Numerical simulation of deflecting flow in a symmetric enlarged channel

Numerical results of three-dimensional separated flow and heat transfer in a rectangular channel with a suddenexpansion are presented in this paper.Numerical simulations of Navier-Stokes and energy equations are carriedout using the finite difference method.The results of three-dimensional calculations are compared with thetwo-dimensional ones,and effects of the aspect ratio of channel upon the flow are shown.The transition fromsymmetric to asymmetric flow appears at lower Reynolds number as increasing the aspect ratio.The details oflocal heat transfer characteristics in two different separated flow regions on two downstream walls are clarified.Two-dimensionality of the flow and heat transfer almost disappears for the aspect ratio considered.     

Hematopoietic–Mesenchymal Signals Regulate the Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

It is well known that the properties of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSCs), such as their self-renewal ability and multipotency, are maintained through interactions with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). MSCs are rare cells that are present in the bone marrow and are useful for clinical applications due to their functional ability. To obtain the necessary number of cells, MSCs must be cultured to expand, but this causes a remarkable decrease in stem cell properties, such as multipotency and proliferation ability. In this study, we show that the c-Mpl signal, which is related to the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, has an important effect on the proliferation and differentiation ability of MSCs. Utilizing a co-culture system comprising MSCs and HSCs, it is suggested that signaling from hematopoietic cells to MSCs supports cell proliferation. Interestingly, the enhanced proliferation ability of the HSCs was decreased in c-Mpl knock-out HSCs (c-Mpl-KO). In addition, the MSCs co-cultured with c-Mpl-KO HSCs had reduced MSC marker expression (PDGFRa and Sca-1) compared to the MSCs co-cultured with c-Mpl-wild-type HSCs. These results suggest that a hematopoietic–mesenchymal signal exists, and that the state of the HSCs is important for the stability of MSC properties.     

Asymmetric Multidimensional Scaling of Brand Switching Among Margarine Brands

Behaviormetrika - Brand switching data among 12 margarine brands were analyzed by the asymmetric multidimensional scaling based on the singular value decomposition. A two-dimensional result was...     

Te concentration dependent photoemission and inverse-photoemission study of FeSe1?xTex

We have characterized the electronic structure of FeSe_1−xTe_x for various x values using soft x-ray photoemission spectroscopy (SXPES), high-resolution photoemission spectroscopy (HRPES) and inverse photoemission spectroscopy (IPES). The SXPES valence band spectral shape shows that the 2 eV feature in FeSe, which was ascribed to the lower Hubbard band in previous theoretical studies, becomes less prominent with increasing x. HRPES exhibits systematic x dependence of the structure near the Fermi level (E_F): its splitting near E_F and filling of the pseudogap in FeSe. IPES shows two features, near E_F and approximately 6 eV above E_F; the former may be related to the Fe 3d states hybridized with chalcogenide p states, while the latter may consist of plane-wave-like and Se d components. In the incident electron energy dependence of IPES, the density of states near E_F for FeSe and FeTe has the Fano lineshape characteristic of resonant behavior. These compounds exhibit different resonance profiles, which may reflect the differences in their electronic structures. By combining the PES and IPES data the on-site Coulomb energy was estimated at 3.5 eV for FeSe.     

Augmented reality-based block piling game with superimposed collapse prediction

Understanding what cannot be seen is difficult. Physical behavior can be explained on the basis of physical theories even if the behavior cannot be observed. Explanation of what is physically happening in the real world would become easy, however, if annotations were superimposed on the real objects. Herein, the authors demonstrate how an understanding of a physical event can be facilitated by overlapping a real-world situation with a simulation that predicts a future state. This idea is demonstrated in a game application in which a player stacks blocks into a pile until it collapses. In general, it is easy to estimate whether a block on the edge of a table will fall or not. However, it is more difficult to predict whether a stack of many blocks will collapse, and in what manner the stack will collapse. Even though previous research has demonstrated that the problem of how two-dimensionally stacked blocks collapse can be reduced to solving a sequence of convex quadratic programs, algorithms for convex quadratic programs require massive computational resources. Hence, the authors developed a fast and new algorithm based on a linear program. The proposed algorithm realizes real-time simulation based on physics that superimposes predicted collapse. The block that is predicted to fall is superimposed on the real block with a lit background projection. The system was evaluated in an experiment, and superimposed augmented reality annotation was observed to be efficient. The system was also demonstrated in game contests and received positive feedback and comments.     

Human behavior in a staircase during a total evacuation drill in a high‐rise building

Many studies have been conducted on the evacuation behavior on the staircases of buildings, but very little data are available for a situation with many occupants in a crowded high‐rise building. Therefore, this study investigated the evacuation behavior of a large number of evacuees on the staircase of a 25‐story high‐rise building. A total evacuation drill was conducted with 2088 evacuees, and the behavior of 1136 evacuees on the landings of the south staircase was recorded by a video recorder on the ceiling. The relationship between the density and speed of the evacuees on the landings was analyzed from the evacuation data for two situations: without and with merging in the stair flow. The evacuation stair flow in this drill had merging occupants entering from the floors, but no one entered from the lower floors during the latter period of the drill. Therefore, the flow during the latter period was treated as non‐merging flow, for which it was observed that, when the staircase was fully crowded, the density on the landings in the moving situation was different from that in the stopped situation. Moreover, the density on the landings was different from that on the treads. Furthermore, in the merging flow, a merging ratio of approximately 50:50 occurred during the congested evacuation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of New Pb-Based 1222 Cuprates Containing Phosphorus, (Pb0.75P0.25)Sr2(RE2–x–y Ce x Sr y )Cu2O z (RE = Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Y)

New Pb-based 1222 cuprates containing phosphorus have been synthesized in the (Pb_0.75P_0.25)Sr₂- (RE_2–x–y Ce _x Sr _y )Cu₂O _z (RE = Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Y) systems. The almost-single phase samples are obtained for 0.5≤x≤1.0 and y=0.1 in the cases of RE = Nd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Y, while for 0.3≤x≤1.0 and y=0.1 in the cases of RE = Sm, Eu and Gd. The samples crystallize in a tetragonal lattice, the lattice parameters a and c are decreasing with the decrease of the ionic radius of the RE element. Even after annealing under 143 atm O₂ atmosphere at 400 °C, almost all the samples with the common values x=0.5 and y=0.1 are semiconductors with a transport process followed by three-dimensional variable range hopping. However, the samples of RE = Sm, Eu and Gd, which are of almost single 1222 phase, even for x=0.3 and y=0.1, show superconductivity with the onsets at about 25 K, 20 K and 22 K, respectively. Through this study, we find very important procedure for discovery of new superconducting 1222 compound.     

Inter-comparison of various global sea surface temperature products

In this study, eight global sea surface temperature (SST) products for 2009 are compared to clarify their characteristics. The median of eight daily values, the Ensemble Median as Reference Product (EMRP), is used as a reference product for inter-comparison. The results show that the absolute value of mean differences and the value of root mean square (RMS) differences are higher in single-microwave products such as Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth observing system (AMSR-E), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI), and WindSat, than in products such as MicroWave Optimally Interpolated SST (MWOI), Merged satellite and in situ data Global Daily SST (MGD), and Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA) constructed by merging several SST data. It is of note that the characteristics of SST products depend on the type of SST used within the product, rather than the data source used. A comparison of SST products was also conducted using EMRP and data observed by moored buoys. The results show that only AMSR-E has a warm bias (+0.06°C) while other products have a cool bias (maximum value ?0.10°C). The RMS error of TMI is the highest (0.57°C), and that of EMRP the lowest (0.28°C). Furthermore, the temporal variability between the data in each SST product was compared to those observed by the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) buoy. Results show that the temporal variability of EMRP corresponds well to that of buoy data, and that the RMS error of EMRP is lower than that of the other SST products.