Strigolactones Modulate Salicylic Acid-Mediated Disease Resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana

Strigolactones are low-molecular-weight phytohormones that play several roles in plants, such as regulation of shoot branching and interactions with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and parasitic weeds. Recently, strigolactones have been shown to be involved in plant responses to abiotic and biotic stress conditions. Herein, we analyzed the effects of strigolactones on systemic acquired resistance induced through salicylic acid-mediated signaling. We observed that the systemic acquired resistance inducer enhanced disease resistance in strigolactone-signaling and biosynthesis-deficient mutants. However, the amount of endogenous salicylic acid and the expression levels of salicylic acid-responsive genes were lower in strigolactone signaling-deficient max2 mutants than in wildtype plants. In both the wildtype and strigolactone biosynthesis-deficient mutants, the strigolactone analog GR24 enhanced disease resistance, whereas treatment with a strigolactone biosynthesis inhibitor suppressed disease resistance in the wildtype. Before inoculation of wildtype plants with pathogenic bacteria, treatment with GR24 did not induce defense-related genes; however, salicylic acid-responsive defense genes were rapidly induced after pathogenic infection. These findings suggest that strigolactones have a priming effect on Arabidopsis thaliana by inducing salicylic acid-mediated disease resistance.     

Plasma-assisted surface modification and radical diagnostics

Plasma-assisted deposition and etching have widely been applied to microelectronics devices in industries as well as to huge vacuum devices in nuclear fusion. A more detailed understanding of plasma processing is essential for development of new techniques for small-scale ( ) etching and large-scale ( >10 m) deposition. A scaling law for uniformity of large-scale deposition was found in a simulation experiment of boron coating of fusion devices, using a less hazardous boride B₁₀H₁₄ (decaborane). Moreover, boron etching by a fluorocarbon plasma was demonstrated along with a new modeling of surface-coverage effects. Appearance mass spectrometry which is a powerful tool for neutral radical detection, has successfully been applied to a CF₄ containing RF plasma for semiconductor etching. Addition of a small amount of H₂ into CF₄ drastically modified the kinetics of CF₂ and CF₃ radicals as a result of surface processes.     

Conceptual designing of reduced-moderation water reactor with heavy water coolant

The conceptual designing of reduced-moderation water reactors, i.e. advanced water-cooled reactors using plutonium mixed-oxide fuel with high conversion ratios more than 1.0 and negative void reactivity coefficients, has been carried out. The core is designed on the concept of a pressurized water reactor with a heavy water coolant and a triangular tight lattice fuel pin arrangement. The seed fuel assembly has an internal blanket region inside the seed fuel region as well as upper and lower blanket regions (i.e. an axial heterogeneous core). The radial blanket fuel assemblies are introduced in a checkerboard pattern among the seed fuel assemblies (i.e. a radial heterogeneous core). The radial blanket region is shorter than the seed fuel region. This study shows that the heavy water moderated core can achieve negative void reactivity coefficients and conversion ratios of 1.06–1.11.     

Newly developed holder for a right-angled metal venous cannula

A newly developed holder for a right-angled metal venous cannula was developed to make direct insertion into each cava easier, especially insertion into the superior vena cava in pediatric open heart operations. We have been using this holder with ease and safety in all cases of small babies.     

547-GHz f/sub t/ In/sub 0.7/Ga/sub 0.3/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As HEMTs with reduced source and drain resistance

We fabricated 30-nm gate pseudomorphic channel In/sub 0.7/Ga/sub 0.3/As-In/sub 0.52/Al/sub 0.48/As high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) with reduced source and drain parasitic resistances. A multilayer cap structure consisting of Si highly doped n/sup +/-InGaAs and n/sup +/-InP layers was used to reduce these resistances while enabling reproducible 30-nm gate process. The HEMTs also had a laterally scaled gate-recess that effectively enhanced electron velocity, and an adequately long gate-channel distance of 12nm to suppress gate leakage current. The transconductance (g/sub m/) reached 1.5 S/mm, and the off-state breakdown voltage (BV/sub gd/) defined at a gate current of -1 mA/mm was -3.0 V. An extremely high current gain cutoff frequency (f/sub t/) of 547 GHz and a simultaneous maximum oscillation frequency (f/sub max/) of 400 GHz were achieved: the best performance yet reported for any transistor.     

Thermo-mechanical coupling and self-excited oscillation in the neck propagation of PET films

The self-excited oscillation of neck propagation during cold drawing of polymer films has been examined experimentally. On the basis of Barenblatt's model considering a thermo-mechanical coupling at the neck, the temperature rise at the neck has been studied with an infrared camera. The temperature began to rise in a range showing a negative velocity dependence of the applied load. The behavior is consistent with the view of thermo-mechanical coupling. The temperature rise was up to 80°C (>T_g) and explains the occurrence of crystallization for faster drawing rates. It has also been confirmed that the temperature rise follows the oscillation of stress due to the coupling.     

Defects in banded spherulites of polymers

In order to investigate the detailed structure of a banded spherulite observed by polarized light microscopy, we develop a new image processing technique that can visualize defects (band defects) in the concentric bands and determine the growing directions of crystals everywhere in a spherulite. This technique is applied to a banded spherulite of poly(vinylidene fluoride) and reveals that the spherulite has many defects (colliding defects), on which crystals collide with neighboring ones. It is found that the band defects are included in the colliding defects. The number of colliding defects increases linearly with the radius to give a constant density. Between the defects, the orientations of crystals are well correlated to form a coherent area. On the basis of these findings, a mechanism of the formation of the coherent band pattern is discussed.     

State criterion of wind turbine generator operation using tower shadow effect (Part 2)

In order to obtain wind energy effectively, the pole‐change‐type induction generators are used as the wind turbine generators. Otherwise, the pole‐change‐type induction generator causes the voltage dips at pole changing time. To maintain the power quality, it is important to know the state change of the generator operation. Therefore, the authors have studied a state criterion of generator using the tower shadow effect, which is the active power oscillation caused by a rotation torque drop when the tower and the turbine blade overlap each other. In this paper, an improved identification method of oscillation frequency, which is the criterion of wind turbine generator operation, is proposed. The proposed method is applied to measured data and good results are obtained. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(1): 25–31, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20395     

Ultra-short 25-nm-gate lattice-matched InAlAs/InGaAs HEMTs withinthe range of 400 GHz cutoff frequency

We have succeeded in fabricating ultra-short 25-nm-gate InAlAs/InGaAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) lattice-matched to InP substrates. The two-step-recessed gate technology and low temperature processing at below 300°C allowed the fabrication of such ultra-short gates. DC measurements showed that the 25-nm-gate HEMT had good pinchoff behavior. We obtained a cutoff frequency f_T of 396 GHz, within the range of 400 GHz f_T, for the 25-nm-gate HEMT. This f_T is the highest value get reported for any type of transistor, and the gate length of 25 nm is the shortest value ever reported for any compound semiconductor transistor that exhibits device operation