Inhibiting or enhancing effect of sulfuric acid-treated wheat starch on antibody production induced by two types of adjuvant

Glycogen has been reported to have immune-regulating activity. We examined in this study the immune-regulating activity of wheat starch of various molecular weights, because both starch and glycogen are made from glucose components linked by α-1,4 and α-1,6 glycoside bonds. Wheat starch was treated by sulfuric acid to prepare starch samples with differing molecular weight. The acid-treated starch inhibited cytokine production from murine splenocytes when the splenocytes were incubated with the antigen and a starch sample. The activity depended on the treatment time by sulfuric acid. Mice were then i.p. immunized with some antigens and the starch mixed with two types of adjuvant. The starch also inhibited the in vivo antibody production when administered with an alum adjuvant. In contrast, the starch enhanced the antibody response when administered with complete Fround adjuvant, indicating that the starch regulated immune responses depending on the molecular weight and surrounding circumstances.     

3D Scan matching for mobile robot localization over rough terrain

In order to enable an autonomous mobile robot to travel over rough terrain, it necessitates the capability to detect self‐position accurately even when the odometry errors are increased in traveling. The conventional method can keep high speed and precise localization using iterative closest point algorithms or feature matching techniques. However, effects of steep changes of a mobile robot position are not considered when it travels over rough terrain. In this article, we propose the method for efficient real‐time 6D pose tracking using a rotating 2D laser scanner in traveling over rough terrain. For adaptation to steep changes of the position, weighted point clouds are generated based on the angular and the linear velocity measured by sensors mounted on the robot. And the position and posture of the robot are sequentially optimized by the scan matching in increments of 10 scans. In indoor experiments, we evaluated accuracy of our method when the robot passes on rugged floor. As a result, our method was performed with less than 0.078 m RMS positional error in real time.     

Spatial distributions of atmospheric concentrations of radionuclides on 15 March 2011 discharged by the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident estimated from NaI(Tl) pulse height distributions measured in Ibaraki Prefecture

ABSTRACT

A hybrid method for estimation of atmospheric concentrations of multiple radionuclides was developed and applied to NaI(Tl) pulse height records measured in Ibaraki Prefecture in the morning of 15 March 2011 when three radioactive plumes from the Fukushima Dai-Ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident passed. The method is based on the simple principle for separation from deposited radionuclides’ contribution and the concentration estimation for multiple radionuclides. Difficulty in the concentration estimation due to complexity of surrounding terrains and geometry was overcome to obtain spatiotemporal variations in atmospheric concentrations of Xe-133, Te-132, I-131, I-132 and I-133 in the three plumes at 21 monitoring stations. The plume axis with higher I-131 concentration of 5.40 kBq m-3 than the previous estimations during the second plume was found in the northwestern inland area. A substantially lower Xe-133/I-131 concentration ratio of the first plume than those of the others was again recognized. The details of non-uniform spatial distribution of the radionuclide composition were found for each of the three plumes.     

Ultra high vacuum-based in situ characterization of compound semiconductor surfaces by a contactless capacitance–voltage technique

A ultrahigh vacuum contactless capacitance–voltage technique is described as a powerful in situ surface characterization of growth and processing steps for III–V device fabrication. The technique was applied to characterization of MBE-grown surfaces and to optimization of the silicon interface control layer-based surface passivation.     

Measurement of 240Pu/239Pu isotopic ratios in soils from the Marshall Islands using ICP-MS.

Nuclear weapons tests conducted by the United States in the Marshall Islands produced significant quantities of regional or tropospheric fallout contamination. Here we report on some preliminary inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) measurements of plutonium isolated from seven composite soil samples collected from Bikini, Enewetak and Rongelap Atolls in the northern Marshall Islands. These data show that 240Pu/239Pu isotopic signatures in surface soils from the Marshall Island vary significantly and could potentially be used to help quantify the range and extent of fallout deposition (and associated impacts) from specific weapons tests. 137Cs and 60Co were also determined on the same set of soil samples for comparative purposes.     

Estimation of Δf of nitro derivatives of benzene and toluene using AM1 and DSC

Abstract

The AM1 molecular orbital method and reduced pressure differential scanning calorimetry(RP-DSC) were applied to nitro derivatives of benzene and toluene for estimating Δ_f(1) and Δ_f(c). The heats of phase change were determined by RP-DSC with moderate accuracy and the combination of the heats and Δ_f(g) estimated by AM1 gave Δ_f in condensed phases which are similar to those found in literatures.     

Influences of repetition rate of laser pulses on growth of crystalline AlN films on sapphire(0001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition

We investigated influences of a repetition frequency of laser pulses on growth of AlN crystalline films by pulsed laser deposition. The structural and morphological properties of the films were studied by X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. Employment of high frequency laser pulses not only enhanced the growth of AlN crystallites, but also afforded the crystal growth at higher nitrogen pressures. Growth of α-AlN was dramatically enhanced with an increase in the laser pulse frequency, while β-AlN was grown at the high frequency of laser pulses and high nitrogen pressures.