Role of Phosphate Groups in the Calcium Sensitivity of αs2-Casein

In order to explain the higher calcium sensitivity of α_s2-casein than other casein constituients, properties of α_s2-casein and dephosphorylated α_s2-casein were examined and compared with those of α_s1-casein. α_s2-Casein was more sensitive to calcium than α_s1-casein. Aggregates of calcium α_s1- and α_s2-caseinates were both thoroughly solubilized by 4 M urea. Gel filtration of α_s1-casein and of α_s2-casein in 4 M urea showed the same elution pattern in the presence and absence of 10 mM calcium chloride. Dephosphorylated α_s2-casein was insoluble at neutral pH although dephosphorylated α_s1-casein was soluble. Dephosphorylated α_s2-casein was solubilized by 4 M urea and alkalization to pH 11. The net proton charge, calculated from the primary structure, of dephosphorylated α_s2-casein was very low at pH 7.0, although dephosphorylated α_s1-casein has a considerable number of negative net charges. The calculated isoionic point of dephosphorylated α_s2-casein, which contains one phosphate group, was 6.98. Ester phosphate groups of α_s2-casein play an important role in its solubilization at neutral pH and neutralization of ionized phosphate groups by calcium ion increases hydrophobic interaction, which leads to precipitation.     

Sub-boundaries in3He and4He single crystal and their migration below 1K observed by X-ray topography

The observation of alterations in crystal structure at ultra-low temperatures by X-ray diffraction, made possible by the realization of synchrotron radiation use after a quarter of this century, plays an important role in obtaining an understanding of the base structure of solids. For that, two types of³He-⁴He dilution refrigerators with a modified version of the top-loading facilities were installed at the BL-3C₂ and 6C₁ stations of the Photon Factory. In BL-3C₂, the behaviors of lattice defects in solid helium have been studied by X-ray topography. In this note, the migrations of sub-boundaries in³He and⁴He single-crystals are reported as being the result of an annealing effect. After annealing hcp⁴He single crystals for 80min at 0.5K, no change in crystallographic orientations could be easily observed from white SR X-ray topographs. In the same type topographs of bcc³He single crystals after annealing for several hours at 03K, migration of sub-boundaries were conspicuously discerned.     

Improvement in luminance,luminous efficiency,driving margin,and operational lifetime of HD PDPs by using discharge deactivation film

Abstract— We have improved our 116‐cm HD PDP in many respects by using DDF formed on MgO around the display line boundaries. The DDF allows an extremely narrow inter‐pixel gap even for a stripe‐rib structure because it prohibits vertical crosstalk discharge. The DDF combined with a stripe‐rib structure results in the best address discharge response. Thus, a very wide driving margin area is achieved, allowing for a high percentage of Xe. The preferable sustain electrode shape follows the CAPABLE DDF style, where the principal discharge portion is separated from the bus via a slim bridge. This cell configuration proved to be excellent in operational life testing with respect to DDF as well as in manufacturing process margin. By employing both a thinner dielectric layer and a TiO₂reflective underlayer for phosphor, the address response is further improved so that Xe15% vol. is available from the viewpoint of the driving margin. Thus, we achieved a white peak luminance of 1220 cd/m² and a luminous efficiency of 2.16 lm/W simultaneously despite of an applied sustain voltage as low as 185 V. We foresee that they will be soon as high as 1400 cd/m² and 2.5 lm/W by modifying the sustain electrode style.     

Dislocation Motion in bcc Solid 3He

We have measured the shear modulus of bcc solid ³ He at 827 Hz using the high- Q torsional oscillator technique. We observed a decrease in the shear modulus from the low-temperature value G₀ to about 0.4G₀ at a molar volume of 24.80 cm ³/mole and to 0.6G₀ at 24.32 cm ³/mole near the melting point. The reduction of an effective shear modulus is explained by the dislocation theory of Granato and Lücke.     

Fuzzy-chaos hybrid controller for controlling of nonlinear systems

A novel concept for controlling of nonlinear systems using chaos and fuzzy model-based regulators is presented. In the control of such systems, we employ two phases, the first of which uses open-loop control forming a chaotic attractor or using chaotic inherent features in a system itself. Once the system states reach a predefined convex domain, open-loop control is cut off and a fuzzy model-based controller is employed under state feedback control in the second phase. The relaxed stability conditions and linear matrix inequalities (LMIs)-based design for a fuzzy regulator is introduced to construct a fuzzy attractive domain, in which a global solution is obtained so as to achieve the desired stability condition of the closed-loop system. The proposed controller architecture has been tested using three nonlinear systems: the Henon map, the Lorenz attractor, and a two-link manipulator. The simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed controller     

Kinking and Cracking Caused by Slip in Single Crystals of Silicon Carbide

α-SiC single crystals were compressed parallel to the basal plane, (0001), at temperatures between 900° and 1500°C. Plastic deformation by slip on the basal planes which accompanied kinking occurred above 1000°C. At kink boundaries, two kinds of cracks were observed. One was the cracks elongated parallel to the basal plane. This kind of crack was initiated by the tensile stress produced by piled-up dislocations on the basal planes against a kink boundary. The other was on a kink boundary, and was induced by the stress of dislocations, heterogeneously distributed on the kink boundary. The initiation of cracks produced by dislocations was considered to be a possible cause of fracture in polycrystalline SiC at high temperatures.     

Sex Pheromone of the Persimmon Fruit Moth, Stathmopoda masinissa: Identification and Laboratory Bioassay of (4E, 6Z)-4,6-Hexadecadien-1-ol Derivatives

Three electroantennogram (EAG)-active components were detected by gas chromatography coupled to an electroantennographic detector (GC–EAD) analysis of a hexane extract of the pheromone glands of the persimmon fruit moth, Stathmopoda masinissa. These compounds were identified as (4E,6Z)-4,6-hexadecadienal (E4,Z6-16:Ald) and the corresponding acetate (E4,Z6-16: OAc) and alcohol (E4,Z6-16:OH) by mass spectral, GC retention time (RT), and microchemical test data. The characteristic base peak of the aldehyde at m/z 84 provided a crucial piece of information suggesting the possibility of a 4,6-diene structure. The (4E,6Z)-isomer elicited the strongest EAG responses among the four geometrical isomers of each synthetic 4,6-hexadecadienyl compound. In a laboratory bioassay, only E4,Z6-16:OAc elicited male moth behavioral activity significantly different from the control; the activity of the acetate was not affected by addition of the aldehyde and alcohol. A preliminary field trial confirmed that E4,Z6-16:OAc as a single component attracted male moths. The possible roles of E4,Z6-16:Ald and E4,Z6-16:OH as components of lures for field use remain to be determined.     

Effect of Neutron Irradiation on Knoop Microhardness Anisotropy in MgO·3Al2O3 Single Crystals

MgO·3Al₂O₃ single crystals were irradiated with neutron fluences of 8.3 × 10²² n/m² at 100°C and 2.4 × 10²⁴ n/m² at 470°C ( E > 1.0 MeV) in the Japan Materials Testing Reactor. The Knoop microhardness of several orientations on the (100) plane of both the irradiated and unirradiated crystals were measured with different indentation loads. The change in hardness profile of the crystals was almost the same after the two irradiation conditions. The hardness increased by 4–15% because of the irradiations depending on the crystallographic orientation, the larger change being observed at orientations between the (001) and (011) directions. While both the {111}     and {110}     slip systems are simultaneously active in the unirradiated MgO·3Al₂O₃, the {111}     system may be the dominant slip system in the neutron-irradiated crystals. It is concluded that the restriction of the {110}     slip system is caused by irradiation-induced interstitial ions.     

Studies of refractory carbides,nitrides, and borides as the thermionic emitters for electron microscopy

Thermionic emission properties of several kinds of refractory carbides, nitrides, and borides of the transition metals in the form of powder were investigated with a newly developed measuring device and evaluated by the figure of merit defined as the ratio of the effective work function to the working temperature at which the vapor pressure becomes 1 × 10^?5 Torr. There are several materials whose thermionic emission properties are better than those of tungsten or compatible to those of tungsten among the carbides and borides, such as TaC, HfC, ZrC, LaB₆, and CeB₆, as judged by the figure of merit. New preparation methods for carburization, nitriding, and boriding of the wires of matrix metals and alloys were successfully developed for using these materials as the cathode of the electron microscope. Other necessary techniques such as spot welding and electrolytic etching were also developed. From the brightness characteristics, it was found that some of carbides, carbide solid solutions, and borides such as HfC, ZrC (Ta_0.8–0.7Hf_0.2–0.3)C, TaB₂, and HfB₂ are very good emitters comparable to LaB₆. It is emphasized that the work functions of the carbide-solid solutions (Ta_0.8Hf_0.2)C and (Ta_0.7Hf_0.3)C, which have low rates of evaporation at high temperature, show no remarkable rise as compared with that of HfC, so that their figures of merit are better than that of HfC. Feasibility of providing good cathodes with HfC and (Ta_0.8Hf_0.2)C tips was demonstrated by taking high-resolution electron micrographs.