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Observation of dynamic processes by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an attractive technique to experimentally analyze materials' nanoscale phenomena and understand the microstructure-properties relationships in nanoscale. Even if spatial and temporal resolutions of real-time TEM increase significantly, it is still difficult to say that the researchers quantitatively evaluate the dynamic behavior of defects. Images in TEM video are a two-dimensional projection of three-dimensional space phenomena, thus missing information must be existed that makes image's uniquely accurate interpretation challenging. Therefore, even though they are still a clustering high-dimensional data and can be compressed to two-dimensional, conventional statistical methods for analyzing images may not be powerful enough to track nanoscale behavior by removing various artifacts associated with experiment; and automated and unbiased processing tools for such big-data are becoming mission-critical to discover knowledge about unforeseen behavior. We have developed a method to quantitative image analysis framework to resolve these problems, in which machine learning and particle filter estimation are uniquely combined. The quantitative and automated measurement of the dislocation velocity in an Fe-31Mn-3Al-3Si autunitic steel subjected to the tensile deformation was performed to validate the framework, and an intermittent motion of the dislocations was quantitatively analyzed. The framework is successfully classifying, identifying and tracking nanoscale objects; these are not able to be accurately implemented by the conventional mean-path based analysis. JST CREST [JPMJCR1994]; Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL), Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), Virginia Tech; NSF [ECCS 1542100,, ECCS 2025151]; US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences [DE-FG02-06ER15786]; JSPS KAKENHI [19H02029, 20H02479] Published version M. Muramatsu and M. Murayama greatly appreciate the financial support by the JST CREST (JPMJCR1994). The authors also would like to express their special acknowledgement to Prof. Nobuhiro Tsuji (Kyoto University) and Chang-Yu Hung (Virginia Tech) for supporting results interpretation and data collection. This study was partly supported by Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL), Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science (ICTAS), Virginia Tech and used shared facilities at the Virginia Tech National Center for Earth and Environmental Nanotechnology Infrastructure (NanoEarth), a member of the National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI), supported by NSF (ECCS 1542100, ECCS 2025151). M. Murayama acknowledges financial support from the US Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences under Award #DE-FG02-06ER15786 for technical development of TEM in-situ deformation, and JSPS KAKENHI Grant Numbers 19H02029 & 20H02479.

Construction of the JT-60SA tokamak was completed on schedule in March 2020. Manufacture and assembly of all the main tokamak components satisfied technical requirements, including dimensional accuracy and functional performances. Development of the plasma heating systems and diagnostics have also progressed, including the demonstration of the favourable electron cyclotron range of frequency (ECRF) transmission at multiple frequencies and the achievement of long sustainment of a high-energy intense negative ion beam. Development of all the tokamak operation control systems has been completed, together with an improved plasma equilibrium control scheme suitable for superconducting tokamaks including ITER. For preparation of the tokamak operation, plasma discharge scenarios have been established using this advanced equilibrium controller. Individual commissioning of the cryogenic system and the power supply system confirmed that these systems satisfy design requirements including operational schemes contributing directly to ITER, such as active control of heat load fluctuation of the cryoplant, which is essential for dynamic operation in superconducting tokamaks. The integrated commissioning (IC) is started by vacuum pumping of the vacuum vessel and cryostat, and then moved to cool-down of the tokamak and coil excitation tests. Transition to the super-conducting state was confirmed for all the TF, EF and CS coils. The TF coil current successfully reached 25.7 kA, which is the nominal operating current of the TF coil. For this nominal toroidal field of 2.25 T, ECRF was applied and an ECRF plasma was created. The IC was, however, suspended by an incident of over current of one of the superconducting equilibrium field coil and He leakage caused by insufficient voltage holding capability at a terminal joint of the coil. The unique importance of JT-60SA for H-mode and high-β steady-state plasma research has been confirmed using advanced integrated modellings. These experiences of assembly, IC and plasma operation of JT-60SA contribute to ITER risk mitigation and efficient implementation of ITER operation.

Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) is a fairly large rodent that inhabits sub-Saharan Africa. There are very limited ecological studies on the grasscutter despite its importance as a protein resource. The objective of this study was to apply novel microsatellite markers to determine the genetic structure and diversity of grasscutter populations in Ghana. A total of 66 hair samples were collected from grasscutters in three main agro-ecological zones of Ghana, namely Guinea Savanna (n = 19), Forest (n = 16) and Coastal Savanna (n = 16) as well as Volta Region (n = 15). Samples were genotyped at 12 polymorphic loci and the results showed relatively high diversity (MNA = 7.3, HE = 0.745) within populations. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that Forest population is closer to the Coastal Savanna population than the other populations whilst Volta Region population is closer to the Guinea Savanna population than the other populations. Pairwise FST values however indicated that all populations were significantly differentiated (p < 0.01). STRUCTURE clustering analysis showed that Volta population split from the Guinea Savanna population. Grasscutter populations in Ghana are genetically differentiated according to agro-ecological zones and the Volta Lake could be serving as a barrier to gene flow.

In Ghana, local chickens are raised across distinct agro-ecological zones and constitute unique populations with variable phenotypes that need to be characterized to provide needed information for the conservation of useful genotypes against future needs. In particular, the Interior Savannah (GHIS) in the north, the Forest (GHFO) in the southwest and the Coastal Savannah (GHCS) along the coast in the southeast are of special interest because they cover a wide land area and have contrasting geographical features. An earlier study on the genetic diversity of local chicken populations in GHIS and GHFO based on microsatellite polymorphisms revealed high genetic diversity but absence of substructuring. In the current study, we expanded the scope by (1) including the local chicken population in GHCS, (2) carrying out population genetic analysis based on microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphisms, and (3) examining their extent of genetic differentiation and phylogenetic relationships with three Japanese native breeds, three purebred lines, and a wild-derived Red Junglefowl population. The results suggest that the Ghanaian chicken populations have a variety of unique alleles and are characterized by high genetic diversity with little differentiation according to agro-ecological zones. They seem to derive from a combination of egg- and meat-type breeds and these findings were corroborated by mtDNA analysis that indicated a common matriarchal lineage of Ghanaian local chickens with the ancestral Red Junglefowl.Keywords: Ghanaian Local Chickens, Genetic Diversity, Microsatellite, Mitochondrial DNA.

A piston core taken from the Tasman Plateau in the Southern Ocean has been studied for organic compounds to reconstruct the late Pleistocene marine environments. Here we report paleo sea surface temperature (SST) for the last two deglaciations using the unsaturation degree of alkenones (U^k_) preserved in the marine sediments. The U^k_ record indicates that the SST was at least 4℃ lower than the present SST at the last glacial maximum (LGM), and the amplitude of paleo-SST is at most 5.2℃ from the penultimate glacial (MIS-6) to the last interglacial warm period (the Eemian). These results indicate that the amplitude of Southern Ocean SST fluctuation was twice greater than that reported by the CLIMAP projects. This larger amplitude of glacial/interglacial SST change agrees with the SST changes reconstructed from diatom assemblages in the sediments from the Indian sector Southern Ocean, which showed 5-6℃ difference for the glacial/integlacial periods [Pichon et al., 1992]. The SST decrease in the glacial Southern Ocean may be caused by northward shift of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) at that time. Our results also demonstrate that the Eemian warm period in the Southern Ocean lasted only 3,000 years followed by a sharp cooling at around 120kyrBP. The sharp cooling in the Southern Ocean seemed to occur a few millennia (2-3kyrs) before the beginning of continental ice-sheet growth, タンデトロン加速器質量分析計業績報告 Summaries of Researches Using AMS 1996 (平成8)年度

A lecture given by Toshihiro Tsuchiyama, at the Adventures in the Physical Metallurgy of Steels (APMS) conference held in Cambridge University. How particles such as copper, which can be penetrated by dislocations in the ferrite, influence the properties. The second phases in steel, such as carbide, oxide, martensite, and so on, are usually used for enhancing work hardening to prevent the plastic instability during deformation. These hard structures are effective for increasing uniform elongation, but conversely, it tends to deteriorate the local elongation and reduction of area. To improve both uniform and local deformabilities, it would be desirable that the work hardening is enhanced by dispersed second phase in the initial stage of deformation, and then it disappears or becomes invalid in the higher strain region, leading to work softening. Authors believe that soft particles is one of possibilities to exhibit such a functional change and call it hetero-to-homo structural transition. In this report, the effect of soft Cu precipitates on tensile deformation behaviour of ferritic steel will be compared with that of hard VC carbide precipitates. In addition, the plastic deformation and mechanical dissolution behaviour of Cu particles by severe cold rolling will be demonstrated.

nterhemispheric inhibition is thought to mediate cortical rivalry between the two hemispheres through callosal input. The long-lasting form of this inhibition is believed to operate via γ-aminobutyric acid type B (GABAB) receptors, but the process is poorly understood at the cellular level. We found that the firing of layer 5 pyramidal neurons in rat somatosensory cortex due to contralateral sensory stimulation was inhibited for hundreds of milliseconds when paired with ipsilateral stimulation. The inhibition acted directly on apical dendrites via layer 1 interneurons but was silent in the absence of pyramidal cell firing, relying on metabotropic inhibition of active dendritic currents recruited during neuronal activity. The results not only reveal the microcircuitry underlying interhemispheric inhibition but also demonstrate the importance of active dendritic properties for cortical output.

Biogenic mackinawite (FeS) produced by Shewanella putrefaciens CN32 is submicron in size but nanosized in one dimension (film-like morphology) Biogenic FeS is very reactive evident by its propensity to reduced U(VI) and rapid oxidation to form lepidocrocite upon exposure to air. U(VI) reduction is observed in the pasteurized control indicative of a non-enzymatic redox process. XAS and nanodiffraction techniques (bulk and nanoscale analyses) confirm the formation of UO2. UO2 particles are nanoparticulate measuring c.a. 2.5 nm in size. The present work suggests that a remediation strategy could potentially incorporate subsurface abiotic redox interactions between biogenic Fe(II)-bearing minerals such as mackinawite & contaminant U(VI) to immobilize U as UO2 – an in-situ waste form.

In recent years, there were increasing interests in quantitative survey research on experiences of legal problems and access to justice in an unprecedented number of countries. Such survey research was initially conducted in the U.K. and the U.S. and later in Canada, New Zealand and Australia, countries with the Anglo-American legal tradition. However, a similar survey was recently carried out in the Netherlands, Japan and Hong Kong, countries of the Civil Law tradition, some of them with Asian social background. Now we have fantastic opportunities for comparative studies of civil disputes and dispute handling behavior among countries with different socio-legal backgrounds. Drawing upon these survey data, we discussed on how experiences of legal problems and occurrences of disputes differ among countries, how legal machineries are used or not used to resolve disputes, how levels of satisfaction with outcomes differ, and research designs and quantitative analytical methods for future surveys.DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1941689

Individuals of many species, including humans, differ consistently in the way they behave. These consistent behavioral differences among individuals are collectively known as animal personality (Gosling 2001), behavioral syndromes (Sih et al. 2004a), behavioral strategies (Benus et al. 1990), or behavioral profiles (Rodgers et al. 1997). Each of these terms, to some extent, describe an emergent phenomenon of the total biases in behavioral reactions an individual expresses compared to other individuals within the same population or species. In other words, animal personality, in addition to referring to consistent differences between individuals, also refers to correlated behaviors. These correlations (usually defined at the level of populations of individuals) can occur through time (an individual that is bold at one time is also bold at another), across different functional contexts (an individual that is bold toward a predator is also aggressive toward conspecifics), or some combination of time and context (juvenile exploratory behavior is related to adult sociability). Although there is some debate on terminology (e.g., Reale et al. 2007; Gosling 2008), we use the term “animal personality” throughout this chapter.

開始ページ、終了ページ: 冊子体のページ付け

開始ページ、終了ページ: 冊子体のページ付け

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We present monthly resolved records of strontium/calcium (Sr/Ca) and oxygen isotope (delta O-18) ratios from well-preserved fossil corals drilled during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 "Tahiti Sea Level" and reconstruct sea surface conditions in the central tropical South Pacific Ocean during two time windows of the last deglaciation. The two Tahiti corals examined here are uranium/thorium (U/Th)-dated at 12.4 and 14.2 ka, which correspond to the Younger Dryas (YD) cold reversal and the Bolling-Allerod (B-A) warming of the Northern Hemisphere, respectively. The coral Sr/Ca records indicate that annual average sea surface temperature (SST) was 2.6-3.1 degrees C lower at 12.4 ka and 1.0-1.6 degrees C lower at 14.2 ka relative to the present, with no significant changes in the amplitude of the seasonal SST cycle. These cooler conditions were accompanied by seawater delta O-18(delta O-18(sw)) values higher by similar to 0.8 parts per thousand and similar to 0.6 parts per thousand relative to the present at 12.4 and 14.2 ka, respectively, implying more saline conditions in the surface waters. Along with previously published coral Sr/Ca records from the island [Cohen and Hart (2004), Deglacial sea surface temperatures of the western tropical Pacific: A new look at old coral. Paleoceanography 19, PA4031, doi:10.1029/2004PA001 084], our new Tahiti coral records suggest that a shift toward lower SST by similar to 1.5 degrees C occurred from 13.1 to 12.4 ka, which was probably associated with a shift toward higher delta O-18, by similar to 0.2 parts per thousand. Along with a previously published coral Sr/Ca record from Vanuatu [Correge et al. (2004), Interdecadal variation in the extent of South Pacific tropical waters during the Younger Dyras event. Nature 428, 927-929], the Tahiti coral records provide new evidence for a pronounced cooling of the western to central tropical South Pacific during the Northern Hemisphere YD event.

開始ページ、終了ページ: 冊子体のページ付け

開始ページ、終了ページ: 冊子体のページ付け

International audience; Wild-type Japanese quail were compared with full-sibs with a yellow plumage color determined by an autosomal dominant mutation (Y), which is lethal when homozygous. These quail have wheat-straw yellow- colored feathers. Early growth was slower in yellow quail that had 2.4% lower BW than wild-type quail (149.3 g vs. 153.0 g) at 28 d of age. The BW, however, was similar for yellow and wild-type males at 35 d, and it remained so throughout the last part of the growth of the quail monitored until the age of 120 d, as indicated by the very close parameters of the monomolecular growth curve [BW= A − B exp(−kt)] obtained for the 2 groups. Yellow plumage color was also associated with a more difficult adaptation to housing (measured by temporary BW loss) in individual cages and to a significantly 0.2°C lower body temperature at 42 d, but feed consumption and residual feed intake were similar for the 2 plumage color phenotypes. Breast and liver weights were similar in the 2 groups, but abdominal fat was 24% higher (4.66 vs. 3.76 g) in yellow quail. There is some association between the correlated effects of the Y gene in quail and those of the lethal mutation Ay at the agouti locus in the mouse.

International audience; The objective of this work was to map classical markers (plumage colours and blood proteins) on the microsatellite linkage map of the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). The segregation data on two plumage colours and three blood proteins were obtained from 25 three-generation families (193 F2 birds). Linkage analysis was carried out for these five classical markers and 80 microsatellite markers. A total of 15 linkage groups that included the five classical loci and 69 of the 80 microsatellite markers were constructed. Using the BLAST homology search against the chicken genome sequence, three quail linkage groups, QL8, QL10 and QL13, were suggested to be homologous to chicken chromosomes GGA9, GGA20 and GGA24, respectively. Two plumage colour loci, black at hatch (Bh) and yellow (Y), and the three blood protein loci, transferrin (Tf), haemoglobin (Hb-1) and prealbumin-1 (Pa-1), were assigned to CJA01, QL10, QL8, CJA14 and QL13, respectively.

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This paper is the basis for a report on the transfer of the UK Groundwork approach to Japan. It details the background and history of Groundwork in the UK and sets out some of the relevant context in Japan. A Japanese case study (plus two further secondary cases) is detailed and conclusions and recommendations are drawn from the work to help suggest future directions for GW and environmental action in Japan in the future.

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Thrombomodulin (TM) is a surface glycoprotein of endothelial cells involved in both anticoagulation and antifibrinolysis. In this study, we assessed the clinical significance of TM in acute liver damage by using a rat model induced by intraperitoneal injection of D-galactosamine (Gal-N). Serum TM levels were measured with enzyme immunoassay utilizing rabbit anti-rat TM antibody. Simultaneously, immunohistochemical examination was performed using the same antibody. Serum TM levels increased significantly after the injection of Gal-N compared with preinjection levels, peaking from 48 to 72 hours after injection and normalizing by 168 hours. Changes in parenchymal damage were synchronized with changes of TM, and changes of TM levels mirrored changes of liver weight. In immunohistochemical examination, TM immunoreactivity was observed only on the endothelial surfaces of both the artery and portal vein within Glisson’s sheath in controls. After injection of Gal-N, TM immunoreactivity was gradually intensified, especially around the necrotic area and the central veins. These findings disappeared with improvement of parenchymal damage. Both the increase of serum TM levels and intensified TM immunoreactivity in the liver were synchronized with acute liver parenchymal damage induced by Gal-N. These findings on TM are related to endothelial damage with parenchymal necrosis and liver regeneration interacting with both homeostasis of microcirculation and healing of parenchymal damage.

1. Active and inactive renin were assayed in plasma of the renal veins and the inferior vena cava below the kidney in eight patients with hypertension and unilateral renal abnormalities, 20 min after the patients had resumed the upright position. 2. The concentration of active renin on the affected side was significantly higher than that on the non-affected side. The concentration of inactive renin on the affected side was significantly lower than that on the non-affected side and in the inferior vena cava. 3. These findings suggest either that the affected kidney mainly secretes active renin, which is then converted into inactive renin in the extrarenal circulation, or that the affected kidney activates inactive renin.

Biogenic carbonate and organic carbon content of two deep sea cores (MD012404 and ODP site 1202) are measured to reconstruct surface ocean productivity variations in areas of the Okinawa Trough in the Western Pacific where the modern climate is highly sensitive to the East Asian monsoon and precipitation/river runoff. Based on foraminiferal isotope stratigraphy and AMS C-14 dating, the age models of the cores indicate that core MD012404 shows relatively low sedimentation rates with 50 cm ky(-1) on average, and that the sedimentation rates in core ODP 1202 are extremely high with an average of 500 cm ky(-1). Total organic carbon (TOC) and carbonate contents in core ODP 1202 are 0.56% and 6.80% on average, respectively, and are 0.62% and 15.86%, respectively, in core MD012404. The relatively high carbonate contents in core MD012404 imply high carbonate productivity in the central Okinawa Trough. The sedimentary composition of core ODP 1202 is composed principally of terrestrial silt and clay, indicating enormous terrestrial flux from land and a carbonate dilution effect in the southern Okinawa Trough. The variations of TOC in core MD0124041 reveal a dominant 23 kyr cycle, suggesting that the surface ocean productivity in the Okinawa Trough area appears to be driven by precession changes in the East Asian monsoon. High-frequency oscillations in the TOC records in core MD012404 also indicate that the surface ocean productivity changes share a similar structure with the climatic variability characteristic of northern high latitudes.

Sympathetic heart rate response decreases in patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors effectively prevent heart failure after myocardial infarction. However, the effect of ACE inhibitors on heart rate response is not well known. The present study investigated the effect of ACE inhibitors on sympathetic heart rate response in the early phase of acute myocardial infarction.Sixty-five patients with acute myocardial infarction receiving no beta-blocking agents participated in the study. The subjects consisted of 25 patients (mean age 60.2 +/- 10.7 years) treated with ACE inhibitor lisinopril from the initial stage and 40 control subjects (mean age 57.7 +/- 7.6 years). Cardiopulmonary exercise testing with a treadmill was performed using the ramp protocol in the first month and the third month after the onset of the disease. Heart rate (HR) was measured in the resting state (rest) and immediately after peak exercise (peak). At the same time, blood samples were obtained to investigate the changes in the plasma level of norepinephrine (NE). The degree of sympathetic heart rate response was evaluated as follows: (peak HR - rest HR)/¿(peak NE - rest NE)/rest NE¿ x 100.There were no significant differences between the 2 groups in the first month in anaerobic threshold, peak oxygen uptake and plasma brain natriuretic peptide concentration. Though the change of heart rate was not significant, the change in the plasma level of norepinephrine was significantly lower in the lisinopril group (9.3 +/- 4.4 vs 5.7 +/- 2.8, p0.01). In the first month, the heart rate response in the control group was markedly lower than that in the lisinopril group (8.7 +/- 3.5 vs 15.2 +/- 8.5 beats/min/%, p0.01). In the third month, the significant difference between the 2 groups disappeared (10.7 +/- 7.9 vs 14.0 +/- 9.7 beats/min/%, NS) due to the increase of the value in the control subjects.From these results, we conclude that ACE inhibitors are effective to improve sympathetic heart rate response during exercise in the early phase of myocardial infarction.

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ITER envisages the use of two heating neutral beam injectors plus an optional one as part of the auxiliary heating and current drive system, to reach the desired performances during its various phases of operation. The 16.5 MW expected neutral beam power per injector is several notches higher than worldwide existing facilities.In order to enable such development, a Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF) was established at Consorzio RFX, exploiting the synergy of two test beds, called SPIDER and MITICA. SPIDER is dedicated developing and char-acterizing large efficient negative ion sources at relevant parameters in ITER-like conditions: source and accel-erator located in the same vacuum where the beam propagates, immunity to electromagnetic interferences of multiple radio-frequency (RF) antennas, avoidance of RF-induced discharges on the outside of the source. Three years of experiments on SPIDER have addressed to the necessary design modifications to enable full perfor-mances. The source is presently under a long shut-down phase to incorporate learnings from the experimental campaign, in particular events/issues occurred during operation, which led to the identification of improvement opportunities/necessities (e.g. RF discharges, local burns, water leaks, other damages, configuration/design upgrades to maximize chances/margin to quest target parameters).Parallelly, developments on MITICA, the full-scale prototype of the ITER Neutral Beam Injector (NBI) featuring a 1 MV accelerator and ion neutralization, are underway including manufacturing of the beam source, accel-erator and the beam line components, while power supplies and auxiliary plants, already installed, are under final testing and commissioning.Integration, commissioning and tests of the 1 MV power supplies are essential for this first-of-kind system, unparalleled both in research and industry field. 1.2 MV dc insulating tests of high voltage components were successfully completed. The integrated test to confirm 1 MV output by combining invertor systems, DC gener-ators and transmission lines extracted errors/accidents in some components. To realize a concrete system for ITER, said events have been addressed and solutions for the repair and the improvement of the system were developed.Hence, NBTF is emerging as a necessary facility, due to the large gap with existing injectors, effectively dedicated to identify issues and find solutions to enable successful ITER NBI operations in a time bound fashion. The lessons learned during the implementation on NBTF and future perspectives are here discussed.