Analysis method of the angiotensin-I converting enzyme inhibitory activity based on micellar electrokinetic chromatography.

A micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC) method was developed for estimating the angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory activity by separating the hippuric acid liberated in the ACE reaction mixture in the presence of an inhibitor, captopril. The hippuric acid was successfully separated and detected by MEKC with a 25 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate solution in a 25 mM phosphate-50 mM borate buffer at pH 7.0; the total analysis took about 5 min. A good linear relationship was observed between the inhibitor and the peak area of hippuric acid release. No significant difference in the ACE inhibitory activity (IC50) of captopril (an antihypertensive medicine) or autolyzed-mushrooms (functional foods) was observed between the conventional method and the MEKC method. The MEKC method was found to be a useful technique for a rapid assay of the ACE inhibitory activity.     

Ion-exchange selectivity of anion exchange resin modified with polystyrenesulfonic acid.

In order to change the ion-exchange selectivity of anion-exchange resin, the surface of a gel-type anion exchange resin was modified with anionic polyelectrolyte, polystyrenesulfonic acid. Using this modified resin, the ion-exchange rate of nitrate was little decreased, but that of sulfate was evidently decreased. It is considered that the ion-exchange reaction of the multivalent anion is suppressed by the greater electrostatic repulsive force against the modification layer than that against the monovalent anion. Thus, this modified resin may be suitable for the selective separation of monovalent anions. The influence of the modified condition on the ion-exchange rate was examined. Furthermore, this modified resin was used to separate nitrate ions from sulfate ions in the aqueous solution.     

Endoscopic Observation of Tissue by Narrowband Illumination

We propose a new illumination method for a medical endoscope: narrow band imaging (NBI), in which the spectral bandwidth of the filtered light is narrowed. To confirm how the spectral specifications of the filtered light influence a reproduced image, an experiment was conducted observing the endoscopic images of the back mucosa of a human tongue. In addition, the effect of NBI on endoscopic images was investigated through preliminary clinical tests in colonoscopy and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. It has been shown that NBI can enhance the capillary pattern and the crypt pattern on the mucosa. These patterns are useful features for diagnosing an early cancer.     

Effect of annealing on structure and permeability of poly [(l-trimethylsilyl)-l-propyne]

The permeability of annealed poly (l-(trimethylsilyl)-l-propyne) was studied from the viewpoint of structural information obtained from x-ray diffraction and density. The sample cast from benzene solution had low density (0.82 g/cm³) and high permeability, whereas the annealed sample had a higher density (0.88 g/cm³) and permeability lower by two orders of magnitude. The smaller-angle x-ray diffraction peak for each sample, which was likely to reflect the distance between intermolecular chains, increased in intensity and shifted toward higher angle, corresponding to the change of the density with annealing. The logarithmic oxygen permeability was proportional to the density, namely the free volume fraction correlated with the diffusion coefficient and controlled by annealing and swelling by alcohols.     

Ring‐opening grafting polymerization of cyclic monomers onto human hair

Natural human hair was successfully modified by the graft polymerization of trimethylene carbonate, β‐propiolactone, ε‐caprolactone, glycidol, ε‐caprolactam, and 5,5‐dimethyl‐1,3‐dioxane‐2‐thione. In contrast, we could not modify natural human hair by the graft polymerization of oxetane under similar conditions. The model reaction suggested that the main initiating species in these polymerizations were the amino, thiol, and hydroxyl groups in hair, which could induce ring‐opening polymerization. Among the tested monomers, β‐propiolactone was most effective for hair modification with its graft polymer, whose concentration was as high as 0.5 g/g of hair though polymerization under mild conditions. The effects of the hair pretreatment and polymerization temperature on the weight ratio of the grafted polymers were also investigated. Hair modified by grafted polymers was characterized with scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared measurements. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 45: 736–744, 2007     

Group symmetry in tensor categories and duality for orbifolds

A duality for orbifolds is presented as an application of group extensions in tensor categories.     

10-Gbit/s optical receiver using ICs with low-capacitance HBT technology

A 10-Gbit/s optical receiver is developed using low-capacitance HBT IC technology. The HBT allows a cutoff frequency of 45 GHz and a maximum oscillation frequency of 70 GHz. The receiver contains an automatic gain-control amplifier IC with a gain of 16 dB, a bandwidth of 10.7 GHz, and a decision-circuit IC with an ambiguity of 66 mVp-p at a data rate of 10 Gbit/s. The sensitivity of this receiver is -26.5 dBm at a bit error rate of 10^-9. Transmission over a 140-km fiber was achieved successfully.