Difference in the Physics Education in Lower Secondary Level between Japan and Germany - A Comparative Study between the Recent Textbooks -

　ドイツ・ザクセン邦のギムナジウム中級段階の教科物理と日本の中学校の教科理科における物理分野に焦点を当て, 教科書などを手がかりにし, 比較を行い，期間・広がり・詳しさにおいて，違いを見いだした。ドイツでは第6学年から5年間にわたり通年で，日本では第7学年から3年間各学年限られた期間だけ学習されている。週授業時間数の合計はドイツの方が多い。ドイツでは，電磁気学・波動・力学・熱力学・天文学・原子物理学の分野があるが，日本では，電磁気学・力学・波動しかない。ドイツでは，内容に繰り返しと連続性があり，日本ではほとんどない。索引の密度を比較すると，ドイツは日本より大きい。実験に関しては，日本では代表的な実験を授業の中で実施するよう位置付けられているのに対し，ドイツでは多様な実験から自主的に選び実施することができるようになっていることで違っている

Seismic Ground Settlement and Deformation Behavior of Reclaimed Lands in the 1995 Kobe Earthquake

After the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, particular attention has been paid on the settlement observed at reclaimed lands located at between Osaka and Kobe, in reference to their geological characteristics. In this paper, the ground surface elevations before and after the 1995 Kobe Earthquake were compared to evaluate the seismic ground settlement of reclaimed lands. Calculated settlements by using an available empirical formula were compared with measured ones. A further study was carried out to investigate the seismic ground settlement calculated by using a numerical simulation program called “FLIP” at a selected reclaimed land. In reference to the data available from published papers on seismic ground settlement as measured, attempts were made to identify in a practical manner such settlement with the degree of the earthquake recorded at each reclaimed lands as well as the grain size and N value of the filled layer there. The proposed method for estimating seismic ground settlement caused by earthquake is estimated for its applicability and accuracy by using a simulation program

Lateral Loading Tests in The Pit for a Large-Diameter Deep Pile

Although the ground supporting the foundation can be regarded as three-dimensional nonlinear continuous body, in design, grounds are modeled as linear elastic springs. However, in reality, grounds exhibit nonlinear load-displacement (ρ-δ) characteristics. In Specifications for Highway Bridges (Japan Road Association, 1994), ground reaction coefficient is defined as the secant slope of noticeable displacement and load intensity on ρ-δ curve corrected according to width of foundation. For the purpose of examining the scale effect of large-diameter pile, this paper presents a study on scale effect of lateral ground reaction coefficient based on results of lateral loading tests performed using large loading plate in the pit of a large-diameter deep pile

Protein Transduction Method for Cerebrovascular Disorders

Many studies have shown that a motif of 11 consecutive arginines (11R) is one of the most effective protein transduction domains (PTD) for introducing proteins into the cell membrane. By conjugating this &#34;11R&#34;, all sorts of proteins can effectively and harmlessly be transferred into any kind of cell. We therefore examined the transduction efficiency of 11R in cerebral arteries and obtained results showing that 11R fused enhanced green fluorescent protein (11R-EGFP) immediately and effectively penetrated all layers of the rat basilar artery (BA), especially the tunica media. This method provides a revolutionary approach to cerebral arteries and ours is the first study to demonstrate the successful transductionof a PTD fused protein into the cerebral arteries. In this review, we present an outline of our studies and other key studies related to cerebral vasospasm and 11R, problems to be overcome, and predictions regarding future use of the 11R protein transduction method for cerebral vasospasm (CV).</p

The YlmG protein has a conserved function related to the distribution of nucleoids in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Reminiscent of their free-living cyanobacterial ancestor, chloroplasts proliferate by division coupled with the partition of nucleoids (DNA-protein complexes). Division of the chloroplast envelope membrane is performed by constriction of the ring structures at the division site. During division, nucleoids also change their shape and are distributed essentially equally to the daughter chloroplasts. Although several components of the envelope division machinery have been identified and characterized, little is known about the molecular components/mechanisms underlying the change of the nucleoid structure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In order to identify new factors that are involved in the chloroplast division, we isolated <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>chloroplast division mutants from a pool of random cDNA-overexpressed lines. We found that the overexpression of a previously uncharacterized gene (<it>AtYLMG1-1</it>) of cyanobacterial origin results in the formation of an irregular network of chloroplast nucleoids, along with a defect in chloroplast division. In contrast, knockdown of <it>AtYLMG1-1 </it>resulted in a concentration of the nucleoids into a few large structures, but did not affect chloroplast division. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that AtYLMG1-1 localizes in small puncta on thylakoid membranes, to which a subset of nucleoids colocalize. In addition, in the cyanobacterium <it>Synechococcus elongates</it>, overexpression and deletion of <it>ylmG </it>also displayed defects in nucleoid structure and cell division.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that the proper distribution of nucleoids requires the YlmG protein, and the mechanism is conserved between cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. Given that <it>ylmG </it>exists in a cell division gene cluster downstream of <it>ftsZ </it>in gram-positive bacteria and that <it>ylmG </it>overexpression impaired the chloroplast division, the nucleoid partitioning by YlmG might be related to chloroplast and cyanobacterial division processes.</p