Parallelized fusion visualization system

The speed-up of supercomputers has increased the complexity of simulations. To analyze such kind of data, we believe that new types of visualization software are needed. Therefore, we have been developing a visualization system called “Fusion Visualization”, and the progresses were reported in the AROB 18th and 19th International Symposiums. We introduced the overall concept at the AROB 18th International Symposium, and then demonstrated a sample of flow visualization in a blood vessel in the AROB 19th International Symposium. To extend our system to enable the handling of larger data, we have implemented the proposed system on a parallelized visualization system; AVS/Express PCE (Parallel Cluster Edition). This paper describes the implementation and the benchmark results.     

Design and performance of a punch mechanism based pellet injector for alternative injection in the large helical device

A low speed single barrel pellet injector, using a mechanical punch device has been developed for alternative injection in the large helical device. A pellet is injected by the combined operation of a mechanical punch and a pneumatic propellant system. The pellet shape is cylindrical, 3 mm in diameter and 3 mm in length. Using this technique the speed of the pellet can be controlled flexibly in the range of 100-450 m/s, and a higher speed can be feasible for a higher gas pressure. The injector is equipped with a guide tube selector to direct the pellet to different injection locations. Pellets are exposed to several curved parts with the curvature radii R(c) = 0.8 and 0.3 m when they are transferred in guided tubes to the respective injection locations. Pellet speed variation with pressure at different pellet formation temperatures has been observed. Pellet intactness tests through these guide tubes show a variation in the intact speed limit over a range of pellet formation temperatures from 6.5 to 9.8 K. Pellet speed reduction of less than 6% has been observed after the pellet moves through the curved guide tubes.     

Transflective IPS‐LCD with improved reflective contrast ratio

Abstract— In order to improve the reflective contrast ratio of transflective IPS‐LCDs, a novel pixel design for a normally white reflective IPS has been proposed. In this design, the large‐inter‐electrode‐spacing layout using a novel driving method and a double‐layered electrode have effectively reduced the light leakage. By applying these two technologies, a transflective IPS‐LCD has been successfully demonstrated with a high contrast ratio (15:1) in the reflective mode and a wide‐viewing‐angle characteristic in the transmissive mode.     

Construction of human monoclonal single-chain Fv antibodies against small-cell lung cancer by phage display libraries derived from cell-immunized SCID mice engrafted with human peripheral blood lymphocytes

In this study, we describe a phage display strategy to obtain human monoclonal single-chain Fv (scFv) antibodies binding target cancer cell surface proteins. By developing a cancer cell immunization protocol for SCID mice engrafted with human peripheral blood lymphocytes in combination with an antibody phage display method, we have isolated phage antibodies binding small-cell lung cancer cell line H889 by subtractive selection. One of the isolated scFv antibodies, 12EAb, recognized the E2 component of pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC-E2) by immunoprecipitation according to MALDI-TOF MS analysis. Furthermore, we have confirmed the plasma membrane localization of PDC-E2 in small-cell lung cancer cells by immunocytochemistry and cell surface protein biotinylation, although PDC-E2 is usually located in the mitochondrial matrix. These results, including unique localization of identified antigens, were obtained by proteomic approaches. The present methods can be applied to generate human monoclonal scFv antibodies against tumor cells and to identify new molecular targets for immunotherapy and markers for diagnosis.     

Self-generation of reward by logarithmic transformation of multiple sensor evaluations

Artificial Life and Robotics - Although the design of the reward function in reinforcement learning is important, it is difficult to design a system that can adapt to a variety of environments and...     

A Possible Magnetic Phase with Scalar Chirality in Solid 3He Layers

We study quantum effects in a system of S = 1/2 spins with two–, three and four–spin exchange interactions on the triangular lattice, a possible model of the nuclear magnetism of solid ³ He layers. The ground state phases found in our previous work are studied by using the linear spin–wave theory. The uuud state shows a very flat spin–wave dispersion, which suggests that this state, though locally stable, will not survive non–linear quantum effects. The tetrahedral state, which has long–range order of a scalar chirality, is found to be stable against spin wave fluctuations. The ground state energies of different phases are compared. Results of numerical analysis of finite size clusters are also presented.     

Evaluation of blue-chitin column, blue-rayon hanging, and XAD-resin column techniques for concentrating mutagens from two Japanese rivers

Highly mutagenic water of the Katsura River, Kyoto, and moderately mutagenic water of the Asahi River, Okayama, were used to evaluate the efficacy of three concentration techniques, the blue-chitin column, the blue-rayon hanging, and the XAD-2 column. These two river waters have been shown to exhibit high mutagenicity in the assay with Salmonella typhimurium TA98 with metabolic activation. With this assay as a measure, two water samples from the Katsura, collected on different dates, and a sample from the Asahi were submitted to the column concentration techniques, blue-chitin and XAD-2. Blue-chitin was more efficient than XAD-2 for all of these samples: e.g., for one Katsura sample, the mutagenicity found was 913 +/- 53 (mean +/- SD, n = 3) revertants/500 ml with blue-chitin, and 419 +/- 129 (n = 3)/500 ml with XAD-2. Blue rayon (0.5 g) hung in the Asahi for 24 h gave 563 +/- 74 (n = 3) revertants, while the water spot-sampled at the start of the hanging showed 253 +/- 10 (n = 3) revertants per 5 liter with the blue-chitin column technique. We conclude that for quantitative measurement of the "Salmonella TA98 +/- S9' mutagens in these rivers, the blue-chitin column is more efficient and accurate than the XAD-2 column and that for judging the presence of mutagens, the blue-rayon hanging is the most sensitive and convenient among the three methods examined.     

Particle-based multiple irregular volume rendering on CUDA

In this paper, we describe an improved particle-based volume rendering (PBVR) technique for previewing a large irregular volume dataset using the CUDA architecture. This technique allows for opaque and emissive particles to render translucent volumes without visibility sorting. Our GPU acceleration of PBVR provides the multi-volume rendering feature while remaining compatible with both regular and irregular volumes. We also reduce the memory cost required for storing all sub-pixel values by proposing a pixel repetition technique for a large sub-pixel level. By adjusting the repetition level, we achieved a very smooth level of detail (LOD) control for trading quality for speed. Our work demonstrates a full-detail rendering rate from 5 to 10 fps for irregular volume data with mega-scale cell numbers on an NVIDIA GeForce 8800GTS.     

Damage to seagrass and seaweed beds in Matsushima Bay,Japan, caused by the huge tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011

Damage to seagrass and seaweed beds caused by the huge tsunami of the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011 was investigated in Matsushima Bay, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan, by comparing satellite images taken before the tsunami in November 2009 and after the tsunami in May 2011. The results showed that the tsunami destroyed 220 ha of seagrass and seaweed beds, from 320 ha in 2009 to 100 ha just after the tsunami. Zostera marina beds on the sandy and muddy bottom were rather severely damaged compared with brown seaweed beds of Sargassum horneri on the rocky substrate. Substrates of the beds and directions of the tsunami seem to be responsible for the magnitude of the damage to the beds. Maps of the spatial distributions of the beds before and after the tsunami can provide information for the restoration of seagrass and seaweed beds as natural infrastructures of coastal fisheries resources.