Lightly branched comb polyesters: application in fast drying solvent-borne coating formulations

Novel oxazoline-based comb-polymers possessing linoleyl or oleic side chains have been synthesized and used to produce low viscosity coatings. Inclusion of the polymers in model paint formulations results in coatings that exhibit faster drying times than commercially available alkyd resin formulations. The comb polymers were produced from diol substituted oxazoline monomers that were synthesized through a scalable, solvent free protocol and purified by simple recrystallisation. Co-polymerisation of the oxazolines with adipic acid at 160 °C in the bulk resulted in the targeted polyester comb type polymers. The polymers were soluble in a range of organic solvents and compatible with commercial alkyd resins. Model paint formulations containing up to 40 wt% of the linoleyl-based comb polymers exhibited a dramatic reduction in viscosity (from 35 to 13 Poise at 25 °C) with increasing quantities of polymer added. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) studies revealed that the drying rate of the model paint formulations containing the comb polymers was enhanced when compared with that of commercial alkyd resins.

Cortical thickness changes in the non-lesioned hemisphere associated with non-paretic arm immobilization in modified CI therapy

Recent evidence suggests that immobilization of the upper limb for 2–3 weeks induces changes in cortical thickness as well as motor performance. In constraint induced (CI) therapy, one of the most effective interventions for hemiplegia, the non-paretic arm is constrained to enforce the use of the paretic arm in the home setting. With the present study we aimed to explore whether non-paretic arm immobilization in CI therapy induces structural changes in the non-lesioned hemisphere, and how these changes are related to treatment benefit. 31 patients with chronic hemiparesis participated in CI therapy with (N = 14) and without (N = 17) constraint. Motor ability scores were acquired before and after treatment. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) data was obtained prior to treatment. Cortical thickness was measured with the Freesurfer software. In both groups cortical thickness in the contralesional primary somatosensory cortex increased and motor function improved with the intervention. However the cortical thickness change was not associated with the magnitude of motor function improvement. Moreover, the treatment effect and the cortical thickness change were not significantly different between the constraint and the non-constraint groups. There was no correlation between fractional anisotropy changes in the non-lesioned hemisphere and treatment outcome. CI therapy induced cortical thickness changes in contralesional sensorimotor regions, but this effect does not appear to be driven by the immobilization of the non-paretic arm, as indicated by the absence of differences between the constraint and the non-constraint groups. Our data does not suggest that the arm immobilization used in CI therapy is associated with noticeable cortical thinning.

Isosorbide Polyesters from Enzymatic Catalysis

The synthesis of isosorbide aliphatic polyesters is demonstrated by the use of Novozym 435, a catalyst consisting of Candida antarctica lipase B immobilized on a macroporous support Several experimental procedures were tested and azeotropic distillation was most effective in removing low mass byproduct Furthermore, the use of diethyl ester derivatives of diacid comonomers gave isosorbide copolyesters with highest Isolated yield and molecular weights The length of the diacid aliphatic chain was less restrictive, but with a clear preference for longer aliphatic chains The molecular mass values of the obtained products were equivalent or higher than those obtained by nonenzymatic polymerizations, a clear illustration of the potential of enzymatic over conventional catalysis The ability of Novozym 435 to catalyze the synthesis of isosorbide polyester with weight-average molecular weights in excess of 40000 Da was unexpected given that isosorbide has two chemically distinct secondary hydroxyl groups This is the first example in which isosorbide polyesters were synthesized by enzyme catalysis, opening a large array of possibilities for this important class of biomass-derived building blocks Because these polymers are potential biomaterials the total absence of conventional Lewis acid catalyst residues represents a major Improvement in the toxicity of the material

Genotoxic, mutagenic and cytotoxic effects of the commercial dye CI Disperse Blue 291 in the human hepatic cell line HepG2

Textile dyes are discarded into the aquatic ecosystem via industrial effluents and potentially expose humans and local biota to adverse effects. The commercial dye CI Disperse Blue 291 which contains the aminoazobenzene 2-[(2-bromo-4,6-dinitrophenyl)azo]-5(diethylamino)-4-methoxyacetanilide (CAS registry no. 56548-64-2), was tested for genotoxicity and cytotoxicity in the human hepatoma cell line HepG2, using the comet assay, micronucleus (MN) test and a cell viability test. Five different concentrations of the test compound were examined: 200 mu g/ml, 400 mu g/ml, 600 mu g/ml, 800 mu g/ml and 1000 mu g/ml. An increase in comet tail length and in the frequency of MN was detected with exposure of cells to concentrations of the commercial dye from 400 pg/ml. Furthermore, the dye was found to decrease cell viability. The results of this study demonstrate for the first time the genotoxic and mutagenic effects of the dye CI Disperse Blue 291 in mammalian cells, thus stressing the need to develop non-mutagenic dyes and to invest in improving the treatment of effluents. These measures will help to prevent harmful effects that these compounds can have on humans and aquatic organisms that come in contact with them. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Homogeneous photodegradation of CI Reactive Blue 4 using a photo-Fenton process under artificial and solar irradiation

The oxidation of C.I. Reactive Blue 4 (RB4) by photo-Fenton process mediated by lerrioxalate was investigated under artificial and solar irradiation. The RB4 degradation in acidic medium (pH 2.5) was evaluated by the decrease in Total Organic Carbon (TOC) content and color, measured by the decrease in chromophore absorption band (600 nm). The influence of ferrioxalate and H2O2 concentrations on the dye degradation was studied and best results were obtained using 1.0 mM ferrioxalate and 10 nM of hydrogen peroxide. Under these experimental conditions, 80% of TOC and 100% of color removal were obtained for a 0.1 mM RB4 dye in 35 min of solar irradiation. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparative study on turning CI and CGI using silicon nitride cutting tools

There has been a great interest for improving the machining of cast iron materials in the automotive and other industries. Comparative studies for tool used to machine grey cast iron (CI) and compacted graphite iron (CGI) on dry machining were also performed in order to find out why in this case the tool lifetime is not significantly higher. However the machining these materials while considering turning with the traditional high-speed steel and carbide cutting tools present any disadvantages. One of these disadvantages is that all the traditional machining processes involve the cooling fluid to remove the heat generated on workpiece due to friction during cutting. This paper present a new generation of ceramic cutting tool exhibiting improved properties and important advances in machining CI and CGI. The tool performance was analyzed in function of flank wear, temperature and roughness, while can be observed that main effects were found for tool wear, were abrasion to CI and inter-diffusion of constituting elements between tool and CGI, causing crater. However the difference in tool lifetime can be explained by the formation of a MnS layer on the tool surface in the case of grey CI. This layer is missing in the case of CGI.

Propriedades estruturais e ópticas de filmes finos a-C:H:CI obtidos por deposição à vapor químico assistido por plasma e deposição e implantação iônica por imersão em plasma

Pós-graduação em Ciência e Tecnologia de Materiais - FC

Migração de K+, Cu2+ e CI- em solos do subgrupo Itararé no Estado de São Paulo: ensaios sorcivos, percolação em colunas e simulações geoquímicas

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Thermoplastic polyesters and Co-polyesters derived from vegetable oil: synthesis and optimization of melt polycondensation for medium and long chain poly(omega-hydroxyfatty acid)s and their ester derivatives

The synthesis of a series of omega-hydroxyfatty acid (omega-OHFA) monomers and their methyl ester derivatives (Me-omega-OHFA) from mono-unsaturated fatty acids and alcohols via ozonolysis-reduction/crossmetathesis reactions is described. Melt polycondensation of the monomers yielded thermoplastic poly(omega-hydroxyfatty acid)s [-(CH2)(n)-COO-](x) with medium (n = 8 and 12) and long (n = 17) repeating monomer units. The omega-OHFAs and Me-omega-OHFAs were all obtained in good yield (>= 80%) and purity (>= 97%) as established by H-1 NMR, Fourier Transform infra-red spectroscopy (FT-IR), mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS) and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analyses. The average molecular size (M-n) and distribution (PDI) of the poly(omega-hydroxyfatty acid)s (P(omega-OHFA)s) and poly(omega-hydroxyfatty ester) s (P(Me-omega-OHFA) s) as determined by GPC varied with organo-metallic Ti(IV) isopropoxide [Ti(OiPr)(4)] polycondensation catalyst amount, reaction time and temperature. An optimization of the polymerization process provided P(omega-OHFA) s and P(Me-omega-OHFA) s with M-n and PDI values desirable for high end applications. Co-polymerization of the long chain (n = 12) and medium chain (n = 8) Me-omega-OHFAs by melt polycondensation yielded poly(omega-hydroxy tridecanoate/omega-hydroxy nonanoate) random co-polyesters (M-n = 11000- 18500 g mol(-1)) with varying molar compositions.

Influence of monomeric and polymeric structure on the physical properties of thermoplastic polyesters derived from hydroxy fatty acids

The physical properties of three vegetable oil derived medium and long chain poly(-hydroxy fatty ester)s (P(Me--OHFA)s), namely poly(-hydroxynonanoate) [P(Me--OHC9)], poly(-hydroxytridecanoate) [P(Me--OHC13)] and poly(-hydroxyoctadecanoate) [P(Me--OHC18)] (n = 8, 12 and 17, respectively), of the [-(CH2)(n)-COO-](x) polyester homologous series are presented. The effect of M-n (M-n 10-40 kg mol(-1)) and n on the crystal structure and thermal and mechanical properties of the P(Me--OHFA)s were investigated by wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), TGA, DSC, dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and tensile analysis and are discussed in the context of the [-(CH2)(n)-COO-](x) polyester homologous series, contrasted with linear polyethylene (PE). For all P(Me--OHFA)s the WAXD data indicated an orthorhombic crystal phase reminiscent of linear PE with crystallinity (X-c = 50%-80%) depending strongly on M-n. The glass transition temperature and Young's modulus for P(Me--OHFA)s increased with X-c. The DSC, DMA and TGA studies for P(Me--OHFA)s (n = 8, 12 and 17) indicated strong correlations between the melting, glass transition and thermal degradation behavior and n. The established predictive structure relationships can be used for the custom engineering of polyester materials suitable for specialty and commodity applications. (c) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

Habilidades informacionais abordadas em instrumentos de avaliação de CI

Internationally there are validated instruments that are used on a large scale to verify the information literacy of individuals in different contexts. Their results serve as a diagnostic for the planning and implementation of information literacy activities. In Brazil there is no validated assessment tools of information literacy. An analysis of contents of four international instruments attached to the upper level educational institutions duly recognized in the literature of the field and validated. The results will be presented related to information literacy addressed in these instruments. It was found that the instruments analyzed the skills focused on the identification of terms of the informational needs, the preparation and construction of search strategies available in parameter two of the Association of College and Research Libraries; differentiation of information sources (parameter one); evaluation and selection of informational sources and selection of the theme searched information (parameter three); and, finally, the abilities of the ethical issue related to use of the information (parameter five). The parameter four, which is facing the communication of information, was not addressed by the instruments. It was concluded that there is a concern of those responsible for preparing the instruments covered with more traditional technical aspects of training users and aspects of information literacy at the expense of ethical and aesthetic aspects.

Biodegradation of Thermoplastic and hermosetting Polyesters from Z-Protected Glutamic Acid

In a previous article,1 the development and molecular characterization of three polyesters from N-carbobenzyloxy-L-glutamic acid (ZGluOH) were reported. The polymers were a linear, heterochain polyester (ZGluOH and ethylene glycol), a crosslinked heterochain polyester (ZGluOH and diglycidyl ether of 1,4-butanediol), and a crosslinked, heterochain aromatic polyester (ZGluOH and diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A). In this manuscript, results of biodegradation studies are reported. The three polymers hydrolyzed to low molecular weight oligomers similar to the monomers with lipase. When exposed to a mixed culture of micro-organisms, the first two resins degraded to biomass and respiratory gases. The crosslinked heterochain aromatic polyester resisted microbial degradation.