Furan–thiophene copolymers: Electrosynthesis and electrochemical behavior

The electrochemical copolymerization of furan and thiophene was performed at a constant electrode potential in a binary solvent system consisting of boron trifluoride/ethyl ether and an additional amount of ethyl ether (molar ratio = 1 : 2). The obtained homopolymers and copolymers were characterized with cyclic voltammetry and infrared spectroscopy. The influence of the applied electropolymerization potential and the monomer feed ratio of furan and thiophene on the copolymers was investigated. The furan–thiophene copolymers showed good stability of the redox activity in an acetonitrile‐based electrolyte solution. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 2008     

Real world applications of a fuzzy decision model based on relationships between goals for finance services and sequencing for the assembly of cars

Real world applications of a decision model of relationships between goals based on fuzzy relations are presented. In contrast to other approaches the relationships between decision goals or criteria for each decision situation are represented and calculated explicitly. The application fields are decision making for financial services and optimization of production sequences in car manufacturing.     

Enantioseparation of catechin and epicatechin in plant food by chiral capillary electrophoresis

The enantiomers of catechin and epicatechin were separated by chiral capillary electrophoresis using modified cyclodextrins as chiral selectors. Various conditions for the separation system were optimized, including the pH value and the concentration of the running buffer. A baseline separation of the catechin and epicatechin enantiomers could be achieved by using 0.1 mol l⁻¹ borate buffer (pH 8.5) with 12 mmol l⁻¹ (2-hydroxypropyl)-γ-cyclodextrin as chiral selector, a fused-silica capillary with 40 cm effective length (75 μm I.D.), +18 kV applied voltage, a temperature of 20 °C and direct UV detection at 280 nm. The method was applied to different plant food samples. (+)-Catechin and (−)-epicatechin could be verified as the most common flavan-3-ols. In the case of guaraná, however, we were able to identify all four enantiomers, both (+)- and (−)-catechin and (+)- and (−)-epicatechin, as naturally occurring compounds. This finding was verified by further isolation and purification of the flavan-3-ols and subsequent LC–MS analysis. This method allows for the identification of the authenticity of guaraná through the analysis of the catechin and epicatechin enantiomers, additionally to the conventional methods like HPLC.     

Synthesis and Pharmacological In Vitro Investigations of Novel Shikonin Derivatives with a Special Focus on Cyclopropane Bearing Derivatives

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and accounts for about three quarters of all skin cancer deaths. Especially at an advanced stage, its treatment is challenging, and survival rates are very low. In previous studies, we showed that the constituents of the roots of Onosma paniculata as well as a synthetic derivative of the most active constituent showed promising results in metastatic melanoma cell lines. In the current study, we address the question whether we can generate further derivatives with optimized activity by synthesis. Therefore, we prepared 31, mainly novel shikonin derivatives and screened them in different melanoma cell lines (WM9, WM164, and MUG-Mel2 cells) using the XTT viability assay. We identified (R)-1-(1,4-dihydro-5,8-dihydroxy-1,4-dioxonaphthalen-2-yl)-4-methylpent-3-enyl 2-cyclopropyl-2-oxoacetate as a novel derivative with even higher activity. Furthermore, pharmacological investigations including the ApoToxGlo^TM Triplex assay, LDH assay, and cell cycle measurements revealed that this compound induced apoptosis and reduced cells in the G1 phase accompanied by an increase of cells in the G2/M phase. Moreover, it showed hardly any effects on the cell membrane integrity. However, it also exhibited cytotoxicity against non-tumorigenic cells. Nevertheless, in summary, we could show that shikonin derivatives might be promising drug leads in the treatment of melanoma.     

全新控制系统--压铸过程的心脏

全新的工艺数据永久记录,对压铸过程进行最优化控制满足适用并易于使用的市场需求.布勒公司新的dat@net控制系统(见图1和图2),综合了传统技术,实时操作,工业耐用性和稳定性,以及当今最先进的PCj技术的优点.精心的硬、软件匹配允许使自动化方案不受约束.也是首次,这种控制系统使压铸设备能够按照客户需求完全协调.     

Isobutylene polymerization in the presence of t-BuCl/SnCl4

Summary The effect of tert-butyl chloride in the polymerizations of isobutylene carried out in the presence of SnCl₄ in dichloromethane at temperatures-20°C and-78°C was investigated. Synthesized polyisobutylene samples showed a bimodal molecular weight distribution (MWD) and it was found that the weight content of the lowermolecular weight (LMW) fraction increased with increasing t-BuCl concentration in the polymerization mixture. The effect of ageing of the initiation mixture t-BuCl/SnCl₄ in CH₂Cl₂ prepared in advance on MWD of the PIB samples was also studied. Ageing of the initiation system supports the formation of the LMW fraction and this oily PIB is the only product of the polymerization at-20°C, .     

Expert judgement on the long term possibilities of conventional emission abatement technologies for passenger cars

Topics in Catalysis - This paper presents the results of a quantitatively substantiated “expert judgement” concerning the potential for further reduction of the exhaust emissions of...     

On a generalization of Bernstein polynomials and Bézier curves based on umbral calculus

In Winkel (2001) a generalization of Bernstein polynomials and Bézier curves based on umbral calculus has been introduced. In the present paper we describe new geometric and algorithmic properties of this generalization including: (1) families of polynomials introduced by Stancu (1968) and Goldman (1985), i.e., families that include both Bernstein and Lagrange polynomial, are generalized in a new way, (2) a generalized de Casteljau algorithm is discussed, (3) an efficient evaluation of generalized Bézier curves through a linear transformation of the control polygon is described, (4) a simple criterion for endpoint tangentiality is established.     

Studies on miscibility in homopolymer/ random copolymer blends by equation of state theory

The miscibility of poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and styrene-acrylonitrile random copolymers (SAN) blends was investigated on the basis of the Flory—Orwoll—Vrij equation of state theory. To obtain the equation of state parameters (P*, V*_sp, T*: characteristic parameters), the pressure—volume—temperature (PVT) behaviour was measured for PMMA and a series of SANs with various acrylonitrile contents. The exchange energy parameter X_ij was also calculated by fitting the theory to some phase diagrams of PMMA/SAN blends. The Flory—Huggins interaction parameter χ was separated into two contributions based on the equation of state theory for mixtures: the exchange energy term χ_inter and the free volume term χ_free. Both the temperature and copolymer composition dependences of χ_inter and χ_free were estimated by calculations using the equation of state parameters. There exists a region in which χ_inter is negative, leading to a miscibility window in PMMA/SAN blends. However, the immiscibility at high temperatures in the blends cannot be explained only by χ_inter; it is caused by the free volume contribution, χ_free. The miscibility window behaviour in PMMA/SAN blends may be explained within the framework of the equation of state theory.