A case study on persistent appearance of the ensemble of precipitation bands in the warm sector of the Baiu front in the western Japan around 19 June 2001

A case study on persistent appearance of the ensemble of precipitation bands in the warm sector of the Baiu front in Kyushu District, the western part of Japan around 19 June 2001 was performed based on the operational observational data. Around 00UTC (09JST) 19 June when the Baiu front on the surface weather map was still located about a few 100kms to the north of Kyushu, the number and the total area of the meso-β or γ-scale line-shaped precipitation bands increased around Kyushu rapidly. These precipitation bands had been sustained there and gradually gathered each other to change into the Baiu frontal precipitation zone extending from the northern Kyushu to Seto-Naikai (Seto Inland Sea) around 09UTC (18JST) 19 June (the intense rainfall zone was still located in the warm sector of the Baiu front). Until ~09UTC (18JST) 19 June, the moist air flow with the latently unstable stratification had been sustained around Kyushu corresponding to the low-level southerly wind toward the surface Baiu front to the north of Kyushu. This large-scale situation would contribute greatly to the maintenance of the ensemble of the line-shaped precipitation bands in the warm sector of the Baiu front

Protection from avian influenza H5N1 virus infection with antibody-impregnated filters

There is worldwide concern over the possibility of a new influenza pandemic originating from the highly pathogenic avian H5N1 influenza viruses. We herein demonstrate that functional air filters impregnated with ostrich antibodies against the hemagglutinin of the H5N1 virus protect chickens from death by H5N1 transmission. These results suggest that the use of ostrich antibody-impregnated filters might be a powerful way to prevent the transmission of H5N1

Rescue with an anti-inflammatory peptide of chickens infected H5N1 avian flu

Chickens suffering from avian flu caused by H5N1 influenza virus are destined to die within 2 days due to a systemic inflammatory response. Since HVJ infection (1,2) and influenza virus infection (3,4) cause infected cells to activate homologous serum complement, the systemic inflammatory response elicited could be attributed to the unlimited generation of C5a anaphylatoxin of the complement system, which is a causative peptide of serious inflammation. In monkeys inoculated with a lethal dose of LPS (4 mg/kg body weight), inhibition of C5a by an inhibitory peptide termed AcPepA (5) rescued these animals from serious septic shock which would have resulted in death within a day (6). Therefore, we tested whether AcPepA could also have a beneficial effect on chickens with bird flu. On another front, enhanced production of endothelin-1 (ET-1) and the activation of mast cells (MCs) have been implicated in granulocyte sequestration (7). An endothelin receptor derived antisense homology box peptide (8) designated ETR-P1/fl was shown to antagonize endothelin A receptor (ET-A receptor) (9) and reduce such inflammatory responses as endotoxin-shock (10) and hemorrhagic shock (11), thereby suppressing histamine release in the circulation (12). Thus, we also administered ETR-P1/fl to bird flu chickens expecting suppression of a systemic inflammatory response

Analysis of the Motivation in the Programming Education for the Students Who Perform IT Work that Requires Artistic Skills

Programming education is considered to be important for the students in the art faculty, who perform the IT works that require artistic skills, to enrich their environments of creation and to carry out effective activities of creation. The motivation of the students is considered to be an important part of programming education in which active participation of students is crucial. In this research, we analyzed the transition of the motivation in the programming education using the ARCS motivation model in order to carry out effective programming education. Furthermore, we focused on the three sublevel categories of each factor of the ARCS model, and analyzed the transition and the factor of the transition of them. We have also proposed the method of analysis in which 3D bubble graphs ware drawn in such a way that each axis corresponds to each of the three sublevel categories in a factor of the ARCS model. We consider that it will be possible to apply the proposed methods to grasp the relation among the sublevel categories of each factor and the cause of the transition of them as the learning progresses.芸術系技能を必要とするIT作業において、作業環境を充実させて効率的な制作活動を展開するには、プログラミング教育が効果的であると考えられる。そして、知識の運用を必要とするプログラミング教育においては学習者自身のモチベーションが重要である。本研究では、効果的なプログラミング教育を行うためにプログラミング教育のモチベーションの変化を、ARCS動機付けモデルを用いて分析した。さらに、ARCS動機付けモデルの因子の下位カテゴリーに着目し、その遷移と遷移の要因を解析した。下位カテゴリーの遷移要因の解析では、ARCS動機付けモデルの一つの因子に属する3つの下位カテゴリーを3Dバブルグラフの3軸に対応させて描画する手法も提案した。本提案手法は、一つの因子の下位カテゴリー間の関係や、学習フェーズの進行による遷移要因の総合的な把握に適用できる可能性があると考えられる

A case study on the rainfall distribution over the Japan Islands associated with the approach of Ty0423 in late October (Comparison with that for Ty0418)

Rainfall distribution in the Japan Islands associated with the approach of Typhoon No.23 around 20 October 2004 (referred to Ty0423, hereafter) showed considerably different features from those in late summer of this year. The present study examined the detailed rainfall features around the Japan Islands brought by Ty0423 and the atmospheric processes based on the operational observation data by the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), comparing with those in association with Ty0418 around 7 September 2004. During the stage when Ty0423 was approaching or landing on the western part of the Japan Islands, the areal mean precipitation from Kyushu to Kanto District attained much larger than that for Ty0418, with wider extension of the area with the large amount of precipitation. It is interesting that, although the intense rainfall was observed only at the upstream side of the mountain range from Kyushu to Honshu District for Ty0418 except for the area near its center, strong rainfall with 10~30 mm/h persisted in wider regions from the western to the eastern part of the Japan Islands, resulting in the considerably large total rainfall for Ty0423. As for the case for Ty0423, the surface front with stable frontal surface was located just to the east of the Ty0423 center just before its landing at the Japan Islands. Thus, the huge moisture inflow mainly in the eastern region from the typhoon center seems to be redistributed widely over the Japan Islands area associated with the large-scale convergence around the stable frontal surface. In late October, the colder air associated with the high pressure system in the eastern Siberia can cover the northern part of the Japan Sea area as the seasonal march. Such basic field might be favorable for sustaining the synoptic-scale front just around the southern coast of the Japan Islands, even when the strong southerly wind invades associated with the typhoon approach there

One-pot synthesis of imines from alcohols and amines with TiO2 loading Pt nanoparticles under UV irradiation

TiO2 loading Pt nanoparticles (Pt@TiO2) promote one-pot synthesis of imines from alcohols and amines under UV irradiation at room temperature. This is achieved via a Pt-assisted photocatalytic oxidation of alcohols and a catalytic condensation of the formed aldehydes with amines on the TiO2 surface