On the IMF Multiplicity in Au+Au Reactions

Intermediate mass fragment (IMF) multiplicity has been investigated for Au+Au reactions at incident energies of 100, 250 and 400 MeV/A. From the analysis of the impact-parameter-dependence of the IMF multiplicity using our QMD plus statistical evaporation model, we found that 1) statistical decay process modifies the results greatly, and 2) the Fermi motion plays a role to increase the IMF multiplicity for whole impact-parameter range.Comment: 9pages, Latex is used, 2 Postscript figures are available by request from [email protected]

Bioremediation of Biophilic Radionuclides by Algae

High amounts of radionuclides were released into the environment by the nuclear power plant accident of 2011 in Japan. Among the radioactive material, cesium, iodine, and strontium were especially dangerous because of their biophilic characteristics that allowed them to accumulate in living organisms, either as essential elements for iodine or analogs of potassium and calcium for cesium and strontium, respectively. As a result, there was a high social demand for decontamination to avoid exposure to these elements. The authors screened around 200 strains of algae and plants for their ability to absorb radioactive nuclides. The eustigmatophycean algae Vacuoliviride crystalliferum and the cyanophytes Stigonema ocellatum and Nostoc commune showed the highest bioaccumulation activity for the removal of cesium, strontium, and iodine from the environment, respectively. In addition to these strains, the authors also found that the extremophilic unicellular red algae Galdieria sulphuraria could remove high levels of dissolved cesium from media in mixotrophic growth conditions. In this chapter, the intake mechanism of cesium, iodine, and strontium is reviewed. Recent findings on the absorption of these elements by algae are discussed to highlight the possibility of decontaminating polluted land and water at nuclear sites by phytoremediation

Relativistic Effects in the Transverse Flow in the Molecular Dynamics Framework

In order to investigate relativistic effects we compare the transverse flow calculated by using the four versions of the QMD approaches with that of the full covariant RQMD approach. From the comparison we conclude that the simplified RQMD (RQMD/S), which uses the common time coordinate to all particles, can be used instead of RQMD up to 6 GeV/u.Comment: 6pages, Latex is used, 1 Postscript figures are available by request from [email protected]

Oceanographic Data of the 38th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition from November 1996 to March 1997

The results of oceanographic observations on board the icebreaker "Shirase" and tidal observations at Syowa Station, Antarctica, are presented in this report. The oceanographic observations were carried out by the summer party of the 38th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-38) during the austral summer of 1996/1997. The tidal observations were carried out by the winter party of JARE-37 from February 1996 to January 1997

OCEANOGRAPHIC DATA OF THE 24TH JAPANESE ANTARCTIC RESEARCH EXPEDITION FROM NOVEMBER 1982 TO APRIL 1983

This report presents the data of the oceanographic observations on board the icebreaker Fuji and the tidal observation at Syowa Station, which were carried out in the summer mission of the 24th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition in 1982-1983

Production of value added substances by tropical microalgae

Microalgae recently appeared to be a new source of renewable biofuel that is capable of meeting the global demand for transport fuel due to its ability to accumulate high amount of lipid in their intracellular body. In addition, massive accumulation of ketocarotenoid astaxanthin, which is one of the secondary metabolites produced by microalgae have also gained much attention for its potential applications in pharmaceuticals, nutraceuticals as well as cosmetics products. Four green microalgae morphologically identified as Staurastrum sp., Scenedesmus sp., Desmodesmus sp., and Ankistrodesmus sp. were isolated from Kuala Selangor Nature Park and Hulu Langat River, Selangor. The intracellular lipid bodies of the microalgae were stained with BODIPY 493/503 for the screening of the potential microalgae for biodiesel production. From the staining, more lipid bodies can be seen from Scenedesmus sp. compared to the other three isolated microalgae species. In astaxanthin complex quantification analysis, Ankistrodesmus sp. showed the highest accumulation of astaxanthin complex and therefore has the potential to be utilized for natural supplement applications

Utilization of lignin in empty fruit bunch for production of fine chemicals: development of subcritical water technology and ΔpcaHG-ΔcatA Rhodococcus jostii RHA1

Lignin is an alternative source of chemicals particularly phenolic compounds if it could broken down into smaller molecular units. Subcritical water (SCW) is a known technology that has the ability to break down lignin by hydrolysis. In this study, the SCW depolymerizes empty fruit bunch derived lignin into a mixture of aromatic compounds. The mixture, however, is impractical to be utilized and the cost to separate each of the components is relatively high. Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 is a bacterium that can degrade a wide range of aromatic compounds. Specific gene deletion of RHA1 has shown that the RHA1 loses its ability to catabolize specific chemicals. This research project aims to utilize empty fruit bunch derived lignin via SCW technology and subsequently biological process using mutant Rhodococcus jostii RHA1, ΔpcaHG-ΔcatA mutant RHA1