Thermal and Mechanical Characteristics of Polymer Composites Based on Epoxy Resin, Aluminium Nanopowders and Boric Acid

The epoxy polymers are characterized by low thermal stability and high flammability. Nanoparticles are considered to be effective fillers of polymer composites for improving their thermal and functional properties. In this work, the epoxy composites were prepared using epoxy resin ED-20, polyethylene polyamine as a hardener, aluminum nanopowder and boric acid fine powder as flame-retardant filler. The thermal characteristics of the obtained samples were studied using thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry. The mechanical characteristics of epoxy composites were also studied. It was found that an addition of all fillers enhances the thermal stability and mechanical characteristics of the epoxy composites. The best thermal stability showed the epoxy composite filled with boric acid. The highest flexural properties showed the epoxy composite based on the combination of boric acid and aluminum nanopowder

Connecting the data landscape of long-term ecological studies: The SPI-Birds data hub

The integration and synthesis of the data in different areas of science is drastically slowed and hindered by a lack of standards and networking programmes. Long-term studies of individually marked animals are not an exception. These studies are especially important as instrumental for understanding evolutionary and ecological processes in the wild. Furthermore, their number and global distribution provides a unique opportunity to assess the generality of patterns and to address broad-scale global issues (e.g. climate change). To solve data integration issues and enable a new scale of ecological and evolutionary research based on long-term studies of birds, we have created the SPI-Birds Network and Database (www.spibirds.org)\u2014a large-scale initiative that connects data from, and researchers working on, studies of wild populations of individually recognizable (usually ringed) birds. Within year and a half since the establishment, SPI-Birds has recruited over 120 members, and currently hosts data on almost 1.5 million individual birds collected in 80 populations over 2,000 cumulative years, and counting. SPI-Birds acts as a data hub and a catalogue of studied populations. It prevents data loss, secures easy data finding, use and integration and thus facilitates collaboration and synthesis. We provide community-derived data and meta-data standards and improve data integrity guided by the principles of Findable, Accessible, Interoperable and Reusable (FAIR), and aligned with the existing metadata languages (e.g. ecological meta-data language). The encouraging community involvement stems from SPI-Bird's decentralized approach: research groups retain full control over data use and their way of data management, while SPI-Birds creates tailored pipelines to convert each unique data format into a standard format. We outline the lessons learned, so that other communities (e.g. those working on other taxa) can adapt our successful model. Creating community-specific hubs (such as ours, COMADRE for animal demography, etc.) will aid much-needed large-scale ecological data integration

Impact of primary kidney disease on the effects of empagliflozin in patients with chronic kidney disease: secondary analyses of the EMPA-KIDNEY trial

Background: The EMPA KIDNEY trial showed that empagliflozin reduced the risk of the primary composite outcome of kidney disease progression or cardiovascular death in patients with chronic kidney disease mainly through slowing progression. We aimed to assess how effects of empagliflozin might differ by primary kidney disease across its broad population. Methods: EMPA-KIDNEY, a randomised, controlled, phase 3 trial, was conducted at 241 centres in eight countries (Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, the UK, and the USA). Patients were eligible if their estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was 20 to less than 45 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or 45 to less than 90 mL/min per 1·73 m2 with a urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (uACR) of 200 mg/g or higher at screening. They were randomly assigned (1:1) to 10 mg oral empagliflozin once daily or matching placebo. Effects on kidney disease progression (defined as a sustained ≥40% eGFR decline from randomisation, end-stage kidney disease, a sustained eGFR below 10 mL/min per 1·73 m2, or death from kidney failure) were assessed using prespecified Cox models, and eGFR slope analyses used shared parameter models. Subgroup comparisons were performed by including relevant interaction terms in models. EMPA-KIDNEY is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03594110. Findings: Between May 15, 2019, and April 16, 2021, 6609 participants were randomly assigned and followed up for a median of 2·0 years (IQR 1·5–2·4). Prespecified subgroupings by primary kidney disease included 2057 (31·1%) participants with diabetic kidney disease, 1669 (25·3%) with glomerular disease, 1445 (21·9%) with hypertensive or renovascular disease, and 1438 (21·8%) with other or unknown causes. Kidney disease progression occurred in 384 (11·6%) of 3304 patients in the empagliflozin group and 504 (15·2%) of 3305 patients in the placebo group (hazard ratio 0·71 [95% CI 0·62–0·81]), with no evidence that the relative effect size varied significantly by primary kidney disease (pheterogeneity=0·62). The between-group difference in chronic eGFR slopes (ie, from 2 months to final follow-up) was 1·37 mL/min per 1·73 m2 per year (95% CI 1·16–1·59), representing a 50% (42–58) reduction in the rate of chronic eGFR decline. This relative effect of empagliflozin on chronic eGFR slope was similar in analyses by different primary kidney diseases, including in explorations by type of glomerular disease and diabetes (p values for heterogeneity all >0·1). Interpretation: In a broad range of patients with chronic kidney disease at risk of progression, including a wide range of non-diabetic causes of chronic kidney disease, empagliflozin reduced risk of kidney disease progression. Relative effect sizes were broadly similar irrespective of the cause of primary kidney disease, suggesting that SGLT2 inhibitors should be part of a standard of care to minimise risk of kidney failure in chronic kidney disease. Funding: Boehringer Ingelheim, Eli Lilly, and UK Medical Research Council

GEOLOGICAL AND ARCHITECTURAL INVESTIGATION OF REUSED ROCK COLUMNS IN THE GREAT MOSQUE IN DIYARBAKIR OLD CITY (TURKEY)

Cylindrical rock columns in the Great Mosque in Diyarbakir Old City are investigated for their lithology and architecture. The columns belong to four different rock types, namely pre-Tertiary meta-ophiolites, Eocene limestones, Miocene limestones and Plio-Quaternary basalts. The columns from the first three lithologies are reused during the construction and/or renovation of the Great Mosque. Thin sections prepared from 18 columns of this building confirm they are derived from the rocks exposed in the region. The reuse of the columns is approved by inconsistent column lengths, multi-segment column shafts, lithologically mixed columns and presence of thin wedges at the bottom of column bases. These columns are not used to support the main body but rather either for partial support or only for decorative reasons

The geochronology and origin of mantle sources for late cenozoic intraplate volcanism in the frontal part of the Arabian plate in the Karacadag neovolcanic area of Turkey. Part 1. The results of isotope-geochronological studies

This paper considers results from isotope-geochronological (K-Ar) studies of the products of Neogene-Quaternary volcanism in the Karacadag area, which is situated within the northern frontal part of the Arabian plate. It was found that magmatic activity has been evolving at this location for at least the last 11-10 Myr and was distinctly discrete in character. Three stages of volcanism have been identified: (I) Early or Miocene, similar to 11-6.7 Ma; (II) Middle or Pliocene-Early Quaternary, 4-1 Ma; and (III) Late or Late Quaternary, 0.4-0.1 Ma. The most recent manifestations of magmatic activity in the region date back to about 100000 years ago

The geochronology and origin of mantle sources for late cenozoic intraplate volcanism in the frontal part of the Arabian plate in the Karacadag neovolcanic area of Turkey. Part 2. The results of geochemical and isotope (Sr-Nd-Pb) studies

A geochemical and isotope-geochemical (Sr-Nd-Pb) study has been carried out for the Karacadag neovolcanic area, which is situated within the frontal part of the Arabian plate. The obtained data and the results of petrological modeling show that the petrogenesis of parental magmas in the Karacadag neovolcanic area involved two compositionally different mantle sources; one consisted of garnet-bearing peridotites of the asthenosphere mantle and the other was spinel-bearing peridotites of the enriched subcontinental lithosphere mantle. During early stages in the evolution of the magmatic system, deep-seated asthenospheric magmas were ascending to the surface while intensively interacting with the melts that had been generated at upper mantle depths. The interaction gradually diminished, so that the later effusive rocks mostly have compositions that are similar to those of the primitive asthenospheric magmas. It is shown that a significant (up to 17-18 wt % of the mantle melt) assimilation of crustal material could take place only during the initial phases of the magmatism. Periodic replenishment of the magma chambers by primitive magmas, which resulted in an observable high degree of homogeneity in the composition of young effusive rocks, was also of importance in the petrogenesis of lavas during the evolution of volcanic activity

Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of the Tetragonal, Fluorite-Related Zn<inf>0.456</inf>In<inf>1.084</inf>Ge<inf>0.460</inf>O<inf>3</inf>

International audienceWe report the discovery of Zn0.456In1.084Ge0.460O3, a material closely related to bixbyite. In contrast, however, the oxygen atoms in this new phase occupy 4 Wyckoff positions, which result in 4 four-coordinate, 24 six-coordinate (2 different Wyckoff positions), and 4 eight-coordinate sites as compared to the 32 six-coordinate (also 2 different Wyckoff positions) sites of bixbyite. This highly ordered material is related to fluorite, Ag6GeSO8, and -UO3 and is n-type with a bulk carrier concentration of 4.772 × 1014 cm-3. The reduced form displays an average room temperature conductivity of 99(11) S·cm-1 and an average optical band gap of 2.88(1) eV. These properties are comparable to those of In2O3, which is the host material for the current leading transparent conducting oxides. The structure of Zn0.456In1.084Ge0.460O3 is solved from a combined refinement of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction and confirmed with electron diffraction. The solution is a new, layered, tetragonal structure in the I41/amd space group with a = 7.033986(19) Å and c = 19.74961(8) Å. The complex cationic topological network adopted by Zn0.456In1.084Ge0.460O3 offers the potential for future studies to further understand carrier generation in -3 eV oxide semiconductors. © 2015 American Chemical Society

Structural, Electrical, and Optical Properties of the Tetragonal, Fluorite-Related Zn<inf>0.456</inf>In<inf>1.084</inf>Ge<inf>0.460</inf>O<inf>3</inf>

We report the discovery of Zn0.456In1.084Ge0.460O3, a material closely related to bixbyite. In contrast, however, the oxygen atoms in this new phase occupy 4 Wyckoff positions, which result in 4 four-coordinate, 24 six-coordinate (2 different Wyckoff positions), and 4 eight-coordinate sites as compared to the 32 six-coordinate (also 2 different Wyckoff positions) sites of bixbyite. This highly ordered material is related to fluorite, Ag6GeSO8, and -UO3 and is n-type with a bulk carrier concentration of 4.772 × 1014 cm-3. The reduced form displays an average room temperature conductivity of 99(11) S·cm-1 and an average optical band gap of 2.88(1) eV. These properties are comparable to those of In2O3, which is the host material for the current leading transparent conducting oxides. The structure of Zn0.456In1.084Ge0.460O3 is solved from a combined refinement of synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction and time-of-flight neutron powder diffraction and confirmed with electron diffraction. The solution is a new, layered, tetragonal structure in the I41/amd space group with a = 7.033986(19) Å and c = 19.74961(8) Å. The complex cationic topological network adopted by Zn0.456In1.084Ge0.460O3 offers the potential for future studies to further understand carrier generation in -3 eV oxide semiconductors. © 2015 American Chemical Society