Isolation, amino acid sequence and biological activities of novel long-chain polyamine-associated peptide toxins from the sponge Axinyssa aculeata

A novel family of functionalized peptide toxins, aculeines (ACUs), was isolated from the marine sponge Axinyssa aculeate. ACUs are polypeptides with N-terminal residues that are modified by the addition of long-chain polyamines (LCPA). Aculeines were present in the sponge extract as a complex mixture with differing polyamine chain lengths and peptide structures. ACU-A and B, which were purified in this study, share a common polypeptide chain but differ in their N-terminal residue modifications. The amino acid sequence of the polypeptide portion of ACU-A and B was deduced from 3' and 5' RACE, and supported by Edman degradation and mass spectral analysis of peptide fragments. ACU induced convulsions upon intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection in mice, and disrupted neuronal membrane integrity in electrophysiological assays. ACU also lysed erythrocytes with a potency that differed between animal species. Here we describe the isolation, amino acid sequence, and biological activity of this new group of cytotoxic sponge peptides.     

ph‐Dependent Synthesis of Pepsin‐Mediated Gold Nanoclusters with Blue Green and Red Fluorescent Emission

This report demonstrates the first pH‐dependent synthesis of pepsin‐mediated gold nanoclusters (AuNCs) with blue‐, green‐, and red‐fluorescent emission from Au₅ (Au₈), Au₁₃, and Au₂₅, respectively. Pepsin is a gastric aspartic proteinase (molecular weight, 34 550 g/mol) that plays an integral role in the digestive process of vertebrates. It was found that the pH of the reaction solution was critical in determining the size of Au NCs (i.e., the number of gold atoms of AuNCs). Interestingly, enzyme function of pepsin contributes to the formation of these AuNCs. The photo‐stability of the Au₂₅ (or Au₁₃) NCs is much higher than that of Au₅NCs (i.e., Au₂₅ ～ Au₁₃ > > Au₅). The pepsin‐mediated Au₂₅NCs were also found to be useful as fluorescent sensors for the detection of Pb²⁺ ions by enhanced fluorescence and the detection of Hg²⁺ ions by fluorescence quenching. Although the detailed formation mechanisms of these AuNCs require further analysis, the synthetic route using proteinase demonstrated here is promising for preparing new types of fluorescent metal nanoclusters for application in catalysis, optics, biological labeling, and sensing.     

Two‐loop power‐flow control of grid‐connected microgrid based on equivalent‐input‐disturbance approach

This study employed the equivalent‐input‐disturbance (EID) approach to devise a two‐loop power‐flow control system that controls the output current of an inverter so as to regulate the flow of active and reactive power between a distributed generation unit and a utility grid. It actively eliminates disturbances that degrade the power quality of a microgrid. The pq theory and an all‐pass filter are employed to generate an instantaneous reference current for the control system based on the prescribed active and reactive power of a utility grid terminal. The inner loop consists of a disturbance compensator and a state observer. The disturbance compensator uses information acquired from the state observer to estimate disturbances, such as drops and harmonics in the grid voltage, and compensates for them by incorporating the equivalent input disturbance into the control law. The outer loop consists of a resonance‐based internal model and a state‐feedback controller, which enables the output current of inverter to track the instantaneous reference current. The small‐gain theorem ensures the stability of the system. The system improves the power quality and guarantees that the flow of active and reactive power from the grid and inverter has low harmonic distortion. Simulations demonstrated the effectiveness of the system. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Initiation and Growth of Cavities and Cracks along Grain Boundaries in Type 304 Stainless Steel under Creep-Fatigue Condition

Creep-fatigue tests of Type 304 stainless steel were carriedout using smooth round bar specimens. Cavities and small cracksinitiated inside the specimen were observed on the cross-section bymeans of a scanning laser microscope. The results obtained aresummarized as follows. (1) From the beginning of the creep-fatigue test,spherical cavities appear at random locations on grain boundaries, oneafter another. (2) The cavities on the grain boundaries perpendicular tothe stress axis preferentially grow, and change shape from spherical toflat oblate (or crack-like). (3) When the ligament area on a grainboundary plane reduces to a half, the cavities coalesce and bring abouta complete break of the grain boundary, which is defined as theinitiation of a small crack. (4) Mean growth rate of cavities and crackslocates in the vicinity of the crack propagation law which can bederived from the relationship between the propagation rate of largecrack and creep J-integral range fortime-dependent fatigue of Type 304 stainless steel.     

Liquid–liquid equilibrium extraction of ethanol with mixed solvent for bioethanol concentration

The extraction of ethanol with the solvents of aldehydes mixed with m-xylene was studied for the bioethanol concentration process.Furfural and benzaldehyde were selected as extraction solvents,with which the solubility of water is small,expecting large distribution coefficient of ethanol.The liquid–liquid two-phase region was the largest with m-xylene solvent,followed by benzaldehyde and furfural.The region of two liquid–liquid phase became larger with the mixed solvent of m-xylene and furfural than that with furfural solvent.The NRTL model was applied to the ethanol–water–furfural–m-xylene system,and the model could well express the liquid–liquid equilibrium of the system.For any solvent used in this study,the separation selectivity of ethanol relative to water decreased as the distribution coefficient of ethanol increased.The separation selectivity with m-xylene was the largest among the employed solvents,but the distribution coefficient was the smallest.The solvent mixture of furfural and m-xylene showed relatively high distribution coefficient of ethanol and separation selectivity,even in the higher mass fraction of m-xylene in the solvent phase.The ethanol extraction with a countercurrent multistage extractor by a continuous operation was simulated to evaluate the extraction performance.The ethanol content could be concentrated in the extract phase with relatively small number of extraction stages but low yield of ethanol was obtained.     

Development of Strategic Establishment of Technology Bases for a Fusion DEMO Reactor in Japan

The strategic establishment of technology bases required for the development of a fusion demonstration reactor (DEMO) has been discussed by joint endeavors throughout the Japanese fusion community. The mission of Fusion DEMO is to demonstrate the technological and economic feasibility of fusion energy. The basic concept of Fusion DEMO has been identified and the structure of technological issues to ensure the feasibility of this DEMO concept has been examined. The Joint-Core Team consisting of experts from the Japanese fusion community including industry has pointed out that DEMO should be aimed at steady power generation beyond several hundred thousand kilowatts, availability which must be extensible to commercialization, and overall tritium breeding sufficient to achieve fuel-cycle self-sufficiency. The necessary technological issues and activities have been sorted out along with 11 identified elements of DEMO, such as superconducting coils, blanket, divertor, and others. These will be arranged within a time line to lead to the Japanese fusion roadmap.     

Mass spectrometric analysis for high molecular weight synthetic polymers using ultrasonic degradation and the mechanism of degradation

We have investigated ultrasonic degradations of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEG) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in aqueous media by means of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOFMS). The ultrasonic degradation of polymers was monitored as a function of ultrasonication duration to examine the structural details of ultrasonic degradation polymers. PEG solution ultrasonication produced five types of oligomers (M approximately 1000 Da) with different end groups, irrespective of the initial average molecular masses (M=2, 6, 20, and 2000 kDa). Several degradation pathways with free radical reactions have been suggested to explain these degradation products: the ultrasonic degradation of PEG is initiated by breaking of the C-O bond in the PEG chain, generating polymeric radicals with two terminal groups, i.e., X*( approximately CH2CH2*) and Y*( approximately CH2CH2O*), followed by termination with extraction or release of a hydrogen atom. However, PMMA (M=1630 Da) ultrasonication generated only one type of degradation oligomer, which has a hydrogen group at both ends, the same as that of the original oligomer. It has been suggested that the presence of the radical terminal groups X*( approximately CH2*) and Y*( approximately (CH3)CCOO(CH3)C*) is due to selective C-C bond breaking in the chain during the ultrasonic degradation of PMMA. The MALDI-TOFMS combined with the ultrasonic degradation technique (UD/MALDI-TOFMS) developed in this study could be extended to the analysis of synthetic polymer structures with high molecular weights.     

Development of suitability maps for ground-coupled heat pump systems using groundwater and heat transport models

The thermophysical properties of subsurface materials (soils, sediments and rocks) and groundwater flow strongly affect the heat exchange rates of ground heat exchangers (GHEs). These rates can be maximized and the installation costs of the ground-coupled heat pump (GCHP) systems reduced by developing suitability maps based on local geological and hydrological information. Such maps were generated for the Chikushi Plain (western Japan) using field-survey data and a numerical modeling study. First, a field-wide groundwater model was developed for the area and the results matched against measured groundwater levels and vertical temperature profiles. Single GHE models were then constructed to simulate the heat exchange performance at different locations in the plain. Finally, suitability maps for GCHP systems were prepared using the results from the single GHE models. Variations in the heat exchange rates of over 40% revealed by the map were ascribed to differences in the GHE locations, confirming how important it is to use appropriate thermophysical data when designing GCHP systems.     

Isolation and characterization of a soluble and thermostable phosphite dehydrogenase from Ralstonia sp. strain 4506

Phosphite dehydrogenase (PtxD), which catalyzes the nearly irreversible oxidation of phosphite to phosphate with the concomitant reduction of NAD(+) to NADH, has great potential for NADH regeneration in industrial biocatalysts. Here, we isolated a soil bacterium, Ralstonia sp. strain 4506, that grew at 45°C on a minimal medium containing phosphite as the sole source of phosphorus. A recombinant PtxD of Ralstonia sp. (PtxD(R4506)) appeared in the soluble fraction in Escherichia coli. The purified PtxD(R4506) showed 6.7-fold greater catalytic efficiency (V(max)/K(m)) than the first characterized PtxD of Pseudomonas stutzeri (PtxD(PS)). Moreover, the purified PtxD(R4506) showed maximum activity at 50°C, and its half-life of thermal inactivation at 45°C was 80.5h, which is approximately 3,450-fold greater than that of PtxD(PS). Therefore, we concluded that PtxD(R4506), which shows high catalytic efficiency, solubility, and thermostability, would be useful for NADH regeneration applications.     

Free‐weighting matrices‐based robust wide‐area FACTS control design with considering signal time delay for stability enhancement of power systems

This paper presents a free‐weighting matrix (FWM) method based on linear control design approach for the wide‐area robust damping (WARD) controller associated with flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) device to improve the dynamical performance of the large‐scale power systems. First, the linearized reduced‐order plant model is established, which efficiently considers the time delay of the remote feedback signals transmitted by wide‐area measurement systems. Then, based on the robust control theory, the design of the FACTS‐WARD controller is formulated as the standard control problem on delay‐dependent state‐feedback robust control, which is described by a set of linear matrix inequality constraints. Furthermore, in order to obtain the optimal control parameters that can endure the maximum time delay, a FWM approach is proposed to solve the time‐dependent problem of the time‐delay system. Meanwhile, an iterative algorithm based on cone complementary linearization is presented to search out the optimal control parameters. Finally, the nonlinear simulations on the 2‐area 4‐machine and the 5‐area 16‐machine test systems are performed, to evaluate the control performance of the proposed robust wide‐area time‐delay control approach. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.