ホタテガイ貝殻に含まれる皮膚真皮線維芽細胞増殖因子の単離・同定

We have previously shown that scallop shells contain bioactive components. In particular, the scallop shell extract promoted the growth of human skin fibroblast cells and increased in the synthesis of collagen in the fibroblast cells. However, the bioactive substance in the scallop shell remains has been unidentified. In this study, we performed the isolation and identification of human skin fibroblast cell growth factor (SFGF) from scallop shell. The SFGF was purified by a gel filtration column (G-2000SW) and subsequently reverse-phase column chromatographies (C4 and C18). The isolated SFGF was presumed to be a glycopeptide with a molecular weight below 3000 Da. This is the first report about the isolation of a bioactive substance from scallop shell.特集 : 「資源、新エネルギー、環境、防災研究国際セミナー

Performance analysis of wind fence models when used for truck protection under crosswind through numerical modeling

This paper is focused on truck aerodynamic analysis under crosswind conditions by means of numerical modeling. The truck was located on the crest of an embankment during the study. In order to analyze the performance of three wind fence models, the truck's aerodynamic coefficients were obtained and compared in two different situations either with or without the wind fences installed. In addition, the effect of both height and porosity of wind fence models on the aerodynamic coefficients acting on truck with respect to separation distance between the truck and the wind fence, was analyzed. A finite volume (or computational fluid dynamic) code was used to carry out the numerical modeling. The Reynolds-averaged Navier?Stokes (RANS) equations along with the k?? SST turbulence model were used to predict the behavior of turbulent flow. With respect to the results, the influence of the distance on the rollover coefficient is soft for all height values studied except for the lowest value (1 m of fence height), where the maximum value of rollover coefficient was obtained for the truck position closer to the fence. Regarding fence porosity, its effect on rollover coefficient is stronger for truck positions on road closer to the wind fence model.This work was supported by the OASIS Research Project that was co-financed by CDTI (Spanish Science and Innovation Ministry) and developed with the Spanish companies: Iridium, OHL Concesiones, Abertis, Sice, Indra, Dragados, OHL, Geocisa, GMV, Asfaltos Augusta, Hidrofersa, Eipsa, PyG, CPS, AEC and Torre de Comares Arquitectos S.L. and 16 research centres. The authors would also like to thank the GICONSIME research group of the University of Oviedo (Spain) for their collaboration in this research

Influences from solvents on charge storage in titanium carbide MXenes

Pseudocapacitive energy storage in supercapacitor electrodes differs significantly from the electrical double-layer mechanism of porous carbon materials, which requires a change from conventional thinking when choosing appropriate electrolytes. Here we show how simply changing the solvent of an electrolyte system can drastically influence the pseudocapacitive charge storage of the two-dimensional titanium carbide, Ti3C2 (a representative member of the MXene family). Measurements of the charge stored by Ti3C2 in lithium-containing electrolytes with nitrile-, carbonate- and sulfoxide-based solvents show that the use of a carbonate solvent doubles the charge stored by Ti3C2 when compared with the other solvent systems. We find that the chemical nature of the electrolyte solvent has a profound effect on the arrangement of molecules/ions in Ti3C2, which correlates directly to the total charge being stored. Having nearly completely desolvated lithium ions in Ti3C2 for the carbonate-based electrolyte leads to high volumetric capacitance at high charge–discharge rates, demonstrating the importance of considering all aspects of an electrochemical system during development

ノロウイルス ニ ヨル カンセンセイ イチョウエン ノ シュウダン ハッセイヨボウ ニ ムケタ トリクミ ノ ゲンジョウ トクベツ ヨウゴ ロウジンホーム ニ キンム スル カイゴ ショクイン ノ インタビュー チョウサ カラ

特別養護老人ホームで高齢者ケアに従事する介護職員がノロウイルスの集団感染予防のために実践しているケアの現状を明らかにすることを目的とし、特別養護老人ホーム2施設の介護職員4名にインタビュー調査を行った。その逐語記録を記述資料とし、介護職員が感染性胃腸炎の集団発生予防のために実践しているケアを示すコードを抽出し、類似性に沿ってまとめ、カテゴリー化した。結果、66コードから5カテゴリーが抽出された。5つのカテゴリーは【マニュアル化している対策を常時確実に実践する】【経験の少ない職員の指導を重視する】【施設内研修がマンネリ化しないよう工夫する】【高齢者の送迎時の健康状態を観察し相談する】【介護職員自身の健康状態も看護職員に相談する】であった。その結果の中に、感染経路を遮断するための最重要項目である介護職員自身の手指衛生の徹底が明示されなかった。介護職員と看護職員との連携を強化し、その感染経路を遮断して感染拡大を防止することの重要性が示唆された。今後更に例数を増やし研究を進めたい。The interview survey was conducted, as a pilot study, in 4 nursing care staff working for 2 facilities of intensive nursing care homes for the elderly in order to reveal current situations of nursing care that they provide for the elderly in those facilities to prevent epidemic outbreak of norovirus infection. Using a verbatim record as a descriptive material, we extracted codes which represented the cares provided by the nursing care staff to prevent epidemic outbreak of infectious gastroenteritis and categorized them according to similarity. As a result, 5 categories were extracted from 66 codes. These categories were as follows: The nursing care staff are to“ constantly assure that they take a manualized measure”“, put a focus on education of staff who do not have adequate experiences”“, make an effort so that facility-based training would not become a tedious routine”“, observe and consult on health status of the elderly during transportation” and“ consult with nurses on their own health stats”. However, the most important item, namely, thorough hand hygiene of nursing care stuff themselves, was not clearly indicated in those categories.This suggests that it is crucial to reinforce collaboration between nursing care staff and nurses, and control the spreadof infection by blocking the route of infection. In the next study, the number of interview cases should be increased to assure the quality of this research

Tree Shape and Resistance to Uprooting : A Simple Model Analysis

We examined tree resistance to uprooting in relation to tree shape using a simple, qualitative model for the ratio of the resistive moment to the overturning moment. For this analysis, we used model trees and varied the crown size for a fixed stem size for a ratio of crown mass to stem mass that varied from 0.1 to 1. The results predicted the phase transition in the resistance trend in relation to the crown mass/stem mass ratio. Resistance increased on both sides of the crown mass/stem mass ratio, and was minimized at intermediate ratios. This indicates that crown expansion contributes to resistance to the right side of minimum, and vice versa. The same trend was recognized for actual Sitka spruce tree data. These results were consistent with previous observations of tree resistance to uprooting: trees with a small slenderness ratio (ratio of height to diameter at breast height) are resistant to uprooting, and trees/stands are vulnerable to uprooting after thinning, especially after belated thinning. We recommend sparse tree densities in plantations to manage the risk of physical tree damage such as overturning and stem failure. However, quantitative analyses of wind damage to trees and stands are necessary to improve risk management of plantations. The results of this study can be incorporated into such quantitative analyses

Both stem and crown mass affect tree resistance to uprooting

To examine the hypothesis that both stem and crown mass affect the resistance of a tree to uprooting and that tree resistance increases with the increase in crown mass, we conducted tree-pulling experiments on three Picea glehnii plantations (stands A, B, and C: 27-32 years old) that differed in tree density and slenderness ratio. Allometries between crown and stem masses and between the critical uprooting moment and stem mass differed significantly among the three stands, with the crown mass and critical moment significantly larger in Stand C than in Stands A or B, despite the same stem mass. These results quantitatively verified our hypothesis. Allometries between crown and stem masses and between critical uprooting moment and stem mass were highly significant in each stand but were stand specific. Therefore, these allometries can be used to estimate tree resistance to uprooting in a given stand but not for data compiled from stands of various conditions and tree shapes. The allometry between critical moment and aboveground mass did not differ among the three Picea stands; thus, it is not stand specific and is generally appropriate to use for estimating tree resistance. To increase tree resistance to uprooting, we recommend light management for Picea glehnii plantations and probably other coniferous plantations as well

SISTEM PAKAR DIAGNOSA PENYAKIT PADA TANAMAN MAWAR

Sistem pakar (expert system) adalah system yang berusaha mengadopsi pengetahuan manusia ke komputer, agar komputer dapat menyelesaikan masalah seperti yang biasa dilakukan oleh para ahli di bidang tertentu. Salah satu penerapan system pakar adalah Sistem pakar untuk Diagnosa Penyakit Pada Tanaman Mawar yang bertujuan untuk membantu menyelesaikan masalah. Faktor kepastian (Certainty Factor) merupakan salah satu metode yang digunakan untuk menangani ketidakpastian dalam sistem pakar. Faktor kepastian diperkenalkan oleh Shortliffe Buchanan dalam pembuatan MYCIN. MYCIN, sistem pakar untuk mendiagnosa infeksi bakteri pada darah, menggunakan metode certainty factor ini untuk mengatasi ketidakpastian. Aplikasi Sistem Pakar Diagnosa Penyakit Pada Tanaman Mawar ini memudahkan para petani agar bisa lebih cepat menanggulangi segala penyakit yang dialamami tanaman mawarnya. Dengan diberikan penyebab dan cara pengendaliannya bagi tanaman mawar yang sudah terserang penyakit maka para petani akan lebih mudah mengatasi tanaman mawar yang sedang terkena penyakit. Kata kunci : Sistem Pakar, Certainty Factor, Tanaman Mawa