Preparation of a Layered Titanoniobic Acid—Alumina Nanocomposite and Its Potential Applicability to Removal of Organic Contaminants in Water

A nanocomposite of layered titanoniobic acid, HTiNbO₅ with aluminum oxides was prepared by a pillaring technique. HTiNbO₅ was intercalated with aluminum polyoxocations through displacement of the pre-intercalated hexylammonium ions, and then the intercalation compound was heat-treated to yield the HTiNbO₅-alumina nanocomposite. The nanocomposite had a specific surface area larger than that of bare HTiNbO₅, whereas the nitrogen adsorption isotherm indicated the absence of micro- and mesopores. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that relatively large particles of HTiNbO₅ were broken down to small thin platelets through the pillaring treatment. The increased surface area of the nanocomposite was ascribed to this morphological alteration; small flakes gave increased external surface. The HTiNbO₅-alumina nanocomposite adsorbed 2,4-dichlorophenol from water, whereas pure HTiNbO₅ adsorbed little, indicating potential applicability of the nanocomposite as an adsorbent for organic pollutants in water. In addition, the nanocomposite decomposed 2,4-dichlorophenol dissolved in water upon UV irradiation, based on the photocatalytic activity of HTiNbO₅, whereas the modification with alumina did not greatly affect the photoactivity.     

A new approach to anisotropic conductive networks

A liquid-crystalline bifunctional monomer with two different reactive moieties was prepared by esterification of 4-(6-(acryloyloxy)hexyloxy)benzoic acid and 4-[11-(3-thienyl)undecyloxy]-4′-hydroxybiphenyl. A mesogenic side-chain polyacrylate containing a thienyl moiety at the extremity of its side chain was obtained by radical polymerization of the monomer. The subsequent reaction of the thienyl moiety with FeCl₃ leads to the formation of an anisotropic network with a poly(thiophene) unit. Received: 17 January 1997/Accepted: 5 March 1997     

Field emission of polycrystalline diamond films grown by microwave-plasma chemical vapor deposition. I. Effects of surface morphology of diamond

The effects of surface morphology on the field emission of non-doped polycrystalline diamond films with thicknesses ranging from 5 to 55 μm were studied. Diamond films grown by a microwave-plasma chemical vapor deposition technique had both the diamond and non-diamond components with pyramidal and angular crystalline structures. Although the average crystallite size increased with increasing the film thickness (d), the volume fraction of the non-diamond components in the films was insensitive to the film thickness. However, the turn-on electric field, F_T, (defined as the low-end electric field to emit electrons) showed a U-shape dependence on the film thickness. This U-shape dependence was explained by a model in which the emission current was controlled by Fowler–Norheim tunneling of electrons at surface of the pyramids when d was thinner than 20 μm and by carrier transport in the polycrystalline diamond film when d was thicker than 20 μm. The lowest field of 4 V/μm was obtained in the film with 20 μm thick.     

Morphology and High Modulus of Laminated Ultra‐Drawn Polyethylene Films with Biaxial Orientation Prepared by Microwave Heating

To improve the poor mechanical properties of uniaxially ultra‐drawn films along the transverse direction, lamination of two ultrahigh molecular weight polyethylene/ethylene dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate copolymer blend films was carried out in the rectangular elongation direction by a microwave heating method. The characteristics of the successful laminated films were analyzed theoretically and experimentally. The original orientation of the crystallites for the blend films was maintained perfectly after lamination, and the preferential directions intersected each other. The Young's modulus increased symmetrically with respect to the 45 ° direction. This is the first report concerning a drastic improvement of the Young's modulus in the transverse direction for films ultra‐drawn along one direction.

     

Three-dimensional observation of connective tissue of bovine masseter muscle under concentrate- and roughage-fed conditions by using immunohistochemical/confocal laser-scanning microscopic methods

ABSTRACT:  We investigated changes in connective tissue components of masseter (MA) muscle in Japanese black heifers ( n = 6) in concentrate- and roughage-fed groups (groups C and R, respectively). Body weight, at slaughter, of experimental heifers in group C (272.3 ± 22.3 kg) was higher ( P < 0.05) than that of group R (213.8 ± 27.5 kg). However, muscle weight and myofiber diameter (superficial and deep layers) of MA muscle did not differ between groups C and R. In contrast, total mastication duration of group R was longer ( P < 0.05) than that of group C. MA muscle of groups C and R was composed only of type I myofiber. Using immunohistochemical/confocal laser-scanning microscopy, type I collagen was observed mainly in perimysium, and type V and VI collagen were observed in perimysium and endomysium of both groups. Type IV collagen and laminin were observed only in the endomysium in both groups. However, type III collagen and fibronectin were strongly apparent in the perimysium and endomysium in group R. Connective tissue components in the perimysium of groups C and R were observed to form plate-shaped layers. On the other hand, honeycomb-shaped connective tissue components were seen in the endomysium-surrounded muscle fibers. In particular, fibronectin was strongly observed in the perimysium and endomysium in group R. These results indicate that there are different developmental changes among connective tissue components in MA muscle in response to mastication. The immunohistochemical/confocal laser-scanning microscopic method is useful to investigate the structural relationship among connective tissue components in skeletal muscle.     

Development of series of gateway binary vectors, pGWBs, for realizing efficient construction of fusion genes for plant transformation

We developed a new series of binary vectors useful for Gateway cloning to facilitate transgenic experiments in plant biotechnology. The new system, Gateway Binary Vectors (pGWBs) realized efficient cloning, constitutive expression using the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter and the construction of fusion genes by simple clonase reaction with an entry clone. The reporters employable in this system are beta-glucuronidase (GUS), synthetic green fluorescent protein with S65T mutation (sGFP), luciferase (LUC), enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP), and enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (ECFP). The tags available are 6xHis, FLAG, 3xHA, 4xMyc, 10xMyc, GST, T7-epitope, and tandem affinity purification (TAP). In total, 13 kinds of reporter or tag were arranged and were almost applicable to both N- and C-fusions. The pGWBs could be used for many purposes, such as promoter::reporter analysis, observation of subcellular localization by the expression of proteins fused to a reporter or tag, and analysis of protein-protein interaction by copurification and immunodetection experiments. The pGWBs were constructed with modified pBI101 containing a CaMV35S promoter-driven hygromycin phosphotransferase (HPT) gene as the second selection marker. We also constructed pGWBs with the marker HPT driven by the nopaline synthase promoter. By using the pGWB system, the expression of tagged proteins, and the localization of GFP-fused proteins were easily analyzed. Moreover, tissue-specific and inducible gene expression using a promoter was also monitored with pGWBs. It is expected that, the pGWB system will serve as a powerful tool for plasmid construction in plant research.     

Improvement of response characteristics of TiO2 humidity sensors by simultaneous addition of Li2O and V2O5

Porous TiO₂ ceramics were prepared by adding various amounts of Li₂O and V₂O₅ and the humidity sensitivity of the resulting ceramics was investigated by means of electrical measurements, scanning electron microscopy and mercury intrusion porosimetry. Simultaneous addition of Li₂O and V₂O₅ to TiO₂ enabled sintering at temperatures as low as 700 °C and also decreased the impedance of the ceramics. Furthermore, in the ceramics including these additives simultaneously, excellent humidity sensitivity as well as good response characteristics were observed. The microstructures of these ceramics depended on the firing temperature and the amount and ratio of Li₂O/V₂O₅, and optimum humidity sensitivity was observed for the sample including both 0.25 mol% Li₂O and 0.75 mol% V₂O₅ fired at 700 °C. These results indicated that the humidity sensitivity and its response characteristics were closely related to the microstructure, and that improving the uniformity of microstructure is important for improving humidity sensitivity and its response characteristics.     

Anti-Tumor Effect of Orally Administered Spinach Glycolipid Fraction on Implanted Cancer Cells, Colon-26, in Mice

We succeeded in purifying a major glycolipid fraction from a green vegetable, spinach. This fraction consists mainly of three glycolipids: monogalactosyl diacylglycerol (MGDG), digalactosyl diacylglycerol (DGDG), and sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerol (SQDG). In a previous study, we found that the glycolipid fraction inhibited DNA polymerase activity, cancer cell growth and tumor growth with subcutaneous injection. We aimed to clarify oral administration of the glycolipid fraction, suppressing colon adenocarcinoma (colon-26) tumor growth in mice. A tumor graft study showed that oral administration of 20 mg/kg glycolipid fraction for 2 weeks induced a 56.1% decrease in the solid tumor volume (P < 0.05) without any side-effects, such as loss of body weight or major organ failure, in mice. The glycolipid fraction induced the suppression of colon-26 tumor growth with inhibition of angiogenesis and the expression of cell proliferation marker proteins such as Ki-67, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and Cyclin E in the tumor tissue. These results suggest that the orally administered glycolipid fraction from spinach could suppress colon tumor growth in mice by inhibiting the activities of neovascularization and cancer cellular proliferation in tumor tissue.     

Preparation of polylactide/poly(ε-caprolactone) microspheres enclosing acetamiprid and evaluation of release behavior

Reduction of the amount of pesticides applied to agricultural land is essential for environmental conservation. It can be accomplished by immobilization of the pesticides in polymer supports, which prevents their volatilization, degradation and leaching losses, and provides controlled release of the chemicals. In the present study, acetamiprid, a novel pesticide, was encapsulated in PLA-based microspheres using the solvent evaporation method via oil-in-oil (O/O) emulsion. Silicon oil and an acetonitrile solution with dissolved synthetic polymer(s) and acetamiprid were used as an outer and inner oil phases, respectively. The entrapment efficiency of the pesticide in the case of PLA microspheres decreased with increasing the concentration of the pesticide in the inner oil phase. The amount of acetamiprid released from the microspheres was less than 18 %. On the other hand, incorporation of poly(-caprolactone) (PCL) into the PLA microspheres resulted in increased amount of releasable pesticide (approximately 89 %). These results indicate that the PCL/PLA microsphere is a promising immobilization support of the acetamiprid for practical application.