Grafting on wool. II. Stress–strain behavior of grafted fiber in water

The stress–strain behavior and hysteresis properties of various grafted wool fibers were studied. Three distinct regions on the stress–strain curve and hysteresis properties characteristic of the native wool fiber remain substantially intact, even though a large amount of a rigid polymer occurs. It was suggested that the microfibril and the matrix nature in the native wool fiber exist in the grafted wool structures. The electron microscopic results were also supported. These results can be explained on the basis of Menefee's model that the longitudinal mechanical behavior is more directly controlled by a high modulus matrix.     

Photoconductive properties of organic-inorganic hybrid films of layered perovskite-type niobate

A hybrid film of layered niobate and an organic amphiphile was prepared by the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) method. Trimethylammonium-exchanged perovskite-type niobates ((CH(3))(3)NHSr(2)Nb(3)O(10)) were exfoliative to form an aqueous suspension. A monolayer of octadecylamine was produced on such an aqueous dispersion as a template for a hybrid film. A hybrid film was transferred as a Y-type LB film onto a hydrophilic glass plate or an ITO substrate. The structure of a deposited film was investigated with X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), and atomic force microscopy (AFM) measurements, indicating a layer-by-layer structure with a single or double sheet of niobate as an inorganic composite. From the cyclic voltammogram on an ITO electrode modified with the Y-type 10 layered film, the lower edge of the conduction band of a niobate layer was determined to be - 0.6 V (vs Ag/AgCl). ac impedance and dc measurements were carried out on 1, 5, and 10-layered LB films (2 mm (electrode spacing) x 8 mm (width)) with aluminum electrodes. The freshly deposited samples behaved as an insulator under the illumination of 280 nm light (2.04 x 10(16) quanta s(-1)). Photoconductivities appeared, however, when they were preirradiated with a 150 W Xe lamp (ca. 2 x 10(18) quanta s(-1)) for 0.5-8.5 h. The process was denoted as photomodification. From the FT-IR and XRD results, it was deduced that the photomodification of LB films caused the decomposition of organic templates (octadecylammonium) accompanied by the collapse of layer-by-layer structures. dc analyses on the 5- and 10-layered films after photomodification also showed that they behaved as a photosemiconductor under UV light illumination.     

Diorganostannylenes : III. Formation of dimethylstannylene from 1,1-dimethyl-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl-1-stannacyclopentadiene and acetylenes

Dimethylstannylene, (CH₃)₂Sn:, was formed transiently in the reaction of 1,1-dimethyl-2,3,4,5-tetraphenyl-1-stannacyclopentadiene (stannole) with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate or phenylacetylene. When this reaction was carried out in the presence of n-butyl bromide, dimethylstannylene inserted into the CBr bond of n-butyl bromide to give n-butyldimethyltin bromide in 12% yield, but most of the dimethylstannylene was captured by dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate to give a complex. The complex was also produced in the photolytic reaction of the dimethyltin polymer, [(CH₃)₂Sn]_m, with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate. With phenylacetylene, dimethylstannylene did not give a similar complex, but polymerized to give the dimethyltin polymer.     

Capillary electrophoresis for simultaneous determination of emodin,chrysophanol, and their 8-beta-D-glucosides

The simultaneous separation and determination of the major anthraquinones, emodin, chrysophanol, and their glucosides, of Rumex japonicus HOUTT., and emodin and emodin glucoside, of Cassia tora L., Rhamnus purshiana DC., Polygonum multiflorum THUNB., and P. cuspidatum SIEB. et ZUCC., were achieved by cyclodextrin modified capillary zone electrophoresis. The running electrolyte used in this method was 0.005 M alpha-cyclodextrin in 0.03 M borate buffer (pH 10.5) containing 10% acetonitrile, with an applied voltage of 20 kV.     

Rat liver and kidney catechol-O-methyltransferase activity measured by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection

We have previously reported a highly sensitive method for the measurement of catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) activities in rat erythrocytes with norepinephrine (NE), an endogenous native substrate, using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)-fluorescence or peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence reaction detection. Applying this method to COMT activities in rat liver and kidney, known to have the highest activities of all organs, the optimum reaction conditions were investigated. Under the optimum conditions, soluble (S)-COMT and membrane-bound (MB)-COMT activities in rat liver, with NE as a substrate, were 2.17 +/- 0.33 and 0.16 +/- 0.02 nmol/min/mg protein (n = 5), respectively. In rat kidney, S-COMT and MB-COMT activities were 1.81 +/- 0.20 and 0.079 +/- 0.009 nmol/min/mg protein (n = 5), respectively. Since liver and kidney play important roles in inactivating catecholamines, using the proposed method would yield critical information to delineate the role of metabolism of catecholamines in rat tissues.     

In vivo voltammetry: Electrochemical behaviour of cadmium ions translocated into the vacuole of a Chara cell

A voltammetric behaviour of Cd(II) translocated in a vacuole of a Chara cell has been examined by inserting a Hg-plated Pt microelectrode into a living cell. The peak of the differential voltammogram due to the redox reaction of Cd(II) in the cell disappeared within a short period, and then re-appeared a few days later, suggesting that the Cd(II) translocated into a living Chara cell changes its state at least twice. At the silent state Cd(II) is estimated to be included by a cytosolic component for temporal detoxification, and then complexed with a cysteine rich polypeptide, phytochelatin, whose biosynthesis is induced by the presence of Cd(II).     

Novel abietane diterpenoids and aromatic compounds from Cladonia rangiferina and their antimicrobial activity against antibiotics resistant bacteria

From Cladonia rangiferina were isolated two novel abietane diterpenoids, hanagokenols A (1) and B (2). Also in this investigation, four known abitetane diterpenoids (3-6), four known labdane diterpenoids (7-10), one known isopimarane diterpenoid (11), and six known aromatic compounds were isolated. These structures were elucidated primarily through extensive NMR experiments. Hanagokenol A (1) was a unique abietane diterpene having an ether linkage between C-6 and C-18 of sugiol. Hanagokenol B (2) is also a unique secoabietane diterpene, having gamma-lactone which occurred by cleavage and subsequently oxidation between C-6/C-7 of 12-hydroxydehydroabietinol. Furthermore, all the isolated compounds (1-17) were tested for the antimicrobial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE).     

Annexin II, a novel HSP27-interacted protein, is involved in resistance to UVC-induced cell death in human APr-1 cells

Heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is implicated in diverse biologic functions as a molecular chaperone. We found that HSP27 is involved in the protection of human cells against UVC lethality. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying UVC resistance, we searched for HSP27-interacted proteins related to resistance in UVC-resistant human cells, APr-1. Three candidates for HSP27-interacted proteins were found from cell lysates using an affinity column coupled with GST-fused HSP27 protein. Interaction between HSP27 and two candidates, annexin II and HSP70, was confirmed by immunoprecipitation analysis. After UVC irradiation, the amount of the complex of HSP27 and annexin II decreased in the postnuclear fraction, while it increased in the nuclear fraction. Cells transfected with annexin II-siRNA were more susceptible to UVC lethality. These results suggest that annexin II is a novel HSP27-interacted protein which is involved in UVC resistance in human cells, at least those tested here.     

Electron microscope observation of thermal pre-treatment and vaporization processes of Ag–Sb and Pd–Sb systems in graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry

As the reproducibility of Sb in river water analysis based on graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry is not good, and the reliability is poor when Pd is used as a matrix modifier, Ag was used instead of Pd. The reason Ag has the function of a matrix modifier and Pd does not, was studied by observation of the atomic columns or lattice structures at the atomic level in binary alloys, by using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope. Since the Ag–Sb system has the characteristic of forming an intermetallic compound and a lower value of the activity coefficient of Sb in its intermetallic compound, Ag is able to function as a matrix modifier as a result. In the case of the Pd–Sb system, the phenomenon of radical vaporization that is observed in the Ag–Sb system does not occur through changes of the phases of Pd–Sb intermetallic compounds. This fact means Pd does not have the function of a matrix modifier.