Molecular dynamics simulation of diffusion coefficients of naphthalene and 2-naphthol in supercritical carbon dioxide

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科生産プロセスNVT ensemble molecular dynamics simulation has been applied to calculate the diffusion coefficients of naphthalene and 2-naphthol in supercritical carbon dioxide in the pressure range from 8 to 40 MPa under infinite dilution conditions. The Lennard-Jones (12-6) potential function was used as the intermolecular potential. The calculation results showed good agreement with the experimental values, by using the intermolecular interaction parameters between unlike molecules which were determined by Monte Carlo simulation to give good representation for the solubilities of naphthalene and 2-naphthol in supercritical carbon dioxide

Diffusion coefficients of aromatic compounds in supercritical carbon dioxide using molecular dynamics simulation

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科生産プロセ

Tissue engineering of corneal stroma with rabbit fibroblast precursors and gelatin hydrogels

PURPOSE: To isolate fibroblast precursors from rabbit corneal stroma using a sphere-forming assay, to engineer corneal stroma with the precursors and gelatin, and to establish the therapeutic application of precursors in a rabbit corneal stroma. METHODS: In the in vitro study, a sphere-forming assay was performed to produce precursors from rabbit corneal stroma. Corneal stroma was engineered by cultivating precursors in porous gelatin for one week. In the in vivo study, the engineered corneal stromal sheet with precursors (precursor/gelatin group) or with fibroblasts (fibroblast /gelatin group) or without cells (gelatin group) was transplanted to a pocket of rabbit corneal stroma. Gene expression and extracellular matrix production were examined immunohistochemically in each group one week and four weeks after surgery. RESULTS: In the in vitro study, cells in the spheres were BrdU-positive, and their progeny were keratocan-positive. The study also showed that the corneas transplanted with a porous gelatin sheet did not show any opacity four weeks after transplantation in any group. In the gelatin sheet of the precursor/gelatin group, a more intense expression of type I collagen was observed relative to the other two groups four weeks after the surgery. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrate that the transplantation of fibroblast precursors combined with gelatin hydrogel into the corneal stroma is a possible treatment strategy for corneal stromal regeneration

Diffusion coefficients of naphthalene and dimethylnaphthalene in supercritical carbon dioxide

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科生産プロセスA new experimental apparatus based on a pseudo-steady state solid dissolution method has been designed to measure the diffusion coefficients of supercritical carbon dioxide(1)-naphthalene(2) and supercritical carbon dioxide(1)-dimethylnaphthalene isomers(2) systems. The diffusion coefficients were measured at 308.2 K. In order to establish the validity of this method and the performance of the apparatus, the experimental results of the diffusion coefficients of naphthalene in supercritical carbon dioxide were compared with the literature data measured by other methods. The decrease of diffusion coefficient of naphthalene was observed near the critical point of carbon dioxide. The diffusion coefficients of 2,6-dimethylnaphthalene (2,6-DMN) and 2,7-dimethylnaphthalene (2,7-DMN) show almost the same values. The diffusion coefficients of these isomers are about 10% lower than those of naphthalene

Preparation of Bi 2 Te 3 Films by Electrodeposition from Solution Containing Bi-Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid Complex and TeO 2

The electrodeposition of Bi-Te alloy films from nitric acid solutions containing TeO 2 and Bi-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ͑Bi-EDTA͒ complex was investigated. The product, composition, and surface morphology of Bi-Te alloy films were examined using an X-ray diffraction, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy. In the solution containing TeO 2 and Bi-EDTA complex, bismuth deposits underpotentially in the potential range between Ϫ0.05 and Ϫ0.25 V, so that Bi 2 Te 3 films are formed. In the potential region between Ϫ0.30 and Ϫ0.50 V, a limiting current is observed, the value of which is equal to the sum of the limiting currents observed for solutions containing TeO 2 or the Bi-EDTA complex. and electrodeposition. 11-13 Electrodeposition may offer a low-cost growth method for high-quality metal, alloy, and semiconductor films. We have reported the preparation of Bi 2 Te 3 and its solid solution films by electrodeposition. Experimental Bismuth telluride and its alloy films were electrodeposited from aqueous solutions containing various concentrations of Biethylenediaminetetraacetic acid ͑EDTA͒ complex and TeO 2 , pH 1.0 Ϯ 0.1, on Ti sheets. Ti sheets were degreased with chloroform and ethanol, treated with a 15% HF solution to remove any oxide layer, and washed with deionized water before use. Reagent-grade HNO 3 , EDTA•2Na purity 99.5%, Bi(NO 3 ) 3 ͑purity 99.9%͒, and TeO 2 ͑purity 99%͒ were used without further purification. Water was purified using the Milli-Q water purification system ͑Millipore Corporation͒. The usual three-electrode cell was used for the electrodeposition of films and films were potentiostatically deposited using a potentiostat ͑Hokuto Denko, HA-151͒. A platinum wire and an Ag/AgCl electrode were used for counter and reference electrodes, respectively. The current-potential relations were measured with a potentiostat and X-t recorder. The deposition of films and the electrochemical measurements were conducted at room temperature in the dark, after the electrolytic bath solutions were deaerated by passing N 2 or Ar gas through the solution for about 15 min. X-ray diffraction ͑XRD͒ patterns were obtained with a diffractometer ͑Philips Co., Ltd., RHL-P610CP͒ using Cu K␣ 1 radiation. Scanning electron microscopy ͑SEM͒ analyses were carried out using a Hitachi S-3500 scanning electron microscope. The composition of films was determined by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy ͑ICP-AES͒ ͑Seiko Instruments SPS-7000͒. Film thickness was determined using a Surfcorder model SE-3F stylus-type surface roughness measuring instrument ͑Kosaka Laboratory, Ltd.͒. Results Electrochemical measurements.- For the measurements shown i

Immunohistochemical Detection of Propionibacterium acnes in Granulomas for Differentiating Sarcoidosis from Other Granulomatous Diseases Utilizing an Automated System with a Commercially Available PAB Antibody

Propionibacterium acnes is implicated in the pathogenesis of sarcoidosis. We investigated the usefulness of immunohistochemistry (IHC) with a commercially available P. acnes-specific monoclonal antibody (PAB antibody) for differentiating sarcoidosis from other granulomatous diseases. Formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 94 sarcoidosis patients and 30 control patients with other granulomatous diseases were examined by the original manual IHC method. We also compared the detection frequency of P. acnes in sarcoid granulomas between manual and automated IHC methods. P. acnes was detected in sarcoid granulomas of samples obtained by transbronchial lung biopsy (64%), video-associated thoracic surgery (67%), endobronchial-ultrasound-guided transbronchial-needle aspiration (32%), lymph node biopsy (80%), and skin biopsy (80%) from sarcoidosis patients, but not in any non-sarcoid granulomas of the samples obtained from control patients. P. acnes outside granulomas, however, was frequently detected in both groups. The detection status of P. acnes in granulomas did not correlate with the clinical characteristics of sarcoidosis patients. The automated Leica system exhibited the best detection sensitivity (72%) and almost an identical localization for P. acnes in sarcoid granulomas compared with the manual method. IHC with a PAB antibody is useful for differentiating sarcoidosis from other granulomatous diseases by detecting P. acnes in granulomas. An automated method by the Leica system can be used in pathology laboratories for differential diagnosis of granulomas by IHC with the PAB antibody

Progress in development of the neutron profile monitor for the large helical device

The neutron profile monitor stably operated at a high-count-rate for deuterium operations in the Large Helical Device has been developed to enhance the research on the fast-ion confinement. It is composed of a multichannel collimator, scintillation-detectors, and a field programmable gate array circuit. The entire neutron detector system was tested using an accelerator-based neutron generator. This system stably acquires the pulse data without any data loss at high-count-rate conditions up to 8 × 105 counts per second