Complex formation of light and heavy lanthanides with DGA and DOODA,and its application to mutual separation in DGA–DOODA extraction system

We studied the stepwise formation constants (β) of water-soluble diglycolamide (DGA) and dioxaoctanediamide (DOODA) for the mutual separation of Ln in a solvent extraction system. TODGA (N,N,N?,N?-tetraoctyl-diglycolamide) and DOODA(C8) (N,N,N?,N?-tetraoctyl-dioxaoctanediamide) exhibit opposite behaviors in extracting both light and heavy Ln through Ln-patterns. Metal complexes of two- and three-folding with water-soluble DOODA and DGA, respectively, were found, and each β value was calculated using distribution ratios. Taking β, their distribution ratio, D, and separation factor, SF, values into consideration, the suitable separation conditions (aqueous phase: 30 mM DOODA(C2) in 1 M HNO₃; organic phase: 0.1 M TODGA in n-dodecane) of multistage extraction (10?×?10 extraction using aqueous and organic phases, including one sample solution) were determined. In this study, La, Pr, and Nd were mainly present in the aqueous phase, whereas Sm–Dy existed in the organic phase. Although these two groups can be easily separated into two phases, the resolution, Rs, values provide for little mutual separation between La–Nd and Sm–Dy under the present conditions.

     

Construction and activity of a synthetic basement membrane with active laminin peptides and polysaccharides

Cell-adhesive peptides derived from extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins are potential candidates for incorporating cell-binding activities into materials for tissue engineering. We have identified a number of cell adhesive peptides from laminins, which are major components of basement membrane ECM. Our goal is the development of synthetic basement membranes using the peptides on scaffolds. We review peptide–polysaccharide complexes, which were prepared by conjugation of the peptides to chitosan and alginate, and the biological activities of the resulting matrices. The peptide–polysaccharide matrices can also be used as a biomaterial for cell transplantation. These studies suggest that the peptide–polysaccharide complexes have the potential to mimic the multifunctional basement membrane and may be useful for tissue engineering.     

Lorentzian geometry for 2 × 2 real matrices

We give an interpretation and a natural proof of the lemma of Herglotz on 2 × 2 symmetric matrices from the point of view of 3-dimensional Lorentz geometry and 2-dimensional hyperbolic geometry. This interpretation leads naturally to an analogous result on 2 × 2 matrices with trace 0.     

Another Rigidity Theorem for Affine Immersions

The theorem of Beez-Killing in Euclidean differential geometry states as follows [KN, p.46]. Let f: M ⁿ → Rⁿ⁺¹ be an isometric immersion of an n-dimensional Riemannian manifold into a Euclidean (n + l)-space. If the rank of the second fundamental form of f is greater than 2 at every point, then any isometric immersion of M ⁿ into R ^{n +} 1 is congruent to f. A generalization of this classical theorem to affine differential geometry has been given in [O] (see Theorem 1.5). We shall give in this paper another version of rigidity theorem for affine immersions.