Damage Analysis of Hanshin Expressway Viaducts during 1995 Kobe Earthquake. III: Three-Span Continuous Girder Bridges

Almost all the single reinforced concrete (RC) piers from P35 to P350 received consistently severe damage, considering the large residual inclination of piers included in earthquake-induced severe damage. However, some of the piers in the section from P35 to P350 remained lightly damaged, and this phenomenon is observed especially in many piers under fixed bearings in continuous girder bridges. In this study, using experimentally based models for metal bearings and installing them to an existing FEM code, a nonlinear dynamic response analysis of a continuous girder bridge system is conducted. It is shown that the results depend on the ground motion, but the fuse effect of the breaking of the bearings could have been a reason for the phenomenon.     

Partition of Mn during the growth of proeutectoid ferrite allotriomorphs in an Fe-1.6 at. pct C-2.8 at. pct Mn alloy

A STEM analysis is made of the Mn distribution around grain boundary allotriomorphs of proeutectoid ferrite in an Fe-1.6 at. Pct C-2.8 at. Pct Mn alloy. Whereas the Mn enriched region is readily observed to extend along the austenite grain boundary, no substantial build-up or depletion of Mn near the ferrite : austenite interface is detected, consistent with the electron probe microanalysis previously reported. In the temperature range where the partition-local equilibrium (P-LE) mode has been proposed to prevail, measured parabolic growth rate constantsfall 1 to 2 orders of magnitude above that predicted from this model, but also below that calculated from the paraequilibrium (PE) model by roughly the same amount. A modification of the theory of grain boundary diffusion-aided growth of precipitates,i.e., the collector/rejector plate mechanism, on the other hand, accounts fairly well for the observed growth kinetics of ferrite allotriomorphs. However, only a slightly better accounting than the P-LE model is provided by this mechanism for the temperature dependence of Mn partition. Data on Ni partition, obtained in an Fe-0.5 at. Pct C-3.1 at. Pct Ni alloy, are also analyzed with the rejector plate model.     

Growth and led evaluation ofN-type conductive lec gaas co-doped with in and si

Dislocation-free and low dislocation densityn-type conductive GaAs crystals, 50 mm in diameter, were grown by the In and Si co-doping LEC technique. Two-dimensional LED arrays were fabricated on substrates obtained from these crystals by the MOCVD technique and the influence of the In doping on the LED characteristics was examined. The light output power of LEDs fabricated on co-doped substrate with an In concentration of 1 ×10²⁰atoms/cm³ are low and are non-uniformly distributed, as compared with the boat-grown substrate, even though the co-doped substrate is dislocation-free. However, the LED properties of a substrate with an In concentration of 2 × 10¹⁸atoms/cm³ are the same as those of a boat-grown substrate. The light output power of the LEDs becomes higher as the In concentration in the substrate decreased.     

L-Ergothioneine scavenges superoxide and singlet oxygen and suppresses TNF-α and MMP-1 expression in UV-irradiated human dermal fibroblasts

The hair lipid composition collected from 44 Japanese females between 1 and 81 years of age was examined for eight lipids including hydrocarbons (HCs), squalene (SQ), wax esters (WEs), triglycerides (TGs), fatty acids (FAs), cholesterol (CH), ceramides (CERs), and 18-methyl eicosanoic acid (MEA). In this study, the 5-cm length from the proximal root end of hair fibers, which had never been exposed to any chemical treatment, was used after 5-min incubation with hexane following shampooing. Hair lipids were extracted with solvent and subsequent alkali-solvent and were then analyzed by a combination of chromatography. Although the average contents of the lipids showed great fluctuations among individuals, there were significant correlations between the levels of each lipid, which allowed for the classification of the hair lipids into four groups: group A: SQ, WEs, TGs, and FAs (designated as endogenous lipids based upon their sebum origin); group B: CH and CERs (designated as endogenous lipids); group C: HC (unknown origin); and group D: MEA (the other endogenous lipid). A principal component analysis for eight lipids revealed that the hair lipid composition was characterized by a predominant negative correlation between each lipid for groups A and B. This negative correlation suggests that the endogenous lipids in group B serve as a barrier against the penetration of predominantly sebum-derived exogenous lipids (group A). Endogenous lipids consisting of CH and CERs (group B) and MEA (group D) should be designated as intrinsic internal lipids of human hair.     

Lightning occurrence data observed with lightning location systems of electric power companies in Japan: 2009–2013

Nine electric power companies in Japan have been collecting lightning data with lightning location systems. Five years of the lightning data (2009–2013) are summarized and analyzed in this paper. The recent annual number of lightning flashes of which the current is more than 10 kA in Japan is around 1 million. The variations of lightning occurrence characteristics by areas, seasons, and so on, are clarified. Meteorological conditions that may affect lightning occurrence are also discussed. Furthermore, we show that there is a clear correlation between the number of lightning strikes and the outage rate of transmission lines. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Cesium-adsorption capacity and hydraulic conductivity of sealing geomaterial made with marine clay,bentonite, and zeolite

Great amounts of soil and waste contaminated with radioactive cesium have been generated due to the decontamination work after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The aim of this study is to develop a sealing geomaterial for use at the disposal facilities of the soil and waste constructed in the maritime environment. The geomaterial consists of marine clay, bentonite, and zeolite. The hydraulic conductivity and cesium-adsorption performance of the geomaterial were examined through laboratory tests with different proportions of bentonite and zeolite added to marine clay. It was concluded that the hydraulic conductivity could be reduced to the required level by increasing the amount of bentonite and that the cesium-adsorption capacity could be enhanced by increasing the amount of zeolite.     

Structural Analysis of the Complex between Penta-EF-Hand ALG-2 Protein and Sec31A Peptide Reveals a Novel Target Recognition Mechanism of ALG-2

ALG-2, a 22-kDa penta-EF-hand protein, is involved in cell death, signal transduction, membrane trafficking, etc., by interacting with various proteins in mammalian cells in a Ca²⁺-dependent manner. Most known ALG-2-interacting proteins contain proline-rich regions in which either PPYPXnYP (type 1 motif) or PXPGF (type 2 motif) is commonly found. Previous X-ray crystal structural analysis of the complex between ALG-2 and an ALIX peptide revealed that the peptide binds to the two hydrophobic pockets. In the present study, we resolved the crystal structure of the complex between ALG-2 and a peptide of Sec31A (outer shell component of coat complex II, COPII; containing the type 2 motif) and found that the peptide binds to the third hydrophobic pocket (Pocket 3). While amino acid substitution of Phe⁸⁵, a Pocket 3 residue, with Ala abrogated the interaction with Sec31A, it did not affect the interaction with ALIX. On the other hand, amino acid substitution of Tyr¹⁸⁰, a Pocket 1 residue, with Ala caused loss of binding to ALIX, but maintained binding to Sec31A. We conclude that ALG-2 recognizes two types of motifs at different hydrophobic surfaces. Furthermore, based on the results of serial mutational analysis of the ALG-2-binding sites in Sec31A, the type 2 motif was newly defined.     

Evaluation of MPN method combined with PCR procedure for detection and enumeration of Vibrio parahaemolyticus in seafood

Vibrio parahaemolyticus densities in spiked and naturally contaminated seafood samples were enumerated by the MPN method combined with a PCR procedure (MPN-PCR method) targeting the species-specific thermolabile hemolysin gene (tlh), and by the MPN method using subcultivation of alkaline-peptone-water (APW) enrichment culture on thiosulfate-citrate-bile-sucrose (TCBS) agar (MPN-TCBS method). In the samples spiked with both V. parahaemolyticus and V. alginolyticus, the numbers of V. parahaemolyticus enumerated by the MPN-PCR method were similar to, or higher than the numbers of spiked cells, whereas those enumerated by the MPN-TCBS method were below the numbers of spiked cells. In naturally contaminated seafood samples, the numbers of V. parahaemolyticus enumerated by the MPN-PCR method were higher than those by the MPN-TCBS method. In the case of the MPN-TCBS method, isolation of V. parahaemolyticus from some APW cultures was difficult because of the overgrowth of many colonies other than V. parahaemolyticus (e.g., V. alginolyticus) on TCBS agar. In contrast, the PCR technique could detect tlh from APW culture without isolation of V. parahaemolyticus, so the possibility of failing to obtain a positive result in APW culture by the MPN-PCR method was considered to be lower than that by the MPN-TCBS method. Furthermore, utilization of the PCR technique reduces the time and labor required for the biochemical identification tests used in the MPN-TCBS method. For the detection and enumeration of V. parahaemolyticus in seafood, especially for samples that show many colonies other than V. parahaemolyticus on TCBS agar, the MPN-PCR method may be more convenient and reliable than the MPN-TCBS method.     

Numerical computation on the control of aerial flow by the magnetizing force in gravitational and nongravitational fields

Two-dimensional numerical computations were carried out in order to examine the effect of magnetizing force for the air in a cylindrical container with thermal and magnetic field gradients. In a gravitational field, the air was driven by both gravitational and magnetizing forces, and flow pattern and the heat transfer rate greatly depended on the axial position of the coil. Moreover, when the magnetizing and gravitational forces cancel out each other, convection became almost quiescent. On the other hand, the aerial flow was induced by the magnetizing force even in a nongravitational field, and the air behaved like an electrically conducting fluid.