Estela Krause Sammartino^1,2,3†, María Marta Reboredo⁴, Mirta I. Aranguren^*,4

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.2, pp. 101-112, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634144

Abstract Composites made from polypropylene (PP) and local South American fibers traditionally used in yarnderived craftsmanships, Caranday Palm, were studied regarding the effect of fiber addition, concentration and characteristics of the coupling agent (molecular weight and percentage of grafted maleic anhydride), as well as type of processing. A laboratory-scale intensive mixing followed by compression, and pilot plant twin extrusion followed by injection, were the two processes investigated. The use of the first one allowed the selection of processable formulations with high fiber concentration and a percentage of coupling agent below the surface fiber saturation. In fact,… More >

M. Kirpluks^1*, U. Cabulis¹, A. Ivdre¹, M. Kuranska², M. Zieleniewska³, M. Auguscik³

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 86-100, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634132

Abstract The most common sustainable solution for polyurethane (PU) materials is their production using renewable resources. Polyols derived from biomass and recycled polymers are the most promising way to do that. This study compares five different sustainable polyols as a possible raw material for production of highdensity rigid PU foams for automotive application. The goal of our study was to show that biobased polyols are a suitable replacement for polyols derived from petrochemical products. The influence of the chemical structure of polyols on the PU polymer matrix and foam properties was investigated. Two sources of PU… More >

Aleksander Prociak^*, Elźbieta Malewska, Szymon Bąk

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 78-85, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634129

Abstract In this article, the results of the foaming process analysis of fl exible polyurethane with different isocyanate indexes are presented. Two types of flexible polyurethane foams (FPURF) were obtained: (1) by using petrochemical components and a rapeseed-oil-based polyol (used in the amount of 20 wt%), (2) by using petrochemical components and cellulose as a natural fi ller in the amount of 3 php (per hundred parts of polyol). The characteristic parameters of the foaming process, such as the foam’s growth velocity, the core temperature and dielectric polarization, were measured using a Foamat device. Moreover, the More >

Marcin Włoch, Janusz Datta^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 72-77, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634130

Abstract Modern polymer science and technology is focused on the development of partial or fully green polymers. This focus is related to green chemistry trends, which propose using natural and renewable resources as monomers in the synthesis of polymers. In this study, biobased diamine was used as a chain extender of ester-urethane prepolymer. Obtained poly(ester-urethane-urea) contains 16 wt% of biobased diamine. There is mention of an amine curing agent that is an amine derivative of dimerized fatty acids (obtained from vegetable oils). Application of two chain extenders, i.e., 1,4-butanediol and biobased diamine (applied separately or in More >

Dragomir Vassilev^1*, Nadezhda Petkova², Milena Koleva¹, Panteley Denev²

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 24-30, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634125

Abstract This article presents the results obtained by the ultrasound-assisted synthesis of sucrose and fructooligosaccharides (FOS) esters with fatty acids (palmitic and 10-undecylenic), the identifi cation of the products and the study of their possible application as plasticizers in plastics processing. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (¹H and ¹³C NMR) spectroscopy were used to identify the synthesized carbohydrate esters. The plasticizing effect of the sucrose palmitate applied in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) was evaluated by the glass transition temperatures; the decrease of the T_g with the increase of the ester content could be accepted as… More >

Szczepan Bednarz^*, Angelika Wesołowska, Magdalena Trątnowiecka, Dariusz Bogdał

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 18-23, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634131

Abstract New methods of preparation of crosslinked polymers from itaconic acid as a renewable monomer have been explored. Synthesis of hydrogels and xerogels from the acid in deep eutectic solvents (DESs) are described and some basic properties of the materials are reported. Most importantly, a surfactant-free method of creation of macroporous poly(itaconic-co-bisacrylamide) by phase separation polymerization in binary mixture of the DES and poly(ethylene glycol) is demonstrated. More >

Pranav S. Sapkal^1*, Abhaykumar M. Kuthe¹, Divya Ganapathy², Shantanu C. Mathankar³, Sudhanshu Kuthe⁴

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 115-136, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.131

Abstract Biphasic calcium phosphate scaffolds with 20/80 HA/TCP ratio were fabricated using the 3D-Bioplotting system to heal critical size defects in rabbit tibia bone. Four different architectures were printed in a layer by layer fashion with lay down patterns viz. (a) 0°– 90°, (b) 0°– 45°– 90°– 135°, (c) 0°–108°– 216° and (d) 0°– 60°– 120°. After high-temperature sintering scaffolds were coated with collagen and were further characterized by (FTIR) Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy, (SEM) Scanning Electron Microscopy, (XRD) X-Ray diffraction, Porosity analysis and Mechanical testing. Scaffold samples were tested for its ability to induce cytotoxicity… More >

Tushar Kulkarni¹, Dr. Rashmi Uddanwadiker²

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.2, pp. 87-104, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.099

Abstract This paper aims to determine the force required for holding the objects by human hand. A static analysis is performed on mathematical models to obtain holding force considering lower arm as class three lever and by varying the joint angles. Three mathematical models are discussed to quantify the force required to hold any object, for different weight of the object and the joint angles. A noninvasive experimentation using surface electromyogram was performed to determine the forces required by human hand for the same objects used in the mathematical modeling. Twenty-one male subjects participated in this… More >

Arman Nayebosadri¹, Julie Y. Ji^2*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.1, pp. 57-85, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.069

Abstract The glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has multiple phosphorylation sites that can be activated by MAPKs, which have been previously shown to be activated in response to cyclic stretch in endothelial cells. It is possible therefore that physiological and/or pathological degree of cyclic stretch may also initiate phosphorylation-induced changes in GR subcellular localization as we previously showed with shear stress. However, little is known about the effects of cyclic stretch on glucocorticoid receptor (GR) activity in endothelial cells. We used control and lamin shRNA BAECs and subjected them to ligand (dexamethasone) treatment, physiological stretch (10% at 1… More >

Chunliu He¹, Jiaqiu Wang², Yuxiang Huang¹, Tongjing Zhu¹, Yuehong Miao¹, Zhiyong Li^1,2*

Molecular & Cellular Biomechanics, Vol.13, No.1, pp. 23-36, 2016, DOI:10.3970/mcb.2016.013.027

Abstract Fibrous cap thickness (FCT) is seen as critical to plaque vulnerability. Therefore, the development of automatic algorithms for the quantification of FCT is for estimating cardiovascular risk of patients. Intravascular optical coherence tomography (IVOCT) is currently the only in vivo imaging modality with which FCT, the critical component of plaque vulnerability, can be assessed accurately. This study was aimed to discussion the correlation between the texture features of OCT images and the FCT in lipid-rich atheroma. Methods: Firstly, a full automatic segmentation algorithm based on unsupervised fuzzy c means (FCM) clustering with geometric constrains was… More >