Viscoelasticity and birefringence of polyisoprene

The complex Young's modulus, E^*(ω), and the complex strain-optical coefficient, O^*(ω), which is the ratio of the birefringence to the strain, were measured for polyisoprene (PIP) over a frequency range of 1 ～ 130 Hz and a temperature range of 22 ～ ?100°C. The imaginary part of O^*, O″, was positive at low frequencies and negative at high frequencies. The real part, O′, was always positive and showed a maximum. The complicated behavior of O^* could be understood by the assumption that E^* = E_R^* + E_G^* and O^* = C_RE_R^* + C_GE_G^*, where E_R^* and E_G^* were complex quantities and C_R and C_G were constants. The C_R value, equal to the ordinary stress-optical coefficient measured in the rubbery plateau zone, was 2.0 × 10^?9 Pa^?1. The C_G value, defined as the ratio O″/E″ in the glassy zone, was ?1.1 × 10^?11 Pa^?1. The E_G^*, which was the major component of E^* in the glassy zone, showed almost the same frequency dependence as that of polystyrene and polycarbonate. The E_R^*, which was dominant in the rubbery zone, was described well by the bead-spring theory. The temperature dependence of the E_G^* was stronger than that of the E_R^*. This difference caused the breakdown of the thermorheological simplicity for E^* and O^* around the glass-to-rubber transition zone. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Senecicannabine,a new pyrrolizidine alkaloid from senecio cannabifolius

The structure of senecicannabine($\text{1}$), a new mcrocyclic pyrrolizidine alkaloid isolated from $\text{Senecio cannabifolius}$, has been established by chemical study and X-ray analysis.     

Simple and rapid spectrophotometric determination of iron after preconcentration as its 1,10-phenanthroline complex on the natural polymer "chitin"

Preconcentration by collection of metal complexes on chitin has been applied to the spectrophotometric determination of iron in water. The iron is collected as its 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) complex on a column of chitin in the presence of tetraphenylborate as counter-ion. The iron(II)-phen complex retained on the chitin is eluted with an acetone-1M acetic acid mixture (8:2 v/v), and the absorbance of the eluate is measured at 512 nm. Beer's law is obeyed over the concentration range 1.1-11.2 mug of iron in 10 ml of eluate. In the presence of EDTA as masking agent, Ca, Mg, Al, Mn, Zn, Cd and Pb do not interfere in concentrations up to 100 times that of iron(II) and Co, Ni and Cu do not interfere in concentrations up to 20 times that of iron(II). Common inorganic anions do not interfere in concentrations up to 10,000 times that of iron(II). The proposed method has been applied to determination of iron in tap water.     

Regulation of lithospermic acid B and shikonin production in Lithospermum erythrorhizon cell suspension cultures

Cell suspension cultures of Lithospermum erythrorhizon produced a large amount of lithospermic acid B, a caffeic acid tetramer, as well as shikonin derivatives (each ca. 10% of dry wt.) when cultured in shikonin production medium M-9. Various culture factors for increasing the production of lithospermic acid B were investigated. Lithospermic acid B production was inhibited by 2, 4-D or NH4+, whereas it was stimulated by Cu2+. These regulatory patterns were similar to those for the production of shikonin derivatives in these cell cultures, suggestive of close relations and similar metabolic regulation between the production of these compounds. Cultivation under light illumination, however, showed that these metabolisms were independently regulated. In particular, blue light showed a stimulatory effect on lithospermic acid B production, while shikonin production was strongly inhibited, indicative of an effective condition for lithospermic acid B production.     

Growth Mechanism of Large Monodispersed Silica Particles Prepared from Tetraethoxysilane in the Presence of Sodium Dodecyl Sulfate

Monodispersed silica particles up to ca. 1.2 μm in diameter were prepared by hydrolysis of tetraethoxysilane in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). The particle size was increased with an increase of SDS added. The geometrical standard deviation of the particles was decreased with an increase of SDS. In the earlier reaction stage, double spherical particles by the coalescence of the particles were frequently observed when large amounts of SDS were added. Particle size was gradually increased after the coalescence occurred and spherical particles were finally obtained. The results of Nielsen’s chronomal analysis suggest that the polynuclear layer growth took place after the coalescence of the particles in the presence of larger amount of SDS.     

The biosynthesis of broussonetines: origin of the carbon skeleton

Broussonetines are glycosidase-inhibitory alkaloids obtained from Broussonetia kazinoki. Feeding experiments using [1-13C]glucose and 13C-NMR spectroscopic studies showed that broussonetines are biosynthesized through routes similar to those of sphingosine and phytosphingosine.