Can Sodium Abundances of A-Type Stars Be Reliably Determined from Na I 5890/5896 Lines?

An extensive non-LTE abundance analysis based on Na I 5890/5896 doublet lines was carried out for a large unbiased sample of ~120 A-type main-sequence stars (including 23 Hyades stars) covering a wide v_e sin i range of ~10--300 km/s, with an aim to examine whether the Na abundances in such A dwarfs can be reliably established from these strong Na I D lines. The resulting abundances ([Na/H]_{58}), which were obtained by applying the T_eff-dependent microturbulent velocities of \xi ~2--4 km/s with a peak at T_eff ~ 8000 K (typical for A stars), turned out generally negative with a large diversity (from ~-1 to ~0), while showing a sign of v_e sin i-dependence (decreasing toward higher rotation). However, the reality of this apparently subsolar trend is very questionable, since these [Na/H]_{58} are systematically lower by ~0.3--0.6 dex than more reliable [Na/H]_{61} (derived from weak Na I 6154/6161 lines for sharp-line stars). Considering the large \xi-sensitivity of the abundances derived from these saturated Na I D lines, we regard that [Na/H]_{58} must have been erroneously underestimated, suspecting that the conventional \xi values are improperly too large at least for such strong high-forming Na I 5890/5896 lines, presumably due to the depth-dependence of \xi decreasing with height. The nature of atmospheric turbulent velocity field in mid-to-late A stars would have to be more investigated before we can determine reliable sodium abundances from these strong resonance D lines.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figures, accepted for publication in Publ. Astron. Soc. Japan, Vol. 61, No. 5 (2009

Creating Value with Acquisition Based Dynamic Capabilities (ABDC): A Study of Mergers and Acquisitions in the Regulated Energy Industry

M&A research has consistently shown that value is destroyed for a majority of acquirers. Despite initial small positive gains at deal announcement, within a year of closing the transaction a majority of acquirers experience overall negative returns. Nevertheless, the constant pressures to grow leave company leaders few other viable options than pursuing M&A. This ever present cycle of value destruction is of interest to both scholars and practitioners. Of interest is what can be done differently by the acquirer to prevent the inevitable value erosion from occurring. To investigate this question, the author develops an adapted version of the Acquisition Based Dynamic Capabilities (ABDC) framework, a theoretical extension of Dynamic Capability theory. The framework is helpful in identifying what corporate M&A capabilities contribute to value creation through a transaction lifecycle. The adapted ABDC framework provides a means to quantify the differing impacts to value creation among the M&A capabilities of “Selecting and Identifying”, “Transacting and Executing” and “Reconfiguring and Integrating”. The empirical study utilizes 337 regulated energy, public company transactions, closed between 1995 and 2014. This industry is appropriate to study the application of this theory as it benefits from long dated deal timelines and specific milestone events (deal announcement, regulatory approval, financial closing, etc.) providing clear points of delineation for measurement purposes. Performance is measured using weak and semi-strong specifications of shareholder returns with a “golden set” of measures identified. Additionally, the impacts on the ABDC measures from shock waves, bandwagon effects, management traits, financial factors, deal complexity and other relevant factors are all evaluated to test for their impacts on the analyzed transactions. The results suggest that despite many acquirers receiving some positive value accretion from announcement and short-term post-closing returns, larger one year post-close reductions in value eclipse previous gains for most acquirers. The results validate the importance of the Reconfiguring and Integrating (R&I) phase of an acquisition. Comparisons to Top and Poor Performers provide a clear set of recommendations for future energy industry acquirers

New and Renewable Energy Policies of Jeju Island in Korea

노트 : World Renewable Energy congress 2011 – Sweden 8-13 May 2011, Linkoping, Swede

Antiasthmatic Effects of Herbal Complex MA and Its Fermented Product MA128

This study was conducted to determine if oral administration of the novel herbal medicine, MA, and its Lactobacillus acidophilus fermented product, MA128, have therapeutic properties for the treatment of asthma. Asthma was induced in BALB/c mice by systemic sensitization to ovalbumin (OVA) followed by intratracheal, intraperitoneal, and aerosol allergen challenges. MA and MA128 were orally administered 6 times a week for 4 weeks. At 1 day after the last ovalbumin exposure, airway hyperresponsiveness was assessed and samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung cells, and serum were collected for further analysis. We investigated the effect of MA and MA128 on airway hyperresponsiveness, pulmonary eosinophilic infiltration, various immune cell phenotypes, Th2 cytokine production, OVA-specific IgE production, and Th1/Th2 cytokine production in this mouse model of asthma. In BALB/c mice, we found that MA and MA128 treatment suppressed eosinophil infiltration into airways and blood, allergic airway inflammation and AHR by suppressing the production of IL-5, IL-13, IL-17, Eotaxin, and OVA-specific IgE, by upregulating the production of OVA-specific Th1 cytokine (IFN-γ), and by downregulating OVA-specific Th2 cytokine (IL-4) in the culture supernatant of spleen cells. The effectiveness of MA was increased by fermentation with Lactobacillus acidophilus

Successful laparoscopic surgery of accessory cavitated uterine mass in young women with severe dysmenorrhea

Accessory cavitated uterine mass (ACUM) is a rare and unique condition seen in young women. We report cases of ACUMs in two patients, a 14-year-old girl and a 25-year-old woman, both with complaints of severe dysmenorrhea that had started at menarche and had progressively worsened since. A large cystic lesion was localized in the anterolateral wall of the myometrium separate from the endometrium, which was difficult to distinguish from congenital uterine anomalies. Laparoscopic excision of the ACUMs was successful and completely resolved the dysmenorrhea. Early investigation of severe dysmenorrhea in young women can provide appropriate management and relieve symptoms

Optimization of a Heterogeneous Reaction System for the Production of Optically Active D-Amino Acids Using Thermostable D-Hydantoinase

Abstract: A thermostable D-hydantoinase from Bacillus stearothermophilus SD-1 was previously mass-produced by batch cultivation of the recombinant E. coli harboring the gene encoding the enzyme . In this work, we attempted to optimize the process for the production of N-carbamoyl-D-p-hydroxyphenylglycine, which is readily hydrolyzed to D-p-hydroxyphenylglycine under acidic conditions, from 5-(4-hydroxyphenyl)hydantoin using the mass-produced D-hydantoinase. In an effort to overcome the low solubility of the substrate, enzyme reaction was carried out in a heterogeneous system consisting of a high substrate concentration up to 300 g/L. In this reaction system, most of substrate is present in suspended particles. Optimal temperature and pH were determined to be 45°C and 8.5, respectively, by taking into account the reaction rate and conversion yield. When the free enzyme was employed as a biocatalyst, enzyme loading higher than 300 unit/g-substrate was required to achieve maximum conversion. Use of whole cell enzyme resulted in maximum conversion even at lower enzyme loadings than the free enzyme, showing 96% conversion yield at 300 g/L substrate. The heterogeneous reaction system used in this work might be applied to the enzymatic production of other valuable compounds from a rarely water-soluble substrate