Effect of NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (IDH1, IDH2) disruption of sake yeast on organic acid composition in sake mash

The ratio of organic acids in sake mash is a very important factor affecting the taste of alcoholic beverages. To alter the organic acid composition in sake and investigate the mechanism of producing organic acids in sake mash, we examined the effect of NAD+-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) activity deficiency in sake yeast by disrupting the IDH1 or IDH2 gene. Two haploid strains (MATa or MATa genotype) isolated from sake yeast Kyokai no. 701 (K701) were disrupted using the aureobasidin A resistant gene (AUR1-C) as a selection marker. These disruptants were defective in the activity of IDH and failed to grow on medium containing glycerol as a sole carbon source. Sake meter, alcohol concentration, and glucose consumption in sake brewed with the disruptants were reduced in comparison with those of the parental strains. The production of citrate (including isocitrate), malate, and acetate by the disruptants was increased, but succinate production was reduced to approximately half in comparison with the parental strains. These results indicate that approximately half the amount of succinate in sake mash is produced via the oxidative pathway of the TCA cycle in sake yeast. While the diploid strain constructed by mating haploid disruptants for the IDH gene exhibited stronger fermentation ability than the haploid disruptants, almost similar profiles of components in sake were obtained for both strains.     

Hydration of poly(acrylic acid) lithium salts

Summary Drying and water uptake of poly(acrylic acid) lithium salts with different degrees of neutralization were studied. Though the equilibrium water uptake increased with increasing neutralization %, the slope of the plot above ca. 33 % neutralization was greater than that below this neutralization %.     

Evidence for the π-d Interaction Comparing Magnetoresistance in (EDT-DSDTFVO)2 X, X=FeCl4, GaCl4

Hall resistance and magnetic torque measurements have been carried out in the field-induced spin-density-wave (FISDW) phase of deuterated (TMTSF)₂ClO₄ for various cooling rates through the anion ordering temperature. We have found that the Hall resistance in the intermediate cooled state shows a phase transition from the non-quantized Hall phase to the quantized Hall phase (n=1) with hysteresis. We have also found that the magnetic torque in the non-quantized Hall phase rapidly decreases with increasing cooling rate. These results suggest that there is a new phase transition from the non-quantized Hall phase to the quantized Hall phase in (TMTSF)₂ClO₄.     

Paradigmatic Shifts in Automobile Manufacturing

ABSTRACT

One of the greatest problems facing the U.S. auto industry is the erosion of its manufacturing base. Another is the increasing challenge from Japan, which keeps building on its solid postwar accomplishments mapped out by such pioneers as Taiichi Ohno and Shigeo Shingo. Their enduring legacy includes a reliance on the firm's human resources for maintaining productivity and quality control. The Japanese paradigm thus has a built-in mechanism for self-improvement and competitiveness enhancement.

The continued strife in Detroit suggests that the older American paradigm must be restructured; its top-down way of conducting business must allow labor to become a genuine partner with management instead of an adversary. The Japanese immigrant plants in the United States clearly show the way to do this. While such restructuring is frequently time-consuming, the period available for reform dwindles as the Asians keep strengthening their U.S. operations.     

A simple and reproducible testing method for dialkyl phthalate migration from polyvinyl chloride products into saliva simulant

We describe a method of mechanical agitation to determine rates of dialkyl phthalate migration from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) products into saliva simulant. The method consists of rotary shaking of a sample with 30 mL of saliva simulant (pH 7.0) at 35 degrees C in a 50 mL glass tube at 300 rpm for 15 min, then measuring the amount of dialkyl phthalate in the saliva simulant by HPLC with a UV detector. The migration rates of diisononyl phthalate (DINP), di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) and di-n-butyl phthalate (DBP) from PVC plates containing about 45% (w/w) plasticizer (molded in our laboratory) were identical. However, the migration rates from molded plates containing 13% (w/w) DBP were almost double those of DINP and DEHP at the same ratios. In addition, the amounts of DINP that migrated in vitro after rotary shaking for 15 min were equivalent to those in vivo determined in saliva from volunteers who chewed plates for 60 min. The migration rates of dialkyl phthalates from 11 commercially available toys ranged from 15.6 to 85.2 micrograms/cm2/h [relative standard deviation (RSD), 3 to 12%].     

Hyperthermic treatment of canine tibia through RF inductive heating of an intramedullary nail: a new experimental approach to hyperthermia for metastatic bone tumours

Although the incidence of metastatic bone tumours is recently increasing, the local control rate of conventional treatment modalities is not satisfactory. If an intramedullary nail for the fixation of a weakened bone with metastatic lesions can be used as a heat-generating material for hyperthermia, the treatment result is expected to improve. This new approach to hyperthermic treatment of bone tumours has been investigated in a canine tibia. An intramedullary nail made of stainless steel was put into a medullary canal of a canine tibia. The leg was exposed to an alternating magnetic field of 100 kHz in the frequency and 100 Oe in the maximum intensity. The nail was inductively heated for 60 min. The temperature of the nail > 50 degrees C and the cancellous bone 5 mm from the nail was heated to a therapeutic temperature, 42.5 degrees C. After a bone labelling with tetracycline and calcein, the dogs were killed 2, 4 and 12 weeks after the heating. The area of osteonecrosis was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy analysis. The heated cancellous bone around the nail showed osteonecrosis in 2 weeks after the treatment, but it recovered completely in 12 weeks. This experiment has demonstrated the heating capability of the new hyperthermic technique and minimal toxicity to the bone, and suggests the clinical application to metastatic bone tumours.     

Kinetics of particle nucleation and growth in the emulsion polymerization of acrylic monomers

The rates of particle formation and growth during the earliest stages of the emulsion polymerization of several acrylic monomers have been studied as a function of surfactant concentration by means of the time-dependence of light scattering from the reaction mixtures. Investigated were methyl methacrylate, and methyl, ethyl and butyl acrylates at concentrations of SDS surfactant from 0 to several times the CMC. Under continuous photoinitiation the Rayleigh scattering intensities rose rapidly with slopes that increased with decreasing SDS concentration. The more water-soluble the monomer, the more slowly was the rate of increase in scattering intensity. Computer modeling, using HUFT theory, could be used to obtain values for the various parameters involved for MMA. The Fuchs stability factor, W, was found to be 1 for [SDS] = 0 and infinity for [SDS] = CMC or grester. The partition coefficient for J-mer oligomers between the aqueous and organic phases must rise exponentially with J. Electrostatic effects on radical capture by particles are considered to be negligible, but very important as they affect coagulation kinetics.     

Pulsed NMR study on the hydration of poly(acrylic acid) salts

Summary Pulsed NMR was applied to measure the spin-lattice (T₁) and spin-spin (T₂) relaxation times of the equilibrium water absorbed in poly(acrylic acid) lithium salt, sodium salt, and potassium salt. T₁ and T₂ relaxation time curves for the samples of lithium and sodium salts studied showed single phase behavior, but the sample of potassium salt exhibited two-phase behavior, indicating the existence of water fraction of higher mobility.