Simplified method for determining cadmium concentrations in rice foliage and soil by using a biosensor kit with immunochromatography

BACKGROUND: The behavior of cadmium in ecosystems needs to be monitored because of the human toxicity of this heavy metal. The need recently arose for a simple and quick on‐site test for trace levels of Cd in food and environmental samples. In response, an immunochromatographic assay kit for detecting Cd was manufactured by Kansai Electric Power Co. of Japan. This kit uses the antigen–antibody complex reaction between the Cd–EDTA complex and an anti‐Cd–EDTA antibody and shows the results in terms of the degree of color developed on a test paper. We previously reported the successful use of this kit to determine Cd concentrations in brown rice. Here, we applied the kit to the determination of Cd concentrations in rice foliage and soil. RESULTS: Cadmium in rice foliage was not extracted successfully by the method used for brown rice. However, it was successfully extracted by 0.1 mol L^?1 HCl solution at a rice foliage:HCl ratio of 1:20, and coexisting metals were removed sufficiently by the column treatment. The Cd concentrations determined by immunochromatographic assay were well correlated with the values obtained by acid decomposition and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The 0.1 mol L^?1 HCl‐extractable Cd concentration in soil was also determined successfully with the kit. CONCLUSION: Approximate Cd concentrations in rice plants and 0.1 mol L^?1 HCl‐extractable Cd concentrations in soil can be monitored easily and quickly by this method at locations where facilities for acid digestion and precision analysis are not available. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Current Pumping from Spin Dynamics

We show theoretically that charge and spin currents arise from spin dynamics in the presence of the spin–orbit interaction. The dominant calculation is the inverse spin Hall effect, namely the spin current pumped from precession of local spins is converted into the charge current by the spin–orbit interaction. The conversion mechanism is explained based on the conservation laws of charge and spin.     

Preliminary Study of Single Phase Preparation and Doping Effect of <Emphasis Type="Italic">β</Emphasis>-Zn<Subscript>4</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>3</Subscript>

Single phase β-Zn₄Sb₃ was prepared by the application of a two-stage heat treatment, and impurity elements were doped. The undoped and doped samples were prepared by direct melting followed by two-stage heat treatment at 450°C and 400°C after solidification of the samples in sealed quartz ampoules. Impurity doping of the samples was performed by the addition of 1 at.% of Se, In, Pb, Te, or Bi. The resulting samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction (XRD), differential thermal analysis (DTA), optical microscopy, and electron probe microanalysis, and their Seebeck coefficients were determined at room temperature. The undoped samples were determined by XRD and DTA to comprise single phase β-Zn₄Sb₃, while the doped samples were composed of multiple phases. From the measurements of the Seebeck coefficient, all samples were found to be p-type and all were found to have almost the same values. These results indicate that β-Zn₄Sb₃ has limited solubility for these impurity elements.     

TEM/STEM Observation of ZrC Coating Layer for Advanced High-Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor Fuel, Part II

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has started to study and develop zirconium carbide (ZrC)-coated fuel particles for advanced high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The ZrC coating layer has been fabricated at JAEA by chemical vapor deposition using a pyrolytic reaction of zirconium bromide. The microstructures of the ZrC layers, whose nominal deposition temperatures could be measured and controlled during the deposition process, were characterized by means of TEM and STEM. In the present study, three batches were prepared and compared with each other as well as the previous batches. The crystallographic orientation of ZrC with regard to the growth direction in the ZrC layers deposited at a constant temperature of 1630 K was different from that deposited at varying temperatures in the 1493–1823 K range. A thin layer of turbostratic carbon was observed at the boundary between pyrolytic carbon and ZrC in particles deposited at the highest temperature among those used in this study (the nominal temperature was 1769 K); no such structure was found in a batch deposited at a lower temperature (the nominal temperature was 1632 K). Therefore, precise control of temperature is shown to be critical to the formation of good ZrC coatings.     

Low‐power‐consumption TFT‐LCD with dynamic memory embedded in the pixels

A low‐power‐consumption thin‐film‐transistor liquid‐crystal display (TFT‐LCD) with dynamic memory cells embedded in each pixel using low‐temperature poly‐Si technology has been developed. By holding data in the memory, the operating rate of the data driver can be dramatically reduced to 4 Hz. Eight levels of gray scale with low power consumption can be achieved by using the area‐ratio gray‐scale method. This TFT‐LCD can be used for displaying fine still images, with low power consumption.     

Antiferromagnetic Transition in Sr14−x Ca x Cu24O41 Investigated by Specific Heat Measurements

Results for low temperature specific heat for single crystals of ladder/chain materials Sr _14–x Ca _x Cu ₂₄ O ₄₁ (x= 0, 8, 10, 11.5) in magnetic field up to 15 T are reported. A sharp peak of the specific heat of a single crystal Sr _2.5 Ca _11.5 Cu ₂₄ O ₄₁, was found at 2.3 K, clearly indicating the onset of a long range order. In measurements of the specific heat in magnetic fields the transition temperature, T _N , was found to shift to lower temperatures with increasing magnetic field, indicating that the ordering is antiferromagnetic, which has been confirmed by neutron scattering measurements. With decreasing x T _N rapidly shifts to lower temperatures. For x=10 T _N decreases to 1 K and for x= 0 no anomaly indicating the transition was found down to 0.6K     

Motional coherency in chain dynamics of polybutadiene studied by molecular dynamics simulations

Molecular dynamics simulations of 1,4-polybutadiene in bulk amorphous state were performed. Results were compared with the recent neutron spin-echo measurements. To investigate motional coherency the relaxation rates for the collective and self-motions, the collective and self-relaxation rates, were evaluated for the short and long time regimes of the normalized intermediate scattering functions. The scattering vector dependence of the collective relaxation rates estimated for both fast and slow processes indicated a minimum at scattering vector q = 1.5 Å⁻¹, corresponding to the position of a peak in the static structure factor. The self-relaxation rates increased monotonously with q. A phenomenon known as de Gennes narrowing was reproduced well in the simulation and found to be originated from the inter-molecular correlation. The collective relaxation rate evaluated for fast process appeared to modulate around a peak of q = 2.9 Å⁻¹, corresponding to the intra-molecular correlation.     

Minimal effect of brain temperature changes on glutamate release in rat following severe global brain ischemia: a dialysis electrode study

Using a dialysis electrode, we recently developed an oxygen-independent system for real-time measurement of the glutamate concentration in the extracellular space ([Glu]e) during ischemia. This system allows separate evaluation of intra-ischemic biphase [Glu]e elevation, i.e. release from synaptic vesicles (1st phase), reversed uptake of glutamate from metabolic pools in neuronal cells (2nd phase), and post-ischemic glutamate re-uptake in ischemia-reperfusion models. Using the system, we attempted to clarify the relationship between biphase glutamate release and brain temperature in a model of acute global ischemia produced by transecting both carotid arteries. Our results showed that, in contrast to mild hyperthermia, hypothermia did not inhibit the 1st phase of [Glu]e release, and changes in intra-ischemic brain temperature had a minimal effect on the 2nd phase of [Glu]e elevation during severe acute ischemia. These findings, together with our previous data, indicate that brain temperature change in the intra-ischemic period plays an important role in disturbance of the glutamate re-uptake system during ischemia.     

Osteoclastogenesis inhibitory factor exhibits hypocalcemic effects in normal mice and in hypercalcemic nude mice carrying tumors associated with humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy

In the present study, we attempted to determine the extent to which an anterior capsulorrhexis carried out during cataract surgery contracts postoperatively. The size of the continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis (CCC) was measured at the end of surgery and at the final follow-up examination in 52 eyes of 40 patients who underwent phacoemulsification/aspiration and implantation of an intraocular lens (IOL) with 6-mm optics. Images obtained by video during surgery and by slit-lamp microscopy were used to determine the CCC size with reference to the optics of the IOL. The average CCC size was 5.0 mm at the end of surgery; it contracted to 4.4 mm by the final postoperative examination. The contraction of the anterior capsule progressed rapidly in the first 50 days following surgery and then gradually thereafter. The extent of contraction was greater in older patients. The smaller the CCC size immediately after surgery, the more rapidly it contracted. The size of the capsulorrhexis contracted an average of 22% following cataract surgery. The contraction rate tended to be higher in older patients. The results suggest that the capsulorrhexis carried out in cataract surgery for elderly patients should be sufficiently large, but not larger than the optics size of the IOL.