Nylon-6/rubber blends: 6. Notched tensile impact testing of nylon-6(ethylene-propylene rubber) blends

The deformation and fracture behaviour of nylon-6/EPR (ethylene-propylene rubber) blends is studied as a function of strain rate and rubber content. Therefore, tensile experiments are conducted on notched specimens over a broad range of draw speeds (including strain rates as encountered in normal tensile tests and in impact tests). The blends with a high rubber content show super-tough behaviour at low and high speeds. In the intermediate-speed regime the fracture energy reaches a minimum (with a level comparable with that of unmodified nylon). The blends with a low rubber content show a transition from tough to brittle behaviour with increasing strain rate. The sudden rise in fracture energy with rising strain rate is believed to be caused by a transition from isothermal to adiabatic deformation. In the adiabatic regime the rise in temperature is high enough to melt the material around the crack tip. This thermal blunting mechanism causes crack propagation to be stable at high strain rates. This mechanism is affirmed by scanning electron microscope studies of the deformation zone

Screening van hot spots van nieuwe verontreinigingen : een pilot studie in bodem, grondwater en oppervlaktewater

Onder nieuwe verontreinigingen verstaan we stoffen die nog niet of niet volledig zijn gereguleerd en waarvan de milieurisico’s vaak onbekend zijn. Daarbij gaat het om stoffen als natuurlijke hormonen en hormoonverstorende stoffen (weekmakers, detergenten, brandvertragers, e.d.), humane geneesmiddelen, diergeneesmiddelen, nanodeeltjes en microplastics. In de ‘waterwereld’ is altijd meer aandacht besteed aan de nieuwe verontreinigingen dan binnen andere beleidsvelden. In de bodem zijn de aanwezigheid en de mogelijke risico’s grotendeels onbekend. In 2013 heeft een consortium van diverse onderzoeksinstanties en stakeholders een pilotonderzoek uitgevoerd naar de aanwezigheid en mogelijke risico’s van hormonen en geneesmiddelen in het systeem bodem - grondwater - oppervlaktewater

Impact van rwzi’s op geneesmiddelconcentraties in kwetsbaar oppervlaktewater

Voor geneesmiddelen zijn de rwzi’s de belangrijkste route naar het oppervlaktewater. We hebben een model ontwikkeld waarmee we de invloed van rwzi’s op de kwaliteit van het oppervlaktewater in Nederland kunnen voorspellen. Dat maakt inzichtelijk waar maatregelen het meest effectief zijn. We hebben het model doorgerekend voor twee verschillende geneesmiddelen en twee extreme afvoercondities

Examination of the role of Mycoplasma bovis in bovine pneumonia and a mathematical model for its evaluation

The authors screened 34 large cattle herds for the presence of Mycoplasma bovis infection by examining slaughtered cattle for macroscopic lung lesions, by culturing M. bovis from lung lesions and at the same time by testing sera for the presence of antibodies against M. bovis. Among the 595 cattle examined, 33.9% had pneumonic lesions, mycoplasmas were isolated from 59.9% of pneumonic lung samples, and 10.9% of sera from those animals contained antibodies to M.bovis. In 25.2% of the cases M. bovis was isolated from lungs with no macroscopic lesions. The proportion of seropositive herds was 64.7%. The average seropositivity rate of individuals was 11.3% but in certain herds it exceeded 50%. A probability model was developed for examining the relationship among the occurrence of pneumonia, the isolation of M. bovis from the lungs and the presence of M. bovis specific antibodies in sera

Implementation of a mobile 0.15-T intraoperative MR system in pediatric neuro-oncological surgery: feasibility and correlation with early postoperative high-field strength MRI

INTRODUCTION: We analyze our preliminary experience using the PoleStar N20 mobile intraoperative MR (iMR) system as an adjunct for pediatric brain tumor resection. METHODS: We analyzed 11 resections in nine children between 1 month and 17 years old. After resection, we acquired iMR scans to detect residual tumor and update neuronavigation. We compared final iMR interpretation by the neurosurgeon with early postoperative MR interpretation by a neuroradiologist. RESULTS: Patient positioning was straightforward, and image quality (T1 7-min 4-mm sequences) sufficient in all cases. In five cases, contrast enhancement suspect for residual tumor was noted on initial postresection iMR images. In one case, a slight discrepancy with postoperative imaging after 3 months was no longer visible after 1 year. No serious perioperative adverse events related to the PoleStar N20 were encountered, except for transient shoulder pain in two. CONCLUSIONS: Using the PoleStar N20 iMR system is technically feasible and safe for both supra- and infratentorial tumor resections in children of all ages. Their small head and shoulders favor positioning in the magnet bore and allow the field of view to cover more than the area of primary interest, e.g., the ventricles in an infratentorial case. Standard surgical equipment may be used without significant limitations. In this series, the use of iMR leads to an increased extent of tumor resection in 45 % of cases. Correlation between iMR and early postoperative MR is excellent, provided image quality is optimal and interpretation is carefully done by someone sufficiently familiar with the system

Mutational Analysis of the Antagonist-binding Site of the Histamine H1 Receptor.

We combined in a previously derived three-dimensional model of the histamine

Effects of soil properties on the uptake of pharmaceuticals into earthworms

AbstractPharmaceuticals can enter the soil environment when animal slurries and sewage sludge are applied to land as a fertiliser or during irrigation with contaminated water. These pharmaceuticals may then be taken up by soil organisms possibly resulting in toxic effects and/or exposure of organisms higher up the food chain. This study investigated the influence of soil properties on the uptake and depuration of pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine and orlistat) in the earthworm Eisenia fetida. The uptake and accumulation of pharmaceuticals into E. fetida changed depending on soil type. Orlistat exhibited the highest pore water based bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and displayed the largest differences between soil types with BCFs ranging between 30.5 and 115.9. For carbamazepine, diclofenac and fluoxetine BCFs ranged between 1.1 and 1.6, 7.0 and 69.6 and 14.1 and 20.4 respectively. Additional analysis demonstrated that in certain treatments the presence of these chemicals in the soil matrices changed the soil pH over time, with a statistically significant pH difference to control samples. The internal pH of E. fetida also changed as a result of incubation in pharmaceutically spiked soil, in comparison to the control earthworms. These results demonstrate that a combination of soil properties and pharmaceutical physico-chemical properties are important in terms of predicting pharmaceutical uptake in terrestrial systems and that pharmaceuticals can modify soil and internal earthworm chemistry which may hold wider implications for risk assessment