Aerial imaging steganography method for aerial imaging by retro-reflection with dual acrylic ball

Optical Review - This paper proposes a novel steganography method to show an aerial image that is formed with aerial imaging by retro-reflection by use of dual transparent balls made of acrylic...     

Recent examples of the use of biocatalysts with high accessibility and availability in natural product synthesis

Utilization of biocatalysts with high accessibility and availability, which have recently been applied in the preparation of enantiomerically enriched starting materials and synthetic intermediates for natural product syntheses (mainly 2013–2017) are summarized in this review. The main contents are as follows: 1) recruitment of biocatalysts for the transformation of organic compounds; 2) special precautions for preparative-scale biocatalytic synthetic experiments; 3) asymmetric reduction of carbonyl substrates; 4) kinetic resolution of alcohol and carboxylate enantiomers; 5) desymmetrization of multifunctional alcohol and carboxylate substrates; and 6) recognition of remote and non-central chirality.     

Improvement of <Superscript>137</Superscript>Cs analysis in small volume seawater samples using the Ogoya underground facility

¹³⁷Cs in seawater is one of the most powerful tracers of water motion. Large volumes of samples have been required for determination of ¹³⁷Cs in seawater. This paper describes improvement of separation and purification processes of ¹³⁷Cs in seawater, which includes purification of ¹³⁷Cs using hexachloroplatinic acid in addition to ammonium phosphomolybdate (AMP) precipitation. As a result, we succeeded the ¹³⁷Cs determination in seawater with a smaller sample volume of 10 liter by using ultra-low background gamma-spectrometry in the Ogoya underground facility. ¹³⁷Cs detection limit was about 0.1 mBq (counting time: 10⁶ s). This method is applied to determine ¹³⁷Cs in small samples of the South Pacific deep waters.     

Safety Evaluation of Far-UV-C Irradiation to Epithelial Basal Cells in the Corneal Limbus

Basal cells in the corneal limbus play an important role in the turnover cycle because they are the source of all cells that constitute the corneal epithelium. We examined the penetration depth of ultraviolet (UV) light in the corneal limbus and assessed the safety of Far-UV-C on stem cells in the basal area of the corneal limbus. Rats were irradiated with UV at peaks of 207, 222, 235, 254 and 311 nm while under anesthesia. The UV penetration depth in the rat corneal limbal epithelium was wavelength dependent: 311 nm UV-B and 254 nm UV-C reached the basal cells of the epithelium, and 235 nm radiation reached the middle area; however, 207 and 222 nm UV-C reached only the superficial layer of the epithelium. Porcine cornea, which is similar to the human eye in size and structure, were irradiated with 222 and 254 nm UV-C. As in rats, 222 nm UV-C reached only the superficial layer of the porcine corneal limbal epithelium. These results indicate that Far-UV-C, such as radiation of wavelengths of 207 and 222 nm, could not reach corneal epithelial stem cells, i.e. the cells remained intact. It is unlikely that the turnover of the corneal epithelium is obstructed or disrupted by exposure to Far-UV-C.     

Development of pyrrole-imidazole polyamide for specific regulation of human aurora kinase-A and -B gene expression

Pyrrole-imidazole polyamide (PIP) is a nuclease-resistant novel compound that inhibits gene expression through binding to the minor groove of DNA. Human aurora kinase-A (AURKA) and -B (AURKB) are important regulators in mitosis during the cell cycle. In this study, two specific PIPs (PIP-A and PIP-B) targeting AURKA and AURKB promoter regions were designed and synthesized, and their biological effects were investigated by several in vitro assays. PIP-A and PIP-B significantly inhibited the promoter activities, mRNA expression, and protein levels of AURKA and AURKB, respectively, in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, 1:1 combination treatment with both PIPs demonstrated prominent antiproliferative synergy (CI value [ED(50)] = 0.256) to HeLa cells as a result of inducing apoptosis-mediated severe catastrophe of cell-cycle progression. The novel synthesized PIP-A and PIP-B are potent and specific gene-silencing agents for AURKA and AURKB.     

Biological Impact of Shorter Wavelength Ultraviolet Radiation-C†

Life on earth has constantly coped with the impact of solar radiation, especially solar ultraviolet radiation (solar UV). Various biological mechanisms protect us from solar UV. New devices emitting shorter wavelengths UV-C, i.e. <254 nm emitted by conventional UV germicidal lamps, have emerged. These shorter wavelength UV-C emitting devices are useful for various purposes, including microorganism inactivation. However, as solar UV-C does not reach the earth surface, biological impacts of UV-C has been studied using 254 nm germicidal lamps, and those using shorter wavelength UV-C is rarely known. To balance the utility and risk of UV-C, the biological effect of these new UV-C emitting devices must be investigated. In addition, our knowledge of biological impacts of the wavelength-dependent entire UV (100–400 nm) must be enhanced. In this review, we briefly summarize the biological impacts of shorter wavelength UV-C. Mechanisms of UV-C-induced cellular damage and factors affecting the microorganism inactivation efficiency of UV-C have been discussed. In addition, we theoretically estimate the probable photocarcinogenic action spectrum of shorter wavelength UV-C. We propose that increasing the knowledge on UV-C will facilitate the adoption of shorter wavelength UV-C emitting new devices in an optimal and appropriate manner.     

Liposome modified with Mn-porphyrin complex can simultaneously induce antioxidative enzyme-like activity of both superoxide dismutase and peroxidase

An antioxidative liposome catalysis that mimics both superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities has been developed by using the liposomes modified with lipophilic Mn-(5,10,15,20-tetrakis[1-hexadecylpyridium-4-yl]-21H,23H-porphyrin) (Mn-HPyP). The SOD- and POD-like activities of the Mn-HPyP-modified liposome were first investigated by varying the type of phospholipid, such as 1,2-distearyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DSPC), 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC), 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC), and 1,2-dilauroyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DLPC). Higher SOD-like activity was obtained in the case of DLPC and DMPC liposomes, in which the ligands were well-dispersed on the membrane in the liquid crystalline phase. The POD-like activity was maximal in the case of DMPC liposome, in which the Mn-HPyP complex was appropriately clustered on the membrane in the gel phase. On the basis of the above results, the co-induction of the SOD and POD activities to eliminate the superoxide and also hydrogen peroxide as a one-pot reaction was finally performed by using the Mn-HPyP-modified DMPC liposome, resulting in an increase in the efficiency of the elimination of both superoxide and hydrogen peroxide.     

Selective linear triene formation from different alkynes using Zr/Cu system

Selective synthesis of linear trienes from three different alkynes was achieved in one-pot procedure using the Zr/Cu system. Zirconacyclopentadiene prepared from two different alkynes such as an alkyl-substituted alkyne and an aryl-substituted alkyne reacted with NCS gave chlorodienylzirconocene. It reacted with the third alkyne with electron-withdrawing groups in the presence of CuCl to afford the corresponding linear triene.