L-S category of quaternionic Stiefel manifolds

By calculating certain generalized cohomology theory, lower bounds for the L-S category of quaternionic Stiefel manifolds are given.     

Hydrolysis of acetals in water under hydrothermal conditions

A simple method for the hydrolysis of acetals and ketals was accomplished in neutral water or aqueous media by hydrothermal treatment without using acidic reagents. The deacetalization reaction was effectively accelerated in the presence of calcium chloride. Because no acidic catalysts were employed, neutralization of the reaction mixture was not necessary after the reaction. This sequence was successfully applied to the hydrolysis of chitosan, a biodegradable polyaminosaccharide.     

Efficient synthesis of 2-modified 1alpha,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D3 with Julia olefination: high potency in induction of differentiation on HL-60 cells

Six novel 2-substituted analogues of 1alpha,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D(3), 6a,b-8a,b, were efficiently synthesized utilizing (-)-quinic acid as the A-ring precursor. The C2-modified A-rings were prepared as 4-alkylated (3R,5R)-3,5-dihydroxycyclohexanones 12-15 from (-)-quinic acid based on radical allylation at the C4 position of methyl (-)-quinicate. The new type of the CD-ring coupling partner 23 was synthesized from 25-hydroxy Grundmann's ketone 19 to apply to the modified Julia olefination to construct a diene unit between the A-ring and the CD-ring. The coupling yields, including a deprotection step, were 47-62%. After the separation of the diastereomers based on C2 stereochemistry, the structure (2alpha or 2beta) was determined by (1)H NMR experiments and compared to DeLuca's 2-methyl- and 2-ethyl-1alpha,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D(3). Thus, the synthesized 2alpha-(3-hydroxypropyl)-1alpha,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D(3) (8a) showed almost the same potency in binding to the bovine thymus vitamin D receptor (VDR) as the natural hormone 1, while its beta-isomer 8b had only a 3% affinity. Both 2alpha-allyl- and 2alpha-propyl-1alpha,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D(3) (6a and 7a) and their 2beta-analogues (6b and 7b) possessed a weak affinity for the VDR. The strong VDR ligand 8a was ca. 36-fold more potent in induction of HL-60 cell differentiation than 1, and interestingly, even the weaker ligand 8b showed a 6.7-fold higher potency in the cell differentiation activity than that of 1.     

Spreading of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine on the surface of sodium deoxycholate aqueous solution

The surface pressure vs. mokcular surface area relations for dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) insoluble monolayer and sodium deoxycholate (SDC) adsorbed monolayer,L and D1, respectively, were obtained from the analyses of surface tensions measured by the Wilhelmy glass plate. Also, D1 was obtained by a drop-weight method. Next, the surface pressure time course,(t), of the SDC aq. was measured by the Wilhelmy plate before and after DPPC was spread on the liquid surface. At DPPC spreading,(t) jumped to a maximum,, and decreased along an exponential curve. The values of with various surface amounts of DPPC and bulk concentrations of SDC were analyzed using a dual surface-region model. The model enabled the estimation of. For better fitting, modified relations were constructed in place of D1. The exponential decrease of(t) was also observed on the SDC adsorbed monolayer which was rapidly compressed by a moving barrier. The(t) relaxation rate constants of the SDC monolayers which were compressed by DPPC spreading and the moving barrier agreed with each other, suggesting a desorption of SDC from the surface.     

Diffusion-controlled stress-relaxation in polymers,I

Summary The “chemical” relaxation of stress either in Amilan (6-Nylon) or polyvinyl alcohol caused by penetration of water vapor was studied at 40% R. H. and temperatures 15, 30, and 50° C. A theory was presented of the chemical relaxation in a polymer which comprises penetrant-sensitive bonds as the crosslinkages between the molecular chains. This theory assumes the diffusion coefficient of penetrant in the polymer to he independent of concentration and any other factors. It was found that the system Amilan-water behaves in exact conformity with the theory over the ranges of elongation and temperature studied. The diffusion coefficient,D, of water in Amilan could thus be evaluated from the chemical relaxation data, using the theory presented, as functions of elongation and temperature. An ordinary sorption experiment was carried out for this system at 40% R. H. and 16.8° C and demonstrated that the diffusion of water in Amilan was Fickian with a constant diffusion coefficient. Both diffusion coefficients from the chemical relaxation data and the sorption. data were found to agree quite well when the former was extrapolated to zero-strain. The chemical relaxation behavior in the system polyvinyl alcohol-water was markedly different from that expected from the theory, suggesting primarily that the diffusion coefficient of water in this polymer was not constant. A parallel evidence for this fact was obtained from sorption measurements on this system, which demonstrated the diffusion in this system to be dependent both on concentration and time. From these results it may be concluded that the chemical relaxation technique, when combined properly with an adequate theory, can be used not only to evaluate the diffusion coefficient of penetrant in a given polymer solid but also to investigate, at least qualitatively, the type of sorption behavior characteristic of the system under given experimental conditions.

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Zusammenfassung Die chemische Spannungsrelaxation in Amilan (6-Nylon) und Polyvinylalkohol, verursacht durch Eindringen von Wasserdampf, wurde bei 40% r. F. und Temperaturen von 15, 30 und 50° C untersucht. Es wird eine Theorie der chemischen Relaxation von Polymeren vorgelegt, die als empfindliche Bindungen auf das eindringende Niedermolekulare die Vernetzungen zwischen den molekularen Ketten betrachtet. Diese Theorie setzt voraus, da? der Diffusionskoeffizient im Polymeren für die eindringende Substanz unabh?ngig von Konzentration und anderen Faktoren ist. Das System Amilan-Wasser benimmt sich vollkommen entsprechend dieser Theorie in den studierten Verstreckungs- und Temperaturbereiche. Der Diffusionskoeffizient von Wasser in Amilan konnte daher aus der chemischen Relaxation als Funktion von Dehnung und Temperatur ausgewertet werden. Ein normales Quellungsexperiment wurde für das System bei 40% r. F. und 16,8° C ausgeführt und zeigte, da? die Diffusion von Wasser in Amilan dem Fickschen Gesetz mit konstantem Diffusionskoeffizienten folgt. Beide Diffusionskoeffizienten, der aus chemischer Relaxation und der aus Quellungsdaten gewonnene, stimmten sehr gut überein, falls der erstere auf die Dehnung 0 extrapoliert wurde. Die chemische Relaxation des Systems Polyvinylalkohol-Wasser war merklich anders als nach der Theorie erwartet und lie? in erster Linie vermuten, da? der Diffusionskoeffizient von Wasser in diesem Polymeren nicht konstant ist. Eine entsprechende Andeutung wurde aus Quellungsmessungen an diesem System erhalten. Die Diffusion h?ngt von Konzentration und Zeit ab. Aus diesen Resultaten kann gefolgert werden, da? die Technik der Untersuchungen der chemischen Relaxation unter Verwendung einer geeigneten Theorie nicht nur dazu angewendet werden kann, Diffusionskoeffizienten von kleinen Molekülen in einem gegebenen festen Polymeren zu messen, sondern zumindest auch qualitativ den Typ des Quellungsverhaltens festzustellen, der das System unter den gegebenen experimentellen Bedingungen charakterisiert.

     

Collision-energy-resolved Penning ionization electron spectroscopy of p-benzoquinone: study of electronic structure and anisotropic interaction with He(*)(2 (3)S) metastable atoms

Collision energy dependence of partial ionization cross sections (CEDPICS) of p-benzoquinone with He(*)(2 (3)S) metastable atoms indicates that interaction potentials between p-benzoquinone and He(*)(2 (3)S) are highly anisotropic in the studied collision energy range (100-250 meV). Attractive interactions were found around the C==O groups for in-plane and out-of-plane directions, while repulsive interactions were found around CH bonds and the benzenoid ring. Assignment of the first four ionic states of p-benzoquinone and an analogous methyl-substituted compound was examined with CEDPICS and anisotropic distributions of the corresponding two nonbonding oxygen orbitals (n(O) (+),n(O) (-)) and two pi(CC) orbitals (pi(CC) (+),pi(CC) (-)). An extra band that shows negative CEDPICS was observed at ca. 7.2 eV in Penning ionization electron spectrum.     

Analysis of scintigrams using fuzzy theory

Textural features for phantom images were extracted. Texture parameters which represent RI distribution--skew, energy, entropy and angular second moment were used. But, it was difficult to analyse the images using discriminant analysis for textural features, because textural features had statistical noise. Therefore fuzzy reasoning was adapted to analyse the images. Textural features for six kinds of images were showed using membership function. The possibility to the image was evaluated using the value of membership function on each images. Fuzzy reasoning could be done easily using max-min composition formula. The reasoning was found more suitable to analyse the images than discriminant analysis and will be considered useful for analysis of clinical scintigrams.     

Release characteristics of a free polyunsaturated fatty acid from an oily lymphographic agent

The release profiles of a free polyunsaturated fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, from solutions in an oily lymphographic agent Lipiodol-Ultra-Fluid (Lipiodol), to rabbit and human plasma, phosphate buffer solution (PBS), and PBS containing bovine serum albumin (BSA) were examined in vitro. The times required for 50% release of alpha-linolenic acid from Lipiodol were about 1 and 1.5 h in the rabbit and human plasma, respectively. Although only a slight amount of alpha-linolenic acid was released from Lipiodol to PBS after 24 h incubation at 37 degrees C, release was markedly enhanced by the addition of BSA to PBS. The amount of alpha-linolenic acid released from Lipiodol into PBS containing 5% BSA increased as the alpha-linolenic acid content in Lipiodol was increased. In all experiments, the release had stopped before all alpha-linolenic acid had been released. The prolongation of alpha-linolenic acid release from Lipiodol is considered a requisite for a selective anticancer effect of Lipiodol containing a free fatty acid on liver cancer.