Medicinal foodstuffs. XIX. Absolute stereostructures of canavalioside, a new Ent-kaurane-type diterpene glycoside, and gladiatosides A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, and C2, new acylated flavonol glycosides, from sword bean, the seeds of Canavalia gladiata

A new ent-kaurane-type glycoside, canavalioside, and eight new acylated flavonol glycosides, gladiatosides A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, B3, C1, and C2, were isolated from the seed of Canavalia gladiata together with robinin, kaempferol 3-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-7-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranoside, and kaikasaponin III. The absolute stereostructures of canavalioside and gladiatosides A1, A2, B1, B2, B3, C1, and C2 were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence.     

Estimation of Critical Point in Branching Reactions: Further Examination of Gel Point Formula

The theory of gel point in real polymer solutions is examined with the empirical correlation between the reciprocal of the percolation threshold and the coordination number given by the percolation theory. Applying a larger value of the relative frequency of cyclization, an excellent agreement is obtained between the present theory and the percolation result. This suggest that while the ring distribution on lattices is similar to that in real systems, ring production is more frequent in the lattice model than in real systems. To confirm this conjecture, we derive the ring distribution function of the lattice model as a limiting case of d→∞, and show that the solution is in fact identical to the asymptotic formula of C→∞ in real systems except for the coefficient C, which has a maximum at d = 5, in support of the above conjecture. To examine the validity of the asymptotic solution for the lattice model, we apply it to the critical point problem of the percolation theory, showing that the solution works well in high dimensions greater than six.     

Retracted and replaced: a flow‐condition‐based interpolation finite element procedure for triangular grids

The following article from the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids ‘A flow‐condition‐based interpolation finite element procedure for triangular grids’ by Haruhiko Kohno and Klaus‐Jürgen Bathe published online on 3 August 2005 in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ) and in print on 10 October 2005 in the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Fluids Volume 49 Issue 8 pp. 849–875 has been retracted and replaced by agreement between the authors, the journal editors and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. The article has been retracted due to printing errors which have been corrected in the replacement article.(DOI: 10.1002/fld.1246 )     

Warm ocean water intrusion into Kagoshima Bay

From the field observations and the buoy robot data, the warm ocean water is known to intrude into Kagoshima Bay intermittently in winter. We first visualize these phenomena using some satellite thermal infrared images. Then the numerical analysis is performed employing a multi-level finite difference method (FDM). It is found from the numerical analysis that the intrusion occurs when the warm water comes into touch with the bay water at the mouth of the bay. The calculated warm water distribution in the bay is similar to the satellite images and the velocity of the intrusion is the same order with the ones estimated by the buoy robot data and the satellite images. The intrusion occurs even without the tidal effect, the role of the tide is only to rectify some warm water distribution in the bay.     

Exploration of novel predictive markers in rat plasma of the early stages of chronic renal failure

To identify blood markers for early stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD), blood samples were collected from rats with adenine-induced CKD over 28 days. Plasma samples were subjected to metabolomic profiling by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, followed by multivariate analyses. In addition to already-identified uremic toxins, we found that plasma concentrations of N6-succinyl adenosine, lysophosphatidylethanolamine 20:4, and glycocholic acid were altered, and that these changes during early CKD were more sensitive markers than creatinine concentration, a universal indicator of renal dysfunction. Moreover, the increase in plasma indoxyl sulfate concentration occurred earlier than increases in phenyl sulfate and p-cresol sulfate. These novel metabolites may serve as biomarkers in identifying early stage CKD.     

In-beam γ -ray study of the neutron-rich nuclei 240U, 246Pu, and 250Cm produced by the (18O, 16O) reaction

We have measured deexcitation γ rays in the neutron-rich nuclei of ²⁴⁰U, ²⁴⁶Pu, and ²⁵⁰Cm produced by the (¹⁸O, ¹⁶O) two-neutron transfer reactions, in coincidence with the ¹⁶O particles using Si ΔE−E detectors. The γ rays in these nuclei were identified by selecting the kinetic energies of ¹⁶O particles, which correspond to the excitation energies in the residual nuclei below the neutron separation energies. The ground-state bands of ²⁴⁰U, ²⁴⁶Pu, and ²⁵⁰Cm were established up to 12⁺ states and the K ^π = 0⁻ octupole band of ²⁴⁰U was established up to 9⁻ states. The systematics of the moments of inertia of the ground-state bands for actinide nuclei shows that the deformed subshell closure at N = 152 is sustained for ₉₆Cm isotopes and that it disappears for ₉₄Pu isotopes. The text was submitted by the authors in English.     

Ultrathin gate dielectrics for silicon nanodevices

This paper reviews recent progress in structural and electronic characterizations of ultrathin SiO₂thermally grown on Si(100) surfaces and applications of such nanometer-thick gate oxides to advanced MOSFETs and quantum-dot MOS memory devices. Based on an accurate energy band profile determined for the n ⁺ -poly- Si/SiO₂/Si(100) system, the measured tunnel current through ultrathin gate oxides has been quantitatively explained by theory. From the detailed analysis of MOSFET characteristics, the scaling limit of gate oxide thickness is found to be 0.8 nm. Novel MOSFETs with a silicon quantum-dot floating gate embedded in the gate oxide have indicated the multiple-step electron injection to the dot, being interpreted in terms of Coulombic interaction among charged dots.     

Relationship between ambient light and glucose metabolism in healthy subjects

Synapse density is an essential indicator of development and functioning of the central nervous system. It is estimated indirectly through the accumulation of pre and postsynaptic proteins in tissue sections. 3D reconstruction of the electron microscopic images in serial sections is one of the most definitive means of estimating the formation of active synapses in the brain. It is tedious and highly skill-dependent. Confocal imaging of whole mounts or thick sections of the brain provides a natural alternative for rapid gross estimation of the synapse density in large areas. The optical resolution and other deep-tissue imaging aberrations limit the quantitative scope of this technique. Here we demonstrate a simple sample preparation method that could enhance the clarity of the confocal images of the neuropil regions of the ventral nerve cord of Drosophila larvae, providing a clear view of synapse distributions. We estimated the gross volume occupied by the synaptic junctions using 3D object counter plug-in of Fiji/ImageJ®. It gave us a proportional estimate of the number of synaptic junctions in the neuropil region. The method is corroborated by correlated super-resolution imaging analysis and through genetic perturbation of synaptogenesis in the larval brain. The method provides a significant improvement in the relative estimate of region-specific synapse density in the central nervous system. Also, it reduced artifacts in the super-resolution images obtained using the stimulated emission depletion microscopy technique.