Surface modification of polymeric nanocomposite thin films using supercritical carbon dioxide

We report on an efficient and environmentally friendly means to modify surface properties of polymer films supported for nanoparticles. Ultrathin polystyrene (PS) films (<300 Å), in which inorganic nanoparticles were embedded, were exposed to supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂). The swollen structure was then preserved by quickly evaporating CO₂. X-ray reflectivity (XR) results showed that this procedure produced polymeric nanocomposite films with a low-density region of about 150Å at the polymer/air interface. The formation of the low-density layer was independent of the nature of the particles, indicating that the surface modification through exposure to scCO₂ may be a universal phenomenon regardless of a choice of nanoparticles.     

In vivo protein delivery to human liver-derived cells using hepatitis B virus envelope pre-S region

Human hepatocyte-specific delivery of green fluorescent protein was succeeded in the mouse xenograft model by fusion with hepatitis B virus surface antigen pre-S regions (pre-S(1+2)), not with each pre-S region. The entire pre-S region would be useful for human liver-specific delivery of therapeutic proteins and bio-imaging fluoroproteins in biomedical field.     

高速因特网中含卫星单向链路的路由研究

由于多数卫星地面站只具有接收能力而形成了单向链路,无法应用现有的路由协议.为了解决含有卫星单向链路的路由问题,首先针对卫星直播系统的拓扑结构建立了网络模型,并在简化模型的基础上提出了基于环路发现的链路状态路由算法和一种基于服务器的协议--SERP(sever-based routing protocol).通过证明路由算法的收敛性,并利用Network Simulator工具对协议进行仿真的结果,得出SERP的正确性和具有协议开销小的特点,可用以支持在高速因特网中集成宽带卫星网络的动态路由.     

Clioquinol Decreases Levels of Phosphorylated,Truncated, and Oligomerized Tau Protein

The neuropathological hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are senile plaques (SPs), which are composed of amyloid β protein (Aβ), and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), which consist of highly phosphorylated tau protein. As bio-metal imbalance may be involved in the formation of NFT and SPs, metal regulation may be a direction for AD treatment. Clioquinol (CQ) is a metal-protein attenuating compound with mild chelating effects for Zn²⁺ and Cu²⁺, and CQ can not only detach metals from SPs, but also decrease amyloid aggregation in the brain. Previous studies suggested that Cu²⁺ induces the hyperphosphorylation of tau. However, the effects of CQ on tau were not fully explored. To examine the effects of CQ on tau metabolism, we used a human neuroblastoma cell line, M1C cells, which express wild-type tau protein (4R0N) via tetracycline-off (TetOff) induction. In a morphological study and ATP assay, up to 10 μM CQ had no effect on cell viability; however, 100 μM CQ had cytotoxic effects. CQ decreased accumulation of Cu⁺ in the M1C cells (39.4% of the control), and both total and phosphorylated tau protein. It also decreased the activity of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) (37.3% and 60.7% levels of the control, respectively), which are tau kinases. Of note, activation of protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A), which is a tau phosphatase, was also observed after CQ treatment. Fractionation experiments demonstrated a reduction of oligomeric tau in the tris insoluble, sarkosyl soluble fraction by CQ treatment. CQ also decreased caspase-cleaved tau, which accelerated the aggregation of tau protein. CQ activated autophagy and proteasome pathways, which are considered important for the degradation of tau protein. Although further studies are needed to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the effects of CQ on tau, CQ may shed light on possible AD therapeutics.     

Particle growth of magnesium alkoxide as a carrier material for polypropylene polymerization catalyst

Images from scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction profiles of typical magnesium diethoxide (MGE) particles obtained by the reaction of ethanol, metal magnesium and iodine showed the round MGE particle (tertiary particle) had a layer structure consisting of many crystalline fragments (secondary particles) comprising many minute crystals (primary particles). It was clearly shown that each precipitated secondary particle had not agglomerated, but had repeatedly grown and combined with others. From the investigation of the course of a reaction, it was suggested the MGE crystals grown on Mg metal exfoliated as “lump-like” seeds, and crystal growth on seeds proceeded such that the shapes of the final MGE particles were more spherical than those of their seeds. It was presumed from a model reaction that the enhancement of MGE solubility by I₂ addition to form the quasi-stable complex nMg(OEt)₂·MgI₂·mEtOH was the key process in the formation of plate crystals. The relationship between the size of crystalline fragments and crystallization rate (reaction rate, MGE solubility) was discussed.The catalyst, when prepared using MGE as the carrier material, exhibited exceptionally high polymerization activity than when it was prepared with MgCl₂ alcohol complex (MgCl₂·ROH). We presume that this is because particles of the MGE-based catalyst are porous, and because the formation of active species of the supported Ti and monomer diffusion progressed adequately from the surface of the particle to its internal parts.     

A Virtual MAC Address Scheme for Mobile Ethernet

Heterogeneous wireless access is being integrated into IP networks to support future wireless systems. The enhanced IP technologies being developed must address both handover issues related to mobility management and security issues related to wireless access. We previously proposed a network architecture, Mobile Ethernet, based on wide area Ethernet technologies, that reduces overhead involving handover by managing mobility in the IEEE802 MAC layer. We also proposed a virtual MAC address scheme that introduces a host identifier into layer 2 to accommodate heterogeneous wireless access, manage handover between wireless accesses, provide scalability, and ensure security. In this paper, we design the virtual MAC address scheme for Mobile Ethernet and describe the sequence diagrams of the scheme. We also clarify the effect of our proposed scheme from the viewpoint of scalability by comparing the simulated signaling traffic load at handover with that using FMIPv6. Yoshia Saito received his B.E. and M.E. degrees from Shizuoka University, Shizuoka, Japan, in 2002 and 2003 respectively. He is currently a student in Ph.D. course in the university. From January 2004, he is also working as a visiting researcher at National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Yokosuka, Japan. His research interests include mobile computing and next generation wireless systems. Masahiro Kuroda received the M.E. degree in systems science from the Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, in 1980, the M.S. degree in computer science from University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, in 1989, and received the Ph.D. degree in computer science from Shizuoka University, Japan, in 2000. He joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, Kamakura, Japan in 1980. Since then, he was engaged in OS/network developments, mobile network computing R&D, and cellular Java standardizations. He is currently working as a group leader at National Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Yokosuka, Japan. His current research interests includes wireless network, wireless security, mobile systems, ubiquitous systems, and next generation wireless systems architecture. He is a member of the IEEE Computer Society. Tadanori Mizuno received the B.E. degree in industrial engineering from the Nagoya Institute of Technology in 1968 and received the Ph.D. degree in computer science from Kyushu University, Japan, in 1987. In 1968, he joined Mitsubishi Electric Corp. Since 1993, he is a Professor of Faculty of Engineering, Shizuoka University, Japan. He moved to the Faculty of Information, Shizuoka University in 1995. His research interests include mobile computing, distributed computing, computer networks, broadcast communication and computing, and protocol engineering. He is a member of Information Processing Society of Japan, the institute of electronics, information and Communication Engineers, the IEEE Computer Society and ACM.     

IR and XPS Studies on the Surface Structure of Poled ZnO–TeO2 Glasses with Second-Order Nonlinearity

The effect of thermal/electrical poling on the surface structure of 30ZnO·70TeO₂ glass has been investigated by means of IR reflectance and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). All the poled glasses exhibit a common characteristic that the second-order nonlinearity is induced preferentially in an anode-side surface region. The reflectance from the anode-side glass surface at around 635 cm^{− 1} assignable to the vibrational mode of the Te–O_ax bond, where ax stands for the axial position of the TeO₄ trigonal bipyramid, is smaller in comparison with both as-annealed and cathode-side surfaces. The XPS analysis of the anode-side surface shows a depletion of Zn²⁺ ions and penetration of Na⁺ ions from the borosilicate glass which was placed between the sample and the anode during poling. These results suggest that the poling brings about both the breaking of the tellurite glass network and compositional changes at the anode-side surface below which the second-order nonlinearity is preferentially induced.     

Heavy metal ion scavengers from cyanuric chloride

Cyanuric chloride was reacted with polyamines and thiourea, and subsequent hydrolysis of the isothiouronium salt yielded amine polymers with divalent sulfur. The polymers scavenge cupric, cadmium, lead, and mercuric ions from considerably concentrated hydrogen chloride solutions, and they were compared with polystyrene—sulfonic acid resin. Zinc, cobaltous, and nickel ions are adsorbed only at relatively high pH (4.8–6.8). Removal of cupric, cadmium, and mercuric ions is not affected by the addition of sodium chloride.