Colorimetric chemosensor for ATP based on phthalimide-appended poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline)

We have designed a colorimetric conjugated polymer (PDMAp) for selective ATP sensing based on poly(2,5-dimethoxyaniline) bearing phthalimide which can form hydrogen bonds with adenine. PDMAp have been synthesized via chemical oxidative polymerization with CSA and DDQ and dedoping with an aqueous ammonia solution. PDMAp was displayed to signal the colorimetric selective detection for ATP over various nucleotides such as ADP, AMP, CTP, TTP, and GTP in DMSO–water (9:1, v/v) mixture. The absorption spectral change can be attributed to a doping process of ATP to PDMAp through hydrogen bonds between phthalimide and adenine as well as electrostatic interactions between the phosphate group of ATP and the backbone of PDMAp.     

Calcium oxide/carbon dioxide reactivity in a packed bed reactor of a chemical heat pump for high-temperature gas reactors

The thermal performance of a chemical heat pump that uses a calcium oxide/carbon dioxide reaction system was discussed as a heat storage system for utilizing heat output from high temperature gas reactors (HTGR). Calcium oxide/carbon dioxide reactivity for the heat pump was measured using a packed bed reactor containing 1.0 kg of reactant. The reactor was capable of storing heat at 900 °C by decarbonation of calcium carbonate and generating up to 997 °C by carbonation of calcium oxide. The amount of stored heat in the reactor was 800–900 kJ kg⁻¹. The output temperature of the reactor could be controlled by regulating the carbonation pressure. The thermal storage performance of the reactor was superior to that of conventional sensible heat storage systems. A heat pump using this CaO/CO₂ reactor is expected to contribute to thermal load leveling and to realize highly efficient utilization of HTGR output due to the high heat storage density and high-quality temperature output of the heat pump.     

Super environment-friendly electrodeposition paint

Super low VOC due to new composition/reaction mechanism can minimize the environmental risk as it does not contain lead and tin, hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and endocrine disrupters (EPA/67 items, SPEED’98/JEA/67 items) currently specified as contaminants. New EAD (electrolyzed activate deposition paint) is not the only conventional cure agent or solvent, but also the super low VOC, HAPs materials and endocrine disrupters. The electric energy used by EAD is utilized for the reaction but not for the deposition. EAD consists of two technologies. One is propargyl group change to the allene by using electrodeposition. Propargyl group is stable, but allene group is highly polymerizing. As a result, EAD had high bath stability. The other is sulfonium change to sulfide by using electrodeposition. This sulfonium salt is lost as a result of the electrolytic reduction, and hence can be irreversibly rendered non-conductive. As a result, EAD showed high throwing power.     

High-temperature deformation and fracture behaviour of Cu-SiO2 bicrystals

Bicrystals of CU-SiO₂ dispersion-hardened alloys and of pure copper were tensile tested at various temperatures between 450 and 1050 K at a strain rate of 1.5 x 10^–4 sec^–1. In the case of pure copper bicrystals, elongation to fracture did not depend significantly on temperature and the fracture mode was invariably transgranular up to 850 K. On the other hand, the ductility of CU-SiO₂ bicrystals decreased with increase in temperature and the transition in the fracture mode from transgranular to intergranular occurred at around 450 K. SiO₂ particles on grain boundaries play an important role on intergranular fracture by suppressing grain-boundary sliding and also on the retardation of recrystallization during deformation. Two types of Cu-SiO₂ bicrystals having different crystal orientation relationships show quite different deformation and fracture behaviour. This can be explained in terms of the contribution of lattice dislocations to the grain-boundary sliding.     

Effect of Zn, Ni and Fe Impurities on Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+��

We measured the change of T _c with the doping of the magnetic and nonmagnetic impurity in Bi₂Sr_1.6La_0.4CuO_6+?? (Bi2201). The reduction of T _c is about 20% in samples with Zn (1.1%), Ni (1.0%), and Fe (1.2%), and a slight difference was observed among these samples. We also observed the resonance peak at the Zn-impurity site by scanning tunneling spectroscopy at 4.2 K. The observed resonance peak showed the four-fold symmetry, and appeared at approximately ?1.5 meV.     

High-throughput immunophenotyping by surface plasmon resonance imaging

Cell binding assays on antibody arrays permit the rapid immunophenotyping of living cells. The throughput of the analysis, however, is still limited due to our inability to perform parallel and quantitative detection of cells captured on the array. To address this limitation, we employed here an imaging technique based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). SPR has been frequently used to monitor capture of proteins on antibody microarrays, while few cases were reported for capture of cells. Antibody arrays were prepared through the photopatterning of an alkanethiol monolayer on a gold-evaporated glass plate and the subsequent immobilization of various antibodies onto 4-9 separate spots created by photopatterning. A glass slip was mounted onto the array with a thin spacer to construct a parallel-plate chamber. Leukemia cells were injected into the chamber to conduct a binding assay, while refractive index changes at the vicinity of the array surface were monitored by SPR imaging. We observed that SPR signals were intensified on specific antibody spots but not on nonspecific spots. Confocal laser scanning microscopy revealed that the observed SPR signals were attributed to cell deformations caused by multivalent interactions with immobilized antibody, which effectively elevated the refractive index of a medium phase within an evanescent field. This effect could be suitably utilized to monitor quantitatively cell binding to multiple spots from a heterogeneous cell population.     

Design and control of a microrobotic system using magneticlevitation

Presents a prototype microrobot based on magnetic principles. Miniature items are to be transported and assembled in hazardous environments. A microrobot can be remotely operated with 3 DOF in an enclosed environment by transferring magnetic energy and optical signals from outside. The magnetic drive unit consists of 8 electromagnets (4 pairs), 2 permanent magnets, a return yoke and a pole piece. The microrobot is manipulated under the pole piece by regulating magnetic field. It consists of a magnetic head, a body (electronic circuit and batteries), and copper alloy ribbon ringers. A shape memory alloy actuator activates the fingers by illuminating/extinguishing several LED. PID controls were applied. To cope with uncertainties and variations in payload masses, an adaptive control law was also employed for positioning along the z axis to enable the controller parameters to be adjusted in real-time. Effectiveness of the control was verified by the results of several experiments. The microrobot has a net mass of 8.1 g and it can elevate and manipulate objects with masses up to 1.5 g within a volume of 29×29×26 mm³ with a precision of 0.05 mm     

An Advanced Oscillation Mixing Method for Improving the Cooling Uniformity in Quenching

In quenching, the cooling uniformity is most important to diminish distortion occurring on work pieces. As a trial to accomplish uniform cooling, therefore, there exist various mixing methods of a quenchant and the quenchant circulation with an external pump has so far been the well accepted mixing method. However, this study proposes an advanced oscillation mixing method that can improve more the cooling uniformity in quenching. The proposed method includes a stirrer in oscillating motion, so that the simultaneous oscillating and mixing movements of the stirrer are considered to provide efecfively the uniform cooling characteristics for the quenchant. In comparison with the case of the circulation pump mixing, the investigation using the oscillation mixing method has demonstrated the following two experimental facts:(1) the short vapor blanket stage caused by the quick breakage of the oil vapor blanket and (2) the reduced variation of the quenching distortion.