High-Performance Polyvinyl Chloride Gel Artificial Muscle Actuator with Graphene Oxide and Plasticizer

A transparent and electroactive plasticized polyvinyl chloride (PVC) gel was investigated to use as a soft actuator for artificial muscle applications. PVC gels were prepared with varying plasticizer (dibutyl adipate, DBA) content. The prepared PVC gels were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, and dynamic mechanical analysis. The DBA content in the PVC gel was shown to have an inverse relationship with both the storage and loss modulus. The electromechanical performance of PVC gels was demonstrated for both single-layer and stacked multi-layer actuators. When voltage was applied to a single-layer actuator and then increased, the maximum displacement of PVC gels (for PVC/DBA ratios of 1:4, 1:6, and 1:8) was increased from 105.19, 123.67, and 135.55 µm (at 0.5 kV) to 140.93, 157.13, and 172.94 µm (at 1.0 kV) to 145.03, 191.34, and 212.84 µm (at 1.5 kV), respectively. The effects of graphene oxide (GO) addition in the PVC gel were also investigated. The inclusion of GO (0.1 wt.%) provided an approximate 20% enhancement of displacement and 41% increase in force production, and a 36% increase in power output for the PVC/GO gel over traditional plasticizer only PVC gel. The proposed PVC/GO gel actuator may have promising applications in artificial muscle, small mechanical devices, optics, and various opto-electro-mechanical devices due to its low-profile, transparency, and electrical response characteristics

The logic of decisions in militarized disputes : the effect of regime, power, arms contorol [sic], and airpower on decision-making in militarized disputes

The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file.Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on February 14, 2008)Vita.Thesis (Ph. D.) University of Missouri-Columbia 2007.This study examines the causal relationship among pre and intradispute information and decision-makers' decisions determining evolution of militarize disputes. The identified causal factors are interconnected with one another throughout several decision-making stages of militarized disputes. As pre-dispute information, ex ante external and domestic contexts, expected outcomes, and the role of intergovernmental institutions affect decisions to initiate and to escalate disputes. Likewise, as updated information, ex post coercion by airpower affects the decisions to determine dispute duration. Empirical models test the effects of ex ante contexts, the probability of victory derived from expected outcomes, arms control agreements, and the use of airpower coercion on decision-making process of militarized disputes. The results reveal that (1) ex ante contexts, relative power and regime, can become a useful predictor of dispute outcome, (2) the probability of victory based on ex ante contexts exponentially increases the likelihood of initiation, (3) pre-dispute arms control agreements can reduce the incentive to escalate violence, and (4) the use of airpower coercion, as an ex post choice, is a significant determinant of dispute duration. These findings show that decisions to terminate, to initiate, and to escalate militarized disputes can be linked to one another. This also implies that pre-dispute information can guide the intradispute decisions and decision-makings are interconnected from the initiation to the termination of militarized disputes.Includes bibliographical reference

Non-Einstein Viscosity Phenomenon of Acrylonitrile–Butadiene–Styrene Composites Containing Lignin–Polycaprolactone Particulates Highly Dispersed by High-Shear Stress

Lignin powder was modified via ring-opening polymerization of caprolactone to form a lignin–polycaprolactone (LPCL) particulate. The LPCL particulates were mixed with an acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) matrix at an extremely high rotational speed of up to 3000 rpm, which was achieved by a closed-loop screw mixer and in-line melt extruder. Using this high-shear extruding mixer, the LPCL particulate size was controlled in the range of 3395 nm (conventional twin-screw extrusion) down to 638 nm (high-shear mixer of 3000 rpm) by altering the mixing speed and time. The resulting LPCL/ABS composites clearly showed non-Einstein viscosity phenomena, exhibiting reduced viscosity (2130 Pa·s) compared to the general extruded composite one (4270 Pa·s) at 1 s–1 and 210 °C. This is due to the conformational rearrangement and the increased free volume of ABS molecular chains in the vicinity of LPCL particulates. This was supported by the decreased glass transition temperature (Tg, 83.7 °C) of the LPCL/ABS composite specimens, for example, giving a 21.8% decrement compared to that (107 °C) of the neat ABS by the incorporation of 10 wt % LPCL particulates in ABS. The LPCL particulate morphology, damping characteristics, and light transmittance of the developed composites were thoroughly investigated at various levels of applied shear rates and mixing conditions. The non-Einstein rheological phenomena stemming from the incorporation of LPCL particulates suggest an interesting plasticization methodology: to improve the processability of high-loading filler/polymer composites and ultra-high molecular weight polymers that are difficult to process because of their high viscosity

A Practical Tessellation-Based Approach for Optimizing Cell-Specific Bias Values in LTE-A Heterogeneous Cellular Networks

In order to implement an optimized solution for cell range expansion (CRE) and enhanced intercell interference coordination (eICIC) schemes in long-term evolution-advanced (LTE-A) heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs) and to realize good load-balancing performance in existing LTE-A systems, a practical tessellation-based algorithm is proposed. In this algorithm, a globalized cell-specific bias optimization and a localized almost blank subframe (ABS) ratio update are proposed. The proposed scheme does not require major changes to existing protocols. Thus, it can be implemented in existing LTE-A systems with any legacy user equipment (UE) with only a partial update to the BSs and core networks. From simulation results, it is shown that the tessellation formed by the proposed approach is quite consistent with the optimal one for various realistic scenarios. Thus, the proposed scheme can provide a much better load-balancing capability compared with the conventional common bias scheme. Owing to the improved load-balancing capability, the user rate distribution of the proposed scheme is much better than that obtained from the conventional scheme and is even indistinguishable from that of the ideal joint user association scheme

2-(1-Propyl-2,6-distyryl-1,4-dihydro­pyridin-4-yl­idene)malononitrile

In the title compound, C27H23N3, the dihedral angles between the central pyridine ring and the two outer benzene rings are 32.6 (1) and 52.0 (1)°. The compound displays inter­molecular π–π inter­actions between adjacent six-membered rings, the shortest centroid–centroid distance being 3.981 (3) Å

IRT5 Probiotics Changes Immune Modulatory Protein Expression in the Extraorbital Lacrimal Glands of an Autoimmune Dry Eye Mouse Model

PURPOSE. While the association between the gut microbiome and the immune system has been studied in autoimmune disorders, little is known about ocular disease. Previously we reported that IRT5, a mixture of five probiotic strains, could suppress autoimmune dry eye. In this study, we investigated the mechanism by which IRT5 performs its immunomodulatory function in a mouse model of autoimmune dry eye. METHODS. NOD.B10.H2b mice were used as an autoimmune dry eye model. Either IRT5 or PBS was gavaged orally for 3 weeks, with or without 5 days of antibiotic pretreatment. The effects on clinical features, extraorbital lacrimal gland and spleen proteins, and fecal microbiota were analyzed. RESULTS. The ocular staining score was lower, and tear secretion was higher, in the IRT5-treated groups than in the PBS-treated groups. After IRT5 treatment, the downregulated lacrimal gland proteins were enriched in the biological processes of defense response and immune system process. The relative abundances of 33 operational taxonomic units were higher, and 53 were lower, in the feces of the IRT5-treated groups than in those of the PBS-treated groups. IRT5 administration without antibiotic pretreatment also showed immunomodulatory functions with increases in the Lactobacillus helveticus group and Lactobacillus hamsteri. Additional proteomic assays revealed a decrease of proteins related to antigen-presenting processes in the CD11b(+) and CD11c(+) cells of spleen in the IRT5-treated groups. CONCLUSIONS. Changes in the gut microbiome after IRT5 treatment improved clinical manifestations in the autoimmune dry eye model via the downregulation of antigen-presenting processes in immune networks.11Ysciescopu