Asymmetric Aldol Reaction of Dichloroacetaldehyde Catalyzed by Diarylprolinol

The asymmetric cross‐aldol reaction of dichloroacetaldehyde with aldehyde pronucleophiles proceeds in the presence of a trifluoromethyl‐substituted diarylprolinol to afford γ,γ‐dichloro‐β‐hydroxy aldehydes in good yield with excellent enantioselectivity. The obtained products are useful synthetic intermediates; they were successfully converted to form chiral alkynes and dichloroalkenes.

     

Molecular Species of Phospholipids with Very Long Chain Fatty Acids in Skin Fibroblasts of Zellweger Syndrome

The ratio of C_26:0/C_22:0 fatty acids in patient lipids is widely accepted as a critical clinical criterion of peroxisomal diseases, such as Zellweger syndrome and X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD). However, phospholipid molecular species with very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA) have not been precisely characterized. In the present study, the structures of such molecules in fibroblasts of Zellweger syndrome and X-ALD were examined using LC–ESI–MS/MS analysis. In fibroblasts from Zellweger patients, a large number of VLCFA-containing molecular species were detected in several phospholipid classes as well as neutral lipids, including triacylglycerol and cholesteryl esters. Among these lipids, phosphatidylcholine showed the most diversity in the structures of VLCFA-containing molecular species. Some VLCFA possessed longer carbon chains and/or larger number of double bonds than C_26:0-fatty acid (FA). Similar VLCFA were also found in other phospholipid classes, such as phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylserine. In addition, VLCFA-containing phospholipid species showed some differences among fibroblasts from Zellweger patients. It appears that phospholipids with VLCFA, with or without double bonds, as well as C_26:0-FA might affect cellular functions, thus leading to the pathogenesis of peroxisomal diseases, such as Zellweger syndrome and X-ALD.     

MBFP generalized association rule mining and classification in traffic volume prediction

Genetic network programming (GNP)‐based time‐related association rules mining method provides a useful mean to investigate future traffic volume of road networks and hence helps us to develop traffic navigation system. Further improvements have been proposed in this paper about the time‐related association rule mining using generalized GNP with multibranches and full‐paths (MBFP) algorithm. For fully utilizing the potential ability of GNP structure, the mechanism of generalized GNP with MBFP is studied. The aim of this algorithm is to better handle association rule extraction from the databases with high efficiency in a variety of time‐related applications, especially in the traffic volume prediction problems. The generalized algorithm which can find the important time‐related association rules is described, and experimental results are presented considering a traffic prediction problem. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Electromagneto-mechanical fields of giant magnetostrictive/piezoelectric laminates

This paper presents the nonlinear electromagneto-mechanical behavior of magnetostrictive/piezoelectric laminated pieces under magnetic fields both numerically and experimentally. The pieces are fabricated using thin Tb_0.3Dy_0.7Fe₂ (Terfenol-D) and Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PZT) layers, and the magnetostriction of the pieces is measured. A nonlinear finite element analysis is also employed to evaluate the second-order magnetoelastic constants in Terfenol-D layer bonded to the PZT layer, and the nonlinear displacement, internal stresses and induced voltage for the magnetostrictive/piezoelectric laminated pieces under magnetic fields are discussed.     

A Double-Deck Elevator Group Supervisory Control System Using Genetic Network Programming

Elevator group supervisory control systems (EGSCSs) are designed so that the movement of several elevators in a building is controlled efficiently. The efficient control of EGSCSs using conventional control methods is very difficult due to its complexity, so it is becoming popular to introduce artificial intelligence (AI) technologies into EGSCSs in recent years. As a new approach, a graph-based evolutionary method named genetic network programming (GNP) has been applied to the EGSCSs, and its effectiveness is clarified. The GNP can introduce various a priori knowledge of the EGSCSs in its node functions easily, and can execute an efficient rule-based group supervisory control that is optimized in an evolutionary way. Meanwhile, double-deck elevator systems (DDESs) where two cages are connected in a shaft have been developed for the rising demand of more efficient transport of passengers in high-rise buildings. The DDESs have specific features due to the connection of cages and the need for comfortable riding; so its group supervisory control becomes more complex and requires more efficient group control systems than the conventional single-deck elevator systems (SDESs). In this paper, a new group supervisory control system for DDESs using GNP is proposed, and its optimization and performance evaluation are done through simulations. First, optimization of the GNP for DDSEs is executed. Second, the performance of the proposed method is evaluated by comparison with conventional methods, and the obtained control rules in GNP are studied. Finally, the reduction of space requirements compared with SDESs is confirmed.     

Isolation of an Acremonium sp. capable of liquefying cross-linked poly(gamma-glutamic acid) hydrogels and the fungal enzyme involved in the disruption of gamma-ray irradiation-mediated cross-linking

A microorganism capable of liquefying cross-linked poly(gamma-glutamic acid) (C-L PGA) was isolated and identified to be an Acremonium sp. The fungus produced an enzyme that can disrupt the cross-linkages of C-L PGA generated by gamma-ray irradiation. The enzyme can also liquefy C-L PGA prepared by chemical cross-linkage, suggesting the involvement of ester bonds in the gamma-ray irradiation-mediated cross-linking of PGA.     

Screening of Peptide Ligands for Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Glucose Dehydrogenase Using Antagonistic Template-Based Biopanning

We have developed a novel method, antagonistic template-based biopanning, for screening peptide ligands specifically recognizing local tertiary protein structures. We chose water-soluble pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) glucose dehydrogenase (GDH-B) as a model enzyme for this screening. Two GDH-B mutants were constructed as antagonistic templates; these have some point mutations to induce disruption of local tertiary structures within the loop regions that are located at near glucose-binding pocket. Using phage display, we selected 12-mer peptides that specifically bound to wild-type GDH-B but not to the antagonistic templates. Consequently, a peptide ligand showing inhibitory activity against GDH-B was obtained. These results demonstrate that the antagonistic template-based biopanning is useful for screening peptide ligands recognizing the specific local tertiary structure of proteins.     

Estimation of Kinetics for Batch Cooling Crystallization by Focused‐Beam Reflectance Measurements

Numerical simulation of the seeded batch cooling crystallization process of active pharmaceutical ingredients was performed. Crystal size distribution was observed by focused‐beam reflectance measurements and concentration by simultaneous Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. First, kinetic parameters were estimated. Nucleation rate coefficient and order were estimated from the linear regression equation between cooling rate and metastable zone width. The remaining parameters were estimated from the evaluation function. Then, the numerical simulation was performed by utilizing the method of moments. Finally, observed data were compared with simulated data. The simulated values of mean mass size corresponded reasonably with the observed ones.     

New Insights into Additive Structure Effect on Crystal Agglomeration of L‐Valine

Specific small amounts of amino acids caused agglomeration of L‐valine (L‐Val) crystals during evaporative crystallization from aqueous solutions. The agglomeration of L‐Val occurred only under acidic condition when guest amino acids satisfied several conditions. Only L‐form amino acids that have carboxylic acid groups and sufficiently long alkyl chain in the side‐chains could induce agglomeration of L‐Val. The length of alkyl chain in the side‐chains controls the degree of agglomeration. Data indicated only 0.5 wt % of L‐2‐aminoadipic acid, which has a similar chemical structure to L‐glutamic acid (L‐Glu), produced the large agglomerates > 1000 μm. The particle size was ～ 500 μm when using the same amount of L‐Glu. Based on the results from previous tests and this paper, the whole mechanism for the L‐Val agglomeration in the presence of specific guest amino acids has been revealed.