Effects of Oral Administration of Chitin Nanofiber on Plasma Metabolites and Gut Microorganisms

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of oral administration of chitin nanofibers (CNFs) and surface-deacetylated (SDA) CNFs on plasma metabolites using metabolome analysis. Furthermore, we determined the changes in gut microbiota and fecal organic acid concentrations following oral administrations of CNFs and SDACNFs. Healthy female mice (six-week-old) were fed a normal diet and administered tap water with 0.1% (v/v) CNFs or SDACNFs for 28 days. Oral administration of CNFs increased plasma levels of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), adenosine diphosphate (ADP), and serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT). Oral administration of SDACNFs affected the metabolisms of acyl-carnitines and fatty acids. The fecal organic level analysis indicated that oral administration of CNFs stimulated and activated the functions of microbiota. These results indicate that oral administration of CNFs increases plasma levels of ATP and 5-HT via activation of gut microbiota.     

Diagnosability and Distinguishability Analysis and Its Applications

As systems become more complex, it becomes necessary to understand, simplify, and apply fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant design. Although some graph-theoretical diagnostic models such as self-diagnosis model have been studied, the model can not be applied to most systems due to the assumption that each unit has its own testing capability. This paper presents a graph-theoretical diagnosis model expressed by a set of fallible units, a set of measurements, and an incident matrix indicating binary relation between these two sets. Since this model explicitly separates tested units (fallible units) and testing units (measurements), we can discuss diagnostic aspects from both sides. Diagnosability and distinguishability of the model with multiple faults are discussed from combinatorial point of view. Measures of t-fault diagnosability and t-out-of-s diagnosability which was introduced on the self-diagnosis model are discussed. Conditions for these diagnosabilities are expressed by a topological concept of fault distance. The concept of distinguishability is generalized to multiple fault situations called t-fault distinguishability. A lower bound for the distinguishability is obtained by using fault distance. The new concept of s-distinguishability class (s-dc) is presented. This analysis is recommended in the design of systems to attain a required level of diagnosability and distinguishability as well as in the analysis of present systems to investigate their diagnostic aspects. Two application examples are presented: Diagnosability and distinguishability analysis of error-correcting codes, and design of instrumentation systems of large plants with a required level of diagnosability.     

Bathymetric distribution of chironomid larvae (Diptera: Chironomidae) in Lake Saiko,Japan

The distribution of benthic macroinvertebrate on 8 March 2009 was studied in Lake Saiko (73.2 m maximum depth). The average density of the benthic community for the entire lake was 19 583 individuals m^?2, being comprised of oligochaetes and chironomid larvae, with densities of 18 163 (92.8%) and 1274 (6.5%), respectively. The average wet weights of oligochaetes and chironomid larvae were 15.96 and 1.67 g m^?2, respectively. The oligochaetes inhabited the entire lake bottom, with their densities being higher in the transitional region (20–40 m) and deeper region (>40 m) than in the shallower region. However, the densities of chironomid larvae were low in the deeper region (>40 m), with only a few chironomid larvae being found in the centre of the lake (>60 m). The most abundant species (Micropsectra chuzeprima) exhibited the widest distribution (from 10.1 to 65.5 m depth), followed by Polypedilum nubeculosum. The results of this study also were compared to previous data on oligochaetes and chironomid larvae reported by Kitagawa (1973) . The density of these animals increased throughout the whole lake in 2009. However, the chironomid species compositions did not changed. The larval distribution pattern of chironomid changed since Kitagawa’s study, being distributed from 11 to 68 m in 1973. In contrast, almost all chironomid larvae were found in the transitional (e.g. M. chuzeprima) and shallower (e.g. Procladius choreus and P. nubeculosum) regions in 2009, with only a few individuals being observed in the deeper regions (>60 m). In contrast, the oligochaete density increased in the deeper regions. Large environmental changes must have affected the oligochaetes and chironomids densities, especially in the deeper regions with low dissolved oxygen concentrations. Consequently, the distribution pattern of oligochaetes and chironomids in the lake has changed. These study findings suggest the lake is experiencing increasing eutrophication.     

Robust dynamic ship positioning control system design and applications

This paper describes the robust control system design for a ship dynamic positioning system. The control design is based on an approximate linear model derived from the nonlinear hydrodynamic equations governing the horizontal motions of the ship. The nonlinear models of the ship, seawaves, current, wind and thrusters are derived and simulated for control design verification. The H_∞ control design technique is employed to design the controller. The control problem is formulated in state‐space form and the design specifications are translated into requirements on the weighting functions of the error signal and the thrusters input. A tuning procedure is proposed based on the wind and wave disturbances. The controller is initially tested on the nonlinear ship model and simulation results are presented to demonstrate the robustness of the H_∞ controller. Tank tests results are then presented to assess the controller performance. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Highly-sensitive and high-resolution all-fiber three-dimensional measurement system

A practical all-fiber three-dimensional measurement system is demonstrated with an incoherent interferometer at the eye-safe wavelength of 1.55 mum. The sensitivity and axial resolution are as high as 102 dB and 1.4 mum from a few meters' distance, respectively. A rotating scanner is developed for axial scanning, and a wide longitudinal scanning range of 54 mm is demonstrated. The high resolution images of a few samples are clearly obtained at the speed of 52 points/s. Moreover, the resolution, sensitivity, speed, and angle dependence are discussed for measurement of a 100 yen Japanese coin.     

Electrodeposition and characterization of Cu-Ni-Zn and Cu-Ni-Cd alloys

The electrodeposition of ternary Cu-Ni-Zn and Cu-Ni-Cd alloys was investigated in acidic sulphate electrolytes. The influence of Zn²⁺ and Cd²⁺ ions concentrations as well as the effect of current density on the surface appearance and the deposits’ composition was examined. Sodium dithiolate (NaS)₂CC(CN)₂·3H₂O was used as surface active substance (SAS), and the effect of the SAS on the alloys composition and surface morphology was also investigated. No significant effect of SAS on the alloy composition, however, apparently effect on the deposits surface morphology was observed. It was also noticed that on increasing Zn²⁺ (or Cd²⁺) concentration in the bath, a depletion in the nickel content in the deposit occurred. Deposits obtained were characterized from the structural and morphological points of view. It was found that the structure and morphology of the deposited alloys are mainly controlled by both the applied current densities and the bath composition.     

Studies on polymer blends: Blending methods for natural rubber and styrene-butadiene rubber

The relations between the properties and the blend ratios of natural rubber (NR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) blends were studied in comparison with four blending methods. The relations between the properties of unvulcanized and vulcanized blends and the blend ratios of blends prepared by means of solution blending, latex blending, roll blending, and Banbury mixer blending were studied. In practice, such rubber blending methods as roll blending are more effective for obtaining uniform blends than Banbury mixer blending the latter. In roll blending, it is more effective to blend NR and SBR by way of a master-batch in which the ingredients are compounded beforehand than to blend raw rubber. In solution and latex blending, very uniform blends are easily obtained. It was found, however, that the properties of NR/SBR blends prepared carefully showed a direct relation to their blend ratios, regardless of blending method used.