Aqueous One-pot Synthesis of Glycopolymers by Glycosidase-catalyzed Glycomonomer Synthesis Using 4,6-Dimetoxy Triazinyl Glycoside Followed by Radical Polymerization

Glycopolymers have attracted increased attention as functional polymeric materials, and simple methods for synthesizing glycopolymers remain needed. This paper reports the aqueous one-pot and chemoenzymatic synthesis of four types of glycopolymers via two reactions: the β-galactosidase-catalyzed glycomonomer synthesis using 4,6-dimetoxy triazinyl β-D-galactopyranoside and hydroxy group-containing (meth)acrylamide and (meth)acrylate derivatives as the activated glycosyl donor substrate and as the glycomonomer precursors, respectively, followed by radical copolymerization of the resulting glycomonomer and excess glycomonomer precursor without isolating the glycomonomers. The resulting glycopolymers bearing galactose moieties exhibited specific and strong interactions with the lectin peanut agglutinin as glycoclusters.     

Pregnancy by Assisted Reproductive Technology Is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length in Neonates

Telomere length (TL) influences the development of lifestyle-related diseases, and neonatal TL may influence their prevalence. Various factors have been reported to affect neonatal TL. Although the fetus is exposed to multiple conditions in utero, the main factors affecting the shortening of neonatal TL are still not known. In this study, we sought to identify factors that influence fetal TL. A total of 578 mother-newborn pairs were included for TL analysis. TL was measured in genomic DNA extracted from cord blood samples using quantitative PCR. The clinical factors examined at enrollment included the following intrauterine environmental factors: maternal age, assisted reproductive technology (ART) used, body mass index (BMI), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, preterm delivery, small-for-gestational-age, neonatal sex, and placental weight. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to verify the relationship between neonatal TL and these clinical factors. The median neonatal TL to single-copy gene ratio was 1.0. Pregnancy with ART was among the 11 factors associated with shorter neonatal TL. From multiple regression analysis, we determined that neonatal TL was significantly shorter for pregnancies in the ART group than in the other groups. We conclude that pregnancy with ART is associated with shorter neonatal TL.     

Water leakage due to the welding defect and improvement to reach 1-MW beam operation in the mercury target of J-PARC

ABSTRACT

Neutron flux per pulse reached world record at neutron source in Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). In the J-PARC, mercury target system is used as a spallation neutron source. A target vessel has a multi-walled protection system that comprises a mercury vessel enclosed with a double-walled water shroud. This is to prevent the leakage of the mercury outside the target vessel. The multi-walled structure needed to be complicated with a lot of welding lines. However, during the operation, we faced an unscheduled shutdown due to water leakage to the intermediate layer between the mercury vessel and water shroud. An investigation on the cause of the leakage was carried out. It is deduced that the leakage path was formed due to the crack propagation from welding defects that are caused by the complicated multi-walled structure. The crack propagation is attributed to the repeated stress by pressure waves generated in the mercury target. Based on the investigation results, the design was improved to remove the welding line on the complicated structure and to realize the stable operation with 1 MW proton beam, which is the final design value of the neutron source in J-PARC.     

Quantitative Elemental Analysis of a Single Cell by Using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry in Fast Time-Resolved Analysis Mode

The elemental composition of a single yeast, green alga, or red blood cell (RBC) was precisely determined by using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) operating in fast time-resolved analysis (TRA) mode. The technique is known as single-cell (SC)-ICP-MS. Phosphorus, sulfur, magnesium, zinc, and iron were detected in the three types of cell. The elemental composition of yeast and green alga obtained by SC-ICP-MS was consistent with results obtained from conventional ICP-MS measurements following acid digestion of the cells. Slight differences were found in the measured values between SC-ICP-MS and the conventional ICP-MS results for RBC. However, the SC-ICP-MS results for S and Fe in RBC were closer to the estimated values for these elements that were calculated from the level of hemoglobin in RBCs. The data suggest that SC-ICP-MS is suitable for the analysis of various cell types, namely, fungus, plant, and animal cells.     

Multiple evaluations of the removal of pollutants in road runoff by soil infiltration

Groundwater replenishment by infiltration of road runoff is expected to be a promising option for ensuring a sustainable urban water cycle. In this study, we performed a soil infiltration column test using artificial road runoff equivalent to approximately 11-12 years of rainfall to evaluate the removal of pollutants by using various chemical analyses and bioassay tests. These results indicated that soil infiltration treatment works effectively to remove most of the pollutants such as organic matter (chemical oxygen demand (CODMn) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC)), P species, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), numerous heavy metals and oestrogenic activities. Bioassay tests, including algal growth inhibition test, Microtox and mutagen formation potential (MFP) test, also revealed effective removal of toxicities by the soils. However, limited amounts of NO3, Mn, Ni, alkaline earth metals, perfluorooctane sulphonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctane sulphonamide (FOSA) were removed by the soils and they possibly reach the groundwater and cause contamination.     

Two-step seismic limit state design procedure based on non-linear LRFD and dynamic response analyses

Recently, the limit state design (LSD) or performance-based design have got popularity in the field of building design in Japan as well as in other countries. In the two design methods the structural reliability theory plays an essential role in setting design criteria as well as demonstrating the target reliability level to society. However, the conventional load and resistance factor design (LRFD) has been basically formulated supposing that safety checking is done on the basis of linear assumption of member forces and displacement. Therefore, when applying the LRFD for seismic design, for more accurate treatment of the non-linearity, a new procedure has to be explored especially for the ultimate limit state. Although several procedures for the structural reliability evaluation, treating non-linear displacement responses, have been proposed, they require complex procedures that may not be used in the practical design process. Accordingly, for applying it to a seismic LSD format based on the probabilistic concept, it is essential to manage two important requirements at the same time, accuracy and simplicity of procedure. In the present study, a new design format using the following two-step procedure is proposed to maintain both accuracy and simplicity; (1) a non-linear LRFD formulation, and (2) a formulation based on non-linear dynamic response analysis. Also, two design examples are presented.     

Effect of humidity on human comfort and productivity after step changes from warm and humid environment

Subjective experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of humidity on human comfort and productivity under transient conditions from hot and humid environment to thermally neutral condition. Two climate chambers, “Chamber 1” and “Chamber 2”, adjoined each other were used for this study. Subjects were exposed to 30 °C/70%RH air in Chamber 1 for 15 min with 2.0 met of metabolic rate. Then they moved into Chamber 2, where 4 humidity conditions, 30, 40, 50 and 70%RH were examined. Air temperature was adjusted to keep SET* constant at 25.2 °C for all conditions. Subjects were exposed in Chamber 2 for 180 min performing 2 kinds of simulated office work.

Positive effects of low humidity on subjective pleasantness were found under transient condition at low humidity due to more evaporation from human body, while no significant difference in thermal sensation and humidity sensation among 4 relative humidity levels was obtained. Subjective performance was found to be at the same level under all conditions. However, subjects reported to be more tired at 70%RH after humidity step change.     

Compression molding and melt‐spinning of the blends of poly(lactic acid) and poly(butylene succinate‐co‐adipate)

Poly(lactic acid) (PLA) is a biobased polymer made from biomass having high mechanical properties for engineering materials applications. However, PLA has certain limited properties such as its brittleness and low heat distortion temperature. Thus, the aim of this study is to improve toughness of PLA by blending with poly(butylene succinate‐co‐adipate) (PBSA), the biodegradable polymer having high toughness. Polymer blends of PLA and PBSA were prepared using a twin screw extruder. The melt rheology and the thermal property of the blends were examined. Further the blends were fabricated into compression molded parts and melt‐spun fiber and were subjected to tensile and impact tests. When the PBSA content was low, PBSA phase was finely dispersed in the PLA matrix. On the other hand, when the PBSA content was high, this minor phase dispersed as a large droplet. Mechanical properties of the compression molded parts were affected by the dispersion state of PBSA minor component in PLA matrix. Impact strength of the compression molded parts was also improved by the addition of soft PBSA. The improvement was pronounced when the PBSA phase was finely dispersed in PLA matrix. However, the mechanical property of the blend fibers was affected by the postdrawing condition as well as the PBSA content. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41856.     

Prevention of Osteoporosis by Oral Administration of Phytate-Removed and Deamidated Soybean β-Conglycinin

Phytate-removed and deamidated soybean β-conglycinin (PrDS) prepared by ion-exchange resins was supplemented to be 4% in the diet administered to ovariectomized rats to investigate its preventive effect on osteoporosis. The apparent calcium absorption rate decreased following ovariectomy and was not replenished by oral administration of phytate-removed soybean β-conglycinin (PrS) or casein. On the other hand, administration of PrDS restored the calcium absorption rate to the same level as the sham group. Markers of bone resorption, such as serum parathyroid hormone (PTH) and urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD), increased, and the bone mineral density and breaking stress decreased following ovariectomy. However, PrDS supplementation suppressed the changes caused by the decrease in calcium absorption from the small intestine. Therefore, PrDS supplementation shows promise for the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis.     

Controlling Pyrene Association in DNA Duplexes by B- to Z-DNA Transitions

B- to Z-DNA transitions play a crucial role in biological systems and have attracted the interest of researchers for their applications in DNA nanotechnology. DNA and DNA analogues have also been used as templates to construct helical chromophore associations with π interactions. In this work, the B- to Z-DNA transition-induced switching of pyrene in an association manner was evaluated using DNA duplexes with non-nucleosidic pyrene residues in the middle of d(CG) repeat sequences. One of the pyrene-labeled DNAs was shown to exhibit inverted exciton coupled circular dichroism signals upon pyrene association through a B- to Z-DNA transition. This observation indicates that pyrene association switches the DNA conformation from right- to left-handed. Interestingly, the fluorescence of the pyrene-labeled DNA duplex also dynamically changed upon switching of the pyrene in an association-based manner. Taken together, these studies demonstrate that pyrene-labeled DNA shows promise as a chiroptical molecular switch.