In-situ analysis of fiber structure development for isotactic polypropylene

Structural development of isotactic polypropylene (iPP) fibers was analyzed in real time through in-situ WAXD/SAXS and fiber temperature measurements during CO(2) laser-heated drawing because the CO(2) laser irradiation can nearly fix the necking position on the running fiber. The in-situ WAXD/SAXS measurements were carried out with a high time-resolution of 0.4 ms. The as-spun iPP fibers of two different initial structures were laser-heat-drawn to a draw ratio of 6.5. For the drawing of PP fiber containing mesophase structure, diffraction from the oriented mesophase remained until an elapsed time of 1.0 ms, when oriented alpha-phase crystal started to form. Meanwhile, for the drawing of PP fiber containing both an alpha-phase and a mesophase structure, fragmented microcrystals were reorganized by orientation-induced crystallization before an elapsed time of 1.0 ms. The long period increased drastically with fragmentation, and decreased with reorganization. The long period was about 16 nm for both drawn fibers.ArticlePOLYMER. 52(9):2044-2050 (2011)journal articl

Effect of drawing stress on mesophase structure formation of poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate) fiber just after the neck-drawing point

The structural development of poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate) (PEN) fibers was analyzed by in situ X-ray diffraction and fiber temperature measurements. The PEN fiber was drawn continuously under three drawing stresses, where the neck-drawing point was fixed accurately by CO2 laser irradiation heating. The developed crystal structures of the drawn fibers depended on the drawing stresses, that is, only the alpha-crystal was obtained under a drawing stress of 148 MPa, an alpha-rich mixed crystal was obtained for 54 MPa, and a beta-rich mixed crystal was obtained under 23 MPa stress. Fiber containing over 70% beta-crystal was obtained in the third case. Orientation-induced crystallization rates (K) and crystallization induction times (t(0)) were estimated for the three drawing stresses: K = 2210 s(-1) and t(0) = 0.5 ms for 148 MPa, K = 940 s(-1) and t(0) = 1.0 ms for 54 MPa, and K= 655 s(-1) and t(0) = 4.0 ms for 23 MPa. In addition, the drawing stress acted as a definitive influence not only on the resulting crystal form but also on the chain conformation of the mesophase structure. The d-spacing of the (001') diffraction increased with drawing stress, and the longer (001') spacing generated the alpha-crystal while the comparatively shorter (001') spacing yielded the beta-crystal. The d-spacings of 1.27 and 1.23 nm for the drawing stresses of 148 and 23 MPa, respectively, were somewhat shorter than the c-axis lengths of the alpha- and beta-crystals of 1.32 and 1.27 nm, respectively.ArticlePOLYMER. 53(19):4272-4279 (2012)journal articl

Development of a fiber structure in poly(vinylidene fluoride) by a CO(2) laser-heated drawing process

Rapid and uniform heating by CO(2) laser radiation can fix the position where necking occurs. Therefore, this study investigated the development of a fiber structure in poly(vinylidene fluoride) in continuous drawing by in situ measurement using synchrotron X-ray radiation with a time resolution of several hundred microseconds. Two neck-deformation behaviors were observed in the laser drawing: a moderate neck deformation under low drawing stress and a steep neck deformation under high drawing stress. The low drawing stress resulted in a mixture of alpha- and beta-crystals in which the beta-crystal was formed within 1ms after the necking, earlier than the alpha-crystal. The development of the fiber structure under high drawing stress was almost complete in less than 1 ms, and the developed structure contained only beta-crystals. Small-angle X-ray scattering images showed meridional streaks at low drawing stress, whereas a four-pointed pattern occurred under high drawing stress. Low drawing stress generated a long periodic structure that was defective in the periodic regularity of crystalline and amorphous regions, although the molecular chains were nearly oriented along the fiber axis. The high drawing stress resulted in a well-packed structure of adjacent fibrils with alternating amorphous and crystalline regions. Polymer Journal (2010) 42, 657-662; doi: 10.1038/pj.2010.53; published online 23 June 2010ArticlePOLYMER JOURNAL. 42(8):657-662 (2010)journal articl

In situ study of fiber structure development of poly(butylene terephthalate) in a continuous laser-heated drawing process

The structural development of poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) fibers was analyzed using in situ wide angle X-ray diffraction and fiber temperature measurements during CO2 laser-heated drawing, in which the necking position on the running fiber could be fixed by CO2 laser irradiation. The measured parameters were determined as functions of the elapsed time after necking with a time resolution of 0.3 ms. The as-spun PBT fibers, which exhibited a low-oriented alpha-crystalline structure, were drawn to a draw ratio of 5 using laser heating. The (001') reflection, which indicates a quasi-smectic fibrillar structure, was not observed before crystallization in contrast to measurements of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(ethylene 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate) (PEN). The alpha-crystal was transformed into an oriented beta-form crystal at the necking position, and the developed beta-crystallites exhibited increased size and altered orientation <2 ms after necking. The fiber temperature increased rapidly at around T-g, and the rearrangement of the beta-crystal primarily occurred as the fiber's temperature rose from 100 to 160 degrees C. The oriented beta-crystal of the drawn fiber transformed into the oriented beta-crystal when the drawing tension was released. Polymer Journal (2012) 44, 1030-1035; doi: 10.1038/pj.2012.65; published online 18 April 2012ArticlePOLYMER JOURNAL. 44(10):1030-1035 (2012)journal articl

Current Trends in the Epidemiological and Pathological Characteristics of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors in Korea, 2003-2004

Despite remarkable progress in understanding and treating gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) during the past two decades, the pathological characteristics of GISTs have not been made clear yet. Furthermore, concrete diagnostic criteria of malignant GISTs are still uncertain. We collected pathology reports of 1,227 GISTs from 38 hospitals in Korea between 2003 and 2004 and evaluated the efficacy of the NIH and AFIP classification schemes as well as the prognostic factors among pathologic findings. The incidence of GISTs in Korea is about 1.6 to 2.2 patients per 100,000. Extra-gastrointestinal GISTs (10.1%) are more common in Korea than in Western countries. In univariate analysis, gender, age, tumor location, size, mitosis, tumor necrosis, vascular and mucosal invasions, histologic type, CD34 and s-100 protein expression, and classifications by the NIH and AFIP criteria were found to be significantly correlated with patient's survival. However, the primary tumor location, stage and classification of the AFIP criteria were prognostically significant in predicting patient's survival in multivariate analysis. The GIST classification based on original tumor location, size, and mitosis is more efficient than the NIH criteria in predicting patient's survival, but the mechanism still needs to be clarified through future studies

Association analyses of East Asian individuals and trans-ancestry analyses with European individuals reveal new loci associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels

Large-scale meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >175 loci associated with fasting cholesterol levels, including total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), and triglycerides (TG). With differences in linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure and allele frequencies between ancestry groups, studies in additional large samples may detect new associations. We conducted staged GWAS meta-analyses in up to 69,414 East Asian individuals from 24 studies with participants from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, China, Singapore, and Taiwan. These meta-analyses identified (P < 5 × 10-8) three novel loci associated with HDL-C near CD163-APOBEC1 (P = 7.4 × 10-9), NCOA2 (P = 1.6 × 10-8), and NID2-PTGDR (P = 4.2 × 10-8), and one novel locus associated with TG near WDR11-FGFR2 (P = 2.7 × 10-10). Conditional analyses identified a second signal near CD163-APOBEC1. We then combined results from the East Asian meta-analysis with association results from up to 187,365 European individuals from the Global Lipids Genetics Consortium in a trans-ancestry meta-analysis. This analysis identified (log10Bayes Factor ≥6.1) eight additional novel lipid loci. Among the twelve total loci identified, the index variants at eight loci have demonstrated at least nominal significance with other metabolic traits in prior studies, and two loci exhibited coincident eQTLs (P < 1 × 10-5) in subcutaneous adipose tissue for BPTF and PDGFC. Taken together, these analyses identified multiple novel lipid loci, providing new potential therapeutic targets

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

SIRT1 as a therapeutic target in inflammaging of the pulmonary disease

OBJECTIVE: Chronic inflammation and cellular senescence are intertwined in the pathogenesis of premature aging, which is considered as an important contributing factor in driving chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). SIRT1, a NAD(+)-dependent protein/histone deacetylase, regulates inflammation, senescence/aging, stress resistance, and DNA damage repair via deacetylating intracellular signaling molecules and chromatin histones. The present review describes the mechanism and regulation of SIRT1 by environmental agents/oxidants/reactive aldehydes and pro-inflammatory stimuli in lung inflammation and aging. The role of dietary polyphenols in regulation of SIRT1 in inflammaging is also discussed. METHODS: Analysis of current research findings on the mechanism of inflammation and senescence/aging (i.e., inflammaging) and their regulation by SIRT1 in premature aging of the lung. RESULTS: COPD is a disease of lung inflammaging, which is associated with the DNA damage response, transcription activation and chromatin modifications. SIRT1 regulates inflammaging via regulating FOXO3, p53, NF-κB, histones and various proteins involved in DNA damage and repair. Polyphenols and its analogs have been shown to activate SIRT1 although they have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. CONCLUSIONS: Targeting lung inflammation and cellular senescence as well as premature lung aging using pharmacological SIRT1 activators or polyphenols would be a promising therapeutic intervention for COPD/emphysema

Structure and Mechanical Properties of Poly(trimethylene terephthalate) Fibers Obtained by CO2 Laser Drawing and a Secondary Contact Heater Drawing

1CO2 laser drawing heats a running fiber homogeneously and rapidly without contact by laser irradiation and develops a necking in a fixed location. As-spun fibers of bio- and chemo-based poly(trimethylene terephthalate) (PTT) were drawn to draw ratio (DR) of 3.5-5.5 and 3.5-4.8 by CO2 laser-heated drawing, respectively, which was taken as the first drawing. Secondarily the first-drawn fibers were drawn to total draw ratio (TDR) as high as possible by direct contact heater drawing of 150 degrees C, which attained TDR 5.60-5.70 and 5.40-5.46 for bio- and chemo-based PTT fibers, respectively. Drawing stress in situ measured in the two-steps drawing increased roughly proportional to draw ratio, and for bio-based PTT was higher than for chemo-based one when compared at the same DR and TDR. We investigated in this study the structure and mechanical properties of the drawn PTT fibers by wide angle X-ray diffraction (WAX])), birefringence, thermo-mechanical property, and tensile property. The typical WAXD pattern of PTT crystal was observed with orientation-induced crystallization by the two-steps drawing. But, the meridional reflections become blurred and their intensities decrease with increasing draw ratio and by the second drawing. The transverse crystallite sizes, along the normal direction of (010) plane, increased transversely but the longitudinal sizes, along the normal direction of (002) plane decreased longitudinally as draw ratio increased for chemo-based PTT, whereas for bio-based PTT, the crystallite size change with draw ratio was the same trend with the chemo-based by the first drawing but the crystallite became much smaller transversely and longitudinally by the second drawing. By the azimuthal intensity profile, the crystal orientation factor obtained from (010) plane increased, while that from (002) plane decreased with the total draw ratio. The birefringence was a constant value 0.07 with no dependence on draw ratio by two steps drawing, which is over twice a reported intrinsic birefringence of PTT crystal, 0.029 [12]. Also, Young's modulus held an almost constant value of 2.3-2.6 GPa by the two stages drawing, which is very closed to 2.59 GPa, the theoretical modulus of PTT crystal.ArticleSEN-I GAKKAISHI. 69(6):107-117 (2013)journal articl