A polymer composition can include an aqueous vehicle and a temperature-responsive degradable polymer having a polymer including a LCST-imparting unit and a lactone-bearing unit including a pendent lactone group. The number of LCST-imparting units is greater than the number of lactone-bearing units. The temperature-responsive degradable polymer has an initial lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of 37 C. or below. The polymer composition can have a pH lower than 7.

A moisture exchange fabric is disclosed the fabric comprising: a substrate fabric; a polymer having lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of between 25 C. and 39 C. bonded to the substrate fabric; and a filament sewed into the substrate fabric. Also disclosed is a humidifying apparatus using the moisture exchange fabric.

A photocurable resin composition which can improve adhesion between light transmitting members. The photocurable resin composition contains a monofunctional acrylic monomer having a heating residue of 85.0% or less after being heated at 60 C. for 30 minutes, a crosslinking agent, a photopolymerization initiator, and a softening agent composed of at least one of plasticizer and tackifier, and the heating residue after being heated at 60 C. for 30 minutes is less than 96.0%.

A double network hydrogel including a polymer (A) having a persistence length between 10 and 1000 nm; a flexible polymer (B), wherein the persistence length is measured according to single molecule force microscopy measurement, wherein polymer (B) has an extended coil conformation at a first condition and a collapsed globular conformation at a second condition. Polymer (A) preferably is a polyisocyanate, while polymer (B) is a crosslinked flexible polymer like for example PNIPAM. A method for making a double network hydrogel.

The present invention discloses novel calibrants containing between 1 and 5 iodine atoms and methods of making them using linear polymers, hyperbranched polymers, and biological polymers (including but not limited to proteins and peptides.) Methods of using the calibrants are also disclosed, such as mass spectrometry. The novel calibrants disclosed herein have a more cost- and time-efficient synthesis than other calibrants.

The present invention discloses novel calibrants containing between 1 and 5 iodine atoms and methods of making them using linear polymers, hyperbranched polymers, and biological polymers (including but not limited to proteins and peptides.) Methods of using the calibrants are also disclosed, such as mass spectrometry. The novel calibrants disclosed herein have a more cost- and time-efficient synthesis than other calibrants.

A method for producing an organic-inorganic hybrid hydrogel includes mixing an aqueous solution (A) containing a water-soluble organic monomer (a1) and a phosphonic acid-modified hectorite (a2), a polymerization initiator (B), and a polymerization promotor (C) with each other. The aqueous solution (A) has a viscosity of 1,000 mPa.Math.s or less when stored at 50 C. for one week after preparation. The polymerization initiator (B) has a solubility of 50 g/100 ml or more in water at 20 C. The molar ratio [(B)/(a1)] of the polymerization initiator (B) to the water-soluble organic monomer (a1) is in the range of 0.01 to 0.1. The aqueous solution in the state immediately before being subjected to polymerization can be stored for a long term, and thus has excellent operation properties and has no restriction on the place where a hydrogel is produced, and therefore can be applied to various industrial uses.

The present invention relates to a process of a process for preparation of a polymer dispersion comprising a step (E) of free radical polymerization in an aqueous medium (M) in the presence of: at least a pre-polymer (pO) soluble in the medium (M), at least one free-radical polymerization initiator, and at least one ethylenically unsaturated hydrophobic monomer (m) which is chosen from an alkyl (meth)acrylate of at least C6, wherein the aqueous medium (M) includes water and at least one water miscible solvent.

An organic tellurium compound is disclosed having a versatility that, when used as a living radical polymerization initiator, it is applicable to polymerization of a vinyl monomer in an aqueous vehicle without using any surfactant or dispersant. The organic tellurium compound is represented by a general formula (1),

##STR00001##

where R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each independently represent a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, A represents an alkali metal atom or an alkaline earth metal atom, x=1 when A is monovalent, x= when A is divalent, and R.sup.3 is represented by a general formula (2),

##STR00002##

where in the general formula (2) R.sup.4 represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, R.sup.5 and R.sup.6 each independently represent an alkylene group having 2 to 8 carbon atoms, and a represents an integer from 0 to 10.

A moisture exchange fabric is disclosed the fabric comprising: a substrate fabric; a polymer having lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of between 25 C. and 39 C. bonded to the substrate fabric; and a filament sewed into the substrate fabric. Also disclosed is a humidifying apparatus using the moisture exchange fabric.