Composition of Corn Hull Dietary Fiber

The corn hull dietary fiber was decomposed into their components such as cellulose, hemicellulose-A, -B, -C, -other and lignin by the Siegel method, and their contents were 16%, 1%, 57%, 14% and 2%, respectivity. The components of ordinary corn fiber were insoluble in water, but several decomposed fractions were able to dissolved. The solubility in water of hemicellulose-B was well and of hemicellulose A was slightly, but other fractions were insoluble. Hemicellulose-A, -B, -C and -other fractions were made up of about 30% of arabinose and 50% of xylose. Uronic acid contents and solubility in water of each hemicellulose fraction were mutually related.     

Promotion Effect of FeOx Addition on the Catalytic Activity of Supported Cu Catalysts for the Water–gas Shift Reaction

Among the supported Cu–FeO_x catalysts, Al₂O₃-supported Cu–FeO_x catalyst exhibited the highest activity for WGS reaction. The enhancement of the catalytic activity by adding FeO_x to Cu/Al₂O₃ could be interpreted by the two possibilities; one is the formation of highly dispersed Cu⁰ and the other is the participation of reduced FeO_x in WGS reaction in the presence of Cu⁰.     

Hydrogen plasma passivation of bulk GaAs and Al0.3Ga0.7As/GaAs multiple-quantum-well structures on Si substrates

Hydrogen (H) plasma passivation effects on GaAs grown on Si substrates (GaAs on Si) are investigated in detail. H plasma exposure effectively passivates both the shallow and deep defects in GaAs on Si, which improves both the electrical and optical properties. It was found that the minority carrier lifetime is increased and the deep level concentration is decreased by the H plasma exposure. In addition, after H plasma exposure, room temperature photoluminescence (PL) for Al_0.3Ga_0.7As/GaAs multiple-quantum-well (MQW) on Si is enhanced with a decrease in the spectral width.     

Numerical simulation of the molten-pool formation during the laser surface-melting process

The boundary-fixing method, by which the moving-boundary problem is reduced into the fixedboundary problem, has been applied to the numerical simulation of the molten-pool formation during the laser surface-melting process. A mathematical formulation and corresponding calculation scheme are developed for a model based on transient three-dimensional heat conduction with a moving solid-liquid interface. By the use of the boundary-fixing method, the heat balance at the solid-liquid interface is rigorously treated in the present numerical simulation. When the steady state is reached, the resulting molten pool is obtained without undulation in shape. The calculated results, based on an Al-32.7 wt pct Cu eutectic alloy, are discussed and compared with experimental data.     

Development of a phosphorescent white OLED with extremely high power efficiency and long lifetime

Abstract— A white OLED device with extremely high power efficiency and long lifetime was developed, in which blue, yellow‐green, and red phosphorescent emitters were used. The performances achieved were 64 lm/W and 10,000 hours of lifetime at an initial luminance of 1000 cd/m² by using a light outcoupling technique. The device also exhibited the good durability important for practical usage. New technologies, such as blue phosphorescent materials and a sophisticated organic layer structure, were applied to the device. Hopefully, these technologies will open the door to the practical use of OLEDs as light sources.     

Resveratrol derivative-rich melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) seed extract suppresses multiple angiogenesis-related endothelial cell functions and tumor angiogenesis

Angiogenesis is a promising target for cancer prevention and treatment. This study aimed to determine the antiangiogenic effects of melinjo (Gnetum gnemon L.) seed extract and its resveratrol derivative components, such as gnetin C (GC), gnetin L (GL), gnemonoside A (GMA), gnemonoside C (GMC), and gnemonoside D (GMD). An ethanol extract of melinjo seeds (EEMS) and the two gnetins markedly inhibited the proliferation and tube formation of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC) stimulated with vascular endothelial growth factor and basic fibroblast growth factor. The inhibitory effects of GC and GL were much stronger than those of resveratrol. GMC and GMD inhibited only proliferation, whereas GMA had almost no effect on the two endothelial cell functions. The EEMS and GC also reduced the cell viability of tube-forming HUVEC, with accompanying ERK1/2 inactivation, and suppressed the migration of HUVEC. Furthermore, dietary intake of EEMS significantly inhibited tumor angiogenesis in a mouse dorsal air sac assay. In conclusion, we found that the EEMS and its resveratrol derivatives, particularly GC, suppress multiple angiogenesis-related endothelial cell functions and/or tumor angiogenesis, indicating that the melinjo seeds and the natural resveratrol derivatives may be useful for cancer prevention and treatment.     

Strong infrared radiation through passive dispersive wave generation and its control

We observe strong infrared (IR) radiation as a result of passive dispersive wave generation for a realistic microstructured fiber having two zero-dispersion wavelengths. The IR radiation frequency can be suitably controlled by varying the operational wavelength, which falls in the first normal dispersion regime. The amplitude of the radiation can be significantly increased by introducing a suitable amount of chirp in the input pulse. This strong phase-matching radiation can be considered as an alternative solution for the IR laser for different applications.     

Hemolytic reaction due to graft-versus-host (GVH) antibody production after liver transplantation from living donors: report of two cases

Among 27 patients who received minor ABO-incompatible partial liver transplantations and 19 who received major ABO-incompatible partial liver transplantations from living donors, 2 developed hemolytic anemia within 2 weeks after transplantation. These 2 patients had received livers from their living fathers whose blood type was ABO-incompatible. B-to-A transplantation was performed in patient 1 and O-to-B transplantation was performed in patient 2. Anti-A IgM and IgG were detected in the serum of patient 1, and anti-B IgM and IgG were detected in the serum of patient 2. These antibodies were eluted from the red blood cells of the patients. The coexistence of donor-specific DNA in the peripheral blood of the patients proved that they had chimerism, and graft-versus-host antibody production due to passenger B lymphocytes in the donor's liver was subsequently confirmed.     

Essential role of germinal vesicle material in the meiotic cell cycle of Xenopus oocytes

In almost all animal species, immature oocytes are arrested naturally in the first meiotic prophase, with a large nucleus called the germinal vesicle. A number of previous studies showed that both activation of maturation/M phase-promoting factor (MPF) (assayed by semiquantitative cytological methods) and some other maturational events occur essentially normally in enucleated oocytes from many amphibian species and mice. Hence, for nearly three decades, it has generally been believed that nuclear material is dispensable for MPF activation and the meiotic cell cycle in vertebrate oocytes. Here, we have challenged this view by examining the histone H1 kinase activities and the molecular forms of MPF in experimentally manipulated Xenopus oocytes. We show that oocytes injected with nuclear material undergo much more rapid MPF activation and maturation than uninjected control oocytes. Conversely, enucleated oocytes, unlike nucleated counterparts, undergo only weak MPF activation in meiosis I and no detectable MPF reactivation in meiosis II, the latter accompanying inhibitory tyrosine phosphorylation of cdc2 kinase, the catalytic subunit of MPF. These results argue strongly that nuclear material is indispensable for the meiotic cell cycle, particularly MPF reactivation (or cdc2 tyrosine dephosphorylation) on entry into meiosis II, in Xenopus oocytes. The classical and general view may thus need reconsideration.     

Mathematical Analysis of the Solidification Behavior of Plain Steel Based on Solute- and Heat-Transfer Equations in the Liquid–Solid Zone

An analytical approximate solution to non-linear solute- and heat-transfer equations in the unsteady-state mushy zone of Fe-C plain steel has been obtained, assuming a linear relationship between the solid fraction and the temperature of the mushy zone. The heat transfer equations for both the solid and liquid zone along with the boundary conditions have been linked with the equations to solve the whole equations. The model predictions (e.g., the solidification constants and the effective partition ratio) agree with the generally accepted values and with a separately performed numerical analysis. The solidus temperature predicted by the model is in the intermediate range of the reported formulas. The model and Neuman’s solution are consistent in the low carbon range. A conventional numerical heat analysis (i.e., an equivalent specific heat method using the solidus temperature predicted by the model) is consistent with the model predictions for Fe-C plain steels. The model presented herein simplifies the computations to solve the solute- and heat-transfer simultaneous equations while searching for a solidus temperature as a part of the solution. Thus, this model can reduce the complexity of analyses considering the heat- and solute-transfer phenomena in the mushy zone.