Suppressive effect of defatted rice bran on the oxidation of methyl linoleate

The bran collected at each of the five steps of milling yields (98–100%, 96–98%, 94–96%, 92–94% and 90–92%) was defatted. Defatted rice bran (DRB) was added to methyl linoleate (ML) under various conditions, and its suppressive effect on lipid oxidation was kinetically evaluated to investigate the effective use of surplus rice bran. The rate constant, k, empirically evaluated by the Weibull equation for the oxidation of ML with DRB, was lower than that without DRB and decreased with increasing the maximum milling yield of added DRB. The oxidation of ML strongly depended on the added amount of DRB, but the k value was almost constant for a specific amount of DBR added to ML. The dependency of the k value on relative humidity was weak, regardless of the addition of DRB. The difference between the k values for oxidation processes of ML, with and without DRB, increased with increasing temperature.     

MR perfusion imaging by alternate slab width inversion recovery arterial spin labeling (AIRASL): a technique with higher signal-to-noise ratio at 3.0?T

Object  

To propose a new arterial spin labeling (ASL) perfusion-imaging method (alternate slab width inversion recovery ASL: AIRASL) that takes advantage of the qualities of 3.0 T.     

Single-Step Per-O-Sulfonation of Sugar Oligomers with Concomitant 1,6-Anhydro Bridge Formation for Binding Fibroblast Growth Factors

Many circulating cancer-related proteins, such as fibroblast growth factors (FGFs), associate with glycosaminoglycans—particularly heparan sulfate—at the cell surface. Disaccharide analogues of heparan sulfate had previously been identified as the shortest components out of the sugars that bind to FGF-1 and FGF-2. Taking note of the typical pose of l -iduronic acid, we conceived of per-O-sulfonated analogues of such disaccharides, and devised a single-step procedure for per-O-sulfonation of unprotected sugars with concomitant 1,6-anhydro bridge formation to achieve such compounds through direct use of SO₃ ⋅ Et₃N as sulfonation reagent and dimethylformamide as solvent. The synthesized sugars based on the oligomaltose backbone bound FGF-1 and FGF-2 mostly at the sub-micromolar level, although the tetrasaccharide analogue achieved low-nanomolar binding with FGF-2.     

Split Enzyme-Based Biosensors for Structural Characterization of Soluble and Insoluble β-Glucans

β-Glucan is widely distributed in various plants and microorganisms and is composed of β-1,3-linked d-glucose units. It may have a branched short or long side chain of glucose units with β-1,6- or β-1,4-linkage. Numerous studies have investigated different β-glucans and revealed their bioactivities. To understand the structure-function relationship of β-glucan, we constructed a split-luciferase complementation assay for the structural analysis of long-chain β-1,6-branched β-1,3-glucan. The N- and C-terminal fragments of luciferase from deep-sea shrimp were fused to insect-derived β-1,3-glucan recognition protein and fungal endo-β-1,6-glucanase (Neg1)-derived β-1,6-glucan recognition protein, respectively. In this approach, two β-glucan recognition proteins bound to β-glucan molecules come into close proximity, resulting in the assembly of the full-length reporter enzyme and induction of transient luciferase activity, indicative of the structure of β-glucan. To test the applicability of this assay, β-glucan and two β-glucan recognition proteins were mixed, resulting in an increase in the luminescence intensity in a β-1,3-glucan with a long polymer of β-1,6-glucan in a dose-dependent manner. This simple test also allows the monitoring of real-time changes in the side chain structure and serves as a convenient method to distinguish between β-1,3-glucan and long-chain β-1,6-branched β-1,3-glucan in various soluble and insoluble β-glucans.     

Electromagnetic silicon MEMS resonator

We have fabricated a silicon MEMS resonator aiming at multimodal sensors, and evaluated vibration characteristics by electromagnetic drive and induced electromotive force detection. The resonance frequency of the driving voltage of 0.6 Vpp shows torsional vibration of approximately 87 kHz, and the resonance frequency is shifted toward the low‐frequency side as the driving voltage increases. Resonance characteristics due to temperature change and film stress were evaluated.     

Searching a 3D region for surface trimming

Surface trimming is widely used in surface modeling, texture mapping and medical simulation. In existing methods of surface trimming, cutting lines are usually picked manually or assumed to be known or determined by computing the intersection between two surfaces. This paper presents a new method of region search for trimming triangulated surfaces. In the method, the boundary of a region is first searched and then the geometric elements of a mesh is labeled with internal or external marks; finally, a 3D patch is obtained by re-triangulating the internal region. The proposed algorithm is suitable for interactive operations of surface trimming. Experimental results show that the algorithm is robust and efficient.     

Fretting fatigue in hydrogen gas

To clarify the effect of hydrogen gas on fretting fatigue strength of the materials, which supposed to be used for hydrogen utilization machines, fretting fatigue tests were conducted in hydrogen gas. It is important to take fretting fatigue into account in strength design, because many fatigue failure accidents have occurred at joints or contact parts between components. As a part of the experiments, an austenitic stainless steel was focused in this paper. The material was SUS 304. Fretting fatigue strength in hydrogen gas decreased compared with that in air. Tangential force coefficient increased in the reverse order of fretting fatigue strength. Therefore, one of the reasons of the decrease of fretting fatigue strength was that tangential force was different depending on the environment. Absorption of hydrogen occurred during fretting in hydrogen gas was detected. The absorption could be considered as one of the causes of the decrease of fretting fatigue strength, since fretting fatigue life of pre-charged specimen was decreased and also the crack propagation threshold of short fatigue crack was reduced by hydrogen charge.     

Chemical Design of Palladium‐Based Nanoarchitectures for Catalytic Applications

Palladium (Pd) plays an important role in numerous catalytic reactions, such as methanol and ethanol oxidation, oxygen reduction, hydrogenation, coupling reactions, and carbon monoxide oxidation. Creating Pd‐based nanoarchitectures with increased active surface sites, higher density of low‐coordinated atoms, and maximized surface coverage for the reactants is important. To address the limitations of pure Pd, various Pd‐based nanoarchitectures, including alloys, intermetallics, and supported Pd nanomaterials, have been fabricated by combining Pd with other elements with similar or higher catalytic activity for many catalytic reactions. Herein, recent advances in the preparation of Pd‐based nanoarchitectures through solution‐phase chemical reduction and electrochemical deposition methods are summarized. Finally, the trend and future outlook in the development of Pd nanocatalysts toward practical catalytic applications are discussed.