Elongational viscosities of random and block copolymer melts

The influence of random and block copolymerized structures on the uniaxial elongational viscosity was investigated. The investigated random copolymers were poly(ethylene-random-ethyl methacrylate) with comb-branched structure and poly(styrene-random-acrylonitrile) with linear structure. The studied block copolymers were poly(styrene-block-ethylenebutylene-block-styrene) with linear structure. The elongational viscosities of random copolymers showed strain-hardening properties. The strain-hardening property was influenced little by comonomer contents and depended on whether copolymers had linear or branched structures. In contrast, the elongational viscosities of block copolymers gave strain-softening properties. The strain-softening property was not affected by strain rates and block comonomer ratios. The causes of strain-hardening and -softening properties are discussed from relaxation spectrum and damping function based on the Bernstein–Kearsley–Zapas model. The damping functions of linear and branched random copolymers agreed with those of linear and branched homopolymers, respectively. On the other hand, linear block copolymers exhibited stronger damping than linear homopolymers. It was concluded that strain-hardening and -softening properties in the elongational viscosity of random and block copolymerized structures are correlated with their damping functions. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 69: 1765–1774, 1998     

Ni54Al25Fe21-xCox合金的马氏体相变和磁性转变

传统的β基Ni-Al-Fe形状记忆合金随Fe含量提高而呈铁磁性,因此可以发展为铁磁性形状记忆合金.通过金相显微分析、DSC、VSM和EDX方法,研究了Co含量x对Ni54 Al25Fe21-xCox合金马氏体相变和磁性的影响.发现该合金马氏体相变温度与x成正比关系,x每增加1at%,1623K淬火时马氏体相变温度约提高30K,1373K淬火时马氏体相变温度约提高38K.淬火温度降低会显著降低Ni54Al2Fe21-xCox合金的马氏体相变温度和Curie点Tc,但随着x的提高,淬火温度对马氏体相变温度和Tc的影响程度减小.Tc随x变化的幅度不大,在Tc-x曲线上出现最大值,为256K,对应于1623K淬火的Ni54Al25Fe19Co2合金.马氏体相变温度的变化与β相的平均s＋d总电子浓度变化有关,并首次提出Al含量和结构有序度两方面的变化共同影响Curie点.     

Mechanism of enhancement effect of dendrimer on transdermal drug permeation through polyhydroxyalkanoate matrix

The possible application of polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) in transdermal drug delivery systems (TDDSs) for tamsulosin was previously reported. PHAs containing the drugs, ketoprofen, clonidine and tamsulosin showed good adhesiveness to the skin model used, that is, shed snake skin, and dispersed well all model drugs tested. The model drugs hardly permeated through snake skin in solution form. However, these drugs permeated well through snake skin from the PHA matrix. It was previously reported that the addition of a dendrimer, a polymeric permeation enhancer, is effective for the TDDS for tamsulosin to establish an effective clinical TDDS. The effect of dendrimer addition was examined in TDDSs for ketoprofen and clonidine. The dendrimer added did not show an enhancement effect on the TDDSs for the two drugs. To investigate the mechanism of the enhancement effect of a dendrimer on the tamsulosin TDDS, X-ray analyses were performed. With dendrimer addition, drug crystallization in PHA was promoted. The crystal in PHA had highly ordered and changed its space group. These findings are very important for exploiting high-performance PHA-based TDDSs.     

Applications of Wireless Communication Technologies for Intelligent Transport Systems

The DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communication) system based on the wireless communication technologies is essential to provide ITS (Intelligent Transport Systems) services using the information and communication network which is named Smart Gateway. Focusing on the DSRC system, the RVC (Road-to-Vehicle Communication) system and IVC (Inter-Vehicle Communication) system are studied in this paper. The priority technical issues come out for the purpose of realizing the Smart Gateway using both the DSRC-RVC system and the DSRC-IVC system.     

Elongational behavior of epoxy during curing

Elongational behavior of epoxy (epoxy/curing agent = 100/0.5, w/w) cured at various conditions over the critical gelation time was investigated. Dynamic viscoelastic measurements of the epoxy system were performed and the critical gelation time of epoxy was determined according to the frequency dependence of G′ and G″ proposed by Winter and Chambon. Elongational behavior of epoxy cured for various times were measured. Epoxy, cured over the critical gelation time, showed strain hardening and elongational behavior similar to a crosslinked rubber. Increase of elongational viscosity of the sample occurred early, and the sample broke at small strain as curing time increased. The effect of strain rate on the elongational stress of epoxy cured near the critical gelation time was measured at various strain rates. For epoxy cured for critical gelation time only, high stress at a small strain rate was represented as strain rate increased. When increasing curing time further, the tensile stress converged on a single curve regardless of strain rate, and samples broke at nearly the same stress and strain. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2009     

Characteristic Analysis of a Micro DC‐DC Converter for Portable Electronic Devices and an Improvement of Transient Response Characteristic

This paper describes the characteristic analysis of a micro DC‐DC converter which integrates inductor, controller and switching devices, and the improvement of the transient response characteristic. The steady‐state operation and the efficiency characteristics of the micro DC‐DC converter are presented as experimental data. The static characteristics are theoretically analyzed with consideration of the DC current characteristics of the inductor. The load transient response characteristics of the micro DC‐DC converter are also analyzed experimentally and theoretically. In addition, the factors responsible for the overshoot and undershoot of the output voltage when the load changes are discussed. Finally, a clamp circuit for reducing the overshoot and undershoot of the output voltage when the load changes is proposed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 175(3): 56–64, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21081     

Novel function of rare catechin, epigallocatechin-3-(3''-O-methyl)gallate, against cold injury in primary rat hepatocytes

Epigallocatechin-3-(3'-O-methyl)gallate (EGCg-3'-OMe) is a rare component in green tea leaf and its bioactivity is hardly known. In this paper, we report that EGCg-3'-OMe has the function for cold preservation of primary rat hepatocytes. Confluent primary cultured hepatocytes were suspended in a storage solution, culture medium or cell banker (CB). EGCg-3'-OMe was tested as a supplement in the storage solution together with a general cryoprotectant, dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). After 24 h cold preservation of cells at 4 degrees C followed by 1 h rewarming, cell viability and urea-synthesizing activity, one of the most important liver functions, were measured. EGCg-3'-OMe dose-dependently maintained cell viability and this effect was equal to that of a commercial CB at the highest concentration. Cell viability was also maintained after a further 24 h incubation at 37 degrees C of the cold-preserved hepatocytes. Conversely, urea-synthesizing activity was dose-dependently reduced by EGCg-3'-OMe. Cell protection by EGCg-3'-OMe due to the decrease in metabolic activity in cold-preserved cells was suggested. The decreased hepatic function of cells caused by EGCg-3'-OMe was rescued after a further 24 h incubation of cells at 37 degrees C.     

Availability of bone marrow stromal cells in three-dimensional coculture with hepatocytes and transplantation into liver-damaged mice

Rat bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) were cultured in porous hydroxyapatite (HA) disks for 2 weeks to form a cell layer on the surface. Freshly isolated hepatocytes were then inoculated into both BMSC-cultured and non-treated HA disks. Hepatocytes cocultured with BMSCs secreted significantly more albumin than those in monoculture in vitro. The cell-packed HA disks were implanted into the peritoneal cavity of Nagase analbuminemia rats (NARs), and 4 weeks later, blood samples were collected to measure the albumin concentration. The cotransplantation of BMSCs with hepatocytes significantly increased the serum albumin concentration in NARs. The HA disks coculturing mice hepatocytes and BMSCs were also implanted into mice, in which liver damage had been induced using carbon tetrachloride and phenobarbital. The decreased serum albumin level in liver-damaged mice was completely recovered by the transplantation of hepatocytes and BMSCs. The serum level of IL-6 in liver-damaged mice was also increased by the cotransplantation of BMSCs and hepatocytes. Thus, the transplantation of BMSCs appears to have a systemic effect on recipients through the increase in the serum cytokine level as well as a local effect on cotransplanted hepatocytes.