The recycled content of plastic products: estimating the impact of a recycling law on the input mix

The use of recycled material is a key building block for the circular economy. In this study, we explore the impact of recycling laws in Japan on the use of recycled materials in the production process of intermediate plastics. Using a difference-in-differences approach, we investigate whether the input share of recycled plastics in intermediate plastic products increased after the Container and Packaging Recycling Law (CPR Law) was enforced in 1997 in Japan. Results indicate that the input share of recycled plastics increased by 1 percentage point after the law’s implementation. Meanwhile, the input share of virgin plastic materials, such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and vinyl chloride, per plastic product decreased by 3 percentage points on average. These results suggest that the CPR law helped shift inputs from virgin plastics to recycled plastic materials even though the impact size has been small. To further encourage the use of recycled plastic materials, policy interventions should directly incentivize producers to increase the use of recycled plastics

Mating experiences with the same partner enhanced mating activities of naive male medaka fish

Mating experience shapes male mating behavior across species, from insects, fish, and birds, to rodents. Here, we investigated the effect of multiple mating experiences on male mating behavior in "naive" (defined as sexually inexperienced) male medaka fish. The latency to mate with the same female partner significantly decreased after the second encounter, whereas when the partner was changed, the latency to mate was not decreased. These findings suggest that mating experiences enhanced the mating activity of naive males for the familiar female, but not for an unfamiliar female. In contrast, the mating experiences of "experienced" (defined as those having mated > 7 times) males with the same partner did not influence their latency to mate. Furthermore, we identified 10 highly and differentially expressed genes in the brains of the naive males after the mating experience and revealed 3 genes that are required for a functional cascade of the thyroid hormone system. Together, these findings suggest that the mating experience of naive male medaka fish influences their mating behaviors, with neural changes triggered by thyroid hormone activation in the brain

Different Effects of Palmitoyl-L-carnitine and Palmitoyl-CoA on Mitochondrial Function in Rat Ventricular Myocytes

Although mitochondrial oxidative catabolism of fatty acid (FA) is a major energy source for the adult mammalian heart, cardiac lipotoxity resulting from elevated serum FA and enhanced FA use has been implicated in the pathogenesis of heart failure. To investigate the effects of the intermediates of FA metabolism, palmitoyl-L-carnitine (Pal-car) and palmitoyl-CoA (Pal-CoA), on mitochondrial function, we measured membrane potential(Δψm), opening of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) and the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in saponin-treated rat ventricular myocytes with a laser scanning confocal microscope. Our results revealed that: 1) lower concentrations of Pal-car (1 and 5μM) caused a slight hyperpolarization of Δψm (TMRE intensity increased to 115.5 ± 5.4 % and 110.7±1.6 % of the baseline, respectively. p<0.05) but did not open mPTP, 2) a higher concentration of Pal-car (10μM) depolarized Δψm (TMRE intensity decreased to 61.9 ± 12.2 % of the baseline, p<0.01) and opened mPTP (calcein intensity decreased to 70.7 ± 2.8% of the baseline, p<0.01), 3) Pal-CoA depolarized Δψm without opening mPTP, and 4) only the higher concentration of Pal-car (10μM) increased ROS generation (DCF intensity increased to 3.4 ± 0.3 fold of the baseline). We concluded that excessive exogenous intermediates of long chain saturated FA may disturb mitochondrial function in different ways between Pal-car and Pal-CoA. The distinct mechanisms of the deteriorating effects of long chain FA on mitochondrial function are important for our understanding of the development of cardiac diseases in systemic metabolic disorders.浜松医科大学学位論文　医博第517号(平成２０年１０月１７日

Integrating Japanese knowledge creation theory into knowledge management initiatives

The first step to knowledge initiatives in companies is that of finding what people in the company know and taking steps to make knowledge accessible throughout the organization.Such process relates to the capturing and disseminating of explicit knowledge through information and communication technology whereby knowledge is codified, stored and disseminated and updated through computer networks.However, the organization that focuses completely on collecting explicit knowledge and makes little or no effort at linking people with people tends to end up with having merely a repository of static documents.This article gives an analysis and synthesis of the Japanese perspectives as oppose to Western perspectives on knowledge management, followed by an elaborated account on the theory of knowledge creation advocated by Fujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi.This is to stress that it is equally important to link people and by doing so, the flow of tacit knowledge could be enhanced through better human interaction.Such dimensions seem to be the main focus in Japanese knowledge initiatives.However, an organization that focuses entirely on connecting people with little or no effort at linking people with information can also be very inefficient.This article attempts to highlight the point that knowledge management initiatives should be combining the benefit of both Western and Japanese approach to knowledge management.A model was constructed to ensure that the knowledge management programmes to be designed give emphasis on a variety of aspects that will make the programme efficient and effective.From the details given on Japanese knowledge management perspective, thus it can be synthesized that for a knowledge management programme to succeed, the culture of the organization must support online learning and knowledge sharing

Integration of Emission-wavelength-controlled InAs Quantum Dots for Ultrabroadband Near-infrared Light Source

Near-infrared (NIR) light sources are widely utilized in biological and medical imaging systems owing to their long penetration depth in living tissues. In a recently developed biomedical non-invasive cross-sectional imaging system, called optical coherence tomography (OCT), a broadband spectrum is also required, because OCT is based on low coherence interferometry. To meet these operational requirements, we have developed a NIR broadband light source by integrating self-assembled InAs quantum dots (QDs) grown on a GaAs substrate (InAs/GaAs QDs) with different emission wavelengths. In this review, we introduce the developed light sources and QD growth techniques that are used to control the emission wavelength for broadband emission spectra with center wavelengths of 1.05 and 1.3 μm. Although the strain-induced Stranski-Krastanov (S-K) mode-grown InAs/GaAs QDs normally emit light at a wavelength of around 1.2 μm, the central emission wavelength can be controlled to be between 0.9–1.4 μm by the use of an In-flush technique, the insertion of a strain-reducing layer (SRL) and bi-layer QD growth techniques. These techniques are useful for applying InAs/GaAs QDs as NIR broadband light sources and are especially suitable for our proposed spectral-shape-controllable broadband NIR light source. The potential of this light source for improving the performance of OCT systems is discussed

A Proposal for Practical Diagnosis of Renal Hypouricemia : Evidenced from Genetic Studies of Nonfunctional Variants of URAT1/SLC22A12 among 30,685 Japanese Individuals

Background: Renal hypouricemia (RHUC) is characterized by a low serum uric acid (SUA) level and high fractional excretion of uric acid (FEUA). Further studies on FEUA in hypouricemic individuals are needed for a more accurate diagnosis of RHUC. Methods: In 30,685 Japanese health-examination participants, we genotyped the two most common nonfunctional variants of URAT1 (NFV-URAT1), W258X (rs121907892) and R90H (rs121907896), in 1040 hypouricemic individuals (SUA ≤ 3.0 mg/dL) and 2240 individuals with FEUA data. The effects of NFV-URAT1 on FEUA and SUA were also investigated using linear and multiple regression analyses. Results: Frequency of hypouricemic individuals (SUA ≤ 3.0 mg/dL) was 0.97% (male) and 6.94% (female) among 30,685 participants. High frequencies of those having at least one allele of NFV-URAT1 were observed in 1040 hypouricemic individuals. Furthermore, NFV-URAT1 significantly increased FEUA and decreased SUA, enabling FEUA and SUA levels to be estimated. Conversely, FEUA and SUA data of hypouricemic individuals are revealed to be useful to predict the number of NFV-URAT1. Conclusions: Our findings reveal that specific patterns of FEUA and SUA data assist with predicting the number of nonfunctional variants of causative genes for RHUC, and can also be useful for practical diagnosis of RHUC even before genetic tests

Hayabusa2’s superior solar conjunction mission operations: planning and post-operation results

Abstract In late 2018, the asteroid Ryugu was in the Sun’s shadow during the superior solar conjunction phase. As the Sun-Earth-Ryugu angle decreased to below 3°, the Hayabusa2 spacecraft experienced 21 days of planned blackout in the Earth-probe communication link. This was the first time a spacecraft had experienced solar conjunction while hovering around a minor body. For the safety of the spacecraft, a low energy transfer trajectory named Ayu was designed in the Hill reference frame to increase its altitude from 20 to 110 km. The trajectory was planned with the newly developed optNEAR tool and validated with real time data. This article shows the results of the conjunction operation, from planning to flight data.</jats:p

Rethinking Polanyi’s concept of tacit knowledge: From personal knowing to imagined institutions

Half a century after Michael Polanyi conceptualised ‘the tacit component’ in personal knowing, management studies has reinvented ‘tacit knowledge’—albeit in ways that squander the advantages of Polanyi’s insights and ignore his faith in ‘spiritual reality’. While tacit knowing challenged the absurdities of sheer objectivity, expressed in a ‘perfect language’, it fused rational knowing, based on personal experience, with mystical speculation about an un-experienced ‘external reality’. Faith alone saved Polanyi’s model from solipsism. But Ernst von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism provides scope to rethink personal tacit knowing with regard to ‘other people’ and the intersubjectively viable construction of ‘experiential reality’. By separating tacit knowing from Polanyi’s metaphysical realism and drawing on Benedict Anderson’s concept of ‘imagined communities’, it is possible to conceptualise ‘imagined institutions’ as the tacit dimension of power that shapes human interaction. Whereas Douglass North claimed institutions could be reduced to rules, imagined institutions are known in ways we cannot tell

Prevalence and Distribution of Ossified Lesions in the Whole Spine of Patients with Cervical Ossification of the Posterior Longitudinal Ligament A Multicenter Study (JOSL CT study)

Ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) can cause severe and irreversible paralysis in not only the cervical spine but also the thoracolumbar spine. To date, however, the prevalence and distribution of OPLL in the whole spine has not been precisely evaluated in patients with cervical OPLL. Therefore, we conducted a multi-center study to comprehensively evaluate the prevalence and distribution of OPLL using multi-detector computed tomography (CT) images in the whole spine and to analyze what factors predict the presence of ossified lesions in the thoracolumbar spine in patients who were diagnosed with cervical OPLL by plain X-ray. Three hundred and twenty-two patients with a diagnosis of cervical OPLL underwent CT imaging of the whole spine. The sum of the levels in which OPLL was present in the whole spine was defined as the OP-index and used to evaluate the extent of ossification. The distribution of OPLL in the whole spine was compared between male and female subjects. In addition, a multiple regression model was used to ascertain related factors that affected the OP-index. Among patients with cervical OPLL, women tended to have more ossified lesions in the thoracolumbar spine than did men. A multiple regression model revealed that the OP-index was significantly correlated with the cervical OP-index, sex (female), and body mass index. Furthermore, the prevalence of thoracolumbar OPLL in patients with a cervical OP-index ≥ 10 was 7.8 times greater than that in patients with a cervical OP-index ≤ 5. The results of this study reveal that the extent of OPLL in the whole spine is significantly associated with the extent of cervical OPLL, female sex, and obesity