Modification of cement mortars by polymer latex

The polymer systems of vinyl latex, epoxy latex/resin, and phenol formaldehyde were used to modify sand-cement mortar at room temperature. The compressive strength increased with an increase of the latex/resin concentration, with the addition of CaCl₂ or CaCO₃, and with the addition of superplasticizer. Tensile and flexural strengths also increased with polymer incorporation. The porosity of the modified mortar decreased with the addition of resin. The percentage of water absorption and acid solubility were found to decrease for the latex/resin modified samples. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 63: 1251–1257, 1997     

Immobilization of β-galactosidase onto polymeric supports

Poly(vinyl alcohol) cross-linked with para-formaldehyde (PVA–F) and natural polysaccharide–chitosan in bead form and salicylic acid–resorcinol–formaldehyde polymeric resin (SRF) in powder form were used for immobilization of β-galactosidase through covalent linkages. Various activation processes and conditions were optimized. Immobilized enzyme showed very good storage stability at room temperature. Durability of the enzyme was also improved on immobilization. On repeated use of enzyme immobilized on chitosan beads, no loss was observed in enzyme activity even after 10 batches. Michaelis constant K_m and maximum reaction velocity V_m were calculated for free and immobilized enzyme systems. Effect of pH and temperature on enzyme activity was estimated and energy of activation (E_a) and inactivation constant (K_i) for free and immobilized enzyme were calculated. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synthesis and characterization of moisture‐cured polyurethane membranes and their applications in pervaporation separation of ethyl acetate/water azeotrope at 30°C

NCO‐terminated polyurethane membranes were prepared using diisocyanate, diol, and trimethylolpropane (TMP) using an NCO/OH ratio of 1.6 : 1. Prepolymer was chain‐extended using cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) in the ratios of 2 : 1, 4 : 1, and 3 : 1 of NCO/OH. Polyurethane (PU) membranes were characterized by differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TGA) to investigate their thermal properties. Equilibrium sorption studies were carried out at 30°C in water and ethyl acetate media as well as in their binary mixtures. The influence of CAB on pervaporation (PV) separation of an ethyl acetate/water (92/8, w/w, i.e., azeotropic composition) mixture was investigated. Membranes in this study showed a selectivity of 42.42 with a flux value of 0.187 kg/m/h for 3 : 1% NCO/OH containing PU membrane. In order to gain a more detailed picture of the molecular transport phenomenon, we performed the sorption gravimetric experiments at 30°, 35°, 40°, and 50°C to compute diffusion, swelling, sorption, and permeability coefficients of PU membranes in the azeotropic mixture of ethyl acetate and water. Activation parameters for diffusion and permeation were computed from the Arrhenius equation to understand the polymer/solvent interactions. Sorption trends and diffusion anomalies were established through an empirical equation after estimating the diffusion parameters. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 103: 3405–3414, 2007     

Effect of glycidyl methacrylate on the physical properties of wood–polymer composites

Chemical modification of pinewood was carried out by impregnating the wood with styrene as the impregnating monomer and in combination with a crosslinking monomer glycidyl methacrylate (GMA). Polymerization was carried out by catalyst heat treatment. Dimensional stability in terms of antiswell efficiency was determined and improved on treatment with polymer. Water uptake percentage was also improved for styrene‐GMA treated wood samples over styrene treated or untreated wood samples. Mechanical properties such as bending strength measured in terms of modulus of elasticity and modulus of rupture of polymer‐treated samples showed an improvement over untreated ones. Treatment also resulted an improvement in compressive strengths. Thermal properties of the wood samples were evaluated by thermogravimetric analyzer and differential scanning calorimeter. Biodegradability of the treated and untreated wood samples was determined and improvement was obtained on treatment. As a whole, styrene‐GMA treated wood samples showed more improvement over untreated or styrene‐treated samples. POLYM. COMPOS., 28:1–5, 2007. © 2007 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Orientation of aqueous stretched cottons as measured by X-ray diffraction

The structural changes produced by aqueous swelling and stretching in cotton is found to be irreversible. This article present the X-ray angle data of six varieties of cotton that belong to Gossypium hirsutum. A marked decrease in X-ray angles was found in all treated samples, thereby indicating better orientation. Improvement in the orientation is associated with ncrease in the stretch. The improvement is high in all tension-dried cottons, showing the impact of the tension drying. Similar improved orientation is found in all varieties, indicating the varietal response of G. hirsutum. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Kinetic Alfven Waves Excited by Cometary Newborn Ions with Large Perpendicular Energies

Stability of the kinetic Alfven wave in a plasma of hydrogen, oxygen and electrons is studied. Each species is modeled by drifting ring distributions in the direction parallel to the magnetic field, while in the perpendicular direction the distribution is simulated with a loss cone type distribution obtained through the subtraction of two Maxwellian distributions with different temperatures. It is found that for frequencyw^* < Ｗ_Hwith w^* andＷ_H the Doppler shifted and hydrogen ion gyro-frequencies, respectively, the growth rate of the kinetic Alfven wave increases with the increase in propagation angles and density of oxygen ions. On the other hand, for frequencies w^* < Ｗ_OwithＷ_Othe oxygen ion gyro-frequency the growth rate is independent of the oxygen ion density.     

Structure‐Guided Design of Thiazolidine Derivatives as Mycobacterium tuberculosis Pantothenate Synthetase Inhibitors

The pantothenate biosynthetic pathway is essential for the persistent growth and virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) and one of the enzymes in the pathway, pantothenate synthetase (PS, EC: 6.3.2.1), encoded by the panC gene, has become an appropriate target for new therapeutics to treat tuberculosis. Herein, we report nanomolar thiazolidine inhibitors of Mtb PS developed by a rational inhibitor design approach. The thiazolidine compounds were discovered by using energy‐based pharmacophore modelling and subsequent in vitro screening, which resulted in compounds with a half maximal inhibitory concentration (IC₅₀) value of (1.12±0.12) μM . These compounds were subsequently optimised by a combination of modelling and synthetic chemistry. Hit expansion of the lead by chemical synthesis led to an improved inhibitor with an IC₅₀ value of 350 nM and an Mtb minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.55 μM . Some of these compounds also showed good activity against dormant Mtb cells.     

Scale up criteria for dual stirred gas-liquid unbaffled tank with concave blade impeller

Experimental investigation has been done in unbaffled gas-liquid stirred tanks using dual concave blade impeller to analyze the mass transfer, power consumption and gas holdup. Optimal impeller clearance has been suggested for lower and upper impeller based on maximum mass transfer rate. Numerical modeling has been done to analyze the flow pattern for different combinations of impeller clearance. The lower impeller positioned at 0.3 of tank diameter and clearance between lower and upper impeller at 0.4 of tank diameter gave the maximum mass transfer coefficient. Scale-up criteria for mass transfer rate, power and gas holdup have been developed for optimal geometrical similar systems of unbaffled stirred tanks with dual concave impeller.