Study of Deactivating Methods against Ceder Pollenosis Antigen in Vitro

Study of deactivating methods against ceder pollenosis antigen in vitro: Every spring season, there are numerous pollenosis patients, especially ceder pollenosis, in our country. However, the radical theraputics against the pollenosis has not been established yet. Some deactivating methods, ultraviolet (UV) irradiation, wet heat treatment and adsorption method to the extracted solution of ceder pollen were examined. Deactivating effect against the pollenosis antigen was determined by measuring the changes of the specific antibody values (IgE antibody) in patient blood serum as the marker in vitro. It was cleared that the UV irradiation, the heat treatment over 60℃ and the adsorbent containing the acid site were effective on the deactivation against the antigen

Improvement of Biocompatibility of Silicone Elastomer by Surface Modification

γ-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS) was grafted to silicone due to emulsion polymerization to induce Si-OH groups, in order to provide silicone with bioactivity spontaneous deposition of apatite in body fluid and to improve cytocompatibility. Apatite deposited on the grafted silicone within 7 days of soaking in 1.5 times as concentrated as the Kokubo solution. Osteoblastic cells (MC3T3-E1) were cultured on the specimens up to 7 days. After 5 days of culture, the number of MC3T3-E1 cells on the grafted specimen was much greater than that on the original specimen. These results indicated that the biocompatibility of silicone elastomer was improved by the grafting γ-MPS

Exploration of Energization and Radiation in Geospace (ERG): Development, Preliminary Flight Results, and Lessons Learned in JAXA’s Small Science Satellite Project

The Geospace explorer, the ERG satellite or nicknamed “ARASE” satellite, is the second satellite in the series of small science satellite program by Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS), Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was launched on December 20, 2016 by Epsilon launch vehicle. The satellite is now working quite well as designed, and preliminary mission data is being obtained. The purpose of the ERG project is to unravel how high energy electrons over MeV in the Earth’s radiation belt (Van Allen Belt) are generated and lost by measuring interaction between plasma wave and electrically charged particles. To measure these physical processes in-situ, ERG dives into the center of the radiation belt. The orbit of ERG is highly elliptic; apogee altitude is approximately 32,000 km and perigee altitude is 440 km. In this paper, we introduce the scientific background and the outline of the satellite system design to effectively achieve the scientific observations with a small satellite standard bus. Then preliminary flight results are introduced, and finally lessons learned are discussed

In vitro apatite formation on organic polymers modified with a silane coupling reagent

γ-Methacryloxypropyltrimethoxysilane (γ-MPS) was grafted to high-density polyethylene, polyamide and silicone rubber substrates by the emulsion polymerization procedure in order to provide these organic polymers with in vitro apatite-forming ability. The contact angles towards distilled water of the γ-MPS-grafted specimens were lower than those of the original organic polymer specimens, indicating that the grafted substrates were more hydrophilic. The in vitro apatite formation in a simulated body fluid (Kokubo solution) was confirmed for several of the γ-MPS-grafted specimens

Preparation of novel TiP₂O₇ carbon composite using ion-exchanged resin (C467) and evaluation for photocatalytic decomposition of 2-propanol

TiP₂O₇ carbon composite photocatalyst was successfully prepared by using ion-exchanged resin (C467) containing amino phosphate by metal ion-exchanged carbothermal reduction (MIER-CTR) method using TiCl₃ and TiCl₄. During the carbonization process in nitrogen, the pre-oxidation (300–350 °C) in air is essential for producing homogeneously dispersed TiP₂O₇ on the carbon matrix. In the absence of pre-oxidation, the resin was melted. The carbonization temperature 500 °C was found to be suitable for producing single phase TiP₂O₇ with higher yields. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopic results suggest the formation of TiP₂O₇, while X-ray diffraction results reveal that the crystallite size was less than 35 nm. UV-Vis studies show that the band gap of TiP₂O₇ was 3.32 eV. The TiP₂O₇ carbon composite catalyst was applied for the photocatalytic decomposition of 2-propanol at 30°C using a mercury lamp (365 nm)

Antibacterial effect of bactericide immobilized in resin matrix

OBJECTIVE: Biomaterials with anti-microbial properties are highly desirable in the oral cavity. Ideally, bactericidal molecules should be immobilized within the biomaterial to avoid unwanted side-effects against surrounding tissues. They may then however loose much of their antibacterial efficiency. The aim of this study was to investigate how much antibacterial effect an immobilized bactericidal molecule still has against oral bacteria. METHODS: Experimental resins containing 0, 1 and 3% cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) were polymerized, and the bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects against Streptococcus mutans were determined. Adherent S. mutans on HAp was quantitatively determined using FE-SEM and living cells of S. mutans were quantified using real-time RT-PCR. The amount of CPC released from the 0%-, 1%- and 3%-CPC resin sample into water was spectrometrically quantified using a UV-vis recording spectrophotometer. RESULTS: UV spectrometry revealed that less than 0.11 ppm of CPC was released from the resin into water for all specimens, which is lower than the minimal concentration generally needed to inhibit biofilm formation. Growth of S. mutans was significantly inhibited on the surface of the 3%-CPC-containing resin coating, although no inhibitory effect was observed on bacteria that were not in contact with its surface. When immersed in water, the antibacterial capability of 3%-CPC resin lasted for 7 days, as compared to resin that did not contain CPC. SIGNIFICANCE: These results demonstrated that the bactericidal molecule still possessed significant contact bacteriostatic activity when it was immobilized in the resin matrix.status: publishe

Exploration of energization and radiation in geospace (ERG): challenges, development, and operation of satellite systems

Abstract The exploration of energization and radiation in geospace (ERG) satellite, nicknamed “Arase,” is the second satellite in a series of small scientific satellites created by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. It was launched on December 20, 2016, by the Epsilon launch vehicle. The purpose of the ERG project is to investigate how high-energy (over MeV) electrons in the radiation belts surrounding Earth are generated and lost by monitoring the interactions between plasma waves and electrically charged particles. To measure these physical processes in situ, the ERG satellite traverses the heart of the radiation belts. The orbit of the ERG is highly elliptical and varies due to the perturbation force: the apogee altitude is approximately 32,200–32,300 km, and the perigee altitude is 340–440 km. In this study, we introduce the scientific background for this project and four major challenges that need to be addressed to effectively carry out this scientific mission with a small satellite: (1) dealing with harsh environmental conditions in orbit and electromagnetic compatibility issues, (2) spin attitude stabilization and avoiding excitation of the libration by flexible structures, (3) attaining an appropriate balance between the mission requirements and the limited resources of the small satellite, and (4) the adaptation and use of a flexible standardized bus. In this context, we describe the development process and the flight operations for the satellite, which is currently working as designed and obtaining excellent data in its mission