Effects of poly[styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene] on the charge distributions of low‐density polyethylene/polystyrene blends

The effect of the triblock copolymer poly[styrene‐b‐(ethylene‐co‐butylene)‐b‐styrene] (SEBS) on the formation of the space charge of immiscible low‐density polyethylene (LDPE)/polystyrene (PS) blends was investigated. Blends of 70/30 (wt %) LDPE/PS were prepared through melt blending in an internal mixer at a blend temperature of 220 °C. The amount of charge that accumulated in the 70% LDPE/30% PS blends decreased when the SEBS content increased up to 10 wt %. For compatibilized and uncompatibilized blends, no significant change in the degree of crystallinity of LDPE in the blends was observed, and so the effect of crystallization on the space charge distribution could be excluded. Morphological observations showed that the addition of SEBS resulted in a domain size reduction of the dispersed PS phase and better interfacial adhesion between the LDPE and PS phases. The location of SEBS at a domain interface enabled charges to migrate from one phase to the other via the domain interface and, therefore, resulted in a significant decrease in the amount of space charge for the LDPE/PS blends with SEBS. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 2813–2820, 2004     

Determination of carbamazepine by chemiluminescence detection using chemically prepared tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) as oxidant.

A new chemiluminescence method for the determination of carbamazepine (CBZ) has been developed. The method is based on the chemiluminescence produced in the reaction of tris(2,2'-bipyridine)ruthenium(III) and CBZ in an acidic medium. The chemiluminescence intensity was enhanced by organic solvents in the reaction system. Under the optimum experimental conditions, the calibration curve was linear over the range 4.0 x 10(-3)-8.6 x 10(-7) mol/L for CBZ. The detection limit (S/N = 3) was 2.5 x 10(-7) mol/L and the relative standard deviation of six replicate measurements was 2.6% for 4.0 x 10(-4) mol/L of CBZ. The possible reaction mechanism were also discussed. The chemiluminescence method was successfully applied to assay the CBZ contents in pharmaceutical tablets.     

Synthesis and adsorption properties of gold nanoparticles within pores of surface‐functional porous polymer microspheres

Mesoporous polymer microspheres with gold (Au) nanoparticles inside their pores were prepared considering their surface functionality and porosity. The Au/polymer composite microspheres prepared were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) techniques. The results showed that the adsorption of Au nanoparticles could be increased by imparting the pore structure and surface‐functional groups into the supporting polymer microspheres (in this study, poly (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate‐co‐acrylonitrile) and poly (EGDMA‐co‐AN) system). Above all, from this study, it was established that the porosity of the polymer microspheres is the most important factor that determines the distribution and adsorption amount of face‐centered cubic (fcc) Au nanoparticles in the final products. Our study showed that the continuous adsorption of Au nanoparticles with the aid of the large surface area and surface interaction sites formed more favorably the Au/polymer composite microspheres. The BET measurements of Au/poly(EGDMA‐co‐AN) composite microspheres reveals that the adsorption of Au nanoparticles into the pores kept the pore structure intact and made it more porous. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 5627–5635, 2004     

Dielectrophoretically aligned GaN nanowire rectifiers

We demonstrate GaN nanowire (NW) current rectifiers which were formed by assembling n-GaN nanowires on a patterned p-Si substrate by means of alternating current (ac) dielectrophoresis. The dielectrophoresis was accomplished at a frequency of 10 kHz with three different ac bias voltages (5, 10, and 15 V_p–p), indicating that the number of aligned GaN nanowires increased with increasing ac bias voltage. The n-GaN NW/p-Si diodes showed well-defined current rectifying behavior with a forward voltage drop of 1.2–1.5 V at a current density of 200 A/cm². We observed that the GaN NW diode functioned well as a half-wave rectifier. PACS 71.20.Nr; 73.40.Cg; 73.40.Ei; 73.40.Kp     

Proof of semialgebraic covering mapping cylinder conjecture with semialgebraic covering homotopy theorem

In this paper we prove the semialgebraic version of Palais' covering homotopy theorem, and use this to prove Bredon's covering mapping cylinder conjecture positively in the semialgebraic category. Bredon's conjecture was originally stated in the topological category, and a topological version of our semialgebraic proof of the conjecture answers the original topological conjecture for topological G-spaces over “simplicial” mapping cylinders.     

Determination of Dextromethorphan and its Metabolite Dextrorphan in Human Hair by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

An analytical method has been developed for determination of dextromethorphan (DMP) and dextrorphan (DRP) in human hair by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS). Hair samples (30 mg) were washed with distilled water and acetone and cut into small fragments (<1 mm) before extraction with methanol. The extracts were evaporated to dryness and then derivatized by use of BSTFA containing 1% TMCS, for preparation of the trimethylsilyl (TMS) derivative of DRP. The extract (1 μL) was then injected into the GC–MS. Recoveries of DMP and DRP at 7.0 and 22.5 ng mg^?1 were in the range 90.6–97.2% with intra-assay and inter-assay precision of less than 5.7% and 4.7%, respectively. LOD and LOQ were, respectively, 0.67 and 2.13 ng mg^?1 for DMP and 0.14 and 0.47 ng mg^?1 for DRP. The responses were linear with correlation coefficients (r > 0.9995) for the drugs studied. The applicability of the method was proven by analysis of authentic hair samples.     

CHIP-mediated hyperubiquitylation of tau promotes its self-assembly into the insoluble tau filaments

The tau protein is a highly soluble and natively unfolded protein. Under pathological conditions, tau undergoes multiple post-translational modifications (PTMs) and conformational changes to form insoluble filaments, which are the proteinaceous signatures of tauopathies. To dissect the crosstalk among tau PTMs during the aggregation process, we phosphorylated and ubiquitylated recombinant tau in vitro using GSK3β and CHIP, respectively. The resulting phospho–ub-tau contained conventional polyubiquitin chains with lysine 48 linkages, sufficient for proteasomal degradation, whereas unphosphorylated ub-tau species retained only one–three ubiquitin moieties. Mass-spectrometric analysis of in vitro reconstituted phospho–ub-tau revealed seven additional ubiquitylation sites, some of which are known to stabilize tau protofilament stacking in the human brain with tauopathy. When the ubiquitylation reaction was prolonged, phospho–ub-tau transformed into insoluble hyperubiquitylated tau species featuring fibrillar morphology and in vitro seeding activity. We developed a small-molecule inhibitor of CHIP through biophysical screening; this effectively suppressed tau ubiquitylation in vitro and delayed its aggregation in cultured cells including primary cultured neurons. Our biochemical findings point to a “multiple-hit model,” where sequential events of tau phosphorylation and hyperubiquitylation function as a key driver of the fibrillization process, thus indicating that targeting tau ubiquitylation may be an effective strategy to alleviate the course of tauopathies.

Multiple-hit model for tau aggregation, where sequential events of tau phosphorylation and hyperubiquitylation function as a key driver of the fibrillization process.