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Recently, the development of a new class of anti-fouling paint resin which has excellent anti-fouling performance and no persistence in the marine ecology is necessary. In this study, we first polymerized polyurethanes (PUs) as the other type of matrix which have carboxylic acid groups by using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI), and 2,2'-bis(hydroxyl methyl)-propionic acid (DMPA). And next, we synthesized final resins having quaternary ammonium salts on pendant acid groups of PUs. After synthesis, the physical self-polishing property of resin by the measurement of reduced thickness in sea water was tested. The mechanical property of antifouling paint resin was good when the molecular weight of PEG was 600 or less. It was confirmed that the adhesion of PU resin was deteriorated when the content of quaternary ammonium salt was incorporated over specific value.Keywords: tin-free antifouling paint, self-polishing copolymer (SPC), polyurethane (PU) resin, quaternary ammonium salt.

Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus), which has invaluable medicinal uses, grows only on living trees. To date, it is still harvested from its natural habitat and is not cultivated artificially. We artificially cultivated chaga mushrooms by inoculating its sawdust spawns on Betula platyphylla var. japonica in 2007, and monitored mushroom growth on the inoculated trees for 9 years. The mushrooms grew less than 1 cm per year, with the largest mushroom growing up to 9 cm in the 9 years of study. There was no difference in the growth (diameter at breast height) of trees with viable and non-viable I. obliquus. In conclusion, artificial cultivation of chaga mushroom was successful. Our findings suggest that selection of large B. platyphylla var. japonica as host tree could lead to better I. obliquus productivity. Further improvements of the method are needed to increase the success rate of I. obliquus inoculation.

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