Enzyme immunoassay of somatostatin (SS)-like immunoreactive substance in bovine milk

A sensitive and specific enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for somatostatin (SS)-like immunoreactivity (SS-LI) was developed with the use of beta-D-galactosidase labeled antigen. The minimum amount of SS-like immunoreactive substance (SS-IS) detectable by this method was 1.0 fmol/well (25 pmol/l). The level of SS-IS in bovine foremilk was about 20 pmol/l, and the level was unchanged after delivery. On the other hand, the levels of gastrin releasing peptide (GRP)-IS and vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)-IS in bovine foremilk were very high, but fell during 1 week after delivery to about 10% of those in foremilk.     

decay problem for the dissipative wave equation in odd dimensions

Consider the Cauchy problem in odd dimensions for the dissipative wave equation: (□+∂_t)u=0 in with (u,∂_tu)|_t=0=(u₀,u₁). Because the L² estimates and the L^∞ estimates of the solution u(t) are well known, in this paper we pay attention to the L^p estimates with 1p<2 (in particular, p=1) of the solution u(t) for t0. In order to derive L^p estimates we first give the representation formulas of the solution u(t)=∂_tS(t)u₀+S(t)(u₀+u₁) and then we directly estimate the exact solution S(t)g and its derivative ∂_tS(t)g of the dissipative wave equation with the initial data (u₀,u₁)=(0,g). In particular, when p=1 and n1, we get the L¹ estimate: u(t)_L¹Ce^−t/4(u_0W^n,1+u_1W^n−1,1)+C(u_0L¹+u_1L¹) for t0.     

Floer–Novikov cohomology and the flux conjecture

We study Floer–Novikov cohomology with local coefficients and prove the flux conjecture for general closed symplectic manifolds. Received: February 2005, Revised: May 2006, Accepted: May 2006 Partially supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research No. 14003419, Japan Society for the Promotion of Sciences.     

Superconductivity in Ba2−xSrxYCu3Oz prepared at GPa

The compounds Ba_1.4Sr_0.6YCu₃O_z (7.0≤z<7.4) were synthesized at 2 GPa to clarify the effect of high temperature and pressure on the superconducting properties. The structure as observed by powder X-ray diffraction was tetragonal for z≥7.2, and orthorhombic or tetragonal for z<7.1. It has been revealed that high-pressure syntheses suppress the superconductivity in the compounds with z<7.1. Recovery of the superconducting properties occurs above z≥7.2. The effect of Sr substitution on the superconducting properties was also studied. The magnitude of diamagnetism at 5–30 K decreases monotonically from −0.003 to −0.0002 emu/g Oe with increasing x in Ba_2−xSr_xYCu₃O_z (x≥1.2).     

Implementing an efficient minimum capacity cut algorithm

In this paper, we present an efficient implementation of theO(mn + n ² logn) time algorithm originally proposed by Nagamochi and Ibaraki (1992) for computing the minimum capacity cut of an undirected network. To enhance computation, various ideas are added so that it can contract as many edges as possible in each iteration. To evaluate the performance of the resulting implementation, we conducted extensive computational experiments, and compared the results with that of Padberg and Rinaldi's algorithm (1990), which is currently known as one of the practically fastest programs for this problem. The results indicate that our program is considerably faster than Padberg and Rinaldi's program, and its running time is not significantly affected by the types of the networks being solved.Corresponding author.     

Synthesis and morphology of polyethylene‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) through the combination of metallocene catalysis with living radical polymerization

Polyethylene‐block‐poly(methyl methacrylate) (PE‐b‐PMMA) was successfully synthesized through the combination of metallocene catalysis with living radical polymerization. Terminally hydroxylated polyethylene, prepared by ethylene/allyl alcohol copolymerization with a specific zirconium metallocene/methylaluminoxane/triethylaluminum catalyst system, was treated with 2‐bromoisobutyryl bromide to produce terminally esterified polyethylene (PE‐Br). With the resulting PE‐Br as an initiator for transition‐metal‐mediated living radical polymerization, methyl methacrylate polymerization was subsequently performed with CuBr or RuCl₂(PPh₃)₃ as a catalyst. Then, PE‐b‐PMMA block copolymers of different poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) contents were prepared. Transmission electron microscopy of the obtained block copolymers revealed unique morphological features that depended on the content of the PMMA segment. The block copolymer possessing 75 wt % PMMA contained 50–100‐nm spherical polyethylene lamellae uniformly dispersed in the PMMA matrix. Moreover, the PE‐b‐PMMA block copolymers effectively compatibilized homopolyethylene and homo‐PMMA at a nanometer level. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 41: 3965–3973, 2003     

Novelty Filtering Using Phase Conjugate Wave in Organic Dye-Doped Polymer Films

A real-time detection of a moving object was demonstrated by taking the subtraction between cross-polarized phase conjugate waves with fast and slow response times with two kinds of dye-doped phase conjugators. One consists of superposed films of an erythrosin-B-doped film and a methyl-orange-doped film, and the other is a film dispersed with both dyes. The relative phase between cross-polarized phase conjugate waves by the both dye-dispersed films was stable.     

Electron density distribution in GaAs using MEM

Electron density distribution of GaAs is determined by means of the maximum entropy method (MEM) using reasonably good X-ray data collected at room temperature and 200 K. The bonding electron distributions are clearly visible in the MEM map and the mixed covalent-ionic character in GaAs is evidenced. The density distributions at 200 K show more condensed electronic clouds as compared to the room temperature map, preserving the trend in the bonding characters. The electron densities at the middle of the bond are 0.79 and 0.70 e/ų at 200 K and at room temperature, respectively. The refined harmonic thermal factors are in good agreement with the published values.     

In situ X-ray observation of phase transformation in Fe2O3 at high pressures and high temperatures

A laser-heated sample in a diamond anvil cell and synchrotron X-ray radiation was used to carry out structural characterization of the phase transformation of Fe₂O₃ at high pressures (30-96 GPa) and high temperature. The Rh₂O₃(II) (or orthorhombic perovskite) structure transforms to a new phase, which exhibits X-ray diffraction data that are indicative of a CaIrO₃-type structure. The CaIrO₃-type structure exhibited an orthorhombic symmetry (space group: Cmcm) that was stable at temperatures of 1200-2800 K and pressure of 96 GPa (the highest pressure used). Unambiguous assignment of such a structure requires experimental evidence for the presence of two Fe species. Based on the equation of state of gold, the phase boundary of the CaIrO₃-type phase transformation was P (GPa)=59+0.0022×(T−1200) (K).