Benzimidazolium functionalized polysulfone-based anion exchange membranes with improved alkaline stability

The stability of anion exchange membranes(AEMs) is an important feature of alkaline exchange membrane fuel cells(AEMFCs), which has been extensively studied. However it remains a real challenge due to the harsh working condition. Herein, we developed a novel type of polysulfone-based AEMs with three modified 1,2-dimethylbenzimidazoliums containing different substitutes at C4-and C7-position. The results showed that the introduction of the substitutes could obviously improve the dimensional and alkaline stabilities of the corresponding membranes. The swelling ratios of resultant AEMs were all lower than 10% after water immersion. The membrane with 4,7-dimethoxy-1,2-dimethylbenzimidazolium group exhibited the highest alkaline stability. Only 9.2% loss of hydroxide conductivity was observed after treating the membrane in 1 mol·L~(-1) KOH solution at 80 °C for 336 h. Furthermore, the density functional theory(DFT) study on the three functional group models showed that the substitutes at C4-and C7-position affected the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital(LUMO) energies of the different 1,2-dimethylbenzimidazolium groups.     

Influence of consanguinity on the pattern of familial aggregation of congenital cardiovascular anomalies in an outpatient population: studies from the eastern province of Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Familial aggregation of congenital heart disease (CHD) has been well described in different populations, in particular those with a high consanguinity rate. Extensive genetic study of affected families has improved the understanding of basic genetics of different cardiac lesions. OBJECTIVE: To identify the role of consanguinity as a risk factor among familial cases of CHD in a stable outpatient population of a tertiary care center in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: All familial cases of CHD seen over 5 years (1996-2000) in the Division of Pediatric Cardiology were identified. The presence or absence of parental consanguinity (first cousin marriage) was defined in each of these families. RESULTS: Ninety-three cases were identified in 37 families. Twenty-three (62%) families resulted from consanguineous marriages. In 4 families where there were 2 marriages, the affected children came from the consanguineous marriage in 3 of these families. Discordant lesions occur only among non-consanguineous cases, while all consanguineous cases were concordant. Five sets of twins of the same sex (one set are monozygotic by DNA analysis) occurred among consanguineous marriages, in 3 of these both twins were affected with the same disease. Affected parents were seen in 2 families with consanguineous marriage and none in the non-consanguineous marriages. The prevalence of dilated cardiomyopathy was much higher among consanguineous cases (26 vs. 2). CONCLUSIONS: Familial aggregation of congenital heart disease is common in our population. Consanguinity is common in these families, and the distribution of congenital heart disease differs in this subgroup compared to the rest of the familial cases. Further genetic studies of these families may help to shed more light on basic genetics and the specific pathogenetic mechanisms involved.     

A new approach to obtain Kevlar-49 from PET waste bottles

Non-biodegradable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles have attracted increasing attention due to environmental concern in today’s world. In order to reduce the amount of solid wastes generated and the dependency on fossil resources, a new approach has been conducted to prepare Kevlar-49 from PET waste bottles. Terephthalic acid, the main raw material used for preparation of Kevlar, was regenerated from PET waste bottles via subjection to a saponification process, whereas p-phenylenediamine was prepared from PET waste bottles via the Hoffmann rearrangement method. Kevlar was synthesized from the reaction of terephthalic acid and p-phenylenediamine by polycondensation reaction. The structures of terephthalic acid, p-phenylenediamine and Kevlar were characterized by FT-IR, ¹H NMR, ¹³C NMR, and elemental analysis (CHN). In this study, thermogravimetric analysis and differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), as well as the mechanical properties (tensile strength, modulus, and percentage elongation at break) of the synthesized Kevlar-49, were compared with commercial Kevlar-49, prepared from the same raw materials, for better understanding of their properties.     

Ridge directional singular points for fingerprint recognition and matching

In this paper, a new approach to extract singular points in a fingerprint image is presented. It is usually difficult to locate the exact position of a core or a delta due to the noisy nature of fingerprint images. These points are the most widely used for fingerprint classification and matching. Image enhancement, thinning, cropping, and alignment are used for minutiae extraction. Based on the Poincaré curve obtained from the directional image, our algorithm extracts the singular points in a fingerprint with high accuracy. It examines ridge directions when singular points are missing. The algorithm has been tested for classification performance on the NIST‐4 fingerprint database and found to give better results than the neural networks algorithm. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Calix[4]azacrowns as novel molecular scaffolds for the generation of visible and near-infrared lanthanide luminescence

Two calix[4]azacrowns, capped with two aminopolyamide bridges, were used as ligands for the complexation of lanthanide ions [Eu(III), Tb(III), Nd(III), Er(III), La(III)]. The formation of 1:2 and 1:1 complexes was observed, and stability constants, determined by UV absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy, were found to be generally on the order of log beta(11) approximately 5-6 and log beta(12) approximately 10. The structural changes of the ligands upon La(III) complexation were probed by 1H NMR spectroscopy. The two ligands were observed to have opposite fluorescence behaviors, namely, fluorescence enhancement (via blocking of photoinduced electron transfer from amine groups) or quenching (via lanthanide-chromophore interactions) upon metal ion complexation. Long-lived lanthanide luminescence was sensitized by excitation in the pi,pi band of the aromatic moieties of the ligands. The direct involvement of the antenna triplet state was demonstrated via quenching of the ligand phosphorescence by Tb(III). Generally, Eu(III) luminescence was weak (Phi(lum) 相似文献   

Second moments of ESR signals from poly(p-phenylene) and the deuterated analog

The second moments of the ESR signals obtained from poly(p-phenylene) (PPP) and deuterated PPP were measured at 9.5 and 35 GHz. The theoretical and experimental contributions to the second moments were considered. It is shown that for deuterated PPP, deuteron hyperfine splitting makes a negligible contribution to the observed second moment. The proton hyperfine contributions to the second moments of the radical species in PPP and p-sexiphenyl were estimated and it was concluded that the unpaired electron was delocalized over only 2-4 phenylene units. A rationale is offered in terms of polarons present as defects in the PPP chains.     

Chemistry of dihydro-1,4-dioxin III a new method for the preparation of α,α′-dihydroxy ketones from ketones and aldehydes

Title compounds, 7, were prepared from ketones and aldehydes via the intermediate 3 by methanolic peracid epoxidation followed by NaBH₄ reduction and acidic hydrolysis. Application of this method to the preparation of the unnatural corticoid side chain was reported.     

<Superscript>99m</Superscript>Tc-Labeled human and camel lactoferrin for detection of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Staphylococcus aureus</Emphasis> infections

Human and camel lactoferrin, were labeled with technetium-99m using a simple technique that yielded a labelling efficiency of 98% and stable complexes over time. The camel Lactoferrin was purified. The proteins were investigated for targeting infections in experimental animals. The biodistribution of those labeled proteins in mice infected with Staphylococcus aureus at the femoral muscle was investigated and test ratios of 3.43 and 3.71 were obtained after 60 min for the camel and the human Lactoferrin, respectively. These values were compared to each other and to those reported in the literature, leading us to conclude that the radiotracers are efficient.