Samples of ZrO2:Er3+, ZrO2:Er3+/Yb3+, and HfO2:Er3+/Yb3+ were prepared by the sol-gel technique and characterized using x-ray diffraction and electron microscopy. A study of the infrared-to-green and infrared-to-red UC processes was performed including the analysis of the spectral and the temporal behavior. The mechanisms contributing to the UC luminescence were SHP099 smiles identified as excited state absorption and energy transfer among rare-earth ions. (C) 2010 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3428478]“
“A

4-year-old boy presented with pneumonia. Computed tomography demonstrated a multicystic mass at the posteromedial bilateral lower lobe segments, which were connected by a bronchus behind the heart. Enhanced computed tomography revealed that an anomalous artery arose from

the left gastric artery and inserted into the left sequestrated lung and branched to the right one. The diagnosis of bilateral intralobar sequestration (ILS) with a bridging isthmus was made. After removal of the bilateral ILS, radiologic and pathologic approaches were undertaken to reconstruct the vascular and bronchial architectures. The following observations check details were made: (1) histologically, the region near the anomalous artery insertion site contained bronchial structures, which looked like an ectopic pulmonary hilus. This bronchial structure was continuously observed in the isthmus and its opening of the right sequestrated lung; (2) radiologically, the shape and course of the bronchi within the ILS indicated a distinct bronchial origin that arose from the pulmonary hilus-like structure, and the anomalous artery that ran along with those bronchi, resembled a pulmonary artery. These features suggested that this bilateral ILS might have originated from an accessory lung tissue.”
“Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)(PHBV)/poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-4-hydroxybutyrate) (P3/4HB) blend www.selleckchem.com/products/acy-738.html films were prepared by solvent-cast method. The nonisothermal crystallization results showed that PHBV and P3/4HB are miscible due to a single glass transition temperature (T(g)), which is dependent on blend composition. The isothermal crystallization results demonstrate

that the crystallization rate of PHBV becomes slower after adding amorphous P3/4HB with 19.2 mol%, 4HB, which could be proved through depression of equilibrium melt point (T(m)(o)) from 183.7 degrees C to 177.6 degrees C. For pure PHBV and PHBV/P3/4HB (80/20) blend, the maximum crystalli-zation rate appeared at 88 degrees C and 84 degrees C, respectively. FTIR analysis showed that PHBV/P3/4HB blend films would maintain the helical structure, similar to pure PHBV. Meanwhile, with increasing P3/4HB content, the inter- and intra-interactions of PHBV and P3/4HB decrease gradually. Besides, a lower elastic modulus and a higher elongation at break were obtained, which show that the addition of P3/4HB would make the brittle PHBV to ductile materials.