A redox reaction mediated by polymeric membranes containing electron carriers

A redox reaction was mediated by polymeric membranes which contain naphthoquinone derivatives as electron and proton carriers. When such a membrane containing vitamin K₁ was placed between two aqueous solutions of potassium ferricyanide and sodium dithionite, the oxidation-reduction of them took place, but the reaction was rather slow. Although vitamin K₃ was a more effective carrier and the reaction proceeded fast, the reaction rate decreased in the repeated runs. Since the reduced form of this carrier is slightly soluble in water, a part of the carrier got dissolved in the aqueous phase from the membrane during the reaction. 2-Alkyloxy-1,4-naphthoquinones such as 2-hexyloxy-1,4-naphthoquinone effectively transported electrons and protons through the polymeric membranes, promoting the membrane-mediated reaction; in these cases no retardation was observed in the repeated runs.     

Myocardial tomography with technetium-99m-tetrofosmin during intravenous infusion of adenosine triphosphate

The purpose of this study was to determine the biodistribution of 99mTc-tetrofosmin during intravenous infusion of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and to evaluate the potential diagnostic value of myocardial tomography with 99mTc-tetrofosmin during ATP infusion for the detection of coronary artery disease. METHODS: Myocardial 99mTc-tetrofosmin imaging with ATP infusion and coronary arteriography were performed on 65 patients with suspected coronary artery disease. ATP was infused intravenously at a rate of 0.16 mg/kg/min for 5 min, and 370 MBq of 99mTc-tetrofosmin was injected 3 min after the start of ATP infusion. Myocardial SPECT imags were obtained 60 min later. Then, 740 MBq of 99mTc-tetrofosmin was administered at rest, and myocardial SPECT was repeated. Regional uptakes of 99mTc-tetrofosmin were scored from 4, normal, to 0, no activity. Serial 5-min planar images were obtained in the anterior projection at 15, 30, 45 and 60 min after the 99mTc-tetrofosmin injection in 10 patients. Heart-to-lung and heart-to-liver count ratios were defined from the serial planar images. RESULTS: Adverse effects of ATP infusion were mild and transient. A heart-to-lung ratio after ATP infusion was high even at 15 min (3.40 +/- 0.33) and gradually increased with time. A heart-to-liver ratio after ATP was 0.53 +/- 0.40 at 15 min and increased with time. A heart-to-liver ratio reached 0.99 +/- 0.25 (p < 0.01) after 45 min and 1.32 +/- 0.36 (p < 0.01) after 60 min. The sensitivity and specificity for detecting coronary artery disease by myocardial SPECT with ATP were 89% (39/44) and 86% (18/21), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows the favorable biodistribution of 99mTc-tetrofosmin after intravenous infusion of ATP. A one-day imaging protocol of 99mTc-tetrofosmin tomography with ATP is feasible and has high diagnostic accuracy for coronary artery disease.     

Tritium retention to the first wall of JT-60U

For economic and safety reasons, tritium (T) accumulation on plasma facing wall (PFW) of fusion reactor is strictly limited. In this study, T inventory in the graphite tiles used at the first wall of JT-60U was measured by a full combustion method. It was found that T was only retained near plasma facing surfaces sides of the tiles and the amount of retained T increased from <10¹¹ to <10¹³ T atoms/cm² with increasing the exposed discharge period of the tiles. Integrating the T retention with the total surface area of the outer first wall tiles, the fraction of retained T in that area was estimated to be 13% of the total T production. It was confirmed that these retained T were part of the energetic T produced by DD reactions without being replaced by HH discharges. Based on the retained fraction, the annual amount of T retention in the outer first wall of a demo-size reactor was calculated to be 360 g/burn-year at maximum. Even the value would be much less in the reactor, the accumulation of this kind of inventory could have significant contribution to the total T inventory.     

High-speed blanking of an amorphous alloy

An amorphous foil of 28 μum in thickness has been blanked at various blanking speeds, ranging from 0.06 m/s to 15 m/s. A mechanical press is used for the range of 0.06–0.22 m/s, and an electromagnetically actuated press for the higher range of up to 15 m/s. The clearance has been changed also, between 1.0 μum and 5.0 μum. The effects of blanking speed clearance and number of blankings on the blanked surface have been investigated. Furthermore, crystallization of the blanked surface has been examined with the use of the electron beam diffraction method. Crystallization has been found to take place mainly at the burnished area, very little being found at the fractured area and the vein-pattern area.     

Surfactant effects on heterogeneous polymer reaction: Nucleophilic substitution of poly(vinyl chloride) in water

The reactions of poly(vinyl chloride) (PVC) with some nucleophiles such as azide, thiophenoxide and dithiocarbamate ions do not take place in water. These heterogeneous reactions are remarkably catalyzed by cationic surfactants. Urea and methanol which destroy hydrophobic bondings inhibit the reaction. On the basis of the experimental data it was assumed that the cationic surfactants are adsorbed on the surface of the suspended PVC powder and that the positive charges attract the nucleophiles.     

Calibration of KVp meter used in quality control tests of diagnostic X-ray units

In diagnostic radiology, the tube voltage [peak kilovoltage (kV(p))] is one of the most important parameter affecting both radiation exposure and image contrast. So, an accurate kV(p) meter is necessary to control kV(p) in the medical radiography practice with the overall uncertainty less than ± 5 % according to IEC 61676. Therefore, both invasive and non-invasive calibration methods of kV(p) meter were established and applied to different kinds of commercial quality control instruments for diagnostic radiology. Calibration of kV(p) meter by the invasive method is the most accurate (with uncertainty of 1.67 %, k=2); however, the non-invasive method also provides good results (with uncertainty of 3.12 %, k=2). Due to their detailed design, the commercial kV(p) meters have various responses with X-ray beam, so the working regime of a particular device type must be appropriately selected with a specific X-ray machine used for calibration of kV(p) meter.     

Unsteady stirring method staged used in suspension polymerization of styrene

The results of an unsteady stirring method staged, used in the suspension polymerization of styrene in a lab‐scale batch reactor, are presented. Variation of droplet size during the whole polymerization process under the unsteady stirring condition, compared with that under a steady stirring condition, was found to be small. According to the variable droplet size character, two methods were used to divide the polymerization process into four stages and the unsteady stirring method was used in only one stage of each experimental run. By these operations, the optimum operation of obtaining large particle product with uniform particle size distribution was achieved. The results suggest that controlling the droplet coalescence process is more important than controlling the initial droplet size distribution to obtain uniform final particle products. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 82: 1873–1881, 2001     

Transcriptional regulation by C/EBP alpha and -beta in the expression of the gene for the MRP14 myeloid calcium binding protein

During Blattella germanica embryo development, the nutritive yolk protein vitellin is processed by a cysteine protease, which is activated proteolytically from a proprotease during acidification of yolk granules. A murine polyclonal antiserum was generated with the purified proprotease as the immunogen. The antiserum was made monospecific to proprotease by subtractive affinity chromatography using proprotease-free yolk proteins as ligand. The purified antibodies were employed to investigate the temporal and spatial expression of the proprotease during vitellogenesis and embryo development. Anti-proprotease-reactive peptides appeared in extracts of fat bodies and ovarian follicles of post-mating females, but not in fat bodies of males or the fat bodies or follicles of unmated females, suggesting that the proprotease is synthesized extraovarially. Use of the antibodies was extended to monitor the kinetics of proprotease disappearance during early embryo development.     

Quantitative assessment of myocardial 99mTc-sestamibi uptake during exercise: usefulness of response rate for assessing severity of coronary artery disease

An increase of 99mTc-sestamibi uptake in the myocardium during exercise was defined as a response rate, and the feasibility of a response rate for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD) was tested. Eighty-seven patients with suspected CAD had myocardial perfusion imaging with 99mTc-sestamibi during exercise and at rest. A dose of 370 MBq of 99mTc-sestamibi was injected at the maximal level of exercise, and a myocardial image was obtained 90 min later (exercise image). Then, 740 MBq of 99mTc-sestamibi was administered at rest, and myocardial imaging was repeated (rest image). The exercise and rest images were corrected for physical decay and injected doses, and the exercise image was subtracted from the rest image to obtain the corrected rest image. A response rate was calculated as follows: (exercise image-corrected rest image)x100/corrected rest image (%). The global response rates of 20 patients without significant coronary stenosis (< or =50%) were higher than those of 67 patients with significant coronary stenosis (81+/-33% and 50+/-28%, p<0.01). Global response rates were correlated with the maximal rate pressure products during exercise (r=0.56, p<0.01) and delta rate pressure products (r=0.53, p<0.01). Regional response rates in myocardial areas perfused by stenotic coronary arteries of < or =50%, 75%, 90% and 99-100% were 60+/-24%,* 56+/-33%,* 40+/-23%* and 30+/-23%,* respectively, (*p<0.01 vs without significant coronary stenosis). The response rates decreased as the severity of coronary artery stenosis advanced, and distinguished between coronary stenoses of graded severity. Accordingly, the response rate from myocardial perfusion imaging with 99mTc-sestamibi may provide complementary information to the conventional inspection with myocardial tomography regarding the severity of CAD.     

Analysis of Measurement Method for Critical Current Density by Using Permanent Magnet

The permanent-magnet method for measuring critical current density in high-temperature superconducting thin films is numerically and experimentally investigated. Numerical results show that the critical current density is approximately proportional to the maximum repulsive force. Furthermore, the maximum repulsive force increases as the value of diameter of permanent magnet increases. This tendency is also observed in the experimental investigation. Finally, spatial distributions of the shielding current density are experimentally reproduced by the system.