Travel route recommendation using geotagged photos

We propose a travel route recommendation method that makes use of the photographers’ histories as held by social photo-sharing sites. Assuming that the collection of each photographer’s geotagged photos is a sequence of visited locations, photo-sharing sites are important sources for gathering the location histories of tourists. By following their location sequences, we can find representative and diverse travel routes that link key landmarks. Recommendations are performed by our photographer behavior model, which estimates the probability of a photographer visiting a landmark. We incorporate user preference and present location information into the probabilistic behavior model by combining topic models and Markov models. Based on the photographer behavior model, proposed route recommendation method outputs a set of personalized travel plans that match the user’s preference, present location, spare time and transportation means. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method using an actual large-scale geotag dataset held by Flickr in terms of the prediction accuracy of travel behavior.     

Theoretical study of signal-to-noise ratio on near-field photochromic memory with fluorescence readout

The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) on the fluorescence readout of a near-field photochromic memory was theoretically studied. Under various conditions the shot-noise-limited SNR was analyzed. SNR by bright spot recording (BSR) that was better than that by dark spot recording (DSR) was obtained under the condition of low writing power or wide bandwidth. Under the condition of bandwidth W = 1 MHz and P(write) = 10(-8) W only BSR can attain sufficiently high SNR, and the SNR was greater by as much as 30 dB than that of DSR. It was concluded that BSR is a promising method for high-density near-field photochromic memory with a fluorescence readout.     

Human tumor cells grown in fetal calf serum and human serum: influences on the tests for lymphocyte cytotoxicity, serum blocking and serum arming effects

Peripheral blood lymphoid cells (PBL) from cancer patients and normal donors were tested against three melanoma cell lines grown in either 10% fetal calf serum (FCS) or 2.5-5% human AB serum in order to determine if the heterologous membrane (HM) antigen or other FCS antigens acquired from the bovine serum supplement could influence lymphoid cell-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. FCS-grown melanoma cells were more susceptible than the AB serum-grown subline to lymphocyte cytotoxic effects. Arming effects by autologous sera on normal donor lymphocytes and to a lesser extent on lymphocytes of cancer patients were more pronounced on the FCS-grown M12 melanoma cells. This effect was abrogated when the cells were grown in human AB serum for at least 8 weeks. The non-HM tumor-associated antigen remained at the same original low level. Blocking effects were more evident on the AB-grown M14 melanoma line. These data suggest that the FCS antigens on the cell surface may have been responsible for the augmented PBL cytotoxicity. The anti-FCS antibody present in normal and cancer patients' blood induced an antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Elimination of arming activity against HM or other FCS antigens from AB-grown cells may have made the serum blocking factors more apparent. However, cytotoxicity against tumor cells by PBL from normal donors was still apparent even on the human serum-grown cells, suggesting that a different antigen-antibody system was also responsible for this "non-specific" activity.     

Enhancement of visible light-induced hydrophilicity on nitrogen and sulfur-codoped TiO2 thin films

We fabricated N, S-codoped, N-doped, S-doped TiO₂ anatase thin films by a radio-frequency (RF) sputtering method and evaluated the photoelectrochemical and photoinduced hydrophilic activities. The N, S-codoped TiO₂ thin film showed obviously higher activities than either the N-doped or S-doped TiO₂ under visible light irradiation. The photoinduced hydrophilic activity of the N, S-codoped TiO₂ was also greater than that of the undoped TiO₂ even under fluorescent light bulb, which contained both visible and UV lights. The high activities of the N, S-codoped TiO₂ could be attributed to the hybridization of the introduced N 2p and S 3p, which was supported by the results of ab initio calculations.     

Trapezoidal Modulating Signal for Three-Phase PWM Inverter

Trapezoidal wave is suitable for the modulating signal of the microcomputer-based pulsewidth modulation (PWM) inverter for the use of motor drives because the switching patterns can be generated by means of on-line computation. The waveform is changed from a rectangular to a triangular wave.     

Highly selective separation and recovery of Pd(II) from the automotive catalyst residue with the thiocarbamoyl substituted azothiacalix[4]arene derivative

New ligand, namely, 5, 11, 17, 23-tetrakis-((p-chlorophenyl) azo)-25,26,27,28-tetrakis ((dimethylthio carbamoyl)oxy) thiacalix[4]arene (CADTTCA), has been investigated for separation and recovery of Pd(II) through solvent extraction technique. Experimental parameters such as contact time, diluents, effect of H⁺ and Cl^? concentration, and acid durability have been thoroughly investigated. The loading capacity toward Pd(II) was determined to be 113 mg/L using 0.25 mM CADTTCA. The extractant showed high selectivity and extractability for Pd(II) than the other metal ions present in automotive catalyst residue (ACR) solution containing platinum group (PGMs) metal ions (i.e., Pd(II), Pt(IV), Rh(II), La(III), Al(III) and Ce(III)). The recovery percentage of Pd(II) was 98% after five extraction-scrubbing-stripping cycles. The probable extraction mechanisms were established through the FT-IR spectral analysis.     

Adhesion force measurement of a DPI size pharmaceutical particle by colloid probe atomic force microscopy

The method to determine the adhesion characteristics of fine drug particles for dry powder inhalation (DPI) was established using a colloid probe which mounted a 1-3 μm drug particle on a commercial atomic force microscope (AFM) cantilever. A new preparation system of colloid probes for fine particles smaller than 2.5 μm in diameter was developed with the aid of a micromanipulator and a video microscope. Using this colloid probe, adhesion force distribution between a spherical polycrystalline drug particle and a plate of lactose monohydrate representing for DPI carrier materials or stainless steel for device wall materials was measured. Atmospheric humidity as well as the material and surface roughness of a target plate affected the determined adhesion force. With increasing surface roughness of a lactose plate, the adhesion force between a drug particle and the plate distributed more widely and their mean value decreased. Adhesion force increased meaningfully with atmospheric humidity. Adhesion force for stainless steel was higher than that for lactose.     

Intracerebroventricular Treatment with 2-Hydroxypropyl-β-Cyclodextrin Decreased Cerebellar and Hepatic Glycoprotein Nonmetastatic Melanoma Protein B (GPNMB) Expression in Niemann–Pick Disease Type C Model Mice

Niemann–Pick disease type C (NPC) is a recessive hereditary disease caused by mutation of the NPC1 or NPC2 gene. It is characterized by abnormality of cellular cholesterol trafficking with severe neuronal and hepatic injury. In this study, we investigated the potential of glycoprotein nonmetastatic melanoma protein B (GPNMB) to act as a biomarker reflecting the therapeutic effect of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD) in an NPC mouse model. We measured serum, brain, and liver expression levels of GPNMB, and evaluated their therapeutic effects on NPC manifestations in the brain and liver after the intracerebroventricular administration of HP-β-CD in Npc1 gene-deficient (Npc1^−/−) mice. Intracerebroventricular HP-β-CD inhibited cerebellar Purkinje cell damage in Npc1^−/− mice and significantly reduced serum and cerebellar GPNMB levels. Interestingly, we also observed that the intracerebral administration significantly reduced hepatic GPNMB expression and elevated serum ALT in Npc1^−/− mice. Repeated doses of intracerebroventricular HP-β-CD (30 mg/kg, started at 4 weeks of age and repeated every 2 weeks) drastically extended the lifespan of Npc1^−/− mice compared with saline treatment. In summary, our results suggest that GPNMB level in serum is a potential biomarker for evaluating the attenuation of NPC pathophysiology by intracerebroventricular HP-β-CD treatment.     

Synthesis of single component element‐block materials based on siloxane‐based cage frameworks

This mini‐review focuses on recent efforts to prepare single component element‐block materials based on siloxane‐based cage frameworks, a promising approach to control the sequence of organic and inorganic segments in organic–inorganic hybrids at the molecular level. Polyhedral octasilsesquioxanes, denoted (RSiO_1.5)₈ or labeled T₈ cages, and octadimethylsiloxy‐Q₈ cages, denoted (RSiMe₂OSiO_1.5)₈, are used here as siloxane‐based cage frameworks. Thermoplastic optically transparent silsesquioxane materials derived from a single cage compound can be obtained with dumbbell‐ and star‐shaped cage structures, allowing precise design of their structures for tuning properties. The siloxane‐based cage core dendrimers are ideal candidates for single component element‐block materials which possess three‐dimensional, well‐defined molecular level structures. Their rigid and cubic inorganic frameworks provide unique features for siloxane‐based cage core dendrimers. These topics attract attention in both academia and industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Photochromic Diarylethene Derivatives Bearing Hydrophilic Substituents

Photochromic diarylethene derivatives bearing hydrophilic N,N-bis(2-(2-(2-methoxyethoxy)ethoxy)ethyl)sulfonamide (SO₂NTEG₂) ( 1 – 3 ) or myo-inositol ( 4 – 6 ) substituents were synthesized. Although the solubility in aqueous solution of the derivatives containing the four tri(ethylene glycol) chains was relatively poor, the solubility was improved by introducing two myo-inositol residues. The derivatives could be dissolved even in pure water and underwent photochromism upon alternate irradiation with ultraviolet (UV) and visible light, in both organic and aqueous solutions. The absorption maxima of the open- and closed-ring isomers of these derivatives and the photostationary conversion ratios from the open- to the closed-ring isomers upon UV irradiation did not change much, even when the solvent polarity was changed. These results indicate that the diarylethene derivatives are mono-molecularly dissolved in aqueous solution and that intermolecular interactions between the derivatives are negligible when the concentration is less than 1×10⁻⁴ mol⋅L⁻¹.