Adhesion of streptococci to saliva-coated and uncoated composite-based resins

This study was designed to evaluate the bacterial adhesion to five types of experimental composite-based resins and a commercial composite resin used as a control. Physicochemical surface characteristics of composite resins with and without an artificial saliva coating were measured. The relationship between the numbers of adhering cells (Streptococcus sanguis, S. mutans and S. sobrinus) and surface characteristics was analysed. The values of contact angles and the number of adhering cells were small with saliva coating. S. sanguis ATCC 10557 showed a positive correlation (r=0.835, p<0.05) with the contact angles of uncoated resins, whereas no relationship was observed for saliva-coated resins. With S. mutans Ingbritt the cell numbers adhering to resins correlated strongly (p<0.01) with the values of zeta potential of resins for either saliva coated or uncoated. Electrical repulsion forces had a strong contribution to adherence of cells such as S. mutans and S. sobrinus which show a high absolute zeta potential.     

An adaptive associative memory system based on autonomous reaction between image memories

To construct a “thinking-like” processing system, a new architecture of an adaptive associative memory system is proposed. This memory system treats “images” as basic units of information, and adapts to the environment of the external world by means of autonomous reactions between the images. The images do not have to be clear, distinct symbols or patterns; they can be ambiguous, indistinct symbols or patterns as well. This memory system is a kind of neural network made up of nodes and links called a localist spreading activation network. Each node holds one image in a localist manner. Images in high-activity nodes interact autonomously and generate new images and links. By this reaction between images, various forms of images are generated automatically under constraints of links with adjacent nodes. In this system, three simple image reaction operations are defined. Each operation generates a new image by combining pseudofigures or features and links of two images. This work was presented, in part, at the Fourth International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 19–22, 1999     

Effect of tannic acid solution on collagen structures for dental restoration

This study examined the effect of tannic acid solution on dissolution of dentine collagen and morphological aspects of tendon collagen. Using root dentine, which was cut off from bovine anterior tooth, dentine powders were obtained by the pulverization and lyophilization. They were subject to an application of 1, 3, 5 or 10% tannic acid (TA) solution for 1, 3, 6, 12 or 24 h. TA-treated dentine powders were treated with 40% phosphoric acid (PA) for 30 s at 20 °C and additionally with trypsin. Released hydroxyproline in Woessner's assay after a hydrolysis in 6 N HCl at 110 °C for 20 h was assumed to be dissolved dentine collagen. Released hydroxyproline in a control sample without acid treatment decreased from 100 to about 60% with increased TA concentration of 1 to 10%, and decreased with increased incubation times of 1 to 24 h when applied by 5% TA solution. Scanning electron microscopy results established the morphological effect of their surface characteristics due to such treatments as 40% PA for 30 s and 5% TA for 6 h, or 40% PA after 5% TA treatment, yielding collagen structures protected by TA to attack from phosphoric acid.     

Developmental word acquisition and grammar learning by humanoid robots through a self-organizing incremental neural network.

We present a new approach for online incremental word acquisition and grammar learning by humanoid robots. Using no data set provided in advance, the proposed system grounds language in a physical context, as mediated by its perceptual capacities. It is carried out using show-and-tell procedures, interacting with its human partner. Moreover, this procedure is open-ended for new words and multiword utterances. These facilities are supported by a self-organizing incremental neural network, which can execute online unsupervised classification and topology learning. Embodied with a mental imagery, the system also learns by both top-down and bottom-up processes, which are the syntactic structures that are contained in utterances. Thereby, it performs simple grammar learning. Under such a multimodal scheme, the robot is able to describe online a given physical context (both static and dynamic) through natural language expressions. It can also perform actions through verbal interactions with its human partner.     

Dependence of Seebeck coefficient on a load resistance and energy conversion efficiency in a thermoelectric composite

The thermo-emf ΔV and current ΔI generated by imposing the alternating temperature gradients (ATG) at a period of T and the steady temperature gradient (STG) on a thermoelectric (TE) composite were measured as a function of t, where t is the lapsed time and T was varied from 60 to or ∞ s. The STG and ATG were produced by imposing steadily and alternatively a source voltage V in the range from 1.0 to 4.0 V on two Peltier modules sandwiching a composite. ΔT, ΔV, ΔI and V_P oscillate at a period T and their waveforms vary significantly with a change of T, where ΔV and V_P are the voltage drops in a load resistance R_L and in resistance R_P of two modules. The resultant Seebeck coefficient |α| = |ΔV|/ΔT of a composite under the STG was found to be expressed as |α| = |α₀|(1 − R_comp/R_T), where R_T is the total resistance of a circuit for measuring the output signals and R_comp is the resistance of a composite. The effective generating power ΔW_eff has a local maximum at T = 960 s for the p-type composite and at T = 480 s for the n-type one. The maximum energy conversion efficiency η of the p- and n-type composites under the ATG produced by imposing a voltage of 4.0 V at an optimum period were 0.22 and 0.23% at ΔT_eff = 50 K, respectively, which are 42 and 43% higher than those at ΔT = 42 K under the STG. These maximum η for a TE composite sandwiched between two Peltier modules, were found to be expressed theoretically in terms of R_P, R_T, R_L, α_P and α, where α_P and α are the resultant Seebeck coefficients of Peltier modules and a TE composite.     

Determination of optical purity and absolute configuration of natural 12‐hydroxystearic acid by the 1H NMR anisotropy method

The enantiopure of (R)‐(?) MαNPA was allowed to react with racemic 18‐(tert‐butyldimethylsilyloxy)‐5‐octadecayne‐7‐ol which was derived from dodecane‐1,12‐diol, yielding diastereomeric esters mixture. These racemic esters were easily separated by HPLC on silica‐gel. The absolute configurations of the first‐eluted diastereomeric esters from the separated esters were determined using ¹H NMR anisotropy method. Analysis on ¹H NMR spectra and HPLC elution time of the synthesized esters and those of MαNP ester derived from natural methyl‐12‐hydroxystealate showed that the absolute configuration of natural 12‐hydroxystearic acid was R form, and the enantiomeric excess was over 99%.     

Effect of TEGDMA content on staining of experimental bis-GMA-based resins

This study was to examine water uptake, contact angle and colour change vector in relation to the staining on the optically smooth surface in five experimental visible light-cured (VLC) bis-GMA-based resins. They were formulated from bis-GMA-based resins including 25 to 45 wt% TEGDMA which were accelerated by CQ/DMAEMA/BHT = 0.5/2/0.05 (wt%) to bis-GMA/TEGDMA resin matrix. Of the set resins including more than 25 wt% of TEGDMA, the resins including 30 to 45 wt% had less than 1.0% as bis-GMA residual monomer. Water uptake and solubility in bis-GMA-based resins including 35 wt% TEGDMA were the minimum of the resins tested. Contact angle decreased with increasing time over 70 days, from 67 to 62 degrees. Using the hydrophilic staining solution (food red 3), the values of colour change vector were 6 to 9 after immersing them for 70 days at 37 °C, whereas hydrophobic oil orange staining test had a range of 12 to 19. The change of water uptake with time of immersion correlated with that of the colour change vector. With the accelerated test, the minimum value was 4.55 in 65/35 (bis-GMA/TEGDMA) resin. Of the bis-GMA-based resins (25 to 45 wt% fraction of TEGDMA) the minimum value of water uptake and contact angle were obtained.     

Bioproduction of Chiral Epoxyalkanes using Styrene Monooxygenase from Rhodococcus sp. ST‐10 (RhSMO)

We describe the enantioselective epoxidation of straight‐chain aliphatic alkenes using a biocatalytic system containing styrene monooxygenase from Rhodococcus sp. ST‐10 and alcohol dehydrogenase from Leifsonia sp. S749. The biocatalyzed enantiomeric epoxidation of 1‐hexene to (S)‐1,2‐epoxyhexane (>44.6 mM) using 2‐propanol as the hydrogen donor was achieved under optimized conditions. The biocatalyst had broad substrate specificity for various aliphatic alkenes, including terminal, internal, unfunctionalized, and di‐ and tri‐substituted alkenes. Here, we demonstrate that this biocatalytic system is suitable for the efficient production of enantioenriched (S)‐epoxyalkanes.

     

Attributable factors to the emergence of multidrug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis based on the observation of consecutive drug resistance test results

Determining whether there is evidence of underutilization of outpatient mental health care by Department of Defense (DoD) beneficiaries relative to the general population is the purpose of this study. It analyzes data from the 1994-1995 DoD Health Beneficiary Survey and compares the mental health status and usage rates of active duty members and their families with benchmark levels found in the general population. Although the mental health status for the DoD beneficiary population was found to be generally the same as that of the general U.S. population within gender categories, gender-specific usage rates of mental health services of DoD beneficiaries in the groups examined were well below rates recorded for the general population. The concept of psychological readiness is also introduced. Several recommendations for increasing access to mental health care are presented.