A fully decentralized control of an amoeboid robot by exploiting the law of conservation of protoplasmic mass

2008 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, Pasadena, CA, USA, May 19-23, 200

Solvent-Dependent Conformation of Amylose Tris(Phenylcarbamate) as Deduced from Scattering and Viscosity Data

The z-average mean-square radius of gyration 〈S^2〉_z, the particle scattering function P(k), the second virial coefficient, and the intrinsic viscosity [η] have been determined for amylose tris(phenylcarbamate) (ATPC) in methyl acetate (MEA) at 25°C, in ethyl acetate (EA) at 33°C, and in 4-methyl-2-pentanone (MIBK) at 25°C by light and small-angle X-ray scattering and viscometry as functions of the weight-average molecular weight in a range from 2 × 10^4 to 3 × 10^6. The first two solvents attain the theta state, whereas the last one is a good solvent for the amylose derivative. Analysis of the 〈S^2〉_z, P(k), and [η] data based on the wormlike chain yields h (the contour length or helix pitch per repeating unit) = 0.37 ± 0.02 and λ^ (the Kuhn segment length) = 15 ± 2 nm in MEA, h = 0.39 ± 0.02 and λ^ = 17 ± 2 nm in EA, and h = 0.42 ± 0.02 nm and λ^ = 24 ± 2 nm in MIBK. These h values, comparable with the helix pitches (0.37–0.40 nm) per residue of amylose triesters in the crystalline state, are somewhat larger than the previously determined h of 0.33 ± 0.02 nm for ATPC in 1,4-dioxane and 2-ethoxyethanol, in which intramolecular hydrogen bonds are formed between the C[DOUBLE BOND]O and NH groups of the neighbor repeating units. The slightly extended helices of ATPC in the ketone and ester solvents are most likely due to the replacement of those hydrogen bonds by intermolecular hydrogen bonds between the NH groups of the polymer and the carbonyl groups of the solvent.This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Taichi Fujii1, Ken Terao, Maiko Tsuda, Shinichi Kitamura, Takashi Norisuye, “Solvent-dependent conformation of amylose tris(phenylcarbamate) as deduced from scattering and viscosity data”, Biopolymers, Volume 91, Issue 9, pages 729–736, September 2009, which has been published in final form at DOI: 10.1002/bip.21219. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving

Solution Properties of Amylose Tris(Phenylcarbamate) : Local Conformation and Chain Stiffness in 1,4-Dioxane and 2-Ethoxyethanol

Light and small-angle X-ray scattering, sedimentation equilibrium, viscosity, circular dichroism, and infrared absorption measurements have been made on 1,4-dioxane (DIOX) and 2-ethoxyethanol (2EE) solutions of seven amylose tris(phenylcarbamate) samples ranging in molecular weight from 2 x 10^4 to 3 x 10^6. Analyses of gyration radius, scattering function, and intrinsic viscosity data in terms of the wormlike chain model yield Kuhn segment lengths of 22 ± 2 nm and 16 ± 2nm in DIOX and 2EE, respectively, and a contour length per residue of 0.33 ± 0.02 nm in both, showing that the amylose derivative chain has high stiffness and a contour length slightly shorter than the known value 0.37-0.40 nm for amylosetriesters in the crystalline state. These results are consistent with the intramolecular hydrogen bonding between the C=0 and NH groups of the neighbor repeating units detected by infrared absorption and also with the locally regular (or helical) conformation indicated by circular dichroism

Emergence of quantum critical behavior in metallic quantum-well states of strongly correlated oxides

Controlling quantum critical phenomena in strongly correlated electron systems, which emerge in the neighborhood of a quantum phase transition, is a major challenge in modern condensed matter physics. Quantum critical phenomena are generated from the delicate balance between long-range order and its quantum fluctuation. So far, the nature of quantum phase transitions has been investigated by changing a limited number of external parameters such as pressure and magnetic field. We propose a new approach for investigating quantum criticality by changing the strength of quantum fluctuation that is controlled by the dimensional crossover in metallic quantum well (QW) structures of strongly correlated oxides. With reducing layer thickness to the critical thickness of metal-insulator transition, crossover from a Fermi liquid to a non-Fermi liquid has clearly been observed in the metallic QW of SrVO$_3$ by \textit{in situ} angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy. Non-Fermi liquid behavior with the critical exponent ${\alpha} = 1$ is found to emerge in the two-dimensional limit of the metallic QW states, indicating that a quantum critical point exists in the neighborhood of the thickness-dependent Mott transition. These results suggest that artificial QW structures provide a unique platform for investigating novel quantum phenomena in strongly correlated oxides in a controllable fashion.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Changes in Smoking Status and Mortality From All Causes and Lung Cancer: A Longitudinal Analysis of a Population-based Study in Japan

Background: To update the findings of relative risk associated with smoking for all-cause mortality and that for lung cancer by considering longitudinal changes in smoking status during follow-up. Methods: Data from the JPHC study of 98,747 middle-aged Japanese adults, which started in 1990–1993, were analyzed. The information on smoking status was obtained from three questionnaire surveys (baseline, the 5th year, and the 10th year after the start of follow-up). A Poisson regression model was used to investigate the impact of smoking on mortality from all causes and lung cancer using two approaches. Model 1 used information only from baseline, while model 2 used the updated smoking status from all three surveys. Results: During the 15-year follow-up, 10,702 all-cause deaths (including 870 lung cancer cases) were identified. We compared the results obtained from two models. The relative risks associated with former smokers versus never smokers were 1.42 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.31–1.54) among men and 1.46 (95% CI, 1.23–1.73) among women for all-cause mortality and 2.98 (95% CI, 2.09–4.24) among men and 1.83 (95% CI, 0.92–3.64) among women for lung cancer mortality, as determined using model 2. All of these were higher than the relative risks obtained from model 1. In addition, former smokers who had quit smoking due to disease during follow-up had a higher mortality risk than continuous smokers did in this study. Conclusions: The relative risks of all-cause mortality and mortality due to lung cancer among former smokers be higher than previously documented based on updated smoking status data from repeated surveys

Synthetic PAMPS gel activates BMP/Smad signaling pathway in ATDC5 cells, which plays a significant role in the gel-induced chondrogenic differentiation

The purposes of this study were to identify signaling pathways that were specifically activated in ATDC5 cells cultured on poly (2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid) (PAMPS) gel in insulin-free maintenance medium and to evaluate the significance of the determined signaling pathways in the chondrogenic differentiation induced by this gel. In this study, ATDC5 cells cultured on PAMPS gel using the maintenance medium without insulin (PAMPS Culture) were compared with cells cultured on polystyrene using the differentiation medium containing insulin (PS-I Culture). The microarray analysis, Western blot analysis, and real-time PCR analysis demonstrated that the TGF-β/BMP signaling pathway was significantly enhanced at Days 1, 2, and 3 in the PAMPS Culture when compared with the PS-I Culture. Inhibition of the BMP type-I receptor reduced the phosphorylation level of Smad1/5 and expression of type-2 collagen and aggrecan mRNA in the cells accompanied by a reduction in cell aggregation at Day 13 in the PAMPS Culture. The inhibition of the TGF-β/BMP signaling pathway significantly inhibited the chondrogenic differentiation induced by the PAMPS gel. The present study demonstrated that synthetic PAMPS gel activates the TGF-β/BMP/Smad signaling pathway in the ATDC5 cells in the absence of insulin, and that this activation plays a significant role in the chondrogenic differentiation induced by PAMPS gel