Preparation of alumina fibers by sol-gel method

The shape of particles present in the alumina sols prepared from inorganic salts was examined by transmission electron microscopic observation and related to the rheological property and fiber drawing behavior of the sols. It was found that fibers could be drawn in the viscosity range of 1–100 Pa·s from the sols in which long-shaped particles were found, while no fibers could be drawn from the sols containing round particles. It was also found that non-spinnable sols showed relatively large structural viscosity, whereas spinnable sols showed Newtonian flow or very little structural viscosity.     

Oligomer-immobilizing ability of an electrodeposited aramid resin film in the electrooxidation of aniline derivatives and the functions of the resulting films

An aramid resin, poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) (PPTA), was electrodeposited on an indium-tin oxide electrode as a mechanically stable film from a dimethyl sulfoxide solution. Two aniline derivatives, o-phenylenediamine and o-aminophenol, were electrooxidized from H₂SO₄ aqueous solutions using the PPTA film-coated electrode. The PPTA film was permeable to the aniline derivatives, and the derivatives were electrooxidized on the electrode surface. When the derivatives were electrooxidized, the film immobilized the corresponding oligomer species as well as the polymers plain (o-phenylenediamine) (PoPD) and poly(o-aminophenol) (PoAP), and the deposited amount of the polymers was increased by the PPTA film. The immobilized amount of PoAP was greater than that of PoPD because of the 1,4-substituted structure of PoAP. In the PPTA film, both PoPD and PoAP were electronically stabilized, and they became durable against oxidative degradation.     

Semiconductor acousto-electric potential detection using a force microscope

Acousto-electric force microscopy (AEFM), developed as a technique for high-resolution mapping of carrier characteristics in solids is described. This technique is based on an acousto-electric voltage (AEV) detection scheme where AEV pulses are obtained from the cantilever deflection caused by the electrostatic force acting between the cantilever tip and the sample surface. AEFM appears to be feasible, but an improved AEV detection scheme is required.     

Atomic correlation between adjacent graphene layers in double-wall carbon nanotubes

Atomic correlation between adjacent graphene layers was elucidated for double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWNTs) through a chiral index assignment of two nested nanotubes by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. Our analysis provides a rather constant diameter difference close to 0.75 nm but no chiral angle correlation between the constituent nanotubes in the concentric DWNTs. The local atomic correlation as a commensurate graphene stacking was repeatedly found in eccentric DWNTs and circumscribed nanotubes, which should lead to elastic deformation and bundling of nanotubes.     

Complete mineralization of propyzamide in aqueous solution containing TiO2 particles and H2O2 by the simultaneous irradiation of light and ultrasonic waves

Environmental problems arise from the pollution of ground water and soil by propyzamide, 3,5-dichloro-N-(3-methyl-1-butyn-3-yl) benzamide, which is a popular herbicide. To decompose propyzamide, aqueous solutions containing propyzamide and TiO2 particles was irradiated by light. The photocatalytic decomposition was accelerated when the solution temperature and pH were high. The temperature dependence was due to the adsorption processes of propyzamide on the TiO2 particles. The decomposition was further promoted by addition of H2O2 because of its effective electron-trapping and generated *OH which was available to decompose propyzamide. Although no propyzamide was detected in the solution after the irradiation time of about 20 min, the decomposed intermediate compounds still remained. In order to mineralize completely propyzamide, simultaneous irradiation by light and ultrasonic waves was carried out. The hybrid effect of the irradiation by light and ultrasonic waves in conjunction with H2O2 was first confirmed to achieve the complete mineralization of propyzamide.     

Micrometer-sized graphitic balls produced together with single-wall carbon nanohorns

We present in this report a new type of particles with micrometer-order sizes, which we called giant graphitic balls (GG balls). The GG balls are produced by CO2 laser ablation of graphite together with single-wall carbon nanohorns. They have graphitic structures whose layers tend to align parallel with the GG-ball surfaces, resulting in polygonal-like arrangements. Comparing the GG-ball structure with that of the previously reported polygonal graphite-particles, the growth mechanism of the GG ball is discussed briefly.     

Tubulin-dynein system in flagellar and ciliary movement

Eukaryotic flagella and cilia have attracted the attention of many researchers over the last century, since they are highly arranged organelles and show sophisticated bending movements. Two important cytoskeletal and motor proteins, tubulin and dynein, were first found and described in flagella and cilia. Half a century has passed since the discovery of these two proteins, and much information has been accumulated on their molecular structures and their roles in the mechanism of microtubule sliding, as well as on the architecture, the mechanism of bending movement and the regulation and signal transduction in flagella and cilia. Historical background and the recent advance in this field are described.     

In vivo molecular labeling of halogenated volatile anesthetics via intrinsic molecular vibrations using nonlinear Raman spectroscopy

Halogenated volatile anesthetics are frequently used for inhaled anesthesia in clinical practice. No appropriate biological method has been available for visualizing their localization in action. Therefore, despite their frequent use, the mechanism of action of these drugs has not been fully investigated. We measured coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) spectra of sevoflurane and isoflurane, two of the most representative volatile anesthetics, and determined the low-frequency vibrational modes without nonresonant background disturbance. Molecular dynamics calculations predict that these modes are associated with multiple halogen atoms. Because halogen atoms rarely appear in biological compounds, the entire spectral landscape of these modes is expected to be a good marker for investigating the spatial localization of these drugs within the intracellular environment. Using live squid giant axons, we could detect the unique CARS spectra of sevoflurane for the first time in a biological setting.     

Local Uniformization and Free Boundary Regularity of Minimal Singular Surfaces

We continue the study of minimal singular surfaces obtained by a minimization of a weighted energy functional in the spirit of J. Douglas’s approach to the Plateau problem. Modeling soap films spanning wire frames, a singular surface is the union of three disk-type surfaces meeting along a curve which we call the free boundary. We obtain an a priori regularity result concerning the real analyticity of the free boundary curve. Using the free boundary regularity of the harmonic map, we construct local harmonic isothermal coordinates for the minimal singular surface in a neighborhood of a point on the free boundary. Applications of the local uniformization are discussed in relation to H. Lewy’s real analytic extension of minimal surfaces.