Performance of expression vector, pTD1, in insect cell-free translation system

We constructed a pTD1 vector for an insect cell-free translation system containing a 5' untranslated region (UTR) of a polyhedrin gene as a translational enhancer sequence. Its translational efficiency was about 50-fold higher than those of mRNAs without an enhancer sequence. Moreover, the pTD1 vector functioned as an effective expression vector not only in the insect cell-free translation system but also in wheat germ extract and rabbit reticulocyte lysate systems.     

Development of a novel hydrate-based refrigeration system: A preliminary overview

This paper gives a preliminary overview of our attempt at developing a hydrate-based refrigeration system based on a novel conceptual design. The system forms a closed cycle, which is more or less analogous to the conventional vapor-compression refrigeration cycle. The cycle of present interest is performed by a multiphase refrigerant, which is typically a mixture of one or two hydrate-forming substances and water. The refrigerant is required to form a hydrate at a temperature as high as 30 °C or above, desirably under a modest pressure, such that the heat released by the exothermic hydrate formation can be efficiently removed by an environmental fluid such as the atmospheric air, groundwater or river water. The hydrate slurry thus formed is depressurized to dissociate at a lower temperature, typically 5–9 °C, thereby absorbing heat from a space to be refrigerated. To confirm the feasibility of the above conceptual design of the hydrate-based refrigeration system, a thermodynamic analysis of the system and a simulation of its operation have been performed. Also a laboratory-scale refrigerator based on the above design was constructed and tested. The paper summarizes the results of these efforts to show the potential advantages of the hydrate-based refrigeration system over conventional ones and to give the prospects of our refrigeration-system development.     

Electrolytic ammonia synthesis from water and nitrogen gas in molten salt under atmospheric pressure

The authors proposed a novel ammonia synthesis method from water vapor and nitrogen gas under atmospheric pressure at lower temperature than the Haber-Bosch process. In this process, water vapor reacts with nitride ions (N³⁻) to form ammonia and oxide ions in molten salts. By conducting electrolysis, nitride ions are supplied into the melt at the cathode and oxide ions are removed from the melt at the anode. In the present study, ammonia synthesis according to above principle was confirmed to be possible experimentally.     

Microstructure and Dielectric Properties of YMnO3 Thin Films Prepared by Dip-Coating

YMnO₃ thin films with Y/Mn ratios from 1.00/1.05 to 1.00/0.90 were prepared by dip-coating from solution, in which starting materials were refluxed, and the effects of the Y/Mn ratio on the structure and dielectric properties of YMnO₃ thin films were investigated. XRD measurements indicated that the films with the Y/Mn ratios in this study were a single phase of polycrystalline YMnO₃. The lattice constants along the a -axis and c -axis lengthened with an increase in the Y/Mn ratio. FE-SEM micrographs of the films showed that the surface of the films became smoother and denser with an increase in the Y/Mn ratio. YMnO₃ thin films with good dielectric properties were obtained with an Y/Mn ratio of 1.00/0.90, which gave the smoothest and densest microstructure and the smallest leakage current.     

Effect of crystal orientation on freeze concentration of solutions

Freeze concentration is one of the methods to concentrate solution by making pure ice in the solution. In general, the ratio of condensation is focused on, and so the research on the concentration captured in ice is very limited. However, quality improvement of eliminating impurities from wastewater is a very important task. In this study, the difference of initial morphology of ice was focused on and the influence on the freeze concentration was studied. It was found that the concentration of solute captured in ice was in the following order, from bigger value, multi-crystal ice, a single crystal ice with growth direction in a-axis and a single crystal ice with growth direction in c-axis. It was clarified that the ratio of concentration between the solute captured in ice and the solute in the mother solution varied from 1/10 to 1/250, depending on the crystal orientation of the ice.     

The molecular weight ratio of monomethoxypolyethylene glycol (mPEG) to protein determines the immunotolerogenicity of mPEG proteins

Immunotolerogenic activity of monomethoxypolyethylene glycol-(mPEG) conjugated proteins is a beneficial property in proteinpharmaceutics. However, procedures for the preparation of tolerogenicmPEG proteins have not yet been defined. We prepared mPEG proteinswith different mPEG contents using three proteins, hen egg lysozyme,ovalbumin and bovine gamma globulin, and their tolerogenicitiesto antigen-specific T and B cell responses were examined. Wefound the most appropriate ratio of tolerance induction to be1.5–2.0, which is the molecular weight ratio of conjugatedtotal mPEGs to protein. This value may assist in the preparationof tolerogenic mPEG proteins.     

FILAMENTOUS FLOWER controls the formation and development of arabidopsis inflorescences and floral meristems

Correlated binary data are encountered in many areas of medical research, system reliability and quality control. For monitoring failures rates in such situations, simultaneous bivariate cumulative sum (CUSUM) charts with the addition of secondary control limits are proposed. Using an approach based on a Markov chain model, the run length properties of such a monitoring scheme can be determined for sudden, or gradual, changes in the failure rates. The proposed control charts are easy to implement, and are shown to be very effective at detecting small changes in the rate of undesirable outcomes, especially when the changes are gradual. This procedure is illustrated using bivariate outcome data arising from a series of paediatric surgeries. The methodology is sufficiently general that it may be adapted for multivariate normal, binomial or Poisson responses.     

Investigation of heterostructure between diamond and iridium on sapphire

Diamond thin film has outstanding physical and chemical properties. Diamond-on-iridium configurations have been prepared by several methods, such as microwave enhanced plasma CVD, direct currency plasma CVD, and hot filament CVD. In this study, an Ir interlayer was deposited on single crystal sapphires (Al₂O₃) with A-planes {1120} by an RF magnetron sputtering method after annealing samples. In addition, a diamond thin film was deposited by a microwave enhanced plasma chemical vapor deposition (MPCVD) method using a mixture of hydrogen and methane gases after a bias enhanced nucleation (BEN) procedure.Ir (001) was grown on the A-plane of sapphire by X-ray pole figure measurement. Diamond thin films were synthesized on each Ir/sapphire substrate and characterized by SEM, Raman spectroscopy. D {100} faces were exhibited in substantial areas of diamond films, and a flat D {100} plane was partially obtained. It is considered that diamond thin films on Ir {100} were mainly grown towards the <100> direction and were epitaxially grown in part.