Ultra-steep cut-off double mode SAW filter and its application to a PCS duplexer

This paper describes the double mode surface acoustic wave (DMS) filter design techniques for achieving the ultra-steep cut-off characteristics and low insertion loss required for the Rx filter in the personal communications services (PCS) duplexer. Simulations demonstrate that the optimal combination of the additional common ground inductance Lg and the coupling capacitance Cc between the input and output terminals of the DMS filters drastically enhances the skirt steepness and attenuation for the lower frequency side of the passband. Based on this result, we propose a novel DMS filter structure that utilizes the parasitic reactance generated in bonding wires and interdigital transducer (IDT) busbars as Lg and Ce, respectively. Because the proposed structure does not need any additional reactance component, the filter size can be small. Moreover, we propose a compact multiple-connection configuration for low insertion loss. Applying these technologies to the Rx filter, we successfully develop a PCS SAW duplexer.     

Determination of the phosphorus content in potato starch using an energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence method

Potato starch is unique because of its high starch phosphorus content. The textural characteristics of potato starch change due to the presence of the starch phosphate. Thus, the measurement of phosphorus in potato starch is needed, but conventional methods require a considerable amount of time and labour. In this investigation, a simple and fast analytical procedure has been developed for the determination of the phosphorus content of potato starch with a non-destructive energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) technique. Potato starch samples were analyzed as pressed pellets using detection times of 200 s. Reference values, measured by a conventional method, namely, wet chemical analysis, were used to calibrate the ED-XRF. Calibration was done using 20 potato starch samples, and the results were validated using a second set of 15 samples. The results indicated the validity of ED-XRF as a rapid and non-destructive method for the quantitative determination of phosphorus content of potato starch. Based on the combined results of ED-XRF and Rapid Visco-Analyzer (RVA), ED-XRF is promising for predicting the peak viscosity, by RVA, of potato starch paste through the measurement of starch phosphorus content.     

Autonomic self‐healing of poly(vinyl butyral)

The self‐healing behavior of poly(vinyl butyral) (PVB) is evaluated below the glass transition temperature T_g. It is found that PVB shows autonomic self‐healing even at room temperature, although T_g is around at 76°C. Furthermore, a large amount of water is found to be adsorbed on the surface of the film. This is attributed to the surface localization of hydroxyl group in PVB, which is confirmed by X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Since the surface is plasticized by water, the scar applied by a razor blade is healed even in the glassy state of the bulk. Moreover, the healing efficiency is enhanced at high humidity condition, owing to the pronounced plasticizing effect by water. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 42008.     

Characterization of spatial cell distribution in multilayer sheet of human keratinocytes through a stereoscopic cell imaging system

A novel system was developed to characterize the spatial distribution of human keratinocytes in cultured epithelial sheet, based on stereoscopic observation of nuclei using a confocal laser microscope in combination with image processing. The presented technique allowed understanding of the proliferative and growth-arrested states of cells in multilayered sheet.     

Comparison of real-time reverse-transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification and real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for detection of noroviruses in municipal wastewater

The monitoring of NVs in municipal wastewater by both real-time RT-LAMP and real-time RT-PCR, and the comparison of these two methods with respect to NV detection were carried out. The change in NVs detected by real-time RT-LAMP agreed well with that detected by real-time RT-PCR. In contrast, the correlation between the copy number determined by real-time RT-PCR and the threshold time (Tt) determined by real-time RT-LAMP obtained during monitoring was not significant (0.1相似文献   

Inhibitory effect of anthraquinones isolated from the Noni (Morinda citrifolia) root on animal A-, B- and Y-families of DNA polymerases and human cancer cell proliferation

During the course of our studies to develop new uses for the Noni (Morinda citrifolia) root, 10 anthraquinones, rubiadin (1), rubiadin 1-methyl ether (2), lucidin (3), damnacanthol (4), 1,3-dihydroxy-2-methoxymethylanthraquinone (5), 3-hydroxy-1-methoxy-2-methoxymethylanthraquinone (6), nordamnacanthal (7), damnacanthal (8), sorandidiol (9) and morindone (10), were isolated. Compounds 5, 6, 7, 8 and 10 exhibited remarkable inhibition against the activities of animal pols, and compound 10 was the strongest inhibitor in the anthraquinones investigated. Among mammalian pols, compound 10 inhibited the pol activities of A- (pol γ), B- (pols α, δ and ε) and Y- (pols η, ι and κ) families, but did not influence the activities of X-family pols (pols β, λ and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase). The tendency of pol inhibition showed a positive correlation with the suppression of human colon cancer cell HCT116 growth. These results suggested that the Noni root containing anthraquinones may be used as an anticancer functional food.     

Composition Regulation by Flow Copolymerization of Methyl Methacrylate and Glycidyl Methacrylate with Free Radical Method

It is important to match the feeding ratio of comonomers to the composition ratio in the resulting copolymers as closely as possible in industrial production, where the goal is often to produce more a homogeneous composition in copolymers. In this study, a flow copolymerization system with a conventionally initiated free radical method, together with randomly selected polymerization conditions is investigated. It is succeeded in achieving a closer match between the composition ratio and feeding ratio than previously reported in the copolymerization of styrene with methyl methacrylate and of glycidyl methacrylate with methyl methacrylate, which will widen the range of applications, by precisely controlling the mixing and heating in a flow polymerization apparatus. This is confirmed by the fact that the estimated values of reactivity ratios, r₁ and r₂, which are used in the reaction kinetics of copolymerization, are close to 1.     

Design of a Full-Consensus Glutamate Decarboxylase and Its Application to GABA Biosynthesis

Glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) catalyses the decarboxylation of L-glutamate to gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Improvement of the enzymatic properties of GAD is important for the low-cost synthesis of GABA. In this study, utilizing sequences of enzymes homologous with GAD from lactic acid bacteria, highly mutated GADs were designed using sequence-based protein design methods. Two mutated GADs, FcGAD and AncGAD, generated by full-consensus design and ancestral sequence reconstruction, had more desirable properties than native GADs. With respect to thermal stability, the half-life of the designed GADs was about 10 °C higher than that of native GAD. The productivity of FcGAD was considerably higher than those of known GADs; more than 250 mg/L of purified enzyme could be produced in the E. coli expression system. In a production test using 26.4 g of l -glutamate and 3.0 g of resting cells, 17.2 g of GABA could be prepared within one hour, without purification, in a one-pot synthesis.     

Definition of an Index Parameter To Screen Highly Functional Enzymes Derived from a Biochemical and Thermodynamic Analysis of Ancestral meso-Diaminopimelate Dehydrogenases

Sequence-based protein design approaches are being adopted to generate highly functional enzymes; however, screening the enzymes remains a time-consuming task. In this study, by analyzing the enzymatic properties of four ancestral meso-2,6-diaminopimelate dehydrogenases (AncDAPDHs), AncDAPDH-N1, -N2, -N3, and -N4, we attempted to define a new index parameter that is helpful for efficiently screening the enzymes. Biochemical and thermodynamic analyses indicated that only AncDAPDH-N4 exhibited greater thermal stability than and activity similar to those of native DAPDHs. Structural and sequence comparisons between DAPDH from Corynebacterium glutamicum (CgDAPDH) and the AncDAPDHs suggested that “quality of mutations” is a potential index parameter. In fact, the mutations introduced from CgDAPDH to AncDAPDH-N4 correlated highly with the mutations accumulated during the evolution process from mesophiles to thermophiles. These results suggest that, although there are several exceptions, the correlation coefficient can be used as an index parameter for screening high-functioning enzymes from sequence data.     

Quantitative Analysis of The High-Yield Hydrolysis of Kelp by Laminarinase and Alginate Lyase

Kelp is an abundant, farmable biomass-containing laminarin and alginate as major polysaccharides, providing an excellent model substrate to study their deconstruction by simple enzyme mixtures. Our previous study showed strong reactivity of the glycoside hydrolase family 55 during hydrolysis of purified laminarin, raising the question of its reactivity with intact kelp. In this study, we determined that a combination of a single glycoside hydrolase family 55 β-1,3-exoglucanase with a broad-specificity alginate lyase from the polysaccharide lyase family 18 gives efficient hydrolysis of untreated kelp to a mixture of simple sugars, that is, glucose, gentiobiose, mannitol-end glucose, and mannuronic and guluronic acids and their soluble oligomers. Quantitative assignments from nanostructure initiator mass spectrometry (NIMS) and 2D HSQC NMR spectroscopy and analysis of the reaction time-course are provided. The data suggest that binary combinations of enzymes targeted to the unique polysaccharide composition of marine biomass are sufficient to deconstruct kelp into soluble sugars for microbial fermentation.