Nitrate percolation and discharge in cropped Andosols and Gray lowland soils of Japan

Contamination of groundwater with nitrate (NO₃) derived from agricultural activity is serious problem in many countries worldwide. We investigated the annual (growing and non-growing seasons) behavior of NO₃–N in the soil pore water of cropped Andosols and Gray lowland soils under eight crop groups (Type A: paddy rice, Type B: winter crops, Type C: vegetables 1, Type D: vegetables 2, Type E: vegetables and forages, Type F: legume crops, Type G: orchard, and Type H: grass). In the vegetable group (Type C) and the orchard group (Type G), which required large amounts of fertilizer and frequent top-dressing, NO₃–N concentrations in the soil pore water were extremely high. In these agricultural lands, it was clear that the inorganic nitrogen produced by nitrification in surface soil was dominantly discharged from a depth of 90 cm in July to September. The descending order of the amount of discharge of NO₃–N (N-discharge) was Type C > G > D > E > F > B > H > A for the Andosol, and Type G > C > F > D > E > B > H > A for the Gray lowland soil. If fertilization of the vegetables and orchard was performed based on the standard application amount, the annual average NO₃–N concentration at a depth of 90 cm exceeds 10 mg L^?1. To reduce the risk of groundwater contamination by NO₃–N, we calculated the annual cumulative water flux density and annual cumulative NO₃–N flux density. We examined the calculated fertilizer amount and proposed reduced fertilizer application amounts so that the annual average concentration of NO₃–N in soil pore water would not exceed 10 mg L^?1. The standard application amount of nitrogen fertilizer for vegetables should be reduced by 65.8 and 30.8 kg ha^?1 in the Andosol and the Gray lowland soil, respectively. We also proposed that the standard application amount of nitrogen fertilizer be reduced by 59.9 and 40.7 kg ha^?1 in Andosol orchards and Gray lowland soil orchards, respectively.     

Derivatization for stabilizing sialic acids in MALDI-MS

While matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) is useful in oligosaccharide analysis, the sialic acid, or N-acetylneuraminic acid (NANA), moiety of an oligosaccharide is liable to dissociation in- or postsource during mass measurement. In this study, we tried to stabilize the moiety by amidation, as in the case of peptides (Sekiya, S.; Wada, Y. Tanaka, K. Anal. Chem. 2004, 76, 5894-5902), and found 4-(4,6-dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazin-2yl)-4-methylmorpholinium chloride to be a desirable condensing agent. Amidation stabilized the glycosidic bond with NANA and suppressed its preferential cleavage by in-source decay, postsource decay, or collision-induced dissociation. In addition, the suppressed dissociation considerably improved the yield of the B/Y type ions for structural analysis by MS/MS. These results demonstrate that amidation is an effective derivatization to reinforce the structural analysis of sialylated oligosaccharides by MALDI-MS. In addition, amidation with (15)N-labeled ammonium chloride decreases the mass shift from the acid to amide form to just 0.013, reducing the complexity of mass spectral interpretation and database searching.     

Spin-polarized light-emitting diodes with Mn-doped InAs quantum dot nanomagnets as a spin aligner

We have fabricated and characterized surface-emitting, spin-polarized light-emitting diodes with a Mn-doped InAs dilute magnetic quantum dot spin-injector and contact region grown by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy, and an In(0.4)Ga(0.6)As quantum dot active region. Energy-dispersive X-ray and electron energy loss spectroscopies performed on individual dots indicate that the Mn atoms incorporate within the dots themselves. Circularly polarized light is observed up to 160 K with a maximum degree of circular polarization of 5.8% measured at 28 K, indicating high-temperature spin injection and device operation.     

Efficacy of combination therapy (hepatectomy and prophylactic arterial chemoinfusion) for liver metastases of colorectal cancer

From 1979 to 1997, 146 patients had hepatectomy for metastases of colorectal cancer (curative B: 122; curative C: 24). We categorized the severity of liver metastases as follows, H1: one lobe; H2: bilateral but less than five, and H3: bilateral with five or more lesions. In H1 and H2 patients, we compared the survival rate after resection alone (including repeat hepatectomy) with that after combination therapy (resection and prophylactic arterial chemoinfusion of 12-24 g of 5-FU). In H1 patients, the 3-year survival rate of the resected group (n = 74) and combination group (n = 6) was 47.2 and 53.3, respectively. In H2 patients, the resected group (n = 16) and combination group (n = 7) had survival rates of 34.5 and 100%, respectively. In H1 cases, the 3-year recurrence rate in the remnant liver was 63.4 versus 16.7% and in H2 cases it was 58.0 versus 0%. H3 patients received one week of continuous prophylactic arterial chemoinfusion [total dose of 5-FU = 6 g]. All four patients in the H3 combination group are alive at 20, 13, 13, and 12 months after resection, while the median survival of the resection only group (n = 4) was 12.5 months. We suggest that our combination therapy may be applicable to all patients with liver metastases of colorectal cancer.     

Flow regime transition criteria for upward two-phase flow in vertical narrow rectangular channels

In relation to the cooling system of high performance microelectronics, a high power research reactor with plate type fuels and plasma facing components of a fusion reactor, study of two-phase flow in a narrow rectangular channel has been paid considerable attention, recently. For the two-fluid model, direct geometrical parameters such as the void fraction should be used in flow-regime criteria. From this point of view, flow-regime transition criteria for vertical upward flows in narrow rectangular channels have been developed considering the mechanisms of flow-regime transitions. The basic concept of the present modeling followed the Mishima and Ishii model for vertical upward two-phase flows in round tubes. Newly developed criteria have been compared with the existing experimental data for air–water flows in narrow rectangular channels with the gaps of 0.3–17 mm. The present criteria showed satisfactory agreements with those data. Further comparisons with data for steam–water in a rectangular channel at relatively high system pressures have been made. The results confirmed that the present flow-regime transition criteria could be applied over wide ranges of parameters as well as to boiling flow.     

Microstructures and Mechanical Property of MoSi2/TSi2(T=Cr,V,Nb,Ta,Ti)Two-Phase Alloys

In order to improve the low temperature ductility and high temperature strength ofMoSi2 while keeping its superior high temperature oxidation resistance, the present work attempts to combine MoSi2with the C40 type disilicides of transition metals including Cr, V, Nb, Ta and Ti. The possibility of producing a thermally compatible composite of MoSi2 and the C40 disilicides is discussed by critical assessment of MoSi2-TSi2(T=Cr, V,Nb,Ta, Ti) pseudo-binary phase diagrams. Relative phase stability between the CIIb MoSi2 and the C40 TSi2 is investigated and lamellar MoSi2/TSi2 two-phase microstructures are obtained by appropriate choice of composition and heat-treament. Preliminary result on the microhardness of MoSi2/TSi2two-phase alloys is also discussed.     

Sound and mechanised compositional verification of input‐output conformance

This paper mechanises conformance verification in the setting of the CSP process algebra. The verification strategy is captured by a theorem stated as a process refinement expression, which can be verified by a model checker such as FDR. The conformance relation, cspio , distinguishes input and output events. The process algebraic framework of CSP is used to address compositional conformance verification by establishing compositionality properties for cspio with respect to the CSP operators. Although cspio has been defined in the standard CSP traces model, one can address quiescence situations using a special output event, in which case it is formally established that cspio is equivalent to Tretmans ioco . All the results have been mechanically proved using the CSP‐Prover. The proposed testing theory has been adopted in an industrial context involving collaboration with Motorola, on testing mobile applications. Several examples and a case study are presented to illustrate the overall approach. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A study of the retrogradation process in five argentine rice starches

Rate of the retrogradation process of five new argentine genotypes rice starches with different amylose contents and gelatinization temperatures during storage at 4.5 ± 0.5 °C was studied using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).Significant differences were not found among transition temperatures, i.e., T₀ (onset temperature), T_p (peak temperature) and T_c (conclusion temperature), of non-waxy genotypes when studied using DSC. An increased retrogradation enthalpy (ΔH, mJ/mg) with the storage time occurred with all non-waxy samples. The waxy genotype, W4109, did not show a retrogradation peak for the period under study. Genotypes with high total amylose content (TAM) retrograded more than those with lower content. The kinetic parameters “k” and “n” were evaluated using the Avrami model appearing to be related to the water-soluble amylose (SAM) content. Relationship between the retrogradation degree (%R) and the water-insoluble amylose (IAM) content was found. Gelatinization temperature of the starch (T_G) seemed to affect the retrogradation rate.     

Stimulation of retinal pigment epithelial cell growth by neuropeptides in vitro

PURPOSE: The proliferation of many cell types are regulated by cytokines and neuropeptides by autocrine and paracrine mechanisms. Retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells are also regulated by cytokines. But RPE cells are very close to the neural retina which has some neuropeptides. The present study was to investigate the effects of neuropeptides on the growth of RPE cells. METHODS: RPE cells were obtained from the eyes of 11 day old chick embryos and cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's culture medium containing 10% fetal calf serum. The growth of RPE cells was evaluated by [3H]-thymidine uptake. RESULTS: Substance P, beta-endorphin and calcitonin gene-related peptide markedly stimulated the growth of RPE cells. The effects of methionine-enkephalin, somatostatin and vasoactive intestinal peptide were intermediate. The strongest effects of substance P, beta-endorphin and calcitonin gene-related peptide were observed at 10(-6) to 10(-7) M. The stimulation of RPE cells with beta-endorphin was inhibited by naloxone, suggesting that the stimulation with beta-endorphin is mediated by an opioid receptor. beta-endorphin and substance P induced RPE cell growth stimulating activity. Leucine-enkephalin and neuropeptide Y did not affect the growth of RPE cells. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that neuropeptides play an important role in the regulation of RPE cell growth.