Transfer of caesium and potassium from Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb.et Zucc.) to Japanese apricot liqueur (Ume liqueur)

The potential contamination with radionuclides released by the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident following the great east Japan earthquake and tsunami in March 2011 of agricultural products and processed foods derived from them is a matter of on‐going concern. The stable ¹³³Cs is a useful indicator for predicting the behaviour of radioactive Cs, and potassium (K) is a congener of Cs. In this study, the distribution of ¹³³Cs and K in Ume fruit, and the transfer of ¹³³Cs and K from Ume fruit to Ume liqueur, were investigated. The concentrations of ¹³³Cs and K in Ume fruit were highest in the skin, followed by the kernel or flesh, and then the pit. About 80% of ¹³³Cs and K in all Ume fruits was distributed in the flesh. The transfer ratios of ¹³³Cs and K from Ume fruit to Ume liqueur were similar among all cultivars after 3 months, and they were similar to those of organic acids. The food retention factor (Fr = weight of ¹³³Cs in Ume liqueur/weight of ¹³³Cs in Ume fruit) was ca. 0.8, and the processing factor (Pf = concentration of ¹³³Cs in Ume liqueur/concentration of ¹³³Cs in Ume fruit) was 0.2–0.3. From the present study, the radioactivity of Ume liqueur would be below the legal limit if made using Ume fruits within the legal limit, thereby confirming the safety of Ume liqueur. Copyright © 2016 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling     

Enrichment of mushrooms: An interesting strategy for the acquisition of lithium

The capability of Pleurotus ostreatus mushroom to accumulate lithium (Li) and the accessibility of this Li compared with lithium carbonate (Li₂CO₃), often used as psychiatric medicine, were investigated. Mushrooms were produced on a substrate-based on coffee husk, with different added concentrations of lithium chloride (LiCl). Biological efficiency (BE), the crude protein content, the concentration of Li and other elements present in mushrooms were determined. The sequential extraction and in vitro test were used to verify the accessibility and the degree of solubility of this element. Li concentration in mushrooms was directly influenced by increasing LiCl concentration in the substrate (P < 0.05). The BE was not affected by different concentrations of LiCl. Li present in enriched mushrooms showed greater accessibility than in Li₂CO₃. Therefore, P. ostreatus mushrooms, enriched with lithium can be an alternative source of Li, as well as being a food with high nutritional value.     

Characterization of cation-exchange membranes prepared from poly(vinyl alcohol) and poly(vinyl alcohol-b-styrene sulfonic acid)

Block-type cation-exchange membranes (CEMs) have been prepared by blending poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and the polyanion poly(vinyl alcohol-b-styrene sulfonic acid) at various molar percentages of cation-exchange groups to vinyl alcohol groups, C_pa, and by cross-linking the PVA chains with glutaraldehyde (GA) solution at various GA concentrations, C_GA. The characteristics of the block-type CEMs were compared with random-type CEMs prepared in a previous study from the random copolymer, poly(vinyl alcohol-co-2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid). At equal molar percentages of the cation-exchange groups, the water content of the block-type CEMs was less than that of the random-type CEMs. The charge density of the block-type CEMs increased with increasing C_pa and reached a maximum value. Further, the maximum value of the charge density increased with increasing C_GA. The maximum charge density value of 1.3 mol/dm³ was obtained for the block-type CEM with C_pa = 3.1 mol% and C_GA = 0.10 vol.%, which is almost two thirds of the value of a commercially available CEM [CMX: ASTOM Corp. Japan]. A comparison of the block-type and random-type CEMs with almost the same membrane resistance showed that the block-type CEMs had higher dynamic transport numbers than the random-type ones. The dynamic transport number and membrane resistance of the block-type CEM with C_pa = 4.0 mol% and C_GA = 0.10 vol.% were 0.96 and 4.9 Ω cm², respectively.     

A node configuration algorithm with bandwidth bottleneck resolution for WDM ring networks

The wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) technology has been extensively studied and actually deployed as a key technology to solve global information explosions by multiplexing plural signal paths using different wavelengths into one optical fiber. Among WDM-based network architectures, this article focuses on a double-ring one for a next-generation metropolitan area network (MAN), where each node is normally equipped with two pairs of fast-tunable transmitters and wavelength-fixed receivers (TT-FR) as interface to two fibers. To enhance the network performance, additional transmitters/receivers at nodes and receiver wavelengths should be assigned optimally, so that the bandwidth bottleneck can be resolved both on nodes and fiber links. This article formulates this node configuration problem with bandwidth bottleneck resolution as a combinatorial optimization problem, and proves the NP-completeness of its decision version. Then, it presents the two-phase heuristic algorithm composed of a greedy method and a variable depth search (VDS) method. Our algorithm is evaluated through extensive network simulations, where the results support the effectiveness of this joint assignment approach.

Characteristic profiles of lipid classes,fatty acids and triacylglycerol molecular species of peas (Pisum sativum L.)

Seed oils from four legume cultivars of Pisum sativum, grown in Japan, were extracted and classified by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) into seven fractions: hydrocarbons (HC; 0.5–0.9 wt‐%), steryl esters (SE; 0.8–2.4 wt‐%), triacylglycerols (TAG; 31.2–40.3 wt‐%), free fatty acids (FFA; 1.3–2.7 wt‐%), 1,3‐diacylglycerols (1,3‐DAG; 1.0–1.8 wt‐%), 1,2‐diacylglycerols (1,2‐DAG; 1.0–2.2 wt‐%) and phospholipids (PL; 52.2–61.3 wt‐%). All lipid samples had high amounts of total unsaturated fatty acids, representing 75.0–84.3 wt‐% for TAG and PL. Molecular species and fatty acid distributions of TAG, isolated from the total lipids in the peas, were analyzed by a combination of argentation‐TLC and GC. Eighteen different molecular species were detected. With a few exceptions, the main TAG components were SMD (7.5–10.3 wt‐%), M₂D (8.0–8.9 wt‐%), SD₂ (12.0–18.3 wt‐%), SMT (9.8–11.0 wt‐%), MD₂ (12.0–20.3 wt‐%), SDT (9.7–10.8 wt‐%), M₂T (2.5–7.3 wt‐%) and D₃ (14.5–15.2 wt‐%) (where S denotes a saturated fatty acid, M denotes a monoene, D denotes a diene, and T denotes a triene). It seems that the four cultivars were highly related to each other based on the fatty acid composition of the TAG as well as the distribution profiles in the different TAG molecular species. In general, these results suggest that there are no essential differences (p >0.05) in the oil components among the four cultivars.     

ALS-Linked P56S-VAPB Mutation Impairs the Formation of Multinuclear Myotube in C2C12 Cells

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a rapidly progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects upper and lower motor neurons. Since motor neurons target skeletal muscles, the maintenance system of muscles is disturbed in ALS; however, the mechanism by which this occurs is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the effects of ALS-associated P56S-vesicle-associated membrane protein-associated protein B (VAPB) (P56S-VAPB) on the IRE1-XBP1 pathway, which is involved in the unfolded protein response (UPR) of the mouse myoblast cell line (C2C12 cells). Experiments with C2C12 cells transfected with wild-type wt-VAPB and P56S-VAPB expression vectors showed reduced myotube formation and aberrant myonuclear position in cells expressing P56S-VAPB. Activity of the IRE1-XBP1 pathway in the cells visualized with the ERAI system revealed that the pathway was disrupted in cells expressing P56S-VAPB, whereas the IRE1-XBP1 pathway activity was enhanced in the differentiation process of normal C2C12 cells. These results suggest that disruption of the IRE1-XBP1 pathway is a cause for the reduced myotube formation in P56S-VAPB-expressing cells. The expression level of the VAPB protein has been reported to be reduced in the neurons of patients with ALS. Therefore, it is expected that the IRE1-XBP1 pathway is also impaired in muscle tissues of patients with ALS, which causes a disturbance in the muscle maintenance system.     

Investigation of self-sealing in high-strength and ultra-low-permeability concrete in water using micro-focus X-ray CT

High-strength and ultra-low-permeability concrete (HSULPC) is thought to be useful as a radioactive waste package. Thus, a high confining ability is desirable. For cementitious materials, sealing of cracks may occur in water due to the precipitation of calcium compounds. This can affect the confining ability. In this study, the sealing of a crack in HSULPC in water was investigated using micro-focus X-ray computed tomography (CT). The sealing by precipitation occurred only around the end of the specimen. Sealed regions of the crack were identified using three-dimensional image registration and CT image subtraction of images obtained for the specimen before and after it was immersed in water to evaluate temporal changes of the sealing deposits in the crack. The sealing deposits increased as the HSULPC specimen was kept in water longer. It was concluded that cracks in HSULPC in water are sealed by precipitation.