Real-Time Amplitude and Phase Imaging of Optically Opaque Objects by Combining Full-Field Off-Axis Terahertz Digital Holography with Angular Spectrum Reconstruction

Terahertz digital holography (THz-DH) has the potential to be used for non-destructive inspection of visibly opaque soft materials due to its good immunity to optical scattering and absorption. Although previous research on full-field off-axis THz-DH has usually been performed using Fresnel diffraction reconstruction, its minimum reconstruction distance occasionally prevents a sample from being placed near a THz imager to increase the signal-to-noise ratio in the hologram. In this article, we apply the angular spectrum method (ASM) for wavefront reconstruction in full-filed off-axis THz-DH because ASM is more accurate at short reconstruction distances. We demonstrate real-time phase imaging of a visibly opaque plastic sample with a phase resolution power of λ/49 at a frame rate of 3.5 Hz in addition to real-time amplitude imaging. We also perform digital focusing of the amplitude image for the same object with a depth selectivity of 447 μm. Furthermore, 3D imaging of visibly opaque silicon objects was achieved with a depth precision of 1.7 μm. The demonstrated results indicate the high potential of the proposed method for in-line or in-process non-destructive inspection of soft materials.     

The current state of tribology in Japan

Aspects of the current state of tribology in Japan are reviewed. The marked activity of the Tribology Society, international relations, tribology in industry and tribology education are described and several topical research areas are highlighted. The greatest change in the last 25 years is that individual tribologists have begun to share their own information rather than to simply accept that of others, not only within Japan but also internationally.     

Electromagnetic Shielding Properties of Woodceramics Made from Wastepaper

Woodceramics are new porous carbon materials, which are made by impregnating woody materials with phenol resin and then thermoformed in a vacuum furnace and these have been shown to have electromagnetic shielding properties. In the recycling of wastepaper, ways of using the wastepaper other than for paper pulp are needed to be developed. In this study, we made Woodceramics from handbill advertisement paper and telephone directory paper, and measured their electromagnetic shielding properties in order to find new uses for wastepaper. The results showed that the Woodceramics made from wastepaper had an electric shielding effectiveness of 30 dB for 100 MHz and 40 to 43 dB for 300 MHz or higher, and had a magnetic shielding effectiveness of 30 dB for 100 MHz and 37 dB for about 400 MHz. An electric equivalent circuit of the pore model in the Woodceramics is introduced. In addition, it is proposed that the excellent electromagnetic shielding effectiveness of the Woodceramics is caused by dielectric loss.     

Spatio-temporal growth of broken spiral and concentric ringed spherulites in blends of poly(vinylidene fluoride) and ethylene-vinylacetate copolymers

Melting and crystallization behavior in mixtures of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) and several ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers (EVAc) with various ethylene contents have been investigated by means of differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force microscope, and optical microscopy. PVDF/EVAc-80 exhibits the melting point depression of PVDF crystals, suggestive of a miscible character of the pair. Crystallization behavior and morphology development in blends of PVDF/EVAc-80 have been investigated with an emphasis on the spherulitic growth demonstrating the spiral and concentric ringed (or target) patterns. Of particular interest is the break-up of the spiral or concentric ringed patterns at very shallow supercoolings, which may be attributed to instabilities driven by the exclusion of amorphous PVDF and EVAc chains into the emerging inter- and intra-spiral (or target) lamellar regions.     

Evaluation of the impact of bioaugmentation and biostimulation by in situ hybridization and microelectrode

Three rotating disk biofilm reactors were operated to evaluate whether bioaugmentation and biostimulation can be used to improve the start-up of microbial nitrification. The first reactor was bioaugmented during start-up period with an enrichment culture of nitrifying bacteria, the second reactor received a synthetic medium containing NH(4)(+) and NO(2)(-) to facilitate concomitant proliferation of ammonia- and nitrite-oxidizing bacteria, and the third reactor was used as a control. To evaluate the effectiveness of bioaugmentation and biostimulation approaches, time-dependent developments of nitrifying bacterial community and in situ nitrifying activity in biofilms were monitored by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) technique and microelectrode measurements of NH(4)(+), NO(2)(-), NO(3)(-), and O(2). In situ hybridization results revealed that addition of the enrichment culture of nitrifying bacteria significantly facilitated development of dense nitrifying bacterial populations in the biofilm shortly after, which led to a rapid start-up and enhancement of in situ nitrification activity. The inoculated bacteria could proliferate and/or survive in the biofilm. In addition, the addition of nitrifying bacteria increased the abundance of nitrifying bacteria in the surface of the biofilm, resulting in the higher nitrification rate. On the other hand, the addition of 2.1mM NO(2)(-) did not stimulate the growth of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and did inhibit the proliferation of ammonia-oxidizing bacteria instead. Thus, the start-up of NO(2)(-) oxidation was unchanged, and the start-up of NH(4)(+) oxidation was delayed. In all the three biofilm reactors, data sets of time series analyses on population dynamics of nitrifying bacteria determined by FISH, in situ nitrifying activities determined by microelectrode measurements, and the reactor performances revealed an approximate agreement between the appearance of nitrifying bacteria and the initiation of nitrification activity, suggesting that the combination of these techniques was a very powerful monitoring tool to evaluate the effectiveness of bioaugmentation and biostimulation strategies.     

Determination of potent antisense oligonucleotides in vitro by semiempirical rules

The selection of effective antisense target sites on a given mRNA molecule is a major problem in the detection of target mRNA in oligonucleotide arrays. In general, antisense oligodeoxynucleotides (asODNs) of about 10-20 nucleotides (nt) in length are used. However, the demand for predicting the sequence of potent asODNs much longer than those mentioned above has been increasing. Here, we prepared 40-nt asODNs directed against fluorescence-labeled green fluorescent protein (GFP) mRNA and quantified their hybridization efficiencies by fluorescence microscopy. We found that the hybridization efficiency depended on the TC content or the minimum free energy of the asODNs. On the basis of these findings, a semiempirical parameter called accessibility score was introduced to predict the potency of asODNs. The results of this study aided in the development of an effective two-step procedure for determining mRNA accessibility, namely, the computer-aided selection of asODN binding sites using an accessibility score followed by an experimental procedure for measuring the hybridization efficiencies between the selected asODNs and the target mRNA by fluorescence microscopy.     

The present status of dental titanium casting

Experimentation in all aspects of titanium casting at universities and industries throughout the world for the last 20 years has made titanium and titanium-alloy casting nearly feasible for fabricating sound cast dental prostheses, including crowns, inlays, and partial and complete dentures. Titanium casting in dentistry has now almost reached the stage where it can seriously be considered as a new method to compete with dental casting using conventional noble and base-metal alloys. More than anything else, the strength of titanium’s appeal lies in its excellent biocompatibility, coupled with its comparatively low price and abundant supply. Research efforts to overcome some problems associated with this method, including studies on the development of new titanium alloys suitable for dental use, will continue at many research sites internationally. Toru Okabe earned his Ph.D. in metallurgical and materials engineering at the University of Florida in 1969. He is currently professor and chair of biomaterials science at Baylor College of Dentistry. Dr. Okabe is a member of TMS. Chikahiro Ohkubo earned his Ph.D. in removable prosthodontics and his D.M.D. in dentistry at Tsurumi University in 1989 and 1985, respectively. He is currently an instructor at the School of Dental Medicine at Tsurumi University in Yokohama, Japan. Ikuya Watanabe earned his Ph.D. in dental science at Nagasaki University in 1995. He is currently working at Nagasaki University, Japan. Osamu Okuno earned his Ph.D. in engineering at Waseda University in 1976. He is currently a professor and chair in the Department of Dental Materials Science, School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, Japan. Yukyo Takada earned his Ph.D. in engineering at Waseda University in 1991. He is currently assistant professor in the Department of Dental Materials Science, School of Dentistry, Tohoku University, Japan.     

Gene duplication and multiplicity of collagenases in Clostridium histolyticum

Clostridium histolyticum collagenase contains a number of different active components. Previously we have shown that colH encodes a 116-kDa collagenase (ColH) and a 98-kDa gelatinase. We purified a different 116-kDa collagenase (ColG) from the culture supernatant and sequenced its gene (colG). We also identified four other gelatinases (105, 82, 78, and 67 kDa) and determined their N-terminal amino acid sequences, all of which coincided with that of either ColG or ColH. Hybridization experiments showed that each gene is present in a single copy and each gene is transcribed into a single mRNA. These results suggest that all the gelatinases are produced from the respective full-length collagenase by the proteolytic removal of C-terminal fragments. The substrate specificities of the enzymes suggest that colG and colH encode class I and class II enzymes, respectively. Analysis of their DNA locations by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and nucleotide sequencing of their surrounding regions revealed that the two genes are located in different sites on the chromosome. C. histolyticum colG is more similar to C. perfringens colA than to colH in terms of domain structure. Both colG and colA have a homologous gene, mscL, at their 3' ends. These results suggest that gene duplication and segment duplication have occurred in an ancestor cell common to C. histolyticum and C. perfringens and that further divergence of the parent gene produced colG and colA.     

System Cu-Rh-O: Phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of ternary oxides CuRhO2 and CuRh2O4

An isothermal section of the phase diagram for the system Cu-Rh-O at 1273 K has been established by equilibration of samples representing eighteen different compositions, and phase identification after quenching by optical and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDX). In addition to the binary oxides Cu₂O, CuO, and Rh₂O₃, two ternary oxides CuRhO₂ and CuRh₂O₄ were identified. Both the ternary oxides were in equilibrium with metallic Rh. There was no evidence of the oxide Cu₂Rh₂O₅ reported in the literature. Solid alloys were found to be in equilibrium with Cu₂O. Based on the phase relations, two solid-state cells were designed to measure the Gibbs energies of formation of the two ternary oxides. Yttria-stabilized zirconia was used as the solid electrolyte, and an equimolar mixture of Rh+Rh₂O₃ as the reference electrode. The reference electrode was selected to generate a small electromotive force (emf), and thus minimize polarization of the three-phase electrode. When the driving force for oxygen transport through the solid electrolyte is small, electrochemical flux of oxygen from the high oxygen potential electrode to the low potential electrode is negligible. The measurements were conducted in the temperature range from 900 to 1300 K. The thermodynamic data can be represented by the following equations: {fx741-1} where Δ_f(ox) G ^o is the standard Gibbs energy of formation of the interoxide compounds from their component binary oxides. Based on the thermodynamic information, chemical potential diagrams for the system Cu-Rh-O were developed.     

Image analysis of morphological change during arachidonic acid production by Mortierella alpina 1S-4

The changes in mycelial morphology during arachidonic acid (AA) production by Mortierella alpina 1S-4 were investigated using an image analysis system. Cultivation was performed in a 10-kl fermentor, and the culture broth was separated into two fractions by sieving (0.5 mm aperture size): the filament fraction (F-fraction, <0.5 mm), and the pellet fraction (P-fraction, >0.5 mm). The effect of the mycelial morphology in each fraction on AA production was analyzed. As a result, a product distribution in the culture broth wherein the AA content in the mycelia of the P-fraction was observed to be higher than that in the mycelia of the F-fraction throughout the cultivation. Morphological analysis of the P-fraction revealed that the hairy pellets became smooth because the mycelia on the pellet surface were shaved off; some pellets were broken and reduced in size. The shaved-off mycelia from the hairy pellets surface moved into the F-fraction and aggregated there. From the above findings, it was likely that the low AA content in the F-fraction was due to mycelial damage during the cultivation. In addition, the morphology of the hairy pellets was found to contribute to an increase in the viscosity of culture broth.