Search

In recent years, dry sludge powder has attracted attention for reducing environmental impact as a method of reusing ready mixed concrete waste. Manufacturing process of the dry sludge powder is different from the ordinary portland cement. In the manufacturing process, there is drying process, and it is performed at high temperature. A characteristic of dry sludge powder is that it contains hydration products. However, few studies have focused on the effects of high temperature treatment and the hydration products contained in dry sludge powder. Therefore, in this study, we focused on the influence of hydration products contained in dry sludge powder and the high temperature treatment on hydration reaction. Firstly, we analyzed hydration products contained in the dry sludge powder. Next, the progress of hydration was examined by measuring the rate of heat of hydration. In addition, a sample was prepared by simulating the dry sludge powder process and it was treated at different temperatures and times. By examining this sample, the relationship between hydration product and hydration reaction was investigated. As a result, it was found that, as the amount of calcium hydroxide in the dry sludge powder decrease, the strength development becomes easier. Furthermore, the hydration potential of the dry sludge powder, can be derived by subtracting the ignition loss value of the raw dry sludge powder state from the measured ignition loss value.

Introduction Liquid embolic material (LEM) plays an essential role in the treatment of hemorrhagic stroke caused by arteriovenous malformation or dural arteriovenous fistula. However, currently available non-adhesive LEMs has the problem of catheter entrapment, and also known to have a cytotoxic effect due to the organic solvents such as Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO). The New Generation Liquid Embolic Material (NGLEM) is a clear liquid that immediately forms a solid hydrogel cast upon exposure to Ca2+ in the bloodstream, and organic solvents are not required. The performance of this new liquid embolic material was evaluated using an in vivo experimental model using rabbit. Methods Under general anesthesia, a renal artery of New Zealand rabbit (4.5–5.0 kg) was catheterized under fluoroscopy using a microcatheter, and NGLEM (Aqua Embolic System) was injected into the artery. Following factors were assessed; 1) the amount of LEM required for the complete occlusion, 2) injection speed, 3) duration of the injection, 4) radiopacity during the deployment and 5) incidence of catheter entrapment after the injection. Results 10 renal arteries in 10 rabbits were treated, and all arteries were completely occluded without technical complication. The injected materials immediately formed LEM cast in all vessels followed by the reflux over the microcatheter. All catheters were withdrawn without any sign of catheter entrapment. The NGLEM mixed with tantalum based (10 animals) contrasts medium showed sufficient radiopacity under fluoroscopy. With the injection speed of 0.02 ml/sec, the average volume required was 0.68 ml. Average time for the complete occlusion was 237 seconds. No increased thrombogenicity or vasospasm near the treated lesion was observed during the procedure. Conclusions NGLEM, which is a DMSO free, non-adhesive bio-polymer may be used as an embolic material for the treatment of hemorrhagic stroke caused by cerebrovascular diseases. Disclosures I. Yuki: 1; C; Research Grant: Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative), Research Grant Supported by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), Government of Japan. K. Ohkawa: 1; C; Research Grant Supported by the MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), Government of Japan. 2; C; N/A. 3; C; N/A. 4; C; N/A. 5; C; N/A. 6; C; N/A. F. Hsu: 1; C; Research Grant: Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award. J. Xu: None. S. Li: None. S. Suzuki: 1; C; Research Grant: Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative).

Introduction/Purpose The New Generation Liquid Embolic Material (NGLEM) is a clear liquid that immediately forms a solid hydrogel cast upon exposure to Ca2+ in the bloodstream. Catheter entrapment is avoided because the material is not adhesive, and the use of organic solvents such as DMSO is unnecessary. The main components of NGLEM are widely used as food additives in the medical and food industries, with much evidence of their biocompatibility. The mechanical behavior of this new liquid embolic material was evaluated using an in vitro vascular model as well as an in vivo experimental model using a swine. Materials and methods Experiment 1) A silicon vascular model with multiple aneurysms were connected to a programmable pulsatile flow pump, and isotonic aqueous solution containing 2 mM calcium chloride was circulated. A microcatheter was placed in the aneurysm model, and 1 ml of NGLEM was injected. The behaviors of the injected material and the visibility under fluoroscopy were recorded. Experiment 2) To evaluate the mechanical performance of the NGLEM using in vivo model, a rat renal artery was catheterized with a microcatheter, and NGLEM was injected into the artery. Angiographical evaluation was performed. Results Experiment 1) The injected NGLEM formed spherical shaped gel and occluded the aneurysm. Once the injection was completed, the catheter was withdrawn without entrapment. The NGLEM mixed with contrast medium showed sufficient radiopacity under fluoroscopy. Experiment 2) A total of 5 renal arteries of 3 rats were treated with NGLEM. All procedure was performed without technical complications. All vessels were completely occluded with NGLEM, and the total volume required for the occlusion was between 0.4 ml to 0.8 ml. No increased thrombogenicity was observed during the procedure. Post procedure aortogram showed complete occlusion of the treated artery. Conclusion NGLEM, which is a DMSO free, non-adhesive bio-polymer may be used as an embolic material for endovascular procedure. Disclosures I. Yuki: 1; C; Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative), Principle Investigator, April 1st. 2019 – present. K. Ohkawa: 1; C; 17H02080, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Ohkawa, Kousaku (PI) 04/01/17–03/31/21. F. Hsu: 1; C; Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative). S. Suzuki: 1; C; Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative). Conclusion NGLEM, which is a DMSO free, non-adhesive bio-polymer may be used as an embolic material for endovascular procedure. Disclosures I. Yuki: 1; C; Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative), Principle Investigator, April 1st. 2019 – present. K. Ohkawa: 1; C; 17H02080, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Ohkawa, Kousaku (PI) 04/01/17–03/31/21. F. Hsu: 1; C; Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative). S. Suzuki: 1; C; Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (ICTS) Pilot Award (NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award initiative).

In this research, the effect of beam convergence with magnetic field of GAMMA 10/PDX has been investigated. The hydrogen ion beam is injected to the tungsten target under the various strength of magnetic field. The spatial distribution of emission light and rising temperature of the target are measured with a fast camera and a calorimeter, respectively. Effectiveness of beam convergence due to the magnetic field expansion is evaluated from the viewpoint of beam-material Interaction studies.

Around 1920 the cut rose was first introduced into Japan. The industry developed smoothly. However, the production was completely stopped during World War II, returning in 1948. The cut flower production of roses continuously increased and became the second largest item in Japan by 1992. Along with the economy situation since 1997, the production area and number of produced stem, has decreased. In 2006, the production number was down to 370 million, and the share of imported roses increased to 18.3% by 2006. It seems very dark for the future of Japanese commercial cut rose production. There are several possibilities to survive versus import roses. 1) Selecting the correct cultivars, 2) differentiate by quality, and 3) develop a new production and logistic system that can leave profits.

Land cover change of the oases surrounding Taklimakan Desert in Xinjiang Uyghur in the past 40 years was examined by means of satellite images. From the results of the analysis of these images, the following have been explained. The farmland utilization ratio in average stands at 0.28 in the northern edge of Taklimakan Desert. In the meantime, the ratio stands at 0.13 in the southern edge, whereas 0.31 in the western edge. It is revealed that in the northern edge, area of the irrigation land is vast enough to be utilized. Small oases are much noticed generally in the southern edge, and accounted for usually less than 0.15 resulting in lowness in the utilization ratio of the farmland. However the smaller the value of the said ratio is, the higher the potential of the farmland development is. It is explained that the vegetation land is slightly expanded in the upper reaches of the river in the small oases in the northern edge, but the vegetation land is drastically changed to barren land in the lower reaches of the river. On the other hand, it is explained that the vegetation regions are being expanded year by year in the oases in the northern edge. Especially in Aksu, the farmland area was expanded accompanied with increase of the number of the development settlers.

Acoustic backscattering from a sandy seabed was measured at a frequency of 5.5 kHz at a wide range of grazing angles. The measurement system used was the University of Miami's sonar tower, consisting of an omni-directional broadband source and two 16-channel hydrophone receiver arrays. A volume scattering model, which combines a fluid model with reflection/transmission coefficients derived from the Biot theory, is used. This model allows energy penetration into the bottom, calculations of the volume scattering at all grazing angles, and the frequency dependence of the sound speed in the water-saturated sediment. In the model, rather than assume sound-speed correlation length in sedimentary volume, core data were used to assimilate a 3-D fluctuation spectrum of the density. The numerical results showed excellent agreement with the measurement at lower grazing angles. We concluded that the interface roughness scattering was dominant at lower grazing angles, while the volume scattering is dominant at higher grazing angles at the sandy site. The border of the dominance of the interface and volume scattering was the so-called critical angle at this frequency. The frequency dependence of sound speeds is also discussed

A large share of the Lilium genetic resources introduced into Europe originated from Japan. At first, these various species were collected in the wild, but several of them became difficult to find as the demand for them increased. Consequently, commercial production commenced in the various locations where those species were found. By 1937, some 40 million bulbs were exported by Japan. This number had decreased to 22.9 million by 1972 and to 1 million by 2001. On the other hand, the number of imported bulbs has increased rapidly as various import quarantines have been relaxed. In 2001, Japan imported 173.7 million lily bulbs and we now produce some 34.8 million lily bulbs for domestic consumption. In contrast, Japan produced ±100 million tulip bulbs per year from 1964 to 2000. This stability was the result of breeding new cultivars and improving cultural and production methods. However since 2000, domestic production of tulip bulbs has decreased to 82.5 million per year. Tulip bulb exports peaked in 1964, with 25.7 million shipped from Japan. Since then there has been a gradual decrease in tulip bulb exports. As with lilies, the decrease in domestic tulip production was caused by the abolition of quarantine rules and the resulting outside competition. An increase in tulip bulb imports has been caused by similar economic realities, with 259.5 million tulip bulbs imported in 2001. We now export only 1.6 million lily and tulip bulbs, and import 646.1 million bulbs, mainly lily and tulip. The production of bulbs in Japan will not increase in the future because of high production costs, the aging of bulb producers, and the lack of successors for the farms. On the positive side, the domestic production of bulbous cut flowers has increased in response to consumer demand, although this demand has been fed by increased use of imported rather than domestic bulbs. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF LILY BULB PRODUCTION Lilies Native to Japan There are 130 species in the lily genus, all originating from the Northern Hemisphere. Fourteen species are native to Japan, six of which are endemic to this country; Lilium auratum, L. japonicum, L. rubellum, L. alexandrae, L. pratyphyllum and L. nobilissimum. The most important horticultural species, Lilium speciosum and L. longiflorum are native not only to Japan but also to Taiwan and China, although the main distribution was from Japan. The remaining six Lilium species native to Japan are Lilium dauricum, L. callosum, L. concolor, L. maculatum, L. medeoloides and L. leichtlinii var. maximowiczii. From among the native Japanese lilies, Kaempfer introduced L. japonicum, L. speciosum and L. maculatum into Europe through his publication of 1712. Subsequently, Thunberg introduced specimens of L. speciosum and L. longiflorum in 1794. Living samples of L. japonicum and L. maculatum were introduced in 1804 and of L. longiflorum in 1819. In 1832, a bulb of L. speciosum introduced by Siebold flowered in Belgium. Proc. IX Intl. Symp. on Flower Bulbs Eds.: H. Okubo, W.B. Miller and G.A. Chastagner Acta Hort. 673, ISHS 2005 36 Export of Wild-harvested Lily Bulbs Export of wild-harvested lily bulbs from Japan started in the 1870’s, the top 3 species being L. auratum, L. speciosum and L. lancifolium (of Chinese origin). The top export species was L. auratum since it was the most abundant lily in Eastern Japan and the trading was mainly from Yokohama. L. speciosum was mainly concentrated on Koshiki Island, in Kagoshima prefecture and far from Yokohama. The export of L. speciosum increased steeply after this area became involved in the bulb trading industry. Export of L. longiflorum followed. As demand for wild-harvested lily bulbs increased, the quality of the bulb decreased, with irregular bulb size and injury during shipment becoming more prevalent. To improve quality, wild-harvested bulbs were nursed on a farm for one year before shipping, and the export of such bulbs gradually increased. Development of Lily Bulb Production and Trade After the establishment of lily production, L. longiflorum became the most predominant exported bulb, since this species was the most demanded in Europe and the United States. Approximately 30 million bulbs were exported in 1928 of which 78% were L. longiflorum, 15% were L. speciosum and 6% were L. auratum. The peak year for lily bulb export since trading began was 67 years ago, in 1937, when 40 million bulbs were exported. During World War II, exports dropped sharply and L. longiflorum and L. speciosum were used to make coffee substitute and quality starch, respectively. After the war, 1972 was the top export year at 22.9 million bulbs. Since then the number of exported bulbs has gradually decreased and recently has dropped sharply. The most popular species among the exported bulbs, L. longiflorum, is traditionally produced on Oki-no-Erabu-Island (North Latitude 27, subtropical, average temperature 22°C), 537 km away from Kagoshima. A plot of the number of traded bulbs per year since 1870 is shown in Fig. 1. Lily Bulb Production in Japan The area for production and number of bulbs produced are shown in Fig. 2. The proportion of the bulbs exported was notably high before and after World War II until the economy of Japan recovered. As the economy grew, the domestic demand for bulbs increased and production of L. longiflorum ‘Hinomoto’ and L. maculatum shared the top position. Import of Dutch bulbs increased rapidly after the isolated quarantine on flower bulbs was abolished in 1988. As a consequence, the production area and number of bulbs produced for domestic use had decreased to 189 ha and 35 million, respectively by 2001. In the last 10 decades, the period soon after World War II and the year 2001 were the only times that the area for lily production was below 200 ha. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF TULIP BULB PRODUCTION The tulip was introduced into Japan between 1861 and 1863 and production began in the 1910’s in Niigata and Toyama prefectures, where the climate was suitable for tulip cultivation. The peak year for tulip bulb export before World War II was 1940, when the number of bulbs shipped from Japan was 6.9 million. The production area at this time was 75 ha in Niigata and 22 ha in Toyama. Fig. 3 shows the area for production and number of tulip bulbs produced after World War II. In 1945, the production area was 16 ha. But after 10 years it had recovered to 221 ha and 6.3 million bulbs were exported. The number of exported bulbs exceeded 10 million in 1958 and reached 25.7 million in 1965. Thereafter, the number was maintained at around 20 million for a number of years. In 1973, the free-exchange rate system was implemented, increasing the value of the yen and affecting export to the United States. However, tulip bulb production was supported by domestic uses for cut flower production and gardening, and the production area was maintained at around 500 ha. Since 1993, because of the rapid increase in imports from the Netherlands, the aging of producers, and the lack of successors to maintain the farms, the production area has continued to decrease.

The 2p → 4f quadrupole transition spectra of rare-earth fluorides RF 3 (R = La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Er, Tm and Yb) were measured by resonant X-ray emission spectroscopy (RXES). When the excitation photon energy is tuned at the pre-edge region of L 3 main absorption peak, weak structures were observed at the higher energy region of the Lα Raman peak. These structures show mainly a double-peak structure and were assigned to the quadrupolar 2p → 4f transition. Nakazawa et al. calculated the quadrupole transition spectra in light rare-earth systems and showed the element dependency of the energy separation in the double-peak structure. Present results are good agreement with the calculated results in light rare-earth elements except for Nd. Moreover, the Lβ (4d → 2p) RXES spectra of SmF 3 and EuF 3 have been measured in order to compare the contribution from 3d to 4f interaction with that from 4d to 4f interaction.

We proposed a new process for ozone decomposition of hazardous chemicals in organic solution concentrated from water into the solution by using adsorbent or air-stripping. The target compounds studied were chlorophenols and TCE. Chlorophenols were adsorbed from water and desorbed into organic solutions like acetic acid by GAC and synthetics adsorbents, SP850 and SP207. The best adsorbent both for adsorption and desorption into acetic acid solution was synthetis one, SP850, and percent desorption was 100%. GAC was good for adsorption, but was not for desorption. Although more than 800 mg-TCE L−1 in acetic acid solution was decomposed by ozonation, little decrease in the decomposition rate was noted indicating that acetic acid can be reused for the next step of ozonation in the same acetic acid solution.

Interface waves such as the Scholte wave are a useful tool to study geoacoustic properties and can be conventionally generated by an explosive or a pneumatic source on/above the seafloor. This type of source, however, generates strong compressional waves in the water and sediment at the same time; these waves then disturb an observation of interface waves and leads to difficulty in processing. These sources are also relatively hard to control at sea from a viewpoint of repeatability and stability of interface waves to be generated. In addition, environmental problems caused by those sources is a concern. In this paper, an electromagnetic induction source whose vibrator plate hits the seafloor directly and excites interface waves is described. The capability of this source was evaluated both in a water tank and at seashore. The pulsed Scholte waves excited both by several types of electromagnetic induction source having a different shape of vibrator plate and by dropping weight were transmitted in sediment and received using geophones. As a result of comparison of measured signals, the pulse signal propagating from the source demonstrates a sharper rise time than that from dropping weight.

The ornamental plant market is always in need of new crops to stimulate economic growth and establish fashion trends. Extensive literature surveys have been performed on the genera of bulbous plants to search out new ornamental crops. Among them, Leucocoryne and Zephyra showed great potential as new entries into the market. They both produce long stems, over 40 cm, and display several flowers per stem. To evaluate the marketability of these two plants, the growth cycles of Leucocoryne and Zephyra were investigated. After the growth cycles were determined, trials to develop forcing techniques of both plants were conducted. Detailed information on the growth and development of Leucocoryne and Zephyra is discussed in order to successfully cultivate and ultimately schedule crop production for target markets.

Stability against light soaking was studied for amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) solar cells using three different i-layers; (a) device-quality a-Si:H (standard a-Si:H) with bandgap of 1.75 eV, (b) narrow bandgap (1.55 eV) a-Si:H fabricated by Ar* chemical annealing and (c) a-Si:H(Cl) fabricated from SiH2Cl2. Both the narrow bandgap a-Si:H and the a-Si:H(Cl) solar cells showed much improved stability than that of the standard a-Si:H solar cells: e.g., fill factor of the narrow bandgap a-Si:H cell only slightly decreased from 56% to 53%, while that of the standard a-Si:H cell degraded from 62% to 51%. In addition, mobility–lifetime products of the a-Si:H(Cl) cell also exhibited improved stability than that of the standard a-Si:H solar cell.

The excited states of four hemes, c-552, c-554, c-556, and c-559, in a c-type cytochrome subunit of the photosynthetic reaction center (PSRC) of Rhodopseudomonas (Rps.) viridis were studied using the symmetry-adapted cluster (SAC)-configuration interaction (CI) method. c-552 has two imidazole ligands, while the other three hemes have imidazole and methionine ligands. The electronic states of these four hemes are affected significantly by both the ligands and protein and water environments. The ligand effect classifies the four hemes into two groups, while the environmental effect is unique in each heme. The HOMO–LUMO energy separation of c-552 is much smaller than those of the other hemes, and therefore, the low-lying excited states of c-552 are more stable than those of the other hemes. The low-lying excited states and their oscillator strengths of c-559 are significantly modified by the environment when compared with c-556 and c-554. Some observed UV peaks of the PSRC of Rps. viridis were found to have been assigned reasonably to the excited states of these four hemes in a previous report. The calculated linear dichroism angles also supported our assignment.

Summary form only given. While ultrafast semiconductor spectroscopy has investigated scattering times, i.e. the time between different scattering events, for many years, quantum kinetics asks for the duration of one scattering process, i.e. for the memory time. For the electron-LO-phonon quantum kinetics in the weak coupling regime (GaAs), quantum kinetics shows up as an oscillation in the coherent four-wave mixing (FWM) signal. This observation was interpreted as an oscillation of a band electron back and forth between its initial and a final state it scatters into (for long times) due to the emission of n=1 phonon. We discuss the strong electron-phonon coupling regime, in which n>1 phonon scattering processes are expected to become important as well. Bulk ZnSe is used as a model system, in which the Frohlich-constant is about one order of magnitude larger than in GaAs. In our experiments, the band edge of an antireflection-coated, 100 nm thin film of ZnSe at low temperatures is excited with blue, transform-limited 13 fs pulses. Two-pulse, three-pulse FWM-experiments and coherent control experiments are performed and discussed.

Although hypercholesterolemia frequently accompanies nephrotic syndrome, high serum total cholesterol (TC) levels are occasionally seen in children with non-nephrotic glomerular diseases. However, little is known of the significance, if any, of these elevated serum TC levels in non-nephrotic glomerular diseases. During the past 5 years, a total of 256,179 school children received yearly urinary screening at school for renal diseases and 1,702 children (0.66% of the total, although 174 children dropped out) had proteinuria and/or hematuria. Using the data obtained from the 1,528 children, we studied whether there is any association between serum TC levels and the presence of glomerular diseases. The detection rate of glomerular diseases (IgA nephropathy, membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis, focal segmental glomerular sclerosis, etc.) in the subjects with high serum TC levels (or =200 mg/dl) was significantly higher (16 of 161, 9.94%, P0.001) than in those with normal serum TC levels (200 mg/dl) (10 of 1,367, 0.73%). There were no significant differences in serum albumin and blood urea nitrogen levels between the two groups. We conclude that children with chance proteinuria and/or hematuria may be at higher risk for glomerulonephritis of various types when they have unexplained hypercholesterolemia, and that measurement of serum cholesterol levels may be useful in urinary screening for renal diseases.

The excitation spectrum of the photosynthetic reaction center (PSRC) of Rhodopseudomonas (Rps.) viridis is assigned by using the SAC(symmetry adapted cluster)−CI(configuration interaction) method. All the chromophores included in the PSRC, bacteriochlorophyll b dimer (special pair, P), bacteriochlorophyll b in L- and M-branches (BL and BM), bacteriopheophytin b in L- and M-branches (HL and HM), menaquinone (MQ), ubiquinone (UQ), and four different hemes, c-552, c-554, c-556, and c-559 in c-type cytochrome subunit, were calculated within the environment of proteins, waters, and the other chromophores which were dealt with by the point-charge electrostatic model. We have assigned successfully all the peaks in the experimental spectrum in the energy range from 1.2 to 2.5 eV. The assignment was done by comparing the SAC−CI theoretical spectrum with the experimental one in excitation energy, oscillator strength, linear dichroism data (angle of transition moment), and other experimental information available. A...

The symmetry adapted cluster SAC -configuration interaction CI method has been utilized to assign the excited states in absorption and linear dichroism spectra and to clarify the mechanism of the unidirectionality in the electron transfer of the photosynthetic reaction center of Rhodopseudomonas ˝iridis. We have calculated the ground, excited, ionized, and electron-attached states of all the chromophores in the reaction center. The protein effects were included with the use of the point-charge model. q 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Excited states of free base chlorin (FBC), free base Bacteriochlorin (FBBC), pheophytin a (Pheo a), and chlorophyll a (Chlo a), which are derivatives of free base porphine (FBP), were calculated by the SAC (symmetry adapted cluster)/SAC−CI (configuration interaction) method. The results reproduced well the experimentally determined excitation energies. The reduction of the outer double bonds in the porphine ring in the order of FBP, FBC, and FBBC causes a breakdown of the symmetry and a narrowing of the HOMO−LUMO gap, which result in a red shift of the Qx band and an increase of its intensity. In the change from Pheo a to Chlo a, the Mg coordination reduces the quasidegeneracy in the Qx state and then increases the spectral intensity. The disappearance of the Qy humps from the absorption spectrum of Pheo a, compared with that of Chlo a, is due to the red shift of the Qy state.

The polynonapeptide (Gly-Gly-Gly-Tyr-Gly-Gly-Tyr-Gly-Lys)n, which is a precursor sequence of adhesive protein from the vitellaria of the liver flukeFasciola hepatica has been synthesized by the fragment coupling, followed by polycondensation, and by cleavage of the protecting groups by hydrogen bromide. The synthetic adhesive protein was estimated to have the molecular weight of 10,100 (12 repeating units as nonapeptide) and was found to have satisfactory amino acid compositions. The Tyr residues of the synthesized precursor polynonapeptides can be converted to the Dopa residues by tyrosinase, giving the synthetic adhesive protein of the liver fluke.

In this paper, a new hybrid meta-heuristic method is proposed to solve the unit commitment (UC) problem in power systems effectively. The proposed method focuses on the global optimization in a sense that a generation company need carry out the cost reduction under competitive environment. The objective of UC is to minimize operation-cost while satisfying the constraints. The unit commitment problem is hard to solve due to the complexity. The problem formulation may be written as a nonlinear mixed-integer problem that consists of two kinds of variables. Namely, one is a discrete variable to determine on-off state of generators while the other is a continuous one to evaluate output of generators. This paper proposes a new hybrid meta-heuristic method that makes use of TS-EPSO techniques and evaluates solutions with two layers. Layer 1 determines the on-off state of generators with tabu search (TS) while Layer 2 evaluates output of generators with the evolutionary particle swarm optimization (EPSO). TS is one of meta-heuristics that introduces the adaptive memory function into the hill-climbing method of local search to escape from a local minimum. It is very effective for solving a combinatorial optimization problem efficiently. EPSO improves the performance of particle swarm optimization (PSO) of swarm intelligence though the evolutionary strategy for tuning the parameters. EPSO has better performance in dealing with an optimization problem with continuous variables. The effectiveness of the proposed method is successfully applied to a sample system.

Photoelectrochemical properties of visible light absorption, hydrogen evolution at zero bias, and stability of working electrode for III‐nitrides were demonstrated. Photoassist hydrogen evolution from Pt counterelectrode was observed using n‐type InxGa1−xN with 408 nm band‐edge emission at room temperature. Hydrogen evolution was achieved without bias using crystallographic and electric optimized n‐type GaN. Over 5 h operation of the photoelectrochemical reaction using n‐type GaN was revealed. Details of these properties are discussed.

This paper proposes a parent-children type robot system that moves in unstructured environments. The parent robot works as a leader of the system. The children robots work as sensors to sense their environments while touching them. The parent collects the sensory information of its environment and generates a map. In order to express the map effectively, this paper applies a structured neural network to memory. The neural network learns the sensory information incrementally. While using the network, the parent robot determines their behavior. On the other hand, the children are disposable. When some of the children malfunction because of their dangerous environment, the remaining children compensate for them and continue to work. Simulations are performed to show the effectiveness of the proposed system.

Background Paired box gene 6 (PAX6) is a transcription factor involved in eye development. Mutations of PAX6 cause congenital eye anomalies, such as aniridia. PAX6 is also involved in the development of the endocrine pancreas, and reported to be a genetic factor common to aniridia and glucose intolerance, although the latter is usually mild. Here, we describe a case of PAX6 mutation with early-onset diabetes mellitus. Case report A 27-year-old woman was referred to our clinic. She was diagnosed having diabetes at the age of 15 with negative glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) antibody. Insulin treatment was started at age 24. Because she had aniridia, PAX6 gene mutation was investigated and a heterozygous 2-bp deletion (c.402del2) was identified. Her parents did not have aniridia and PAX6 mutations. Heterozygous PAX6 mutation may cause glucose intolerance. However, cases of early-onset diabetes mellitus have not been reported. Her parents did not have diabetes, but their insulinogenic indices were low (0.25 and 0.3, respectively). We thought her early-onset diabetes was partly as a result of PAX6 mutation and partly because of an unknown insulin secretory defect inherited from her parents. We could not find any mutations in HNF-1α, -1β, -4α, IPF-1, ISL-1, BEAT2/NeuroD1, PAX4, and amylin genes. Conclusions We report a case of PAX6 gene mutation with early-onset diabetes mellitus and aniridia. Low insulin secretory capacity in her parents suggested that her insulin secretory defect is as a result of not only PAX6 mutation but other genetic factors inherited from her parents.

"Tawny" is an autosomal recessive coat color mutation found in a wild population of Mus musculus molossinus. The inbred strain MSKR carries the mutation. The causative gene Mc1r[superscript taw] of the tawny phenotype is the second recessive allele at the melanocortin 1 receptor locus and is dominant to the first recessive allele, "recessive yellow" (Mc1r[superscript e]). The Mc1r[superscript taw] gene has six nucleotide substitutions, and its forecasted transcript has three amino acid substitutions (i.e., V101A, V216A, W252C). Though the nucleotide substitutions leading to V101A and V216A exist in various mouse strains, the nucleotide substitution leading to W252C exists in only tawny-colored mice. Thus this substitution is considered to be responsible for the expression of the tawny coat color. The frequency of the allele having this nucleotide substitution was 9.21% in the wild M. m. molossinus population inhabiting Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, where the ancestral mice of the MSKR strain were captured.