Field Investigations for Sustainable Groundwater Utilization in the Konan Basin

The Konan groundwater basin of Kochi Prefecture, Japan, is experiencing freshwater shortages for the past few years, particularly during the winter season. The present study aimed at analyzing the problem and exploring increased groundwater withdrawals to meet burgeoning freshwater demands in various sectors. The trend analysis of waterconsumption indicates that the groundwater demandwould increase by 43 and 52% by the years 2010 and2025, respectively, compared to 32 100 m³ d^-1 at present.The streamflow of the Monobe River reduces to a minimumin winter and it shows a decreasing trend in recentyears. The geologic investigation results indicatethat unconfined (phreatic) aquifers comprisingalluvial sand and gravel and/or diluvial silty sandand gravel are dominant, and that the northwestern andwestern portions of the basin have greater potentialfor groundwater. Groundwater flows essentially fromnorth to south into the ocean. Groundwater levelfluctuations over the basin vary appreciably in spaceand time, indicating a wide variation of naturalrecharge. Field observations confirm the hypothesisthat stream-aquifer interaction also significantlycontributes to groundwater recharge, besides therainfall infiltration. Further, the pumping testsresults demonstrate that though the aquifers arelow-yielding, enhanced groundwater withdrawals couldbe possible. The aquifer hydraulic conductivity ischaracterized as high and ranges from 65 to 804 m d^-1(mean = 229 m d^-1), thereby suggesting great aquiferheterogeneity. Finally, it is concluded that thelong-term sustainability of the scarce groundwaterresource of the Konan basin is doubtful, and that acomprehensive analysis of the groundwater system isessential prior to formulating plans for the futuregroundwater development and management.     

Quantitative detection of ultraviolet-specific p53 mutations in normal skin from Japanese patients

The production and evaluation of non-radioactive probes for the detection of 'Candidatus Liberobacter asiaticum' and 'Candidatus Liberobacter africanum', the two bacterial species associated with citrus huanglongbing (greening) disease is described. Two DNA fagments, In 2.6 and AS 1.7, obtained previously from the beta operons of 'Candidatus Liberobacter asiaticum' and 'Candidatus Liberobacter africanum', respectively, were the starting materials for production of the two non-radioactive probes. These digoxigenin (DIG)-labelled probes were generated by PCR incorporation of DIG-11-dUTP, yielding In 1.7-DIG and AS 1.7-DIG. Probe In 1.7-DIG was hybridized with DNAs extracted from 24 field-collected samples in Bali (Indonesia). The membrane on which the DNAs were blotted was first hybridized with radioactive probe 32P-In 2.6. After the hybridization results were recorded, the radioactive probe was removed, and the membrane hybridized with DIG-labelled probe In 1.7-DIG. Identical results were obtained for 23 samples. One sample was positive with the DIG-labelled probe and negative with the 32P-labelled probe. However, cross-hybridization of In 1.7-DIG with DNA from L. africanum was higher than that obtained with the radioactive probe. This cross-hybridization could be eliminated by raising the temperature of the stringent washing step. No field samples from Africa being available, probe AS 1.7-DIG was dot-blot hybridized against DNAs extracted from leaves of greenhouse-kept citrus plants from different geographical origins and infected with one or other Liberobacter species. The data showed that AS 1.7-DIG hybridized with L. africanum with a sensitivity equivalent to that of the radioactive probe.     

Classification of infinite networks and its application

In this paper we consider nonlinear, infinite networks of purely resistive type where the voltage across a branch of the network is proportional to a fixed power of the current flowing in the branch. It is known that the study of currents in such networks amounts to studying the space of the functions on a network which have finite Dirichlet sums of orderp. Such a study was carried out in [7], [9], and [11]–[14] under the assumption that every node is connected to only finitely many different nodes of the network. In this paper we drop this assumption and work with general countable networks. We prove that most results of the locally finite case, and especially the classification theory, hold true in a more general context. Moreover, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for a network to have only constant Dirichlet finitep-harmonic functions. The relationship with discrete Markov processes is also pointed out.     

Purification and characterization of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) derivatives: KW-2228 and other derivatives

Various derivatives of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) have been overproduced in Escherichia coli with the strong, inducible trp promoter. A derivative designated as KW-2228 in which the amino acids were replaced at five positions showed more potent granulopoietic activity and stability than those of wild-type both in vitro and in vivo. The purification involved a sequential renaturation process and three-step chromatography. Refolding succeeded in very high yield using a urea system. The purity of KW-2228 was greater than 99% as measured by SDS-PAGE and HPLC analysis. According to circular dichroism and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, rhG-CSF and KW-2228 have very similar conformations. This suggests that the substitution of five amino acids does not appreciably change the conformation of hG-CSF. KW-2228 ([Ala1, Thr3, Tyr4, Arg5, and Ser17]-hG-CSF) and derivative A ([Ala1, Thr3, Tyr4, Arg5]-hG-CSF) are easily crystallized and they show similar in vitro activity. On the other hand, neither rhG-CSF nor derivative B ([Ser17]-hG-CSF) are crystallized under the same conditions. Thus, the four amino acid substitution (Ala1, Thr3, Tyr4, Arg5) of the N-terminal sequence may facilitate crystallization. The change of Cys17 to Ser may not influence the stability and activity of hG-CSF.     

Direct fractionation of proteins in particle-containing feedstocks by a filter paper pieces-based DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. Rapid, robust and low-cost capturing procedure for protein

Goldfish were classically conditioned to a mixture of two pulse trains differing in both repetition rate and the spectral profile of the pulses. Animals were then tested for generalization to single pulse trains having one or the other spectral profile presented at a variety of repetition rates. Generalization functions of repetition rate were qualitatively similar to those obtained following conditioning to either of the pulse trains alone. Thus, the spectral profile of each pulse type was appropriately associated with the repetition rate at which that pulse type was presented during conditioning. These results indicate that the two concurrent pulse trains making up the conditioning stimuli were analyzed independently, forming two auditory streams. When either of the two pulse trains were presented with a 500 ms onset asynchrony, stream segregation was enhanced. These and other results suggest that many fundamental features of the human sense of hearing are widely shared among vertebrate animals, and may have developed first among fishes.     

Integrated circuits for television receivers

Integrated circuits are being investigated for use in as many television circuits as feasible. In Japan, considerable work has been done by different groups within the TV industry to develop ICs that will permit cost reduction, increased reliability, and simplification of assembly-line operations. This article is a report on results of the concentrated efforts made by five major television set manufacturers to develop and produce black-and-white and color receivers, in collaboration with four universities, two institutes, and seven components manufacturers.     

Morphology of composite film prepared by polymerizing styrene in poly(vinyl chloride) film

Styrene and the styrene-additive mixtures (kerosene, dioxane, ethylene dichloride, or dioctylphthalate) were soaked into a poly(vinylchloride) film and then styrene was polymerized. Subsequently, poly(styrene) was extracted with CCl₄ and the microporous membrane was obtained, of which the morphology was studied. It is elucidated that the additives affect the morphology of the resultant composite films.     

Lead Oxide Coatings on Sol–Gel-Derived Lead Lanthanum Zirconium Titanate Thin Layers for Enhanced Crystallization into the Perovskite Structure

An improved method is described for the sol–gel preparation of PLZT thin layers in the perovskite structure. The method uses a PbO cover coat. Details are reported for the sol-gel processing route and heat-treatment conditions. Through use of this method it is possible to prepare singlephase perovskite material with improved properties. The deleterious effect of additional phases—which are not present when a PbO cover coat is used—is attributed to Pb loss from the surface during thermal processing. Examples are given for PLZT thin layers integrated on Si with and without a PbO cover coat. The dielectric and ferroelectric properties were always found to be superior for coated structures.     

Structural and electrical studies of plasma-deposited polycrystalline silicon thin-films for photovoltaic application

Plasma-deposited polycrystalline Si films [or microcrystalline Si (μc-Si) films] produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) have attracted considerable attention as novel, low-cost and stable materials for the photovoltaic i-layer in p–i–n junction thin-film solar cells. The μc-Si films prepared under various deposition conditions show widely various microstructures, from a crystalline–amorphous mixed state to an almost perfect crystalline state, with different crystallographic orientations. These structural changes directly influence the carrier transport properties that play a dominant role in determining photovoltaic performance. Furthermore, obtaining a uniform built-in electric field throughout the i-layer is a crucial issue for achieving excellent photovoltaic performance. To obtain a uniform electric field, the following terms should be required for the i-layer: ‘truly’ intrinsic characteristic (or not n-type characteristics) as well as structural uniformity in the growth direction without an incubation layer. Here, structural properties of μc-Si for achieving truly intrinsic characteristics are reviewed with an emphasis on collations with the crystalline volume function and the degree of (2 2 0) crystallographic preferential orientation in the crystalline phase. In addition, we reviewed a growth mechanism for the μc-Si film that is actually used in the photovoltaic i-layer in highly efficient solar cells: hybrid-phase growth consisting of conventional vapor-phase growth at the surface and the solid-phase crystallization that simultaneously occurs in the film. That growth is very effective in producing structural uniformity along the growth direction and for formation of crystallites directly on the underlying doped layer.