Search

One of useful geochemical observations for evaluating the volcanic activity is measuring soil gas emission, which may indicate deep-sited changes in the volcanic system. At Mt. Azuma, Japan, a continuous observation station has been deployed since October 2017 to monitor soil gas fluxes. Mt. Azuma exhibited unrest in 2018, and the soil CO2 flux increased drastically in August 2018 (e.g., Fukui et al., 2019). However, the CO2 flux fluctuated largely over the entire observation period because of the perturbation of external environment parameters (such as temperature and humidity), which made it difficult to find smaller flux changes from a deep volcanic origin. In this study, we employed a machine learning approach to detect such small, unclear flux changes.First, we analyzed our CO2 emission data with the multiple regression analysis (e.g., Morita et al., 2019). The model was trained using flux data from October 2017 to July 2018 (just before the significant flux increase) to represent typical background gas emission. Then we calculated flux residuals of the trained model in 2018. The residuals showed that the flux change occurred not only in August 2018 but also in July 2018, indicating that the model might detect the volcanic status change earlier than August 2018. We also applied a deep learning model with a long short-term memory (LSTM) layer to the same dataset and found that the LSTM model also supported the flux change in July. For further investigation, we will test other machine learning techniques and use seismic observation data., The 28th IUGG General Assembly (IUGG2023) (Berlin 2023)

IL-33 is a novel cytokine that is believed to be involved in inflammation and carcinogenesis. However, its source, its production and its secretion process remain unclear. Recently, we have reported that IL-33 is up-regulated in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis in mice.Production of IL-33 from intestinal tissue was studied in a murine cancer model induced by azoxymethane (AOM) and DSS in vivo and in cultures of IEC-6 epithelial cells. Cytokine levels were measured by real time PCR, immunohistochemistry and elisa.Mice with AOM/DSS-induced colitis expressed all the characteristic symptoms of colon cancer pathology. Immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated epithelial cell-derived IL-33 in colon tissues from mice with AOM/DSS colitis. Real time PCR and quantitative PCR analysis revealed that AOM/DSS colitis tissues expressed up-regulated IL-1β, IL-33, TGF-β, and EGF mRNA. Gefitinib, an EGFR inhibitor, inhibited IL-33 mRNA expression in AOM/DSS colitis mice. The pathophysiological role of IL-33 in the rat intestinal epithelial cell line (IEC-6 cells) was then investigated. We found that EGF, but not TGF-β1 or PDGF, greatly enhanced mRNA expression of IL-33 and its receptor ST2. In accordance with the gene expression and immunohistochemical analysis of IL-33 levels, elisa-based analysis of cytoplasmic and nuclear extracts showed increased IL-33 protein levels in IEC-6 cells after treatment with EGF.Our results suggest that EGF is a key growth factor that increased IL-33 production and ST2 receptor expression during intestinal inflammation and carcinogenesis. The EGF/IL-33/ST2 axis represents a novel therapeutic target in colon cancer.

24th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference, 21-25 September 2009, Hamburg, Germany; 2425-2428, In the present work, we have investigated high-efficiency flexible CIGS thin film solar cells on titanium (Ti) and polyimide (PI) foils. In case of CIGS/Ti devices, 120nm-thick CBD-ZnS(O,OH) buffer layers were deposited onto CIGS thin films. The conventional CBD-CdS buffer layers were used for CIGS/PI devices. The influence of the substrate temperature during CIGS deposition on film properties and cell performance has been mainly investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analyses. CIGS thin films were deposited by the three-stage process at substrate temperatures of 460-550ºC. A desirable double grading of Ga/(In+Ga) atomic ratio required to achieve high efficiency devices was formed at substrate temperatures of 500ºC and 480ºC for devices on Ti and PI foils, respectively. By optimizing cell fabrication conditions, the total area efficiencies of 17.9% and 15.7% were achieved for flexible CIGS solar cells on Ti and PI foil substrates.

Fast developments in the field of wireless mobile communications increase the demand for novel antennas and MMIC RF front end circuitry addressing the requirements of compactness, efficiency, and low cost. Recently, the active integrated antenna (AIA) approach became one of the most promising innovative designs in minimizing of interconnects and power consumption as well as increasing the efficiency of RF amplifiers [1-3]. Unlike the conventional configuration of receiver/transmitter front ends where the antenna and active circuit are separate components, their tight integration in AIA systems makes also possible the realization of broadband performance including efficient high-harmonics tuning [4]. Here we present a compact AIA receiver front end as a candidate for applications in the third-generation mobile communications handsets.Size reduction becomes a key issue in designing antenna elements for integrated wireless handheld terminals, however the choice of dielectric rod helical antenna provides quite compact configuration of AIA amplifier. Because of direct integration of amplifier circuit and antenna in AIA approach, proper impedance matching proves to be a major condition for increasing the gain and minimizing the system's noise. The design and simulation of low-noise amplifier (LNA) for integrated receiver front end is presented and the measured results of AIA radiation pattern are demonstrated in this study.

The carcinogenicities of a choline deficient L-amino acid defined (CDAA) diet and a semipurified choline deficient diet were comparatively examined. A total of 60 male Fischer 344 rats, 6 weeks old, were divided into 5 experimental groups each consisting of 12 rats. Group 1 received the CDAA diet chronically to the end of the 52-week experiment while Group 2 was given the same diet for the first 24 weeks and then a basal diet for the following 28 weeks. Groups 3, 4, and 5 received a choline supplemented L-amino acid defined diet, the semipurified choline deficient diet, and a semipurified choline supplemented diet, respectively, throughout the experimental period. All surviving rats were subjected to complete macroscopic examination at Week 52. Histopathologically diagnosed hepatocellular carcinomas were induced in Group 1 at an incidence of 100%; multiple metastatic nodules were seen in the lungs of one of the animals. Hepatocellular carcinomas were also induced in Group 4 rats at a significantly lower incidence of 20%. No hepatocellular carcinomas were observed in rats in Groups 2, 3, and 4. The results indicate that the CDAA diet exerts more potent carcinogenicity for the livers of rats than does the semipurified choline deficient diet. However, limited exposure for 24 weeks may have not been sufficient for hepatocellular carcinoma induction by the CDAA diet at Week 52 although a high incidence of hyperplastic nodules and slight cirrhosis were evidence of persistent lesions.

A magneto-elastic analysis is presented for the bending problem of a magnetically saturated flat plate of finite width with a through crack under a uniform magnetic field. The Fourier transform method is used to solve the magneto-elastic problem and the result is expressed in terms of an integro-differential equation for the deflection. The integro-differential equation is solved by the standard iteration method and the mixed boundary value problem is reduced to the solution of a Fredholm integral equation of the second kind. Numerical values on the moment intensity factor are obtained and the results are graphed to display the influence of the magnetic field.