Polymeric phosphonium salts as a novel class of cationic biocides. X. Antibacterial activity of filters incorporating phosphonium biocides

Phosphonium salts with different alkyl chains as substituents were incorporated covalently on the surfaces of cellulose filters with silane coupling agents containing phosphonium ions, and their surface antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were explored by the viable cell-counting method in sterile distilled water. The filters incorporating phosphonium biocides showed higher antibacterial activity, and its activity strongly depended on the structure of substituents. The surface-treated filters may be used to sterilize air and water, including microorganisms. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Bitline GND sensing technique for low-voltage operation FeRAM

In this sensing technique, pMOS charge transfer maintains the bitline level near the GND when the plate line goes high. It gives 0.5-V higher readout voltages across the cell capacitors and enables a 0.4-V higher differential amplitude in a 512-cell per bitline structure compared with the conventional high-impedance bitline sensing technique. Using the shifted bias plate line layout, only eight cells and eight sense amplifiers per cell mat are activated, and simulations show 8.06 mW at 3 V and 5 MHz, which is about the same power consumption as the conventional device     

Preparation of yttrium-90-labeled human macroaggregated albumin for regional radiotherapy

Helicobacter pylori and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are two of the most common causes of peptic ulceration. The aim of this review is to assess the possible inter-relationships between Helicobacter pylori and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the pathogenesis of gastric and duodenal erosions and ulcers, with the aim of assessing if the presence of Helicobacter pylori is likely to increase the likelihood of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug-related gastroduodenal symptoms and lesions, and if eradication of Helicobacter pylori may reduce or prevent non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug lesions. There appears to be more likelihood of dyspeptic symptoms in patients on long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs when Helicobacter pylori is present. The balance of evidence also suggests that peptic ulcers and erosions in patients on long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be more likely to occur in patients who are Helicobacter pylori positive compared to those who are Helicobacter pylori negative. Although Helicobacter pylori and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs both increase the risk of peptic ulcer bleeding, the risk does not appear to be additive. There is increasing evidence from prospective studies that eradication of Helicobacter pylori may reduce the incidence of ulcers in patients on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. More prospective long-term studies are required. If Helicobacter pylori is confirmed to be a factor in this respect, it will aid in the targeting of patients at greatest risk of developing ulcers in patients on long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Those at greatest risk are elderly patients, especially females, smokers, patients with a previous ulcer history, severe or debilitating arthritis or who have other chronic diseases. The addition of Helicobacter pylori to this list and its subsequent eradication may improve the outlook for these patients and help in the effective targeting of patients at greatest risk who are on long-term non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.     

Polyparameter linear free energy models for polyacrylate fiber-water partition coefficients to evaluate the efficiency of solid-phase microextraction

The fiber-water partition coefficient, K(fw), is decisive for performance of solid-phase microextraction (SPME) techniques in organic chemical analyses. In this study, polyacrylate (PA)-coated fiber was evaluated for its K(fw) values toward diverse neutral organic compounds. Literature K(fw) data were thoroughly evaluated, and additional K(fw) values for 69 compounds were measured in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) solution at 37 °C. These K(fw) data, spanning over 6 orders of magnitude, were used to construct polyparameter linear free energy relationship (PP-LFER) models. The PP-LFER models fit well to the data with a standard deviation of 0.15-0.23 log units. Additional experiments indicated that the differences in temperature (25 vs 37 °C), electrolyte concentrations (pure water vs PBS), and conditioning methods (heat vs methanol) had only minor influences (<0.3 log units) on K(fw). Using the established PP-LFERs, the SPME extraction efficiency of PA coating toward compounds of differing polarity was evaluated in comparison to poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) coating. PA exhibited higher extraction capacities for H-bond donor compounds (e.g., phenols, anilines, amides, and many drugs and pesticides) with the estimated K(fw) values being 1-4 log units higher than those of PDMS. Also, PA was shown to be more efficient than PDMS for hydrophobic aromatic compounds.     

Poly(sulfonated phenylene)-block-poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymer for polymer electrolyte fuel cell application

Novel poly(2-(3-sulfo)benzoyl-1,4-phenylene)-block-poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers (PSP-b-PAESs) were successfully synthesized by Ni(0)-catalyzed copolymerization of 2,5-dichloro-3′-sulfo-benzophenone (DCSB) and chlorobenzophenone-endcapped oligo(arylene ether sulfone). Their physical property, morphology and polymer electrolyte fuel cell (PEFC) performance were investigated compared to those of the DCSB-based random copolymers and Nafion112. PSP-b-PAES with a measured ion exchange capacity (IEC) of 1.82 meq g^?1, of which the hydrophilic/hydrophobic block lengths were evaluated as 17/8.4, showed the relatively small number of water molecules sorbed per sulfonic acid group (λ = 15) in water and the anisotropic membrane swelling with 2.4 times larger through-plane swelling than in-plane one, whereas it showed the almost isotropic proton conductivity. The PSP-b-PAES exhibited a microphase-separated structure composed of hydrophobic and hydrophilic domains, whereas the random copolymers exhibited a homogenous morphology. The PSP-b-PAES had the larger proton conductivity than the random copolymer with an IEC of 2.01 meq g^?1, especially under the low relative humidities. Even at a low humidification of 17% RH at 90 °C and 0.2 MPa, the PSP-b-PAES exhibited the high PEFC performance; namely, cell voltage of 0.69 V at load current density of 0.5 A cm^?2 and maximum output of 0.73 W cm^?2, which were much higher than those at 30% RH for the random copolymer (0.65 V and 0.51 W cm^?2) and Nafion112 (0.70 V and 0.61 W cm^?2). The PSP-b-PAES showed the fairly high durability of 750 h under PEFC operation at 90 °C in spite of the relatively low molecular weight. PSP-b-PAESs have the high potential as polymer electrolyte membrane for PEFC applications.     

Evaluation of self-controllability of LMFRs against ATWS

This paper describes a simple and general method to evaluate inherent and passive safety characteristics of fast reactors that uses self-controllability limit lines. The self-controllability limit lines are derived analytically for the extreme conditions such as sodium boiling or fuel melting as linear relationships among the total reactivity, effective coolant and fuel reactivites. The analytically obtained self-controllability limit lines are compared to those obtained by numerical result from the LMFR plant system transient analysis. For a given set of various reactivity coefficients of any actual LMFRs, judgement is made on whether the reactor can maintain the core integrity under ATWS conditions.     

Long-lived FP burning based on the actinide recycle metal fuel core

Feasibility of burning of the major long-lived FPs (I, Pd, Tc, Sn, Se, Zr, Cs) while maintaining fuel breeding capability for the Self-Consistent Nuclear Energy System is evaluated based on the actinide recycle metal fuel core of a fast reactor. It is shown that I, Pd, Tc, Sn, Se, and Zr can be burnt simultaneously by an aid of the isotope separation of Pd-107, Zr-93 and Se-79. Cs, which is difficult to burn with the other FPs, should be utilized as an in-reactor shielding material to confine in the system. The selection of the target FPs to be burnt are also validated by using the Burden Index. The overall assessment based on those results indicates that the developed system has the great potential to achieve the goal of the Self-Consistent Nuclear Energy System.     

Ion-spray mass spectrometry for identification of the nonreducing terminal sugar of glycosaminoglycan

Various oligosaccharides from hyaluronic acid, which have glucuronic acid or N- acetylglucosamine at the nonreducing terminal, were prepared by digestion with a combination of testicular hyaluronidase and beta-glucuronidase. These oligo saccharides were analyzed by negative-mode ion-spray mass spectrometry (MS) with an atmospheric pressure ion source. Introduction of collisionally activated dissociation tandem mass spectrometry (CAD-MS/MS) produced ions derived from cleavage of the glycosidic bonds, allowing the structure to be analyzed. The CAD-MS/MS spectrum showed an intense and characteristic fragment ion at m/z 193 for oligosaccharides having glucuronic acid at the nonreducing terminal. On the other hand, this ion was not observed in the spectra of oligosaccharides having N- acetylglucosamine at the nonreducing terminal. Therefore, the fragmentation pattern revealed by CAD-MS/MS provides useful information for distinguishing glucuronic acid and N- acetylglucosamine at the nonreducing terminal of oligosaccharides derived from hyaluronic acid and other glycosaminoglycans. This ion-spray CAD-MS/MS technique was also applied successfully to the characterization of glycosaminoglycans reconstructed by glycotechnology.