Present Trends in High-Speed and Broad-Band Communications Services in Japan

This paper describes present trends in high-speed and broad-band communications services in Japan. It gives an overview of video, high-speed digital leased circuit and satellite digital communications services, and gives examples of their applications. Recent trends in telecommunication services and technology are described, including video conferencing services presently available in more than ten cities throughout Japan, as well as a video response system which is about to be put into service. It also describes the present status of Japan's cable television (CATV) system and discusses its future development. Finally, NTT's plans for high-speed and broad-band communications service in the future are previewed.     

Selective sorption of heavy metal thiocyanate complexes on crown ether resin

The sorption behavior of heavy metal thiocyanate complexes was investigated for dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DB18C6) resin and bis[2-(o-methoxyphenoxy)ethyl]ether (BMPE) resin. The DB18C6 resin showed a high sorption ability and the degree of zinc sorption increased significantly with thiocyanate concentration. This behavior was not observed for BMPE resin. The sorption behavior was influenced by the countercation species, and the degree of sorption of zinc ions showed the maximum when the potassium thiocyanate was used as a complexing salt. The sorbed species appear to be KZn(SCN)₃, K₂Zn(SCN)₄ in the potassium thiocyanate system, and Zn(SCN)₂ in the lithium thiocyanate system, respectively, according to analysis of the sorption equilibrium. Sodium and ammonium thiocyanate systems show an intermediate behavior of the two. The sorption selectivity for DB18C6 resin depended not only on the hydrophobic nature of heavy metal thiocyanate complexes but also on the stabilization of counter cation species with crown ether matrix, and the sorption selectively was found to be effectively controlled by countercation species according to the cation-chelation mechanism.     

Adjunctive Application of Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy in Nonsurgical Periodontal Treatment: A Review of Literature

Periodontal disease is caused by dental plaque biofilms, and the removal of these biofilms from the root surface of teeth plays a central part in its treatment. The conventional treatment for periodontal disease fails to remove periodontal infection in a subset of cases, such as those with complicated root morphology. Adjunctive antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) has been proposed as an additional treatment for this infectious disease. Many periodontal pathogenic bacteria are susceptible to low-power lasers in the presence of dyes, such as methylene blue, toluidine blue O, malachite green, and indocyanine green. aPDT uses these light-activated photosensitizer that is incorporated selectively by bacteria and absorbs a low-power laser/light with an appropriate wavelength to induce singlet oxygen and free radicals, which are toxic to bacteria. While this technique has been evaluated by many clinical studies, some systematic reviews and meta-analyses have reported controversial results about the benefits of aPDT for periodontal treatment. In the light of these previous reports, the aim of this review is to provide comprehensive information about aPDT and help extend knowledge of advanced laser therapy.     

Control of Snow Falling Flow around NACA0015 Blade using a Plasma Electrode with Weather Resistant Design

The plasma actuation (PA) effect on the snow falling flow was investigated using a plasma electrode with weather resistant design and the natural snow wind facility of the Hokkaido University of Science. NACA0015 test blade with chord length c of 300 mm was used. Wind tunnel tests were carried out under the angle of the attack of the blade was fixed at 15 degrees, and the main flow velocity is U=5 m/s. PIV (Particle image velocimetry) measurements were conducted on various PA conditions using natural dry snowflakes as a tracer. When the actuator was driven under the condition of the fundamental frequency of F=50 kHz, and the pulsed modulated frequency f of fc/U=1 and Duty ratio (Ratio of plasma ON time to pulse duration time) =1%, movement of snowflakes was controlled the most effectively tested. It was clarified that the fundamental frequency of PA also affects the control of snow flow. Under snowfall conditions, the weather resistant designed plasma electrode has suffered no damage and operated successfully.     

Production and properties of phytase and acid phosphatase from a sake koji mold, Aspergillus oryzae

We identified three types of acid phosphatase (ACP-I, ACP-II, and ACP-III) produced by Aspergillus oryzae in a submerged culture using only phytic acid as the phosphorous substrate. The optimum pH for the activities of the three enzymes was in the range of 4.5 to 5.5. Analysis of the substrate specificities of these enzymes revealed that ACP-I and ACP-III were acid phosphatases, and ACP-II was a phytase. These enzymes were produced during different periods of mycelial growth: ACP-II was produced during the early phase of cultivation (around 24 h), and ACP-I was produced between 24 to 72 h. ACP-III was detected after the production of ACP-I and ACP-II had ceased. The release of phosphate from phytic acid was expected to be due to the cooperative hydrolysis of these enzymes.     

日本の寒地，北海道における2030年代の水稲生育への温暖化の影響予測とその対応(日语原文)

北海道では1980年代から2010年代まで,水稲圃場栽培期間である5–9月の気温は年代とともに上昇した。そこで,直近の2010年代（2010—2019年平均）と比べて, 2つの2030年代の予測気象から,既報の関係式より水稲生育を予測した。その結果,2030年代では2010年代に比べ,限界移植日（移植早限）が水稲栽培17地域の平均で8～9日早い。また,早限出穂期が1～5日早く,晩限出穂期が1～5日遅く,安全出穂期間が2～10日長い。出穂期は1～3日早い。出穂期から晩限出穂まで2～9日長いため,遅延型冷害の発生がやや少ない。生育期別気象は,出穂前24日以降30日間では生育が早いため平均気温が同じかやや低い。出穂前10日以降40日間および出穂期以降40日間では平均気温がやや高く,日射量はやや少ない。そのため,玄米収量は96～98％とやや低く,潜在収量性を示す気候登熟量示数は同じである。障害不稔発生に関係する穂ばらみ期冷害危険期の平均気温はわずかに低いかほぼ同じであるため,冷害発生の危険性は残る。一方,不稔発生をもたらす低温域の出現頻度には,地域間で差異がある。精米蛋白質含有率は同じであるが,アミロース含有率はやや低く,やや良食味である。米粒外観品質では被害粒歩合と着色粒歩合は一定の傾向がなく,未熟粒歩合はやや高い。精米白度は同じであるが,玄米白度はやや高い。以上の予測に対する技術的対応方向を示した。     

Effects of customer response to fashion product stockout on holding costs,order sizes,and profitability in omnichannel retailing

In retailing practice, customers may actively respond in one of the following ways after experiencing stockout of a preferred brand: switch to a substitutable brand, switch to another store (where the preferred brand could be available), or delay purchase (backlogging). This paper presents a model of active customer responses to stockout of fashion products. In the single‐period model, a retailer maximizes profit by selling two substitutable brands through two different stores. Analytical results and numerical experiments suggest that active response to stockout increase the retailer's profitability due to (a) additional revenue from backlogging and brand and store switching and (b) decrease in optimal order size resulting in lower holding costs. Omnichannel fulfillment offers additional opportunities for retailers to benefit from active responses to stockout.