Background: Increasing attention was focused on the β2‐adrenergic receptor gene (ADRB2), whose genetic variability has been implicated as a risk factor for asthma‐related phenotypes. However, only a few studies reported the associations by utilizing haplotypic approaches. We therefore examined the relationship of childhood wheezing illness with polymorphisms at codons 16 and 27, and evaluated the influence of polymorphisms individually and in combination as haplotypes. Methods: We conducted a genetic case–control study comprising 215 wheezing children and 183 nonwheezing controls, all of whom were selected from 2524 fourth‐ to ninth‐grade schoolchildren in southern Taiwan. Results: All participants were homozygous at the ADRB2 Thr164 locus. After controlling for possible confounders, ADRB2 Glu27 allele was significantly associated with wheezing illness in all genetic models, but the risks on Arg16Gly genotypes were inconclusive. Estimated frequencies for the three main hyplotypes were Arg16/Gln27 57.2%, Gly16/Gln27 35.3%, Gly16/Glu27 7.4% in wheezing children, and Arg16/Gln27 56.3%, Gly16/Gln27 32.2%, Gly16/Glu27 10.4% in controls. The protective effect of Gly16/Glu27 haplotype remained relative to all other ADRB2 haplotypes [adjusted relative risk (aRR) = 0.58; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35–0.97]. As compared with children without Gly16/Glu27 haplotype, those with Gly16/Glu27 haplotype had a significantly lower risk for wheezing illness (aRR = 0.56; 95% CI 0.33–0.99). The copy numbers of Gly16/Glu27 haplotype also showed a clear dose‐response relationship on the decreased risks. No significant association was found with the prevalence of wheezing illness for other haplotypes. Conclusion: We concluded that ADRB2 Glu27 allele and Gly16/Glu27 haplotype were significantly protective factors for wheezing illness in Taiwanese schoolchildren. 相似文献
Direct pyrolysis mass spectrometry is applied to investigate the thermal behavior of poly(2‐isopropyl‐2‐oxazoline) (PIPOX, a thermoresponsive polymer) and poly[2‐(3‐butenyl)‐2‐oxazoline] (PBOX, a “clickable” polymer). It is found that the thermal degradation of PIPOX is started by a loss of side chains. At slightly higher temperatures the degradation of the polymer backbone occurs by random chain scission processes. In the case of PBOX, vinyl polymerization of the side chains produces chains with variable thermal stabilities. The number of repeating units of the polymer has almost no effect on the thermal behavior of PIPOX, but significantly affects both thermal stability and degradation product distribution of PBOX. 相似文献
In order to regulate the electronic ability of benzo[1,2‐b:4,5‐b′]dithiophene (BDT), the new electron‐donating unit (BDTOT) is designed and synthesized which consists of a BDT backbone with conjugated 2‐(2‐ethylhexyl)‐3,4‐dimethoxythiophene side chains. By alternating copolymerization of BDTOT with electron‐accepting units of fluorinated benzothiadiazole (FBT), benzothiadiazole (BT), and pyrrolo[3,4‐c]pyrrole‐1,4‐dione (DPP), three donor–acceptor (D‐A) copolymers (PBDTOT‐FBT, PBDTOT‐BT, and PBDTOT‐DPP) have been developed for PSC applications. The impact of dimethoxythiophene substituent and the electron‐accepting strength of the acceptor units on the absorption, HOMO/LUMO energy levels, and photovoltaic properties of the resultant polymers is investigated in detail. PBDTOT‐BT and PBDTOT‐DPP exhibit relatively narrower bandgaps and PBDTOT‐FBT possesses a down‐shifted HOMO energy level as compared to their corresponding analogs without methoxy groups onto the conjugated thiophene side chains. The screening of the different blend ratio, the processing additive, and polar solvent post‐treatment is conducted to optimize the polymer solar cell (PSC) devices. PSCs with PBDTOT‐FBT as donor deliver a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.55%. By treatment of the active layer with methanol to tailor the morphology, the solar cell based on PBDTOT‐FBT exhibits the remarkably improved PCE of 4.84% with a Voc of 0.92 V, a Jsc of 8.71 mA cm?2, and an FF of 60.3%.
CROP has been used to synthesize well‐defined POXZ with a monofunctional (iodomethane) or a bifunctional (1,3‐diiodopropane) initiator. POXZ has been functionalized with an azido group at one (α‐azido‐POXZ, = 3.58 × 103 g · mol?1) or both ends (α,ω‐azido‐POXZ, = 6.21 × 103 g · mol?1) of the macromolecular chain. The Huisgen 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition has been investigated between azido‐POXZ and a terminal alkyne on a small or larger molecule (PEG). In each case, the click reaction has been successful and quantitative. In this way, different telechelic polymers (polymers bearing different functions such as acrylate, epoxide, or carboxylic acid) and block copolymers of POXZ and PEG have been prepared. The polymers have been characterized by means of FTIR, 1H NMR, and SEC.
Hydrolyzed poly(2‐phenyl‐2‐oxazoline)s (PPhOx) are synthesized by partial hydrolysis of PPhOx in order to produce self‐assembling copolymers with chargeable and hydrophobic units. The resulting poly(ethylene imine‐co‐2‐phenyl‐2‐oxazoline) [P(EI‐co‐PhOx)] amphiphilic copolymers contain phenyl‐oxazoline and ethylene imine segments in a random sequence and their chemical structure is confirmed by 1H NMR and attenuated total reflection‐Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Static and dynamic light scattering experiments show that in aqueous solutions the random copolymers associate into aggregates of sizes in the range between 50 and 200 nm depending on the solution conditions and hydrophobic content. The positive charge of the nanoaggregates that is caused by protonation of the amine nitrogen is confirmed by zeta potential measurements. Self‐assembly in phosphate buffered saline results in large aggregates. The aggregates are proved to interact with fetal bovine serum proteins. This investigation shows that hydrolyzed phenyl oxazoline‐based copolymers provide stable amphiphilic nanoparticles able to interact with biological macromolecules for biotechnological and pharmaceutical applications. 相似文献
Poly(3‐hexylthiophene)‐block‐poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) amphiphilic rod–coil diblock copolymers have been synthesized by a combination of Grignard metathesis (GRIM) and ring‐opening cationic polymerization. Diblock copolymers containing 5, 15, and 30 mol‐% poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) have been synthesized and characterized. The synthesized rod–coil block copolymers display nanofibrillar morphology where the density of the nanofibrills is dependent on the concentration of the poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) coil segment. The conductivity of the diblock copolymers was lowered from 200 to 35 S · cm?1 with an increase in the content of the insulating poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) block. By contrast, the field‐effect mobility decreased by 2–3 orders of magnitude upon the incorporation of the poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) insulating segment.
The electrochemical oligomerization of 2‐amino‐3‐cyano‐4‐methylthiophene (ACMT) has been studied by cyclic voltammetry, potential controlled electrolysis and digital simulation. The product analysis after preparative electrolysis was carried out by UV‐vis‐NIR, 1H and 13C NMR and FT‐IR spectroscopic techniques. The kinetic data were estimated using the results of fitting the digitally simulated voltammograms to the experimentally obtained cyclic voltammograms. The oligomerization proceeds according to an ECE mechanism resulting in the formation of an oligomeric mixture containing dimer and tetramer. UV‐vis‐NIR and fluorescence measurements indicated that the isolated dimer and tetramer showed higher conjugation than the monomer unit and the conjugation increased with an increase in the number of monomer units.
Inspired by the well‐known amphiphilic block copolymer platform known as Pluronics or poloxamers, a small library of ABA and BAB triblock copolymers comprising hydrophilic 2‐methyl‐2‐oxazoline (A) and thermoresponsive 2‐n‐propyl‐2‐oxazoline (B) is synthesized. These novel copolymers exhibit temperature‐induced self‐assembly in aqueous solution. The formation and size of aggregates depend on the polymer structure, temperature, and concentration. The BAB copolymers tend to agglomerate in water, with the cloud point temperature depending on the length of poly(2‐n‐propyl‐2‐oxazoline) chain. On the other hand, ABA copolymers form smaller aggregates with hydrodynamic radius from 25 to 150 nm. The dependence of viscosity and viscoelastic properties on the temperature is also studied. While several Pluronic block copolymers are known to form thermoreversible hydrogels in the concentration range 20–30 wt%, thermogelation is not observed for any of the investigated poly(2‐oxazoline)s at the investigated temperature range from 10 to 50 °C.
Kinetic investigations on the cationic ring‐opening polymerization of 2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline were conducted using acetyl chloride, acetyl bromide, and acetyl iodide as initiators. Various polymerization temperatures ranging from 80 to 220 °C were applied under microwave irradiation. The resulting polymerization mixtures were characterized with GC and GPC for the determination of monomer conversion and molecular weight distribution, respectively. Well defined polymers with narrow molecular weight distributions ( = 6 000 Dalton, PDI ≈ 1.10) were obtained with all three initiators.