SEIRIOS: A Demonstration of Space Infrared Interferometer by Formation Flying of Micro-Satellites

In several decades, space infrared interferometer missions with formation flying have been proposed, but most of the missions were relinquished because their requirements for position and attitude control of satellites are extremely accurate. In order to overcome this issue, we propose to apply the densified pupil spectroscopy to relax control requirements of the baseline distance and attitude to overlap the rays. SEIRIOS is a micro-satellite project to demonstrate the concept of space infrared interferometer with the densified pupil spectrograph. The interferometer is constructed by one 50kg class micro-satellite and two 9U CubeSats in line. The micro-satellite is placed at the center of the two CubeSats that keep a constant distance between 5 to 50-m from the micro-satellite. The CubeSats reflect rays from target celestial bodies to the micro-satellite, and the micro-satellite collects the rays by the pupil spectrometer. The baseline control requirement is 1 mm, and it could be achieved by using COTS laser distance meters, low force thrusters, and the mirror control by piezo stages. This paper introduces the mission concept, a preliminary design result, and the future plan of our interferometer mission

“Avian-type” renal medullary tubule organization causes immaturity of urine-concentrating ability in neonates

“Avian-type” renal medullary tubule organization causes immaturity of urine-concentrating ability in neonates.BackgroundWhile neonatal kidneys are not powerful in concentrating urine, they already dilute urine as efficiently as adult kidneys. To elucidate the basis for this paradoxical immaturity in urine-concentrating ability, we investigated the function of Henle's loop and collecting ducts (IMCDs) in the inner medulla of neonatal rat kidneys.MethodsAnalyses of individual renal tubules in the inner medulla of neonatal and adult rat kidneys were performed by measuring mRNA expression of membrane transporters, transepithelial voltages, and isotopic water and ion fluxes. Immunofluorescent identification of the rCCC2 and rCLC-K1 using polyclonal antibodies was also performed in neonatal and adult kidney slices.ResultsOn day 1, the transepithelial voltages (VTs) in the thin ascending limbs (tALs) and IMCDs were 14.6 ± 1.1mV (N = 27) and -42.7 ± 6.1mV (N = 14), respectively. The VTs in the thin descending limbs (tDLs) were zero on day 1. The VTs in the tALs were strongly inhibited by luminal bumetanide or basolateral ouabain, suggesting the presence of a NaCl reabsorption mechanism similar to that in the thick ascending limb (TAL). The diffusional voltage (VD) of the tAL due to transepithelial NaCl gradient was almost insensitive to a chloride channel blocker 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)-benzoate (NPPB). The VTs in the IMCDs were strongly inhibited by luminal amiloride.On day 1, both the tDL and tAL were impermeable to water, indicating the water impermeability of the entire loop. Diffusional water permeability (Pdw) and urea permeabilities (Purea) in the IMCDs indicated virtual impermeability to water and urea on day 1. Stimulation by vasopressin (1nmol/L) revealed that only Pdw was sensitive to vasopressin by day 14. A partial isoosmolar replacement of luminal urea by NaCl evoked negligible water flux across the neonatal IMCDs, indicating the absence of urea-dependent volume flux in the neonatal IMCD. These transport characteristics in each neonatal tubule are similar to those in quail kidneys. Identification of mRNAs and immunofluorescent studies for specific transporters, including rAQP-1, rCCC2, rCLC-K1, rENaC β subunit, rAQP-2, and rUT-A1, supported these findings.ConclusionWe hypothesize that the renal medullary tubule organization of neonatal rats shares a tremendous similarity with avian renal medulla. The qualitative changes in the organization of medullary tubules may be primarily responsible for the immature urine-concentrating ability in mammalian neonates

<Regular Article>Evaluation of Self-Association Energies of 2-Pyridone Tautomers by Modified MNDO Methods

We have carried out the molecular orbital calculations supported by the modified MNDO methods (MNDO/H, Modified MNDO and Am1) to study the self-associations of formic acid, 2-pyridone and its tautomer, 2-pyridinol. The greater self-association energy of 2-pyridone than that of 2-pyridinol was shown in all the methods. The calculated self-association energies of formic acid and 2-pyridone by the MNDO/H method were well compatible with the experimental values. However, the difference in energy between two tautomers of 2-pyridone was too small to reproduce the experimentally known values. On the other hand, it was found that the Modified MNDO method was invalid for the doubly hydrogen-bonded systems. The AM1 method have been shown to give a proper account of the tautomeric features of 2-pyridone, although the calculated energies of hydrogen-bonding were only about a half the experimental values

ウェアラブル端末市場における日系電子部品メーカーの競争戦略 ― M・E・ポーターの「5つの競争要因分析」を活用した定性的実証分析 ―（研究ノート）

　筆者は、電子機器関連産業の調査研究を継続的に実施してきており、2014年度はスマホ端末市場（特に、中国市場）における電子部品メーカーの販売戦略について研究成果を報告している。2015年度は、電子部品の新しい需要として期待されているウェアラブル端末向けビジネスにおける電子部品メーカーの競争戦略について研究を行った。本研究の目的は、電子部品メーカーを取り巻く外部環境の変化に対して、日系電子部品メーカーが外部環境の変化、特にウェアラブル端末ビジネスにどのように対応していくべきかを経営学のフレームワーク（M・ポーターの5フォースモデル）で分析し、戦略策定をすることにある。本研究の成果として、ウェアラブル端末向けビジネスにおける日系電子部品メーカーの競争戦略を提言した。電子部品メーカーに対するインタビュー調査の結果、スマホ向けビジネスの強みが活かされていること、ウェアラブル端末向けビジネスでは価格引き下げ要求が厳しいことが判明した。電子部品メーカーの競争戦略としては、①モジュール化への対応、②アナログ技術／擦り合わせ技術の強みの維持、が求められる

Bilateral injection-site granuloma by subcutaneous administration of luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogue: a case report

We report a typical case of injection-site granuloma attributed to subcutaneous administration of leuprorelin acetate, an LHRH agonist. A 70-year-old man who had undergone total prostatectomy and was subsequently given leuprorelin injections for prostatic cancer presented with bilateral nodules in the lower abdominal wall. An excisional biopsy revealed a non-caseous epithelioid granuloma consisting of CD-68 positive histiocytic cells with infiltration of T-lymphocytes and eosinophils; skin metastasis from prostatic adenocarcinoma was ruled out through histological and immunohistochemical analysis. Generally, granulomas may be caused by delayed-type hypersensitivity to the constituents of leuprorelin acetate injections

Hypervascularized bronchial arteries affect lung cancer surgery

Background: The present study investigated whether highly vascularized bronchial arteries affect the intraoperative blood loss and the operative time of video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) lobectomy for patients with non-small cell lung cancer. Methods: We retrospectively collected data on consecutive pathological stage I to IIIA non-small cell lung cancer patients who underwent VATS lobectomy with systematic lymph node dissection between January 2017 and December 2019. Patients were divided into the following two groups according to bronchial artery diameters on preoperative enhanced contrast computed tomography (CT) findings: ≤2 and >2 mm groups. Results: Among the 175 patients enrolled, risk factors for intraoperative blood loss >50 mL were being male (P=0.005), a history of smoking (P=0.01), percent forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1.0%) 2.0 mm (P2.0 mm (P200 min were being male (P2.0 mm (P2.0 mm (P=0.024), and experience of surgeon <10 years (P=0.047) in the multivariable analysis. Conclusions: Bronchial artery diameter was the most important risk factor of intraoperative bleeding and prolonged operative time during VATS lobectomy