Cooking up an interactive olfactory game display.

It's long been possible to give users outside an actual environment that environment's visual and auditory information and thus contribute to establishing presence. However, we've yet to establish much presence when users require olfactory information - such as in environments focused on foods, flowers, perfumes, or, in some cases, more offensive smells. Recently, several VR researchers have become interested in olfaction and olfactory displays that present smells in virtual environments (VEs). In this article, we describe our interactive olfactory display. One of our development goals is to confirm the assumption that users' interactions with the system increases presence. Thus, we used our interactive olfactory display to develop a cooking game in collaboration with electronic engineers and artists.     

Study on sustainable redevelopment of a densely built-up area in Tokyo by introducing a distributed local energy supply system

“Distributed local energy systems” had been expected to rationalize the supply of energy to built-up areas, but until now very little research has been performed to estimate the effect of their application to actual cities. In this research, therefore, a future vision for the year 2030 in the Sancha Area (SANCHA VISION 2030), a typical densely built-up area in Tokyo, has been elaborated including a simulation to estimate benefits from the application of distributed energy systems in terms of reduced energy consumption and CO₂ emissions as well as mitigation of the heat-island phenomenon. As a result, it was demonstrated that a “distributed local energy system”, which provides a district with both electrical power and heat through an integrated distribution system, may contribute to a considerable improvement in energy efficiency for those areas. In addition, it may also provide other benefits, including enhancement of living amenity and urban security in times of emergency.     

Nano-structural Modification of Amorphous Carbon Thin Films by Low-energy Electron Beam Irradiation

CARBON-BASED MATERIALS have been regardedas one of the most important materials in nano-technology.Not only nanotubes and fullerenes but alsoa new form of carbon incorporating distinct graphiticconfigurations in amorphous carbon networks hasrecently attracted extensive interests in order toaccomplish high performances by combining diversephysical properties which arise from carbon structuresfl,2].In particular,the establishment of functionallyhybridized carbon systems with a thin film f…     

Alteration of the hormonal bioactivity of parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) as a result of limited proteolysis by prostate-specific antigen

This paper examines why the law concerns itself with euthanasia. The nature of the right to life and its protection in law is explored. Such a right demands legal intervention to prohibit, or at least control, involuntary and non-voluntary euthanasia. Voluntary euthanasia is not a violation of the individual's right to life as such, so on what grounds can law limit autonomy by prohibiting such conduct? It is suggested that, while concepts of sanctity of life still play a part in the legal debate, fears of abuse in any scheme for voluntary euthanasia largely explain the reluctance of many jurisdictions to follow the example of The Netherlands. Finally, the paper asks whether reform and regulation of voluntary euthanasia are as attractive options as they are sometimes portrayed.     

Optical nonlinear characteristics of a side-injectionlight-controlled laser diode with a multiple-quantum-well saturableabsorption region

A multiple-quantum-well bistable laser-diode structure in which the input signal is launched into the main laser through an orthogonally configured subwaveguide is proposed. Insensitivity to input light wavelength (28 nm of 3 dB bandwidth) and high isolation of input versus output (over 30 dB) are observed. In addition, reflection of input signal is negligibly small     

Coagulation and vascular abnormalities in Crow-Fukase syndrome

Coagulation and vascular abnormalities were studied in 4 patients with Crow-Fukase syndrome (CFS or POEMS) to understand the pathophysiology. Fibrinogen, fibrinopeptide A, and thrombin-antithrombin complexes (TAT) increased in sera during active phase of CFS. In nerves of 2 untreated cases, the endothelium of small vessels was immunohistochemically stained with antithrombin III antibody, which indicates the existence of TAT. HLA-DR+ inflammatory cell infiltrate surrounded these vessels. Blood-nerve barrier opening was suggested by strong immunoglobulin staining in the endoneurium. More than 50% of endoneurial blood vessels had narrowed or closed lumina with thick basement membranes. Endothelial cell abnormality and chronic intravascular coagulation may play an important role in the pathogenesis of CFS, in addition to a still unknown demyelinating factor. Refractory cases responded to combined treatment of prednisolone, human leukocyte interferon, and antithrombin drug.     

Characterization of the ubiquinone reduction site of mitochondrial complex I using bulky synthetic ubiquinones

A wide variety of alkyl derivatives of Q2 (6-geranyl-2, 3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone) and DB (6-n-decyl-2, 3-dimethoxy-5-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone), in which methoxy groups of the 2- and/or 3-positions of the quinone ring were replaced by other bulky alkoxy groups from ethoxy to butoxy, were prepared by novel synthetic procedures. Electron-accepting activities of the bulky quinones were investigated with bovine heart mitochondrial complex I and its counterpart of Paracoccus denitrificans(NDH-1) to elucidate structural and functional features of the quinone reduction site of the enzymes. The bulky quinone analogues served as sufficient electron acceptors from the physiological quinone reduction site of bovine complex I. Considering the very poor activities of even the ethoxy derivatives as substrates for other respiratory enzymes such as mitochondrial complexes II and III [He, D. Y., Gu, L. Q., Yu, L., and Yu, C. A. (1994) Biochemistry 33, 880-884], this result indicated that the quinone reduction site of bovine complex I is spacious enough to accommodate bulky exogenous substrates. In contrast to bovine complex I, bulky quinone analogues served as poor electron acceptors with Paracoccus NDH-1. These observations indicated that bovine complex I recognizes the substrate structure with poor specificity. The substituent effects in the 2- and 3-positions of the quinone ring on the electron-transfer activity with bovine complex I differed significantly between Q2 and DB series despite having the same total number of carbon atoms in the side chain. The inhibitory effect involving Q2 due to its geranyl side chain was markedly diminished by structural modifications of the quinone ring moiety. These findings indicate that the side chain plays a specific role in the redox reaction and that the quinone ring and side-chain moieties contribute interdependently to binding interaction. Moreover, structural dependency of the proton-pumping activity of the quinone analogues was comparable to that of the electron-transfer activity with bovine complex I, indicating that the mechanism of redox-driven proton-pumping does not differ depending upon the substrate structure.     

Use of Ozone to Prepare Silver Oxides

The possible use of ozone to produce higher oxides was analyzed thermodynamically. Because the activity of oxygen in ozone is ∼10¹⁸ at room temperature and ∼10⁸ at 773 K, ozone may react with metals to yield higher-oxidation-state products than does an ambient pressure of pure oxygen. In agreement with this thermodynamic prediction, silver oxides (AgO and Ag₂O) were synthesized experimentally by blowing a gas mixture of 6 vol% ozone and oxygen through a water-cooled lance. Neither Ag₃O₄ nor Ag₂O₃ was detected. Slow oxygen diffusion into a metal and/or reaction products and decomposition of unstable oxides that are formed successively are obstacles to practical applications of syntheses via ozone oxidation.