Detection of the reaction intermediates catalyzed by a copper amine oxidase

Consecutive temporal analyses of enzyme structure have been performed during reactions in order to clarify the structure-based reaction mechanism. Four intermediate structures have been determined

Multi time-step wavefront reconstruction for tomographic adaptive-optics systems

In tomographic adaptive-optics (AO) systems, errors due to tomographic wavefront reconstruction limit the performance and angular size of the scientific field of view (FoV), where AO correction is effective. We propose a multi time-step tomographic wavefront reconstruction method to reduce the tomographic error by using measurements from both the current and previous time steps simultaneously. We further outline the method to feed the reconstructor with both wind speed and direction of each turbulence layer. An end-to-end numerical simulation, assuming a multi-object AO (MOAO) system on a 30 m aperture telescope, shows that the multi time-step reconstruction increases the Strehl ratio (SR) over a scientific FoV of 10 arc min in diameter by a factor of 1.5–1.8 when compared to the classical tomographic reconstructor, depending on the guide star asterism and with perfect knowledge of wind speeds and directions. We also evaluate the multi time-step reconstruction method and the wind estimation method on the RAVEN demonstrator under laboratory setting conditions. The wind speeds and directions at multiple atmospheric layers are measured successfully in the laboratory experiment by our wind estimation method with errors below 2  ms^(−1). With these wind estimates, the multi time-step reconstructor increases the SR value by a factor of 1.2–1.5, which is consistent with a prediction from the end-to-end numerical simulation

Statistics of turbulence parameters at Maunakea using the multiple wavefront sensor data of RAVEN

Prior statistical knowledge of atmospheric turbulence is essential for designing, optimizing and evaluating tomographic adaptive optics systems. We present the statistics of the vertical profiles of C^2_N and the outer scale at Maunakea estimated using a SLOpe Detection And Ranging (SLODAR) method from on-sky telemetry taken by a multi-object adaptive optics (MOAO) demonstrator, called RAVEN, on the Subaru telescope. In our SLODAR method, the profiles are estimated by fitting the theoretical autocorrelations and cross-correlations of measurements from multiple Shack–Haltmann wavefront sensors to the observed correlations via the non-linear Levenberg–Marquardt Algorithm (LMA). The analytical derivatives of the spatial phase structure function with respect to its parameters for the LMA are also developed. From a total of 12 nights in the summer season, a large ground C^2_N fraction of 54.3 per cent is found, with median estimated seeing of 0.460 arcsec. This median seeing value is below the results for Maunakea from the literature (0.6–0.7 arcsec). The average C^2_N profile is in good agreement with results from the literature, except for the ground layer. The median value of the outer scale is 25.5 m and the outer scale is larger at higher altitudes; these trends of the outer scale are consistent with findings in the literature

High-Grade Renal MTSCC

Mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) is a rare subtype of renal cell carcinoma. Although usually indolent, high-grade MTSCC has been reported to exhibit an aggressive clinical course. Herein, we report a case of high-grade renal MTSCC. An 86-year-old man visited our hospital with fever and fatigue. Based on contrast-enhanced computed tomography findings, the patient was diagnosed with clinical stage T2aN0M0 right renal cell carcinoma and underwent laparoscopic radical nephrectomy. Histological examination showed tubular to tubulopapillary structures accompanied by mucinous stroma, suggesting high-grade renal MTSCC. He remained recurrence- and metastasis-free 6 months after nephrectomy. Since high-grade renal MTSCC may have an aggressive clinical course, such patients should be observed carefully after radical nephrectomy

Sunitinib Versus Sorafenib as Initial Targeted Therapy for mCC-RCC With Favorable/Intermediate Risk: Multicenter Randomized Trial CROSS-J-RCC

Purpose: The present study compared the efficacy of sunitinib and sorafenib as first-line treatment of metastatic clear cell renal cell carcinoma (mCC-RCC) with favorable or intermediate Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) risk. Patients and methods: Treatment-naive patients with mCC-RCC were randomized to receive open-label sunitinib followed by sorafenib (SU/SO) or sorafenib followed by sunitinib (SO/SU). The primary endpoint was first-line progression-free survival (PFS). The secondary endpoints were total PFS and overall survival (OS). Results: Of the 124 patients enrolled at 39 institutions from February 2010 to July 2012, 120 were evaluated. The median first-line PFS duration was 8.7 and 7.0 months in the SU/SO and SO/SU groups, respectively (hazard ratio [HR], 0.67; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.42-1.08). The total PFS and OS were not significantly different between the SU/SO and SO/SU groups (27.8 and 22.6 months; HR, 0.73; 95% CI, 0.428-1.246; and 38.4 and 30.9 months; HR, 0.934; 95% CI, 0.588-1.485, respectively). The subgroup analysis revealed that the total PFS with SU/SO was superior to the total PFS with SO/SU in the patients with favorable MSKCC risk and those with Conclusions: No statistically significant differences were found in first-line PFS, total PFS, or OS between the 2 treatment arms (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT01481870)

Investigation of remaining tritium in the LHD vacuum vessel after the first deuterium experimental campaign

Remaining tritium in the vacuum vessel after the first deuterium plasma experimental campaign conducted over four months was investigated in the large helical device (LHD) for the first time in stellarator/heliotron devices by using the tritium imaging plate technique. In-vessel components such as divertor tiles and first wall panels, and long-term material probes retrieved from the vacuum vessel were analyzed. The in-vessel component in which tritium remained most densely is the baffle part of divertor tiles made of graphite retrieved from the inboard-side divertor. Asymmetric tritium retention is observed on divertor tiles located at magnetically symmetric positions, and can be attributed to the toroidal field direction dependence of the asymmetric loss of energetic tritons generated by deuterium–deuterium nuclear fusion reactions. On the first wall, tritium remained in a deposited layer, which mainly consists of carbon

Current Status of Large Helical Device and Its Prospect for Deuterium Experiment

Achievement of reactor relevant plasma condition in Helical type magnetic devices and exploration in its related plasma physics and fusion engineering are the aim of the Large Helical Device (LHD) project. In the recent experiments on LHD, we have achieved ion-temperature of 8.1 keV at 1 × 1019 m−3 by the optimization of wall conditioning using long pulse discharge by Ion Cyclotron Heating (ICH). The electron temperature of 10 keV at 1.6 × 1019 m−3 was also achieved by the optimization of Electron Cyclotron Heating (ECH). For further improvement in plasma performance, the upgrade of the Large Helical Device (LHD), including the deuterium experiment, is planned. In this paper, the recent achievements on LHD and the upgrade of LHD are described

SDSS J133401.39+331534.3: A New Subarcsecond Gravitationally Lensed Quasar

The quasar SDSS J133401.39+331534.3 at z = 2.426 is found to be a two-image gravitationally lensed quasar with the image separation of 0.833. The object is first identified as a lensed quasar candidate in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Quasar Lens Search, and then confirmed as a lensed system from follow-up observations at the Subaru and University of Hawaii 2.2-meter telescopes. We estimate the redshift of the lensing galaxy to be 0.557 based on absorption lines in the quasar spectra as well as the color of the galaxy. In particular, we observe the system with the Subaru Telescope AO188 adaptive optics with laser guide star, in order to derive accurate astrometry, which well demonstrates the usefulness of the laser guide star adaptive optics imaging for studying strong lens systems. Our mass modeling with improved astrometry implies that a nearby bright galaxy $\sim 4"$ apart from the lensing galaxy is likely to affect the lens potential.Comment: 24 pages, 6 figures. ApJ, in pres

チタン マンガンケイ レドックスフロー デンチ ノ ブザイ カイハツ

Redox flow batteries are suitable for large-capacity energy storage in principle and for applications in combination with renewable energy. However, thorough cost reduction is a challenge for their full-scale introduction. Therefore, we have developed a titanium (Ti) -manganese (Mn) electrolyte as an inexpensive electrolyte. In the electrolyte development, we found that the presence of Ti ions (IV) in the Mn electrolyte suppressed the disproportionation reaction of Mn ions (III) and the particle growth of MnO₂ precipitation. In the electrode development, we found carbon electrode materials with excellent oxidation durability and reactivity. We optimized the surface treatment conditions of the carbon electrode to obtain a high energy-efficiency of 83.2% in Ti-Mn electrolyte. Then, we confirmed that 10 kW-class cells using the developed material could provide long-term stable charge-discharge for more than 140 cycles at an energy density of more than 14 kWh/m³.論