Performance of human operators under various system parameters

Application of human operator performance for varied parameters to design of man-machine syste

Structural and Functional Genomic Research in Model Legume Plants: The National BioResource Project (NBRP) in Japan

Lotus japonicus is a wild perennial plant with a small genome and a short life cycle. This plant is expected to play a role as the model organism of leguminous plants, which include important crop plants such as soybean (Glycine max). Legume Base, a resource centre for Lotus japonicus and Glycine max, was established in April 2004. The scope of Legume Base is the collection, development and conservation of the genetic resources of L. japonicus and G. max and the distribution of the material for utilization by the research community. DNA resources including genomic DNA clones will be also available through Legume Base web site

Genetic Transformation of Rhodesgrass (Chloris Gayana Kunth.) by Particle Bombardment

Rhodesgrass (Chloris gayana Kunth) has been cultivated as one of the most important warm-season grasses in the world. One of the major limitations for cattle production on forage grasses, especially warm-season grasses is poor digestibility if compared to temperate grasses (Gondo et al., 2003). It is believed that the low digestibility of warm-season grasses is due to high lignin contents (Akashi et al., 2003). Recently, modification of the lignin content of plants appears to be feasible using genetic engineering strategies. We have established a methodology for high-frequency somatic embryogenesis and multiple shoot formation from seed-derived shoot apical meristems in rhodesgrass. Also, we have studied several factors involved in particle bombardment transformation

Non-neutral processes drive the nucleotide composition of non-coding sequences in Drosophila

The nature of the forces affecting base composition is a key question in genome evolution. There is uncertainty as to whether differences in the GC contents of non-coding sequences reflect differences in mutational bias, or in the intensity of selection or biased gene conversion. We have used a polymorphism dataset for non-coding sequences on the X chromosome of Drosophila simulans to examine this question. The proportion of GC→AT versus AT→GC polymorphic mutations in a locus is correlated with its GC content. This implies the action of forces that favour GC over AT base pairs, which are apparently strongest in GC-rich sequences

Application of thermoluminescence for detection of cascade shower 2: Detection of cosmic ray cascade shower at Mount Fuji

The results of a thermoluminescence (TL) chamber exposed at Mt. Fuji during Aug. '83 - Aug. '84 are reported. The TL signal induced by cosmic ray shower is detected and compared with the spot darkness of X-ray film exposed at the same time

Application of thermoluminescence for detection of cascade shower 1: Hardware and software of reader system

A reader system for the detection of cascade showers via luminescence induced by heating sensitive material (BaSO4:Eu) is developed. The reader system is composed of following six instruments: (1) heater, (2) light guide, (3) image intensifier, (4) CCD camera, (5) image processor, (6) microcomputer. The efficiency of these apparatuses and software application for image analysis is reported