SYNTHESIS AND PROPERTIES OF POLYSTYRENE／LAPONITE NANOCOMPOSITES

Exfoliated polystyrene (PS)/laponite nanocomposites were prepared successfully. The characteristic doo1 diffraction peak of organo-laponite disappeared in the XRD patterns of nanocomposites, indicating that the laponite layers were exfoliated and the ordered crystal structure of laponite was destroyed because of the styrene polymerization. TEM observations showed that the exfoliated laponite primary particles were dispersed randomly in the PS matrix with lateral dimensions from 1 nm to 10 rim. SEM results showed that the PS/laponite nanocomposite particles were almost monodispersed spheres with the size of about 120 rim. Because of the interaction between PS and laponite nanolayers, the nanocomposites exhibited higher thermal stability and glass transition temperature when compared to pure PS.     

Kinetics of the surface tension of micellar solutions: Comparison of different experimental techniques

The kinetics of the surface tension of micellar solutions of nonionic surfactant Triton X-100 is measured experimentally by means of three different techniques: oscillating jet, maximum bubble pressure and inclined plate. They allow to study the micellization kinetics at various time scales (from a few milliseconds to a few seconds) in fairly large concentration region up to 50 times CMC. The experimental data are satisfactorily explained by a theoretical model accounting for the kinetics of micellization, diffusion of surfactant species and expansion of the bubble interface. By this model are computed the characteristic times of diffusion and micellization, which are of comparable magnitude (about 5 to 200 ms), and the Gibbs' elasticity. The micellization time constant corresponds to the slow relaxation process known to coincide with the disintegration of micelles. Comparing our data with other data from literature one can conclude that more realistic information for the micellization kinetics is obtained by the maximum bubble pressure and the oscillating jet method. The inclined plate seems too slow to measure the relaxation processes in micellar solutions of this surfactant.     

Carburizing of titanium with plasma jets under reduced pressure

The carburizing of titanium with argon-methane (0.1%) and argon-methane (0.1%)-hydrogen (2%) plasma jets at a pressure of 200 Torr was studied. The carburizing of titanium was not successful with the argon-methane plasma jet because the specimen was covered with graphitic carbon. A hard and thick TiC layer was formed by the argon-methane-hydrogen plasma jet in a short time without the deposition of graphitic carbon. Emission spectra from the plasma jets show that the addition of hydrogen increases the amount of CH radicals as well as decreases the amount of C₂ and C in the plasma jet. The decrease of C₂ and C suppresses the deposition of graphitic carbon and enhances the TiC formation.Partly presented at Gordon Research Conference on Plasma Chemistry, August 11–15, 1986, Tilton, New Hampshire.     

Kinetics and equilibrium of multicomponent adsorption on chiraly templated surfaces

In this contribution we propose a simple model of adsorption of a binary (racemic) mixture on a chiraly templated surface. As an example, the adsorption of a liquid mixture of enantiomers on a chiral stationary phase (CSP) is considered. In particular, we study the effect of the lateral interactions in the adsorbed phase on the kinetic and equilibrium isotherms of the enantiomers. Additionally, we investigate the influence of the composition of the surface on the performance of the CSP in the presence of the lateral interactions. To that end, the adsorption of the mixture is modeled by using Monte Carlo simulations as well as by applying an analytical approach involving rate equations coupled with the Mean Field Approximation (MFA). The predictions of the theory are found to be in good agreement with the results of the simulations.     

A Novel Anti-Inflammatory d-Peptide Inhibits Disease Phenotype Progression in an ALS Mouse Model

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease characterised by selective neuronal death in the brain stem and spinal cord. The cause is unknown, but an increasing amount of evidence has firmly certified that neuroinflammation plays a key role in ALS pathogenesis. Neuroinflammation is a pathological hallmark of several neurodegenerative disorders and has been implicated as driver of disease progression. Here, we describe a treatment study demonstrating the therapeutic potential of a tandem version of the well-known all-d-peptide RD2 (RD2RD2) in a transgenic mouse model of ALS (SOD1*G93A). Mice were treated intraperitoneally for four weeks with RD2RD2 vs. placebo. SOD1*G93A mice were tested longitudinally during treatment in various behavioural and motor coordination tests. Brain and spinal cord samples were investigated immunohistochemically for gliosis and neurodegeneration. RD2RD2 treatment in SOD1*G93A mice resulted not only in a reduction of activated astrocytes and microglia in both the brain stem and lumbar spinal cord, but also in a rescue of neurons in the motor cortex. RD2RD2 treatment was able to slow progression of the disease phenotype, especially the motor deficits, to an extent that during the four weeks treatment duration, no significant progression was observed in any of the motor experiments. Based on the presented results, we conclude that RD2RD2 is a potential therapeutic candidate against ALS.     

General analysis of the measurements of the lateral crystal lattice moduli of semicrystalline polymers by x-ray diffraction and the application to nylon 6

A mathematical representation based on a linear elastic theory is proposed by which one may investigate the dependences of molecular orientation and crystallinity on the crystal lattice moduli and linear thermal expansion coefficients in the direction perpendicular to the chain axis as commonly measured by x-ray diffraction. In the theoretical calculation, a previously introduced model was employed in which oriented crystalline phase is surrounded by oriented amorphous phase and the strains of the two phases at the boundary are identical. The mathematical analysis indicated that the lateral crystal lattice moduli and linear thermal coefficients as measured by x-ray diffraction may be different from the intrinsic crystal moduli and linear thermal coefficients of a crystal unit cell, depending on the structure of the polymer solid. The numerical calculation was applied to nylon 6. As a result, it may be confirmed that the lateral crystal lattice moduli measured by x-ray diffraction are sensitive to the morphology of the bulk speciments and close to the intrinsic crystal moduli if the morphology of the test specimen can be represented by a parallel model with respect to the original stretching longitudinal direction.     

Modelling of the pressure-velocity correlation in turbulence diffusion

Most current computations of trubulent flows with second-moment closure adopt the diffusion models which neglect the effect of pressure-velocity correlation. In the present paper the importance of this correlation effect is elucidated the neglect of this effect accounts for some major defects in the wide application of the second-moment closures. Through the relation between and , established by Lumley, we propose here a new turbulence diffusion model which takes into consideration the pressure effect. Applications of this new model in the computation of shearless turbulence mixing layer and plane and round-jet flows show that the spreading rate of these flows can be satisfactorily captured.     

In situ friction study of Ag Underpotential deposition (UPD) on Au(111) in aqueous electrolyte

The electrodeposition of silver on Au(111) was investigated using lateral force microscopy (LFM) in Ag⁺ containing sulfuric acid. Friction force images show that adsorbed sulfate forms structure ( on Au(111) prior to Ag underpotential deposition (UPD) and structure ( ) on a complete monolayer or bilayer of Ag. Variation of friction with normal load shows a non-monotonous dependence, which is caused by increasing penetration of the tip into the sulfate adlayer. In addition, the friction force is influenced by the varying coverage and mobility of Ag atoms on the surface. Before Ag coverage reaches the critical value, the deposited silver atoms may be mobile enough to be dragged by the movement of AFM tip. Possible penetration of the tip into the UPD layer at very high loads is discussed as a model for self-healing wear. However, when the coverage of Ag is close to 1, the deposited Ag atoms are tight enough to resist the influence of the AFM tip and the tip penetrates only into the sulfate adlayer.     

Efficiently Synthesizing Lacto-Ganglio-Series Gangliosides by Using a Glucosyl Ceramide Cassette Approach: The Total Synthesis of Ganglioside X2

The first total synthesis of the hybrid ganglioside X2, which consisted of a highly branched octasaccharide and ceramide moieties, was accomplished by using a glucosyl ceramide cassette approach. With a disaccharyl donor, the heptasaccharide could not be constructed by glycosylation of the C4 hydroxy group of galactose at the reducing end of the pentasaccharide. In contrast, through an alternative approach with two branched glycan units, a GM2-core trisaccharide, and a lacto-ganglio tetrasaccharide, the heptasaccharyl donor could be prepared and subsequently joined with a glucosyl ceramide cassette to afford the protected ganglioside, X2. Finally, global deprotection completed the synthesis, thus affording the pure ganglioside X2.