Epoxy‐montmorillonite clay nanocomposites: Synthesis and characterization

Nanocomposites of epoxy resin with montmorillonite clay were synthesized by swelling of different proportions of the clay in a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol‐A followed by in situ polymerization with aromatic diamine as a curing agent. The montmorillonite was modified with octadecylamine and made organophilic. The organoclay was found to be intercalated easily by incorporation of the epoxy precursor and the clay galleries were simultaneously expanded. However, Na‐montmorillonite clay could not be intercalated during the mixing or through the curing process. Curing temperature was found to provide a balance between the reaction rate of the epoxy precursor and the diffusion rate of the curing agent into the clay galleries. The cure kinetics were studied by differential scanning calorimetry. The exfoliation behavior of the organoclay system was investigated by X‐ray diffraction. Thermogravimetric analysis was used to determine the thermal stability, which was correlated with the ionic exchange between the organic species and the silicate layers. The morphology of the nanocomposites was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 93: 2201–2210, 2004     

Interleukin-1 mediates a rapid inflammatory response after injection of adenoviral vectors into the brain

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer into the brain is associated with significant inflammation and activation of anti-vector and anti-transgene immune responses that curtail the gene delivery of adenoviruses and therapeutic efficacy. Elucidating the molecular mediators of inflammatory and immune responses to adenoviruses injected into the brain should allow us to inhibit their inflammatory actions, thereby reducing vector clearance and enhance adenoviral-mediated gene transfer into the CNS. Cytokines are primary mediators of the immune response and are released during inflammation. Here we report for the first time that injection of replication-deficient adenovirus vectors into the cerebral ventricles of rats causes a rapid increase in body temperature. This fever response precedes any vector-encoded transgene expression and occurs with vectors encoding no transgene, as well as with vectors encoding a therapeutic transgene i.e., HSV1-thymidine kinase. No fever is detected after infection of the striatum, an important brain target in studies on neurodegeneration. After infection of the brain ventricles, CSF levels of immunoreactive tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and interleukin (IL)-1beta increase significantly (up to 300-fold). In the hypothalamus, the locus of thermoregulation in the brain, only IL-1beta and IL-6 are significantly elevated. A neutralizing TNF-alpha antibody has no effect on adenovirus-induced fever. However, pretreatment with either the IL-1 receptor antagonist or the cyclooxygenase inhibitor flurbiprofen completely abolishes adenovirus-induced fever, suggesting that IL-1 and prostaglandins are direct mediators of this response. These results are the first to demonstrate that IL-1, but not TNF-alpha, is the main mediator of a very early inflammatory response to adenovirus in the brain.     

TVRO Antenna Size, Ku Band Versus C Band

At this point in time, with the advent of high powered Ku band direct broadcast satellites (DBSs) and the ever increasing requirement for TV via satellite, it is safe to say that satellite rooftop receiving antennas will soon shrink in size. This will be true for DBS systems operating in the Ku DBS band, since Ku band EIRP has been increased considerably over C band EIRP. It will not necessarily be true for Ku band satellite systems operating in the broadcast satellite service band, where maximum power flux density, and therefore EIRP, is limited.     

Distribution system compensation using a new binary multilevelvoltage source inverter

A new binary multilevel voltage source inverter with separate DC sources is proposed. This n-level voltage source inverter produces a (2 ⁿ⁺¹-1)-steps AC voltage output with n full bridge inverters connected in series. The use of selective harmonic elimination modulation technique to either completely eliminate or minimize harmonics is studied. A closed-loop controller to control the capacitor voltages and adjust the inverter reactive power output is developed. Application of such a compensator for dynamic compensation of 13.8 kV distribution system is examined through transient studies using a PSCAD/EMTDC program. The proposed inverter configuration not only reduces the system complexity and its size, but also improves the harmonic profile significantly     

Space charge limited currents in chlorazole black E dye

Space-charge-limited-currents have been studied in Chlorazole Black E (CBE) dye to understand the current-voltage relationship and the nature and distribution of traps present in the dye. Three distinct regions of voltage-current characteristics have been observed probably for the first time. The results have been discussed on the basis of carrier injection theory. There are non-uniformly distributed deep as well as shallow traps.