Electron microscopy of submicron particles in natural waters—Morphology and elemental analysis of particles in fresh waters

Submicron particles larger than about 0.1m in pond and river waters were collected on a carbon film mounted on a specimen grid by centrifugation and then studied morphologically and analyzed for major elements heavier than sodium, with a high-resolution transmission electron microscope equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. If available, the data were compared with those of particles artificially prepared under various conditions. Four typical particles—aluminosilicate, quartz, fine-particle aggregates containing silica and iron(III) oxide, and microorganisms—were found in fresh waters.     

Author index to volume 49

The de-excitation rate constants of Ne(³P₂, ³P₀ and ³P₁) by N₂ and SF₆ were measured using a pulse radiolysis method combined with optical absorption spectroscopy. A new absorption law which relates the relative concentration S of absorbing atoms to the measured transmittance T, i.e. in S = Σ¹¹_{i = 0}a_iTⁱ, was used for analyzing the data. The presence of a small amount of SF₆ in the sample gas mixtures permitted removal of some artifacts due to thermal electrons for determining the rate constants.     

Observation of optical activity in polythiourethane obtained by the controlled cationic ring‐opening polymerization of chiral cyclic thiourethane derived from serine

The secondary structure of an optically active polythiourethane [(? CH₂C*H(CO₂Me)NHCOS? )_n] was evaluated with ¹H NMR, IR, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. Hydrogen bonds between the carbonyl and NH groups in the thiourethane group constrained the main chain of the chiral polythiourethane precisely under the direction of chirality in the main chain, whereas the racemic polymer was also constrained but randomly. The secondary structure of the polythiourethane in CHCl₃ changed noticeably in the presence or absence of trifluoroacetic acid, which eliminated constraining intramolecular hydrogen bonds. IR spectroscopy suggested that the secondary structure was almost identical in solid and solution states. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 1554–1561, 2005     

A bound on the Castelnuovo-Mumford regularity for curves

Recall that a projective curve in with ideal sheaf is said to be n-regular if for every integer and that in this case, it is cut out scheme-theoretically by equations of degree at most n. The purpose here is to show that an irreducible, reduced, projective curve of degree d and large arithmetic genus satisfies a smaller regularity bound than the optimal one . For example, if then a curve is -regular unless it is embedded by a complete linear system of degree . Received: 29 May 2000 / Published online: 24 September 2001     

Synthesis and crosslinking reaction of poly(thiourethane)s having a siloxane moiety in the side chain

Poly(thiourethane)s having a siloxane moiety in the side chain were synthesized with a 5‐membered cyclic dithiocarbonate (DTC) having a siloxane group as a building block. The synthetic pathway consisted of (1) an addition reaction of the DTC with diamines and (2) polyaddition reactions of the resulting dithiols with diisocyanates. The siloxane moiety in the polymer side chain underwent a self‐condensation reaction upon exposure to moisture, and this led to a successful crosslinking reaction of the poly(thiourethane). The crosslinking on a silicate surface was accompanied by condensation between the siloxane side chain of the polymer and the silanol group on the surface, giving the corresponding surface that was permanently coated with the crosslinked polymer. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 6492–6502, 2005     

Origin of the color of π‐conjugated columnar polymers: Poly(p‐n‐octylthiophenyl)acetylene prepared using a [Rh(norbornadiene)Cl]2 catalyst

Highly stereospecific polymerization of a novel sulfur containing aromatic acetylenes, that is, (p‐n‐octylthiophenyl)acetylene (pOctSPA), was successfully performed using the Rh complex, [Rh(norbornadiene)Cl]₂‐TEA, catalyst in the presence of various solvents under mild conditions. The resulting polymers were characterized in detail by ¹H NMR, ESR, laser Raman, diffuse reflective UV‐Vis (DRUV‐Vis), and wide angle X‐ray diffraction methods. The data showed that the resulting polymers bear cis‐transoid form, which can induce the cis‐to‐trans isomerization when the cis polymers are subjected to pressure at room temperature under vacuum, breaking rotationally the cis C?C bonds in the main‐chain giving two kinds of π‐radicals, the so‐called cis radical and trans radical as the origin of a polymer magnet like a novel spin glass material. Further, the resulting cis poly(acetylene)s were found to have a helical main‐chain, which is packed in pseudohexagonal crystal called π‐conjugated columnar or nano π‐conjugated columnar as a novel color controllable material. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 2836–2850, 2005     

Differential-pulse anodic stripping voltammetry of copper with a chemically-modified glassy carbon electrode

Copper at the low or fractional ng g^?1 level in 0.1 M oxalic acid solutions at pH 1.6 is electrodeposited on a chemically-modified glassy carbon electrode with surface-bound

groups at ?0.6 V vs. Ag/AgCl (3.3 M KCl). The deposit is then anodically stripped in the same solution, a current-potential curve being recorded by the differential-pulse technique. The advantages of this electrode over an unmodified glassy carbon electrode include higher sensitivity, precision and selectivity; the modified electrode can be used 50–100 times without further treatment.     

Anisotropic Self‐Assembly of Citrate‐Coated Gold Nanoparticles on Fluidic Liposomes

The behavior of self‐assembly processes of nanoscale particles on plasma membranes can reveal mechanisms of important biofunctions and/or intractable diseases. Self‐assembly of citrate‐coated gold nanoparticles (cAuNPs) on liposomes was investigated. The adsorbed cAuNPs were initially fixed on the liposome surfaces and did not self‐assemble below the phospholipid phase transition temperature (T_m). In contrast, anisotropic cAuNP self‐assembly was observed upon heating of the composite above the T_m, where the phospholipids became fluid. The number of self‐assembled NPs is conveniently controlled by the initial mixing ratio of cAuNPs and liposomes. Gold nanoparticle protecting agents strongly affected the self‐assembly process on the fluidic membrane.