Stabilization of bioethanol recovery with silicone rubber‐coated ethanol‐permselective silicalite membranes by controlling the pH of acidic feed solution

In order to produce highly concentrated bioethanol by pervaporation using an ethanol‐permselective silicalite membrane, techniques to suppress adsorption of succinic acid, which is a chief by‐product of ethanol fermentation and causes the deterioration in pervaporation performance, onto the silicalite crystals was investigated. The amount adsorbed increased as the pH of the aqueous succinic acid solution decreased. The pervaporation performance also decreased with decreasing pH when the ternary mixtures of ethanol/water/succinic acid were separated. Using silicalite membranes individually coated with two types of silicone rubber, pervaporation performance was significantly improved in the pH range of 5 to 7, when compared with that of non‐coated silicalite membranes in ternary mixtures of ethanol/water/succinic acid. Moreover, when using a silicalite membrane double‐coated with the two types of silicone rubber, pervaporation performance was stabilized at lower pH values. In the separation of bioethanol by pervaporation using the double‐coated silicalite membrane, removal of accumulated substances having an ultraviolet absorption maximum at approximately 260 nm from the fermentation broth proved to be vital for efficient pervaporation. Copyright © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of ibudilast on microcirculation thrombosis in rat inner ear

Arterial wall thickening may be quantitatively assessed by measuring the intima-media thickness (IMT) with high resolution ultrasound. Previous studies have shown a good inter/intraobserver variability of IMT measurements in the common carotid. In this study we evaluated the inter/intraobserver variability of IMT measurements in 10 randomly selected asymptomatic subjects (age 55.4 +/- 6). Two carotids and two femorals were studied in each subject. IMT for each patient was the average of five IMT measurements at the artery bifurcation. Three observers repeated the scanning and the measurements twice with no knowledge of the previous readings. The between observer coefficient of variation (CV) was 8.45%; the intraobserver CV (mean of carotids and femorals) varied from 4.4 to 5.1% for the three observers who measured IMT three times. The mean absolute difference between the first and the third measurement was 0.0738 mm. In conclusion IMT measurement variability is mostly due to differences between observers. The intraobserver variability is very small. IMT measurements at the carotid and femoral bifurcations have a low variability and are a good expression of atherosclerosis as they consider early lesions at the bifurcation level which may not be observed in the common carotid.     

Effect of Forming Pressure on the Internal Structure of Alumina Green Bodies Examined with Immersion Liquid Technique

Green bodies prepared by compaction of alumina granules were made transparent by an immersion liquid technique, and the internal structure was characterized with an optical microscope to study the effect of forming pressure on the internal structure. Clear images obtained by the technique provide more detailed information than other existing methods for structures ranging from one to tens of micrometers. Intergranular pores were present between unfractured granules. Their sizes and concentration tended to decrease with increasing forming pressure. However, pores were clearly present even in the green body prepared at 600 MPa. A rod- and needlelike feature was also found and was concluded to correspond to a high-density region. The significance of large pores and high-density regions on processing as well as the details of the technique is discussed.     

Primary hepatic carcinoid tumor

A case of primary carcinoid tumor arising in the liver of a 69 year old woman with no endocrine symptoms is reported. Histopathologically, the tumor was diagnosed initially as a hepatocellular carcinoma in the biopsy specimen, and was shown subsequently to be a carcinoid tumor, demonstrating diffuse positive staining with Grimelius method. Mucin stained with periodic acid-Schiff (PAS), alcian-blue, and mucicarmine, and was shown partially in the glandular structures. Immunohistochemically, most of the tumor cells stained positively for chromogranin-A, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA) and neuron specific enolase (NSE). Ultrastructural examination revealed electron-dense core granules, measuring 40-120 nm in diameter in some of the tumor cells. Intensive and careful searches pre- and post-operatively revealed no other primary source of tumor other than the liver. The patient was reported well with no symptoms 3 1/2 years after the operation. This case is considered to be a primary hepatic carcinoid tumor. The recent literature is reviewed, and the possible histogenesis of hepatic carcinoid tumor is discussed.     

A high resolution negative working resist,LMR-UV,for g- and i-line lithography

LMR-UV (“low molecular weight resist for uv lithography”), a naphthoquinone-diazide sulfonic acid ester of a novolak resin, is a negative working resist. The mechanism of insolubilization of LMR-UV is based on the facts that the naphthoquinone-diazide moiety is decomposed to indenecarboxylic acid (polar compound) by photolysis upon UV irradiation and that the irradiated resist film insolubilizes in a non-polar developer. LMR-UV reliably forms 0.6 μm lines and spaces over a reflective substrate with steps by using a g-line stepper having a 0.35 NA lens. 0.6 μm-wide aluminum patterns over topography are obtained by use of g-line exposure and reactive ion etching. By use of an i-line aligner (NA = 0.42), LMR-UV resolves 0.25 μm space patterns with overhang profiles. The profiles are due to the large absorption coefficient of 3.8 μm^?1. 0.3 μm wide aluminum patterns are formed by i-line exposure and lift-off metallization.     

Stability of tetragonal ZrO2 phase in Al2O3 prepared from Zr-Al organometallic compounds

Zr-Al organometallic compounds have been spray-dried and heated at temperatures 600 to 1400°C to prepare ZrO₂-Al₂O₃ composite powders. The powders consist of balloon-like particles 0.5 to 2 m in diameter with homogeneously dispersed tetragonal ZrO₂ grains 0.1 to 0.2 m in diameter. The tetragonal fraction of ZrO₂ in the composite powders is higher than that in the powders prepared from sols of Zr(OBuⁿ)₄ and Al[OCH(CH₃)₂]₃. The fraction is affected by the organofunctional group in the Zr-Al compounds.Zr(OBuⁿ)₄ = Zr(OC₄Hgⁿ)₄; Al[OCH(CH₃)₂]₃ = Al(OPrⁱ)₃.     

Thermal properties of ethylene ionomers

The annealing effect of ethylene ionomers annealed at various temperatures and for various periods was studied by differential scanning calorimetry. Two endothermic melting peaks were observed for all the ethylene ionomers annealed. The melting peak at the lower temperature, which was assigned to bundlelike crystal owing to a Hoffman-Weeks relationship, shifted to a higher temperature with the annealing temperature and period, indicative of recrystallization. There is physical cross-linking consisting of ionic aggregates, such as multiplets and clusters in ethylene ionomers. The crystallization kinetics of ethylene ionomers was fundamentally similar, but different from that of low-density polyethylene. Crystallization and recrystallization suggested a mobile ethylene chain in both amorphous regions and ionic aggregates even in the presence of cross-linking.     

Crystalline complex between poly(γ-methyl l-glutamate) and dimethyl phthalate

The crystalline complex between poly(γ-methyl l-glutamate) (PMLG) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) has been formed in films cast from a solution in dichloroethane. It has the stoichiometry of 1 mol of DMP to three or four residues of PMLG and shows two definite characteristics in X-ray diffraction patterns; one is the large hexagonal unit cell with the edge of around 28 Å and another the ‘extra’ 5.07 Å meridional reflection which can not be interpreted by a PMLG α-helical conformation. The structural examination for the films with various DMP contents is carried out by X-ray, viscoelastic, and d.s.c. measurements and the following structure is proposed for the crystalline complex. Four PMLG are associated to form a group which is hexagonally packed and DMP molecules, located in the gaps between groups, form a specific favourable helical structure along PMLG chains in which the van der Waals stacking of benzene rings of DMP is significant.