Clustering Properties of Low-Luminosity Star-Forming galaxies at z = 0.24 and 0.40 in the Subaru Deep Field

We present our analysis on the clustering properties of star-forming galaxies selected by narrow-band excesses in the Subaru Deep Field. Specifically we focus on Halpha emitting galaxies at z = 0.24 and z = 0.40 in the same field, to investigate possible evolutionary signatures of clustering properties of star-forming galaxies. Based on the analysis on 228 Halpha emitting galaxies with 39.8 < log L(Halpha) < 40.8 at z = 0.40, we find that their two-point correlation function is estimated as xi = (r/1.62^{+0.64}_{-0.50} Mpc)^{-1.84 +/- 0.08}. This is similar to that of Halpha emitting galaxies in the same Halpha luminosity range at z = 0.24, xi = (r/1.88^{+0.60}_{-0.49} Mpc)^{-1.89 +/- 0.07}. These correlation lengths are smaller than those for the brighter galaxy sample studied by Meneux et al. (2006) in the same redshift range. The evolution of correlation length between z = 0.24 and z = 0.40 is interpreted by the gravitational growth of the dark matter halos.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, PASJ, Vol.60, No.6, in pres

Removal of Pb(II) from water using keratin colloidal solution obtained from wool

The aim of this study is to investigate the use of keratin colloidal solution, which was obtained from wool, for the removal of Pb(II) from water. The addition of keratin colloidal solution (15 g L-1, 0.30 mL) to a Pb(II) solution (1.0 mM, 0.90 mL, pH 5.0) resulted in the formation and precipitation of a Pb-keratin aggregate. Measurement of the Pb(II) and protein concentrations in the supernatant solution revealed that 88 and 99 % of the Pb(II) and keratin protein were removed from the solution, respectively. The maximum Pb(II) uptake capacity of keratin in the colloidal solution was 43.3 mg g(-1). In addition, the Pb-keratin aggregate was easily decomposed via the addition of nitric acid, which enabled the recovery of Pb(II). However, aggregation did not occur in solutions with Pb(II) concentrations below 0.10 mM. Therefore, we used a keratin colloidal solution encapsulated in a dialysis cellulose tube to remove Pb(II) from 0.10 mM solutions, which enabled the removal of 95 % of the Pb(II). From these results, we conclude that keratin colloidal solution is useful for the treatment of water polluted with Pb(II).ArticleENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH. 20(9):6531-6538 (2013)journal articl

Silent-speech enhancement using body-conducted vocal-tract resonance signals

The physical characteristics of weak body-conducted vocal-tract resonance signals called non-audible murmur (NAM) and the acoustic characteristics of three sensors developed for detecting these signals have been investigated. NAM signals attenuate 50 dB at 1 kHz; this attenuation consists of 30-dB full-range attenuation due to air-to-body transmission loss and 10 dB/octave spectral decay due to a sound propagation loss within the body. These characteristics agree with the spectral characteristics of measured NAM signals. The sensors have a sensitivity of between 41 and 58 dB [V/Pa] at I kHz, and the mean signal-to-noise ratio of the detected signals was 15 dB. On the basis of these investigations, three types of silent-speech enhancement systems were developed: (1) simple, direct amplification of weak vocal-tract resonance signals using a wired urethane-elastomer NAM microphone, (2) simple, direct amplification using a wireless urethane-elastomer-duplex NAM microphone, and (3) transformation of the weak vocal-tract resonance signals sensed by a soft-silicone NAM microphone into whispered speech using statistical conversion. Field testing of the systems showed that they enable voice impaired people to communicate verbally using body-conducted vocal-tract resonance signals. Listening tests demonstrated that weak body-conducted vocal-tract resonance sounds can be transformed into intelligible whispered speech sounds. Using these systems, people with voice impairments can re-acquire speech communication with less effort. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.ArticleSPEECH COMMUNICATION. 52(4):301-313 (2010)journal articl

Perspective Chapter: The Japanese Coal Mining Industry Reconsidered: From Mechanized Longwall Mining to Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

This chapter investigates the role of the Japanese coal mining industry in global coal mining development. In the twenty-first century, the Japanese coal mining industry was a marginal contributor to global production, with an annual domestic production of only 750,000 tons. However, as explained below, Japan has contributed to clean coal technologies and coal mining. The combination of chock shields and a double-ended ranging drum shearer is one of the major mechanized longwall mining systems worldwide. It was developed by the Taiheiyo Coal Mining Company in Japan in the mid-1960s and subsequently spread among major coal-producing countries. Japanese coal production systems and clean coal technologies have been transferred to Asian countries since the late-1980s. Currently, carbon dioxide capture and storage system in a mine under the seabed is being implemented by the Kushiro Coal Mine Company which succeeded the mine of Taiheiyo. In addition, Japan has developed technologies for coal-fired power plants to burn coal more efficiently and contains the world’s most efficient ultra-supercritical coal-fired power plants. Furthermore, the world’s largest Integrated Coal Gasification Combined Cycle power plants started operating to reconstruct Fukushima and reduce carbon emissions

Poorer prognosis with ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia: a single-center case-control study.

In ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA)-dependent pseudothrombocytopenia (PTCP), automated platelet counts are lower than actual counts because of EDTA-induced aggregation. Factors contributing to the incidence of EDTA-PTCP are unknown, and no study has assessed the prognosis of EDTA-PTCP patients. This retrospective study assessed characteristics in EDTA-PTCP patients and matched controls to determine differences in prognosis. A retrospective case-control study was designed. From the University of Tokyo Hospital database, we identified patients diagnosed with EDTA-PTCP between 2009 and 2012, and performed 1:2 case:control matching for age and sex. A control group of sex- and age-matched patients was selected at random from the same database. We investigated differences in the frequency of complications, medication history, and blood transfusion history between the groups at the time of blood collection. Prognosis was evaluated using multivariate Cox regression analysis adjusting for age, sex, autoimmune disease, liver disease, and malignant tumor. We identified 104 EDTA-PTCP patients and 208 matched controls. The median age was 69.0 years (interquartile range: 54-76), with men comprising 51%. EDTA-PTCP patients had a higher frequency of malignant tumor and a lower frequency of hypertension and diabetes than controls. After adjustment for background factors, prognosis of EDTA-PTCP patients was significantly poorer than controls (hazard ratio, 11.8; 95% confidence intervals, 2.62-53.54). In conclusion, EDTA-PTCP patients had higher mortality, and EDTA-PTCP may need to be recognized as an indicator of worse prognosis

CHAC1 overexpression in human gastric parietal cells with Helicobacter pylori infection in the secretory canaliculi

Background Cation transport regulator 1 (CHAC1), a newly discovered enzyme that degrades glutathione, is induced in Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori)‐infected gastric epithelial cells in culture. The CHAC1‐induced decrease in glutathione leads to an accumulation of reactive oxygen species and somatic mutations in TP53. We evaluated the possible correlation between H. pylori infection and CHAC1 expression in human gastric mucosa. Materials and Methods Both fresh‐frozen and formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tissue samples of gastric mucosa with or without H. pylori infection were obtained from 41 esophageal cancer patients that underwent esophago‐gastrectomy. Fresh samples were used for real‐time polymerase chain reaction for H. pylori DNA and CHAC1 mRNA, and formalin‐fixed samples were used for immunohistochemistry with anti‐CHAC1 and anti‐H. pylori monoclonal antibodies. Double‐enzyme or fluorescence immunohistochemistry and immuno‐electron microscopy were used for further analysis. Results Significant CHAC1 overexpression was detected in H. pylori‐infected parietal cells that expressed the human proton pump/H,K‐ATPase α subunit, whereas a constitutively low level of CHAC1 mRNA expression was observed in the other samples regardless of the H. pylori infection status, reflecting the weak CHAC1 expression detected by immunohistochemistry in the fundic‐gland areas. Immuno‐electron microscopy revealed intact H. pylori cells in the secretory canaliculi of infected parietal cells. Some parietal cells exhibited positive nuclear signals for Ki67 in the neck zone of the gastric fundic‐gland mucosa with H. pylori infection. Conclusion Cation transport regulator 1 overexpression in H. pylori‐infected parietal cells may cause the H. pylori‐induced somatic mutations that contribute to the development of gastric cancer.This work was supported by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (16K19077), and by the Practical Research for Innovative Cancer Control from Japan Agency for Medical Research and development, AMED

Stroboscopic Time-of-Flight Neutron Diffraction in Long Pulsed Magnetic Fields

We present proof-of-principle experiments of stroboscopic time-of-flight (TOF) neutron diffraction in long pulsed magnetic fields. By utilizing electric double-layer capacitors, we developed a long pulsed magnet for neutron diffraction measurements, which generates pulsed magnetic fields with the full widths at the half maximum of more than $10^2$ ms. The field variation is slow enough to be approximated as a steady field within the time scale of a polychromatic neutron pulse passing through a sample placed in a distance of the order of $10^1$ m from the neutron source. This enables us to efficiently explore the reciprocal space using a wide range of neutron wavelength in high magnetic fields. We applied this technique to investigate field-induced magnetic phases in the triangular lattice antiferromagnets CuFe$_{1-x}$Ga$_x$O$_2$ ($x=0, 0.035$).Comment: 9 pages, 7 figure

Mechanism of robust circadian oscillation of KaiC phosphorylation in vitro

By incubating the mixture of three cyanobacterial proteins, KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC, with ATP in vitro, Kondo and his colleagues reconstituted the robust circadian rhythm of the phosphorylation level of KaiC (Science, 308; 414-415 (2005)). This finding indicates that protein-protein interactions and the associated hydrolysis of ATP suffice to generate the circadian rhythm. Several theoretical models have been proposed to explain the rhythm generated in this "protein-only" system, but the clear criterion to discern different possible mechanisms was not known. In this paper, we discuss a model based on the two basic assumptions: The assumption of the allosteric transition of a KaiC hexamer and the assumption of the monomer exchange between KaiC hexamers. The model shows a stable rhythmic oscillation of the phosphorylation level of KaiC, which is robust against changes in concentration of Kai proteins. We show that this robustness gives a clue to distinguish different possible mechanisms. We also discuss the robustness of oscillation against the change in the system size. Behaviors of the system with the cellular or subcellular size should shed light on the role of the protein-protein interactions in in vivo circadian oscillation