Soap‐free emulsion copolymerization of perfluoroalkyl acrylates in the presence of a reactive surfactant

Soap‐free emulsion copolymerization of perfluoroalkyl acrylate (FA)/methyl methacrylate (MMA)/n‐butyl acrylate (n‐BA) was carried out in the presence of sodium 2‐acrylamide‐2‐methyl propanesulfonate (AMPSNa) as a reactive surfactant and potassium persulfate (KPS) as an initiator. An analysis of the effects of concentration of AMPSNa, KPS, FA as well as polymerization temperature on the kinetic features (rate of polymerization) and colloidal characteristics (mean particle diameter, particle disperse index, particle numbers, and surface charge density) was followed. NMR, FTIR, AFM, and fluorine‐selective electrode analysis were used to characterize the composition and morphology of the FA copolymers. Both AFM analysis and contact angle measurements strongly implied that the fluorinated segments migrated to the outmost surface and created films with lower surface energy. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 2438–2444, 2007     

Effects of estrogen-induced hyperlipidemia on the erythrocyte membrane in chicks

The effects of estrogen-induced hyperlipidemia on plasma lipid peroxidation, fatty acid composition and osmotic fragility of erythrocytes in chickens were studied. Young male chickens implanted with estrogen for three wk developed a marked hyperlipidemia. Plasma levels of triglyceride, cholesterol and phospholipid were elevated 68-, four- and 24-fold, respectively, over controls. There was also a two-fold increase in plasma lipid peroxidation measured by the thiobarbituric acid test. Vitamin E supplement (1,000 IU/kg diet) reduced the plasma lipid peroxidation to the control level, but had no effect on the plasma lipid content. Estrogen-induced hyperlipidemia resulted in changes in the fatty acid composition of membrane lipids of erythrocytes. The major changes were an increase in oleic acid from 10.0% to 14.2% and a decrease in linoleic acid from 31.3% to 26.0%. The erytrocytes with an altered membrane fatty acid composition were found to have an increased osmotic fragility. It was apparent that there was a direct correlation between the oleic acid content and the osmotic fragility of erythrocytes.     

Morphologies and microstructures of tree-like carbon produced at different reaction conditions in a CVD process

Centimeter-size multi-branched tree-like carbon structures have been generated by the catalytic chemical vapor deposition of toluene using ferrocene as the catalyst precursor and investigated by means of SEM, TEM, and EDX. It is found that a temperature of 1000-1200 °C and a carrier gas flow rate of 1000-2500 ml/min are necessary for the generation of the carbon trees. Their morphologies and microstructures change greatly with the changing reaction conditions. The fractal dimensions of the trees are calculated to quantitatively investigate the influence of different reaction temperatures on the morphologies.     

Enhanced utilization bound of Rate-Monotonic scheduling in Controller Area Networks

When priorities to message streams are assigned using Rate Monotonic (RM) for a Controller Area Network (CAN), the utilization bound is known to be about 25% for CAN 2.0A and 29% for CAN 2.0B. In this letter, we present a higher utilization bound than the existing ones with a reasonable constraint. The new utilization bounds are approximately 34% for CAN 2.0A and 41% for CAN 2.0B if no single message stream's utilization exceeds 46% or 27% of the total utilization for CAN 2.0A or CAN 2.0B, respectively.     

Semi-annual cycle of sea-surface temperature in the East/Japan Sea and cooling process

Semi-annual cycles of the sea-surface temperature (SST) in the East/Japan Sea (EJS) and their forcings were examined by analysing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Advanced Very-High-Resolution Radiometer data, scatterometer wind vectors, and heat flux data. The semi-annual cycle contributed to the total variance of the SST by 8% and amounted to 25% of the amplitudes of the annual SST cycle, particularly in the Tatarskiy Strait and along the continental shelf off Russia. The lowest phase, corresponding to the minimum SST, occurred during early November and 6 months earlier in May or June depending on the position. The forcings of the semi-annual cycle were not semi-annual but substantially annual with a lag of 6 months, which gave rise to SST cooling in spring and autumn. Our analyses illustrated that SST cooling in autumn was caused by direct, local atmospheric wind forcings, whereas the cooling with large amplitudes of the semi-annual cycle in spring was caused by the non-local, remotely forced cold water advection of the Liman Current associated with sea-ice melting in the Tatarskiy Strait. The phase lag of 1–2 months between the complete melting of the sea ice in the Tatarskiy Strait and the surface cooling along the Russian continental shelf was related to the advection of cold water from sea ice in the form of the Liman Cold Current. The semi-annual cycle also resulted from asymmetry of the time series of the SST due to a long cold winter and a short warm summer. To understand how SST curves are distorted and asymmetric, we suggested two mathematical parameters of kurtosis and skewness. In addition, we suggest that the ratio of the semi-annual amplitude to the annual amplitude of SST harmonics can be used as a typical indicator of the asymmetry in year-to-year SST variations.     

The use of non–physical standards in colour communication and matching

As a result of developments in spectrophotometry, together with improved accuracy in computer colour matching and laboratory dyeing, non–physical standards (reflectance data) can now be used for the successful communication, matching and quality control of colour. In colour palette generation, ‘matching by numbers’ has become a reality.     

Adsorption and desorption characteristics of 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid onto activated carbon

Adsorption and desorption characteristics of the 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) from aqueous solution onto the activated carbon (GAC, F-400) were studied. Adsorption equilibrium capacities of the MCPA increased with decreasing pH and temperature of the solution. Adsorption equilibrium of the MCPA could be represented by the Sips equation. The internal diffusion coefficients were determined by comparing the experimental concentration decay curves with those predicted from surface diffusion model and pore diffusion model. The adsorption model based on the linear driving force approximation (LDFA) was used for simulating the adsorption behavior of the MCPA in a fixed bed. Over ninety five percent desorption of the MCPA could be obtained using distilled water.     

Monodisperse polymer/metal composite particles by electroless chemical deposition: Effect of surface functionality of polymer particles

Micron‐sized polymer particles were coated with layers of nickel compounds by plating electrolessly in the presence of aqueous solutions of nickel chloride, sodium hypophosphite, sodium citrate, and ammonium chloride at elevated temperature. The uniform functional polymer particle could be obtained by seeded polymerization. To investigate the effect of surface functionality on the conditions for nickel deposition, the polymer particle was functionalized with the thiol group. From morphological observation, it was found that the mode of nickel deposition was greatly dependent on the surface functionality of the polymer particle. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 420–424, 2003     

Synthesis and characterization of copolythiophene

Copolythiophenes (Co‐PTs), poly(3‐hexylthiophene‐co‐3‐thiophene carboxylic acid) (P3HT‐TCa), poly(3‐hexyloxylthiophene‐co‐3‐thiophene carboxylic acid) (P3HOT‐TCa), and poly(3‐phenylthiophene‐co‐3‐thiophene carboxylic acid) (P3PhT‐TCa), were synthesized by chemical oxidized polymerization to investigate the effect of copolymerization on the properties of polythiophenes (PTs). Gel permeation chromatography showed that the molecular weight (MW) of Co‐PT was lower than that of homopolythiophene. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra indicated that the copolymerization was successful between the monomers. The λ_max of Co‐PTs gave a “blue shift” in ultraviolet‐visible (UV‐VIS) spectra. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra showed that the PL intensity of Co‐PT became weaker than that of homopolythiophene and the disappearance of PL had been observed in P3HOT‐TCa. The thermal stability of Co‐PT was influenced by the carboxyl for its low decomposition temperature. Furthermore, the copolymerization between multi‐wall carbon nanotube containing thiophene ring (MWNT‐Th) and 3‐hexyloxylthiphene could also take place successfully. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2007