We demonstrated that a unique polysaccharide with extremely high molecular weight can be easily obtained via a low-cost, mild reaction in a water medium from sucrose, a photosynthetic product. ...α-1,3/1,6-Glucosyltransferase L (GtfL) from Streptococcus salivarius produced water-insoluble α-d-glucan from sucrose at 37 °C. Gel permeation chromatography revealed the molecular weight was extremely high; the weight-average molecular weight values were more than 1,000,000 irrespective of the substrate concentration. The Smith degradation of neat glucan and NMR spectroscopic analyses of the acetyl derivative revealed a structure similar to that of a comb-type graft copolymer, α-d-(1 → 3)-graft-(1 → 6)-glucan. The anhydroglucose units (AGUs) in the main-chain backbone are linked by (1 → 3)-glycosidic bonds, whereas a side chain consisting of four AGUs via (1 → 6)-glycosidic bonds alternately extends from C6 of the main chain.
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•In vitro synthesis of an α-d-glucan with α-1,3/1,6-glucosyltransferase L from S. salivarius.•Easily obtainable glucan with extremely high molecular weight under a mild condition.•Comb-like structure composed of (1 → 3)-linked main chain and (1 → 6)-linked side chains
6-O-Monoacyl ascorbates were synthesized by the condensation of L-ascorbic acid with caprylic, capric, lauric, myristic or palmitic acid using immobilized lipase in acetone. The decomposition ...processes of the acyl ascorbates in air were measured, and the decomposition kinetics were analyzed based on the Weibull equation. The rate constant, k, increased with increasing relative humidity and temperature for all acyl ascorbates; k also depended on acyl chain length, as the decomposition rates of ascorbates increased as acyl chains decreased. The enthalpy-entropy compensation held during the decomposition, suggesting that the decomposition of all acyl ascorbates proceeded by essentially the same mechanism. Furthermore, it was suggested that the oxidative degradation of the ascorbyl moiety of acyl ascorbate primarily proceeded during the decomposition, and was followed by the hydrolysis of the ester bond between the acyl and ascorbyl moieties.
Most amputees experience phantom limb, whereby they feel that the amputated limb is still present. In some cases, these experiences include pain that can be alleviated by "mirror therapy." Mirror ...therapy consists of superimposing a mirrored image of the moving intact limb onto the phantom limb. This therapy provides a closed loop between the motor command to the amputated limb and its predicted visual feedback. This loop is also involved in the sense of agency, a feeling of
one's own body. However, it is unclear how mirror therapy is related to the sense of agency over a phantom limb. Using mirror therapy, we investigated phantom limb pain and the senses of agency and ownership (i.e., a feeling of
one's own body) of the phantom limb. Nine upper-limb amputees, five of whom reported recent phantom limb pain, underwent a single 15-min trial of mirror therapy. Before and after the trial, the participants completed a questionnaire regarding agency, ownership, and pain related to their phantom limb. They reported that the sense of agency over the phantom limb increased following the mirror therapy trial, while the ownership slightly increased but not as much as did the agency. The reported pain did not change; that is, it was comparably mild before and after the trial. These results suggest that short-term mirror therapy can, at least transiently, selectively enhance the sense of agency over a phantom limb, but may not alleviate phantom limb pain.
We propose a CMOS circuit that can be used as an equivalent to resistors. This circuit uses a simple differential pair with diode-connected MOSFETs and operates as a high-resistance resistor when ...driven in the subthreshold region of MOSFETs. Its resistance can be controlled in a range of 1-1000MΩ by adjusting a tail current for the differential pair. The results of device fabrication with a 0.35-µm 2P-4M CMOS process technology is described. The resistance was 13MΩ for a tail current of 10nA and 135MΩ for 1nA. The chip area was 105µm × 110µm. Our resistor circuit is useful to construct many high-resistance resistors in a small chip area.
A sweet pepper, ‘Manganji’, is a local variety in Kyoto. However, fruits with pungency are frequently produced depending on the environmental conditions, e.g., high temperature or water stress. ...Previous studies reported that the complete lack of pungency was controlled by a single recessive gene. In this study, we developed a molecular marker (SCY-800) linked to this locus. A continuous backcross (a bell pepper variety ‘Tongari’ × ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 1’) × ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 1’ with the help of marker-assisted selection was carried out in order to develop a novel non-pungent variety, ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 2’, by transferring the recessive gene to the original variety ‘Manganji’. In the new variety, pungent fruits were not observed at all in two different fields throughout two years. Other undesirable fruit characters (anthocyanin accumulation at pericarp, short fruit length, etc.) were found at very low frequencies as compared to ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 1’. Overall, our new variety, ‘Kyoto Manganji No. 2’, would be useful for the production of non-pungent pepper in Kyoto.
Abstract
Spin-orbit coupled honeycomb magnets with the Kitaev interaction have received a lot of attention due to their potential of hosting exotic quantum states including quantum spin liquids. Thus ...far, the most studied Kitaev systems are 4
d
/5
d
-based honeycomb magnets. Recent theoretical studies predicted that 3
d
-based honeycomb magnets, including Na
2
Co
2
TeO
6
(NCTO), could also be a potential Kitaev system. Here, we have used a combination of heat capacity, magnetization, electron spin resonance measurements alongside inelastic neutron scattering (INS) to study NCTO’s quantum magnetism, and we have found a field-induced spin disordered state in an applied magnetic field range of 7.5 T <
B
(⊥
b
-axis) < 10.5 T. The INS spectra were also simulated to tentatively extract the exchange interactions. As a 3
d
-magnet with a field-induced disordered state on an effective spin-1/2 honeycomb lattice, NCTO expands the Kitaev model to 3
d
compounds, promoting further interests on the spin-orbital effect in quantum magnets.
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