Simonsenhodge0108

Leveraging the state of absorbed moisture within a polymer network to identify physical and chemical features of the host material is predicated upon a clear understanding of the interaction between the polymer and a penetrant water molecule; an understanding that has remained elusive. Recent work has revealed that a novel damage detection method that exploits the very low baseline levels of water typically found in polymer matrix composites (PMC) may be a valuable tool in the composite NDE arsenal, provided that a clear understanding of polymer-water interaction can be obtained. Precise detection, location, and possible quantification of the extent of damage can be performed by characterizing the physical and chemical states of moisture present in an in-service PMC. Composite structures have a locally elevated dielectric constant near the damage sites due to a higher fraction of bulk ("free") water, which has a higher dielectric constant when compared to water molecules bound to the polymer network through secondary bonding interactions. In this study, we aim to get a clear atomistic scale picture of the interactions which drive the dielectric signature variations necessary for tracking damage. Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations were used to explore the effect of temperature on the state of moisture in two epoxy matrices with identical chemical constituents but different morphologies. The motivation was to understand whether higher polarity binds a greater fraction of moisture even at higher temperatures, leading to suppressed dielectric activity. Consequently, the influence of secondary bonding interactions was investigated to understand the impact of temperature on the absorbed water molecules in a composite epoxy matrix.Previously, the 5 kDa retentate (5kDaR) of a casein hydrolysate (CH) and yeast β-glucan (YBG) were identified as promising anti-inflammatory dietary supplements for supporting intestinal health in pigs post-weaning. However, their direct effects on intestinal bacterial populations are less well-known. The main objectives of this study were to determine if the increasing concentrations of the CH, 5kDaR and YBG individually, can (1) alter the bacterial and short-chain fatty acid profiles in a weaned pig faecal batch fermentation assay, and (2) directly influence the growth of selected beneficial (Lactobacillus plantarum, L. reuteri, Bifidobacterium thermophilum) and pathogenic (Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Salmonella Typhimurium) bacterial strains in individual pure culture growth assays. The potential of CH as a comparable 5kDaR substitute was also evaluated. The 5kDaR increased lactobacilli counts and butyrate concentration in the batch fermentation assay (P less then 0.05) and increased L. plantarum (linear, P less then 0.05), L. reuteri (quadratic, P less then 0.05) and B. thermophilum (linear, P less then 0.05) counts and reduced S. typhimurium (quadratic, P = 0.058) counts in the pure culture growth assays. CH increased butyrate concentration (P less then 0.05) in the batch fermentation assay. YBG reduced Prevotella spp. counts (P less then 0.05) and butyrate concentration (P less then 0.05) in the batch fermentation assay. Both CH and YBG had no major effects in the pure culture growth assays. In conclusion, the 5kDaR had the most beneficial effects associated with increased counts of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium genera and butyrate production and reduced S. typhimurium counts in vitro indicating its potential to promote gastrointestinal health.Corneal neovascularization (CNV) is one of the most important causes of visual impairment worldwide. Dasatinib, a poorly water-soluble tyrosine kinase inhibitor with dual Src family kinase and platelet derived growth factor receptor inhibiting capability, has great potential in the treatment of CNV. In this study, dasatinib was successfully encapsulated into a nanostructured lipid carrier (Dasa-NLC) and the size was approximately 78 nm with a small polydispersity index. The NLC increased the solubility of dasatinib by more than 1220 times, sustained the drug release, reduced the ocular toxicity and facilitated its penetration into the cornea. Dasa-NLC significantly inhibited the proliferation, migration and tube formation of HUVEC cells, the three most important angiogenesis-related cellular changes of the CNV. Stem Cells agonist Next, the in vivo anti-CNV effect of Dasa-NLC was evaluated using an alkaline burned mice CNV model, in which the development of the CNV and pathological changes of the cornea were significantly inhibited. The immunohistochemistry analysis indicated that Dasa-NLC could inhibit both the expression and activation of Src family kinase, a key component in the angiogenesis cascade. Therefore, Dasa-NLC showed considerable promise in the treatment of CNV.The combined experimental-computational study has been performed to investigate the complexes formed between C70 carbon allotrope and piperidine. The results of FT-IR, H-NMR, and C-NMR measurements, together with the calculations based on the DFT approach and molecular dynamics simulations, prove the existence of dative/covalent bonding in C70piperidine complexes. The dative bond forms not only at the region of five- and six-membered rings, observed previously with C60, but also at the region formed of six-membered rings. The structure, i.e., nonplanarity, explains the observed dative bond formation. New findings on the character of interaction of secondary amines with C70 bring new aspects for the rational design of modified fullerenes and their applications in electrocatalysis, spintronics, and energy storage.In competing speech, recognition of target speech may be limited by the number and characteristics of maskers, which produce energetic, envelope, and/or informational masking. In this study, speech recognition thresholds (SRTs) were measured with one, two, or four maskers. The target and masker sex was the same or different, and SRTs were measured with time-forward or time-reversed maskers. SRTs were significantly affected by target-masker sex differences with time-forward maskers, but not with time-reversed maskers. The multi-masker penalty was much greater with time-reversed maskers than with time-forward maskers when there were more than two talkers.