Hydrogen-bond-assisted isotactic-specific radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide with pyridine N-oxide

Radical polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) in CHCl₃ at low temperatures in the presence of pyridine N-oxide (PNO) was investigated. An isotactic poly(NIPAAm) with meso diad content of 61% was successfully prepared at −60 °C in the presence of a two-fold amount of PNO. Thermodynamic analysis suggested that the isotactic-specificity was entropically induced, probably due to conformational fixation near the propagating chain-end through coordination by PNO.     

Physical Considerations in the Development of Pressure-Sensitive Adhesive Sheets

A pressure-sensitive adhesive sheet is a special kind of paper used in non-impact printers which use a heating process to apply toner to paper. As a result, it needs special characteristics that general pressure-sensitive adhesive paper for labels do not require.

One of these characteristics is that the edge of the folded paper used in non-impact printers must not incline after printing. This was done by making the degree of orientation of the fibers in the face stocks and the release liners low.

The other characteristics are that adhesive must not ooze out from the edges during the slitting or guillotining process and that the labels must not come off of the release liner by themselves during the printing process. Ooze characteristics were found to be related to the adhesive coat weight. An adhesive paper with both a high peel strength and lower adhesive coat weight was developed by studying the dynamic viscoelastic properties of adhesives and release layers. The storage modulus of the release layer concerned with the release force was also found to be related to the self-peeling tendency of the labels.

These points were considered during the development of pressure-sensitive adhesive paper used in non-impact printers which use a heating process to apply toner to paper.     

Production of 5,8,11-cis-eicosatrienoic acid by a Δ12-desaturase-defective mutant ofMortierella alpina 1S-4

A mutant defective in Δ12-desaturase of an arachidonic-acid producing fungus,Mortierella alpina 1S-4, was shown to be a novel potent producer of Mead acid (5,8,11-cis-eicosatrienoic acid, 20:3ω9). The fungus produced several fatty acids of the n-9 family,i.e., 6,9-cis-octadecadienoic acid (18:2ω9), 8,11-cis-eicosadienoic acid (20:2ω9) and 20:3ω9. Significantly high levels of these fatty acids were produced during growth at low temperatures (12–20°C). On submerged cultivation at 20°C for 10 days in a 5-L fermenter containing 2% glucose plus 1% yeast extract (pH 6.0), the production of 20:3ω9 reachedca. 0.8 g/L (56 mg/g dry mycelia), accounting for 15% (by wt) of the total mycelial fatty acids. The other major fatty acids were palmitic acid (6%), stearic acid (11%), oleic acid (45%), 18:2ω9 (12%) and 20:2ω9 (3%). Studies on the distribution of fatty acids among lipid classes showed that, irrespective of the growth temperature employed (12–28°C),ca. 70% (by mol) of 20:3ω9 was present in the triglyceride and the remainder in the phospholipid fraction, especially in phosphatidylcholine (PC). When the fungus was grown at 12°C, the proportion of 20:3ω9 in the PC fraction wasca. 55%. On leave from Suntory Ltd.     

Precipitation recovery of boron from wastewater by hydrothermal mineralization

It is well known that boric acid exhibits various toxic effects on plant, animal and human beings even at very low concentrations. Thus, the development of boron-removal technique from wastewater has been intensively investigated. In this study, a new hydrothermal treatment technique was developed to recover boron as recyclable precipitate Ca(2)B(2)O(5).H(2)O from aqueous solutions. As a result, it was found that the hydrothermal treatment using calcium hydroxide as a mineralizer converted boron in the aqueous media effectively into calcium borate, Ca(2)B(2)O(5).H(2)O. In the optimal hydrothermal condition, more than 99% of boron was collected from the synthetic wastewater of 500 ppm. Thus, the present hydrothermal treatment in the presence of calcium hydroxide is recommended as one of the effective techniques to recover boron from aqueous media.     

Does Globalization Reduce or Enhance Democracy? A Micro Analysis Based on an 18 Country Cross-National Asia-Europe Survey

Does globalization have a positive or negative impact on democracy? One reason this problem has gone unsolved is found in the fact that most studies to date have not made systematic use of empirical data to test propositions concerning the relationship between globalization and democracy. While there have been studies that have made a pioneering systematic contribution through the use of macroeconomic and other aggregate statistics, this article empirically examines whether globalization enhances or constrains democracy by using cross-national survey data collected in 17 countries (the Asia-Europe Survey). Our empirical testing has shown that globalization tends to be positively correlated to democratic activism at the individual level, suggesting the possibility that experiences of globalization strengthen democracy.

     

Demonstration of 100 Gbps optical packet switching using header processor based on 48-bit longest prefix matching

Wire-rate packet processing and its energy saving for over 100 Gbps speed of line are major issues to be resolved in optical packet switching (OPS) networks. For that purpose, we newly develop a high-speed, deterministic-latency electronic header processor based on longest prefix matching (LPM) for searching optical packet destination addresses (OP-DAs). This paper reports the successful experimental results of electronic header processing based on LPM search of up to 48 bits and optical switching of 100 Gbps optical packets by the use of the header processor. We demonstrate 48-bit LPM-capable optical packet switching. We also demonstrate IP packet transfer and 32-bit LPM-capable optical packet switching. In the latter demonstration, the 32-bit OP-DA of optical packets is directly copied from the 32-bit destination address of Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) packets. This result indicates that OPS networks can be deployed with electronic IP networks by the use of integrated network operation between OPS and IP networks.     

Integration of multianalyte sensing functions on a capillary-assembled microchip: simultaneous determination of ion concentrations and enzymatic activities by a "drop-and-sip" technique

A general and simple implementation of simultaneous multiparametric sensing in a single microchip is presented by using a capillary-assembled microchip (CAs-CHIP) integrated with the plural different reagent-release capillaries (RRCs), acting as various biochemical sensors. A novel "drop-and-sip" technique of fluid handling is performed with a microliter droplet of a model sample solution containing proteases (trypsin, chymotrypsin, thrombin, elastase) and divalent cations (Ca2+, Zn2+, Mg2+) that passes through the microchannel with the aid of a micropipette as a vacuum pump, concurrently filling each RRC via capillary force. To avert the evaporation of the nanoliter sample volume in each capillary, PDMS oil is dropped on the outlet hole of the CAs-CHIP exploiting the capillary force that results in spontaneous sealing of all the RRCs. In addition, this high-speed sample introduction alleviates the possibility of protein adsorption and capillary cross-contamination, allowing a reliable and multianalyte determination of a sample containing many different proteases and divalent cations by using the fluorescence image analysis. Presented results suggested the possible application of this microchip in the field of drug discovery and systems biology.     

Supercontinuum dynamically visualizes a dividing single cell

During cell division, various organelles behave dynamically. Visualization of these dynamic behaviors of organelles is a promising one step forward for understanding life at the molecular level. One- or two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy has so far been used for visualizing these cell dynamics. The fluorescent probe introduced into a living cell can visualize the spatial distribution of a target molecule in real time, enabling the tracing of cell dynamics at the molecular level. Introducing a fluorescent probe into a cell, however, may alter the physical and chemical conditions of the cell. Here we show a new method for direct (no need for staining cells) visualization of living cell processes with coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectroscopy. A new light source, supercontinuum generated from a photonic crystal fiber, has facilitated ultrabroadband (>3500 cm(-1)) multiplex CARS spectroscopy and imaging with high molecular specificity. Using this multiplex CARS technique, we have been successful in tracing the whole cell division process, the splitting of a mother cell into two daughter cells, appearance and disappearance of septum, and dynamic distribution changes of organelles consisting of lipid membrane. The supercontinuum has also facilitated simultaneous measurement of the CARS and two-photon excited fluorescence (TPEF) spectra, enabling what we call multiple nonlinear spectral imaging. Three-dimensional image reconstruction of a living cell with high speed is now possible to elucidate more detailed molecular-level dynamics inside a dividing living cell.     

Preparation and applications of novel fluoroalkyl end-capped acrylic acid oligomers/silica nanocomposites-encapsulated fullerenes

Fluoroalkyl end-capped acrylic acid oligomers/fullerenes nanocomposites reacted smoothly with tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) and silica nanoparticles under alkaline conditions to give fluoroalkyl end-capped oligomers/silica composites-encapsulated fullerenes. Interestingly, these isolated fluorinated composites were found to afford nanometer size-controlled colloidal particles with a good dispersibility in a variety of organic solvents including water. More interestingly, these fluorinated silica nanocomposites-encapsulated fullerenes were applied to a new type of surface modification agent, and these nanocomposites were able to disperse well above the poly(methyl methacrylate) films to exhibit not only surface active property imparted by fluorine but also a unique characteristic related to fullerenes in the nanocomposites on the surface, effectively.