The influence of temperature and moisture on the mode I fracture toughness and associated fracture morphology of a highly toughened aerospace CFRP

This paper addresses the characterisation of the mode I interlaminar fracture toughness of a carbon fibre/epoxy composite material, toughened with thermoplastic particles in the ply interlayers. The characterisation is undertaken at −55 °C, 19 °C, and 90 °C, on both dry and fully moisture saturated coupons. Fractographic observations of the delamination surfaces allows identification of the failure mechanisms. The mode I propagation fracture toughness tested at wet/90 °C exhibits a 176% increase compared to the dry/19 °C specimens, due to enhanced plastic deformation of the interlayers and more prominent fibre bridging. Moisture-saturated coupons tested at −55 °C suffered a 57% reduction of mode I fracture toughness compared to those under dry/19 °C conditions. This is due to the dis-bond and consequent plucking of the thermoplastic particles from the surrounding matrix. This observation points to the fact that wet/cold conditions may represent the worst-case scenario for the interlaminar fracture performance of composite systems toughened with thermoplastic interleaves

Genetic purity certificate in seeds of hybrid maize using molecular markers.

Um dos principais atributos que conferem à semente uma alta qualidade é sua pureza genética, sendo a principal causa de contaminação em sementes de milho híbrido, a ocorrência de autofecundação do parental feminino. No entanto, ainda não existem metodologias seguras e rápidas para detectar tais contaminações. Desta forma, o presente trabalho foi desenvolvido objetivando certificar a pureza genética em sementes de milho híbrido por meio de diferentes técnicas de marcadores bioquímicos e de DNA. Sementes de dois híbridos e de suas respectivas linhagens, provenientes do programa de melhoramento da Universidade Federal de Lavras foram avaliadas por padrões eletroforéticos das isoenzimas álcool desidrogenase (ADH), esterase (EST), fosfatase ácida (ACP), glutamato-oxalacetato transaminase (GOT), malato desidrogenase (MDH), isocitrato desidrogenase (IDH), 6-fosfoglucamato desidrogenase (PGDH), fosfoglucomutase (PGM), catalase (CAT) e ß-glucosidade (ßGLU) e por marcadores microssatélites. Os sistemas enzimáticos que permitiram separar os híbridos de seus respectivos progenitores foram a catalase, a isocitrato desidrogenase e a esterase, sendo que para a esterase foi observada segregação mendeliana para o híbrido UFLA 8/3, o que torna a certificação da pureza genética mais segura. Os microssatélites além de terem sido eficientes na diferenciação dos híbridos e das linhagens parentais, apresentaram-se como uma técnica de análise rápida, precisa e independente do ambiente. Como o padrão de amplificação dos microssatélites não foi influenciado quando se utilizou o DNA extraído de sementes inteiras ou de folhas, torna-se possível a utilização de sementes como fonte de DNA, o que acelera e facilita a execução das análises de pureza genética. One of the main features that confer high quality to the seed is its genetic purity, in which one of the major causes of contamination is the self-pollination of the female parent. Up to date, there is no accurate and fast methods for detecting such contamination. Thus, this work was carried out to certify the genetic purity in seeds of hybrid maize using different biochemical and DNA-based markers. Two single-cross hybrids and their parental lines derived from the maize breeding program at UFLA were evaluated by isoenzymatic pattern of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), esterase (EST), acid phosphatase (ACP), glutamate-oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), malate dehydrogenase (MDH), isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), phosphoglucomutase (PGM), 6-phosphoglucomate dehydrogenase (PGDH), catalase (CAT) and ß-glucosidade (ßGLU) and by microsatellites markers. The enzymatic systems that were able to distinguish the hybrids from their parental line were the catalase, the isocitrate dehydrogenase and the esterase. The esterase showed a Mendelian segregation pattern for UFLA 8/3 hybrid, that enables a safer genetic purity certificate. Microsatellites were able to differentiate the hybrid lines and the respective parental lines. Moreover, this technique was fast, precise and without environment effects. For microsatellites, the amplification pattern was identical when young leaves or seeds were used as DNA source. The possibility of using seeds as DNA source would accelerate and facilitate the role process of the genetic purity analysis

High Adherence to Mediterranean Diet Is Not Associated with an Improved Sodium and Potassium Intake

Prevention and control of hypertension and cerebro-cardiovascular diseases are associated with adequate sodium and potassium intake and adherence to a Mediterranean dietary pattern. The aim of this study was to assess the association between adherence to a Mediterranean diet (MD) and the excretion of sodium and potassium as surrogate measures of intake. This is a cross-sectional analysis as part of a larger study (the iMC SALT randomized controlled trial) among workers of a public university. A food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the adherence to MD, using the alternative Mediterranean diet (aMED) score; sodium and potassium excretions were estimated by 24-h urine collections. Sociodemographic and other lifestyle characteristics were also obtained. The associations between the adherence to MD and Na and K excretion were calculated by logistic regression, adjusting for confounding variables. From the 109 selected participants, seven were excluded considering urine screening and completeness criteria, leaving a final sample of 102 subjects (48% male, average age 47 years). Mean sodium and potassium excretion were 3216 mg/day and 2646 mg/day, respectively. Sodium and potassium excretion were significantly higher in men, but no differences were found according to different levels of MD adherence. In logistic regression analysis, sodium, potassium, and sodium-to-potassium ratio urinary excretion tertiles were not associated with MD adherence (low/moderate versus high), even after adjustment for confounding variables. A high adherence to MD was thus not associated with a different level of sodium and potassium intake

Floating Node Method and Virtual Crack Closure Technique for Modeling Matrix Cracking-Delamination Interaction

A novel approach is proposed for high-fidelity modeling of progressive damage and failure in composite materials that combines the Floating Node Method (FNM) and the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) to represent multiple interacting failure mechanisms in a mesh-independent fashion. In this study, the approach is applied to the modeling of delamination migration in cross-ply tape laminates. Delamination, matrix cracking, and migration are all modeled using fracture mechanics based failure and migration criteria. The methodology proposed shows very good qualitative and quantitative agreement with experiments

Floating Node Method and Virtual Crack Closure Technique for Modeling Matrix Cracking-Delamination Migration

A novel approach is proposed for high-fidelity modeling of progressive damage and failure in composite materials that combines the Floating Node Method (FNM) and the Virtual Crack Closure Technique (VCCT) to represent multiple interacting failure mechanisms in a mesh-independent fashion. In this study, the approach is applied to the modeling of delamination migration in cross-ply tape laminates. Delamination, matrix cracking, and migration are all modeled using fracture mechanics based failure and migration criteria. The methodology proposed shows very good qualitative and quantitative agreement with experiments