Current Performance and On-Going Improvements of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope

An overview of the current status of the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope constructed and operated at Mauna Kea, Hawaii, by the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan is presented. The basic design concept and the verified performance of the telescope system are described. Also given are the status of the instrument package offered to the astronomical community, the status of operation, and some of the future plans. The status of the telescope reported in a number of SPIE papers as of the summer of 2002 are incorporated with some updates included as of 2004 February. However, readers are encouraged to check the most updated status of the telescope through the home page, http://subarutelescope.org/index.html, and/or the direct contact with the observatory staff.Comment: 18 pages (17 pages in published version), 29 figures (GIF format), This is the version before the galley proo

Heterogeneous Nucleation of Protein Crystals on Fluorinated Layered Silicate

Here, we describe an improved system for protein crystallization based on heterogeneous nucleation using fluorinated layered silicate. In addition, we also investigated the mechanism of nucleation on the silicate surface. Crystallization of lysozyme using silicates with different chemical compositions indicated that fluorosilicates promoted nucleation whereas the silicates without fluorine did not. The use of synthesized saponites for lysozyme crystallization confirmed that the substitution of hydroxyl groups contained in the lamellae structure for fluorine atoms is responsible for the nucleation-inducing property of the nucleant. Crystallization of twelve proteins with a wide range of pI values revealed that the nucleation promoting effect of the saponites tended to increase with increased substitution rate. Furthermore, the saponite with the highest fluorine content promoted nucleation in all the test proteins regardless of their overall net charge. Adsorption experiments of proteins on the saponites confirmed that the density of adsorbed molecules increased according to the substitution rate, thereby explaining the heterogeneous nucleation on the silicate surface

A new species of Zeuxo (Crustacea: Peracarida: Tanaidacea) from Japan, with remarks on carapace pigmentation as a potentially useful taxonomic character

We describe Zeuxo ezoensis sp. nov. from Hokkaido, Japan. This species closely resembles Z. phytalensis, Z. shitipingensis and Z. turkensis in having the pleopodal endopod with one inner plumose seta, maxillipedal palp article 4 with one outer simple seta, the left mandible with a wide, denticulate lacinia mobilis and one bifurcate accessory seta, and the right mandible with a peg-like lacinia mobilis and two accessory setae. It differs from them in having (1) antennal article 6 longer than wide, (2) the distal region of the maxillipedal endite with four spiniform setae and two circumplumose setae, (3) maxillipedal palp article 2 with one outer simple seta, (4) the chelipedal carpus with three or four dorsodistal simple setae, (5) the chelipedal dactylus with one inner simple seta, (6) the pereopod-1 basis with one or two ventrodistal simple setae, (7) the pereopod-1 carpus with one ventrodistal simple seta, and (8) the uropod with four or five articles (basal article plus three or four ramus articles). Partial nucleotide sequences for the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene (655 nt) from Z. ezoensis specimens from four localities in Hokkaido showed Kimura 2-parameter (K2P) divergences of 0–0.5% and 0.6–1.5% within and between populations, respectively. Based on the COI data, we examined the phylogenetic position of Z. ezoensis within Zeuxo. Six specimens used for morphological observations and 10 specimens used for COI sequencing showed a similar dorsal pigmentation pattern on carapace. We briefly discuss the validity of using this pattern as a diagnostic character in Zeuxo taxonomy

Study of the Effects of Heat Load, Ablator Density and Backup Structure upon the Thermal Protection Performance of Heat Shield Systems Consisting of Phenolic Carbon Ablators

The effects of heat load, ablator density, and backup structure, etc. upon the heat shield performance of the lightweight phenolic carbon ablators named LATS were investigated using a one-dimensional ablation analysis code. The ablator density was assumed to be from about 260 to 1000 kg/m3. Heat flux time histories of a rectangular pattern were assumed, where cases of constant heating duration time and constant accumulated heat load (up to 600 MJ/m2) were considered. The heating level was assumed to be from 1 to 10 MW/m2, which means that the ablator surface is in the region of diffusion control oxidation/sublimation. The materials of the backup wall are assumed to be aluminum, stainless steel and high density CFRP. Main findings are: (1) For a low heat flux q with the same heating duration time tq, the necessary thickness, with which the maximum back surface temperature equals to the pre-determined allowable temperature, is nearly constant as the density ρv changes. On the other hand, the necessary thickness increases largely when q is larger and ρv is smaller. The ablator necessary mass increases with the increase of ρv and q for the same tq. (2) When a backup wall is attached, the necessary thickness decreases and the necessary mass including the wall mass increases. (3) For a constant accumulated heat load, necessary thickness and mass decrease for a higher heat flux q especially when ρv is high. (4) A lower density ablator with a CFRP backup wall gives the lightest mass of the heat shield system for most of the parameter range among the three wall materials. (5) For a high heat flux, selection of a lower density ablator gives a larger necessary thickness.30th International Symposium on Space Technology and Science (ISTS), July 4th-July 10th, 2015, Kobe-Hyogo, Japa