THE ACTION SPECTRUM FOR INDUCTION OF CHRONIC ACTINIC DERMATITIS IS SIMILAR TO THAT FOR SUNBURN INFLAMMATION

The action spectrum for induction of the abnormal cutaneous response at 24 h in the photosensitivity disorder chronic actinic dermatitis (CAD) was determined in 15 patients and found to be the same in shape as that for normal sunburn in fair-skinned individuals at 24 h, as determined for 47 control volunteers, although displaced in magnitude. This suggests that an endogenous chromophore(s), the same as or similar to that/those responsible for human sunburn, may be responsible for initiation of the abnormal reaction to irradiation in CAD, and that the putative antigen associated with the CAD reaction may be derived from that/those or associated molecules.     

Cholesterol-based hydrogen-bonded liquid crystals

Hydrogen bonding is a powerful tool for assembling molecules and building new liquid crystalline structures. In this study, non-symmetric dimesogens were prepared by intermolecular hydrogen bonding between rationally designed H-bond donor (3-cholesteryloxycarbonylpentanoic acid) and acceptor (4-(pyridine-4-ylmethyleneimino)phenyl 4-alkoxybenzoate) moieties. Their liquid crystalline properties were investigated by differential scanning calorimetry, polarized optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction. Cholesteric and smectic phases were observed. As for the covalently linked dimesogens, several types of smectic periodicities occur for these H-bonded cholesteryl compounds depending on the molecular parameters.     

Influence of shell strength on shape transformation of micron-sized,monodisperse, hollow polymer particles

Micron-sized, monodisperse, non-spherical polymer particles with "rugby ball" and "red blood corpuscle"-like shapes were produced by seeded polymerization of the dispersion of (divinylbenzene/vinylbiphenyl/xylene)-swollen polystyrene particles prepared by utilizing the dynamic swelling method which the authors proposed in 1991. Their non-spherical shapes were based on buckling of the shell of the resultant hollow particles. In this article, the reversible shape transformation of the hollow composite polymer particle between spherical and such non-spherical shapes was studied in detail by controlling the shell strength. A part of the shell was buckled by external pressure which was caused by evaporation of xylene from the hollow when the shell had the tensile modulus below the critical value calculated from the pressure-buckling relationship of a spherical shell proposed by Uemura. The plasticization of the shell by a good solvent was one of key factors for the shape transformation.     

Bioprocessing of commodity chemicals research directions for government,industry, and academia

Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology - The US chemical industry is facing maturing markets, variability in raw materials supply, and stiff competition from emerging chemical industries in other...     

Synthesis and photoinduced memory effect of poly[2-N-carbazolylethyl acrylate-co-2-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyloxy) ethyl methacrylate]

Copolymers containing an intramolecular electron donor-acceptor (EDA) complex were synthesized by free radical copolymerization of 2-N-carbazolylethyl acrylate and 2-(3,5-dinitrobenzoyloxy)ethyl methacrylate. Glass transition temperatures show a positive deviation from the weight-average values of copolymers, indicating the presence of the specific EDA interaction in copolymers in the solid state. Photoinduced “memory effect,” which is defined as the percentage of the difference of the surface potential given by corona charging before and after irradiation of light on polymer films, was 30% for the copolymer with 5 mol% of acceptor content. Memory effect increased to 70% for a 8 μm film by doping with 2 wt% of trichloroacetic acid (TCAA), and leveled off at 5 wt% of TCAA content. Memory effect was also enhanced by increasing the thickness of polymer films and irradiation time. The largest value of memory effect (85%) was obtained from the film of the copolymer with 5 mol% acceptor content doped with 1 wt% TCAA and with thickness larger than 14 μm.     

X-ray investigation of the role of the mixed emulsifier in the structure formation in o/w creams

The aim of this research work was to clarify the role of the mixed emulsifier in the structure formation and water binding mode in the case of o/w creams prepared with different surfactants. The swelling behavior of mixed emulsifiers was examined by means of direct investigation methods such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction. The detailed structure image of the creams was created with the help of the latter. The influence of the structure of the hydrophilic gel phase, and the structural changes during storage were studied with rheological methods. On the basis of the results, it can be stated that the investigated creams had different structures from those mentioned in the literature: surfactant did not create a mixed bilayer with the structure to furnish fatty amphiphile; instead, micelles were formed. These results correlated well with the results of the rheological tests.     

Studies on the phase properties of lyotropic liquid crystals of Brij35/sodium oleate/oleic acid/water system:By means of polarizing microscope,SAXS,~2H-NMR and rheological methods

The pseudo-quaternary phase diagram of Brij35/sodium oleate/oleic acid/water systems has been investigated, and the liquid crystal area has been identified, which covers about two thirds of the whole phase diagram. The liquid crystal structure and behavior have been also studied by using polarizing texture, small angle X-ray scattering, 2H-NMR and rheometer etc. The result shows that when the composition of the system changes along the line of AA′ in this large liquid crystal region, the structural change is cubic→cubic/lamellar→lamellar→lamellar/hexagonal→hexagonal. Meanwhile, we made the first attempt of systematic study of the rheological properties of the above system. The lattice constants of cubic and hexagonal liquid crystals are 10.53 and 5.68 nm, respectively.     

FT-IR and Raman spectroscopic study of hydrated rubidium (cesium) borates and alkali double borates

FT-IR and Raman spectra of five hydrated alkali borates and five hydrated alkali double borates have been recorded at room temperature in the range 400 to 4000 cm⁻¹, and analyzed. Fundamental vibrational modes have been identified and assignments tentatively made in comparison with the work of Janda and Heller, and Li Jun. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Preparation of solutions of amidomagnesium chlorides in poly(ethylene oxide) and their characterization by conductivity measurements

Polymer electrolyte systems were prepared for the first time by dissolution of amidomagnesium chlorides in poly(ethylene oxide), (PEO). For the preparation, solutions of (hexamethyldisilylamido)magnesium chloride, (dimethylpyrrolyl)magnesium chloride, (diisopropylamido)magnesium chloride, piperidinomagnesium chloride and morpholinomagnesium chloride were chosen. The composition of these polymer electrolyte systems corresponds to the general formula R₂NMgCl·P(EO)_n·THF. Most work has been done with the system (hexamethyldisilylamido)magnesium chloride in PEO, (Me₃Si)₂NMgCl·P(EO)_n·THF, with n= 3, 4, 5, or 7. The electrolytes have a soft rubber-like consistency. At 30 °C, electrical conductivities of 10⁻⁶–10⁻⁵ S/cm were found. The conductivities were measured in the temperature range 20–60 °C. Within this temperature range a linear dependence of the logarithms of the conductivity on the inverse temperature was found and activation energies for the conducting process of 30–60 kJ/mol were calculated. Using those polymer electrolytes with a high content of the amidomagnesium compound, a reversible magnesium deposition takes place by cathodic reduction at potentials below −1.9 V vs. a Ag/AgCl reference electrode. These polymer electrolytes were found to be stable against oxidation up to about −0.3 V vs. Ag/AgCl. Electronic Publication     

Designed nanostructured pt film for electrocatalytic activities by underpotential deposition combined chemical replacement techniques

Multiple-deposited Pt overlayer modified Pt nanoparticle (MD-Pt overlayer/PtNPs) films were deliberately constructed on glassy carbon electrodes through alternately multiple underpotential deposition (UPD) of Ag followed redox replacement reaction by Pt (II) cations. The linear and regular growth of the films characterized by cyclic voltammetry was observed. Atomic force spectroscopy (AFM) provides the surface morphology of the nanostructured Pt films. Rotating disk electrode (RDE) voltammetry and rotating ring-disk electrode (RRDE) voltammetry demonstrate that the MD-Pt overlayer/PtNPs films can catalyze an almost four-electron reduction of O(2) to H(2)O in air-saturated 0.1 M H(2)SO(4). Thus-prepared Pt films behave as novel nanostructured electrocatalysts for dioxygen reduction and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) with enhanced electrocatalytic activities, in terms of both reduction peak potential and peak current, when compared to that of the bulk polycrystalline Pt electrode. Additionally, it is noted that after multiple replacement cycles, the electrocatalytic activities improved remarkably, although the increased amount of Pt is very low in comparison to that of pre-modified PtNPs due to the intrinsic feature of the UPD-redox replacement technique. In other words, the electrocatalytic activities could be improved markedly without using very much Pt by the technique of tailoring the catalytic surface. These features may provide an interesting way to produce Pt catalysts with a reliable catalytic performance as well as a reduction in cost.