Wear characteristics of bonded solid film lubricant under high load condition

Wear properties of phenolic resin bonded molybdenum disulfide film lubricant were studied. In-vacuo journal bearing tests were performed to evaluate the wear-life of this film lubricant. The wear-life depends on substrate materials and on sliding velocity. Pretreated substrate surfaces were examined to reveal the reasons for these results. Additionally, investigations on film wear mechanisms were made

Caregivers’ strategies for eliciting storytelling from toddlers in Japanese caregiver–child picture book reading activities

Although storytelling is a central practice in everyday interaction, it is not an easy task for young children, because it requires extended turns-at-talk. To tell a story successfully, a child requires considerable support from the recipient. In this article, we examine how storytelling is facilitated in Japanese caregiver–child interactions, focusing on the strategies employed by caregivers to elicit storytelling from 2- to 3-year-old children during picture book reading activities. Our analysis indicates that caregivers employ various multimodal strategies in encouraging children to launch, develop, and end a story, and that these strategies are themselves effectively implemented through the application of several grammatical features, conventional expressions, and formulaic words. Hence, storytelling functions as a valuable device in orchestrating attention, affect, and morality in caregiver–child interactions

Histochemical demonstration of three types of muscle fibers of the intercostal muscles. A study on oxidative enzymes

Since the classic work of Ranvier, it is well known that the mammalian striated muscle is composed of two types of muscle fibers, i. e., the red and white muscle fibers. In the previous paper1 it has been reported that the limb muscle fibers of mammals can be divided into three types from their activities of the histochemically demonstrable oxidative enzymes. Namely, the small red muscle fibers had a higher activity of oxidative enzymes, the large white muscle fibers a lower activity and the third type of muscle fibers being called &#34;medium fiber&#34; or &#34;intermediate fiber&#34; showed an intermediate activity between those of the red and white muscle fibers.</p

A Review of ERCC1 Gene in Bladder Cancer: Implications for Carcinogenesis and Resistance to Chemoradiotherapy

The excision repair cross-complementing group 1 (ERCC1) gene performs a critical incision step in DNA repair and is reported to be correlated with carcinogenesis and resistance to drug or ionizing radiation therapy. We reviewed the correlation between ERCC1 and bladder cancer. In carcinogenesis, several reports discussed the relation between ERCC1 single nucleotide polymorphisms and carcinogenesis in bladder cancer only in case-control studies. Regarding the relation between ERCC1 and resistance to chemoradiotherapy, in vitro and clinical studies indicate that ERCC1 might be related to resistance to radiation therapy rather than cisplatin therapy. It is controversial whether ERCC1 predicts prognosis of bladder cancer treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Tyrosine kinase receptors or endothelial-mesenchymal transition are reported to regulate the expression of ERCC1, and further study is needed to clarify the mechanism of ERCC1 expression and resistance to chemoradiotherapy in vitro and to discover novel therapies for advanced and metastatic bladder cancer

〈善〉のイデアを知るープラトン『国家』篇研究

Tohoku University直江清隆課

A New Method to Calculate the Spin-Glass Order Parameter of the Two-Dimensional +/-J Ising Model

A new method to numerically calculate the $n$th moment of the spin overlap of the two-dimensional $\pm J$ Ising model is developed using the identity derived by one of the authors (HK) several years ago. By using the method, the $n$th moment of the spin overlap can be calculated as a simple average of the $n$th moment of the total spins with a modified bond probability distribution. The values of the Binder parameter etc have been extensively calculated with the linear size, $L$, up to L=23. The accuracy of the calculations in the present method is similar to that in the conventional transfer matrix method with about $10^{5}$ bond samples. The simple scaling plots of the Binder parameter and the spin-glass susceptibility indicate the existence of a finite-temperature spin-glass phase transition. We find, however, that the estimation of $T_{\rm c}$ is strongly affected by the corrections to scaling within the present data ($L\leq 23$). Thus, there still remains the possibility that $T_{\rm c}=0$, contrary to the recent results which suggest the existence of a finite-temperature spin-glass phase transition.Comment: 10 pages,8 figures: final version to appear in J. Phys.

The usefulness of quail as Laboratory animal

The Japanese quail has been familiar to our Japanese from ancient era (Heian, 1,000). In Edo era (1603-1868), male quails were housed in Samurai class as a pet of "Singing bird" to encourage his mind. After that, these birds were domesticated for poultry under the policy of Meiji government, JAPAN. However, the Japanese quail as an experimental animal was lately paid attention in the U.S.A after 1950. Since 1960 in Japan, the Japanese quail has been improved for an experimental animal by using the domesticated ones. The National Institute for Environmental Studies (NIES) has exploited the Japanese quail as a useful experimental animal for environmental science by cooperating with Tohoku University since 1980. By the way, the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) was selected for high (H) and low (L) antibody production to Newcastle disease virus (NDV) vaccine more than 50 generations. And H and L quails had been reached the plateau of NDV-HI (Haemo-agglutinin Inhibition) titer at 24(th) generation. The structure of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes of the H and L quails was examined and found that each line was independent MHC homozygous line. During the selection experiment, these H and L quails were examined in their utilization as an experimental animal for Environmental Science as follows: 1) The reproductive traits such as egg weight, egg production, hatchability declined in H and L line quails, and H line became extinct at 53 generation due to inbreeding depression. However, L line has been bred as inbred quail for avian experimental animal, because of hatchability recovery happened at 43 generation. 2) Among the 4 species (mice, rat, hamster, quail), the Japanese quail showed highest sensitivity to NO(2). On the contrary, the sensitivity to O(3) was lowest in quails. It has been suggested that toxic mechanisms of those gases are different from one another. 3) The environmental hormone (Endocrine disrupting chemicals, EDCs) was examined in the hybrid egg of quails in accordance with the OECD guideline. These results demonstrate that EDCs such as DDT, Dieldrin and TBTO will damage the reproductive organs and make the egg shells thin in adult female. In conclusion, these quails are useful not only as a pilot animal of poultry, but also as an experimental animal for environmental studies

A MULTIMEDIA MODEL FOR THE EVALUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL BEHAVIOR OF DIOXINS

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

Na-catalyzed rapid synthesis and characterization of intercalated graphite CaC6

In this study, we conducted experiments on CaC6 for elucidating the Na-catalyzed formation mechanism and achieving rapid mass synthesis of graphite intercalation compounds (GICs). Rapidly synthesized CaC6 was characterized by analysis of its crystal structure and physical properties. We found that the formation of the reaction intermediate Na-GIC (NaCx, x = 64) requires a larger amount of Na than is intercalated between the graphite interlayers. The requirement for excess Na may provide insights into the mechanism of Na-catalyzed GIC formation. A Na-to-C molar mixing ratio of 1.5-2.0:6 was suitable for the efficient formation of CaC6 under heat treatment at 250{\deg}C for 2 h, and the catalytic Na remaining in the sample was demonstrably reduced to a Na:Ca ratio of approximately 3:97. The upper critical field Hc2 was enhanced approximately three times compared to those of previous reports. Based on X-ray diffraction and experimental parameter analysis, we concluded that the enhancement of Hc2 was attributed to the disordered stacking sequence in CaC6, possibly because of the rapid and low-temperature formation. Physical properties derived from specific heat measurements were comparable to those of high-quality CaC6, which is slowly synthesized using the molten Li-Ca alloy method. This study provides new avenues for future research and exploration in the rapid mass synthesis of GICs as practical materials, for applications such as battery electrodes and superconducting wires.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl