Structure-Activity Relationships of Alkylpyrazine Analogs and Fear-Associated Behaviors in Mice

Our previous studies identified alkyl pyrazine analogs in wolf urine that act as novel kairomones and induce a series of fear-associated behaviors in mice. A mixture of these alkyl pyrazines also effectively suppressed the approach of deer to a feeding area, and animals that did approach the marked area exhibited fear-associated behaviors. To investigate structure-activity relationships of alkyl pyrazines, four fear-associated behaviors - freezing, locomotion activity, odor investigation, and avoidance - were measured in experiments on female C57BL/6 J mice. Of the 17 compounds tested, 2,3-diethylpyrazine, 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine, and 3-ethyl-2,5-dimethylpyrazine induced all four fear-associated behaviors. 2,3,5-Trimethylpyrazine also induced three of the fear-associated behaviors, but did not decrease locomotion. Multivalent analysis of behaviors clearly demonstrated that these four compounds formed an independent cluster and were the most active. Structure-activity relationships revealed that active alkyl pyrazines inducing all four fear-associated behaviors had methyl or ethyl group(s), but not longer carbon chains, and alkyl side chains consisting of four carbon atoms in total were present in the most potent analogs. This study is the first experimental investigation of structure-activity relationships between alkyl pyrazine analogs and fear-associated behaviors in mice.     

Indenyl-silica xerogels: new materials for supporting metallocene catalysts

Inorganic–organic hybrid xerogels bearing indenyl groups on their surfaces have been synthesised by the sol–gel method. The hybrid xerogels were obtained by hydrolysis and polycondensation of bisindenyldiethoxysilane (Ind₂Si(OEt)₂) and tetraethoxysilane, TEOS (Si(OEt)₄) under two different conditions. Chemical structure was investigated by ultraviolet spectroscopy (UV–VIS), transmittance (FT-IR) and diffuse-reflectance (DRIFTS) infrared spectroscopy, magic angle spin nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Xerogel texture and structure were analysed by nitrogen sorption based on the Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) method, X-ray diffraction spectroscopy (XRD), and natural scanning electron microscopy (N-SEM). Under our experimental conditions, in alkaline milieu and 1:3 indenyl/TEOS ratio, a xerogel with higher indenyl content, but nonporous and showing agglomerate patterns was produced (xerogel I). Spherical particles of diameter about 6–8 μm where obtained in the absence of catalyst, using 1:5 indenyl/TEOS ratio, higher temperature and shorter reaction time (xerogel II). Xerogel II was used as support for heterogeneous metallocene catalyst synthesis. The resulting catalyst presented high Zr content (0.68 mmol Zr g_cat⁻¹) and high catalyst activity (40×10³ kg PE mol⁻¹ Zr h⁻¹) in ethylene polymerisation.     

Creep mechanisms of a new Ni-Co-base disc superalloy at an intermediate temperature

The microstructures of a new Ni-Co-base disc superalloy, TMW-4M3, before and after the creep test at 725 °C/630 MPa have been systematically investigated by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The crept microstructures were marked as three different deformation stages (I, II and III) corresponding to the gradually increased strain. At stage I, stacking fault (SF) shearing was the main deformation mechanism. The SF was extrinsic and lay on {111} plane. However, deformation microtwinning became the dominant mode at stage II and III. The average spacing of deformation twins decreased from 109 ± 15 nm at stage II to 76 ± 12 nm at stage III, whereas the twin thickness did not change significantly. The influence of stacking fault energy (SFE) of γ matrix on the deformation mechanism is discussed. It is suggested that lower SFE in TMW-4M3 is partly responsible for the enhanced creep resistance.     

Impact of future urban form on the potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from residential,commercial and public buildings in Utsunomiya,Japan

Energy-saving technologies’ applicability to making cities more environmentally sustainable can be strongly influenced by the city's form, building uses and their density pattern. Technological developments have clearly shown specific urban forms to be more conducive to installing certain mitigation technologies. In this study, the capacity for implementation and impacts on energy savings and subsequent greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential of mitigation technologies such as photovoltaic cells (PV) and combined heat and power (CHP) technologies were analysed with respect to three potential urban forms (high density centralised, medium density averaged and low density de-centralized) for Utsunomiya City, Japan. Given current building use patterns, scenarios for 2030 and 2050, showed the medium density averaged form, which benefits from both PV and CHP technologies, to outperform the other forms, resulting in an energy savings and GHG reduction potential of 27.6% in 2030 and 67.6% in 2050. Interestingly, GHG reduction in 2050 was primarily attributable to PV, while CHP technology had the greater influence in 2030. Despite the limitation of the analysis, the study provides a useful insight, highlighting the relationship between urban forms and GHG reduction potential by two energy-saving technologies.     

Differential cross sections on fragment (2 ≤ Z ≤ 9) production for carbon,aluminum and silicon induced by tens-of-MeV protons

The double-differential cross sections (DDXs) for the inclusive reactions producing heavy nuclei with Z = 2–9 (fragments) from carbon, aluminum, and silicon targets induced by 50 and 70 MeV protons are systematically measured at several angles (30°, 60°, 90°, and 135°) using a specially developed Bragg curve counter and the energy-time-of-flight method. The DDXs of a silicon target for the proton-induced reaction producing fragments heavier than lithium were measured for the first time. The present results are compared with past experimental data, the LA150 evaluated data by the Los Alamos group and several intranuclear cascade models (Bertini and ISOBAR), and the JAEA-version quantum molecular dynamics model (JQMD) coupled with the Generalized Evaporation Model (GEM), which are implemented in the Particle and Heavy Ion Transport code System (PHITS). The present results agree well with the past experimental data and LA150 data for α -particle production. For the fragments heavier than lithium, the present results show forward-peak angular distributions rather than isotropic ones stored in LA150. Calculations with the ISOBAR and GEM models well reproduced our experimental results except for light fragments especially in the high-energy region.     

Radioactivity measurement of Sr/Y-90 mixed with Cs-134 and Cs-137 using large solid angle detectors without chemical separation

We proposed a method to measure the radioactivity of Sr/Y-90 in the mixture of Cs-134 and Cs-137 without chemical pretreatment. It was realized by subtracting the electrons produced in Cs-134 and Cs-137 from entire electron emission rate that can be determined by the efficiency tracer technique in the 4πβ–γ coincidence counting method. The radioactivity of Cs-134 and Cs-137 can be determined by gamma ray spectrometry. The measurements were conducted using plastic and NaI(Tl) scintillation detector with a large solid angle. The validity of the measurement method was shown by agreement of the results with the known radioactivities.     

A distributed virtual factory in agile manufacturing environment

There is a growing recognition that current manufacturing enterprises must be agile, that is, capable of operating profitably in a competitive environment of continuously changing customer demands. The use of a virtual enterprise (VE) is becoming increasingly prevalent, and that has been made possible, in part, due to the significant advances in communication and information technology in recent years. A manufacturing system is one of the competitive factors that forms an effective VE. Therefore, for manufacturers wishing to obtain a contract in VE, it is crucial to present attractive and competitive offers to other coalition members. There are several criteria to these offers, such as cycle time, fulfilment of due date or quick shipping date, cost, and quality assurance for the ordered products. Manufacturing system simulation could endorse the basic estimates of the criteria for the strategic offer. The distributed simulation model concept provides practical solutions to facilitate such a large-scaled precise simulation model in the VE environment, because it is constructed as the integration of several manufacturing simulation models of each production module in the factory. As a solution to realize this integration, we propose a Distributed Virtual Factory (DVF) concept that consists of distributed precise simulation models connected by several synchronization mechanisms named Time Bucket algorithms. A DVF enables precise evaluations of the whole manufacturing system, especially in terms of the material flows. In this study, we introduce an Activity Based Costing (ABC) method into the DVF architecture to estimate the detailed cost analysis of the products. The methodology facilitates strategic enterprise management to prepare the request for the bids in the VE environment. The effectiveness of the proposed concept in agile manufacturing is discussed with simulation experiments.