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The Japanese black salamander, Hynobius nigrescens, is endemic to Japan and breeds in still water. Egg sacs of three colors (white, intermediate, and transparent) have been identified to date. However, the cause of this variation is not well understood. Therefore, we conducted a survey within the Ryohaku Mountains, where genetic differences are assumed to be small, and investigated egg sac color type in 10 spawning ponds. Our results confirmed that the ratio of the intermediate and transparent types increases with altitude. Regarding egg sac color type at each altitude, all egg sacs found above 740 m asl were white, whereas the transparent and intermediate types began to appear from at or above 740 m. As altitude increased, the incidence of the white type decreased and that of the transparent and intermediate types increased. In addition, a redundancy analysis was performed to determine the relationship between egg sac color and the topographical and meteorological conditions and to clarify the results for each pond. The analysis revealed that maximum snow depth was strongly correlated with an increase in the number of egg sacs of intermediate and transparent types. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Birds living in urban areas use various human-made structures. Many artificial structures such as houses, electric poles, and electric wires are used as "perches". The height of urban birds (vertical space utilization) may be affected by the height of these structures are. We investigated how and which height birds utilize in the urban space in Hakodate City in Hokkaido, and whether they are related to the electric poles and wires. A decision tree was constructed to analyze how differences in species (Tree Sparrow, Rock Dove, Carrion Crow, Large-billed Crow, and Slaty-backed Gull.), seasons, and in the numbers of high-rise buildings explained the observed heights of birds in the following three categories; L-zone (0–4.8 m), E-zone (4.8–14.5 m), and H-zone (all ranges higher than 14.5 m). The combination of explanatory variables that were strongly related to height differed among species. Although Carrion Crows and Tree Sparrows most frequently used heights with electric poles and wires, their usage patterns were different. For both species, the E-zone was used not only as merely a perching place but also as an important place where behaviors related to reproduction were exhibited. Knowing the vertical space utilization of birds in urban areas may help avoid future accidents involving unmanned aerial vehicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY This paper presents a novel type of flux-modulating synchronous machine (FMSM) in which permanent magnets (PMs) are embedded in the stator back-iron. The rotor has neither windings nor PMs. A prototype machine with an outer-rotor configuration was designed and manufactured to validate the operating principle of the FMSM. The characteristics in the motor mode of the prototype machine were also investigated with a vector control system. The results of the investigations show that, as in surface-mounted PM motors, the torque of the FMSM is predominantly generated by the PM flux and can be controlled using the armature current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the appropriate permanent magnet (PM) arrangement of novel flux-modulating synchronous machines (FMSMs) in which PMs are embedded in the stator back iron. Using finite element analysis (FEA), three types of FMSMs with different PM arrangements are designed, and their performance characteristics are compared. As a result of the investigation, it was found that the FMSM with a V-shaped PM arrangement has a higher torque capability than do other FMSMs. The accuracy of the FEA simulations was confirmed through experiments on a prototype machine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Novel ruthenium complexes Ru(L)(bpy)(PF) and platinum organometallic complexes Pt(L)(−≡−CHCH) with bis-(pyridinyl)ethynyl-phenanthrolines (L = 3,8-bis[2-(3-pyridinyl)ethynyl]-1,10-phenanthroline or 3,8-bis[2-(4-pyridinyl)ethynyl]-1,10-phenanthroline) that function as metalloligands by extra pyridyl units have been prepared using respective synthetic methods. These complexes have broad absorption bands assignable to the MLCT band as the main contributing factor in the 400 to 550 nm wavelength region. Furthermore, these complexes show phosphorescence centered around 680 nm upon excitation at 425 nm. These emissions were assigned to a triplet MLCT-based luminescence for the ruthenium complexes, while a triplet MLCT as the main element, including the interligand charge transfer as the minor element, was assigned for the platinum organometallic complexes. The quantum yields of the emission of the present ruthenium complexes were relatively high, and these complexes are exactly phosphorescent dyes, although the emission intensities of the platinum complexes are poor. These two types of complexes are capable of selective photophysical detection of some metal ions and can serve as metalloligands in the construction of supramolecular metallocycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a study which examines the utility of gluconate as a taste improving substance. It states that general labelled magnitude scale method was used to determine the taste intensity and quality of potassium gluconate and Calcium gluconate. It mentions the result which reveals that in human sensory tests, gluconate successfully suppressed the bitter taste.

Hyaluronan (HA) is a glycosaminoglycan that associates with various molecules to assemble a specific HA-rich extracellular matrix. Low and intermediate-molecular-weight HA induces cytokines, chemokines, and other mediators of inflammation and extracellular matrix (ECM) degradation. Hyaluronidases are a group of enzymes that degrade HA. As a model of patients with allergic diseases, we used egg albumin to induce high levels of IgE in rats and examined changes in the expression of hyaluronidase genes (Hyal1 and Hyal2) using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The expression of Hyal2 was not affected by the overproduction of IgE induced with egg albumin, whereas the expression of the Hyal1 gene was suppressed. High-molecular-weight HA might be degraded by Hyal2 into intermediate-molecular-weight HA, which can trigger inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strength of Earth's magnetic dipole field controls galactic cosmic ray (GCR) flux, and GCR-induced cloud formation can affect climate. Here, we provide the first evidence of the GCR-induced cloud effect on the East-Asian monsoon during the last geomagnetic reversal transition. Bicentennial-resolution monsoon records from the Chinese Loess Plateau revealed that the summer monsoon (SM) was affected by millennial-scale climate events that occurred before and after the reversal, and that the winter monsoon (WM) intensified independently of SM variations; dust accumulation rates increased, coinciding with a cooling event in Osaka Bay. The WM intensification event lasted about 5000 years across an SM peak, during which the Earth's magnetic dipole field weakened to <25% of its present strength and the GCR flux increased by more than 50%. Thus, the WM intensification likely resulted from the increased land–ocean temperature gradient originating with the strong Siberian High that resulted from the umbrella effect of increased low-cloud cover through an increase in GCR flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]