Investigation of Relationships between Grain Structure and Inhomogeneous Deformation by Means of Laboratory-Based Multimodal X-Ray Tomography: Strain Accuracy Analysis

Experimental Mechanics - The internal strain distribution developing during plastic deformation is important for understanding the mechanical properties of polycrystalline materials. Such...     

Studies on antiatherosclerotic agents. Synthesis of 5-substituted derivatives of 7-ethoxycarbonyl-6,8-dimethyl-1(2H)-phthalazinone.off.

Several 5-substituted derivatives of 7-ethoxycarbonyl-6,8-dimethyl-1(2H)- phthalazinone were prepared by means of nitration, reductive amination, and diazonium decomposition. The substituents introduced included NO2, NH2, F, Cl, CN. Among the derivatives, the fluorine compound was obtained only in poor yield because intramolecular cyclization occurred predominantly.     

Results from GRACE/SUSY at one-loop

We report the recent development on the SUSY calculations with the help of GRACE system. GRACE/SUSY/1LOOP is the computer code which can generate Feynman diagrams in the MSSM automatically and compute one-loop amplitudes in the numerical way. We present new results of various two-body decay widths and chargino pair production at ILC (international linear collider) at one-loop level.      

Altered expression of polyhydroxyalkanoate synthase gene and its effect on poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] synthesis in recombinant Escherichia coli

Polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) synthase (PhaC) from Wautersia eutropha was expressed in a wide range of production level in Escherichia coli XL1-Blue cells and its effects on PhaC activity, poly[(R)-3-hydroxybutyrate] [P(3HB)] production and its molecular weights were investigated. The production level of PhaC was controlled both by the amount of chemical inducer (isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside, IPTG) added into the medium and the use of different copy number of plasmids. In a flask experiment, as PhaC production level in the cells increased, the PhaC activity also increased in the range of low PhaC concentration. However, PhaC activity did not further increase in the range of high PhaC concentration, probably due to the formation of inclusion body in the cells. The molecular weight of P(3HB) was found to decrease with increasing PhaC activity. This trend was also verified in high cell density cultivation using 10-l jar fermentor. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the use of low copy number plasmid and appropriate induction of PhaC expression were effective in achieving both high productivity and high molecular weight of P(3HB).     

Large-volume injection electrothermal AAS combined with tungsten-treated pyrolytic graphite furnace: determination of cadmium in tap, snow and river water samples with phosphate modifier.

A large-volume (100 microl) injection-ETAAS with W-treated PG furnace combined with a phosphate modifier was applied to the determination of unpolluted levels of Cd in tap, snow and river-water samples. The limit of detection of 1.1 ng l(-1) was observed for a 4 w/v% NH4H2PO4 modifer. Matrix interference studies were tested for major ion species well found in fresh water. The direct determination of Cd in certified river water (12 +/- 2 ng l(-1)) was carried out and the observed value was in agreement with the certified one. The good recoveries of Cd added to real environmental water samples were also observed. This method was applied to the determination of Cd in unpolluted environmental water samples.     

Rapid and sensitive determination of the conversion of UV-cured acrylic ester resins by pyrolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of an organic alkali.

The double-bond conversion of UV-cured resins prepared from pentaerythritol triacrylate (PETA) was determined by pyrolysis-gas chromatography in the presence of an organic alkali, tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH). The pyrogram of the uncured prepolymer compound, consisting of PETA and a photoinitiator, 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenylacetophenone, contained specific products reflecting the original acrylate structure, such as methyl acrylate (MA) and methyl ethers of pentaerithritol. Meanwhile, in pyrograms of the UV-cured PETA, the yields of MA considerably decreased. The double-bond conversions of the cured resins, irradiated with various UV dosages, were calculated based on the relative yields of MA among specific products in the pyrograms. The conversions determined by this approach were analyzed by comparing them with those estimated by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy.     

Transfructosylation of rebaudioside A (a sweet glycoside of Stevia leaves) with Microbacterium beta-fructofuranosidase.

It was found that a beta-fructofuranosidase produced by Microbacterium sp. H-1 has potent trans-beta-fructofuranosylation activity from sucrose (donor). By means of this enzyme system, rebaudioside A (RA), the second major sweet steviol glycoside of the leaves of Stevia rebaudiana, was subjected to transfructosylation, affording a mono-beta-fructofuranosylated product (RA-F) in a high yield. The structure of RA-F was elucidated as beta-D-fructofuranosyl-(2----6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester of steviol-13-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----2)]- [beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----3)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside. Some improvement in the quality of sweetness was observed for RA-F.     

Enhancement of Magneto-Optic Effect in Optical Isolator with Semiconductor Guiding Layer by Selective Oxidation of AlInAs

Selective oxidation of an AlInAs layer was investigated for enhancement of magneto-optic effect in an optical isolator. Twelve times nonreciprocal phase shift enhancement was estimated from a measured AlInAs-oxide refractive index.