Search

We clarified cumulative survival and event-free rates of resin-bonded fixed dental prostheses (RBFDPs) and compared them to those of fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) to refine risk factors for non-survival/event and use of tooth extraction after the period of non-survival/event.Study subjects were selected among all patients who consecutively attended the Fixed Prosthodontic Clinic of Okayama University Hospital. Eligible patients were those who received 3-unit metal-framed 2-retainer (wing-wing) RBFDPs or conventional full-coverage FDPs (RBFDPs/FDPs: 129/177 prostheses). Data were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier analysis with the log-rank test, Mann-Whitney test, chi-square test, and Cox proportional hazards analysis.The 15-year cumulative survival rates were 66.5% for the RBFDP group and 61.6% for the FDP group, which were not significantly different (p = 0.59). The 15-year cumulative event-free rates were 53.4% for the RBFDP group and 59.2% for the FDP group, which were not significantly different (p = 0.52). No significant risk factors related to non-survival and event-free of RBFDPs/FDPs were identified in the analysis model using treatment method, sex, age, number of remaining teeth, and treatment site as explanatory variables. The number of cases in which RBFDPs/FDPs resulted in non-survival due to abutment tooth extraction was significantly lower in RBFDPs (p 0.01). Further, the abutment tooth as a non-vital tooth was identified as a risk factor for RBFDPs/FDPs resulting in non-survival due to abutment tooth extraction.The present study is the first to indicate RBFDP as a prosthetic treatment option which should be selected for patients with slight or no abutment tooth decay.

Analysis is newly performed for a one-wavelength rectangular loop antenna having an unbalanced feed. This antenna radiates an axial beam in a direction normal to the antenna plane. Subsequently, the axial beam is transformed into a conical beam by taking the loop perimeter to be two wavelengths. It is found that as the aspect ratio is varied, the antenna shows two minima in the axial ratio characteristic, where the rotational senses of the circular polarization are different from each other. Finally, a tilted beam is formed by superimposing the axial and conical beams for a double-loop antenna.

A search for the exotic meson X(5568) decaying into the B_{s}^{0}π^{±} final state is performed using data corresponding to 9.6 fb^{-1} from pp[over ¯] collisions at sqrt[s]=1960 GeV recorded by the Collider Detector at Fermilab. No evidence for this state is found and an upper limit of 6.7% at the 95% confidence level is set on the fraction of B_{s}^{0} produced through the X(5568)→B_{s}^{0}π^{±} process.

Anterior Inferior cerebellar artery infarction misdiagnosed as inner ear disease.The clinicalresentation of anterior inferior cerebellar artery (AICA) infarction may mimic that of inner ear disease. lethodology: This report presents two patients with cerebellar artery infarction initially misdiagnosed with inner ear lisease. ase Report: Both the patients presented with sudden hearing loss and vertigo. The patient in case 1 was initially liagnosed with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss. The patient in case 2 presented with 17 days of vertigo and iearing loss. Both were correctly diagnosed with AICA infarction after performing magnetic resonance imaging. esults and Conclusions: We differentiated AICA from inner ear disease based on the variability in degree and frequency ange of hearing loss, the duration of vertigo, and the manifestation of nystagmus. Because cases of AICA infarction and nner ear disease may present with si'milar symptoms, a detailed examination including clinical course assessments, aboratory findings, and neurological imaging is essential for appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

We present the development of a Superconducting Tunnel Junction detector using hafnium (Hf-STJ) as a far infrared single photon detector for COsmic BAckground Neutrino Decay search (COBAND) experiment. The photon energy spectrum from the decay of cosmic background neutrino is expected to have a sharp edge at the high energy end in a far-infrared region ranging from 14–25 meV in the cosmic infrared background and the overwhelming infrared foreground from the zodiacal emission. We are developing a Hf-STJ which is expected to have 2% energy resolution for a single photon of 25 meV. We have successfully produced a superconductor-insulator-superconductor structure using Hf. However, it is found to suffer from a large leakage current and needs modification of the Hf-STJ to reduce it. We have developed two new types of Hf-STJ: Hf-STJ with an Al layer and Hf-STJ with a new sputtering condition. The leakage current density of two new types of Hf-STJ becomes 16 times smaller than the old Hf-STJ and obtained a response to the visible light. Because of its large leakage current, further optimization is underway.

LiteBIRD is a candidate for JAXA’s strategic large mission to observe the cosmic microwave background (CMB) polarization over the full sky at large angular scales. It is planned to be launched in the 2020s with an H3 launch vehicle for three years of observations at a Sun-Earth Lagrangian point (L2). The concept design has been studied by researchers from Japan, U.S., Canada and Europe during the ISAS Phase-A1. Large scale measurements of the CMB B-mode polarization are known as the best probe to detect primordial gravitational waves. The goal of LiteBIRD is to measure the tensor-to-scalar ratio (r) with precision of δr < 0.001. A 3-year full sky survey will be carried out with a low frequency (34 - 161 GHz) telescope (LFT) and a high frequency (89 - 448 GHz) telescope (HFT), which achieve a sensitivity of 2.5 µK-arcmin with an angular resolution of ∼ 30 arcminutes around 100 GHz. The concept design of LiteBIRD system, payload module (PLM), cryo-structure, LFT and verification plan is described in this paper. © 2018 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE)

We present the status of the development of Superconducting Tunnel Junction (STJ) detector with the cryogenic preamplifier as far-infrared single photon detector for the COsmic BAckground Neutrino Decay search (COBAND) experiment. The photon energy spectrum from the radiative decay of the cosmic background neutrino is expected to have a sharp cutoff at high energy end in a far-infrared region ranging from 15 meV to 30 meV. The detector is required to measure an individual photon energy with a sufficient energy resolution less than 2% for identifying the cutoff structure, and to be designed for a rocket or satellite experiment. We develop an array of Nb/Al-STJ pixels which can detect a single far-infrared photon delivered by a diffractive grating according to its wavelength. To achieve high signal-to-noise ratio of the STJ, we use a preamplifier made with the Silicon-on-Insulator (SOI) technique that can be operated around 0.3K. We have developed the Nb/Al-STJ with the SOI cryogenic preamplifier and have tested the detector performance around 0.3K.

We report an unusual angular-dependent exchange bias effect in ferromagnet/antiferromagnet bilayers, where both ferromagnet and antiferromagnet are epitaxially grown. Numerical model calculations predict an approximately 45° period for the sign switching of the exchange-bias field, depending on the ratio between magnetocrystalline anisotropy and exchange-coupling constant. The switching of the sign is indicative of a competition between a fourfold magnetocrystalline anisotropy of the ferromagnet and a unidirectional anisotropy field of the exchange coupling. This predicted unusual angular-dependent exchange bias and its magnetization switching process are confirmed by measurements on fully epitaxial Co

The 2011 Tohoku earthquake caused major liquefaction-induced, ground deformation of the reclaimed land surrounding Tokyo Bay. In this area, liquefaction was visibly manifest by sand boils, ejection of sandy water, land subsidence and floating underground tanks. The level measurements show a correspondence between the degree of liquefaction-fluidization and the amount of subsidence. The strata most susceptible to liquefaction are hydraulically emplaced dredged fill and artificial strata on thick uncompacted Holocene deposits. On the other hand, the phenomena of seismic isolation coursed by liquefaction had saved the single-family houses from collapse.

Introduction of artificial pinning centers such as BaHfO 3 (BHO), BaZrO 3 (BZO) and BaSnO 3 (BSO) into REBa 2 Cu 3 O 7− δ (REBCO) coated conductor (CC) layers could improve the in-field critical currents ( I c ) in wide ranges of temperatures and magnetic fields. In particular, a combination of EuBCO + BHO has been found to be effective for attaining high in-field I c performance by means of IBAD/PLD process in short length samples. In this work, we have successfully fabricated a 93.7 m long EuBCO + BHO CC with 103 A/cm W at 77 K under a magnet field ( B ) of 3 T applied perpendicular to the CC ( B // c ). The 93.7 m long EuBCO + BHO CC had high uniformity of I c values and n -values without any trend of fluctuations, independent of the external field up to 0.3 T. I c – B –applied angle ( θ ) profiles of the 93.7 m long EuBCO + BHO CC sample showed the high in-field I c values in all directions of applied magnetic fields especially B // c (at θ ∼ 180°, I c = 157 A/cm W) at 77 K under 3 T. The profiles were about the same as those in a short length sample.

Geological disaster by liquefaction-fluidization happened on southern part of the Quaternary Paleo-Kanto submarine basin at the 2011 Earthquake off the Pacific Coast of Tohoku. Liquefaction-fluidization phenomena occurred mainly in man-made strata over shaking 5+ intensity of Japan Meteorological Agency scale. Many subsided spots, 10–50 m width, 20–100 m length and less than 1 m depth, by liquefaction-fluidization distributed on reclaimed land around northern Tokyo bay. Large amount of sand and groundwater spouted out in the terrible subsided parts. But there are little subsidence and no jetted sand outside the terrible subsided part. Liquefaction-fluidization damaged part at the 1987 earthquake east off Chiba prefecture re-liquefied and fluidized in these parts at the 2011 great earthquake. The damaged area were more wide on the 2011 earthquake than the 1987 quake. Detailed classification maps of subsidence by liquefaction-fluidization on the 2011 grate earthquake were made by fieldwork in Chiba city around Tokyo bay. A mechanism of subsidence by liquefaction-fluidization in man-made strata was solved by geological survey with continuous large box cores on the ACE Liner and large relief peals of the cores at a typical subsided part.

Phytic acid (myo-inositol hexakisphosphate; InsP6) is the storage compound of phosphorus and many mineral elements in seeds. To determine the role of InsP6 in the accumulation and distribution of mineral elements in seeds, we performed fine mappings of mineral elements through synchrotron-based X-ray microfluorescence analysis using developing seeds from two independent low phytic acid (lpa) mutants of rice (Oryza sativa L.). The reduced InsP6 in lpa seeds did not affect the translocation of mineral elements from vegetative organs into seeds, because the total amounts of phosphorus and the other mineral elements in lpa seeds were identical to those in the wild type (WT). However, the reduced InsP6 caused large changes in mineral localization within lpa seeds. Phosphorus and potassium in the aleurone layer of lpa greatly decreased and diffused into the endosperm. Zinc and copper, which were broadly distributed from the aleurone layer to the inner endosperm in the WT, were localized in the narrower space around the aleurone layer in lpa mutants. We also confirmed that similar distribution changes occurred in transgenic rice with the lpa phenotype. Using these results, we discussed the role of InsP6 in the dynamic accumulation and distribution patterns of mineral elements during seed development.

The electronic structure and the thermoelectric properties of (α-, δ-, ζ-) Ti–Ru–B approximants related to its decagonal quasicrystal phase were investigated. The band structure calculation reveals that they form pseudogaps in the electronic density of states across the Fermi level. The samples were synthesized by arc-melting, followed by spark plasma sintering. The electrical conductivity at 373 K varies from 1600 to 4200 Ω−1 cm−1 and their temperature coefficients are negative. All measured compounds show n-type properties, judging from the sign of the Seebeck coefficient; however, the magnitudes are rather low of less than 25 μV K−1. The phonon thermal conductivity at 373 K have a range 3–5 W m−1 K−1 resulting from complex crystal structures with large unit cell volumes. The maximum dimensionless figure-of-merit of 0.008 is evaluated at 773 K for δ-Ti–Ru–B.

The manipulation of seed phosphorus is important for seedling growth and environmental P sustainability in agriculture. The mechanism of regulating P content in seed, however, is poorly understood. To study regulation of total P, we focused on phytic acid (inositol hexakisphosphate, InsP6) biosynthesis-related genes, as InsP6 is a major storage form of P in seeds. The rice (Oryza sativa L.) low phytic acid mutant lpa1-1 has been identified as a homolog of archael 2-phosphoglycerate kinase. The homolog might act as an inositol monophosphate kinase, which catalyzes a key step in InsP6 biosynthesis. Overexpression of the homolog in transgenic rice resulted in a significant increase in total P content in seed, due to increases in InsP6 and inorganic phosphates. On the other hand, overexpression of genes that catalyze the first and last steps of InsP6 biosynthesis could not increase total P levels. From the experiments using developing seeds, it is suggested that the activation of InsP6 biosynthesis in both very early and very late periods of seed development increases the influx of P from vegetative organs into seeds. This is the first report from a study attempting to elevate the P levels of seed through a transgenic approach.

Recovery of tritium in nuclear fusion plants is a key issue for safety. So far, the oxidation procedure using atmospheric pressure plasma is expected to the recovery method. In this study, to clari...

Salt stress is an important factor that limits crop production worldwide. The salt tolerance of plants is a complex biological process mediated by changes in gene expression and metabolite composition. The enzyme myo-inositol 3-phosphate synthase (MIPS; EC 5.5.1.4) catalyzes the first step of myo-inositol biosynthesis, and overexpression of the MIPS gene enhances salt stress tolerance in several plant species. In this study, we performed metabolite profiling of both MIPS-overexpressing and wild-type rice. The enhanced salt stress tolerance of MIPS-overexpressing plants was clear based on growth and the metabolites under salt stress. We found that constitutive overexpression of the rice MIPS gene resulted in a wide range of metabolic changes. This study demonstrates for the first time that overexpression of the MIPS gene increases various metabolites responsible for protecting plants from abiotic stress. Activation of both basal metabolism, such as glycolysis, the pentose phosphate pathway, and the tricarboxylic acid cycle, and inositol metabolism is induced in MIPS-overexpressing plants. We discuss the relationship between the metabolic changes and the improved salt tolerance observed in transgenic rice.

New analysis method of power quality using stochastic linearization is proposed to evaluate stochastically interconnectable capacity for wind power generation. This is based on mathematical model of load frequency control systems, which involve nonlinear and dynamic characteristics. Nonlinear generator model is linearized to analyse power quality through stochastic linearization. However, accuracy evaluation of model due to linearization has not been examined using actual data. In this paper, we stochastically evaluate accuracy of linearized model and interconnectable capacity for wind power generation.

Microplate resazurin assay was applied to investigate the in vitro activity of four essential oils (EOs); cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum), thyme (Thymus vulgaris), lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) and tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) oils against 80 clinical isolates of the fish pathogen Nocardia seriolae. The checkerboard test was then used to determine the possible synergistic effect of EOs combination against reference type strains of fish nocardiosis. All tested EOs had antibacterial activity against N. seriolae isolates. Among the tested EOs, cinnamon and thyme oils both exhibited the lowest minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) with 5-160 and 10-160 μg/ml, respectively. The activities of lemongrass and tea tree EOs were noted to be less effective with MICs of 20-640 and 160->5120 μg/ml, respectively. The checkerboard panel of cinnamon-thyme EOs combination against N. seriolae ATCC43993 demonstrated a synergistic effect with a fractional inhibitory concentration (FIC) index of 0.75. For N. salmonicida ATCC27463, the combination panel showed an additive effect with an FIC index of 1.0. For N. asteroides ATCC19247, the combination panel demonstrated an indifference effect with an FIC index of 1.125. These results indicate that thyme and cinnamon oils alone or the combination of them at a given ratio has a promising potent clinical significance in the treatment of fish nocardiosis. Despite the promising results given by our in vitro studies, the clinical benefits of these EOs combinations can only be determined through carefully designed in vivo experimental studies.

In this proceedings report, we discuss unique features of charmed, or in general heavy, baryons with one heavy quark. A well and long-term known phenomena, the distinction of the two modes of the rho and lambda type of a three-quark system is revisited. The difference of these modes may be tested in the production and decay reactions of the baryons which may be tested in the future experiments at J-PARC., 10 pages, proceedings for HYP2015, Sendai, Sept. 7-12, 2015

A square loop antenna is newly analyzed to radiate a conical beam, using the moment method. The loop has a single feed and two corners are truncated for circularly polarized (CP) radiation. It is revealed that the antenna shows a gain of 9 dB, which is higher than that of a conventional loop by 2 dB. This leads to further analysis of a modified square double-loop antenna that radiates a CP tilted beam. It is found that an enhanced gain can be obtained in comparison with that of a conventional double-loop antenna by 1 dB.

The low energy magnetic excitation spectrum of the Heisenberg antiferromagnetic $S = 1/2$ chain system Sr$_2$CuO$_3$ with Ni- and Ca-impurities is studied by neutron spectroscopy. In all cases, a defect-induced spectral pseudogap is observed and shown to scale proportionately to the number of scattering centers in the spin chains.

A planar antenna consisting of four bent arms on a thin dielectric substrate is investigated. The arms are located symmetrically with respect to the coordinate origin, and each is made of a circularly polarized (CP) metaline that shows a negative propagation phase constant at the design frequency (2.45 GHz). The antenna height is extremely small: approximately 0.03 wavelength. By changing the feed point, the antenna can be made to radiate a CP wave in each of the four orthogonal directions of the azimuth plane. The VSWR is less than 2. Mutual coupling between the four arms is small (less than −30 dB).

Using 5326 days of atmospheric neutrino data, a search for atmospheric tau neutrino appearance has been performed in the Super-Kamiokande experiment. Super-Kamiokande measures the tau normalization to be 1.47±0.32 under the assumption of normal neutrino hierarchy, relative to the expectation of unity with neutrino oscillation. The result excludes the hypothesis of no-tau appearance with a significance level of 4.6σ. The inclusive charged-current tau neutrino cross section averaged by the tau neutrino flux at Super-Kamiokande is measured to be (0.94±0.20)×10−38 cm2. The measurement is consistent with the Standard Model prediction, agreeing to within 1.5σ.

Type I interferon (IFN) is a pleiotropic cytokine regulating the cancer cell death and immune response. IFN-α can, as we have also reported, effectively induce an antitumor immunity by the activation of tumor-specific T cells and maturation of dendritic cells in various animal models. Unknown, however, is how the type I IFN alters the immunotolerant microenvironment in the tumors. Here, we found that intratumoral IFN-α gene transfer significantly decreased the frequency of regulatory T cells (Tregs) per CD4(+) T cells in tumors. The concentration of a Treg-inhibitory cytokine, interleukin (IL)-6, was correlated with the IFN-α expression level in tumors, and intratumoral CD11c(+) cells produced IL-6 in response to IFN-α stimulation. To confirm the role of IL-6 in the suppression of Tregs in tumors, an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody was administered in IFN-α-treated mice. The antibody increased the frequency of Tregs in the tumors, and attenuated systemic tumor-specific immunity induced by IFN-α. Furthermore, the IFN-α-mediated IL-6 production increased the frequency of Th17 cells in the tumors, which may be one of the mechanisms for the reduction of Tregs. The study demonstrated that IFN-α gene delivery creates an environment strongly supporting the enhancement of antitumor immunity through the suppression of Tregs.

The present investigation evaluated distribution pattern of differentiated, degenerated and surviving spikelet’s and interrelationship of spikelet’s on the basis of their position on rachis branches in a panicle of both japonica and indica cultivars. Distribution of differentiated spikelets on primary brances (PBs) and secondary brances (SBs) followed 1:1 ratio in the japonica cultivars and 1:2 or more than 2 in the indica ones irrespective of plant types revealed the genetic factor had the more influence on the observed distribution pattern in both japonica and indica cultivars. The percentage of degenerated spikelets to the differentiated ones on PBs was slightly higher in the japonica (4.2%?8.3%) than in the indica (0.5%?6.6%) cultivars. The degenerated percentage of differentiated spikelets on SBs varied more widely in the indica (11.9%?56.2%) than in the japonica (26.1%?48.2%) cultivars, although average was almost the same (37.7% in the japonica and 38.9% in the indica cultivars). Correlation coefficients showed that the increase of differentiated spikelets on PBs strongly increase the number of surviving spikelet per panicle or on PBs per panicle in both cultivar groups. But this was not significantly increase the number of degenerated spikelets on PBs but showed possibility of increase the number of degenerated spikelets on SBs per panicle in both cultivar groups. Increased number of differentiated spikelets on SBs substantially increased the numbers of both surviving and degenerated spikelets on SBs per panicle and showed weak negative (in japonica) and positive (in indica) significant correlation with the percentage of degenerated spikelets on SBs. The number of surviving PBs was highly correlated with the surviving spikelets on PBs per panicle. Therefore, above results imply that the increase of differentiated spikelets on PBs of both cultivar groups and on SBs in the japonica group could sustain the survivility of spikelets with higher number of differentiated PBs per panicle.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/brj.v17i1-2.20901Bangladesh Rice j. 2013, 17(1&2): 49-63

The thermoelectric properties of ternary Ti10Ru19B8 and quaternary Ti9TM2Ru18B8 (TM: Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu) compounds were investigated in the temperature range from 373 K to 973 K. They form pseudogaps in the electronic densities of states near the Fermi level, E F, which is suitable for thermoelectric materials. We synthesized crack-free pellet samples using arc-melting followed by spark plasma sintering. A maximum dimensionless figure of merit zT max was 0.09 at 973 K for Ti10Ru19B8 whereas a large power factor of 1.4 mW/m K2 was obtained at that temperature. The phonon thermal conductivity decreased through TM substitutions; however, the power factor also decreased due to an additional electronic density of states originated from TM d-states around E F; that is, excitations of both holes and electrons.

Introduction of artificial pinning centers such as BaZrO3 (BZO), BaSnO3 (BSO), BaHfO3 (BHO) nano-rods is effective to improve in-field critical currents (Ic). In particular, the BHO doping into Gd1Ba2Cu3O7−δ had been found to exhibit high in-field Ic under wide ranges of temperatures and magnetic fields. Furthermore, a long coated conductor (CC) with high in-field properties and high uniformity was successfully fabricated by means of BHO doping. However, increase of the Ic values exhibited somewhat in a saturated manner with thickening the superconducting films above 3 μm. In this work, a new combination of Eu1Ba2Cu3O7−δ (EuBCO) + BHO system was investigated using the IBAD/PLD process to improve in-field performance especially in thick films. As a result, it was found that a EuBCO + BHO film with 3.6 μm in thickness showed extremely high property of 141 A/cm-w measured at 77 K, 3 T. This high in-field Ic value was tentatively explained due to suppression of a-axis oriented grains even in thick films. A 200 m long EuBCO + BHO CC with 55.5 A/cm-w and a 93.7 m long CC with 108 A/cm-w measured at 77 K, 3 T were successfully fabricated.

The five-year national project in Japan for RD a high in-field minimum Ic value over 54A/cm-width under 3T at 77K was realized in a 200m long EuBCO tape with artificial pinning centers of BaHfO3 by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) technique on the IBAD template. On the other hand, the AC loss reduction was confirmed in the tapes fabricated by both PLD and the metal organic deposition (MOD) techniques by scribing 100m tapes into 10-filamments. Additionally, the mechanism of the delamination phenomenon was systematically investigated and the strength was improved by eliminating the origins of the weak points in the films. Through the development, all targeted goals were accomplished and the several results were appreciated as a world champion data.

The Japanese prickly ash, Zanthoxylum ailanthoides Siebold & Zucc. (Rutaceae), is one of the most common pioneer tree species that grow in disturbed areas, such as canopy gaps, in Japanese warm-temperate evergreen oak forests. The strong genetic structure of its current population might suggest long-term isolation of subpopulations by demographic events, in addition to ecological features of this species. Analyses of genome-wide nucleotide variation using model-based approaches are necessary to achieve a good understanding of the demographic history of a species. In this study, we analyzed the nucleotide variation in natural populations of Z. ailanthoides using a computer program that applied the isolation-with-migration model to quantitatively infer the demographic history. Nucleotide variations at 10 or 26 nuclear loci in six populations from a wide range of the species distribution were analyzed. The maximum likelihood estimate of the divergence time between the current populations in the two hypothetical refugia of Z. ailanthoides was approximately 24,000 years. Unexpectedly, the estimated size of the ancestral population was larger than the sizes of the two current populations. The results suggested a relatively recent divergence of these two populations and rapid formation of strong genetic structure among subpopulations. The large ancestral population may indicate a more complex demographic history during or after the last glacial period than the simple isolation-with-migration model implies.

The superconducting transition temperature of niobium silicon oxynitride (Nb0.87Si0.09□0.04)(N0.87O0.13) exhibits a gradual reduction from 16.8 K to around 11 K under an increasing applied magnetic field of up to 14 T. This relatively small Tc reduction under an applied magnetic field suggests a robustness of its superconducting behavior in comparison to that in the parent niobium oxynitride. It was similar to the flux pinning effect observed in the large magnetic hysteresis of the niobium-silicon oxynitrides in our previous study. Both Si K-edge XANES and 29Si MAS-NMR indicated that the local structure of pinning centers around the silicon atoms close to cationic vacancies was similar to that of Si in amorphous SiO2 in the rock-salt structure of niobium oxynitride.

The United Graduate School of Agricultural Sciences, Iwate University, Morioka 020-8550, Japan. College of Resources and Environment, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun 130118, China. Faculty of Bio-Resource Science, Akita Prefectural University, Akita 010-1423, Japan. Grassland Institute, Branch of Animal Husbandry, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling 136100, China. Rice Research Institute, Jilin Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Gongzhuling 136100, China.

A ball mill, which is used to finely grind materials, causes high levels of vibration and sound during grinding operations. The vibration and sound of mills provide significant information about the internal conditions and can be used to estimate the status of the ground material. We developed a simulation model for the vibration of a mill wall to better understand the relationship between the operating conditions and wall vibration characteristics. The discrete element method can be used to predict the motion of the contents, which are grinding balls and material particles, and estimate the collision force between the balls and the mill wall. A finite element method vibration analysis is performed to calculate the time history response of the vibration from the estimated collision force by DEM. Simulations and experiments are performed to evaluate the influence of changing material particle diameter on the vibration characteristics. The results of experiments and simulations show the same tendencies. A decrease in material diameter reduces the vibration velocity of the mill. The developed simulation is useful for understanding the vibration characteristics of the mill because it could obtain information, such as individual particle element velocities, that is not available from the experiments.