Specific interactions in ternary system quaternized polysulfone/mixed solvent

Theoretical and experimental aspects on the specific interactions developed via electrostatic interactions and hydrogen‐bonding in a ternary system formed of a proton‐donor solvent (N,N‐dimethylformamide or methanol), a proton‐acceptor solvent (water), and a quaternized polysulfone with various contents of ionic chlorine, which indicates a proton‐acceptor character, are investigated. Thus, the interactions of the ternary systems are corrected on the basis of the association phenomena defined through association constants. Numerical values for these constants were evaluated as a function of the system composition, by mathematical simulations for an accurate adjustment of preferential adsorption, determined by the Flory–Huggins–Pouchly theoretical approach applied to the experimental data. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 2009. © 2008 Society of Plastics Engineers     

MHD boundary-layer flow due to a moving extensible surface

The flow due to a moving extensible sheet that obeys a more general stretching law is considered. The sheet occupies the negative x-axis and is moving continually in the positive x-direction, in an incompressible viscous and electrically conducting fluid. The sheet somehow disappears in a sink that is located at (x, y) = (0, 0). The governing system of partial differential equations is first transformed into a system of ordinary differential equations, and the transformed equations are solved numerically using a finite-difference scheme, namely the Keller-box method. The features of the flow and heat-transfer characteristics for different values of the governing parameters are analyzed and discussed. It is found that dual solutions exist for the flow near x = 0, where the velocity profiles show a reversed flow.     

Synthesis and characterization of some 2,4′-dibenzyldiisocyanate ionic polymers. V. Ionene polymers

Cationic polyurethanes containing piperazine rings on the macromolecular chain were synthesized by a Menschutkin reaction. A prepolymer with tertiary dimethylamino end groups and a dihalide were used in the first step, and N,N′-dimethylpiperazine in the second step. The viscometric behaviour of dilute solutions in solvents with high dielectrical constants was studied.     

Spectroscopic evidence for the bulk polymerization of N-vinyl carbazole in the presence of single-walled carbon nanotubes

The bulk polymerization reaction of N-vinylcarbazole (VK) at 70 °C in the presence of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) leads to a new composite, whose optical properties were studied by photoluminescence (PL), surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopies. A dramatic reduction of the poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVK) PL efficiency and a change in the vibrational structure of the PL spectrum of this polymer were observed by adding SWNTs to the synthesis mixture. Steric hindrance effects were evidenced both in SERS spectra of the VK when it interacts mechanico-chemically with SWNTs and in FTIR spectra of the un-doped PVK/SWNTs' composites. Cyclic voltammetry was used to demonstrate the doping process of PVK in PVK/SWNTs' composite.     

A Binary Gas Transport Model Improves the Prediction of Mass Transfer in Freeze Drying

Monitoring partial vapor pressure in the freeze-drying chamber is a cheap, global, and non-intrusive way to assess the end of the primary drying stage. Most existing dynamic freeze-drying models which predict this partial pressure describe mass transfer between the product and the condenser via a mass transfer resistance or a mass transfer coefficient. Experimental evidence suggests that such models can be significantly in error for some values of the sublimation flux, leading to physically inconsistent predictions and possibly incorrect assessment of primary drying termination, with potential risk of product damage if moving to secondary drying and increasing shelf temperature while some ice is still present. Assuming a binary gas transport model for vapor and inert gas leads to improved and consistent predictions and explains the apparent variation of the mass transfer resistance with total pressure, shelf temperature, and product sublimation area.     

Exploiting multi‐cores for efficient interchange of large messages in distributed systems

Conventional data serialization tools assume that objects to be coded are usually small in size so a single CPU core can encode it in a timely manner. In the era of Big Data, however, object gets increasingly complex and larger, which makes data serialization become a new performance bottleneck. This paper describes an approach to parallelize data serialization by leveraging multiple cores. Parallelizing data serialization introduces new questions such as how to split the (sub)objects, how to allocate the available cores, and how to minimize its overhead in practice. In this paper we design a framework for parallelly serializing large objects and analyze the design tradeoffs under different scenarios. To validate the proposed approach, we implemented parallel protocol buffers—the parallel version of Google's Protocol Buffers, a widely‐used data serialization utility. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of Parallel Protocol Buffers: multiple cores employed in data serialization achieve highly scalable performance and incur negligible overhead. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multifunctional formaldehyde resins as curing agent for epoxy resins

Formaldehyde resins (FR) at 1/1/2 molar ratios of monomers (Cl‐phenol/amino monomers/p‐formaldehyde) were synthesized under acid catalysis. The obtained resins were characterized using elemental analysis, FTIR and RMN spectroscopic methods, being used as crosslinking agents for epoxy resin formulations. The curing of epoxy resins with FR were investigated. The glass transition temperature (T_g) and decomposition behavior of crosslinked resins were studied by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric (TGA) techniques. All DSC scans show two exothermic peaks, which implied the occurrence of cure reactions between epoxy ring and amine or carboxylic protons, in function of chemical structures of FR. The crosslinked products showed good thermal properties, high glass transitions, and low water absorption. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010     

Involvement of Microglia in the Pathophysiology of Intracranial Aneurysms and Vascular Malformations—A Short Overview

Aneurysms and vascular malformations of the brain represent an important source of intracranial hemorrhage and subsequent mortality and morbidity. We are only beginning to discern the involvement of microglia, the resident immune cell of the central nervous system, in these pathologies and their outcomes. Recent evidence suggests that activated proinflammatory microglia are implicated in the expansion of brain injury following subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) in both the acute and chronic phases, being also a main actor in vasospasm, considerably the most severe complication of SAH. On the other hand, anti-inflammatory microglia may be involved in the resolution of cerebral injury and hemorrhage. These immune cells have also been observed in high numbers in brain arteriovenous malformations (bAVM) and cerebral cavernomas (CCM), although their roles in these lesions are currently incompletely ascertained. The following review aims to shed a light on the most significant findings related to microglia and their roles in intracranial aneurysms and vascular malformations, as well as possibly establish the course for future research.