Sen'i Gakkaishi

The small-diameter (less than 6.0 mm in diameter) vascular grafts are highly desired due to a large demand of surgical revascularization. In this study, a small-diameter (6mm) vascular graft was prepared with braided Bombyx mori silk fiber tube coated by B. mori silk fibroin aqueous solution, with the goal of achieving sufficient physical strength and good patency of long term. The mechanical properties were evaluated by circumferential tensile test and suture strength test, indicating that the properties were improved remarkably by silk coating. The braiding silk fibroin graft was also evaluated by implantation into the dog abdominal aorta. The color doppler sonography after implantation for 11 months showed that there are neither dilatation nor constriction. At 2 years after implantation of the grafts in dog abdominal aorta, the graft patency and endothelial cell lining of the lumen surfaces were observed. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using braiding silk fibroin vascular graft as a small diameter vascular graft with long term patency.

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The straightening hair style can also be formed by only the hot ironing process although relies on the actions of heat and moisture. We conducted a new straightening process based on the assumption that if the distortion of some disulfide bonds generated in the process of straightening the hair tress is removed, straightening style is retained permanently. The new straightening process which we have proposed is as follows: (1) shampoo a small hair tress (30cm), (2) remove excess water from hair tress with a towel, (3) run through a flat iron along hair tress at 175℃ for 15 sec and repeat this process two times, (4) apply a commercial straightening cream containing ammonium thioglycolate at 30℃ for 2 min, (5) rinse sufficiently with tap water, and (6) oxidize with a commercial neutralization cream containing hydrogen peroxide at 30℃ for 2 min. As a result, it was verified that the straightening of wavy hair could be achieved permanently by the proposed straightening process, as was confirmed by the phenomenon that the straightening hair tress was more resistant to immersion in boiling water for 30 sec. We believe that the proposal straightening process is of the effective process that may achieve permanent hair straightening. It should be noted that the most important factor in this process is that the non-keratin protein chain of cortical cell layer repositioned so as to eliminate the distortion of the internal structure caused by ironing treatment. It has been suggested, furthermore, that the cleavage of the distorted disulfide bonds in cuticle cells serves to remove the strain forces localized to the fiber surface area and simultaneously lead to results that stabilize hair style in straight.

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In recent years, eco-friendly washing was spread and neutralization of the washing bath and reduction of bath ratio is in progress. Since there is a possibility that dye transfer occurs during washing, decolorization reaction of dye catalyzed by peroxidase was examined to correspond to eco-friendly washing.
Decolorization conditions that dye transfer of Acid Blue 113 and Direct Blue 71 using 3.4 × 10^-8 M horseradish peroxidase (HRP) doesn't occur were pH 7.0 Carmody buffer, over 2.5 × 10^-5 M hydrogen peroxide and over 1.0 × 10^-5 M p-iodophenol. Decolorization reaction of both dyes with sodium percarbonate is conventional bleaching agent didn't proceed substantially. So, practical effectiveness of HRP as a detergent added enzyme was confirmed. When the surfactant concentration was cmc × 1.5, decolorization rate constant was reduced from 10% to 40%.

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