Chemical conversion and liquid–liquid extraction of 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural from fructose by slug flow microreactor

A dehydration of fructose in the water/methyl isobuthyl ketone (MIBK) biphasic system can yield 5‐hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) to be successfully extracted into the organic MIBK phase. The HMF production and yield in MIBK phase was discussed by using a simplified model taking into consideration of the slug flow. The extraction resistance of HMF across the interface between water and MIBK depended on the line velocity and the flow rate ratio. It was likely that the velocity field generated in the slug flow contributed to an increase in the mass transfer of HMF. © 2016 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 62: 2135–2143, 2016     

Model system of bulking and flocculation in mixed culture of Sphaerotilus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. for dissolved oxygen deficiency and high loading

A mixed continuous culture system was made up as a model for bulking and flocculation phenomena of the activated sludge to study the effect of dissolved oxygen (DO) deficiency and the effect of high organic loading. The system consisted of a floc forming bacterium and a filamentous bacterium which were isolated from the activated sludge and were identified as Pseudomonas sp. and Sphaerotilus sp., respectively. Sphaerotilus sp. had potential to cause a filamentous bulking phenomenon on the activated sludge. It was observed that the filamentous microorganism showed three kinds of growth form, filamentous form, pellet form and dispersed form, and that the floc former showed two kinds of growth form, good floc form and dispersed form. In the model system, these changes of growth form of two microorganisms, which could be thought as the cause of settling characteristics changes, depended on the DO level and the dilution rate (as a substitution for organic loading). The DO level also influence the aggregative ability of each microorganism and the maximum oxygen uptake rate, Q_O2max, of filamentous microorganism. The proportions of both microorganisms in model system were inverted reversibly by the DO level or the dilution rate changes.     

Textile‐Based Flexible Tactile Force Sensor Sheet

The next generation of electronics will include human‐interactive flexible sensor sheets to monitor health. One approach is to realize practical macroscale low‐cost sensor arrays to monitor pressure distribution and health conditions without directly attaching a device onto the body. However, practical requirements such as reliability, scalability, and washability are not often discussed as most studies focus on the sensing sensitivity and validations. This study demonstrates an all textile‐based tactile force sensor sheet that covers the above requirements. By considering the device design and materials, high reliability/repeatability (≈250 000 cycles at ≈5 kPa) and washability are realized. These are important factors for practical applications for human‐interactive macroscale sensor sheets. In addition to the fundamental characteristics, pressure distribution mapping and respiration rate monitoring are confirmed by placing the sensor sheets on a bed, chair, and floor.     

Synthesis of pyridine-moieties-containing poly(acylhydrazone)s and solute separation through their membranes

Poly(acylhydrazone)s containing pyridine moieties were synthesized from 2,6-pyridinedicaboxaldehyde and each of five dihydrazides. Although most of the polycondensates were insoluble or sparingly soluble and of low molecular weight, the polymers from malonyldihydrazide were highly soluble and readily gave tough films. Their performances as separation membranes were exammed in reverse osmosis, gas separation, and pervaporation (PV). The membranes showed a good performance in PV and were water permselective for aqueous alcohols and aprotic solutes, showing to be very effective to break azeotropes with high separation factors and to preferentially separate water from high concentration feeds, particularly in butanols and THF. Deviation from ideal flux, swelling degree, and some physicochemical parameters such as solubility parameter, molar volume, and vapor pressure were correlated to the membrane performances in a wide range of feed concentrations of the above two solute groups. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Raman imaging of carious lesions using a hollow optical fiber probe

Raman spectroscopy using a hollow optical fiber probe with a glass ball lens at the distal end is proposed for detection of early caries lesions. Raman spectroscopy on carious lesions of extracted teeth showed that the probe enables measurement with a high signal-to-noise ratio when combined with a ball lens with a high refractive index. The proposed probe and lens combination detects changes in Raman spectra caused by morphological differences between sound and carious enamel. We also obtained a high-contrast image of an early carious lesion by scanning the tooth surface with the probe.     

Moisture sorption/desorption behavior of various manmade cellulosic fibers

The kinetics of dynamic water vapor sorption and desorption on viscose, modal, cotton, wool, down, and polyester fibers and lyocell knit fabrics were investigated according to the parallel exponential kinetics (PEK) model. The total equilibrium moisture regain (M_inf(total)) in all the materials decreased with increasing temperature. However, the partial equilibrium fast sorption, determined by PEK simulation at 60% relative humidity (RH) and 36°C, was larger than that at 20°C, whereas the partial equilibrium slow sorption was smaller. The characteristic times in fast sorption (τ₁) and in slow sorption (τ₂) for lyocell were reduced when the conditions were changed from 60% RH and 20°C to 36°C, whereas those for the other fibers increased. Lyocell exhibited the highest M_inf(total) value and the lowest τ₁ and τ₂ values, and this suggested high equilibrium moisture content and fast moisture uptake/release, that is, high moisture accessibility for lyocell. The relationships between the moisture regain, hysteresis, water retention capacity, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface volume in the materials were also examined. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 1621–1625, 2005     

Development of multilocus single strand conformation polymorphism (MLSSCP) analysis of virulence genes of Listeria monocytogenes and comparison with existing DNA typing methods

Development of rapid and simple typing methods is required for analyzing the distribution and contamination routes of food-borne pathogens. We established a simple typing method for Listeria monocytogenes using MLSSCP (Multilocus Single Strand Conformation Polymorphism) analysis. Four virulence genes, hlyA, iap, actA and inlB were amplified by PCR, digested with endonucleases and applied to gels for SSCP. As banding patterns have been shown to reflect even a single nucleotide difference, this method has a potential discriminatory power comparable to that of sequencing analysis. The 64 strains isolated from five meat processing plants were divided into 18 groups by this MLSSCP. Additionally, clustering obtained with this method showed strong correspondence with phylogenetic lineages I and II, and was achieved with much less expenditure in time and cost than is required for other methods, such as MLST. The validity of the MLSSCP lineage classification was confirmed by PFGE, AFLP and ribotyping results. This newly developed MLSSCP method is suitable when obtaining accurate results quickly and simply is crucial.     

Structure-Based Design,Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one-Based p38 MAP Kinase Inhibitors: Part 1

We identified a lead series of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase inhibitors using a structure-based design strategy from high-throughput screening of hit compound 1 . X-ray crystallography of 1 with the kinase showed an infrequent flip of the peptide bond between Met109 and Gly110, which was considered to lead to high kinase selectivity. Our structure-based design strategy was to conduct scaffold transformation of 1 with maintenance of hydrogen bond interactions with the flipped hinge backbone of the enzyme. In accordance with this strategy, we focused on scaffold transformation to identify imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one derivatives as potent inhibitors of the p38 MAP kinase. Of the compounds evaluated, 21 was found to be a potent inhibitor of the p38 MAP kinase, lipopolysaccharide-induced tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) production in human monocytic leukemia cells, and TNF-α-induced production of interleukin-8 in human whole blood cells. Herein we describe the discovery of potent and orally bioavailable imidazo[4,5-b]pyridin-2-one-based p38 MAP kinase inhibitors that suppressed cytokine production in a human whole blood cell-based assay.     

Defensive behaviors in rats following septal and septal-amygdala lesions.

Results of 2 experiments, utilizing 88 male albino Wistar rats, indicated that septal damage produced hyperdefensiveness rather than attack behavior or general hyperreactivity. Further division of this group indicated that damage to sites anterior and ventral to the septal area, sites previously implicated in the "septal syndrome," produced maximal effect on these behaviors. When amygdala lesions were combined with septal damage, enhanced defensive responding was almost eliminated. Results also indicate that amygdaloid mechanisms are involved in the regulation of conspecific defensive behaviors. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three Major Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the Waxy Gene Correlated with the Amounts of Extra-long Chains of Amylopectin in Rice Cultivars with S or L-type Amylopectin

Extra-long chains (ELC) of amylopectin in rice endosperm are synthesized by granule-bound starch synthase I encoded by the Waxy (Wx) gene, which primarily synthesizes amylose. Previous studies showed that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in intron 1 and exon 6 of the Wx gene influences ELC amount. However, whether these SNPs are conserved among rice cultivars and if any other SNPs are present in the Wx gene remained unknown. Here, we sequenced the Wx gene from 17 rice cultivars with S or L-type amylopectin, including those with known ELC content and those originating in China with unique starch properties, as well as typical japonica and indica cultivars. In addition to the two SNPs described above, an additional SNP correlating with ELC content was found in exon 10. Low ELC cultivars (<3.0 %) had thymine at the splicing donor site of intron 1, Tyr224 in exon 6, and Pro415 in exon 10. Cultivars with moderate ELC content (4.1–6.9 %) had guanine at the splicing donor site of intron 1, Ser224 in exon 6, and Pro415 in exon 10. Cultivars with high ELC content (7.7–13.9 %) had guanine at the splicing donor site of intron 1, Tyr224 in exon 6, and Ser415 in exon 10. The chain length distribution pattern of amylopectin was correlated with the amounts of SSIIa found in starch granules and gelatinization temperature, but not with ELC content. The combinations of SNPs in the Wx gene found in this study may provide useful information for screening specific cultivars with different ELC content.