The Impact of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme on the Polish Economy:Interviews with Four Companies in Poland

This paper reports the results of interviews with four Polish companies. The results of the interviews shows that Polish companies tend to evaluate the effects of the introduction of EU ETS in 2005 positively: it provided an alternative view that they need considering environment in their business, and that they had much useful information for the improvement of energy losses by measuring it to verify the amount of emissions. However, there are also several negative claims to the EU ETS: auction adopted in the EU ETS from 2013 not only requires purchasing allowances, but also increases production cost due to the rise in the electricity price. Moreover, some of them are concerned that the competitiveness of Poland might be weakened, since it deeply depends on coal.

Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy on the Performance Degradation of LiFePO4/Graphite Lithium-Ion Battery Due to Charge-Discharge Cycling under Different C-Rates

Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) using a LiFePO4 cathode and graphite anode were assembled in　coin cell form and subjected to 1000 charge-discharge cycles at 1, 2, and 5 C at 25 C. The performance　degradation of the LIB cells under di erent C-rates was analyzed by electrochemical impedance　spectroscopy (EIS) and scanning electron microscopy. The most severe degradation occurred at 2 C　while degradation was mitigated at the highest C-rate of 5 C. EIS data of the equivalent circuit model　provided information on the changes in the internal resistance. The charge-transfer resistance within　all the cells increased after the cycle test, with the cell cycled at 2 C presenting the greatest increment　in the charge-transfer resistance. Agglomerates were observed on the graphite anodes of the cells　cycled at 2 and 5 C; these were more abundantly produced in the former cell. The lower degradation　of the cell cycled at 5 C was attributed to the lowered capacity utilization of the anode. The larger cell　voltage drop caused by the increased C-rate reduced the electrode potential variation allocated to the　net electrochemical reactions, contributing to the charge-discharge specific capacity of the cells

Detecting Pedestrians and Their Walk Directions Using a MY VISION System

This paper proposes a pedestrian detection method using a MY VISION system. The MY VISION system is an image processing system using an ego-camera which a user of the system possesses, and it is expected to be the third eye of those who are aged, visually impaired or even those who are absorbed in a mobile-phone while walking. In the proposed method, a flow area different from camera movement is extracted first on the image provided from a user’s head-mounted camera. The area is a candidate area where pedestrians may exist. Multiple scale cell-histograms of oriented gradients features are then calculated to detect pedestrians in the area. Histograms of optical flow feature is further computed to recognize the moving direction of the detected pedestrians. The proposed method was examined its performance experimentally and satisfactory results were obtained

Usefulness and Problems of Endoscopic Ultrasonography in Prediction of the Depth of Tumor Invasion in Early Gastric Cancer

The objectives of this study were to evaluate the accuracy of endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) in local and regional staging of early gastric cancer, to analyze the factors influencing the accuracy of EUS, and to reveal the usefulness and problems of EUS in pre-treatment staging of gastric cancer. We examined 105 lesions in 104 patients with histologically confirmed gastric cancer and retrospectively evaluated them with EUS. The diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of EUS were determined by comparing the pre-treatment EUS with the postoperative histopathological findings. The overall diagnostic accuracy of EUS for the depth of cancer invasion was 86%. The overall sensitivity and specificity were 60% and 96%, respectively. The accuracy significantly declined in lesions located in the upper-third of the stomach (70%). Type 0-I lesions tended to be over-staged (12&), and the upper-third lesions tended to be under-staged (23%). The accuracy significantly declined in differentiated adenocarcinoma with massive submucosal invasion (56.5%). EUS is useful for evaluating the depth of gastric cancer invasion which determines the feasibility of endoscopic treatment. However, it is noteworthy that the diagnostic accuracy of the invasion depth diminished for lesions in the upper third of the stomach

Low level ß-lactamase production in methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus strains with ß-lactam antibiotics-induced vancomycin resistance

BACKGROUND: A class of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) shows resistance to vancomycin only in the presence of ß-lactam antibiotics (BIVR). This type of vancomycin resistance is mainly attributable to the rapid depletion of free vancomycin in the presence of ß-lactam antibiotics. This means that ß-lactam antibiotics remain active or intact in BIVR culture, although most MRSA cells are assumed to produce ß-lactamase. We hypothesised that the BIVR cells either did not harbour the ß-lactamase gene, blaZ, or the gene was quiescent. We tested this hypothesis by determining ß-lactamase activity and conducting PCR amplification of blaZ. RESULTS: Five randomly selected laboratory stock BIVR strains showed an undetectable level of ß-lactamase activity and were blaZ-negative. Five non-BIVR stock strains showed an average ß-lactamase activity of 2.59 ± 0.35 U. To test freshly isolated MRSA, 353 clinical isolates were collected from 11 regionally distant hospitals. Among 25 BIVR strains, only 16% and 8% were blaZ positive and ß-lactamase-positive, respectively. In contrast, 95% and 61% of 328 non-BIVR strains had the blaZ gene and produced active ß-lactamase, respectively. To know the mechanism of low ß-lactamase activity in the BIVR cells, they were transformed with the plasmid carrying the blaZ gene. The transformants still showed a low level of ß-lactamase activity that was several orders of magnitude lower than that of blaZ-positive non-BIVR cells. Presence of the ß-lactamase gene in the transformants was tested by PCR amplification of blaZ using 11 pairs of primers covering the entire blaZ sequence. Yield of the PCR products was consistently low compared with that using blaZ-positive non-BIVR cells. Nucleotide sequencing of blaZ in one of the BIVR transformants revealed 10 amino acid substitutions. Thus, it is likely that the ß-lactamase gene was modified in the BIVR cells to downregulate active ß-lactamase production. CONCLUSIONS: We concluded that BIVR cells gain vancomycin resistance by the elimination or inactivation of ß-lactamase production, thereby preserving ß-lactam antibiotics in milieu, stimulating peptidoglycan metabolism, and depleting free vancomycin to a level below the minimum inhibitory concentration of vancomycin

Mutations in the stator protein PomA affect switching of rotational direction in bacterial flagellar motor

The flagellar motor rotates bi-directionally in counter-clockwise (CCW) and clockwise (CW) directions. The motor consists of a stator and a rotor. Recent structural studies have revealed that the stator is composed of a pentameric ring of A subunits and a dimer axis of B subunits. Highly conserved charged and neighboring residues of the A subunit interacts with the rotor, generating torque through a gear-like mechanism. The rotational direction is controlled by chemotaxis signaling transmitted to the rotor, with less evidence for the stator being involved. In this study, we report novel mutations that affect the switching of the rotational direction at the putative interaction site of the stator to generate rotational force. Our results highlight an aspect of flagellar motor function that appropriate switching of the interaction states between the stator and rotor is critical for controlling the rotational direction

Electroencephalographic changes during piano playing and related mental tasks.

Theta activity in EEG was found to be augmented in the frontal midline area in 5 young women while they played classical piano pieces and during related mental tasks. This activity was considered to be a frontal midline theta rhythm with the maximal amplitude mostly in Fz and of the frequency ranging from 5 to 7.5 Hz. This theta activity was observed to increase depending on the degree of the subjects' concentration on piano playing or related tasks. In bilateral parietal derivations, increases in the power value of alpha activity were observed in some subjects while they were listening to music, suggesting that alpha activity was involved in appreciation of music.</p

Ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus that became evident over a three-year span

A 43-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed with ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus by esophagogastroduodenoscopy and biopsy. At the age of 46, typical ectopic sebaceous glands were recognized in the upper esophagus, whereas yellowish white granules were faintly observed in the lower esophagus. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy examinations were repeated when she was 47 and again at 50 years old, and the lesions in the lower esophagus had become more evident over the ensuing 3 years. Esophageal ectopic sebaceous glands are relatively infrequent, and there have been few case reports describing the progression of the endoscopic features. We also report the clinical and endoscopic features of the five similar cases with pathologically proven ectopic sebaceous glands in the esophagus

Associations of HIV testing and late diagnosis at a Japanese university hospital

OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to clarify the rate of late diagnosis of HIV infection and to identify relationships between the reasons for HIV testing and a late diagnosis. METHODS: This retrospective cohort study was conducted among HIV-positive patients at the Jikei University Hospital between 2001 and 2014. Patient characteristics from medical records, including age, sex, sexuality, the reason for HIV testing and the number of CD4-positive lymphocytes at HIV diagnosis, were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 459 patients (men, n=437; 95.2%) were included in this study and the median age at HIV diagnosis was 36 years (range, 18-71 years). Late (CD4 cell coun