Demand-side decarbonization and electrification: EMF 35 JMIP study

Japan’s long-term strategy submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change emphasizes the importance of improving the electrification rates to reducing GHG emissions. Using the five models participating in Energy Modeling Forum 35 Japan Model Intercomparison project (JMIP), we focused on the demand-side decarbonization and analyzed the final energy composition required to achieve 80% reductions in GHGs by 2050 in Japan. The model results show that the electricity share in final energy use (electrification rate) needs to reach 37–66% in 2050 (26% in 2010) to achieve the emissions reduction of 80%. The electrification rate increases mainly due to switching from fossil fuel end-use technologies (i.e. oil water heater, oil stove and combustion-engine vehicles) to electricity end-use technologies (i.e. heat pump water heater and electric vehicles). The electricity consumption in 2050 other than AIM/Hub ranged between 840 and 1260 TWh (AIM/Hub: 1950TWh), which is comparable to the level seen in the last 10 years (950–1035 TWh). The pace at which electrification rate must be increased is a challenge. The model results suggest to increase the electrification pace to 0.46–1.58%/yr from 2030 to 2050. Neither the past electrification pace (0.30%/year from 1990 to 2010) nor the outlook of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (0.15%/year from 2010 to 2030) is enough to reach the suggested electrification rates in 2050. Therefore, more concrete measures to accelerate dissemination of electricity end-use technologies across all sectors need to be established

High Frequency Core Loss and Initial Permeability of Ferromagnetic Amorphous Ribbons

For the purpose of practical applications of the amorphous Fe_5Co_Si_B_ ribbon to high frequency magnetic material, the initial permeability μ_i, the loss factor tan δ as well as the quality factor were measured in the frequency region from 3 kHz to 70 kHz by using a Maxwell Bridge. μ_i is almost independent of the intensity of magnetic field and increases monotonically with a decrease of the frequency. tan δ increases linearly with an increase of the frequency in the initial permeability region. tan δ/μ_i is a good linear function of the square of the thickness and increase with an increase of the frequency. From these experiments, it was found that among losses, the eddy current loss is most essential in the high frequency region in the amorphous ribbons

Mechanistic Aspects of Bioluminescence and Chemiluminescence(By a grant Reserch Institute for Integrated Science, Kanagawa University)

Bicyclic dioxetane bearing a (3-cyanoethenyl) phenyl group was found to be triggered by the Michael addition of a malonate anion with an accompanying emission of red light. 3-Adamantylidene-4-methoxy-1,2-dioxetanes bearing a 4-(3-hydroxy)phenyl substituted with a podand-type group, namely, 1,4,7-trioxaoctyl, 1,4,7,10-tetraoxaundecyl, or 1,4,7,10,13 -pentaoxa- tetradecyl were synthesized and their base-induced chemiluminescent decomposition was examined in an aqueous system. Optically active dioxetanes bearing a naphthylnaphthol moiety were also synthesized. They exhibited chemilumines" cence in molecular recognition

Mechanistic Study on Bioluminescence of Fireflies and Related Chemiluminescence

A dioxetane bearing a phenoxide anion decomposes with the accompanying emission of light, effectively by the intramolecular charge-transfer-induced chemiluminescence (CTICL) mechanism, by which the bioluminescence of fireflies has been believed to take place through an intermediary dioxetanone. In the course of our investigation of highly effective dioxetane-based chemilumine scent substrates, bicyclic dioxetanes bearing a 3-hydroxyphenyl moiety substituted with a 5-aryl, such as naphthalen-1-yl, carbazol-9-yl, indol-1-yl, and benzotriazol-1-yl, were synthesized. Base-induced decomposition of these dioxetanes displayed intense light, the maximum wavelength of which changed depending on the crown ether complex used as a base. As a further development, we realized four optically isomeric bicyclic dioxetanes bearing a 2-hydroxy-1, 1\u27-binaphthy1-4-y1 moiety. These isomeric dioxetanes were decomposed with the accompanying emission of light on treatment with three base systems. The chemiluminescence efficiencies of all isomers were practically the same for tetrabutylammonium fluoride (TBAF) in the DMSO system, whereas they split into two diastereomer-groups for 18-crown-6 ether complex of t-BuOK in the benzene-THF system. For the base system using t-BuOK complex of optically active crown ether, the chemiluminescence efficiencies split further into four. The shape of the chemiluminescence spectrum, maximum wavelength, and rate of decomposition were also different between each of the four stereoisomers

DNA Lesions Induced by Replication Stress Trigger Mitotic Aberration and Tetraploidy Development

During tumorigenesis, cells acquire immortality in association with the development of genomic instability. However, it is still elusive how genomic instability spontaneously generates during the process of tumorigenesis. Here, we show that precancerous DNA lesions induced by oncogene acceleration, which induce situations identical to the initial stages of cancer development, trigger tetraploidy/aneuploidy generation in association with mitotic aberration. Although oncogene acceleration primarily induces DNA replication stress and the resulting lesions in the S phase, these lesions are carried over into the M phase and cause cytokinesis failure and genomic instability. Unlike directly induced DNA double-strand breaks, DNA replication stress-associated lesions are cryptogenic and pass through cell-cycle checkpoints due to limited and ineffective activation of checkpoint factors. Furthermore, since damaged M-phase cells still progress in mitotic steps, these cells result in chromosomal mis-segregation, cytokinesis failure and the resulting tetraploidy generation. Thus, our results reveal a process of genomic instability generation triggered by precancerous DNA replication stress

BMP signaling is required for cell cleavage in preimplantation-mouse embryos.

The mechanisms regulating cell division during development of the mouse pre-implantation embryo are poorly understood. We have investigated whether bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling is involved in controlling cell cycle during mouse pre-implantation development. We mapped and quantitated the dynamic activities of BMP signaling through high-resolution immunofluorescence imaging combined with a 3D segmentation method. Immunostaining for phosphorylated Smad1/5/8 shows that BMP signaling is activated in mouse embryos as early as the 4-cell stage, and becomes spatially restricted by late blastocyst stage. Perturbation of BMP signaling in preimplantation mouse embryos, whether by treatment with a small molecule inhibitor, with Noggin protein, or by overexpression of a dominant-negative BMP receptor, indicates that BMPs regulate cell cleavage up to the morula stage. These results indicate that BMP signaling is active during mouse pre-implantation development and is required for cell cleavage in preimplantation mouse embryos