Viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polycarbonate films by liquid dewetting

A liquid dewetting method for the determination of the viscoelastic properties of ultrathin polymer films has been extended to study thickness effects on the properties of ultrathin polycarbonate (PC) films. PC films with film thicknesses ranging from 4 to 299 nm were placed on glycerol at temperatures from below the macroscopic glass transition temperature (T_g) to above it with the dewetting responses being monitored. It is found that the isothermal creep results for films of the same thickness, but dewetted at different temperatures can be superposed into one master curve, which is consistent with the fact of PC being a thermorheologically simple material. Furthermore, the results show that the T_g of PC thin films is thickness dependent, but the dependence is weaker than the results for freely standing films and similar to literature data for PC films supported on rigid substrates. It was also found that the rubbery plateau region for the PC films stiffens dramatically, but still less than what has been observed for freely standing polycarbonate films. The rubbery stiffening is discussed in terms of a recently reported model that relates macroscopic segmental dynamics with the stiffening. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part B: Polym. Phys. 2015 , 53, 1559–1566     

Simultaneous determination of cinnamaldehyde and its metabolite in rat tissues by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Cinnamaldehyde (CA), an active ingredient isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Cortex Cinnamomi, has a wide range of bioactivities. To clarify the distribution characteristics of CA, a selective and sensitive method utilizing gas chromatography–mass spetrometry was initially developed for simultaneously determining the concentration of CA and its metabolite cinnamyl alcohol in rat tissues. Selected ion masses of m/z 131, 105 and 92 were chosen, and separation of the analytes was performed on a DB‐5 ms (30 m × 0.25 mm, 0.25 µm, thickness) capillary column by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. The calibration curves demonstrated good linearity and reproducibility over the range of 20–2000 and 20–4000 ng/mL for various tissue samples. Recoveries ranged from 86.8 to 107.5%, while intra‐ and interday relative standard deviations were all <11.3%. The analysis method was successfully applied in tissue distribution studies for CA and cinnamyl alcohol. As CA and cinnamyl alcohol may inter‐convert to one another, simultaneous determination of both analytes provides a comparative and accurate data for tissue study. The concentrations of CA and cinnamyl alcohol remaining in spleen were the highest among the main organs, including heart, liver, spleen, lung, kidney and brain. In addition, there was no long‐term accumulation of CA in rat tissues. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Lithium Insertion Mechanism in Iron-Based Oxyfluorides with Anionic Vacancies Probed by PDF Analysis

The mechanism of lithium insertion that occurs in an iron oxyfluoride sample with a hexagonal–tungsten–bronze (HTB)-type structure was investigated by the pair distribution function. This study reveals that upon lithiation, the HTB framework collapses to yield disordered rutile and rock salt phases followed by a conversion reaction of the fluoride phase toward lithium fluoride and nanometer-sized metallic iron. The occurrence of anionic vacancies in the pristine framework was shown to strongly impact the electrochemical activity, that is, the reversible capacity scales with the content of anionic vacancies. Similar to FeOF-type electrodes, upon de-lithiation, a disordered rutile phase forms, showing that the anionic chemistry dictates the atomic arrangement of the re-oxidized phase. Finally, it was shown that the nanoscaling and structural rearrangement induced by the conversion reaction allow the in situ formation of new electrode materials with enhanced electrochemical properties.     

基于DIS数字信息化系统对透光物质透光性能的研究

采用DIS数字信息化系统,对不同浓度的蓝墨水溶液在激光光源照射下的透射平均照度及照度分布图像进行实验研究,得到了平均照度值随溶液浓度变化的规律。对不同颜色塑料膜片对白炽灯光源透过照度值及照度分布图像进行实验研究得到及其相关之规律。     

Temperature effects on surface activity and application in oxidation of toluene derivatives of CTAB-SDS with KMnO4

The γ_cmc values of CTAB-SDS decrease from 63.67 mN/m at 10‡C to 36.38 mN/m at 90‡C, slightly lower than those of either CTAB or SDS. Correspondingly, the CMC of CTAB-SDS decreases almost by half. The increase of surface activity of CTAB-SDS can be attributed to the relatively weak electrostatic interaction at high temperature, which is supported by the increase of solubility of CTAB-SDS with rise in temperature. Catalytic effect on oxidation of toluene derivatives with potassium permanganate follows the order CTAB-SDS > SDS > CTAB. This is not caused by the dissociative effect of CTAB-SDS with low surface activity at low temperature, as seen from the fact that almost all oxidative products can be retrieved for different toluene derivatives and surfactants by mimicking the conditions of reaction. In the emulsifications of toluene derivatives at 90‡C, the time that turbid water layers of surfactant solutions take to become clear is the same as that of the catalytic effect on oxidation of toluene derivatives. Thus, it can be inferred that surfactants can improve the oxidation yields of toluene derivatives by increasing the contact between two reacting phases.     

氢化丁苯共聚物结构的核磁共振波谱表征Ⅱ.微观结构的定量计算

在氢化丁苯共聚物¹³C-NMR谱脂肪碳部分谱带归属的基础上,根据各谱带的主要来源,推导出六个二单元浓度的计算公式。计算出二单元、一单元的相对含量,各结构单元的数均序列长度、嵌段含量和其它结构参数。加氢前后的¹H-和¹³C-NMR谱的组成计算结果基本一致。初步探讨了作为粘度指数改进剂的氢化丁苯共聚物微观结构与性能的关系,为合成提供了依据。     

Numerical solutions of the shallow water equations with discontinuous bed topography

A simple scheme is developed for treatment of vertical bed topography in shallow water flows. The effect of the vertical step on flows is modelled with the shallow water equations including local energy loss terms. The bed elevation is denoted with z_b^‐ for the left and z_b⁺ for the right values at each grid point, hence exactly representing a discontinuity in the bed topography. The surface gradient method (SGM) is generalized to reconstruct water depths at cell interfaces involving a vertical step so that the fluxes at the cell interfaces can accurately be calculated with a Riemann solver. The scheme is verified by predicting a surge crossing a step, a tidal flow over a step and dam‐break flows on wet/dry beds. The results have shown good agreements compared with analytical solutions and available experimental data. The scheme is efficient, robust, and may be used for practical flow calculations. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimating a reduced rank regression model for non-normal variables

A method using third order moments for estimating the regression coefficients as well as the latent state scores of the reduced-rank regression model when the latent variable(s) are non-normally distributed is presented in this paper. It is shown that the factor analysis type indeterminacy of the regression coefficient matrices is eliminated. A real life example of the proposed method is presented. Differences of this solution with the reduced-rank regression eigen solution are discussed.     

Pediatric Laryngotracheal Stenosis and Airway Reconstruction: A Review of Voice Outcomes, Assessment, and Treatment Issues

Laryngotracheal stenosis is defined as a congenital or acquired narrowing of the airway. Congenital causes may include subglottic membranous or cartilaginous narrowing. Acquired causes may include trauma due to prolonged endotracheal or tracheal intubation or laryngotracheal injury. Although advances have been made over the past 30 years in reconstructive surgeries to improve airway patency in these patients, long-term laryngeal function for voice production is not well defined in this population. This review examines causes, symptoms and signs, and methods for diagnosing laryngotracheal stenosis. Surgical management procedures are briefly summarized. The current literature on voice outcomes is summarized. The predominant voice characteristics in the population are presented, although results are challenged by the heterogeneity of voice presentation and paucity of data from instrumental measures. Considerations for subjective and instrumental assessment, measures of quality of life, instrumental methods, and treatment options specific to the needs of this population are discussed. Research strategies to identify long-term outcomes of surgical and behavioral treatments in this population are posed.     

一种可能的简并谱NNS分布

利用随机矩阵理论,通过对一特殊情形的简并谱展开研究,得到了简并谱一种可能的最小相邻间距NNS分布函数．研究表明,由于简并的存在,简并谱不仅可分解成随机谱和规则谱两个子谱,同时还影响其规则谱,使规则谱的能级斥力减少．