Structure and performance of cationic assembly dispersed in amphoteric surfactants solution as a shampoo for hair damaged by coloring

In recent years, hair coloring gains popularity as a trend of consumer's hair care. This coloring frequently damages hair. In response to this, a new shampoo-base was developed for repairing hair damaged by coloring. The new shampoo-base was prepared by dispersing cationic assembly in a solution of amphoteric surfactants. The mixture of behenyl trimethyl ammonium chloride (C22TAC) and behenyl alcohol (C22OH) was applied as the cationic assembly, which are dispersed in amido propyl betaine laurate (LPB) solution. LPB, which behaves as an amphoteric surfactant, was used as the wash-base. It was verified from the results on the measurements of DSC, calorimeter polarization, cryo-SEM and X-ray diffraction that the cationic assembly has a crystalline structure in the LPB solution. The new shampoo-base was highly efficient to change the color-damaged hair from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The friction level of the hair washed with the new shampoo-base recovered to the same state as that of healthy hair. The exfoliation of cuticle was reduced after washing with the new shampoo-base.     

Adsorption of chromium (VI) from aqueous solutions by cellulose modified with β-CD and quaternary ammonium groups

Cellulose powder was grafted with the vinyl monomer glycidyl methacrylate using ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator and was further derived with β-CD and quaternary ammonium groups to build Cell-g-GMA-β-CDN(+) adsorbent. Epoxy cellulose was made up of Cell-g-GMA and Cell-hydro-g-GMA, and was found to contain 3.71 mmol g(-1) epoxy groups. The adsorption process of the modified cellulose was described by the Langmuir model of adsorption well, and the maximum adsorption capacity of chromium (VI) reached 61.05 mg g(-1). The adsorption-desorption tests of β-CDN(+)-type cellulose derivatives exhibited that the reproducibility of the adsorbent was well and the adsorbent could be reused five times at least.     

Calcination‐ and Etching‐Free Photolithography of Inorganic Phosphor Films Consisting of Rare Earth Ion Doped Nanoparticles on Plastic Sheets

It is demonstrated that patterned inorganic phosphor films consisting of rare earth ion doped nanoparticles (RE‐NPs) can be fabricated on plastic sheets using calcination‐ and etching‐free photolithography. Green up‐conversion luminescence and near‐infrared (NIR) fluorescence appears from the RE‐NPs that are prepared from Y₂O₃ doped with 1 mol% Er³⁺ and 0.85 mol% Yb³⁺. The diameter of the RE‐NPs is estimated to be about 300 nm using dynamic light scattering. Visible transmittance of the RE‐NP film fabricated by dip‐coating is more than 90%. Patterned RE‐NP films are obtained by dip‐coating the RE‐NPs on patterned photoresist films fabricated by UV exposure through a photomask, followed by selective removal of the photoresist. Optical, fluorescence, scanning electron, atomic force, and Kelvin probe force microscopies are used for the characterization of the patterned RE‐NP films. The present methodology enables fabrication of patterned RE‐NP films, not only on inorganic substrates but also on plastic sheets, with low cost and material consumption.     

Quantitative annular dark-field STEM images of a silicon crystal using a large-angle convergent electron probe with a 300-kV cold field-emission gun

Annular dark-field scanning transmission electron microscope (ADF-STEM) images of an Si (001) crystal were obtained by using an aberration-corrected electron microscope, at 30-mrad convergent probe and cold field-emission gun at 300?kV. The intensity of ADF-STEM images, that is, the number of scattered electrons relative to the incident electrons, obtained for specimen thickness from 10 to 50?nm was compared quantitatively with absorptive multi-slice simulation. The column and background intensities were analyzed by column-by-column two-dimensional Gaussian fitting. These intensities were found to increase linearly with the sample thicknesses. However, the simulated image gave higher column intensity and lower background intensity for all the sample thickness. We found that experimental images were reproduced by the simulation with Gaussian convolution of 70?pm full-width at half-maximum for all the sample thicknesses from 10 to 50?nm. The possible factors accounted for this Gaussian convolution is discussed.     

Effect of X-ray exposure on the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets using X-ray inspection equipment

Context: X-ray inspection equipment is widely used to detect missing materials and defective goods in opaque containers. Its application has been expanded to the pharmaceutical industry to detect the presence of drug tablets in aluminum foil press-through packaging. However, the effect of X-rays on the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets is not well known.

Objective: In this study, the effect of X-rays on the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets was investigated.

Methods: Exposure of acetaminophen, loxoprofen and mefenamic acid tablets to X-ray doses of 0.34?mGy (thrice the dose by X-ray scanning) to 300?Gy (maximum dose from our X-ray equipment) was demonstrated, and the samples were evaluated by formulation tests.

Results: Exposure to X-rays did not affect the pharmaceutical quality of the drug content. The samples exposed to X-rays exhibited almost the same profile in formulation tests (dissolution test, disintegrating test and hardness test) as control samples (0?Gy). The combination of X-ray exposure with accelerated temperature and humidity tests (six months) also did not affect the pharmaceutical quality. The color change of light-sensitive drugs (nifedipine and furosemide tablets) after X-ray exposure was negligible (Conclusion: The X-ray scanning and X-ray exposure under our experimental conditions did not affect the pharmaceutical quality of drug tablets.     

Periodical Oscillation Phenomena Observed in Salt-Water Oscillator Experiments under Small Gravity Conditions

We examined periodical oscillation phenomena that were observed during salt-water oscillator experiments under a small gravity condition. This condition was realized by situating a lower-density gadolinium chloride (GdCl ₃) aqueous solution on a higher-density sodium chloride (NaCl) aqueous solution and applying a downward magnetic force. The GdCl ₃ solution concentration was 0.15 mol/kg (density ρ=1.03×10³ kg/m ³), and the NaCl concentration was varied to (A) 4.35 mol/kg (ρ=1.15×10³ kg/m ³), (B) 3.79 mol/kg (ρ=1.12×10³ kg/m ³), and (C) 2.49 mol/kg (ρ= 1.09×10 ³ kg/m ³). The magnitude of magnetic flux density was varied from 0 to 4.00 T. As the magnetic flux density grew larger, the GdCl ₃ solution was pulled downward by the magnetic force, and upward and downward flows were generated simultaneously at the orifice. These flows were accompanied by a periodical, locally thickened part. The thickened part was only observed when the magnetic force magnitude was small in cases (A) and (B). This flow pattern was not observed in case (C), in which a conventional salt-water oscillation was induced instead (C). In this paper we discuss new experimental results in which the oscillation cycles in cases (A) and (B) are strongly associated with the magnitude of the magnetic force and the density difference in the biphase solutions.     

Incorporating Penalty Function to Reduce Spill in Stochastic Dynamic Programming Based Reservoir Operation of Hydropower Plants

This paper proposes a framework that includes a penalty function incorporated stochastic dynamic programming (SDP) model in order to derive the operation policy of the reservoir of a hydropower plant, with an aim to reduce the amount of spill during operation of the reservoir. SDP models with various inflow process assumptions (independent and Markov‐I) are developed and executed in order to derive the reservoir operation policies for the case study of a storage type hydropower plant located in Japan. The policy thus determined consists of target storage levels (end‐of‐period storage levels) for each combination of the beginning‐of‐period storage levels and the inflow states of the current period. A penalty function is incorporated in the classical SDP model with objective function that maximizes annual energy generation through operation of the reservoir. Due to the inclusion of the penalty function, operation policy of the reservoir changes in a way that ensures reduced spill. Simulations are carried out to identify reservoir storage guide curves based on the derived operation policies. Reservoir storage guide curves for different values of the coefficient of penalty function α are plotted for a study horizon of 64 years, and the corresponding average annual spill values are compared. It is observed that, with increasing values of α, the average annual spill decreases; however, the simulated average annual energy value is marginally reduced. The average annual energy generation can be checked vis‐à‐vis the average annual spill reduction, and the optimal value of α can be identified based on the cost functions associated with energy and spill. © 2010 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Human Amniotic Fluid Stem Cells Ameliorate Thioglycollate-Induced Peritonitis by Increasing Tregs in Mice

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) affect immune cells and exert anti-inflammatory effects. Human amniotic fluid stem cells (hAFSCs), a type of MSCs, have a high therapeutic effect in animal models of inflammation-related diseases. hAFSCs can be easily isolated and cultured from amniotic fluid, which is considered a medical waste. Hence, amniotic fluid can be a source of cells for MSC therapy of inflammatory diseases. However, the effect of hAFSCs on acquired immunity in vivo, especially on regulatory T cells, has not yet been fully elucidated. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to understand the effects of hAFSCs on acquired immunity, particularly on regulatory T cells. We showed that hAFSCs ameliorated the thioglycollate-induced inflammation by forming aggregates with host immune cells, such as macrophages, T cells, and B cells in the peritoneal cavity. Further, the regulatory T cells increased in the peritoneal cavity. These results indicated that, in addition to helping the innate immunity, hAFSCs could also aid the acquired immune system in vivo against inflammation-related diseases by increasing regulatory T cells.     

Feasible solution for dynamic economic load dispatch using feasible operation region

High penetration of renewable energy in the future power system will pose a big problem to the load dispatch operation. The large disturbance and high forecast error must be considered when scheduling a limited number of controllable generators to follow rapid change in load. This paper proposes a dynamic economic load dispatch (DELD) problem approach based on the concept of a feasible operation region (FOR). FOR is defined as the region that committed generators may operate in to match the load profile without violating the ramp‐rate constraints. The DELD problem is solved in two stages. In the first stage, FOR of each generator is computed using recent real‐time forecasted load as well as renewable energy generation. In the second stage, a generation schedule is determined by solving the DELD problem interval by interval while considering ramp‐rate constraints and FOR constraints. The method can gives feasible solution for feasible load and specify the amount of compensation required for feasible solution for infeasible load. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.