Pervaporation separation of water/ethanol mixtures through polysaccharide membranes. II. The permselectivity of chitosan membrane

The separation of water/alcohol mixtures through chitosan membrane was investigated. The degree of the deacetylation of chitosan did not affect the selectivity of the membrane in the separation of the water/ethanol mixture. The selectivity of the chitosan membrane was affected by the specific salts such as CoSO₄, ZnSO₄, and MnSO₄ and it increased when the salts were present in the feed mixture or the membrane was pretreated with the salt solution. This behavior would be explained by the contraction of the “holes” produced by the thermal motion of polymer chains and this contraction would be correlated with the conformation change of chitosan molecule due to the formation of complexes with metal ions.     

Effects of antiallergic drug, pemirolast potassium on phospholipase D activation in antigen-stimulated rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells

An anti-allergic drug, permirolast potassium (TBX), inhibited antigen (Ag)-induced phospholipase D (PLD) activation in rat basophilic leukemia (RBL-2H3) cells. The concentration-dependent inhibitory profile for Ag-induced PLD activation was parallel to those for secretory response and inositol phosphate formation. In contrast, TBX had no effect on PLD activation caused by calcium ionophore A23187 or phorbol myristate acetate. These results suggest that TBX inhibits Ag-induced PLD activation by interfering with the signal transduction pathway upstream of Ca2+ mobilization and protein kinase C activation.     

Optically synaptic films using spiropyran J-aggregates

Spiropyran SP1822 J-aggregate LB films show a non-linear photochromic response with a threshold against the incident light intensity of a CW dye laser. Using two laser beams operating below the threshold level intensity, the logic ‘AND’ function was found to be optically stored as an overlapping region of two incident patterns. We proposed the adoption of an LB film of spiropyran J-aggregates to store the memory matrix T_ijkl as an overlapping region of learning input pattern V_ij and multi-image input pattern V_kl in order to construct an optical neural network system based on Hopfield model.     

Preparation of fine polymer particles containing metallocene derivatives

This article deals with preparations of fine particles of metallocene copolymers by emulsifierfree emulsion polymerization of vinylferrocene (VFc), ferrocenylmethyl methacrylate (FMMA), 1-ferrocenylethyl methacrylate (1-FEMA), 2-ferrocenylethyl methacrylate (2-FEMA), and 1-ruthenocenylethyl methacrylate (1-REMA) with acrylonitrile (AN), styrene (St), and methyl methacrylate (MMA) in water/ethanol medium. As a result, spherical copolymer particles containing metallocene derivatives have been successfully synthesized in the particle size of ca. 120 to 600 nm. The contents of ferrocenyl or ruthenocenyl groups in copolymer particles increased with increasing concentration of charged metallocene derivatives, while the amounts of metallocene derivatives incorporated into particles are much lower than the charged ratio. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

支撑形式及多孔电极结构参数对SOFC性能的影响

研究不同结构设计条件下，活化极化、欧姆极化、浓差极化对SOFC性能的影响。在分析浓差极化时，综合考虑了普通扩散和Knudsen扩散，使模型更接近实际。采用灵敏度分析方法，分析了5个结构参数对SOFC性能的影响。结果表明，在该文的分析条件下，阳极支撑的设计具有较好的输出特性。     

Preparation of Al-doped ZnO transparent electrodes suitable for thin-film solar cell applications by various types of magnetron sputtering depositions

In order to determine the influence of different types of magnetron sputtering (MS) depositions on the characteristics of Al-doped ZnO (AZO) thin films appropriate for applications as transparent electrodes in thin-film solar cells, transparent conducting AZO thin films were prepared on glass substrates at 200 °C by direct current (dc) magnetron sputtering (dc-MS), radio frequency (rf)-MS and rf power superimposed dc-MS (rf + dc-MS) depositions using an MS apparatus with the same AZO target. AZO thin films prepared by an rf + dc-MS deposition exhibited both a higher deposition rate than that found with rf-MS depositions and a lower resistivity or higher Hall mobility than those found with dc-MS. The lower dc sputter voltage featured in rf-MS and rf ± dc-MS depositions, producing smoother surface morphology and better crystallinity than obtained with dc-MS depositions. The light scattering characteristics of surface-textured AZO thin films prepared by various types of MS depositions were evaluated by observing the surface texture and measuring the optical transmittance and the diffusive component; wet-chemical etching of the thin film surface was performed in a 0.1% HCl solution. The obtainable haze property in the range from visible to near infrared in AZO films prepared by an rf + dc-MS deposition was markedly better than that obtained with dc-MS depositions.     

Enhanced antiviral activity of soybean β-conglycinin-derived peptides by acylation with saturated fatty acids

Abstract: Peptide mixtures prepared from soybean β‐conglycinin (7S‐peptides) were acylated with saturated fatty acids of different chain length (6C‐18C) in order to improve their antiviral activity against Feline calicivirus (FCV) strain F9 which is a typical norovirus surrogate. Among the fatty acids varieties, it was revealed that 7S‐peptides acylated with myristic and palmitic acids potently inhibited FCV replication. Myristorylation and palmitoylation of 7S‐peptides kept host cells viability at 91.51% and 98.90%, respectively. The infectivity of FCV on Crandell–Reese feline kidney cells was further determined after exposure of initial titer of 10^6.47 TCID₅₀/mL. Myristoylated and palmitoylated 7S‐peptides significantly (P < 0.006) reduced FCV infectivity as compared to native 7S‐peptides. Native 7S‐peptides showed 25% FCV inhibitory activity while myristoylated and palmitoylated 7S‐peptides exhibited 98.59% and 99.98% reduction in FCV infectivity, respectively. Myristoylated and palmitoylated 7S‐peptides demonstrated higher anti‐FCV activity in a wide range of concentration with complete reduction at 25 μg/mL. Surface hydrophobicity was significantly (P < 0.05) increased after attachment of long hydrocarbon fatty acids to 7S‐peptides as supported by changes in fluorescence intensity. Enzymatic hydrolysis together with acylation will give an insight into surface and physiological functional lipopeptides derived from soy β‐conglycinin.     

Bubble behavior in vertical tube banks installed in a fluidized bed

Fluidized bed combustion is one of the advantageous technologies for coal and/or incineration firing especially with respect to the environmental protection of emissions, such as NO_x/SO_x. Bed material movement in such a fluidized bed has a prime importance in the heat transfer process. Thus, quantitative measurement of the bed material movement and the void fraction are indispensable for better understanding of the fluidized bed. In this investigation, neutron radiography is applied to visualize the bed material movement in a simulated fluidized bed heat exchanger installed with vertical tubes. Bubble behavior and void fraction profile are obtained by the image processing technique. Bubble movement is highly restrained by these vertical tubes, so that the bubbles rise up along the tube. The bubble diameter is well correlated by the modified Mori and Wen's correlation taking into account the pitch of the tube arrangement. The bubble rise velocity and void fraction are well correlated by applying the drift‐flux model. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(8): 727–739, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10127     

Origin of electron mobility enhancement in (1 1 1)-oriented InGaAs channel metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect-transistors

Electrical and physical characteristics of the Al₂O₃/InGaAs interfaces with (1 1 1)A and (1 0 0) orientations were investigated in an attempt to understand the origin of electron mobility enhancement in the (1 1 1)A-channel metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect-transistor. The (1 1 1)A interface has less As atoms of high oxidation states as probed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrical measurements showed that energy distribution of the interface traps for the (1 1 1)A interface is shifted toward the conduction band as compared to that for the (1 0 0) interface. Laterally-compressed cross-section transmission electron microscopy images showed that the characteristic lengths of the interface roughness are different between the (1 1 1)A and (1 0 0) interfaces. The contributions of the Coulomb and roughness scattering mechanisms are discussed based on the experimental results.     

Evaluation of Two Anchor Plate Capacity Models for Maw Systems

The present paper examines the accuracy of two models used to predict the capacity of single square plate anchors used in multi-anchor wall (MAW) systems constructed in Japan. Measured anchor plate capacities from full-scale in situ load tests reported in the literature are compared to predicted values using the analytical model recommended in Japan. A modified anchor capacity model is proposed that preserves the general form of the PWRC equation, but introduces correction factors to improve accuracy. The correction factors are empirically-based and are selected by back-fitting measured loads to achieve a resistance bias mean equal to one and a low coefficient of variation (COV) in bias values. The results of a large number of small-scale anchor capacity tests carried out in pullout boxes were used to guide the selection of back-fitted parameters. The correction factors account for the influence of the confining pressure (anchor depth), the plate size and the anchor rod length on the anchor plate capacity. New N_c and N_q factors are also presented as part of the new model. The bias statistics for the two models comprise an important contribution to future reliability-based calibrations of the ultimate anchor capacity limit state for MAW systems in Japan.