Lipid composition of 30 species of yeast

The detailed composition of cellular lipid of more than 23 species of yeast has been determined quantitatively by thinchrography on quartz rods, a method previously used for estimating cellular lipids of seven species of yeast. That data was fortified by neutral and phospholipid quantitations on 30 species of yeast cells. Most of the test organisms contained 7–15% total lipid and 3–6% total phospholipid per dry cell weight, except for the extremely high accumulation of triglycerides in two species ofLipomyces. Qualitatively, 30 species of yeast cells contained similar neutral lipid constituents (triglyceride, sterol ester, free fatty acid, and free sterol) and polar lipid components (phosphatidyl choline, phosphatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl serine, phosphatidyl inositol, cardiolipin, and ceramide monohexoside) without minor constituents. Based on the quantitative composition of neutral lipids, the 30 species of yeast were divided into two groups, the triglyceride predominant group and the sterol derivative group. These groupings were fairly well overlapped from the standpoint of the distribution characteristics of fatty acid. The relative polar lipid compositions also grossly resembled each other. Only one exception of polar lipid composition in yeast cells was found inRhodotorula rubra species which contained phosphatidyl ethanolamine as the most abundant phospholipid. Fatty acid distribution patterns in yeast cells consistently coincided with other reports concerning fatty acid composition of yeast cells. Correlation of lipid composition and classification of yeasts are suggested and discussed. A part of this investigation has been reported at the 14th conference of the Japan Oil Chemists' Society, Nagoya, Japan, October 1975.     

Generalized unequal length lapped orthogonal transform for subband image coding

Generalized linear phase lapped orthogonal transforms with unequal length basis functions (GULLOTs) are considered. The length of each basis of the proposed GULLOT can be different from each other, whereas all the bases of the conventional GenLOT are of equal length. In general, for image coding application, the long basis for a low-frequency band and the short basis for a high-frequency one are desirable to reduce the blocking and the ringing artifact simultaneously. Therefore, the GULLOT is suitable especially for a subband image coding. In order to apply the GULLOT to a subband image coding, we also investigate the size-limited structure to process the finite length signal, which is important in practice. Finally, some design and image coding examples are shown to confirm the validity of the proposed GULLOT.     

Bacterial contamination of ready-to-eat foods and fresh products in retail shops and food factories.

Raw vegetables cut for salad, cooked salad, cooked rice, boiled noodles, bean curd, and cooked Japanese foods were purchased in 27 retail shops in Tokyo. Intact vegetables before being processed and ready-to-eat fresh salad products were obtained from two food factories located in the suburbs of Tokyo. Two hundred thirty-eight retail samples, 137 samples of intact vegetables, and 159 samples of fresh products were examined for aerobic plate count (APC), coliforms, Escherichia coli, Listeria spp., Staphylococcus aureus, and Bacillus cereus. The APC of retail foods were 2.1 to 5.7 log CFU/g, and the range for the coliforms was 0.1 to 2.3 log CFU/g. The APC and coliform values showed that the raw vegetables cut for salad were the most heavily contaminated among the six kinds of ready-to-eat foods examined. Although L. monocytogenes was not detected, two samples of raw vegetables and five kinds of cooked foods yielded Listeria spp. S. aureus was detected in one sample of Japanese cooked food. The APC of the intact vegetables were 2.9 to 7.3 log CFU/g upon arrival and 2.2 to 7.2 log CFU/g after 3 days storage at 10 degrees C. The APC of the fresh products were 3.4 to 7.6 log CFU/g upon arrival and 4.7 to 8.7 log CFU/g after 3 days storage at 10 degrees C. The isolation rates for coliforms were 6.1 to 50% for intact vegetables and 50 to 66.7% for fresh products. E. coli was detected only in the fresh products. B. cereus was isolated from 20.1% (17 of 81) of the intact vegetables and 9.2% (8 of 87) of the fresh products.     

Spectrophotometric determination of trace arsenic in water samples using a nanoparticle of ethyl violet with a molybdate-iodine tetrachloride complex as a probe for molybdoarsenate

A new spectrophotometric method was developed for the determination of low ppb levels of arsenic in water. We found that Ethyl Violet with molybdate-iodine tetrachloride complex forms nanoparticles under acidic conditions, which provide a sensitive probe for molybdoarsenate. The nanoparticles form stable particles with a diameter micrometers in size in the presence of heteropolyacid, and the resulting particles give a purple color to the apparently homogeneous solution, the intensity of which depends on the arsenic concentration. The nanoparticle itself is unstable due to conversion of the dye to a colorless carbinol species under acidic conditions without heteropolyacid. Although triphenylmethane dyes have been the subject of a number of investigations, there do not appear to be any reports on the dye particles for trace determination. The calibration curve is linear up to 20 microg L-1 arsenic, and the detection limit is 0.5 microg L-1 (6.6 x 10(-9) mol L-1). The coefficient of variation for spectrophotometry at 10 microg L-1 is 5.8% (n = 8). Furthermore, it is possible to detect concentrations as low as 1 microg L-1 arsenic visually using this method. The interferences from phosphorus and silica were eliminated using an anion exchange column and sodium fluoride as a masking agent, respectively. The proposed method has been successfully applied to water samples in abandoned mine water, groundwater, and river water. There was good agreement between the results obtained by the proposed method and those by hydride generation atomic absorption spectrometry. Since this method is specific for As(V), it is applicable to the speciation of arsenic oxidation states. Our method has enormous practical potential for simple and field detection of arsenic, requiring no complex apparatus or skilled laboratory support.     

Modified keratin sponge: binding of bone morphogenetic protein-2 and osteoblast differentiation

A keratin sponge was chemically modified to obtain carboxyl and amino sponges by the alkylation of a large amount of active SH group on keratin proteins with iodoacetic acid and 2-bromoethylamine, respectively. The carboxyl sponge having a large amount of carboxyl group was a scaffold that could bind significant amounts of basic bioactive proteins, such as lysozyme and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-2, and drugs. Lysozyme (maximum 3.7 mg), a model of basic cytokines such as BMP-2, was absorbed by the carboxyl sponge (4.8 mg), but not by the amino sponge. The lysozyme was rapidly released from the carboxyl sponge in a buffer containing at a concentration higher than 0.5 M, but at 0.15 M, near the physiological ionic strength, after initial burst (only 11%), no significant release was observed (15%, 48 h). BMP-2 also bound the carboxyl sponge. The preosteoblast cells grown inside the BMP-2-loaded sponge differentiated, whereas those grown outside the sponge did not, suggesting that no significant amount of BMP-2 leaked into the surrounding media. The effects of BMP-2 were confined inside modified keratin sponge. Therefore, using in vivo, we expect that only internal osteogenesis will be induced and that no external heterotopis ossification will be induced.     

Flexible solar-cell from zinc oxide nanocrystalline sheets self-assembled by an in-situ electrodeposition process

Zinc oxide nanocrystalline sheets were self-assembled on a flexible polymer substrate to act as the electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells by an in situ-construction electrodeposition process. It was discovered that the nanosheet-based solar cell exhibited better performance than a nanoparticle-based solar cell or a well-oriented nanowire-based solar cell. The nanosheet microstructure has advantages which include the depression of loss during photoelectron transport, the increase of dye compound adsorption, and the enhance of incident light capture. As a result, the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells can be obviously improved. This success provides a feasible bottom-up approach for integrating a solar cell together with nanodevices and microcircuits on a flexible substrate which can work with self-supplied solar energy.     

X-Ray Diffraction Study of Correlated Electron System at Low Temperatures

By using an ultra-low temperature X-ray diffractometer, we studied low temperature phase transitions of several materials. These phase transitions are classified into a ferro quadrupole ordered phase, that is, Jahn–Teller distortion (TmVO, ZnCrO), an antiferro quadrupole ordered phase (CeB, PrPb), and a superconducrivity (MgB). We also investigated unknown phases, such as the low temperature phase in PrPtBi and the 4th phase in CeLaB. Our low temperature X-ray measurement gives rise to a fruitful information about the phase transition. Not only a whole profile of the reflection peaks, which can be analyzed by the Rietveld method, we also made the precise measurement of the temperature dependence of the integrated intensity of the reflection peak, the full width at half maximum, and the lattice spacing for some fixed reflections. The temperature dependence of the integrated intensity (I.I.) can be expressed by the Debye–Waller expression. At low temperatures, the change of the phonon frequency can be obtained from the I.I. through the Debye–Waller factor. In MgB we observed the hardening of the phonon and the softening of phonon above and below the superconducting transition temperature, respsctively. This result suggests the relevant mechanisim of superconductivity in MgB is the electron–phonon interaction. From the precise measurement of the lattice constant, we found the negative thermal expansion at low temperatures in many correlated electron system. This negative thermal expansion can be explained by the Fermi liquid theory by Misawa.     

Involvement of Virus-Induced Interferon Production in IgG Autoantibody-Mediated Anemia

Infection with viruses, such as the lactate dehydrogenase-elevating virus (LDV), is known to trigger the onset of autoimmune anemia through the enhancement of the phagocytosis of autoantibody-opsonized erythrocytes by activated macrophages. Type I interferon receptor-deficient mice show enhanced anemia, which suggests a protective effect of these cytokines, partly through the control of type II interferon production. The development of anemia requires the expression of Fcγ receptors (FcγR) I, III, and IV. Whereas LDV infection decreases FcγR III expression, it enhances FcγR I and IV expression in wild-type animals. The LDV-associated increase in the expression of FcγR I and IV is largely reduced in type I interferon receptor-deficient mice, through both type II interferon-dependent and -independent mechanisms. Thus, the regulation of the expression of FcγR I and IV, but not III, by interferons may partly explain the exacerbating effect of LDV infection on anemia that results from the enhanced phagocytosis of IgG autoantibody-opsonized erythrocytes.     

Dissolution, passivity and its breakdown on iron whisker crystals

The anodic polarization behaviour of iron whisker crystals was investigated in a neutral solution with or without the presence of chloride ion, with special attention to the role played by surface defects in the dissolution, the passivation and the pitting of iron. The grown whisker used was substantially dislocation-free and the defect density was varied by twisting of whisker. With increase in the angle of twisting, the anodic dissolution current increased in a chloride-free solution, whereas it decreased in a chloride-containing solution. The defect density in the substrate had no remarkable effect on passivation but the thickness of the passive film was slightly increased on twisted whiskers. The anodic polarization curve of a grown whisker in a chloride-containing solution did not exhibit a distinct pitting potential. By twisting of whisker, however, a current rise due to pitting appeared on the polarization curve and the apparent pitting potential shifted in the negative direction with increasing angle of twisting. Potentiostatic polarization experiments in a chloride-containing solution showed the emergence of random current pulses due to the breakdown of passive film and to repassivation. It is highly probable that the breakdown of the passive film occurs at the physical or chemical inhomogeneities in the passive film not associated with dislocation termini but that pitting occurs only when the breakdown occurs at emergent dislocation sites.