Completely biodegradable composites of poly(propylene carbonate) and short,lignocellulose fiber Hildegardia populifolia

The composites of biodegradable poly(propylene carbonate) (PPC) reinforced with short Hildegardia populifolia natural fiber were prepared by melt mixing followed by compression molding. The mechanical properties, thermal properties, and morphologies of the composites were studied via static and dynamic mechanical measurements, thermogravimetric analysis, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques, respectively. Static tensile tests showed that the stiffness and tensile strength of the composites increased with an increasing fiber content. However, the elongation at break and the energy to break decreased dramatically with the addition of short fiber. The relationship between the experimental results and the compatibility or interaction between the PPC matrix and fiber was correlated. SEM observations indicated good interfacial contact between the short fiber and PPC matrix. Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that the introduction of short Hildegardia populifolia fiber led to a slightly improved thermooxidative stability of PPC. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 666–675, 2004     

New liquid‐crystalline poly(ester amide)s: The role of nitro groups in the phase behavior

New hydrogen‐bonded liquid‐crystalline poly(ester amide)s (PEA)s were obtained from 1,4‐terephthaloyl[bis‐(3‐nitro‐N‐anthranilic acid)] (5) or 1,4‐terephthaloyl[bis‐(N‐anthranilic acid)] (6), with or without nitro groups, respectively, through the separate condensation of each with hydroquinone or dihydroxynaphthalene. The dicarboxylic monomers were synthesized from 2‐aminobenzoic acid. The phase behavior of the monomers and polymers were studied with differential scanning calorimetry, polarized light microscopy, and wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction methods. Monomer 5, containing nitro groups, exhibited a smectic liquid‐crystalline phase, whereas the texture of monomer 6 without nitro groups appeared to be nematic. The PEAs containing nitro groups exhibited polymorphism (smectic and nematic), whereas those without nitro groups exhibited only one phase transition (a nematic threaded texture). The changes occurring in the phase behavior of the polymers were explained by the introduction of nitro groups. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 1289–1298, 2004     

The effect of compatibilization and rheological properties of polystyrene and poly(dimethylsiloxane) on phase structure of polystyrene/poly(dimethylsiloxane) blends

The compatibilization effect of polystyrene (PS)‐poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) diblock copolymer (PS‐b‐PDMS) and the effect of rheological properties of PS and PDMS on phase structure of PS/PDMS blends were investigated using a selective extraction technique and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The dual‐phase continuity of PS/PDMS blends takes place in a wide composition range. The formation and the onset of a cocontinuous phase structure largely depend on blend composition, viscosity ratio of the constituent components, and addition of diblock copolymers. The width of the concentration region of the cocontinuous structure is narrowed with increasing the viscosity ratio of the blends and in the presence of the small amount diblock copolymers. Quiescent annealing shifts the onset values of continuity. The experimental results are compared with the volume fraction of phase inversion calculated with various theoretical models, but none of the models can account quantitatively for the observed data. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 898–913, 2004     

Oxidation of isoniazid by quinolinium dichromate in an aqueous acid medium and kinetic determination of isoniazid in pure and pharmaceutical formulations.

The kinetics of oxidation of isoniazid in acidic medium was studied spectrophotometrically. The reaction between QDC and isoniazid in acid medium exhibits (4:1) stoichiometry (QDC:isoniazid). The reaction showed first order kinetics in quinolinium dichromate (QDC) concentration and an order of less than unity in isoniazid (INH) and acid concentrations. The oxidation reaction proceeds via a protonated QDC species, which forms a complex with isoniazid. The latter decomposes in a slow step to give a free radical derived from isoniazid and an intermediate chromium(V), which is followed, by subsequent fast steps to give the products. The reaction constants involved in the mechanism are evaluated. Isoniazid was analyzed by kinetic methods in pure and pharmaceutical formulations.     

Fingering phenomena during spreading of surfactant solutions

Fingering instabilities are observed at the contact line of drops of surfactant solutions spreading spontaneously on solid surfaces coated by a film of solvent. The occurrences of instabilities, and the characteristics of the instability pattern, are controlled by the surfactant concentration and the thickness of the film adsorbed or deposited on the substrate. This work provides experimental data as a basis for forthcoming theoretical analyses.     

Structure,morphology, and crystallization process of isotactic polypropylene/hydrogenated hydrocarbon resin blends

The structure, morphology, and isothermal and nonisothermal crystallization of isotactic polypropylene/low‐molecular‐mass hydrocarbon resin blends (iPP/HR) (up to 20% in weight of HR) have been studied, using optical and electron microscopy, wide‐ and small‐angle X‐ray and differential scanning calorimetry. New structures and morphologies can be activated, using appropriate preparation and crystallization conditions and blend composition. For every composition and crystallization condition, iPP crystallizes in α‐form, with a spherulitic morphology. The size of iPP spherulites increases with resin content, whereas the long period decreases. In the range of crystallization temperatures investigated, HR modifies the birefringence of iPP spherulites, favoring the formation of radial lamellae and changing the ratio between tangential and radial lamellae. Spherulitic radial growth rates, overall crystallization rates, and melting temperatures are strongly affected by resin, monotonically decreasing with resin content. This confirms miscibility in the melt between the two components of the blends. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 42: 3368–3379, 2004     

Ferritin immunosensing on microfabricated electrodes based on the integration of immunoprecipitation and electrochemical signaling reactions.

A signal registration strategy from micropatterned immunosensors that converts antigen-antibody binding reactions into electrochemical signals was demonstrated. An array-type micropatterned gold electrode on a silicon wafer was fabricated, containing two electrode geometries of rectangular (100 microm x 500 microm) and circular (r. 50 microm) types, exhibiting electrochemical characteristics of bulk and micro-electrodes, respectively. Ferritin was employed as a model analyte for immunosensing because it has an advantageous molecular structure for functionalization to the sensing interface, and is regarded as a general marker protein for tumors and cancer recurrence. With the fabricated and ferritin-functionalized immunosensors, biospecific interactions were performed with antiferritin antiserum and secondary antibody samples, followed by electrochemical signaling via an immunoprecipitation reaction by the label enzyme. Under the optimized affinity-surface construction steps and reaction conditions, both types of microfabricated electrodes exhibited well-defined calibration results as a function of the protein concentration in antiserum samples. Furthermore, circular-type micropatterned immunoelectrodes exhibited voltammetric characteristics of microelectrodes, which is advantageous in terms of sensor operation under a fixed potential and low signal drift during the signaling reaction compared with the bulk-type electrodes. The results support that the employed signaling method with the proposed immunosensor configuration is fit for sensor miniaturization and integration to future biomicrosystems.     

Crystal structure of the 4-chromanone derivative.

The title compound was extracted from a natural product and its structure was characterized by an X-ray diffraction method. It crystallizes in the tetragonal space group P41 with cell parameters a = 15.832(10)A, c = 11.622(10)A, Z = 4; the final residual factor is R1 = 0.0769. The structure has both intra and intermolecular hydrogen bonds.     

The evolution of a truncated gaussian probability density through time—modelling animal liveweights after selection

The form of the probability density derived from the evolution in time of a previously truncated frequency distribution of animal Liveweights is of interest in animal husbandry. Truncated frequency distributions arise when the heavier animals are sold for slaughter and the lighter animals retained. The demands of modern quality assurance schemes require that, given information on animal growth, the farmer is able to estimate the number of animals that would meet the specifications at some time in the future after truncation. Assuming that animal growth can be described by a linear stochastic differential equation, we derive an explicit expression for the probability density of animal Liveweights at any time after the truncation of an initial Gaussian density. It is shown that this probability density converges rapidly to a Gaussian density, so that after about 20 days of typical growth rates for lambs, the resulting density is practically indistinguishable from Gaussian.     

Determination of flutter derivatives via a neural network approach

A neural-network-based method is offered to determine the flutter derivatives of section models under smooth and turbulent flows. The approach uses the observed dynamic responses to train an appropriate neural network. Subsequently, the modal parameters of the model for different mean velocities of wind flow are directly estimated using weight matrices in the neural network. The flutter derivatives can then be determined accurately. The validity of the present method is verified through numerical studies. Finally, the procedure is employed to process experimental data from an inverted-U-type section model, obtained from wind tunnel tests.