Modifying thermal transport in electrically conducting polymers: effects of stretching and combining polymer chains

If their thermal conductivity can be lowered, polyacetylene (PA) and polyaniline (PANI) offer examples of electrically conducting polymers that can have potential use as thermoelectrics. Thermal transport in such polymers is primarily influenced by bonded interactions and chain orientations relative to the direction of heat transfer. We employ molecular dynamics simulations to investigate two mechanisms to control the phonon thermal transport in PANI and PA, namely, (1) mechanical strain and (2) polymer combinations. The molecular configurations of PA and PANI have a significant influence on their thermal transport characteristics. The axial thermal conductivity increases when a polymer is axially stretched but decreases under transverse tension. Since the strain dependence of the thermal conductivity is related to the phonon scattering among neighboring polymer chains, this behavior is examined through Herman's orientation factor that quantifies the degree of chain alignment in a given direction. The conductivity is enhanced as adjacent chains become more aligned along the direction of heat conduction but diminishes when they are orthogonally oriented to it. Physically combining these polymers reduces the thermal conductivity, which reaches a minimum value for a 2:3 PANI/PA chain ratio.     

Advanced analytical tools in proteomics

Proteomics deals with the study of proteins, their structures, localizations, posttranslational modifications, functions and interactions with other proteins. The mapping of protein structure-function holds the key to a better understanding of cellular functions under both normal and disease states, which is critical for modern drug discovery. However, the study of human proteome presents scientists with a task much more daunting than the human genome project. In fact, the estimated >100,000 different proteins expressed from 30,000 to 40,000 human genes make it extremely challenging, if not impossible with existing protein analysis techniques, to map the entire cellular functions at the translational level. Consequently, there have been rapid advances in the techniques and methods capable of large-scale proteomic studies. Among them, the recently developed high-throughput screening methods have enabled scientists to analyze proteins quickly and efficiently at an organism-wide scale. Herein, we overview some of these emerging tools for high-throughput protein analysis. In particular, we focus on recent advances in the bioassay development, which has provided sensitive and selective tools for high-throughput identification and characterizations of enzymes. Finally, the recently developed bioimaging techniques to visualize and quantify proteins in living cells are also discussed.     

Numerical Simulation of Dendritic Solidification with Convection: Two-Dimensional Geometry

A front tracking method is presented for simulations of dendritic growth of pure substances in the presence of flow. The liquid–solid interface is explicitly tracked and the latent heat released during solidification is calculated using the normal temperature gradient near the interface. A projection method is used to solve the Navier–Stokes equations. The no-slip condition on the interface is enforced by setting the velocities in the solid phase to zero. The method is validated through a comparison with an exact solution for a Stefan problem, a grid refinement test, and a comparison with a solution obtained by a boundary integral method. Three sets of two-dimensional simulations are presented: a comparison with the simulations of Beckermann et al. (J. Comput. Phys.154, 468, 1999); a study of the effect of different flow velocities; and a study of the effect of the Prandtl number on the growth of a group of dendrites growing together. The simulations show that on the upstream side the dendrite tip velocity is increased due to the increase in the temperature gradient and the formation of side branches is promoted. The flow has the opposite effect on the downstream side. The results are in good qualitative agreement with published experimental results, even though only the two-dimensional aspects are examined here.     

A detailed note on the finite-buffer queueing system with correlated batch-arrivals and batch-size-/phase-dependent bulk-service

4OR - This paper analyzes a finite-buffer queueing system, where customers arrive in batches and the accepted customers are served in batches by a single server. The service is assumed to be...     

Tramadol—A True Natural Product?

We have independently investigated the source of tramadol, a synthetic analgesic largely used for treating moderate to severe pain in humans, recently found in the roots of the Cameroonian medicinal plant, Nauclea latifolia. We found tramadol and its three major mammalian metabolites (O‐desmethyltramadol, N‐desmethyltramadol, and 4‐hydroxycyclohexyltramadol) in the roots of N. latifolia and five other plant species, and also in soil and local water bodies only in the Far North region of Cameroon. The off‐label administration of tramadol to cattle in this region leads to cross‐contamination of the soil and water through feces and urine containing parent tramadol as well as tramadol metabolites produced in the animals. These compounds can then be absorbed by the plant roots and also leached into the local water supplies. The presence of tramadol in roots is, thus, due to an anthropogenic contamination with the synthetic compound.     

Synthetic Origin of Tramadol in the Environment

The presence of tramadol in roots of Sarcocephalus latifolius trees in Northern Cameroon was recently attributed to point contamination with the synthetic compound. The synthetic origin of tramadol in the environment has now been unambiguously confirmed. Tramadol samples isolated from tramadol pills bought at a street market in downtown Maroua and highly contaminated soil at Houdouvou were analyzed by high‐precision ¹⁴C measurements by accelerator mass spectrometry (¹⁴C AMS): Tramadol from the pills did not contain any radiocarbon, thus indicating that it had been synthesized from ¹⁴C‐free petroleum‐derived precursors. Crucially, tramadol isolated from the soil was also radiocarbon‐free. As all biosynthetic plant compounds must contain radiocarbon levels close to that of the contemporary environment, these results thus confirm that tramadol isolated from the soil cannot be plant‐derived. Analyses of S. latifolius seeds, in vitro grown plants, plants from different origins, and stable‐isotope labeling experiments further confirmed that synthetic tramadol contaminates the environment.     

Water-soluble nanoparticles from random copolymer and oppositely charged surfactant, 3a. Nanoparticles of poly(ethylene glycol)-based cationic random copolymer and fatty acid salts

In this report, we investigate the nanoparticle formation between random copolymers (RCPs) of methoxy-poly(ethylene glycol) monomethacrylate (MePEGMA) and (3-(methacryloylamino)propyl)trimethylammonium chloride (MAPTAC) and oppositely charged natural surfactants, sodium oleate and sodium laurate, using turbidimetric titration, steady-state fluorescence, dynamic light scattering, and electron microscopy. Though sodium oleate and sodium laurate are sparingly soluble in water, the nanoparticle complexes formed between the RCPs and these surfactants are soluble in the entire range of compositions studied here, including the stoichiometric electronetural complexes. The spherical nature of these nanoparticle complexes is revealed by electron microscopic (EM) analysis. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) showed that the average diameters of the nanoparticles are in the range 50 to 150 nm, which is supported by EM analysis. Pyrene fluorescence experiments suggested that these soluble nanoparticles have hydrophobic cores, which may solubilize hydrophobic drug molecules. The polarity index (I(1)/I(3)) obtained from the pyrene fluorescence spectra and the conductometric measurements showed that the critical concentration of fatty acid salts needed to obtain nanoparticles are in the order of 10(-4) M. Further, the complexation of such poorly water-soluble amphiphilic surfactants with polymers offers a useful method for the immobilization of hydrophobic compounds towards water-soluble drug carrier formulations. The formation of water-soluble nanoparticles by the self-assembly of fatty acid salts upon interacting with oppositely charged poly(ethylene glycol)-based polyions.