Extensions of polyacrylic acid ammonium salts in the adsorption layer to fluidize alumina slurries

An average shell volume occupied in the adsorption layer on alumina by a polyacrylic acid ammonium salts molecule (PAA) defined as the average area occupied by an adsorbed PAA on alumina multiplied by the average thickness of the water layer at the limit of thickening, has been calculated from the adsorbed amount of PAA and from the flow points of alumina in the presence of PAA of different molecular weights. A steric effect of the PAA dispersant on the dispersion of alumina resulted in a flow with no yield stress. This was due to the change of the extension of PAA in the adsorption shell from a sphere to an ellipsoid with a long axis which exceeded the effective distance that the van der Waals attraction force reaches at a molecular weight for the PAA of between 10 000–20 000.     

Neutral poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene-2,5-diyl)s: preparation by organometallic polycondensation and their unique p-doping behavior

Neutral and non-doped poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), PEDOTh(Ni), and its hexyl derivative, PEDOTh-C₆(Ni), have been prepared by organometallic dehalogenation polycondensation of 2,5-dichloro-3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene and its hexyl derivative with a zerovalent nickel complex. PEDOTh-C₆(Ni) was soluble in organic solvents and ¹H NMR data indicated that it had an M_n of 11,000. MALDI-TOF mass analysis of PEDOTh(Ni) gave M_n and M_w of about 1700 and 2400, respectively. PEDOTh-C₆(Ni) showed a UV-Vis absorption peak at 546 nm in CHCl₃. Electrochemical oxidation of PEDOTh-C₆(Ni) started at about −0.40 V vs Ag⁺/Ag and gave a peak at 0.20 V vs Ag⁺/Ag. Chemical and electrochemical oxidation (or p-doping) of PEDOTh-C₆(Ni), both in solutions and in a solid state, led to weakening of the original π-π^∗ peaks and rise of new peak(s) in a region of 800-1500 nm. The p-doping of PEDOTh-C₆(Ni) caused not only a decrease in the intensity of ¹H NMR signals of the bridging ethylene hydrogens but also a decrease in that of the hexyl side chain, suggesting a strong interaction of the p-dopant with the side chain. NMR data of poly(3-methoxythiophene-2,5-diyl) also supported an assumption that p-doping brings about a severe change in electronic state of the substituent attached to the polythiophene main chain. PEDOTh(Ni) had a density of 1.71 g cm⁻³; the molecular packing mode of PEDOTh(Ni) is discussed based on the density of the polymer and its XRD data.     

Theory and characteristics of novel variable reluctance 1X resolver

Although brushless resolvers have been used widely as angular position transducers, they are expensive due to their intricate construction, involving a rotary transformer to supply the exciting coils wound on the rotor poles with the current. It is shown theoretically in this paper that the resolver without rotary transformer or brushes can be realized by simple construction, which consists of the stator core with both 4-poles exciting windings and 2-poles output ones and the rotor core carrying no windings. In this resolver the rotor core has minimum gap at one side and a maximum gap at another side of the diameter. It is characterized by an outer surface form that makes the fluctuation part of gap permeance very in proportion to cos θ, where θ represents the angular position of a point in the air gap with respect to the origin on the rotor, the point of minimum air gap. The method determining the rotor form to embody the aforementioned gap permeance variation is also shown. It has been confirmed not only by simulation but also experiment that the 2-phase output voltages of a model designed based on the theory have sinusoidal waveforms with very small harmonic contents. Moreover, the rotor position detected by processing the output voltages through the conventional resolver/digital converter was within acceptable engineering accuracy.     

Surface active N-acylglutamate: I. Preparation of long chain N-acylglutamic acid

Long chain N-acylglutamic acid was prepared in a high yield by a reaction of glutamic acid with fatty acid chloride in a mixed solvent of water and a water miscible organic solvent such as acetone, methyl ethyl ketone, dioxane, tetrahydrofuran,t-butyl alcohol or cyclohexanone. In this reaction the composition of the mixed solvent influenced the yield of N-acylated glutamic acid and the best yield was obtained when the reaction was carried out in the mixed solvent comprising 30–60% v/v of the organic solvent. Long chain N-acylaspartic acid was also obtained in a high yield by the same method. As the other method to obtain N-lauroyl-D L-glutamic acid, it was examined that N-acyl-α-aminoglutarodinitrile which was obtained by a reaction of α-aminoglutarodinitrile with fatty acid chloride was hydrolyzed with an aqueous alkaline solution. The salts of long chain N-acylglutamic acid are known as the surface active agents that react mildly on the human skin.     

Cholesteryl ester compounds containing alkyl branched acyl groups — their preparations,properties and applications

Cholesterol having a reactive hydroxyl group at C₃-position can react with fatty acids to give the corresponding cholesteryl esters. Most of the natural cholesteryl esters consist of straight alkyl chain fatty acids with a high melting point. In oleochemistry it is well known that alkyl branched fatty acids, which are derived from petroleum or the fat and oil industry, have low melting points (mp.) and are chemically more stable if they are saturated acids. We designed alkyl branched fatty acid cholesteryl esters by means of common esterification and found some esters having a low mp. (mostly as a liquid). They had no irritative effect on both animal and human skin. They showed characteristic emulsification properties, namely the formation of either O/W or W/O emulsion coexistence together with other lipid components. Applying them onto human skin, they were able to penetrate towards the stratum corneum and improve the water-retaining ability and the barrier function of the stratum corneum. Based on these properties we have been applying the alkyl branched fatty acid cholesteryl ester, especially the methyl branched isostearic acid cholesteryl ester (IS-CE), to a shampoo and a rinse as hair cosmetics, skin care cosmetics and bath-additive products in the past decade.     

Achieving evenhandedness in certified email system for contract signing

Certified email is a system which enables a sender to prove a receiver’s receipt of email. Such a system can be used for applications related to electronic commerce on the Internet. This paper considers a situation where a sender or a receiver wants to change his/her mind due to the change of mail content value (e.g., stock, auction, gambling) during the transaction. We point out that no traditional certified email systems have been designed for such a case, thus one of the participants can be at a disadvantage. To avoid this problem, we propose an evenhanded certified email system in which each participant can change his/her choice, either cancel or finish the transaction, at any time during the transaction.

Modeling of ion-bombardment damage on Si surfaces for in-line analysis

Structures and mechanism of ion-bombardment damage on silicon wafers exposed to plasma were investigated comprehensively. By using molecular dynamics simulations high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and composition analysis by high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, features such as gradual transition from the SiO₂ surface to the Si substrate and interface roughness were addressed. On the basis of these findings, the optical model that addresses the characteristics of plasma-damaged Si surfaces is given for ellipsometric analysis. The proposed model includes an interface layer modeled as a mixture of SiO₂ and Si phases. A part of the interface layer could not be removed by wet-etching, signifying the distinct features of the interface layer that are difficult to remove. The proposed model is anticipated to be practical for in-line monitoring of plasma-induced damage.     

Blood Pressure Elevation of Tubular Specific (P)RR Transgenic Mice and Lethal Tubular Degeneration due to Possible Intracellular Interactions between (P)RR and Alternative Renin Products

The prorenin/renin receptor ((P)RR) is a multifunctional protein that is widely distributed in various organs. Despite intensive research for more than 20 years, this receptor has not been fully characterized. In this study, we generated mice overexpressing the tubular epithelial (P)RR gene ((P)RR-TG mice) to test the previously reported functional role of (P)RR by Ramkumar et al. in 2015 using tubular specific (P)RR KO mice. (P)RR-TG mice were maintained and analyzed in individual metabolic cages and were administered angiotensin II blocker (ARB), direct renin inhibitor (DRI), and bafilomycin, that is, vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) antagonist. (P)RR-TG mice were hypertensive and had alkalized urine with lower osmolality and Na⁺ excretion. ARB and DRI, but not bafilomycin, concurrently decreased blood pressure. Bafilomycin acidized urine of (P)RR-TG mice, or equivalently this phenomenon restored the effect of overexpressed transgene, suggesting that (P)RR functioned as a V-ATPase in renal tubules. Afterall, (P)RR-TG mice were mated with alternative renin transgenic mice (ARen2-TG), which we identified as intracellular renin previously, to generate double transgenic mice (DT-TG). Lethal renal tubular damage was observed in DT-TG mice, suggesting that intracellular renin may be a ligand for (P)RR in tubules. In summary, (P)RR did not substantially affect the tissue renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in our model of tubular specific (P)RR gene over-expression, but alternative intracellular renin may be involved in (P)RR signaling in addition to conventional V-ATPase function. Further investigations are warranted.     

Determination of hyoscyamine and scopolamine in serum and urine of humans by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A simple method was developed for the analysis of hyoscyamine and scopolamine in human serum and urine using liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). Hyoscyamine and scopolamine in serum and urine were cleaned up with an Oasis HLB cartridge and a PSA cartridge. The LC separation was carried out on an ODS column, using linear gradient elution with 5 mmol/L IPCC-MS3-methanol as the mobile phase. The mass spectral acquisition was done in the positive ion mode by applying selected reaction monitoring (SRM). The recoveries of hyoscyamine and scopolamine were 86.0-105% from human serum and urine fortified at 0.2 ng/mL and 10 ng/mL. The detection limits of hyoscyamine and scopolamine were 0.02 ng/mL. Four serum and three urine samples of humans poisoned by eating Datura innoxia Mill. were analyzed by this method. Hyoscyamine and scopolamine were detected at the levels of 0.45-3.5 ng/mL in all serum samples and 170-670 ng/mL in all urine samples.     

Direct ethanol production from barley beta-glucan by sake yeast displaying Aspergillus oryzae beta-glucosidase and endoglucanase

Three beta-glucosidase- and two endoglucanase-encoding genes were cloned from Aspergillus oryzae, and their gene products were displayed on the cell surface of the sake yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae GRI-117-UK. GRI-117-UK/pUDB7 displaying beta-glucosidase AO090009000356 showed the highest activity against various substrates and efficiently produced ethanol from cellobiose. On the other hand, GRI-117-UK/pUDCB displaying endoglucanase AO090010000314 efficiently degraded barley beta-glucan to glucose and smaller cellooligosaccharides. GRI-117-UK/pUDB7CB codisplaying both beta-glucosidase AO090009000356 and endoglucanase AO090010000314 was constructed. When direct ethanol fermentation from 20 g/l barley beta-glucan as a model substrate was performed with the codisplaying strain, the ethanol concentration reached 7.94 g/l after 24 h of fermentation. The conversion ratio of ethanol from beta-glucan was 69.6% of the theoretical ethanol concentration produced from 20 g/l barley beta-glucan. These results showed that sake yeast displaying A. oryzae cellulolytic enzymes can be used to produce ethanol from cellulosic materials. Our constructs have higher ethanol production potential than the laboratory constructs previously reported.