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While low latitude auroral displays are normally considered to be a manifestation of magnetic storms of considerable size, Silverman (2003, JGR, 108, A4) reported numerous "sporadic auroras" which appear locally at relatively low magnetic latitudes during times of just moderate magnetic activity. Here, a case study is presented of an aurora near the geomagnetic equator based on a report from the Philippine Islands on 27 October 1856. An analysis of this report shows it to be consistent with the known cases of sporadic aurorae except for its considerably low magnetic latitude. The record also suggests that extremely low-latitude aurora is not always accompanied with large magnetic storms. The description of its brief appearance leads to a possible physical explanation based on an ephemeral magnetospheric disturbance provoking this sporadic aurora., Comment: 15 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Annales Geophysicae on 18 August 2018

We have carried out a pilot data taking of the J-PARC E05 experiment to search for the bound state peaks of $^{12}_\Xi$Be in the $^{12}$C$(K^-, K^+)X$ reaction at 1.8 GeV/$c$. The measurement was performed at the K1.8 beam line of the J-PARC hadron experimental hall with a typical $K^-$ beam intensity of $6\times 10^{5}$ every six seconds. So far the best energy resolution of about 6 MeV$_{FWHM}$ was achieved with the existing SKS spectrometer. With a reasonable statistics, we have succeeded to observe peak structures in the bound region, which seems to suggest that the potential depth of $\Xi$ would be deeper than 14 MeV estimated in the previous measurements.

Genomic selection based on a high-throughput microarray for genotyping single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is expected to accelerate genetic improvement in cattle. Recently, a genomic evaluation system for carcass traits, such as carcass weight and marbling score, is being established in Japanese Black cattle. To further increase genetic improvement efficiency in this breed, establishing a genomic evaluation system for pre-implantation embryos before embryo transfer (ET) is required. Here, we examined the correlation between genomic estimated breeding value (GEBV) of carcass traits calculated from embryonic (blastocyst) biopsy cells and from a corresponding calf produced by ET (Experiment 1); we also evaluated the pregnancy rate following ET of GEBV-evaluated blastocysts (GEBV blastocysts) preserved by vitrification (Experiment 2). In total, 16 Japanese Black dams and cryopreserved semen from 6 Japanese Black sires were used for producing in vivo blastocysts (Day 7-8). In Experiment 1, four blastocysts (IETS code 1) were divided into biopsy cells (15-20 cells) and biopsied embryos using a micromanipulator equipped with a micro blade. Biopsy cells were processed for DNA extraction and whole-genome amplification. Freshly biopsied embryos were transferred to recipient cows, and DNA was extracted from the blood or ear cells of the resulting 4 calves. Then SNP genotyping was performed using Illumina bovine LD BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, CA, USA). The GEBV of 6 carcass traits (carcass weight, ribeye area, rib thickness, subcutaneous fat thickness, estimated yield percent, and marbling score) were calculated using phenotypic and genotypic data from 4,311 Japanese Black steers, and these were compared between biopsy cells and the corresponding calf. In Experiment 2, 134 blastocysts (IETS code 1 and 2) in total were biopsied (10-20 cells), and the biopsied embryos were vitrified by the cryotop method. Biopsy cells were processed for SNP genotyping as in Experiment 1, and the samples in which the call rate was more than 85% were used for GEBV calculation. Based on GEBV records, 24 vitrified GEBV blastocysts were warmed, cultured for 3 to 5h, and 22 GEBV blastocysts that survived (re-expanded) post-culture were transferred to recipient cows. Pregnancy in these cows was diagnosed using ultrasonography during Day 55 to 60 of gestation. In Experiment 1, the SNP call rates of the biopsy cells and corresponding calf were 98.5 to 99.3% and 99.7 to 99.8%, respectively. The GEBV of 6 carcass traits from biopsy cells and from the corresponding calf had almost the same values. In Experiment 2, the SNP call rates of the biopsy cells were ranged from 26.1 to 99.3%. The GEBV of 6 carcass traits varied among full-sib embryos. The pregnancy rate following ET of vitrified GEBV blastocysts was 40.9% (9/22). These results suggest the possible application of a genomic evaluation system for carcass traits at the blastocyst stage in Japanese Black cattle. Further large-scale assessment of pregnancy rates following ET of cryopreserved GEBV blastocysts is required for practical application of the evaluation system.

The morphology and crystallographic phase of V–C carbide particles formed in cast Fe–Cr–Ni–V–C alloys were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The combination of results obtained with these techniques revealed that cuboidal, cruciform and spherical carbide particles were formed, depending on the alloy composition, all having the cubic-VC1−x structure (Fm-3m). Detailed TEM observations suggested that small carbide particles were initially cubic in shape and became spherical with increasing particle size. All cuboidal and spherical carbides were single crystallites with no grain boundary at any particle sizes, even after growing to 6 μm in diameter.

The nonlinear criticality of ultra-low frequency (ULF) magnetic variations is investigated before a particular earthquake (EQ) occurred in Kobe on April 12, 2013, by applying the "natural time" analysis on a few ULF parameters: Fh, Fz and Dh. The first two refer to radiation from the lithosphere, and the last parameter corresponds to depression of horizontal component as a signature of ionospheric perturbation. A recent paper of our team has indicated, using the same data as in this paper but by means of conventional statistical analysis, a clear effect of depression in the horizontal component as an ionospheric signature. But there seems to be no convincing signature of lithospheric ULF radiation according to the specific analysis, so this paper aims at extending our study on the electromagnetic data recorded prior to the specific EQ by trying to find any significant phenomenon in ULF effects (both lithospheric radiation and the depression of horizontal component) using the critical, natural time analysis. The natural time analysis has yielded that criticality at Shigaraki (SGA), as the station closest to the EQ epicenter, is reached on March 27-29 for Fh and March 27 to April 1 for Fz (about two weeks before the EQ). But, the criticality for Dh was not observed at SGA probably due to high noise, on the other hand such criticality was observed at Kanoya (KNY) because of its known property of a wider range of detection of ULF depression. © 2016 by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia. All rights reserved.

Strain HIMB624 is a planktonic marine bacterium within the family Methylophilaceae of the class Betaproteobacteria isolated from coastal seawater of Oahu, Hawaii. This strain is of interest because it is one of few known isolates from an abundant clade of Betaproteobacteria found in cultivation-independent studies of coastal seawater and freshwater environments around the globe, known as OM43. Here we describe some preliminary features of the organism, draft genome sequence and annotation, and comparative genomic analysis with one other sequenced member of this clade (strain HTCC2181). The 1,333,209 bp genome of strain HIMB624 is arranged in a single scaffold containing four contigs, and contains 1,381 protein encoding genes and 39 RNA genes.

Renal hypouricemia is a clinical disorder attributed to an increased renal urate excretion rate and is well known to involve a high risk of urolithiasis and exercise-induced acute kidney injury (AKI). This report concerns two interesting cases of nephrotic syndrome (NS)-induced AKI associated with renal hypouricemia. A 64-year-old female (Case 1) and a 37-year-old male (Case 2) were hospitalized because of AKI (serum creatinine: 2.07 mg/dl and 3.3 mg/dl, respectively), oliguria and NS. They were treated with prednisolone and temporary hemodialysis. Renal function improved, but hypouricemia persisted during hospitalization. Histological findings in both cases led to a diagnosis of minimal change nephrotic syndrome and identification of the diuretic phase of tubulointerstitial damage because of findings such as acute tubular necrosis. Furthermore, distal tubules of Case 2 showed an amorphous mass, possibly a uric acid crystal. Analysis of the two cases with the URAT1 gene, encoded by SLC22A12, found a homozygous mutation in exon 4 (W258stop) of each one. Our cases show that patients with renal hypouricemia may be susceptible to AKI without involvement of exercise if they possess some facilitators. Renal hypouricemic patients should therefore be carefully examined for all complications from renal hypouricemia because of high risk of AKI.

Temperature Superconductors (HTS) applied to rotating machines require an efficient cooling system. It is necessary to increase the maximum trapped flux density in the bulk HTS magnets and decrease the overall cooling time. In this paper, we added a gaseous helium phase to a condensed-neon closed-cycle thermosyphon. The latent heat of neon-film cooling is combined with helium's high thermal conductivity. Different mixture proportions were evaluated in terms of resistance to variable heat loads. More helium decreased the temperature variation of the evaporator. The mixture was then used to cool down a 30 kW-grade gadolinium-bulk HTS synchronous motor. The eight bulk HTS conductors of the rotor were cooled to 40 K in less than six hours. The application of this thermosyphon is envisioned for larger rotating machines.

A synchronous rotation study with eight field rotor pole of Gd123 bulks was performed with the axial-type motor. The field pole of Gd123 packs with and without doped amorphous magnetic particles Fe-B-Si-Nb-Cr-Cu (MP) were employed. Before and after the synchronous operation, the change of the trapped magnetic flux on the bulk was investigated at the operating temperature of 40 K. The observed decay of the trapped integrated flux on the surface of Gd123 packs after 5 hours synchronous rotation were 7.2% for the Gd123 pack without MP doping and 4.1% for the Gd123 bulk doped with MP. The present result indicates that the lowering operation temperature may be beneficial to avoid the AC loss. This also leads to another complementally conclusion that the employment of the condensed neon gas cooling system is a suitable choice from the viewpoint of practical applications of the HTS bulks in contrast to liquid nitrogen cooling. In addition, the Gd123 doped with MP alloy particles provide a practical magnetic flux trapping function at 40 K.

The high-temperature superconductor (HTS) bulk current lead (BCL) is a crucial device for a large number of current applications such as the propulsion motor with HTS winding. The coexistence of low thermal conductivity and superconductivity enables us to shrink the dimension of the power system. To use the BCL effectively, we have to optimize the temperature gradient across the BCL along its length. For this purpose, it is essential to obtain a better physical contact between the bulk HTS surface and Cu terminal leads. There are, however, many pores at the surface of the bulk which cause difficulties for joining. In order to solve this problem, we focused on an impregnation technique which has been known to improve strength and thermal characteristics of the bulk HTS itself by using epoxy. We succeeded to fill in the pores of the bulk HTS surface with a metal alloy impregnation. Following this method, we made the BCL of Gd-Ba-Cu-O by ourselves. By adopting a suitable cooling with a GM cryocooler, the resistance of the BCL was 0.8 muOmega across the BCL under a current flow of 300 A, considering one end was at 40 K and the other one was at 70 K. The properties of the present BCL are satisfactory for connecting a coil in large current power systems such as superconducting motors.

Issues around diagnosis and treatment of acute compartment syndrome were investigated through a systematic review that examined results of 55 reports of fasciotomy published over four decades and reporting on 1920 fasciotomies. Most were reported since 2000. Injuries below the elbow and knee accounted for at least 75% of cases. The consensus was that diagnosis of compartment syndrome remains primarily based on a high index of suspicion and interpretation of clinical signs and symptoms over high technology methods of diagnosis. Compartment syndrome related amputation occurred in 5.5% of cases and death in 3.3% overall. Compared with fasciotomy before 6 h, delayed fasciotomy beyond 12 h was associated with a lower rate of acceptable outcome (15% for more than 12 h vs. 88% for

Summary OM43 is a clade of uncultured β-proteobacteria that is commonly found in environmental nucleic acid sequences from productive coastal ocean ecosystems, and some freshwater environments, but is rarely detected in ocean gyres. Ecological studies associate OM43 with phytoplankton blooms, and evolutionary relationships indicate that they might be methylotrophs. Here we report on the genome sequence and metabolic properties of the first axenic isolate of the OM43 clade, strain HTCC2181, which was obtained using new procedures for culturing cells in natural seawater. We found that this strain is an obligate methylotroph that cannot oxidize methane but can use the oxidized C1 compounds methanol and formaldehyde as sources of carbon and energy. Its complete genome is 1304 428 bp in length, the smallest yet reported for a free-living cell. The HTCC2181 genome includes genes for xanthorhodopsin and retinal biosynthesis, an auxiliary system for producing transmembrane electrochemical potentials from light. The discovery that HTCC2181 is an extremely simple specialist in C1 metabolism suggests an unanticipated, important role for oxidized C1 compounds as substrates for bacterioplankton productivity in coastal ecosystems.

Repeat breeding is an important factor affecting economic success in dairy management. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of transfer of frozen-thawed IVF embryos in establishing pregnancy in repeat-breeding Holstein cattle. Cumulus oocyte complexes were collected by aspiration of 2-5 mm follicles from ovaries obtained at two local abattoirs. After IVF, days 7 and 8 blastocysts were frozen either in 1.5M ethylene glycol with 0.1M sucrose, or in 1.4M glycerol with 0.1M sucrose. Holstein recipients (122 heifers and 410 cows) included those that had not conceived after 3-21 inseminations. Embryos frozen in ethylene glycol were transferred directly, and embryos frozen in glycerol were transferred after dilution of the cryoprotectant in sucrose into recipients 7 or 8 days after estrus (without-AI group), or following AI (with-AI group). Pregnancy rates were compared by the Chi-square test. Significantly higher pregnancy rates were achieved by embryo transfer following AI (with-AI group) than by embryo transfer alone (without-AI group) in both heifers (49.2 and 29.5%, respectively) and cows (41.5 and 20.4%, respectively; P

We developed a trigger system for the measurement of proton-induced rare hadronic reactions around the beam kinetic energy T p = 400 MeV based on highly segmented trigger scintillation detectors and programmable logic modules. The trigger system was designed to enhance events with the negative-pion production by the difference of the curvatures of the particle tracks in a magnetic field. Since the production cross-section of the negative-pion by the proton-induced reactions was smaller by about 3 orders of magnitude than the total cross-section around the beam energy, we expected large reduction of the trigger rate by the negative-pion selection. The construction of the trigger system was not trivial due to a large detector acceptance that was inevitable to measure the rare reactions. The performance of the trigger system was evaluated by using T p = 430 MeV proton beams. An excellent reduction, more than 2 orders of magnitude reduction, of the background events was achieved.

Lightning Effects in Mesosphere and Associated ELF Radio Signals

Membrane electrochemical potential is a feature of the molecular profile of the cell membrane and the two-dimensional arrangement of its charge-bearing molecules.Plasmodiumspecies, the causative agents of malaria, are intracellular parasites that remodel host erythrocytes by expressing their own proteins on erythrocyte membranes. Although various aspects of the modifications made to the host erythrocyte membrane have been extensively studied in some humanPlasmodiumspecies (such asPlasmodium falciparum), details of the structural and molecular biological modifications made to host erythrocytes by nonhumanPlasmodiumparasites have not been studied. We employed zeta potential analysis of erythrocytes parasitized byP. chabaudi, a nonhumanPlasmodiumparasite. From these measurements, we found that the surface potential shift was more negative forP. chabaudi-infected erythrocytes than forP. falciparum-infected erythrocytes. However, electron microscopic analysis of the surface ofP. chabaudi-infected erythrocytes did not reveal any modifications as compared with nonparasitized erythrocytes. These results suggest that differences in the membrane modifications found herein represent unique attributes related to the pathogenesis profiles of the two different malaria parasite species in different host animals and that these features have been acquired through parasite adaptations acquired over long evolutionary time periods.

Search for low-spin signature inversion in the πi13/2 ⊗ νi13/2 bands in odd-odd 182,184,186 Au has been conducted through the standard in-beam γ-spectroscopy techniques. The experiments for 182 Au and 186 Au have been performed in the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) via the 152 Sm (35 Cl ,5 n )182 Au and 172 Yb (19 F ,5 n )186 Au reactions, respectively. A study of 184 Au has been made using a multi-detector array GASP in LNL, Italy, via the 159 Tb (29 Si ,4 n )184 Au reaction. The πi13/2 ⊗ νi13/2 bands in these three nuclei have been identified and extended up to high-spin states. In particular, the inter-band connection between the πi13/2 ⊗ νi13/2 band and the ground-state band in 184 Au has been established, leading to a firm spin-and-parity assignment for the πi13/2 ⊗ νi13/2 band. The low-spin signature inversion is found in the πi13/2 ⊗ νi13/2 bands in 182,184,186 Au according to our spin-assignment and the signature crossing observed at high-spin states.

Rotating machines with high-temperature superconductors (HTS) usually consist of pole-field magnets having coils wound with Bi-2223 HTS wire. We have successfully used Gd–Ba–Cu–O bulk HTS in pole-field magnets in an axial-gap type rotating machine. These HTS pole-field bulk magnets were assembled in the rotor plate. They are cooled down with a liquid cryogen supplied via a rotary joint and circulated inside the rotor plate. The present design provides a small air gap and a bulk HTS gives a high magnetic field around the armature coils. Successful mechanical design has enabled us to magnetize the pole-field bulk to more than 1 T by using a pulsed current applied to the copper armature coils. These techniques imply the possibility of smaller and lighter rotating motors or generators with a HTS bulk magnet for a sub-megawatt class propulsion system. We report several essential techniques for both mechanical and cryogenic designs, and deduce the characteristic features of the present axial-gap type machine using a HTS bulk magnet.

The CLIO project including a 100 m baseline cryogenic gravitational wave laser interferometer and a 100 m baseline geophysical strain meter was conducted in the Kamioka mine in Japan to investigate the technical feasibility of the large-scale cryogenic gravitational wave telescope (LCGT), which is planned to be constructed in the same Kamioka mine with 30 times longer baseline than CLIO, and to demonstrate the collaborative operation between these instruments about long-term continuous operation and gravitational wave signal veto analysis. About the cryogenic gravitational wave interferometer, the whole vacuum system and four cryostats, which house and cool sapphire mirrors, were constructed, and the required vacuum level of 10 −6 mbar and the temperature of 8 K at the inner radiation shield in the cryostat were achieved. About the geophysical strain meter, the obtained geophysical strain in the Kamioka mine was successfully simulated with a finite element model with a good agreement with less than 5% error. The strain meter also verified a permanent ground step change of micrometre order due to some earthquakes. We present the recent progress about the CLIO project.

We developed an automatic measuring device of birefringence inhomogeneity in synthetic sapphire substrates to evaluate their crystal quality suitable for laser interferometric gravitational wave (GW) detectors. The orientation of the projection of the c-axis on a plane orthogonal to the beam was measured with an accuracy of 2 ? 10?2 rad. The phase retardation was measured with an accuracy of 7 ? 10?4 rad, which was equivalent to 4 ? 10?10 in terms of the fluctuation of the refractive index for samples of 150mm thickness. The reproducibility was 1% for both the orientation and phase retardation. The automatic measuring device meets the requirements of the LCGT project, which is a next-generation laser interferometer project for GW detection.

In the LCGT and CLIO projects for the interferometric gravitational wave detectors of Japan, the mirrors and a part of the suspension systems are cooled by cryocoolers to reduce the thermal noise. For the CLIO, extremely small vibration cryocoolers were specially developed by improving a commercial Gifford-McMahon type pulse tube cryocooler. We measured the vibration at the top of the suspension base in the CLIO interferometer while operating these cryocoolers. Although the seismic motion of 10−9(1 Hz/f)2 m/Hz½ at the site of the CLIO and LCGT in the Kamioka mine is 100-times smaller than that around Tokyo, these cryocoolers did not seriously increase the vibration. Consequently, a reduction of thermal noise by the cooled mirrors and suspension fibers using these cryocoolers is expected to be observed without any additional fluctuation disturbance due to the cryocoolers.

We present the current status of the TAMA300 data analysis using the alternative linear fit (ALF) filter, which is one of the burst filters used to extract burst gravitational wave (GW) signals. Although burst GW analyses of the TAMA300 data have already made progress using an excess-power filter, it is important to use various methods in order to avoid missing burst GW signals, because the precise waveforms are unknown. In the present work, we set the parameters of the ALF filter and then calculated the detection efficiency for GW burst events in our galaxy. We obtained a comparable efficiency to that of the excess-power filter. In addition, we calculated the trigger rate of the TAMA300 data. The result shows that there were so many trigger events which could not be identified as being GW signals or fake events that methods to reduce fake events are required.

A cDNA encoding a major egg protein was cloned in Galaxea fascicularis, a hermatypic coral with a gonochoric breeding system, and gene expression at the transcriptional level was compared between female and functional male colonies. In an electrophoretic analysis, four soluble proteins were present in high abundance in the female egg, but not in the pseudo-eggs of functional males. Partial amino acid sequences of one of the major proteins named GfEP-1 (88 kDa) were determined, and a cDNA fragment of about 2 kb containing a partial GfEP-1 sequence was isolated. The deduced amino acid sequence exhibited sequence similarities to vertebrate and invertebrate vitellogenins. GfEP-1 transcripts were detected in both sexes 0–1 month before spawning. However, the mRNA levels were significantly higher in females than in functional males. The expression of GfEP-1 may be utilized in sexing and also monitoring effects of environmental and anthropogenic factors on vitellogenesis and sex determination.

We investigate $\ovar{B^0} \to D_s^- \pi^+$ decay in perturbative QCD approach which has recently been applied to $B$ meson decays. $\ovar{B^0} \to D_s^- \pi^+$ decay (and its charge conjugated mode) can be one of the hopeful modes to determine $|V_{ub}|$ since it occurs through $b \to u$ transition only. We estimate both factorizable and non-factorizable contribution, and show that the non-factorizable contribution is much less than the factorizable one. Our calculation gives ${BR}(\ovar{B^0} \to D_s^- \pi^+) = (50 \sim 70) \times f_{Ds}^2|{V_{ub}}{V_{cs}}|^2$.

The BNL-AGS/E929 experiment was carried out to study energy levels of the Λ 13 C hypernucleus by a gamma-ray spectroscopy. Energy splitting of the spin-orbit doublets, 1 2 − and 3 2 − states, was estimated precisely. The excitation energy of the 1st 3 2 + state was also measured. We discuss the symmetric and the anti-symmetric spin-orbit interactions between a Λ particle and a nucleon from the measurement.

Neuronal progenitor cells (NPC) are particularly suited as the target population for genetic and cellular therapy of neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease or stroke. However, genetic modification of these cells using retroviral vectors remains a great challenge because of the low transduction rate and the need for fetal calf serum (FCS) during the transduction process that induces the cell differentiation to mature neurons. To overcome these problems, we developed a new retrovirus production system in which the simplified retroviral vector GCDNsap engineered to be resistant to denovo methylation was packaged in the vesicular stomatitis virus G protein (VSV-G), concentrated by centrifugation, and resuspended in serum-free medium (StemPro-34 SFM). In transduction experiments using enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) as a marker, the concentrated FCS-free virus supernatant infected NPC at a high rate, while maintaining the ability of these cells to self-renew and differentiate in vitro. When such cells were grafted into mouse brains, EGFP-expressing NPC were detected in the region around the injection site at 8 weeks post transplantation. These findings suggest that the gene transfer system described here may provide a useful tool to genetically modify NPC for treatments of neurological disorders.

Intraerythrocytic stages of Plasmodium falciparum parasites modify the membranes of their host erythrocytes with numerous expressed proteins. They also install new membranous structures in the erythrocyte cytoplasm, including Maurer's clefts (MC) and a tubulovesicular network. These structures support molecular trafficking processes that are necessary for the growth and multiplication of P. falciparum intraerythrocytic stages. To study the morphology and organization of these modifications, we prepared samples of P. falciparum-infected erythrocytes by 'unroofing' techniques and examined them by transmission electron microscopy. Images of the 'unroofed' parasitized erythrocytes feature cytoskeleton alterations and the presence of new membranous structures generated by P. falciparum, including small vesicles and MC connected by extensions to the inner erythrocyte membrane. Non-parasitized erythrocytes showed no evidence of these structures or extensions. In further experiments, we observed a relative absence of MC and extensions after treatment of parasitized erythrocytes with aluminum tetrafluoride (AlF₄(-)), an inhibitor of vesicle trafficking. The morphology and physical location of MC, extensions and small vesicles in unroofed specimens are consistent with the role of these structures in the trafficking of P. falciparum proteins to the surface of parasitized erythrocytes.

Recently, terrorism is one of most daunted dangers in the world. Various terrorisms can come about. Biological and chemical terrors have particularly high mortality rate, and tend to wreak the secondary disaster. For these reasons, research and development of measures for decontaminations are emergent and of key issue on a world scale. One of these requirement is gas decontamination technique. In the system of gas decontamination, the gaseous decontamination agent is supplied to a contamination surface. The gas decontamination does not cause corrosion and rust to the target and has high applicability to non-water-resistant targets. However, the research and development of decontamination technique are of great difficulty, and the experiments are highly risky and also legally- prohibited in many cases. Therefore, in this study, computational fluid dynamics is used to simulate the flow and concentration fields where gaseous decontamination flows in a room which is enclosed by contaminated walls. We investigate the local concentrations of decontamination agent, and find that the introduction of circulators is effective to get the uniform concentration of decontamination agent in the room. Finally, the optimum arrangement of the circulators is proposed.

Tissue inhibitor metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1) and 2 have been reported to inhibit bone resorption. However, here, we report the direct action of both TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 on isolated rabbit mature osteoclasts to stimulate their bone-resorbing activity at significantly lower concentrations (approximately ng/ml) than those (approximately microg/ml) required for the inhibition of bone resorption. The cell population used in this study consisted of a mature osteoclast population with95% purity. TIMP-1 (approximately 50 ng/ml) and TIMP-2 (approximately 8-10 ng/ml) increased the pit area excavated by the isolated mature osteoclasts. The stimulatory effects of TIMPs were abolished by simultaneous addition of anti-TIMP antibodies. At higher concentrations, the stimulation of bone resorption decreased reversely to the control level. The magnitude of the stimulatory effect of TIMP-2 was more than that of TIMP-1. Metalloproteinase inhibitors such as BE16627B and R94138 could not replace TIMPs with respect to the bone-resorbing activity, suggesting that the osteoclast-stimulating activity of TIMPs was independent of the inhibitory activity on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). TIMPs stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins in the isolated mature osteoclasts. Both herbimycin A, an inhibitor of tyrosine kinases, and PD98059 and U0126, inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), completely blocked the TIMP-induced stimulation of osteoclastic bone-resorbing activity. On the plasma membrane of osteoclasts, some TIMP-2-binding proteins were detected by a cross-linking experiment. These findings show that TIMPs directly stimulate the bone-resorbing activity of isolated mature osteoclasts at their physiological concentrations and that the stimulatory action of TIMPs is likely to be independent of their activities as inhibitors of MMPs.

The spin-orbit splitting of Lambda single-particle states in (13)(Lambda)C was measured. The 13C(K-,pi(-))(13)(Lambda)C reaction was used to excite both the 1/2(-) and 3/2(-) states simultaneously, which have predominantly 12C(0(+)) x p(Lambda) configuration. gamma rays from the states to the ground state were measured in coincidence with the pi(-)'s, by which ls splitting was found to be 152+/-54(stat)+/-36(syst) keV. The value is 20-30 times smaller than exhibited by the ls splitting in the nuclear shell model. This value gives us new insight into the YN interaction.

Ionic liquids (ILs) are room-temperature molten salts that have applications in both physical sciences and more recently in the purification of proteins and lipids, gene transfection and sample preparation for electron microscopy (EM) studies. Transfection of genes into cells requires membrane fusion between the cell membrane and the transfection reagent, thus, ILs may be induce a membrane fusion event. To clarify the behavior of ILs with cell membranes the effect of ILs on model membranes, i.e., liposomes, were investigated. We used two standard ILs, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium lactate ([EMI][Lac]) and choline lactate ([Ch][Lac]), and focused on whether these ILs can induce lipid vesicle fusion. Fluorescence resonance energy transfer and dynamic light scattering were employed to determine whether the ILs induced vesicle fusion. Vesicle solutions at low IL concentrations showed negligible fusion when compared with the controls in the absence of ILs. At concentrations of 30% (v/v), both types of ILs induced vesicle fusion up to 1.3 and 1.6 times the fluorescence intensity of the control in the presence of [Ch][Lac] and [EMI][Lac], respectively. This is the first demonstration that [EMI][Lac] and [Ch][Lac] induce vesicle fusion at high IL concentrations and this observation should have a significant influence on basic biophysical studies. Conversely, the ability to avoid vesicle fusion at low IL concentrations is clearly advantageous for EM studies of lipid samples and cells. This new information describing IL-lipid membrane interactions should impact EM observations examining cell morphology.

Amorphous Ag–As–S films become birefringent and their surfaces are modified when exposed to linearly polarized light. The photoinduced birefringence is positive with a magnitude of +0.01, which is in contrast with that (−0.001) of As 2 S 3 . The refractive index change appears with an anisotropic surface deformation, which consists of two kinds of patterns. One is fringes in an illuminated spot and the other is streaks as cat's whiskers radiating from the spot. Compositional measurements show that the fringe accompanies an Ag-content modification of ∼5 at.%. The photoinduced anisotropy in Ag–As–S films is assumed to be caused by photo-electro–ionic interaction.

Rapid increasing of the energy demand and the economic growth of the developing countries are threatening to lead to unstable supply of the fossil resources and the aggravation of the global environment. Modular High Temperature Reactor (Modular HTR) is one of the most effective solutions of such problem. The GT-MHR (Gas-Turbine Modular Helium Reactor) is a typical plant of the Modular HTR, which is a high efficiency nuclear power generating plant, combined the Modular HTR having passive safety characteristics with the direct cycle helium gas turbine. It has sufficient potential to contribute the global environment protection with keeping the growing speed of the developing countries. Fuji Electric joined the international GT-MHR project in January 1997 and has helped to finance it. Fuji Electric, in the behalf of the other participants of this project, introduces the outline of this project and main system of the GT-MHR plant in this paper.

The OPERA experiment was designed to search for $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\tau}$ oscillations in appearance mode, i.e. by detecting the $\tau$-leptons produced in charged current $\nu_{\tau}$ interactions. The experiment took data from 2008 to 2012 in the CERN Neutrinos to Gran Sasso beam. The observation of $\nu_{\mu} \rightarrow \nu_{\tau}$ appearance, achieved with four candidate events in a sub-sample of the data, was previously reported. In this paper, a fifth $\nu_{\tau}$ candidate event, found in an enlarged data sample, is described. Together with a further reduction of the expected background, the candidate events detected so far allow assessing the discovery of $\nu_{\mu}\rightarrow \nu_{\tau}$ oscillations in appearance mode with a significance larger than 5 $\sigma$., Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures

羽毛や皮膚の細菌汚染の程度が低いブロイラーを生産することが安全な食品の生産につながると考えて,ブロイラーをケージと平飼いにより育成し,羽毛及び皮膚から細菌を検出し汚染程度を比較した。実験は初夏,秋及び冬に3回反復して行った。ブロイラーの羽毛の肉眼的な汚れはケージ群が有意に低かった。皮膚1g当たりの平均一般生菌数はケージ群が103.1-105.1,平飼い群が103.8-105.9の範囲にありケージ群が少なかった。大腸菌群数は順に0-103.3,102.8-104.4,黄色ブドウ球菌は同様に0-103.1,103.4-104.1の範囲にあり,いずれもケージ群が少なかった。また,細菌が検出された検体数について両群を比較すると,一般生菌数の検出については差がなかったが,大腸菌群と黄色ブトウ球菌ではケージ群が有意に少なかった。以上の結果から,ケージによる育成により細菌汚染の程度が低い鶏肉の生産が可能であることが示唆された。

In order to understand the processes of formation and motion of sun-aligned polar cap arcs as well as patches, we have analyzed simultaneous observational data from Akebono (EXOS D) satellite and the all-sky imager at Qaanaaq, Greenland. The results demonstrate the correspondence between the localized electron precipitation signatures observed from Akebono and the sun-aligned arcs seen from the all-sky imager at Qaanaaq, and confirm that sun-aligned arc correspond to divE

To investigate the applicability of heat pipe to the decay hat removal (DHR) system of the modular HTRs, preliminary study of the Heat Pipe DHR System was performed. The results show that the Heat Pipe DHR System is applicable to the modular HTRs and its heat removal capability is sufficient. Especially, by applying the variable conductance heat pipe, possibility of a fully passive DHR system with lower heat loss during normal operation is suggested. The experiments to obtain the fundamental characteristics data of the variable conductance heat pipe were carried out and the experimental results are also shown.

We studied structural and electrical properties under high pressure and low temperature for a $S=1/2$ Heisenberg two-leg ladder compound ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{0.4}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{13.6}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{24}{\mathrm{O}}_{41+\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}.$ It showed a superconducting transition above 3 GPa with a maximum ${T}_{c}$ of 13 K. The ${\mathrm{Sr}}_{0.4}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{13.6}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{24}{\mathrm{O}}_{41+\mathrm{\ensuremath{\delta}}}$ phase survives at least up to 9 GPa and down to 7 K without decomposition or phase transition, indicating that it is responsible for the observed superconductivity. The most important role of high pressure for realizing superconductivity is enhancement of the interaction between the ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ ladder and the one-dimensional ${\mathrm{CuO}}_{2}$ chain which accelerates redistribution of holes via locally formed ${\mathrm{Cu}}_{\mathrm{ladder}}{\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{O}}_{\mathrm{chain}}$ hybrid orbitals. Electrical property of the normal state is affected by the carrier density, dimensionality, random potential, and spin scattering which are related to structural modification under high pressure.

The frequency of ventricular premature beats (VPBs) has been related to the risk of mortality. However, little is known about the temporal pattern of occurrence of VPBs and its relationship to autonomic activity. Hence, we applied a general correlation measure, mutual information, to quantify how VPBs are generated over time. We also used mutual information to determine the correlation between VPB production and heart rate in order to evaluate effects of autonomic activity on VPB production. We examined twenty subjects with more than 3000 VPBs/day and simulated ran-( dom time series of VPB occurrence. We found that mutual information values could be used to characterize quantitatively the temporal patterns of VPB generation. Our data suggest that VPB production is not random and VPBs generated with a higher value of mutual information may be more greatly affected by autonomic activity.

著者人数：19名, Accepted: 1997-06-11, 資料番号: SA1001237000

The use of ultrasonic velocity-attenuation in the transition region from glassy to supercooled liquid state of the (AgI)x(Ag4P2O7)1−x system is extended to the (AgI)x(Ag3PO4)1−x system. Comparison is made between both systems. The latter system is more liable to crystallize on cooling from the melt during sample preparation, possibly due to the more spherical shape of the Ag3PO4 molecule compared to the Ag4P2O7 molecule (allowing easier rearrangement of the molecule for crystallization with AgI). By deliberate quenching one can escape crystallization, but only for the x=0.75 composition. Ultrasonics for this glass reveal structural features which are similar to those observed by differential scanning calorimetry.

Accepted: 1996-03-06, 資料番号: SA1001249000