Gas chromatographic separation of wax esters based on the degree of unsaturation

The wax esters of sperm whale head oil have been characterized by gas-liquid chromatography on an APOLAR 10C column according to their carbon number and number of double bonds. The novel technique permits the direct quantitative analysis of saturated and unsaturated wax esters.     

Effects of pressure and temperature on dyeing acrylic fibres with basic dyes in supercritical carbon dioxide

The dyeing of acrylic fibre with CI Basic Blue 47 has been investigated using an ammonium carboxylate perfluoropolyether as an auxiliary in order to perform the reverse micellar system in supercritical carbon dioxide media. The basic dye was satisfactorily solubilised in the interior of the reverse micelle in the system, and dyeability in the supercritical carbon dioxide media was excellent, even in the absence of a retardant and/or an acid. The optimum proton-rich condition for dyeing of acrylic fabric is performed in reverse micelle aggregates and the proton-rich water pool is suitable for dye uptake by the fibre even without the presence of additives. Changes in glass transition temperature of acrylic fibre in the carbon dioxide media also influence the dyeing behaviour of acrylic fabric.     

Effect of Grain Boundaries on Thermal Conductivity of Silicon Carbide Ceramic at 5 to 1300 K

The thermal conductivity of a SiC ceramic was measured as 270 W·m⁻¹·K⁻¹ at room temperature. At low temperatures ( T < 25 K), the decrease in the conductivity was proportional to T ³ on a logarithmic scale, which indicated that the conductivity was controlled by boundaries. The calculated phonon mean free path in the ceramic increased with decreased temperature, but was limited to ∼4 μm, a length almost equal to the grain size, at temperatures below 30 K. We concluded that the thermal conductivity of the ceramic below 30 K was influenced significantly by grain boundaries and grain junctions.     

Antioxidant for fats and oils from canary seed: Sterol and triterpene alcohol esters of caffeic acid

Several kinds of seeds used as bird feed were extracted successively with hexane, ether and methanol. In the antioxidant test with extracts, the ether extract from canary seeds showed the highest activity. The antioxidant fraction separated from it by thin layer chromatography showed excellent activity for lard and sardine oil. The effective components were identified by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry of the hydrolyzed products as the esters of caffeic acid with cycloartenol, gramisterol, sitosterol and campesterol with the minor amounts of 24-methylenecycloartanol, obtusifoliol, brassicasterol and Δ7-stigmastenol.     

Characterization and Sintering Behavior of Alkoxide-Derived Aluminosilicate Powders

Submicrometer SiO₂-Al₂O₃ powders with compositions of 46.5 to 76.6 wt% Al₂O₃ were prepared by hydrolysis of mixed alkoxides. Phase change, mullite composition, and particle size of powders with heating were analyzed by DTA, XRD, IR, BET, and TEM. As-produced amorphous powders partially transformed to mullite and Al-Si spinel at around 980°C. The compositions of mullite produced at 1400° and 1550°C were richer in Al₂O₃ than the compositions of stable mullite solid solutions predicted from the phase diagram of the SiO₂-Al₂O₃ system. Particle size decreased with increasing Al₂O₃ content. The sintered densities depended upon the amount of SiO₂-rich glassy phase formed during sintering and the green density expressed as a function of particle size.     

Potential bile acid metabolites. 24. An efficient synthesis of carboxyl-linked glucosides and their chemical properties

A facile and efficient synthesis of the carboxyl-linked glucosides of bile acids is described. Direct esterification of unprotected bile acids with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-d-glucopyranose in pyridine in the presence of 2-chloro-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene as a coupling agent afforded a mixture of the α- and β-anomers (ca. 1∶3) of the 1-O-acyl-d-glucoside benzyl ethers of bile acids, which was separated effectively on a C₁₈ reversedphase chromatography column (isolated yields of α- and β-anomers are 4–9% and 12–19%, respectively). Subsequent hydrogenolysis of the α- and β-acyl glucoside benzyl ethers on a 10% Pd−C catalyst in acetic acid/methanol/EtOAc (1∶2∶2, by vol) at 35°C under atmospheric pressure gave the corresponding free esters in good yields (79–89%). Chemical specificities such as facile hydrolysis and transesterification of the acyl glucosides in various solvents were also discussed.     

Effects of amino acid replacements around the reactive site of chicken ovomucoid domain 3 on the inhibitory activity toward chymotrypsin and trypsin

We have previously shown that replacing the P1-site residue(Ala) of chicken ovomucoid domain 3 (OMCHI3) with a Met or Lysresults in the acquisition of inhibitory activity toward chymotrypsinor trypsin, respectively. However, the inhibitory activitiesthus induced are not strong. In the present study, we introducedadditional amino acid replacements around the reactive siteto try to make the P1-site mutants more effective inhibitorsof chymotrypsin or trypsin. The amino acid replacement AspTyrat the P2' site of OMCHI3(P1Met) resulted in conversion to a35000-fold more effective inhibitor of chymotrypsin with aninhibitor constant (K_i) of 1.17x10^–11 M. The K_i valueof OMCHI3(P1Met, P2'Ala) indicated that the effect on the interactionwith chymotrypsin of removing a negative charge from the P2'site was greater than that of introducing an aromatic ring.Similarly, enhanced inhibition of trypsin was observed whenthe AspTyr replacement was introduced into the P2' site of OMCHI3(P1Lys).Two additional replacements, AspAla at the P4 site and ArgAlaat the P3' site, made the mutant a more effective inhibitorof trypsin with a K_i value of 1.44x10^–9 M. By contrast,ArgAla replacement at the P3' site of OMCHI3(P1Met, P2'Tyr)resulted in a greatly reduced inhibition of chymotrypsin, andAspAla replacement at the P4 site produced only a small changewhen compared with a natural variant of OMCHI3. These resultsclearly indicate that not only the P1-site residue but alsothe characteristics, particularly the electrostatic properties,of the amino acid residues around the reactive site of the proteaseinhibitor determine the strength of its interactions with proteases.Furthermore, amino acids with different characteristics arerequired around the reactive site for strong inhibition of chymotrypsinand trypsin.     

LC GRIN lens mode with wide viewing angle for rotatable 2D/3D tablet

To widen the vertical and horizontal angular ranges where the lens performs well, the off‐axis performance of a liquid crystal gradient index (LC GRIN) lens is analyzed by the combined simulation system of an LC director simulator and a ray‐tracing simulator. We found that the angular difference between an LC alignment direction and an electrode array direction of the LC GRIN lens is one of significant parameters, and detailed conditions of structure are established. The measurement result shows that the developed structure reduces the degradation ratio in a luminance profile from 61% to 3.2%. We have applied a user tracking system for the rotatable 3D display, equipped with a detection of a panel orientation and a face position. As a result, we have developed a rotatable 2D/3D tablet whose 3D viewing azimuth angle is over 30° in both landscape and portrait orientations.     

Adsorption and desorption properties of cationic polyethylene film gels to organic anions and their regeneration

An investigation was undertaken on the adsorption and desorption properties of 2‐(dimethylamino)ethyl methacrylate grafted polyethylene (PE‐g‐PDMAEMA) films to anionic dye anions with one to three sulfonic groups in response to pH and temperature changes. The amounts of dye anions adsorbed on the PE‐g‐PDMAEMA films passed through the maximum values at about pH 3 because of an increase in the protonation of dimethylamino groups caused by a decrease in the pH value. The amounts of adsorbed dye anions decreased below pH 3 because the ionic strength increased with the addition of HCl to adjust the initial pH values of the aqueous dye solutions. The amounts of adsorbed dye anions decreased with an increase in the number of sulfonic groups in the dye molecules at the same pH value because electrostatic repulsion was generated between free sulfonic groups of the dye anions adsorbed onto the PE‐g‐PDMAEMA films and free dye anions in the medium. A large number of dye anions adsorbed were desorbed from the PE‐g‐PDMAEMA film with initial pH values above 11.0. The cyclic processes of adsorption at pH 3.0 and desorption at pH 11.0 were repeated without considerable fatigue. The PE‐g‐PDMAEMA films showed practically regenerative adsorption and desorption behavior in response to the pH changes. In addition, when the dye‐anion‐adsorbed PE‐g‐PDMAEMA films were alternately immersed in water at two different temperatures, dye anions were desorbed in water at higher temperatures without any chemical agents because of the deprotonation of dimethylamino groups and thermosensitive contraction of grafted PDMAEMA chains. These results indicate that PE‐g‐PDMAEMA films can be applied as regenerative ion‐exchange membranes for adsorption and desorption processes of anionic compounds in response to the pH and temperature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 381–391, 2006     

Interplane charge dynamics in high-temperature superconductors; Charge confinement and spin gap

We have studies optical and transport properties of the prototypical high-T_c system La_2–xSr_xCuO₄ in the direction perpendicular to the CuO₂ planes (c-axis direction). In the normal state, it is found that the c-axis spectral weight is suppressed over a wide energy range. This is a demonstration of charge confinement in the real material which has been proposed theoretically by Anderson. Upon reducing temperature the low-energy spectral weight of the underdoped compound is further reduced, due perhaps to spin gap effect. The suppressed spectral weight results in completely different out-of-plane charge transport in the normal state and leads to the appearance of a superconducting plasma edge within the gap region in the superconducting state.