Spontaneous emulsification at oil–water interface by tetraalkylammonium chloride

Water droplets were formed spontaneously at the interface of the 2-nitrophenyloctyl ether and aqueous phases on the oil phase side when the oil contained tetraalkylammonium chloride without surfactants. The droplets, less than some micrometers in diameter, gathered at the interface. The number density of the droplets was proportional to the concentration of tetraethylammonium chloride, and hence this salt should be responsible for the formation of the droplets as a surfactant. When positive voltage was applied to the aqueous phase against the oil, the droplets departed from the interface toward the oil bulk. The droplets should be negatively charged by chloride. The adsorption model of the salt was suggested, in which chloride is immobilized at the interface on the aqueous side electrostatically with tetraethylammonium ion on the oil side.     

Mechanics of a particle near the center of a rotating ring

The equations of motion of a test particle moving near the center of a massive rotating ring are derived up to the post-post-Newtonian order of approximation, by using the metric tensor for many body system which is Minkowskian at spatial infinity. Logarithmic divergences due to self-interaction of the ring appear in the equations of motion. These divergences can be removed by the procedure which is similar to the renormalization method in particle physics. In the equations of motion there appears a force directing to the rotation axis and depending on the angular velocity of the ring. This force vanishes when the magnitude of the gravitational constant times the mass of the ring divided by the radius of the ring is about one tenth of the square of the velocity of light. Under this condition it is shown that the relative magnitude of the Coriolis force to the centrifugal force in the equations of motion agrees with the expected one from the equations of motion in a rotating reference frame.     

Global stability of a generalized epidemic model

The competitive exclusion principle is one of the most interesting and important phenomena in both theoretical epidemiology and biology. We show that the equilibrium in which only the strain with the maximum basic reproductive number exists is globally asymptotically stable by using an average Lyapunov function theorem and some dynamical system theory. This result is anticipated by H.J. Bremermann and H.R. Thieme (1989) [6] where they showed that the equilibrium is locally stable — the global result has not been established previously.     

Fluorometric quantification of total d-gluconate by a flow-injection system using an immobilized-enzyme reactor

A method for the quantification of total d-gluconate by flow-injection analysis was developed using an immobilized-enzyme reactor and fluorescence detection. d-Gluconate was quantified using co-immobilized gluconate kinase (GK) and 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase (PGDH) reactor. d-Gluconate was phosphorylated to 6-phospho-d-gluconate by GK in the presence of ATP, and then the 6-phospho-d-gluconate produced was oxidized by PGDH with NADP⁺. The NADPH produced by the GK-PGDH reactor was monitored fluorometrically at 455 nm (excitation at 340 nm). A linear relationship between the responses and concentrations of d-gluconate was obtained in the ranges of 1.0 × 10⁻⁶–1.6 × 10⁻⁴ M. The relative standard deviation for 10 successive injections was 0.57% at the 0.1 mM level. This analytical method was applied to the quantification of d-gluconate in honeys, vinegars and noble rot wines, and the results showed good agreement with those obtained using the conventional F-kit method.     

Voltammetry of suspensions of hollow particles with ferrocene-immobilized polyallylamine shells

Redox-active hollow spheres were prepared through extracting a polystyrene core from the latex particle (PSPAAFc) composed of the core and the polyallylamine shell including ferrocenyl carboxylic amide. The suspension of the hollow spheres showed anodic and cathodic voltammetric peaks, which were nearly reversible and diffusion-controlled. The current was 3 times as large as the current for the suspension of the filled PSPAAFc. This value agreed with the theoretical one evaluated from the diameter (1.28 microm), the number of ferrocenyl moieties per particle, 1.2 x 108, by UV spectroscopy, and the diffusion coefficient obtained from the Stokes-Einstein equation. This fact indicates the reaction of the whole loaded charge, in contrast to the partial charge transfer of PSPAAFc. The dynamic flattening motion was observed to support the reaction of the whole charge.     

New mu-opioid receptor agonists with phenoxyacetic acid moiety

New muq-opioid receptor (MOR) agonists containing 4-hydroxypiperidine, piperidine and piperazine moieties were synthesized and evaluated to find a peripheral opioid analgesic. Among the synthesized compounds, 12-[1-[3-(N,N-dimethylcarbamoyl)-3,3-diphenylpropyl]-4-hydroxypiperidin-4-yl]phenoxy]acetic acid (8: SS620) having phenoxyacetic acid and 4-hydroxypiperidine moieties showed the highest agonist potency on the MOR in an isolated guinea-pig ileum preparation, and it also had selectivity to the human MOR expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 cells compared with the same types of delta- and kappa-opioid receptors (DOR and KOR). In addition, compound 8 showed a 10 times more potent MOR agonist activity than loperamide. Furthermore, compound 8 showed a peripheral analgesic activity in vivo screening on rat.     

When all trajectories in the Liénard plane cross the vertical isocline?

In this paper we study the problem whether all trajectories of the system =y–F(x) and =–g(x) cross the vertical isocline which is very important for the existence of periodic solutions and oscillation theory. The problem has not been solved for the critical case:

Freeze-thawing single human embryonic stem cells induce e-cadherin and actin filament network disruption via g13 signaling

Poor adhesion of single human embryonic stem (hES) cells after freeze-thawing causes death. To investigate mechanisms responsible for this, Rho-dependent protein kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632-treated and untreated single hES cells were analyzed for E-cadherin and F-actin distribution by immunostaining and phalloidin staining respectively and for G13 signaling pathway components by DNA microarray and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Y-27632-treated cells clustered rapidly and maintained E-cadherin and F-actin distribution without losing Oct-3/4. Immediately after thawing, E-cadherin in untreated hES cells dotted along the membrane and then displayed eccentric cytoplasmic localization. Bleb formation and early Oct-3/4 loss occurred after F-actin network condensation in the cytoplasm. Microarray analyses and quantitative PCR indicated upregulation of two actin reorganization-associated components of the G13 signaling pathway, Arhgdib and Cdc42, in untreated cells. Considering these findings and that cell death was partly interrupted by Y-27632, E-cadherin and actin cytoskeleton network disruption through the G13 signaling pathway may cause hES cell death after freeze-thawing.     

NMR-based characterization of a novel yellow chlorophyll catabolite, Ed-YCC,isolated from Egeria densa

A novel yellow chlorophyll catabolite, Ed-YCC, was isolated from leaves detached from Egeria densa shoots, in which chlorophyll degradation and anthocyanin synthesis were induced in 0.1 M fructose solution under light illumination as a plant senescence process, a model of autumnal leaf coloration. Structure elucidation was accomplished by various NMR techniques including 2D-INADEQUATE.