Compounds are described which include polyvalent ligands linked to a cyclodextrin scaffold which exhibit strong binding affinities for lanthanides and favorable characteristics with respect to altering the relaxation time of coordinated water molecules. The compounds are useful as contrast agents in applications such as magnetic resonance imaging. The polyvalent ligands are also useful in applications requiring chelation of metal ions in other applications such as water treatment, sequestration of metal ions and treatment of diseases or conditions caused by exposure to toxic or radioactive metal ions.

A particulate plug for removing a preservative from a solution, suspension, or emulsion comprising a drug is presented. The plug comprises microparticles of oxidized polyolefin (OxPO). The microparticles are irregular-shaped rigid aggregates and are sized and packed to yield a hydraulic permeability greater than 0.01 Da. The OxPO have absorbed portions of a preservative to be removed and/or a drug for delivery in solution, as can the copolymer.

The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for providing and/or receiving audible sound. In particular, the invention relates to apparatus, such as a micro speaker, which includes an active region which comprises a particulate adsorbent material comprising i) microporous organic polymer (MOP) material, and/or ii) metal organic framework (MOF) material treated with a hydrophobic coating or a membrane. The particulate adsorbent material is either in the form of loose or semi-loose granules, or it is supported by or impregnated into a woven, knitted or non-woven felt material. The apparatus of the present invention is suitable for use in an electronic device, for example a mobile or portable electronic device, to provide improved audible sound.

Polymeric sorbents for carbon dioxide are provided. More particularly, the polymeric sorbents are a reaction product of a divinylbenzene/maleic anhydride precursor polymeric material with a nitrogen-containing compound. The nitrogen-containing compound is covalently attached to the polymeric sorbents. Additionally, methods of sorbing carbon dioxide on the polymeric sorbents and compositions resulting from sorbing carbon dioxide on the polymeric sorbents are provided. The polymeric sorbents typically are porous and can selectively remove carbon dioxide from other gases such as methane or hydrogen.

The present invention relates to a polymer including at least one structure selected from the group consisting of a structure represented by General Formula (3) described below and a structure represented by General Formula (4) described below:

##STR00001## in General Formula (3) and General Formula (4) described above, X.sub.31 and X.sub.41 represent a hydrophilic group-containing structure, n represents an integer of 0 to 2, R represents a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group, Y.sub.31 to Y.sub.32 and Y.sub.41 to Y.sub.43 each independently represent a hydrophilic group-containing structure, a hydrogen atom, or an alkyl group.

A particulate plug for removing a preservative from a solution, suspension, or emulsion comprising a drug is presented. The plug comprises microparticles of a hydrophobic polymer/fatty acid blend. The microparticles of hydrophobic polymer/fatty acid blend selectively absorb preservative allowing the drug to remain in solution for delivery.

A water absorbent agent having a high water absorption multiplying factor where stickiness after absorbing liquid can be reduced when used as a hygienic material is produce by a method for manufacturing the water absorbing agent. The method for manufacturing a water absorbent agent having a centrifuge retention capacity (CRC) of 30 g/g or greater, includes subjecting an aqueous solution of a monomer that includes an acrylic acid (salt) to a polymerization step, a drying step, and a surface cross-linking step, and a step for adding α-hydroxycarboxylic acid (salt) before the drying step. The atomic weight of the soluble portion eluted when the water absorbent agent absorbs liquid and swells can be reduced by the α-hydroxycarboxylic acid (salt) before the drying step to reduce the stickiness of the water absorbent agent after absorption of liquid, which leads to discomfort during use of disposable diapers and the like.

Sorptive gas separation processes employing chemisorbents or amine doped sorbents are provided for separating a first component from a multi-component fluid mixture, or specifically for separating carbon dioxide from a combustion gas stream. The sorptive gas separation process comprises a sorbing step where during a first period of the sorbing step a first portion of a first product stream is recovered comprising a second component such as a nitrogen component, and during a second period of the sorbing step a second portion of a first product stream is recovered comprising a third component such as a water component.

A water-absorbent resin (21) has a shape in which a plurality of particles (40) having a substantially spherical shape is connected in a chain shape.

An acidic water-based process was developed for the synthesis of anionic lignin copolymers with adjustable MW, thermal stability and solubility in water. The anionic lignin copolymer described herein comprises: a molecular weight of 5,000 to 7.4×10.sup.5 g/mol; and a charge density of −1 to −7.2 meq/g. The anionic lignin copolymers described herein which have a molecular weight range of 000-50,000 g/mol can be used as dispersants of negatively charged molecules or particles in numerous process or wastewater streams (e.g. concrete admixtures, gypsum slurries, textile dye) while such copolymers in a molecular weight range of 90,000-740,000 g/mole can be used as flocculants of positively charged molecules or particles in numerous process and wastewater streams including industrial and municipal systems and sludge dewatering in the textile dye, pulp & paper, mining and oil industries.