“Experimentation and modeling for the apparent elongation viscosity of polymer melts with the White–Metzner model”

The measurement of the apparent elongation viscosity (η_e) of several polyolefin melts was conducted in this study by using the isothermal fiber‐spinning method. The White–Metzner (W–M) model was used to analyze the spinning flow of the polymer melts and, thus, the elongation viscosity was predicted at elongation strain rates ranging from 0 to approximately 5 s^?1. The values of the model parameters required in the W–M model were obtained by curve fitting the experimental data obtained from the shear measurements. The elongation viscosity predicted using the W–M model was in good agreement with the experimental results of fiber spinning. In addition, η_e could also be estimated directly from the measured shear viscosity (η_S) with a formulation using the W–M model; the subsequently obtained elongation viscosity and Trouton ratio (T_R) were reasonable within a wide range of strain rates. Based on the experimental and theoretical results, the polyolefin with a high molecular weight was observed to have high elongation viscosity, and the polymer with a broad molecular weight distribution also possessed high η_e. The T_R value of the commercial polypropylene (PP‐1040) began to increase from 3 at a deformation rate of 0.1 s^?1 and grew up asymptotically to 10, whereas the T_R of high‐density polyethylene (HDPE‐606) remained nearly at 3 within the entire range of strain rates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modulating surface rheology by electrostatic protein/polysaccharide interactions

There is a large interest in mixed protein/polysaccharide layers at air-water and oil-water interfaces because of their ability to stabilize foams and emulsions. Mixed protein/polysaccharide adsorbed layers at air-water interfaces can be prepared either by adsorption of soluble protein/polysaccharide complexes or by sequential adsorption of complexes or polysaccharides to a previously formed protein layer. Even though the final protein and polysaccharide bulk concentrations are the same, the behavior of the adsorbed layers can be very different, depending on the method of preparation. The surface shear modulus of a sequentially formed beta-lactoglobulin/pectin layer can be up to a factor of 6 higher than that of a layer made by simultaneous adsorption. Furthermore, the surface dilatational modulus and surface shear modulus strongly (up to factors of 2 and 7, respectively) depend on the bulk -lactoglobulin/pectin mixing ratio. On the basis of the surface rheological behavior, a mechanistic understanding of how the structure of the adsorbed layers depends on the protein/polysaccharide interaction in bulk solution, mixing ratio, ionic strength, and order of adsorption to the interface (simultaneous or sequential) is derived. Insight into the effect of protein/polysaccharide interactions on the properties of adsorbed layers provides a solid basis to modulate surface rheological behavior.     

ChemInform Abstract: Ab initio Structure Determination of Mg10Ir19B16.

ChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.     

Elucidating the relationship between the spreading coefficient, surface-mediated partial coalescence and the whipping time of artificial cream

We studied the whipping of artificial creams composed of a blend of sunflower oil and hydrogenated palm fat stabilized by protein or a mixture or protein and low molecular weight (lmw) surfactant. It was found that an increased whipping speed, decreased protein concentration, and the addition of lmw surfactant leads to shorter whipping times. Further, shorter whipping times were observed for WPI-stabilized cream compared to cream stabilized by sodium caseinate. In all cases, the decrease in whipping time was due to a decrease in the length of the second stage of whipping, the stage characterized by the adhesion of fat droplets to the air bubble surface. The decrease in whipping time could be accounted for by considering the influence of the experimental variables on the fraction of bubble surface area at which fat droplet spreading is possible. The same changes in parameters that promote droplet spreading at the air/water interface cause a decrease in the whipping time of our model creams. Correlating the whipping time of cream with the spreading behavior of fat droplets at the air/water interface represents a new insight into the mechanisms involved in the whipping of cream.     

Spreading of partially crystallized oil droplets on an air/water interface

The influence of crystalline fat on the amount and rate of oil spreading out of emulsion droplets onto either a clean or a protein-covered air/water interface was measured for β-lactoglobulin stabilized emulsions prepared with either anhydrous milk fat or a blend of hydrogenated palm fat and sunflower oil. At a clean interface, liquid oil present in the emulsion droplets was observed to completely spread out of the droplets unimpeded by the presence of a fat crystal network. Further, the presence of a fat crystal network in the emulsion droplets had no effect on the rate of oil spreading out of the droplets. At a protein-covered interface, the spreading behavior of emulsion droplets containing crystalline fat was evaluated in terms of the value of the surface pressure (Π_AW) at the point of spreading; Π_AW at spreading was unaffected by the presence of crystalline fat. We conclude it is unlikely that the role of crystalline fat in stabilizing aerated emulsions such as whipped cream is to reduce oil spreading at the air/water interface. However, the temperature of the system did have an effect: spontaneous spreading of emulsion droplets at clean air/water interfaces occurred for systems measured at 5 °C, but not for those measured at 22 or 37 °C. Thus, temperature may play a more important role in the whipping process than commonly thought: the entering and spreading of emulsion droplets was favored at lower temperatures because the surface pressure exerted by protein adsorbed at the air/water interface was reduced. This effect may facilitate the whipping process.     

嗜碱芽孢杆菌NTT89启动子的克隆及其表达

报导了以启动子探测质粒pKK232-8为载体克隆嗜碱芽孢杆菌NTT89启动子的研究.用限制性内切酶Hindl分别消化嗜碱芽孢杆菌NTT89染色体DNA和质粒pKK232-8,在体外重组,转化大肠杆菌DH5a感受态细胞,在含氨苄青霉素和氯霉素的选择性平板上筛选转化子,结果从NTT89染色体DNA中克隆到一系列带有启动子活性的DNA片段,并在大肠杆菌中得到表达,这些转化子抗氯霉素水平在34～500mg/L不等,随机挑选10个转化子,提取其重组质粒进行限制性酶切,表明转化子中的重组质粒外源片段插入的效率很高,插入片段大小在500～5500bp之间,通过地高辛标记的点杂交和Southern杂交均证明重组质粒上插入的具启动子功能的DNA片段来自于嗜碱芽孢杆菌的染色体DNA.     

Banana-shaped side chain liquid crystalline siloxanes

Eight banana-shaped side chain liquid crystalline oligomers and polymers have been synthesized by hydrosilylation of vinyl-terminated bent-core mesogens with trimethylsilyl-terminated siloxanes. The synthesized oligomers and polymers, and their olefinic precursors, were investigated by polarizing optical microscopy (POM), differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction (XRD), electro-optical experiments and Maldi-Tof. The short-tailed olefins form a Col_r mesophase, whereas those with longer chains exhibit the SmCP_A mesophase. All the oligomers and polymers studied show liquid crystalline properties and do not crystallize upon cooling. Most oligomers with around four repeating siloxane units, show a lamellar (layer) structure and antiferroelectric switching properties, the SmCP_A phase. XRD shows that the layer spacings are hardly influenced by the length of the terminal tails. The oligomer prepared from the smallest olefinic precursor, having the shortest alkyl tail, shows an XRD pattern reminiscent of a columnar phase, although POM displays domains of opposite chirality, and no switching behaviour could be detected. The polymers with around 35 repeating siloxane units are liquid crystalline, but due to their high viscosity a thorough characterization of the liquid crystalline phases was impossible.     

Light absorption of (oxy-)hemoglobin assessed by spectroscopic optical coherence tomography

The combination of optical coherence tomography and spectroscopy may allow for highly localized, quantitative measurements of tissue spectral properties. We present, for the first time to our knowledge, quantitative measurements of the absorption coefficients of phantoms and of hemoglobin and oxygenated hemoglobin with spectroscopic optical coherence tomography (SOCT). Our results suggest that SOCT will be able to provide localized, quantitative oxygenation measurements.