A Smart Hyperthermia Nanofiber-Platform-Enabled Sustained Release of Doxorubicin and 17AAG for Synergistic Cancer Therapy

This study demonstrates the rational fabrication of a magnetic composite nanofiber mesh that can achieve mutual synergy of hyperthermia, chemotherapy, and thermo-molecularly targeted therapy for highly potent therapeutic effects. The nanofiber is composed of biodegradable poly(ε-caprolactone) with doxorubicin, magnetic nanoparticles, and 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin. The nanofiber exhibits distinct hyperthermia, owing to the presence of magnetic nanoparticles upon exposure of the mesh to an alternating magnetic field, which causes heat-induced cell killing as well as enhanced chemotherapeutic efficiency of doxorubicin. The effectiveness of hyperthermia is further enhanced through the inhibition of heat shock protein activity after hyperthermia by releasing the inhibitor 17-allylamino-17-demethoxygeldanamycin. These findings represent a smart nanofiber system for potent cancer therapy and may provide a new approach for the development of localized medication delivery.     

Effects of Winding Attachment Positions on Output Characteristics of Flux‐Modulating Synchronous Machines

The flux‐modulating synchronous machine (FMSM) is a new type of multipole SM with nonoverlapping concentrated armature and field windings on the stator. This paper compares the output characteristics of two FMSMs through finite element analysis (FEA) and experiments. In both of the FMSMs, the attachment positions of the armature and field windings are swapped. To determine the reason for the discrepancies in their output characteristics, unsaturated inductances were calculated using a d‐‐q equivalent circuit. In addition, the calculated results of the inductances were confirmed through a visualization of the leakage fluxes using FEA. The results of the study show that the synchronous inductance can be reduced by attaching the armature winding to the air‐gap side of the stator teeth and that the reduction leads to an increase in output power.     

Performance of compression/absorption hybrid refrigeration cycle with propane/mineral oil combination

This paper discusses the feasibility of a vapor compression/absorption hybrid refrigeration cycle for energy saving and utilization of waste heat. The cycle employs propane as a natural refrigerant and a refrigeration oil as an absorbent. A prototype of the cycle is constructed, in which a compressor and an absorption unit are combined in series. The performance of the cycle is examined both theoretically and experimentally. Although the solubility of the propane with the oil is not enough as a working pair in the absorption unit, the theoretical calculation shows that the hybrid cycle has a potential to achieve a higher performance in comparison with a simple vapor compression cycle by using the waste heat. In the experiment, the prototype cycle is operated successfully and it is found that an improvement of an absorber is necessary to achieve the good performance close to the theoretical one. The application of an AHE (absorber heat exchanger) can reduce the heat input to a generator. Further examinations on some other combinations of refrigerant/refrigeration oil and additives are desirable.     

Chemical Modification of Phage-Displayed Helix-Loop-Helix Peptides to Construct Kinase-Focused Libraries

Conformationally constrained peptides hold promise as molecular tools in chemical biology and as a new modality in drug discovery. The construction and screening of a target-focused library could be a promising approach for the generation of de novo ligands or inhibitors against target proteins. Here, we have prepared a protein kinase-focused library by chemically modifying helix-loop-helix (HLH) peptides displayed on phage and subsequently tethered to adenosine. The library was screened against aurora kinase A (AurA). The selected HLH peptide Bip - 3 retained the α-helical structure and bound to AurA with a K_D value of 13.7 μM. Bip - 3 and the adenosine-tethered peptide Bip - 3 - Adc provided IC₅₀ values of 103 μM and 7.7 μM, respectively, suggesting that Bip - 3 - Adc bivalently inhibited AurA. In addition, the selectivity of Bip - 3 - Adc to several protein kinases was tested, and was highest against AurA. These results demonstrate that chemical modification can enable the construction of a kinase-focused library of phage-displayed HLH peptides.     

Time-series primitive static states for detailing work state and flow of human-operated work machine

This paper proposes a quantification method for a comprehensive work flow in construction work for describing work states in more detail on the basis of analyzing state transitions of primitive static states (PSS), which consist of 16 symbolic work states defined by using on-off state of the lever operations and joint loads for the manipulator and end-effector. On the basis of the state transition rules derived from a transition-condition analysis, practical state transitions (PST), which are common and frequent transitions in arbitrary construction work, are defined. PST can be classified into essential state transition (EST) or nonessential state transitions (NST). EST extracts common phases of work progress and estimates positional relations between a manipulator and an object. NST reveals wasted movements that degrade the efficiency and quality of work. To evaluate comprehensive work flows modeled by combining EST and NST, work-analysis experiments using our instrumented setup were conducted. Results indicate that all the PSS definitely changes on the basis of PST under various work conditions, and work analysis using EST and NST easily reveals work characteristics and untrained tasks related to wasted movements.     

Concentration of acetic acid in sulfite pulp evaporation drain by reverse osmosis

The evaporation drain of sulfite pulp spent liquor contains few volatile fatty acids, most of which is acetic acid. The main objective of this study is to recover acetic acid as the concentrated solution (about 4%), which could be used as a culture medium of the yeast. As acetic acid can easily pass through the cellulose acetate membrane, SP drains neutralized by NaOH, NH₄OH and Ca(OH)₂ were used as the feed solutions. In all cases, concentration by reverse osmosis was successfully carried out provided the appropriate pretreatment was employed. The recovery of acetic acid was 95.6, 90.5 and 98.2% for Na-, NH₄-, and Ca-drain, respectively. In addition, the recovered (permeated) water may be used as an industrial one.     

Gel-size dependence of temperature-induced microphase separation in weakly-charged polymer gels

The gel-size dependence of microphase separation in weakly-charged gels of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPA) and 1-vinylimidazole (VI) copolymers has been investigated using swelling measurement, small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and dynamic and static light scattering (DLS/SLS). It is known that weakly-charged polymer gels undergo microphase separation in a poor solvent as a result of competing interactions involving hydrophobic attraction versus electrostatic repulsion. The microphase separation is characterized by a scattering maximum in SANS intensity functions of which Bragg spacing, Λ, is around 20-30 nm. However, when gel size was reduced to the order of Λ, no microphase separation was observed. Instead, a typical scattering of isolated spherical particles was clearly observed. On the basis of the experimental evidence, we conclude that microphase separation has its own wavelength independent of gel size, and nanometer-order gels, i.e., nanogels, do not undergo microphase separation.     

Biocomposites Made from Short Abaca Fiber and Biodegradable Polyesters

Natural fiber‐reinforced biodegradable polyester composites were prepared from biodegradable polyesters and surface‐untreated or ‐treated abaca fibers (length ca. 5 mm) by melt mixing and subsequent injection molding. Poly(butylene succinate)(PBS), polyestercarbonate (PEC)/poly(lactic acid)(PLA) blend, and PLA were used as biodegradable polyesters. Esterifications using acetic anhydride and butyric anhydride, alkali treatment, and cyanoethylation were performed as surface treatments on the fiber. The flexural moduli of all the fiber‐reinforced composites increased with fiber content. The effect of the surface treatment on the flexural modulus of the fiber‐reinforced composites was not so pronounced. The flexural strength of PBS composites increased with fiber content, and esterification of the fiber by butyric anhydride gave the best result. For the PEC/PLA composites, flexural strength increased slightly with increased fiber content (0–20 wt.‐%) in the case of using untreated fiber, while it increased considerably in the case of using the fiber esterified by butyric anhydride. For the PLA composite, flexural strength did not increase with the fiber reinforcement. The result of soil‐burial tests showed that the composites using untreated fiber have a higher weight loss than both the neat resin and the composites made using acetylated fiber.

Flexural modulus of PBS composites as a function of fiber content.     

Promotional effect of hydroxyl on the aqueous phase oxidation of carbon monoxide and glycerol over supported Au catalysts

Gold particles supported on carbon and titania were explored as catalysts for oxidation of CO or glycerol by O₂ at room temperature in liquid-phase water. Although Au/carbon catalysts were not active for vapor phase CO oxidation at room temperature, a turnover frequency of 5 s⁻¹ could be achieved with comparable CO concentration in aqueous solution containing 1 M NaOH. The turnover frequency on Au/carbon was a strong function of pH, decreasing by about a factor of 50 when the pH decreased from 14 to 0.3. Evidently, a catalytic oxidation route that was not available in the vapor phase is enabled by operation in the liquid water at high pH. Since Au/titania is active for vapor phase CO oxidation, the role of water, and therefore hydroxyl concentration, is not as significant as that for Au/carbon. Hydrogen peroxide is also produced during CO oxidation over Au in liquid water and increasing the hydroxyl concentration enhances its formation rate. For glycerol oxidation to glyceric acid (C₃) and glycolic acid (C₂) with O₂ (1–10 atm) at 308–333 K over supported Au particles, high pH is required for catalysis to occur. Similar to CO oxidation in liquid water, H₂O₂ is also produced during glycerol oxidation at high pH. The formation of the C-C cleavage product glycolic acid is attributed to peroxide in the reaction.     

Elastoplastic Finite Element Analysis and Strength Evaluation of Adhesive Butt Joints of Similar and Dissimilar Hollow Shafts Subjected to External Bending Moments

Stress distributions and deformation of adhesive butt joints are analyzed by an elastoplastic finite element method when the joints of similar and dissimilar shafts are subjected to external bending moments. The effects of the ratio of Young's modulus for the adherends to that for an adhesive and the effects of the adhesive thickness on the interface stress distribution are investigated. Joint strength is predicted by using the elastoplastic interface stress distributions. It is found that the singular stress at the edge of the interfaces increases with an increase of the ratio of Young's modulus. Measurement of strains in joints and experiments on joint strength were conducted. The numerical results are in fairly good agreement with the experimental results. It is observed that the joint strength for dissimilar shafts are smaller than those for similar shafts. A fracture of dissimilar adhesive up-bonded shafts occurred from the interface of the adherend with smaller Young's modulus. It is seen that joint strength increases as the adhesive thickness increases.