Evaluations of vertical resolution of conductive polymer three-dimensional microstructures photofabricated in transparent polymer sheet

Conductive polymer three-dimensional microstructures were photofabricated utilizing the two-photon absorption of a sensitizer dye. The resulting three-dimensional structures were excised from the transparent polymer sheet using a micro-manipulator. The processing precisions for the vertical direction of the conductive polymer three-dimensional microstructure obtained in the transparent polymer sheet were evaluated in the present study. As a result, for the configurations of the obtained polypyrrole line deposition, the line height/line width ratios were around 5: 1; this ratio is higher than that of other UV resin works (h: w 2:4–3: 1) and the cross section distortion is not negligible for maintaining the higher reproducibility of the photofabrication.     

Procyanidins are potent inhibitors of LOX-1: a new player in the French Paradox

Lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor-1 (LOX-1) is an endothelial receptor for oxidized LDL (oxLDL) and plays multiple roles in the development of cardiovascular diseases. We screened more than 400 foodstuff extracts for identifying materials that inhibit oxLDL binding to LOX-1. Results showed that 52 extracts inhibited LOX-1 by more than 70% in cell-free assays. Subsequent cell-based assays revealed that a variety of foodstuffs known to be rich in procyanidins such as grape seed extracts and apple polyphenols, potently inhibited oxLDL uptake in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells expressing LOX-1. Indeed, purified procyanidins significantly inhibited oxLDL binding to LOX-1 while other ingredients of apple polyphenols did not. Moreover, chronic administration of oligomeric procyanidins suppressed lipid accumulation in vascular wall in hypertensive rats fed with high fat diet. These results suggest that procyanidins are LOX-1 inhibitors and LOX-1 inhibition might be a possible underlying mechanism of the well-known vascular protective effects of red wine, the French Paradox.     

Nonasodium decatungstodysprosate pentatriacontahydrate

In the crystal structure of the title compound, Na₉[Dy(W₅O₁₈)₂]·35H₂O, the complex anion has approximate D_4d symmetry, with Dy—O and W—O distances in the ranges 2.355 (6)–2.405 (6) and 1.715 (7)–2.369 (5) Å, respectively.     

A combined effective fragment potential-fragment molecular orbital method. II. Analytic gradient and application to the geometry optimization of solvated tetraglycine and chignolin

The gradient for the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method interfaced with effective fragment potentials (EFP), denoted by FMO∕EFP, was developed and applied to polypeptides solvated in water. The structures of neutral and zwitterionic tetraglycine immersed in water layers of 2.0, 2.5, 3.0, 3.5, 4.0, and 4.5 A? are investigated by performing FMO∕EFP geometry optimizations at the RHF∕cc-pVDZ level of theory for the solutes. The geometries optimized with FMO-RHF∕EFP are compared to those from the conventional RHF∕EFP and are found to be in very close agreement. Using the optimized geometries, the stability of the hydrated zwitterionic and neutral structures is discussed structurally and in terms of energetics at the second-order M?ller-Plesset theory (MP2)∕cc-pVDZ level. To demonstrate the potential of the method for proteins, the geometry of hydrated chignolin (protein data bank ID: 1UAO) was optimized, and the importance of the inclusion of water was examined by comparing the solvated and gas phase structures of chignolin with the experimental NMR structure.     

Extractability of metals in municipal solid wastes fly ash using supercritical CO(2) containing Cyanex 302.

The extraction of lead from fly ash produced during the thermal treatment of municipal solid wastes was studied using supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO(2)) and Cyanex 302 (bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl)monophosphinic acid). The extraction of lead from the fly ash was carried out in a 5 cm(3) internal volume reaction vessel under static extraction conditions at 323 K, and 24 MPa for 1 h. The extraction efficiencies of lead ranged from 4% to the total extraction under the conditions of 0.05 g fly ash with 2 cm(3) Cyanex 302. There was a linear relationship between the extraction efficiencies of lead using the SC-CO(2) + Cyanex 302 and using a water-based method described by JLT13.     

Mathematics as Connection Making in Japanese Elementary Schools

Connection making is one of the major standards proposed by the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, however, unlike problem solving, it has no long history of being designated as a goal of mathematics teaching. An examination of classroom observations of mathematics lessons taught in Japan reveal that connection making appears to be an implicit if not explicit standard for Japanese mathematics education. As a perspective from which to re-examine and re-assess our own practice, this paper describes several episodes of connection making as they occurred in Japanese elementary school classrooms. By reflecting upon the methods used in these classrooms, other approaches to connection making are suggested and explored.