Thermal luminescence spectra of polyamides and their Maillard reaction with reducing sugars

Thermal luminescence (TL) spectra of polyamides were measured with a Fourier‐transform chemiluminescence spectrometer to elucidate the emission mechanism. A TL band of ε‐polylysine with a peak at 542 nm observed at 403 K was assigned to the emission due to the interaction of the –CO–NH– group with oxygen molecules by comparison with nylon‐6, polyglycine, and polyalanine. When the sample was kept at 453 K, the intensity of the TL band decreased and the wavelength of the peak shifted to 602 nm, which was assigned to the emission due to the interaction of the NH₂ group on the side chain with oxygen molecules by comparison with monomeric lysine. A weak emission with a peak at 668 nm was assigned to the advanced glycosylation end products (AGEs) yielded by the Maillard reaction with a catalytic amount of water. To understand this reaction and to examine the TL emission of AGEs, we measured TL spectra of mixtures of polylysine and reducing sugars such as glucose, maltose, lactose, and dextrin. The minimum temperature for TL emission, wavelength of the peak and the relative intensities of the TL emission were found to depend on the size of the sugars. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Complete genome sequence of the motile actinomycete Actinoplanes missouriensis 431T (= NBRC 102363T)

Actinoplanes missouriensis Couch 1963 is a well-characterized member of the genus Actinoplanes, which is of morphological interest because its members typically produce sporangia containing motile spores. The sporangiospores are motile by means of flagella and exhibit chemotactic properties. It is of further interest that members of Actinoplanes are prolific sources of novel antibiotics, enzymes, and other bioactive compounds. Here, we describe the features of A. missouriensis 431^T, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 8,773,466 bp genome contains 8,125 protein-coding and 79 RNA genes.     

Postural sway parameters using a triaxial accelerometer: comparing elderly and young healthy adults

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity of 16 parameters derived from acceleration to detect changes caused by age and visual conditions during quiet standing and detect and minimise possible sources of unwanted variability that could affect accelerometer measures on the trunk. Twenty-seven healthy subjects, including 16 elderly (age, 69.3 ± 3.6 years) and 11 young (age, 23.6 ± 2.2 years) subjects, were evaluated. The parameters evaluated include root-mean-square values, fractal dimensions, path length, range, frequency dispersion and power spectrum among others derived from these values. These 16 parameters evaluated for each axis of movement and/or derivations resulted in 59 sub-parameters. These 59 sub-parameters were analysed in the elderly and young groups and under the open-eye and closed-eye conditions. The results showed that 30 sub-parameters detected differences for an age effect with open eyes, 18 detected differences with closed eyes, 25 detected differences for the young group standing with closed-open eyes and 37 detected differences for the elderly with closed and open eyes (p < 0.01). We used simple signal processing for the accelerometry signals to minimise the effects of unwanted variability that could affect the results. The results showed better performance compared with those results published previously using force platforms to evaluate postural sway. The results presented here should be useful for researchers who want to use accelerometry to evaluate steady postural balance.     

Serum-free culture of an embryonic cell line from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombyx mori</Emphasis> and reinforcement of susceptibility of a recombinant BmNPV by cooling

We established the first continuous cell line that uses a serum-free culture from the embryo of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera: Bombycidae), designated as NIAS-Bm-Ke17. This cell line was serially subcultured in the SH-Ke-117 medium. The cells adhere weakly to the culture flask, and most cells have an oval shape. The cell line was subcultured 154 times, and the population doubling time is 83.67 ± 5.22 h. Random amplification of polymorphic DNA-polymerase chain reaction with a tenmar single primer for discrimination of insect cell lines recognized the NIAS-Bm-Ke1 cell line as B. mori. This cell line does not support the growth of the B. mori nuclear polyhedrosis virus (BmNPV) in the absence of the heat-inactivated hemolymph of B. mori. However, the heat-inactivated hemolymph in 1% volume of the medium supported a high level of susceptibility to BmNPV. In addition, the cooling treatment of the cells at 2.5°C also enhanced the susceptibility. We report a new serum-free culture system of the B. mori cell line for the baculovirus expression vector system.     

Improvement of daytime rapid eye movement parameters following a hot bath in night-shift workers

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - The sleep-promoting effect of a hot bath on daytime sleep after night-shift work was assessed by polysomnography. Having an unlimited daytime sleep opportunity,...     

H+-ATPase defect in Corynebacterium glutamicum abolishes glutamic acid production with enhancement of glucose consumption rate

A mutant of Corynebacterim glutamicum ('Brevibacterium flayum') ATCC14067 with a reduced H+-ATPase activity, F172-8, was obtained as a spontaneous neomycin-resistant mutant. The ATPase activity of strain F172-8 was reduced to about 25% of that of the parental strain. Strain F172-8 was cultured in a glutamic-acid fermentation medium containing 100 g/l of glucose using ajar fermentor. It was found that glucose consumption per cell during the exponential phase was higher by 70% in the mutant than in the parent. The respiration rate per cell of the mutant also increased to twice as much as that of the parent. However, the growth rate of the mutant was lower than that of the parent. Under those conditions, the parent produced more than 40 g/l glutamic acid, while the mutant hardly produced any glutamic acid. Instead the mutant produced 24.6 g/l lactic acid as the main metabolite of glucose. Remarkably, the accumulation of pyruvate and pyruvate-family amino acids, i.e., alanine and valine, was detected in the mutant. On the other hand, the parent accumulated alpha-ketoglutaric acid and a glutamate-family amino acid, proline, as major by-products. It was concluded that the decrease in the H+-ATPase activity caused the above-mentioned metabolic changes in strain F172-8, because a revertant of strain F172-8, R2-1, with a H+-ATPase activity of 70% of that of strain ATCC14067, showed a fermentation profile similar to that of the parent. Sequence analyses of the atp operon genes of these strains identified one point mutation in the gamma subunit in strain F172-8.     

A New H-Phosphonate Approach Using N-Unprotected Monomers and Phosphonium Condensing Reagents

Abstract

Oligodexyribonucleotides were synthesized by using N-unprotected H-phosphonate monomers and a phosphonium-type of new condensing reagent. In the present H-phosphonate approach, N-sulfonyloxaziridine derivatives were successfully employed as new reagents for oxidation of the H-phosphonate linkages in the presence of silylating reagents.     

An analysis of factors influencing the isolation rate of herpes simplex virus.

Attempts were made to improve the rate of isolation of herpes simplex virus (HSV) from clinical specimens by minimizing loss of virus infectivity during transportation and employing the most sensitive cells for isolation. Basical analyses using standard strains of type 1 and type 2 HSV indicated that virus titer decrease was marked even at low temperatures in environments free of proteinous stabilizer such as normal serum or tissue extract, negating the generally held concept that HSV is stable in distilled water. YLE (Earle-lactalbumin HYDROLYSATE-YEAST EXTRACT) medium containing 20% inactivated calf serum was determined to be a transport medium of choice, because degradation of suspended virus during storage and freeze-thawing was negligible and loss of virus during Millipore filtration was minimal. Special coating of the membrane could also be obviated by the use of this solution. In a cell susceptibility test using clinical specimens, secondary rabbit kidney (SRK) cells were the most sensitive, showing a quick development of cytopathic effect. Vero and RK-13 cells were the second best, whereas monkey kidney, HeLa and L cells were far less sensitive. A total of 136 specimens from suspected cases, sent by dermatologists, were tested using SRK cells, and 99 strains of type 1 and 15 strains of type 2 HSV were isolated. Excluding one case from which vaccinia virus was isolated, the isolation rate of HSV was 84.4%.