Search results for "agility"

Effect of Chitin Whiskers on the Molecular Dynamics of Carrageenan-Based Nanocomposites

2019

[EN] Films of carrageenan (KC) and glycerol (g) with different contents of chitin nanowhiskers (CHW) were prepared by a solution casting process. The molecular dynamics of pure carrageenan (KC), carrageenan/glycerol (KCg) and KCg with different quantities of CHWs as a filler was studied using dielectric relaxation spectroscopy. The analysis of the CHW effect on the molecular mobility at the glass transition, T-g, indicates that non-attractive intermolecular interactions between KCg and CHW occur. The fragility index increased upon CHW incorporation, due to a reduction in the polymer chains mobility produced by the CHW confinement of the KCg network. The apparent activation energy associated…

Cooperativity Scaling and Free Volume in Plasticized Polylactide

2019

The authors would like to thank the region Haute Normandie for their financial support and the acquisition of the Broadband Dielectric Spectrometer. R.G. acknowledges U.S. National Science Foundation (Grant no. DMR-1725188) for the acquisition of PAL spectrometer. The experimental evidence of the increase of activation energy associated with the super Arrhenius behavior governing amorphous polylactide by free volume variations has been obtained through a combination of calorimetric, dielectric, and positron annihilation lifetime measurements. The amount of free volume in polylactide was controlled by the amount of acetyltributylcitrate plasticizer in the composition. Plasticization is shown…

Dielectric Spectroscopy of Recycled Polylactide

2014

The effects of multiple mechanical recycling on amorphous polylactide (PLA) were simulated by means of five successive injection-grinding cycles. The influence of the induced thermo-mechanical degradation on the dielectric properties of PLA was analysed. The relaxation spectra were studied in terms of the complex dielectric permittivity (ε0 and ε00) and the dielectric loss tangent, tg(d) in the frequency range from 102 to 107 Hz over the temperature interval from 0 C to 140 C. It was possible to distinguish two relaxations zones, one at low temperatures and high frequencies (b relaxation) and another at higher temperatures and lower frequencies (a relaxation). The individual relaxations wer…

Protective effect of melatonin against cytotoxic actions of malondialdehyde: an in vitro study on human erythrocytes

2002

Malondialdehyde (MDA), a by-product of the oxidation of polyunsaturated fatty acids, is strongly cytotoxic. Here we report the in vitro ability of melatonin to protect intact human erythrocytes against the damage induced by the exposure to MDA. MDA at 20 microM caused marked variations in the red blood cell (RBC) membrane. High molecular weight fluorescent adducts were formed within minutes with membrane proteins. A 6-hr incubation led to the oxidation of membrane lipids, as reflected by the formation of conjugated diene (CD) lipid hydroperoxides and oxidation of vitamin E, and to an increase of the high molecular weight fluorescent adducts, which were an indication of MDA finally generated…

Dielectric study of supercooled triphenylphosphite and butyronitrile: Comparison with a mesoscopic model

1996

Abstract Dielectric relaxation has been studied in the supercooled liquids triphenylphosphite (TPP) and butyrontrile (BN). BN is relatively strong according to Angell's classification and can be characterized by a fragility index m = 47. TPP, on the other hand, appears to be the most fragile non-polymeric liquid studied so far (m = 160). The dielectric response of the two glass-formers exhibits different degrees of non-exponentiality which is analyzed in terms of a mesoscopic model of dynamically correlated domains. The relation of this model to the strong versus fragile liquid classification scheme is discussed.

Traditional vs. sliding-joint masonry infilled frames: Seismic reliability and EAL

2020

Abstract In reinforced concrete (RC) multi-storey buildings, the important role of the seismic interaction of structural frames with masonry infills has been revealed by several earthquakes and investigated by many authors. Recently, several innovative infill solutions have been proposed to mitigate such interaction, which could result in widespread damage in both the masonry and the RC structure and sometimes jeopardize the building stability and the occupants’ safety. One solution consists in the partitioning of the masonry infill into several sub-panels, relatively sliding along specific joints. This paper investigates the seismic assessment of this technological solution in the framewor…

The Role of Enterprise Architecture in Building and Sustaining Information Technology : Enabled Organizational Agility

2021

Navigated percutaneous screw fixation of the pelvis with O-arm 2: two years' experience.

2020

Aim To evaluate the case series of the patients operated with percutaneous fixation by the navigation system based on 3D fluo-roscopic images, to assess the precision of a surgical implant and functional outcome of patients. Methods A retrospective study of pelvic ring fractures in a 2-year period included those treated with the use of the O-Arm 2 in com-bination with the Stealth Station 8. Pelvic fractures were classifi-ed according to the Tile and the Young-Burgess classification. All patients were examined before surgery, with X-rays and CT scans, and three days after surgery with additional CT scan. The positioning of the screws was evaluated according to the Smith score, the outcome wi…

Nonlinear Response of RC Structures: Statistical Effects of Artificial Ground Motions

2020

The selection of seismic inputs for nonlinear dynamic analysis is widely debated, mainly focusing on the advantages and disadvantages provided by the choice of natural, simulated or artificial records. However, most of the available technical codes do not provide always the same suggestions and well-defined procedures for the generation of artificial ground motions. Considering that the strategy of the generation of accelerograms makes some doubts raise about the possible effect on the structural response, the work aims to investigate on the differences of the structural behavior by using accelerograms nominally equivalent but different in terms of stationarity. This paper presents a compar…

Out-of-Plane fragility of In-Plane damaged unreinforced masonry infills in low rise reinforced concrete buildings

2022

Unreinforced masonry (URM) is commonly used to make infill walls in reinforced concrete (RC) frame buildings. Such infill walls are highly vulnerable to out-of-plane (OOP) seismic loading and this can result in huge economic losses and human casualties. Therefore, fragility assessment of URM infill walls under seismic loads is important in view of performing large-scale risk analysis. In this paper, OOP fragility functions are provided based on a numerical investigation supported by a macro-element model. The fragility is calculated assuming the uncertainty in the geometric and mechanical properties of infills instead of the variability in the seismic input. Further, the effect of in-plane …