A method for dispersing dry nano-sized particles in a liquid using carrier particles

A method for dispersing dry particles in a liquid is described. The method involves coating large carrier particles with fine particles. When two types of particles having different sizes are mixed in dry conditions, the particles adhere to one another, and the large particles become coated with small particles. When the large core particles are coated with a mono-layer of small particles, further agglomeration is inhibited. Because the single small particles generated by the disruption adhere to the core particles, we presumed that, if the small particles that are adhered to large particles could be separated from the large particles by a sonication in a liquid, the dry fine particles could be dispersed in a liquid.The dispersion experiments conducted using spherical silica particles having a count median diameter D_p50 of 74 nm as small particles and spherical glass beads as large particles. In this situation, the large particles carry the small particles from a dry condition into a liquid. We refer to the large particles as carrier particles. The experiments revealed that the proposed dispersion procedure results in a superior product, compared to sonication only. The effect of carrier size on dispersion performance is also investigated. The findings indicate and an optimum carrier size exists. Observations of the carrier particle surfaces after dry mixing indicate that the optimum condition is the condition at which a mono-layer of Silica particles is formed.     

Development of a variable quench pressure relief valve for superconducting magnet system

A new variable quench pressure relief valve (VQRV) for a superconducting magnet system has been developed at the High Energy Accelerator Research Organization (KEK). The VQRV is designed that the setting of the blowout pressure can be freely controlled and be maintenance-free for long-term operation.A prototype VQRV was tested under a high radiation environment up to 2.5 MGy. The heat load of 1.5 W at 4.2 K and a seat leakage rate of 4.5 × 10⁻⁷ kg/s at 4.2 K of the VQRV were confirmed. It has enough performances for the cryogenic system operation in the Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC) neutrino beam line.The design and test results of the VQRV are described in this technical note.     

Short communication: Temporal changes in the skin morphology of dairy cows during the periparturient period

Management of dairy cow productivity requires monitoring of their nutritional status by visual observation. It has been suggested that changes in hair coat appearance are among the indicators of nutritional state in dairy cows. Temporal changes in the skin morphology in cows, however, have not been reported. In this study, we examined the changes in the skin of dairy cows that occur during the peripartum period. Seven pluriparous cows were used. Skin samples were collected at 28 d before the due date and 28 d and 56 d after calving for morphological examination. Hair follicle width was 108.8 ± 5.9 µm (±SD) in the dry period, 95.5 ± 5.5 µm at 28 d after calving, and 104.2 ± 5.3 µm at 56 d postpartum. The percentages of anagen hair follicles during these 3 periods were 41.4 ± 3.4, 18.5 ± 3.4, and 32.3 ± 3.3%, respectively. The corresponding sebaceous gland sizes were 8,362.0 ± 707.6, 7,800.0 ± 831.4, and 9,186.8 ± 962.6 µm², respectively. Hair follicle width was positively correlated with percentage of anagen hair follicles. The thickness of epidermal and proliferation rate of epidermal cell were also correlated. However, the hair follicle width, sebaceous gland size and cell proliferation rate, and thickness and proliferation rate of epidermal cells did not show any marked changes.     

Sub-critical water treatment of rice bran to produce valuable materials

The target of this study is application of sub-critical water as a green solvent for hydrolysis of rice bran and extraction of its oil in order to obtain value-added materials. Experiments were carried out at temperatures ranging from 100 to 360 °C with 5 min residence time in a batch reactor. Four phases were isolated after reaction: hexane-soluble, acetone-soluble, water-soluble, and solid residue phases. Rice bran oil was successfully and efficiently obtained by sub-critical water extraction. Significant increases of total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in the water phase were also observed, because polysaccharides and proteins (generally bio-macro polymers) in rice bran were hydrolysed by sub-critical water. The highest yields of TOC and TN were 140 and 13 mg/g dry matter, respectively. As a result, varieties of compounds, such as amino acids, organic acids, and water-soluble saccharides, were identified in the water phase. In particular, significant amounts of water-soluble sugars (maximum yield of total sugars was nearly 190 mg/g dry matter) proved that sub-critical water was a promising medium for dissolution of biomass in water. Acetone-soluble contents were attributed to tar, carbonized biomass, and in general, water- and hexane-insoluble compounds. Solid residue consisted of mainly un-reacted rice bran and insoluble inorganic compounds.     

Plasma glucagon after total resection of the pancreas in man

Serial measurements of plasma "true glucagon" (PG) and of glucagon-like immunoreactive materials (GLI) were carried out during and after total resection of the pancreas in a 62-year-old man with calcified pancreatitis. The postoperative course of this patient was uneventful and diabetes was well controlled. PG disappeared from the blood within 30 min after resection of the pancreas. In spite of the evidence that no pancreatic tissue was present in the abdomen, PG was detected again in the blood from 18 hr after total pancreatectomy until the ninth postoperative day. However, plasma PG did not rise following infusion of arginine during the fourteenth postoperative week. After an initial decrease, plasma GLI rose abruptly on the second postoperative day and remained elevated thereafter. The fluctuations of plasma PG and GLI were not parallel.     

Separation of myosin subfragment-1 into fractions containing g1 chani and g2 chain by Sepharose-adipic acid hydrazide-ATP column chromatography

Subfragment-1 prepared by chymotryptic digestion of myosin was applied to a column of Sepharose-adipic acid hydrazide-ATP in 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris-HCL (PH 7.6), and 40 mM KCL. Ninety-nine per cent of subfragment-1 was adsorbed on the column in this medium. Fourty-three per cent of the applied protein was eluted with 6 mM ADP in the above buffer and then 52% was eluted with 1 mM EDTA, 10 mM Tris-HCL (pH 7.6), AND 0.7 M KCL. The former fraction contained g3 chain and the latter g1 chain. These fractions were apparently the same as the components, p2 and p1, respectively, isolated by ion-exchange chromatography using DEAE-cellulose (Yagi & Otani (1974) J. Biochem. 76, 365-373). No significant difference of ADP binding was found between the two fractions, both could bind about 0.5 mole per 10(5) g of protein. The preparation of the two subfragment-1 fractions is described.     

Arthrostoma miyazakiense (Nagayosi 1955) Comb. n., a parasite of the raccoon-like dog, Nyctereutes procyonoides, with a key to the genus Arthrostoma (Nematoda: Ancylostomatidae)

The water-insoluble hydroxides of zirconium (IV), titanium (IV), titanium (III), iron (II), vanadium (III), and tin (II) have been used to prepare insoluble derivatives of a cyclic peptide antibiotic by a facile chelation process. Testing of the antibacterial activities of the products against two gram-positive and two gram-negative bacteria showed that in the majority of cases the water-insoluble antibiotics remained active against those bacteria susceptible to the parent antibiotic. The power of the assay system has been extended by the novel use of colored organisms to aid determinations where the growth of normal organisms could not be distinguished from the appearance of the supporting material. Insoluble derivatives of neomycin, polymyxin B, streptomycin, ampicillin, penicillin G, and chloramphenicol were prepared by chelation with zirconium hydroxide, and these derivatives similarly reflected the antibacterial activities of the parent compounds. Several of the metal hydroxides themselves possess antibacterial activity due to complex formation with the bacteria. However, the use of selected metal hydroxides can afford a simple, inexpensive, and inert matrix for antibiotic immobilization, resulting in an antibacterial product that may possess slow-release properties. The mechanisms by which the metal hydroxide-antibiotic association-dissociation may occur are discussed.