Decision Making in Design Process

In design process, decision making with a great choice is very difficult, and we need some kind of criterion. Sense of value, image, conceptualizing, goal and others are musually interwound, and they can not be unified. If a man acts logically, the normative model by von Neumann-Morgestern is useful in decision making. However, it is impossible for a man to act logically always. The convex dependence theory which seems to compensate man's illogicality can not also solve the actual problems. Decision making in design process is the bulletin of his total personality, and it must possesses a synthesis. The most important key-word of the synthesis is circulation. We must stop the production system with waste which can not be circulated. The authors propose a circulated production system and countermeasures for the waste

A Determination of the Equilibrium Constant of HTO-H_2S Reaction

The equilibrium constants of the chemical exchange reaction between HTO and H_2S are determined at 1 atm to enrich tritiated water. The separation factor of one stage is defined, and it is increasing with the increase of temperature in the batch method. For the first step to make a practical application of the chemical exchange reaction to enrich tritium, the H_2S gas circulation method is investigated

On-off selectivity and asymmetry in apparent contrast: An adaptation study

Using textures composed of sparse bright/dark elements that can activate either on or off sensors selectively, Sato, Motoyoshi, and Sato (2012) reported simultaneous contrast-contrast effects tuned for contrast polarity. As with contrast-contrast effects, prolonged viewing of high-contrast stimuli reduces the perceived contrast of a subsequently presented stimulus. The present study examined whether contrast aftereffects are also selective for luminance polarity using texture patterns composed of sparse bright/dark elements. Results revealed that contrast aftereffects are selective for luminance polarity (polarity selectivity) but that adaptation aftereffects occur asymmetrically depending on the polarity of the adapter (polarity asymmetry). Polarity selectivity and asymmetry in adaptation aftereffects are reduced but not completely diminished if adapter and test stimuli are presented to separate eyes (dichoptically). Our results support the idea that suprathreshold contrast perception and its adaptational shifts are jointly determined by responses between monocular and binocular units

Repair of double-chambered right ventricle using right ventricular outflow chamber ventriculotomy via left intercostal thoracotomy under beating heart in two dogs

Double-chambered right ventricle was diagnosed in two dogs, one of them a pup and the other full grown. Both dogs underwent surgery using the novel approach of right ventricular outflow chamber ventriculotomy via left intercostal thoracotomy with moderate hypothermia and moderate pump flow cardiopulmonary bypass under beating heart. No major complication occurred during and after the operation. On continuous wave Doppler echocardiography, the pressure gradient across the stenosis in the right ventricle decreased from 130 mmHg pre-operatively to 40 mmHg post-operatively at 1 year 5 months in the adult dog, and from 209 mmHg pre-operatively to 47 mmHg post-operatively at 1 year in the pup. Both dogs are active without clinical signs

Nectin-2 is a potential target for antibody therapy of breast and ovarian cancers

BACKGROUND: Nectin-2 is a Ca(2+)-independent cell-cell adhesion molecule that is one of the plasma membrane components of adherens junctions. However, little has been reported about the involvement of Nectin-2 in cancer. METHODS: To determine the expression of Nectin-2 in cancer tissues and cancer cell lines, we performed gene expression profile analysis, immunohistochemistry studies, and flow cytometry analysis. We also investigated the potential of this molecule as a target for antibody therapeutics to treat cancers by generating and characterizing an anti-Nectin-2 rabbit polyclonal antibody (poAb) and 256 fully human anti-Nectin-2 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). In addition, we tested anti-Nectin-2 mAbs in several in vivo tumor growth inhibition models to investigate the primary mechanisms of action of the mAbs. RESULTS: In the present study, we found that Nectin-2 was over-expressed in clinical breast and ovarian cancer tissues by using gene expression profile analysis and immunohistochemistry studies. Nectin-2 was over-expressed in various cancer cell lines as well. Furthermore, the polyclonal antibody specific to Nectin-2 suppressed the in vitro proliferation of OV-90 ovarian cancer cells, which express endogenous Nectin-2 on the cell surface. The anti-Nectin-2 mAbs we generated were classified into 7 epitope bins. The anti-Nectin-2 mAbs demonstrated antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and epitope bin-dependent features such as the inhibition of Nectin-2-Nectin-2 interaction, Nectin-2-Nectin-3 interaction, and in vitro cancer cell proliferation. A representative anti-Nectin-2 mAb in epitope bin VII, Y-443, showed anti-tumor effects against OV-90 cells and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells in mouse therapeutic models, and its main mechanism of action appeared to be ADCC. CONCLUSIONS: We observed the over-expression of Nectin-2 in breast and ovarian cancers and anti-tumor activity of anti-Nectin-2 mAbs via strong ADCC. These findings suggest that Nectin-2 is a potential target for antibody therapy against breast and ovarian cancers

Novel protein extraction approach using micro-sized chamber for evaluation of proteins eluted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections

We describe a novel antigen-retrieval method using a micro-sized chamber for mass spectrometry (MS) analysis to identify proteins that are preferentially eluted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) samples. This approach revealed that heat-induced antigen retrieval (HIAR) from an FFPE sample fixed on a glass slide not only improves protein identification, but also facilitates preferential elution of protein subsets corresponding to the properties of antigen-retrieval buffers. Our approach may contribute to an understanding of the mechanism of HIAR

Serum Apolipoprotein M Levels are Correlated with Biomarkers of Coagulation

Background:Apolipoprotein M (ApoM) is bound to high-density lipoprotein (HDL) in plasma, and HDL has anticoagulation effects. However, the association between ApoM and biomarkers of coagulation was unclear. Therefore, we investigated relationships between ApoM and biomarkers of coagulation. Methods: Serum samples from 233 Japanese participants including with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or healthy controls were analyzed. Serum ApoM levels were measured using Enzyme-Linked Immuno-Sorbent Assay(ELISA). Results:Analysis of all 233 participants showed that ApoM levels were positively correlated with age (r＝0.284, p＜0.001), total cholesterol (TC;r＝0.477, p＜0.001), HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C;r＝0.234, p＜0.001) and lowdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C;r＝0.331, p＜0.001). Higher ApoM levels were correlated with shorter activated partial thromboplastin time(APTT;r＝－0.226,p＝0.001) and prothrombin time(PT,％;r＝0.326,p＜ 0.001). Separate analysis of the 115 healthy controls showed that ApoM levels were positively correlated with age, TC, HDL-C and LDL-C, and higher ApoM levels were correlated with shorter PT. Conclusion:Serum levels of ApoM may influence biomarkers of coagulation

Production of Curium by the Neutron Irradiation of Americium-241

^Am was irradiated by the Japan Material Testing Reactor. The group separation of transuranium elements from fission products and cladding materials were carried out, and then Np, Pu, Am and Cm were isolated by using the ion exchange method. The isotopic ratios of Cm and Am were determined by the α- and γ-ray spectrometry

シゼン VLF ホウシャ キョウド ト ギンガ ザツオン デンパ キュウシュウ CNA ノ ソウカン カンケイ ヲ モチイタ カブ デンリソウ デンシ ミツド ノ スイテイ

本研究では,地上で観測されるVLFホイスラモード波(昼間に観測されるコーラス)の電離層減衰率とCNAを用いた新しい下部電離層電子密度のリモートセンシング技術を提案する.そのために,さまざまな電子密度モデルに対する両者の関係を理論的に評価している.評価の手法は,full-wave解析を用いてVLFホイスラモード波の下部電離層減衰率とCNAを理論計算している.計算結果は観測結果と同様にCNAとVLF波動の負相関を示し,さらに,増大した電子密度モデルの最大電子密度高度が下がるにつれ,CNA-VLF負相関の傾きが増大する関係を示した.つまり,観測されたCNA-VLF負相関の傾きが,降下粒子に伴う下部電離層を増大させる電子密度高度を推定する情報源に成りえるということが分かった.これは,夜間のみに生じるTrimpi現象と共に,昼間の降下粒子検出に対する新しい下部電離層電子密度推定手法となるであろう.In this study, we suggest a new remote sensing technique for enhanced electron density in the lower ionosphere by using the correlation between VLF whistler mode waves (daytime chorus emissions) and CNA, both observed on the ground. The ionospheric attenuations for VLF whistler mode and HF waves (as a CNA value) are calculated by using full-wave analysis to evaluate their correlations for various ionospheric electron density profiles enhanced by precipitating electrons. The calculation results show negative correlations between CNA and VLF whistler mode waves in accordance with the observation results. Then, the gradient of the negative correlation becomes larger with decreasing altitude of maximum electron density. Thus, we found that the correlation provides information on the vertical profile of the enhanced electron density in the lower ionosphere caused by electron precipitation. This allows the study of electron precipitation in the daytime, in addition to Trimpi events at nighttime