High heat generation ability in AC magnetic field for nano-sized magnetic Y3Fe5O12 powder prepared by bead milling

Nano-sized magnetic Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ ferrite having a high heat generation ability in an AC magnetic field was prepared by bead milling. A commercial powder sample (non-milled sample) of ca. 2.9 μm in particle size did not show any temperature enhancement in the AC magnetic field. The heat generation ability in the AC magnetic field improved with a decrease in the average crystallite size for the bead-milled Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ ferrites. The highest heat ability in the AC magnetic field was for the fine Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ powder with a 15-nm crystallite size (the samples were milled for 4 h using 0.1 mm? beads). The heat generation ability of the excessively milled Y₃Fe₅O₁₂ samples decreased. The main reason for the high heat generation property of the milled samples was ascribed to an increase in the Néel relaxation of the superparamagnetic material. The heat generation ability was not influenced by the concentration of the ferrite powder. For the samples milled for 4 h using 0.1 mm? beads, the heat generation ability (W g⁻¹) was estimated using a 3.58×10⁻⁴ fH² frequency (f/kHz) and the magnetic field (H/kA m⁻¹), which is the highest reported value of superparamagnetic materials.     

Peptidehelicenes in solution and gel: chiral discrimination through interactions between two types of helixes

Helical [5]thiaheterohelicene 5HM, which rapidly interconverts between P and M enantiomers in solution, was connected to helical l-phenylalanine oligomers with an ester linkage to give peptidehelicenes (5Fn, where n: number of bonded phenylalanines). The characteristics of 5F4 and 5F5 with two types of helixes in a molecule were investigated, particularly in comparison with those of 5F1–5F3 with an incomplete coil of a peptide moiety. l-Phenylalanine peptide chains induced a shift in the equilibrium between the P and M helixes of 5HM toward the P side for all the 5Fns examined. The enantiomeric excess (ee) of the P form increased with a decrease in temperature, together with an elongation of the peptide chains. 5F4 and 5F5 in hot solutions of some solvents formed a gel at room temperature, whereas 5F1–5F3 showed no such behavior. In this gel, the stable helical form of the 5HM moiety in 5F4 and 5F5 was observed to be the M form in contrast to that in their solutions.     

Acceleration of re-ignition of high pressure mercury discharge lamps using photo-pre-ionization

High Intensity Discharge (HID) lamps are difficult to re-ignite rapidly because of the high pressure of metal vapor at high temperatures. We have succeeded in reducing the re-ignition time of high-pressure mercury lamps by using a pre-ionization step where an excess of electrons are generated by UV laser irradiation into the lamp. The effect of changing the laser focal point of the UV laser in the lamp and the position of an auxiliary electrode were also investigated. The time interval for re-ignition was reduced from 230s to 100s by laser irradiation near to the cathode. The results clearly showed that the effect of accelerating the re-ignition time by the pre-ionization step was determined by the behavior of excess electrons generated during the UV laser irradiation.     

Preconcentration and determination of cadmium by GFAAS after solid-phase extraction with synthetic zeolite.

The solid-phase extraction (SPE) method for the preconcentration of trace amounts of cadmium using synthetic zeolite A-4 and its determination by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was investigated. The preconcentration conditions, such as the optimum pH range of the sample solution for the adsorption of cadmium and the kind of acid solution for dissolving the cadmium-adsorbed synthetic zeolite A-4, as well as the measurement conditions for the determination of cadmium by GFAAS, e.g., the ashing and atomizing temperature, were investigated. Quantitative recovery of cadmium onto zeolite A-4 from the sample solution over the pH range 2.0 - 9.0 was achieved by the batch method. After the solid-phase (cadmium-adsorbed zeolite A-4) was separated from the sample solution by a membrane filter, it was dissolved in 2.0 cm(3) of 2.0 mol dm(-3) nitric acid. An aliquot of the resulting solution was injected into the graphite furnace. In GFAAS measurements an alternate gas (Ar, 90%; O(2), 10%) was used as a sheath gas, and the ashing temperature and atomizing temperature were 400 degrees C and 1600 degrees C, respectively. The detection limit (3 sigma) for cadmium was 0.002 microg dm(-3). The relative standard deviation at 0.010 microg dm(-3) was 3.5 - 4.5% (n = 5). The proposed method has been successfully applied to the analysis of trace cadmium in environmental water samples.     

A Regularly Preemptive Model and its Approximations

A regularly preemptive model D,MAP/D ₁,D ₂/1 is studied. Priority customers have constant inter-arrival times and constant service times. On the other hand, ordinary customers' arrivals follow a Markovian Arrival Process (MAP) with constant service times. Although this model can be formulated by using the piecewise Markov process, there remain some difficult problems on numerical calculations. In order to solve these problems, a novel approximation model MAP/MR/1 with Markov renewal services is proposed. These two queueing processes become different due to the existence of idle periods. Thus, a MAP/MR/1 queue with a general boundary condition is introduced. It is a model with the exceptional first service in each busy period. In particular, two special models are studied: one is a warm-up queue and the other is a cool-down queue. It can be proved that the waiting time of ordinary customers for the regular preemption model is stochastically smaller than the waiting time of the former model. On the other hand, it is stochastically larger than the waiting time of the latter model.     

Synthesis and antitumor activity of new amphiphilic alkylglycerolipids substituted with a polar head group, 2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)ethyl or a congeneric oligo(ethyleneoxy)ethyl group

A new series of amphiphilic 1-octadecyl glycerolipids (eleven compounds, 1a-k) were designed and synthesized, in which the 3-phosphocholine portion of platelet-activating factor (1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, PAF) was replaced by the 2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)ethyl group and congeneric groups having oligo(ethyleneoxy)ethyl bridges of various lengths at position 3, together with modification at position 2 (lower alkyl, acetonyl, acetoacetyl, carboxymethyl and pyrimidin-2-yl groups). These ether lipids, characterized by a nonphosphorus lysoglycerolipid structure, showed potent antitumor activity in vitro (human promyelocytic leukemia cells, HL-60, and human epidermoid carcinoma cells, KB) and in vivo (mouse sarcoma S180 and mouse mammary carcinoma MM46). Maximal in vitro potency was obtained with 1-O-octadecyl-2-O-(2-pyrimidinyl)-3-O-[2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy )ethyl] glycerol (1g; IC50 values for both HL-60 and KB were 0.32 microgram/ml, indicating a higher activity than alkyl-lysophospholipid, ET18-OMe). Several appropriately 2-substituted 1-octadecylglycerolipids with the 3-[2-(2-trimethylammonioethoxy)ethyl] group (e.g., methyl, 1b; butyl, 1f; 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 1j; and acetonyl, 1k) showed a potent life-span-prolonging effect on mice with ascites sarcoma S180 and on those with mammary carcinoma MM46, when administered intraperitoneally at 16.5 and 12.5 mg/kg/d, respectively. Compounds 1b and 1k showed definite tumor growth inhibition against solid sarcoma S180 in mice, whether given p.o. or i.v. at 16.5 mg/kg/d. Studies on the structure-activity relationships indicate that the metabolic stability to phospholipase C or related enzymes is at least partly responsible for the potent antitumor activity of this series of ether lipids.     

Surface dilational moduli of polymer and blended polymer monolayers spread at air-water interfaces

Surface dilational moduli of polymer monolayers, blended polymer monolayers, and polymer particle monolayers spread at air–water interfaces are reviewed, focusing on measurements using surface pressure isotherm, surface pressure relaxation, and oscillating barrier methods. Differences between the surface dilational moduli of condensed polymer monolayers and expanded polymer monolayers are explored. Moreover, the features of the surface dilational moduli in blended polymer monolayers are discussed in terms of their miscibility.     

pH-responsive aqueous foams stabilized by hairy latex particles

Polystyrene (PS) latex particles carrying pH-responsive poly[2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate] (PDEA) hair (PDEA-PS particles) were synthesized by dispersion polymerization and characterized in terms of diameter, diameter distribution, morphology, chemical composition, surface chemistry, and pH-response using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), elemental microanalysis, (1)H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, the laser diffraction method, and zeta potential measurements. The hairy particles can act as pH-responsive stabilizers of aqueous foams by adsorption at the air-water surface. Above pH 8.0, where particles have nonprotonated PDEA hair, which is relatively hydrophobic, particle-stabilized foams are stable for at least 1 month. Optical microscopy and SEM confirmed that flocculated PDEA-PS latex particles were adsorbed at the air-water interface and stabilized the aqueous foams. At pH 6.1 and 7.1, relatively stable foams can be prepared that remain stable for at least 24 h. SEM studies indicated that the PDEA-PS particles were adsorbed at the air-water interface as a monolayer at pH 6.1. At pH 5.1 and 3.1, where the particles have cationic water-soluble PDEA hairs with hydrophilic character, no foam was formed. Rapid defoamation can be induced by lowering the solution pH; the addition of acid caused the in situ protonation of 2-(diethylamino)ethyl methacrylate residues, which impart water-soluble hydrophilic character to the PDEA hair, and the PDEA-PS particles desorbed from the air-water interface. The foaming and defoaming cycles could be repeated at least five times.