Processing of nanolitre liquid plugs for microfluidic cell-based assays

Plugs, i.e. droplets formed in a microchannel, may revolutionize microfluidic cell-based assays. This study describes a microdevice that handles nanolitre-scale liquid plugs for the preparation of various culture setups and subsequent cellular assays. An important feature of this mode of liquid operation is that the recirculation flow generated inside the plug promotes the rapid mixing of different solutions after plugs are merged, and it keeps cell suspensions homogeneous. Thus, serial dilutions of reagents and cell suspensions with different cell densities and cell types were rapidly performed using nanolitres of solution. Cells seeded through the plug processing grew well in the microdevice, and subsequent plug processing was used to detect the glucose consumption of cells and cellular responses to anticancer agents. The plug-based microdevice may provide a useful platform for cell-based assay systems in various fields, including fundamental cell biology and drug screening applications.     

Antitermitic activity of extracts from Chamaecyparis obtusa branch heartwood

The antitermitic activity of extracts from the branch heartwood of Chamaecyparis obtusa (hinoki) against Japanese termites (Reticulitermes speratus) was compared with that of the trunk. Samples of branch and trunk heartwood were extracted with n-hexane, ethyl acetate, and methanol successively. n-Hexane extracts of branch and trunk heartwood were strongly antitermitic, and branch heartwood contained greater quantities of active n-hexane extracts than trunk heartwood. Germacra-1-(10), 5-dien-4β-ol, t-cadinol, α-cadinol, hinokiresinol, and hinokinin were separated from the branch extracts and the termiticidal and antifeedant activity of these compounds was tested by no-choice and dual-choice test methods. The sesquiterpenoids, germacra-1-(10), 5-dien-4β-ol, t-cadinol and α-cadinol were strongly termiticidal. The norlignan hinokiresinol and lignan hinokinin had weak termiticidal, and strong antifeedant and repellent activity. High concentrations of germacra-1-(10), 5-dien-4β-ol and hinokiresinol were present in branch heartwood. These compounds protect hinoki branches from termites and other harmful organisms. Hinoki branch heartwood, which is usually unused, is a potential source of active antitermitic compounds.     

Autonomous Variable‐Resolution Map Building for Mobile Robots in Unknown Environments

This paper presents a method that allows simultaneous map building and path planning for mobile robots in unknown environments. A graphical representation of a workspace in variable resolutions is constructed using measurement data obtained by omnidirectional distance sensors. At the same time, a search for a feasible path to the target destination is executed using the constructed graph map. The proposed method is evaluated by performing simulations and experiments using an omnidirectional mobile robot equipped with laser range finders. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 186(4): 59–69, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.22493     

Aluminium content of foods originating from aluminium-containing food additives

Aluminium (Al) levels of 90 food samples were investigated. Nineteen samples contained Al levels exceeding the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) for young children [body weight (bw): 16 kg] when consuming two servings/week. These samples were purchased multiple times at specific intervals and were evaluated for Al levels. Al was detected in 27 of the 90 samples at levels ranging from 0.01 (limit of quantitation) to 1.06 mg/g. Of these, the Al intake levels in two samples (cookie and scone mix, 1.3 and 2 mg/kg bw/week, respectively) exceeded the TWI as established by European Food Safety Authority, although the level in the scone mix was equivalent to the provisional TWI (PTWI) as established by Joint Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives. The Al levels markedly decreased in 14 of the 19 samples with initially high Al levels. These results indicated reductions in the Al levels to below the PTWI limits in all but two previously identified food samples.     

Visualization of Knoop Indentation Damage of Silicon Nitride by Plasma Etching

A visualizing technique for indentation damage of ceramics was developed. Plasma etching was used to enhance the view of cracks and the subsurface microcracking crush zone following Knoop indentation of hot pressed Si₃N₄. The microcracking zone was readily identified from the surface view of the indented surface as a grain-falling-off region (GFOR), defined as a region in which grains were removed by preferential etching using CF₄ gas, followed by ultrasonic cleaning. A fissure-like opening corresponding to the indentation cracks was also observed. It is inferred that the formation of the GFOR region and the fissure-like opening were caused by the etching/cleaning treatment. Meanwhile, the etching on a section which included diagonals of the impression provided a section view of the microcracking zone.     

Attentional modulation of the mere exposure effect.

The mere exposure effect refers to the phenomenon where previous exposures to stimuli increase participants’ subsequent affective preference for those stimuli. This study explored the effect of selective attention on the mere exposure effect. The experiments manipulated the to-be-attended drawings in the exposure period (either red or green polygons in Experiments 1 and 2; both red and green polygons in Experiments 3 and 4) and black to-be-evaluated drawings in the affective judgment period (morphologically identical to the red or green polygons in Experiments 1 and 4; morphologically identical to the composite drawings in Experiments 2 and 3). The results showed a significant mere exposure effect only for the target shapes involved in attentional selection, even when the participants could recognize the nontarget shapes. This indicates that selective attention modulated the mere exposure effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

General topology optimization method with continuous and discrete orientation design using isoparametric projection

A general topology optimization method, which is capable of simultaneous design of density and orientation of anisotropic material, is proposed by introducing orientation design variables in addition to the density design variable. In this work, the Cartesian components of the orientation vector are utilized as the orientation design variables. The proposed method supports continuous orientation design, which is out of the scope of discrete material optimization approaches, as well as design using discrete angle sets. The advantage of this approach is that vector element representation is less likely to fail into local optima because it depends less on designs of former steps, especially compared with using the angle as a design variable (Continuous Fiber Angle Optimization) by providing a flexible path from one angle to another with relaxation of orientation design space. An additional advantage is that it is compatible with various projection or filtering methods such as sensitivity filters and density filters because it is free from unphysical bound or discontinuity such as the one at θ = 2π and θ = 0 seen with direct angle representation. One complication of Cartesian component representation is the point‐wise quadratic bound of the design variables; that is, each pair of element values has to reside in a given circular bound. To overcome this issue, we propose an isoparametric projection method, which transforms box bounds into circular bounds by a coordinate transformation with isoparametric shape functions without having the singular point that is seen at the origin with polar coordinate representation. A new topology optimization method is built by taking advantage of the aforementioned features and modern topology optimization techniques. Several numerical examples are provided to demonstrate its capability. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

由疏散地图到城市建设的平台 ——论“逃生地图”的可能性

所谓“疏散地形时间地图”（一般叫逃生地图）是指从绘制详细的疏散地图到致力于震后重建方法论的一系列举措。这一系列举措不仅保护了众多今后可能会没落的地域文化。而且还从地震中吸取教训,在进行建设和规划以人命优先为主旨的城市的前提下尝试着对地域进行改变。本文主要介绍了“逃生地图”概要、地方研讨会的地图效果以及逃生地图在汽车导航服务方面的应用等。