Te concentration dependent photoemission and inverse-photoemission study of FeSe1?xTex

We have characterized the electronic structure of FeSe_1−xTe_x for various x values using soft x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (SXPES), high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES) and inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES). The SXPES valence band spectral shape shows that the 2 eV feature in FeSe, which was ascribed to the lower Hubbard band in previous theoretical studies, becomes less prominent with increasing x. HRPES exhibits systematic x dependence of the structure near the Fermi level (E_F): its splitting near E_F and filling of the pseudogap in FeSe. IPES shows two features, near E_F and approximately 6 eV above E_F; the former may be related to the Fe 3d states hybridized with chalcogenide p states, while the latter may consist of plane-wave-like and Se d components. In the incident electron energy dependence of IPES, the density of states near E_F for FeSe and FeTe has the Fano lineshape characteristic of resonant behavior. These compounds exhibit different resonance profiles, which may reflect the differences in their electronic structures. By combining the PES and IPES data the on-site Coulomb energy was estimated at 3.5 eV for FeSe.     

The evaluation of the emotion by near-infrared spectroscopy

Our purpose is to develop the technology for evaluating emotion objectively from the oxygenated hemoglobin within a brain. Nowadays, Japan is an aging society. The elderly people who need care will increase from now on increasingly. In the case of the person requiring the care who lost the function to convey an intention especially, the objective judgment to a physical and mental pain is required. Persons requiring care will also increase in number with the increase in this population. We gave subject stimulus of a comfortable or an uncomfortable sound and measured concentration of the oxygenated hemoglobin of a frontal lobe part by near-infrared spectroscopy. Based on the experimental result, a comfortable state or an uncomfortable state was distinguished by concentration of the oxygenated hemoglobin using the bayesian network. As a result, we were able to estimate the subject’s psychological condition.     

Denatured-jacalin derivatives with selective recognition for O-linked glycosides (ST,T, Tn,and STn Type) on IgA1 hinge region

Immunoglobulin A1 (IgA1) concentration in the plasma of patients with IgA nephropathy (IgAN) as the cause of renal failure is higher than that in the plasma of normal controls. IgA1 with abnormal sugars is considered to deposit in the glomerular mesangium, aggravating nephritis in IgAN. Jacalin is a lectin that recognizes sugars on IgA1. However, its selective-recognition for normal-type (ST type, NeuAc-α(2,3)-Gal-β(1,3)-GalNAc) and abnormal-type (T type, Gal-β(1,3)-GalNAc; Tn type, GalNAc; STn type, NeuAc-α(2,6)-GalNAc) sugars α-O-linked to serine/threonine in IgA1 is weak. Therefore, jacalin cannot be used for recognizing specific sugar types on IgA1. We attempted to develop a new recognition method for specific sugar types on IgA1 by utilizing the multirecognition capability of jacalin. Its binding abilities were regulated by heat denaturation with suitable template sugar (galactose or N-acetylgalactosamine). Further, we successfully prepared denatured-jacalin derivatives, which recognized ST-/T-type sugars on IgA1, by sugar-immobilized affinity chromatography. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of denatured-jacalin derivatives, showed the ratios of abnormal sugars on IgA1 in the plasma of IgAN patients and normal controls to be approximately 60% and 20%, respectively. The results proved that profiling of sugar types in IgAN can successfully be performed by solely using jacalin derivatives.     

Purification and characterization of beta-glucosidase from Bacteroides JY-6, a human intestinal bacterium

A beta-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21.) was purified 2500-fold from Bacteroides JY-6, an intestinal anaerobic bacterium of human. The specific activity of the homogeneously purified enzyme was 210 mumol/min/mg protein. The enzyme (M(r) 75kDa) was an monomer whose pI and optimal pH values were 4.6 and 5.5-6, respectively. The best substrates were p-nitrophenyl beta-D-glucopyranoside and natural beta-bound glucosides, such as prunin and poncirenin. Puerarin, which is a C-glycoside, was weakly effective. However, cellobiose, alpha-bound glycosides and rhamnoglucosides were not effective. The apparent Kms for prunin and p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside were determined to be 0.08 and 0.19 mM, respectively. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid and reaction products such as p-nitrophenol and glucose.     

Quantitative characterization of microcracking in A533B steel by acoustic emission

The initiation of microcracks at MsS inclusions and their coalescence during fracture toughness tests of ASTM A533B steel compact tension specimens were detected by an acoustic emission technique. The sources of emission, which are characterized by the crack size and orientation, fracture mode, and time history, are represented by a time-dependent moment tensor. Since the recorded waveforms are related to the moment tensor, the Green’s displacement functions of the specimen, and the transfer function of the recording system by a convolution integral in the theory of elastodynamics, the moment tensors are determined by techniques of deconvolution. Two types of sources were found: a tensile mode of crack caused by decohesion of MnS inclusion and the coalescence of microcracks with mixed tensile and shear modes. The dimensions and time durations of microcracks were also estimated in this study. T{upakanori} O{uphira}, Late Associate Professor of the Department of Metallurgy and Materials Science, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan, died on December 9, 1987, at the age of 33 years. He had been a Visiting Scientist at Cornell University from 1984 through 1986 under the sponsorship of the Japan Society for the promotion of Science.     

Effect of portal infusion of hypertonic saline on neurons in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus in the rat

Effects of hepatoportal osmo-receptive (or sodium-receptive) afferents on neurons within the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (DMV) were investigated electrophysiologically in urethane-chloralose anesthetized rats. Responses of 56 spontaneously active neurons to antidromic stimulation of the ventral trunk of the subdiaphragmatic vagus were recorded in the left DMV. Among them, 35 neurons were inhibited by electrical stimulation of the hepatic branch of the vagus nerve (inhibitory neurons), except two neurons that were slightly excited. Effects of portal infusion of 3.6% NaCl were examined on 26 inhibitory neurons. Sixteen neurons increased their discharge rates and one neuron decreased its discharge rate in response to portal infusion of hypertonic saline. Thirty-five right DMV neurons responded to electrical stimulation of the dorsal trunk of the subdiaphragmatic vagus were inhibited by electrical stimulation of the hepatic branch of the vagus. Four neurons were excited by this stimulation. Relatively smaller number of neurons (5 out of 22 inhibitory neurons) increased their discharge rates in response to portal infusion of hypertonic saline. In conclusion, the response of DMV neuron observed in this experiment was characterized by increasing the frequency of spike discharges in response to portal infusion of hypertonic saline. However, these neurons were inhibited by electrical stimulation of the hepatic branch of the vagus nerve. These results suggest that the hepatoportal osmo-receptive afferents may be conveyed to the DMV via inhibitory synapses.     

Computational studies on path independent integrals for non-linear dynamic crack problems

Recently the authors have derived various new types of path independent integrals in which the theoretical limitations of the so-calledJ integral are overcome. First, for elastodynamic crack problems, a path independent integralJ which has the physical meaning of energy release rate was derived. Later, more general forms of path independent integralsT ^* andT were derived, which are valid for any constitutive relation under quasi-static as well as dynamic conditions.This paper presents the theoretical and computational aspects of these integrals, of relevance in non-linear dynamic fracture mechanics. An efficient solution technique is also presented for non-linear dynamic finite element method in which a factorization of the assembled stiffness matrix is done only once throughout the computation for a given mesh pattern. Finite element analyses were carried out for an example problem of a center-cracked plate subject to a uniaxial impact loading. The material behavior was modeled by three different constitutive relations such as linear-elastic, elastic-plastic, elastic-viscoplastic cases. The applicability of theT ^* integral to non-linear dynamic fracture mechanics was shown with the numerical results.This study was supported by the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Japanese Ministry of Education, and in part by the Science and Technology Grant from Toray Science Foundation     

Spontaneous behavior for cooperation through interaction: An emotionally intelligent robot system

This paper deals withspontaneous behavior for cooperation through interaction in a distributed autonomous robot system. Though a human gives the robots evaluation functions for the relation of cooperation among robots, each robot decides its behavior depending on its environment, its experience, and the behavior of other robots. The robot acquires a model of the behavior of the other robots through learning. Inspired by biological systems, the robot's behaviors are interpreted as emotional by an observer of the system. In psychology, the emotions have been considered to play important roles for generation of motivation and behavior selection. In this paper, the robot's behaviors are interpreted as follows: each robot feels frustration when its behavior decision does not fit its environment. Then, it changes its behavior to change its situation actively and spontaneously. The results show potential of intelligent behavior by emotions. This work was presented, in part, at the International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, February 18–20, 1996     

Optimal design method with biomechanical analysis for a work environment reducing physical workload: illustration by application to work table height design

A work environment should be designed to minimise physical workload. We propose an optimal work environment design method to accomplish this, in which joint moment ratios were calculated by biomechanical analyses through digital human modelling (DHM) and were used to indicate physical workload. The work environment design problem was formulated as a multi-objective optimisation problem, minimising the average and maximum joint moment ratio values to determine the optimal work environment. Sequential approximate optimisation, which improves the accuracy of the response surface by sequentially adding new sampling points from a simulation, was applied to efficiently obtain a precise optimal solution. The proposed method was applied to designing a work table height for light assembly tasks. This method determined the optimal work table height considering the anthropometric diversity of workers from a relatively small number of subjects. Through this case study, the validity of the proposed method is discussed.