Liquid phase hydrogenation of naphthalene in the presence of CO over supported Ni catalyst

The liquid phase hydrogenation of naphthalene was performed in the presence of CO over a commercial Ni/SiO₂-Al₂O₃ catalyst. Naphthalene was hydrogenated even in the presence of CO at elevated temperatures, accompanying the hydrogenation of CO. Two activation energy values were obtained for the naphthalene hydrogenation depending on the reaction temperature. FT-IR measurement of the adsorbed CO was also carried out. Hydrogenation of the adsorbed CO created sites active for naphthalene hydrogenation.     

The nonexistence of projective planes of order 12 with a collineation group of order 8

In this article, we prove that there does not exist a symmetric transversal design which admits an automorphism group of order 4 acting semiregularly on the point set and the block set. We use an orbit theorem for symmetric transversal designs to prove our result. As a corollary of the result, we prove that there is no projective plane of order 12 admitting a collineation group of order 8. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Combin Designs 16: 411–430, 2008     

Controlled growth for synthesizing a compact mordenite membrane

Controlling the growth of zeolite crystals on a porous alumina support is essential for preparing a compact zeolite membarne. First, mordenite seed crystals applied on a nonporous -alumina disk were grown and morphological change of mordenite crystals were observed in the course of growth. Then, mordenite membranes were synthesized on a porous -alumina tube under the same conditions employed in the study using the alumina disks. We found that seed crystal growth was widely controllable by changing water content in reaction solution, which resulted in better control of the morphology of mordenite crystals for synthesizing a thin compact mordenite membrane. Separation properties for mordenite membranes were studied in water–hydrogen binary system at 473 K with 10 kPa of water partial pressure, where no capillary condensation was expected in non-zeolitic pores. Separation factor for a mordenite membrane with a few defects was poor; however, a defect-free mordenite membrane prepared under a suitable condition highly separated steam from hydrogen.     

New nucleotide pairs for stable DNA triplexes stabilized by stacking interaction

New nucleotide pairs applicable to formation of DNA triplexes were developed. We designed oligonucleotides incorporating 5-aryl deoxycytidine derivatives (dC5Ars) and cyclic deoxycytidine derivatives, dCPPP and dCPPI, having an expanded aromatic area, as the second strand. As pairing partners, two types of abasic residues (C3: propylene linker, phi: abasic base) were chosen. It was concluded that, when the 5-aryl-modified cytosine bases paired with the abasic sites in TFOs in a space-fitting manner, the stability of the resulting triplexes significantly increased. The recognition of C3 toward dC5Ars was selective because of the stacking interactions between their aromatic part and the nucleobases flanking the abasic site. These results indicate the potential utility of new nucleotide triplets for DNA triplex formation, which might expand the variety of structures and sequences and might be useful for biorelated fields such as DNA nanotechnologies.     

Synthesis of branched oligonucleotides with three different sequences using an oxidatively removable tritylthio group

We synthesized a three-way branched oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) 30-mer using a new branch unit with acid-labile DMTr and oxidatively cleavable TrS groups as orthogonal protecting groups. The branched ODN was successfully synthesized using 5-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1H-tetrazole and (2R,8aS)-(+)-(camphorylsulfonyl)oxaziridine as the activator of phosphoramidite units and the oxidizing reagent, respectively. We also found that the TrS group was orthogonal to the Lev, TBDMS, and Fmoc groups. These results indicate the possibility of the synthesis of more complex four- and five-way branched ODNs by the combined use of DMTr, TrS, Lev, TBDMS, and Fmoc groups.     

Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction/Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry for the Determination of 2-Nonenal and Its Application to Body Odor Analysis

The odors and emanations released from the human body can provide important information about the health status of individuals and the presence or absence of diseases. Since these components often emanate from the body surface in very small quantities, a simple sampling and sensitive analytical method is required. In this study, we developed a non-invasive analytical method for the measurement of the body odor component 2-nonenal by headspace solid-phase microextraction coupled with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry by selective ion monitoring. Using a StableFlex PDMS/DVB fiber, 2-nonenal was efficiently extracted and enriched by fiber exposition at 50 °C for 45 min and was separated within 10 min using a DB−1 capillary column. Body odor sample was easily collected by gauze wiping. The limit of detection of 2-nonenal collected in gauze was 22 pg (S/N = 3), and the linearity was obtained in the range of 1–50 ng with a correlation coefficient of 0.991. The method successfully analyzed 2-nonenal in skin emissions and secretions and was applied to the analysis of body odor changes in various lifestyles, including the use of cosmetics, food intake, cigarette smoking, and stress load.     

Separation of carrier free95mTc from niobium targets irradiated with alpha-particles

A^95mTc tracer with an excellent quality was prepared by a simple sublimation method after α-bombardment of niobium metal. Technetium-95m produced by the⁹³Nb(α,2n)^95mTc reaction was separated from the niobium targets in a quartz tube by heating at 1100°C in an oxygen gas flow. Technetium-95m sublimed as an oxide was deposited on the inner wall of the quartz tube outside an electric furnace, and then collected as a pertechnetate solution by washing with water. The ICP-MS analysis of the^95mTc solution revealed its excellent quality, compared to a^95mTc solution prepared from the same targets through a wet chemical separation method and a commercial^95mTc solution. With this tracer, the precision of ICP-MS analysis of⁹⁹Tc in environmental samples are highly improved.     

Production of positron emitters and application of their labeled compounds to plant studies

The positron emitters¹¹C,¹³N and¹⁸F and their labeled compounds have been produced for studies on plants using a newly developed positron emitting tracer imaging system. Although this system covers, at present, a limited area in a plant, the distribution of the positron emitter fed into the plant can be visualized dynamically. Further development of positron-emitter-labeled compounds is expected to elucidate the physiological function of plants in vivo.     

Selective formation of thecis isomer of the nitridotechnetium(V) complex with 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine

The reaction of [TcNCl₂(PPh₃)₂] with 2,2′:6′,2″-terpyridine producedcis-[TcNCl₂(terpy)] selectively. The resulting complexes were characterized by¹H NMR and IR spectroscopy. The geometries of thecis andtrans isomers were estimated by theoretical calculations following a density functional method. Thecis isomer is likely more stable than thetrans one with respect to thetrans influence of the nitrido ligand. Furthermore, the behavior of nitridotechnetium complexes in polar solvents was compared to Os-analogues.