This short review describes various types of anti-corrosion additives of water-soluble metal working fluids for aluminum alloy materials. It is concerned with synthetic additives classified according to their functional groups; silicone compounds, carboxylic acids and dibasic acids, esters, Diels-Alder adducts, various polymers, nitrogen compounds, phosphoric esters, phosphonic acids, and others. Testing methods for water-soluble metal working fluids for aluminum alloy materials are described for a practical application in a laboratory.

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α-Linolenic acid (ALA) has been reported to exhibit an antihypertensive effect. Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) is also an antihypertensive agent. We evaluated the interaction between ALA-enriched oil (test oil) and ACEI concerning the decrease in blood pressure by administering test oil, ACEI, or test oil + ACEI to 7-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR). After administration, the systolic pressure decreased significantly in all groups compared with the level before administration, but the diastolic pressure decreased significantly only in the test oil + ACEI group. No significant difference was noted in systolic or diastolic pressure among the 3 groups. These results suggest that the interaction between ALA-enriched oil and ACEI is limited. Our study suggested the safety of consuming foods containing a large amount of ALA in combination with hypotensive agents.

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LAS (Linear Alkylbenzene Sulphonate) shows relatively high aquatic toxicity in hard freshwater or seawater. In this paper, we studied the effect of adsorbent on the aquatic toxicity of LAS in hard freshwater and seawater. Daphnia magna and Artemia salina were used for acute aquatic toxicity test in freshwater and seawater, respectively. Kaolin was used as a model adsorbent and toxic surface tension (γ_tox) was used as an indicator of toxic condition. Results showed that the values of γ_tox of LAS to D. magna and A. salina were about 45-55 mN/m and 35-40 mN/m, respectively. Surface tension of LAS solution decreased and its aquatic toxicity increased with increasing the water hardness or the salinity. By adding adsorbent into the solutions, the surface activity and the aquatic toxicity were decreased greatly, and the effect of water hardness or salinity on surface tension and aquatic toxicity were removed. That is to say, the surface tension curve of soft freshwater corresponds with that of hard freshwater containing adsorbent and the surface tension curve at low salinity corresponds with that obtained for high salinity solutions containing the adsorbent. Therefore, our experimental data leads to the conclusion that the relatively high aquatic toxicity of LAS in concentrated solution of inorganic salts disappears in the presence of adsorbents. This is an important viewpoint in conducting environmental risk assessment of surfactants.

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We examined the minimal effective dose on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety of dressing containing plant sterol in humans. Exp.1: Sixty-eight healthy Japanese males (total cholesterol (TC) ≥ 170 mg/dL) were randomly divided into four groups, and were given 0, 400, 800 or 1200 mg/day of plant sterol in 15 g dressing for 4 weeks followed by the washout period of 4 weeks. Although there were no significant differences in serum TC and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations among all groups after feeding plant sterol for 4 weeks, in 36 subjects with TC ≥ 220 mg/dL, serum LDL-C concentration tended to reduce when received 800 or 1200 mg of plant sterol, and the difference between 0 and 1200 mg groups was statistically significant. The difference between 0 and 800 mg groups was near significant (p=0.053). Intake of 400 mg of plant sterol did not change serum LDL-C concentration. Exp.2: Twenty-one healthy Japanese subjects (TC ≥ 180 mg/dL, 10 men, 11 women) were given 2400 mg/day of plant sterol in 45 g dressing for 4 weeks. Clinical data were all remained normal. These results indicated that minimal effective dose of the plant sterol on serum cholesterol concentration in healthy male subjects is around 800 mg/day, and intake of 2400 mg/day of plant sterol is regarded to be safe.

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In a placebo-controlled double-blind study, we examined the effects of dressing containing plant sterol (PS) on blood lipids and the safety in Japanese borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. Fifty-nine subjects [total cholesterol (TC) concentration ≥ 200 mg/dL] were randomly divided into two groups and were given daily 15 g of dressing containing 800 mg of PS [PS(+)-group] or without PS [PS(-)-group] for 12 weeks. Every 4 weeks, fasting blood was examined and subjective symptoms were analyzed. Serum TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) concentrations did not change in the PS(-)-group, while TC and ApoB significantly decreased in the PS(+)-group at 8 and 12 weeks and LDL-C at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Moreover, serum TC, LDL-C and ApoB concentrations were significantly lower than those of PS(-)-group at 8 and 12 weeks. Other laboratory tests were all in normal ranges and no adverse events were observed. The results indicated that PS-containing dressing decreased serum TC, LDL-C and ApoB concentrations in borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. It is therefore proved that the dressing containing PS is helpful in maintaining blood cholesterol level normal and hence, the health of Japanese.

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Rice bran meal is a very good source of protein along with other micronutrients. Rice bran meal has been utilized to produce protein isolates and respective protein hydrolysates for potential application in various food products. De-oiled rice bran meal, available from Indian rice bran oil extraction plants, was initially screened by passing through an 80-mesh sieve (yield about 70%). A fraction (yield-30%) rich in fibre and silica was initially discarded from the meal. The protein content of the through fraction increased from 20.8% to 24.1% whereas silica content reduced from 3.1% to 0.4%. Rice bran protein isolate (RPI) was prepared by alkaline extraction followed by acidic precipitation at isoelectric point. This protein isolate was hydrolysed by papain at pH 8.0 and at 37°C for 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. The peptides produced by partial hydrolysis had been evaluated by determining protein solubility, emulsion activity index (EAI), emulsion stability index (ESI), foam capacity and foam stability (FS). All protein hydrolysates showed better functional properties than the original protein isolate. These improved functional properties of rice bran protein hydrolysates would make it useful for various application especially in food, pharmaceutical and related industries.

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The dimerization of acetoacetamide easily proceeds at room temperature in a dimethyl sulfoxide solution to afford 5-carbamoyl-4,6-dimethyl-2-pyridone.

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Mannosylerythritol lipid-A (MEL-A) is a glycolipid biosurfactant abundantly produced from soybean oil by microorganisms at a yield of up to 100 g/L. In this study, the formation of water-in-oil (W/O) microemulsion based on the single component of MEL-A was confirmed using dynamic light scattering (DLS) and freeze fracture electron microscopy (FF-EM). DLS and FF-EM measurements revealed that the diameter of the microemulsion increases with an increase in water-to-surfactant mole ratio (W₀) ranging from 20 to 60 nm, and the maximum W₀ value was found to be 20, which is as high as that of soybean lecithin. Glycolipid biosurfactant has a great potential for the formation of W/O microemulsion without using any cosurfactants.

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