Development of micromarkers with various photoluminescence colors as tracers for shadowing pursuits.

Micromarkers with five photoluminescence colors were developed as tracers for shadowing pursuits. The markers are colorless powders with particle diameters of several tens to several hundreds of micrometers, prepared using a cryogenic sample crusher. They were visualized using red, green, yellow, magenta or cyan photoluminescence under ultraviolet light at approximately 365 nm. The markers were composed of photoluminescent compounds dispersed in polyvinyl butyral. The photoluminescent compounds in the polyvinyl butyral were stable under ambient conditions for more than one year after application. The compounds with the red, green, yellow, magenta and cyan photoluminescence contained a europium (Eu(3+)) complex, a terbium (Tb(3+)) complex, a mixture of Tb(3+) and Eu(3+) complexes, a mixture of Eu(3+) complex and o-coumaric acid, and a mixture of Tb(3+) complex and 7-hydroxycoumarin along with a few drops of a sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution, respectively. Neodymium (Nd(3+)) and ytterbium (Yb(3+)) complexes with photoluminescence in the near-IR wavelength region can also be added to these visible photoluminescent compounds as secret markers for discrimination. The markers were non-destructively identified using a microscopic FT-IR spectrometer and a microscopic spectrometer equipped with a fluorescence detector.     

EPMA line analysis of chemical states of chromium

A novel technique for determining the chemical states of elements with a heterogeneous distribution in samples involving EPMA line analysis is proposed. LLS (linear least squares) calculation was applied to a set of reduced spectra measured in the line analysis. The reduced spectra which have several energy points (including two points for backgrounds) were measured in order to save measuring time. The LLS calculation gives the mole fraction of each chemical state. We applied this method to the analysis of corrosion products formed on Cr-containing steel after corrosion tests. EPMA mapping revealed that Cr is enriched only in the inner layer of the corrosion products. From the results of the LLS calculation, it was determined that Cr in the corrosion products exists in the trivalent Cr state whereas in the steel Cr is in the metallic state. This result corresponds to the spectra of characteristic x-rays from the corroded steel. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Microsequencing of proteins electrotransferred onto immobilizing matrices from polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis: application to an insoluble protein

Semidry electroblotting is convenient and allows a rapid and efficient protein transfer from one- or two-dimensional polyacrylamide gels onto sequencer stable supports for protein microsequence analysis in a gas-phase sequencer. Using this technique, we determined the amino acid sequences of the basic 7S globulin (Bg), an insoluble protein present in soybean seeds. Based on sequence determination, the cDNA-encoding Bg could be easily cloned and characterized.     

Changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) eigenvalues of skeletal muscle due to hybrid exercise training

Several studies have proposed the cell membrane as the main water diffusion restricting factor in the skeletal muscle cell. We sought to establish whether a particular form of exercise training (which is likely to affect only intracellular components) could affect water diffusion. The purpose of this study is to characterise prospectively the changes in diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) eigenvalues of thigh muscle resulting from hybrid training (HYBT) in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Twenty-one NAFLD patients underwent HYBT for 30 minutes per day, twice a week for 6 months. Patients were scanned using DTI of the thigh pre- and post-HYBT. Fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), the three eigenvalues lambda 1 (λ1), λ2, λ3, and the maximal cross sectional area (CSA) were measured in bilateral thigh muscles: knee flexors (biceps femoris (BF), semitendinosus (ST), semimembranous (SM)) and knee extensors (medial vastus (MV), intermediate vastus (IV), lateral vastus (LV), and rectus femoris (RF)), and compared pre- and post-HYBT by paired t-test. Muscle strength of extensors (P < 0.01), but not flexors, increased significantly post-HYBT. For FA, ADC and eigenvalues, the overall picture was of increase. Some (P < 0.05 in λ2 and P < 0.01 in λ1) eigenvalues of flexors and all (λ1-λ3) eigenvalues of extensors increased significantly (P < 0.01) post-HYBT. HYBT increased all 3 eigenvalues. We suggest this might be caused by enlargement of muscle intracellular space.     

Novel plasma biomarker surrogating cerebral amyloid deposition

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common and devastating dementia. Simple and practical biomarkers for AD are urgently required for accurate diagnosis and to facilitate the development of disease-modifying interventions. The subjects for the study were selected on the basis of PiB amyloid imaging by PET. Forty PiB-positive (PiB+) individuals, including cognitively healthy controls (HC), and mild cognitive impairment and AD individuals, and 22 PiB-negative (PiB−) HC participated. Employing our novel highly sensitive immunoprecipitation-mass spectrometry, we measured plasma amyloid β-proteins (Aβs; Aβ1-40 and Aβ1-42) and Aβ-approximate peptides (AβAPs), which were cleaved from amyloid precursor protein (APP). Among the AβAPs, APP669-711 appeared to be a good reference for deciphering pathological change of Aβ1-42. We evaluated the performance of the ratio of APP669-711 to Aβ1-42 (APP669-711/Aβ1-42) as a biomarker. APP669-711/Aβ1-42 significantly increased in the PiB+ groups. The sensitivity and specificity to discriminate PiB+ individuals from PiB− individuals were 0.925 and 0.955, respectively. Our plasma biomarker precisely surrogates cerebral amyloid deposition.     

Study of biocatalyst to produce ethanol from starch

This article presents a detailed study on the conditions for achieving a stable biocatalyst to be used in the production of ethanol from starch. Different pellets were used depending on which characteristic of the biocatalyst was being studied: (a) Saccharomyces cerevisiae entrapped in pectin or calcium alginate gel particles; (b) silica containing immobilized glucoamylase entrapped in pectin gel particles; or (c) pectin gel particles, with the silicaenzyme derivative and yeast coimmobilized. The influence of several variables on the mechanical resistance of the particle, on the viability of the microorganism, and on the rate of substrate hydrolysis was studied with biocatalyst. The best conditions found were 6% pectin gel, 2-mm particle diameter, and curein 0.2 M CaCl₂·2H₂O/60 mM acetate buffer, pH 4.2, for gel preparation; and 6.0 g/L of CaCl₂·2H₂O in the fermentation medium. Biocatalyst (c) was successfully tested for the production of ethanol from liquefield manioc flour syrup.     

Fabrication and optical reflection behavior of a two-dimensional barium titanate ceramic photonic crystal

We demonstrate a method for fabricating a two-dimensional hexagonal array of nanoscale barium titanate ceramic pillars. A precursor array was prepared by introducing a sol solution into an electron-beam resist mold with air holes and subsequently dry etching the unnecessary gel layer formed on the mold. A ceramic array, consisting of barium titanate ceramic pillars with a radius of 85 nm, a lattice constant of 450 nm, and a height of 500 nm, was fabricated by sintering the precursor array at 1073 K. The reflection spectra for the ceramic array in the visible range revealed the underlying photonic band gaps, which were in good agreement with results calculated using a plane-wave method. PACS 77.84.-s; 42.70.-a; 42.70.Qs     

What can we learn from hydrodynamic analysis at RHIC?

We can establish a new picture, the perfect fluid sQGP core and the dissipative hadronic corona, of the space-time evolution of produced matter in relativistic heavy-ion collisions at RHIC. It is also shown that the picture works well also in the forward rapidity region through an analysis based on a new class of the hydro-kinetic model and that this is a manifestation of the rapid increase of the entropy density in the vicinity of QCD critical temperature, namely, deconfinement.     

Cytotoxicity of asymmetric platinum complexes against L-1210 cells. Effect of bulky substituents

The asymmetric platinum complexes cis-Pt(LL')Cl2 (L = NH3, L' = CH3NH2, (CH3)2NH, C2H5NH2 and (C2H5)2NH and LL' = N,N-dimethylethylenediamine),--one of the NH3 groups of cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl2 was substituted by alkylamine--, were synthesized and their cytotoxic effects have been measured using L-1210 cells. The IC50 values of the asymmetric platinum complexes,--being obtained after 24 h exposure of L-1210 cells to the platinum complexes--, are almost comparable to the corresponding value of cis-Pt(NH3)2Cl2. In 2 h exposure, however, the IC50 values of the platinum complexes were dramatically changed, i.e., a marked difference was observed between those of L' = RNH2 and L' = R2NH. On the other hand, the amounts of platinum taken into the L-1210 cells is little affected by the alkylamino substitution. The results suggest that the bifunctional platinum binding to the target molecule may be responsible for the cytotoxicity.