Stimuli-responsive, smart, or intelligent polymers are materials that significantly change their physical or chemical properties when there is a small change in the surrounding environment due to either internal or external stimuli. In the last two decades or so, there has been tremendous growth in the strategies to develop various types of stimuli-responsive polymer (SRP) materials/systems that are suitable for various fields, including biomedical, material science, nanotechnology, biotechnology, surface and colloid sciences, biochemistry, and the environmental field. The wide acceptability of SRPs is due to their availability in different architectural forms such as scaffolds, aggregates, hydrogels, pickering emulsions, core-shell particles, nanogels, micelles, membranes, capsules, and layer-by-layer films. The present review focuses on different types of SRPs, such as physical, chemical, and biological, and various important applications, including controlled drug delivery (CDD), stabilization of colloidal dispersion, diagnostics (sensors and imaging), tissue engineering, regenerative medicines, and actuators. The applications of SRPs have immense potential in various fields, and the author hopes these polymers will add a new field of applications through new concepts.
A metakaolin-based geopolymer was fabricated with 5 ratios of two different nanomaterials. On the one hand, silicon carbide nanowhiskers and, on the other hand, titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Both were placed in water and received ultrasonic energy to be dispersed. The effects on mechanical properties and reaction kinetics were analyzed. Compared to the reference matrix, the results showed a tendency to increase the flexural strength. Probably due to the geometry of the SiC nanowhiskers and the pore refinement by the nano-TiO2 particles. The calorimetry curves showed that incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles resulted in a 92% reduction in total heat, while SiC nanowhiskers produced a 25% reduction in total heat.
From the rich results generated by the combination of psychology and education in universities, it can be seen that the experimental education school that emerged in Europe and the United States in the late 19th century was a purely empirical spirit influenced experimental behavior in education and teaching; He pioneered a scientific educational experimental model, which is a milestone in the development history of education. It first introduces scientific experimental models into educational experiments through psychology, thereby promoting the development of educational experiments towards a scientific and standardized direction. This educational experiment of positivism paradigm, which evolved from the experimental research of psychology, is also the research paradigm advocated by psychological education in colleges and universities after the combination of college psychology and scientific education.
The combination of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyamide 6 (PA6) plastic mixture was taken from waste from the table production process along with carbon black (CB) reinforcement with the desire to create a potential plastic mixture widely used in many fields. The PBT/PA6/CB mix is created by injection molding with a CB weight ratio of 0%, 4%, 8%, and 12%. This study has shown the change in plastic’s mechanical properties when adding CB to the mixture by testing the unnotched impact toughness according to ASTM D256 standards. Research results show that the unnotched impact toughness was gradually reduced when increasing the CB content in the mixture from 0% to 12% CB. Specifically, at 0% CB, the resulting unnotched impact toughness was 12.85 kJ/m2, reduced to 4.78 kJ/m2.
Among major global threats to papaya cultivation, papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) is the most challenging one. In the absence of any PRSV resistant commercial papaya cultivar, PRSV management is restricted to minimizing yield losses. ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, Regional Station, Pune has developed PRSV tolerant dioecious papaya lines, Pune Selection (PS)-1, PS-2, PS-3 and PS-5. Being dioecious these lines have limited acceptability among farmers. Gynodioecious population from these lines were developed and characterized. They are numbered PS-1-1, PS-2-1, PS-3-1 and PS-5-1. These lines were characterized against prevailing commercial gynodioecious cultivar, Red Lady, for five generations. The average plant height of PS-2-1 and PS-5-1 (183 cm) was more than Red Lady (158 cm), however, stem girth of all lines was lesser than Red Lady. The fruiting height of all lines was less than Red Lady (87 cm). Length of the fruiting column of all lines was more than Red Lady (37 cm), except in PS-1-1. Fruit yield of all lines was more than Red Lady (16 kg/plant). Intensity of PRSV infection in Red Lady (48%) was considerably more than all lines. These lines can be used for developing PRSV tolerant gynodioecious papaya variety.
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