Blends of Amphiphilic, Hyperbranched Polyesters and Different Polyolefins

A hyperbranched polyester based on 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid was completely modified with dodecanoyl chloride to result in an amphiphilic, globular polymer, which has a polar core and a nonpolar outer sphere with the ability both to incorporate an organic dye and to interact with a nonpolar matrix. A series of blends were prepared using either polypropylene or polyethylene (HDPE) as the matrix. The content of the polyester as disperse phase was varied between 0.05 and 20 wt %. The blends with polyester contents up to 5% were prepared for colorization of polyolefins using the polyester as a dye carrier. The blends with higher polyester contents were prepared in order to investigate the influence of the hyperbranched material on the material properties. The blends exhibited a heterogeneous morphology with very small particle sizes even at high polyester concentrations. The melt rheology measurements resulted in a reduced complex viscosity for both polyolefins when the hyperbranched polyester was added. The observed melt viscosity of the i-PP blends deviated from the linear mixing rule, whereas the HDPE blends followed it. The use of amphiphilic hyperbranched polyesters as dye carriers allowed a homogeneous distribution of an organic dye in a polyolefin matrix with similar dynamic-mechanical behavior of the blends compared to the case of pure polyolefins. The dyed samples exhibited good stability in extraction experiments

Manual therapy with and without vestibular rehabilitation for cervicogenic dizziness: a systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Manual therapy is an intervention commonly advocated in the management of dizziness of a suspected cervical origin. Vestibular rehabilitation exercises have been shown to be effective in the treatment of unilateral peripheral vestibular disorders, and have also been suggested in the literature as an adjunct in the treatment of cervicogenic dizziness. The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the evidence for manual therapy, in conjunction with or without vestibular rehabilitation, in the management of cervicogenic dizziness.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A comprehensive search was conducted in the databases Scopus, Mantis, CINHAL and the Cochrane Library for terms related to manual therapy, vestibular rehabilitation and cervicogenic dizziness. Included studies were assessed using the Maastricht-Amsterdam criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of fifteen articles reporting findings from thirteen unique investigations, including five randomised controlled trials and eight prospective, non-controlled cohort studies were included in this review. The methodological quality of the included studies was generally poor to moderate. All but one study reported improvement in dizziness following either unimodal or multimodal manual therapy interventions. Some studies reported improvements in postural stability, joint positioning, range of motion, muscle tenderness, neck pain and vertebrobasilar artery blood flow velocity.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Although it has been argued that manual therapy combined with vestibular rehabilitation may be superior in the treatment of cervicogenic dizziness, there are currently no observational and experimental studies demonstrating such effects. A rationale for combining manual therapy and vestibular rehabilitation in the management of cervicogenic dizziness is presented.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>There is moderate evidence to support the use of manual therapy, in particular spinal mobilisation and manipulation, for cervicogenic dizziness. The evidence for combining manual therapy and vestibular rehabilitation in the management of cervicogenic dizziness is lacking. Further research to elucidate potential synergistic effects of manual therapy and vestibular rehabilitation is strongly recommended.</p

Comportamiento del coque char y residuos orgánicos en el horno alto con altas tasas de inyección

11 pages, 12 figures, 4 tables.[EN] Blast furnace operation with low coke rate, high amount of auxiliary hydrocarbons and use of nut coke causes a change in coke quality requirements. In particular, not burned in the raceway residues of injected substances (char and ash) can influence the coke behaviour. Therefore combustion efficiency of various organic wastes with and without pulverized coal injection (PCI) and coal char has been investigated under the raceway simulation conditions. Mixing of various substances improves their combustion efficiency. Study on coke gasification by carbon dioxide in the presence of char showed that with the increase of char concentration, coke strength reduction becomes smaller. The reactivity of char with CO2 is higher than that of coke. Therefore char is consumed preferentially. In presence of injected char, total pore volume in coke and its wear resistance were increased. Coke reactivity and microstructure in the presence of various kinds of ash has been studied. Many ash spheres were observed on the surface of coke matrix and its size was dependent on ash properties.[ES] La operación del horno alto con una tasa baja de coque, una cantidad elevada de hidrocarburos auxiliares y el empleo de coque calibrado, origina un cambio en las necesidades de calidad del coque. En particular, pueden influir en el comportamiento del coque los residuos inquemados en el raceway (cavidad enfrente a las toberas del horno) de las sustancias que se inyectan {char y cenizas). El char es el residuo de carbón que se origina después que el carbón libera sus sustancias volátiles. Por tanto, se ha investigado la eficiencia de la combustión de varios residuos orgánicos con y sin inyección de carbón pulverizado (ICP) y char, bajo las condiciones de simulación del raceway. La mezcla de varias sustancias mejora la eficiencia a la combustión. El estudio de la gasificación del coque por el dióxido de carbono en la presencia de char, muestra que con el aumento de la concentración del char, la resistencia del coque después de la reducción se hace más pequeña. La reactividad del char con el CO2 es más elevada que conla del coque. Por tanto, el char se consume con preferencia. En presencia del char inyectado aumentan el volumen total de poros del coque y la resistencia al desgaste. Se ha estudiado la reactividad y microestructura del coque con la presencia de distintos tipos de cenizas. Se observaron muchas esferas de ceniza sobre la superficie matriz del coque y el tamaño de las esferas depende de la naturaleza de las cenizas.The authors are grateful to the "European Coal Steel Community" (ECSC) and JFE Steel Corporation for financial support of this work.Peer reviewe

Blends of fatty-acid-modified dendrimers with polyolefins

Blends were made by solution and melt-mixing fatty-acid-modified dendrimers with various polyolefins. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) was used to determine the miscibility of the blends. Poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimers G1, G3, and G5 [DAB-dendr-(NH2)y] with y = 4, 16, and 64, were reacted with stearic acid or stearic acid-d35 forming amide bonds. The modified dendrimers were then blended with high-density polyethylene (HDPE), high-density polyethylene-d4 (HDPE-d4), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), amorphous polypropylene (PP), or an ethylene-butylene copolymer (E-co-B). Limiting power law behavior shows that all of the blends are immiscible. It is likely that the dendrimers form a second phase, being finely dispersed, but thermodynamically immiscible

Blends of Amphiphilic, Hyperbranched Polyesters and Different Polyolefins

A hyperbranched polyester based on 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid was completely modified with dodecanoyl chloride to result in an amphiphilic, globular polymer, which has a polar core and a nonpolar outer sphere with the ability both to incorporate an organic dye and to interact with a nonpolar matrix. A series of blends were prepared using either polypropylene or polyethylene (HDPE) as the matrix. The content of the polyester as disperse phase was varied between 0.05 and 20 wt %. The blends with polyester contents up to 5% were prepared for colorization of polyolefins using the polyester as a dye carrier. The blends with higher polyester contents were prepared in order to investigate the influence of the hyperbranched material on the material properties. The blends exhibited a heterogeneous morphology with very small particle sizes even at high polyester concentrations. The melt rheology measurements resulted in a reduced complex viscosity for both polyolefins when the hyperbranched polyester was added. The observed melt viscosity of the i-PP blends deviated from the linear mixing rule, whereas the HDPE blends followed it. The use of amphiphilic hyperbranched polyesters as dye carriers allowed a homogeneous distribution of an organic dye in a polyolefin matrix with similar dynamic-mechanical behavior of the blends compared to the case of pure polyolefins. The dyed samples exhibited good stability in extraction experiments.