In vitro formation and thermal transition of novel hybrid fibrils from type I fish scale collagen and type I porcine collagen

Novel type I collagen hybrid fibrils were fabricated by neutralizing a mixture of type I fish scale collagen solution and type I porcine collagen solution with a phosphate buffer saline at 28 °C. Their structure was discussed in terms of the volume ratio of fish/porcine collagen solution. Scanning electron and atomic force micrographs showed that the diameter of collagen fibrils derived from the collagen mixture was larger than those derived from each collagen, and all resultant fibrils exhibited a typical D-periodic unit of ∼67 nm, irrespective of volume ratio of both collagens. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed only one endothermic peak for the fibrils derived from collagen mixture or from each collagen solution, indicating that the resultant collagen fibrils were hybrids of type I fish scale collagen and type I porcine collagen.     

A new and direct preparation method of iron-based bimodal catalyst and its application in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis

A bimodal iron-based catalyst was prepared by a new one-step impregnation method. The active components were used as the “brick” to directly build the small pores inside the large pores of support, which was quite different from the previous bimodal catalysts that were prepared once more on a bimodal support. Comparing with the unimodal catalysts and conventional co-precipitated catalyst, the prepared bimodal catalyst exhibited excellent activity in Fischer–Tropsch synthesis due to the improved active metal dispersion and fastened diffusion efficiency. This preparation method is much simpler than the previous methods and can be extended to prepare various bimodal catalysts with different chemical compositions.     

Template-free hydrothermal synthesis of hollow hematite microspheres

Hollow hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) microspheres with an average diameter of 3-4 μm and a shell thickness of approximate 150 nm was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal route using FeCl₃·6H₂O solution and acetic acid without using any templates. The hollow microspheres were composed of α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with the diameter range from 20 to 40 nm. The effects of reaction parameters such as reaction time, temperature, concentration of FeCl₃·6H₂O solution, and initial pH on the morphology of the final products were investigated. A possible formation mechanism of hollow α-Fe₂O₃ microspheres was also proposed, where the acetic acid played a role of etching in the formation of hollow structure.     

Ionic conductivity improvement in primary pores of fuel cell catalyst layers: Electropolymerization of m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid and its effect on the performance

Catalyst layers of direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) are modified by in situ electropolymerization of m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid. By using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and porosimetry, this modification is found to add polymer electrolyte into primary pores (<10 nm), where ionic resistance is high for lack of polymer electrolyte (i.e., Nafion), and the additional electrolyte successfully decreases the ionic resistance by 10-15% compared to the plain carbon surface with a slight ion-conductivity (>40 kΩ cm). In view of methanol oxidation characteristics, this modification decreases the resistance by ca. 25% (from 5.1 Ω cm² to 3.7 Ω cm²) at 0.6 V vs. DHE, resulting in the increase in the cell voltage of DMFC test by ca. 20 mV. The clear relation between the performance and the microstructures is concluded to be helpful to understand the performance of fuel cell electrodes in detail.     

Comparison of soyasaponin and isoflavone contents between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM soybeans

Soyasaponins and isoflavones are main secondary metabolites in soybeans. In this report we compared the content of secondary metabolites between genetically modified (GM) and non-GM soybeans. Six cultivars/lines of GM and six cultivars/lines of non-GM soybeans were extracted with methanol. Each extract was partitioned with aqueous methanol and hexane and the aqueous methanol fraction was partially purified by HP-20 and LH-20 column chromatography to afford crude soyasaponin and isoflavone fractions. The main A-type soyasaponin, acetylsoyasaponin A1 (AcA1), and the main B-type soyasaponins, soyasaponins I and II (I and II), in the crude fractions were identified by LC/MS analyses with authentic samples. The main isoflavones, daidzin, genistin, daidzein and genistein (DI, GI, DE and GE), in the crude fractions were identified by LC photo-diode array analyses with authentic samples. The contents of AcA1, I and II in the crude soyasaponin fractions and those of DI, GI, DE and GE in the crude isoflavone fractions were analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC. The average contents (mg/100 g) of AcA1, I, II and total of B-type soyasaponins in GM soybeans were 36.4 +/- 24.2, 51.2 +/- 11.8, 26.4 +/- 7.6 and 77.7 +/- 18.5, respectively, and those in non-GM ones were 22.3 +/- 14.7, 46.3 +/- 17.8, 19.8 +/- 9.1 and 65.9 +/- 26.9, respectively. The average contents (mg/100 g) of DI, GI, DE, GE and total isoflavones in GM soybeans were 93.1 +/- 15.5, 121.8 +/- 19.4, 0.073 +/- 0.178, 0.320 +/- 0.082 and 215.3 +/- 33.3, respectively, and those in non-GM ones were 78.8 +/- 34.6, 106.7 +/- 28.3, 2.206 +/- 4.468, 0.822 +/- 0.754 and 188.5 +/- 26.7, respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in soyasaponin and isoflavone contents between GM and non-GM soybeans. Therefore, it was estimated that the GM soybeans are equivalent to the non-GM ones in terms of the composition of the main secondary metabolites.     

Detection of relative and uniform motion

We measured the lowest velocity (velocity threshold) for discriminating motion direction in relative and uniform motion stimuli, varying the contrast and the spatial frequency of the stimulus gratings. The results showed significant differences in the effects of contrast and spatial frequency on the threshold, as well as on the absolute threshold level between the two motion conditions, except when the contrast was 1% or lower. Little effect of spatial frequency was found for uniform motion, whereas a bandpass property with a peak at approximately 5 cycles per degree was found for relative motion. It was also found that contrast had little effect on uniform motion, whereas the threshold decreased with increases in contrast up to 85% for relative motion. These differences cannot be attributed to possible differences in eye movements between the relative and the uniform motion conditions, because the spatial-frequency characteristics differed in the two conditions even when the presentation duration was short enough to prevent eye movements. The differences also cannot be attributed to detecting positional changes, because the velocity threshold was not determined by the total distance of the stimulus movements. These results suggest that there are two different motion pathways: one that specializes in relative motion and one that specializes in uniform or global motion. A simulation showed that the difference in the response functions of the two possible pathways accounts for the differences in the spatial-frequency and contrast dependency of the velocity threshold.     

Optical on-line running reconstruction of MR-images in the phase-scrambling Fourier-imaging technique

Recently, the use of magnetic-resonance-guided navigation to improve the safety and effectiveness of surgical procedures has shown great promise. The purpose of the present study was to develop and demonstrate an imaging strategy that allows surgeons to continue operating without delays caused by imaging. The phase-scrambling Fourier-imaging technique has two prominent characteristics: localized image reconstruction and holographic image reconstruction. The combination of these characteristics allows images to be observed even during the data-acquisition period, because the acquired signal is converted into a hologram and the image is reconstructed instantly in the coherent optical image-processing system. Experimental studies have shown that the phase-scrambling Fourier-imaging technique enables the motion of objects to be imaged more quickly than the standard fast imaging. The proposed running reconstruction strategy can be easily implemented in the well-established magnetic-resonance imaging equipment that is currently in use.     

Isotope 18O/16O ratio measurements of water vapor by use of the 950-nm wavelength region with cavity ring-down and photoacoustic spectroscopic techniques

Two optical methods, cavity ring-down spectroscopy and photoacoustic spectroscopy, are applied to the measurement of the isotope ratio 18O/16O in water-vapor samples with a Nd3+:YAG pumped-dye laser. The combination band of (2v1 + v3) in the 960-nm region of water molecules is investigated for two standard water samples, the Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water and the Standard Light Antarctic Precipitation. The results demonstrate that the two methods have the potential of compact systems for in-situ measurements of H2O isotope ratio in the environment.     

Contributions of genotoxic precursors from tributary rivers and sewage effluents to the Yodo River in Japan

The cause of water pollution in the Yodo River was examined regarding the mutagenic potentials formed by chlorination of river waters and sewage effluents along the river. Mutagenicity of the extracts from chlorinated waters was measured by Ames test using S. typhimurium TA100 strain without metabolic activation. Mutagenic formation potentials of sewage effluents were 4-5 times higher than those of the three tributary river waters, the Kizu, Uji and Katsura Rivers. The contribution rates of the pollution loads from the three river waters and total of four sewage effluents to the Yodo River were revealed to be 10.2%, 42.2%, 22.1% and 25.5%, respectively. The rate of the sewage effluents occupied one-fourth and exceeded the rates of the Kizu and Katsura Rivers. The contribution rate of the two sewage effluents to the Katsura River was 46.3%. It could be confirmed that the relationship between COD and MFP in river waters and sewage effluents was very high with a correlation coefficient. These results indicated that the waters inflowing to the Yodo River were contaminated with numerous organic compounds, and the sewage effluents especially contribute to the formation of genotoxicity by the interaction between chlorine and organic components as genotoxic precursors in the purification plants.