The rubber compounds here mixed together for different times and at different temperatures to produce styrene-butadiene rubber/polybutadiene GSK690693 rubber blends. The mass fraction and composition of the interphase in the blends were subsequently determined with modulated-temperature differential scanning calorimetry. At 60-65 degrees C, the mass fraction of the interphase in the blend increased after the rubbers were mixed together for 10 min, and then it decreased significantly when the mixing time was increased to 20 min. When the

two rubbers were mixed together for 7 min at 60-105 degrees C, the mass fraction of the interphase in the blend increased slightly because of a higher mixing temperature. The composition of the interphase in the blend also changed with the mixing time and mixing temperature. (C) 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 111: 1641-1652, 2009″
“Studies investigating the association between the intron 16 insertion/deletion

(I/D) polymorphism (rs4646994) in the angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene and risk of intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) have reported conflicting results. We here performed a meta-analysis based on the evidence currently available from the literature to make a more precise estimation of this relationship. Published literature from the National Library of Medline and Embase databases were retrieved. Odds ratios (OR) and selleckchem 95% confidence limits (CLs) were calculated in fixed- or random-effects

models when appropriate. Subgroup analyses were performed by race. This meta-analysis included six case-control studies, which included 744 ICH cases and 1411 controls. The combined results based on all studies showed that ICH cases had a significantly lower frequency of ID genotype (OR (codominant model) = 0.43, 95% CL = 0.22, GSK923295 mouse 0.84, p = 0.01). In the subgroup analysis by race, we found that ICH cases had a significantly lower frequency of II genotype in Asians (OR (recessive model) = 0.50, 95% CL = 0.38, 0.66, p < 0.001; OR (codominant model) = 0.25, 95% CL = 0.09, 0.71, p = 0.009). In conclusion, our meta-analysis suggests that ACE I/D polymorphisms are associated with ICH, especially in Asians.”
“We study the performance and reliability of metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistors fabricated on strained and unstrained silicon on insulator substrates, sSOI and SOI, respectively. The biaxial strain strongly enhances electron mobility and changes the threshold voltage, V(t), of the devices. We show that the V(t) shift in the “”ideal SOI structures,”" i.e., with no oxide defects, is due to the conduction band offset induced by strain Delta E(c) and therefore can be used for the stress monitoring. The biaxial strain also affects the gate oxide leakage current. A new method to extract Delta E(c) from the leakage current measurements is proposed. This method is less sensitive to the gate oxide defects than the one based on V(t) shift.