Suppressive effect of defatted rice bran on the oxidation of methyl linoleate

The bran collected at each of the five steps of milling yields (98–100%, 96–98%, 94–96%, 92–94% and 90–92%) was defatted. Defatted rice bran (DRB) was added to methyl linoleate (ML) under various conditions, and its suppressive effect on lipid oxidation was kinetically evaluated to investigate the effective use of surplus rice bran. The rate constant, k, empirically evaluated by the Weibull equation for the oxidation of ML with DRB, was lower than that without DRB and decreased with increasing the maximum milling yield of added DRB. The oxidation of ML strongly depended on the added amount of DRB, but the k value was almost constant for a specific amount of DBR added to ML. The dependency of the k value on relative humidity was weak, regardless of the addition of DRB. The difference between the k values for oxidation processes of ML, with and without DRB, increased with increasing temperature.     

Thermal Conductivity of Bi<Subscript>0.5</Subscript>Sb<Subscript>1.5</Subscript>Te<Subscript>3</Subscript> Affected by Grain Size and Pores

A fine measurement system for measuring thermal conductivity was constructed. An accuracy of 1% was determined for the reference quartz with a value of 1.411 W/m K. Bi_0.5Sb_1.5Te₃ samples were prepared by mechanical alloying followed by hot-pressing. Grain sizes were varied in the range from 1 μm to 10 μm by controlling the sintering temperature in the temperature range from 623 K to 773 K. The thermal conductivity was 0.89 W/m K for the sample sintered at 623 K, while a grain size of 1.75 μm was measured by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The thermal conductivity increased on the sample sintered at 673 K because of grain growth and decreased on those sintered at the temperatures from 673 K to 773 K because the increase of pore size caused to decrease thermal conductivity. The increase of thermal conductivity for the samples sintered at temperatures above 773 K was affected by the increase of carrier concentration.     

Nanoimprinting using release-agent-coated resins

A fluorinated self-assembled monolayer (F-SAM) is mainly used as the antisticking layer. To prevent the F-SAM coated on the nanoimprint lithography (NIL) mold from deteriorating, we propose a new form of nanoimprinting using a release-agent-coated resin. The results from measuring the surface free energy and observations by scanning probe microscopy (SPM) confirmed that the surface free energy, frictional force, and adhesion force of the release-agent spray-coated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were lower than those of PMMA. To prove the release-agent spray-coated PMMA had a releasing effect, we tried to undertake thermal nanoimprinting on it using a mold without F-SAM. The pattern was clearly imprinted on the resin without any signs of adhesion.     

Production of recombinant tumor necrosis factor receptor/Fc fusion protein by genetically manipulated chickens

We previously reported the production of recombinant proteins using genetically manipulated chickens and quails. In this study, we constructed a retroviral vector encoding an expression cassette for a fusion protein of the extracellular domain of the human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor 2 and Fc region of human IgG1 (TNFR/Fc), which is expected as an effective drug for inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. The concentrated viral vector was injected into developing chicken embryos. The chickens that hatched stably produced TNFR/Fc in the serum and egg yolk for six months. It appears that the fused protein is transported and accumulated into yolk from the serum, which is mediated by the Fc receptor. The protein purified from the yolk and serum inhibited the cytotoxic activity of TNF-* toward L929 cells, indicating that the protein produced by the chickens is biologically active. These results indicate the effectiveness of the recovery of Fc-fused proteins from the yolk of genetically manipulated chickens.     

Engineering of Lipid Nanoparticles by the Multifunctionalization of the Surface with Amino Acid Derivatives for the Neutralization of a Target Toxic Peptide

Protein affinity reagents (e.g., antibodies) are often used for basic research, diagnostics, separations, and disease therapy. Although a lot of “synthetic” protein affinity reagents have been developed as a cost-effective alternative to antibodies, their low biocompatibility is a considerable problem for clinical application. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) represent a highly biocompatible drug delivery agent. However, little has been reported that LNP itself works as a protein affinity reagent in living animals. Here, LNP is engineered for binding to and neutralizing a target toxic peptide in living animals by multifunctionalization with amino acid derivatives. Multifunctionalized LNP (MF-LNP) is prepared using amino acid derivative-conjugated lipids. Optimized MF-LNP exhibits nanomolar affinity to the target toxic peptide and inhibits toxic peptide-dependent hemolysis and cytotoxicity. In addition, MF-LNP captures and neutralizes the toxic peptide after intravenous injection in the bloodstream; in addition, MF-LNP does not release the toxic peptide in the accumulated organ. These results reveal the potential of using LNP as a highly biocompatible protein affinity reagent such as an antidote.     

Effect of expander shape on cooling characteristics by using a model pulse tube refrigerator

Pulse tube refrigerators do not have moving parts in the cold section, and they have low vibration, high reliability, and long life. The expander in refrigerators typically has an inverted U or coaxial shape because this attains a wider absorber area, lower height, and compactness. However, the performance of a Stirling-type pulse tube refrigerator is inferior to that of a Stirling refrigerator. Cooling characteristics of the pulse tube refrigerator greatly depend on the shape of the expander. In this study, an inertance-type refrigerator, which uses ambient air for the working gas, was developed to examine the effect of expander shape. This refrigerator model with changeable expander operated with a Stirling cycle, and it was composed of a reciprocating compressor, after-cooler, regenerator, absorber, pulse tube, hot-end, and inertance tube with reservoir. The following expander shapes were tested: in-line, L shape, L-L shape, and coaxial shape. The effect of expander shape on cooling capacity was examined experimentally and numerically using the model pulse tube refrigerator. The results of experiments showed that the L shape expander had the highest performance and the coaxial expander had the lowest performance. In addition, the characteristics of the gas flow in each expander were confirmed by fluid dynamics analysis.