New thermosetting resin from bisphenol A‐based benzoxazine and bisoxazoline

Bisphenol A‐based benzoxazine was prepared from bisphenol A, formaline, and aniline. Curing reaction of bisphenol A‐based benzoxazine with bisoxazoline and the properties of the cured resin were investigated. Consequently, using triphenylphosphite as a catalyst, for the first time the ring‐opening reaction of benzoxazine ring occurred at 170°C, and then the phenolic hydroxyl group generated by the ring‐opening reaction of the benzoxazine ring reacted with the oxazoline ring at 200°C. The melt viscosity of the molding compound was kept 0.1–1 Pa · s at 140°C even after 1.5 h, and increased rapidly at 180°C. It was realized that the molding compound showed good flowability below 140°C, curing reaction proceeded above 180°C rapidly. The cured resin from bisphenol A‐based benzoxazine and bisoxazoline showed good heat resistance, water resistance, electrical insulation, and mechanical properties, compared with the cured resin from bisphenol A‐type novolac and bisoxazoline. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 1551–1558, 1999     

Sensitivity of Solid Rocket Propellants for Card Gap Test

Card gap test, which is standardized in Japan Explosives Society, was modified in order to apply it to solid rocket propellants and carried out to evaluate sensitivities against shock stimuli. Solid propellants tested here were mainly azide polymer composite propellants, which contained ammonium nitrate (AN) as a main oxidizer. Double base propellant, composed nitroglycerin and nitrocellulose (NC), and ammonium perchlorate (AP)-based composite propellants were also evaluated in order to compare with the azide polymer propellants. It is found that the sensitivity was dominated by the oxidizer characteristics. AP-and AN-based propellant had less sensitivity and HMX-based propellant showed higher sensitivity, and the adding of NC and TMETN were contributed to worse sensitive for the card gap test. Good relationship was obtained between the card gap sensitivity and the oxygen balance of propellants tested here.     

Characterizations of J-lossless time-varying systems via the chain scattering approach

In this paper, via the chain scattering formalism, we derive the inequality condition for a bounded I/O operator which is associated with a finite-dimensional linear time-varying system to be lossless or J-lossless. The characterizations for J-losslessness apply to a J-lossless time-varying system which is either exponentially stable, anti-stable or one with a uniform stable/anti-stable decomposition of its state space. Uniform time-varying realizations are considered as they are required for the proof of the necessity of the state space characterizations. The results provide an extension to the state space characterizations of linear time-invariant J-lossless systems which belong to RL _∞. The characterizations for (J,J′)-lossless LTV systems are also derived. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Novel Mechanism by a Bis-Pyridinium Fullerene Derivative to Induce Apoptosis by Enhancing the MEK-ERK Pathway in a Reactive Oxygen Species-Independent Manner in BCR-ABL-Positive Chronic Myeloid Leukemia-Derived K562 Cells

In the treatment of breakpoint cluster region-Abelson (BCR-ABL)-positive chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) using BCR-ABL inhibitors, the appearance of a gatekeeper mutation (T315I) in BCR-ABL is a serious issue. Therefore, the development of novel drugs that overcome acquired resistance to BCR-ABL inhibitors by CML cells is required. We previously demonstrated that a bis-pyridinium fullerene derivative (BPF) induced apoptosis in human chronic myeloid leukemia (CML)-derived K562 cells partially through the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). We herein show that BPF enhanced the activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase-extracellular signal-regulated kinase (MEK-ERK) pathway in a ROS-independent manner. BPF-induced apoptosis was attenuated by trametinib, suggesting the functional involvement of the MEK-ERK pathway in apoptosis in K562 cells. In addition, the constitutive activation of the MEK-ERK pathway by the enforced expression of the BRAFV600E mutant significantly increased the sensitivity of K562 cells to BPF. These results confirmed for the first time that BPF induces apoptosis in K562 cells through dual pathways—ROS production and the activation of the MEK-ERK pathway. Furthermore, BPF induced cell death in transformed Ba/F3 cells expressing not only BCR-ABL but also T315I mutant through the activation of the MEK-ERK pathway. These results indicate that BPF is as an effective CML drug that overcomes resistance to BCR-ABL inhibitors.     

Maltotetraose,A New Saccharide of Tertiary Property

Maltotetraose, a linear tetramer of α-D-glucose, has many potential uses in the food and pharmaceutical industries because of its unique characteristics. A consortium of Nihon Shokuhin Kako Co., Ltd., Kirin Brewery Co., Ltd., Chiyoda Corp. and Yokogawa Electric Corp. has developed a continuous maltotetraose production process which uses an immobilized enzyme bioreactor system. Because maltotetraose syrup is a brand-new saccharide having low sweetness and resistance to retrogradation, it has begun to be used as a property enhancer for various foods, powdering materials, saccharide for dry milk, liquid diets for the sick and a body reinforcement agent for refreshing drinks. In addition to the properties of nutrition and taste, the tertiary property of organism control has been discovered; that is, feeding with a maltotetraose-rich corn syrup inhibits the growth of intestinal putrefactive bacteria such as C. perfringens and Enterobacteriaceae.     

Poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐grafted silica as a support of platinum colloids: Preparation method,characterization, and catalytic properties in hydrogenation

We investigated the composition, properties, and utility of a novel hybrid material of poly(N‐isopropylacrylamide)‐grafted silica. The modified silica was prepared in two steps: (1) grafting silane layers of active precursors, such as initiator, transfer agent or comonomer onto the silica surface by solution deposition and (2) radical polymerization of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) on the grafted silane layers. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), elemental analysis (EA), FTIR spectroscopy, and TEM were used to characterize the layer composition, structure, and chemistry, respectively. Well‐dispersed platinum colloids have been prepared on the PNIPAAm‐grafted silica via the reduction of PtCl by ethanol. The immobilized Pt colloids were found to be active and stable heterogeneous catalysts for the hydrogenation of ally alcohol in ethanol. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 77: 2678–2684, 2000     

Epoxy Resin Particles, 3. Particle Formation of Epoxy Resin in Aqueous Emulsion State

A Bisphenol A‐type epoxy resin is readily emulsified in aqueous medium with an ethylene oxide adduct to a Friedel‐Crafts reaction product of styrene and 4‐(4‐cumyl)phenol as emulsifier. The resultant epoxy resin emulsion is reacted with amine‐type hardeners to obtain epoxy resin particles that are fully cross‐linked. The size and size distribution of the resultant particles are almost comparable to those of the primarily formed emulsion particles which are determined by the amount of emulsifier, mixing temperature and speed. The average diameter of the finally obtained particles ranges from 0.5 to 22 μm depending on the reaction conditions. The particles hardened with 1,2‐diaminoethane (DEA) have a spherical form with homogeneous surface, whereas the particles hardened with N,N ′‐bis(2‐aminoethyl)‐1,2‐diaminoethane (TTA) have a shrunk appearance with rough surface. These particles can readily be isolated from the dispersion without causing the solvent‐derived pollution for environment.     

Radially and azimuthally dependent resonance self-shielding treatment for general multi-region geometry based on a unified theory

A unified resonance self-shielding method, which can treat general sub-divided fuel regions, is developed for lattice physics calculations in reactor physics field. In a past study, a hybrid resonance treatment has been developed by theoretically integrating equivalence theory and ultra-fine-group slowing-down calculation. It can be applied to a wide range of neutron spectrum conditions including low moderator density ranges in severe accident states, as long as each fuel region is not sub-divided. In order to extend the method for radially and azimuthally sub-divided multi-region geometry, a new resonance treatment is established by incorporating the essence of sub-group method. The present method is composed of two-step flux calculation, i.e. ‘coarse geometry + fine energy’ (first step) and ‘fine geometry + coarse energy’ (second step) calculations. The first step corresponds to a hybrid model of the equivalence theory and the ultra-fine-group calculation, and the second step corresponds to the sub-group method. From the verification results, effective cross-sections by the new method show good agreement with the continuous energy Monte-Carlo results for various multi-region geometries including non-uniform fuel compositions and temperature distributions. The present method can accurately generate effective cross-sections with short computation time in general lattice physics calculations.     

Dual Nature of RAGE in Host Reaction and Nurturing the Mother–Infant Bond

Non-enzymatic glycation is an unavoidable reaction that occurs across biological taxa. The final products of this irreversible reaction are called advanced glycation end-products (AGEs). The endogenously formed AGEs are known to be bioactive and detrimental to human health. Additionally, exogenous food-derived AGEs are debated to contribute to the development of aging and various diseases. Receptor for AGEs (RAGE) is widely known to elicit biological reactions. The binding of RAGE to other ligands (e.g., high mobility group box 1, S100 proteins, lipopolysaccharides, and amyloid-β) can result in pathological processes via the activation of intracellular RAGE signaling pathways, including inflammation, diabetes, aging, cancer growth, and metastasis. RAGE is now recognized as a pattern-recognition receptor. All mammals have RAGE homologs; however, other vertebrates, such as birds, amphibians, fish, and reptiles, do not have RAGE at the genomic level. This evidence from an evolutionary perspective allows us to understand why mammals require RAGE. In this review, we provide an overview of the scientific knowledge about the role of RAGE in physiological and pathological processes. In particular, we focus on (1) RAGE biology, (2) the role of RAGE in physiological and pathophysiological processes, (3) RAGE isoforms, including full-length membrane-bound RAGE (mRAGE), and the soluble forms of RAGE (sRAGE), which comprise endogenous secretory RAGE (esRAGE) and an ectodomain-shed form of RAGE, and (4) oxytocin transporters in the brain and intestine, which are important for maternal bonding and social behaviors.