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2D/3D structures made from thin NiTi wires (d < 100μm) are currently considered for engineering applications in textile, medical or robotics fields. The development of such novel applications requires the knowledge of the thermomechanical behaviour of NiTi ultra thin wires in tension, torsion bending and combined loads, which might differ from that of thicker wires due to influence of texture, cold work and higher aspect ratio. To deal with this challenge, a new experimental testing approach presented in this paper has been developed. It includes thermomechanical tensile testing, combined tension-torsion testing and forced tensile vibrational testing realized on self-made testing rigs equipped with Peltier furnaces and in-situ electric measurement systems. The collected experimental datasets provide a basis upon which FEM implementable SMA models describing functional thermomechanical behaviours of 2D/3D NiTi wire structures (quasistatic and dynamic) are presently being constructed

Recently it was reported that upon mechanical milling of pure furosemide significant chemical degradation occurs (Adrjanowicz et al. Pharm. Res.2011, 28, 3220–3236). In this paper, we present a novel way of chemical stabilization amorphous furosemide against decomposing that occur during mechanical treatment by preparing binary mixtures with acylated saccharides. To get some insight into the mechanism of chemical degradation of furosemide induced by cryomilling, experimental investigations supported by density functional theory (DFT) computations were carried out. This included detailed studies on molecular dynamics and physical properties of cryoground samples. The main thrust of our paper is that we have shown that furosemide cryomilled with acylated saccharides forms chemically and physically stable homogeneous mixtures with only one glass transition temperature, Tg. Finally, solubility measurements have demonstrated that furosemide cryomilled with acylated saccharides (glucose, maltose and sucrose) is much more soluble with respect to the crystalline form of this active pharmaceutical ingredient (API).

Broadband dielectric measurements were carried out in the supercooled as well as in the glassy state of two very important disaccharides: trehalose and sucrose. Multiple relaxation processes were observed. Above the glass transition temperatures of examined disaccharides structural relaxation of cooperative origin was detected, where in the glassy state more local motions (secondary modes) appeared. Our data were discussed in light of the findings reported by other groups. We pointed out that sample preparation might impact mobility and, thus, dielectric loss spectra in a significant way. Consequently, it may lead to misinterpretation of the dielectric relaxation processes. Moreover, impact of physical aging and pressure on dynamics of two secondary relaxation processes observed in the glassy state of trehalose and sucrose has been investigated. Additionally, we have demonstrated that, in contrast to the calorimetric measurements (DSC), activation energies of the β- and γ-relaxation processes observed in the glassy state of sucrose and trehalose do not change as a result of physical aging. Finally, we found out that the β-relaxation process slows down as pressure increases. We interpreted this fact in view of increasing rigidity of the structures of disaccharides.

Ganglioside-induced differentiation associated-protein 1 (GDAP1) mutations are commonly associated with autosomal recessive Charcot-Marie-Tooth (ARCMT) neuropathy; however, in rare instances, they also lead to autosomal dominant Charcot-Marie-Tooth (ADCMT). We aimed to investigate the frequency of disease-causing heterozygous GDAP1mutations in ADCMT and their associated phenotype.

High energy synchrotron X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy and mechanical testing were employed to investigate the evolution of microstructure, texture and functional superelastic properties of 0.1 mm thin as drawn Ni–Tiwires subjected to a nonconventional heat treatment by controlled electric current (FTMT-EC method). As drawn Ni–Tiwires were prestrained in tension and exposed to a sequence of short DC power pulses in the millisecond range. The annealing time in the FTMT-EC processing can be very short but the temperature and force could be very high compared to the conventional heat treatment of SMAs. It is shown that the heavily strained, partially amorphous microstructure of the as drawn Ni–Tiwire transforms under the effect of the DC pulse and tensile stress into a wide range of annealed nanosized microstructures depending on the pulse time. The functional superelastic properties and microstructures of the FTMT-EC treated Ni–Tiwire are comparable to those observed in straight annealed wires.

In order to better understand the unique functional responses of shape memory alloys, improve the currently existing SMA modeling tools and used them beneficially in smart structure applications, it is desirable to investigate the deformation/transformation processes in these materials in action – i.e. under stress and temperature variation. In this work, an overview is presented on the applications of various recently developed or originally employed in-situ experimental methods and approaches to martensitic transformations in SMAs.

2D/3D structures made from thin NiTi wires (d < 100?m) are currently considered for engineering applications in textile, medical or robotics fields. The development of such novel applications requires the knowledge of the thermomechanical behaviour of NiTi ultra thin wires in tension, torsion bending and combined loads, which might differ from that of thicker wires due to influence of texture, cold work and higher aspect ratio. To deal with this challenge, a new experimental testing approach presented in this paper has been developed. It includes thermomechanical tensile testing, combined tension-torsion testing and forced tensile vibrational testing realized on self-made testing rigs equipped with Peltier furnaces and in-situ electric measurement systems. The collected experimental datasets provide a basis upon which FEM implementable SMA models describing functional thermomechanical behaviours of 2D/3D NiTi wire structures (quasistatic and dynamic) are presently being constructed

Abstract.: 2D/3D structures made from thin NiTi wires (d < 100μm) are currently considered for engineering applications in textile, medical or robotics fields. The development of such novel applications requires the knowledge of the thermomechanical behaviour of NiTi ultra thin wires in tension, torsion bending and combined loads, which might differ from that of thicker wires due to influence of texture, cold work and higher aspect ratio. To deal with this challenge, a new experimental testing approach presented in this paper has been developed. It includes thermomechanical tensile testing, combined tension-torsion testing and forced tensile vibrational testing realized on self-made testing rigs equipped with Peltier furnaces and in-situ electric measurement systems. The collected experimental datasets provide a basis upon which FEM implementable SMA models describing functional thermomechanical behaviours of 2D/3D NiTi wire structures (quasistatic and dynamic) are presently being constructed

In order to better understand the unique functional responses of shape memory alloys, improve the currently existing SMA modeling tools and used them beneficially in smart structure applications, it is desirable to investigate the deformation/transformation processes in these materials in action – i.e. under stress and temperature variation. In this work, an overview is presented on the applications of various recently developed or originally employed in-situ experimental methods and approaches to martensitic transformations in SMAs.

The goal of our study was to find the relationship between fertility of bulls qualified for Al and the percentage of spermatozoa with abnormal chromatin structure as an independent parameter. We used the frozen semen of 8 mature bulls from one Al center. Each bull was represented by 3 ejaculates collected with at least 2-week intervals. Bull fertility was calculated on the basis of non-return ratio and was expressed as a scale where 100 points represented the average fertility of all the Al center's bulls. Bulls with lower or higher fertility received a lower or higher score respectively. Fertility scores of bulls used in the study ranged from 83 to 104. Semen was processed according to the SCSA (sperm chromatin structure assay) method and was analyzed by flow cytometry. “Artificial” αt(αt=red/green+red fluorescence) and red fluorescence histograms were used for calculation of COMPαt, SDαt, %Red, %PeakR and MeanR parameters. The percentage of spermatozoa with abnormal chromatin ranged from 1.2% to 23.8%. A large variation among ejaculates was found for bulls with lower fertility. Fertility correlated significantly with COMPαt(−0.50, P < 0.05), SDαt(−0.55, P < 0.01), %Red (−0.53, P < 0.01), %PeakR (−0.58, P < 0.01) and MeanR (−0.45, P < 0.05). The SCSA method has a practical application in analyzing spermatogenesis disorders in bulls. If regularly applied, it allows us to identify and eliminate ejaculates with a high level of sperm chromatin abnormalities.

Investigations were made on the rye chromosome constitution and on the presence of telomeric heterochromatin in rye chromosomes of the 26 most widely and 24 most narrowly adapted triticale strains. Among widely adapted lines, 22 (85%) had a complete rye genome and four triticales only had chromosomal R-D genome substitutions. Twenty-three (96%) of the 24 most narrowly adapted triticales had substitutions between the chromosomes of the R and D genomes. The most widely adapted triticales accumulated fewer modified rye chromosomes in comparison to narrowly adapted lines. They had from one to three rye chromosomes with heterochromatic deletions: 46% of widely adapted lines had two modified rye chromosomes; 34% had three modified rye chromosomes, and 19% had a single modified rye chromosome. In widely adapted strains, the 1R, 4R, 5R and 6R modified chromosomes were observed; they were present in 80%, 73%, 50% and 11% of the cases, respectively. The most narrowly adapted triticales had from two to four modified rye chromosomes: 58% of the strains had three modified rye chromosomes; 29% had four modified rye chromosomes and 12% had two modified rye chromosomes. The modified 4R and 5R chromosomes were present in all of these lines. The 1R (modified), 6R (modified) and 7R (modified) were found in 83%, 25% and 16%, respectively, of the narrowly adapted strains.

We screened 165 mentally retarded patients for ARXgene 428-451 base pair (bp) duplication. Eighteen individuals from five families were found to carry the duplication, and all had intellectual impairment. Twelve presented with focal hand dystonia, while six patients had EEG abnormalities including seizures. Other symptoms included speech difficulties (4/18), testis enlargement (4/18), lower limb spasticity or foot dystonia (4/18), and facial telangiectasia (3/18). These features confirm the pleiotropic effect of the duplication.