Chemical‐Free Approach for Z‐Isomerization of Lycopene in Tomato Powder: Hot Air and Superheated Steam Heating above the Melting Point of Lycopene

Z‐isomers of lycopene exhibit higher bioavailability and antioxidant capacity than those of the all‐E‐isomer. Therefore, it is important to develop an efficient and environmentally friendly procedure for Z‐isomerization. The current methods for Z‐isomerization of (all‐E)‐lycopene use toxic chemicals such as organic solvents and catalysts. This study is aimed to develop a chemical‐free method for Z‐isomerization of (all‐E)‐lycopene in tomato powder by hot air and superheated steam heating. The Z‐isomerization reaction is promoted by heating above the melting point of lycopene. When heated with superheated steam, the thermal decomposition of lycopene is suppressed compared to that when heated with hot air. When tomato powder is heated at 240 °C for 5 min by superheated steam, the total Z‐isomer content and remaining lycopene are 69.0% and 90.7%, respectively, while with hot air heating, the total Z‐isomer content and remaining lycopene are 69.9% and 68.0%, respectively. These results indicate that the thermal Z‐isomerization of lycopene occurs in the molten state and heating in a low oxygen atmosphere suppresses the thermal decomposition of lycopene. Practical Applications: Tomato powder rich in lycopene Z‐isomers is an important ingredient for the food and animal feed industries. Since Z‐isomers of lycopene are more soluble in solvents including ethanol which is a low‐toxicity and environmentally friendly solvent, the efficiency of lycopene extraction with ethanol can be improved by using the Z‐isomer‐rich tomato powder as a raw material. The obtained Z‐isomer‐rich extract has a high added value because the Z‐isomers have higher bioavailability and antioxidant capacity than those of the all‐E‐isomer. In addition, since lycopene Z‐isomers exhibit higher accumulation efficiency and better color improvement in hen egg yolks than those of the all‐E‐isomer, Z‐isomer‐rich tomato powder is an effective animal feed.     

A GIS-based DRASTIC model for assessing aquifer vulnerability in Kakamigahara Heights, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan

Vulnerability assessment to delineate areas that are more susceptible to contamination from anthropogenic sources has become an important element for sensible resource management and land use planning. This contribution aims at estimating aquifer vulnerability by applying the DRASTIC model as well as utilizing sensitivity analyses to evaluate the relative importance of the model parameters for aquifer vulnerability in Kakamigahara Heights, Gifu Prefecture central Japan. An additional objective is to demonstrate the combined use of the DRASTIC and geographical information system (GIS) as an effective method for groundwater pollution risk assessment. The DRASTIC model uses seven environmental parameters (Depth to water, net Recharge, Aquifer media, Soil media, Topography, Impact of vadose zone, and hydraulic Conductivity) to characterize the hydrogeological setting and evaluate aquifer vulnerability. The western part of the Kakamigahara aquifer was dominated by "High" vulnerability classes while the eastern part was characterized by "Moderate" vulnerability classes. The elevated north-eastern part of the study area displayed "Low" aquifer vulnerability. The integrated vulnerability map shows the high risk imposed on the eastern part of the Kakamigahara aquifer due to the high pollution potential of intensive vegetable cultivation. The more vulnerable western part of the aquifer is, however, under a lower contamination risk. In Kakamigahara Heights, land use seems to be a better predictor of groundwater contamination by nitrate. Net recharge parameter inflicted the largest impact on the intrinsic vulnerability of the aquifer followed by soil media, topography, vadose zone media, and hydraulic conductivity. Sensitivity analyses indicated that the removal of net recharge, soil media and topography causes large variation in vulnerability index. Moreover, net recharge and hydraulic conductivity were found to be more effective in assessing aquifer vulnerability than assumed by the DRASTIC model. The GIS technique has provided efficient environment for analyses and high capabilities of handling large spatial data.     

MD study on temperature dependence of sputtering yield

Temperature dependence of sputtering yield is studied through molecular dynamics (MD) simulation that is performed for Ag sputtered by 12.6 keV Ar impacting at normal incidence. The target temperature is considered from 300 to 1235 K. It is found that the target temperature has little effect on the monomer yield because it comes from the energetic collision cascade. On the other hand, the sputtered cluster yield increases with the target temperature. It seems that the sputtered cluster is produced due to the thermal spike near the surface and the thermal spike is strongly influenced by the target temperature.     

Enhancement of etch rate for preparation of nano-sized ion-track membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride): Effect of pretreatment and high-LET beam irradiation

We investigated how pretreatment and high-LET beam irradiation affected the ion-track dissolution rate in poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) films by SEM observations and conductometric analysis in order to develop the preparation methodology of nano-sized ion-track membranes. PVDF thin films irradiated with four types of ion beams were exposed to a 9 mol/dm³ KOH aqueous solution after their storage in air at 120 °C. This heating treatment was found to enhance the etch rate in the latent track, both in the inner core and outer halo regions, without changing that in the bulk, probably due to the formation of parasitic oxidation products facilitating the introduction of the etching agent to improve the etchability. Additionally, the irradiation of heavier higher-LET ions, causing each track to more activated sites (like radicals), was preferable for achieving effective etching.     

Mouse Gastric Epithelial Cells Resist CagA Delivery by the Helicobacter pylori Type IV Secretion System

The initial step in bacterial infection is adherence of the bacterium to the target cell surface. Helicobacter pylori exploits the interaction of bacterial adhesin protein HopQ with human epithelial CEACAMs (CEACAM1, 5, and 6) to stably adhere to gastric epithelial cells, which is necessary for delivery of the H. pylori CagA oncoprotein into the epithelial cells via a type IV secretion system. In contrast to human CEACAMs, however, HopQ does not interact with Ceacam1 (mouse CEACAM1) in vitro or in CHO cells ectopically expressing Ceacam1. Since the mouse genome lacks Ceacam5 and Ceacam6, no significant HopQ–Ceacam interaction may occur in mouse gastric epithelial cells. Here, we found that the mouse stomach has a much lower expression level of Ceacam1 than the expression level of CEACAM1 in the human stomach. Consistently, mouse gastric epithelial cells resist CagA delivery by cagA-positive H. pylori, and the delivery is restored by ectopic expression of human CEACAM1 or CEACAM5 in mouse gastric epithelial cells. Thus, despite the fact that mice are routinely used for H. pylori infection studies, a low expression level of Ceacam1 in the mouse stomach together with the loss or greatly reduced interaction of HopQ with Ceacams make the mouse an inappropriate model for studying the role of H. pylori-delivered CagA in gastric pathogenesis, including the development of gastric cancer.     

TRANSPORT PROPERTIES OF CELLULAR FOOD MATERIALS UNDERGOING FREEZE-DRYING

The samples of sliced and mashed apples were freeze-dried by controlling their surface temperatures over the usual pressure range of commercial operations. The surface of sliced samples could not be maintained at above 10°C in order to prevent the frozen layer from melting, while that of mashed samples was allowed to heat up to 70°C.

Thermal conductivities and permeabilities were determined by applying the uniformly-retreating-ice front model to the dried layer of the samples undergoing freeze-drying. The values of permeability for the mashed samples were found to depend on the ice-crystallization time during freezing. The results indicated that the drying rate of sliced samples was limited by the transfer rate of water vapor flowing through the dried layer. A cellular structural model is proposed for predicting the permeability of the dried layer, based on the resistance of the cell membrane to molecular transfer of water vapor.     

Simple evaluation of aortic arch calcification by chest radiography in hemodialysis patients

Vascular calcification is associated with a poor prognosis in dialysis patients. It can be assessed with computed tomography but simple inoffice techniques may provide useful information. We compared the results obtained with a simple noninvasive technique with those obtained using multidetector computed tomography for aortic arch calcification volume (AoACV) in chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients. The enrolled study subjects were 63 (32 men and 31 women) maintenance HD patients. Calcification of the aortic arch was semiquantitatively estimated with a AoAC score (AoACS) on plain chest radiology. The AoACV was increased, with a mean value of 6.6 ranging from 0% to 36.5%. The coefficient of intraobserver variation was less than 2.5%. Aortic arch calcification score was highly correlated with AoACV (r=0.635, P<0.001). Multiple regression analysis showed age (F value=12.62, P<0.001) and pulse pressure (F value=4.54, P=0.037) to be significant independent determinants of AoACS. In conclusion, a simple measurement of AoACS may be useful for inoffice imaging to choose a therapeutic regimen in HD patients.     

Extraction of lanthanide ions from aqueous solution by bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid with room-temperature ionic liquids

Extractions of five kinds of lanthanide metal ions by bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (DEHPA) with [1-Cn-3-methylimidazolium][PF₆](Cn = C₂, C₄) or [1-butyl-4-methylpyridinium][PF₆] were carried out under various DEHPA and HNO₃ concentrations from 0 to 1 M and under different temperature conditions from 298 to 333 K. These results were compared with those using the conventional organic solvent, hexane, in terms of their distribution coefficient values. Under all of the conditions in this study, the ionic liquid system shows more than three times greater extractability for lanthanide compared to when hexane was used. The distribution coefficient of lanthanide ions decreased as the length of the alkyl chain increased from the ethyl to the butyl. In addition, the imidazolium cation generally shows a higher distribution coefficient compared to the pyridinium cation in an ionic liquid. The concentration ratio of lanthanides and DEHPA resulted in an extraction affinity transition for lanthanides. Also evaluated in this study were issues related to the selectivity associated with the lanthanide mixture and the dependency of the ionic radius during lanthanide extraction.     

Nonlinear Earthquake Response Characteristics of a Central Clay Core Rockfill Dam

The effect of the 2008 Iwate-Miyagi Nairiku earthquake (M_J 7.2), Japan on the Aratozawa dam, which is a 74.4 m high rockfill dam with a central clay core located in the area, was studied with a main focus on the change in the vibration period, shear wave velocity, shear modulus, and pore-water pressure. In a vertical section of the central part of the dam, three sets of 3-component accelerometers and 15 pore water pressure meters were installed. During the main shock, the acceleration exceeded 10 m/s² at the gallery, inducing large shear strains in excess of 10^-3 and a sudden build-up of the excess pore water pressure in the core. Due to the large strains, the shear wave velocity and shear modulus showed a significant decrease from their initial values and the vibration period was elongated. The decreased shear wave velocity gradually recovered toward the end of the main shock, and continued to recover with the passage of time. The full recovery of the wave velocity was found to take at least one year, while the dissipation of the excess pore water pressure proceeded more quickly than the recovery of the wave velocity.