Evaluation of Liquefaction Resistance by In-situ Testing and Its Application to Reliability Design

A calculation method of probability of liquefaction is proposed in this paper. The spatial variability of soil parameters for the dynamic shear strength, i.e., N-values, median grain size, fines contents, and the statistical characteristics of the earthquake frequency are considered in the analysis. The standard penetration test (SPT) is convenient to estimate the spatial variability of the dynamic shear strength and mainly used in this study. Furthermore the determination of dynamic shear strength based on Swedish weight Sounding test also introduced here, because it is the simpler test than SPT. While the statistical model of the earthquake frequency is determined based on the record of historical earthquakes. Using this method the probability of liquefaction is calculated. The sand compaction pile method is considered for the ground improvement against the liquefaction. Finally, the relationship between the sand replacement rate and the probability of liquefaction is clarified

Ground-state properties of neutron-rich Mg isotopes

We analyze recently-measured total reaction cross sections for 24-38Mg isotopes incident on 12C targets at 240 MeV/nucleon by using the folding model and antisymmetrized molecular dynamics(AMD). The folding model well reproduces the measured reaction cross sections, when the projectile densities are evaluated by the deformed Woods-Saxon (def-WS) model with AMD deformation. Matter radii of 24-38Mg are then deduced from the measured reaction cross sections by fine-tuning the parameters of the def-WS model. The deduced matter radii are largely enhanced by nuclear deformation. Fully-microscopic AMD calculations with no free parameter well reproduce the deduced matter radii for 24-36Mg, but still considerably underestimate them for 37,38Mg. The large matter radii suggest that 37,38Mg are candidates for deformed halo nucleus. AMD also reproduces other existing measured ground-state properties (spin-parity, total binding energy, and one-neutron separation energy) of Mg isotopes. Neutron-number (N) dependence of deformation parameter is predicted by AMD. Large deformation is seen from 31Mg with N = 19 to a drip-line nucleus 40Mg with N = 28, indicating that both the N = 20 and 28 magicities disappear. N dependence of neutron skin thickness is also predicted by AMD.Comment: 15 pages, 13 figures, to be published in Phys. Rev.

The Influence of Different Washing Temperatures on the Quality and Taste of Bean Sprouts

　Bean sprouts are low-price and usable in variety of meals, being purchased in a largequantity in Japan. In this study, aiming at storage of bean sprouts as long as possible after opening of packaging film at home, we investigated the influence of the washing temperature on the quality and taste of bean sprouts to store them after washing. Standard plate counts,physical properties, light intensity and color were measured in bean sprouts washed at 25℃ and 50℃, and sensory evaluation was performed after heating. As a result, the difference in washing temperature of bean sprout did not affect the number of viable aerobic bacteria,physical properties, light intensity and color, but the bean sprouts washed at 50℃ was evaluated to have less bitterness in sensory evaluation. The standard plate counts increased regardless of the washing temperature even though bean sprouts were refrigerated at 4℃after washing and reached a level of the initial stage of decomposition within 24 hours after the washing. Therefore, it is desirable to use them immediately after washing

Dual phase regulation of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis by platelet-activating factor

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) serves as a model for multiple sclerosis and is considered to be a CD4+ Th1 cell–mediated autoimmune disease. To investigate the role of platelet-activating factor (PAF) in this disease, PAF receptor (PAFR) KO (PAFR-KO) and wild-type (WT) mice, on a C57BL/6 genetic background, were immunized with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein 35–55. The levels of PAF production and PAFR mRNA expression in the spinal cord (SC) correlated with the EAE symptoms. PAFR-KO mice showed lower incidence and less severe symptoms in the chronic phase of EAE than WT mice. However, no difference was observed in T cell proliferation, Th1-cytokine production, or titer of IgG2a between both genotypes. Before onset, as revealed by microarray analysis, mRNAs of inflammatory mediators and their receptors—including IL-6 and CC chemokine receptor 2—were down-regulated in the SC of PAFR-KO mice compared with WT mice. Moreover, in the chronic phase, the severity of inflammation and demyelination in the SC was substantially reduced in PAFR-KO mice. PAFR-KO macrophages reduced phagocytic activity and subsequent production of TNF-α. These results suggest that PAF plays a dual role in EAE pathology in the induction and chronic phases through the T cell–independent pathways