Cytochrome P450 as Dimerization Catalyst in Diketopiperazine Alkaloid Biosynthesis

As dimeric natural products frequently exhibit useful biological activities, identifying and understanding their mechanisms of dimerization is of great interest. One such compound is (?)‐ditryptophenaline, isolated from Aspergillus flavus, which inhibits substance P receptor for potential analgesic and anti‐inflammatory activity. Through targeted gene knockout in A. flavus and heterologous yeast gene expression, we determined for the first time the gene cluster and pathway for the biosynthesis of a dimeric diketopiperazine alkaloid. We also determined that a single cytochrome P450, DtpC, is responsible not only for pyrroloindole ring formation but also for concurrent dimerization of N‐methylphenylalanyltryptophanyl diketopiperazine monomers into a homodimeric product. Furthermore, DtpC exhibits relaxed substrate specificity, allowing the formation of two new dimeric compounds from a non‐native monomeric precursor, brevianamide F. A radical‐mediated mechanism of dimerization is proposed.     

Deflection of wafers and cantilevers with Pt/LNO/PZT/LNO/Pt/Ti/SiO2 multilayered structure

The present paper describes a Pt/LNO/PZT/LNO/Pt/Ti/SiO₂ multilayers deposited on 4-inch Si wafers. We have evaluated the variation of the deflection of the Si wafers with deposition of each of the thin films. The deposition of the multilayers has resulted in downward deflection (center is higher than edge) of the Si wafers. The multilayers have been also deposited onto SOI wafers and fabricated into piezoelectric micro cantilevers through MEMS bulk micromachining. The micro cantilevers have shown the upward deflection. We have characterized the ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of the PZT thin films through electrical tests of the micro cantilevers. The dielectric constant, saturation polarization, remanent polarization and coercive field were measured to be 1050, 31.3 μC/cm², 9.1 μC/cm² and 21 kV/cm, respectively. The transverse piezoelectric constant, d₃₁, was measured to be − 110 pm/V from the DC response of the micro cantilevers.     

Deposition of Metal Oxide Films from Metal–EDTA Complexes by Flame Spray Technique

R₂O₃ (R = Y, Eu, Er) metal oxides were synthesized from metal–ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) complexes using a flame spray technique. As this technique enables high deposition rates, films with thickness of several tens of micrometers were obtained. Films of yttria, europia, and erbia phase were synthesized on stainless-steel substrates with reaction assistance by H₂–O₂ combustion gas. The oxide films consisted of the desired crystalline phase with micropores. The porosity of the films was in the range of 6–15%, varying with the metal used. These results suggest that the true density of the metal oxide obtained from metal–EDTA powder through the thermal reaction process plays an important role in achieving film with the desired porosity.     

The function of polyglyceryl erucate/isostearate/ricinoleate

Today, it is said that the formula design of cosmetics from ingredients of plant origin is an indispensable way and trend. From this consideration, cosmetic materials made from animal and synthetic petroleum ingredients are becoming less usable. Instead, cosmetic materials are designed from ingredients of plant origin and many and various botanical ingredients are being developed. Lanolin, which is one of the animal-based ingredients, is said to have ideal functions as a cosmetic oil, and it has been used in many fields such as make-up cosmetics as well as hair and skin care products for a long time. However, unfortunately, lanolin is an animal-based ingredient; therefore, the development of a botanical ingredient to replace lanolin was desired. Polyglyceryl-8 decaerucate/isostearate/ricinoleate, which we have developed, is an ester oil originating from plants and has an equivalent or higher function than lanolin. We have confirmed that our developed ester oil has various excellent characteristics such as a water-holding capability 2.5 times higher than that of lanolin, high air permeability, moisture keeping in dermal layers, protection of hair from changes in external environmental humidity, and excellent gloss and excellent dispersability of pigments. Thus, this newly developed ester oil is expected to be a promising new botanical cosmetic ingredient which can be applied in various fields.     

Effect of Water Hardness on the Taste of Alkaline Electrolyzed Water

ABSTRACT: The effect of water hardness on the taste of alkaline electrolyzed water (AEW) was examined by sensory evaluation. Sensory test 1 of commercial bottled mineral water to which calcium and/or magnesium salts had been added was performed by panelists who evaluated the effect of hardness on the taste of water using a scoring method (hedonic scaling test) and a 1-pair comparison method. The water, in which the calcium concentration and the magnesium concentration was 20 mg/L and 2 mg/L, respectively, was found to taste better than any water containing other concentrations of calcium and magnesium. Sensory test 2 of bottled mineral waters having hardnesses of 30 mg/L to 290 mg/L, of activated carbon filtration water having a hardness of 50 mg/L, and of AEWs was performed by panelists using a scoring method (hedonic scaling test) and a pair test, and their preferences for the taste of AEWs was surveyed. The taste of AEW made by electrolyzing activated carbon filtration water did not differ from that of the water before it was electrolyzed. The same was true of AEW made by electrolyzing bottled mineral water having a hardness of 80 mg/L. However, 3 kinds of AEWs made by electrolyzing bottled mineral waters having hardnesses of 30 mg/L, 170 mg/L, and 290 mg/L were found to taste less pleasant than each bottled mineral water before being electrolyzed. The results of sensory tests 1 and 2 show that good-tasting AEW could be produced by an alkaline water electrolyzed from most tap water of Japan because its hardness varies from approximately 50 mg/L to 80 mg/L.     

Site-Investigation and Geotechnical Design of D-Runway Construction in Tokyo Haneda Airport

Tokyo International Airport (Haneda Airport) is a domestic hub-airport in Japan; however, the increasing number of passengers has brought it close to its capacity. In addition, there has been strong demand for the development of an international-flight network. Consequently, a new runway, called the “D-runway,” was planned and constructed from March 2007 to October 2010. Because some of the D-runway runs through a river mouth, a hybrid structure consisting of piled pier and reclamation fill was adopted. To overcome the geotechnical difficulties in constructing this hybrid structure on the soft clay deposit, various technologies in design and construction were adopted. This paper provides an outline of the project, the ground investigation, and the design of the D-runway structure from a geotechnical engineering view point. From the results of the site investigation, the stratigraphic model at the site was clarified. For the clay layers, a representative depth-profile for each soil parameter was determined. Some local soil properties which tended to be overlooked when only employing an engineering point of view can be appropriately captured by linking the geological and geotechnical information. In the construction of the D-runway, not only the ground improvement technologies (SD, SCP, and CDM) but also the new developed construction materials (the pneumatic mixing of cement treated soil and air-foam treated lightweight soil) were utilized. In the-D-runway project, various technologies used in previous airport constructions were brought together and applied to the ground investigation, design, construction work, and even maintenance. The construction of the D-runway was completed safely, rapidly, and economically, and it came into use on 21 October 2010, on schedule.     

Effects of gonadotrophin treatments on meiotic and developmental competence of oocytes in porcine primordial follicles following xenografting to nude mice

Our objective was to improve the developmental ability of oocytes in porcine primordial follicles xenografted to nude mice, by treating the host mice with gonadotrophins to accelerate follicular growth. Ovarian tissues from 20-day-old piglets, in which most of the follicles were primordial, were transplanted under the kidney capsules of ovariectomized nude mice. Gonadotrophin treatments were commenced around 60 days after vaginal cornification in the mice. Ovarian grafts were obtained 2 or 3 days after treatment with equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG-2 and eCG-3 groups), after porcine FSH infusion for 7 or 14 days, or after infusion of porcine FSH for 14 days with a single injection of estradiol antiserum (FSH-7, FSH-14 and FSH-14EA groups, respectively). Gonadotrophin treatments accelerated follicular growth within the xenografts compared with that in control mice given no gonadotrophins, consistent with higher (P < 0.05) circulating inhibin levels in the gonadotrophin-treated mice. In contrast, circulating mouse FSH levels were significantly (P < 0.05) depressed. We recovered large numbers of full-sized oocytes with meiotic competence to the mature stage from the eCG-3, FSH-7, and FSH-14EA, unlike in the control group. Moreover, 56% of matured oocytes with the first polar body (n = 39) were fertilized in vitro in the FSH-14EA group. After in vitro fertilization and subsequent culture for 7 days, one blastocyst was obtained from each of the eCG-3, FSH-7 and, FSH-14EA groups, whereas no blastocysts appeared in the other groups. Exogenous gonadotrophins--not mouse FSH--stimulated the growing follicles that had developed from the primordial follicles in the xenografts: the effects were incomplete but improved to some extent the meiotic and developmental abilities of the oocytes.     

Sexual difference in PCB concentrations of lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) from Lake Ontario

We determined polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) concentrations in 61 female lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) and 71 male lake trout from Lake Ontario (Ontario, Canada and New York, United States). To estimate the expected change in PCB concentration due to spawning, PCB concentrations in gonads and in somatic tissue of lake trout were also determined. In addition, bioenergetics modeling was applied to investigate whether gross growth efficiency (GGE) differed between the sexes. Results showed that, on average, males were 22% higher in PCB concentration than females in Lake Ontario. Results from the PCB determinations of the gonads and somatic tissues revealed that shedding of the gametes led to 3% and 14% increases in PCB concentration for males and females, respectively. Therefore, shedding of the gametes could not explain the higher PCB concentration in male lake trout. According to the bioenergetics modeling results, GGE of males was about 2% higher than adult female GGE, on average. Thus, bioenergetics modeling could not explain the higher PCB concentrations exhibited by the males. Nevertheless, a sexual difference in GGE remained a plausible explanation for the sexual difference in PCB concentrations of the lake trout.     

Cytotoxic effect of conjugated trienoic fatty acids on mouse tumor and human monocytic leukemia cells

The cytotoxicity of fatty acids from seed oils containing conjugated linolenic acids (CLN) was studied. Fatty acids from pomegranate, tung, and catalpa were cytotoxic to human monocytic leukemia cells at concentrations exceeding 5 μM for pomegranate and tung and 10 μM for catalpa, but fatty acids from pot marigold oil had no effect at concentrations ranging up to 163 μM. The main conjugated fatty acids of pomegranate, tung, catalpa, and pot marigold were cis(c)9, trans(t)11, c13-CLN (71.7%), c9,t11,t13-CLN (70.1%), t9,t11,c13-CLN (31.3%), and t8,t10,c12-CLN (33.4%), respectively. Therefore, the cytotoxicities of fatty acids from pomegranate, tung, and catalpa were supposed to be due to 9,11,13-CLN isomers. To elucidate the cytotoxicity of these CLN, we separated each CLN isomer from the fatty acid mixtures by high-performance liquid chromatography and analyzed its cytotoxicity. The cytotoxicities of c9,t11,c13-CLN, c9,t11,t13-CLN, and t9,t11,c13-CLN were much stronger than that of t8,t10,c12-CLN. Therefore, the higher cytotoxicity of fatty acids from pomegranate, tung, and catalpa than those from pot marigold would be derived from the different activities of 9,11,13-CLN and 8,10,12-CLN. Since there was little difference in the cytotoxicities of c9,t11,c13-CLN, c9,t11,t13-CLN, and t9,t11,c13-CLN, it is suggested that the cis/trans configuration of 9,11,13-CLN isomers had little effect on their cytotoxic effects. The mechanism of the cytotoxicity of the four fatty acids above may involve lipid peroxidation, because the order of toxicity of the fatty acids was consistent with their susceptibility to peroxidation in aqueous phase. This was supported by the decrease in the cytotoxicity of the fatty acids by addition of butylated hydroxytoluene.     

Back gate effects on threshold voltage sensitivity to SOI thicknessin fully-depleted SOI MOSFETs

The dependence of threshold voltage on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) thickness is studied on fully-depleted SOI MOSFETs, and, for this purpose, back-gate oxide thickness and back gate voltage are varied. When the back gate oxide is thinner than the critical thickness dependent on the back gate voltage, the threshold voltage has a minimum in cases where the SOI film thickness is decreased, because of capacitive coupling between the SOI layer and the back gate. This fact suggests that threshold voltage fluctuations due to SOI thickness variations are reduced by controlling the back gate voltage and thinning the back gate oxide