Garlicnin A from the fraction regulating macrophage activation of Allium sativum

Garlicnin A (1), a new stable, sulfur-containing compound isolated from a fraction of the acetone extracts of Allium sativum L. garlic bulbs, showed the potential to suppress tumor cell proliferation by inhibiting the polarization of M2 alternatively activated macrophages, and its structure was characterized as 3,4-dimethyl-5-(4,5-dithia-1E,7-octadiene)-tetrahydrothiophene-2-sulfoxide-S-oxide, on the basis of the results of spectroscopic analysis results.     

Enhanced bile canaliculi formation enabling direct recovery of biliary metabolites of hepatocytes in 3D collagen gel microcavities

Analysis of biliary metabolites is essential to predict pharmacokinetics and hepatotoxicity during drug development. In this paper, we present a hepatocyte culture configuration that enables the direct recovery of bile acid that accumulates in bile canaliculi by embedding the hepatocytes in a 3D micropatterned collagen gel substrate. We investigated the formation of bile canaliculi in hepatocytes embedded in circular microcavities of various sizes and made from collagen gel. Image analyses using fluorescently labeled bile acid revealed that the area of bile canaliculi in embedded hepatocytes in a microcavity of 60 or 80 μm in diameter was enlarged when compared with other sized microcavities and those of hepatocytes cultured using conventional hepatocyte sandwich cultures. We successfully recovered bile acid from the enlarged bile canaliculi of hepatocytes cultured in microcavities using a glass capillary and quantified the amount recovered. Using our approach, the direct recovery of biliary metabolites, using hepatocyte cultures with enhanced biliary excretion and geometrically enlarged bile canaliculi, may enable accurate screening of pharmacokinetics and drug-drug interactions against drug transporters.     

Copper(II)-terbium(III) single-molecule magnets linked by photochromic ligands

Two assemblies composed of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) linked by photochromic ligands, [Cu(II)(2)Tb(III)(2)(L)(2)(NO(3))(2)(dae-o)(2)]·2(n-BuOH) (1) and {[Cu(II)Tb(III)(L)(n-BuOH)(0.5)](2)(dae-c)(3)}·5(DMF)·4(n-BuOH)·2(H(2)O) (2), were synthesized by reacting the SMM [Cu(II)Tb(III)(L)(NO(3))(3)] (H(2)L = 1,3-bis((3-methoxysalicylidene)amino)propane) and photochromic molecules, H(2)dae-o and H(2)dae-c, which are open- and closed-ring isomers of 1,2-bis(5-carboxyl-2-methyl-3-thienyl)perfluoropentene (H(2)dae), respectively. 1 has a tetranuclear ring-like structure comprised of two [CuTb] units and two dae-o(2-) ligands. On the other hand, 2 has a one-dimensional ladder-type structure involving the [CuTb] and dae-c(2-) units in a 3?:?2 ratio. Magnetic studies revealed that 1 and 2 had ferromagnetic interactions between the Cu(II) and Tb(III) ions and that both compounds exhibited frequency dependence of ac susceptibilities owing to freezing the magnetization of the [CuTb] SMM. Upon irradiation with ultraviolet light and visible light, an absorption band at ～600 nm changed, indicating that photochromic reactions involving the dae(2-) ligands occurred. After irradiation, the magnetic behaviour of 1 did not change, whereas magnetic behaviour of 2 changed, due to the modification of intermolecular environment.     

Electric polarizability of DNA in aqueous salt solution

Monte Carlo simulations are performed to determine the anisotropy of the electric polarizability of a model DNA fragment in aqueous salt solution. By taking into consideration the participation of coions in the electroneutrality condition, at every simulation step, we obtain a list of counterions constituting the net charge arranged in increasing order of their distance from the DNA and calculate the contribution to the dipole moment from the first n counterions in the list. We define a partial polarizability tensor due to these n counterions to understand the origin of the polarizability in close relation to the solution structure. The ionic distributions are described by the counterion condensation theory. Characteristic features of the electric properties of polyelectrolytes are reproduced. The anisotropy of the electric polarizability Deltaalpha of DNA decreases with the addition of salt, yielding values comparable to experiment. The effect of electrophoretic motion of the polyion is examined by estimating its upper limit.     

Tracking the effects of interactions on spinons in gapless Heisenberg chains

We consider the effects of interactions on spinon excitations in Heisenberg spin-1/2 chains. We compute the exact two-spinon part of the longitudinal structure factor of the infinite chain in zero field for all values of anisotropy in the gapless antiferromagnetic regime, via an exact algebraic approach. Our results allow us to quantitatively describe the behavior of these fundamental excitations throughout the observable continuum, for cases ranging from free to fully coupled chains, thereby explicitly mapping the effects of "turning on the interactions" in a strongly correlated system.     

Enhancement of stability and accuracy of the moving particle semi-implicit method

As a Lagrangian gridless particle method, the MPS (Moving Particle Semi-implicit) method has been proven useful in a wide range of engineering applications. Up to now, most of MPS applications have been limited to problems with compressive stress states. This paper investigates the performance and stability of MPS method in simulation of more general hydrodynamic problems, including those characterized by tensile stresses or by changes in the stress states. It is shown that MPS-based simulations are prone to become destabilized in presence of attractive interparticle forces. This instability appears to be similar to the so-called tensile instability in SPH method. Two new modifications, namely, a modified Poisson Pressure Equation and a corrective matrix for pressure gradient model, are proposed to resolve this shortcoming. These two new modifications together with two previously proposed improvements are shown to stabilize and enhance the performance of MPS method.     

Development and applications of high-frequency ESR up to 55 T

A multiextreme (high-field, low-temperature, high-pressure and nanoscale) electron spin resonance (ESR) measurement system is under development in Kobe. In this connection, our recent development is introduced and two applications of our high-frequency high-field ESR are described. High-frequency high-field ESR measurements of dioptase (Cu₆Si₆O₁₈·6H₂O), which has an interesting antiferromagnetic Cu²⁺ network, have been performed using a pulsed magnetic field of up to 55 T. Antiferromagnetic resonances (AFMR) are clearly observed at 4.2 K with the light sources of up to 1017 GHz. However, a deviation from the conventional two-sublattice AFMR theory is observed in the high field. Temperature dependence of the X-band and high-frequency ESR has been also observed in the triangular lattice antiferromagnet EtMe₃P[Pd(dmit)₂]₂ which shows the spin-Peierls-like transition below T _c = 25 K. The preliminary field dependence of the spin gap estimated from the analyses of our ESR results has been shown in connection with the previous magnetic susceptibility results.     

High power and high efficiency green light emitting diode on free‐standing semipolar (11$ \bar 2 $2) bulk GaN substrate

We demonstrate a high power green InGaN/GaN multiple‐quantum‐well (MQW) light emitting diode (LED) with a peak emission wavelength of 516 nm grown on low extended defect density semipolar (11 2) bulk GaN substrate by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. The output power and external quantum efficiency (EQE) at drive currents of 20 and 100 mA under direct current (DC) operation were 5.0 mW, 10.5% and 15.6 mW, 6.3%, respectively. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Reentrant 2D Nanostructured Liquid Crystals by Competition between Molecular Packing and Conformation: Potential Design for Multistep Switching of Ionic Conductivity

Reentrant phenomena in soft matter and biosystems have attracted considerable attention because their properties are closely related to high functionality. Here, we report a combined experimental and computational study on the self-assembly and reentrant behavior of a single-component thermotropic smectic liquid crystal toward the realization of dynamically functional materials. We have designed and synthesized a mesogenic molecule consisting of an alicyclic trans,trans-bicyclohexyl mesogen and a polar cyclic carbonate group connected by a flexible tetra(oxyethylene) spacer. The molecule exhibits an unprecedented sequence of layered smectic phases, in the order: smectic A-smectic B-reentrant smectic A. Electron density profiles and large-scale molecular dynamics simulations indicate that competition between the stacking of bicyclohexyl mesogens and the conformational flexibility of tetra(oxyethylene) chains induces this unusual reentrant behavior. Ion-conductive reentrant liquid-crystalline materials have been developed, which undergo the multistep conductivity changes in response to temperature. The reentrant liquid crystals have potential as new mesogenic materials exhibiting switching functions.     

Preparation of La2O3-TiO2-SiO2 Inorganic-Organic Hybrid Materials and Their Optical Properties

Inorganic-organic hybrid materials in La₂O₃-TiO₂-SiO₂ system were prepared from La(NO₃)₃, titanium tetraisopropoxide, and silicon alkoxides. Ternary transparent materials prepared from glycidyloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (GPTS) were obtained in a wide composition region (La₂O₃ 50 mol%, TiO₂ 40 mol%). Hybrid materials prepared using methyltrimethoxysilane (MTMS) at MTMS/TMOS = 1 were transparent in the composition of La₂O₃ 30 mol% and TiO₂ 25 mol%. La(NO₃)₃ crystallines or TiO₂ small particles were precipitated in translucent materials. La₂O₃ content strongly affected the bulk density compared with TiO₂ content. Absorption edge of the hybrid materials was shifted to longer wavelength as TiO₂ and La₂O₃ contents increased. Partial coefficient of refractive index for the three metal oxides increased in the order SiO₂ < TiO₂ < La₂O₃ for both hybrid materials.