Study on the Application of Kenaf Core as a Composite Reinforcement: Injection Molding of Kenaf Core/Poly(l-lactide) Compounds

Injection molding was performed using poly(l-lactide) (PLLA) as a matrix and by varying the reinforcements, i.e., dry-distilled kenaf core (D-core) or untreated kenaf bast fibers, and the physical properties for these composites were subsequently compared. The dry-distillation was able to reduce the moisture content of D-core by a maximum of 4.2% as compared with untreated control core. As a result, the hydrophobicity was increased, which contributed to favorable Charpy impact strength and tensile properties of the D-core/PLLA composite relative to the kenaf bast fiber/PLLA composite. Moreover, the puffing phenomenon, which arises when heating with a microwave oven due to the vaporization of water dispersed within the interfacial regions and associated softening of the PLLA matrix by the heated vapor, was completely suppressed for the D-core/PLLA composite, whereas a large puffing ratio was observed for the kenaf bast fiber/PLLA composite. Reducing the moisture content also effectively suppressed the occurrence of transesterification reactions, leading to a decrease in the molecular weight of PLLA. However, the apparent nucleation effect of the D-core remains slightly inferior to that for the hydrophilic bast fibers due to its stronger affinity for PLLA molecules.     

Local thermal degradation behavior of heterophasic polypropylene copolymers

Polypropylene (PP) impact copolymer is one of the heterophasic PP systems that is improved by rubber modification. Because the copolymer is a complicated polymer blend, which mainly consists of PP and ethylene–propylene rubber (EPR) components, the degradation behavior has hardly been studied. In this study, the thermal degradation of the copolymer was studied through direct observation by atomic force microscopy, which is a powerful tool for observing a local domain in a polymer blend. The degradation behavior was visually captured by the mapping of topological changes. Although the EPR phase was hardly degraded, the neighboring PP matrix was degraded selectively. The degradation behavior of the copolymer was found to be heterogeneous. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 100: 1831–1835, 2006     

Studies of thermal oxidative degradation of polypropylene impact copolymer using the temperature rising elution fractionation method

Thermal oxidative degradation of polypropylene impact copolymer has been studied with its fractions obtained using the temperature rising elution fractionation method. The fractions were analyzed using ¹³C NMR, Fourier transform infrared and differential scanning calorimetry measurements, and the chemical structure, isotacticity, conformation and melting point were investigated. It is found that these fractions are composed of a homopolymer or a polymer blend of polypropylene, polyethylene and ethylene–propylene copolymer. The thermal oxidative degradation of each fraction was carried out at 130 °C, and the degradation progress was estimated by the change of molecular weight distribution (from gel permeation chromatography curves). The rate of degradation is found to be dominated by the content of tertiary C? H bonds (propylene unit) and the existence of 3₁ helix conformation corresponding to a crystalline polypropylene part in each fraction. The latter is more evident leading to the degradation reaction path with a lower activation energy. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry     

Energy system based on hydrodynamic power in Yakushima Island

Yakushima Island was used as a model area where material recycling and indigenous energy systems would be realized based on the zero-emission concept in the near future. We evaluated the renewable energy resources to propose a regional energy system on this island. In this paper, the present energy demand and supply structure was quantitatively specified, and the water potential was evaluated. The energy system in Yakushima is unique, with hydroelectric power supplying about 30% of the total energy consumption mainly by commercial and residential sectors. However, petroleum remains the main source of primary energy for transportation, heating, and cooking. The hydroelectric power yielded on the island is sufficient to cover all the energy demands on the island. We found that fossil fuel energy in Yakushima could be substituted with hydroelectric energy without causing an impact on the environment.     

Discrete multiloop, modified multiloop, and plate-loopantennas-multifrequency and wideband VSWR characteristics

Three types of loop antennas are presented: discrete multiloop (ML), modified ML and plate-loop (PL) antennas. The discrete ML and modified ML antennas are composed of N square loops. The N square loops of the modified ML antenna are connected by wires at the loop corners. The PL antenna is regarded as a modified ML antenna with infinite loops (N=∞). The analysis of the discrete ML antenna shows that one of the N loops resonates when its circumference is approximately one wavelength. It follows that the discrete ML antenna has N minima in the frequency response curve of the VSWR. In contrast to the discrete ML antenna, the modified ML has a VSWR with a wide-band frequency response: approximately 16% with N=7, which is more than 2.5 times as wide as that for a single-loop antenna (N=1). Further analysis reveals that the PL antenna has a VSWR bandwidth similar to that of the modified ML antenna. The maximum gain of the PL antenna is approximately 9 dB, which is very close to those of the discrete and modified ML antennas     

Oligomannose-coated liposomes as an adjuvant for the induction of cell-mediated immunity

Rats were exposed prenatally to the coplanar congener 3,3',4,4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl (TCB). The amount of long-term potentiation (LTP) was measured in slices from the visual cortex and hippocampus of the adult males as well as of controls. While in the cortical slices from the controls a stable LTP could be induced, LTP was inhibited in the TCB-exposed rats. In hippocampal slices, the amount of LTP was not significantly different between the two groups. Our results suggest that the visual cortex of adult animals is functionally altered by TCB if the exposure takes place during embryonic development.     

Wideband CDMA system for personal radio communications

This article describes a wideband spread code-division multiple access (W-CDMA) system for high-capacity and high-quality personal radio communication. This system has been authorized as an EIA/TIA Interim Standard IS-665, T1P1 Trial Use Standard J-STD-015, and ITU-R Recommendation M 1073. The system uses wideband spreading to accomplish good interference immunity, high-quality speech, and high-speed data transmission. The system uses coherent detection (CD) and an interference canceller system (ICS) to enhance the capacity. The CD and ICS use continuous pilot signals in the forward/reverse links to estimate the propagation path parameters. PN and Hadamard sequences are used as the spreading code for minimal mutual interference between traffic and pilot/sync/paging channels. A robust 32 kb/s waveform speech coder, ITU-T COM101+, has been developed to achieve toll-quality speech in the radio environment. This system provides up to 128 voice channels per cell and data transmission up to 64 kb/s by 5 MHz spreading. Unification of low- and high-mobility applications and reduced complexity of system and hardware configurations are accomplished     

Observation of vasospasm after subarachnoid hemorrhage by magnetic resonance angiography--a preliminary study

Serial evaluation of cerebral vasospasm following subarachnoid hemorrhage was attempted in 11 patients using magnetic resonance (MR) angiography. MR angiography demonstrated vasospasm with angiographic confirmation in three patients as a segmental narrowing or loss of flow signal, usually accompanied by decreased distal flow signal. MR angiography also showed decreased flow signal suggestive of vasospasm in another patient with clinical evidence of vasospasm but no angiographic confirmation was possible because of poor condition. MR angiography showed no vasospasm in five patients without clinical evidence of vasospasm, except in one patient with disappearance of the unilateral anterior cerebral artery signal, shown to be involvement of the clipped artery. MR angiography is a potential method for detection of vasospasm with further improvement of the technique.     

Clinical evaluation of polymerase chain reaction DNA amplification method for the diagnosis of pulmonary tuberculosis in patients with negative acid-fast bacilli smear

The nucleotide sequences of 3 cDNA clones corresponding to entire RNA genome of bean common mosaic virus NL3 strain have been determined. The RNA is 9612 nucleotides long, excluding a 3'-terminal poly(A) tail. A putative start codon located at nucleotide positions 170-172 initiates one large open reading frame that is terminated with a UAA codon at position 9368-9370. The predicted polyprotein has 3066 amino acids and an M(r) of 340.3 kDa. The positions of putative protein cleavage sites have been determined by analogy to consensus sequences in other potyviruses. The nucleotide sequences of the non-translated regions and the predicted amino acid sequences of BCMV NL3, were compared with those of other potyviruses. Comparison of the BCMV NL3 proteins with those of other potyviruses indicated a similar genomic organization, and high percentage of amino acid sequence identity in the cylindrical inclusion protein, nuclear inclusion 'b' protein and coat protein. BCMV NL3 displays the highest amino acid sequence identity with soybean mosaic virus.     

Development of a recombinant ε-poly-L-lysine synthetase expression system to perform mutational analysis

ε-Poly-L-lysine (ε-PL) synthetase (Pls), which is a membrane protein with adenylation and thiolation domains characteristic of the nonribosomal peptide synthetases, catalyzes polymerization of L-lysine molecules (25-mer to 35-mer). Here, we report on the development of a recombinant Pls expression system that allowed us to perform a site-directed mutational analysis.