A systematic study on the evolution of free volume as a function of the temperature in vulcanized at 433 K natural rubber (NR) and styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) in 25-75, 50-50, 75-25 NR-SBR (percent content of pure NR and SBR, respectively) blends was studied by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy. All samples were prepared with sulfur and TBBS (n-t-butyl-2-benzothiazole sulfenamide) as accelerator. The glass transition temperatures of the samples studied were determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and from lifetime data. In general, a sigmoidal-like complex behavior of the long-lived lifetime component, linked to the nanohole free volume, as a function of the temperature was found. For SBR, the slope of the ortho-positronium lifetime against temperature curves could be well-fitted using a linear function. For blends and also for NR, two different linear functions were necessary. This last behavior is explained in terms of the supercooled process involving a reconfiguration of the elastomeric chains. In the case of blends, the state of cure of NR and SBR in each NR-SBR sample was also taken into account in the discussion of the results obtained. Besides, thermal expansion coefficients of the free volumes in the transition and glassy region of all compounds were estimated. The differences observed in the values of this parameter are discussed by taking into account the morphology and formulation of each blend, the crosslink densities, and the role of the interphases formed between both NR and SBR elastomers.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.83.051805 | DOI Listing |
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
Memory and Aging Center, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Background: Social health factors have been robustly associated with better cognitive health in older adults; however, less is known about how social network size affects the relationship between in-vivo biomarkers of Alzheimer's disease (AD) pathology and brain aging outcomes. We examined the independent and interactive relationships between plasma pTau181 and social network size on memory function and medial temporal lobe (MTL) volume in older adults.
Method: Participants were 58 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 75.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Background: Guidelines that provide current and comprehensive overviews of the evidence quality and effectiveness of interventions that address behaviours and psychological symptoms associated with dementia (BPSD, also known as Changed Behaviours) are needed for clinicians, professional care staff and family care partners. With funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care, we aimed to update the existing Behaviour Management: A Guide to Good Practice, Managing Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (2012) text and app resources to reflect findings from the most recent literature and other sources.
Methods: We systematically searched PubMed, Medline, Embase, and PsycINFO for psychosocial and environmental and biological and pharmacological interventions published between 2012-2021 that addressed BPSD.
Alzheimers Dement
December 2024
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Background: Structural and functional heterogeneity in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) leads to diagnostic and prognostic uncertainty and confounds clinical treatment planning. Normative modelling, where individual-level deviations in brain measures from a reference sample are computed to infer personalized effects of disease, allows parsing of disease heterogeneity. In this study, GAN based normative modelling technique quantifies individual level neuroanatomical abnormality thereby facilitating measurement of personalized disease related effects in AD patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMed Sci Sports Exerc
January 2025
Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, CA.
Poor physical function and possession of the e4 allele of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) gene are each associated with increased dementia risk, but it is unclear how these exposures interact to influence brain health. Purpose: To investigate whether self-reported walking pace (a marker of physical function) and the presence of APOE-ε4 allele interact to modify brain health outcomes. Methods: We used data from a prospective cohort study of middle-aged to older adults from the UK Biobank who self-reported walking pace (slow or steady-to-brisk), and who were initially free of dementia (n = 415,110).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Med
January 2025
Department of Neurosurgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, USA.
The adoption of large language models (LLMs) in healthcare demands a careful analysis of their potential to spread false medical knowledge. Because LLMs ingest massive volumes of data from the open Internet during training, they are potentially exposed to unverified medical knowledge that may include deliberately planted misinformation. Here, we perform a threat assessment that simulates a data-poisoning attack against The Pile, a popular dataset used for LLM development.
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