STUDIES ON RADIATION-INDUCED LOSS OF WEIGHT OF A COPOLYMER OF TETRAFLUOROETHYLENE AND HEXAFLUOROPROPYLENE

The radiation-induced loss of weight of F-46 was found to be proportional to irradiation dose and affected markedly by irradiation temperature.

RADIATION-INDUCED CROSS-LINKING OF AROMATIC POLYMERS WITH A CARDO GROUP

The effects of irradiation on some members of the family of aromatic polymers with a cardo group, such as polyetherketone with a cardo group (PEK-C) and polyethersulfone with a cardo group (PES-C), were studied. It was found that PEK-C and PES-C can be crosslinked by irradiation under vacuum. Moreover, it was also found that the intensity of the shake-up peak of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) for PEK-C and PES-C varies with irradiation dose. Gelation doses (Rg) of PEK-C and PES-C were estimated from the XPS shake-up peak.

XPS STUDY OF RADIATION CROSS-LINKED COPOLYMER OF TETRAFLUOROETHYLENE WITH HEXAFLUOROPROPYLENE

In this work the radiation-induced structural changes in F-46 were studied by XPS. In carbon-1s spectra of a highly crosslinked F-46 sheet, the slight increase observed in relative area under the peak due to CF3 was explained by the radiation-induced scission of polymer chains. The peak at 287.6 eV appearing in the spectra caused by ionizing radiation was attributed to carbon structures without primary fluorine substituents, in both branching and unsaturated structures, while that at 289.3 eV was assigned to = CF groups in mid-chain double bonds.

RADIATION-INDUCED CROSS-LINKING OF POLY(METHYL METHACRYLATE)-POLY(ETHYLENE OXIDE) BLEND

Radiation-induced crosslinking of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-poly(methylene oxide) (PEO) blends was studied. It was found that PMMA in PMMA-PEO blend can be crosslinked in the range of certain doses (1 approximately 20 x 10(4) Gy) and composition (PMMA% = 30 approximately 70) under the absence of oxygen. Moreover, it was also found that the crosslinking degree of PMMA in the blend in which the content of PMMA is 70% is the largest. The crosslinking degree of PMMA in the blend is closely related with the polymer miscibility. The crosslinking degree of the blend prepared at 60-degrees-C is far higher than one at ambient temperature.

STUDIES ON RADIATION EFFECTS OF PTFE .2. RADIATION-INDUCED STRUCTURAL-CHANGES AND THE TEMPERATURE EFFECT

In this work PTFE sheets irradiated with gamma-rays at 150-degrees-C and 200-degrees-C were studied using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The main structural changes in PTFE due to radiation are the formation of CF3 and CF groups. An irradiation temperature dependence of the relative content of the three kinds of groups in irradiated PTFE was observed. The CF3 groups, especially when irradiation is carried out a lower temperatures, can defluorinate in the same manner as previosly reported for CF2 groups. The CF groups, on the other hand, are observed to increase with increasing irradiation dose and irradiation temperature; the latter was explained as due to an increase in branching structures.

CHARACTERIZATION OF GAMMA-RADIATION CROSS-LINKED CRYSTALLINE POLYMERS BY CRYSTALLIZATION TEMPERATURE

The effect of gamma-radlatlon on plain crystalline polymers and crystalline polymers containing different amounts of difunctional monomer both in vacuum and in air at room temperature has been investigated with DSC. It was found that the crystallization temperature T_c of crosslinked sample measured on DSC at a constant cooling rate decreases with increasing radiation dose. The difference between T_c before and after crosslinking (T_(c_0)-T_(c_R)) is linearly related to the radiation dose for plain polymer....

Preparation of low-molecular-weight and high-sulfate-content chitosans under microwave radiation and their potential antioxidant activity in vitro

In the present paper microwave radiation has been used to introduce N-sulfo and O-sulfo groups into chitosan with a thigh degree of substitution and low-molecular weight. The sulfation of chitosan was performed in microwave ovens. It was found that microwave heating is a convenient way to obtain a wide range of products of different degrees of substitution and molecular weight only by changing reaction time or/and radiation power. Moreover, microwave radiation accelerated the degradation of sulfated chitosan, and the molecular weight of sulfated chitosan was considerably lower than that obtained by traditional heating. There are no differences in the chemical structure of sulfated chitosan obtained by microwave and by conventional technology. FTIR and C-13 NMR spectral analyses demonstrated that a significantly shorter time is required to obtain a satisfactory degree of substitution and molecular weight by microwave radiation than by conventional technology. In this present paper, we also determined antioxidant activity of low-molecular-weight and high-sulfate-content chitosans (LCTS). The results showed LCTS could scavenge superoxide and hydroxyl radical. Its IC50 is 0.025 and 1.32mg/mL, respectively. It is a potential antioxidant in vitro. (C) 2004 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Strain H-2-419-4 of Haematococcus pluvialis induced by ethyl methanesulphonate and ultraviolet radiation

Two strains H-2-410 and H-2-419 were obtained from the chemically mutated survivors of wild Haematococcus pluvialis 2 by using ethyl methanesulphonate (EMS). Strains H2-410 and H2-419 showed a fast cell growth with 13% and 20% increase in biomass compared to wild type, respectively. Then H-2-419-4, a fast cell growth and high astaxanthin accumulation strain, was obtained by exposing the strain H2-419 to ultraviolet radiation (UV) further. The total biomass, the astaxanthin content per cell, astaxanthin production of H-2-4194 showed 68%, 28%, and 120% increase compared to wild H. pluvialis 2, respectively. HPLC (High Performance Liquid Chromatography) data showed also an obvious proportional variation of different carotenoid compositions in the extracts of H2-4194 and the wild type, although no peak of carotenoids appeared or disappeared. Therefore, the main compositions in strain H-2-419-4, like its wild one, were free of astaxanthin, monoester, and diester of astaxanthin. The asexual reproduction in survivors after exposed to UV was not synchronous, and different from the normal synchronous asexual reproduction as the mother cells were motile instead of non-motile. Interestingly, some survivors from UV irradiation produced many mini-spores (or gamete?), the spores moved away from the mother cell gradually 4 or 5 days later. This is quite similar to sexual reproduction described by Elliot in 1934. However, whether this was sexual reproduction remains questionable, as no mating process has been observed.

Diurnal and seasonal variations of UV radiation on the northern edge of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

We monitored UVA, UVB, and solar radiation from August 2001 to 2003 on the northern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau to characterize the diurnal and seasonal variations of UV radiation on the world's highest plateau. Daily UVB radiation and the ratio of UVB to total solar radiation increased significantly when the atmospheric ozone concentration decreased as estimated by the total ozone mapping spectrometer (TOMS), as well as when cloud coverage decreased. The UVB/UVA ratio also showed a significant increase when the TOMS ozone concentration decreased in the morning. The seasonal variation pattern of UVB, however, was closely correlated with solar elevation but was little affected by the seasonal pattern of the atmospheric ozone amount. Compared to observations from the central plateau, the magnitude of the UVB increase attributed to ozone depletion was smaller at the northern edge. The study suggests that the temporal variation of ground UV radiation is determined by both solar elevation and the ozone amount, but the spatial difference on the plateau is likely to be ascribed mainly to the spatial variation of the ozone amount. (c) 2007 Published by Elsevier B.V.

Radiation and diversification within the Ligularia-Cremanthodium-Parasenecio complex (Asteraceae) triggered by uplift of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau

The Ligularia-Cremanthodium-Parasenecio (L-C-P) complex of the Tussilagininae (Asteraceae: Senecioneae) contains more than 200 species that are endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau in eastern Asia. These species are morphologically distinct; however, their relationships appear complex. A phylogenetic analysis of members of the complex and selected taxa, of the tribe Senecioneae was conducted using chloroplast (ndhF and trnL-F) and nuclear (ITS) sequences. Phylogenetic trees were constructed from individual and combined datasets of the three different sequences. All analyses suggested that Doronicum, a genus that has been included in the Tussilagininae, should be excluded from this subtribe and placed at the base of the tribe Senecioneae. In addition, the Tussilagininae should be broadly circumscribed to include the Tephroseridinae. Within the expanded Tussilagininae containing all 13 genera occurring in eastern Asia, Tussilago and NSPetasites diverged early as a separate lineage, while the remaining I I genera comprise an expanded L-C-P complex clade. We suggest that the L-C-P clade, which is largely unresolved, most likely originated as a consequence of an explosive radiation. The few monophyletic subclades identified in the L-C-P clade with robust support further suggest that some genera of Tussilagininae from eastern Asia require generic re-circumscriptions given the occurrence of subclades containing species of the same genus in different parts of the phylogentic tree due to homoplasy of important morphological characters used to delimit them. Molecular-clock analyses suggest that the explosive radiation of the L-C-P complex occurred mostly within the last 20 million years, which falls well within the period of recent major uplifts of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau between the early Miocene to the Pleistocene. It is proposed that significant increases in geological and ecological diversity that accompanied such uplifting, most likely promoted rapid and continuous allopatric speciation in small and isolated populations, and allowed fixation or acquisition of similar morphological characters within unrelated lineages. This phenomenon, possibly combined with interspecific diploid hybridization because of secondary sympatry during relatively stable stages between different uplifts, could be a major cause of high species diversity in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas of eastern Asia. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Molecular phylogeny, recent radiation and evolution of gross morphology of the rhubarb genus Rheum (Polygonaceae) inferred from chloroplast DNA trnL-F sequences

Background and Aims Rheum, a highly diversified genus with about 60 species, is mainly confined to the mountainous and desert regions of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau and adjacent areas. This genus represents a good example of the extensive diversification of the temperate genera in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, in which the forces to drive diversification remain unknown. To date, the infrageneric classification of Rheum has been mainly based on morphological characters. However, it may have been subject to convergent evolution under habitat pressure, and the systematic position of some sections are unclear, especially Sect. Globulosa, which has globular inflorescences, and Sect. Nobilia, which has semi-translucent bracts. Recent palynological research has found substantial contradictions between exine patterns and the current classification of Rheum. Two specific objectives of this research were (1) to evaluate possible relationships of some ambiguous sections with a unique morphology, and (2) to examine possible occurrence of the radiative speciation with low genetic divergence across the total genus and the correlation between the extensive diversification time of Rheum and past geographical events, especially the recent large-scale uplifts of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.Methods The chloroplast DNA trnL-F region of 29 individuals representing 26 species of Rheum, belonging to seven out of eight sections, was sequenced and compared. The phylogenetic relationships were further constructed based on the sequences obtained.Key Results Despite the highly diversified morphology, the genetic variation in this DNA fragment is relatively low. The molecular phylogeny is highly inconsistent with gross morphology, pollen exine patterns and traditional classifications, except for identifying all samples of Sect. Palmata, three species of Sect. Spiciformia and a few species of Sect. Rheum as corresponding monophyletic groups. The monotypic Sect. Globulosa showed a tentative position within the clade comprising five species of Sect. Rheum. All of the analyses revealed the paraphyly of R. nobile and R. alexandrae, the only two species of Sect. Nobilia circumscribed by the possession of large bracts. The crude calibration of lineages based on trnL-F sequence differentiation implied an extensive diversification of Rheum within approx. 7 million years.Conclusions Based on these results, it is suggested that the rich geological and ecological diversity caused by the recent large-scale uplifts of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau since the late Tertiary, coupled with the oscillating climate of the Quaternary stage, might have promoted rapid speciation in small and isolated populations, as well as allowing the fixation of unique or rare morphological characters in Rheum. Such a rapid radiation, combined with introgressive hybridization and reticulate evolution, may have caused the transfer of cpDNA haplotypes between morphologically dissimilar species, and might account for the inconsistency between morphological classification and molecular phylogeny reported here.