Shegufta Shetranjiwalla, Shaojun Li, Laziz Bouzidi, Suresh S. Narine^*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.5, pp. 333-344, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634102

Abstract The impact of polymerization protocol on phase structure and properties of entirely lipid-derived thermoplastic poly(ester urethane)s (TPEU)s was investigated. The TPEUs were synthesized from 1,7-heptamethylene diisocyanate, polyester diols and 1,9-nonanediol (ND) as chain extender. A two-stage polymerization method was used to prepare two TPEUs; one in which ND was added in the first stage of polymerization as part of the prepolymer and another in the second stage after the prepolymer was formed. Two very different morphologies exhibiting different degrees of phase separation were obtained, driven by the sequence of addition of the chain extender. The More >

Liliane Cruz Gomes de Souza Santos^1*, Eliane Ayres², Flávio Renato de Góes Padula¹

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.5, No.3-4, pp. 307-312, 2017, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2017.634121

Abstract In this study, bamboo powder and/or hollow glass microspheres were added to thermoplastic cassava starch in order to overcome its drawbacks. The composites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), tensile testing, water contact angle measurement and X-ray diffractometry (XRD), in addition to their thermal properties. The mechanical strength of the composites showed a general decline with increasing bamboo powder content while the water contact angles increased up to 15% of bamboo powder content (% w/w dry starch). The addition of hollow glass microspheres provides an optimal balance between hydrophobicity and mechanical strength. The results More >

Isabel Patrícia Fernandes¹, Mariana Barbosa¹, Joana Soares Amaral², Vera Pinto³, José Luís Rodrigues³, Maria José Ferreira³, Maria Filomena Barreiro^1*

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 47-56, 2016, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2015.634126

Abstract Among the wide variety of materials employed in the manufacture of shoes, thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPUs) are one of the most widely used. Given its widespread use, and associated waste management problems, the development of more biodegradable and evironmentally compatible solutions is needed. In this work, a polyester-based TPU used in the footwear industry for outsoles production was modifi ed by compounding with lignin, starch and cellulose at content of 4% (w/w). The biodegradability was evaluated by using agar plate tests with the fungi Aspergillus niger ATCC16404, the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC9027 and an association More >

R.R. Kairi^a, Ch. RamReddy^b,*

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.6, pp. 1-7, 2015, DOI:10.5098/hmt.6.6

Abstract In this paper, we investigated the influence of melting on mixed convection heat and mass transfer from the vertical flat plate in a non-Newtonian nanofluid saturated porous medium. The wall and the ambient medium are maintained at constant, but different, levels of temperature and concentration. The Ostwald–de Waele power-law model is used to characterize the non-Newtonian nanofluid behavior. A similarity solution for the transformed governing equations is obtained. The numerical computation is carried out for various values of the non-dimensional physical parameters. The variation of temperature, concentration, heat and mass transfer coefficients with the power-law More >

Anup Vora, Daniel Marchalik, Hanaa Nissim, Keith Kowalczyk, Gaurav Bandi, Kevin McGeagh, John Lynch, Krishnan Venkatesan, Reza Ghasemian, Jonathan Hwang, Mohan Verghese

Canadian Journal of Urology, Vol.21, No.2, pp. 7222-7227, 2014

Abstract Introduction: Radical cystectomy is associated with significant morbidity and cost, with rates of gastrointestinal complications as high as 30%. Alvimopan is a mu opioid receptor antagonist that has been shown in randomized-control trials to accelerate gastrointestinal recovery in patients undergoing bowel resection with primary anastamosis. We report our experience with gastrointestinal recovery for patients undergoing cystectomy with urinary diversion treated with alvimopan and cost benefit associated.
Materials and methods: Between January 2008 and October 2012, 80 patients underwent radical cystectomy with urinary diversion at two institutions. Forty-two patients in our study did not receive alvimopan preoperatively.… More >

Fengwei Xie^1,*, Paul Luckman¹, John Milne¹, Lachlan McDonald¹, Conor Young¹, Chen Yang Tu¹, Teo Di Pasquale¹, Reinhard Faveere¹, Peter J. Halley^1,2

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.2, pp. 95-106, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634104

Abstract Starch is a biopolymer that is widely available from agriculture/nature and thus is renewable and cheap. In addition, starch-based materials are biodegradable, offering a great advantage over traditional nonbiodegradable synthetic polymers. However, the poor processibility and product performance of starch have greatly impeded the wide application of starch in real applications. This paper reviews the current developments of the production of thermoplastic starch as a commodity renewable material. The biological origins of the feedstock, formulation development, processing requirements, as well as the important aspects that need to be addressed when designing a product from starch More >

Antti Ojala^1,*, Lisa Wikström¹, Kalle Nättinen², Jani Lehmonen³, Karita Kinnunen-Raudaskoski⁴

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.2, No.4, pp. 278-284, 2014, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2014.634126

Abstract This article presents a new method of producing thermomoldable nonwoven materials based on kraft lignin (KL) and softwood kraft pulp (KP). A mixture of starch acetate (SA) and triethyl citrate (TEC) was used as a water insoluble plasticizer for KL. The thermoplastic lignin (TPL) material with the optimized ratio of KL, SA and TEC was prepared in a twin-screw extruder. The TPL compound was ground and mixed with KP fi bers to produce thermoformable sheets using foam-laid technology. The formed webs were compression molded (CM) into plates and mechanically tested. The foam-laid composites had tensile More >

García-Pereyra J¹, GN Aviña-Martínez¹, AA Orozco-Flores², OG Alvarado-Gómez³, M García-Montelongo⁴, G Alejandre-Iturbide⁵, JN Uribe-Soto⁵, H Medrano-Roldan⁶

Phyton-International Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol.83, pp. 37-43, 2014, DOI:10.32604/phyton.2014.83.037

Abstract It was analyzed the genetic variability of (1) three strains of a pathogenic fungi of the genus Metharhizium anisopliae var anisopliae, named MA22, MA24 and MA25, brand spesifik^®; (2) two strains of the product Metasaven^®, named MA1A and MAII; one strain of the product Metatron^®; and a native strain named MACN. This latter strain was directly isolated from the insect chapulin (Brachystola magna), from the farmer, corn plots in Durango, located in north central Mexico. Studies were conducted in the laboratory of molecular biology of the Technological Institute of the Valley of Guardiana in Durango, Mexico, from… More >

Keunhan Park^a,∗, Zhuomin Zhang^b

Frontiers in Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol.4, No.1, pp. 1-26, 2013, DOI:10.5098/hmt.v4.1.3001

Abstract This article reviews the recent advances in near-field radiative energy transfer, particularly in its fundamentals and applications. When the geometrical features of radiating objects or their separating distances fall into the sub-wavelength range, near-field phenomena such as photon tunneling and surface polaritons begin to play a key role in energy transfer. The resulting heat transfer rate can greatly exceed the blackbody radiation limit by several orders magnitude. This astonishing feature cannot be conveyed by the conventional theory of thermal radiation, generating strong demands in fundamental research that can address thermal radiation in the near field. More >

Donglin Tang^1,2, Shanmugam Thiyagarajan^2,3, Bart A.J. Noordover^1,*, Cor E. Koning¹, Daan S. van Es³, Jacco van Haveren

Journal of Renewable Materials, Vol.1, No.3, pp. 222-230, 2013, DOI:10.7569/JRM.2013.634116

Abstract A series of fully renewable poly(ester urethane urea)s (PEUs) were synthesized from bio-based starting materials, e.g., the polyester diol, the diisocyanates including L-lysine diisocyanate (LDI) and isoidide diisocyanate (IIDI), the chain-extenders including 1,4-diaminobutane (bDA), diaminoisoidide (iDA) and di(aminobutyl) urea (b2 DA). It is found that the PEU based on the novel diisocyanate, IIDI, exhibits satisfactory thermal and mechanical properties. The LDI-based PEUs show less favorable thermal and mechanical properties than the IIDI-based counterpart, since the chemical structure of LDI is less regular than that of IIDI. However, by introducing a urea-containing dimeric diamine (b2 DA) More >