Template polymerization of columnar architectures based on the salts of a carboxylic acid and 2-amino alcohols: application to the molecular recognition of 2-amino alcohols

The salts of trialkoxybenzoic acids and 2-amino alcohols showed a columnar liquid crystalline phase; in the case of the salt of a polymerizable acid and norephedrine, the photopolymerization proceeded efficiently in the liquid crystalline state, and the resultant solid adsorbed 2-amino alcohols size, regio-, and enantio-selectively.     

Metallocene bis(perfluoroalkanesulfonate)s as air-stable cationic Lewis acids

Zirconocene and titanocene bis(perfluorooctanesulfonate)s were synthesized. In contrast to the corresponding triflates and perchlorates, these compounds are air- and water-stable. They were proved to be ionic on the basis of conductivity measurements and X-ray analysis, allowing these complexes to be stored for months. The strong Lewis acidity of these cationic metallocene species, which was proved by ESR study, enabled catalytic glycosylation.     

Study of quantitative evaluation of liver volume and accumulation rate of radioactive agent with single photon emission computed tomography

The quantitative evaluation on measurement of liver volume and the hepatic accumulation rate of the radioactive agent were studied with respect to body constitution, background activity and splenic consumption rate, using single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). The optical cut-off level for liver volume determination was proved to be reasonable as 35%. The background less than 5% had no influence to their clinical estimation with the error of less than 1.6%. The estimation of liver volume was mostly influenced by the splenic activity. When the splenic activity was increased two times of the hepatic activity, the liver volume was determined as 4.2% larger. Calculated counts by SPECT was well correlated with the hepatic activity. This study proved that SPECT was useful for the quantitative evaluation of the liver volume and the hepatic accumulation rate.     

Assessment of fluoroalkyltin compounds as fluorous Lewis acid catalysts

The synthesis of a variety of organotin compounds with 1H, 1H, 2H, 2H‐perfluorooctyl groups is reported, together with an improved method for the corresponding distannoxane. Unique properties of this compound are disclosed in terms of fluorophilicity and activity as a Lewis acid catalyst in comparison with other mono‐nuclear derivatives. A new criterion for obtaining high solubility in fluorocarbon solvents is presented. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Markov Model Based Algorithm to Predict Networking Load on the Computational Grid

The computational Grid is currently gaining in popularity, and it enables computers scattered all over the world to be connected by the Internet as if they are part of a large computational infrastructure. While the computational Grid gathers more and more computational resources and the number of the applications for the computational Grid is increasing, load balancing for the computational Grid is still not effective enough. Because the computers are connected by a wide area network on the computational Grid, the significant communication latency and the frequency of large wave throughputs make it difficult to achieve effective load balancing. Thus, in this paper, we propose an algorithm to predict networking loads on the computational Grid to make the use of computational resources more efficient. The proposed algorithm based on the Markov model is evaluated using an actual networking load. As a result, the Markov model based algorithm offers the most accurate predictions compared with the related work. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Adsorption of N2 and N2O on Ni(7 5 5) surface: ab initio periodic density functional study

Adsorption of N₂ and N₂O at various sites on Ni(7 5 5) has been investigated by density functional theory (DFT) method (periodic DMol³). Several possible adsorption structures (attaching the nitrogen atom to the surface, or lying parallel) are found for both molecules. There is a clear binding energy preference of N₂ and N₂O for step sites in contrast to the case of CO. It is revealed that the decomposition of N₂O occurs exclusively near the step, but not on the terrace. Two decomposition channels can be considered; dissociative adsorption and spontaneous decomposition during TPD ramp. Three possible candidates for the precursor of the spontaneous decomposition of N₂O during TPD ramp are discussed.     

Regulation of cellular responses to macroporous inorganic films prepared by the inverse-opal method

Regenerative medicine for repairing damaged body tissues has recently become critically important. Cell culture scaffolds are required for the control of cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation in in vitro cell cultures. A new strategy to control cell adhesion, morphology, and proliferation was developed by culturing mouse osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells on novel cell culture scaffolds fabricated using ordered nanometer-sized pores (100, 300, 500, and 1000 nm). Results of this study indicate that after 72 h of incubation, the number of cells cultured on a silica film with a pore size of 1000 nm was similar to or slightly lower than that cultured on a non-porous control silica film. Films with 100-500 nm pore sizes, however, resulted in the cell growth inhibition. Morphology of the cultured cells revealed increased elongation and the formation of actin stress fibers was virtually absent on macroporous silica films with 100-500 nm pore size. Vinculin molecules expressed in cells cultured on the non-porous silica films showed many clear focal adhesions, whereas focal contacts were insufficiently formed in cells cultured on macroporous films. The influence of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and alumina scaffolds on the behavior of MC3T3-E1 cells was also evaluated. The proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells cultured on HAp films with 1000 nm pore size was increased to approximately 20% above than that obtained of cells cultured on non-porous HAp films. These results demonstrate that the pore size and constituents of films play a role in controlling the morphology and proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells.