Structure and microporous formation of cellulose/silk fibroin blend membranes: Part II. Effect of post-treatment by alkali

Blend membranes (RCF1) were prepared from mixture solution of cellulose and silk fibroin (SF) in cuoxam by coagulating with acetone–acetic acid (4:1 by volume). The blend membranes were subjected to post-treatment with 10% NaOH aqueous solution, and their structure and properties were characterized by FT-IR, X-ray diffraction, DSC, SEM and DMTA. In previous work, cellulose/SF blend membranes (RCF2) prepared by coagulating with 10% NaOH aqueous solution formed a microporous structure, in which the SF as a pore former was almost completely removed from the membrane. However, when the blend membranes RCF1 were immersed in 10% NaOH aqueous solution for post-treatment, a strong hydrogen bonding between cellulose and SF inhibited the removal of SF. Although alkali is a good solvent for SF, the blend membranes RCF1 such obtained from cellulose and SF were alkali resistant. The crystallinity and the mean pore size of the blend membranes slightly decreased with increasing post-treatment time. This work provided a cellulose/silk blend membrane, which can be used under alkaline medium.     

Optical and Electrical Properties of Polymerizing Plasmas and Their Correlation with DLC Film Properties

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) films were grown from radiofrequency plasmas of acetylene-argon mixtures, at different excitation powers, P. The effects of this parameter on the plasma potential, electron density, electron temperature, and plasma activity were investigated using a Langmuir probe. The mean electron temperature increased from about 0.5 to about 7.0 eV while the mean electron density decreased from about 1.2 × 10⁹ to about 0.2 × 10⁹ cm^–3 as P was increased from 25 to 150 W. Both the plasma potential and the plasma activity were found to increase with increasing P. Through actinometric optical emission spectrometry, the relative concentrations of CH, [CH], and H, [H], in the discharge were mapped as a function of the applied power. A rise in [H] and a fall in [CH] with increasing P were observed and are discussed in relation to the plasma characteristics and the subimplantation model. The optical properties of the films were calculated from ultraviolet-visible spectroscopic data; the surface resistivity was measured by the two-point probe method. The optical gap, E _G, and the surface resistivity, _s, fall with increasing P. E _G and _s are in the ranges of about 2.0–1.3 eV and 10¹⁴–10¹⁶ /, respectively. The plasma power also influences the film self-bias, V _b, via a linear dependence, and the effect of V _b on ion bombardment during growth is addressed together with variation in the relative densities of sp² and sp³ bonds in the films as determined by Raman spectroscopy.     

5-Aminolaevulinic acid-mediated photodynamic therapy in multidrug resistant leukemia cells

To verify if photodynamic therapy (PDT) could overcome multidrug resistance (MDR) when it it applied to eradicate minimal residual disease in patients with leukemia, we investigated the fluorescence kinetics of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA)-induced protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) and the effect of subsequent photodynamic therapy on MDR leukemia cells, which express P-glycoprotein (P-gp), as well as on their parent cells. Evaluation of PpIX accumulation by flow cytometry showed that PpIX accumulated at higher levels in mdr-1 gene-transduced MDR cells (NB4/MDR) and at lower levels in doxorubicin-induced MDR cells (NOMO-1/ADR) than in their parent cells. A P-gp inhibitor could not increase PpIX accumulation. Measurement of extracellular PpIX concentration by fluorescence spectrometry showed that P-gp did not mediate the fluorescence kinetics of ALA-induced PpIX production. Assessment of ferrochelatase activity using high-performance liquid chromatography indicated that PpIX accumulation in drug-induced MDR cells was probably regulated by this enzyme. Assessment of phototoxicity of PDT using the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay showed that PDT was effective in NB4, NB4/MDR, NOMO-1 and NOMO-1/ADR cells, which accumulated high levels of PpIX, but not effective in K562 and K562/ADR cell lines, which accumulated relatively low levels of PpIX. These findings demonstrate that P-gp does not mediate the ALA-fluorescence kinetics, and multidrug resistant leukemia cells do not have cross-resistance to ALA-PDT.     

Photochemical aging of in situ polymerized blends of polystyrene and poly[acrylonitrile-g-(ethylene-co-propylene-co-diene)-g-styrene] (AES)

The influence of photochemical aging of in situ polymerized PS/AES blends on their mechanical properties has been studied. The PS/AES blends were subjected to photochemical aging for 168 h and 720 h. Tensile properties and Izod impact resistance of aged and non-aged samples were evaluated. The mechanical properties of the PS/AES blends are influenced by the polymerization temperature and blend composition and represent a balance between the toughness of EPDM and the stiffness of SAN in the PS matrix. Even though the impact resistance and strain at break of HIPS are higher than those of the PS/AES blends, after the aging period all PS/AES blends showed higher strain at break than HIPS. PS/AES blends present higher photochemical stability than HIPS.     

脉冲泄流时土壤条件对冲击接地阻抗的影响

 为了探寻电流脉冲泄流时，设备的接地是否有效可靠，用FDTD法分析了脉冲泄流时均一土壤、分层土壤及局部改善土壤的电导率对冲击接地阻抗（TGR）的影响。结果表明：大地电导率对冲击接地阻抗的影响很大；对均一土壤，TGR随大地电导率的增大而减小，大地电导率越大，TGR对接地体的埋深越不敏感。对分层土壤，接地体要埋在大地电导率大的土壤层中，且不要靠近交界面；局部改善大地导电性能对降低TGR效果明显，TGR对改善区域的体积非常敏感，而当电导率大于一定值时，大地电导率的再增加，对TGR的影响不明显。     

Frequency and voltage-dependent electrical and dielectric properties of Al/Co-doped PVA/p-Si structures at room temperature

In order to investigate of cobalt-doped interracial polyvinyl alcohol （PVA） layer and interface trap （Dit） effects, A1/p- Si Schottky barrier diodes （SBDs） are fabricated, and their electrical and dielectric properties are investigated at room temperature. The forward and reverse admittance measurements are carded out in the frequency and voltage ranges of 30 kHz-300 kHz and -5 V-6 V, respectively. C-V or er-V plots exhibit two distinct peaks corresponding to inversion and accumulation regions. The first peak is attributed to the existence of Dit, the other to the series resistance （Rs）, and interfacial layer. Both the real and imaginary parts of dielectric constant （er and err） and electric modulus （Mr and Mrr）, loss tangent （tan~）, and AC electrical conductivity （aac） are investigated, each as a function of frequency and applied bias voltage. Each of the M~ versus V and Mrr versus V plots shows a peak and the magnitude of peak increases with the increasing of frequency. Especially due to the Dit and interfacial PVA layer, both capacitance （C） and conductance （G/w） values are strongly affected, which consequently contributes to deviation from both the electrical and dielectric properties of A1/Co-doped PVA/p-Si （MPS） type SBD. In addition, the voltage-dependent profile of Dit is obtained from the low-high frequency capacitance （CLF-CHF） method.     

Thermal Resistance Measurement across a Wick Structure Using a Novel Thermosyphon Test Chamber

A novel system is developed for measuring the thermal resistance across thin layers of sintered copper wicks of varying porosity. Wicks to be tested are integrated into a passive vertical thermosyphon system, and the resistance is measured for a series of input power levels. The wicks are sintered to a thermally conducting pedestal above a pool of deionized water and heated from below. The apparent thermal resistance across the wick (from the pedestal/wick interface to the vapor space) under the evaporative operating conditions encountered in heat pipes is measured using thermocouples. The apparent thermal resistance across the wick is measured to be as low as 0.01°C/W, corresponding to an evaporative heat transfer coefficient of greater than 128,000 W/m²K.     

Deposition of ZnS thin film by ultrasonic spray pyrolysis: effect of thickness on the crystallographic and electrical properties

Zinc sulfide (ZnS) thin films have been deposited on Si (1 0 0) substrate using ultrasonic spray pyrolysis. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that the films are (0 0 2) preferentially oriented with c-axis-oriented wurtzite structure. The crystallinity has been found to improve with film thickness in the 180–6000 nm range. Film structure has been analyzed by XRD, scanning electron microscope, FTIR, and Raman spectroscopies, while the stoichiometry has been verified by energy-dispersive spectroscopy and particle-induced X-ray emission techniques. Electrical properties of the grown films were characterized by current–voltage and capacitance–voltage measurements where, the films show better conducting behavior at higher thickness.     

1,4-双(二苯基膦)丁烷交联的季膦化聚芳醚酮阴离子交换膜

以1,4-双(二苯基膦)丁烷为交联剂,以具有四甲基联苯结构的聚芳醚酮为基体材料,分别制备了刚性三苯基膦和柔性三丁基膦修饰的阴离子交联膜材料.交联剂在交联结构形成的过程中转变成季膦盐,在提高膜材料机械稳定性的同时保持离子交换功能基团的含量.研究了2种阴离子交换膜的尺寸稳定性、电导率、机械性能及耐碱稳定性等.研究结果表明,当交联度为20%时,三苯基膦与三丁基膦修饰的阴离子交换膜的拉伸强度分别由未交联时的27和18 MPa提高到45和30 MPa;交联的膜材料在60℃的3 mol/L KOH溶液中浸泡120 h后,三苯基膦修饰的阴离子交换膜的电导率保留率为81%,三丁基膦修饰的阴离子交换膜的电导率保留率为69%,膜的耐碱稳定性均较未交联时有明显提高.交联度相同时,三苯基膦修饰的阴离子交换膜表现出更高的拉伸强度和更好的耐碱稳定性.