Cycling performance of LiNi<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript>Mn<Subscript>2 − <Emphasis Type="Italic">y</Emphasis></Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> prepared by the solid-state reaction

In order to improve the cycling performance of LiMn₂O₄, a part of Mn in LiMn₂O₄ was replaced by Ni. LiNi _y Mn_{2 − y} O₄ (y = 0.02, 0.05, 0.10, 0.15, and 0.20) were synthesized by preheating a mixture of LiOH, MnO₂ (CMD), and NiO at 400°C for 10 h and then calcining at 850°C for 48 h in air with intermediate grinding. The voltage vs. discharge capacity curves at a current density of 300 μA/cm² between 3.5 and 4.3 V showed two plateaus, but the plateaus became unclear as the value of y increased. The sample with y = 0.02 had the largest first discharge capacity of 118.1 mA h/g. The LiNi_0.10Mn_1.90O₄ sample had a relatively large first discharge capacity of 95.0 mA h/g and snowed an excellent cycling performance.     

Biologically Relevant Metal-Cation Binding Induces Conformational Changes in Heparin Oligosaccharides as Measured by Ion Mobility Mass Spectrometry

Heparin interacts with many proteins and is involved in biological processes such as anticoagulation, angiogenesis, and antitumorigenic activities. These heparin-protein interactions can be influenced by the binding of various metal ions to these complexes. In particular, physiologically relevant metal cations influence heparin-protein conformations through electronic interactions inherent to this polyanion. In this study, we employed ion mobility mass spectrometry (IMMS) to observe conformational changes that occur in fully-sulfated heparin octasaccharides after the successive addition of metal ions. Our results indicate that binding of positive counter ions causes a decrease in collision cross section (CCS) measurements, thus promoting a more compact octasaccharide structure.     

Microbial electricity generation of diversified carbonaceous electrodes under variable mediators

To evaluate a suitable electrode material for the efficient green energy generation of a bio-fuel cell, carbonaceous based carbon cloth, carbon paper, and carbon felt electrodes were investigated under different mediators. The larger surface area, low resistance, and open network of interwoven fibers of the carbon felt electrode facilitated higher electron transfer from the microbial organisms to the electrode surface than that of other carbonaceous electrodes. Carbon paper electrode exhibited lower fuel cell performances due to its lower roughness and high tortuous nature. The green power generation experiments were also carried out under different mediators such as 2-hydroxy-l,4-naphthoquinone and thionin. The electrons mitigation and power generation was augmented by 2-hydroxy-l,4-naphthoquinone than thionin due to its high solubility, stability, and minimal adsorption characteristic to the electrodes. By the combined efforts of extended electrons generation and transportation, bio-fuel cell performances were extended and endorsed its doable applications in bio-fuel cells.     

Rate and Product Studies in the Solvolyses of Two Cyclic Phosphorochloridate Esters

Kinetic and product studies of the solvolyses of acyclic phosphorochloridates are extended to two cyclic diesters, 2-chloro-1,3,2-dioxaphospholane-2-oxide (1) and 2-chloro-5,5-dimethyl-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane-2-oxide (2). Slightly faster solvolyses are observed for 1 than for the acyclic dimethyl phosphorochloridate (3), and 2 solvolyzes somewhat slower than 3. An extended Grunwald–Winstein equation treatment shows similar sensitivities to changes in solvent nucleophilicity and solvent ionizing power for 1, 2, and 3, and a concerted S_N2 attack is proposed in each case. Product studies for the solvolyses of 2 in aqueous alcohols are presented.

     

Simultaneous,real-time measurement of nitric oxide and oxygen dynamics during cardiac ischemia-reperfusion of the rat utilizing sol-gel-derived electrochemical microsensors

In this study, we simultaneously measured nitric oxide (NO) and oxygen (O₂) dynamics in the myocardium during myocardial ischemia-reperfusion (IR) utilizing sol-gel modified electrochemical NO and O₂ microsensors. In addition, we attempted to clarify the correlation between NO release in the ischemic period and O₂ restoration in the myocardium after reperfusion, comparing a control heart with a remote ischemic preconditioning (RIPC)-treated heart as an attractive strategy for myocardial protection. Rat hearts were randomly divided into two groups: a control group (n = 5) and an RIPC group (n = 5, with RIPC treatment). Myocardia that underwent RIPC treatment (182 ± 70 nM, p < 0.05) released more NO during the ischemic period than those of the control group (63 ± 41 nM). The restoration value of oxygen tension (pO₂) in the RIPC group significantly increased and was restored to pre-ischemic levels (92.6 ± 36.8%); however, the pO₂ of the control group did not increase throughout the reperfusion period (5.7 ± 7.5%, p = 0.001). Myocardial infarct size measurements revealed a significant decrease in cell death in the myocardium region of the RIPC group (41.44 ± 6.42%, p = 0.001) compared with the control group (60.05 ± 10.91%). As a result, we showed that the cardioprotective effect of RIPC could be attributed to endogenous NO production during the ischemic period, which subsequently promoted reoxygenation in post-ischemic myocardia during early reperfusion. Our results suggest that the promotion of endogenous formation during an ischemic episode might be helpful as a therapeutic strategy for protecting the myocardium from IR injury. Additionally, our NO and O₂ perm-selective microsensors could be utilized to evaluate the effect of drug or treatment.     

Mild and Efficient Deoxygenation of Sulfoxides with a WCl6/Indium System

Dialkyl, diaryl, and aryl alkyl sulfoxides can be rapidly converted to the corresponding sulfides with a WCl₆/In system in excellent yields under mild conditions.     

Synthesis of 3-Alkylidenecepham-4-carboxylic Acid derivatives by Samarium(II) Iodide Reduction

Samarium(II) iodide promoted reductive deacetoxylation of 7-aminocephalosporanic acid derivatives to synthesize 3-alkylidenecepham-4-carboxylates, which could be valuable intermediates for the synthesis of new cephalosporin antibiotics, was investigated.     

Electro-optical characteristics for the photoaligned vertical alignment cell using photopolymer surfaces containing chalconyl and cholesterly groups

A new photoalignment material, copoly(4-methacryloyloxychalcone-cholesteryl methacrylate) (copoly(M4Ch-ChMA)), was synthesized and the electro-optical characteristics for the photoaligned vertically aligned (VA) liquid crystal display (LCD) were studied. Excellent voltagetransmittance characteristics were achieved for the photoaligned VA-LCD with 1 min polarized UV exposure at an oblique direction of 30° on the copoly(M4Ch-ChMA) surfaces. The response time of the VA-LCD was about 39 ms, and increased with increasing UV exposure time. We suggest that the proportion of photodimerized chalcone group increased with increasing UV exposure time, contributing to a higher response time.     

Novel alignment method for control of high pretilt angle by using a solvent dipping effect on polymer surfaces

A novel alignment method for control of high pretilt angle in nematic liquid crystals (NLC), using a solvent dipping effect on various alignment layers, was successfully investigated. The pretilt angle of a NLC is increased by dipping before rubbing treatment on three kinds of rubbed polyimide (PI) surfaces. The pretilt generated by the dipping after rubbing a PI surface with a short side chain is high compared with a PI surface with a long side chain. The pretilt generated by dipping before rubbing homeotropic layer of a positive type NLC (δε > 0) is lower than that of the negative type NLC (δε < 0). The generated NLC pretilt angle is attributed to the perpendicular component of the permittivity epsilon of the NLC.     

Biological Removal of Phosphate at Low Concentrations Using Recombinant Escherichia coli Expressing Phosphate-Binding Protein in Periplasmic Space

During wastewater treatment, phosphate removal is an important and challenging process; thus, diverse technologies, including those derived from biological means, have been devised for efficient phosphate removal. Although conventional biological methods are effective in decreasing wastewater phosphate levels to ~1 mg/L, long periods of microbial adaptation are required for effective phosphate removal, and the removal efficiency of these methods is relatively poor at lower phosphate concentrations. In the present work, we constructed a recombinant Escherichia coli with periplasmic-expressed phosphate-binding protein (PBP) and investigated its biological removal ability for low phosphate levels. We found that the PBP-expressing recombinant E. coli cells showed efficient (> 94 %) removal of phosphate at low concentrations (0.2–1.0 mg/L) in a treated cell mass-dependent manner. Collectively, we propose that our PBP-expressing recombinant whole-cell system could be successfully used during wastewater treatment for the biological removal of low concentrations of phosphate.