Development of a magnetically suspended, tetrahedron-shaped antenna pointing system

A magnetically suspended, tetrahedron-shaped antenna pointing system is proposed for use in a multibeam broadcasting satellite system in the future. The structure of this system is presented, along with its design concept and the functional test results which were obtained in a laser tracking system in the laboratory. According to these results, it has been confirmed that the system has many advantages over conventional systems and excellent performance

Mass Spectrometric Study of the Negative Ion Formation of Nitroethylene at High Electron Energies

The formation of the molecular and the dimer negative ions of nitroethylene at high electron energies was studied. The intensity of the molecular negative ion showed a second order dependence on the pressure below 10⁻⁴ torr and a higher than second order dependence above 10⁻⁴ torr. The intensity of the dimer negative ion showed a second order dependence greater than that of the molecular negative ion. The intensity of the molecular negative ion was found to be dependent on the pressure of additional rare gases. This suggests that the collisional stabilization of excited ions is very important at high electron energies

Phase competitions and coexistences in quasi-one-dimensional molecular conductors: exact diagonalization study

We investigate ground state properties of a quasi-one-dimensional electron-lattice coupled model for quarter-filled molecular conductors. The effective one-dimensional extended Hubbard model coupled to adiabatic lattice degree of freedom is derived by the inter-chain mean-field approximation and solved by Lanczos exact diagonalization method. We find that the critical behavior among lattice tetramerized states with different charge-lattice ordered patterns is sensitively affected by the inter-chain Coulomb interaction, lattice anharmonicity, and intrinsic dimerization. This indicates a subtle balance between these states originating from strong correlation and reduced dimensionality

Free Flap Blood Flow Evaluated Using Two-Dimensional Laser Speckle Flowgraphy

Objective. We investigated the efficiency of laser speckle flowgraphy for evaluating blood flow in free flaps used for plastic surgery. Methods. We measured blood flow using a visual laser meter capable of providing two-dimensional color graphic representations of flow distribution for a given area using a dynamic laser speckle effect. Using laser speckle flowgraphy, we examined the blood flow of 20 free flaps applied following the excision of head and neck tumors. Results. After anastomosis of the feeding and draining blood vessels and sewing the flap, musculocutaneous (MC) flaps showed significantly lower blood flow than jejunal or omental flaps (P < .05). The ratio of blood flow decrease from the edge to the center was significantly greater in MC flaps than in jejunal or omental flaps (P < .001). Conclusion. Laser speckle flowgraphy is useful for the perioperative measurement of blood flow in free flaps used in plastic surgery. This method is a highly useful, practical, and reliable tool for assessing cutaneous blood flow and is expected to be applicable to several clinical fields

土壌改質材 FFC エースによるオオムギの生育と収量の促進効果

The effects of a unique soil conditioner, FFC-ace, on photosynthesis, transpiration, growth and yield of barley were examined in a field experiment. FFC-ace well-mixed with sandy soil greatly enhanced root and shoot growth, tillering and the number of grains per stock. The total yield in the treated plot increased by about 172%. The plants grown in the FFC-ace plot were greener and contained a higher level of chlorophyll, compared with the control. Photosynthesis and transpiration, which are tightly linked to productivity were also significantly enhanced at the broad range of photon flux observed in our study. The quality of grain harvested from the FFC-ace plot was similar to the control plot in terms of nutritional and inorganic components. The increased photosynthesis in the FFC-ace treated barley reflects a higher absorption of CO(2) from the atmosphere. It was also noted that the efficiency of water utilization for photosynthesis was significantly greater under the high light intensity in the treated plot. The relationship between application of FFC-ace and absorption of atmospheric CO(2) is discussed. Our investigation provides data showing that application of FFC-ace to soil significantly reduces water requirements for plant growth and yield.本報は，㈱エフエフシー・ジャパンから販売されている土壌改質材FFCエースTMの作物の生長促進効果について，2006年11月から翌年６月，本学農学部内の実験圃場で実施された，オオムギの生育ならびに収量調査に関する試験結果をとりまとめたものである．実施圃場の砂土壌にFFCエースを所定量混和した区画を設け，オオムギの種子を播種した．なお，対照区は非導入土壌とした．定期的に行った生育調査の結果，FFCエースを導入した土壌では非導入の区画と比べて，生育初期における根の生育が良好となり，地上部における分けつ数の増加とともに穂の生長も旺盛となって，１穂当たりの収穫量（粒数）の著しい増加をもたらした．結果，FFCエース導入区における全収量は非導入区と比べて約1.7倍となった．また，それぞれから収穫したオオムギ粒に含まれる栄養価ならびに無機元素類の量には，FFCエースの導入，非導入によって大きな違いは認められず，導入の効果は収量に大きく反映された．事実，調査期間中に行った測定から，FFCエースを投入した土壌で生育するオオムギ葉は高いクロロフィル量を示しており，光合成が促進されているものと考えられた．実際，播種後４ヶ月目以降，光合成ならびに蒸散速度値を測定した結果，FFCエース導入区で生育したオオムギでは常に高い値を示した．また，FFCエースの導入によって強光条件下における水利用効率が促進された．本報告では，FFCエースの投与と空気中からの二酸化炭素の吸収量との関連について考察するとともに，併せて，FFCエースの土壌への導入によって作物の生育に必要な灌水量を大きく減らすことができる可能性についても言及したい

Crystal structure of phenolphthalein

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科先端機能物質金沢大学工学

Molecular cloning of doublesex genes of four cladocera (water flea) species

BACKGROUND: The gene doublesex (dsx) is known as a key factor regulating genetic sex determination in many organisms. We previously identified two dsx genes (DapmaDsx1 and DapmaDsx2) from a freshwater branchiopod crustacean, Daphnia magna, which are expressed in males but not in females. D. magna produces males by parthenogenesis in response to environmental cues (environmental sex determination) and we showed that DapmaDsx1 expression during embryonic stages is responsible for the male trait development. The D. magna dsx genes are thought to have arisen by a cladoceran-specific duplication; therefore, to investigate evolutionary conservation of sex specific expression of dsx genes and to further assess their functions in the environmental sex determination, we searched for dsx homologs in four closely related cladoceran species. RESULTS: We identified homologs of both dsx genes from, D. pulex, D. galeata, and Ceriodaphnia dubia, yet only a single dsx gene was found from Moina macrocopa. The deduced amino acid sequences of all 9 dsx homologs contained the DM and oligomerization domains, which are characteristic for all arthropod DSX family members. Molecular phylogenetic analysis suggested that the dsx gene duplication likely occurred prior to the divergence of these cladoceran species, because that of the giant tiger prawn Penaeus monodon is rooted ancestrally to both DSX1 and DSX2 of cladocerans. Therefore, this result also suggested that M. macrocopa lost dsx2 gene secondarily. Furthermore, all dsx genes identified in this study showed male-biased expression levels, yet only half of the putative 5’ upstream regulatory elements are preserved in D. magna and D. pulex. CONCLUSIONS: The all dsx genes of five cladoceran species examined had similar amino acid structure containing highly conserved DM and oligomerization domains, and exhibited sexually dimorphic expression patterns, suggesting that these genes may have similar functions for environmental sex determination in cladocerans