Unconventional method used in synthesis of polyphosphoesters

Polyphosphonates, polyphosphates, polyarylazophosphonates and polyarylazophosphates were synthesized by a new alternative to the classical phase transfer catalysis, respectively, the modified inverse phase transfer catalysis (IPTC) polycondensation of various phenylphosphonic (phosphoric) dichlorides (phenylphosphonic dichloride, phenylphosphoric dichloride, p-chlorophenylphosphoric dichloride) with bisphenols: bisphenol A, tetrabromobisphenol A, bis-(4-hydroxyphenyl)methane (bisphenol F), 4,4′-dihydroxyazobenzene. The polymers were characterized by infrared spectroscopy and magnetic resonance (¹H-NMR, ³¹P-NMR, ¹³C-NMR) spectroscopy. Yields in the range of 63.5–85% and molecular weights (M _w) of ~2,000–8,200 g mol^?1 were obtained. Polyphosphonates were stable up 210–270 °C and polyphosphates up 190–220 °C in air atmosphere. For a correct estimation of the thermal behavior of similar compounds, a kinetic analysis using a modified version of Non Parametric Kinetic method for representative polyphosphonate and polyphosphate was realized. The studies made on the hydrolytic degradation of the synthesized polyphosphates show that the most stable polymer under alkali-catalyzed degradation is the polyphosphate obtained by IPTC of phenylphosphoric dichloride and bisphenol A.     

In-situ fabrication of polyacrylate-silver nanocomposite through photoinduced tandem reactions involving eosin dye

A silver-acrylate nanocomposite was prepared using a novel one-pot strategy involving eosin dye as visible sensitizer and an amine derivative as radicals' source. The mechanism highlighted by steady state photolysis and time-resolved absorption spectroscopy lies on the initial formation of a strong ion-pair complex between eosin and Ag⁺. Upon visible irradiation, the excited triplet state of the metal complex efficiently abstracts a hydrogen atom from the amine and produces an α-aminoalkyl radical. In acrylate monomer matrix, such a strong reactive species initiates a free radical photopolymerization and also provides the reduction of the silver cation. Through this ‘in-situ’ fabrication method, the kinetics formation of the nanocomposite and its detailed structural analysis are characterized by UV-visible, real-time FTIR absorption spectroscopy and by transmission electron microscopy.     

Encoding conditions and the list-strength effect.

The list-strength effect occurs when "strong" items within a list are remembered at the expense of "weak" items within that same list. Two experiments (using 185 college student Ss) showed that variably encoded words were remembered better than words repeated with the same encoding context, whether memory was measured by free recall, frequency estimates, or recognition d'. However, there was little or no evidence from any of the measures that the variably encoded words were recollected in the mixed lists at the expense of the similarly encoded words. This pattern held even though, in Exp 2, there was a list-strength effect on free recall, when list strength was manipulated by increasing the number of presentations of a word. It is concluded that the free recall results could not be accommodated by the model of memory postulated by R. M. Shiffrin et al (see record 1990-13917-001) to account for the effects of list strength. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Influence of pigment properties on UV‐curing efficiency

The curable formulations containing monomer‐diacrylate, photoinitiator‐p‐methoxybenzoyldiphenylphosphine oxide/benzyldimethylketal, additive reactive‐triethylamine, and inorganic thermoresistant pigments‐white, red, green, and blue were cured by UV exposure films. A series of experiments was carried out to investigate the relationship between the particle size distribution of the inorganic pigment and the colorimetric and mechanical properties of the UV acrylic curable coatings. Pendulum hardness and appearance of the films depend on the content and particle size distribution of the pigment. Optimal particle size distribution and pigment content were established to obtain the best films concerning their pendulum hardness and chromatic parameters. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 247–252, 2007     

Use of chitosan complex with aminophosphonic groups and cobalt for the removal of Sr2+ ions

We briefly describe the adsorbent performance of the chitosan complex with aminophosphonic groups and cobalt in the removal process of Sr²⁺ ions from aqueous solutions. The strontium adsorption was studied as a function of pH, contact time, and initial strontium concentration. Adsorption isotherms such as Langmuir, Freundlich, Dubinin–Radushkevich, and Temkin were used to analyze the equilibrium data at different concentrations. The kinetics of the Sr²⁺ sorption was analyzed using the pseudo-first-order and pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The results clearly indicate that the chitosan complex with aminophosphonic groups and cobalt is an efficient adsorbent with respect to its capacity to absorb Sr²⁺ ions from aqueous solutions.     

Porosity‐dependent properties of Nb‐doped Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 ceramics

In the present work, it is shown how the controlled porosity can be exploited to obtain a compromise between a reduced permittivity down to a few hundreds and maintaining a high tunability level as in the dense material, to fulfill requirements for tunable applications. Nb‐doped Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ ceramics with porosity in the range 5%‐30% have been prepared by direct sintering method. X‐ray diffraction analysis and Rietveld refinement indicated a co‐existence of tetragonal and monoclinic phases in the porous ceramics. Dielectric properties revealed a gradual reduction in permittivity when increasing the porosity level, while maintaining low dielectric losses below 3%. The ferroelectric switching behavior is also influenced by the porosity level: a continuous reduction in the saturation and remnant polarization is observed with increasing porosity. The nonlinear dielectric properties of all the investigated ceramics preserve a high level of tunability in comparison with one of the dense material, irrespective of the porosity level, while zero field permittivity was decreased below 1000. An optimum behavior is found for the ceramic sample with 25% porosity, which shows a high tunability, smaller losses, and moderate dielectric constant (ε ~600).     

Biomimetic Membrane System Composed of a Composite Interpenetrating Hydrogel Film and a Lipid Bilayer

A simple way to form an interpenetrating hydrogel (IPH) by combining a layer‐by‐layer polyelectrolyte membrane with agarose is reported. The formed IPH membrane is more robust and easily manipulated compared to a polyelectrolyte membrane with the same number of layers. The IPH has good diffusion characteristics and retains the advantageous surface charge from the polyectrolyte composition that facilitates the adsorption of a stable lipid bilayer. The stable adsorption of a lipid bilayer on the IPH creates a biomimetic membrane system that is optimized for utilization in a diffusion chamber.     

Polymer-Biologically Active Principle Conjugates Obtained by Esterification of Poly(Vinyl Alcohol)

The paper deals with the study of some polymer-biologically active principle systems characterized by the controlled release of the bioactive component by hydrolyze followed by diffusion. The systems were obtained by coupling the 2-mercapto-benzotiazolyl-acetic acid and N-(m-nitrobenzoyl)-L-methionine on poly(vinyl alcohol) by means of esteric bonds in the presence of diciclohexylcarbodiimide as an activator. The influence of some coupling process parameters on the reaction efficiency was studied, such as the drug/support and activator/support ratios. The coupling products with a maximum content of biologically active compound were characterized by spectral measurements, also as regards the capacity of bioactive compound release under the conditions simulating those within the gastro-intestinal tract. The antibacterial activity of the conjugates against Staphylococcus aureus, Eschrichia coli, Sarcina lutea, and Bacillus subtilis was determined.     

Phase Transfer Catalysis in Phosphorus Chemistry

Phase-transfer catalysis (PTC) has been widely used for the synthesis of organic compounds for more than three decades. The scope and mechanistic features of PTC have been the aim of numerous studies. This review focuses on the application of phase transfer catalysis in synthesis of phosphorus compounds.     

Environmental Stress and Plants

Land plants are constantly subjected to multiple unfavorable or even adverse environmental conditions. Among them, abiotic stresses (such as salt, drought, heat, cold, heavy metals, ozone, UV radiation, and nutrient deficiencies) have detrimental effects on plant growth and productivity and are increasingly important considering the direct or indirect effects of climate change. Plants respond in many ways to abiotic stresses, from gene expression to physiology, from plant architecture to primary, and secondary metabolism. These complex changes allow plants to tolerate and/or adapt to adverse conditions. The complexity of plant response can be further influenced by the duration and intensity of stress, the plant genotype, the combination of different stresses, the exposed tissue and cell type, and the developmental stage at which plants perceive the stress. It is therefore important to understand more about how plants perceive stress conditions and how they respond and adapt (both in natural and anthropogenic environments). These concepts were the basis of the Special Issue that International Journal of Molecular Sciences expressly addressed to the relationship between environmental stresses and plants and that resulted in the publication of 5 reviews and 38 original research articles. The large participation of several authors and the good number of contributions testifies to the considerable interest that the topic currently receives in the plant science community, especially in the light of the foreseeable climate changes. Here, we briefly summarize the contributions included in the Special Issue, both original articles categorized by stress type and reviews that discuss more comprehensive responses to various stresses.