This paper proposes a new approach to evaluate a cogeneration system (CGS). From the viewpoint of total efficiency of the whole energy system, we evaluated the minimum efficiency required for a CGS ...to be introduced in the commercial and residential sectors in Japan. As a result, it has been revealed that the minimum efficiency required for the introduction of a CGS would be higher than that evaluated from the conventional viewpoint such as efficiency in the individual demand. This is attributed to the following. In order to make efficient use of a CGS, it should be operated to meet the changing heat demand without waste heat output, resulting in a low annual load factor of CGS. On the other hand, a new-type generator with high efficiency can be operated with a high annual load factor throughout the year. When the efficiency of CGS is not high enough, it is preferable for the whole energy system to replace the output of old-fashioned low-efficiency generators with advanced new ones rather than with a CGS.
In order to obtain a diphasic ceramic composite consisting of Pb(Zr,Ti)O/sub 3/ (PZT) and PbTiO/sub 3/, the following experiment was carried out: Starting raw materials were (1) soft PZT powder with ...a composition near the morphotropic phase boundary and average particle size of 0.6 /spl mu/m, (2) pure PbTiO/sub 3/ powder with average particle size of 5 /spl mu/m and (3) that of 20 /spl mu/m. These powders were mixed at PZT/PbTiO/sub 3/ mass ratios of 75/25, 50/50 and 25/75, pressed into a disk and the compacts were fired at around 1000/spl deg/C for 0.5 h (short-time soak) or 12 h (long-time soak). The short-time-soaked compact with PZT/PbTiO/sub 3/ (20 /spl mu/m) mass ratio of 325/67.5 was hot-isostatically pressed (HIPed) at 1000/spl deg/C and 200 MPa in O/sub 2/(5%)/Ar mixture gas atmosphere for 1 h without encapsulating. PZT/PbTiO/sub 3/ diphasic ceramic composites were obtained at PZT/PbTiO/sub 3/ mass ratio of 50/50 and 25/75 for (a) short-time soak (0.5 h) with PbTiO/sub 3/ powders of 20 /spl mu/m, and 20 /spl mu/m and (b) long-time soak (12 h) with PbTiO/sub 3/ of 20 /spl mu/m, although they were not so dense. The HIPed one was of PZT/PbTiO/sub 3/ diphasic ceramic composite with comparatively high density. The composition of the PZT phase in the ceramic composite was shifted to tetragonal (Ti-rich) side from that of starting PZT powder and its compositional fluctuation was observed, while that of PbTiO/sub 3/ was not detected by X-ray analysis.
Interactive Speech Technology Consortium (ISTC), established on November 2003 after three years activity of the Galatea project supported by Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) of Japan, ...aims at supporting open-source free software development of multi-modal interaction (MMI) for human-like agents. The software named Galatea-toolkit developed by 24 researchers of 16 research institutes in Japan includes a Japanese speech recognition engine, a Japanese speech synthesis engine, and a facial image synthesis engine used for developing an anthropomorphic agent, as well as dialogue manager that can integrates multiple modalities, interprets them, and decides an action with differentiating it to multiple media of voice and facial expression. ISTC provides members a one-day technical seminar and one-week training course to master Galatea-toolkit, as well as a software set (CDROM) every year.
ECG-gated thallium (201Tl) myocardial diastolic imaging and non-gated imaging were performed in 22 patients with myocardial infarction. These patients were separated into 2 groups according to ...echocardiographic findings; Group A: the patients with left ventricular diastolic diameter of 5.5 cm and over and left ventricular ejection fraction of 50% and under; Group B: the others. In the patients of Group A, the low perfusion areas could be demonstrated qualitatively and quantitatively by nongated images as well as gated-diastolic images, while in some patients of Group B, low perfusion areas were shown only by gated-diastolic images, which seemed to be useful. The images gated in 100 ms after the peak of R wave in ECG were conformed as diastolic images by echocardiography, and could be obtained within a half or two thirds of the conventional imaging time.
An acid alpha-glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.20) was purified to homogeneity from the culture medium of Tetrahymena thermophila CU 399. Its general molecular, catalytic and immunological properties were ...compared to those of the T. pyriformis W enzyme. The enzyme from T. thermophila was a 105-kD monomer and the N-terminus (25 amino acid residues) displayed some homology with that of T. pyriformis enzyme. The purified enzyme was most active at 56 degrees C and showed resistance to thermal inactivation. The acid alpha-glucosidase appears to have alpha-1,6-glucosidase as well as alpha-1,4-glucosidase activity. The Km values determined with p-nitrophenyl-alpha-glucopyranoside, maltose, isomaltose and glycogen were 0.7 mM, 2.5 mM, 28.5 mM and 18.5 mg/ml, respectively. The enzyme was antigenically distinct from T. pyriformis acid alpha-glucosidase.
To examine the role of Rho family proteins in prostaglandin F
2α (PGF
2α)-mediated phospholipase D (PLD) activation of osteoblast-like cell line MC3T3-E1 cells, we used Toxin B from Clostridium ...difficile, which inhibits Rho family proteins by monoglucosylation. Pretreatment of
3Hmyristic acid-labeled MC3T3-E1 cells with Toxin B induced rounding-up of the cells and inhibited the PGF
2α-induced PLD activation by 60%, but not the phospholipase C (PLC) activation. Cytochalasin D also induced rounding the cells, but showed a small inhibition in the PLD activation. Brefeldin A (BFA) had marginal inhibitory effect on the PGF
2α-induced PLD activation. In digitonin-permeabilized MC3T3-E1 cells,
3HPBut formation was stimulated by guanosine 5′-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTPγS) or 4β-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in the presence of Ca
2+ (1 μM) and ATP (1 mM), and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP
2) was also required for its full PLD activation. Pretreatment of the digitonin-permeabilized MC3T3-E1 cells with Toxin B reduced the GTPγS- and PMA-stimulated PLD activities by 80% and 60%, respectively. On the other hand, C3 toxin which inhibits Rho by ADP-ribosylation, exerted a partial inhibitory effect on the GTPγS-stimulated PLD activity. These results suggest that Cdc42 as well as RhoA appear to be involved in the PLD activation mediated by PGF
2α and also that the PLD activation may be independent of actin cytoskeleton in MC3T3-E1 cells.
We report a patient with a germinoma originating in the left basal ganglia. Unenhanced computed tomography (CT) revealed a relatively well-defined high-density lesion, which was slightly enhanced ...with contrast medium. No tumor stain was noted on angiography. The mass showed hypointensity on T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and heterogeneous hyperintensity on T2-weighted imaging. The lesion was homogeneously enhanced after the administration of Gd-DTPA. To our knowledge, the MR findings of basal ganglia germinoma have been retrospectively reviewed in just four reported cases, only two of which were examined with Gd-DTPA enhancement. The two cases revealed relatively large masses with cysts and peritumoral edema, and were slightly enhanced after the intravenous injection of Gd-DTPA. Our case was thought to be in the early stage, and its CT and MR findings were slightly different from those of previously reported cases.
To examine the role of Rho family proteins in prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF2 alpha)-mediated phospholipase D (PLD) activation of osteoblast-like cell line MC3T3-E1 cells, we used Toxin-B from ...Clostridium difficile, which inhibits Rho family proteins by monoglucosylation. Pretreatment of 3Hmyristic acid-labeled MC3T3-E1 cells with Toxin B induced rounding-up of the cells and inhibited the PGF2 alpha-induced PLD activation by 60%, but not the phospholipase C (PLC) activation. Cytochalasin D also induced rounding the cells, but showed a small inhibition in the PLD activation. Brefeldin A (BFA) had marginal inhibitory effect on the PGF2 alpha-induced PLD activation. In digitonin-permeabilized MC3T3-E1 cells, 3HP But formation was stimulated by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S) or 4 beta-phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) in the presence of Ca2+ (1 microM) and ATP (1 mM), and phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2) was also required for its full PLD activation. Pretreatment of the digitonin-permeabilized MC3T3-E1 cells with Toxin B reduced the GTP gamma S- and PMA-stimulated PLD activities by 80% and 60%, respectively. On the other hand, C3 toxin which inhibits Rho by ADP-ribosylation, exerted a partial inhibitory effect on the GTP gamma S-stimulated PLD activity. These results suggest that Cdc42 as well as RhoA appear to be involved in the PLD activation mediated by PGF2 alpha and also that the PLD activation may be independent of actin cytoskeleton in MC3T3-E1 cells.
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