ORCID Profile
0000-0001-7409-5063
Current Organisation
Victoria University
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Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date: 11-2021
DOI: 10.1177/09673911211045373
Abstract: Among many applications, elevated-temperature cured epoxy resins are widely used for high-performance applications especially for structural adhesive and as a matrix for structural composites. This is due to their superior chemical and mechanical properties. The thermosetting nature of epoxy produces a highly cross-linked polymer network during the curing process where the resulting material exhibited excellent properties. However, due to this cross-linked molecular structure, epoxies are also known to be brittle, and once a crack initiated in the material, it is difficult to arrest the crack propagation. Earlier research found that the inclusion of encapsulated healing agents is able to introduce self-healing ability to the room-temperature cured epoxies. The current study investigated the self-healing behaviour of an elevated-temperature cured epoxy, which incorporated the dual-capsule system loaded with diglycidyl-ether of bisphenol-A (DGEBA) resin and mercaptan. The microcapsules were prepared by the in-situ polymerisation method while the fracture toughness and the self-healing capability of the tapered-double-cantilever-beam (TDCB) epoxy specimens were measured under Mode-I fracture toughness testing. We investigated the effect of temperature on viscosity of the healing agents and how these values influence the formation of uniform healing on the fracture surfaces. It was found that incorporation of the dual-capsule self-healing system onto an elevated-temperature cured epoxy slightly changed the fracture toughness of the epoxy as indicated by the Mode-I testing. In the case of thermal healing at 70°C, the self-healing epoxy exhibited a recovery of up to 111% of its original fracture toughness, where a uniform spreading of the healant was observed. The excellent healing behaviour is attributed to the lower viscosity of the healant at higher temperature and the higher glass transition temperature ( T g ) of the produced healant film. The DSC analysis confirmed that the healing process was not contributed by the post-curing of the host epoxy.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 29-11-2022
DOI: 10.1038/S41590-021-01077-Y
Abstract: Ineffective antibody-mediated responses are a key characteristic of chronic viral infection. However, our understanding of the intrinsic mechanisms that drive this dysregulation are unclear. Here, we identify that targeting the epigenetic modifier BMI-1 in mice improves humoral responses to chronic lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus. BMI-1 was upregulated by germinal center B cells in chronic viral infection, correlating with changes to the accessible chromatin landscape, compared to acute infection. B cell-intrinsic deletion of Bmi1 accelerated viral clearance, reduced splenomegaly and restored splenic architecture. Deletion of Bmi1 restored c-Myc expression in B cells, concomitant with improved quality of antibody and coupled with reduced antibody-secreting cell numbers. Specifically, BMI-1-deficiency induced antibody with increased neutralizing capacity and enhanced antibody-dependent effector function. Using a small molecule inhibitor to murine BMI-1, we could deplete antibody-secreting cells and prohibit detrimental immune complex formation in vivo. This study defines BMI-1 as a crucial immune modifier that controls antibody-mediated responses in chronic infection.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 2022
DOI: 10.1002/CTI2.1414
Publisher: The American Association of Immunologists
Date: 02-2023
Abstract: CD8 virtual memory T (TVM) cells are Ag-naive CD8 T cells that have undergone partial differentiation in response to common γ-chain cytokines, particularly IL-15 and IL-4. TVM cells from young in iduals are highly proliferative in response to TCR and cytokine stimulation but, with age, they lose TCR-mediated proliferative capacity and exhibit hallmarks of senescence. Helminth infection can drive an increase in TVM cells, which is associated with improved pathogen clearance during subsequent infectious challenge in young mice. Given the cytokine-dependent profile of TVM cells and their age-associated dysfunction, we traced proliferative and functional changes in TVM cells, compared with true naive CD8 T cells, after helminth infection of young and aged C57BL/6 mice. We show that IL-15 is essential for the helminth-induced increase in TVM cells, which is driven only by proliferation of existing TVM cells, with negligible contribution from true naive cell differentiation. Additionally, TVM cells showed the greatest proliferation in response to helminth infection and IL-15 compared with other CD8 T cells. Furthermore, TVM cells from aged mice did not undergo expansion after helminth infection due to both TVM cell–intrinsic and –extrinsic changes associated with aging.
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 04-04-2023
DOI: 10.3390/MA16072881
Abstract: Third-generation solar cells, including dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) and quantum dot-sensitized solar cells (QDSSCs), have been associated with low-cost material requirements, simple fabrication processes, and mechanical robustness. Hence, counter electrodes (CEs) are a critical component for the functionality of these solar cells. Although platinum (Pt)-based CEs have been dominant in CE fabrication, they are costly and have limited market availability. Therefore, it is important to find alternative materials to overcome these issues. Transition metal chalcogenides (TMCs) and transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have demonstrated capabilities as a more cost-effective alternative to Pt materials. This advantage has been attributed to their strong electrocatalytic activity, excellent thermal stability, tunability of bandgap energies, and variable crystalline morphologies. In this study, a comprehensive review of the major components and working principles of the DSSC and QDSSC are presented. In developing CEs for DSSCs and QDSSCs, various TMS materials synthesized through several techniques are thoroughly reviewed. The performance efficiencies of DSSCs and QDSSCs resulting from TMS-based CEs are subjected to in-depth comparative analysis with Pt-based CEs. Thus, the power conversion efficiency (PCE), fill factor (FF), short circuit current density (Jsc) and open circuit voltage (Voc) are investigated. Based on this review, the PCEs for DSSCs and QDSSCs are found to range from 5.37 to 9.80% (I−/I3− redox couple electrolyte) and 1.62 to 6.70% (S−2/Sx− electrolyte). This review seeks to navigate the future direction of TMS-based CEs towards the performance efficiency improvement of DSSCs and QDSSCs in the most cost-effective and environmentally friendly manner.
Publisher: AIP Publishing LLC
Date: 2016
DOI: 10.1063/1.4942339
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2017
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2016
No related grants have been discovered for Habibah Ghazali.