Recognition of elastic characteristic of object using pneumatic parallel manipulator

The goal of this study is to develop a mechanical system that can display elastic characteristic of an object aiming at the application in the field of virtual reality. A pneumatic parallel manipulator is introduced as a driving mechanism, which consequently brings the capability of minute force displaying property owing to the air compressibility. A compliance control system without using force/moment sensor is constructed by introducing a disturbance observer, and a compliance display scheme is proposed. The validity of the proposed scheme is verified experimentally. </p

New azodyrecins identified by a genome mining-directed reactivity-based screening

Only a few azoxy natural products have been identified despite their intriguing biological activities. Azodyrecins D-G, four new analogs of aliphatic azoxides, were identified from two Streptomyces species by a reactivity-based screening that targets azoxy bonds. A biological activity evaluation demonstrated that the double bond in the alkyl side chain is important for the cytotoxicity of azodyrecins. An in vitro assay elucidated the tailoring step of azodyrecin biosynthesis, which is mediated by the S-adenosylmethionine (SAM)-dependent methyltransferase Ady1. This study paves the way for the targeted isolation of aliphatic azoxy natural products through a genome-mining approach and further investigations of their biosynthetic mechanisms