Spinetoram is a new chemical in the spinosyn class of insecticides. It is a semi-synthetic spinosyn discovered in modification studies of fermenting substances of Saccharopolyspora spinosa by Dow AgroSciences LLC.
Spinetoram has good insecticidal properties such as broad insecticidal spectrum, rapid action and short preharvest interval. Sumitomo Chemical Co., Ltd. started its development in Japan from 2005. Its formulated products, DIANA^® SC, DIANA^® WDG and STOUT^® DANTOTSU^® DIANA^® box granule, have been registered since March 2011.
Its insecticidal properties, the best application timing for the control of cabbage insect pests and the safety assessment of spinetoram are introduced in this paper.
(by Yasutaka SHIMOKAWATOKO, Naoki SATO, Takafumi YAMAGUCHI, Hitoshi TANAKA)

Value-added polypropylene is one of the industrial materials desirable for saving energy and reducing stress on environment. As the material performance becomes multi-functional and advanced, material characterization plays an important role because of the complicated material characteristics. The speedy application of suitable characterization methods is very effective for promoting the research and development activities. In this article, we introduce some examples of the application to evaluate polypropylene film and compound.
(by Takashi SAKURAI, Shizuto YAMAKOSHI, Kenji WATANABE, Naoya UMEGAKI)

In June 2010, the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA) added boric acid to the candidate list of SVHCs (substances of very high concern) under the Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals (REACH) Regulation. In polarizing plates, only unreacted (free) boric acid which is not bound to PVA is considered to be an SVHC.
We developed a quantitative analytical method for unreacted (free) boric acid remaining in polarizing plates. Unreacted boric acid can be extracted selectively from polarizing plates with 2-ethyl-1,3-hexanediol / chloroform, and analyzed by ICP-AES.
(by Seiya KUNIMASA, Makoto TASAKI, Hiromi YAMADA, Shinji MORIMOTO, Manabu TOGAI)

Biocatalysis has matured into the standard technology for synthesizing industrially-important chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals. The principal advantage of biocatalysts is their ability to catalyze reactions with high specificity (often enantio- or regio-selectively). Furthermore, biocatalysts have the advantage of operating under mild conditions, typically at ambient temperature and pressure. Here, I present recent industrial applications of biocatalysts to perform asymmetric reduction synthesis.
(by Hiroyuki ASAKO)

We have several processes consisting of mixture of gas, liquid and solid, known as multiphase flow processes, in chemical engineering. In this paper, the simulation method used to deal with such processes in our company has been introduced. Following are examples of some applications, (1) Simulation of liquid mixing in a bubble column, (2) DEM-CFD coupling simulation for fluidized bed with small particles, (3) Simulation of single bubble and droplet by using interface tracking type method.
(by Naoki SHIMADA, Tomonari KOBAYASHI, Tetsuya SUZUTA)

The interference of a chemical with the thyroidal hormone system, that is the normal function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid (HPT) axis, is considered as an endocrine disrupting effect. The amphibian metamorphosis assay (AMA), which is an OECD and EPA guideline study, represents a generalized vertebrate model to evaluate such a chemical action not only on wildlife but also mammals. This review deals with the state-of-the-art of frog metamorphosis processes and thyroid hormone regulation, and introduces our attempts, especially the histopathological examination, for more precise evaluation of AMA.
(by Kaori MIYATA, Keiko OSE)