Low-Temperature X-ray Crystal Structure Analysis of the Cage-Structured Compounds MBe13 (M = La, Sm, and U)

The beryllides MBe13 (M = rare earths and actinides) crystallize in a NaZn13-type cubic structure, which can be categorized as a cage-structured compound. In this study, powder X-ray diffraction measurements have been performed on LaBe13, SmBe13, and UBe13 in the temperature range between 7 and 300 K in order to investigate their crystallographic characteristics systematically. They keep the NaZn13-type cubic structure down to the lowest temperature. We estimated their Debye temperature to be 600 - 750 K from analyses of the temperature dependence of a lattice parameter, being in good agreement with the values reported previously. Rietveld refinements on the obtained powder patterns revealed that the M atom in the 8a site is located in an almost ideal snub cube formed by 24 Be atoms in the 96i site, whose caged structure is unchanged even at the low temperatures. In addition, it is argued from the temperature variation of an isotropic mean-square displacement parameter that the MBe13 compounds commonly have a low-energy phonon mode, which can be described by a model assuming an Einstein oscillation of the M atom with a characteristic temperature of ~ 160 K.Comment: 8 pages with 6 figures and 2 table

ファイトプラズマの宿主転換に伴う遺伝子の発現および機能に関する研究

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : (主査)東京大学教授 難波 成任, 法政大学教授 大島 研郎, 東京大学准教授 岩田 洋佳, 東京大学准教授 松尾 隆嗣, 東京大学准教授 山次 康幸University of Tokyo(東京大学

Quantitative evaluation of protocorm growth and fungal colonization in Bletilla striata (Orchidaceae) reveals less-productive symbiosis with a non-native symbiotic fungus

Quantitative evaluation of symbiotic cells in Pecteilis radiata protocorm. (a) Symbiotic cells with hyphal coils in P. radiata protocorm. Scale bars, 50 Οm. (b) Ratio of the number of symbiotic cells at each stage in a symbiotic protocorm. Each value represents the average number of symbiotic cells in ten protocorms. The experiments were repeated six times with similar results. (PDF 959 kb

Strain-Rate and Temperature Dependences of Deformation Behavior of AZ61Mg Alloy Processed by Multi-directional Forging Under Decreasing Temperature Conditions

金沢大学理工研究域機械工学系Strain-rate and temperature dependences of deformation behavior of ultrafine-grained (UFGed) AZ61Mg alloy were examined. For this purpose, AZ61Mg alloy specimens were subjected to multi-directional forging (MDFing) under decreasing temperature conditions to have various grain sizes. The average grain sizes attained by MDFing to 1, 3, 6 and 9 passes were approximately 8, 2, 0.5 and 0.3 μm, respectively. A superior balance of the mechanical properties of strength and ductility at room temperature was achieved by MDFing to three passes and over. The strain-rate sensitivity of mechanical properties of the MDFed specimens increased with decreasing grain size. The specimens with grain sizes of 0.5 and 0.3 μm (0.5 or 0.3 specimen) exhibited stronger strain-rate and temperature dependences of total elongation than those with grain sizes of 8 and 2 μm (8 or 2 specimen). This can be partially ascribed to grain-boundary sliding, since an AFM observation revealed the occurrence of room-temperature grain-boundary sliding in the 0.3 specimen. The activation volume V* for the 8, 2 and 0.5 specimen increased with increasing temperature, while the 0.3 specimen exhibited an inverse temperature dependence of V*. This suggests a change in deformation mechanism with decreasing grain size as well as the occurrence of grain-boundary sliding. © 2017 The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society and ASM InternationalEmbargo Period 12 monthsThe final publication is available at www.springerlink.com/article/10.1007/s11661-017-4303-

A Chemometrics-driven Strategy for the Bioactivity Evaluation of Complex Multicomponent Systems and the Effective Selection of Bioactivity-predictive Chemical Combinations

Although understanding their chemical composition is vital for accurately predicting the bioactivity of multicomponent drugs, nutraceuticals, and foods, no analytical approach exists to easily predict the bioactivity of multicomponent systems from complex behaviors of multiple coexisting factors. We herein represent a metabolic profiling (MP) strategy for evaluating bioactivity in systems containing various small molecules. Composition profiles of diverse bioactive herbal samples from 21 green tea extract (GTE) panels were obtained by a high-throughput, non-targeted analytical procedure. This employed the matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) technique, using 1,5-diaminonaphthalene (1,5-DAN) as the optical matrix for detecting GTE-derived components. Multivariate statistical analyses revealed differences among the GTEs in their antioxidant activity, oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC). A reliable bioactivity-prediction model was constructed to predict the ORAC of diverse GTEs from their compositional balance. This chemometric procedure allowed the evaluation of GTE bioactivity by multicomponent rather than single-component information. The bioactivity could be easily evaluated by calculating the summed abundance of a few selected components that contributed most to constructing the prediction model. 1,5-DAN-MALDI-MS-MP, using diverse bioactive sample panels, represents a promising strategy for screening bioactivity-predictive multicomponent factors and selecting effective bioactivity-predictive chemical combinations for crude multicomponent systems

COMPARISON OF SIX COMMERCIALLY-AVAILABLE DNA POLYMERASES FOR DIRECT PCR

The use of a "direct PCR" DNA polymerase enables PCR amplification without any prior DNA purification from blood samples due to the enzyme\u27s resistance to inhibitors present in blood components. Such DNA polymerases are now commercially available. We compared the PCR performance of six direct PCR-type DNA polymerases (KOD FX, Mighty Amp, Hemo KlenTaq, Phusion Blood II, KAPA Blood, and BIOTAQ) in dried blood eluted from a filter paper with TE buffer. GoTaq Flexi was used as a standard DNA polymerase. PCR performance was evaluated by a nested PCR technique for detecting Plasmodium falciparum genomic DNA in the presence of the blood components. Although all six DNA polymerases showed resistance to blood components compared to the standard Taq polymerase, the KOD FX and BIOTAQ DNA polymerases were resistant to inhibitory blood components at concentrations of 40%, and their PCR performance was superior to that of other DNA polymerases. When the reaction mixture contained a mild detergent, only KOD FX DNA polymerase retained the original amount of amplified product. These results indicate that KOD FX DNA polymerase is the most resistant to inhibitory blood components and/or detergents. Thus, KOD FX DNA polymerase could be useful in serological studies to simultaneously detect antibodies and DNA in eluents for antibodies. KOD FX DNA polymerase is thus not limited to use in detecting malaria parasites, but could also be employed to detect other blood-borne pathogens

Species-Specific Serological Detection for Schistosomiasis by Serine Protease Inhibitor (SERPIN) in Multiplex Assay

Background: Both Schistosoma mansoni and Schistosoma haematobium cause schistosomiasis in sub-Saharan Africa. We assessed the diagnostic value of selected Schistosoma antigens for the development of a multiplex serological immunoassay for sero-epidemiological surveillance. Methodology/Principal Findings: Diagnostic ability of recombinant antigens from S. mansoni and S. haematobium was assessed by Luminex multiplex immunoassay using plasma from school children in two areas of Kenya, endemic for different species of schistosomiasis. S. mansoni serine protease inhibitor (SERPIN) and Sm-RP26 showed significantly higher reactivity to patient plasma as compared to the control group. Sm-Filamin, Sm-GAPDH, Sm-GST, Sm-LAP1, Sm-LAP2, Sm-Sm31, Sm-Sm32 and Sm-Tropomyosin did not show difference in reactivity between S. mansoni infected and uninfected pupils. Sm-RP26 was cross-reactive to plasma from S. haematobium patients, whereas Sm-SERPIN was species-specific. Sh-SEPRIN was partially cross-reactive to S. mansoni infected patients. ROC analysis for Sm-RP26, Sm-SERPIN and Sh-SERPIN showed AUC values of 0.833, 0.888 and 0.947, respectively. Using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient analysis, we also found significant positive correlation between the number of excreted eggs and median fluorescence intensity (MFI) from the multiplex immunoassays for Sm-SERPIN (ρ = 0.430, p-value = 0.003) and Sh-SERPIN (ρ = 0.433, p-value = 0.006). Conclusions/Significance: Sm-SERPIN is a promising species-specific diagnostic antigen. Sh-SEPRIN was partially cross-reactive to S. mansoni infected patients. SERPINs showed correlation with the number of excreted eggs. These indicate prospects for inclusion of SERPINs in the multiplex serological immunoassay system