In the past studies of Lyophlium shimeji, it was reported that the quantity of sufficient starch used as a carbon source was able to supply the factor that allows successful fruit-body formation without raising osmotic pressure in the medium. Glucoamylase are exo Glucosyl hydrolase, which catalyze the release glucose from the nonreducing ends of amylose, amylopectin, and other polysaccharides. Glucoamylase genes are found in many prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes that use starch as a carbon source. It was believed to be important in the utilization of starch by the basidiomycetous fungus. Glucoamylase activity in the medium increased markedly during fruit-body formation. So study of the characteristic of glucoamylase in Pholiota nameko will provide the basis for P .nameko fruit body formation. In this research, in order to confirm the presence of glucoamylase gene in P. nameko genome, the genomic DNA was prepared from P. nameko NGW19-6 strain and was used as template to amplify the glucoamylases gene (PnGlu1). To prepare genomic DNA from the P. nameko NGW19-6 strain, the mycelium was grown on 10 ml of PD liquid medium (potato 200 g/l ,Glucose 20 g/l) prepared with tap water in a 100 ml Erlenmeyer flask and at 25°C for 7 days. Genomic DNA fragment encoding the glucoamylase protein (PnGlu1) were amplified by PCR with degenerate primer F15-GP2-AF/F15-GP2-BR. The primer pair was designed based on the amino acid sequences GLGEPKF and FDLWEEI, respectively, which are conserved in the glucoamylase protein of Laccaria bicolor. This produce fragments of approximately 400 bp. Next, to amplify the whole genomic clone of PnGlu1, oligonucleotide primer PnGP2F/ PnGP2R were designed based on the nucleotide sequence of DNA fragments amplified by cassette PCR method. The produced fragment has significant homology with glucoamylase of L. bicolor. To investigate the relationship between different composition of medium and glucoamylase expression, we checked the expression level of glucoamylase gene by realtime RT-PCR and measurement of glucoamylase enzyme activity.

We investigated the mechanism how the high green density can be provided during die lubricated warm compaction (WD). We observed and analyzed the densification processes of iron powders including different contents of an inner lubricant, and measured the lateral pressure at the die wall during WD in comparison with conventional compaction and warm compaction. As a result, the high density in WD was due to not only the particles-deformation enhanced by warming powders but also the particles-rearrangement promoted by reducing an amount of the inner lubricant rather than the die lubrication.

The filling property of the binder treated iron based powder made of atomized iron powder was compared with that of the one made of reduced iron powder. The latter one showed a better filling property than the former one, although the original reduced powder showed a worse flow rate. Changing the particle size distribution of the original atomized powder from wide to narrow like the original reduced iron powder, improved the filling property of the binder treated powder. As a result, the particle size distribution of the original iron powder was found to strongly affect the filling property of the binder treated powder.

A developed molybdenum hybrid-alloyed steel powder is based on a molybdenum prealloyed steel powder to which molybdenum powder particles are diffusion bonded. The sintered compact made of this powder has a finer pore structure than that of the conventional molybdenum prealloyed steel powder, because the ferritic iron phase with a high diffusion coefficient is formed in the sintering necks where molybdenum is concentrated resulting in enhanced sintering. The rolling contact fatigue strength of the sintered and carburized compacts made of this powder improved by a factor of 3.6 compared with that of the conventional powder due to the fine pore structures.