A new visualization technique for the study of the accumulation of photoassimilates in wheat grains using [(11)C]CO(2).

Non-invasive real-time visualization of the accumulation of photoassimilates in the grains of an ear of wheat using [(11)C]CO(2) and positron emitting tracer imaging system (PETIS) was studied. [(11)C]CO(2) was supplied to the center of a fully expanded leaf of a wheat plant for an initial 10 min, and the transportation of (11)C-labeled photoassimilates into the grains of the ear was monitored for 120 min using the PETIS. Each grain was clearly identified in the obtained animation.

Prediction of cellular radiosensitivity from DNA damage induced by gamma-rays and carbon ion irradiation in canine tumor cells.

Diseases of companion animals are shifting from infectious diseases to neoplasms (cancer), and since radiation therapy is one of the effective choices available for cancer treatment, the application of radiotherapy in veterinary medicine is likely to increase. However tumor tissues have different radiosensitivities, and therefore it is important to determine the intrinsic radiosensitivity of tumors in individual patients in advance of radiotherapy. We have studied the relationship between the surviving cell fraction measured by a clonogenic assay and DNA double strand breaks detected by a comet assay under neutral conditions in three canine tumor cell lines, after gamma-ray and carbon ion irradiation.

Selective OD bond dissociation of HOD: photodissociation of vibrationally excited HOD in the 5nu(OD) state.

Exclusively selective OD bond dissociation of HOD has been demonstrated by the ultraviolet photodissociation at 243.1 nm through the fourth overtone state of the OD stretching mode (5nu(OD)). Branching ratio between the OH and OD bond dissociation channels has been determined by detecting H and D atoms, utilizing a (2+1) resonance-enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) process.

Extraction capacity of diglycolamide derivatives for Ca(II), Nd(III) and Zr(IV) from nitric acid to N-dodecane containing a solvent modifier.

In order to evaluate the extraction property of new extractants, diglycolamide (DGA) compounds, we investigated the maximum extraction of di-, tri-, and tetravalent metal ions using nitric acid and n-dodecane. The limits of metal concentration (LOC) for Ca(II), Nd(III) and Zr(IV) in the organic phase are strongly influenced by HNO3 and the extractant concentration. For the purpose of enhancing the LOC value, we employed a modifier of the solvent, N,N-dihexyl-octanamide (DHOA) and DGA with a long alkyl chain, and examined the results.

Avoided crossings in three coupled oscillators as a model system of acoustic bubbles.

The resonance frequencies and oscillation phases of three acoustically coupled bubbles are examined to show that avoided crossings can appear in a multibubble system. Via a simple coupled oscillator model, we show that if at least three bubbles exist, it is possible for their resonance frequencies as functions of the separation distances between the bubbles to experience an avoided crossing. Furthermore, by focusing our attention on the oscillation phases and based on analysis of the transition frequencies [M.

Calculation of heat capacities of light and heavy water by path-integral molecular dynamics.

As an application of atomistic simulation methods to heat capacities, path-integral molecular dynamics has been used to calculate the constant-volume heat capacities of light and heavy water in the gas, liquid, and solid phases. While the classical simulation based on conventional molecular dynamics has estimated the heat capacities too high, the quantum simulation based on path-integral molecular dynamics has given reasonable results based on the simple point-charge/flexible potential model. The calculated heat capacities (divided by the Boltzmann constant) in the quantum simulation are 3.

The radiation responsive promoter of the Deinococcus radiodurans pprA gene.

In a previous study, we identified a novel radiation-inducible protein PprA that plays a critical role in the radiation resistance of Deinococcus radiodurans [Narumi, I., Satoh, K., Cui, S.

Experimental identification of spin-parities and single-particle configurations in 257No and its alpha-decay daughter 253Fm.

alpha-gamma and alpha-electron coincidence spectroscopy for a short-lived heavy actinide nucleus (257)No (T(1/2) = 24.5 s) has been performed using a gas-jet transport system and an on-line isotope separator. Spin-parities of excited states in (253)Fm fed by the alpha decay of (257)No have been identified on the basis of the measured internal conversion coefficients.

Current clamp at zero level in JT-60U current hole plasmas.

It is found that no current is driven in a central region of a tokamak plasma once the central current density becomes nearly zero ("current hole"), in spite of high electric conductivity, at the current drive by a toroidal electric field and a radio-frequency wave in experiments on the JT-60U tokamak. This is a new, stiff, self-organized structure of a magnetic field in an axisymmetric toroidal plasma.

Function and molecular evolution of multicopper blue proteins.

Multicopper blue proteins (MCBPs) are multidomain proteins that utilize the distinctive redox ability of copper ions. There are a variety of MCBPs that have been roughly classified into three different groups, based on their domain organization and functions: (i) nitrite reductase-type with two domains, (ii) laccase-type with three domains, and (iii) ceruloplasmin-type with six domains. Together, the second and third group are often commonly called multicopper oxidases (MCOs).

Reduced heat transport between edge-localized-mode bursts at low collisionality and small poloidal Larmor radius.

Nondimensional parameter dependence of heat transport between edge localized modes (ELMs) is examined for H mode plasmas. The electron heat diffusivity between ELMs is reduced to the level of ion neoclassical transport in the plasma edge region which is affected by ELM burst. At lower edge collisionality, the heat flux assigned to the heat transport between ELMs is reduced and the ELM loss power is enhanced.

Role of bremsstrahlung radiation in limiting the energy of runaway electrons in tokamaks.

Bremsstrahlung radiation of runaway electrons is found to be an energy limit for runaway electrons in tokamaks. The minimum and maximum energy of runaway electron beams is shown to be limited by collisions and bremsstrahlung radiation, respectively. It is also found that a massive injection of a high-Z gas such as xenon can terminate a disruption-generated runaway current before the runaway electrons hit the walls.

Momentum dependence of charge excitations in the electron-doped superconductor Nd1.85 Ce0.15 CuO4: a resonant inelastic x-ray scattering study.

We report a resonant inelastic x-ray scattering (RIXS) study of charge excitations in the electron-doped high-T(c) superconductor Nd1.85 Ce0.15 CuO4.

Branching mechanism of intergranular crack propagation in three dimensions.

We investigate the process of slow intergranular crack propagation by the finite element method model and show that branching is induced by partial arresting of a crack front owing to the geometrical randomness of grain boundaries. A possible scenario for the branching instability of crack propagation in a disordered continuous medium is also discussed.

Hydration structure of Y3+ and La3+ compared: an application of metadynamics.

We studied the hydration structures of Y(3+) and La(3+) in aqueous solutions by applying the metadynamics method recently introduced as a tool to explore reaction pathways based on the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics. By employing the metal-water oxygen coordination number as a collective variable of the metadynamics a couple of aqua and chloroaqua complexes are successfully generated within the time scale of 10 ps. The reconstructed free-energy surface captures the characteristics of the hydration of the light and heavy trivalent rare-earth ions.

Selective separation of Am(III) from lanthanides(III) by solvent extraction with hydrophobic field of "superweak" anion.

The weakly coordinating hydrophobic anion TFPB-, whose surface is covered with a hydrophobic field, gives rise to a selective separation of Am(III) from lanthanides(III) in their solvent extraction even with a hard-donor extractant that shows no selectivity for Am(III) in traditional solvent extraction.

Protein boson peak originated from hydration-related multiple minima energy landscape.

The boson peak is a broad peak found in the low-frequency region of inelastic neutron and Raman scattering spectra in many glassy materials, including biopolymers below approximately 200 K. Here, we give a novel insight into the origins of the protein boson peak, which may also be valid for materials other than proteins. Molecular simulation reveals that the structured water molecules around a protein molecule increase the number of local minima in the protein energy landscape, which plays a key role in the origin of the boson peak.

The first chemical enrichment in the universe and the formation of hyper metal-poor stars.

The recent discovery of a hyper-metal-poor (HMP) star, with a metallicity Fe/H smaller than 1/100,000 of the solar ratio, together with one earlier HMP star, has raised a challenging question whether these HMP stars are the actual first-generation, low-mass stars of the universe. We argue that these HMP stars are second-generation stars formed from gases that were chemically enriched by the first-generation supernovae. The key to this solution is the very unusual abundance patterns of these HMP stars and the similarities and differences between them.

Complicated water orientations in the minor groove of the B-DNA decamer d(CCATTAATGG)2 observed by neutron diffraction measurements.

It has long been suspected that the structure and function of a DNA duplex can be strongly dependent on its degree of hydration. By neutron diffraction experiments, we have succeeded in determining most of the hydrogen (H) and deuterium (D) atomic positions in the decameric d(CCATTAATGG)2 duplex. Moreover, the D positions in 27 D2O molecules have been determined.

Sequence analysis of the gliding protein Gli349 in .

The motile mechanism of remains unknown but is believed to differ from any previously identified mechanism in bacteria. Gli349 of is known to be responsible for both adhesion to glass surfaces and mobility. We therefore carried out sequence analyses of Gli349 and its homolog MYPU2110 from to decipher their structures.

Roles of Arabidopsis AtREV1 and AtREV7 in translesion synthesis.

Plants have mechanisms for repairing and tolerating detrimental effects by various DNA damaging agents. A tolerance pathway that has been predicted to be present in higher plants is translesion synthesis (TLS), which is catalyzed by polymerases. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), however, the only gene known to be involved in TLS is the Arabidopsis homolog of REV3, AtREV3, which is a putative catalytic subunit of Arabidopsis DNA polymerase zeta.

Mott gap excitations in twin-free YBa2Cu3O7-delta (Tc=93 K) studied by resonant inelastic x-ray scattering.

Mott gap excitations in the optimally doped high-T(c) superconductor YBa(2)Cu(3)O(7-delta) (T(c)=93 K) have been studied by the resonant inelastic x-ray scattering method. Anisotropic spectra in the ab plane are observed in a twin-free crystal. The excitation from the one-dimensional CuO chain is enhanced at 2 eV near the zone boundary of the b* direction, while the excitation from the CuO2 plane is broad at 1.

Mechanism of stabilization of ballooning modes by toroidal rotation shear in tokamaks.

A ballooning perturbation in a toroidally rotating tokamak is expanded by square-integrable eigenfunctions of an eigenvalue problem associated with ballooning modes in a static plasma. Especially a weight function is chosen such that the eigenvalue problem has only the discrete spectrum. The eigenvalues evolve in time owing to toroidal rotation shear, resulting in a countably infinite number of crossings among them.

Structure of a quantized vortex near the BCS-BEC crossover in an atomic Fermi gas.

In order to clarify the structure of a singly quantized vortex in a superfluid fermion gas near the Feshbach resonance, we numerically solve the generalized Bogoliubov-de Gennes equation in the boson-fermion model. The superfluid gap, which contains contributions from both condensed fermion pairs and condensed bosons, is self-consistently determined, and the quasiparticle excitation levels bound in the vortex core are explicitly shown. We find that the boson condensate contributes to enhance the matter density depletion and the discreteness of localized quasiparticle spectrum inside the core.

NMR evidence for triple-q multipole structure in NpO2.

In order to elucidate the nature of the exotic ordered phase of NpO2 below T(0)=26 K, we have initiated the first 17O-NMR measurements on this system. From the 17O-NMR spectrum, the occurrence of two inequivalent oxygen sites has been confirmed below T0. It has also been shown that the characteristic features of the hyperfine interaction at the oxygen sites are well explained by invoking a hyperfine interaction with field-induced antiferromagnetic moments which appear as a result of the triple-q antiferroquadrupolar order.