Preparation of a Near-Infrared Ray Absorption Film from N-Phenylthiocarbamoyl Chitosan Derivative

We recently observed that the decanoylation of N-phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan (2) with a mixture of decanoic anhydride and pyridine at 60 °C for 24 h afforded N,N-(decanoyl)phenythiocarbamoyl-/2-isothiocynato chitosan decanoate (3b) rather than the expected product N,N-(decanoyl)phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan decanoate (3a). This result suggested that some of the N,N-(decanoyl)phenylthiocarmbamoyl groups had been converted to isothiocyanate groups during the decanoylation process. The subsequent reaction of compound 3b with aniline gave N,N-(decanoyl)phenylthiocarbamoyl/N-phenylthiocarbamoyl chitosan decanoate (4) in high yield. A solution of compound 4 in CHCl₃ was then added to a solution of copper decanoate (5) in the same solvent, and the resulting mixture was cast onto a glass plate to give a cast film. The film was annealed at 200 °C in an oven to give a greenish film, which showed good near-infrared absorption characteristic in the range of 800–2200 nm.     

A Model of the Relationship Between Psychosocial Variables and Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm Under Chronic Stress by Using Structural Equations

By using structural equations, we investigated the effect of chronic stress on salivary cortisol rhythm and proposed a causal model of chronic stress by using psychosocial and physiological data. First, 111 healthy workers (48 males, 63 females) completed questionnaires on chronic stress and lifestyle habits. Then, they provided saliva samples and answered questionnaires that were prepared to assess their psychological states 5 times (on waking up and at 10:00, 11:40, 14:00, and 16:00) on workdays. Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that chronic stress and longer commuting time resulted in sleep irregularities and this disrupted the cortisol circadian rhythm. This suggests that chronic stress disrupts the cortisol circadian rhythm even in healthy individuals, and sleep regularity mediates the effect of chronic stress on the cortisol rhythm.

     

CODIRO: A New System for Obtaining Data Concerning Consumer Behavior Based on Data Factors of High Interest Determined by the Analyst

The aim of this paper is to propose a new system for the strategic use of customer data that includes and integrates such differing data sources as company databases, mobile telephone networks and Internet data and is a consumer research support system for the discovery of new marketing opportunities. This system, called CODIRO, will be discussed in this paper using a case study of the effects on sales of processed food product television commercials. A system for verifying the validity of consumer behavior models will also be described and discussed. Use of the CODIRO analysis system makes it easy to introduce, into the analytic model, consumer attitude changes and in-store data of many types that have not been used to measure advertising and promotional activity effectiveness in the past.     

Elution of copper from vermiculite with environmentally benign reagents

For the purpose of remediation of soils polluted by heavy metals, the use of some strong synthetic chelating agents such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) has been proposed. However, EDTA would not be considered as the preferential choice for the remediation of soil polluted with heavy metals like copper because of its nonbiodegradability and permanent residence in the natural environment. In the present work, some novel environmentally benign chelating agents, glucosamine hydrochloride, chito-oligosaccharide and -asparaginic-N,N-diacetic acid (ASDA) were screened to find alternatives to EDTA by investigating the elution of copper from vermiculite with these reagents and comparing their effectiveness with EDTA. The effects of suspension contact time, reagent concentration and equilibrium pH of the solution on the removal of copper were examined. A stoichiometric amount of EDTA can quantitatively remove copper in both acidic and neutral conditions. Chito-oligosaccharide was a slightly less-effective reagent under acidic conditions compared to EDTA, and an amount well in excess of stoichiometry is required to achieve the maximum removal of copper from vermiculite. Glucosamine hydrochloride shows a relatively weak ability for the liberation of copper. The elution behavior of ASDA was equivalent to EDTA in acidic and neutral media. It was concluded that ASDA is the best substitute for EDTA because of its similar high complexing ability and superior biodegradability.     

The development of MHD cold wall channels in the oil-fired condition

The durability of a cold wall MHD generator consisting of metal electrodes and alumina-coated peg insulators was experimentally examined in the oil-fired MHD condition with the additive of SO₂ corresponding to S = 0.54 wt%. The structure of the electrode wall and various anode and cathode materials were tested, with particular reference to developing long-life electrodes. It was clarified that Pt, SHOMAC (28.8 Cr−1.9 Mo) and SUS-304 as anodes and W---Cu (70 W−30 Cu) and WC---Ag (60 WC−40 Ag) alloys as cathodes were promising for durability and that the structure of an anode divided into two elements connected to each other with an SnO₂ resistor was very useful for uniformity of the anode corrosion pattern and the inter-anode voltages. It is reasonable to expect, from the test results, that the lifetime of a cold wall MHD generator in an oil-fired commercial plant will be over 4000 h, and therefore, a foundation for its commercial use has been established.     

A 7 ns 1 Mb BiCMOS ECL SRAM with shift redundancy

A 7-Mb BiCMOS ECL (emitter coupled logic) SRAM was fabricated in a 0.8 μm BiCMOS process. An improved buffer with a high-level output of nearly V_CC is adopted to eliminate the DC current in the level converter circuit, and the PMOS transistor has a wide operating margin in the level converter. The configurable bit organization is realized by using a sense-amplifier switch circuit with no access degradation. A wired-OR demultiplexer for the ×1 output, having the same critical path as the ×4 output circuit, allows for the same access time between the two modes. The ×1 or ×4 mode is electrically selected by the external signal. A simplified programming redundancy technology, shift redundancy, is utilized. Address programming is performed by cutting only one fuse in the shift redundancy. The RAM operates at the ECL-10K level with an access time of 7 ns. and the power dissipation at 50 MHz is 600 mW for the × mode     

Hydroxyapatite crystal growth on calcium hydroxyapatite ceramics

Calcium hydroxyapatite (Ca-HAP) ceramics containing tricalcium phosphate (TCP) were soaked in three solutions: phosphate buffer, tris buffer, and simulated body fluid (SBF). Petal-like crystals of Ca-HAP were deposited on the Ca-HAP ceramics when (i) Ca-HAP ceramics contained -TCP, (ii) the soaking solution contained phosphate ion and (iii) the pH of soaking solution was higher than 7.3. These conditions facilitate the presence of HPO ₄ ^2– and Ca²⁺ ions, the latter from dissolution of -TCP. A well-defined X-ray diffraction pattern for the deposited Ca-HAP crystals indicates preferred growth of {002} planes. Slower crystal growth of Ca-HAP was found for SBF (pH=7.5) than in the phosphate buffer, due possibly to the lower phosphate ion content in SBF.