(-)-Secoisolariciresinol attenuates high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 mice

Flaxseed lignan, secoisolariciresinol has been reported to possess health benefits. We previously synthesized each stereoisomer of secoisolariciresinol and found that (-)-secoisolariciresinol reduces lipid accumulation and induces adiponectin production in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Here we show the effects of (-)-secoisolariciresinol on high-fat diet-induced obesity in C57BL/6 male mice. Oral administration of (-)-secoisolariciresinol for 28 consecutive days significantly suppressed the gain of body weight. Increased serum adiponectin level and decreased gene expression of fatty acid synthase and sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c in liver, which are related to fatty acid synthesis, were observed in the mice orally administered with (-)-secoisolariciresinol. In addition, subcutaneous injection of (-)-secoisolariciresinol also significantly suppressed the gain of body weight. Serum leptin levels were significantly increased by treating with (-)-secoisolariciresinol or (-)-enterolactone. Subcutaneous injection of (-)-secoisolariciresinol, (-)-enterolactone, or (-)-enterodiol promoted gene expression of acyl-CoA oxidase, carnitine palmitoyl transferase-1, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α, which are related to β-oxidation. Overall results suggest that (-)-secoisolariciresinol exerts a suppressive effect on the gain of body weight of mice fed a high-fat diet by inducing gene expression of adiponectin, resulting in the altered expression of various genes related to the synthesis and β-oxidation of fatty acids.     

A study on construction of a kaizen case-base and its utilisation: a case of visual management in fabrication and assembly shop-floors

In this paper, focusing on visual management (VM) as one of the kaizen technologies, a procedure for its new case development is discussed. This procedure consists of two portions. The first portion is construction of kaizen case-base, namely: (1) correction and analysis of kaizen cases; (2) establishment of drivers and instances of investigated kaizen case; and (3) analysis of proximity relationship among kaizen cases. The second portion is utilisation of kaizen case-base, namely: (4) selection of kaizen case from kaizen case-base; (5) consideration of the other related kaizen cases; and (6) new kaizen case design. A case study is performed to assure the relevance of the proposed procedure by focusing on ‘dispatching board’, a typical VM technology. Through collaboration with a factory eager to implement VM, the proposed procedure is qualified by experts as a useful method for kaizen knowledge transfer.     

Hydrothermal Wave Instability in a High-Aspect-Ratio Liquid Bridge of Pr > 200

The long-duration fluid physics experiments on a thermocapillary-driven flow have been carried out on the Japanese Experiment Module ‘Kibo’ aboard the International Space Station (ISS) since 2008. In these experiments, various aspects of thermocapillary convection in a half-zone (HZ) liquid bridge of high Prandtl number fluid have been examined under the advantages of the long-duration high-quality microgravity environment. In 2010, the authors succeeded to realize nonlinear convective fields in the HZ liquid bridge of rather high aspect ratio. Special attention was paid on to the complex convective fields, especially on the behaviors of the hydrothermal wave (HTW) over the free surface visualized by an infrared camera. In order to evaluate the characteristics of the nonlinear convective behaviors and their transition processes, the authors indicate the images taken by the infrared camera describing the time evolution of HTW, the spatio-temporal diagram, the Fourier analysis, and the pseudo-phase space, reconstructed from the time series of the scalar information of the liquid bridge, that is, surface temperature variation. In this paper, the authors introduce the signature of complex HTW behaviors observed at the long-duration on-orbit experiments, and make comparisons with some previous terrestrial and microgravity experiments.     

D住宅

这座超小型集合住宅建筑,打破了日本的常规住宅格局．内部是狭长弯曲的空间,房间只有一个面是封闭的．使用面积因而增多。建筑沿着地形而弯曲．与周边环境自然融合,开创了一种全新的住宅类型。     

Transfer profile of orally and intramuscularly administered tetrodotoxin to artificial hybrid specimens of the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes and Takifugu porphyreus

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) was administered to artificially hybridized specimens of the pufferfish Takifugu rubripes and Takifugu porphyreus to investigate toxin accumulation in hybrids and TTX transfer/accumulation profiles in the pufferfish body. In test fish administered TTX-containing feed homogenate at a dose of ～400 MU/fish by oral gavage using a syringe (OGA group), the toxin content (MU/g tissue) of the digestive tract rapidly decreased and that of the liver increased from 1 to 24 h after administration. From 24 to 120 h, the toxin content of the liver decreased gradually, and the toxin appeared in the skin. On the other hand, intramuscularly administered TTX (400 MU/fish) was rapidly transferred to the liver and skin via the blood, and only a little toxin remained in the muscle even at 1 h (IMA group). The total amount of toxin remaining in the whole body (% of administered toxin) was 31-45% in the OGA group, and 42-74% in the IMA group; the scores in the OGA group were generally lower than those in the IMA group. In both OGA and IMA groups, the greatest amount of toxin accumulated in the liver (23-52%) after 8 h, followed by the skin (11-21%) after 72 h. The TTX administration experiment, especially using the oral gavage administration method, revealed that skins and livers of 'torama' pufferfish hybrid are endowed with TTX-accumulating ability, but the muscles are not, and that TTX taken up from toxic feed to the pufferfish body is transferred first to the liver and then to the skin via the blood.     

Synthesis of octacalcium phosphate with incorporated succinate and suberate ions

Octacalcium phosphate (OCP) has a layered structure composed of apatitic and hydrated layers. HPO₄^2? in the hydrated layer can be substituted by dicarboxylate ions. The synthesis of octacalcium phosphate with incorporated dicarboxylate ions (octacalcium phosphate carboxylate, OCPC), was investigated through the effects of the initial concentration of dicarboxylic acid on the formation of OCPC. Succinic acid (Suc) and suberic acid (Sub) were used as dicarboxylic acids for preparing OCPC, and crystalline phases of the products were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). When the amount of added dicarboxylic acid was 1–5 times the amount corresponding to the stoichiometric composition of OCPC, incorporation of dicarboxylate ions progressed with increasing amount of added dicarboxylic acids, although OCP without incorporated dicarboxylate ions was also present. When the amounts of added Suc and Sub were larger than 10 times the stoichiometric amount in OCPC, a single OCPC phase was detected in the powder XRD patterns. Amounts of Suc and Sub greater than 10 times the stoichiometric amounts facilitated formation of the OCPCs and inhibited formation of OCP. The incorporation of dicarboxylate ions into OCP competes with incorporation of HPO₄^2?. Hence a high concentration of dicarboxylic acids is required for complete incorporation of dicarboxylate ions in OCP.     

Attenuation of the Capacity Current Effect in Heyrovský-Forejt Oscillographic Polarography

SUMMARY

Heyrovský and Forejt [1] invented in 1943 a new oscillographic polarographic method. Its successful achievements and applications were summarized by several authors [2-5]. Kambara [6] pointed out that the methodology consists of electrolysis at controlled alternating current and observation of the periodically changing electrode potential. He was the first to analyze mathematically the E ? t curve (E = f(t)), for a reversible redox system. Matsuda [7] formulated the more detailed theory including the irreversible redox system.     

Martensite Formation in Hydrogen-Containing Metastable Austenitic Stainless Steel During Micro-Tension Testing

Deformation-induced martensite in type 304 stainless steel during micro-tension testing was characterized. The stress-strain behavior of uncharged and hydrogen-charged specimens revealed that hydrogen hastened the onset of hardening but decreased the strain-hardening rate, leading to premature plastic instability. In both specimens, a set of twin-related α′-martensite variants with Kurdjumov–Sachs relationships was prevalent. The Nishiyama–Wasserman relationship variant was also formed, but it was suppressed by hydrogen. This may be attributed to differences in the underlying deformation microstructure.     

Compact sensor for measuring two-dimensional tilt using a two-dimensional transmission grating and the Talbot effect

This paper proposes a tilt sensor that measures the small two-dimensional tilt of a plane reflective object using the Talbot effect. It is an extension of a previously proposed one-dimensional tilt sensor. The light beam reflected from the object impinges on a hexagonal grating, and the intensity of the diffracted wave is detected on an image sensor located at a Talbot distance from the grating. The diffraction intensity displaces due to the tilt of the object. The displacement is calculated by the Fourier transform method to obtain the two-dimensional tilt. This sensor is very simple and compact. The principle of the sensor is explained for a grating with a general pattern. An experiment using a hexagonal grating shows its validity. Discussions are given for making it more practical.     

Forced flow boiling heat transfer of liquid hydrogen for superconductor cooling

Heat transfer from inner side of a heated vertical pipe to liquid hydrogen flowing upward was first measured at the pressure of 0.7 MPa for wide ranges of flow rates and liquid temperatures. The heat transfer coefficients in non-boiling regime for each flow velocity were well in agreement with the Dittus–Boelter equation. The heat fluxes at the inception of boiling and the departure from nucleate boiling (DNB) heat fluxes are higher for higher flow velocity and subcooling. It was found that the trend of dependence of the DNB heat flux on flow velocity was expressed by the correlation derived by Hata et al. based on their data for subcooled flow boiling of water, although it has different propensity to subcooling.