Production technology and agglomeration for Japanese prefectures during 1991–2000*

We analyse the seemingly unrelated regression (SUR) models with spatial dependencies from a Bayesian point of view and estimate the parameters of the models using a Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method. Further, we analyse the production technology and the economics of agglomeration in Japanese prefectures from 1991 to 2000, simultaneously taking into account spatial and serial correlation. Model comparison is done via log‐marginal likelihoods, and it is found that the spatial error SUR model is the best model and that the economics of agglomeration and spatial heterogeneity decreased over this decade. Resumen. Analizamos modelos de ecuaciones aparentemente no relacionadas (SUR, siglas en inglés) con dependencias espaciales desde un punto de vista bayesiano y estimamos los parámetros de los modelos utilizando el método de Monte Carlo basado en cadenas de Markov (MCMC). Además, analizamos la tecnología de la producción y las economías de aglomeración en prefecturas japonesas desde 1991 a 2000, teniendo en cuenta simultáneamente la correlación espacial y serial. La comparación de modelos se realiza mediante verosimilitud log‐marginal, y se encontró que el error espacial del modelo SUR es el mejor modelo y que las economías de aglomeración y la heterogeneidad espacial disminuyeron durante esta década.      

Effect of nitrogen gas packaging on the quality and microbial growth of fresh-cut vegetables under low temperatures

Nitrogen (N2) gas packaging for fresh-cut vegetables (lettuce and cabbage) has been examined as a means of modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) for extending the shelf life of cut vegetables. Gas composition in enclosed packages that contained cut vegetables and were filled with 100% N2 had an oxygen (O2) concentration of 1.2 to 5.0% and a carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration of 0.5 to 3.5% after 5 days of storage. An atmosphere of low concentrations of O2 and high CO2 conditions occurred naturally in the package filled with N2 gas. Degradation of cut vegetables in terms of appearance was delayed by N2 gas packaging. Because of this effect, the appearance of fresh-cut vegetables packaged with N2 gas remained acceptable at temperatures below 5 degrees C after 5 days. Treatment with acidic electrolyzed water (AcEW) contributed to the acceptability of the vegetables' appearance at 5 and 10 degrees C in the air-packaging system. N2 gas packaging did not significantly affect the growth of microbial populations (total aerobic bacteria, coliform bacteria, Bacillus cereus, and psychrotrophic bacteria) in or on cut vegetables at 1, 5, and 10 degrees C for 5 days. Microbial growth in or on the cut vegetables was inhibited at 1 degrees C for 5 days regardless of atmospheric conditions.     

Neurogenesis of Subventricular Zone Progenitors in the Premature Cortex of Ferrets Facilitated by Neonatal Valproic Acid Exposure

The present study evaluated the neurogenesis of neonatal valproic acid (VPA) exposure on subventricular zone progenitors of the developing cerebral cortex in ferrets. VPA was injected at a dose of 200 µg/g of body weight into ferret infants on postnatal days 6 and 7. Two different thymidine analogues, 5-ethynyl-2′-deoxyuridine (EdU) and 5-bromo-2′-deoxyuridine (BrdU), were injected with a 48 h interval to label proliferating cells before and after VPA exposure. Two hours after BrdU injection, BrdU single- and EdU/BrdU double-labeled cells, but not EdU single-labeled cells, were significantly denser in both the inner and outer subventricular zones of VPA-exposed infants than in control infants. Notably, more than 97% of BrdU single- and EdU/BrdU double-labeled cells were immunopositive for Pax6, a stable marker for basal radial glia (bRG), in both groups. In contrast, the percentage of cells positively immunostained for Cux1, a postmitotic marker for upper-layer cortical neurons, in both EdU single- and BrdU single-labeled cells, was significantly higher in VPA-exposed infants than in control infants. These findings suggest that neonatal VPA exposure facilitates bRG proliferation, including self-renewal, followed by their differentiation into upper layer cortical neurons in the premature cortex of ferrets.     

Dynamic grid quorum: a reconfigurable grid quorum and its power optimization algorithm

Power-saving has become a central issue for well-configured SOC platforms. In particular, as a high percentage of the total energy is used by the storage systems, the cost effectiveness of data management is equally as important as reliability and availability. To address this issue, we propose the dynamic grid quorum as a method for reducing the power consumption of large-scale distributed storage systems. The basic principle of our approach is to skew the workload toward a small number of quorums. This can be realized using the following three techniques. First, our system allows reconfiguration by exchanging nodes without any data migration, so that high-capacity nodes can be reallocated to busier quorums. Second, for more effective skewing of the workload, we introduce the notion of dual allocation, which makes it possible to consider two distinct allocations in the same grid for write and read quorums. Finally, we present an optimization algorithm to find a pair of a strategy and an allocation of nodes, which minimizes power for a given system setting and its workload. We also demonstrate that the dynamic grid quorum saves, on average, 14–25% energy compared with static configurations, when the intensity of the total workload changes.     

Ligand‐Free and Heterogeneous Palladium on Carbon‐Catalyzed Hetero‐Suzuki–Miyaura Cross‐Coupling

A ligand‐free and heterogeneous palladium on carbon (Pd/C)‐catalyzed hetero‐Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reaction has been developed. The protocol enables the construction of both heterocyclic‐alicyclic and heterocyclic‐heterocyclic biaryl derivatives in good to excellent yields. Furthermore, Pd/C could be reused. The time‐course study clarified that palladium was leached into the reaction media as the reaction proceeded and then completely deposited on the carbon support.     

Map building using helmet-mounted LiDAR for micro-mobility

Artificial Life and Robotics - This paper presents a point-cloud mapping method using a light detection and ranging (LiDAR) mounted on a helmet worn by a rider of micro-mobility. The distortion in...