Determination of hymexazol in agricultural products by GC-NPD

A method for the determination of hymexazol in agricultural produdcts by gas chromatography with a highly sensitive nitrogen-phosphorus detector (GC-NPD) was investigated. Hymexazol was extracted with acetonitrile, and the acetonitrile layer was separated by salting-out. The water layer was loaded onto a Chem-Elut column. Hymexazol in the water layer was adsorbed on the column, and eluted with ethyl acetate. The acetonitrile layer and the eluate were mixed and evaporated. The residue was dissolved in ethyl acetate, and the sample solution was cleaned up on a C18 column. Hymexazol in the eluate was analyzed by GC-NPD with a high-polarity capillary column (DB-FFAP) and highly deactivated inlet liner.Recoveries of hymexazol spiked in agricultural products (tomato, lemon, soybean and other samples) at the level of 0.1 mug/g ranged from 65.0 to 84.7%. The limit of detection was 0.02microg/g.     

Detection of genetically modified organisms obtained from food samples

Genetially modified organisms (GMOs) were explored in food samples obtained from November 2000 to March 2003 in the Tokyo area by using PCR and real-time PCR techniques. The existence of Roundup Ready Soybean (RRS) was surveyed in processed foods derived from soybeans, such as tofu, boiled soybean, kinako, nama-age, abura-age, natto, miso, soymilk and yuba. RRS was detected in 3 of 37 tofu, 2 of 3 nama-age, 2 of 3 yuba and 3 of 3 abura-age samples. The CBH351 in 70 processed corn foods, NewLeaf Plus and NewLeaf Y in 50 processed potato foods, and 55-1 papaya in 16 papayas were surveyed. These GMOs were not detected among the samples. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of RRS and genetically modified (GM) corn were performed in soybean, corn and semi-processed corn products such as corn meal, corn flour and corn grits. RRS was detected in 42 of 178 soybean samples, and the amount of RRS in RRS-positive samples was determined. The content was in the range of 0.1-1.4% in identity-preserved soybeans (non-GMO), and 49.8-78.8% in non-segregated soybeans. On the other hand, GM corns were detected in 8 of 26 samples. The amount of GM corn in GM corn-positive samples was in the range of 0.1-2.0%.     

NMR Measurements of 2D 3He Adsorbed on ZYX Exfoliated Graphite

We describe first successful usage of ZYX exfoliated graphite to cool adsorbed two dimensional (2D) ³He to ugtra low temperatures (ULT). ZYX has much better characteristics as an adsorption substrate such as larger crystallite (platelet) size and smaller mosaic angle than Grafoil, a widely used exfoliated graphite in ULT experiments. In spite of the relatively small surface area of ZYX, we could perform a nuclear magnetization measurement of paramagnetic 2D solid ³He with continuous wave NMR below 10 mK. The data follow nicely the Curie law down to 200 µK. This indicates that ZYX can be used in experiments to study detailed density dependences of low temperature properties of 2D ³He including possible BCS transitions. We also show a preliminary resugt of pulsed NMR measurements of high density 2D fluid ³He adsorbed on ZYX preplated with a ⁴He monolayer.     

User-assisted in-network caching in information-centric networking

In information-centric networking, in-network caching has the potential to improve network efficiency and content distribution performance by satisfying user requests with cached content rather than downloading the requested content from remote sources. In this respect, users who request, download, and keep the content may be able to contribute to in-network caching by sharing their downloaded content with other users in the same network domain (i.e., user-assisted in-network caching). In this paper, we examine various aspects of user-assisted in-network caching in the hopes of efficiently utilizing user resources to achieve in-network caching. Through simulations, we first show that user-assisted in-network caching has attractive features, such as self-scalable caching, a near-optimal cache hit ratio (that can be achieved when the content is fully cached by the in-network caching) based on stable caching, and performance improvements over in-network caching. We then examine the caching strategy of user-assisted in-network caching. We examine three caching strategies based on a centralized server that maintains all content availability information and informs each user of what to cache. We also examine three caching strategies based on each user’s content availability information. We first show that the caching strategy affects the distribution of upload overhead across users and the number of cache hits in each segment. One interesting observation is that, even with a small storage space (i.e., 0.1% of the content size per user), the centralized and distributed approaches improve the cache hit ratio by 50% and 45%, respectively. With an overall view of caching information, the centralized approach can achieve a higher cache hit ratio than the distributed approach. Based on this observation, we discuss a distributed approach with a larger view of caching information than the distributed approach and, through simulations, confirm that a larger view leads to a higher cache hit ratio. Another interesting observation is that the random distributed strategy yields comparable performance to more complex strategies.     

基于混合方法的PWM逆变器下永磁同步电动机的温升研究

提出一种新型基于等效热网络与有限元相结合的混合方法,建立了三维磁热耦合模型,对一台在脉宽调制(PWM)逆变器驱动下的30 kW/50 Hz表贴式永磁同步电动机进行了仿真研究.首先用场路紧密耦合方法分析电机的分布热源.包括涡流损耗、铁损和铜损.利用该热源分布,结合适当的热网络,研究了耦合温升问题.仿真结果表明,由于载波谐波的影响导敛永磁体中涡流损耗的大量增加,其温升也非常显著.试验验证表明,磁块表面和机壳的测量温度与分析结果栩吻合,因此该分析方法能准确预测水磁体温度.     

Effect of degree of neutralization of sodium-based ionomers on hot-tack properties

The hot-tack properties of ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymers neutralized with sodium (Na) cations to produce ionomers were investigated. Specimens with neutralization degrees of 20%, 54%, and 70% were examined. After testing at low sealing temperatures (<130°C), the highest hot-tack strength was obtained from a specimen with a neutralization degree of 20%. In contrast, at high sealing temperatures (>140°C), the hot-tack strength increased with an increasing degree of neutralization. Observations of the surfaces of samples tested at low sealing temperatures after hot-tack tests showed that specimens having a neutralization degree of 20% exhibited cohesive breakdown while the 54% and 70% specimens underwent interfacial delamination. The effect of sealing temperature on hot-tack strength was determined by assessing the rheological properties of molten ionomers. The results suggested that, when testing at low sealing temperatures, a low melt viscosity provided high hot-tack strength by allowing flow diffusivity of the resin at the sealed interface. At high sealing temperatures, uniaxial elongational viscosity related to strain hardening contributed to the high hot-tack strength of these Na-based ionomers. The present study highlights the important effect of ionic aggregates on hot-tack properties.     

Bifidobacterial GH146 β-l-Arabinofuranosidase (Bll4HypBA1) as the Last Enzyme for the Complete Removal of Oligoarabinofuranosides from Hydroxyproline-Rich Glycoproteins

In plant cell walls, the hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins (HRGPs) such as extensin contain oligoarabinofuranoside linked to a hydroxyproline (Hyp) residue. The mature arabinooligosaccharide was revealed to be a tetrasaccharide (α-l -Araf-(1→3)-β-l -Araf-(1→2)-β-l -Araf-(1→2)-β-l -Araf, l -Araf₄), whose linkages are targets of the bifidobacterial and Xanthomonas arabinooligosaccharide-degrading enzymes. The l -Araf₄ motif was cleaved by GH43 α-l -arabinofuranosidase (Arafase) and converted to an l -Araf₃-linked structure. The latter is then cleaved by GH121 β-l -arabinobiosidase (HypBA2), producing β-l -Araf-(1→2)-l -Ara (β-l -arabinobiose) and mono-β-l -Araf linked to the HRGP backbone. In bifidobacteria, the β-l -arabinobiose is then hydrolyzed by GH127 β-l -Arafase (Bll1HypBA1), a mechanistically unique cysteine glycosidase. We recently identified the distantly related homologue from Xanthomonas euvesicatoria as GH146 β-l -Arafase along with paralogues from Bifidobacterium longum, one of which, Bll4HypBA1 (BLLJ_0089), can degrade l -Araf₁-Hyp in a similar way to that of GH146. As the chemical synthesis of the extensin hydrophilic motif 1 a , which possesses three distinct linkages that connect four oligoAraf residues [Hyp(l -Araf_n) (n=4, 3, 1)], was achieved previously, we precisely monitored the step-wise enzymatic cleavage of 1 a in addition to that of potato lectin. The results unequivocally revealed that this enzyme specifically degrades the Hyp(l -Araf₁) motif.     

Evaluation of the contents and ratios of five fractionated proteins to elucidate the protein composition in soybean seeds

Selecting suitable soybean cultivars is important for food processing and exploring their endowment with desirable physiological functions. We applied the fractionation method previously established to compare soy protein composition among cultivars to promote such a selection. More than 95% of the proteins in soybean cotyledons were extracted from 13 soybean cultivars using a high-concentration salt solution. The extracted proteins were fractionated into five fractions, namely oil body-associated protein (OBAP), polar lipid-associated protein (PLAP), globulins (11S and 7S), and whey by centrifugation after tuning the solubility behavior of the proteins with various solutions. Protein species in each fraction were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Protein content in the total extract and five fractions was quantified to characterize the protein composition of soybean cultivars. The correlation between the protein content of each fraction and the total protein in cotyledon was investigated. A strong positive correlation was found only for the 11S fraction (r = 0.82), followed by a positive correlation in the 7S fraction (r = 0.65). Thus, we surmised that the increased protein content in soybean was due to increased globulin content. Furthermore, the calculation of the average ratio of protein content in each fraction indicated the globulin fraction (7S and 11S) to be 52%, the lipophilic protein fraction (OBAP and PLAP) to be 33%, and the whey fraction to be 13%. The preparation method employed in this study is a promising tool for efficiently comparing the protein composition of soybean cultivars to evaluate the potential use of cultivars for food production.     

Analysis of negative phototaxis in the pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare) using omnidirectional servosphere

Artificial Life and Robotics - In recent years, automated systems and robots have been implemented in biological behavioral experiments to understand taxis. In this study, we propose a servosphere...     

Design of a linearization model for three-phase PWM rectifiers for electrochemical machining

Electrochemical machining (ECM) is a processing method for metals that uses a DC power supply and flowing electrolyte. In some cases, discharge occurs during ECM when the gap between the electrode and workpiece, whose distance is rather small, is filled with hydrogen generated via electrolysis. We attempt to utilize a DC inductor placed between the DC supply and the ECM load in order to limit di/dt of the short or discharge current, which damages both the electrode and workpiece. When the output current surges, that is, when discharge occurs, the output voltage is suppressed by the DC inductance. In this paper, we propose a method for designing a PWM rectifier to reduce the discharge current, establish a linear approximation model for use in the PWM rectifier, describe a control method of the PWM rectifier, and demonstrate the efficacy of the model via simulations and experiments.