Physical and spectral characterization of the human cyclin A gene and its interactions with anthracycline anticancer drugs

Over expression of cyclin A in human tumors has been linked to cancer by various experimental lines of evidence. However, physical and spectral characterization of the human cyclin A gene and its interactions with anticancer drugs have not been reported. Our gene sequence analysis, singular value decomposition method and melting studies in the presence of antitumor agents, daunomycin, doxorubicin and Hoechst 33258 showed that cyclin A gene had both AT-rich and GC-rich domains. For a ligand with unknown DNA binding specificity, this gene sequence can be used to differentiate its DNA binding preference.

Grain boundary conductivity of high purity neodymium-doped ceria nanosystem with and without the doping of molybdenum oxide

Solid solutions of Ce1-xNdxO2-x/2 (0.05 <= x <= 0.2) and (Ce1-xNdx)(0.95)MO0.05O2-delta (0.05 <= x <= 0.2) have been synthesized by a modified sol-gel method. Both materials have very low content of SiO2 (similar to 27 ppm). Their structures and ionic conductivities were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (M). The XRD patterns indicate that these materials are single phases with a cubic fluorite structure. The powders calcined at 300 degrees C with a crystal size of 5.7 nm have good sinterability, and the relative density could reach above 96% after being sintered at 1450 degrees C. With the addition Of MoO3, the sintering temperature could be decreased to 1250 degrees C. Impedance spectroscopy measurement in the temperature range of 250-800 degrees C indicates that a sharp increase of conductivity is observed when a small amount of Nd2O3 is added into ceria, of which Ce0.85Nd0.15O1.925 (15NDC) shows the highest conductivity. With the addition of a small amount Of MoO3, the grain boundary conductivity of 15NDC at 600 degrees C increases from 2.56 S m(-1) to 5.62 S m(-1).

Green light-emitting polyfluorenes with improved color purity incorporated with 4,7-diphenyl-2,1,3-benzothiadiazole moieties

By incorporating 4,7-diphenyl- 2,1,3 benzothiadiazole instead of 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole into the backbone of polyfluorene, we developed a novel series of green light- emitting polymers with much improved color purity. Compared with the state-of-the-art green light-emitting polymer, poly(fluorene-co-benzothiadiazole) (lambda max = 537 nm), the resulting polymers (lambda(max) = 521 nm) showed 10-20 nm blueshifted electroluminescence (EL) spectra and greatly improved color purity because the insertion of two phenylene units between the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole unit and the fluorene unit reduced the effective conjugation length in the vicinity of the 2,1,3-benzothiadiazole unit. As a result, the resulting polymers emitted pure green light with CIE coordinates of (0.29, 0.63), which are very close to (0.26, 0.65) of standard green emission demanded by the National Television System Committee (NTSC). Moreover, the insertion of the phenylene unit did not affect the photoluminescence (PL) and EL efficiencies of the resulting polymers. PL quantum efficiency in solid films up to 0.82 was demonstrated. Single-layer devices (ITO/PEDOT/ polymer/Ca/Al) of these polymers exhibited a turn-on voltage of 4.2 V, luminous efficiency of 5.96 cd A(-1) and power efficiency of 2.21 lm W-1. High EL efficiencies and good color purities made these polymers very promising for display applications.

Structure characterization and physical properties of a complex with supramolecular architectures Co-2(2,6-DPC2Co(H2O)5 center dot 2H(2)O (DPC=2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate)

Reaction of 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic with CoCl2 . 6H(2)O in aqueous solution give rise to a three-dimensional Complex CO2(2,6-DPC)(2)Co(H2O)(5).2H(2)O (DPC = 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylate) 1. It has been characterized by elemental analyses, infrared spectra (IR) spectrum, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis, EPR spectrum, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. The complex crystallizes in the P2(1)/c space group with a = 8.3906(3) Angstrom, b = 27.4005(8) Angstrom, c = 9.6192(4) A, alpha = 90.00degrees, beta = 98.327(2)degrees, gamma = 90.00degrees, V = 2188.20(14) Angstrom(3), Z = 4. There are two types of cobalt environments: Co(1) is coordinated by four oxygen atoms from four carboxyl groups and two nitrogen 2 atoms which are all from pdc(2). Co(2) is coordinated by six oxygen atoms, five from coordinated water molecules and one from a carboxyl of pdc(2) - of which the other oxygen atom is linked to the Co(1). The extensive intermolecular hydrogen bonds are formed in the crystal by means of the five coordinated water molecules.

Physical and electrochemical characterizations of PtRu/C catalysts by spray pyrolysis for electrocatalytic oxidation of methanol

In this paper, it was reported that the carbon-supported Pt-Ru(Pt-Ru/C) catalyst used as the anodic catalyst in the direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC) was synthesized with a two-step spray pyrolysis (SP) method using the Pt and Ru metal salt as the precursors and polyethylene glycol (PEG) with the different molecular weights (Mw= 200,600,and 1000 analytical reagent) as cosolvent. PEG as a cosolvent plays a crucial role in producing PtRu/C catalysts. It was found that the Mw of PEG could affect the electrocatalytic activity of Pt-Ru and the morphology of the Pt-Ru particles in the Pt-Ru/C catalysts prepared with this method. When the Mw of PEG is 600, the Pt-Ru particles in the Pt-Ru/C catalyst prepared with this method possess the small average size, narrow size distribution, uniform dispersion, and high electrochemically active specific surface area. The electrocatalytic activity of the Pt-Ru/C catalyst prepared with this method using the cosolvent PEG with Mw = 600 for the methanol oxidation is much higher than that of the commercial E-TEK Pt-Ru/C catalyst. Therefore, the two-step SP method is an excellent method for the preparation of the Pt-Ru/C catalyst used in DMFCs.

Determination of ultra-trace concentrations of elements in high purity tellurium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after Fe(OH)(3) coprecipitation

In this work, a method was established for the determination of impurities in high purity tellurium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after Fe(OH)(3) coprecipitation. After comparison of coprecipitation ability and separation efficiency between Fe(OH), and Al(OH)(3), Fe(OH)(3) was chosen as the precipitate. A separation factor of 160 for 200 mg tellurium was obtained under conditions of pH 9 and 2 mg of Fe3(+). The 13 elements, such as Bi, Sn, Pb, In, Tl, Cd, Cu, Co, Ni, Zn, Ti, Be and Zr, could be almost completely coprecipitated under these conditions. In addition, Te memory effect imposed on the ICP-MS instrument was assessed, as well as Te matrix effect that caused the low recovery of Ga, As, Sb and V in real sample was discussed. Finally, the method was evaluated through recovery test and was applied to practical sample analysis, with detection limits of most of the elements being below 0.15 mug g(-1) and R.S.D. below or at approximately 10%, which indicated that this method could fully satisfy the requirements for analysis of 99.999% similar to 99.9999% high purity Te.

Effect of physical aging on fracture behavior of polyphenylquinoxaline films

The influence of physical aging on the tensile fracture behavior of notched Polyphenylquinoxaline (PPQ-E) samples has been studied. The dependence of fracture stress and strain on physical aging has been explained. The glass transition temperature (T-g) and the endothermic peak at the end of T-g transition with different physical aging were characterized using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and the results have also been explained. The morphology of fracture surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). (C) 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

The effects of physical ageing on crazing of polyphenylquinoxaline films

The effects of physical ageing on the crazing of polyphenylquinoxaline (PPQ-E) films were studied. The DSC endothermic peak at the glass transition region of the samples was interpreted in terms of the cohesional entanglement theory. The free volume cavity size and free volume intensity of the samples were characterized by positron annihilation life spectroscopy. The difference in free volume cavity size and free volume intensity between two samples reflect the strength and density of cohensional entanglement point. The critical strain for craze initiation and craze stability depended on physical ageing of the samples. The relationships between physical ageing and crazing were interpreted initially.

Determination of the impurities elements in high-purity cadmium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

A method for the determination of impurity elements in high purity cadmium by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry was developed. The spectral interference arising from Cd was discussed and the magnitude of interference by the polyatomic ion of Cd was compared. The effect of the high concentration Cd on the analyte signal was studied. The results showed that Cd possessed both significant suppression effects on the light mass elements signal and enhancement effects on the heavy mass elements signal,and the effects can be corrected by the use of internal standard elements. In this paper, Y and Bi was employed for the light mass elements and the heavy mass elements,respectively. As, Be, Co, Cu, Ga, Ge, Mn, Mo, Pb, Ni, Sr, Au, Tl, Th, V and U in high purity cadmium were determined. Detection limits are 0.005-0.052 mu g L-1,and the recoveries of standard addition are 82%-108%.

Effect of physical aging on the microstructure and the crystallization of amorphous poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK)

Physical aging of poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK) has been investigated. Heat flow responses were measured after annealing the amorphous samples obtained by quenching the melt into an ice-water bath close to, but below, the glass transition temperature. The extent of aging is related to the supercooling from the glass transition temperature and to the aging time. The activation energy of the aging process, which was estimated by a Williams-Watt expression, is similar in magnitude to that obtained for the cold crystallization for the aged samples. The quenched glass is a metastable glass. The conformation of molecular chains rearranges with physical aging which results in the formation of a denser packing in the amorphous phase. The dense amorphous phase may form an initial nucleus for crystallization. Isothermal cold crystallization of the aged samples was carried out. The Avrami equation was used to determine the kinetic parameters, and the Avrami constant n is about 2. An Arrhenius expression was used to evaluate the activation energy of relaxation upon physical aging and the activation energy of transportation upon isothermal crystallization. The activation energy of relaxation is similar in magnitude to that of crystallization for aged samples. Results obtained are interpreted as kinetic effects associated with the glass formation process.

Morphologies and physical properties of PA1010/HIPS/HIPS-g-MA ternary blends

The effect of the content of a copolymer consisting of high impact polystyrene grafted with maleic anhydride (HIPS-g-MA) on morphological and mechanical properties of PA1010/HIPS blends has been studied. Blend morphologies were controlled by adding HIPS-g-MA during melt processing, thus the dispersion of the HIPS phase and interfacial adhesion between the domains and matrices in these blends were changed obviously. The weight fractions of HIPS-g-MA in the blends increased from 2.5 to 20, then much finer dispersions of discrete HIPS phase with average domain sizes decreased from 6.1 to 0.1 mu m were obtained. It was found that a compatibilizer, a graft copolymer of HIPS-g-MA and PA1010 was synthesized in situ during the melt mixing of the blends. The mechanical properties of compatibilized blends were obviously better than those of uncompatibilized PA1010/HIPS blends. These behaviors could be attributed to the chemical interactions between the two components of PA1010 and HIPS-g-MA and good dispersion in PA1010/HIPS/HIPS-g-MA blends. Evidence of reactions in the blends was seen in the morphology and mechanical behaviour of the solid. The blend containing 5 wt % HIPS-g-MA component exhibited outstanding toughness. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Determination of purity and molecular weight of calmodulin by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry

The purity and molecular weight of calmodulin have been determined by means of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry, and the results have been discussed. The experimental results demonstrate that this method is high sensitive and rapid as compared with other traditional methods.

Physical aging and crystallization of amorphous poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone)

Physical aging of poly(aryl ether ether ketone ketone) (PEEKK) was investigated. Heat flow responses were measured after annealing the amorphous samples that were obtained by quenching the melt into an ice-water bath at just below the glass transition temperature. Isothermal cold crystallization of the aged samples was carried out. The Avrami equation was used to determine the kinetic parameters, and the Avrami constant it is about 2. An Arrhenius form was used to evaluate the relaxation activation energy of physical aging and the transport activation energy of isothermal crystallization. The activation energy of physical aging was similar in magnitude to that observed for the temperature dependence of crystallization under conditions of transportation control. Results obtained were interpreted as purely kinetic effects associated with the glass formation process. (C) 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Physical diffusion and electron-transfer dynamics of electroactive solutes in polymer electrolytes .2. Effect of the ionic size of supporting electrolytes

The diffusion coefficients(D-app) and the heterogeneous electron-transfer rate constants(k(s)) for ferrocene in MPEG/salt electrolytes were determined by using steady-state voltammetry. The temperature dependence of the two parameters obeys the Arrhenius equation. The effect of the ionic size of six supporting electrolytes on diffusion and electron transfer dynamics of ferrocene was discussed.