The modification of epoxy with polymer-grafted graphene oxide (GO) is a radical alternative to mere combination of GO with a polymeric modifier. Here, this aspect is revealed for the case of bimodal ...grafting of GO with hydrophobic polybutadiene and hydrophilic polyoxypropylene or polyethylene glycol utilizing grafting-to approach to link different chains in the plane and edge area of GO. The results indicate fair ability of bimodally grafted GO to form ordered lamellar structures in epoxy. However, these structures show larger distance between less aligned GO plates in contrast to tightly aligned GO arrangement in case of single grafting. This is enabled by repulsive interactions between dissimilar chains. Such a structure with higher mobility of grafted chains has favorable effect on mechanical performance of epoxy. The effect of chain type and geometry of grafting is highlighted as well. Important finding is promotion of lamellar structure formation also by grafted low-m. w. compounds.
Bimodally grafted GO forms ordered lamellar structures in epoxy with favorable higher mobility of chains. Display omitted
•Crucial difference between single and bimodally grafted GO ordering in epoxy.•Repulsive interactions between dissimilar chains increase distance between GO plates.•Explanation of the effect of grafting geometry and chain length on structure.•Favorable effect of lamellar structure with higher mobility of chains on properties.
We aimed to determine the prognostic value of troponin T (TNT) for in-hospital and 1-yr mortality in a large sample of patients with pulmonary embolism (PE). Patients presenting at the emergency ...department of a tertiary care centre from January 1998 to December 2006 with PE were included. A blood sample was taken at the time of presentation. To determine in-hospital and 1-yr mortality, data from the hospital records and the national death register were used. TNT was determined in 563 out of 737 patients with proven PE. TNT was elevated (>0.03 ng x mL(-1)) in 27%. In-hospital survival was 79% in TNT-positive patients compared with 94% in TNT-negative patients (p<0.001). 1-yr survival was 71% in TNT-positive patients compared with 90% in TNT-negative patients (p<0.001). Elevated TNT levels meant a four-times higher risk of in-hospital death and a three-times higher risk of 1-yr mortality, even after adjustment for the other most important risk factors of death in this population. Elevated TNT independently predicts in-hospital and 1-yr mortality in patients with acute PE.
•Minor erosion mechanism related to inherent porosity of sintered materials described.•Degradation of promising plasma facing material W-Y2O3 described–formation of Y2O3 layer on the surface, ...depletion layer.•Important note on phase stability of W-Y2O3 was made–possible transition to high pressure B phase.
In this study, morphological, microstructural and phase changes of four types of tungsten materials after exposure to dense deuterium plasma were examined. The microstructures of the prepared materials mutually differ by the porosity, grain size and phase content. It was found that inherent porosity of sintered materials leads to a specific mechanism of erosion and might be a significant source of dust in the case of materials with higher porosity. Further, a preferential erosion of the dispersed particles by melting and evaporation and subsequent formation of thin film on the surface of W-Y2O3 was described as well.
We report on the design, construction and performance of a prototype for a high-granularity tile hadronic calorimeter for a future international linear collider detector. Scintillating tiles are read ...out via wavelength-shifting fibers that guide the scintillation light to a novel photodetector, the silicon photomultiplier. A prototype has been tested using a positron test beam at DESY. The results are compared with a reference prototype calorimeter equipped with multichannel vacuum photomultipliers. Detector calibration, noise, linearity and stability are discussed, and the energy response in a 1–6
GeV positron beam is compared with simulations. The present results demonstrate that the silicon photomultiplier is well-suited as photodetectors in calorimeters and thus has been selected for the construction of a
1
m
3
calorimeter prototype to operate in hadron beams.
See also Levi M. Disseminated intravascular coagulation or extended intravascular coagulation in massive pulmonary embolism. This issue, pp 1475–6; Thachil J. DIC score predicts mortality in massive ...clot coagulopathy as a result of extensive pulmonary embolism: a rebuttal. This issue, pp 1657–8; Leitner JM, Janata‐Schwatzek K, Spiel AO, Sterz F, Laggner AN, Jilma B. DIC score predicts mortality in massive clot coagulopathy as a result of extensive pulmonary embolism: reply to a rebuttal. This issue, pp 1658–9.
Summary. Background: A consumptive coagulopathy resembling disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) has been seen in patients with massive pulmonary embolism (PE). We hypothesized that a DIC‐like condition is relevant in patients whose pulmonary embolism leads to cardiopulmonary arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Methods: This hypothesis was tested by the use of a database consisting of all cases of PE diagnosed at the Department of Emergency Medicine from June 1993 to October 2007. Out of 1018 cases with PE, 113 patients underwent CPR. In this cohort study, the resuscitated patients were compared with those with PE but without CPR.
Results: Patients with PE and CPR had 3‐fold higher D‐dimer, prolonged prothrombin time (PT), reduced platelet counts and lower fibrinogen and antithrombin (AT) levels compared with PE patients without cardiac arrest (P < 0.001 for all). Among patients with PE and CPR, D‐dimer was abnormal in 100%, PT in 44%, AT in 53%, fibrinogen in 19% and platelets in 25%. In comparison, PE without CPR was associated with abnormal D‐dimer in 99%, abnormal PT in 15%, low AT in 6%, low fibrinogen in 1% and low platelets in 2%. Nine per cent of the resuscitated patients had a DIC score ≥ 5, indicating overt DIC. The DIC score highly correlated with 1‐year and in‐hospital mortality.
Conclusions: Massive PE leading to CPR is associated with consumptive coagulopathy and overt DIC. In resuscitated patients, DIC markers may indicate pulmonary embolism as the underlying cause of arrest.
Bifunctional polystyrene macroinitiators, having various molecular weights, were prepared by atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), initiated with bifunctional initiator ...1,3-bis{1-methyl-1(2,2,2-trichloroethoxy) carbonylaminoethyl}benzene in conjunction with CuCl catalyst and polyamine ligands. These macroinitiators were subsequently used for ATRP of
tert-butyl acrylate (
t-BuA), giving BAB triblocks poly(
t-BuA)-
b-(Sty)-
b-(
t-BuA) as precursors of amphiphilic copolymers. Both the polymerization steps proceeded as controlled processes with linear semi-logarithmic conversion plots and lengths of the blocks following theoretical predictions. Hydrolysis of outer poly(
t-BuA) blocks led to triblock copolymers with the central polystyrene block and outer blocks of poly(acrylic acid), the molecular weights of which ranged from ca. 5
×
10
3 to almost 1
×
10
5
Da.
Cellulose diacetate (CDA) was acylated with 2-bromoisobutyryl bromide (BriBr) or with dichloroacetyl chloride (ClAcCl) giving polyfunctional macroinitiators for ATRP grafting of styrene (St), MMA and ...butyl acrylate (BuA). Under various reaction conditions, macroinitiators with variable degrees of functionalisation could be prepared. The macroinitiators with 2-bromoisobutyryl (BriB) groups were grafted with St or BuA, those with dichloroacetyl (ClAc) functions were used for graft copolymerization of MMA. Graft copolymers with chemically different grafts as well as tunable lengths and densities of grafts were synthesized in this way. Poly(CDA-
g-St) and poly(CDA-
g-MMA) were further used as macroinitiators of BuA polymerization, giving polyCDA-
g-(St-
b-BuA) and polyCDA-
g-(MMA-
b-BuA) graft copolymers with diblock grafts.
Abstract
The CALICE Semi-Digital Hadronic CALorimeter (SDHCAL) is the
first technological prototype in a family of high-granularity
calorimeters developed by the CALICE Collaboration to equip the
...experiments of future lepton colliders. The SDHCAL is a sampling
calorimeter using stainless steel for absorber and Glass Resistive
Plate Chambers (GRPC) as a sensitive medium. The GRPC are read out
by 1 cm× 1 cm pickup pads combined to a
multi-electronics. The prototype was exposed to hadron beams in
both the CERN PS and the SPS beamlines in 2015 allowing the test of
the SDHCAL in a large energy range from 3 GeV to 80 GeV. After
introducing the method used to select the hadrons of our data and
reject the muon and electron contamination, we present the energy
reconstruction approach that we apply to the data collected from
both beamlines and we discuss the response linearity and the energy
resolution of the SDHCAL. The results obtained in the two beamlines
confirm the excellent SDHCAL performance observed with the data
collected with the same prototype in the SPS beamline in 2012. They
also show the stability of the SDHCAL in different beam conditions
and different time periods.