Accelerated Weathering Testing (AWT) and Bacterial Biodegradation Effects on Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/Rapeseed Microfiber Biocomposites Properties

In the context of sustainable materials, this study explores the effects of accelerated weathering testing and bacterial biodegradation on poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV)/rapeseed microfiber biocomposites. Accelerated weathering, simulating outdoor environmental conditions, and bacterial biodegradation, representing natural degradation processes in soil, were employed to investigate the changes in the mechanical, thermal and morphological properties of these materials during its post-production life cycle. Attention was paid to the assessment of the change of structural, mechanical and calorimetric properties of alkali and N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (NMMO)-treated rapeseed microfiber (RS)-reinforced plasticized PHBV composites before and after accelerated weathering. Results revealed that accelerated weathering led to an increase in stiffness, but a reduction in tensile strength and elongation at break, of the investigated PHBV biocomposites. Additionally, during accelerated weathering, the crystallinity of PHBV biocomposites increased, especially in the presence of RS, due to both the hydrolytic degradation of the polymer matrix and the nucleating effect of the filler. It has been observed that an increase in PHBV crystallinity, determined by DSC measurements, correlates with the intensity ratio I1225/1180 obtained from FTIR-ATR data. The treatment of RS microfibers increased the biodegradation capability of the developed PHBV composites, especially in the case of chemically untreated RS. All the developed PHBV composites demonstrated faster biodegradation in comparison to neat PHBV matrix.

The ENCODE Uniform Analysis Pipelines

The Encyclopedia of DNA elements (ENCODE) project is a collaborative effort to create a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome. The current database comprises more than 19000 functional genomics experiments across more than 1000 cell lines and tissues using a wide array of experimental techniques to study the chromatin structure, regulatory and transcriptional landscape of the Homo sapiens and Mus musculus genomes. All experimental data, metadata, and associated computational analyses created by the ENCODE consortium are submitted to the Data Coordination Center (DCC) for validation, tracking, storage, and distribution to community resources and the scientific community. The ENCODE project has engineered and distributed uniform processing pipelines in order to promote data provenance and reproducibility as well as allow interoperability between genomic resources and other consortia. All data files, reference genome versions, software versions, and parameters used by the pipelines are captured and available via the ENCODE Portal. The pipeline code, developed using Docker and Workflow Description Language (WDL; https://openwdl.org/) is publicly available in GitHub, with images available on Dockerhub (https://hub.docker.com), enabling access to a diverse range of biomedical researchers. ENCODE pipelines maintained and used by the DCC can be installed to run on personal computers, local HPC clusters, or in cloud computing environments via Cromwell. Access to the pipelines and data via the cloud allows small labs the ability to use the data or software without access to institutional compute clusters. Standardization of the computational methodologies for analysis and quality control leads to comparable results from different ENCODE collections - a prerequisite for successful integrative analyses.

Visco-Elastic and Thermal Properties of Microbiologically Synthesized Polyhydroxyalkanoate Plasticized with Triethyl Citrate

The current research is devoted to the investigation of the plasticization of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and polyhydroxybutyrate-co-hydroxyvalerate (PHBV) with triethyl citrate (TEC). Three different PHB or PHBV-based systems with 10, 20, and 30 wt.% of TEC were prepared by two-roll milling. The effect of TEC on the rheological, thermal, mechanical, and calorimetric properties of the developed compression-molded PHB and PHBV-based systems was determined. It was revealed that the addition of TEC significantly influenced the melting behavior of both polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA), reducing their melting temperatures and decreasing viscosities. It was also revealed that all the investigated systems demonstrated less than 2% weight loss until 200 °C and rapid degradation did not occur until 240-260 °C in an oxidative environment. Apart from this, a remarkable increase (ca 2.5 times) in ultimate tensile deformation ε_B was observed by increasing the amount of TEC in either PHB or PHBV. A concomitant, considerable drop in ultimate strength σ_B and modulus of elasticity E was observed. Comparatively, the plasticization efficiency of TEC was greater in the case of PHBV.

Effect of Agricultural Biomass Residues on the Properties of Recycled Polypropylene/Polyethylene Composites

The aim of the study was to assess the usefulness of agricultural biomass residues as reinforcement in recycled polymer matrices. In this study, recycled polypropylene and high-density polyethylene composites (rPPPE) filled with three types of biomass residues, sweet clover straws (SCS), buckwheat straws (BS) and rapeseed straws (RS), are presented. The effects of the fiber type and the fibers content on the rheological behavior, mechanical properties (including tensile, flexural and impact strength), thermal stability and moisture absorbance were determined, in addition to morphological analysis. It was revealed that the addition of SCS, BS or RS increased the materials' stiffness and strength. The reinforcement effect increased as the loading of the fibers was increased, especially for BS composites in the flexural test. After the moisture absorbance test, it was found that the reinforcement effect slightly increased for the composites with 10% fibers but decreases with 40% fibers. The results highlight that the selected fibers are a feasible reinforcement for recycled polyolefin blend matrices.

The ENCODE Uniform Analysis Pipelines

The Encyclopedia of DNA elements (ENCODE) project is a collaborative effort to create a comprehensive catalog of functional elements in the human genome. The current database comprises more than 19000 functional genomics experiments across more than 1000 cell lines and tissues using a wide array of experimental techniques to study the chromatin structure, regulatory and transcriptional landscape of the Homo sapiens and Mus musculus genomes. All experimental data, metadata, and associated computational analyses created by the ENCODE consortium are submitted to the Data Coordination Center (DCC) for validation, tracking, storage, and distribution to community resources and the scientific community. The ENCODE project has engineered and distributed uniform processing pipelines in order to promote data provenance and reproducibility as well as allow interoperability between genomic resources and other consortia. All data files, reference genome versions, software versions, and parameters used by the pipelines are captured and available via the ENCODE Portal. The pipeline code, developed using Docker and Workflow Description Language (WDL; https://openwdl.org/) is publicly available in GitHub, with images available on Dockerhub (https://hub.docker.com), enabling access to a diverse range of biomedical researchers. ENCODE pipelines maintained and used by the DCC can be installed to run on personal computers, local HPC clusters, or in cloud computing environments via Cromwell. Access to the pipelines and data via the cloud allows small labs the ability to use the data or software without access to institutional compute clusters. Standardization of the computational methodologies for analysis and quality control leads to comparable results from different ENCODE collections - a prerequisite for successful integrative analyses.

Characterisation of Nanoclay and Spelt Husk Microfiller-Modified Polypropylene Composites

Current research is devoted to the investigation of spelt husk (SH) and nanoclay-modified compatibilised polypropylene (PP) binary and ternary composites for injection-moulding applications. PP composites were obtained using twin-screw extrusion. The content of mechanically milled SH microfiller with aspect ratio within 2 and 6 was fixed at 40 wt.%, whereas the amount of nanoclay functional filler in the polypropylene matrix was changed in the range from 0.5 to 5 wt.%. Nanoclay filler was introduced in the polypropylene matrix either in the form of nanoclay powder (C) or as a masterbatch (M). Regular distribution of the clay nanofiller within the polymer matrix has been observed, disregarding its form and concentration. The effects of the individual or combined addition of SH microreinforcement and nanoclay fillers on the rheological, mechanical, calorimetric, and thermal properties of the developed PP composites were investigated. It is revealed that the addition of the nanoclay fillers insignificantly influences the viscosity of both PP nanocomposites and hybrid composites with SH. Additionally, for PP nanocomposites, remarkable increases in tensile and flexural modules and strength are observed by maintaining considerable ultimate deformations, mainly in the case of M-containing systems. Concomitantly, because of the addition of the nanoclay filler, the improvement in thermal stability of PP nanocomposites and PP hybrid composites with SH is observed. As a result of SH addition, considerable increases in tensile and flexural modules are also observed. Results of the research demonstrate the potential of the use of natural materials (agricultural residues and clay minerals) for the development of PP composites with increased stiffness and thermal properties.