RADIATION EFFECTS ON POLY(VINYLIDENE FLUORIDE)

Melt-crystallized poly(vinylidene fluoride)s (PVF2) with different crystallization histories were irradiated with gamma-rays within the range of irradiation doses 0-83 Mrad. The effects on the crystalline structure and mechanical properties have been measured, compared, and discussed. The degree of crystallinity of the samples was found to increase with radiation dose. The differential scanning calorimeter scans of the quenched samples indicate that there are two melting peaks, and that the area of the lower temperature peak increases while the area of higher temperature peak decreases with increasing dose. Yield stress and breaking stress for all samples are not significantly affected by irradiation but elongation at break is.

VALENCY AND ITS CHANGE PROCESS OF SAMARIUM ION IN SAMARIUM FLUORIDE SYSTEM

Nonstoichiometric series SmF(x) (2.0 less-than-or-equal-to x less-than-or-equal-to 3.0) have been synthesized by reduction of samarium trifluoride with hydrogen for several times, and the stoichiometric samarium difluoride has been obtained. The structure of nonstoichiometric samarium fluoride series and the valency of samarium ion are briefly discussed. The valent change process of samarium ion at high temperatures in different atmospheres is investigated.

STUDY ON GAMMA-RADIATION INDUCED LAMELLAR DAMAGE MECHANISM OF POLY(VINYLIDENE FLUORIDE)

This paper studies gamma-radiation induced lamellar damage mechanism of poly(vinylidene fluoride), using wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), electronic paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and gel fraction determination. We believe that it is ''lamellae core damage'' rather than ''lamellae surface damage'' that results in the decrease of the crystallinity.

XPS STUDIES OF RADIATION-INDUCED STRUCTURAL-CHANGES IN POLYVINYLIDENE FLUORIDE

In this work the radiation-induced structural changes in PVDF were studied using XPS. It was found that for PVDF irradiated at 150-degrees-C, double bonds were formed mainly through the further dehydrofluorination of crosslinked and/or branched molecules, whereas for samples irradiated at 20-degrees-C the dehydrofluorination of macromolecular radicals to form stable polyene radicals is the main source of unsaturated structures.

A NEW HYDROGEN SENSOR WITH RARE-EARTH COMPLEX FLUORIDE

A new type of solid-state galvanic cell for detecting a small amount of hydrogen in air at room temperature is proposed. The sensor cell is a potentiometric cell using Ce0.95Ca0.05F2.95 as solid-state electrolyte. The cell exhibits good sensing properties to hydrogen in air at room temperature.

Experimental study on the fractionation of yttrium from holmium during the coprecipitation with calcium carbonates in seawater solutions

The partitioning of Y and Ho between CaCO3 (calcite and aragonite respectively) and seawater was experimentally investigated at 25 degrees C and I atm. Both Y and Ho were observed to be strongly partitioned into the overgrowths of calcite or aragonite. Their partition coefficients, D-Y and D-Ho, were determined to be similar to 520-1400 and similar to 700-1900 in calcite, similar to 1200-2400 and similar to 2400-4300 in aragonite, respectively. Y fractionates from Ho during the coprecipitation with either calcite or aragonite. Within our experimental conditions, the fractionation factor, k = D-Y/D-Ho, was determined to be similar to 0.62-0.77 in calcite and similar to 0.50-0.57 in aragonite, respectively. The aqueous complexation of Y and Ho, which is a function of solution chemistry, probably plays an important role in both the partitioning and the fractionation. Further analyses suggest that the difference in covalency between Y and Ho associated with changes in their coordination environments is the determinant factor to the Y-Ho fractionation in the H2CO3-CaCO3 System.

Physicochemical properties of silk fibroin after solubilization using calcium chloride with or without ethanol

To elucidate the physicochemical properties of silk protein, we studied the effects of calcium chloride and ethanol on the gelation of fibroin. Fibroin was treated with 5.0 M calcium chloride in water (Ca/W) or 5.0 M calcium chloride in 20% (v/v) ethanol (Ca/Et) and the rheological properties of colloidal fibroin were investigated. The Ca/W-treatment promoted an increased rate of gelation and gave higher gel strength than the Ca/Et-treatment. The maximum gel strengths of Ca/W- and Ca/Et-treated fibroins were obtained at pH 7.0 and pH 5.5, respectively. Scanning electron micrographs showed that the Ca/W-treated fibroin gel had a more developed three-dimensional molecular network than the Ca/Et-treated gel. Further, FT-IR spectra suggested that Ca/W-treated fibroin has more of a beta-structure than Ca/Et-treated one in colloidal conditions. This study indicated that the use of calcium chloride alone was more beneficial to the gelation of fibroin than combined use with ethanol.

Colorimetric and ratiometric fluorescence sensing of fluoride: Tuning selectivity in proton transfer

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Alterations in cardiac adrenergic signaling and calcium cycling differentially affect the progression of cardiomyopathy.

The medical treatment of chronic heart failure has undergone a dramatic transition in the past decade. Short-term approaches for altering hemodynamics have given way to long-term, reparative strategies, including beta-adrenergic receptor (betaAR) blockade. This was once viewed as counterintuitive, because acute administration causes myocardial depression. Cardiac myocytes from failing hearts show changes in betaAR signaling and excitation-contraction coupling that can impair cardiac contractility, but the role of these abnormalities in the progression of heart failure is controversial. We therefore tested the impact of different manipulations that increase contractility on the progression of cardiac dysfunction in a mouse model of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. High-level overexpression of the beta(2)AR caused rapidly progressive cardiac failure in this model. In contrast, phospholamban ablation prevented systolic dysfunction and exercise intolerance, but not hypertrophy, in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice. Cardiac expression of a peptide inhibitor of the betaAR kinase 1 not only prevented systolic dysfunction and exercise intolerance but also decreased cardiac remodeling and hypertrophic gene expression. These three manipulations of cardiac contractility had distinct effects on disease progression, suggesting that selective modulation of particular aspects of betaAR signaling or excitation-contraction coupling can provide therapeutic benefit.

Calcium dependent CAMTA1 in adult stem cell commitment to a myocardial lineage.

The phenotype of somatic cells has recently been found to be reversible. Direct reprogramming of one cell type into another has been achieved with transduction and over expression of exogenous defined transcription factors emphasizing their role in specifying cell fate. To discover early and novel endogenous transcription factors that may have a role in adult-derived stem cell acquisition of a cardiomyocyte phenotype, mesenchymal stem cells from human and mouse bone marrow and rat liver were co-cultured with neonatal cardiomyocytes as an in vitro cardiogenic microenvironment. Cell-cell communications develop between the two cell types as early as 24 hrs in co-culture and are required for elaboration of a myocardial phenotype in the stem cells 8-16 days later. These intercellular communications are associated with novel Ca(2+) oscillations in the stem cells that are synchronous with the Ca(2+) transients in adjacent cardiomyocytes and are detected in the stem cells as early as 24-48 hrs in co-culture. Early and significant up-regulation of Ca(2+)-dependent effectors, CAMTA1 and RCAN1 ensues before a myocardial program is activated. CAMTA1 loss-of-function minimizes the activation of the cardiac gene program in the stem cells. While the expression of RCAN1 suggests involvement of the well-characterized calcineurin-NFAT pathway as a response to a Ca(2+) signal, the CAMTA1 up-regulated expression as a response to such a signal in the stem cells was unknown. Cell-cell communications between the stem cells and adjacent cardiomyocytes induce Ca(2+) signals that activate a myocardial gene program in the stem cells via a novel and early Ca(2+)-dependent intermediate, up-regulation of CAMTA1.

Atherosclerosis: Viewing the problem from a different perspective including possible treatment options

This paper proposes that atherosclerosis is initiated by a signaling event that deposits calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca-HAP). This event is preceded by a loss of mechanical structure in the arterial wall. After Ca-HAP has been deposited, it is unlikely that it will be reabsorbed because the solubility product constant (K sp) is very small, and the large stores of Ca +2 and PO 4-3 in the bones oppose any attempts to dissolve Ca-HAP by decreasing the common ions. The hydroxide ion (OH -) of Ca-HAP can be displaced in nature by fluoride (F -) and carbonate (CO 3-2) ions, and it is proposed that anions associated with cholesterol ester hydrolysis and, in very small quantities, the enolate of 7-ketocholesterol could also displace the OH -of Ca-HAP, forming an ionic bond. The free energy of hydration of Ca-HAP at 310 K is most likely negative, and the ionic radii of the anions associated with the hydrolysis of cholesterol ester are compatible with the substitution. Furthermore, examination of the pathology of atherosclerotic lesions by Raman and NMR spectroscopy and confocal microscopy supports deposition of Ca-HAP associated with cholesterol. Investigating the affinity of intermediates of cholesterol hydrolysis for Ca-HAP compared to lipoproteins such as HDL, LDL, and VLDL using isothermic titration calorimetry could add proof of this concept and may lead to the development of a new class of medications targeted at the deposition of cholesterol within Ca-HAP. Treatment of acute ischemic events as a consequence of atherosclerosis with denitrogenation and oxygenation is discussed. © the author(s), publisher and licensee Libertas Academica Ltd.