Formation of Integral Asymmetric Membranes of AB Diblock and ABC Triblock Copolymers by Phase Inversion

The formation of integral asymmetric membranes from ABC triblock terpolymers by non‐solvent‐induced phase separation is shown. They are compared with the AB diblock copolymer precursors. Triblock terpolymers of polystyrene‐block‐poly(2‐vinylpyridine)‐block‐poly(ethylene oxide) (PS‐b‐P2VP‐b‐PEO) with two compositions are investigated. The third block supports the formation of a membrane in a case, where the corresponding diblock copolymer does not form a good membrane. In addition, the hydrophilicity is increased by the third block and due to the hydroxyl group the possibility of post‐functionalization is given. The morphologies are imaged by scanning electron microscopy. The influence of the PEO on the membrane properties is analyzed by water flux, retention, and dynamic contact angle measurements.

     

Comparison of different mathematical models of diffusion-weighted prostate MR imaging

Purpose

To evaluate which mathematical model (monoexponential, biexponential, statistical, kurtosis) fits best to the diffusion-weighted signal in prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Materials and Methods

24 prostate 3-T MRI examinations of young volunteers (YV, n= 8), patients with biopsy proven prostate cancer (PC, n= 8) and an aged matched control group (AC, n= 8) were included. Diffusion-weighted imaging was performed using 11 b-values ranging from 0 to 800 s/mm².

Results

Monoexponential apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values were significantly (P<.001) lower in the peripheral (PZ) zone (1.18±0.16 mm²/s) and the central (CZ) zone (0.73±0.13 mm²/s) of YV compared to AC (PZ 1.92±0.17 mm²/s; CZ 1.35±0.21 mm²/s). In PC ADC_mono values (0.61±0.06 mm²/s) were significantly (P<.001) lower than in the peripheral of central zone of AC. Using the statistical analysis (Akaike information criteria) in YV most pixels were best described by the biexponential model (82%), the statistical model, respectively kurtosis (93%) each compared to the monoexponential model. In PC the majority of pixels was best described by the monoexponential model (57%) compared to the biexponential model.

Conclusion

Although a more complex model might provide a better fitting when multiple b-values are used, the monoexponential analyses for ADC calculation in prostate MRI is sufficient to discriminate prostate cancer from normal tissue using b-values ranging from 0 to 800 s/mm².     

Experimental and theoretical spectroscopic studies of ortho derivatives of methyl p-dimethylaminobenzoate

Steady-state spectroscopic studies of two ortho (-OCH₃ and -OH) derivatives of methyl p-dimethylaminobenzoate have been performed. The absorption spectra of molecules under study are analyzed taking into consideration results of quantum chemical semiempirical calculations. The fluorescence spectra of these molecules possess in polar solvents two bands, i.e., the locally excited and intramolecular charge transfer (ICT) fluorescence band. Their intensity ratio as well as the fluorescence/phosphorescence intensity ratio determined at 77 K depends on the solvent polarity. Theoretical studies of the TICT phenomenon have been made in order to explain the dual emission of molecules under study. Calculated electric dipole moments of these molecules in the ground, S₀, and excited, S₁(LE) and S₁(ICT) states, have been compared with experimentally determined data. Theoretically determined transition energies, ΔE_i, oscillator strengths, f_i, and electric dipole moments μ_S0, μ_S1(LE) and μ_S1(ICT) of the planar donor-acceptor (D/A) conformer agree with experimental data. According to Marcus theory inner- and outer-solvatation sphere reorganization energies (λ_out, λ_in) are calculated using the determined spectroscopic properties of molecules under study.     

N‐alkoxypyridinium salts as coinitiators in radical polymerization: Synthesis and Photochemical Properties

A few N‐alkoxypyridinium salts are developed as photoinitiators for efficient polymerization reactions. They are characterized by absorption properties below 300 nm, and generate alkoxy radicals on UV‐Vis light exposure. The squarylium dye was used as a blue‐light photosensitizer. Polymerization results are correlated with the photochemistry of N‐alkoxypyridinium salts. The quenching of the excited singlet state of squarylium dye by pyridinium salt and the formation of the semioxidized species of squaraine suggests an electron transfer from an excited dye to a coinitiator, and that the resulting oxygen‐centered radical initiates the polymerization process. The chemical mechanism was investigated by steady state photolysis and nanosecond laser flash photolysis experiments. Photoinitiating activity of new photoinitiators for initiation of polymerization of trimethylolpropane triacrylate in the UV‐blue light region was compared with photoinitiating ability of selected commercially available initiators. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2017 , 55, 2840–2850     

Organosulphur compounds-XXXVIII Axial preference of a 2-dimethoxyphosphoryl substituent in 1,3,5-trithiane

¹H-NMR studies and X-ray analysis indicate that 2-dimethoxyphosphoryl-1,3,5-trithiane exists both in solution and in the crystal in a chair conformation with the dimethoxyphosphoryl group at C-2 being axial.     

Crystal structure of the keto-enamine form of (+) (1S,2S)-2-(2-hydroxybenzylidene)amine-1-phenyl-1,3-propanediol

The title compound crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁, withZ=4,a=6.068(1)Å,b=10.922(1)Å, andc=21.713(2)Å. The compound is the chiral ligand of a copper complex used as an enantioselective catalyst. It crystallizes from methanol in the keto-enamine form, though the enol-imine isomer predominates in the solution. Most N-salicylideneamines studied by X-ray are enol-imines. The two tautomeric forms may interchange through anintramolecular hydrogen bond and the distances between non-H atoms in the resulting cyclic –O–H...N=C–C=C- or –C=O...H–N–C=C- fragment may be misleading, so that H atom position is the crucial factor for determination of the proper tautomeric form.     

Eyring parameters of dehydration processes

Thermogravimetry was used in the study of the kinetics of dehydration of MnSO₄·5H₂O, CuSO₄·5H₂O and 3CdSO₄·8H₂O under static air atmosphere. The values of the kinetic and thermodynamic parameters for each stage of thermal dehydration were calculated from α(T) data by using the integral method, applying the Coats-Redfern approximation. The best model for all stages of dehydration is random nucleation model F1. The dependencies of enthalpy on entropy of activated complexes for different kinetic models were described. The linear relation was calculated between the Gibbs energy of activated complexes and the maximum dehydration rate temperature for analysed dehydration processes.     

The dispersity of γ-alumina supported rhenium from hydrogen pulse chemisorption

The applicability of hydrogen chemisorption in a pulse chromatographic system for determining the dispersity of -alumina supported rhenium catalysts (10.4 wt.% and 1.04 wt.%) preheated in hydrogen at 550–800 °C is shown.

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, - (10,4 .% 1,04 .%), 550–800°C.