Production of 5'-phosphodiesterase by Catharanthus roseus cells promoted by heat-degraded products generated from uronic acid

Polyalginate was autoclaved at 121 degrees C for 20 min and its molecular weight distribution was analyzed. The autoclaved alginate yielded alginate polymer, oligomer and heat degraded products (HDPs). Each of the separated substances promoted 5'-phosphodiesterase (5'-PDase) production in suspension culture of Catharanthus roseus cells. HDPs could also be generated from other uronic acids (galacturonic acid and glucuronic acid) by autoclave treatment. The most effective substance in the HDPs was isolated and characterized as trans-4,5-dihydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-one (DHCP). The optimal conditions for DHCP production were also established (autoclaving 1 mg/ml monogalacturonic acid [pH 2] at 121 degrees C for 2 h). A combination of oligo-alginate (below 4 kDa) and HDPs significantly promoted the production of 5'-PDase in C. roseus. Based on the above results, a novel alginate complex that gave a 44-fold increase in 5'-PDase production by C. roseus was developed.     

Feature extraction and auto-regressive simulation of hepatic disordered states based on time-seriesed clinical laboratory data

To clarify the characteristics of clinical states of liver disease, the principal component analysis, the multi-dimensional Auto-Regression method, the cross-correlation and the cross-covariance method were applied to time-seriesed clinical laboratory data of patients with liver disease by using a time oriented clinical database. 1) Three components, a component of damage of liver parenchymal cells, that of damage of protein synthesis and that of damage of biliary cells, were extracted by the analysis of 88 patient's data. The discrimination of the liver disease entities by the component score was satisfactory to a certain degree. 2) The simulation of the time course of three kinds of serum constituents by the Auto-Regression model well described the actual time course of measurement of these serum constituents, but the prediction failed to follow the time course. 3) The values of cross-covariance among the three constituents adequately characterized the liver disease entity. The feature extraction of time-seriesed data seemed to contribute to clinical diagnosis and prognosis.     

Particulate characteristics and deposition features of fine AIN powder synthesized by vapour-phase reaction

Fine AIN powder was synthesized by the vapour-phase reaction of AICl₃ and NH₃ at 600 to 1100° C, and the particulate characteristics and the deposition features were investigated. The powder deposited near the AlCl₃-feeding nozzle included radially-grown particles with columnar crystals. The powder deposited apart from the AlCl₃-feeding nozzle consisted of only fine, spherical particles. Vapour-phase reaction at 1100° C produced fine powder, which was characterized by uniform and fine particle size; its distribution width was from 0.1 to 0.3μm, and median diameter was 0.18μm. Deposition area of the powder was affected by the reaction temperature and the temperature profile in the reactor.     

Two distinct pathways for the formation of hydroxy FA from linoleic acid by lactic acid bacteria

Twenty-three of 86 strains of lactic acid bacteria transformed linoleic acid into hydroxy FA. Two distinct conversion pathways were in operation. Two strains of Lactobacillus acidophilus and a strain of Pediococcus pentosaceus produced 13(S)-hydroxy-9-octadecenoic acid [13(S)-OH 18∶1] and 10,13-dihydroxyoctadecanoic acid (10,13-OH 18∶0) as main and minor products, respectively, whereas 13 strains, including L. casei subsp. casei, L. paracasei subsp, paracasei, L. rhamnosus, L. lactis subsp. cremoris, and Streptococcus salivarius subsp. thermophilus produced 10-hydroxy-12-octadecenoic acid (10-OH 18∶1). Seven strains of L. plantanum converted linoleic acid to 10-hydroxyoctadecanoic acid (10-OH 18∶0) through 10-OH 18∶1 Linoleic acid at 2 g/L was converted by L. acidophilus LFO13951^T to 1.3 g of 13(S)-OH 18∶1 and 0.09 g of 10,13-OH 18∶0 in 7 d. Lactobacillus paracasei subsp. paracasei JCM 1111 produced 10-OH 18∶1 in 91% yield, and L. plantarum JCM 8341, 10-OH 18∶0 in 59% yield from linoleic acid (2 g/L) under optimal conditions. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the production of 13(S)-OH 18∶1 by lactic acid bacteria other than ruminal bacteria, and of 10,13-OH 18∶0 by any bacteria.     

Oral sustained delivery of paracetamol from in situ gelling xyloglucan formulations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential of a xyloglucan formulation with in situ gelling properties for the oral sustained delivery of paracetamol. Gelation of dilute aqueous solutions of the polysaccharide xyloglucan occurred in rabbit and rat stomachs as the orally administered chilled solutions attained body temperature. In vitro studies demonstrated diffusion-controlled release of paracetamol from the gels over a period of 6 hr. The bioavailabilities of paracetamol from the xyloglucan gels formed in situ in the stomachs of rabbits after oral administration of the liquid formulations were similar to that of a commercially available suspension containing an identical dose of paracetamol.     

A bead-alignment device with a bead-sized microchamber on a rotating cylinder for fabrication of a miniaturized probe array

We have developed a compact bead-alignment device with a bead-sized microchamber on a rotating cylinder. The cylinder fits inside a tube with bead-stock pipes containing different probe-conjugated beads and holes for bead-alignment capillaries. The cylinder rotates in the tube, and the microchamber transfers a single 100-microm-diameter bead from a pipe to one of the capillaries in 10 s. By using this process repeatedly, 'bead arrays', which are miniaturized DNA probe arrays in capillaries, were successfully fabricated.     

Limits on the accuracy of 3-D thickness measurement in magnetic resonance images--effects of voxel anisotropy

Measuring the thickness of sheet-like thin anatomical structures, such as articular cartilage and brain cortex, in three-dimensional (3-D) magnetic resonance (MR) images is an important diagnostic procedure. This paper investigates the fundamental limits on the accuracy of thickness determination in MR images. We defined thickness here as the distance between the two sides of boundaries measured at the subvoxel resolution, which are the zero-crossings of the second directional derivatives combined with Gaussian blurring along the normal directions of the sheet surface. Based on MR imaging and computer postprocessing parameters, characteristics for the accuracy of thickness determination were derived by a theoretical simulation. We especially focused on the effects of voxel anisotropy in MR imaging with variable orientation of sheet-like structure. Improved and stable accuracy features were observed when the standard deviation of Gaussian blurring combined with thickness determination processes was around square root of 2/2 times as large as the pixel size. The relation between voxel anisotropy in MR imaging and the range of sheet normal orientation within which acceptable accuracy is attainable was also clarified, based on the dependences of voxel anisotropy and the sheet normal orientation obtained by numerical simulations. Finally, in vitro experiments were conducted using an acrylic plate phantom and a resected femoral head to validate the results of theoretical simulation. The simulated thickness was demonstrated to be well-correlated with the actual in vitro thickness.     

Optical nonreciprocal devices with a silicon guiding layer fabricated by wafer bonding

Optical nonreciprocal devices with a silicon guiding layer fabricated by wafer bonding are proposed. The optical nonreciprocal devices are composed of a magneto-optic waveguide with a magnetic garnet/Si/SiO2 structure. Nonreciprocal characteristics are obtained by an evanescent field penetrating into the upper magnetic garnet cladding layer. Several kinds of the optical nonreciprocal device are investigated with the magneto-optic waveguide and designed at a wavelength of 1.55 microm. As a preliminary experiment, wafer bonding between Gd3Ga5O12 and Si was studied. Wafer bonding was successfully achieved with heat treatment at 220 degrees C in H2 ambient.