Quantitative Assessment of the Kinetics of Damage Accumulation in the Polymer Matrix Structure Under Full-Scale Climatic Factors and Tensile Loads

Постановка задачи. Изучено изменение упруго-прочностных показателей и кинетики накопления повреждений в эпоксидных полимерах под действием растягивающих нагрузок в контрольном состоянии и после натурного климатического воздействия в течение одного календарного года. Расчет кинетики накопления повреждений осуществлялся на основе авторской методики, основанной на использовании методов фрактального анализа кривых деформирования образцов полимерных материалов при растяжении. Результаты. Предложен удельный показатель θ, позволяющий количественно оценивать суммарное число повреждений на единицу прочности, накопление которого приводит к разрушению полимеров. Получены аппроксимирующие зависимости, описывающие взаимосвязь между удельным показателем θ и пределом прочности эпоксидных полимеров при растяжении. Выводы. Установлено, что наибольшей стабильностью свойств под действием натурного климатического воздействия обладает полимер на основе эпоксидной смолы «Этал-247». Statement of the problem. In the current study we look at the change in the elastic-strength performance and kinetics of damage accumulation in epoxy polymers under tensile loads in the control state and after full-scale climatic exposure during one calendar year were studied. Damage accumulation kinetics was calculated based on the author's method using methods of fractal analysis of deformation curves for polymer materials samples under tension. Results. We proposed specific index θ to quantify the total number of damages per unit of strength where its accumulation leads to the destruction of polymers. The dependences have been obtained that describe the relationship between specific index θ and tensile strength of epoxy polymers. Consclusion. The study has shown that the Etal-247 epoxy resin-based polymer cured with Etal-1440 amine hardener has the most stable properties under the full-scale climatic exposure.

Smooth muscle cells affect differential nanoparticle accumulation in disturbed blood flow-induced murine atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is a lipid-driven chronic inflammatory disease that leads to the formation of plaques in the inner lining of arteries. Plaques form over a range of phenotypes, the most severe of which is vulnerable to rupture and causes most of the clinically significant events. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of nanoparticles (NPs) to differentiate between two plaque phenotypes based on accumulation kinetics in a mouse model of atherosclerosis. This model uses a perivascular cuff to induce two regions of disturbed wall shear stress (WSS) on the inner lining of the instrumented artery, low (upstream) and multidirectional (downstream), which, in turn, cause the development of an unstable and stable plaque phenotype, respectively. To evaluate the influence of each WSS condition, in addition to the final plaque phenotype, in determining NP uptake, mice were injected with NPs at intermediate and fully developed stages of plaque growth. The kinetics of artery wall uptake were assessed in vivo using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging. At the intermediate stage, there was no difference in NP uptake between the two WSS conditions, although both were different from the control arteries. At the fully-developed stage, however, NP uptake was reduced in plaques induced by low WSS, but not multidirectional WSS. Histological evaluation of plaques induced by low WSS revealed a significant inverse correlation between the presence of smooth muscle cells and NP accumulation, particularly at the plaque-lumen interface, which did not exist with other constituents (lipid and collagen) and was not present in plaques induced by multidirectional WSS. These findings demonstrate that NP accumulation can be used to differentiate between unstable and stable murine atherosclerosis, but accumulation kinetics are not directly influenced by the WSS condition. This tool could be used as a diagnostic to evaluate the efficacy of experimental therapeutics for atherosclerosis.

QUANTITATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE KINETICS OF DAMAGE ACCUMULATION IN THE POLYMER MATRIX STRUCTURE UNDER FULL-SCALE CLIMATIC FACTORS AND TENSILE LOADS

Statement of the problem. In the current study we look at the change in the elastic-strength performance and kinetics of damage accumulation in epoxy polymers under tensile loads in the control state and after full-scale climatic exposure during one calendar year were studied. Damage accumulation kinetics was calculated based on the author's method using methods of fractal analysis of deformation curves for polymer materials samples under tension.Results. We proposed specific index θ to quantify the total number of damages per unit of strength,where its accumulation leads to the destruction of polymers. We obtained approximating dependences that describe the relationship between specific index θ and tensile strength of epoxy polymers.Consclusion. The study has shown that the Etal-247 epoxy resin-based polymer cured withEtal-1440 amine hardener has the most stable properties under the full-scale climatic exposure.

Tbx21 and Foxp3 Are Epigenetically Stabilized in T-Bet+ Tregs That Transiently Accumulate in Influenza A Virus-Infected Lungs

During influenza A virus (IAV) infections, CD4+ T cell responses within infected lungs mainly involve T helper 1 (Th1) and regulatory T cells (Tregs). Th1-mediated responses favor the co-expression of T-box transcription factor 21 (T-bet) in Foxp3+ Tregs, enabling the efficient Treg control of Th1 responses in infected tissues. So far, the exact accumulation kinetics of T cell subsets in the lungs and lung-draining lymph nodes (dLN) of IAV-infected mice is incompletely understood, and the epigenetic signature of Tregs accumulating in infected lungs has not been investigated. Here, we report that the total T cell and the two-step Treg accumulation in IAV-infected lungs is transient, whereas the change in the ratio of CD4+ to CD8+ T cells is more durable. Within lungs, the frequency of Tregs co-expressing T-bet is steadily, yet transiently, increasing with a peak at Day 7 post-infection. Interestingly, T-bet+ Tregs accumulating in IAV-infected lungs displayed a strongly demethylated Tbx21 locus, similarly as in T-bet+ conventional T cells, and a fully demethylated Treg-specific demethylated region (TSDR) within the Foxp3 locus. In summary, our data suggest that T-bet+ but not T-bet− Tregs are epigenetically stabilized during IAV-induced infection in the lung.

Mercury Bioavailability in Fluvial Sediments Estimated Using Chironomus riparius and Diffusive Gradients in Thin-Films (DGT)

Mercury bioavailability was assessed by exposing the dipteran Chironomus riparius for the whole life cycle to legacy-contaminated fluvial sediments (0.038–0.285 mg Hg kg−1 d.w.) and analyzing tissue concentrations in larvae at different exposure times (7, 11, and 16 days) and in adults. In the same experiment, diffusive gradients in thin-film passive samplers (DGTs), both piston- and probe-shaped, were co-deployed in the same sediments and retrieved at the same times as the organisms. To compare the two approaches, results showed a good agreement between accumulation kinetics of C. riparius and DGTs, both approximating an apparent steady-state. A strong correlation was found between values in tissues and in both types of DGTs (r between 0.74 and 0.99). Concentrations in mature larvae (19–140 µg kg−1 w.w.), which may represent a basal level of the aquatic food web, exceeded the European Environmental Quality Standard for biota (20 µg kg−1 w.w.), which aims at protecting the top predators from secondary poisoning. Body burdens in larvae and in adults were similar, showing negligible decontamination during metamorphosis and proving an efficient mercury transfer from sediments to terrestrial food webs.

Charge accumulation kinetics in multi-redox molecular catalysts immobilised on TiO2

Using transient spectroelectrochemical techniques, we investigate multiply reduced states of molecular catalysts on titania photoelectrodes as a function of the applied bias and the light intensity.