“
“A strategy to reduce the dependence on petroleum-based building blocks and the disposal concerns of solid wastes was proposed by developing a novel polymer blend from bio-based cellulose acetate butyrate (CAB) and poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT). The thermodynamic immiscibility and the thermal behaviors of the polymer melt blends were investigated. The interfacial properties were analyzed to provide the theoretical guidance to improve the compatibility of blends. A reactive compatibilizer, ROCK inhibitor poly(trimethylene terephthalate)-graft-(maleic anhydride) (PTT-g-MA) was prepared from melt reaction and characterized

with FTIR. The compatibilizer was melt blended into the CAB and PTT blends. The effects of different compatibilizers on the phase morphologies and mechanical

properties of blends were characterized and the interfacial interactions were studied. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 119:2302-2309, 2011″
“We demonstrate that silver/porous-Si nanocomposite powders Selleckchem Small molecule library are obtained by etching Si powders with metal assisted electroless chemical reaction in an aqueous solution of AgNO3 and HF. From x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscope measurements, metal layer consisting of nanometer-sized Ag particles and their aggregates is formed on each Si powder surface. Immoderate etching at higher concentrations of AgNO3 results in

the decrease in Si volume and increase in Ag layer thickness. Dips are observed in reflectance spectra of the nanocomposite LDN-193189 powders at similar to 400 nm. By comparing the experimental spectra with theoretically calculated ones, these dips are found to arise from the optical absorption due to the roughness-assisted surface plasmon excitation and to be dependent on the size of the Ag nanostructure. The nanocomposite powders show weaker photoluminescence intensity than that of conventionally stain-etched porous Si powders, however, their photostability is improved. The improvement of the photostability is considered to be due to the existence of surface Si-O and Si-Ag bonds. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3514581]“
“Hypomelanosis of Ito (HI) is a rare neuroectodermal disorder often associated with mental retardation and epilepsy. We report on four new HI patients presenting with heterogeneous seizure manifestations and we review the literature concerning epileptic seizures in HI. At one extreme, there are patients with generalized seizures well controlled by drug treatment, whereas at the opposite there are patients with severe, often pharmacoresistant, focal seizures. The genetic substrate for HI syndrome is not homogenous and only partially understood. Further researches are required to shed light on the pathogenesis of HI phenotypes.