Polyester hydrogels with swelling properties controlled by the polymer architecture,molecular weight,and crosslinking agent

Hydrogels of poly(1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one) and hydrogels of block copolymers of poly(1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one) and poly(L ‐lactide) were synthesized. Both star‐shaped polymers and linear polymers were polymerized with ring‐opening polymerization and crosslinked in situ with a tetrafunctional acid chloride (1,2,3,4‐cyclopentane tetracarboxylic acid chloride) or a difunctional acid chloride (succinyl chloride). Different network architectures were synthesized in this way. The initial monomer concentrations and the molecular weights of the macromonomers were also altered. The networks were characterized with ¹H NMR and differential scanning calorimetry, and the swelling abilities of the different hydrogels were investigated in water and dichloromethane. The ratio of the monomer to the crosslinking agent was assessed by the quantification of the signal intensities in the ¹H NMR spectra of the swelled network and agreed with the theoretical crosslinking density. Both the homopolymers of 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one and the copolymers of 1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one and L ‐lactide swelled to a high degree in water. The swelling properties of the materials could be varied over a broad range by changes in the architecture, molecular weight, and content of the precursor in the network. Star‐shaped poly(1,5‐dioxepan‐2‐one) crosslinked with a difunctional acid chloride had the highest degree of swelling among the different homopolymer hydrogels. This network also had the lowest glass‐transition temperature because of the flexible units in the structure. The same trends found for the homopolymer hydrogels were also seen in the hydrogels with block copolymers. The hydrogels swelled enormously in dichloromethane, and as in water, the star‐shaped copolymer crosslinked with a difunctional acid chloride had the highest degree of swelling. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 1296–1305, 2003     

Indistinguishable particles and hidden variables

An axiomatics for the indistinguishability of elementary particles in terms of hidden variables is presented in a manner which depart from the standard approaches usually given to hidden variables. Quantum distribution functions are also discussed and some possible related lines of work are suggested.     

Remarks on the r and Δ convolutions

In this paper we study the properties of the r–deformation introduced in [B1]. We observe that the associated convolution coming from the conditionally free convolution is associative only for r = 1 and r = 0. We give the realization of some r–Gaussian random variables and obtain Haagerup–Pisier–Buchholz type inequalities. We also study another convolution defined with the use of the r–deformation through a moment–cumulant formula [KY1] and show that it is associative and in general not positive. Partially sponsored with KBN grant no 2P03A00723 and RTN HPRN-CT-2002-00279.     

Spectrophotometric determination of olanzapine by its oxidation with N-bromosuccinimide and cerium(IV)sulfate.

Three simple spectrophotometric methods have been described for the assay of olanzapine in its pure and pharmaceutical formulations. The direct method (A) is based on the drug oxidation with excess of N-bromosuccinimide in acidic medium and the two indirect methods (B and C) are based on the oxidation of the drug with excess of N-bromosuccinimide and cerium(IV)sulfate, followed by the reaction of the unconsumed oxidants with celestine blue. The calibration graphs were linear over the range 10 - 120 microg mL(-1) (method A), 0.5 - 6.0 microg mL(-1) (method B) and 0.6 - 3.0 microg mL(-1) (method C). After validation, the proposed methods were successfully applied to assay of olanzapine in its commercial tablets with mean percentage recoveries of 101.23 +/- 0.10, 96 +/- 0.10 and 94 +/- 0.04%. The mechanism of olanzapine oxidation with N-bromosuccinimide was also proposed.     

Unitarization of Körner-Kuroda model of electromagnetic structure of octet 1/2+ baryons

The Körner-Kuroda model of the electromagnetic structure of octet 1/2⁺ baryons is restored on a more topical physical basis. Electromagnetic radii of baryons under consideration are calculated and compared with other model predictions. By an incorporation of a two-cut approximation of correct form factor analytic properties and nonzero vector-meson widths, the Körner-Kuroda model is unitarized, providing in this manner imaginary parts of the octet 1/2⁺ baryon form factors to be nonzero just starting from a branch point corresponding to the lowest threshold.     

Bayesian analysis of constant elasticity of variance models

This paper focuses on the estimation of some models in finance and in particular, in interest rates. We analyse discretized versions of the constant elasticity of variance (CEV) models where the normal law showing up in the usual discretization of the diffusion part is replaced by a range of heavy‐tailed distributions. A further extension of the model is to allow the elasticity of variance to be a parameter itself. This generalized model allows great flexibility in modelling and simplifies the model implementation considerably using the scale mixtures representation. The mixing parameters provide a means to identify possible outliers and protect inference by down‐weighting the distorting effects of these outliers. For parameter estimation, Bayesian approach is adopted and implemented using the software WinBUGS (Bayesian inference using Gibbs sampler). Results from a real data analysis show that an exponential power distribution with a random shape parameter, which is highly leptokurtic compared with the normal distribution, forms the best CEV model for the data. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of root resistivity on plant water uptake mechanism,part I: numerical solution

The issue of water flow through the root zone of field crops represents a complex problem requiring knowledge of a large spectrum of phenomena from various disciplines. Although many investigations have been devoted to gain better understanding of water dynamics in the root zone, the problem is still insufficiently understood. The main objective of the presented work was to analyze the importance of root water resistivity in the plant water extraction process. The problem was solved numerically for a wide range of the soil–root conductivity ratio (SRCR). Two different types of root water uptake (RWU) mechanisms were obtained. The first one is related to low root resistivity or low SRCR, and, thus, exhibits a so-called “moving uptake front” (MUF) effect observed previously in several experimental studies. The second one is inherent in large values of root resistivity or high values of SRCR (larger than 10⁴), and is strongly dependent on the root density distribution. Deceased.     

Optical characterization of pigments by reflectance spectroscopy in support of UV laser cleaning treatments

The study of optical properties of artwork materials is of fundamental importance for laser-based restoration techniques. In this work, reflectance spectroscopic measurements and colorimetric analyses of painted wooden models were performed to discriminate between pigments on the basis of their spectral features. In particular, the spectral reflection factors of different white pigments were recorded with a fibre optics reflectance spectroscopy module, both before and after excimer laser (248 nm) irradiation. Colour data were obtained and monitored with an integrating sphere spectrophotometer and expressed with the CIE L^*a^*b^* colour coordinates. Moreover, the laser-induced morphological changes of the samples were investigated by scanning electron microscopy. PACS  42.62-b; 61.80.Ba; 07.60.Dq