Spin disorder on a triangular lattice

As liquids crystallize into solids on cooling, spins in magnets generally form periodic order. However, three decades ago, it was theoretically proposed that spins on a triangular lattice form a liquidlike disordered state at low temperatures. Whether or not a spin liquid is stabilized by geometrical frustration has remained an active point of inquiry ever since. Our thermodynamic and neutron measurements on NiGa2S4, a rare example of a two-dimensional triangular lattice antiferromagnet, demonstrate that geometrical frustration stabilizes a low-temperature spin-disordered state with coherence beyond the two-spin correlation length. Spin liquid formation may be an origin of such behavior.     

Spontaneous histiocytic sarcoma of the popliteal lymph node in a young sprague-dawley rat

The present report describes a rare case of spontaneous primary histiocytic sarcoma of the popliteal lymph node in a 19-week-old female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat. At necropsy, a 10 mm-diameter whitish nodule was found at the site of the femoral muscle in the right hindlimb. Histopathologically, the nodule comprised large pleomorphic histiocyte-like cells with abundant eosinophilic or foamy cytoplasm. Multinucleated giant cells, necrotic foci surrounded by palisading arrays of epithelioid histiocyte-like cells and phagocytosis of cell debris or erythrocytes by the neoplastic cells were occasionally observed. Invasion of the tumor cells into the surrounding adipose tissue was found focally, but there were no distal metastases. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were positive for vimentin, CD68 (ED1) and lysozyme. We concluded that this tumor occurred in the popliteal lymph node, considering the anatomical location of the lesion and the presence of the remnants of lymphoid tissue involved in the tumor.     

Photoinduced oxidation of the insecticide phenothrin on soil surfaces

Photodegradation profiles of the pyrethroid insecticide phenothrin on a moistened U.S. soil thin layer was investigated by using its predominant component, the 1R-trans-isomer (I), under continuous exposure to light at >290 nm from a xenon arc lamp. Its degradation was moderately accelerated by irradiation with half-lives of 5.7-5.9 days (dark control 21-24 days), mainly via successive oxidation of the 2-methylprop-1-enyl group and ester cleavage followed by mineralization to carbon dioxide. Spectroscopic and cochromatographic analyses showed that the major degradates were the alcohol and ketone derivatives of I formed via photoinduced oxidation of the 2-methylprop-1-enyl group by singlet oxygen. The photoinduced generation of singlet oxygen in/on the soil surface was confirmed by using chemical trapping reactions together with ESR spectroscopy.     

Glutathione levels in phloem sap of rice plants under sulfur deficient conditions

Glutathione which is an abundant reduced sulfur compound in plants is considered to play important roles in the transmission of the sulfur nutrient status between organs within the plant body and in the long-distance transport of reduced sulfur. We determined the concentrations of glutathione, γ-glutamylcysteine (γ-EC), sulfate in the rice phloem sap collected by the insect laser technique. Phloem sap was collected from the plants cultured in sulfur-deficient and control solutions. The concentration of glutathione in the rice phloem sap was higher than that of sulfate in both control and sulfur-deficient plants. Under sulfur-deficient condition, the concentration of glutathione in the phloem sap did not decrease, whereas the sulfate concentration decreased significantly. The pattern of changes in γ-EC concentration was similar to that of glutathione. These data indicate the presence of mechanisms for the maintenance of a constant glutathione concentration in the phloem sap in rice plants under sulfur deficiency, whereas the sulfate concentration was found to be relatively unstable.     

Novel fluorescence detection of free radicals generated in photolysis of fenvalerate

Photoinduced decarboxylation via homolytic cleavage of the ester linkage generating two benzyl radicals being recoupled is known to be a major photolytic pathway of the insecticide fenvalerate in aqueous or organic solvents. A highly sensitive and selective fluorescence spectroscopic method was applied to detect these radicals generated under xenon lamp irradiation in organic solvents and aqueous acetonitrile solutions. The short-lived radicals were efficiently trapped by the nitroxide free radical having a primary amino group, and the resultant diamagnetic adducts were instantaneously derivatized with fluorescamine as a fluorescent probe. The highly fluorescent derivatives were successfully separated and detected by a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography equipped with a fluorescence detector, and their structures were individually identified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry.     

Delineation of Japanese soil temperature regime map

The soil temperature regime map provides for utilitarian classification that can be superimposed on soil classification to permit more precise interpretations and assessments of land use. The objects of this study are (1) to clarify the relationship between soil temperature and meteo-geographical factors, and then (2) to delineate detailed soil temperature regime map (1?km grid) as Japanese land resources inventory. There was a parallel relationship between mean annual soil temperature (MAST) and mean annual air temperature (MAAT), but this relationship was affected to some extent by the mean annual wind speed and mean annual global irradiation in this study. Furthermore, the difference between MAST and MAAT [Diff(MAST–MAAT)] showed the highest correlation with elevation. The map of RK_Diff(MAST–MAAT) was computed using this meteo-geographical relationship with the regression-kriging approach, and then the map of MAST and the soil temperature regime map were delineated using the map of MAAT and the RK_Diff(MAST–MAAT). The root mean square error of this delineation procedure was 0.47°C. It was clear that the majority of the Japanese soils had “mesic” soil temperature regime, and Japanese agricultural land was mainly distributed at “mesic” area and followed by “thermic”, “frigid”, and “hyperthermic” area. For promoting this land resource inventory, the soil temperature regime map will be uploaded on “Soil Information Web Viewer (http://agrimesh.dc.affrc.go.jp/soil_db/)”, which is provided by the National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences.     

Analysis of acrylamide in green tea by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Optimization of the solid-phase extraction cleanup procedure enabled the GC-MS analysis of acrylamide in tea samples without the interference of bromination by tea catechins. Although polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP) is available for removing tea catechins from tea extract, the peaks derived from PVPP had the same retention time as brominated acrylamide in mass chromatograms obtained by GC-MS. A considerable amount of acrylamide was formed at roasting temperatures of > or =120 degrees C; the highest acrylamide level was observed when tea samples were roasted at 180 degrees C for 10 min. Higher temperatures and longer processing times caused a decrease in the acrylamide content. Furthermore, an analysis of 82 tea samples showed that rather than the reducing sugar content, the asparagine content in tea leaves was a significant factor related to acrylamide formation in roasted products. The acrylamide level in roasted tea products was controlled by asparagine in the presence of reducing sugars.     

Comparative studies of the changes in enzymatic activities in hardy and less hardy cultivars of winter wheat in late fall and in winter under snow

Abstract

The synthetic activity of protein and changes in the activity profiles of enzymes during cold acclimation were studied in leaves, stems, and crowns of a hardy winter wheat cultivar ( Triticum aestivum L. cv. Horoshirikomugi) and a less hardy winter wheat cultivar (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Norin 61). The results showed that one of the genetic differences between the two cuitivars is found in the activities of protein synthesis under low temperatures. The profiles of the changes in enzymatic activities showed that the adjustment of enzymatic activities was a tissue-specific event to accommodate environmental changes. The synthesis of the enzymes involved in a peroxide scavenging system such as hexokinase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, dehydroascorbate reductase, ascorbate peroxidase, and so on started at the acclimation stage, while the phosphoglucose isomerase, which appears to be a maintenance-type enzyme in the wintering wheat, showed a small increase in the activity at later stages of acclimation period in their stems of both cuitivars. When the field was covered with snow, the catalase activity in the leaves started to decrease abruptly, while catalase activities in the stems and crowns did not exhibit appreciable changes during the life under snow. The life-cycle dependent changes in enzymatic activities appear to occur in late March or early April under snow.     

Simultaneous analysis of catechins, gallic acid, strictinin, and purine alkaloids in green tea by using catechol as an internal standard

We developed a high-performance liquid chromatography-based method for simultaneous analysis of nine catechins, gallic acid, strictinin, caffeine, and theobromine in green tea by using catechol as an internal standard. Although the high cost and instability of the catechin reference standards limit the application of this method, the addition of ascorbic acid to the standard stock solution preserved the stability of the reference standards in the solution for 1 year when stored at -30 degrees C. Furthermore, we found that the slopes of the calibration curves plotted were stable for a run time of 2000 h. Our method proved to be appropriate for quantification and yielded good correlation coefficients, detection levels, repeatability, reproducibility, and recovery rates. Quantitative data revealed that the contribution of only 200 mL of brewed tea to the total dietary catechins was approximately 220-420 mg, while that of 500 mL of bottled tea was approximately 170-900 mg.     

Protective Effect of Chitin Urocanate Nanofibers against Ultraviolet Radiation

Urocanic acid is a major ultraviolet (UV)-absorbing chromophore. Chitins are highly crystalline structures that are found predominantly in crustacean shells. Alpha-chitin consists of microfibers that contain nanofibrils embedded in a protein matrix. Acid hydrolysis is a common method used to prepare chitin nanofibrils (NFs). We typically obtain NFs by hydrolyzing chitin with acetic acid. However, in the present study, we used urocanic acid to prepare urocanic acid chitin NFs (UNFs) and examined its protective effect against UVB radiation. Hos: HR-1 mice coated with UNFs were UVB irradiated (302 nm, 150 mJ/cm²), and these mice showed markedly lower UVB radiation-induced cutaneous erythema than the control. Additionally, sunburn cells were rarely detected in the epidermis of UNFs-coated mice after UVB irradiation. Although the difference was not as significant as UNFs, the number of sunburn cells in mice treated with acetic acid chitin nanofibrils (ANFs) tended to be lower than in control mice. These results demonstrate that ANFs have a protective effect against UVB and suggest that the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects of NFs influence the protective effect of ANFs against UVB radiation. The combination of NFs with other substances that possess UV-protective effects, such as urocanic acid, may provide an enhanced protective effect against UVB radiation.