Plant-herbivore interactions are hypothesized to drive vole population cycles through the grazing-induced production of phytoliths in leaves. Phytoliths act as mechanical defences because they deter herbivory and lower growth rates in mammals. However, how phytoliths impair herbivore performance is still unknown. Here, we tested whether the amount of phytoliths changes tooth wear patterns. If c...

The objective of the current study was to determine the in vitro passive transverse mechanical properties of skeletal muscle with Dynamic Mechanical Thermal Analysis (DMTA) tests. The starting hypotheses was that the time-temperature-superposition principle could be used to expand the DMTA results to a 1 kHz frequency range. Experiments were performed with rat hind leg skeletal muscle tissue sa...

Epoxy – Polysulfide copolymers without or with low amounts of epoxy in their structure have poor mechanical properties in oxidative curing system.To strengthen the mechanical properties of polysulfide elastomer inclusion of epoxy resin (Epon828) as hard segment was studied. FT-IR spectroscopy and rheometry were used to verify the formation of epoxy-polysulfide copolymer.  Results obtained f...

This work focuses on the reinforcement of polyoxymethylene (POM) by nanosilica particles (NS) in order to increase flexural strength and hardness POM matrix. Thermo - mechanical properties POM/NS nanocomposite were investigated using dynamic thermal analysis (DMTA).

Nanocomposites of encapsulated silica nanoparticles were prepared by in situ emulsion polymerization of acrylate monomers. The synthesized material showed good uniformity and dispersion of the inorganic components in the base polymer, which enhances the properties of the nanocomposite material. A nonionic surfactant with lower critical solution temperature (LCST) was used to encapsulate the sil...

By means of dynamic mechanical thermal analysis (DMTA), selected tropical wood species, namely Eugenia spp., Artocarpus rigidus, Artocarpus elesticus, Koompassia malaccensis, and Xylopia spp. have been characterized. The woods were treated with sodium meta-periodate to convert them into wood polymer composites (WPC). After two weeks the WPC were chemically treated with phenylhydrazine to conver...

A novel class of polymers called "slide-ring" (SR) materials with slideable junctions were used for high damping composites for the first time. The SR acts as the high damping phase dispersed in the natural rubber (NR) matrix, and epoxidized natural rubber (ENR) acts as the compatibilizer. The morphological, structural, and mechanical properties of the composites were investigated by atomic for...

Magnesium lignosulfonate and kraft lignin were activated by different oxidizing agents for use in phenolic resin composites used for the production of abrasive components. The physicochemical properties of the oxidized materials were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), dynamic mechanical-thermal analysis (DMTA) and inverse gas chro...

The synergistic effect of nucleating agents and plasticizers on the thermal and mechanical performance of PLA nanocomposites was investigated with the objective of increasing the crystallinity and balancing the stiffness and toughness of PLA mechanical properties. Calcium carbonate, halloysite nanotubes, talc and LAK (sulfates) were compared with each other as heterogeneous nucleating agents. B...

Marine mammals are increasingly threatened in their habitat by various anthropogenic impacts. This is particularly evident prey abundance. Understanding the dietary strategies of marine mammal populations can help predict implications for future health status and essential conservation. In this study we provide a striking example new proxy pinnipeds to document diets using dental record. novel ...