Functionalization of lignin: Synthesis of lignophenol‐graft‐poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) and its application to polymer blends with commodity polymers

Lignophenol (LP)‐graft‐poly(2‐ethyl‐2‐oxazoline) (POZO) was prepared to reuse lignin, an industrial waste material, and to produce novel LP‐based polymer blends with poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC), poly(bisphenol A carbonate) (PC), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and polystyrene (PSt) as commodity polymers. The resulting graft polymer was soluble in various types of organic solvents such as chloroform, THF, acetone, and methanol, unlike LP. The miscibility of LP‐graft‐POZO with commodity polymers was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) to determine the glass transition temperatures (T_g). In the cases of the blends of LP‐graft‐POZO with PVC, PC, and PVP, the T_g values decreased during the second scan. Moreover, in the cases of the blends with PVC and PVP, the T_g values were not detected during the third scan. Therefore, it was inferred that LP‐graft‐POZO was miscible with PVC, PC, and PVP while forming single phases; in particular, the blends of LP‐graft‐POZO with PVC and PVP exhibited a secondary miscibility because the T_g values were not detected. Furthermore, the blend of LP‐graft‐POZO with PC exhibited better thermostability than LP and LP‐graft‐POZO. These results indicated that LP blended with POZO could be used as a polymer additive and as an adhesive to combine different polymers, organic–inorganic polymers, etc. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Rutile thin film responsive to visible light and with high UV light sensitivity

A transparent rutile thin film 100 nm thick was fabricated on a quartz glass substrate; it was responsive to visible light and had a higher sensitivity to UV light than an anatase thin film formed by sol–gel method under identical conditions. The crystal structure was determined by observations using X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, and a transmission electron microscope. The oxygen/titanium ratio of the rutile thin films was 1.78 according to the XPS peaks. The photoreactivity and photoinduced hydrophilicity of the rutile thin films was examined by measuring the pseudo first-order rate for the decoloration of methylene blue in an aqueous solution and the water contact angle, respectively. The high photoreactivity and photosensitivity of the O-deficient rutile thin film, whose optical band edge and refractive index were 3.10 eV and 2.2, respectively, were due to electron traps and assisted by O-defects within the rutile particles.     

3D UV-microreplication using cylindrical PDMS mold

This paper reports a novel fabrication method consisting of some procedures such as cylindrical polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) molding, ultraviolet (UV) exposure, Ni electroplating, and dry and wet etching for fabricating a microcoil structure that is expected to be used as a component within a wireless clamp meter to measure the electric power consumption of various information technology (IT) devices for the realization of a green IT society. In comparison with the conventional ultraviolet Lithographie-Gallvanoformung-Abformung (UV-LIGA) process, this method makes it possible to fabricate cylindrical microcomponents at a low-cost, mainly because of using a cheap PDMS mold. By the pre-process of the 3D UV-microreplication method, a UV resin replica pattern was clearly transferred along the surface of the cylindrical metal body within the cavity of the PDMS mold replicated from a master pattern. Ni microcoil structure was fabricated by the post-process, utilizing the UV resin replica pattern as a base for Ni electroplating.     

Production of platelet-activating factor by human normodense and hypodense eosinophils

Normodense eosinophils and neutrophils from normal donors produced considerable amounts of plateletactivating factor (PAF) when stimulated with ionophore A23187. PAF produced by eosinophils appeared to be degraded more rapidly than PAF formed by neutrophils, suggesting a higher activity of PAF-degrading enzyme in eosinophils. Substantial proportions of PAF newly formed by both eosinophils and neutrophils were shown to be cell-associated. By comparison, hypodense eosinophils obtained from a patient with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome produced an extremely large amount of PAF and released much of it into the incubation medium. The accelerated formation of PAF in hypodense eosinophils may be related to various cardiovascular complications associated with hypereosinophilic syndrome. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, Tokyo, Japan, May 1989.     

The deterioration of mechanical properties of chloroprene rubber in various conditions

The changes of mechanical properties of chloroprene rubber, used as a jacket material for electric cables in nuclear power generating stations, were investigated under various deterioration environments. The heat resistant properties of the rubber material were measured at various temperatures using a stress relaxation method. From the view point of stress-strain behaviour and chemorheology, the addition of antioxidant and/or antirad reagent to the rubber improves the resistance to heat and/or radiation, respectively. The effects of dose-rate and surrounding atmosphere on the mechanical properties of rubber under radiation were also studied. The radiation damage of rubber was accelerated remarkably under a pressure of 90 atm of air. A vibration fatigue test under heat and radiation was also performed.     

Incorporation limit of MoO3 in sodium borosilicate glasses

Optimizing the concentration of molybdenum incorporated in a borosilicate glass matrix is essential in the vitrification of high-level radioactive waste. However, the incorporation limit of MoO₃ in fundamental borosilicate systems has been rarely correlated with the local structure of the molybdenum cations. This study investigates the variations in the incorporation limit of MoO₃ in ternary sodium borosilicate glass upon varying the B₂O₃/(SiO₂ + B₂O₃) ratio (i.e., B)_. The incorporation limit of MoO₃ was less than 3 mol% in the low-B region (B < 0.7), where molybdenum cations mainly existed as [MoO₄]²⁻. However, when B was higher than 0.85, the incorporation limit was higher than 6 mol%, and the Raman spectra indicated the presence of octahedrally coordinated molybdenum cations, essential to stabilize the Mo–O–Mo linkage. The variation in the local structure of molybdenum cations can be explained by the available amount of non-framework cations compensating for the negative charge near [MoO₄]²⁻. These results allow the development of glass compositions with a high incorporation limit of MoO₃ simply by controlling the local structure near the molybdenum cations.     

Investigating the influence of survival selection and fitness estimation method in genotype-based surrogate-assisted genetic programming

Artificial Life and Robotics - This paper focuses on surrogate-assisted genetic programming (SAGP), an efficient evolutionary program optimization approach based on the surrogate estimation of the...