Effect of ultrasonic irradiation on nucleation phenomena in a Na2HPO4.12H2O melt being used as a heat storage material

The effect of ultrasound on nucleation phenomena in the heat storage material Na2HPO4.12H2O was investigated by determining the primary nucleation probability and induction time, and by looking at heat generation phenomena in the initial stage of nucleation. The experimental results show that the primary nucleation probability dramatically increased, and the induction time decreased under the ultrasound irradiation, and in addition, the rate of temperature rise was dependent upon the ultrasonic output. Based on these results and the theoretical relationship between the number of primary nuclei and the heat generation rate, it is proposed that the number of primary nuclei depends upon the ultrasonic output.     

Pulsed EPR Analysis of the Photo-Induced Triplet Radical Pair in the BLUF Protein SyPixD: Determination of the Protein–Protein Distance and Orientation in the Oligomeric Protein

A photo-induced radical pair of FADH^· and Y8^· and in BLUF protein SyPixD was studied by pulsed electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Blue light illumination at 150 K for 30 min followed by cooling to 50 K during illumination induced the stable radical pair. The EPR signal has been characterized by a Pake doublet signal with complete S = 1 spin state. The radical pair was utilized as a probe to analyze the oligomer of SyPixD. The relative arrangement of PixD proteins in the complex was investigated by pulsed electron–electron double resonance (PELDOR) with the orientation selection. Based on the decameric structure in the crystal, the possible structure for the PELDOR results was discussed.     

Bottom-up fabrication and piezoelectric properties of CaBi<Subscript>4</Subscript>Ti<Subscript>4</Subscript>O<Subscript>15</Subscript> micro-plateaus

CaBi₄Ti₄O₁₅ (CBTi144) micro-plateaus were fabricated on Si wafers and Pt foils using a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) and a complex metal alkoxide solution. The micro-plateaus are delineated by metal masks, which are used for shadowing against the ultraviolet (UV) irradiation for decomposition of SAM to make the surface hydrophilic. The micro-plateaus crystallized to a ferroelectric phase with random orientation. The crystallization depended on the SAM-derived ultra thin layers at the surface of the substrates. The primitive PFM measurements without any top electrodes confirmed that the micro-plateaus exhibited the piezoresponse behaviors. The piezoelectric constant, d₃₃, had some distribution, and the maximum d₃₃ was confirmed as about 45 pm/V, which is identical to the d₃₃ of the polar-axis oriented CBTi144 thin films. PACS 77.84.-s; 81.20.Fw; 77.65.-j     

The nature of europium ion in carbonate solution and polarographic determination of micro amounts of europium

The nature of the complex europium carbonate ion in concentrated carbonate solution was studied polarographically. A polarographic method for the determination of micro amounts of europium ion in the presence of diverse ions (and especially lanthanides) was developed.     

Biomimetic oxidation of thiol and application to odor-removing fiber

The oxidation of HO-CH₂-CH₂-SH (RSH) by molecular oxygen and Fe(III)- as well as Co(II)-multicarboxyphthalocyanine and the mechanism in homogeneous aqueous system were investigated. As application to enzyme-like heterogeneous catalysts, Fe(III)-as well as Co(II)-octacarboxyphthalocyanine were supported on amorphous enriched rayon staple fiber and their enzyme-like activities were estimated. These fibers were applicated to new odor-removers acting as artificial enzyme systems.     

High accuracy measurement of isotope ratios of molybdenum in some terrestrial molybdenites

The isotope ratios of molybdenum in molybdenites were studied. A special triple filament technique was used to obtain stable and lasting signals for MO⁺ . There are no differences bigger than ±0.4 parts per IO4 among four samples and the standard.     

Effect of Dissolved Oxygen on the Reduction of Stable Nitroxide by Ascorbic Acid: In Vitro Model for Acute Hypoxia Ischemia

The reaction between 3-methoxycarbonyl-2,2,5,5-tetramethylpyrrolidine-1-oxyl (PCAM), which is a blood–brain-barrier (BBB) permeable stable cyclic nitroxide, and ascorbic acid was examined in a low dissolved oxygen-phosphate buffer (low DO-PB, 0.1 mM DO) under 8% oxygen in a glove bag or in an ordinal dissolved oxygen-phosphate buffer (ordinal DO-PB, 0.3 mM DO) under 21% oxygen in an open atmosphere with and without diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA). In PB with DTPA, no difference was observed between the results in the low DO-PB and those in the ordinal DO-PB. In the ordinal DO-PB without DTPA, the rate constant of the PCAM decrease was half that in the low DO-PB without DTPA. The present results indicate that high DO and coexisting transition metal ions caused the oxidation of ascorbic acid, which degraded the PCAM reduction. The stable nitroxide-ascorbic acid system without DTPA was found to be applicable to an in vitro model for the acute hypoxia ischemia.