Objectives: This study was conducted to evaluate suitable methods of testing crush-resistant tablets composed largely of thermoplastic polymers. The objectives were, i) to evaluate the effect of thermal processes on crush resistance, ii) to develop test method(s) to indicate whether a crush-resistant tablet is susceptible to tampering by insufflation based on generated particle sizes, and iii) to find an appropriate analytical tool for discriminatory studies.
Methods: We investigated the crush-resistance properties of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) tablets using three manual and four electrical devices. PEO tablets were directly compressed or further heat-treated to mimic thermal manufacturing processes (i.e. hot-melt extrusion, sintering). Differential scanning calorimetry was also utilized to evaluate effect of thermal processes on polymer properties.
Results: Non-heat treated tablets were easily crushed by all methods. Heat-treated tablets were only susceptible to cryogenic grinding and high-powered domestic blender. Our results confirm that manual methods are not suitable for discriminatory study.
Conclusions: Testing methods for crush resistance may not be applicable to all products nor allow control over all process factors. Notwithstanding, the use of high-powered electrical devices may be an effective discriminatory tool for testing heat treated PEO-based ADFs.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17425247.2016.1211638 | DOI Listing |
Polymers (Basel)
December 2024
Faculty of Civil Engineering, Nguyen Tat Thanh University, 300A Nguyen Tat Thanh Street, District 4, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam.
The increasing demand for sustainable construction materials has driven the exploration of alternative fillers in asphalt production. Traditional asphalt mixtures rely heavily on natural aggregates and petroleum-based binders, contributing to environmental degradation. This study proposes an innovative solution by utilizing Crushed Recycled Marble Stone Powder (CRMSP) as a sustainable filler in SBS polymer-modified asphalt containing high volumes of recycled tire rubber, addressing both resource depletion and waste management concerns.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBMC Infect Dis
January 2025
Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Intensive Care Medicine, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Türkiye.
Background: Scarce evidence is available on the epidemiology of microbiologically proven clinical infections in patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) after a great earthquake. The main aim of this study was to assess clinical infections and microbiological features in patients admitted to the ICU following the 2023 earthquake in the southeastern region of Türkiye with a focus on the timing of culture positivity during their ICU stay. The secondary objectives included determining antibiotic susceptibility patterns, identifying the types of antibiotics administered upon ICU admission, evaluating the appropriateness of antibiotic usage, assessing patient outcomes, and identifying factors that influence microbiologically confirmed clinical infections.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSensors (Basel)
December 2024
School of Highway, Chang'an University, Middle Section of South Erhuan Road, Xi'an 710064, China.
Semi-rigid bases are widely used in road construction due to their excellent properties, high rigidity, and frost resistance, and they have been in service for many years. However, as the service life increases, the maintenance demands also grow, with traditional maintenance methods still being the primary approach. Based on a typical case using ground-penetrating radar (GPR) technology, this study explores the issue of cracks in semi-rigid bases and their impact on overlay layers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Rep
January 2025
College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Shihezi University, Shihezi, 832003, China.
In response to the rotary ploughing equipment in the stubble land to implement protective operations, the stubble is large in number and strong in toughness, not easy to crush, resulting in rotary ploughing equipment to produce entanglement and increased resistance to rotary ploughing and other issues. In this study, researchers designed a bionic rotary tillage blade (B-RTB) based on the bionic structural equations of the Marmota claw. A straw-soil complex shear performance test was conducted to investigate the effect of straw on soil shear strength.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBioact Mater
April 2025
University of Coimbra, CEMMPRE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, 3030-788, Coimbra, Portugal.
Polymeric coronary stents, like the ABSORB™, are commonly used to treat atherosclerosis due to their bioresorbable and cell-compatible polymer structure. However, they face challenges such as high strut thickness, high elastic recoil, and lack of radiopacity. This study aims to address these limitations by modifying degradable stents produced by additive manufacturing with poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) with degradable metallic coatings, specifically zinc (Zn) and magnesium (Mg), deposited via radiofrequency (rf) magnetron sputtering.
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