Early-stage flocculation kinetics of polystyrene latex particles with polyelectrolytes studied in the standardized mixing: Contrast of excess and moderate polyelectrolyte dosage

Standardized mixing procedure was applied to the analysis of flocculation of polystyrene latex (PSL) particles with polyelectrolytes. After confirming the initial enhancement of flocculation rate in the very beginning followed by abrupt stop with excess dosage, attention was shifted to the system of moderate dosage. In the former, effects of ionic strength were further analyzed to find the consistency with adsorption isotherm. In the latter, flocculation started slowly in the beginning, sometime slower than salt-induced rapid coagulation, however, the rate gradually increases in the middle stage. Often, the increased rate exceeds that of salt-induced rapid coagulation. This behavior emerged more clearly in the case of lower ionic strength. This is the indication that the rate of relaxation of polymer on the colloidal surface is a function of surface coverage and ionic strength. The ultimate degree of flocculation is usually higher than that observed for excess dosage. The size distribution of flocs was also examined, however, no clear difference between different experimental conditions was confirmed for the same degree of flocculation.     

Multiplex amplified product-length polymorphism analysis of 36 mitochondrial single-nucleotide polymorphisms for haplogrouping of East Asian populations

We present a reliable, rapid, and economical multiplex amplified product-length polymorphism (APLP) method for analyzing the haplogroup-diagnostic mitochondrial single-nucleotide polymorphisms (mtSNPs) in East Asian populations. By examining only 36 haplogroup-specific mtSNPs in the coding region by using four 9-multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and subsequent electrophoresis, we could safely assign 1815 individuals from 8 populations of Japanese, Korean, Chinese, and Germans to 45 relevant haplogroups. This multiplex APLP analysis of coding-region mtSNPs for haplogrouping is especially useful not only for molecular phylogenetic studies but also for large-scale association studies due to its rapid and economical nature. This is the first panel of mtSNPs in the coding region to be used for haplogrouping of East Asian populations.     

Macrophage activation in vitro by chemically cross-linked (1----3)-beta-D-glucans

The chemical cross-linking of soluble (1----3)-beta-D-glucans having molecular weights of 21000 (CL 3 h) and 6400 (CL 6 h), and laminarin (CL LAMI), which showed negligible biological activity, by epichlorohydrin provided rigid particles. These particles showed no gel-to-sol transition upon the addition of sodium hydroxide. We compared the effects of chemical cross-linking on the biological activities of glucans. The alternative complement pathway was not activated by any of the cross-linked glucans. Glucose consumption, lysosomal enzyme release, and interleukin-1 production by mouse resident peritoneal macrophages incubated in vitro were strongly induced by CL 3 h, CL 6 h and CL LAMI. However, cross-linked dextran, Sephadex, did not exhibit any of these biological activities. These results suggested that chemical cross-linking of (1----3)-beta-D-glucans enhances macrophage activities without opsonization by complement components.     

A gravimetric method for the determination of oxygen in uranium oxides and ternary uranium oxides by addition of alkaline earth compounds

A simple gravimetric determination of oxygen in uranium oxides and ternary uranium oxides is described. In alkaline earth uranates which are formed by heating in air at 800–1100°C, uranium is in the hexavalent state over certain continuous ranges of alkaline earth-to-uranium ratios. Thus, if an alkaline earth uranate or a compound containing an alkaline earth element, e.g. MgO, is mixed with the oxide sample and heated in air under suitable conditions, oxygen can be determined from the weight change before and after the reaction. The standard deviation of the O:U ratio for a UO_2+x test sample is ±0.0008–0.001, if a correction is applied for atmospheric moisture absorbed during mixing.     

Synthesis,crystal structure and charge transport characteristics of stable peri-tetracene analogues

peri-Acenes have shown great potential for use as functional materials because of their open-shell singlet biradical character. However, only a limited number of peri-acene derivatives larger than peri-tetracene have been synthesized to date, presumably owing to the low stability of the target compounds in addition to the complicated synthesis scheme. Here, a very simple synthesis route for the tetrabenzo[a,f,j,o]perylene (TBP) structure enables the development of highly stable peri-tetracene analogues. Despite a high degree of singlet biradical character, the compounds with four substituents at the zigzag edge show a remarkable stability in solution under ambient conditions, which is better than that of acene derivatives with a closed-shell electronic configuration. The crystal structures of the TBP derivatives were obtained for the first time; these are valuable to understand the relationship between the structure and biradical character of peri-acenes. The application of peri-acenes in electronic devices should also be investigated. Therefore, the semiconducting properties of the TBP derivative were investigated by fabricating the field-effect transistors.

Highly stable peri-tetracene analogues with a high degree of singlet biradical character were synthesized in a very simple route, and their crystal structures and semiconducting properties were investigated.     

Structural studies of the carbon monoxide complex of [NiFe]hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F: suggestion for the initial activation site for dihydrogen

The carbon monoxide complex of [NiFe]hydrogenase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Miyazaki F has been characterized by X-ray crystallography and absorption and resonance Raman spectroscopy. Nine crystal structures of the [NiFe]hydrogenase in the CO-bound and CO-liberated forms were determined at 1.2-1.4 A resolution. The exogenously added CO was assigned to be bound to the Ni atom at the Ni-Fe active site. The CO was not replaced with H(2) in the dark at 100 K, but was liberated by illumination with a strong white light. The Ni-C distances and Ni-C-O angles were about 1.77 A and 160 degrees, respectively, except for one case (1.72 A and 135 degrees ), in which an additional electron density peak between the CO and Sgamma(Cys546) was recognized. Distinct changes were observed in the electron density distribution of the Ni and Sgamma(Cys546) atoms between the CO-bound and CO-liberated structures for all the crystals tested. The novel structural features found near the Ni and Sgamma(Cys546) atoms suggest that these two atoms at the Ni-Fe active site play a role during the initial H(2)-binding process. Anaerobic addition of CO to dithionite-reduced [NiFe]hydrogenase led to a new absorption band at about 470 nm ( approximately 3000 M(-1)cm(-1)). Resonance Raman spectra (excitation at 476.5 nm) of the CO complex revealed CO-isotope-sensitive bands at 375/393 and 430 cm(-1) (368 and 413 cm(-1) for (13)C(18)O). The frequencies and relative intensities of the CO-related Raman bands indicated that the exogenous CO is bound to the Ni atom with a bent Ni-C-O structure in solution, in agreement with the refined structure determined by X-ray crystallography.