Effects of long-term feeding of marine oils with different positional distribution of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acids on lipid metabolism, eicosanoid production, and platelet aggregation in hypercholesterolemic rats

Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) were distributed mainly in the sn-1,3 positions of seal oil triglyceride and in the sn-2 position of squid oil triglyceride. Seal oil-rich or squid oil-rich fats having constant saturated/monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) and n−6/n−3 PUFA ratios were fed to exogenously hypercholesterolemic rats for 160 d. The control fat contained linoleic acid as the sole PUFA. Before starting the experimental diets, rats were orally treated with high doses of vitamin D for 4 d to accelerate atherogenesis. The percentage of arachidonic acid in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine of liver, platelets, and aorta was lower in the marine oil groups than in the control group, seal oil being more effective than squid oil. Maximal platelet aggregation induced by collagen was significantly lower both marine oil groups. Platelet thromboxane (TX) A₂ production induced by collagen or thrombin was markedly reduced by feeding seal or squid oils, the reduction being more pronounced in the seal oil than in the squid oil group. Aortic prostacyclin (PGI₂) production was the same among the three groups. The ratio of the productions of aortic PGI₂ and platelet TXA₂ was significantly higher in the seal oil than in the control group. Although there was no difference in intimal thickness among the three groups, the aortic cholesterol content was significantly lower in the marine oil groups than in the control group. These results showed that the main effects in rats of the different intramolecular distributions of EPA and DHA in dietary fats were on arachidonic acid content in tissue phospholipids and on platelet TXA₂ production.     

Remarkable support effect of ZrO2 upon the CO2 reforming of CH4 over supported molybdenum carbide catalysts

In reforming of CH₄ with CO₂ over molybdenum carbide catalysts, the catalytic performance of unsupported hexagonal Mo₂C prepared by direct carburization of MoO₃ was considerably different from a similar composition, cubic MoC_1−x (x≈0.5), prepared through nitriding before carburization. The conversion levels over MoC_1−x were substantially higher than those over Mo₂C, although the turnover frequencies were lower. X‐ray diffraction analysis indicated that Mo₂C deactivated by conversion to MoO₂ during the reaction, but the MoC_1−x was transformed to the hexagonal Mo₂C and remained stable. The activity of Mo₂C dispersed on various supports for the CH₄–CO₂ reaction was also investigated. The performance depended strongly on the property of supports, with the ZrO₂‐supported Mo₂C catalyst exhibiting the highest activity and durability for this reaction. Moreover, deactivation of Mo₂C/ZrO₂ at ambient pressure was suppressed by decreasing the loading amount of Mo₂C. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Synthesis,characterization, and mechanical properties of a novel terphenyl liquid crystalline epoxy resin

A novel terphenyl liquid crystalline (LC) epoxy resin was synthesized and characterized by ¹H‐NMR, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and polarizing optical microscopy. Depending on the curing temperature, the synthesized resin formed both smectic and nematic LC phases. A time‐temperature‐transformation diagram was constructed to optimize the curing process, which helped in the preparation of LC and isotropic system. The terphenyl epoxy resin obtained exhibited higher acid resistance than a comparable Schiff‐base epoxy resin, and also displayed excellent fracture toughness. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41296.     

Radiation-modified atactic polypropylene as a sensitizer for photodegradation of polyethylene

Atactic polypropylene (APP) was dissolved in CCl₄ and irradiated with ⁶⁰Co gamma rays in various gas atmospheres (air, O₂, N₂, and Cl₂). A small amount of the irradiated APP was blended with polyethylene (PE) as a sensitizer for photodegradation of PE. There was no significant acceleration of decrease in yield strength of PE with UV exposure when oxidized APP or chlorinated APP was used. On the contrary, the use of the APP which was both oxidized and chlorinated caused a considerable acceleration of decrease in both yield strength and elongation. From the fact that the amount of carbonyl groups formed in the matrix PE with UV light exposure was closely related to both the amount of carbonyl groups and the amount of C? Cl bonds existing in the APP before the UV exposure, it was concluded that the combined action of carbonyl groups and C? Cl bonds in the sensitizer is important in the promotion of the photodegradation of the matrix polymer.     

Properties of highly water-absorptive hydroxyethylcellulose graft copolymers: Viscoelasticity and moisture sorption

The viscoelasticity of the hydrogels, the moisture sorption, and the characteristics of the sorbed water of highly water-absorptive hydroxyethylcellulose (HEC) graft copolymers [e.g., HEC graft copolymers containing partially hydrolyzed polyacrylamide (HEC-P-Hyd-PAM), etc.] were investigated in comparison with commercial absorbents. The viscosity (η) and the rigidity (G) of the dispersions of their hydrogels were, respectively, proportional to the second to the sixth powers and the fifth to the seventh powers of their concentrations (η = KC^2–6 and G = K′C^5–7). With respect to the characteristics of the sorbed water, the conductivity of 0.1 N KCI in the hydrogels of the HEC water, absorbents was about 11.8 mS/cm, which was almost the same as that of 0.1 N KCI in pure water, and the water absorbency of dry matter (soybean seeds) in their hydrogels was almost the same as that in pure water. These results suggest that most of the sorbed water in the HEC super water absorbents behaves like free water. The maximum volume of sorbed moisture in a monolayer fashion (V_m) of HEC-P-Hyd-PAM analyzed using the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller equation was about 0.21 g/g (1.2 mol water/polymer repeat unit), and there was no cluster water at 92% relative humidity or below as a result of applying the cluster function concept. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Bonding properties of epoxy resins containing two mesogenic groups

Liquid‐crystalline epoxy resins, with introduced aliphatic chains between two mesogenic groups, were synthesized and their adhesive bonding properties were compared to those of the bisphenol‐A–type epoxy resin and the liquid‐crystalline epoxy resin, previously reported. The bonding strength of the former resin system was higher than that of the two later systems. We suggest that the high bonding strength of the twin mesogenic epoxy resins, cured with an aromatic amine, was attributable to the large plastic deformation of the adhesive layer in the fracturing process. We also investigated the effects of the aliphatic chain length in the twin mesogenic epoxy resin on their dynamic mechanical and bonding properties. The bonding strength of the cured twin mesogenic epoxy resins increased with an increase in the aliphatic chain length. We suggest that the high bonding strength of the system introduced by the long aliphatic chain was attributable to the large plastic deformation of the adhesive layer because of the higher network mobility. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 92: 3721–3729, 2004     

Equivalent comfort contours for vertical vibration of steering wheels: effect of vibration magnitude, grip force, and hand position

Vehicle drivers receive tactile feedback from steering-wheel vibration that depends on the frequency and magnitude of the vibration. From an experiment with 12 subjects, equivalent comfort contours were determined for vertical vibration of the hands at two positions with three grip forces. The perceived intensity of the vibration was determined using the method of magnitude estimation over a range of frequencies (4-250 Hz) and magnitudes (0.1-1.58 ms⁻² r.m.s.). Absolute thresholds for vibration perception were also determined for the two hand positions over the same frequency range. The shapes of the comfort contours were strongly dependent on vibration magnitude and also influenced by grip force, indicating that the appropriate frequency weighting depends on vibration magnitude and grip force. There was only a small effect of hand position. The findings are explained by characteristics of the Pacinian and non-Pacinian tactile channels in the glabrous skin of the hand.     

Atomic-scale structure of β-FeOOH containing chromium by anomalous X-ray scattering coupled with reverse Monte Carlo simulation

Ordinary X-ray diffraction and anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS) measurements below Fe K and Cr K absorption edge were carried out for characterizing the atomic-scale structure of β-FeOOH particles with and without chromium. The realistic atomic-scale structures in these β-FeOOH particles were estimated by fitting both the ordinary and environmental interference functions through reverse Monte Carlo (RMC) simulation technique. The results showed that the linkages of FeO₆ octahedral structural units in the β-FeOOH particles with chromium were considerably deviated from the ideal β-FeOOH structure, whereas the fundamental structure of the β-FeOOH particles without chromium was similar to the ideal β-FeOOH case. The atomic-scale structure of the β-FeOOH particles is likely to be distorted by the substitution of chromium for iron site in the β-FeOOH structure, although the structure may also be influenced by other foreign ions.     

Thermal properties and flame retardancy of polyglycidyloxypropyl silsesquioxane/layered titanate nanocomposites

Polyglycidyloxypropyl silsesquioxane, which has an excellent heat resistance, was combined with sheet‐like and spherical titanate as nano‐fillers. The burning property of the composites was related to the shape of the dispersed titanate. A burning test was carried out according to the UL‐94 test method. As a result, though the test specimen burned from one end to the other in the spherical titanate filled composite system, a fire extinguishing property was observed in the sheet‐like titanate filled composite system. The extinguishing time of the latter system classified V‐0 in the specification test. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Near-infrared finger vein patterns for personal identification

We have demonstrated a personal identification system that is based on near-infrared finger vein patterns. Finger vein patterns of 678 volunteers are acquired by transmitting near-infrared light through a finger and capturing the image with a CCD camera. These vein patterns are enhanced by a background-reduction filter. The similarity between two patterns is then quantified by use of the normalized maximum of the cross correlation of the two images after correction of the tilt angle. The enhanced finger vein pattern enabled 678 persons to be successfully identified.