Inspection of Asian Lacquer Substructures by Terahertz Time-Domain Imaging (THz-TDI)

Lacquering is considered one of the most representative Asian artistic techniques. While the decorative part of lacquerwares is the lacquer itself, their substructures serve as the backbone of the object itself. Very little is known about these hidden substructures. Since lacquerwares are mostly composed of organic materials, such as urushi, wood, carbon black, and fabrics which are very X-ray transparent, standard X-ray radiography has some problems in achieving clear X-ray radiographic images. Therefore, we wanted to contribute to the understanding of the lacquer manufacturing technique by inspecting the substructures of Asian lacquerwares by means of THz time-domain imaging (THz-TDI). Three different kinds of Asian lacquerwares were examined by THz-TDI, and the outcomes have been compared with those obtained by standard X-radiography. THz-TDI provides unique information on lacquerwares substructures, aiding in the comprehension of the manufacturing technology yielding to these precious artefacts.     

Chemical modification of cotton fiber by alkali-swelling and substitution reactions—acetylation,cyanoethylation, benzoylation,and oleoylation

By impregnating cotton fiber with alkaline swelling agents and reacting with some chemical agents which can be substituted for the hydroxyl groups on cellulose molecules in the presence of alkali, highly accessible or decrystallized cotton fibers can be obtained. As the effective substitution reactions, acetylation by acetic anhydride and cyanoethylation by acrylonitrile were applied. The cotton fibers modified by these chemical treatments showed no decrease of tensile strength, and had moisture regain higher than the untreated cotton though the degrees of substitution were as high as 20–30 mol %. The resistance to heat or acid and the soil removal were improved. Dyeability for direct dye was increased, and dyeability for disperse or cationic dye was also given. Benzoylation and oleoylation were also investigated. Crease recovery of the cotton fabrics was somewhat improved and dyeability for disperse dye was given. The cotton fabrics oleoylated after decrystallizing by alkali–acrylonitrile treatment had moisture regain almost the same as the untreated cotton, while high water repellency was given.     

Desulfurization Model Using Solid CaO in Molten Ni-Base Superalloys Containing Al

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Details of the desulfurization for molten Ni-base superalloys containing Al using solid CaO have been investigated, and the formula that explains the...     

A surface instability of granules under vibration in partitioned containers

This paper describes a surface instability of vibrated granules contained in rectangular vessels. The vessels are partitioned in two equal sections by a vertical plate whose lower end is placed at a certain distance from the vessel base. The free surfaces of granules in two sections, initially at an equal level, start to move when submitted to vertical vibrations, and stabilize at different levels. Measurements are made of the pressure at the bottom of each of the partitioned beds, which reveals the underlying mechanism of the surface instability. Computer simulations are performed to show microscopic structures of this surface instability. Received: 25 February 2000     

Screening for Beneficial Effects of Oral Intake of Sweet Corn by DNA Microarray Analysis

ABSTRACT: To identify novel functions of the oral intake of sweet corn, we performed DNA microarray analysis of the livers of sweet corn‐fed mice. Functional annotation clustering 1600 genes with expression levels that were affected (more than 1.5‐fold change) by dietary sweet corn indicated that both cell proliferation and programmed cell death were modulated by sweet corn intake. In the Wnt signaling pathway, which is involved in cell proliferation, the levels of Jun and β‐catenin expression were downregulated by dietary sweet corn. The mRNA levels of Rb and p53, negative regulators of the cell cycle, were increased in mice fed with sweet corn. Dietary corn upregulated expression levels of genes that regulate apoptosis positively (for example, BOK, BID, CASP4). These results suggested that sweet corn is a valuable food for suppressing cancer. Oral administration of sweet corn inhibited tumor growth (36.6% reduce in tumor weight, P < 0.05) in mice inoculated with Ehrlich tumor cells.     

Biochemical characterization of l-arabitol 2-dehydrogenase from Pantoea ananatis

Two oxidoreductases, XDH and LAD, were found in the same operon that was involved in sugar metabolism in Pantoea ananatis. LAD, whose endogenous substrate was unknown, was recombinantly prepared and biochemically analyzed. Consequently, LAD was identified as l-arabitol 2-dehydrogenase and its substrate specificity was complementary to that of XDH.