Autogenous shrinkage properties of high performance cement based products

Yüksek performanslı ve yüksek dayanımlı betonların üretimiyle, otojen rötre kavramı büyük bir önem kazanmıştır. Çimento miktarı yüksek, su/çimento oranı çok düşük seviyelerde olan bu betonlarda yeterince su bulunmamasından dolayı otojen rötrenin salt kimyasal faktör dışında kendiliğinden kurumanın yol açtığı bir fiziksel etkiyle de arttığı gözlenmiştir. Otojen rötrenin yüksek performanslı betonlarda, kuruma rötresi mertebesine erişmesiyle konu ilgi çekmeye başlamış ve konu üzerindeki araştırmalar yoğunlaşmıştır. Çimentoların çeşitli bileşenlerinin, kimyasal ve mineral katkıların bu rötre üzerindeki etkilerinin araştırıldığı çok sayıda araştırma mevcuttur. Portland çimentolarının minör bileşenleri olan alkalilerin, çok düşük miktarlarına karşın betonların işlenebilme, dayanım, dürabilite ve rötre özeliklerini önemli ölçüde etkilediği bilinmektedir. Bu deneysel çalışmada yüksek performanslı betonların otojen rötreleri üzerinde çimento bileşenlerinin (özellikle çözünen alkali içeriğinin) ve süperakışkanlaştırıcı katkının etkileri araştırılmış, bu iki faktörün hidratasyon süreci üzerindeki etkileri üzerine yoğunlaşılmıştır. Çalışmada değişik kimyasal bileşenlere sahip çimentolar kullanılarak hamur numuneler üretilmiş, bu numunelerin otojen rötreleri belirlenmiştir. Bu çimentoların hidratasyon aşamaları da çeşitli yöntemlerle takip edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak çimento bileşenlerinin (özellikle çözünen alkali içeriğinin) ve süperakışkanlaştırıcı kullanımının otojen rötre üzerindeki etkileri belirlenmiştir. Elde edilen ana sonuç şöyle özetlenebilir; çimentolardaki çözünen alkali miktarları FKOR büyüklüğünü arttırma yönünde etkinlik taşımktadır. Bunun yanında C3A, C4AF, (SO3/çözünen alkali oranı) ve incelik parametreleri de FKOR’yi etkileyen etkenler arasında dikkate alınmalıdır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Yüksek performasnlı beton, otojen rötre, hidratasyon, çözünen alkali. Autogenous shrinkage concept has started to gain more importance since the high performance-high strength concretes were began to be utilized for structural purposes. These concretes are generally designed with high cementitious materials contents and low water to cementitious material ratios. It is observed that, due to lack of water in capillary pores in these concretes, autogenous shrinkage increases under the effects of not only the chemical factors but also the physical effects. Autogenous shrinkage has started to draw attention with having the same magnitude of drying shrinkage, and the research dealing with this concept has been intensified.  There are numbers of investigations focusing on the effects of various components of cements, chemical and mineral admixtures on this shrinkage. It is well known that, alkalis, which are the minor components of Portland cements, affect the workability, strength, durability, and shrinkage properties of concretes drastically despite their low percentage in cement. These components also affect the hydration process of Portland cement crucially. Therefore, it is inevitable that the soluble alkalis existing in cement will have an effect on the autogenous shrinkage which became more important due to its use in the production of high performance concretes (HPC). Superplasticizers are indispensable ingredients of HPCs. Besides reducing the water to cement ratio, these admixtures also affect the hydration rate and morphology of the hydration products. In this experimental study; effects of cement components (especially soluble alkali content) and superplasticizers on the autogenous shrinkage were investigated. The effects of these two factors on the hydration process were also focused on.  Moreover, discussions were done on the definition of autogenous shrinkage. "Physicochemical Autogenous Shrinkage" term was attributed as to define this shrinkage which is mainly caused by physicochemical effects. Cement paste specimens were produced using cements having different chemical compositions. Autogenous shrinkages of these specimens were obtained by means of volumetric measurement technique. Measurements of volumetric changes was taken in water by means of Archimet balance. Hydration degree of these paste specimens were obtained by non-evaporable water technique. Heat of hydration values were also measured by means of semi-adiabadic calorimeter. The rate of hydration reaction was determined. Capillary pore size distributions were also obtained with Mercury Intrusion Porosimeter (MIP) technique. As a result, the effects of cement components (especially soluble alkali content) and superplasticizers on the autogenous shrinkage of HPC's were determined. Moreover, critical time periods for physcochemical autogenous shrinkage were obtained and the characteristic behavior of this shrinkage were exlained by hydration kinetics. Relations between capillary pore ratio and physcochemical autogenous shrinkage were determined. The main results obtained from this experimental study can be drawn as following: 1) Physicochemical autogenous shrinkage has three main phases for the pastes with low water to cement ratios containing superplasticizer. Generally, these stages were not observed for the specimens which do not contain superplasticizer. However, as an exceptional case, some specimens which do not include superplasticizer could show similar steps as the specimens having superplasticizer. 2) Although, lower hydration heats and hydration degrees were obtained for the lower water to cement ratio specimens, higher values of physicochemical autogenous shrinkage were measured. It was determined that the most effective factor in gaining the physicochemical shrinkage was the released heat values which show the rate of hydration. Higher physicochemical autogenous shrinkage values are measured for the cement pastes which have the higher values of released heat. Microporosity test results have shown that the increasing ratio of capillary pores to total pores causes to increase in physicochemical autogenous shrinkage. Soluble alkali contents were also found to be effective on the. Cements having higher soluble alkali contents exhibited higher physicochemical autogenous shrinkage. It was also concluded that besides the soluble alkali contents in cement, C3A, C4AF contents and SO /soluble alkali ratio are effective parameters and they should be taken into consideration.  Keywords: High performance concrete, autogenous shrinkage, hydration, soluble alkali

Bioactive nanomaterials for neural engineering

Nervous system is a highly complex interconnected network and higher organisms including humans have limited neural regeneration capacity. Neurodegenerative diseases result in significant cognitive, sensory, or motor impairments. Following an injury in the neural network, there is a balance between promotion and inhibition of regeneration and this balance is shifted to different directions in central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS). More regeneration capacity is observed in the PNS compared to the CNS. Although, several mechanisms play roles in the inhibitory and growth-promoting natures of the CNS and PNS, extracellular matrix (ECM) elements are key players in this process. ECM is a three-dimensional environment where the cells migrate, proliferate, and differentiate (Rutka et al. 1988; Pan et al. 1997). After a comprehensive investigation of the interactions between the ECM proteins and cell receptors, the ECM environment was found to regulate significant cellular processes such as survival, proliferation, differentiation, and migration (Yurchenco and Cheng 1994; Aszodi et al. 2006). Its components have major roles not only in neurogenesis during development of the nervous system but also in normal neural functioning during adulthood (Hubert et al. 2009). © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016

The origin of the Guitar pulsar

Among a sample of 140 OB associations and clusters, we want to identify probable parent associations for the Guitar pulsar (PSR B2224+65) which would then also constrain its age. For this purpose, we are using an Euler-Cauchy technique treating the vertical component of the galactic potential to calculate the trajectories of the pulsar and each association into the past. To include errors we use Monte-Carlo simulations varying the initial parameters within their error intervals. The whole range of possible pulsar radial velocities is taken into account during the simulations. We find that the Guitar pulsar most probably originated from the Cygnus OB3 association ~0.8 Myr ago inferring a current radial velocity of v_r~-30 km/s, consistent with the inclination of its bow shock.Comment: 4 pages, 1 figure, 3 table

Imaging Net Retrograde Axonal Transport In Vivo: A Physiological Biomarker

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to develop a novel method for monitoring the integrity of motor neurons in vivo by quantifying net retrograde axonal transport. METHODS: The method uses single photon emission computed tomography to quantify retrograde transport to spinal cord of tetanus toxin fragment C ((125) I-TTC) following intramuscular injection. We characterized the transport profiles in 3 transgenic mouse models carrying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)-associated genes, aging mice, and SOD1(G93A) transgenic mice following CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Lastly, we studied the effect of prior immunization of tetanus toxoid on the transport profile of TTC. RESULTS: This technique defines a quantitative profile of net retrograde axonal transport of TTC in living mice. The profile is distinctly abnormal in transgenic SOD1(G93A) mice as young as 65 days (presymptomatic) and worsens with disease progression. Moreover, this method detects a distinct therapeutic benefit of gene editing in transgenic SOD1(G93A) mice well before other clinical parameters (eg, grip strength) show improvement. Symptomatic transgenic PFN1(C71G/C71G) ALS mice display gross reductions in net retrograde axonal transport, which is also disturbed in asymptomatic mice harboring a human C9ORF72 transgene with an expanded GGGGCC repeat motif. In wild-type mice, net retrograde axonal transport declines with aging. Lastly, prior immunization with tetanus toxoid does not preclude use of this assay. INTERPRETATION: This assay of net retrograde axonal transport has broad potential clinical applications and should be particularly valuable as a physiological biomarker that permits early detection of benefit from potential therapies for motor neuron diseases

Türkiye’de bulunan yoğun bakımlarda sabun, kağıt havlu ve alkol bazlı el dezenfektanı yeterli mi?: Phokai çalışması sonuçları

Introduction: Hand hygiene is one of the most effective infection control measures to prevent the spread of healthcare-associated infections (HCAI). Water, soap, paper towel and hand disinfectant must be available and adequate in terms of effective hand hygiene. The adequacy of hand hygiene products or keeping water-soap and paper towel is still a problem for many developing countries like Turkey. In this multicenter study, we analyzed the adequacy in number and availability of hand hygiene products.Materials and Methods: This study was performed in all intensive care units (ICUs) of 41 hospitals (27 tertiary-care educational, 10 state and four private hospitals) from 22 cities located in seven geographical regions of Turkey. We analyzed water, soap, paper towel and alcohol-based hand disinfectant adequacy on four different days, two of which were in summer during the vacation time (August, 27th and 31st 2016) and two in autumn (October, 12th and 15th 2016).Results: The total number of ICUs and intensive care beds in 41 participating centers were 214 and 2357, respectively. Overall, there was no soap in 3-11% of sinks and no paper towel in 10-18% of sinks while there was no alcohol-based hand disinfectant in 1-4.7% of hand disinfectant units on the observation days. When we compared the number of sinks with soap and/or paper towel on weekdays vs. weekends, there was no significant difference in summer. However, on autumn weekdays, the number of sinks with soap and paper towel was significantly lower on weekend days (p<0.0001, p<0.0001) while the number of hand disinfectant units with alcohol-based disinfectant was significantly higher (p<0.0001).Conclusion: There should be adequate and accessible hand hygiene materials for effective hand hygiene. In this study, we found that soap and paper towels were inadequate on the observation days in 3-11% and 10-18% of units, respectively. Attention should be paid on soap and paper towel supply at weekends as well

New Approach to Shape Memory Polymer Composite Production Using Alkaline Lignin-Reinforced Epoxy-Based Shape Memory Polymers

In the past few decades, there has been continued interest in shape memory polymers (SMPs), and tremendous efforts have been made to develop multifunctional composites of these SMPs to enhance the existing properties of SMPs. Although fossil-based sources are widely used in the production of shape memory polymer composites (SMPCs), the depletion of fossil-based resources and associated environmental problems increase interest toward renewable biobased products synthesized from natural resources. This study aims to produce alkaline lignin-reinforced SMPCs by using alkaline lignin in the SMP matrix. Thermo-mechanical, morphological, and shape memory tests are performed in order to reveal the effect of alkaline lignin usage in the SMP matrix on SMPC production. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis results show that adding alkaline lignin into the SMP matrix with 1 and 3% ratios led to an increase in Tg values, while raising the alkaline lignin ratio to 5% decreased the Tg value. According to the DMA results, increasing the alkaline lignin ratios caused an increase in the storage modulus of SMPCs, and the best storage modulus value was obtained at the 5% alkaline lignin ratio. The results of the three-point bending test also confirmed the results obtained from the DMA analysis, showing that an increasing alkaline lignin ratio caused an increase in the bending modulus. Scanning electron microscopy analysis showed a rough structure in 1 and 3% alkaline lignin supplementation, while a smoother structure was observed in 5% alkaline lignin supplementation. The smoother structure of the sample containing 5% alkaline lignin indicates that alkaline lignin supplementation exhibits a smoother surface by showing a plasticizing effect. As a result, it was observed that increasing the lignin ratio increased the polymer/alkaline lignin interaction, resulting in a harder structure and an increase in the flexural modulus value. © 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society22207; Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTAKThis study was supported by Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordinator within the scope of project number 22207. During the course of this work, M.U. was supported by TUBITAK with a scholarship under 2211-C National PhD Scholarship Program in the Priority Fields in Science and Technology and 2214-A International Doctoral Research Fellowship Programme. We would like to thank Associate Prof. Dr. Çağrı AYRANCI for allowing us to benefit from the infrastructure in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Alberta. Finally, we would like to thank Betül Aksoy for her contribution in the preparation of the graphical abstract. Also, we would like to express our gratitude to everyone in the past who provided us with these opportunities for our research

Evaluation of the bio-based materials utilization in shape memory polymer composites production

Shape memory polymers (SMPs) are part of the smart materials family. They have the ability to recover their permanent shape, from a temporary shape, upon application of a stimulus, such as heat, PH, etc. They are utilized in various multifunctional engineering design applications, including biomedical, aerospace, and military fields; and therefore, they are becoming increasingly popular. Some of these applications require high mechanical and shape memory properties that cannot be offered with SMP. Therefore, the use of shape memory polymer composites (SMPCs) has become a common practice. However, most SMPs and SMPCs are of fossil origin, and their extensive use raises environmental concerns. Consequently, in recent years, scientists and engineers started to heavily investigate bio-based shape memory polymer composites (bio-SMPCs). A comprehensive critical review investigating the bio-SMPCs is missing in the literature. Hence, in this review, we categorize bio-SMPCs under two main sections: (1) either the matrix or the reinforcement is a bio-based material, (2) both matrix and the reinforcement are bio-based materials. The critical review includes the general properties bio-SMPCs, production methods, applied tests and application areas. Finally, this review aims to guide future research by including the opportunities and challenges concerning bio-SMPCs. © 2023 Elsevier LtdThis study was supported by Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordinator within the scope of project number 22207. During the course of this work, Merve UYAN was supported by TUBITAK with a scholarship under 2211-C National PhD Scholarship Program in the Priority Fields in Science and Technology. We would like to thank Dr. Çağrı AYRANCI for his useful contributions to this review. And also, we would like to express our gratitude to everyone in the past who provided us with these opportunities for our research.22207; Türkiye Bilimsel ve Teknolojik Araştırma Kurumu, TÜBİTA