chitosan, in respect to the amount of starch), mechanical performance and antimicrobial properties (at least 25 % of chitosan and no more than 10 % of cellulose nanofibers are required to observe bacteriostatic or bactericidal activity) but decrease their thermal stability. The incorporation of cellulose nanofibers had the strongest positive impact on the mechanical properties of the materials (increments of up to 15 and 30 MPa on the Young′s modulus and Tensile strength, respectively, for films with 20 % of BC or NFC). Nonetheless, the impact in thermal stability and mechanical performance of the films, promoted by the addition of chitosan and cellulose nanofibres, respectively, was higher than the expected considering their percentage contents certainly because of the establishment of strong and complex interactions between the three polysaccharides.     

Preparation and characterization of microcapsules loaded with polyphenols-enriched Uncaria tomentosa extract using spray-dryer technique

Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry - This work prepared and characterized microcapsule of Uncaria tomentosa (UT) in order to standardize a spray-dryer Uncaria tomentosa extract. The UT...     

Nanocomposite Polymer Electrolytes of Sodium Alginate and Montmorillonite Clay

Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes (NPEs) were synthesized using sodium alginate (Alg) and either sodium (SCa-3-Na⁺)- or lithium (SCa-3-Li⁺)-modified montmorillonite clays. The samples were characterized by structural, optical, and electrical properties. SCa-3-Na⁺ and SCa-3-Li⁺ clays’ X-ray structural analyses revealed peaks at 2θ = 7.2° and 6.7° that corresponded to the interlamellar distances of 12.3 and 12.8 Å, respectively. Alg-based NPEs X-ray diffractograms showed exfoliated structures for samples with low clay percentages. The increase of clay content promoted the formation of intercalated structures. Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy revealed that Alg-based NPEs with 5 wt% of SCa-3-Na⁺ clay presented the highest conductivity of 1.96 × 10⁻² S/cm², and Alg with 10 wt% of SCa-3-Li⁺ showed conductivity of 1.30 × 10⁻² S/cm², both measured at 70 °C. From UV-Vis spectroscopy, it was possible to infer that increasing concentration of clay promoted a decrease of the samples’ transmittance and, consequently, an increase of their reflectance.