Analysis of Influences of ICT on Structural Changes in Japanese Commerce, Business Services and Office Supplies, and Personal Services Sectors Using Multivariate Analysis: 1985–2005

This study analyzes influences of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the structural changes of Japanese industrial sectors from 1985 through 2005. ICT is represented by two explanatory variables, computers (including main parts and accessories) and telecommunications equipment. We investigate influences by the Constrained Multivariate Regression (CMR) model and test the statistical significance of this model by the Likelihood Ratio Test (LRT) method. We then perform microscopic analysis, focusing on the commerce, business services and office supplies, and personal services sectors. The results show that these variables, separately and jointly, had significant influence on structural changes in Japanese industrial sectors, including the analyzed ones. The patterns of influence in analyzed sectors are, however, different. Based on this difference, we can say that during 1985–2005 the business circumstances of the analyzed sectors were dissimilar.Keywords: ICT, Industrial Structural Changes, CMR, LRT, Japandoi:10.12695/ajtm.2013.6.2.5 How to cite this article:Zuhdi, U., Mori, S., and Kamegai, K. (2013). Analysis of Influences of ICT on Structural Changes in Japanese Commerce, Business Services and Office Supplies, and Personal Services Sectors Using Multivariate Analysis: 1985–2005. The Asian Journal of Technology Management 6 (2): 102-111. Print ISSN: 1978-6956; Online ISSN: 2089-791X. doi:10.12695/ajtm.2013.6.2.

Search for Oxygen Emission from Warm-Hot Intergalactic Medium around A2218 with Suzaku

We searched for redshifted O emission lines from the possible warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) surrounding the cluster of galaxies A2218 at z=0.1756 using the XIS instrument on Suzaku. This cluster is thought to have an elongated structure along the line of sight based on previous studies. We studied systematic uncertainties in the spectrum of the Galactic emission and in the soft X-ray response of the detectors due to the contamination building up on the XIS filters. We detected no significant redshifted O lines, and set a tight constraint on the intensity with upper limits for the surface brightness of OVII and OVIII lines of 1.1 x 10^-7 and 3.0 x 10^-7 photons cm^-2 s^-1 arcmin^-2, respectively. These upper limits are significantly lower than the previously reported fluxes from the WHIM around other clusters of galaxies. We also discuss the prospect for the detection of the WHIM lines with Suzaku XIS in the future.Comment: 12 pages, 13 figures. Accepted for publication in PASJ Suzaku special issue (Vol.59, No.SP1

Meiotic Regulation of TPX2 Protein Levels Governs Cell Cycle Progression in Mouse Oocytes

Formation of female gametes requires acentriolar spindle assembly during meiosis. Mitotic spindles organize from centrosomes and via local activation of the RanGTPase on chromosomes. Vertebrate oocytes present a RanGTP gradient centred on chromatin at all stages of meiotic maturation. However, this gradient is dispensable for assembly of the first meiotic spindle. To understand this meiosis I peculiarity, we studied TPX2, a Ran target, in mouse oocytes. Strikingly, TPX2 activity is controlled at the protein level through its accumulation from meiosis I to II. By RNAi depletion and live imaging, we show that TPX2 is required for spindle assembly via two distinct functions. It controls microtubule assembly and spindle pole integrity via the phosphorylation of TACC3, a regulator of MTOCs activity. We show that meiotic spindle formation in vivo depends on the regulation of at least a target of Ran, TPX2, rather than on the regulation of the RanGTP gradient itself

Transcription and Translation Products of the Cytolysin Gene psm-mec on the Mobile Genetic Element SCCmec Regulate Staphylococcus aureus Virulence

The F region downstream of the mecI gene in the SCCmec element in hospital-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (HA-MRSA) contains two bidirectionally overlapping open reading frames (ORFs), the fudoh ORF and the psm-mec ORF. The psm-mec ORF encodes a cytolysin, phenol-soluble modulin (PSM)-mec. Transformation of the F region into the Newman strain, which is a methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strain, or into the MW2 (USA400) and FRP3757 (USA300) strains, which are community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) strains that lack the F region, attenuated their virulence in a mouse systemic infection model. Introducing the F region to these strains suppressed colony-spreading activity and PSMα production, and promoted biofilm formation. By producing mutations into the psm-mec ORF, we revealed that (i) both the transcription and translation products of the psm-mec ORF suppressed colony-spreading activity and promoted biofilm formation; and (ii) the transcription product of the psm-mec ORF, but not its translation product, decreased PSMα production. These findings suggest that both the psm-mec transcript, acting as a regulatory RNA, and the PSM-mec protein encoded by the gene on the mobile genetic element SCCmec regulate the virulence of Staphylococcus aureus

Control of microtubule dynamics by the antagonistic activities of XMAP215 and XKCM1 in Xenopus egg extracts

Microtubules are dynamic polymers that move stochastically between periods of growth and shrinkage, a property known as dynamic instability. Here, to investigate the mechanisms regulating microtubule dynamics in Xenopus egg extracts, we have cloned the complementary DNA encoding the microtubule-associated protein XMAP215 and investigated the function of the XMAP215 protein. Immunodepletion of XMAP215 indicated that it is a major microtubule-stabilizing factor in Xenopus egg extracts. During interphase, XMAP215 stabilizes microtubules primarily by opposing the activity of the destabilizing factor XKCM1, a member of the kinesin superfamily. These results indicate that microtubule dynamics in Xenopus egg extracts are regulated by a balance between a stabilizing factor, XMAP215, and a destabilizing factor, XKCM1

Role of Cerium Oxide in the Enhancement of Activity for the Oxygen Reduction Reaction at Pt–CeOx Nanocomposite Electrocatalyst : An in Situ Electrochemical X-ray Absorption Fine Structure Study

In situ electrochemical X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements were performed at the Pt L3 and Ce L3 edges of the Pt-CeOx/C catalyst, which was prepared by a combined process of precipitation and coimpregnation methods, as well as at the Pt L3 edge of the conventional Pt/C catalyst in oxygen-saturated H2SO4 solution to clarify the role of CeOx in the reduction of the overpotential for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) at the Pt-CeOx nanocomposite compared with the conventional Pt/C catalyst. XAFS measurements clearly show that the enhancement of ORR activity is attributed to the inhibition of Pt oxide formation by the CeOx layer, of which Ce3+ was oxidized to Ce4+ instead of Pt at the Pt oxide formation potential