Nanoarchitecture Control Enabled by Ionic Liquids

Ionic liquids have many advantages over traditional aqueous electrosynthesis for fabrication of functional nanoarchitectures, including enabling the integration of nanoparticles into traditional coatings, superhydrophobicity, nanofoams, and other hierarchical structures. Shape and size control through ionic liquid selection and processing conditions can synthesize nanoparticles and nanoarchitectures without the use of capping agents, surfactants, or templates that are often deleterious to the functionality of the resultant system. Here we give a brief overview of some recent and interesting applications of ionic liquids to the synthesis of nanoparticles and nanoarchitectures.     

Comparison of Body Composition,Muscle Strength and Cardiometabolic Profile in Children with Prader-Willi Syndrome and Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease: A Pilot Study

Syndromic and non-syndromic obesity conditions in children, such as Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), both lower quality of life and increase risk for chronic health complications, which further increase health service utilization and cost. In a pilot observational study, we compared body composition and muscle strength in children aged 7–18 years with either PWS (n = 9), NAFLD (n = 14), or healthy controls (n = 16). Anthropometric and body composition measures (e.g., body weight, circumferences, skinfolds, total/segmental composition, and somatotype), handgrip strength, six minute-walk-test (6MWT), physical activity, and markers of liver and cardiometabolic dysfunction (e.g., ALT, AST, blood pressure, glucose, insulin, and lipid profile) were measured using standard procedures and validated tools. Genotyping was determined for children with PWS. Children with PWS had reduced lean body mass (total/lower limb mass), lower handgrip strength, 6MWT and increased sedentary activity compared to healthy children or those with NAFLD (p < 0.05). Children with PWS, including those of normal body weight, had somatotypes consistent with relative increased adiposity (endomorphic) and reduced skeletal muscle robustness (mesomorphic) when compared to healthy children and those with NAFLD. Somatotype characterizations were independent of serum markers of cardiometabolic dysregulation but were associated with increased prevalence of abnormal systolic and diastolic blood pressure Z-scores (p < 0.05). Reduced lean body mass and endomorphic somatotypes were associated with lower muscle strength/functionality and sedentary lifestyles, particularly in children with PWS. These findings are relevant as early detection of deficits in muscle strength and functionality can ensure effective targeted treatments that optimize physical activity and prevent complications into adulthood.     

Lipoprint Adequately Estimates LDL Size Distribution,but not Absolute Size,Versus Polyacrylamide Gradient Gel Electrophoresis

Recently, a new cost-effective and less labor-intensive technique termed the “lipoprint LDL system” was developed to measure LDL particle size. However, the agreement between lipoprint and previously validated techniques, such as polyacrylamide gradient gel electrophoresis (PGGE), has never been tested. Therefore, we measured LDL size by lipoprint and PGGE in 16 obese subjects at 4 different time points. Lipoprint significantly overestimated (P = 0.003) integrated LDL particle size by 1.1 ± 3.0 Å when compared to PGGE. As for distribution, there was good agreement between methods for the estimation of large, medium, and small particles (mean difference between the methods was <3% for each parameter). Correlational analysis also revealed good relationships between methods for the proportion of large (r = 0.81, P < 0.0001), medium (r = 0.67, P < 0.0001), and small (r = 0.73, P < 0.0001) particles. In sum, although there is good agreement between lipoprint and PGGE for the determination of LDL size distribution, absolute LDL size values may differ between the two methods.     

Polyether‐amide segmented copolymers based on ethylene terephthalamide units of uniform length

Segmented copolymers were synthesized using the crystallizable bisesterdiamide segment (N,N′‐bis(p‐carbomethoxybenzoyl)ethanediamine) T2T‐dimethyl (a one‐and‐a‐half repeating unit of nylon 2,T) and poly(tetramethyleneoxide) segments. Poly(tetramethyleneoxide) (PTMO) is amorphous and has a low T_g. The segment length was varied from 650 to 2800 g/mol by extending PTMO₆₅₀ using dimethyl isophthalate. The polymers were synthesized in the melt, and test samples were prepared by injection molding. The melting behavior, as well as the torsion modulus spectrum as a function of temperature, were studied using DSC and DMA, respectively. The T2T‐PTMO polymers were found to have sharp glass (T_g) and flow transitions (T_fl), and the modulus at the rubbery plateau appeared to be virtually temperature independent. The T_g value was found to be independent of the diamide concentration, thus indicating that the T2T segments were fully crystallized. The T_fl was found to decrease with increasing soft segment length; this was ascribed to a “solvent” effect of the amorphous phase of the crystalline T2T units. The difference between the melting and crystallization temperatures was found to be low, thus suggesting that on cooling, there is a high rate of crystallization. When ethanediol was added as a T2T segment extender, amide‐ester‐amide segments were introduced. These amide‐ester‐amide segments form a separate lamellar phase with a much higher melting temperature (>300°C). It was found that the crystallization rate of the T2T units was enhanced by the presence of the amide‐ester‐amide segments, indicating that upon cooling, the crystallized amide‐ester‐amide segments form the nucleation sites for the nonextended T2T segments. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 80: 1173–1180, 2001     

Tungsten carbide modified high surface area carbon as fuel cell catalyst support

Phase pure WC nanoparticles were synthesized on high surface area carbon black (800 m² g⁻¹) by a temperature programmed reaction (TPR) method. The particle size of WC can be controlled under 30 nm with a relatively high coverage on the carbon surface. The electrochemical testing results demonstrated that the corrosion resistance of carbon black was improved by 2-fold with a surface modification by phase pure WC particles. However, the WC itself showed some dissolution under potential cycling. Based on the X-ray diffraction (XRD) and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis, most of the WC on the surface was lost or transformed to oxides after 5000 potential cycles in the potential range of 0.65-1.2 V. The Pt catalyst supported on WC/C showed a slightly better ORR activity than that of Pt/C, with the Pt activity loss rate for Pt/WC/C being slightly slower compared to that of Pt/C. The performance and decay rate of Pt/WC/C were also evaluated in a fuel cell.     

A politeness effect in learning with web-based intelligent tutors

College students learned to solve chemistry stoichiometry problems with a web-based intelligent tutor that provided hints and feedback, using either polite or direct language. There was a pattern in which students with low prior knowledge of chemistry performed better on subsequent problem-solving tests if they learned from the polite tutor rather than the direct tutor (d=.78 on an immediate test, d=.51 on a delayed test), whereas students with high prior knowledge showed the reverse trend (d=?.47 for an immediate test; d=?.13 for a delayed test). These results point to a boundary condition for the politeness principle—the idea that people learn more deeply when words are in polite style. At least for low-knowledge learners, the results are consistent with social agency theory—the idea that social cues, such as politeness, can prime learners to accept a web-based tutor as a social partner and therefore try harder to make sense of the tutor’s messages.     

Mapping potential motorised sightseeing recreation supply across broad privately-owned landscapes of the Southern United States

The recreational opportunities available across landscapes of the Southern United States can be broad and diverse, and collectively are considered a subset of cultural ecosystem services. In describing the settings of recreational opportunities, a number of methods have been proposed that are based in part on geographic information and that can be facilitated by geographical analyses. Presented here are two expedient and cost-effective methods for assessing the recreation supply potential of large, heavily-roaded areas that are situated mainly with privately-owned land in the Southern United States. One land classification process uses fine-scale aerial imagery and other geospatial data in a process that results in three recreational opportunity setting zones with a focus on motorised sightseeing: foreground, background, and remote areas. Within these zones, land cover was derived and aggregated into three major land cover classes, including forest, agriculture, and bare ground classes. Further, a second process uses fuzzy classification methods, and through this highly suitable recreation settings were identified. Each recreational opportunity zone is further subdivided by public- and privately-owned land. We feel these types of recreation setting models can allow managers and planners to gain an understanding of the passive recreation potential of heavily-roaded privately-owned landscapes typical of the Southern United States.     

Content of an abstract: De jure and de facto.

Comments on the guidelines presented in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (see record 82-03290) for writing abstracts. A brief history is given of abstract guidelines for an empirical article, and data is reported on the degree of compliance with the requirements stated in the Manual, as reflected by actual published abstracts. The percentage of abstracts that adhered to the word limit varied considerably across journals. The following 3 recommendations are given: (1) report participant information if individual differences are the primary concern of the study, (2) ignore the requirement of reporting statistical significance levels because statistical significance levels do not represent the theoretical or practical importance of a research finding, and (3) do not be overly concerned with the word count. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Longitudinal Study of the Effects of Dual-Earner Couples' Utilization of Family-Friendly Workplace Supports on Work and Family Outcomes.

Little research exists on the effects of the utilization of workplace supports on work-family conflict and job satisfaction. With family systems theory as a framework, 2 waves of national survey data were collected from 234 couples (N = 468) caring for children and for aging parents. Data were analyzed with structural equation modeling techniques. Longitudinal results indicate that individuals' use of workplace supports was related to work-family conflict in the direction opposite to expectations and was related to job satisfaction in the direction consistent with expectations. Differential effects for wives versus husbands were found. In addition, couples' use of workplace supports was only minimally related to wives' outcomes. Results are discussed in terms of gender differences, family systems theory, and methodological and measurement issues related to the longitudinal study of utilization of workplace supports. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)