The DNA Data Bank of Japan launches a new resource, the DDBJ Omics Archive of functional genomics experiments.

Science.gov (United States)

Kodama, Yuichi; Mashima, Jun; Kaminuma, Eli; Gojobori, Takashi; Ogasawara, Osamu; Takagi, Toshihisa; Okubo, Kousaku; Nakamura, Yasukazu

2012-01-01

The DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ; http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp) maintains and provides archival, retrieval and analytical resources for biological information. The central DDBJ resource consists of public, open-access nucleotide sequence databases including raw sequence reads, assembly information and functional annotation. Database content is exchanged with EBI and NCBI within the framework of the International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration (INSDC). In 2011, DDBJ launched two new resources: the 'DDBJ Omics Archive' (DOR; http://trace.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/dor) and BioProject (http://trace.ddbj.nig.ac.jp/bioproject). DOR is an archival database of functional genomics data generated by microarray and highly parallel new generation sequencers. Data are exchanged between the ArrayExpress at EBI and DOR in the common MAGE-TAB format. BioProject provides an organizational framework to access metadata about research projects and the data from the projects that are deposited into different databases. In this article, we describe major changes and improvements introduced to the DDBJ services, and the launch of two new resources: DOR and BioProject.

Japan's technology and manufacturing infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Boulton, William R.; Meieran, Eugene S.; Tummala, Rao R.

1995-02-01

The JTEC panel found that, after four decades of development in electronics and manufacturing technologies, Japanese electronics companies are leaders in the development, support, and management of complex, low-cost packaging and assembly technologies used in the production of a broad range of consumer electronics products. The electronics industry's suppliers provide basic materials and equipment required for electronic packaging applications. Panelists concluded that some Japanese firms could be leading U.S. competitors by as much as a decade in these areas. Japan's technology and manufacturing infrastructure is an integral part of its microelectronics industry's success.

Bio technologies in extractive metallurgy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Morin, D.

1995-01-01

The bio technologies processes used (or used in the future) in extractive metallurgy are presented. The most advanced one is the degradation of the metals sulfides (bacteria catalyzing the sulfides oxidation of Au, Cu, U). Two other applications outside the extractive metallurgy are also described: metals fixation by living or dead organic matter and the biological destruction of organic reactants such as cyanides. (A.B.)

The Stanford University US-Japan Technology Management Center

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Dasher, Richard

2002-01-01

This grant established the U.S.-Japan Technology Management Center, Stanford University School of Engineering, as an ongoing center of excellence for the study of emerging trends and interrelationships between technology...

Technological Cooperation Networks at Bio-Manguinhos: the Role of Information and Communication Technologies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lázaro Pereira de Oliveira

2015-01-01

Full Text Available This article identifies and discusses the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs to the technological cooperation projects of Bio-Manguinhos, a pharmaceutical manufacturer that belongs to Osvaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ, responsible for producing vaccines, reagents and biopharmaceuticals, with priority on meeting the needs of the Brazilian public health system. It is a case study with a qualitative approach for descriptive and explanatory purposes. The data were collected from 14 interviews conducted with managers of research and development (R&D projects with high relevance to the organization. The results allow concluding that the ICTs requiring greater interdependence between partners and two-way knowledge flows have not yet been used. They also show the importance of closer cooperation between the information technology (IT and R&D areas. A future positioning of Bio-Manguinhos as a technological center focused on discovery and sale of new active ingredients can favor the use of tools that promote greater integration between the partners of technology cooperation networks.

Self-regulation of recombinant DNA technology in Japan in the 1970s.

Science.gov (United States)

Nagai, Hiroyuki; Nukaga, Yoshio; Saeki, Koji; Akabayashi, Akira

2009-07-01

Recombinant DNA technology was developed in the United States in the early 1970s. Leading scientists held an international Asilomar Conference in 1975 to examine the self regulation of recombinant DNA technology, followed by the U.S. National Institutes of Health drafting the Recombinant DNA Research Guidelines in 1976. The result of this conference significantly affected many nations, including Japan. However, there have been few historical studies on the self-regulation of recombinant technologies conducted by scientists and government officials in Japan. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the Science Council of Japan, the Ministry of Education, Science adn Culture, and the Science and Technology Agency developed self-regulation policies for recombinant DNA technology in Japan in the 1970s. Groups of molecular biologist and geneticists played a key role in establishing guidelines in cooperation with government officials. Our findings suggest that self-regulation policies on recombinant DNA technology have influenced safety management for the life sciences and establishment of institutions for review in Japan.

JTEC panel on display technologies in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Tannas, Lawrence E., Jr.; Glenn, William E.; Credelle, Thomas; Doane, J. William; Firester, Arthur H.; Thompson, Malcolm

1992-01-01

This report is one in a series of reports that describes research and development efforts in Japan in the area of display technologies. The following are included in this report: flat panel displays (technical findings, liquid crystal display development and production, large flat panel displays (FPD's), electroluminescent displays and plasma panels, infrastructure in Japan's FPD industry, market and projected sales, and new a-Si active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) factory); materials for flat panel displays (liquid crystal materials, and light-emissive display materials); manufacturing and infrastructure of active matrix liquid crystal displays (manufacturing logistics and equipment); passive matrix liquid crystal displays (LCD basics, twisted nematics LCD's, supertwisted nematic LCD's, ferroelectric LCD's, and a comparison of passive matrix LCD technology); active matrix technology (basic active matrix technology, investment environment, amorphous silicon, polysilicon, and commercial products and prototypes); and projection displays (comparison of Japanese and U.S. display research, and technical evaluation of work).

A Study of Wearable Bio-Sensor Technologies and Applications in Healthcare

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Mehmood

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In today’s world the rapid advancements in Micro-Electromechanical Systems (MEMS and Nano technology have improved almost all the aspects of daily life routine with the help of different smart devices such as smart phones, compact electronic devices etc. The prime example of these emerging developments is the development of wireless sensors for healthcare procedures. One kind of these sensors is wearable bio-sensors. In this paper, the technologies of two types of bio-sensors (ECG, EMG are investigated and also compared with traditional ECG, EMG equipment. We have taken SHIMMERTM wireless sensor platform as an example of wearable biosensors technology. We have investigated the systems developed for analysis techniques with SHIMMERTM ECG and EMG wearable bio-sensors and these biosensors are used in continuous remote monitoring. For example, applications in continuous health monitoring of elderly people, critical chronic patients and Fitness & Fatigue observations. Nevertheless, early fall detection in older adults and weak patients, treatment efficacy assessment. This study not only provides the basic concepts of wearable wireless bio-sensors networks (WBSN, but also provides basic knowledge of different sensor platforms available for patient’s remote monitoring. Also various healthcare applications by using bio-sensors are discussed and in last comparison with traditional ECG and EMG is presented.

Report on technological trend survey in fiscal 2000. Survey on bio-technology development strategy; 2000 nendo gijutsu doko nado chosa hokokusho. Bio technology gijutsu kaihatsu senryaku chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

Survey and research have been performed on bio-technologies as to their seeds of technological development projects to be worked on by the government from the viewpoint of industrial utilization technologies. In the survey on the trends of research and development and technological development on human-genomes, the survey has been done on the status of execution in the Millennium Genome Project, and how the works related to human-genomes are done at the bio-related government based research organizations and the private sector research organizations. Trends related to the human-genome research in overseas countries were also surveyed. With regard to the future prospect of research and development in the post genome age, discussions were given on the result of the questionnaire survey on opinion leaders in the industrial, governmental and academic areas. In discussing the viewpoint of the industrial utilization technologies related to human genomes, candidates assumed usable in the genome related application fields were discussed, and a basic framework of a technological map was prepared. Based on the results thereof, the technological development areas anticipated to be important in the future were extracted, and the technological development themes were discussed. (NEDO)

Radiation curing technology progress and its industrial applications in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ukachi, Takashi

2003-01-01

Optics, electronics and display industries are now the driving forces for the Japanese radiation curing technology. The purpose of this paper is to overview the newly developed radiation curing technology in Japan, in particular, its industrial applications, and to present the market figures in radiation curing applications, which were surveyed by RadTech Japan in 2002 afresh. (author)

White paper on science and technology, 1995. Fifty years of postwar science and technology in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-07-01

This August marks 50 years since the end of World War II. Japan emerged from the ruins to overcome the post-war devastation to achieve a high level of economic growth and become the second largest economy in the world. Science and technology have played major roles as a driving force behind this quest for prosperity. However, it seems as though true prosperity is not necessarily being enjoyed by citizens of Japan today. Japan is becoming an aging society. To realize a truly rich and prosperous society in which people can live comfortably, it is important to further raise the level of science and technology. It is also necessary to ensure this development by revitalizing the economy, and to continue to utilize science and technology as an endless resource to create assets for society as a whole which will be inherited by future generations. With this viewpoint in mind, this White Paper looks back on Japan's scientific and technological development over the last 50 years, and considers the future of science and technology with a view toward realizing the true prosperity for its people. It is our hope that this White Paper will be helpful for considering the scientific and technological activities needed to bring about a Japan whose people are truly prosperous, and we will, as a government, continually increase our efforts toward the promotion of science and technology. (J.P.N.)

Synthetics, mineral oils, and bio-based lubricants chemistry and technology

CERN Document Server

Rudnick, Leslie R

2005-01-01

As the field of tribology has evolved, the lubrication industry is also progressing at an extraordinary rate. Updating the author's bestselling publication, Synthetic Lubricants and High-Performance Functional Fluids, this book features the contributions of over 60 specialists, ten new chapters, and a new title to reflect the evolving nature of the field: Synthetics, Mineral Oils, and Bio-Based Lubricants: Chemistry and Technology. The book contains chapters on all major lubricant fluids used in a wide range of applications. For each type of lubricant, the authors discuss the historical develo

Advanced biomass science and technology for bio-based products: proceedings

Science.gov (United States)

Chung Hse; Zehui Jiang; Mon-Lin Kuo

2009-01-01

This book was developed from the proceedings of the Advanced Biomass Science and Technology for Bio-Based Products Symposium held in Beijing, China, May 23-25, 2007. The symposium was designed to provide a forum for researchers, producers, and consumers of biomass and bio-based products; to exchange information and ideas; and to stimulate new research and...

Bio-energy in Europe: changing technology choices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Faaij, Andre P.C.

2006-01-01

Bio-energy is seen as one of the key options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and substitute fossil fuels. This is certainly evident in Europe, where a kaleidoscope of activities and programs was and is executed for developing and stimulating bio-energy. Over the past 10-15 years in the European Union, heat and electricity production from biomass increased with some 2% and 9% per year, respectively, between 1990 and 2000 and biofuel production increased about eight-fold in the same period. Biomass contributed some two-thirds of the total renewable energy production in the European Union (EU) (2000 PJ) or 4% of the total energy supply in 1999. Given the targets for heat, power and biofuels, this contribution may rise to some 10% (6000 PJ) in 2010. Over time, the scale at which bio-energy is being used has increased considerably. This is true for electricity and combined heat and power plants, and how biomass markets are developing from purely regional to international markets, with increasing cross-border trade-flows. So far, national policy programs proved to be of vital importance for the success of the development of bio-energy, which led to very specific technological choices in various countries. For the future, a supra-national approach is desired: comprehensive research development, demonstration and deployment trajectories for key options as biomass integrated gasification/combined cycle and advanced biofuel concepts, develop an international biomass market allowing for international trade and an integral policy approach for bio-energy incorporating energy, agricultural, forestry, waste and industrial policies. The Common Agricultural Policy of the (extended) EU should fully incorporate bio-energy and perennial crops in particular

Evaluation of bio-remediation technologies for PAHs contaminated soils

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Frutos, F.J.; Diaz, J.; Rodriguez, V.; Escolano, O.; Garcia, S.; Perez, R.; Martinez, R.; Oromendia, R.

2005-01-01

Natural attenuation is a new concept related to polluted soil remediation. Can be understood like an 'in situ' bio-remediation process with low technical intervention. This low intervention may be in order to follow the behaviour of pollutants 'monitored natural attenuation' or include an optimisation process to improve biological remediation. The use of this technology is a fact for light hydrocarbon polluted soil, but few is known about the behaviour of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in this process. PAHs are more recalcitrant to bio-remediation due to their physic-chemical characteristics, mainly hydrophobicity and electrochemical stability. PAHs are a kind of pollutants widely distributed in the environment, not only in the proximity of the source. This linked to the characteristics of some of them related to toxicity and mutagenicity implies its inclusion as target compounds from an environmental point of view. Their low availability, solubility and the strong tendency to bind to soil particle, especially to the organic phase affect PAHs biological mineralisation. So, if the pollutant is not available to microorganisms it can not be bio-degraded. Bioavailability can be assessed form several but complementary points of view: physico-chemical and biological. First including the term availability and the second to point out the capacity of soil microorganisms to mineralize PAHs. Availability and Bio-degradability must be determined, as well as the presence and activity of specific degraders among the soil organisms, once settled these points is necessary to study the biological requirements to optimise biodegradation kinetics of these compounds. In this work we present a study carried out on a soil, contaminated by PAHs, the study includes three main topics: bioavailability assessment (both term availability and bio-degradability), bio-remediation assessment, once optimised conditions for natural attenuation and finally a simulation of the

Inorganic Nanocrystals Functionalized Mesoporous Silica Nanoparticles: Fabrication and Enhanced Bio-applications

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiancong Zhao

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Mesoporous SiO2 nanoparticles (MSNs are one of the most promising materials for bio-related applications due to advantages such as good biocompatibility, tunable mesopores, and large pore volume. However, unlike the inorganic nanocrystals with abundant physical properties, MSNs alone lack functional features. Thus, they are not sufficiently suitable for bio-applications that require special functions. Consequently, MSNs are often functionalized by incorporating inorganic nanocrystals, which provide a wide range of intriguing properties. This review focuses on inorganic nanocrystals functionalized MSNs, both their fabrication and bio-applications. Some of the most utilized methods for coating mesoporous silica (mSiO2 on nanoparticles were summarized. Magnetic, fluorescence and photothermal inorganic nanocrystals functionalized MSNs were taken as examples to demonstrate the bio-applications. Furthermore, asymmetry of MSNs and their effects on functions were also highlighted.

Scaffold-free 3D bio-printed human liver tissue stably maintains metabolic functions useful for drug discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Kizawa, Hideki; Nagao, Eri; Shimamura, Mitsuru; Zhang, Guangyuan; Torii, Hitoshi

2017-07-01

The liver plays a central role in metabolism. Although many studies have described in vitro liver models for drug discovery, to date, no model has been described that can stably maintain liver function. Here, we used a unique, scaffold-free 3D bio-printing technology to construct a small portion of liver tissue that could stably maintain drug, glucose, and lipid metabolism, in addition to bile acid secretion. This bio-printed normal human liver tissue maintained expression of several kinds of hepatic drug transporters and metabolic enzymes that functioned for several weeks. The bio-printed liver tissue displayed glucose production via cAMP/protein kinase A signaling, which could be suppressed with insulin. Bile acid secretion was also observed from the printed liver tissue, and it accumulated in the culture medium over time. We observed both bile duct and sinusoid-like structures in the bio-printed liver tissue, which suggested that bile acid secretion occurred via a sinusoid-hepatocyte-bile duct route. These results demonstrated that our bio-printed liver tissue was unique, because it exerted diverse liver metabolic functions for several weeks. In future, we expect our bio-printed liver tissue to be applied to developing new models that can be used to improve preclinical predictions of long-term toxicity in humans, generate novel targets for metabolic liver disease, and evaluate biliary excretion in drug development.

Survey of the development of industrial technology in Japan; Sangyo gijutsu rekishi keisho chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

Conditions for creating Japan`s type technologies have been investigated by extracting technologies and experiences meriting the succession to the next generation among the industrial technologies in Japan after World War II. Technological creativity of Japan began to appear from the 1970`s. Quartz watch of SEIKO, U-Matic VTR of SONY, ladle refinery method of DAIDO Steel, PAN-based carbon fiber of TORAY, continuous annealing of Nippon Steel, calculating machine using liquid crystal of SHARP, ASA-400 high sensitivity film of FUJI FILM, and Japanese word-processor of TOSHIBA are the examples. The basic ability to create those products and technology lays in the diversity of firms in electronic device and fine machinery industries consisting the boundary between general and electrical machinery, the systematizing ability and inter-industrial cooperation which were promoted through quality control, automatization of assembly and production control by computer, and the research and development capability which has been brought up during the high economic growth as a learning process of technology. The society and industries have to make efforts to create the new creative conditions for younger generations. Otherwise, Japan`s technology will not develop. 134 refs., 19 figs., 8 tabs.

Progress of radiation curing technology and its industrial applications in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takashi Ukachi

2007-01-01

The Japanese industry has grown with annual growth rate 108%. Electric parts and devices industry strongly promoted Japanese economy. UV/EB curing market in Japan enjoyed its steady growth with an annual growth rate 107%. By realizing the advantages of good performance and high functionality, the UV/EB curing technology has expanded its application field especially in leading edge industries, such as electric parts and devices, FPDs, Optical fibers and cables, optical recording media, and their fabrication and manufacturing. This paper summarizes the Japanese UV/EB market situation and overviews the latest progress of UV/EB technology. (Author)

Cooperating internationally. US/Japan Civil Industrial Technologies (CIT) Arrangement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-12-01

The Civil Industrial Technologies (CIT) Arrangement was signed in July 1994 between governments of the US and Japan. Areas of research range from scientific and technical databases and bioprocessing to precompetitive processing of functionally-gradient materials and ceramics. Papers presented in this symposium include studies on thin polymer films generated by vapor deposition polymerization, development of manufacturing technique of fusing 3D C/C composite materials, measurement and analysis for high performance computing systems, low-cost fabrication of ceramic components, bioprocessing, data exchange for mass spectral databases, development of high performance aluminum nitride ceramics, precompetitive processing of functionally-gradient materials, purity determination of organic reference materials, definitive methods traceable to SI unit, development of biocompatible artificial hard tissue materials, development of photoassisted catalysis technologies, surface analysis for catalysts by electron spectroscopy, development of ultra-solid lubricant with cluster diamond, precise determination of impurities in high-purity rare-earth metals, and highly accurate acceleration measurement system. 22 refs., 86 figs., 3 tabs.

History of nuclear technology development in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yamashita, Kiyonobu, E-mail: yamashita.kiyonobu@jaea.go.jp [Visiting Professor, at the Faculty of Petroleum and Renewable Energy Engineering, University Teknologi Malaysia Johor Bahru 81310 (Malaysia); General Advisor Nuclear HRD Centre, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, TOKAI-mura, NAKA-gun, IBARAKI-ken, 319-1195 (Japan)

2015-04-29

Nuclear technology development in Japan has been carried out based on the Atomic Energy Basic Act brought into effect in 1955. The nuclear technology development is limited to peaceful purposes and made in a principle to assure their safety. Now, the technologies for research reactors radiation application and nuclear power plants are delivered to developing countries. First of all, safety measures of nuclear power plants (NPPs) will be enhanced based on lesson learned from TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi NPS accident.

History of nuclear technology development in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Yamashita, Kiyonobu

2015-04-01

Nuclear technology development in Japan has been carried out based on the Atomic Energy Basic Act brought into effect in 1955. The nuclear technology development is limited to peaceful purposes and made in a principle to assure their safety. Now, the technologies for research reactors radiation application and nuclear power plants are delivered to developing countries. First of all, safety measures of nuclear power plants (NPPs) will be enhanced based on lesson learned from TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi NPS accident.

History of nuclear technology development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Kiyonobu

2015-01-01

Nuclear technology development in Japan has been carried out based on the Atomic Energy Basic Act brought into effect in 1955. The nuclear technology development is limited to peaceful purposes and made in a principle to assure their safety. Now, the technologies for research reactors radiation application and nuclear power plants are delivered to developing countries. First of all, safety measures of nuclear power plants (NPPs) will be enhanced based on lesson learned from TEPCO Fukushima Daiichi NPS accident

Functional mesoporous silica nanoparticles for bio-imaging applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Cha, Bong Geun; Kim, Jaeyun

2018-03-22

Biomedical investigations using mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) have received significant attention because of their unique properties including controllable mesoporous structure, high specific surface area, large pore volume, and tunable particle size. These unique features make MSNs suitable for simultaneous diagnosis and therapy with unique advantages to encapsulate and load a variety of therapeutic agents, deliver these agents to the desired location, and release the drugs in a controlled manner. Among various clinical areas, nanomaterials-based bio-imaging techniques have advanced rapidly with the development of diverse functional nanoparticles. Due to the unique features of MSNs, an imaging agent supported by MSNs can be a promising system for developing targeted bio-imaging contrast agents with high structural stability and enhanced functionality that enable imaging of various modalities. Here, we review the recent achievements on the development of functional MSNs for bio-imaging applications, including optical imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), ultrasound imaging, and multimodal imaging for early diagnosis. With further improvement in noninvasive bio-imaging techniques, the MSN-supported imaging agent systems are expected to contribute to clinical applications in the future. This article is categorized under: Diagnostic Tools > In vivo Nanodiagnostics and Imaging Nanotechnology Approaches to Biology > Nanoscale Systems in Biology. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

United States Japan Industry and Technology Management Training

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Gercik, Patricia

2001-01-01

.... The intellectual focus of the Program is to integrate the research methodologies of the social sciences, the humanities, and technology to approach issues confronting the United States and Japan...

Clean coal technologies in Japan: technological innovation in the coal industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2006-12-15

This brochure reviews the history clean coal technologies (CCT) in Japan and systematically describes the present state of CCT insofar. The brochure contains three parts. Part 1. CCT classifications; Part 2. CCT overview; and Part 3. Future outlook for CCT. The main section is part 2 which includes 1) technologies for coal resources development; 2) coal-fired power generation technologies - combustion technologies and gasification technologies; 3) iron making and general industry technologies; 4) multi-purpose coal utilization technologies - liquefaction technologies, pyrolysis technologies, powdering, fluidization, and co-utilisation technologies, and de-ashing and reforming technologies; 5) Environmental protection technologies - CO{sub 2} recovery technologies; flue gas treatment and gas cleaning technologies, and technologies to effectively use coal has; 6) basic technologies for advanced coal utilization; and 7) co-production systems.

Potato irradiation technology in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takehisa, M.

1981-01-01

After the National research program on potato irradiation, the public consumption of potatoes irradiated to a maximum of 15 krad was authorized by the Ministry of Welfare. Shihoro Agricultural Cooperative Association, one of the largest potato producers in Japan with an annual production of 200,000 tons, intended an application of the irradiation to their potato storage system. This paper describes the technological background of the potato irradiation facility and operational experience. (author)

BioModels: Content, Features, Functionality, and Use

Science.gov (United States)

Juty, N; Ali, R; Glont, M; Keating, S; Rodriguez, N; Swat, MJ; Wimalaratne, SM; Hermjakob, H; Le Novère, N; Laibe, C; Chelliah, V

2015-01-01

BioModels is a reference repository hosting mathematical models that describe the dynamic interactions of biological components at various scales. The resource provides access to over 1,200 models described in literature and over 140,000 models automatically generated from pathway resources. Most model components are cross-linked with external resources to facilitate interoperability. A large proportion of models are manually curated to ensure reproducibility of simulation results. This tutorial presents BioModels' content, features, functionality, and usage. PMID:26225232

Electro-Optics Millimeter/Microwave Technology in Japan. Report of DoD Technology Team.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-05-01

sink packages covering frequencies up to 94 GHz is being produced. They are suitable for both con- tinuous wave (CW) and pulsed operations. Mean -time...Processing Tel ecommunications Semiconductor and Electronic Components The Technology Team visited the Fujitsu Laboratory, Kanagawa. Topics covered included...Japan, the representatives of the Government of Japan and the Government of the United States of America have held discussions on the ways and means to

FY 1997 report on the research study on the effect of the active use of bio-technology on energy and social systems; 1997 nendo chosa hokokusho (bio-technology no katsuyo ni yoru energy shakai system ni oyobosu koka no chosa kenkyu)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

For construction of a sustainable society by active use of bio-technology, a research study was made on the current state of active use of bio-technology for every industrial or social field, and the basic recognition and orientation for practice and diffusion of bio-technology. The previous typical examples of the effect of bio-technology on energy and social systems were evaluated from not only an affirmative viewpoint but also a compensatory viewpoint. Based on these examples, promising features of bio-technology and measures for active use of such features were showed for the future energy and social systems from a technological viewpoint. As a scenario for sustainable development of a society, some approaches and values about collection of rare resources, agriculture based on mass circulation, and recurrence to high-protein traditional foods such as fermented food were showed for balanced development of environment, population, and resources including energy and food. 8 refs., 14 figs., 8 tabs.

Creation of new growth engine through proliferating radiation fusion technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Byun, Myung Woo

2008-01-01

Radiation technology is being used for the decontamination of foods, the breeding of crops and flowers, the sterilization of medical devices, recycling and conservation of wastes and the development of advanced functional materials. The economical scales of radiational industries were higher than 148 billion $ in United States and 64.5 billion $ in Japan, but only 0.15 billion $ in Korea. To promote the radiation industry, the Korean government has legislated the general plans for the promotion of atomic energy and established the Advanced Radiation Technology Institute in Jeongeup. Radiation Fusion Technology (RFT) is an advanced technology which integrates Information Technology, Nano Technology, Bio Technology, Environmental Technology, Space Technology, based on Radiation Technology. RFT is developing highly value-added products and theses outcomes will be industrialized in RFT business valley

Development of production technology for bio diesel fuel and feasibility test of bio diesel engine (II)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Na, Y J; Ju, U S; Park, Y C [National Kyung Sang University (Korea, Republic of)

1996-02-01

At the beginning of the 21 st century two urgent tasks which our global countries would face with could be the security of the alternative energy source as a preparation against the fossil energy exhaustion and the development of the clean energy source to protect the environment from pollution. The above two problems should be solved together. The bio diesel oil which is made by methylesterfication of bio oil has very low sulfur content than does the diesel oil. Therefore, there is a great possibility to solve the pollution problem caused by the exhaust gas from diesel engine vehicles. So, bio oil has been attracted with attentions as an alternative and clean energy source. Advanced countries began early to develop the bio diesel oil suitable to their respective conditions. Recently their production stage have reached to the commercial level partially. The sudden increase of energy demand followed by a rapid growth of industry and the serious situation about the environmental pollution caused by the exhaust has from diesel engine vehicles occupying 42% of distribution among all vehicles have called attention of our government to consider the importance of alternative and clean energy sources for the future on the national scale. This study is consisted of three main parts; - The development of production technology for bio diesel oil. - The development of the atomization improvement method and nozzle for high viscous vegetable oils. - Feasibility test of bio diesel engine. (author) 119 refs., 52 tabs., 88 figs.

New York Nano-Bio Molecular Information Technology (NYNBIT) Incubator

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Das, Digendra K

2008-12-19

This project presents the outcome of an effort made by a consortium of six universities in the State of New York to develop a Center for Advanced technology (CAT) in the emerging field of Nano-Bio-Molecular Information Technology. The effort consists of activities such as organization of the NYNBIT incubator, collaborative research projects, development of courses, an educational program for high schools, and commercial start-up programs.

New stage of clean coal technology in Japan; Clean coal technology no aratana tenkai ni tsuite

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kawaguchi, Y [Agency of Natural Resources and Energy, Tokyo (Japan)

1996-09-01

The paper described the positioning and new development of clean coal technology. Coal is an important resource which supplies approximately 30% of the energy consumed in all the world. In the Asian/Pacific region, especially, a share of coal in energy is high, around 60% of the world, and it is indispensable to continue using coal which is abundantly reserved. Japan continues using coal as an important energy among petroleum substituting energies taking consideration of the global environment, and is making efforts for development and promotion of clean coal technology aiming at further reduction of environmental loads. Moreover, in the Asian region where petroleum depends greatly upon outside the region, it is extremely important for stabilization of Japan`s energy supply that coal producing countries in the region promote development/utilization of their coal resources. For this, it is a requirement for Japan to further a coal policy having an outlook of securing stable coal supply/demand in the Asian region. 6 figs., 2 tabs.

[Review of the health technology assessment on surgeries in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Nishigori, Tatsuto; Kawakami, Koji; Goto, Rei; Hida, Koya; Sakai, Yoshiharu

2015-01-01

Health Technology Assessment (HTA) is the systematic evaluation to measure the value of new health technologies. It improves the quality of choices on hand for cost-effective health technologies that are considered valuable. Japan has built a society of longevity consisted of the institution of the universal health care system, which is financially unsustainable. In Japan, no independent HTA organization has been publicly established but the government is contemplating implementation of such system. To advance the usage of HTA into surgery, we need to establish methods for evaluating new surgical technologies with steep learning curves. The promotion of clinical researches is also essential, especially by taking advantage of observational studies from medical big data such as the Japanese nationwide database which has more than four million surgical cases registered. In addition, we need more clinical information regarding each surgical patient's quality of life and socioeconomic status. The countries already introduced HTA into their health care system have measures to solve the problems that arose and have developed necessary evaluating methods. To introduce and promote HTA in Japan without taking away the benefit of our current healthcare, it is required that surgeons collaborate with other specialists such as methodologists and health economists.

US/Japan workshop on mitigation and adaptation technologies related to global climate change

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bernthal, F.M.

1993-12-31

It is a great pleasure for me to have the honor of delivering the keynote address for this important gathering, an honor enhanced further because of the many activities and historic relationships represented by this workshop. First of all, it represents the spirit of continuing cooperation and good relations between the United States and Japan. With the aid of the framework provided by the U.S./Japan Science and Technology Agreement, our two nations can come together to address a problem that has no national boundaries {hor_ellipsis} and we can think about solutions of potential benefit to all citizens of the global community. This workshop also symbolizes the spirit of cooperation so characteristic of the conduct of research in science and technology -- cooperation between us as individual scientists and engineers, between the various institutions we represent, and across our diverse disciplines. This workshop is only the second of its kind. The first US/Japan Workshop on global climate change was held last year in Japan. That workshop focused on cooperative scientific research in the United States and Japan. Out of it came a general agreement to continue collaborative work and to extend cooperation into the area of global change-related technologies, in particular those technologies that hold promise for mitigation and adaptation.

Do investment-specific technological changes matter for business fluctuations? Evidence from Japan

OpenAIRE

Hirose, Yasuo; Kurozumi, Takushi

2011-01-01

The observed decline in the relative price of investment goods to consumption goods in Japan suggests the existence of investment-specific technological (IST) changes. We examine whether IST changes are a major source of business fluctuations in Japan, by estimating a dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model with Bayesian methods. We show that IST changes are less important than neutral technological changes in explaining output fluctuations. We also demonstrate that investment fluctuatio...

1st International Symposium ‘Physics, Engineering and Technologies for Bio-Medicine’

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2017-01-01

The 1st International Symposium “Physics, Engineering and Technologies for BioMedicine” was held in Moscow at the occasion of the foundation of the new Institute PhysBio at MEPHI (Russia) on October 20-23, 2016. Under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Science and Education, the Ministry of Health and the State Company Rosatom, the Symposium is organized by the Institute of Engineering Physics for Biomedicine (PhysBio), which has recently been established at National Research Nuclear University MEPhI (Moscow Engineering Physics Institute). The PhysBio’s goal is to train highly-skilled personnel through the research and development in engineering physics for biomedicine, including nuclear medicine, material science, laser physics and biophotonic technologies. The Symposium was aimed to meet the leading scientists and experts in nuclear medicine, biophysics, biophotonics, and emerging fields to present their works and to have invited lectures. (paper)

Contesting the natural in Japan: moral dilemmas and technologies of dying.

Science.gov (United States)

Lock, M

1995-03-01

The paper opens with a discussion about the recognition of "whole-brain death" as the end of life in North America in order to perform solid organ transplants. This situation is contrasted with Japan, where, despite no financial or technological restrictions, brain death is not recognized, and transplants from brain-dead bodies cannot be performed. The Japanese cultural debate over the past twenty-five years about the "brain-death problem" is presented, followed by an analysis of Japanese attitudes towards technological intervention into what is taken to be the "natural" domain, together with a discussion of current Japanese attitudes towards death. This debate is interpreted as one aspect of a search for moral order in contemporary Japan, revealing ambivalence about self and other, Japan and the West, and tradition and modernity.

Fiscal 1998 research report. Survey on R and D, and application technology of biotechnology; 1998 nendo chosa hokokusho. Bio technology no kenkyu kaihatsu, sangyoka gijutsu nado ni kansuru chosa kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1999-03-01

Survey was made mainly on use of biotechnology as resource saving and energy saving processes. Biotechnology is in wide use in a pharmaceutical field, while its application is on the increase in agriculture, food, chemistry, energy and environment fields. The USA is ahead of Japan and Europe. In the USA, there are more than 1000 ventures, and R and D of biotechnology, in particular, gene analysis and manipulation techniques are in progress together with acquisition of patents. In biomass energy, production of ethanol from corn, and development of biodiesel are in progress in the USA and Europe, respectively. Use of biomass should be promoted because of its global environment compatibility and sustainable productivity. In the future bio-market, genome analysis and its application are most important, however, Japan is behind in such technology in the world. The Joint approach by industry, university and government is necessary from the viewpoint of a future marketability and international competitiveness. Promotion of a public acceptance and nurture of creative talents are also important. (NEDO)

CONVERGENCE OF NANO-, BIO-, INFO-, COGNITIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND E-CULTURE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergey I. Rodzin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The article analyzes the convergence of nano-, bio-, info- and cognitive technologies. We highlight the close relationship of such notions as “e-culture”, “consciousness”, “artificial intelligence”. Artificial intelligence technology is the meta-NBIC-complex itself. Electronic infrastructure of intellectual activity - the essence of artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence technologies play a meta-level role of NBIC- technologies, being significant for e-culture. Development of science, technology, and education suggests that in the future perhaps a radical transformation in human beings is not only the material world, but also a subjective reality. 

Electronics manufacturing and assembly in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kukowski, John A.; Boulton, William R.

1995-02-01

In the consumer electronics industry, precision processing technology is the basis for enhancing product functions and for minimizing components and end products. Throughout Japan, manufacturing technology is seen as critical to the production and assembly of advanced products. While its population has increased less than 30 percent over twenty-five years, Japan's gross national product has increase thirtyfold; this growth has resulted in large part from rapid replacement of manual operations with innovative, high-speed, large-scale, continuously running, complex machines that process a growing number of miniaturized components. The JTEC panel found that introduction of next-generation electronics products in Japan goes hand-in-hand with introduction of new and improved production equipment. In the panel's judgment, Japan's advanced process technologies and equipment development and its highly automated factories are crucial elements of its domination of the consumer electronics marketplace - and Japan's expertise in manufacturing consumer electronics products gives it potentially unapproachable process expertise in all electronics markets.

Research; BOSS Study Trip Japan '09 : Architecture, Urbanism, Real Estate & Housing and Technology in Japan

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Feenstra, R.; Van Beelen, C.; Wamelink, J.W.F.; Geraedts, R.P.

2010-01-01

Japan is a land of many faces as we discovered: from seasonal changes, and thereby heavy rainfall, high humidity, tropical cyclones; to a stunning 127,300,000 inhabitants; or what about the only 10% buildable surface of the continent; seismic activity; fast going technological developments like

Bio-patch design and implementation based on a low-power system-on-chip and paper-based inkjet printing technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Geng; Xie, Li; Mantysalo, Matti; Chen, Jian; Tenhunen, Hannu; Zheng, L R

2012-11-01

This paper presents the prototype implementation of a Bio-Patch using fully integrated low-power System-on-Chip (SoC) sensor and paper-based inkjet printing technology. The SoC sensor is featured with programmable gain and bandwidth to accommodate a variety of bio-signals. It is fabricated in a 0.18-ìm standard CMOS technology, with a total power consumption of 20 ìW from a 1.2 V supply. Both the electrodes and interconnections are implemented by printing conductive nano-particle inks on a flexible photo paper substrate using inkjet printing technology. A Bio-Patch prototype is developed by integrating the SoC sensor, a soft battery, printed electrodes and interconnections on a photo paper substrate. The Bio-Patch can work alone or operate along with other patches to establish a wired network for synchronous multiple-channel bio-signals recording. The measurement results show that electrocardiogram and electromyogram are successfully measured in in-vivo tests using the implemented Bio-Patch prototype.

Biogas and BioFertilizer Production Using Green Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sirirote, Pramote

2010-01-01

Basically, it is technology which created and used in a way that conserves natural resources and the environment. This technology also can be environmental friendly because the use of this technology is supposed to reduce the amount of waste and pollution that is created during production and consumption. These food wastes will come from animal bone, crab skeleton, fish skeleton, rice, noodle, vegetable and others. We collect all of these wastes and then keep it in plants, and then we make sure that this waste will turn into biogas via anaerobic digestion. All of these involved hydrolysis, fermentation, aceto genesis and methano genesis process. Methane that produced will be used in biomass plant to generate electricity. Meanwhile bio fertilizer that produced will be applied on agriculture sectors as fertilizer for plants.

[Research of aeration with bio-film technology to treat urban landscape water].

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Ying-Wei; Nie, Zhi-Dan; Nian, Yue-Gang; Huang, Min-Sheng; Huang, Jian-Jun; Yan, Hai-Hong; Zhang, Yang

2008-01-01

Research of the aeration with bio-film technology was carried out to treat scenic water of a sanatorium in Beijing. The aim of the research was improving the water habitat by increasing the transparency and reducing the concentration of N and P. The equipments were set in a 5,000 m2 water area, which combined the plug flow jet aerator with the elastic biological filler. The research indicated that the transparency increased from 25 cm to 120 cm by the technology. The removal efficiencies of NH4(+)-N, NO3(-)-N and TP were 86.6% , 90% and 73.3%, but there was only 22.4% for TN. The concentration of DO increased from 4.3 mg/L to 7 mg/L. In a word, the aeration with bio-film technology was an effective measure to improve the water habitat by increasing the transparency.

Nano-bio-sensing

CERN Document Server

Carrara, Sandro

2011-01-01

This book examines state-of-the-art applications of nano-bio-sensing. It brings together researchers from nano-electronics and bio-technology, providing multidisciplinary content from nano-structures fabrication to bio-sensing applications.

A Life Cycle Analysis on a Bio-DME production system considering the species of biomass feedstock in Japan and Papua New Guinea

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Higo, Masashi; Dowaki, Kiyoshi

2010-01-01

This paper describes the performance and/or CO 2 intensities of a Bio-DME (Biomass Di-methyl Ether) production system, considering the differences of biomass feedstock. In the past LCA studies on an energy chain model, there is little knowledge on the differences of biomass feedstock and/or available condition. Thus, in this paper, we selected Papua New Guinea (PNG) which has good potential for supply of an energy crop (a short rotation forestry), and Japan where wood remnants are available, as model areas. Also, we referred to 9 species of biomass feedstock of PNG, and to 8 species in Japan. The system boundary on our LCA consists of (1) the pre-treatment process, (2) the energy conversion process, and (3) the fuel transportation process. Especially, since the pre-treatment process has uncertainties related to the moisture content of biomass feedstock, as well as the distance from the cultivation site to the energy plant, we considered them by the Monte Carlo simulation. Next, we executed the process design of the Bio-DME production system based on the basic experimental results of pyrolysis and char gasification reactions. Due to these experiments, the gas components of pyrolysis and the gasification rate under H 2 O (steam) and CO 2 were obtained. Also, we designed the pressurized fluid-bed gasification process. In a liquefaction process, that is, a synthesis process of DME, the result based on an equilibrium constant was used. In the proposed system, a steam turbine for an auxiliary power was assumed to be equipped, too. The energy efficiencies are 39.0-56.8 LHV-%, depending upon the biomass species. Consequently, CO 2 intensities in the whole system were 16.3-47.2 g-CO 2 /MJ-DME in the Japan case, and 12.2-36.7 g-CO 2 /MJ-DME in the PNG one, respectively. Finally, using the results of CO 2 intensities and energy efficiencies, we obtained the regression equations as parameters of hydrogen content and heating value of a feedstock. These equations will be

Description of Ethical Bio-Technology Assessment Tools for Agriculture and Food Production. Interim Report Ethical Bio-TA Tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Beekman, V.

2004-01-01

The objective of 'Ethical Bio-TA Tools' project is to develop and improve tools for the ethical assessment of new technologies in agriculture and food production in general and modern biotechnologies in particular. The developed tools need to be designed for various purposes and contexts. They

Proceedings of Japan-Germany Workshop of Bioremediation; Nichidoku bio remediation workshop hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-12-04

This is a proceedings of Japan-Germany Workshop on Bioremediation held on December 4 and 5, 1995. The keynote lectures include `Environmental preservation using biotechnology` by Prof. Karube of University of Tokyo, and `Environmental technology in Germany: status, achievements, and problems` by Prof. R.D.Schmid of University of Stuttgart. In the oral session, 7 papers are presented in the microbiological aspects of bioremediation, 10 papers in the environmental monitoring, and 6 papers in the engineering aspects of bioremediation. This workshop was sponsored by the German Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Technology, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, and Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth. According to the lecture by Prof. Karube, key technologies for the environmental preservation include biotechnologies, such as the culture of fine algae with high CO2 concentration resistant properties using a solar light condenser, production of effective substances from CO2, and production of organic fertilizer from the sediments of lakes and sea. 19 refs., 12 figs., 3 tabs.

Limits to the potential of bio-fuels and bio-sequestration of carbon

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pearman, Graeme I.

2013-01-01

This document examines bio-physical limits of bio-fuels and bio-sequestration of carbon by examining available solar radiation and observed efficiencies with which natural ecosystems and agricultural systems convert that energy to biomass. It compares these energy/carbon exchanges with national levels of energy use and carbon emissions for Australia, Brazil, China, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Singapore, Sweden, United Kingdom and United States. Globally primary energy consumption (related carbon emissions) is currently equivalent to ∼0.06% of the incident solar energy, and 43% of the energy (carbon) captured by photosynthesis. The nations fall into three categories. Those with primary energy consumption that is: 1–10% (Japan, Korea and Singapore); ∼0.1% (China, UK and the US) and; 0.1–0.01% (Australia, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Sweden) of incident solar radiation. The percentage of energy captured in biomass follows this pattern, but generally lower by ∼3 orders of magnitude. The energy content of traded wheat, corn and rice represents conversion efficiencies of solar radiation of 0.08–0.17% and for sugar close to 1%, ignoring energy use in production and conversion of biomass to fuels. The study implies that bio-fuels or bio-sequestration can only be a small part of an inclusive portfolio of actions towards a low carbon future and minimised net emissions of carbon to the atmosphere. - Highlights: • Global energy consumption is ∼0.06% of solar; 43% of net primary production. • 11 nations studied fall into 3 groups: consumption/solar=1–10%; ∼0.1%; 0.1–0.01%. • % of energy captured in biomass is lower by ∼3 orders of magnitude. • Crops and natural ecosystems capture 0.1–0.3% and sugar 1% of solar energy. • Significant bio-energy/carbon sequestration via biomass is unrealistic

Selective individual primary cell capture using locally bio-functionalized micropores.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jie Liu

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Solid-state micropores have been widely employed for 6 decades to recognize and size flowing unlabeled cells. However, the resistive-pulse technique presents limitations when the cells to be differentiated have overlapping dimension ranges such as B and T lymphocytes. An alternative approach would be to specifically capture cells by solid-state micropores. Here, the inner wall of 15-µm pores made in 10 µm-thick silicon membranes was covered with antibodies specific to cell surface proteins of B or T lymphocytes. The selective trapping of individual unlabeled cells in a bio-functionalized micropore makes them recognizable just using optical microscopy. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We locally deposited oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN and ODN-conjugated antibody probes on the inner wall of the micropores by forming thin films of polypyrrole-ODN copolymers using contactless electro-functionalization. The trapping capabilities of the bio-functionalized micropores were validated using optical microscopy and the resistive-pulse technique by selectively capturing polystyrene microbeads coated with complementary ODN. B or T lymphocytes from a mouse splenocyte suspension were specifically immobilized on micropore walls functionalized with complementary ODN-conjugated antibodies targeting cell surface proteins. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The results showed that locally bio-functionalized micropores can isolate target cells from a suspension during their translocation throughout the pore, including among cells of similar dimensions in complex mixtures.

Selective Individual Primary Cell Capture Using Locally Bio-Functionalized Micropores

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jie; Bombera, Radoslaw; Leroy, Loïc; Roupioz, Yoann; Baganizi, Dieudonné R.; Marche, Patrice N.; Haguet, Vincent; Mailley, Pascal; Livache, Thierry

2013-01-01

Background Solid-state micropores have been widely employed for 6 decades to recognize and size flowing unlabeled cells. However, the resistive-pulse technique presents limitations when the cells to be differentiated have overlapping dimension ranges such as B and T lymphocytes. An alternative approach would be to specifically capture cells by solid-state micropores. Here, the inner wall of 15-µm pores made in 10 µm-thick silicon membranes was covered with antibodies specific to cell surface proteins of B or T lymphocytes. The selective trapping of individual unlabeled cells in a bio-functionalized micropore makes them recognizable just using optical microscopy. Methodology/Principal Findings We locally deposited oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) and ODN-conjugated antibody probes on the inner wall of the micropores by forming thin films of polypyrrole-ODN copolymers using contactless electro-functionalization. The trapping capabilities of the bio-functionalized micropores were validated using optical microscopy and the resistive-pulse technique by selectively capturing polystyrene microbeads coated with complementary ODN. B or T lymphocytes from a mouse splenocyte suspension were specifically immobilized on micropore walls functionalized with complementary ODN-conjugated antibodies targeting cell surface proteins. Conclusions/Significance The results showed that locally bio-functionalized micropores can isolate target cells from a suspension during their translocation throughout the pore, including among cells of similar dimensions in complex mixtures. PMID:23469221

Future trend of science and technology. Kagaku gijutsu wa doko made susumu ka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kondo, S. (Inst. for Future Techynology, Tokyo (Japan))

1991-01-05

The fifth survey of a large scale technology forecast which is conducted by the Science and Technology Agency (Japan) is now started. This paper gives a prospect on the megatrend of technical innovation according to the 4th. Survey conducted in 1987. Threefold viewpoints of the analysis are as follows: Type of the technical innovation (Breakthrough type and technology melting pot type). New technology and new product development (adding higher value, human friendly type). Leading technology qualitative innovation of information/electronic technology; pursuit of highly intelligent technology. (Biological technology qualitative innovation of bio-technology: pursuit of simulated organism function). The technical forecast is conducted on 17 field sectors. Examples of design-synthesis and fabrication'' technology are a technology of control based on clarification at atomic and molecular levels'', and another is design and synthesis technology of substances by means of a computer science:.'' 2 tabs.

Technological change of the energy innovation system: From oil-based to bio-based energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wonglimpiyarat, Jarunee

2010-01-01

This paper concerns the structural developments and the direction of technological change of the energy innovation system, based on the studies of Kuhn's model of scientific change and Schumpeter's model of technological change. The paper uses the case study of Thai government agencies for understanding the way governments can facilitate technological innovation. The analyses are based on a pre-foresight exercise to examine the potential of the bio-based energy and investigate a set of development policies necessary for the direction of energy system development. The results have shown that bio-based energy is seen as the next new wave for future businesses and one of the solutions to the problem of high oil prices to improve the world's economic security and sustainable development. (author)

Bio-objects and the media: the role of communication in bio-objectification processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Maeseele, Pieter; Allgaier, Joachim; Martinelli, Lucia

2013-06-01

The representation of biological innovations in and through communication and media practices is vital for understanding the nature of "bio-objects" and the process we call "bio-objectification." This paper discusses two ideal-typical analytical approaches based on different underlying communication models, ie, the traditional (science- and media-centered) and media sociological (a multi-layered process involving various social actors in defining the meanings of scientific and technological developments) approach. In this analysis, the latter is not only found to be the most promising approach for understanding the circulation, (re)production, and (re)configuration of meanings of bio-objects, but also to interpret the relationship between media and science. On the basis of a few selected examples, this paper highlights how media function as a primary arena for the (re)production and (re)configuration of scientific and biomedical information with regards to bio-objects in the public sphere in general, and toward decision-makers, interest groups, and the public in specific.

Hyper bio assembler for 3D cellular systems

CERN Document Server

Arai, Fumihito; Yamato, Masayuki

2015-01-01

Hyper Bio Assembler for Cellular Systems is the first book to present a new methodology for measuring and separating target cells at high speed and constructing 3D cellular systems in vitro. This book represents a valuable resource for biologists, biophysicists and robotic engineers, as well as researchers interested in this new frontier area, offering a better understanding of the measurement, separation, assembly, analysis and synthesis of complex biological tissue, and of the medical applications of these technologies. This book is the outcome of the new academic fields of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology’s Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research in Japan.

Bio-functionalization of silicon nitride-based piezo-resistive ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

Methods of bio-functionalize silicon nitride involve process steps to ... substance in applications such as clinical analysis, environmental control and industrial pro- ... anisms could be optical (measure the deflection), or measurement of a change in ... point of care (PoC), and the instrumentation involved is quite sophisticated.

Recent Cooperative Research Activities of HDD and Flexible Media Transport Technologies in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Ono, Kyosuke

This paper presents the recent status of industry-university cooperative research activities in Japan on the mechatronics of information storage and input/output equipment. There are three research committees for promoting information exchange on technical problems and research topics of head-disk interface in hard disk drives (HDD), flexible media transport and image printing processes which are supported by the Japan Society of Mechanical Engineering (JSME), the Japanese Society of Tribologists (JAST) and the Japan Society of Precision Engineering (JSPE). For hard disk drive technology, the Storage Research Consortium (SRC) is supporting more than 40 research groups in various different universities to perform basic research for future HDD technology. The past and present statuses of these activities are introduced, particularly focusing on HDD and flexible media transport mechanisms.

Advanced USC technology in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukuda, Masafumi [National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki (Japan). High Temperature Materials Center

2010-07-01

The 600deg-C class Ultra Super-Critical(USC) steam condition technology was mainly developed through projects led by J-Power in the '80s and 90s'. In 2001, the project was successfully finished with newly developed 9-12% chromium steels. These materials were selected for the major parts of the USC power plants in Japan and almost half of the coal power plants have the USC steam condition today. However, aged plants, which were built in the '70s and early '80s will reach the point where they will need to be rebuilt or refurbished in the near future. The steam temperatures of the older plants are 538 deg-C or 566deg-C. We did a case study, retrofitting these plants with the USC and an advanced USC technology that takes a 700deg-C class steam temperature to increase thermal efficiency and to reduce CO{sub 2} emissions. The study showed that the advanced USC Technology(A-USC) is suitable for the retrofitting of aged plants and can reduce CO{sub 2} emissions by about 15%. The Japanese government launched the ''Cool Earth-Innovative Energy Technology Program'' in 2008 March to promote international cooperation and actively contribute to substantial global greenhouse gas emissions reductions. 21 technologies that will contribute to substantial reductions in CO{sub 2} emissions by efficiency improvement and low carbonization were selected. The A-USC that aims at 46% (net, HHV) thermal efficiency of coal power generation is included in the technologies. We started a large-scale development project of the A-USC technology in 2008 August. 700deg-C class boiler, turbine and valve technologies, which include high temperature material technology, will be developed. Some candidate materials for boilers are being tested. Turbine rotor and casing materials are being developed and tested, as well. Two years from the beginning of the project, we have obtained some useful test results regarding the candidate materials. (orig.)

The feasibility of bio-oil production and application on the basis of the rotating cone technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gansekoele, E.; Wagenaar, B.M.

2001-07-01

The overall objective of the project on the title subject is to scale up the novel, rotating cone technology for flash pyrolysis of biomass and examine the related bio-energy system by application of bio-oil from several feedstocks in engines and combustion chambers. The specific objectives are: (1) To identify and characterize biomass feedstocks suitable for conversion to bio-oil by means of flash pyrolysis in a rotating cone reactor; (2) To scale-up the rotating cone reactor to a commercial size (200 kg biomass per hour); (3) To optimize the process with respect to quality and yield of the bio-oil in various test runs; (4) To produce bio-oil from various feedstocks in long lasting production runs; (5) To characterize the bio-oil and test it in properly adapted diesel engines and furnaces; and (6) To estimate the market potential for bio-oil and the economic feasibility of the technology. The objectives of the partners are: (1) to establish the most cost effective pre-treatment procedures to produce proper biomass feedstock for the pyrolysis process. In addition, 25 tons of pretreated biomass feedstock was prepared (CIEMAT, Spain); (2) design of the rotating cone pyrolysis plant at a biomass throughput of 200 kg/h, optimization of the pilot plant, and carrying out long duration runs (BTG, Netherlands); (3) development and construction of the flash pyrolysis pilot plant (KARA, Netherlands); and (4) investigation of the application of bio-oil in a combustion chamber, in a gas turbine and a diesel engine with respect to performance, efficiencies and emissions ( Rostock University, Germany). This report comprises the research results of all the partners for the whole chain: from biomass pre-treatment to bio-oil production and application. The different subjects are Biomass pre-treatment, Development of the 200 kg/h pyrolysis plant, Bio-oil application, and Economics and market potential of bio-oil application. refs

Importance of policy for energy system transformation: Diffusion of PV technology in Japan and Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chowdhury, Sanjeeda; Sumita, Ushio; Islam, Ashraful; Bedja, Idriss

2014-01-01

Photovoltaic (PV) has the highest cost reduction potential among all renewable energy sources (RES). To overcome institutional barriers, developing the technology, and creating an initial market, policies are needed. Comparative case studies of Japan and German PV sector from 1990 to 2011 were developed. Japan dominated the PV industry during 1994–2004, PV market increased to 290 MW in 2005. After 2005 Japan's PV market decreased. German PV market increased from 44 MW in 2000 to 7.5 GW in 2011. The reason behind Japanese PV market decline was the unaligned energy policy and termination of incentives. This paper discusses about successful policy implementation and the impact of policy for the diffusion of PV technology. The analysis section of this paper shows how much the PV technology has been diffused during the period of 1990–2011 and finally what will make the transformation process successful. - Highlights: • We studied PV diffusion of Japan and German considering public energy policy, environmental policy and cost reduction. • This study determined that policy and incentives are responsible for cost reduction. • Japans concentration on nuclear energy more than renewables, made the PV diffusion slow. • Successful implementation of FIT helped Germany reduce PV electricity price more than grid electricity

The Emergence and Challenging Growth of the Bio-Ethanol Innovation System in Taiwan (1949-2015).

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Chao-Chen; Yang, Siang-Cing

2016-02-19

This study explores the bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan from the perspective of a technology innovation system (TIS). Taiwan is a newly industrialized country and is not currently a main producer of bio-ethanol. This study analyzes the evolution of bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan and places a particular emphasis on challenges that present policies face in the context of potential long-term bio-ethanol development. Through an evaluation of the consistency of the present research, technology, development and innovation (RTDI) policies as well as the influence of these policies on the functional dynamics of bio-ethanol innovation system, mechanisms prohibiting the system from flourishing are determined. It is suggested that the production of bio-ethanol in Taiwan would be achieved if the government: (1) fixes long-term targets for both domestic bio-ethanol development and emission reduction; and (2) comprehensively designs a set of interrelated RTDI policies in accordance with the functional pattern of the bio-ethanol innovation system and consistently implements these policies. If such measures were implemented, it is considered that the bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan would flourish.

The English Language in Japan: History, Attitudes, and Functions. Introduction.

Science.gov (United States)

Kachru, Braj B.; Smith, Larry E.

1995-01-01

Introduces this special issue on the English language in Japan, which focuses on the historical phases of the introduction of English, the role of English in the educational system and the media, the contact and convergence of Japanese and English, the functions of English in Japan, and Japanese attitudes toward English. (three references) (MDM)

Japanese contributions to the Japan-US workshop on blanket design/technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tone, Tatsuzo; Seki, Yasushi; Minato, Akio; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Mori, Seiji; Kawasaki, Hiromitsu; Sumita, Kenji.

1983-02-01

This report describes Japanese papers presented at the Japan-US Workshop on Blanket Design/Technology which was held at Argonne National Laboratory, November 10 - 11, 1982. Overview of Fusion Experimental Reactor (FER), JAERI's activities related to first wall/blanket/shield, summary of FER blanket and its technology development issues and summary of activities at universities on fusion reactor blanket engineering are covered. (author)

Bio fertilizer development incorporating nuclear technologies - Challenges and potentials to the industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khairuddin Abdul Rahim; Phua, Choo Kwai Hoe; Ahmad Nazrul Abdul Wahid; Pauline, Liew Woan Ying; Ahamad Sahali Mardi; Mat Rasol Awang

2010-01-01

The development of bio fertilizer products, which involve incorporation of known microorganisms with desired functions, requires sterilisation of the carriers or substrates. Conventional sterilisation method using heat treatment or autoclaving has its limitations, especially in mass production of bio fertilizers. The Forum for Nuclear Cooperation in Asia (FNCA) through its Bio fertilizer Project Group encourages the use of gamma irradiation for carrier sterilisation, capitalising on the quality of the final products following proper sterilisation. Gamma irradiation at doses of 30 to 50 kGy was found suitable for sterilisation, depending on the carrier materials. More deliberation is needed for bio fertilizer companies far away from the gamma irradiation facilities to utilise gamma irradiation services for their bio fertilizer carriers, on aspects of cost of transportation, sterilisation, storage and convenience of use. Evaluation of bio fertilizer products on crops in the field need to be conducted to assess their efficacy. Several isotope-aided trials have been conducted to evaluate nutrient use efficiency of several formulations of Nuclear Malaysia bio fertilizer products, involving vegetable and herbal crops, with varying results. The paper highlights trials in Nuclear Malaysia and Cameron Highlands. Presently, product evaluation is limited to use of the stable isotope, nitrogen-15, in particular when considering radiation safety in field trials. Having joint trials involving potential end users is still a challenge. (author)

Research and development of nitride fuel cycle technology in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Minato, Kazuo; Arai, Yasuo; Akabori, Mitsuo; Tamaki, Yoshihisa; Itoh, Kunihiro

2004-01-01

The research on the nitride fuel was started for an advanced fuel, (U, Pn)N, for fast reactors, and the research activities have been expanded to minor actinide bearing nitride fuels. The fuel fabrication, property measurements, irradiation tests and pyrochemical process experiments have been made. In 2002 a five-year-program named PROMINENT was started for the development of nitride fuel cycle technology within the framework of the Development of Innovative Nuclear Technologies by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. In the research program PROMINENT, property measurements, pyrochemical process and irradiation experiments needed for nitride fuel cycle technology are being made. (author)

Bio-technologies; Biotechnologies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grawitz, X. [Systems Bio Industries, 92 - Boulogne Billancourt (France)

1997-12-31

This paper is a series of transparencies which describes the measures taken by Systems Bio-Industries company to adapt its central heating plants, turbines, engines and dryers to the new French 2910 by-law about thermal efficiency and environmental impact of heating plants. The project of development of a cogeneration system in the Angouleme site is briefly described. (J.S.)

The environmentally friendly technology for bio fuel production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bekers, M.; Danilevics, A.; Guriniece, E.; Gulbis, V.

2003-01-01

Full text: Bio fuel production and use have been discussed this time in EC and in Latvia as alternative energy sources. The national resources allow producing liquid fuels - bio diesel and bi oethanol from rape seeds and grain correspondingly. Liquid bio fuels can be recommended especially for auto transport in big towns to reduce the pollution of air. A system for environmentally friendly production of bio fuel from agricultural raw materials has been developed, which permit a complex utilization of byproducts an wastes for obtaining of valuable food-stuffs and industrial products, providing the agricultural production requirements and supporting with local mineral fertilizers. Such a bio fuel production includes the agricultural and industrial productions in a united biotechnological system. Production objects of system interact: the products, by-products and wastes from one object are used as raw materials, auxiliary materials or heat carriers in other system's objects. This integrated agro-industrial production system would allow the production of feeds and chemical products, along with bio fuels. In this work, a model of a system for a conventional administrative rural region is presented, exemplified with the case of Latvia. The model is developed for three forms of bio fuel production, i.e. ethanol, bio diesel and biogas as local energy source. Bio diesel is produced using ethanol as transesterifying agent of rape-seed oil fatty acids. This bio diesel is a blend of rape-seed oil fatty acid ethyl esters (REE) and consists solely from renewable raw materials. The capacity of distillery of system is 40 million litters per year and bio diesel 35000 ton. Important for agriculture is protein reach press cakes the byproduct from bio diesel production (66000 t/y). This byproduct can be exported as well. Biogas reactors of system can be used for utilization of wastes from town if necessary. Recommended bio system occupates up to 150.000 ha of agriculture lands

The Emergence and Challenging Growth of the Bio-Ethanol Innovation System in Taiwan (1949–2015)

Science.gov (United States)

Chung, Chao-Chen; Yang, Siang-Cing

2016-01-01

This study explores the bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan from the perspective of a technology innovation system (TIS). Taiwan is a newly industrialized country and is not currently a main producer of bio-ethanol. This study analyzes the evolution of bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan and places a particular emphasis on challenges that present policies face in the context of potential long-term bio-ethanol development. Through an evaluation of the consistency of the present research, technology, development and innovation (RTDI) policies as well as the influence of these policies on the functional dynamics of bio-ethanol innovation system, mechanisms prohibiting the system from flourishing are determined. It is suggested that the production of bio-ethanol in Taiwan would be achieved if the government: (1) fixes long-term targets for both domestic bio-ethanol development and emission reduction; and (2) comprehensively designs a set of interrelated RTDI policies in accordance with the functional pattern of the bio-ethanol innovation system and consistently implements these policies. If such measures were implemented, it is considered that the bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan would flourish. PMID:26907306

The Emergence and Challenging Growth of the Bio-Ethanol Innovation System in Taiwan (1949–2015

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chao-Chen Chung

2016-02-01

Full Text Available This study explores the bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan from the perspective of a technology innovation system (TIS. Taiwan is a newly industrialized country and is not currently a main producer of bio-ethanol. This study analyzes the evolution of bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan and places a particular emphasis on challenges that present policies face in the context of potential long-term bio-ethanol development. Through an evaluation of the consistency of the present research, technology, development and innovation (RTDI policies as well as the influence of these policies on the functional dynamics of bio-ethanol innovation system, mechanisms prohibiting the system from flourishing are determined. It is suggested that the production of bio-ethanol in Taiwan would be achieved if the government: (1 fixes long-term targets for both domestic bio-ethanol development and emission reduction; and (2 comprehensively designs a set of interrelated RTDI policies in accordance with the functional pattern of the bio-ethanol innovation system and consistently implements these policies. If such measures were implemented, it is considered that the bio-ethanol innovation system in Taiwan would flourish.

Development of the MILENA gasification technology for the production of Bio-SNG

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Meijden, van der C.M.

2010-01-01

The production of Substitute Natural Gas from biomass (Bio-SNG) is an attractive option to reduce CO2 emissions and replace declining fossil natural gas reserves. The Energy research Center of the Netherlands (ECN) is working on the development of the MILENA gasification technology that is ideally

Light water reactors development in Japan. (1) Introduction of LWR technology (PWR)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamada, Ichita; Suzuki, Shigemitsu

2008-01-01

Evolutionary progress of the LWR plants in the last half-century was reviewed in series. Introduction of LWR technology (PWR) in Japan was reviewed in this article. Kansai Electric Power imported the Mihama-1 - a 340 MWe PWR built by Westinghouse Corp. It began operating in 1970 to supply power to the World Exposition (EXPO70). There followed a period in which designs was purchased from US vendors and they were constructed with the co-operation of Mitsubishi Heavy Industry, who would then receive a license to build similar plants in Japan and develop the capacity to design and construct PWRs by itself. Progress of designs, fabrications, project management and construction of PWRs were reviewed from technology transfer to its autonomy age. (T. Tanaka)

Overview of plant life extension technology development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takahashi, T.; Arai, H.; Akiyama, M.; Mishima, Y.; Okubo, T.

1993-01-01

In Japan, it is expected that the nuclear power will continue to play an important role in electric power supply. Since it is expected that the fast breeder reactor (FBR) will be introduced sometime during the first half of the 21st century, light water reactors (LWRs) will continue to play a key role some 30 to 40 years to come. For this reason, technology development projects are being implemented to further enhance light water reactor technology and thereby improve the reliability of LWRs. From this point, the Plant Life Extension (PLEX) technology development program [1-4] is entrusted by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry to the Japan Power Engineering and Inspection Corporation (JAPEIC). This program is an 11-year plan which started in 1985. The objectives are to extend the service lives of existing LWRs to increase the energy generated by these plants during their lifetime, and to reduce the lifetime generating costs. In this report, we will present our project overview and recent activities with respect to extensive verification tests on component material behavior. The JAPEIC PLEX project is divided into 3 phases. Phase I is the feasibility study. Phase 2 involves the verification tests and the evaluation of life extension technologies. The overall evaluation of the project will be conducted in Phase 3. The feasibility study of Phase I has been completed in fiscal year 1985 and 1986. In Phase I, the important components (the components and structures that are likely to govern the lives of nuclear power plants) have been selected. (author)

Japan's post-Fukushima reconstruction: A case study for implementation of sustainable energy technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nesheiwat, Julia; Cross, Jeffrey S.

2013-01-01

Following World War II, Japan miraculously developed into an economic powerhouse and a model of energy efficiency among developed countries. This lasted more than 65 years until the Northeastern Japan earthquake and tsunami induced nuclear crisis of March 2011 brought Japan to an existential crossroads. Instead of implementing its plans to increase nuclear power generation capacity from thirty percent to fifty percent, Japan shut-down all fifty-four nuclear reactors for safety checks and stress-checks (two have since been restarted), resulting in reduced power generation during the summer of 2012. The reconstruction of Northeastern Japan approaches at a time when the world is grappling with a transition to sustainable energy technologies—one that will require substantial investment but one that would result in fundamental changes in infrastructure and energy efficiency. Certain reconstruction methods can be inappropriate in the social, cultural and climatic context of disaster affected areas. Thus, how can practitioners employ sustainable reconstructions which better respond to local housing needs and availability of natural energy resources without a framework in place? This paper aims at sensitizing policy-makers and stakeholders involved in post disaster reconstruction by recognizing advantages of deploying sustainable energy technologies, to reduce dependence of vulnerable communities on external markets. - Highlights: • We examine the energy challenges faced by Japan in the aftermath of Fukushima. • We identify policy measures for the use of energy technologies applicable to disaster prone nations. • We evaluate the potential for renewable energy to support reduced reliance on nuclear energy in Japan. • We model scenarios for eco-towns and smart-cities in post-disaster reconstruction. • We assess the role of culture in formulating energy policy in post-disaster reconstruction

Bio-fuels

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This report presents an overview of the technologies which are currently used or presently developed for the production of bio-fuels in Europe and more particularly in France. After a brief history of this production since the beginning of the 20. century, the authors describe the support to agriculture and the influence of the Common Agricultural Policy, outline the influence of the present context of struggle against the greenhouse effect, and present the European legislative context. Data on the bio-fuels consumption in the European Union in 2006 are discussed. An overview of the evolution of the activity related to bio-fuels in France, indicating the locations of ethanol and bio-diesel production facilities, and the evolution of bio-fuel consumption, is given. The German situation is briefly presented. Production of ethanol by fermentation, the manufacturing of ETBE, the bio-diesel production from vegetable oils are discussed. Second generation bio-fuels are then presented (cellulose enzymatic processing), together with studies on thermochemical processes and available biomass resources

Beehold : the colony of the honeybee (Apis mellifera L) as a bio-sampler for pollutants and plant pathogens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Steen, van der J.J.M.

2016-01-01

Bio-sampling is a function of bio-indication. Bio-indication with honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera L) is where the research fields of environmental technology and apiculture overlap. The honeybees are samplers of the environment by collecting unintentionally and simultaneously, along

Research and development of basic technologies for the next generation industries, 'bio-elements'. Evaluation on the first term research and development; Jisedai sangyo kiban gijutsu kenkyu kaihtsu 'bio soshi'. Daiikki kenkyu kaihatsu hyoka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-03-01

Research, development and evaluation were performed in order to establish basic technologies to realize new information processing incorporating high-order functions of living organisms, and bio-elements equipped with high-order functions. In the field of developing technical means to measure directly the information processing function of living organisms, detailed analysis has become possible for the first time on spatial operation of nerve activities by using two-dimensional beam measurement operation on the nerve activities. In the field of aiming at modeling, a system to realize functions effective in terms of engineering was structured by incorporating into the model the functions specific to nervous systems of visual sense and motion. In the field of element technologies, a large progress was seen in the basic technology and evaluation technology such as design and fabrication of molecules added with different functions in the LB membrane. Membranes having simple but different functions such as light beam and scent detection were manufactured, whereas a possibility of having them manifest functions as elements was verified. Furthermore, possibilities were discovered in manufacturing functional membranes by using self-organizing capability as a result of using basic properties possessed by polymers, and in realizing functions simulating plasticity of nerves. These achievements would lead to a belief that the targets of the first term research and development have been achieved nearly completely. (NEDO)

Scope of application of bio-technology for fire control and ameliorating environmental pollution of coal mines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Banerjee, S.C.

1995-01-01

A few technology knowledge gaps in the control of mine fires and environmental pollution control and abatement programmes have been identified and examined the scope of application of bio-technological approach in resolving them. (author). 16 refs., 2 tabs

Proceedings of the 2nd JAERI symposium on HTGR technologies October 21 ∼ 23, 1992, Oarai, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1993-01-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) held the 2nd JAERI Symposium on HTGR Technologies on October 21 to 23, 1992, at Oarai Park Hotel at Oarai-machi, Ibaraki-ken, Japan, with support of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Science and Technology Agency of Japan and the Atomic Energy Society of Japan on the occasion that the construction of the High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), which is the first high temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) in Japan, is now being proceeded smoothly. In this symposium, the worldwide present status of research and development (R and D) of the HTGRs and the future perspectives of the HTGR development were discussed with 47 papers including 3 invited lectures, focusing on the present status of HTGR projects and perspectives of HTGR Development, Safety, Operation Experience, Fuel and Heat Utilization. A panel discussion was also organized on how the HTGRs can contribute to the preservation of global environment. About 280 participants attended the symposium from Japan, Bangladesh, Germany, France, Indonesia, People's Republic of China, Poland, Russia, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America, Venezuela and the IAEA. This paper was edited as the proceedings of the 2nd JAERI Symposium on HTGR Technologies, collecting the 47 papers presented in the oral and poster sessions along with 11 panel exhibitions on the results of research and development associated to the HTTR. (author)

Optimised design and development of a bio-medical healthcare device through quality function deployment (QFD).

Science.gov (United States)

Sharma, Jitendra

2012-01-01

Technology is major stimulus for change and is imbibed in various forms; especially in the field of medical devices and bio-medical instruments used in life and death situations. Cardiotocograph (CTG), a foetal heart rate and uterine contraction monitoring and measurement machine, is a valuable tool in the process of childbirth. The Quality Function Deployment (QFD) is an engineering technique with the number one priority being to satisfy the customer. The aim of using QFD in this paper is to highlight the limitations and complexities of the present instrument. The paper attempts to first discuss out the operational details of the instrument along with a brief review of the relevant literature. Following this, its functional analysis is carried out through QFD - a TQM tool. The resultant outcome enlists CTG functions with their Raw Weight and Priority Score. A detailed theoretical analysis of results pinpoints basic functional limitation of exiting machine.

3D Bio-Printing Review

Science.gov (United States)

Du, Xianbin

2018-01-01

Ultimate goal of tissue engineering is to replace pathological or necrotic body tissue or organ by artificial tissue or organ and tissue engineering is a very promising research field. 3D bio-printing is a kind of emerging technologies and a branch of tissue engineering. It has made significant progress in the past decade. 3D bio-printing can realize tissue and organ construction in vitro and has wide application in basic research and pharmacy. This paper is to make an analysis and review on 3D bio-printing from the perspectives of bioink, printing technology and technology application.

Proceedings of the 6. Japan-Brazil Symposium on Science and Technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1988-01-01

The most recent results of Brazil-Japan agreement for technological development on areas of space science and plasma, were presented. Problems related to: astrophysics, cosmic radiation interaction with earth atmosphere, plasma physics, and construction of rockets and satellites for space researches were discussed. (M.C.K.) [pt

Database use and technology in Japan: JTEC panel report. Final report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wiederhold, G.; Beech, D.; Bourne, C.; Farmer, N.; Jajodia, Sushil; Kahaner, D.; Minoura, Toshi; Smith, D.; Smith, J.M.

1992-04-01

This report presents the findings of a group of database experts, sponsored by the Japanese Technology Evaluation Center (JTEC), based on an intensive study trip to Japan during March 1991. Academic, industrial, and governmental sites were visited. The primary findings are that Japan is supporting its academic research establishment poorly, that industry is making progress in key areas, and that both academic and industrial researchers are well aware of current domestic and foreign technology. Information sharing between industry and academia is effectively supported by governmental sponsorship of joint planning and review activities, and enhances technology transfer. In two key areas, multimedia and object-oriented databases, the authors can expect to see future export of Japanese database products, typically integrated into larger systems. Support for academic research is relatively modest. Nevertheless, the senior faculty are well-known and respected, and communicate frequently and in depth with each other, with government agencies, and with industry. In 1988 there were a total of 1,717 Ph.D.`s in engineering and 881 in science. It appears that only about 30 of these were academic Ph.D.`s in the basic computer sciences.

Development of enrichment and reprocessing technologies in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amanuma, Tsuyoshi

1978-01-01

The present status of the development of fuel cycle technologies for LWR systems in Japan is reviewed. As for the uranium enrichment technology, recent development of the centrifuge method is briefly explained. The construction schedule of the pilot plant at Ningyo-Toge is also shown. The completion of the plant is expected in 1980, and 7000 machines will be in full operation. Other methods such as gaseous diffusion, chemical separation, and laser method are shortly described. Comparisons among these different methods are also made in various economical aspects. As for the reprocessing technologies, those concerning with environmental problems, nuclear non-proliferation, and safeguard measures are explained. Recovery of krypton and xenon, method of co-process, and co-operative research and development with IAEA are the main topics here. Finally, the technological development in the field of high-level radioactive waste disposal is explained. The construction schedule of an experimental facility (CPF), development of solidification techniques, and the methods of final disposal are the main topics treated here. (Aoki, K.)

Bio-films and processes of bio-corrosion and bio-deterioration in oil-and gas-processing industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kholodenko, V.P.; Irkhina, I.A.; Chugunov, V.A.; Rodin, V.B.; Zhigletsova, S.K.; Yermolenko, Z.M.; Rudavin, V.V. [State Research Center for Applied Microbiology, Obolensk, Moscow region (Russian Federation)

2004-07-01

As a rule, oil- and gas-processing equipment and pipelines are attacked by different microorganisms. Their vital ability determines processes of bio-deterioration and bio-corrosion that lead often to technological accidents and severe environmental contamination. Bio-films presenting a complex association of different microorganisms and their metabolites are responsible for most of damages. In this context, to study the role bio-films may play in processes of bio-damages and in efficacy of protective measures is important. We have developed method of culturing bio-films on the surface of metal coupons by using a natural microbial association isolated from oil-processing sites. Simple and informative methods of determining microbiological parameters of bio-films required to study bio-corrosion processes are also developed. In addition, a method of electron microscopic analysis of bio-films and pitting corrosion is offered. Using these methods, we conducted model experiments to determine the dynamics of corrosion processes depending on qualitative and quantitative composition of bio-films, aeration conditions and duration of the experiment. A harmful effect of soil bacteria and micro-mycetes on different pipeline coatings was also investigated. Experiments were conducted within 3-6 months and revealed degrading action of microorganisms. This was confirmed by axial tension testing of coatings. All these approaches will be used for further development of measures to protect gas- and oil-processing equipment and pipelines against bio-corrosion and bio-damages (first of all biocides). (authors)

2010 World bio-energy conference

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2010-01-01

After having evoked the bio-energy price awarded to a Brazilian for his works on the use of eucalyptus as energy source, this report proposes a synthesis of the highlights of the conference: discussions about sustainability, bio-energies as an opportunity for developing countries, the success of bio-energies in Sweden, and more particularly some technological advances in the field of biofuels: a bio-LPG by Biofuel-solution AB, catalysis, bio-diesel from different products in a Swedish farm, a second generation ethanol by the Danish company Inbicon, a large scale methanization in Goteborg, a bio-refinery concept in Sweden, bio-gases

S-Layer Based Bio-Imprinting - Synthetic S-Layer Polymers

Science.gov (United States)

2015-07-09

AFRL-OSR-VA-TR-2015-0161 S-Layer Based Bio- Imprinting - Synthetic S-Layer Polymers Dietmar Pum ZENTRUM FUER NANOBIOTECHNOLOGIE Final Report 07/09...COVERED (From - To)      01-06-2012 to 31-05-2015 4.  TITLE AND SUBTITLE S-Layer Based Bio- Imprinting - Synthetic S-Layer Polymers 5a.  CONTRACT...technology for the fabrication of nano patterned thin film imprints by using functional S-layer protein arrays as templates. The unique feature of

Engineering BioBrick vectors from BioBrick parts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Knight Thomas F

2008-04-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The underlying goal of synthetic biology is to make the process of engineering biological systems easier. Recent work has focused on defining and developing standard biological parts. The technical standard that has gained the most traction in the synthetic biology community is the BioBrick standard for physical composition of genetic parts. Parts that conform to the BioBrick assembly standard are BioBrick standard biological parts. To date, over 2,000 BioBrick parts have been contributed to, and are available from, the Registry of Standard Biological Parts. Results Here we extended the same advantages of BioBrick standard biological parts to the plasmid-based vectors that are used to provide and propagate BioBrick parts. We developed a process for engineering BioBrick vectors from BioBrick parts. We designed a new set of BioBrick parts that encode many useful vector functions. We combined the new parts to make a BioBrick base vector that facilitates BioBrick vector construction. We demonstrated the utility of the process by constructing seven new BioBrick vectors. We also successfully used the resulting vectors to assemble and propagate other BioBrick standard biological parts. Conclusion We extended the principles of part reuse and standardization to BioBrick vectors. As a result, myriad new BioBrick vectors can be readily produced from all existing and newly designed BioBrick parts. We invite the synthetic biology community to (1 use the process to make and share new BioBrick vectors; (2 expand the current collection of BioBrick vector parts; and (3 characterize and improve the available collection of BioBrick vector parts.

Japan turns pro-life: recent change in reproductive health policy and challenges by new technologies

OpenAIRE

Okamoto, Etsuji

2014-01-01

Japan, known as a pro-choice country in terms of abortion, is currently facing the increase of “selective abortions” thanks to new prenatal screening. Efforts to restrict proliferation of new technology has not been successful and it is likely that Japan will turn pro-life by strictly enforcing the Maternity Protection Act (MPA), which prohibits abortions due to “fetal cause”.

Functionalized 2PP structures for the BioPhotonics Workstation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matsuoka, Tomoyo; Nishi, Masayuki; Sakakura, Masaaki

2011-01-01

In its standard version, our BioPhotonics Workstation (BWS) can generate multiple controllable counter-propagating beams to create real-time user-programmable optical traps for stable three-dimensional control and manipulation of a plurality of particles. The combination of the platform with micr...... on the BWS platform by functionalizing them with silica-based sol-gel materials inside which dyes can be entrapped....

Three-dimensional bio-printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Gu, Qi; Hao, Jie; Lu, YangJie; Wang, Liu; Wallace, Gordon G; Zhou, Qi

2015-05-01

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology has been widely used in various manufacturing operations including automotive, defence and space industries. 3D printing has the advantages of personalization, flexibility and high resolution, and is therefore becoming increasingly visible in the high-tech fields. Three-dimensional bio-printing technology also holds promise for future use in medical applications. At present 3D bio-printing is mainly used for simulating and reconstructing some hard tissues or for preparing drug-delivery systems in the medical area. The fabrication of 3D structures with living cells and bioactive moieties spatially distributed throughout will be realisable. Fabrication of complex tissues and organs is still at the exploratory stage. This review summarize the development of 3D bio-printing and its potential in medical applications, as well as discussing the current challenges faced by 3D bio-printing.

Material requirements for bio-inspired sensing systems

Science.gov (United States)

Biggins, Peter; Lloyd, Peter; Salmond, David; Kusterbeck, Anne

2008-10-01

The aim of developing bio-inspired sensing systems is to try and emulate the amazing sensitivity and specificity observed in the natural world. These capabilities have evolved, often for specific tasks, which provide the organism with an advantage in its fight to survive and prosper. Capabilities cover a wide range of sensing functions including vision, temperature, hearing, touch, taste and smell. For some functions, the capabilities of natural systems are still greater than that achieved by traditional engineering solutions; a good example being a dog's sense of smell. Furthermore, attempting to emulate aspects of biological optics, processing and guidance may lead to more simple and effective devices. A bio-inspired sensing system is much more than the sensory mechanism. A system will need to collect samples, especially if pathogens or chemicals are of interest. Other functions could include the provision of power, surfaces and receptors, structure, locomotion and control. In fact it is possible to conceive of a complete bio-inspired system concept which is likely to be radically different from more conventional approaches. This concept will be described and individual component technologies considered.

Fiscal 1993 report on results of R and D on innovative technology for producing advanced biomaterial; 1993 nendo senshin bio zairyo no sosei kako gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1994-03-01

R and D was conducted on a bio-functional material that is formed by synthesizing non-natural amino acids required for the manifestation of the function, incorporating the amino acids into new bio-functional peptides to be synthesized, and fixing the peptides on a substrate such as plastics. Activities were carried out in three areas, which were (1) innovative technologies for producing functional molecules, (2) R and D on materialization technologies of functional molecules: technique of pattern formation by photochemical reaction and of fixation, and technique of preparing peptide film using vacuum thin film forming technology, and (3) comprehensive investigation and adjustment. In (1), migration stimulating activity for microphage was selected as a molecular recognition evaluation system, and on the basis of the structural analysis result of a non-peptide compound/imidazolin compound having migration stimulating activity, molecular structural design was carried out for peptides having migration stimulating activity. The result of the analysis revealed that the spatial arrangement of three phenyl nuclei and the presence of basic structures were important. Among the 22 peptides so designed, only Cbz-Phe-Phe-His-NH{sub 2} showed the migration stimulating activity. For the design, a peptide molecule design system CHARMm/QUANTA/PM3 was used. (NEDO)

A study of the use of bio-based technologies (lubricant and grease) in rail applications.

Science.gov (United States)

2014-05-01

The objective of the project was to study the efficacy of using bio-based lubricant and grease technologies in railroad applications : (locomotives and maintenance of way equipment). Several commercially available rail curve greases were identified a...

Sustainable coatings from bio-based, enzymatically synthesized polyesters with enhanced functionalities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gustini, L.; Lavilla, C.; Finzel, L.; Noordover, B.A.J.; Hendrix, M.M.R.M.; Koning, C.E.

2016-01-01

Bio-based sorbitol-containing polyester polyols were synthesized via enzymatic polycondensation. The selectivity of the biocatalyst for primary vs. secondary hydroxyl groups allowed for the preparation of close to linear renewable polyester polyols with enhanced hydroxyl functionalities, both as

International development of Japan's Nuclear Industry. Indispensable Japan-U.S. cooperation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saigo, Masao

2006-01-01

It is significant to internationally develop the nuclear power plants technology that has been fostered by Japan's nuclear industry. It is also important to work with taking the degree of development of nuclear power plants of the recipient country into consideration. ''Forum on International Development of Nuclear Industry'' organized by the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum, Inc. (JAIF) proposed it would be indispensable for a Japan's nuclear industry to establish a Japan-U.S. Cooperation with the support of Government in order to develop the nuclear technology internationally. In November 2005, the investigating team including utilities and nuclear industry visited U.S. and exchanged opinions on its possibility. Investigating results and their evaluation were described. (T.Tanaka)

Human resource development in the beginning phase of nuclear technology development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamashita, Kiyonobu

2015-01-01

Japan Research Reactor No.1 (JRR-1) was constructed as the first nuclear reactor in Japan and reached the first criticality in 1957. The construction of both the first BWR and the first PWR were started in the same year 1967 and they started power operation in the same year 1970. Engineers of electrical utilities and vendors gave efforts to have knowledge for reactor engineering mainly on the job training with high self-motivation to contribute for nuclear technology development. A part of them participated in the reactor engineering training course of the JAERI. (author)

Properties of bio-oil generated by a pyrolysis of forest cedar residuals with the movable Auger-type reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nishimura, Shun; Ebitani, Kohki, E-mail: ebitani@jaist.ac.jp [School of Materials Science, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan); Miyazato, Akio [Nanotechnology Center, Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, 1-1 Asahidai, Nomi, Ishikawa 923-1292 (Japan)

2016-02-01

Our research project has developed the new movable reactor for bio-oil production in 2013 on the basis of Auger-type system. This package would be a great impact due to the concept of local production for local consumption in the hilly and mountainous area in not only Japan but also in the world. Herein, we would like to report the properties of the bio-oil generated by the developing Auger-type movable reactor. The synthesized bio-oil possessed C: 46.2 wt%, H: 6.5 wt%, N: wt%, S: <0.1 wt%, O: 46.8 wt% and H{sub 2}O: 18.4 wt%, and served a good calorific value of 18.1 MJ/kg. The spectroscopic and mass analyses such as FT-IR, GC-MS, {sup 13}C-NMR and FT-ICR MS supported that the bio-oil was composed by the fine mixtures of methoxy phenols and variety of alcohol or carboxylic acid functional groups. Thus, it is suggested that the bio-oil generated by the new movable Auger-type reactor has a significant potential as well as the existing bio-oil reported previously.

Properties of bio-oil generated by a pyrolysis of forest cedar residuals with the movable Auger-type reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishimura, Shun; Ebitani, Kohki; Miyazato, Akio

2016-01-01

Our research project has developed the new movable reactor for bio-oil production in 2013 on the basis of Auger-type system. This package would be a great impact due to the concept of local production for local consumption in the hilly and mountainous area in not only Japan but also in the world. Herein, we would like to report the properties of the bio-oil generated by the developing Auger-type movable reactor. The synthesized bio-oil possessed C: 46.2 wt%, H: 6.5 wt%, N: wt%, S: <0.1 wt%, O: 46.8 wt% and H 2 O: 18.4 wt%, and served a good calorific value of 18.1 MJ/kg. The spectroscopic and mass analyses such as FT-IR, GC-MS, 13 C-NMR and FT-ICR MS supported that the bio-oil was composed by the fine mixtures of methoxy phenols and variety of alcohol or carboxylic acid functional groups. Thus, it is suggested that the bio-oil generated by the new movable Auger-type reactor has a significant potential as well as the existing bio-oil reported previously

Technological trends, global market, and challenges of bio-ethanol production.

Science.gov (United States)

Mussatto, Solange I; Dragone, Giuliano; Guimarães, Pedro M R; Silva, João Paulo A; Carneiro, Lívia M; Roberto, Inês C; Vicente, António; Domingues, Lucília; Teixeira, José A

2010-01-01

Ethanol use as a fuel additive or directly as a fuel source has grown in popularity due to governmental regulations and in some cases economic incentives based on environmental concerns as well as a desire to reduce oil dependency. As a consequence, several countries are interested in developing their internal market for use of this biofuel. Currently, almost all bio-ethanol is produced from grain or sugarcane. However, as this kind of feedstock is essentially food, other efficient and economically viable technologies for ethanol production have been evaluated. This article reviews some current and promising technologies for ethanol production considering aspects related to the raw materials, processes, and engineered strains development. The main producer and consumer nations and future perspectives for the ethanol market are also presented. Finally, technological trends to expand this market are discussed focusing on promising strategies like the use of microalgae and continuous systems with immobilized cells. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Bio diesel, v. 15(58)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gicheva, Ljubitsa

2007-01-01

The history of bio-fuels/bio-diesel is more political and economical than it is technological. The technology of the production is the same as it was 200 years ago. The economy closed the usage of bio-fuels in the middies of the 20 Th century and put it back on the agenda of the world economy at the beginning of the 21 st century. With price of more then 70 US$ per barrel of grudge oil, production and usage of bio-fuels becomes more economical category rather than political and ecological. If we, additionally, add secondary, yet nowadays very important factors, as ecological protection, recycling the emission of poisonous gasses, exploitation of agro sector, then the reincarnation of bio-fuels is very interesting, and for Macedonia a potentially strategic category. The basics of the biography is to follow in the article paying special attention on the characteristics, standards, production, processing and usage of the bio-diesel fuel as well as the blended B20 and B5. (Author)

Bio diesel, v. 15(59)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gicheva, Ljubitsa

2007-01-01

The history of bio-fuels/bio-diesel is more political and economical than it is technological. The technology of the production is the same as it was 200 years ago. The economy closed the usage of bio-fuels in the middies of the 20 Th century and put it back on the agenda of the world economy at the beginning of the 21 st century. With price of more then 70 US$ per barrel of grudge oil, production and usage of bio-fuels becomes more economical category rather than political and ecological. If we, additionally, add secondary, yet nowadays very important factors, as ecological protection, recycling the emission of poisonous gasses, exploitation of agro sector, then the reincarnation of bio-fuels is very interesting, and for Macedonia a potentially strategic category. The basics of the biography is to follow in the article paying special attention on the characteristics, standards, production, processing and usage of the bio-diesel fuel as well as the blended B20 and B5. (Author)

Research and development of basic technologies for the next generation industries, 'bio-elements'. Evaluation on the first term research and development; Jisedai sangyo kiban gijutsu kenkyu kaihtsu 'bio soshi'. Daiikki kenkyu kaihatsu hyoka

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1991-03-01

Research, development and evaluation were performed in order to establish basic technologies to realize new information processing incorporating high-order functions of living organisms, and bio-elements equipped with high-order functions. In the field of developing technical means to measure directly the information processing function of living organisms, detailed analysis has become possible for the first time on spatial operation of nerve activities by using two-dimensional beam measurement operation on the nerve activities. In the field of aiming at modeling, a system to realize functions effective in terms of engineering was structured by incorporating into the model the functions specific to nervous systems of visual sense and motion. In the field of element technologies, a large progress was seen in the basic technology and evaluation technology such as design and fabrication of molecules added with different functions in the LB membrane. Membranes having simple but different functions such as light beam and scent detection were manufactured, whereas a possibility of having them manifest functions as elements was verified. Furthermore, possibilities were discovered in manufacturing functional membranes by using self-organizing capability as a result of using basic properties possessed by polymers, and in realizing functions simulating plasticity of nerves. These achievements would lead to a belief that the targets of the first term research and development have been achieved nearly completely. (NEDO)

Study of bio-oil and bio-char production from algae by slow pyrolysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chaiwong, K.; Kiatsiriroat, T.; Vorayos, N.; Thararax, C.

2013-01-01

This study examined bio-oil and bio-char fuel produced from Spirulina Sp. by slow pyrolysis. A thermogravimetric analyser (TGA) was used to investigate the pyrolytic characteristics and essential components of algae. It was found that the temperature for the maximum degradation, 322 °C, is lower than that of other biomass. With our fixed-bed reactor, 125 g of dried Spirulina Sp. algae was fed under a nitrogen atmosphere until the temperature reached a set temperature between 450 and 600 °C. It was found that the suitable temperature to obtain bio-char and bio-oil were at approximately 500 and 550 °C respectively. The bio-oil components were identified by a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC–MS). The saturated functional carbon of the bio-oil was in a range of heavy naphtha, kerosene and diesel oil. The energy consumption ratio (ECR) of bio-oil and bio-char was calculated, and the net energy output was positive. The ECR had an average value of 0.49. -- Highlights: •Bio-oil and bio-char fuel produced from Spirulina Sp. by slow pyrolysis. •Suitable temperature to obtained bio-oil and bio-char were at about 550 and 500 °C. •Saturated functional carbon of bio-oil was heavy naphtha, kerosene, diesel oil. •ECR had an average value of 0.49

Surface protection in bio-shields via a functional soft skin layer: Lessons from the turtle shell.

Science.gov (United States)

Shelef, Yaniv; Bar-On, Benny

2017-09-01

The turtle shell is a functional bio-shielding element, which has evolved naturally to provide protection against predator attacks that involve biting and clawing. The near-surface architecture of the turtle shell includes a soft bi-layer skin coating - rather than a hard exterior - which functions as a first line of defense against surface damage. This architecture represents a novel type of bio-shielding configuration, namely, an inverse structural-mechanical design, rather than the hard-coated bio-shielding elements identified so far. In the current study, we used experimentally based structural modeling and FE simulations to analyze the mechanical significance of this unconventional protection architecture in terms of resistance to surface damage upon extensive indentations. We found that the functional bi-layer skin of the turtle shell, which provides graded (soft-softer-hard) mechanical characteristics to the bio-shield exterior, serves as a bumper-buffer mechanism. This material-level adaptation protects the inner core from the highly localized indentation loads via stress delocalization and extensive near-surface plasticity. The newly revealed functional bi-layer coating architecture can potentially be adapted, using synthetic materials, to considerably enhance the surface load-bearing capabilities of various engineering configurations. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Current trends in rehabilitation engineering in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Ohnabe, Hisaichi

2006-01-01

In 2005, the elderly generation comprised 20% of the Japanese population. This percentage will grow to approximately 30% in 2030, meaning that nearly one in three people in Japan will be 65 years of age or older. Japan is the first nation in the world to face this situation. This article uses the context of Japanese society to give an overview of the elderly and people with disabilities; the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health model; rehabilitation engineering-related policy; and education. In addition, we examine how governmental programs and Japanese law regarding technical aids may evolve by 2030. Partner robots, intelligent powered wheelchairs, nursing robots, and other technologies are introduced as examples of rehabilitation engineering and assistive technology. We also discuss the volunteer activities of the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of Japan (RESJA) in response to the Asian tsunami disaster and the achievements of a group of students from a Japanese senior high school of industry.

Current developments and clinical applications of bubble technology in Japan: a report from 85th Annual Scientific Meeting of The Japan Society of Ultrasonic in Medicine, Tokyo, 25-27 May, 2012.

Science.gov (United States)

Achmad, Arifudin; Taketomi-Takahashi, Ayako; Tsushima, Yoshito

2013-06-01

The potentials of bubble technology in ultrasound has been investigated thoroughly in the last decade. Japan has entered as one of the leaders in bubble technology in ultrasound since Sonazoid (Daiichi Sankyo & GE Healthcare) was marketed in 2007. The 85th Annual Scientific Meeting of The Japan Society of Ultrasonics in Medicine held in Tokyo from May 25 to 27, 2012 is where researchers and clinicians from all over Japan presented recent advances and new developments in ultrasound in both the medical and the engineering aspects of this science. Even though bubble technology was originally developed simply to improve the conventional ultrasound imaging, recent discoveries have opened up powerful emerging applications. Bubble technology is the particular topic to be reviewed in this report, including its mechanical advances for molecular imaging, drug/gene delivery device and sonoporation up to its current clinical application for liver cancers and other liver, gastrointestinal, kidney and breast diseases.

Cell Adhesion Selectivity of Stent Material to improve Bio-functionality by Ion Beam Modification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lee, Jaesang; Park, JUngchan; Jung, Myunghwan; Kim, Yongki [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Park, Junkyu [Bio alpha., Co. Ltd., Gimhae (Korea, Republic of)

2014-05-15

In this study, ion implantation into collagen coated Co-Cr alloy, which is a cheaper material of the artificial stent product comparing with Ti alloy, has been studied to develop small diameter artificial stent by the cell adhesion control. The size of stent was 1.6mm of the diameter and 18mm of the length. The life-time of artificial stent depends on adhesion property of endothelial-cells. We successfully controlled cell adhesion selectivity between endothelial cell and muscle cell by using collagen coated and He{sup +} ion beam irradiated Co-Cr-alloy to apply to artificial stent. But, we did not achieve the inhibition of platelet adhesion, yet by using collagen coating and He{sup +} ion beam irradiation. Based on this study, we have plan to research about separation between collagen coating effect and ion beam effect. Also, we will have more detail analysis of the mechanism of cell attachment. In recent years, ion implantation has been applied to the surface modification of prosthesis to improve blood compatibility and tissue compatibility in field of biomedical application. As well known, bio compatibility was concerned with the cell adhesion selectivity for bio-functionality. The biomedical application of ion beam technology would be used more widely in the future such as catheter and artificial graft.

Cell Adhesion Selectivity of Stent Material to improve Bio-functionality by Ion Beam Modification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Jaesang; Park, JUngchan; Jung, Myunghwan; Kim, Yongki; Park, Junkyu

2014-01-01

In this study, ion implantation into collagen coated Co-Cr alloy, which is a cheaper material of the artificial stent product comparing with Ti alloy, has been studied to develop small diameter artificial stent by the cell adhesion control. The size of stent was 1.6mm of the diameter and 18mm of the length. The life-time of artificial stent depends on adhesion property of endothelial-cells. We successfully controlled cell adhesion selectivity between endothelial cell and muscle cell by using collagen coated and He + ion beam irradiated Co-Cr-alloy to apply to artificial stent. But, we did not achieve the inhibition of platelet adhesion, yet by using collagen coating and He + ion beam irradiation. Based on this study, we have plan to research about separation between collagen coating effect and ion beam effect. Also, we will have more detail analysis of the mechanism of cell attachment. In recent years, ion implantation has been applied to the surface modification of prosthesis to improve blood compatibility and tissue compatibility in field of biomedical application. As well known, bio compatibility was concerned with the cell adhesion selectivity for bio-functionality. The biomedical application of ion beam technology would be used more widely in the future such as catheter and artificial graft

Which future for aviation bio-fuels?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Botti, Jean; Combarnous, Michel; Jarry, Bruno; Monsan, Pierre; Burzynski, Jean-Pierre; Jeuland, Nicolas; Porot, Pierre; Demoment, Pascale; Gillmann, Marc; Marchand, Philippe; Kuentzmann, Paul; Kurtsoglou, Nicolas; Lombaert-Valot, Isabelle; Pelegrin, Marc; Renvier, Jacques; Rousseau, Julien; Stadler, Thierry; Tremeau, Benoit

2014-01-01

This collective report proposes a detailed overview of the evolution of aviation fuels and bio-fuels from technological, regulatory and economic points of view. It also proposes a road-map for possible future evolutions, and outlines the different assessments between American and European countries regarding the predictions for the beginning of industrial production and use of bio-jet-fuel. After having recalled international objectives, an overview of European and French commitments for technological and operational advances, and a discussion of the role of bio-fuels in the carbon cycle, the report presents various technical constraints met in aircraft industry and describes the role bio-fuels may have. The next part proposes an overview of bio-fuels which are industrially produced in the world in 2013. The authors then focus on aviation bio-fuels (main production processes, thermo-chemical processes), discuss the political context, and examine obstacles, partnerships and the role of public authorities

Activities of Japan Nuclear Technology Institute Japanese TSO of Industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagata, T.

2010-01-01

Nuclear energy is a superior form of energy in that it delivers stable power supplies and counters global warming, and it is important to promote nuclear power generation as the core power sources for a nation. However, the Japanese environment surrounding nuclear energy is changing drastically, following the liberalization of market and recent series of troubles or falsifications shaking public confidence in nuclear energy. In the above mentioned situation, nuclear industries and organizations must fulfill their individual roles, and amass its strength to work toward enhancing industry initiatives for safety activities, securing safe / stable plant operations, restoring public confidence and initiate revitalization of nuclear energy operations. The Japan Nuclear Technology Institute (JANTI) has been established as a new entity for supporting and leading the industry's further progress in March 2005. Members of JANTI are not only utilities but also component manufacturers and constructors. JANTI enhance the technological foundation of nuclear energy based on scientific and rational data, coordinates its use among a wide range of relevant organizations, and helps members enhance their voluntary safety activities. At the same time, it is independent of utilities, and exercises a function of checking industry at the objective, third-party standpoint. As for the activities of JANTI itself, information disclosure and the establishment of a council comprising external members will enhance administration transparency. (author)

Association between the older adults' social relationships and functional status in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Watanabe, Kumi; Tanaka, Emiko; Watanabe, Taeko; Chen, Wencan; Wu, Bailiang; Ito, Sumio; Okumura, Rika; Anme, Tokie

2017-10-01

Previous studies have shown that social relationships positively contribute to the functioning of older adults. However, the particular aspects of social relationships that are most predictive remain unknown. Consequently, the current study aimed to clarify what elements of social relationships impacted the maintenance of functioning among older adults. The present study used baseline data collected in 2011, and follow-up surveys were carried out 3 years later. Participants included individuals aged 65 years or older who lived in a suburban community in Japan. A total of 434 participants met inclusion criteria for the study and were included in analysis. The Index of Social Interaction measure consists of five subscales (independence, social curiosity, interaction, participation and feeling of safety), and was used to assess the multiple elements of social relationships. After controlling for age, sex, disease status and mobility in 2011, the results showed that the social curiosity subscale was significantly associated with functional status after 3 years (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.02-1.63). Other Index of Social Interaction subscales were non-significant. The current study suggests that interaction with environment and multifaceted social relationships have the strongest impact on functional ability for older adults in Japan. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1522-1526. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

A report from the second US/Japan workshop on global change research: Environmental response technologies (mitigation and adaptation). United States-Japan Science and Technology Agreement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Edgerton, S. [comp.] [National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States). Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences; Mizuno, Tateki [comp.] [National Inst. for Resources and Environment, MITI (Japan)

1993-12-31

The Second US - Japan Workshop on Global Change: Environmental Response Technologies for Global Change was hosted by the Program on Resources at the East-West Center, in Honolulu, Hawaii on February 1--3, 1993, on behalf of the United States Committee on Earth and Environmental Sciences (CEES) of the Federal Coordinating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology (FCCSET). This workshop brought together over fifty leading scientists from the two countries to review existing technologies and to identify needed research on the development of new technologies for mitigation and adaptation of global change. The Workshop was organized around three areas of research: (1) capture, fixation/utilization, and disposal of CO{sub 2} (e.g. CO{sub 2}, separation and capture technologies, ocean and land disposal of CO{sub 2}; (2) energy production and conservation technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. combustion efficiency, non-carbon based energy technologies, energy conservation technologies); and (3) adaptation technologies and practices related to global climate change (e.g., adaptation responses of crops to climate change, adapting urban infrastructure for climate change). Priorities for joint research in each of these areas were discussed. Selected papers have been processed separately for inclusion in the Energy Science and Technology Database.

Electronic manufacturing and packaging in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Michael J.; Boulton, William R. (Editor); Kukowski, John A.; Meieran, Eugene S.; Pecht, Michael; Peeples, John W.; Tummala, Rao R.

1995-01-01

This report summarizes the status of electronic manufacturing and packaging technology in Japan in comparison to that in the United States, and its impact on competition in electronic manufacturing in general. In addition to electronic manufacturing technologies, the report covers technology and manufacturing infrastructure, electronics manufacturing and assembly, quality assurance and reliability in the Japanese electronics industry, and successful product realization strategies. The panel found that Japan leads the United States in almost every electronics packaging technology. Japan clearly has achieved a strategic advantage in electronics production and process technologies. Panel members believe that Japanese competitors could be leading U.S. firms by as much as a decade in some electronics process technologies. Japan has established this marked competitive advantage in electronics as a consequence of developing low-cost, high-volume consumer products. Japan's infrastructure, and the remarkable cohesiveness of vision and purpose in government and industry, are key factors in the success of Japan's electronics industry. Although Japan will continue to dominate consumer electronics in the foreseeable future, opportunities exist for the United States and other industrial countries to capture an increasingly large part of the market. The JTEC panel has identified no insurmountable barriers that would prevent the United States from regaining a significant share of the consumer electronics market; in fact, there is ample evidence that the United States needs to aggressively pursue high-volume, low-cost electronic assembly, because it is a critical path leading to high-performance electronic systems.

A computational platform to maintain and migrate manual functional annotations for BioCyc databases.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Jesse R; Sen, Taner Z; Dickerson, Julie A

2014-10-12

BioCyc databases are an important resource for information on biological pathways and genomic data. Such databases represent the accumulation of biological data, some of which has been manually curated from literature. An essential feature of these databases is the continuing data integration as new knowledge is discovered. As functional annotations are improved, scalable methods are needed for curators to manage annotations without detailed knowledge of the specific design of the BioCyc database. We have developed CycTools, a software tool which allows curators to maintain functional annotations in a model organism database. This tool builds on existing software to improve and simplify annotation data imports of user provided data into BioCyc databases. Additionally, CycTools automatically resolves synonyms and alternate identifiers contained within the database into the appropriate internal identifiers. Automating steps in the manual data entry process can improve curation efforts for major biological databases. The functionality of CycTools is demonstrated by transferring GO term annotations from MaizeCyc to matching proteins in CornCyc, both maize metabolic pathway databases available at MaizeGDB, and by creating strain specific databases for metabolic engineering.

Using digital technologies to engage with medical research: views of myotonic dystrophy patients in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Coathup, Victoria; Teare, Harriet J A; Minari, Jusaku; Yoshizawa, Go; Kaye, Jane; Takahashi, Masanori P; Kato, Kazuto

2016-08-24

As in other countries, the traditional doctor-patient relationship in the Japanese healthcare system has often been characterised as being of a paternalistic nature. However, in recent years there has been a gradual shift towards a more participatory-patient model in Japan. With advances in technology, the possibility to use digital technologies to improve patient interactions is growing and is in line with changing attitudes in the medical profession and society within Japan and elsewhere. The implementation of an online patient engagement platform is being considered by the Myotonic Dystrophy Registry of Japan. The aim of this exploratory study was to understand patients' views and attitudes to using digital tools in patient registries and engagement with medical research in Japan, prior to implementation of the digital platform. We conducted an exploratory, cross-sectional, self-completed questionnaire with a sample of myotonic dystrophy (MD) patients attending an Open Day at Osaka University, Japan. Patients were eligible for inclusion if they were 18 years or older, and were diagnosed with MD. A total of 68 patients and family members attended the Open Day and were invited to participate in the survey. Of those, 59 % submitted a completed questionnaire (n = 40). The survey showed that the majority of patients felt that they were not receiving the information they wanted from their clinicians, which included recent medical research findings and opportunities to participate in clinical trials, and 88 % of patients indicated they would be willing to engage with digital technologies to receive relevant medical information. Patients also expressed an interest in having control over when and how they received this information, as well as being informed of how their data is used and shared with other researchers. Overall, the findings from this study suggest that there is scope to develop a digital platform to engage with patients so that they can receive

Foreword [IJEGMBE 2015: India-Japan expert group meeting on biomolecular electronics and organic nanotechnology for environment preservation, Fukuoka (Japan), 23-26 December 2015

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

There is increased interest in organic nanotechnology and biomolecular electronics for environmental preservation, and in their anticipated impact on the economics of both the developing and the developed world. Keeping this in mind, the Department of Biological Functions, Graduate School of Life Sciences and Systems Engineering, Kyushu Institute of Technology (KIT), Kitakyushu, Japan, and the Department of Science and Technology Centre on Biomolecular Electronics (DSTCBE), National Physical Laboratory (NPL) jointly organized the India-Japan Workshop on Biomolecular Electronics and Organic Nanotechnology for Environmental Preservation (IJWBME 2009) at NPL, New Delhi from 17 th - 19 th December 2009, IJWBME 2011 at EGRET Himeji, Himeji, from 7 th - 10 th December, Japan, and IJWBME 2013 at Delhi Technological University, New Delhi, from 13 th - 15 th December. The India-Japan Expert Group Meeting on Biomolecular Electronics and Organic Nanotechnology for Environment Preservation (IJEGMBE) will be held from 22 th – 25 th , December, 2015, at Nakamura Centenary Memorial Hall, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu, Japan in association with Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India. Recent years have seen rapid growth in the area of Biomolecular Electronics involving the association and expertise of physicists, biologists, chemists, electronics engineers and information technologists. There is increasing interest in the development of nanotechnology and biomolecular electronic devices for the preservation of our precious environment. In this context, the world of the electronics, which developed on Si semiconductors, is going to change drastically. A paradigm shift towards organic or printed electronics is more likely in the future. The field of organic electronics promises exciting new technologies based on inexpensive and mechanically flexible electronic devices, and is now starting to see commercial success. On the sidelines of this increasingly well

After the Biomedical Technology Revolution: Where to Now for a Bio-Psycho-Social Approach to Social Work?

Science.gov (United States)

Healy, Karen

2016-07-01

In the late twentieth century, the bio-psycho-social framework emerged as a powerful influence on the conceptualisation and delivery of health and rehabilitation services including social work services in these fields. The bio-psycho-social framework is built on a systems view of health and well-being ( Garland and Howard, 2009). The systems perspective encourages medical and allied health professions, including social work, to recognise and to respond to the multiple systems impacting on individual health and well-being ( Engel, 2003). This paper analyses how advances in biomedical technology, particularly in the fields of neuroscience and human genomics, are challenging the bio-psycho-social approach to practice. The paper examines the pressures on the social work profession to embrace biomedical science and points to the problems in doing so. The conclusion points to some tentative ways forward for social workers to engage critically with biomedical advances and to strengthen the bio-psycho-social framework in the interests of holistic and ethical approaches to social work practice.

The problem of bio-concepts: biopolitics, bio-economy and the political economy of nothing

Science.gov (United States)

Birch, Kean

2017-12-01

Scholars in science and technology studies—and no doubt other fields—have increasingly drawn on Michel Foucault's concept of biopolitics to theorize a variety of new `bio-concepts'. While there might be some theoretical value in such exercises, many of these bio-concepts have simply replaced more rigorous—and therefore time-consuming—analytical work. This article provides a (sympathetic) critique of these various bio-concepts, especially as they are applied to the emerging `bio-economy'. In so doing, the article seeks to show that the analysis of the bio-economy could be better framed as a political economy of nothing. This has several implications for science education, which are raised in the article.

Scanning number and brightness yields absolute protein concentrations in live cells: a crucial parameter controlling functional bio-molecular interaction networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Papini, Christina; Royer, Catherine A

2018-02-01

Biological function results from properly timed bio-molecular interactions that transduce external or internal signals, resulting in any number of cellular fates, including triggering of cell-state transitions (division, differentiation, transformation, apoptosis), metabolic homeostasis and adjustment to changing physical or nutritional environments, amongst many more. These bio-molecular interactions can be modulated by chemical modifications of proteins, nucleic acids, lipids and other small molecules. They can result in bio-molecular transport from one cellular compartment to the other and often trigger specific enzyme activities involved in bio-molecular synthesis, modification or degradation. Clearly, a mechanistic understanding of any given high level biological function requires a quantitative characterization of the principal bio-molecular interactions involved and how these may change dynamically. Such information can be obtained using fluctation analysis, in particular scanning number and brightness, and used to build and test mechanistic models of the functional network to define which characteristics are the most important for its regulation.

Microelectronics in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Boulton, William R.

1995-02-01

The purpose of this JTEC study is to evaluate Japan's electronic manufacturing and packaging capabilities within the context of global economic competition. To carry out this study, the JTEC panel evaluated the framework of the Japanese consumer electronics industry and various technological and organizational factors that are likely to determine who will win and lose in the marketplace. This study begins with a brief overview of the electronics industry, especially as it operates in Japan today. Succeeding chapters examine the electronics infrastructure in Japan and take an in-depth look at the central issues of product development in order to identify those parameters that will determine future directions for electronic packaging technologies.

Epistemic brokerage in the bio-property narrative: contributions to explaining opposition to transgenic technologies in agriculture.

Science.gov (United States)

Herring, Ronald J

2010-11-30

Unlike some global contentions - abolition of slavery, or universal franchise, for example - the rift over rDNA crops is not about ultimate values. Improvement of farmer welfare and enhanced sustainability of agriculture are universally valued goals. However, means to those ends are politically disputed; that dispute depends on alternative empirical stories about biotechnology, sometimes even alternative epistemologies. Opposition revolves around two fundamental dimensions: bio-safety and bio-property. There is convergence of these dimensions around exceptional risk and vulnerability to corporate control of farmers, but these are analytically separable questions of fact. This paper concentrates on bio-property. Epistemic brokers have successfully established knowledge claims that simultaneously undermine the case for rDNA technologies as potential contributors to development and motivate opposition. Epistemic brokers command authority from their positions at junctures of networks, enabling the screening, weighting, theorizing and diffusion of contentious empirical accounts. In contentions of low information, high information costs and diffuse anxiety, these claims provide cognitive support for opposition to 'GMOs'. Specifically, claims of patents, monopoly corporate control and terminator technology have diffused to and from India in global networks. Though effective in transnational advocacy networks, these claims have proved either false or inconsistent with dynamics on the ground. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bio-functionalized MWCNT/hyperbranched polyurethane bionanocomposite for bone regeneration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Das, Beauty; Karak, Niranjan; Chattopadhyay, Pronobesh; Upadhyay, Aadesh; Maji, Somnath; Maity, Tapas Kumar; Purkayastha, Manashi Das; Mohanta, Charu lata

2015-01-01

The proper fabrication of biomaterials, particularly for purposes like bone regeneration, is of the utmost importance for the clinical success of materials that fulfill the design criteria at bio-interfacial milieu. Building on this aspect, a polyurethane nanocomposite (PNC) was fabricated by the combination of rapeseed protein functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and vegetable-oil-based hyperbranched polyurethane. Biofunctionalized MWCNTs showed incredible biocompatibility compared to pristine MWCNTs as ascertained via in vitro and in vivo studies. PNC showed enhanced MG63 cell differentiation ability compared to the control and carboxyl functionalized MWCNT-based nanocomposite, as postulated by alkaline phosphatase activity together with better cellular adhesion, spreading and proliferation. Consequently, a critical-sized fracture gap (6 mm) bridged by the sticky PNC scaffold illustrated rapid bone neoformation within 30–45 d, with 90–93% of the defect area filling up. Histopathological studies demonstrated the reorganization of the normal tibial architecture and biodegradation of the implant. The subsequent toxicological study through cytokine expression, biochemical analysis and hematological studies suggested non-immunogenic and non-toxic effects of PNCs and their degraded/leached products. Their excellent bio-physiological features with high load-bearing ability (49–55.5 Mpa), ductility (675–790%) and biodegradability promote them as the best alternative biomaterials for bone regeneration in a comprehensive manner. (paper)

Resource recovery from bio-based production processes: a future necessity?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mansouri, Seyed Soheil; S.B.A. Udugama, Isuru; Cignitti, Stefano

2017-01-01

The promise of transforming waste streams with small economic value into valuable products makes resource recovery technologies in bio-based production processes an attractive proposition. However, the use of resource recovery technologies in industrial applications is still minimal, despite its...... technologies to industrial bio-based production processes. The role and importance of economics, technology readiness and socio-environmental impacts of resource recovery in successfully implementing resource recovery technologies in industrial bio-based production processes is also discussed. Finally, based...... wide use in closely related processes such as dairy production. In this paper, a perspective on the role of resource recovery in bio-based production processes is provided through reviewing the past practice and identifying the benefits, opportunities and challenges of introducing resource recovery...

The Closure of the Cycle: Enzymatic Synthesis and Functionalization of Bio-Based Polyesters.

Science.gov (United States)

Pellis, Alessandro; Herrero Acero, Enrique; Ferrario, Valerio; Ribitsch, Doris; Guebitz, Georg M; Gardossi, Lucia

2016-04-01

The polymer industry is under pressure to mitigate the environmental cost of petrol-based plastics. Biotechnologies contribute to the gradual replacement of petrol-based chemistry and the development of new renewable products, leading to the closure of carbon circle. An array of bio-based building blocks is already available on an industrial scale and is boosting the development of new generations of sustainable and functionally competitive polymers, such as polylactic acid (PLA). Biocatalysts add higher value to bio-based polymers by catalyzing not only their selective modification, but also their synthesis under mild and controlled conditions. The ultimate aim is the introduction of chemical functionalities on the surface of the polymer while retaining its bulk properties, thus enlarging the spectrum of advanced applications. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development programs on decommissioning technology for reactors and fuel cycle facilities in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujiki, K.

1992-01-01

The Science and Technology Agency (STA) of Japan is promoting technology development for decommissioning of nuclear facilities by entrusting various research programs to concerned research organisations: JAERI, PNC and RANDEC, including first full scale reactor decommissioning of JPDR. According to the results of these programs, significant improvement on dismantling techniques, decontamination, measurement etc. has been achieved. Further development of advanced decommissioning technology has been started in order to achieve reduction of duration of decommissioning work and occupational exposures in consideration of the decommissioning of reactors and fuel cycle facilities. (author) 5 refs.; 7 figs.; 1 tab

Increase of Bio-Gas Power Potential

OpenAIRE

V. A. Sednin; О. F. Kraetskaya; I. N. Prokoрenia

2012-01-01

The paper presents a review of industrial technologies for obtaining gas-synthesis which is applicable for bio-gas enrichment process. Comparative characteristics are given in the paper. The paper thoroughly considers a technology of dry methane conversion as the most expedient variant recommended for the application in this case. The bio-gas enrichment carried out during its production expands possibilities and efficiency of its application.

Integrated biomass utilization system developments (Kyoto-Bio-Cycle Project) and the effects of greenhouse gas reduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nakamura, Kazuo; Hori, Hiroaki; Deguchi, Shinguo; Yano, Junya; Sakai, Shinichi

2010-01-01

Full text: The biomass available in Kyoto City located in urban area of Japan was estimated to be 2.02x10 6 t-wet/ yr (0.14x10 6 k liter/ yr oil equivalent), of which waste paper, waste timber, waste food, unused forest wood from the surrounding mountains and sewage sludge account for the largest amounts on an energy basis. These types of biomass can contribute to utilize for the reduction of fossil fuel consumption and for the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission. Therefore we started the Kyoto-Bio-Cycle Project (FY 2007-2009), which is the demonstration of renewable energy conversion technologies from the biomass. Specifically, we aimed for the greening of necessary materials such as methanol and the cyclic use of byproducts, with the bio diesel fuel production from used cooking oil (5 k liter-methyl ester/ day) as the core activity. Two technologies are being developed as part of the project. One is gasification and methanol synthesis to synthesize methanol with the pyrolytic gas generated from woody biomass. The other is high efficiency bio gasification that treats waste food, waste paper, and waste glycerin. This technology can improve the production rate of biogas and reduce the residue through the introduction of 80 degree Celsius-hyper-thermophilic hydrolysis in the 55 degree Celsius-thermophilic anaerobic fermentation process. These systems can produce 4 types of renewable energy such as bio diesel fuel, biogas, electricity and heat. And we conducted the life-cycle system analysis of GHG reduction effect for the demonstrating technologies, additionally we examined an optimum method of biomass utilization in the future low-carbon-society. As a result, the method that produces the liquid fuel (methanol, Ft oil) from dry biomass (waste timber, etc.) and the biogas from wet biomass (waste food, etc.) can reduce GHG emission highly at present and in the future, compared with the current direct combustion of biomass for the power generation. (author)

Questionnaire for the contents of cancer professional training plan by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sasaki, Ryohei; Numasaki, Hodaka; Teshima, Teruki; Nishio, Teiji; Fukuda, Haruyuki; Ashino, Yasuo; Onishi, Hiroshi; Nakamura, Katsumasa; Nagata, Yasushi

2009-01-01

Questionnaire for the contents of cancer professional training plan by Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology Japan were widely assessed and introduced in the 4th Japanese Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (JASTRO) Future Planning Seminar held on March 8, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan. From the assessment, small number of instructors for medical physicists was elucidated as the most important problem for the future of fields of radiation oncology in Japan. (author)

JPRS Report, Science & Technology, Japan

Science.gov (United States)

1987-10-27

much attention needs to be focused on the possibilities for the societal acceptance of AI technology and the problem of industrial and economic ...techni- cian training methods, AI implementation and economic benefits, Interna- tional problems) 2. Relationships with society (Examples: Promoting...also be extended. With respect to the EICE, which emulates MPU functions, the EICE-ID was publicized in April, 1987. This defines the ZICE function

EDITORIAL: Molecular Imaging Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Asai, Keisuke; Okamoto, Koji

2006-06-01

'Molecular Imaging Technology' focuses on image-based techniques using nanoscale molecules as sensor probes to measure spatial variations of various species (molecular oxygen, singlet oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitric monoxide, etc) and physical properties (pressure, temperature, skin friction, velocity, mechanical stress, etc). This special feature, starting on page 1237, contains selected papers from The International Workshop on Molecular Imaging for Interdisciplinary Research, sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) in Japan, which was held at the Sendai Mediatheque, Sendai, Japan, on 8 9 November 2004. The workshop was held as a sequel to the MOSAIC International Workshop that was held in Tokyo in 2003, to summarize the outcome of the 'MOSAIC Project', a five-year interdisciplinary project supported by Techno-Infrastructure Program, the Special Coordination Fund for Promotion of Science Technology to develop molecular sensor technology for aero-thermodynamic research. The workshop focused on molecular imaging technology and its applications to interdisciplinary research areas. More than 110 people attended this workshop from various research fields such as aerospace engineering, automotive engineering, radiotechnology, fluid dynamics, bio-science/engineering and medical engineering. The purpose of this workshop is to stimulate intermixing of these interdisciplinary fields for further development of molecular sensor and imaging technology. It is our pleasure to publish the seven papers selected from our workshop as a special feature in Measurement and Science Technology. We will be happy if this issue inspires people to explore the future direction of molecular imaging technology for interdisciplinary research.

Functionalizing 2PP-fabricated microtools for optical manipulation on the BioPhotonics Workstation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matsuoka, Tomoyo; Nishi, Masayuki; Sakakura, Masaaki

Functionalization of the structures fabricated by two-photon polymerization was achieved by coating them with sol-gel materials, which contain calcium indicators. The structures are expected to work potentially as nano-sensors on the BioPhotonics Workstation....

Increase of Bio-Gas Power Potential

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. A. Sednin

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The paper presents a review of industrial technologies for obtaining gas-synthesis which is applicable for bio-gas enrichment process. Comparative characteristics are given in the paper. The paper thoroughly considers a technology of dry methane conversion as the most expedient variant recommended for the application in this case. The bio-gas enrichment carried out during its production expands possibilities and efficiency of its application.

Serum glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure levels in Japanese type 1 and 2 diabetic patients: BioBank Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Yokomichi, Hiroshi; Nagai, Akiko; Hirata, Makoto; Kiyohara, Yutaka; Muto, Kaori; Ninomiya, Toshiharu; Matsuda, Koichi; Kamatani, Yoichiro; Tamakoshi, Akiko; Kubo, Michiaki; Nakamura, Yusuke; Yamagata, Zentaro

2017-03-01

Evidence of characteristics of Japanese patients with diabetes from a large-scale population is necessary. Few studies have compared glycaemic controls, complications and comorbidities between type 1 and 2 diabetic patients. This paper focuses on illustrating a clinical picture of Japanese diabetic patients and comparing glycaemic control and prognoses between type 1 and 2 diabetes using multi-institutional data. The BioBank Japan Project enrolled adult type 1 and 2 diabetic patients between fiscal years 2003 and 2007. We have presented characteristics, controls of serum glucose, cholesterol and blood pressure, prevalence of complications and comorbidities and survival curves. We have also shown glycaemic controls according to various individual profiles of diabetic patients. A total of 558 type 1 diabetic patients and 30,834 type 2 diabetic patients participated in this study. The mean glycated haemoglobin A1c was higher in type 1 diabetes than in type 2 diabetes. In the type 1 diabetic patients, the glycated haemoglobin A1c had no consistent trend according to age and body mass index. The Kaplan-Meier estimates represented a longer survival time from baseline with type 1 diabetes than with type 2 diabetes. Compared with type 1 diabetic patients, type 2 diabetic patients had double the prevalence of macrovascular complications. This work has revealed detailed plasma glucose levels of type 1 and 2 diabetic patients according to age, body mass index, blood pressure, serum cholesterol levels and smoking and drinking habits. Our data have also shown that the prognosis is worse for type 2 diabetes than for type 1 diabetes in Japan. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Anaerobic co-digestion of cassava peels and manure: a technological approach for biogas generation and bio-fertilizer production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bayitse, R.; Laryea, G. N.; Selormey, G.; Oduro, W. O.; Aggey, M.; Mensah, B.; Gustavsson, M.; Bjerre, A.B.

2014-01-01

The modern global society faces great challenges in supply of energy and management of wastes in sustainable ways. One way of resolving the local challenges is to develop environmentally appropriate and socio economically viable biotechnological processes for converting biomass to energy. The general principles of anaerobic bio-digestion, digester design and features of bio-digestion are presented in the feature article, focusing on the prospects of utilizing cassava peels as a readily available lignocellulose feedstock for co-digestion with manure for the production of biogas and bio-fertilizer. Aside of the high cyanogenic properties, cassava peels would require pre-treatment before use as a substrate, hence, a multi-stage and high rate digestion system might be adopted in efficient digestion of cassava peels. To optimize carbon-nitrogen ratio for efficient digestion, cassava should be co-digested with manure. The socio-economic benefits of the anaerobic co-digestion technology and key policy measures to be implemented to harness bio-energy from agricultural wastes are also outlined. (au)

US hospital payment adjustments for innovative technology lag behind those in Germany, France, and Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Hernandez, John; Machacz, Susanne F; Robinson, James C

2015-02-01

Medicare pioneered add-on payments to facilitate the adoption of innovative technologies under its hospital prospective payment system. US policy makers are now experimenting with broader value-based payment initiatives, but these have not been adjusted for innovation. This article examines the structure, processes, and experience with Medicare's hospital new technology add-on payment program since its inception in 2001 and compares it with analogous payment systems in Germany, France, and Japan. Between 2001 and 2015 CMS approved nineteen of fifty-three applications for the new technology add-on payment program. We found that the program resulted in $201.7 million in Medicare payments in fiscal years 2002-13-less than half the level anticipated by Congress and only 34 percent of the amount projected by CMS. The US program approved considerably fewer innovative technologies, compared to analogous technology payment mechanisms in Germany, France and Japan. We conclude that it is important to adjust payments for new medical innovations within prospective and value-based payment systems explicitly as well as implicitly. The most straightforward method to use in adjusting value-based payments is for the insurer to retrospectively adjust spending targets to account for the cost of new technologies. If CMS made such retrospective adjustments, it would not financially penalize hospitals for adopting beneficial innovations. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Fiscal 1997 R and D project on industrial science and technology under a consignment from NEDO. R and D of the application technology of functional protein complex (R and D of the high-functional maintenance technology for power plants); 1997 nendo sangyo kagaku gijutsu kenkyu kaihatsu jigyo Shin energy Sangyo gijutsu Sogo Kaihatsu Kiko itaku. Kinosei tanpakushitsu shugotai oyo gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu (hatsuden shisetsuyo kokino maintenance gijutsu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

In order to develop advanced maintenance technology for power generation facilities, application technology of functional protein complexes is under investigation. On a light controllable enzymatic reaction system, construction of a light controllable bio-reactor by physico-chemical and bio- chemical techniques, and structure and functions of a photosynthetic protein complex using thermophilic cyanobacteria as material are under investigation. On a molecular mechanism for recognition and reaction of receptor proteins, structure analysis and engineering application of glutamate receptor channels of a synaptic transmission system, and basic study and material proteins for artificial structures using endocytic micromachinery, and a multi-enzyme system for synthesis of glycosphingolipids are under investigation. On a complex oxidation/reduction system by genetic engineering technique, construction of a high- efficiency stable system with functionally arranged oxidoreductase and electron transmission systems in biomembranes is in promotion. Research work was also made on molecular assemblies for a functional protein system. 166 refs., 91 figs., 9 tabs.

Array2BIO: from microarray expression data to functional annotation of co-regulated genes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rasley Amy

2006-06-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background There are several isolated tools for partial analysis of microarray expression data. To provide an integrative, easy-to-use and automated toolkit for the analysis of Affymetrix microarray expression data we have developed Array2BIO, an application that couples several analytical methods into a single web based utility. Results Array2BIO converts raw intensities into probe expression values, automatically maps those to genes, and subsequently identifies groups of co-expressed genes using two complementary approaches: (1 comparative analysis of signal versus control and (2 clustering analysis of gene expression across different conditions. The identified genes are assigned to functional categories based on Gene Ontology classification and KEGG protein interaction pathways. Array2BIO reliably handles low-expressor genes and provides a set of statistical methods for quantifying expression levels, including Benjamini-Hochberg and Bonferroni multiple testing corrections. An automated interface with the ECR Browser provides evolutionary conservation analysis for the identified gene loci while the interconnection with Crème allows prediction of gene regulatory elements that underlie observed expression patterns. Conclusion We have developed Array2BIO – a web based tool for rapid comprehensive analysis of Affymetrix microarray expression data, which also allows users to link expression data to Dcode.org comparative genomics tools and integrates a system for translating co-expression data into mechanisms of gene co-regulation. Array2BIO is publicly available at http://array2bio.dcode.org.

Analysis of the BEV Technology Progress of America, Europe, Japan and Korea Based on Patent Map

Science.gov (United States)

Yurong, Huang; Yuanyuan, Hou; Jingyan, Zhou; Ru, Liu

2018-02-01

The paper analyzed the Battery Electric Vehicle patent application trend, major country distribution, main technology layout and patentee of America, Europe, Japan and Korea based on patent information from 2006 to 2016 by using patent map method, and visualized the Battery Electric Vehicle technology progress conditions of the four countries and regions in the last decade.

Development of clean coal technologies in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sato, M. [Electric Power Research Industry, Yokosuka (Japan). Central Research Inst.

2013-07-01

In Japan, we have to import almost of primary energy resources from all over the world. We depend on foreign countries for 96% of our primary energy supply. Following the two oil crises in the 1970s, Japan has diversified its energy resources through increased use of nuclear energy, natural gas and coal as well as the promotion of energy efficiency and conservation.

BioMEMS

CERN Document Server

Urban, Gerald A

2007-01-01

Explosive growth in the field of Microsystem Technology has introduced a variety of promising products in major disciplines from microelectronics to life sciences. 'Biomes' is a discipline which focuses on microsystems for living systems. This work presents the exciting field of bio-microsystems.

Gender differences in information technology usage: a U.S.-Japan comparison

OpenAIRE

Hiroshi Ono; Madeline Zavodny

2004-01-01

This study examines whether there are differences in men’s and women’s use of computers and the Internet in the United States and Japan and how any such gender gaps have changed over time. The authors focus on these two countries because information technology is widely used in both, but there are substantial differences in institutions and social organizations. They use microdata from several surveys during the 1997–2001 period to examine differences and trends in computer and Internet usage...

Bio-functions and molecular carbohydrate structure association study in forage with different source origins revealed using non-destructive vibrational molecular spectroscopy techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Ji, Cuiying; Zhang, Xuewei; Yan, Xiaogang; Mostafizar Rahman, M; Prates, Luciana L; Yu, Peiqiang

2017-08-05

The objectives of this study were to: 1) investigate forage carbohydrate molecular structure profiles; 2) bio-functions in terms of CHO rumen degradation characteristics and hourly effective degradation ratio of N to OM (HED N/OM ), and 3) quantify interactive association between molecular structures, bio-functions and nutrient availability. The vibrational molecular spectroscopy was applied to investigate the structure feature on a molecular basis. Two sourced-origin alfalfa forages were used as modeled forages. The results showed that the carbohydrate molecular structure profiles were highly linked to the bio-functions in terms of rumen degradation characteristics and hourly effective degradation ratio. The molecular spectroscopic technique can be used to detect forage carbohydrate structure features on a molecular basis and can be used to study interactive association between forage molecular structure and bio-functions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Japan, new agenda for energy security

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chrisstoffels, J.H.

2007-07-01

The author argues that the Japanese government will actively seek to strengthen security of supply. Japan has almost no domestic energy reserves. It is Asia's leading energy importer, but it faces increasing competition for resources from China and India. This has led to growing concern among Japanese policy makers. In the spring of 2007 a new Basic Energy Law was drafted that offers a strategic change of direction, away from a policy emphasis on free (energy) trade promotion and liberalisation of domestic energy markets. Japan will boost energy diplomacy towards energy producing countries and increase financial guarantees to Japanese oil and gas development companies. At the same time, Japan will raise efforts to lower its dependency on foreign oil and gas. To this end, it has set ambitious targets for further nuclear power development and the promotion of bio-trade. The author points at a multitude of complexities that may impede the success of these policies, Still, EU policy makers should be aware that Japan's energy policy has changed, driven by the conviction that markets alone cannot be relied upon to guarantee a secure supply of energy. [nl

NanoJapan: international research experience for undergraduates program: fostering U.S.-Japan research collaborations in terahertz science and technology of nanostructures

Science.gov (United States)

Phillips, Sarah R.; Matherly, Cheryl A.; Kono, Junichiro

2014-09-01

The international nature of science and engineering research demands that students have the skillsets necessary to collaborate internationally. However, limited options exist for science and engineering undergraduates who want to pursue research abroad. The NanoJapan International Research Experience for Undergraduates Program is an innovative response to this need. Developed to foster research and international engagement among young undergraduate students, it is funded by a National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) grant. Each summer, NanoJapan sends 12 U.S. students to Japan to conduct research internships with world leaders in terahertz (THz) spectroscopy, nanophotonics, and ultrafast optics. The students participate in cutting-edge research projects managed within the framework of the U.S-Japan NSF-PIRE collaboration. One of our focus topics is THz science and technology of nanosystems (or `TeraNano'), which investigates the physics and applications of THz dynamics of carriers and phonons in nanostructures and nanomaterials. In this article, we will introduce the program model, with specific emphasis on designing high-quality international student research experiences. We will specifically address the program curriculum that introduces students to THz research, Japanese language, and intercultural communications, in preparation for work in their labs. Ultimately, the program aims to increase the number of U.S. students who choose to pursue graduate study in this field, while cultivating a generation of globally aware engineers and scientists who are prepared for international research collaboration.

[Current status of bio-based materials industry in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Diao, Xiaoqian; Weng, Yunxuan; Huang, Zhigang; Yang, Nan; Wang, Xiyuan; Zhang, Min; Jin, Yujuan

2016-06-25

In recent years, bio-based materials are becoming a new dominant industry leading the scientific and technological innovation, and economic development of the world. We reviewed the new development of bio-based materials industry in China, analyzed the entire market of bio-based materials products comprehensively, and also stated the industry status of bio-based chemicals, such as lactic acid, 1,3-propanediol, and succinic acid; biodegradable bio-based polymers, such as co-polyester of diacid and diol, polylactic acid, carbon dioxide based copolymer, polyhydroxyalknoates, polycaprolactone, and thermoplastic bio-based plastics; non-biodegradable bio-based polymers, such as bio-based polyamide, polytrimethylene terephthalate, bio-based polyurethane, and bio-based fibers.

Healthcare Databases in Thailand and Japan: Potential Sources for Health Technology Assessment Research.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surasak Saokaew

Full Text Available Health technology assessment (HTA has been continuously used for value-based healthcare decisions over the last decade. Healthcare databases represent an important source of information for HTA, which has seen a surge in use in Western countries. Although HTA agencies have been established in Asia-Pacific region, application and understanding of healthcare databases for HTA is rather limited. Thus, we reviewed existing databases to assess their potential for HTA in Thailand where HTA has been used officially and Japan where HTA is going to be officially introduced.Existing healthcare databases in Thailand and Japan were compiled and reviewed. Databases' characteristics e.g. name of database, host, scope/objective, time/sample size, design, data collection method, population/sample, and variables were described. Databases were assessed for its potential HTA use in terms of safety/efficacy/effectiveness, social/ethical, organization/professional, economic, and epidemiological domains. Request route for each database was also provided.Forty databases- 20 from Thailand and 20 from Japan-were included. These comprised of national censuses, surveys, registries, administrative data, and claimed databases. All databases were potentially used for epidemiological studies. In addition, data on mortality, morbidity, disability, adverse events, quality of life, service/technology utilization, length of stay, and economics were also found in some databases. However, access to patient-level data was limited since information about the databases was not available on public sources.Our findings have shown that existing databases provided valuable information for HTA research with limitation on accessibility. Mutual dialogue on healthcare database development and usage for HTA among Asia-Pacific region is needed.

Healthcare Databases in Thailand and Japan: Potential Sources for Health Technology Assessment Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Saokaew, Surasak; Sugimoto, Takashi; Kamae, Isao; Pratoomsoot, Chayanin; Chaiyakunapruk, Nathorn

2015-01-01

Health technology assessment (HTA) has been continuously used for value-based healthcare decisions over the last decade. Healthcare databases represent an important source of information for HTA, which has seen a surge in use in Western countries. Although HTA agencies have been established in Asia-Pacific region, application and understanding of healthcare databases for HTA is rather limited. Thus, we reviewed existing databases to assess their potential for HTA in Thailand where HTA has been used officially and Japan where HTA is going to be officially introduced. Existing healthcare databases in Thailand and Japan were compiled and reviewed. Databases' characteristics e.g. name of database, host, scope/objective, time/sample size, design, data collection method, population/sample, and variables were described. Databases were assessed for its potential HTA use in terms of safety/efficacy/effectiveness, social/ethical, organization/professional, economic, and epidemiological domains. Request route for each database was also provided. Forty databases- 20 from Thailand and 20 from Japan-were included. These comprised of national censuses, surveys, registries, administrative data, and claimed databases. All databases were potentially used for epidemiological studies. In addition, data on mortality, morbidity, disability, adverse events, quality of life, service/technology utilization, length of stay, and economics were also found in some databases. However, access to patient-level data was limited since information about the databases was not available on public sources. Our findings have shown that existing databases provided valuable information for HTA research with limitation on accessibility. Mutual dialogue on healthcare database development and usage for HTA among Asia-Pacific region is needed.

Application study of Bio-FGD based on environmental safety during the coal combustion

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Pin

2018-05-01

Coal combustion produces a large amount of acidic gas, which is the main cause of acid rain and other natural disasters. Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD) is a necessary requirement for clean coal combustion. Compared with the traditional chemical desulfurization technology, biological desulfurization has the advantages of low operating cost, without secondary pollution, low carbon emission and the additional economic benefits. The process and structure of BioDeSOx which as one of Bio-FGD technology is introduced. The major factors that influent BioDeSOx Bio- FGD system is the pH, oxidation reduction potential (-300 MV to -400MV), electrical conductivity, the adding amount of nutrient and temperature (30°C-40°C). Taking the Bio- FGD project of Yixing xielian thermal power plant as an example, the BioDeSOx technology was applied in this project. The environmental and economic benefits of the project were greater than the traditional desulfurization technology. With the continuous improvement of environmental safety standards, Bio- FGD technology will have broad application prospects.

„Bio-politics Reflexes” or something about what happens with Bio-politics today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Viorella Manolache

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Under the pressure dictated by Western modernity movements, life finally enters within strategic (long term relationships circuit. The present study establishes that, bio-politics and bio-power denounces the paradigm of politicization of the biological life. Foucault’s late writings confirm the subordination of bio-politics to the technologies of power, which integrate / reduce life to biological continuity of the species, to the objectification of individual body or investigation of self-techniques, that would allow (beyond the corset of the institutional, the (re affirmation of subjectivity as a force or a form of resistance. The present reactivation of the bio model establishes that we cannot evade Foucault’s view, in which, the biology- meeting – politics confirms that, none of the terms no longer retains its original meaning.

Biosol Project: development of a new technology for the treatment of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons. bio-remediation by means of the addition of a biomass material (part one)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

The general mission of the project is to contribute to the development of new technologies based on the bio-remediation of soils contaminated with hydrocarbons. It is pretended to develop a bio-remediation technology based on the use 'on site' of a biomass material with absorbent properties that allows to reduce time and costs of treatment of contaminated soils by hydrocarbons in comparison with other current technologies. The biomass must be biodegradable and to act as a bio-stimulator of the endogenous microbial population, which is the responsible of the degradation of the pollutants contained in the soil. Another objective to achieve is that the new technology has to be able to decontaminate soils over the maximum thresholds of concentration reached by similar technologies of bio-remediation (50.000 ppm), in order to obtain that the technique could be competitive in comparison with other techniques more conventional based on chemical or physical treatments, and more aggressive from an ecological point of view (for example: chemical oxidation, thermal desorption). The amount and quality of published scientific works also demonstrate that still there are many points to investigate until understanding perfectly how the microorganisms interact with the different phases and compounds that conforms the porous matrix of the soil. In this sense IAP emphasizes the necessity to have a previous study of characterization for any contaminated soil that it wants to be treated by means of technologies based on the bio-remediation. In a similar line, it emphasizes the studies about bio-remediation presented in the 8. Consoil (May of 2003). The works presented in this forum put in evidence the necessity of arrange pilot experiences of application that allow to advance in the development of new technologies applicable to similar scales to the real ones. Also the bio-remediation based on the bio-stimulation of the endogenous microbial populations by means of the addition of

Transforming healthcare with information technology in Japan: a review of policy, people, and progress.

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Chon; Nishihara, Eitaro; Akiyama, Miki

2011-03-01

Healthcare reform as part of the economic recovery plan in Japan is placing emphasis on the use of healthcare information technology (HIT). This research mainly focuses on the HIT efforts in Japan with reference to the US for context. The purpose is to: (a) provide detail on governmental policy impacting promotion of HIT adoption to provide services to the people of Japan, (b) describe the outcomes of past and present policy impacting progress based on a case study of HIT use in the Kyoto Yamashina area, and (c) discuss issues for refinement of current policy. The method is case study, and data collection techniques include: (a) interviews of people involved in policy making for HIT in Japan (Japanese healthcare professionals, government officials, and academics involved in HIT research in Japan) and use in the medical community of HIT in the Kyoto Yamashina area, (b) archived document analysis of reports regarding government policy for HIT policy and user assessment for HIT mainly in the case study site, and (c) the literature review about HIT progression and effectiveness assessments to explore and describe issues concerning the transformation with HIT in Japan. This study reveals the aspects of governmental policy that have been effective in promoting successful HIT initiatives as well as some that have been detriments in Japan to help solve pressing social issues regarding healthcare delivery. For example, Japan has stipulated some standardized protocols and formats for HIT but does not mandate exactly how to engage in inter-organizational or intra-organizational health information exchange. This provides some desired autonomy for healthcare organizations and or governments in medical communities and allows for more advanced organizations to leverage current resources while providing a basis for lesser equipped organizations to use in planning the initiative. The insights gained from the Kyoto Yamashina area initiative reflect the success of past governmental

International cooperation of Japan in Asia for nuclear technology and application

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Machi, Sueo

2008-01-01

The FNCA launched by the Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok in 2000, where following vision statement was adapted: 'The FNCA is to be recognized as an effective mechanism for enhancing socio economic development through active regional partnership in the peaceful and safe utilization of nuclear technology'. The FNCA has now 10 participating countries (Australia, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam) implementing 11 projects and one panel in the fields of agriculture, health care, industry, energy, human resource development, safety and environment. (author)

Utilization of bio-resources through nuclear technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tamikazu Kume

2002-01-01

Nuclear technology such as gamma-ray, eb and ion beams is widely use for the utilization of bio-resources. Irradiation using gamma ray from 60 Co and electron beam is commercially used for the sterilization and modification of materials. Polysaccharides such as chitosan, sodium alginate, carrageenan, cellulose, pectin were easily degraded by irradiation and induced various kinds of biological activities, i.e. anti-bacterial activity, elicitor activity, plant growth promotion, suppression of environmental stress on plants. Some carbohydrate derivatives, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), carboxymethyl-starch and carboxymethyl-chitin/chitosan, can be crosslinked under certain radiation condition and produced the biodegradable hydrogel for medical and agricultural uses. Ion beams have also been applied for mutation breeding for medical and agricultural use. Ion beams have also been applied for mutation breeding and the production of positron-emitting isotopes such as 11 C, 13 N, etc. It was succeeded to induce several kinds of flower-color and flower-form mutants in chrysanthemum and carnation by ion beams that have never produced by gamma-ray. The positron emitting tracer imaging system (PETIS) has been developed to obtain a dynamic image of plant transport in situ. (Author)

tmBioC: improving interoperability of text-mining tools with BioC.

Science.gov (United States)

Khare, Ritu; Wei, Chih-Hsuan; Mao, Yuqing; Leaman, Robert; Lu, Zhiyong

2014-01-01

The lack of interoperability among biomedical text-mining tools is a major bottleneck in creating more complex applications. Despite the availability of numerous methods and techniques for various text-mining tasks, combining different tools requires substantial efforts and time owing to heterogeneity and variety in data formats. In response, BioC is a recent proposal that offers a minimalistic approach to tool interoperability by stipulating minimal changes to existing tools and applications. BioC is a family of XML formats that define how to present text documents and annotations, and also provides easy-to-use functions to read/write documents in the BioC format. In this study, we introduce our text-mining toolkit, which is designed to perform several challenging and significant tasks in the biomedical domain, and repackage the toolkit into BioC to enhance its interoperability. Our toolkit consists of six state-of-the-art tools for named-entity recognition, normalization and annotation (PubTator) of genes (GenNorm), diseases (DNorm), mutations (tmVar), species (SR4GN) and chemicals (tmChem). Although developed within the same group, each tool is designed to process input articles and output annotations in a different format. We modify these tools and enable them to read/write data in the proposed BioC format. We find that, using the BioC family of formats and functions, only minimal changes were required to build the newer versions of the tools. The resulting BioC wrapped toolkit, which we have named tmBioC, consists of our tools in BioC, an annotated full-text corpus in BioC, and a format detection and conversion tool. Furthermore, through participation in the 2013 BioCreative IV Interoperability Track, we empirically demonstrate that the tools in tmBioC can be more efficiently integrated with each other as well as with external tools: Our experimental results show that using BioC reduces >60% in lines of code for text-mining tool integration. The tmBioC toolkit

Industrial lasers in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Karube, Norio

1991-03-01

I am to report on some aspects of industrial lasers in Japan. Mostly centering on the market. In Japan, the history of laser developnent is rather profound. And long. Ever since the first invention of the laser in this country in 1960. This is partly because of the fact that in Japan the spectroscopic studies of the ruby was very popular in the late 1950's. Ever since niost of the work has been done in the research laboratories of the industry, not in the universities or not in the governmental laboratories. And since that time our first activity was mainly centering on the basic research, but after that time we have the evolution of the technology. One of the features in Japan is that the activity of developement and research of laser technology from the very basic phase up to the present commercialization has been done by the same group of people, including ine. We had a national project which ended about six years ago which was sponsored by MITI. MITI is Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan. And because of this national project, the effect of this project had a very enlightening effect in Japan. And after that our Japanese laser market became very flourishing.

Production of bio-energies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurtler, J.L.; Femenias, A.; Blondy, J.

2009-01-01

After having indicated the various possible origins of biomass, this paper considers the issue of bio-energies, i.e., energies produced with biomass related to forest or agriculture production. Some indicators are defined (share of renewable energies, share of biomass in the energy production and consumption, number of production units). Stake holders are identified. Then, major and emerging trends are identified and discussed. The major trends are: development and diversification of renewable energies, development of bio-fuels with the support of incentive policies, prevalence of the wood-energy sector on the whole renewable energies, increase of surfaces dedicated to bio-fuels since the end of the 1990's, a French biogas sector which is late with respect to other countries. The emerging trends are: the important role of oil price in the development of bio-fuels, a necessary public support for the development of biogas, mobilization of research and development of competitiveness poles for bio-industries. Some prospective issues are also discussed in terms of uncertainties (soil availabilities, environmental performance of bio-fuels, available biomass resource, need of a technological advance, and evolution of energy needs on a medium term, tax and public policy). Three hypotheses of bio-energy evolutions are discussed

Bio-Refineries Bioprocess Technologies for Waste-Water Treatment, Energy and Product Valorization

Science.gov (United States)

Keith Cowan, A.

2010-04-01

Increasing pressure is being exerted on communities and nations to source energy from forms other than fossil fuels. Also, potable water is becoming a scarce resource in many parts of the world, and there remains a large divide in the demand and utilization of plant products derived from genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and non-GMOs. The most extensive user and manager of terrestrial ecosystems is agriculture which is also the de facto steward of natural resources. As stated by Miller (2008) no other industry or institution comes close to the comparative advantage held for this vital responsibility while simultaneously providing food, fiber, and other biology-based products, including energy. Since modern commercial agriculture is transitioning from the production of bulk commodities to the provision of standardized products and specific-attribute raw materials for differentiated markets, we can argue that processes such as mass cultivation of microalgae and the concept of bio-refineries be seen as part of a `new' agronomy. EBRU is currently exploring the integration of bioprocess technologies using microalgae as biocatalysts to achieve waste-water treatment, water polishing and endocrine disruptor (EDC) removal, sustainable energy production, and exploitation of the resultant biomass in agriculture as foliar fertilizer and seed coatings, and for commercial extraction of bulk commodities such as bio-oils and lecithin. This presentation will address efforts to establish a fully operational solar-driven microalgae bio-refinery for use not only in waste remediation but to transform waste and biomass to energy, fuels, and other useful materials (valorisation), with particular focus on environmental quality and sustainability goals.

A multi-scale, multi-disciplinary approach for assessing the technological, economic and environmental performance of bio-based chemicals.

Science.gov (United States)

Herrgård, Markus; Sukumara, Sumesh; Campodonico, Miguel; Zhuang, Kai

2015-12-01

In recent years, bio-based chemicals have gained interest as a renewable alternative to petrochemicals. However, there is a significant need to assess the technological, biological, economic and environmental feasibility of bio-based chemicals, particularly during the early research phase. Recently, the Multi-scale framework for Sustainable Industrial Chemicals (MuSIC) was introduced to address this issue by integrating modelling approaches at different scales ranging from cellular to ecological scales. This framework can be further extended by incorporating modelling of the petrochemical value chain and the de novo prediction of metabolic pathways connecting existing host metabolism to desirable chemical products. This multi-scale, multi-disciplinary framework for quantitative assessment of bio-based chemicals will play a vital role in supporting engineering, strategy and policy decisions as we progress towards a sustainable chemical industry. © 2015 Authors; published by Portland Press Limited.

China's air pollution and Japan's response to it

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuura, S.

1995-01-01

Long-range transport of air pollutants has been a serious global environment problem. Japan's Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI) researchers are investigating the possibility of acid rain from China. So far, the acid rain that has appeared in Japan has not had a significant effect. However, because of the high economic growth projected for the coming years in China, acidic fallout from that country is likely to cause serious damage there and in Japan as well. China is one of the largest coal users in the world. One of the biggest factors making air quality worse is the lack of appropriate technologies. Although Japanese desulfurization technologies are well advanced, they cannot be directly applied to stationary pollution sources in China, because of their cost. Japan has sophisticated technologies, but lacks experience in and knowledge of alternative, intermediate, and low-technology solutions. Given this, Japan may attempt to buy pollution control technology equipment from the United States, which provides a wider range of desulfurization technologies, as a part of the Official Development Assistance program. At the same time, international support that includes the establishment of additional global environmental monitoring stations in China are also necessary

Polyhydroxy glucose functionalized silica for the dehydration of bio-ethanol distillate.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Baokun; Bi, Wentao; Row, Kyung Ho

2014-07-01

Although most of the water in a bio-ethanol fermentation broth can be removed by distillation, a small amount of water remains in the bio-ethanol distillate as the water-ethanol azeotrope. To improve the use of ethanol as a fuel, glucose-modified silica, as an adsorbent, was prepared using a facile method and applied to the dehydration of bio-ethanol distillate. The factors affecting the adsorption capacity of the adsorbent, such as the particle size, initial concentration of water in the samples, adsorption temperature and adsorbent dose, were examined by measuring the adsorption kinetics and equilibrium. The Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin isotherms were used to evaluate the adsorption efficiency. Of these, the Freundlich and Temkin isotherms showed a good correlation with the experimental data. The Langmuir isotherm showed some deviation from the experimental results, and indicated that adsorption in this case was not a simple monolayer adsorption. The property of the adsorbent was attributed to functionalized silica with many hydroxyl groups on its surface. An examination of the separation factors of water/ethanol revealed the modified silica to have preferential selectivity for water. Compared to activated carbon and silica, glucose-modified silica exhibited higher adsorption capacity for water under the same adsorption conditions. In addition, the glucose-modified silica adsorbent exhibited a relatively constant adsorption capacity for five adsorption/desorption cycles.

Technology readiness of partitioning and transmutation toward closed fuel cycle in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ikeda, Kazumi; Kurata, Masaki; Morita, Yasuji; Tsujimoto, Kazufumi; Minato, Kazuo; Koyama, Shin-ichi

2011-01-01

This paper treats technology readiness level (TRL) assessment of Partitioning and Transmutation (P-T) toward closed fuel cycle in JAPAN. The purpose is providing clarified information related to the current maturity of the partitioning and transmutation technologies by applying the methodology of TRL, parallel to attempting to establish common indications among relating technology area. The methodology should be one of useful communication tools between specialists and management level, and also among countries interested in the P-T technologies. The generic TRL in this study is based on the GNEP (Global Nuclear Energy Partnership)'s definition: TRL 3 shows the status that critical function is proved and elemental technologies are identified, TRL 4 represents that relating technologies are validated at bench scale in laboratory environment, and TRL 5 achieves the completion of development related to the subsystem and elemental technologies. Detailed indications are established through discussion of the relating specialists. Reviewed technological area includes P-T and minor actinide (MA) cycle: Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) and Accelerator driven system (ADS) for MA transmutation, partitioning processes, and MA-bearing fuels. The assessments reveal that TRL spreads around TRL 3 to TRL 4 because each system requires more the development of elemental technologies. Transmutation core of FBR is assessed to be TRL 4 in that MA bearing integral test is required additionally, and ADS becomes TRL 3 because the elemental technologies were identified and the requirements were specified. Consequently, the common key issue is how the nuclear calculation methodology will be validated for MA-bearing-fuelled core, since several percentages of MA changes the void reactivity and the Doppler Effect significantly, which are inherently important in reactor safety. It should be that critical experiments with several kg of americium or more are difficult in the existing experimental

Extraction process technology for the new reprocessing plants in France and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boullis, B.; Drain, F.; Hugelman, D.

1991-01-01

The new reprocessing plants UP3 and UP2-800 in France and Rokkasho in Japan use or will use an improved technology for their extraction cycles. The equipment selected are pulse columns (cylindrical and annular) and mixer-settlers (normal type and extra-flat type). This paper presents the equipment selected for each plant and the extensive R and D performed especially for pulsed columns by CEA and also the results of first active runs in UP3

G-InforBIO: integrated system for microbial genomics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abe Takashi

2006-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Genome databases contain diverse kinds of information, including gene annotations and nucleotide and amino acid sequences. It is not easy to integrate such information for genomic study. There are few tools for integrated analyses of genomic data, therefore, we developed software that enables users to handle, manipulate, and analyze genome data with a variety of sequence analysis programs. Results The G-InforBIO system is a novel tool for genome data management and sequence analysis. The system can import genome data encoded as eXtensible Markup Language documents as formatted text documents, including annotations and sequences, from DNA Data Bank of Japan and GenBank encoded as flat files. The genome database is constructed automatically after importing, and the database can be exported as documents formatted with eXtensible Markup Language or tab-deliminated text. Users can retrieve data from the database by keyword searches, edit annotation data of genes, and process data with G-InforBIO. In addition, information in the G-InforBIO database can be analyzed seamlessly with nine different software programs, including programs for clustering and homology analyses. Conclusion The G-InforBIO system simplifies genome analyses by integrating several available software programs to allow efficient handling and manipulation of genome data. G-InforBIO is freely available from the download site.

Bio-diesel: A candidate for a Nigeria energy mix

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eze, T.; Dim, L. A.; Funtua, I. I.; Oladipo, M. O. A.

2011-01-01

This paper presents a review of bio-diesel development and economic potentials. The basics of biodiesel and its production technology are described. Attention is given to development potential, challenges and prospests of bio-diesel in Nigeria with ground facts on bio-diesel production feasibility in Nigeria highlighted.

Production of Hydrogen from Bio-ethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fabrice Giroudiere; Christophe Boyer; Stephane His; Robert Sanger; Kishore Doshi; Jijun Xu

2006-01-01

IFP and HyRadix are collaborating in the development of a new hydrogen production system from liquid feedstock such as bio-ethanol. Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions along with high hydrogen yield are the key objectives. Market application of the system will be hydrogen refueling stations as well as medium scale hydrogen consumers including the electronics, metals processing, and oils hydrogenation industries. The conversion of bio-ethanol to hydrogen will be performed within a co-developed process including an auto-thermal reformer working under pressure. The technology will produce high-purity hydrogen with ultralow CO content. The catalytic auto-thermal reforming technology combines the exothermic and endothermic reaction and leads to a highly efficient heat integration. The development strategy to reach a high hydrogen yield target with the bio-ethanol hydrogen generator is presented. (authors)

Crustal anisotropy across northern Japan from receiver functions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bianchi, I; Bokelmann, G; Shiomi, K

2015-07-01

Northern Japan is a tectonically active area, with the presence of several volcanoes, and with frequent earthquakes among which the destructive M w  = 8.9-9.0 Tohoku-oki occurred on 11 March 2011. Tectonic activity leaves an imprint on the crustal structures, on both the upper and the lower layers. To investigate the crust in northern Japan, we construct a receiver function data set using teleseismic events recorded at 58 seismic stations belonging to the Japanese National (Hi-net) network. We isolate the signals, in the receiver function wavelet, that witness the presence of anisotropic structures at depth, with the aim of mapping the variation of anisotropy across the northern part of the island. This study focuses on the relation among anisotropy detected in the crust, stresses induced by plate convergence across the subduction zone, and the intrinsic characteristics of the rocks. Our results show how a simple velocity model with two anisotropic layers reproduces the observed data at the stations. We observe a negligible or small amount of signal related to anisotropy in the eastern part of the study area (i.e., the outer arc) for both upper and lower crust. Distinct anisotropic features are observed at the stations on the western part of the study area (i.e., the inner arc) for both upper and lower crust. The symmetry axes are mostly E-W oriented. Deviation from the E-W orientation is observed close to the volcanic areas, where the higher geothermal gradient might influence the deformation processes.

Thermodynamic characterization of bio-fuels: Excess functions for binary mixtures containing ETBE and hydrocarbons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Segovia, Jose J.; Villamanan, Rosa M.; Martin, M. Carmen; Chamorro, Cesar R.; Villamanan, Miguel A.

2010-01-01

European energy policy is promoting the use of bio-fuels for transportation. Bioethers and bioalcohols are used as blending agents for enhancing the octane number. They make gasoline work harder, help the engine last longer and reduce air pollution. They also cause changes in the fuel properties. Development of renewable fuels needs both knowledge of new thermodynamic data and improvement of clean energy technologies. In this context, the use of ethanol of vegetable origin in its manufacture process, increases the interest of ETBE or bio-ETBE as an oxygenated additive. A complete study of the behaviour of ETBE + hydrocarbons mixtures is presented. Some experimental data concerning vapor-liquid equilibria and heats of mixing were determined in our laboratory. All the techniques have a high accuracy. The data were reduced by well-known models, such as NRTL and used to model the thermodynamic properties.

Development of nuclear powered ship in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, Hiroshi

1976-01-01

The development of nuclear merchant ship in Japan was started in 1955 by the establishment of Nuclear Ship Study Group, and since then, the investigation, test and research on nuclear ships have been continued. As a result, a nuclear ocean observation and supply ship was designed for trial. Researches were carried out also in JAERI and Institute for Technical Research of Ships. Meanwhile, the nuclear icebreaker Lenin was completed in Soviet Union in 1959, the nuclear ship Savannah set out for maiden voyage in U.S. in 1962, and the construction of the nuclear ore carrier Otto Hahn was prepared in FRG. Japan Nuclear Ship Development Corp. was established in 1963, and started the design and construction of the first nuclear ship in Japan, Mutsu. The basic policy in the construction is the improvement of nuclear ship technology, the securing of safety, and the use of domestic technologies as far as possible. The progress of the design, construction and test of the Mutsu is described. Owing to the problem of radiation leak, the development of nuclear ships stagnated for a while, but the nuclear plant of the Mutsu demonstrated the expected performance in the functional test, land criticality test and zero output test, and it is expected that the bud of the independent development brought up so far can bear valuable fruit. The independent development of marine nuclear reactors should be continued by selecting the way most suitable to Japan. (Kako, I.)

Study on rapid bio-drying technology of cow dung with CaO2

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Xiaotian; Qu, Guangfei; Liu, Shugen; Xie, Ruosong; He, Yanhua

2017-05-01

Effect of CaO2 on cow dung rapid bio-drying technology was researched. A static aerobic composting system was applied to this experiment which combining natural ventilation with Turing in the process of composting. The physical characteristics of cow dung was observed and the compost temperature, moisture content, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, potassium content was determined which in order to study the effect of CaO2 on rapid drying of cattle in the compost. In the initial stage of compost, adding CaO2 groups compared with the control group, the temperature rise faster, 4-6 days in advance to the thermophilic phase; at the end of composting, the CaO2 composition and moisture content decreased significantly to below 30%. The addition of CaO2 in fertilizer was shorten the composting time, extend the thermophilic phase, to provide sufficient oxygen meeting the growth needs of aerobic microorganisms. It convinced that the rapid bio-drying of dairy manure has a good effect and provided a new idea for the effective treatment of cow dung.

[Reflection on developing bio-energy industry of large oil company].

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Haiyang; Su, Haijia; Tan, Tianwei; Liu, Shumin; Wang, Hui

2013-03-01

China's energy supply becomes more serious nowadays and the development of bio-energy becomes a major trend. Large oil companies have superb technology, rich experience and outstanding talent, as well as better sales channels for energy products, which can make full use of their own advantages to achieve the efficient complementary of exist energy and bio-energy. Therefore, large oil companies have the advantages of developing bio-energy. Bio-energy development in China is in the initial stage. There exist some problems such as available land, raw material supply, conversion technologies and policy guarantee, which restrict bio-energy from industrialized development. According to the above key issues, this article proposes suggestions and methods, such as planting energy plant in the marginal barren land to guarantee the supply of bio-energy raw materials, cultivation of professional personnel, building market for bio-energy counting on large oil companies' rich experience and market resources about oil industry, etc, aimed to speed up the industrialized process of bio-energy development in China.

From dysplastic nevus to melanoma: functional proteomic approach for the identification of bio markers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

De Pol, A.

2009-01-01

The project ultimately aims to identify bio markers from serum or other biological fluids helpful for early diagnosis of melanoma. Parametric analysis combined with advanced skin imaging technology, such as con focal microscopy, is directed to the identification of different types of benign melanocyte lesions, as well as to the characterization of different melanomas and dysplastic nevi, in order to understand different tumour progression behaviours and to identify possible melanoma precursors

Characteristics and prognosis of Japanese female breast cancer patients: The BioBank Japan project

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Koshi Nakamura

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Background: Breast cancer is currently the most common type of cancer in Japanese females. Unlike most other types of cancer, breast cancer develops more frequently in middle-aged females than in elderly females. Methods: Of all Japanese female breast cancer patients aged ≥20 years whom the BioBank Japan Project originally enrolled between 2003 and 2008, 2034 were registered within 90 days after their diagnosis. We described the lifestyle and clinical characteristics of these patients at study entry. Furthermore, we examined the effect of these characteristics on all-cause mortality. Results: In the female patients registered within 90 days after diagnosis, the frequency of stage 0 or unclassified, stage I, II, III and IV were 11.4%, 47.9%, 37.0%, 2.9% and 0.8%, respectively. The proportion of histological types was 12.9% for non-invasive carcinoma (ductal carcinoma and lobular carcinoma, 81.0% for invasive carcinoma (papillotubular carcinoma, solid tubular carcinoma, scirrhous carcinoma and special types, 0.2% for Paget’s diseases and 5.8% for others. Those positive for the estrogen and progesterone receptors accounted for 75.8% and 62.1% of all patients, respectively. Among 1860 female participants registered within 90 days, 218 participants died during 144,54 person-years of follow-up. More advanced stage, elevation of serum carcinoembryonic antigen and carbohydrate antigen 15-3 levels and absence of the estrogen receptor at study entry were crudely associated with an increased risk of all-cause mortality after adjustment for age. Conclusions: This study showed the association of several clinical characteristics with all-cause mortality in female breast cancer patients.

Some problems on domestic technology development from a point of fabricator of nuclear power plant. [Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watamori, T [Hitachi Ltd., Tokyo (Japan)

1976-06-01

During past 20 years, the nuclear power industry in Japan has introduced foreign technology, digested it in a short period, and continued to research and develop domestic technology. Now, 95% of the machinery and equipments for nuclear power generation with light water reactors can be produced domestically, and some technologies are going to be exported. However, the nuclear power industry is still in a severe environment. The progress of the development of nuclear power plants passed the periods of organizational preparation, the construction of research reactors, the import of foreign technologies and reactors for practical use, and the construction of domestically produced reactors for practical use. The supplying capacity of the nuclear power industry in Japan reached 6 units of 1,000 MW yearly, but in order to meet the long term plan of nuclear power generation, this capacity must be further enhanced. The problems in the promotion of domestic production are the establishment of independent technologies, the promotion of standardization, the strengthening of business basis, the upbringing of relating enterprises, and the acceleration of national projects. Since the energy crisis, the trend of filling up energy demand with nuclear power generation became conspicuous, but for the expansion of export, the problems of safety guarantee, nuclear fuel cycle, and financial measures must be solved with government aid.

Nuclear Forensics Technologies in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shinohara, N.; Kimura, Y.; Okubo, A.; Tomikawa, H.

2015-01-01

Nuclear forensics is the analysis of intercepted illicit nuclear or radioactive material and any associated material to provide evidence for nuclear attribution by determining origin, history, transit routes and purpose involving such material. Nuclear forensics activities include sampling of the illicit material, analysis of the samples and evaluation of the attribution by comparing the analysed data with database or numerical simulation. Because the nuclear forensics methodologies provide hints of the origin of the nuclear materials used in illegal dealings or nuclear terrorism, it contributes to identify and indict offenders, hence to enhance deterrent effect against such terrorism. Worldwide network on nuclear forensics can lead to strengthening global nuclear security regime. In the ESARDA Symposium 2015, the results of research and development of fundamental nuclear forensics technologies performed in Japan Atomic Energy Agency during the term of 2011-2013 were reported, namely (1) technique to analyse isotopic composition of nuclear material, (2) technique to identify the impurities contained in the material, (3) technique to determine the age of the purified material by measuring the isotopic ratio of daughter thorium to parent uranium, (4) technique to make image data by observing particle shapes with electron microscope, and (5) prototype nuclear forensics library for comparison of the analysed data with database in order to evaluate its evidence such as origin and history. Japan’s capability on nuclear forensics and effective international cooperation are also mentioned for contribution to the international nuclear forensics community.

Assisted reproductive technology in Japan: a summary report of 1992-2014 by the Ethics Committee, Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Irahara, Minoru; Kuwahara, Akira; Iwasa, Takeshi; Ishikawa, Tomonori; Ishihara, Osamu; Kugu, Koji; Sawa, Rintaro; Banno, Kouji; Saito, Hidekazu

2017-04-01

The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology implemented a registry report system for the clinical practice of assisted reproductive technology in 1986. The aggregated results from 1992 to 2014 are reported herein. The total number of registered treatments was 393 745 cycles, of which 66 550 were pregnancy cycles and 46 008 were cycles with a live birth. Compared to the number of registered treatments in 2008, when the cycle-based registry was newly introduced, there was a 2.07-fold increase in the total number of treatments and a 2.25-fold increase in the number of cycles with a live birth. As the average age of patients who receive assisted reproductive technology has become markedly higher year by year, the most common age of those patients who received assisted reproductive technology in 2014 was 40 years. The total numbers of both assisted reproductive technology treatments and assisted reproductive technology live births are likely to be higher in the future. In addition, the trend toward aging patients seems to be continuing into the future.

Current perspectives of bio-ceramic technology in endodontics: calcium enriched mixture cement - review of its composition, properties and applications

Science.gov (United States)

Nawal, Ruchika Roongta; Talwar, Sangeeta; Verma, Mahesh

2015-01-01

Advancements in bio-ceramic technology has revolutionised endodontic material science by enhancing the treatment outcome for patients. This class of dental materials conciliates excellent biocompatibility with high osseoconductivity that render them ideal for endodontic care. Few recently introduced bio-ceramic materials have shown considerable clinical success over their early generations in terms of good handling characteristics. Calcium enriched mixture (CEM) cement, Endosequence sealer, and root repair materials, Biodentine and BioAggregate are the new classes of bio-ceramic materials. The aim of this literature review is to present investigations regarding properties and applications of CEM cement in endodontics. A review of the existing literature was performed by using electronic and hand searching methods for CEM cement from January 2006 to December 2013. CEM cement has a different chemical composition from that of mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) but has similar clinical applications. It combines the biocompatibility of MTA with more efficient characteristics, such as significantly shorter setting time, good handling characteristics, no staining of tooth and effective seal against bacterial leakage. PMID:25671207

Status and potential of bio-methane fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This document first indicates and describes the various bio-methane production processes which can be implemented on a short term (use of organic wastes or effluents), on a medium term (from energetic crops) and on a longer term (gasification). It discusses and assesses the potential production of bio-methane fuel from different sources and processes. It describes the steps of the production of bio-methane fuel from biogas, with notably biogas refinement to produce bio-methane through three processes (de-carbonation, desulfurization, dehydration). Cost productions are assessed. Expected technology advances are evoked. Finally, the authors outline the contribution of bio-methane in the limitation of greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector

Report on the achievements in fiscal 1999. Surveys on the foundation for establishing industrial technology strategies (Foundation and environment improving strategies - an overall survey); 1999 nendo sangyo gijutsu senryaku sakutei kiban chosa hokokusho. Kiban kankyo seibi senryaku (zentai chosa)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

Surveys were performed on the foundation for technological innovation in Japan and other countries. Main findings obtained from the actual state survey were compiled from the two aspects of 'items having difference in international comparison' and 'main findings by nucleuses and functions'. In order to activate the economy stagnated in the 1980's, America has developed strong industrial technology policies under the initiative of the government to strengthen the competitive edge, and the result thereof appears linking with the briskness in the today's U.S. economy. In Japan, the non-competitive fund distributed uniformly to national universities and national research institutes accounts for the majority in the governmental research fund. In contrast, many of the research funds of the U.S. government are the competitive fund, whereas researchers perform their research works using these funds, including their own labor cost, and the competition is intense. America is regarded to have put a huge amount of national defense research expense and space development research expense into private business entities, which are playing a large role in developing advanced technologies. A great amount of governmental fund is injected concentratedly into researches of health, medical and bio-technologies. (NEDO)

Japan and the global environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miller, A.S.; Moore, C.

1993-01-01

In many areas, the word most often used to describe Japanese policy is open-quotes enigma.close quotes In some ways, Japan's record on environmental policy also has elements of mystery and contradiction. On the one hand, Japan's history and culture often are associated with a reverence for nature. Indeed, Japan does lead the world in certain environmental areas, such as reduction of conventional air pollutants and compensation of air pollution victims. On the other hand, Japan has been widely criticized for its poor record in preserving its domestic environment, contribution to tropical deforestation, and unwillingness to protect endangered species. Today, the international community clamors for Japan to take its share of responsibility, as an economic superpower, for the global environment. To secure its place in world affairs, Japan slowly has begun to respond to this pressure on issues ranging from ivory importation to reduction of CFC emissions. There is some hope that the government's particular willingness to address global warming may be a sign of significant changes to come in Japanese environmental policy. However, international pressure remains on the many environmental issues Japan has yet to resolve, including tropical deforestation and financing of Third World development projects that harm the environment. Japan's environmental policy is most effective when government and industry cooperate to find technical solutions to environmental problems. Although in recent years Japan's energy consumption has risen sharply, the Japanese have developed numerous technologies to reduce pollution and increase economic growth by improving energy efficiency. It is in these technologies that Japan has made the greatest strides and has the most to offer the global environment

Bio-SNG. Prospective renewable energy carrier in the E.ON gas grid; Bio-SNG. Zukuenftiger regenerativer Energietraeger im E.ON Gasnetz

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Adelt, Marius; Vogel, Alexander [E.ON Ruhrgas AG, Essen (Germany)

2010-10-15

Biogas processing and injection into the natural gas pipeline system on an industrial scale has been around in Germany for some time. E.ON operates a number of biogas plants with a production capacity of 200-1700 m{sup 3}/h. More plants are under construction or planned. The German government is looking to increase the share of biogas (upgraded to natural gas quality) in the pipeline system to 6 billion m{sup 3}/a by 2020, so significantly more production capacity is needed. Biogas is produced mainly from dedicated energy crops (maize) as well as several catch crops and, depending on the processing plant, various amounts of bio residues. The biogas is upgraded to natural gas quality and fed into the pipeline system as biomethane (E.ON: bio natural gas). To achieve the ambitious production targets it will be necessary to tap the unused potential of wood for gasification and subsequent methanisation into bio-SNG. E.ON AG actively promotes the development and introduction of this technology. This article provides an overview of different aspects of bio-SNG production and use including: Utilisation paths for biomethane/bio-SNG (heat, fuel, CHP), Potential of wood for bio-SNG production, Bio-SNG production technologies, Current E.ON activities and projects. (orig.)

From marine bio-corrosion to new bio-processes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bergel, A.; Dasilva, S.; Basseguy, R.; Feron, D.; Mollica, A.

2004-01-01

Full text of publication follows: From the middle of the last century it has been observed that the development of marine bio-films on the surface of stainless steels and different metallic materials induces the ennoblement of their free corrosion potential. A main step in deciphering the mechanisms of aerobic marine bio-corrosion has been achieved around 1976 with the demonstration that the potential ennoblement was due to the modification of the cathodic process. Since this date, the catalysis of oxygen reduction by marine bio-films has been the topic of numerous controversies, but it is now commonly agreed as a basic phenomena in aerobic corrosion. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the fine mechanisms of the bio-film-catalysed reduction of oxygen: intermediate formation of hydrogen peroxide, modification of the oxide layer on the stainless steel surface, involvement of manganese species and manganese oxidising bacteria, catalysis by proteins produced by the micro-organisms... Recent results may confirm the possible involvement of hemic enzymes or proteins. Whatever the mechanisms, very promising results have been obtained with the possible application of bio-film-catalysed oxygen reduction to conceive innovative biofuel cells with stainless steel electrodes. Actually, the catalysis of oxygen reduction is a key step that still drastically hinders the development of economically efficient hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells. The current technology requires high amounts of platinum or platinum-based materials to catalyze oxygen reduction on the cathode of these cells. The prohibitive cost of platinum is a main obstacle to the commercialization of low-cost fuel cells. Unpublished results recently showed that adapting the enzyme-catalysed reaction that was assumed for bio-corrosion on the cathode of hydrogen/oxygen fuel cells may lead to a significant decrease in the charge of platinum. Moreover, it was demonstrated on a laboratory-scale fuel cell pilot that

A Report on the Development of Rare Earth-Cobalt Permanent Magnet Technology - Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

1981-07-01

Implantable pumps and valves , head support harness in development). C. MICROWAVE AND ION BEAM TECHNOLOGY 1. Microwave Tubes: TWT PPM focusing, klystrons...III and IV were devoted to various medical applications that employ REPM. These included various dental prosthetic devices, tech- niques for measuring...minimize losses due to fracture in handling or heat treatment. Very little work has been done on this topic in the West or in Japan. The only two papers

PREFACE: Fourth International Symposium on Atomic Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Okada, Shigefumi

2010-04-01

The International Symposium on Atomic Technology (ISAT) is held every year. The 4th Symposium (ISAT-4) was held on November 18-19, 2009 at the Seaside Hotel MAIKO VILLA KOBE, Kobe City, Japan presided by the "Atomic Technology Project". The ISAT-4 symposium was intended to offer a forum for the discussion on the latest progress in the atomic technologies. The symposium was attended by 107 delegates. There were 10 invited and 6 oral presentations. The number of poster presentations was 69. From all the contributions, 22 papers selected through review process are contained in this volume. The "Atomic Technology Project" was started in 2006 as a joint project of three institutions; (1) the Center for Atomic and Molecular Technologies, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University (CAMT), (2) the Tsukuba Research Center for Interdisciplinary Materials Science, Graduate School of Pure and Applied Sciences, University of Tsukuba (TIMS) and (3) the Polyscale Technology Research Center, Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science (PTRC), each of which were independently pursuing nano-technologies and was developing atomic scale operation and diagnostics, functional materials, micro processing and device. The project is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan. The goal of the project is to contribute to the development of atomic-scale science and technologies such as functional molecules, biomaterials, and quantum functions of atomic-scale structures. Shigefumi Okada Conference Chair Center for Atomic and Molecular Technologies, Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University, 2-1 Yamadaoka, Suita-city, Osaka 565-0871, Japan. Conference photograph Kobe photograph

How cutting-edge technologies impact the design of electrochemical (bio)sensors for environmental analysis. A review.

Science.gov (United States)

Arduini, Fabiana; Cinti, Stefano; Scognamiglio, Viviana; Moscone, Danila; Palleschi, Giuseppe

2017-03-22

Through the years, scientists have developed cutting-edge technologies to make (bio)sensors more convenient for environmental analytical purposes. Technological advancements in the fields of material science, rational design, microfluidics, and sensor printing, have radically shaped biosensor technology, which is even more evident in the continuous development of sensing systems for the monitoring of hazardous chemicals. These efforts will be crucial in solving some of the problems constraining biosensors to reach real environmental applications, such as continuous analyses in field by means of multi-analyte portable devices. This review (with 203 refs.) covers the progress between 2010 and 2015 in the field of technologies enabling biosensor applications in environmental analysis, including i) printing technology, ii) nanomaterial technology, iii) nanomotors, iv) biomimetic design, and (v) microfluidics. Next section describes futuristic cutting-edge technologies that are gaining momentum in recent years, which furnish highly innovative aspects to biosensing devices. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

All-natural bio-plastics using starch-betaglucan composites.

Science.gov (United States)

Sagnelli, Domenico; Kirkensgaard, Jacob J K; Giosafatto, Concetta Valeria L; Ogrodowicz, Natalia; Kruczała, Krzysztof; Mikkelsen, Mette S; Maigret, Jean-Eudes; Lourdin, Denis; Mortensen, Kell; Blennow, Andreas

2017-09-15

Grain polysaccharides represent potential valuable raw materials for next-generation advanced and environmentally friendly plastics. Thermoplastic starch (TPS) is processed using conventional plastic technology, such as casting, extrusion, and molding. However, to adapt the starch to specific functionalities chemical modifications or blending with synthetic polymers, such as polycaprolactone are required (e.g. Mater-Bi). As an alternative, all-natural and compostable bio-plastics can be produced by blending starch with other polysaccharides. In this study, we used a maize starch (ST) and an oat β-glucan (BG) composite system to produce bio-plastic prototype films. To optimize performing conditions, we investigated the full range of ST:BG ratios for the casting (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and 0:100 BG). The plasticizer used was glycerol. Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR), using TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl) as a spin probe, showed that the composite films with high BG content had a flexible chemical environment. They showed decreased brittleness and improved cohesiveness with high stress and strain values at the break. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction displayed a decrease in crystallinity at high BG content. Our data show that the blending of starch with other natural polysaccharides is a noteworthy path to improve the functionality of all-natural polysaccharide bio-plastics systems. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Optimising the bio-piling of weathered hydrocarbons within a risk management framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hough, R.; Brassington, K.; Sinke, A.; Crossley, J.; Paton, G.; Semple, K.; Risdon, G.; Jacobson, Ch.; Daly, P.; Jackman, S.; Lethbridge, G.; Pollard, S.

2005-01-01

Thirty years of research into petroleum microbiology and bio-remediation have bypassed an important observation - that many hydrocarbon contaminated sites posing potential risks to human health harbour weathered, 'mid-distillate' or heavy oils rather than 'fresh product'. Ex-situ bio-piling is an important technology for treating soils contaminated with weathered hydrocarbons. However, its performance continues to be represented by reference to reductions in the hydrocarbon 'load' in the soils being treated, rather than reductions in the risks posed by the hydrocarbon contamination. The absence of 'risk' from the vocabulary of many operators and remediation projects reduces stakeholder (regulatory, investor, landowner, and public) confidence in remediation technologies, and subsequently limits the market potential of these technologies. Stakeholder confidence in the bio-piling of weathered hydrocarbons may be improved by demonstrating process optimisation within a validated risk management framework. To address these issues, a consortium led by Cranfield University's Integrated Waste Management Centre has secured funding from the UK Government's Bio-remediation LINK programme. Project PROMISE (involving BP, SecondSite Regeneration Ltd., Dew Remediation Ltd., TES Bretby (Mowlem Group), technology translators PERA, and academics from Aberdeen, Cranfield and Lancaster Universities) aims to improve market confidence in bio-piling by demonstrating how this treatment may be applied within a risk management context. For weathered hydrocarbons in particular, the underpinning scientific components of process control, waste diagnostics, environmental fate modelling, and risk assessment have yet to be fully integrated to allow bio-piling projects to be verified with improved confidence. The Joint Research Council Review of Bio-remediation recognised this in calling explicitly for the positioning of bio-remediation within a risk management framework. The PERF report (Thermo

Leading research on cell proliferation regulation technology; Saibo zoshoku seigyo gijutsu no sendo kenkyu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1997-03-01

For developing intelligent material, animal test alternative model, bio-cell analysis equipment, self-controlling bio-reactor and medical material, development of functional cells was studied by cell proliferation regulation technology. In fiscal 1996, the expression analysis and separation technology of specific gene for cell proliferation, and the intracellular regulation technology were surveyed from the viewpoint of intracellular regulation. The cell proliferation regulation technology by specific regulating material of cells, extracellular matrix, coculture system and embryonic cell was surveyed from the viewpoint of extracellular regulation. In addition, based on these survey results, new cell culture/analysis technology, new bio-material, artificial organ system, energy saving bio-reactor, environment purification microorganism, and animal test alternative model were surveyed as applications to industrial basic technologies from a long-term viewpoint. The approach to cell proliferation regulation requires preparation of a concrete proliferation regulation technology system of cells, and concrete application targets. 268 refs., 43 figs., 4 tabs.

[Preface for special issue on bio-based materials (2016)].

Science.gov (United States)

Weng, Yunxuan

2016-06-25

Bio-based materials are new materials or chemicals with renewable biomass as raw materials such as grain, legume, straw, bamboo and wood powder. This class of materials includes bio-based polymer, biobased fiber, glycotechnology products, biobased rubber and plastics produced by biomass thermoplastic processing and basic biobased chemicals, for instance, bio-alcohols, organic acids, alkanes, and alkenes, obtained by bio-synthesis, bio-processing and bio-refinery. Owing to its environmental friendly and resource conservation, bio-based materials are becoming a new dominant industry taking the lead in the world scientific and technological innovation and economic development. An overview of bio-based materials development is reported in this special issue, and the industrial status and research progress of the following aspects, including biobased fiber, polyhydroxyalkanoates, biodegradable mulching film, bio-based polyamide, protein based biomedical materials, bio-based polyurethane, and modification and processing of poly(lactic acid), are introduced.

Survey of advanced radiation technologies used at designated cancer care hospitals in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shikama, Naoto; Tsujino, Kayoko; Nakamura, Katsumasa; Ishikura, Satoshi

2014-01-01

Our survey assessed the use of advanced radiotherapy technologies at the designated cancer care hospitals in Japan, and we identified several issues to be addressed. We collected the data of 397 designated cancer care hospitals, including information on staffing in the department of radiation oncology (e.g. radiation oncologists, medical physicists and radiation therapists), the number of linear accelerators and the implementation of advanced radiotherapy technologies from the Center for Cancer Control and Information Services of the National Cancer Center, Japan. Only 53% prefectural designated cancer care hospitals and 16% regional designated cancer care hospitals have implemented intensity-modulated radiotherapy for head and neck cancers, and 62% prefectural designated cancer care hospitals and 23% regional designated cancer care hospitals use intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Seventy-four percent prefectural designated cancer care hospitals and 40% regional designated cancer care hospitals employ stereotactic body radiotherapy for lung cancer. Our multivariate analysis of prefectural designated cancer care hospitals which satisfy the institute's qualifications for advanced technologies revealed the number of radiation oncologists (P=0.01) and that of radiation therapists (P=0.003) were significantly correlated with the implementation of intensity-modulated radiotherapy for prostate cancer, and the number of radiation oncologists (P=0.02) was correlated with the implementation of stereotactic body radiotherapy. There was a trend to correlate the number of medical physicists with the implementation of stereotactic body radiotherapy (P=0.07). Only 175 (51%) regional designated cancer care hospitals satisfy the institute's qualification of stereotactic body radiotherapy and 76 (22%) satisfy that of intensity-modulated radiotherapy. Seventeen percent prefectural designated cancer care hospitals and 13% regional designated cancer care hospitals

Medical technology in Japan the politics of regulation

CERN Document Server

Altenstetter, Christa

2014-01-01

Compared to its American and European counterparts, Japan lags in adopting innovative medical devices and making new treatments and procedures available. Christa Altenstetter examines the contextual conditions of Japan's medical profession and its regulatory framework. Altenstetter looks into how physicians and device companies connect to the government and bureaucracy, the relationships connecting Japanese patients to their medical system and governmental bureaucracy, and how relationships between policymakers and the medical profession are changing.

Bio-functionalized silver nanoparticles for selective colorimetric sensing of toxic metal ions and antimicrobial studies

Science.gov (United States)

Vinod Kumar, V.; Anbarasan, S.; Christena, Lawrence Rene; SaiSubramanian, Nagarajan; Philip Anthony, Savarimuthu

2014-08-01

Hibiscus Sabdariffa (Gongura) plant extracts (leaves (HL) and stem (HS) were used for the first time in the green synthesis of bio-functionalized silver nanoparticles (AgNPs). The bio-functionality of AgNPs has been successfully utilized for selective colorimetric sensing of potentially health and environmentally hazardous Hg2+, Cd2+ and Pb2+ metal ions at ppm level in aqueous solution. Importantly, clearly distinguishable colour for all three metal ions was observed. The influence of extract preparation condition and pH were also explored on the formation of AgNPs. Both selectivity and sensitivity differed for AgNPs synthesized from different parts of the plant. Direct correlation between the stability of green synthesized AgNPs at different pH and its antibacterial effects has been established. The selective colorimetric sensing of toxic metal ions and antimicrobial effect of green synthesized AgNPs demonstrated the multifunctional applications of green nanotechnology.

Branding the bio/biomedical engineering degree.

Science.gov (United States)

Voigt, Herbert F

2011-01-01

The future challenges to medical and biological engineering, sometimes referred to as biomedical engineering or simply bioengineering, are many. Some of these are identifiable now and others will emerge from time to time as new technologies are introduced and harnessed. There is a fundamental issue regarding "Branding the bio/biomedical engineering degree" that requires a common understanding of what is meant by a B.S. degree in Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, or Biological Engineering. In this paper we address some of the issues involved in branding the Bio/Biomedical Engineering degree, with the aim of clarifying the Bio/Biomedical Engineering brand.

Bio-markers: traceability in food safety issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Raspor, Peter

2005-01-01

Research and practice are focusing on development, validation and harmonization of technologies and methodologies to ensure complete traceability process throughout the food chain. The main goals are: scale-up, implementation and validation of methods in whole food chains, assurance of authenticity, validity of labelling and application of HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control point) to the entire food chain. The current review is to sum the scientific and technological basis for ensuring complete traceability. Tracing and tracking (traceability) of foods are complex processes due to the (bio)markers, technical solutions and different circumstances in different technologies which produces various foods (processed, semi-processed, or raw). Since the food is produced for human or animal consumption we need suitable markers to be stable and traceable all along the production chain. Specific biomarkers can have a function in technology and in nutrition. Such approach would make this development faster and more comprehensive and would make possible that food effect could be monitored with same set of biomarkers in consumer. This would help to develop and implement food safety standards that would be based on real physiological function of particular food component.

Three generation production biotechnology of biomass into bio-fuel

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Chaocheng

2017-08-01

The great change of climate change, depletion of natural resources, and scarcity of fossil fuel in the whole world nowadays have witnessed a sense of urgency home and abroad among scales of researchers, development practitioners, and industrialists to search for completely brand new sustainable solutions in the area of biomass transforming into bio-fuels attributing to our duty-that is, it is our responsibility to take up this challenge to secure our energy in the near future with the help of sustainable approaches and technological advancements to produce greener fuel from nature organic sources or biomass which comes generally from organic natural matters such as trees, woods, manure, sewage sludge, grass cuttings, and timber waste with a source of huge green energy called bio-fuel. Biomass includes most of the biological materials, livings or dead bodies. This energy source is ripely used industrially, or domestically for rather many years, but the recent trend is on the production of green fuel with different advance processing systems in a greener. More sustainable method. Biomass is becoming a booming industry currently on account of its cheaper cost and abundant resources all around, making it fairly more effective for the sustainable use of the bio-energy. In the past few years, the world has witnessed a remarkable development in the bio-fuel production technology, and three generations of bio-fuel have already existed in our society. The combination of membrane technology with the existing process line can play a vital role for the production of green fuel in a sustainable manner. In this paper, the science and technology for sustainable bio-fuel production will be introduced in detail for a cleaner world.

Fiscal 1997 R and D project on industrial science and technology under a consignment from NEDO. R and D of the synthesis and processing of advanced biomaterials (fixation and effective utilization of carbon dioxide using peptides); 1997 nendo Shin energy Sangyo Gijutsu Sogo Kaihatsu Kiko itaku. Senshin bio zairyo no sosei kako gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu (peptide oyo nisanka tanso koteika yuko riyo gijutsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

In fiscal 1997, study was made on formation of peptides with a biogenic function and molecular recognition function, and peptide materials. The existing automatic design technique of peptides including non-natural amino acids was applied to design of complementary peptides of proteins with known structures to optimize a development technique of ligand. Practical function of peptides as advanced receptor ligand was verified by applying the existing conformation control technique to stable holding of peptide active conformation. Creation of bio-materials, and development of preparation technology of bio-substrates and materializing technology of functional molecular materials were carried out. To construct an electron transfer system by self- organized body of peptides formed on a substrate, a peptide molecular device was prepared and verified using linkers. To use peptides as photoelectron functional molecule, metallized peptide with main helix structure was prepared. The possibility of molecular materials with a fixation function of CO2 was examined. A high-sensitivity bio-sensor was also mentioned. 75 refs., 130 figs., 25 tabs.

Development of tissue-engineered self-expandable aortic stent grafts (Bio stent grafts) using in-body tissue architecture technology in beagles.

Science.gov (United States)

Kawajiri, Hidetake; Mizuno, Takeshi; Moriwaki, Takeshi; Ishibashi-Ueda, Hatsue; Yamanami, Masashi; Kanda, Keiichi; Yaku, Hitoshi; Nakayama, Yasuhide

2015-02-01

In this study, we aimed to describe the development of tissue-engineered self-expandable aortic stent grafts (Bio stent graft) using in-body tissue architecture technology in beagles and to determine its mechanical and histological properties. The preparation mold was assembled by insertion of an acryl rod (outer diameter, 8.6 mm; length, 40 mm) into a self-expanding nitinol stent (internal diameter, 9.0 mm; length, 35 mm). The molds (n = 6) were embedded into the subcutaneous pouches of three beagles for 4 weeks. After harvesting and removing each rod, the excessive fragile tissue connected around the molds was trimmed, and thus tubular autologous connective tissues with the stent were obtained for use as Bio stent grafts (outer diameter, approximately 9.3 mm in all molds). The stent strut was completely surrounded by the dense collagenous membrane (thickness, ∼150 µm). The Bio stent graft luminal surface was extremely flat and smooth. The graft wall of the Bio stent graft possessed an elastic modulus that was almost two times higher than that of the native beagle abdominal aorta. This Bio stent graft is expected to exhibit excellent biocompatibility after being implanted in the aorta, which may reduce the risk of type 1 endoleaks or migration. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Bio-fuel production potential in Romania

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Laurentiu, F.; Silvian, F.; Dumitru, F.

2006-01-01

The paper is based on the ESTO Study: Techno- Economic Feasibility of Large-Scale Production of Bio-Fuels in EU-Candidate Countries. Bio-fuel production has not been taken into account significantly until now in Romania, being limited to small- scale productions of ethanol, used mostly for various industrial purposes. However the climatic conditions and the quality of the soil are very suitable in the country for development of the main crops (wheat, sugar-beet, sunflower and rape-seed) used in bio-ethanol and bio-diesel production. The paper intended to consider a pertinent discussion of the present situation in Romania's agriculture stressing on the following essential items in the estimation of bio-fuels production potential: availability of feed-stock for bio-fuel production; actual productions of bio-fuels; fuel consumption; cost assessment; SWOT approach; expected trends. Our analysis was based on specific agricultural data for the period 1996-2000. An important ethanol potential (due to wheat, sugar-beet and maize cultures), as well as bio-diesel one (due to sun-flower and rape-seed) were predicted for the period 2005-2010 which could be exploited with the support of an important financial and technological effort, mainly from EU countries

Development of grouting technologies for geological disposal of high level waste in Japan (1). Overall program and application of developed technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Tomoo; Sasamoto, Hiroshi; Sugita, Yutaka; Matsui, Hiroya

2013-01-01

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency started a grout project for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in 2007. The aim of the project was to develop new grouting technologies and grout materials and also to develop models for performance assessments, prediction of the long-term radionuclide migration and identify detrimental changes in the host rock by the grout material leachate. This study presents the overall program and the application of key engineering technologies to the construction and operation of an underground facility for the geological disposal of HLW, with particular emphasis on the long-term effects of grout materials. (author)

Prevalence of Functional Constipation and Relationship with Dietary Habits in 3- to 8-Year-Old Children in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Fujitani, Asami; Sogo, Tsuyoshi; Inui, Ayano; Kawakubo, Kiyoshi

2018-01-01

To determine the prevalence and effect of dietary habits on functional constipation in preschool and early elementary school children in Japan. A total of 3595 children aged 3 to 8 years from 28 nursery schools and 22 elementary schools in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, were evaluated. The subjects were divided into a functional constipation group and a nonfunctional constipation group according to the Rome III criteria. Dietary intake data were collected using a brief-type, self-administered, diet-history questionnaire validated for Japanese preschool-aged children. Of the 3595 subjects evaluated, 718 (20.0%) had functional constipation. The association between functional constipation and gender was not statistically significant ( p = 0.617). A decrease in bowel frequency was observed in 15.9% of those with functional constipation. There was no significant difference in the proportion of participants in the constipation group by age ( p = 0.112). Binomial logistic regression analysis indicated that only fat per 100 kcal positively correlated with functional constipation [odds ratio = 1.216, 95% confidence interval: 1.0476-1.412]. Functional constipation is common among children in preschool and early elementary school in urban areas of Japan. Parents should pay attention to constipation-related symptoms other than defecation frequency. A high-fat diet should be avoided to prevent functional constipation.

Mild Biomass Liquefaction Process for Economic Production of Stabilized Refinery-Ready Bio-oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gangwal, Santosh [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States); Meng, Jiajia [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States); McCabe, Kevin [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States); Larson, Eric [Princeton Univ., NJ (United States). Princeton Environmental Inst.; Mastro, Kelly [Southern Research, Durham, NC (United States)

2016-04-25

Southern Research (SR) in cooperation with U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Bioenergy Technology Office (BETO), investigated a biomass liquefaction process for economic production of stabilized refinery-ready bio-oil. The project was awarded by DOE under a Funding Opportunity Announcement (DE-FOA-0000686) for Bio-oil Stabilization and Commoditization that intended to evaluate the feasibility of using bio-oil as a potential feedstock in an existing petroleum refinery. SR investigated Topic Area 1 of the FOA at Technology Readiness Level 2-3 to develop thermochemical liquefaction technologies for producing a bio-oil feedstock from high-impact biomass that can be utilized within a petroleum refinery. Bio-oil obtained from fast pyrolysis of biomass is a green intermediate that can be further upgraded into a biofuel for blending in a petroleum refinery using a hydro-deoxygenation (HDO) route. Co-processing pyrolysis bio-oil in a petroleum refinery is an attractive approach to leverage the refinery’s existing capital. However, the petroleum industry is reluctant to accept pyrolysis bio-oil because of a lack of a standard definition for an acceptable bio-oil feedstock in existing refinery processes. Also per BETO’s multiyear program plan, fast pyrolysis-based bio-fuel is presently not cost competitive with petroleum-based transportation fuels. SR aims to develop and demonstrate a cost-effective low-severity thermal liquefaction and hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) process to convert woody biomass to stabilized bio-oils that can be directly blended with hydrotreater input streams in a petroleum refinery for production of gasoline and/or diesel range hydrocarbons. The specific project objectives are to demonstrate the processes at laboratory scale, characterize the bio-oil product and develop a plan in partnership with a refinery company to move the technology towards commercialization.

Hair flow sensors: from bio-inspiration to bio-mimicking—a review

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tao, Junliang; Yu, Xiong

2012-01-01

A great many living beings, such as aquatics and arthropods, are equipped with highly sensitive flow sensors to help them survive in challenging environments. These sensors are excellent sources of inspiration for developing application-driven artificial flow sensors with high sensitivity and performance. This paper reviews the bio-inspirations on flow sensing in nature and the bio-mimicking efforts to emulate such sensing mechanisms in recent years. The natural flow sensing systems in aquatics and arthropods are reviewed to highlight inspirations at multiple levels such as morphology, sensing mechanism and information processing. Biomimetic hair flow sensors based on different sensing mechanisms and fabrication technologies are also reviewed to capture the recent accomplishments and to point out areas where further progress is necessary. Biomimetic flow sensors are still in their early stages. Further efforts are required to unveil the sensing mechanisms in the natural biological systems and to achieve multi-level bio-mimicking of the natural system to develop their artificial counterparts. (topical review)

JTEC Panel report on electronic manufacturing and packaging in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Michael J.; Boulton, William R. (Editor); Kukowski, John; Meieran, Gene; Pecht, Michael; Peeples, John; Tummala, Rao; Dehaemer, Michael J.; Holdridge, Geoff (Editor); Gamota, George

1995-01-01

This report summarizes the status of electronic manufacturing and packaging technology in Japan in comparison to that in the United States, and its impact on competition in electronic manufacturing in general. In addition to electronic manufacturing technologies, the report covers technology and manufacturing infrastructure, electronics manufacturing and assembly, quality assurance and reliability in the Japanese electronics industry, and successful product realization strategies. The panel found that Japan leads the United States in almost every electronics packaging technology. Japan clearly has achieved a strategic advantage in electronics production and process technologies. Panel members believe that Japanese competitors could be leading U.S. firms by as much as a decade in some electronics process technologies.

The internationalization of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kuroki, T.E.

1989-01-01

There are growing tensions and frictions between the U.S. and Japan. Among them are science and technology issues that relate to the development of superconductor technology, as well as economic, trade and agricultural issues. The structure of this friction is very complex. There are many interconnected issues that cannot be resolved one by one. This article focuses on the relationship between the U.S. and Japan. Some of the complexities behind the issues are discussed by defining different notions of internationalization and by presenting the positive and negative aspects of the Japanese approach that affects the future cooperation and competition between our nations in the area of superconductivity

Exploring Artificial Intelligence Utilizing BioArt

OpenAIRE

Simou , Panagiota; Tiligadis , Konstantinos; Alexiou , Athanasios

2013-01-01

Part 15: First Workshop on Ethics and Philosophy in Artificial Intelligence (EPAI 2013); International audience; While artificial intelligence combined with Bioinformatics and Nanotechnology offers a variety of improvements and a technological and healthcare revolution, Bioartists attempt to replace the traditional artistic medium with biological materials, bio-imaging techniques, bioreactors and several times to treat their own body as an alive canvas. BioArt seems to play the role of a new ...

Bio-Functional Design, Application and Trends in Metallic Biomaterials

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ke Yang

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Introduction of metals as biomaterials has been known for a long time. In the early development, sufficient strength and suitable mechanical properties were the main considerations for metal implants. With the development of new generations of biomaterials, the concepts of bioactive and biodegradable materials were proposed. Biological function design is very import for metal implants in biomedical applications. Three crucial design criteria are summarized for developing metal implants: (1 mechanical properties that mimic the host tissues; (2 sufficient bioactivities to form bio-bonding between implants and surrounding tissues; and (3 a degradation rate that matches tissue regeneration and biodegradability. This article reviews the development of metal implants and their applications in biomedical engineering. Development trends and future perspectives of metallic biomaterials are also discussed.

Bio-Functional Design, Application and Trends in Metallic Biomaterials.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Ke; Zhou, Changchun; Fan, Hongsong; Fan, Yujiang; Jiang, Qing; Song, Ping; Fan, Hongyuan; Chen, Yu; Zhang, Xingdong

2017-12-22

Introduction of metals as biomaterials has been known for a long time. In the early development, sufficient strength and suitable mechanical properties were the main considerations for metal implants. With the development of new generations of biomaterials, the concepts of bioactive and biodegradable materials were proposed. Biological function design is very import for metal implants in biomedical applications. Three crucial design criteria are summarized for developing metal implants: (1) mechanical properties that mimic the host tissues; (2) sufficient bioactivities to form bio-bonding between implants and surrounding tissues; and (3) a degradation rate that matches tissue regeneration and biodegradability. This article reviews the development of metal implants and their applications in biomedical engineering. Development trends and future perspectives of metallic biomaterials are also discussed.

Functional properties of bio-inspired surfaces: characterization and technological applications

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Favret, Eduardo A; Fuentes, Néstor O

2009-01-01

... technological materials. It analyses how such surfaces can be described and characterized using microscopic techniques and thus reproduced, encompassing the important areas of current surface replication techniques and the associated acquisition of good master structures. It is well known that biological systems have the ability to sense, ...

Report on survey in fiscal 2000 on the survey on succession of history of industrial technologies. Survey edition of originality and creativity of industrial machine technologies in Japan; 2000 nendo sangyo gijutsu rekishi keisho chsao hokokusho. Kokunai sangyo kikai gijutsu no dokusosei to sozosei noc hosahen

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

In order to clarify the innovation process of industrial technologies in Japan and the originality and creativity seen in the process, the case history has been introduced in relation with the researchers, engineers, and business proprietors having contributed to the innovation, and their work records. With regard to machine tools, detailed introductions were given to 'Toshisuke Takeo' who had the technological concept learned in the United States, and devoted himself in building modern machine tools, an American, 'Willian R. Gorham', who had worked actively in Japan even during the war, 'Hiroshi Hanaoka' who had made a machining center for the first time in Japan, and 'Shinkichi Nagaoka' a developer of the non-circular flat bearing. In the railway area, 'Richard Francis Trevithick' and 'Francis Henry Trevithick' , leaders of the rolling stock manufacturing technologies, 'Yasujiro Shima' who had contributed to building the foundation of the Japan's rolling stock technologies, 'Kiichi Asakura' who had contributed to establishment of the Japan's rolling stock technologies and industry standardization, and 'Hideo Shima' who had borne fruit of systematization of the Japan's railway technologies by building the Shinkansen were introduced in detail. (NEDO)

Agricultural Bio-Fueled Generation of Electricity and Development of Durable and Efficent NOx Reduction

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boyd, Rodney

2007-08-08

The objective of this project was to define the scope and cost of a technology research and development program that will demonstrate the feasibility of using an off-the-shelf, unmodified, large bore diesel powered generator in a grid-connected application, utilizing various blends of BioDiesel as fuel. Furthermore, the objective of project was to develop an emissions control device that uses a catalytic process and BioDiesel (without the presence of Ammonia or Urea)to reduce NOx and other pollutants present in a reciprocating engine exhaust stream with the goal of redefining the highest emission reduction efficiencies possible for a diesel reciprocating generator. Process: Caterpillar Power Generation adapted an off-the-shelf Diesel Generator to run on BioDiesel and various Petroleum Diesel/BioDiesel blends. EmeraChem developed and installed an exhaust gas cleanup system to reduce NOx, SOx, volatile organics, and particulates. The system design and function was optimized for emissions reduction with results in the 90-95% range;

What can law do for the development of bio-economy?

Science.gov (United States)

Chang-Qiu, Liu

2012-03-01

Bio-technology has become a new impeller to the development of the world economy since the 1970's. The development of bio-economy has two sides for mankind which calls for intervention by law. During the legislation of bioeconomy, some special principles should be esteemed and observed by legislators. It is necessary for the healthy development of bio-economy.

Bio energy: Bio fuel - Properties and Production

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wilhelmsen, Gunnar; Martinsen, Arnold Kyrre; Sandberg, Eiliv; Fladset, Per Olav; Kjerschow, Einar; Teslo, Einar

2001-01-01

This is Chapter 3 of the book ''Bio energy - Environment, technique and market''. Its main sections are: (1) Definitions and properties, (2) Bio fuel from the forest, (3) Processed bio fuel - briquettes, pellets and powder, (4) Bio fuel from agriculture, (5) Bio fuel from agro industry, (6) Bio fuel from lakes and sea, (7) Bio fuel from aquaculture, (8) Bio fuel from wastes and (9) Hydrogen as a fuel. The exposition largely describes the conditions in Norway. The chapter on energy from the forest includes products from the timber and sawmill industry, the pulp and paper industry, furniture factories etc. Among agricultural sources are straw, energy forests, vegetable oil, bio ethanol, manure

Fiscal 1997 R and D project on industrial science and technology under a consignment from NEDO. R and D of the technology of accelerated formation of bio-functions (R and D of the technology of creation of novel advanced enzymes); 1997 nendo sangyo kagaku gijutsu kenkyu kaihatsu jigyo Shin energy Sangyo Gijutsu Sogo Kaihatsu Kiko itaku. Kasokugata seibutsu kino kochiku gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu (shingata kokino koso sosei gijutsu kaihatsu) seika hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1998-03-01

This paper describes R and D on creation technique of novel advanced enzymes. In fiscal 1997, a novel mutagenesis technique was developed to obtain more kinds of mutational genes by shuffling between clonal genes as compared with the previous homogeneous recombination. A genotype- and phenotype-linking technology was developed by expressing random motifs (peptide as components of the active site of protein) on bacteria, and by developing a single-motif protein library. Study was made on a selection system for functional molecules of catalytic activities in a gene level, and a selection system for function of signal transduction. Analysis and evaluation study on vitro experimental technology can be efficiently promoted by recognizing the fitness landscape of target protein molecules. As a result, instead of the conventional method which needs several cycles of mutation and screening of 3-4 week/cycle, an efficient method possible to obtain multiple mutants was established. Research work was also promoted by various organizations to develop an accelerated formation technology of bio-functions. 68 refs., 51 figs., 14 tabs.

Japan Report - Science and Technology

Science.gov (United States)

1986-10-17

Stock of Bacillus Subtilis Bacillus subtilis is a relative of bacillus natto that has been in use in Japan from the ancient times. It is safe and...addition to the advantages of this combination of personal styles, the two had great confidence in each other. Chairman Kaneo is the so-called "fair...sixth year of his presidency. That has been just the right age for a president, and given these advantages Sunagane has a good chance of becoming

Prevalence of Functional Constipation and Relationship with Dietary Habits in 3- to 8-Year-Old Children in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asami Fujitani

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. To determine the prevalence and effect of dietary habits on functional constipation in preschool and early elementary school children in Japan. Study Design. A total of 3595 children aged 3 to 8 years from 28 nursery schools and 22 elementary schools in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, were evaluated. The subjects were divided into a functional constipation group and a nonfunctional constipation group according to the Rome III criteria. Dietary intake data were collected using a brief-type, self-administered, diet-history questionnaire validated for Japanese preschool-aged children. Results. Of the 3595 subjects evaluated, 718 (20.0% had functional constipation. The association between functional constipation and gender was not statistically significant (p=0.617. A decrease in bowel frequency was observed in 15.9% of those with functional constipation. There was no significant difference in the proportion of participants in the constipation group by age (p=0.112. Binomial logistic regression analysis indicated that only fat per 100 kcal positively correlated with functional constipation [odds ratio = 1.216, 95% confidence interval: 1.0476–1.412]. Conclusions. Functional constipation is common among children in preschool and early elementary school in urban areas of Japan. Parents should pay attention to constipation-related symptoms other than defecation frequency. A high-fat diet should be avoided to prevent functional constipation.

U.S.-Japan Quake Prediction Research

Science.gov (United States)

Kisslinger, Carl; Mikumo, Takeshi; Kanamori, Hiroo

For the seventh time since 1964, a seminar on earthquake prediction has been convened under the U.S.-Japan Cooperation in Science Program. The purpose of the seminar was to provide an opportunity for researchers from the two countries to share recent progress and future plans in the continuing effort to develop the scientific basis for predicting earthquakes and practical means for implementing prediction technology as it emerges. Thirty-six contributors, 15 from Japan and 21 from the U.S., met in Morro Bay, Calif.September 12-14. The following day they traveled to nearby sections of the San Andreas fault, including the site of the Parkfield prediction experiment. The conveners of the seminar were Hiroo Kanamori, Seismological Laboratory, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), for the U.S., and Takeshi Mikumo, Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University, for Japan . Funding for the participants came from the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Japan Society forthe Promotion of Science, supplemented by other agencies in both countries.

Comparative study of linkage between environmental policy instruments and technological innovation: Case study on end-of-life vehicles technologies in Japan and EU.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Rajeev Kumar; Yabar, Helmut; Nozaki, Noriko; Niraula, Baburam; Mizunoya, Takeshi

2017-08-01

A growing population and urbanization is a challenge for finite natural resources. Without strict regulation to recycle, recover and reuse resources, waste is discarded with no value. Every year throughout the world, more than twenty-five million vehicles turn into end-of-life vehicles (ELV) and most of their valuable resources end up in landfill sites. This research analyses the effect of regulation on ELV innovation for additional recovery of resources in Japan and EU nations using patent data as a proxy. The analysis determines the statistical difference in patent activity before and after regulations were enacted in the case studies. The relevant data on ELV technologies was gathered for the period 1985-2013. The study suggests that in general environmental regulation in Japan drove innovation and reveals that environmental policy in Japan was more effective in enabling innovation compared to EU nations. Specifically, the results from these developed countries can be used by the rapidly growing developing countries in automobile manufacturing like China for amendment of their ELV regulation accordingly. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assisted reproductive technology in Japan: a summary report for 2015 by The Ethics Committee of The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Hidekazu; Jwa, Seung Chik; Kuwahara, Akira; Saito, Kazuki; Ishikawa, Tomonori; Ishihara, Osamu; Kugu, Koji; Sawa, Rintaro; Banno, Kouji; Irahara, Minoru

2018-01-01

The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology (JSOG) implemented an assisted reproductive technology (ART) registry system in 1986. Here are reported the characteristics and treatment outcomes of ART cycles that were registered in 2015. JSOG has requested all participating ART facilities to register cycle-specific information for all ART cycles since 2007. A descriptive analysis was performed by using the registry database for 2015. In total, 424 151 cycles and 51 001 neonates (1 in 19.7 neonates born in Japan) were registered in 2015. The patients' mean age was 38.2 years (standard deviation = 4.5). Among the fresh cycles, 94 158 of 244 718 (38.5%) egg retrieval cycles were cycles with freeze-all embryos or oocytes, while fresh embryo transfer (ET) was performed in 70 254 cycles, signaling a decrease from 2014. There were 169 898 frozen-thawed ET cycles, resulting in 56 355 pregnancies and 40 599 neonates. Single ET was performed at a rate of 79.7% for fresh and 81.8% for frozen cycles and the singleton pregnancy/live birth rates were 96.9%/96.5% and 96.8%/96.4% for the respective cycles. The total ART cycles and live births resulting from ART has been increasing in Japan. Single ET was performed at a rate of almost 80% and ET cycles have shifted from fresh to frozen cycles.

Report on the achievements in fiscal 1999. Surveys on the foundation for establishing industrial technology strategies (Foundation and environment improving strategies - an overall survey); 1999 nendo sangyo gijutsu senryaku sakutei kiban chosa hokokusho. Kiban kankyo seibi senryaku (zentai chosa)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

Surveys were performed on the foundation for technological innovation in Japan and other countries. Main findings obtained from the actual state survey were compiled from the two aspects of 'items having difference in international comparison' and 'main findings by nucleuses and functions'. In order to activate the economy stagnated in the 1980's, America has developed strong industrial technology policies under the initiative of the government to strengthen the competitive edge, and the result thereof appears linking with the briskness in the today's U.S. economy. In Japan, the non-competitive fund distributed uniformly to national universities and national research institutes accounts for the majority in the governmental research fund. In contrast, many of the research funds of the U.S. government are the competitive fund, whereas researchers perform their research works using these funds, including their own labor cost, and the competition is intense. America is regarded to have put a huge amount of national defense research expense and space development research expense into private business entities, which are playing a large role in developing advanced technologies. A great amount of governmental fund is injected concentratedly into researches of health, medical and bio-technologies. (NEDO)

Comparing centralized and decentralized bio-energy systems in rural China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

He, Guizhen; Bluemling, Bettina; Mol, Arthur P.J.; Zhang, Lei; Lu, Yonglong

2013-01-01

Under the dual pressures of an energy crisis and rising greenhouse gas emissions, biomass energy development and utilisation has become part of the national energy strategy in China. The last decade has witnessed a strong promotion of both centralised and decentralised bio-energy systems in rural China. The government seems to have a strong preference for centralised (village-based) bio-energy systems in recent years. However, these government-driven systems have not worked without difficulties, particularly regarding economic and technological viability and maintenance. Studies on the advantages and disadvantages of decentralised and centralised bio-energy systems are rare. This study aims to shed light on the performances of these two systems in terms of social, economic and environmental effects. Through interviewing local officials and village leaders and surveying farmers in 12 villages in Shandong Province, it was found that bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances. The diversity of the local natural, economic and social situations determines the size, place, technology and organisational model of the bio-energy system. - Highlights: • Biomass energy development has become part of the national energy strategy in China. • The dis-/advantages of decentralized and centralized bio-energy systems are evaluated. • Bio-energy systems should be selected based on the local circumstances

Bio-nanopatterning of Surfaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yeung Chun

2007-01-01

Full Text Available AbstractBio-nanopatterning of surfaces is a very active interdisciplinary field of research at the interface between biotechnology and nanotechnology. Precise patterning of biomolecules on surfaces with nanometre resolution has great potential in many medical and biological applications ranging from molecular diagnostics to advanced platforms for fundamental studies of molecular and cell biology. Bio-nanopatterning technology has advanced at a rapid pace in the last few years with a variety of patterning methodologies being developed for immobilising biomolecules such as DNA, peptides, proteins and viruses at the nanoscale on a broad range of substrates. In this review, the status of research and development are described, with particular focus on the recent advances on the use of nanolithographic techniques as tools for biomolecule immobilisation at the nanoscale. Present strengths and weaknesses, as well future challenges on the different nanolithographic bio-nanopatterning approaches are discussed.

Current status and technology development of Reprocessing Plant in Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ochi, Eiji

2013-01-01

It is a problem that the vitrified waste could not be produced at the down nozzle in glass furnace by accumulation of platinum group metals contented in high-level radioactive waste. This article describes our efforts to solve the problem. The glass furnace, glassification process, development of glassification technology in Japan, structure of glass furnace, improvement of glass furnace now in use, improvement of glassification technology, and development of new glass furnace and new glass materials are explained. Configuration drawing of glass furnace, heating method, glass flow from the down nozzle, existing state of platinum group metals in glass, comparison between the current glass furnace and advance furnace, analysis result of inner part of furnace, and measurement result of density, viscosity and heat capacity of molten glass are illustrated. (S.Y.)

Complete genome sequencing of the luminescent bacterium, Vibrio qinghaiensis sp. Q67 using PacBio technology

Science.gov (United States)

Gong, Liang; Wu, Yu; Jian, Qijie; Yin, Chunxiao; Li, Taotao; Gupta, Vijai Kumar; Duan, Xuewu; Jiang, Yueming

2018-01-01

Vibrio qinghaiensis sp.-Q67 (Vqin-Q67) is a freshwater luminescent bacterium that continuously emits blue-green light (485 nm). The bacterium has been widely used for detecting toxic contaminants. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of Vqin-Q67, obtained using third-generation PacBio sequencing technology. Continuous long reads were attained from three PacBio sequencing runs and reads >500 bp with a quality value of >0.75 were merged together into a single dataset. This resultant highly-contiguous de novo assembly has no genome gaps, and comprises two chromosomes with substantial genetic information, including protein-coding genes, non-coding RNA, transposon and gene islands. Our dataset can be useful as a comparative genome for evolution and speciation studies, as well as for the analysis of protein-coding gene families, the pathogenicity of different Vibrio species in fish, the evolution of non-coding RNA and transposon, and the regulation of gene expression in relation to the bioluminescence of Vqin-Q67.

Head-end process technology for the new reprocessing plants in France and Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saudray, D.; Hugelmann, D.; Cho, A.

1991-01-01

Major technological innovations brought to the new UP3 and UP2-800 reprocessing plants of COGEMA LA HAGUE and also to the JNFS ROKKASHO plant concern the head-end process. The continuous process designed allows for high throughputs whilst meeting stringent safety requirements. The head-end of each plant includes two lines for each operation in order to guarantee availability. This paper presents the T1 head-end facility of the UP3 plant as well as the few adaptations implemented in the ROKKASHO Reprocessing Plant to fulfill the particular design requirements in Japan

Design and Implementation of a Bio-printer for Cardiac Structures

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bravo, L.; Velasco, D.; Atienza, F.; Fernandez-Aviles, F.; Climent, A.M.; Liberos, A.

2016-07-01

Bio-printing has proven to be an excellent tool for the recently established field of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine (TERM) as it blends both principles of engineering and the life sciences to develop biological substitutes that restore or improve tissue function. The purpose of this work was to implement this new state of the art technology in the Laboratory of Organs and Bioartificial Matrices of the Gregorio Marañón Hospital, so as to aid in current research lines as well as open new fields of study. To do so, a commercial 3D Printer has been adapted following extrusion principles through a pressure driven mechanism. Cellular viability and geometrical fidelity have been assessed as the main parameters with which to determine the functional validity of the implemented technology. (Author)

The hierarchical porous structure bio-char assessments produced by co-pyrolysis of municipal sewage sludge and hazelnut shell and Cu(II) adsorption kinetics.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Bing; Xu, Xinyang; Zeng, Fanqiang; Li, Haibo; Chen, Xi

2018-05-04

The co-pyrolysis technology was applied to municipal sewage sludge (MSS) and hazelnut shell with alkaline activating agent K 2 CO 3 under N 2 atmosphere. The innovative bio-char produced by co-pyrolysis had significant physical and chemical characteristics. The specific surface area reached 1990.23 m 2 /g, and the iodine absorption number was 1068.22 mg/g after co-pyrolysis at 850 °C. Although hazelnut shell was a kind of solid waste, it also had abundant cellulose resource, which could contribute to porous structure of bio-char during co-pyrolysis with MSS and decrease total heavy metals contents of raw material to increase security of bio-chars. Meanwhile, the residual fractions of heavy metals in bio-char were above 92.95% after co-pyrolysis at 900 °C except Cd to prevent heavy metals digestion, and the bio-char presented significant immobilization behavior from co-pyrolysis technology. Moreover, the yield and the iodine absorption number of bio-chars under different process variables were analyzed, and it was confirmed that appropriate process variables could contribute the yield and the iodine absorption number of bio-char and prevent to etch pore structure excessively to collapse. The changes of surface functional groups and crystallographic structure before and after co-pyrolysis were analyzed by FTIR and XRD, respectively. The hierarchical porous structure of bio-char was presented by SEM and N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherm. The Cu(II) adsorption capacity of the bio-char was 42.28 mg/g after 24 h, and surface functional groups acted as active binding sites for Cu(II) adsorption. Langmuir model and pseudo-second-order model can describe process of Cu(II) adsorption well.

The Cultivation of New Technology-Based Firms and Roles of Venture Capital Firms in Japan

OpenAIRE

Kirihata, Tetsuya

2007-01-01

In this paper, I analyze post-investment activities of venture capital firms (VCFs) based on a questionnaire survey and discuss the issues and challenges of post-investment activities of VCFs with new technology based firms (NTBFs) in Japan. The questionnaire survey reveals that business supports desired by NTBFs can be classified into four groups."business strategies adjustment and motivation", "business advice and networking", "finance and crisis management", and "recruitment assistance". T...

Bio-composites : opportunities for value-added biobased materials

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Drzal, L.T. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science]|[Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States). Composite Materials and Structures Center

2003-07-01

In order to reduce dependency on foreign oil, there is a growing need to develop and commercialize new bio-based green materials and technologies that can produce bio-based structural materials that are competitive with current synthetic products. The use of bio-based products would also improve the environment and create new opportunities for the agricultural economy. This paper described ongoing research into bio-based materials and products that replace petroleum-based products. In particular, it examined the use of biocomposites made by embedding natural/biofibers such as kenaf, hemp, flax, jute, henequen, pineapple leaf fiber, corn stalk fibers and native Michigan grasses into petroleum-derived traditional plastics such as polypropylene, unsaturated polyesters and epoxies. It also examines the use of green biocomposites developed by embedding these bio-fibers into renewable resource-based bioplastics such as cellulosic plastics and soy-based plastics. New processing methods that combine biofibers with plastics were needed to produce the biocomposites with desirable mechanical properties. The study showed that biofiber reinforced petroleum-based plastic biocomposites can produce a structural material that offers a balance between ecology, economy and technology. The potential for using these materials for automotive and building materials was also presented. 1 tab., 28 figs.

JSFR: Japan's challenge towards the competitive SFR design concept with innovative technologies

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mihara, T.; Kotake, S.

2006-01-01

JSFR is a sodium-cooled, MOX(or metal) fuelled, advanced loop type fast reactor design concept conducting by Japan Atomic Energy Agency(JAEA) through the Feasibility Study on commercialized Fast Reactor(FR) Cycle Systems with participation of all parties concerned in Japan since 1999. The economic competitiveness is one of the crucial points and has been emphasized in the design study of JSFR. One of the ways for less construction cost is the compact NSSS design by introducing the following innovative technologies; Shortening the piping length, simplified configuration with the inverse L-shaped-pipes and a two-loop system even for a l,500MWe power plant, by adopting high chromium steel with lower thermal expansion and higher strength, Upgrading of the structural design standards at elevated temperature for sodium-cooled FR system, and Development of an integrated intermediate heat exchanger (IHX) with a mechanical pump. The other way is introducing passive decay heat removal system with natural circulation. The elimination of active components such as pony motors and blowers leads to reduction of the capacity of the BOP system such as electricity supply system, emergency DGs, HVAC system and component cooling water system. In order to attain lower power generation cost, not only less construction cost but also less operational cost including fuel cycle cost is crucial. Therefore higher burn-up of the averaged core, more than 150GWd/t, has been applied by introducing ODS steel cladding material. As a result, it is confirmed that the JSFR design concept is well suited to the development target equivalent to l,000USD/kWe (as NOAK, overnight cost), while ensuring safety. The most of the cost reduction comes from the innovative technologies. The R and D plan of these technologies was summarized as a roadmap and the R and D efforts are on going for establishing a technical scheme of FR cycle systems by around 2015

From bio-resources to industry. Agrice 2 Activity report 2001-2007

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

Biofuels and bio-products are no longer a domain restricted to specialists, they are now a commercial reality. Growing awareness of the ways in which biomass can help combat climate change has led to concrete decisions in France and at the European level. The French biofuels plan that calls for 7% biofuels in motor fuels by 2010 is underway. Plant-based chemicals and biomaterials are now emerging as major strategic sectors. The French President has outlined the goals for bio-products: in 2015 they should represent the equivalent of 15% of the volume of petroleum devoted to non-energy uses. A strategic plan for bio-products is now being elaborated. The considerable amount of research accomplished in recent years has open-ed up these new perspectives, particularly work done under the auspices of the scientific interest group AGRICE, whose second charter agreement is now coming to a close (2001-2007). Following an evaluation conducted in 2006, one must emphasise the highly positive results of the action undertaken by AGRICE, and of ADEME's management of the group, concerning technological development, structuring of actors in the economy, and dissemination of information pertaining to biofuels and bio-products. With biomass a new industrial era is commencing, in the same way that oil took off in the preceding century. France has substantial advantages at its disposal for entering these new markets: its agricultural and forestry potential, and its enterprises. The ambitious goals that have been announced require a veritable change of scale in terms of resources devoted to research in this field, along the lines of the trends in the main competitor countries (Germany, United States, Japan). These goals call for the creation of a national bio-products research programme under the current framework, alongside the programme devoted to bio-energy. The wealth of experience compiled by AGRICE and revealed in this report, under ADEME's direction, should be exploited in the

A new biarticular actuator design facilitates control of leg function in BioBiped3.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharbafi, Maziar Ahmad; Rode, Christian; Kurowski, Stefan; Scholz, Dorian; Möckel, Rico; Radkhah, Katayon; Zhao, Guoping; Rashty, Aida Mohammadinejad; Stryk, Oskar von; Seyfarth, Andre

2016-07-01

Bioinspired legged locomotion comprises different aspects, such as (i) benefiting from reduced complexity control approaches as observed in humans/animals, (ii) combining embodiment with the controllers and (iii) reflecting neural control mechanisms. One of the most important lessons learned from nature is the significant role of compliance in simplifying control, enhancing energy efficiency and robustness against perturbations for legged locomotion. In this research, we investigate how body morphology in combination with actuator design may facilitate motor control of leg function. Inspired by the human leg muscular system, we show that biarticular muscles have a key role in balancing the upper body, joint coordination and swing leg control. Appropriate adjustment of biarticular spring rest length and stiffness can simplify the control and also reduce energy consumption. In order to test these findings, the BioBiped3 robot was developed as a new version of BioBiped series of biologically inspired, compliant musculoskeletal robots. In this robot, three-segmented legs actuated by mono- and biarticular series elastic actuators mimic the nine major human leg muscle groups. With the new biarticular actuators in BioBiped3, novel simplified control concepts for postural balance and for joint coordination in rebounding movements (drop jumps) were demonstrated and approved.

Dr Hiroshi Ikukawa Director Planning and Evaluation Division Science and Technology Policy Bureau Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan and Mr Robert Aymar signed an accord for the CERN.

CERN Multimedia

Claudia Marcelloni

2007-01-01

Dr Hiroshi Ikukawa Director Planning and Evaluation Division Science and Technology Policy Bureau Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan and Mr Robert Aymar signed an accord for the CERN.

Optimum concrete compression strength using bio-enzyme

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bagio Tony Hartono

2017-01-01

Full Text Available To make concrete with high compressive strength and has a certain concrete specifications other than the main concrete materials are also needed concrete mix quality control and other added material is also in line with the current technology of concrete mix that produces concrete with specific characteristics. Addition of bio enzyme on five concrete mixture that will be compared with normal concrete in order to know the optimum level bio-enzyme in concrete to increase the strength of the concrete. Concrete with bio-enzyme 200 ml/m3, 400 ml/m3, 600 ml/m3, 800 ml/m3, 1000 ml/m3 and normal concrete. Refer to the crushing test result, its tends to the mathematical model using 4th degree polynomial regression (least quartic, as represent on the attached data series, which is for the design mix fc′ = 25 MPa generate optimum value for 33,98 MPa, on the bio-additive dosage of 509 ml bio enzymes.

Fiscal 1994 report on results of R and D on innovative technology for producing advanced biomaterial. Technology of fixation and utilization of carbon dioxide using peptides; 1994 nendo senshin bio zairyo no sosei kako gijutsu no kenkyu kaihatsu seika hokokusho. Pepuchido oyo nisanka tanso koteika yuko riyo gijutsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1995-03-01

R and D of a material was conducted that has a function of fixation of carbon dioxide for example, by synthesizing non-natural amino acids required for the manifestation of the function, incorporating the amino acids into new bio-functional peptides to be synthesized, and fixing the peptides on a substrate. Activities were carried out in three areas, which were (1) innovative technologies for producing functional molecules: R and D concerning structural and functional design of peptides, conformational control technique, preparation of peptides with photoelectric conversion function, peptide synthesis using enzyme, and method of incorporating non-natural amino acids into peptides, (2) R and D on materialization technologies of functional molecules: formation of film onto a substrate, pattern forming technique, substrate modification technique, peptide binding reagent or linker, and development of technologies for creation of biomaterials having molecular recognition function and their stabilization. and (3) comprehensive investigation and adjustment (operation of information exchange conference and adjustment of the progress). In (2), an examination was made on the effect of polymerization on functions, for example, by fixing molecular recognition peptides in monomers and polymers on a catalyst support. (NEDO)

Determination of Carbonyl Functional Groups in Bio-oils by Potentiometric Titration: The Faix Method.

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Stuart; Ferrell, Jack R

2017-02-07

Carbonyl compounds present in bio-oils are known to be responsible for bio-oil property changes upon storage and during upgrading. Specifically, carbonyls cause an increase in viscosity (often referred to as 'aging') during storage of bio-oils. As such, carbonyl content has previously been used as a method of tracking bio-oil aging and condensation reactions with less variability than viscosity measurements. Additionally, carbonyls are also responsible for coke formation in bio-oil upgrading processes. Given the importance of carbonyls in bio-oils, accurate analytical methods for their quantification are very important for the bio-oil community. Potentiometric titration methods based on carbonyl oximation have long been used for the determination of carbonyl content in pyrolysis bio-oils. Here, we present a modification of the traditional carbonyl oximation procedures that results in less reaction time, smaller sample size, higher precision, and more accurate carbonyl determinations. While traditional carbonyl oximation methods occur at room temperature, the Faix method presented here occurs at an elevated temperature of 80 °C.

Agrice 2004. Activity report - from bio-resources to industry

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2005-01-01

It has been ten years since AGRICE was founded to support technological research in the field of bio-products. Even if bio-products are indeed a commercial reality, and growing in diversity, they are still marginal in the marketplace. However, the amplification of the greenhouse effect, our increasing energy dependence, the inexorable rise in oil prices, international competition and the emergence of a genuine political awareness are all factors that converge in favour of bio-products, offering a promising future. Of course, the development of bio-products is dependent on a number of conditions: biomass resources, technological advances, mobilisation of actors through dynamic research programmes (conversion of lignocellulosic biomass for alternative fuels or hydrogen, bio-technology applied to chemicals), new agro-industrial supply chains, financial instruments to bridge the cost gap with fossil fuels, a national strategy supported by a public authority dedicated to non-food uses. In the immediate future, the recent decision to open up the biofuels market via implementation of the European biofuels directive (5.75% of the market in 2010) provides an opportunity to lay the groundwork for a veritable industry of plant-based products, opening the way to the bio-refineries of the future. There is considerable potential for the development of bio-products in France. An additional 25 to 30 million tonnes-oil-equivalent (toe) of agricultural and forestry biomass could be processed into energy and industrial bio-products in France. Accordingly we can set our sights on an overall objective of substituting plant feedstocks for petroleum used in fuels and chemicals, on the order of 10% in 2020, and 20 to 30% by 2030-2050. To achieve these goals many technological advances will be necessary, with constant attention to the requirements of sustainable development. In this respect AGRICE is an invaluable tool for guiding, catalysing and supporting research efforts in these fields

BioNet Digital Communications Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Gifford, Kevin; Kuzminsky, Sebastian; Williams, Shea

2010-01-01

BioNet v2 is a peer-to-peer middleware that enables digital communication devices to talk to each other. It provides a software development framework, standardized application, network-transparent device integration services, a flexible messaging model, and network communications for distributed applications. BioNet is an implementation of the Constellation Program Command, Control, Communications and Information (C3I) Interoperability specification, given in CxP 70022-01. The system architecture provides the necessary infrastructure for the integration of heterogeneous wired and wireless sensing and control devices into a unified data system with a standardized application interface, providing plug-and-play operation for hardware and software systems. BioNet v2 features a naming schema for mobility and coarse-grained localization information, data normalization within a network-transparent device driver framework, enabling of network communications to non-IP devices, and fine-grained application control of data subscription band width usage. BioNet directly integrates Disruption Tolerant Networking (DTN) as a communications technology, enabling networked communications with assets that are only intermittently connected including orbiting relay satellites and planetary rover vehicles.

Japanese Mobile Phone Usage in Sweden - Technological and Social Prerequisites

OpenAIRE

Fredriksson, Susanne; Hillerdal, Ida

2010-01-01

Japan is an advanced country when it comes to mobile phone technology. This thesis firstly investigates the mobile phone usage in Japan. Secondly it describes the prerequisites for implementation of some distinguished Japanese mobile phone functions in Sweden. This is done from a social as well as a technological aspect. The Japanese mobile phone usage is investigated on three levels; governmental, industrial and consumer. The governmental level is characterised by an ICT policy which strives...

Nano-catalysts for upgrading bio-oil: Catalytic decarboxylation and hydrodeoxygenation

Science.gov (United States)

Uemura, Yoshimitsu; Tran, Nga T. T.; Naqvi, Salman Raza; Nishiyama, Norikazu

2017-09-01

Bio-oil is a mixture of oxygenated chemicals produced by fast pyrolysis of lignocellulose, and has attracted much attention recently because the raw material is renewable. Primarily, bio-oil can be used as a replacement of heavy oil. But it is not highly recommended due to bio-oil's inferior properties: high acidity and short shelf life. Upgrading of bio-oil is therefore one of the important technologies nowadays, and is categorized into the two: (A) decrarboxylation/decarbonylation by solid acid catalysts and (B) hydrodeoxygenation (HDO) by metallic catalysts. In our research group, decarboxylation of bio-oil by zeolites and HDO of guaiacol (a model compound of bio-oil) have been investigated. In this paper, recent developments of these upgrading reactions in our research group will be introduced.

Mastering multi-depth bio-chip patterns with DVD LBRs

Science.gov (United States)

Carson, Doug

2017-08-01

Bio chip and bio disc are rapidly growing technologies used in medical, health and other industries. While there are numerous unique designs and features, these products all rely on precise three-dimensional micro-fluidic channels or arrays to move, separate and combine samples under test. These bio chip and bio disc consumables are typically manufactured by molding these parts to a precise three-dimensional pattern on a negative metal stamper, or they can be made in smaller quantities using an appropriate curable resin and a negative mold/stamper. Stampers required for bio chips have been traditionally made using either micro machining or XY stepping lithography. Both of these technologies have their advantages as well as limitations when it comes to creating micro-fluidic patterns. Significant breakthroughs in continuous maskless lithography have enabled accurate and efficient manufacturing of micro-fluidic masters using LBRs (Laser Beam Recorders) and DRIE (Deep Reactive Ion Etching). The important advantages of LBR continuous lithography vs. XY stepping lithography and micro machining are speed and cost. LBR based continuous lithography is >100x faster than XY stepping lithography and more accurate than micro machining. Several innovations were required in order to create multi-depth patterns with sub micron accuracy. By combining proven industrial LBRs with DCA's G3-VIA pattern generator and DRIE, three-dimensional bio chip masters and stampers are being manufactured efficiently and accurately.

JTEC panel on nuclear power in Japan. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hansen, K.F.; Behnke, W.B.; Cousin, S.B.; Evans, E.A.; Olander, D.R.

1990-10-01

The report examines the status and direction of nuclear power-related research and development in Japan in six areas: the nuclear fuel cycle, nuclear materials, instrumentation and control technology, CAD/CAM, nuclear safety research, and nuclear plant construction. Overall findings suggest that the nuclear power industry in Japan is at an advanced state of development; in particular, Japan is now technologically self-sufficient. Long-term goals of the Japanese program include closure of the complete fuel cycle and pursuit of the liquid metal fast breeder reactor as the future base system

Cost (non)-recovery by platform technology facilities in the Bio21 Cluster.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, Gerard; Clark, Stella; Quinn, Julieanne; Gleeson, Mary Joy

2010-04-01

Platform technologies (PT) are techniques or tools that enable a range of scientific investigations and are critical to today's advanced technology research environment. Once installed, they require specialized staff for their operations, who in turn, provide expertise to researchers in designing appropriate experiments. Through this pipeline, research outputs are raised to the benefit of the researcher and the host institution. Platform facilities provide access to instrumentation and expertise for a wide range of users beyond the host institution, including other academic and industry users. To maximize the return on these substantial public investments, this wider access needs to be supported. The question of support and the mechanisms through which this occurs need to be established based on a greater understanding of how PT facilities operate. This investigation was aimed at understanding if and how platform facilities across the Bio21 Cluster meet operating costs. Our investigation found: 74% of platforms surveyed do not recover 100% of direct operating costs and are heavily subsidized by their home institution, which has a vested interest in maintaining the technology platform; platform managers play a major role in establishing the costs and pricing of the facility, normally in a collaborative process with a management committee or institutional accountant; and most facilities have a three-tier pricing structure recognizing internal academic, external academic, and commercial clients.

Past, Present, and Future Production of Bio-oil

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steele, Philip; Yu, Fei; Gajjela, Sanjeev

2009-04-01

Bio-oil is a liquid product produced by fast pyrol-ysis of biomass. The fast pyrolysis is performed by heating the biomass rapidly (2 sec) at temperatures ranging from 350 to 650 oC. The vapors produced by this rapid heating are then condensed to produce a dark brown water-based emulsion composed of frag-ments of the original hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin molecules contained in the biomass. Yields range from 60 to 75% based on the feedstock type and the pyrolysis reactor employed. The bio-oil pro-duced by this process has a number of negative prop-erties that are produced mainly by the high oxygen content (40 to 50%) contributed by that contained in water (25 to 30% of total mass) and oxygenated compounds. Each bio-oil contains hundreds of chemi-cal compounds. The chemical composition of bio-oil renders it a very recalcitrant chemical compound. To date, the difficulties in utilizing bio-oil have limited its commercial development to the production of liq-uid smoke as food flavoring. Practitioners have at-tempted to utilize raw bio-oil as a fuel; they have also applied many techniques to upgrade bio-oil to a fuel. Attempts to utilize raw bio-oil as a combustion engine fuel have resulted in engine or turbine dam-age; however, Stirling engines have been shown to successfully combust raw bio-oil without damage. Utilization of raw bio-oil as a boiler fuel has met with more success and an ASTM standard has recently been released describing bio-oil characteristics in relation to assigned fuel grades. However, commercialization has been slow to follow and no reports of distribution of these bio-oil boiler fuels have been reported. Co-feeding raw bio-oil with coal has been successfully performed but no current power generation facilities are following this practice. Upgrading of bio-oils to hydrocarbons via hydroprocessing is being performed by several organizations. Currently, limited catalyst life is the obstacle to commercialization of this tech-nology. Researchers

Japan's advanced medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Sho, Ri; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Murakami, Masayasu

2013-10-01

Like health care systems in other developed countries, Japan's health care system faces significant challenges due to aging of the population and economic stagnation. Advanced medicine (Senshin Iryou) is a unique system of medical care in Japan offering highly technology-driven medical care that is not covered by public health insurance. Advanced medicine has recently developed and expanded as part of health care reform. Will it work? To answer this question, we briefly trace the historical development of advanced medicine and describe the characteristics and current state of advanced medical care in Japan. We then offer our opinions on the future of advanced medicine with careful consideration of its pros and cons. We believe that developing advanced medicine is an attempt to bring health care reform in line rather than the goal of health care reform.

Enabling Bio-Innovation for Poverty Alleviation in Asia | IDRC ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

At first glance, Asia seems to have all the organizations, skills, policies and facilities essential for bio-innovation. However, these are not generally put to the service of the millions of poor who lack access to technology. This project aims to stimulate research on bio-innovation for poverty alleviation, sustainable employment ...

Spectra of linear energy transfer and other dosimetry characteristics as measured in C290 MeV/n MONO and SOBP ion beams at HIMAC-BIO (NIRS (Japan)) with different detectors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Spurny, F.; Pachnerovy Brabcovy, K.; Ploc, O.; Ambrozovy, I.; Mrazova, Z.

2011-01-01

Active mobile dosimetry unit (Liulin), passive plastic nuclear track detectors (PNTD) and thermoluminescent detectors (TLD) were exposed in a C290 MeV/n beam at HIMAC-BIO (NIRS (Japan)). Two different types of beam configuration were used-monoenergetic beam (MONO) and spread-out Bragg peak (SOBP); the detectors were placed at several depths from the entrance up to the depths behind the Bragg peak. Relative response of TLDs in beams has been studied as a function of the depth, and it was re-proved that it can depend on the linear energy transfer (LET). Liulin measures energy deposition in Si; the spectra of energy deposited in Si can be transformed to the spectra of lineal energy or LET. PNTDs are able to determine the LET of registered particles directly. The limitation of both methods is in the range in which they can determine the LET-Liulin is able to measure perpendicularly incident charged particles up to ∼35 keV/μm (in water), PNTD can measure from ∼7 to 400 keV/μm, independently of the registration angle. The results from both methods are compared and combined for both beams' configuration, and a good agreement is observed. (authors)

Development of remote handling technology for nuclear fuel cycle facilities in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maekawa, Hiromichi; Sakai, Akira; Miura, Noriaki; Kozaka, Tetsuo; Hamada, Takashi

2015-01-01

Remote handling technology has been systematically developed for nuclear fuel cycle facilities in Japan since 1970s, primarily in parallel with the development of reprocessing and HLLW (High Level Liquid Waste) vitrification process. In case of reprocessing and vitrification process to handle highly radioactive and hazardous materials, the most of components are installed in the radiation shielded hot cells and operators are not allowed to enter the work area in the cells for operation and maintenance. Therefore, a completely remote handling system is adopted for the cells to reduce radiation doses of operators and increase the availability of the facility. The hot cells are generally designed considering the scale of components (laboratory, demonstration, or full-scale), the function of the systems (chemical process, material handling, dismantling, decontamination, or chemical analysis), and the environmental conditions (radiation dose rate, airborne concentration, surface contamination, or fume/mist/dust). Throughout our domestic development work for remote handling technology, the concept of the large scale integrated cell has been adopted rather than a number of small scale separated cells, for the reasons to reduce the total installation space and the number of remote handling equipment required for the each cell as much as possible. In our domestic remote maintenance design, several new concepts have been developed, tested, and demonstrated in the Tokai Virtrification Facility (TVF) and the Rokkasho HLLW Vitrification and Storage Facility (K-facility). Layout in the hot cells, the performance of remote handling equipment, and the structure of the in-cell components are important factors for remote maintenance design. In case of TVF (hot tests started in 1995), piping and vessels are prefabricated in the rack modules and installed in two lines on both sides of the cell. These modules are designed to be remotely replaced in the whole rack. Two overhead cranes

Chitosan: An undisputed bio-fabrication material for tissue engineering and bio-sensing applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Baranwal, Anupriya; Kumar, Ashutosh; Priyadharshini, A; Oggu, Gopi Suresh; Bhatnagar, Ira; Srivastava, Ananya; Chandra, Pranjal

2018-04-15

Biopolymers have been serving the mankind in various ways since long. Over the last few years, these polymers have found great demand in various domains which includes bio medicine, tissue engineering, bio sensor fabrications etc. because of their excellent bio compatibility. In this context, chitosan has found global attention due to its environmentally benign nature, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and ease of availability. In last one decade or so, extensive research in active biomaterials, like chitosan has led to the development of novel delivery systems for drugs, genes, and biomolecules; and regenerative medicine. Additionally, chitosan has also witnessed its usage in functionalization of biocompatible materials, nanoparticle (NP) synthesis, and immobilization of various bio-recognition elements (BREs) to form active bio-surfaces with great ease. Keeping these aspects in mind, we have written a comprehensive review which aims to acquaint its readers with the exceptional properties of chitosan and its usage in the domain of biomedicine, tissue engineering, and biosensor fabrication. Herein, we have briefly explained various aspects of direct utilization of chitosan and then presented vivid strategies towards formulation of chitosan based nanocomposites for biomedicine, tissue engineering, and biosensing applications. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Spatial Analysis of BioAmbients

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielson, Hanne Riis; Nielson, Flemming; Pilegaard, Henrik

2004-01-01

Programming language technology can contribute to the development and understanding of Systems Biology by providing formal calculi for specifying and analysing the dynamic behaviour of biological systems. Our focus is on BioAmbients, a variation of the ambient calculi developed for modelling...

The importance of quantitative measurement methods for uveitis: laser flare photometry endorsed in Europe while neglected in Japan where the technology measuring quantitatively intraocular inflammation was developed.

Science.gov (United States)

Herbort, Carl P; Tugal-Tutkun, Ilknur

2017-06-01

Laser flare photometry (LFP) is an objective and quantitative method to measure intraocular inflammation. The LFP technology was developed in Japan and has been commercially available since 1990. The aim of this work was to review the application of LFP in uveitis practice in Europe compared to Japan where the technology was born. We reviewed PubMed articles published on LFP and uveitis. Although LFP has been largely integrated in routine uveitis practice in Europe, it has been comparatively neglected in Japan and still has not received FDA approval in the USA. As LFP is the only method that provides a precise measure of intraocular inflammation, it should be used as a gold standard in uveitis centres worldwide.

Wood to Bio-Methane demonstration project in the Netherlands

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Van der Meijden, C.M.; Van der Drift, A.; Rietveld, G. [ECN Biomass and Energy Efficiency, Petten (Netherlands); Koenemann, J.W. [Dahlman Renewable Technology, P.O. Box 438, 3140 AK Maassluis (Netherlands); Sierhuis, W. [HVCgroup, P.O. Box 9199, 1800 GD, Alkmaar (Netherlands)

2013-06-15

The Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) has developed a biomass gasification technology, called the MILENA technology. The Milena gasification technology has a high cold gas efficiency and high methane yield, making it very suitable for gas engine and turbine applications as well as upgrading of the gas into Bio-Methane. An overall efficiency from biomass to power of over 30% is possible, whereas 70% efficiency is achievable from biomass to gas grid quality methane. HVC Group (situated in Alkmaar, North Holland) is a modern public service waste company. HVC converts waste streams which cannot be recycled into usable forms of energy. HVC has a 75 MWth waste wood boiler in operation which produces heat and electricity, and an anaerobic digester which converts domestic fruit, vegetable and garden waste into Bio-Methane. HVC expects an important role for Bio-Methane in the future and HVC has decided to join ECN with the development, demonstration and implementation of the MILENA Bio-Methane technology. Linked to the Bio-Methane demonstration project is the Netherlands Expertise Centre for Biomass Gasification. The MILENA demonstration project and the Gasification Expert Centre are supported by the following companies and organizations: HVC, TAQA, Gasunie, Dahlman, province of North Holland, the Alkmaar municipality and ECN. In 2010 and 2012 extensive lab-scale and pilot scale tests have been executed by ECN and HVC to proof that the gasification and gas cleaning technology is ready for commercial application. The final step in this test program was a duration test in the 800 kWth MILENA pilot plant coupled to the OLGA tar removal unit. The goal was to show high availability. The result of the test was an availability of the gasifier of 96% and an overall availability (including gas cooling and gas cleaning) of 85%. The results of the duration tests convinced HVC and the other partners that the technology is ready for scale-up. The results produced in the

BioBlend.objects: metacomputing with Galaxy.

Science.gov (United States)

Leo, Simone; Pireddu, Luca; Cuccuru, Gianmauro; Lianas, Luca; Soranzo, Nicola; Afgan, Enis; Zanetti, Gianluigi

2014-10-01

BioBlend.objects is a new component of the BioBlend package, adding an object-oriented interface for the Galaxy REST-based application programming interface. It improves support for metacomputing on Galaxy entities by providing higher-level functionality and allowing users to more easily create programs to explore, query and create Galaxy datasets and workflows. BioBlend.objects is available online at https://github.com/afgane/bioblend. The new object-oriented API is implemented by the galaxy/objects subpackage. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

Organic photovoltaic energy in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2007-01-01

Japan finances research programs on photovoltaic conversion since 1974. Research in this domain is one of the 11 priorities of NEDO, the agency of means of the ministry of economy, trade and industry of Japan. The search for an abatement of production costs and of an increase of cells efficiency is mentioned in NEDO's programs as soon as the beginning of the 1990's. A road map has been defined which foresees photovoltaic energy production costs equivalent to the ones of thermal conversion by 2030, i.e. 7 yen/kWh (4.4 cents of euro/kWh). The use of new materials in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) or organic solar cells, and of new structures (multi-junctions) is explored to reach this objective. The organic photovoltaic technology is more particularly considered for small generation units in mobile or domestic technologies. Japan is particularly in advance in the improvement of DSSC cells efficiency, in particular in the domain of the research on solid electrolytes. Europe seems more in advance in the domain of the new generation of organic solar cells. Therefore, a complementarity may be found between Japan and French teams in the domain of organic solar cells improvement through collaboration programs. (J.S.)

Present status of marine environmental radioactivity survey in the sea of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsuoka, H.

1994-01-01

Science and Technology Agency has been conducting some Marine Environmental Radioactivity Surveys around Japan in cooperation with the relevant organizations (Maritime Safety Agency, Japan Meteorological Agency, Fishery Agency, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Japan Chemical Analysis Center and Marine Ecology Research Institute). Several artificial radionuclides have been detected but the main origin is supposed to be fall-out. The level trend of marine environmental radioactivity has no anomalies excepting the effect of Chernobyl Accident. The data summarized here are as follows. 1. Marine Environmental Survey of Fisheries near the Nuclear Power Stations, 2. Past Data of Marine Environmental Radioactivity around Japan (Apr. 1982 - Mar. 1991), 3. Marine Environmental Survey of the Sea of Japan (spring, 1993), 4. Marine Environmental Survey of the Sea of Japan (autumn, 1993). In addition, JAPAN-KOREA-RUSSIA JOINT EXPEDITION in the Sea of Japan will start in the middle of March. We are expecting to get valuable data through the EXPEDITION. (J.P.N.)

Report on fundamental investigation in fiscal 2000 of intellectual property right management criteria at General Research Institute of Industrial Technologies; 2000 nendo sangyo gijutsu sogo kenkyusho chiteki zaisanken kanri kiso chosa hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-03-01

Fundamental items of knowledge were collected on matters to form the base of management and utilization of intellectual property rights as the basic data for cooperation among industry, academia, and government. Activities were put into order on the following nine fields: 1) handling of tangible research property rights at universities, 2) the way the organization should be to support the cooperation between industry and academia - a mechanism at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 3) licensing and technology transfer in India, 4) intellectual property trends for the 21st century, 5) management of intellectual property assets - in relation with the new current in the U.S. Patent Act, 6) comparative study of examination guidelines for computer-related inventions between the United States and Japan, 7) management of intellectual properties and business law aspects in the technology innovation times - examples in Seattle where IT and bio-technologies are originated from, 8) patents and bio-technical inventions, and 9) new movements in bio-technology patents. In Item 2), examples at MIT were studied on the way the organization should be to support the cooperation between industry and academia. The industry-academia cooperation is in action at various levels, not only in licensing, but also in the industrial liaison program, and consortiums. (NEDO)

Target validation for FCV technology development in Japan from energy competition point of view

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

ENDO Eiichi

2006-01-01

The objective of this work is to validate the technical targets in the governmental hydrogen energy road-map of Japan by analyzing market penetration of fuel cell vehicle(FCV)s and effects of fuel price and carbon tax on it from technology competition point of view. In this analysis, an energy system model of Japan based on MARKAL is used. The results of the analysis show that hydrogen FCVs could not have cost-competitiveness until 2030 without carbon tax, including the governmental actual plan of carbon tax. However, as the carbon tax rate increases, instead of conventional vehicles including gasoline hybrid electric vehicle, hydrogen FCVs penetrate to the market earlier and more. By assuming higher fuel price and severer carbon tax rate, market share of hydrogen FCVs approaches to the governmental goal. This suggests that cheaper vehicle cost and/or hydrogen price than those targeted in the road-map is required. At the same time, achievement of the technical targets in the road-map also allows to attain the market penetration target of hydrogen FCVs in some possible conditions. (authors)

Information on research in progress in Japan publication of 'Nuclear Science Information of Japan-Oral Presentation'

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Itabashi, Keizo; Nakajima, Hidemitsu; Yokoo, Hiroshi

1988-01-01

The new journal, 'Nuclear Science Information of Japan-Oral Presentation', which was entirely revised from the previous abstract journal called 'Nuclear Science Information of Japan' was introduced. This is to be published quaterly in principle and compiled information by oral presentation presented at main conferences, symposia and other kind of formal meetings in the field of nuclear science and technology in Japan. Not all of the oral presentation is always contributed later to a proceeding or a journal as a full paper in Japan. In some cases, the pre-conference paper might be a only publication of the oral presentation. In this meaning, this journal could be used as a search tool for the subjects and the projects of nuclear research and development in progress. (author)

Diazonium Chemistry for the Bio-Functionalization of Glassy Nanostring Resonator Arrays

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wei Zheng

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Resonant glassy nanostrings have been employed for the detection of biomolecules. These devices offer high sensitivity and amenability to large array integration and multiplexed assays. Such a concept has however been impaired by the lack of stable and biocompatible linker chemistries. Diazonium salt reduction-induced aryl grafting is an aqueous-based process providing strong chemical adhesion. In this work, diazonium-based linker chemistry was performed for the first time on glassy nanostrings, which enabled the bio-functionalization of such devices. Large arrays of nanostrings with ultra-narrow widths down to 10 nm were fabricated employing electron beam lithography. Diazonium modification was first developed on SiCN surfaces and validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Similarly modified nanostrings were then covalently functionalized with anti-rabbit IgG as a molecular probe. Specific enumeration of rabbit IgG was successfully performed through observation of downshifts of resonant frequencies. The specificity of this enumeration was confirmed through proper negative control experiments. Helium ion microscopy further verified the successful functionalization of nanostrings.

Diazonium Chemistry for the Bio-Functionalization of Glassy Nanostring Resonator Arrays.

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Wei; Du, Rongbing; Cao, Yong; Mohammad, Mohammad A; Dew, Steven K; McDermott, Mark T; Evoy, Stephane

2015-07-30

Resonant glassy nanostrings have been employed for the detection of biomolecules. These devices offer high sensitivity and amenability to large array integration and multiplexed assays. Such a concept has however been impaired by the lack of stable and biocompatible linker chemistries. Diazonium salt reduction-induced aryl grafting is an aqueous-based process providing strong chemical adhesion. In this work, diazonium-based linker chemistry was performed for the first time on glassy nanostrings, which enabled the bio-functionalization of such devices. Large arrays of nanostrings with ultra-narrow widths down to 10 nm were fabricated employing electron beam lithography. Diazonium modification was first developed on SiCN surfaces and validated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Similarly modified nanostrings were then covalently functionalized with anti-rabbit IgG as a molecular probe. Specific enumeration of rabbit IgG was successfully performed through observation of downshifts of resonant frequencies. The specificity of this enumeration was confirmed through proper negative control experiments. Helium ion microscopy further verified the successful functionalization of nanostrings.

Chem/bio sensing with non-classical light and integrated photonics.

Science.gov (United States)

Haas, J; Schwartz, M; Rengstl, U; Jetter, M; Michler, P; Mizaikoff, B

2018-01-29

Modern quantum technology currently experiences extensive advances in applicability in communications, cryptography, computing, metrology and lithography. Harnessing this technology platform for chem/bio sensing scenarios is an appealing opportunity enabling ultra-sensitive detection schemes. This is further facilliated by the progress in fabrication, miniaturization and integration of visible and infrared quantum photonics. Especially, the combination of efficient single-photon sources together with waveguiding/sensing structures, serving as active optical transducer, as well as advanced detector materials is promising integrated quantum photonic chem/bio sensors. Besides the intrinsic molecular selectivity and non-destructive character of visible and infrared light based sensing schemes, chem/bio sensors taking advantage of non-classical light sources promise sensitivities beyond the standard quantum limit. In the present review, recent achievements towards on-chip chem/bio quantum photonic sensing platforms based on N00N states are discussed along with appropriate recognition chemistries, facilitating the detection of relevant (bio)analytes at ultra-trace concentration levels. After evaluating recent developments in this field, a perspective for a potentially promising sensor testbed is discussed for reaching integrated quantum sensing with two fiber-coupled GaAs chips together with semiconductor quantum dots serving as single-photon sources.

Research on determination of bio-burden for radiation sterilization of health care products

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Qinfang

2008-01-01

In order to provide data of bio-burden for dose setting in radiation sterilization, determination of bio-burden on 148 kinds of health care products from 52 manufacturers were carried out. The culture of microorganisms, different elution technology, and correction coefficient of the microbiological methods have been used for determination of bio-burden. Frequent distribution of bio-burden was established. 5 kinds of elution processes were checked. Actual data of bio-burden for dose setting in radiation sterilization was gotten. (authors)

LIMITATIONS OF LEGAL ENFORCEMENT IN BIO – MEDICAL WASTE MANAGEMENT IN INDIA

OpenAIRE

Pavithra Kumari

2017-01-01

Bio medical is generated by the hospital during the diagnosis, treatment of human beings or animals. The form of biomedical waste is solid as well as liquid form. The basic components of bio medical waste consist of human anatomical waste, micro biology and bio technology waste, waste sharps, discarded medicines and cytotoxic drugs, soiled waste, solid waste, liquid waste generated from any of the infected areas, animal waste, incineration ash, chemical waste etc. The bio medical waste gener...

Recent trends in global production and utilization of bio-ethanol fuel

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Balat, Mustafa; Balat, Havva

2009-01-01

Bio-fuels are important because they replace petroleum fuels. A number of environmental and economic benefits are claimed for bio-fuels. Bio-ethanol is by far the most widely used bio-fuel for transportation worldwide. Production of bio-ethanol from biomass is one way to reduce both consumption of crude oil and environmental pollution. Using bio-ethanol blended gasoline fuel for automobiles can significantly reduce petroleum use and exhaust greenhouse gas emission. Bio-ethanol can be produced from different kinds of raw materials. These raw materials are classified into three categories of agricultural raw materials: simple sugars, starch and lignocellulose. Bio-ethanol from sugar cane, produced under the proper conditions, is essentially a clean fuel and has several clear advantages over petroleum-derived gasoline in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality in metropolitan areas. Conversion technologies for producing bio-ethanol from cellulosic biomass resources such as forest materials, agricultural residues and urban wastes are under development and have not yet been demonstrated commercially.

Liquid Bio fuels: Vegetable Oils and Bi oethanol

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ballesteros, M.; Ballesteros, I.; Oliva, J. M.; Navarro, A. A.

1998-01-01

The European energy policy has defined clear objectives to reduce the high dependency on fossil petroleum imports, and to increase the security of sustainable energy supply for the transport sector. Moreover, the European environmental policy is requesting clean fuels that reduce environmental risks. Liquid Bio fuels (vegetable oils and bio ethanol) appear to be in a good position to contribute to achieve these goals expressed by the established objective of European Union to reach for bio fuels a market share of 5% of motor vehicle consumption. This work presents the current state and perspectives of the production and utilisation of liquid fuels from agricultural sources by reviewing agricultural feedstocks for energy sector, conversion technologies and different ways to use bio fuels. Environmental and economical aspects are also briefly analysed. (Author) 10 refs

BioCreative V BioC track overview: collaborative biocurator assistant task for BioGRID.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Sun; Islamaj Doğan, Rezarta; Chatr-Aryamontri, Andrew; Chang, Christie S; Oughtred, Rose; Rust, Jennifer; Batista-Navarro, Riza; Carter, Jacob; Ananiadou, Sophia; Matos, Sérgio; Santos, André; Campos, David; Oliveira, José Luís; Singh, Onkar; Jonnagaddala, Jitendra; Dai, Hong-Jie; Su, Emily Chia-Yu; Chang, Yung-Chun; Su, Yu-Chen; Chu, Chun-Han; Chen, Chien Chin; Hsu, Wen-Lian; Peng, Yifan; Arighi, Cecilia; Wu, Cathy H; Vijay-Shanker, K; Aydın, Ferhat; Hüsünbeyi, Zehra Melce; Özgür, Arzucan; Shin, Soo-Yong; Kwon, Dongseop; Dolinski, Kara; Tyers, Mike; Wilbur, W John; Comeau, Donald C

2016-01-01

BioC is a simple XML format for text, annotations and relations, and was developed to achieve interoperability for biomedical text processing. Following the success of BioC in BioCreative IV, the BioCreative V BioC track addressed a collaborative task to build an assistant system for BioGRID curation. In this paper, we describe the framework of the collaborative BioC task and discuss our findings based on the user survey. This track consisted of eight subtasks including gene/protein/organism named entity recognition, protein-protein/genetic interaction passage identification and annotation visualization. Using BioC as their data-sharing and communication medium, nine teams, world-wide, participated and contributed either new methods or improvements of existing tools to address different subtasks of the BioC track. Results from different teams were shared in BioC and made available to other teams as they addressed different subtasks of the track. In the end, all submitted runs were merged using a machine learning classifier to produce an optimized output. The biocurator assistant system was evaluated by four BioGRID curators in terms of practical usability. The curators' feedback was overall positive and highlighted the user-friendly design and the convenient gene/protein curation tool based on text mining.Database URL: http://www.biocreative.org/tasks/biocreative-v/track-1-bioc/. Published by Oxford University Press 2016. This work is written by US Government employees and is in the public domain in the US.

Bio-inspired composites with functionally graded platelets exhibit enhanced stiffness.

Science.gov (United States)

Tapse, Sanjay; S, Anup

2017-11-09

Unidirectional composites inspired from biological materials such as nacre, are composed of stiff platelets arranged in a staggered manner within a soft matrix. Elaborate analyses have been conducted on the aforementioned composites and they are found to have excellent mechanical properties like stiffness, strength and fracture toughness. The superior properties exhibited by these composites have been proved to be the result of its unique structure. An emerging development in the field of composite structures is Functionally Graded Composites(FGC), whose properties vary spatially and possess enhanced thermo-mechanical properties. In this paper, the platelets are functionally graded with its Young's Modulus varying parabolically along the length. Two different models - namely, Tension Shear Chain Model and Minimisation of Complementary Energy Model have been employed to obtain the stiffness of the overall composite analytically. The effect of various parameters that define the composite model such as overlapping length between any two neighbouring platelets, different gradation parameters and platelet aspect ratio on the overall mechanical properties have been studied. Composites with functionally graded platelets are found to possess enhanced stiffness (upto 14% higher) for certain values of these parameters. The obtained solutions have been validated using Finite Element Analysis. Bio-inspired composites with functionally graded platelets can be engineered for structural applications, such as in automobile, aerospace and aircraft industry, where stiffness plays a crucial role. © 2017 IOP Publishing Ltd.

Bio politics - The bio-environment - bio-culture of the Danube

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vlavianos-Arvanitis, A.

1997-01-01

The bio-environment has been the single most important correlation in human history and can successfully promote international co-operational co-operation and understanding. With the construction of a network for collaboration, the 'Danube Countries' can come together in celebration of their culture and heritage. As the Danube flows from the Black Forest to the Black Sea, it carries messages of peace, hope and co-operation. Applying these messages to every endeavour can improve our quality of life and lead to a brighter future. Since its inception in 1985, the Bio politics International Organization (B.I.O.) has been labouring to raise awareness of the urgent need to instate a new system of norms and principles, compatible with sound environmental management and with the most important task of ensuring global literacy on environmental issues. Along with critically re-assessing the concept of profit, the goal is to adopt a system of bio centric values, where respect for the bio-environment will govern our every action and thought

Challenge to the enhancement of LWRs in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Inoue, T.

1996-01-01

Japan was way behind western countries in nuclear power development. This is partly because of the defeat in the second world war which bound Japan to the ban on nuclear power development. As a result, Japan was obliged to take the policy of introducing the power reactor, and its technology, from overseas advanced countries in order to promote the development of power reactors for its own country. (orig.)

History and structure of Japan-US nuclear alliance

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yoshioka, Hitoshi

2011-01-01

'Japan-US nuclear alliance' for civil use of nuclear energy was used here as technical term for the state Japanese commercial power plants were all water-cooled reactors under the US nuclear engineering umbrella and US admitted Japanese development of all 'SNT: sensitive nuclear technology' in the area of nuclear fuel cycle. 'Japan-US alliance' was used for various areas closely related with national security while 'Japan-US nuclear weapon alliance' was for military use of nuclear energy such as nuclear weapon (transport methods included) and counter weapon system. Military and civil use of nuclear energy relied fundamentally on common technical bases and especially nuclear fuel cycle related technologies were directly connected to both uses and called 'SNT'. Japanese nuclear policy sticking to SNT might come from the axiom: nuclear engineering for national security, that meant Japan refrained from nuclear arms but maintained technical and industrial potential of nuclear arms. This could be called 'nuclear arms standby strategy' and derived from compromise of both countries to play role of stabilizer of 'Japan-US alliance'. History of Japanese nuclear power development could be well understood as formation process of 'Japan-US nuclear alliance'. If Fukushima Daiichi accident forced nuclear power to phase out, nuclear fuel cycle would be obliged to terminate. This meant failure of the axiom and dissolution of 'Japan-US nuclear alliance'. (T. Tanaka)

Characterization of bio char derived from tapioca skin

Science.gov (United States)

Hasnan, F. I.; Iamail, K. N.; Musa, M.; Jaapar, J.; Alwi, H.; Hamid, K. K. K.

2018-03-01

Pyrolysis of tapioca skin was conducted to produce bio chars in the range between 500°C–800°C. Surface modification treatment were performed on bio chars by using chemicals within 24 hours at 30°C and hot water within 1 hour to enhance the bio char’s adsorption properties according to surface area, pore volume, pore size, crystallinity structure and functional groups. The samples were characterized by using BET, XRD, FTIR and Methylene Blue adsorption. Based on BET result, it showed the surface area increased as the pyrolysis temperature increased followed by pore volume and pore size for S0. The optimum temperature for SNaOH, SHW and SMeOH was at 600°C, 700°C and 800°C with the surface area of 75.9874, 274.5066 and 351.5531 m2/g respectively compared to S0 while SP3HO4 has the worst result since it felt on macroporous structure. The percentage of MB adsorption was followed the size of bio chars surface area. Based on FTIR result, at temperature 500°C to 700°C, the bio chars still have functional groups while at 800°C, many functional groups were diminished due to high temperature struck on them. XRD result showed all the bio chars were amorphous. In conclusion, the best surface modification treatment was by Methanol followed by hot water and Sodium Hydroxide at temperature of 700°C and 800°C while Ortho-Phosphoric acid was the worst one and was not suitable for bio char’s surface modification for adsorption purpose.

BioN∅T: A searchable database of biomedical negated sentences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agarwal Shashank

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Negated biomedical events are often ignored by text-mining applications; however, such events carry scientific significance. We report on the development of BioN∅T, a database of negated sentences that can be used to extract such negated events. Description Currently BioN∅T incorporates ≈32 million negated sentences, extracted from over 336 million biomedical sentences from three resources: ≈2 million full-text biomedical articles in Elsevier and the PubMed Central, as well as ≈20 million abstracts in PubMed. We evaluated BioN∅T on three important genetic disorders: autism, Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, and found that BioN∅T is able to capture negated events that may be ignored by experts. Conclusions The BioN∅T database can be a useful resource for biomedical researchers. BioN∅T is freely available at http://bionot.askhermes.org/. In future work, we will develop semantic web related technologies to enrich BioN∅T.

Status of the HTGR development program in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Saito, S.

1991-01-01

According to the revision of the Long-Term Program for Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy issued by the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission, High Temperature Engineering Test Reactor (HTTR), which is the first HTGR in Japan, will be constructed by the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) in order to establish and upgrade the technology basis for an HTGR, serving at the same time as a potential tool for new and innovative basic research. The budget for the construction of the HTTR was approved by the Government and JAERI is now proceeding with the construction design of the HTTR, focussing the first criticality in the end of FY 1995. In order to establish and upgrade HTGR technology basis systematically and efficiently, and also to carry out innovative basic research on high temperature technologies, Japan will perform necessary R and D mainly at JAERI, which is a leading organization of the R and D. In addition, in order to promote the R and D on HTGRs more efficiently, Japan will promote the existing international cooperation with the research organizations in foreign countries. (author). 5 figs, 3 tabs

A review of fast reactor program in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1992-01-01

In accordance with the Long-term Program for Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy defined by the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) is playing the key role in the development of a plutonium utilization system by fast breeder reactor (FBR), which is superior to the uranium utilization system by light water reactor, aiming to achieve future stable long-term energy supply and energy security of Japan. The experimental reactor Joyo, located in the O-arai Engineering Center (OEC) of PNC, has provided abundant experimental data and excellent operational records attaining 43,500 hours operation in total by the end of 1991, since its first criticality in 1977. On the prototype reactor Monju, 97.6% of construction works has already been completed and the function tests are in progress aiming at the initial criticality by the end of FY 1992. As for the demonstration fast breeder reactor (DFBR) of Japan, the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) is promoting design study under the contracts with several leading Japanese fabricators, including Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for selection of the basic specifications of DFBR. The related research and development (R and D) works are underway at several organizations under the discussion and coordination of the Japanese FBR R and D Steering Committee, which was established by the JAPAC, PNC, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI). Progress of the design study and the related R and D are reported to the Subcommittee on FBR Development Program of JAEC. Recent major emphases on the PNC R and D are placed on the integrated feedback of all existing R and D results and experiences to the development of demonstration reactor. Furthermore, the overall functional and performance tests of Monju, is another important key role to attain further excellency of FBR technology, with

A review of fast reactor program in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

1992-07-01

In accordance with the Long-term Program for Development and Utilization of Nuclear Energy defined by the Japan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC), Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation (PNC) is playing the key role in the development of a plutonium utilization system by fast breeder reactor (FBR), which is superior to the uranium utilization system by light water reactor, aiming to achieve future stable long-term energy supply and energy security of Japan. The experimental reactor Joyo, located in the O-arai Engineering Center (OEC) of PNC, has provided abundant experimental data and excellent operational records attaining 43,500 hours operation in total by the end of 1991, since its first criticality in 1977. On the prototype reactor Monju, 97.6% of construction works has already been completed and the function tests are in progress aiming at the initial criticality by the end of FY 1992. As for the demonstration fast breeder reactor (DFBR) of Japan, the Japan Atomic Power Company (JAPC) is promoting design study under the contracts with several leading Japanese fabricators, including Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for selection of the basic specifications of DFBR. The related research and development (R and D) works are underway at several organizations under the discussion and coordination of the Japanese FBR R and D Steering Committee, which was established by the JAPAC, PNC, Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI). Progress of the design study and the related R and D are reported to the Subcommittee on FBR Development Program of JAEC. Recent major emphases on the PNC R and D are placed on the integrated feedback of all existing R and D results and experiences to the development of demonstration reactor. Furthermore, the overall functional and performance tests of Monju, is another important key role to attain further excellency of FBR technology, with

Fiscal 1999 leading research report. Research on 3-D cell tissue module technology; 1999 nendo sanjigen saibo soshiki module kogaku chosa kenkyu hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

For forming cell tissues alternative to bio-tissues, this research targets the technology for forming bio-tissue modules by cultivating 3-D cell tissues from various kinds of cells. In fiscal 1999, research was made on various issues of element technologies necessary for forming module structure of bio-tissues, and study was also made on the application of 3-D cell tissue module engineering to industrial fields. Survey was made on element technologies and solutions supporting such engineering, and in addition, on progressive conditions of cell cultivation techniques, and concrete techniques for expressing cell functions. Research was made on a cell behavior under physicochemical stimulus environment to study the optimum environment for cell multiplication and function expression. Further research was made on state analysis of cells, in particular, fast precise measurement techniques of activation or malignant of cells and secretion of toxic substances by physical/optical analytical evaluation techniques such as photo-CT and spectroscopic analysis, and biochemical analysis techniques using bio-sensors. Study was also made on successful development and application cases of practical bio-artificial organs in western countries. (NEDO)

Minimally Processed Functional Foods: Technological and Operational Pathways.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodgers, Svetlana

2016-10-01

This paper offers a concise review of technical and operational concepts underpinning commercialization of minimally processed functional foods (FFs), foods with fresh-like qualities commanding premium prices. The growing number of permitted nutritional content/health claims, many of which relate to well-being, coupled with emerging extraction and food processing technologies offers new exciting opportunities for small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) specializing in fresh produce to play an active role in the health market. Supporting SMEs, governments could benefit from savings in healthcare costs and value creation in the economy. Consumers could benefit from novel FF formats such as refrigerated RTE (ready-to-eat) meals, a variety of fresh-like meat-, fish-, and egg-based products, fresh-cut fruits and vegetables, cereal-based fermented foods and beverages. To preserve these valuable commodities, mild biological (enzymatic treatment, fermentation and, bio-preservation) and engineering solutions are needed. The latter include nonthermal techniques such as high-pressure treatment, cook-chill, sous-vide, mirco-encapsulation, vacuum impregnation and others. "De-constructive" culinary techniques such as 3D food printing and molecular gastronomy as well as developments in nutrigenomics and digital technologies facilitate novel product formats, personalization and access to niche markets. In the operational sense, moving from nourishment to health improvement demands a shift from defensive market-oriented to offensive market-developing strategies including collaborative networks with research organizations. © 2016 Institute of Food Technologists®.

Applications of shape memory alloys in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Asai, M.; Suzuki, Y.

2000-01-01

In Japan, a first application of shape memory TiNi alloy was a moving flap in an air-conditioner which was developed as sensing function of shape memory alloy at Matsushista Electric Industrial Co. Then, shape memory utilized in a coffee maker, an electric rice-cooker, a thermal mixing valve and etc. were commercialized in Japan. And brassiere wires, a guide wire for medical treatment, an antenna for portable telephone and others were commercialized utilizing superelasticity. At the same time with these commercial products, there was not only progress in fabrication technology to effect accurate transformation temperature, but also the discovery of small hysteresis alloy such as R-phase or TiNiCu alloy and low transformation temperature alloy such as TiNiFe, TiNiV and TiNiCo alloys. Therefore the shape memory alloy market has expanded widely to electric appliances, automobile, residence, medical care and other field today. (orig.)

Establishment of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okazaki, Toshio

2006-01-01

A goal of the 21. century is for society to pursue 'sustainable economic development and prosperous life by recycling resources', thus rejecting 'development based on the waste of resources'. For Japan, which has limited energy resources, it is important to secure safe, inexpensive, environmentally friendly energy resources having long-term availability. To contribute to long-term energy security and solve global environmental issues, and to create advanced competitive science and technology, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) was established by integrating the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) and the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development Institute (JNC) in October 2005. JAEA is endeavoring to establish nuclear fuel cycles, to contribute to social improvement through hydrogen production initiated by atomic energy, and to pursue research and development of thermonuclear fusion and quantum beam technology. This paper reviews the main R and D activities of JAEA. The structure of the paper is the following: 1. Introduction; 2. Japan Atomic Energy Agency; 3. Efforts to Commercialize the Fast Reactor Cycle; 4. Monju Progress; 5. Geological Disposal of High-Level Radioactive Waste R and D; 6. High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor System R and D; 7. Fusion Research and Development; 8. LWR Spent Fuel Reprocessing Technology; 9. Quantum Beam Technologies; 10. Nuclear Safety Research and Regulatory Applications; 11. Basic Science and Engineering Research; 12. Contribution to the Enhanced International Nonproliferation Regimes; 13. Conclusions. To summarize, JAEA will promote the above R and D activities, addressing the following commitments: - On problems that atomic energy faces, we shall extend technical assistance in response to the government and the industrial sectors. - We shall produce technical options to attain political goals to secure medium to long-term stable energy supplies and to solve global environmental issues. - With the high potentials of atomic

Optimum concrete compression strength using bio-enzyme

OpenAIRE

Bagio Tony Hartono; Basoeki Makno; Tistogondo Julistyana; Pradana Sofyan Ali

2017-01-01

To make concrete with high compressive strength and has a certain concrete specifications other than the main concrete materials are also needed concrete mix quality control and other added material is also in line with the current technology of concrete mix that produces concrete with specific characteristics. Addition of bio enzyme on five concrete mixture that will be compared with normal concrete in order to know the optimum level bio-enzyme in concrete to increase the strength of the con...

Brucella BioR Regulator Defines a Complex Regulatory Mechanism for Bacterial Biotin Metabolism

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jie; Zhang, Huimin; Srinivas, Swaminath

2013-01-01

The enzyme cofactor biotin (vitamin H or B7) is an energetically expensive molecule whose de novo biosynthesis requires 20 ATP equivalents. It seems quite likely that diverse mechanisms have evolved to tightly regulate its biosynthesis. Unlike the model regulator BirA, a bifunctional biotin protein ligase with the capability of repressing the biotin biosynthetic pathway, BioR has been recently reported by us as an alternative machinery and a new type of GntR family transcriptional factor that can repress the expression of the bioBFDAZ operon in the plant pathogen Agrobacterium tumefaciens. However, quite unusually, a closely related human pathogen, Brucella melitensis, has four putative BioR-binding sites (both bioR and bioY possess one site in the promoter region, whereas the bioBFDAZ [bio] operon contains two tandem BioR boxes). This raised the question of whether BioR mediates the complex regulatory network of biotin metabolism. Here, we report that this is the case. The B. melitensis BioR ortholog was overexpressed and purified to homogeneity, and its solution structure was found to be dimeric. Functional complementation in a bioR isogenic mutant of A. tumefaciens elucidated that Brucella BioR is a functional repressor. Electrophoretic mobility shift assays demonstrated that the four predicted BioR sites of Brucella plus the BioR site of A. tumefaciens can all interact with the Brucella BioR protein. In a reporter strain that we developed on the basis of a double mutant of A. tumefaciens (the ΔbioR ΔbioBFDA mutant), the β-galactosidase (β-Gal) activity of three plasmid-borne transcriptional fusions (bioBbme-lacZ, bioYbme-lacZ, and bioRbme-lacZ) was dramatically decreased upon overexpression of Brucella bioR. Real-time quantitative PCR analyses showed that the expression of bioBFDA and bioY is significantly elevated upon removal of bioR from B. melitensis. Together, we conclude that Brucella BioR is not only a negative autoregulator but also a repressor of

Bio-based hyperbranched thermosetting polyurethane/triethanolamine functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube nanocomposites as shape memory materials.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalita, Hemjyoti; Karak, Niranjan

2014-07-01

Here, bio-based shape memory polymers have generated immense interest in recent times. Here, Bio-based hyperbranched polyurethane/triethanolamine functionalized multi-walled carbon nanotube (TEA-f-MWCNT) nanocomposites were prepared by in-situ pre-polymerization technique. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and the transmission electron microscopic studies showed the strong interfacial adhesion and the homogeneous distribution of TEA-f-MWCNT in the polyurethane matrix. The prepared epoxy cured thermosetting nanocomposites exhibited enhanced tensile strength (6.5-34.5 MPa), scratch hardness (3.0-7.5 kg) and thermal stability (241-288 degrees C). The nanocomposites showed excellent shape fixity and shape recovery. The shape recovery time decreases (24-10 s) with the increase of TEA-f-MWCNT content in the nanocomposites. Thus the studied nanocomposites have potential to be used as advanced shape memory materials.

Status of SCRF cavity and ADS development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yamamoto, Akira

2011-01-01

SCRF cavity technology has progressed with high-energy particle accelerator programs in Japan. It was first applied for TRISTAN program at KEK, in early 1980s, and it is expected to be a key technology to realize the next energy-frontier lepton collider such as ILC, and/or intensity-frontier proton accelerators hopefully to be realized in Japan. The JPARC project as a joint program between JAEA and KEK is scoping to realize ADS program with the linac upgrade using a superconducting cavity system, as a future program. The talk will cover an overview of the SCRF cavity development and the ADS development in Japan. (author)

Catalytic Hydrogenation of Bio-Oil for Chemicals and Fuels

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Elliott, Douglas C.

2006-02-14

The scope of work includes optimizing processing conditions and demonstrating catalyst lifetime for catalyst formulations that are readily scaleable to commercial operations. We use a bench-scale, continuous-flow, packed-bed, catalytic, tubular reactor, which can be operated in the range of 100-400 mL/hr., from 50-400 C and up to 20MPa (see Figure 1). With this unit we produce upgraded bio-oil from whole bio-oil or useful bio-oil fractions, specifically pyrolytic lignin. The product oils are fractionated, for example by distillation, for recovery of chemical product streams. Other products from our tests have been used in further testing in petroleum refining technology at UOP and fractionation for product recovery in our own lab. Further scale-up of the technology is envisioned and we will carry out or support process design efforts with industrial partners, such as UOP.

Insights into software development in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Duvall, Lorraine M.

1992-01-01

The interdependence of the U.S.-Japanese economies makes it imperative that we in the United States understand how business and technology developments take place in Japan. We can gain insight into these developments in software engineering by studying the context in which Japanese software is developed, the practices that are used, the problems encountered, the setting surrounding these problems, and the resolution of these problems. Context includes the technological and sociological characteristics of the software development environment, the software processes applied, personnel involved in the development process, and the corporate and social culture surrounding the development. Presented in this paper is a summary of results of a study that addresses these issues. Data for this study was collected during a three month visit to Japan where the author interviewed 20 software managers representing nine companies involved in developing software in Japan. These data are compared to similar data from the United States in which 12 managers from five companies were interviewed.

The DBCLS BioHackathon: standardization and interoperability for bioinformatics web services and workflows. The DBCLS BioHackathon Consortium*

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katayama Toshiaki

2010-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Web services have become a key technology for bioinformatics, since life science databases are globally decentralized and the exponential increase in the amount of available data demands for efficient systems without the need to transfer entire databases for every step of an analysis. However, various incompatibilities among database resources and analysis services make it difficult to connect and integrate these into interoperable workflows. To resolve this situation, we invited domain specialists from web service providers, client software developers, Open Bio* projects, the BioMoby project and researchers of emerging areas where a standard exchange data format is not well established, for an intensive collaboration entitled the BioHackathon 2008. The meeting was hosted by the Database Center for Life Science (DBCLS and Computational Biology Research Center (CBRC and was held in Tokyo from February 11th to 15th, 2008. In this report we highlight the work accomplished and the common issues arisen from this event, including the standardization of data exchange formats and services in the emerging fields of glycoinformatics, biological interaction networks, text mining, and phyloinformatics. In addition, common shared object development based on BioSQL, as well as technical challenges in large data management, asynchronous services, and security are discussed. Consequently, we improved interoperability of web services in several fields, however, further cooperation among major database centers and continued collaborative efforts between service providers and software developers are still necessary for an effective advance in bioinformatics web service technologies.

Overcoming barriers to increased bio-energy use. Suggestions for a high impact policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chanakya, H.N.; Ravindranath, N.H.

1997-01-01

A few options that are likely to result in a high impact policy towards ensuring increased use of bio-energy in the developing world are discussed. Such options are: Moving towards greater energy security /guarantee, bio-energy technology transfer platforms, documentation in bio-energy businesses, removing risk perceptions in financing, increasing private entrepreneur stakes, etc. (K.A.)

Envirobiosens. New trends in bio-sensing for environmental applications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alcock, S. [Cranfield Biothechnology Centre, Cranfield University (United Kingdom); Cosnier, S. [Universite Joseph-Fourier, Grenoble I, Lab. d' Electrochimie Organique et de Photochimie Redox, UMR CNRS 5630, 38 (France); Magner, E. [Limerick University, Dept. of Chemical and Environmental Sciences (Ireland)] [and others

2000-07-01

The development of useful sensor systems to monitor multiple pollutants is needed for many environmental applications like the pollution monitoring and processing. The advantages of chemical sensors, bio-sensors and bio-mimetic systems should be exploited to fill specific niche applications in environmental engineering. Sensors offer particular advantages as they can be used for rapid field assessment of pollution risks, including the effects of pollutant mixtures. This conference reviews the current state of the art for bio-sensors operating in the environment and in environmental processes to develop bio-sensors practical applications in the environmental technology. The papers are presented in three parts: enzymatic sensors for environmental monitoring; affinity sensors for environmental application; cell and tissue sensors for environmental analysis, future prospects. (A.L.B.)

Ethical, social and public awareness issues in gene therapy EuropaBio.

Science.gov (United States)

2002-01-01

EuropaBio, the European Association for Bio-industries, represents 40 corporate members operating world wide and 14 national associations (totaling up to 700 small- and medium-sized enterprises) involved in research, development, testing, manufacturing, sales, and distribution of biotechnology-derived products and services in the field of health cae, agriculture, food, and the environment. AGE is a group of researchers and university professors involved in high-level professional activities related to bioethics, and particularly interested in ethical issues related to the development and use of modern technology. It is essential that industry actively participates in, and contributes to, the social debate on emerging technologies. Therefore, EuropaBio presents herein its view on gene therapy and its responsible development and use.

State-space models for bio-loggers: A methodological road map

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonsen, I.D.; Basson, M.; Bestley, S.

2012-01-01

Ecologists have an unprecedented array of bio-logging technologies available to conduct in situ studies of horizontal and vertical movement patterns of marine animals. These tracking data provide key information about foraging, migratory, and other behaviours that can be linked with bio-physical...... development of state-space modelling approaches for animal movement data provides statistical rigor for inferring hidden behavioural states, relating these states to bio-physical data, and ultimately for predicting the potential impacts of climate change. Despite the widespread utility, and current popularity...

The progress and trends in the nucleonic gauge technology: Experience and contribution of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tominaga, H.

2000-01-01

Most of major nucleonic gauges in Japan have already passed the period of saturation in number of use in big industries. On the other hand, however, small gauges with low activity sources are expected to increasingly diffuse into smaller industries. There have been so far more unique gauges and more interesting applications in small gauges using low activity sources, which are free from legal regulation. Still at present new applications with advanced technology are being developed using such small sources. Description is given on the current status of nucleonic gauges with emphasis on development of new techniques and applications. (author)

Changes in Mothers' Psychosocial Perceptions of Technology-dependent Children and Adolescents at Home in Japan: Acknowledgement of Children's Autonomy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaori Nishigaki, RN, PHN, PhD

2016-06-01

Conclusions: First, mothers gradually accepted the conditions of their child after his/her disease and disability were known. Second, others managed technology-required care and concurrently considered the social participation of their child through daily care at home. Third, the level of preoccupation with the child was affected by the mothers' management of care and their attitude towards the social participation of their child in home care. In this study, as is widely alleged in historical recognition of Japan, mothers provided daily care almost without help from other family members. Additionally, they thought it natural and good for their children. Above all, especially in Japan, professional support for mothers are necessary so that they can take breaks from care.

Liquid hydrogen in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Yasumi, S. [Iwatani Corp., Osaka (Japan). Dept. of Overseas Business Development

2009-07-01

Japan's Iwatani Corporation has focused its attention on hydrogen as the ultimate energy source in future. Unlike the United States, hydrogen use and delivery in liquid form is extremely limited in the European Union and in Japan. Iwatani Corporation broke through industry stereotypes by creating and building Hydro Edge Co. Ltd., Japan's largest liquid hydrogen plant. It was established in 2006 as a joint venture between Iwatani and Kansai Electric Power Group in Osaka. Hydro Edge is Japan's first combined liquid hydrogen and ASU plant, and is fully operational. Liquid oxygen, liquid nitrogen and liquid argon are separated from air using the cryogenic energy of liquefied natural gas fuel that is used for power generation. Liquid hydrogen is produced efficiently and simultaneously using liquid nitrogen. Approximately 12 times as much hydrogen in liquid form can be transported and supplied as pressurized hydrogen gas. This technology is a significant step forward in the dissemination and expansion of hydrogen in a hydrogen-based economy.

Inventing Japan's 'robotics culture': the repeated assembly of science, technology, and culture in social robotics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sabanović, Selma

2014-06-01

Using interviews, participant observation, and published documents, this article analyzes the co-construction of robotics and culture in Japan through the technical discourse and practices of robotics researchers. Three cases from current robotics research--the seal-like robot PARO, the Humanoid Robotics Project HRP-2 humanoid, and 'kansei robotics' - show the different ways in which scientists invoke culture to provide epistemological grounding and possibilities for social acceptance of their work. These examples show how the production and consumption of social robotic technologies are associated with traditional crafts and values, how roboticists negotiate among social, technical, and cultural constraints while designing robots, and how humans and robots are constructed as cultural subjects in social robotics discourse. The conceptual focus is on the repeated assembly of cultural models of social behavior, organization, cognition, and technology through roboticists' narratives about the development of advanced robotic technologies. This article provides a picture of robotics as the dynamic construction of technology and culture and concludes with a discussion of the limits and possibilities of this vision in promoting a culturally situated understanding of technology and a multicultural view of science.

Leading research report for fiscal 1999. Survey and research on microparticle control process technology; 1999 nendo micro ryushi seigyo process gijutsu no chosa kenkyu hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-03-01

For the functional upgrading of electronic equipment which will support the computerized society in the 21st century, a substance itself is required to exhibit novel functions or to behave better on a reduced amount. Dependence on the synthesis of new materials alone has its own limit, but a method of reducing the substances conventionally known for their safety into particles of the nanometer scale will be one of the solutions. Micro-science and micro-technology are in progress in Japan and abroad, which mainly deal with particles 10nm-100nm in size. To make better use of the functions of substances, there should be single nanoparticles 1nm-10nm in size. Such particles are easy to coagulate, however, and it is difficult to keep them in their nanometer-scale single state free of coagulation. If Japan succeeds in the development of 1nm-10nm size nanoparticle structurizing technology and manufacturing technology utilizing this technology, Japan will have a clear advantage over other countries in the world in the domain of nanoparticle engineering. The survey and research described in this report aim to review the trends of technologies for nanoparticle composition and functionalization and to clarify the course that Japan is to follow in the development of technologies concerned. (NEDO)

Bio and health informatics meets cloud : BioVLab as an example.

Science.gov (United States)

Chae, Heejoon; Jung, Inuk; Lee, Hyungro; Marru, Suresh; Lee, Seong-Whan; Kim, Sun

2013-01-01

The exponential increase of genomic data brought by the advent of the next or the third generation sequencing (NGS) technologies and the dramatic drop in sequencing cost have driven biological and medical sciences to data-driven sciences. This revolutionary paradigm shift comes with challenges in terms of data transfer, storage, computation, and analysis of big bio/medical data. Cloud computing is a service model sharing a pool of configurable resources, which is a suitable workbench to address these challenges. From the medical or biological perspective, providing computing power and storage is the most attractive feature of cloud computing in handling the ever increasing biological data. As data increases in size, many research organizations start to experience the lack of computing power, which becomes a major hurdle in achieving research goals. In this paper, we review the features of publically available bio and health cloud systems in terms of graphical user interface, external data integration, security and extensibility of features. We then discuss about issues and limitations of current cloud systems and conclude with suggestion of a biological cloud environment concept, which can be defined as a total workbench environment assembling computational tools and databases for analyzing bio/medical big data in particular application domains.

Bio-mimetic Flow Control

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Haecheon

2009-11-01

Bio-mimetic engineering or bio-mimetics is the application of biological methods and systems found in nature to the study and design of engineering systems and modern technology (from Wikipedia). The concept itself is old, but successful developments have been made recently, especially in the research field of flow control. The objective of flow control based on the bio-mimetic approach is to develop novel concepts for reducing drag, increasing lift and enhancing aerodynamic performance. For skin friction reduction, a few ideas have been suggested such as the riblet from shark, compliant surface from dolphin, microbubble injection and multiple front-body curvature from penguin, and V-shaped protrusion from sailfish. For form drag reduction, several new attempts have been also made recently. Examples include the V-shaped spanwise grooves from saguaro cactus, overall shape of box fish, longitudinal grooves on scallop shell, bill of swordfish, hooked comb on owl wing, trailing-edge protrusion on dragonfly wing, and fillet. For the enhancement of aerodynamic performance, focuses have been made on the birds, fish and insects: e.g., double layered feather of landing bird, leading-edge serration of humpback-whale flipper, pectoral fin of flying fish, long tail on swallowtail-butterfly wing, wing flapping motion of dragonfly, and alula in birds. Living animals adapt their bodies to better performance in multi purposes, but engineering requires single purpose in most cases. Therefore, bio-mimetic approaches often produce excellent results more than expected. However, they are sometimes based on people's wrong understanding of nature and produce unwanted results. Successes and failures from bio-mimetic approaches in flow control will be discussed in the presentation.

A brief review of extrusion-based tissue scaffold bio-printing.

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Liqun; Chen, Xiongbiao

2017-08-01

Extrusion-based bio-printing has great potential as a technique for manipulating biomaterials and living cells to create three-dimensional (3D) scaffolds for damaged tissue repair and function restoration. Over the last two decades, advances in both engineering techniques and life sciences have evolved extrusion-based bio-printing from a simple technique to one able to create diverse tissue scaffolds from a wide range of biomaterials and cell types. However, the complexities associated with synthesis of materials for bio-printing and manipulation of multiple materials and cells in bio-printing pose many challenges for scaffold fabrication. This paper presents an overview of extrusion-based bio-printing for scaffold fabrication, focusing on the prior-printing considerations (such as scaffold design and materials/cell synthesis), working principles, comparison to other techniques, and to-date achievements. This paper also briefly reviews the recent development of strategies with regard to hydrogel synthesis, multi-materials/cells manipulation, and process-induced cell damage in extrusion-based bio-printing. The key issue and challenges for extrusion-based bio-printing are also identified and discussed along with recommendations for future, aimed at developing novel biomaterials and bio-printing systems, creating patterned vascular networks within scaffolds, and preserving the cell viability and functions in scaffold bio-printing. The address of these challenges will significantly enhance the capability of extrusion-based bio-printing. Copyright © 2017 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Outline in 1997 Japan compound material academic meeting technological prize winning technology. Kenchiku, doboku kozobutsu no hoshu[center dot]hokyo yo forukatousito no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iba, Yoshitomo.; Uemura, Masahiko.; Murakami, Shinkichi.; Saito, Makoto.; Kobayashi, Akira. (Nittetsu Composite Corp., Tokyo (Japan))

1999-03-15

That function declines in the sutra time target, and it is finally destroyed, or a construction structure thing bears putting off that life by managing efficient maintenance it is possible. The factor of the function decline of the structure thing, the degree of the decline, and so on are grasped quantitatively, and efficient repair reinforcement time and a method of construction are chosen, and you must carry it out for that. It is paying attention to the development of the method of construction to reinforce the maintenance repair of the construction structure thing by using the tip compound factor from such a viewpoint. In the beginning, a material cost was very expensive, and the recognition not to use it was very general in such a construction field. In such recognition, in Tonen Corp. incorporated company, it has paid attention to the use possibility in the construction field of the tip compound factor since early, research and development have been done continuously from 1980, that It succeeds in, and it is the method of construction that a repair reinforces a concrete structure thing by the tip material that the method of construction which got the technological prize of the Japan compound material academic meeting in 1997 moved carbon fiber to the center. (NEDO)

Outline in 1997 Japan compound material academic meeting technological prize winning technology; Kenchiku, doboku kozobutsu no hoshu{center_dot}hokyo yo forukatousito no kaihatsu

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iba, Yoshitomo.; Uemura, Masahiko.; Murakami, Shinkichi.; Saito, Makoto.; Kobayashi, Akira. [Nittetsu Composite Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

1999-03-15

That function declines in the sutra time target, and it is finally destroyed, or a construction structure thing bears putting off that life by managing efficient maintenance it is possible. The factor of the function decline of the structure thing, the degree of the decline, and so on are grasped quantitatively, and efficient repair reinforcement time and a method of construction are chosen, and you must carry it out for that. It is paying attention to the development of the method of construction to reinforce the maintenance repair of the construction structure thing by using the tip compound factor from such a viewpoint. In the beginning, a material cost was very expensive, and the recognition not to use it was very general in such a construction field. In such recognition, in Tonen Corp. incorporated company, it has paid attention to the use possibility in the construction field of the tip compound factor since early, research and development have been done continuously from 1980, that It succeeds in, and it is the method of construction that a repair reinforces a concrete structure thing by the tip material that the method of construction which got the technological prize of the Japan compound material academic meeting in 1997 moved carbon fiber to the center. (NEDO)

Next-Generation Bio-Products Sowing the Seeds of Success for Sustainable Agriculture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henry Müller

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Plants have recently been recognized as meta-organisms due to a close symbiotic relationship with their microbiome. Comparable to humans and other eukaryotic hosts, plants also harbor a “second genome” that fulfills important host functions. These advances were driven by both “omics”-technologies guided by next-generation sequencing and microscopic insights. Additionally, these new results influence applied fields such as biocontrol and stress protection in agriculture, and new tools may impact (i the detection of new bio-resources for biocontrol and plant growth promotion, (ii the optimization of fermentation and formulation processes for biologicals, (iii stabilization of the biocontrol effect under field conditions, and (iv risk assessment studies for biotechnological applications. Examples are presented and discussed for the fields mentioned above, and next-generation bio-products were found as a sustainable alternative for agriculture.

Perspectives on Resource Recovery from Bio-Based Production Processes: From Concept to Implementation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

S.B.A. Udugama, Isuru; Mansouri, Seyed Soheil; Mitic, Aleksandar

2017-01-01

Recovering valuable compounds from waste streams of bio-based production processes is in line with the circular economy paradigm, and is achievable by implementing “simple-to-use” and well-established process separation technologies. Such solutions are acceptable from industrial, economic...... and environmental points of view, implying relatively easy future implementation on pilot- and full-scale levels in the bio-based industry. Reviewing such technologies is therefore the focus here. Considerations about technology readiness level (TRL) and Net Present Value (NPV) are included in the review, since TRL...... and NPV contribute significantly to the techno-economic evaluation of future and promising process solutions. Based on the present review, a qualitative guideline for resource recovery from bio-based production processes is proposed. Finally, future approaches and perspectives toward identification...

Establishment of technological basis for fabrication of U-Pu-Zr ternary alloy fuel pins for irradiation tests in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kikuchi, Hironobu; Iwai, Takashi; Nakajima, Kunihisa; Arai, Yasuo; Nakamura, Kinya; Ogata, Takanari

2011-01-01

A high-purity Ar gas atmosphere glove box accommodating injection casting and sodium-bonding apparatuses was newly installed in the Plutonium Fuel Research Facility of Oarai Research and Development Center, Japan Atomic Energy Agency, in which several nitride and carbide fuel pins were fabricated for irradiation tests. The experiences led to the establishment of the technological basis of the fabrication of U-Pu-Zr alloy fuel pins for the first time in Japan. After the injection casting of the U-Pu-Zr alloy, the metallic fuel pins were fabricated by welding upper and lower end plugs with cladding tubes of ferritic-martensitic steel. Subsequent to the sodium bonding for filling the annular gap region between the U-Pu-Zr alloy and the cladding tube with the melted sodium, the fuel pins for irradiation tests are inspected. This paper shows the apparatuses and the technological basis for the fabrication of U-Pu-Zr alloy fuel pins for the irradiation test planned at the experimental fast test reactor Joyo. (author)

Panorama 2011: New bio-fuel production technologies: overview of these expanding sectors and the challenges facing them

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lorne, D.; Chabrelie, M.F.

2011-01-01

The numerous research programmes looking at new-generation biofuels that were initiated over the last ten years are now starting to bear fruit. Although no plants are producing and marketing biofuels yet, the large-scale, industrial feasibility of second-generation bio-fuel production at competitive cost may be demonstrated in the short-term. As far as third generation biofuels derived from algal biomass are concerned, there is a great deal of R and D interest in the sector, but the technology is still only in its infancy. (author)

Breeding research on sake yeasts in Japan: history, recent technological advances, and future perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Kitagaki, Hiroshi; Kitamoto, Katsuhiko

2013-01-01

Sake is an alcoholic beverage of Japan, with a tradition lasting more than 1,300 years; it is produced from rice and water by fermenting with the koji mold Aspergillus oryzae and sake yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Breeding research on sake yeasts was originally developed in Japan by incorporating microbiological and genetic research methodologies adopted in other scientific areas. Since the advent of a genetic paradigm, isolation of yeast mutants has been a dominant approach for the breeding of favorable sake yeasts. These sake yeasts include (a) those that do not form foams (produced by isolating a mutant that does not stick to foams, thus decreasing the cost of sake production); (b) those that do not produce urea, which leads to the formation of ethyl carbamate, a possible carcinogen (isolated by positive selection in a canavanine-, arginine-, and ornithine-containing medium); (c) those that produce an increased amount of ethyl caproate, an apple-like flavor (produced by isolating a mutant resistant to cerulenin, an inhibitor of fatty-acid synthesis); and (d) those that produce a decreased amount of pyruvate (produced by isolating a mutant resistant to an inhibitor of mitochondrial transport, thus decreasing the amount of diacetyl). Given that sake yeasts perform sexual reproduction, sporulation and mating are potent approaches for their breeding. Recently, the genome sequences of sake yeasts have been determined and made publicly accessible. By utilizing this information, the quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for the brewing characteristics of sake yeasts have been identified, which paves a way to DNA marker-assisted selection of the mated strains. Genetic engineering technologies for experimental yeast strains have recently been established by academic groups, and these technologies have also been applied to the breeding of sake yeasts. Sake yeasts whose genomes have been modified with these technologies correspond to genetically modified organisms (GMOs

Institutionalisation of Japan Identity Construction Policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zadvornaya Elena S.

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the development of the modern politics of identity construction in Japan, which actively refers to the practice of designing self-image in international relations. This trend dates back to the 19th century, when there was the end of Sakoku (Japan’s policy of isolation. It is now possible to talk about the institutionalization of the identity construction policy to organized structures and regulations. Enhanced efforts in the field of Japanese traditional and popular culture, education and creative content has led to a number of institutions appearance (like Japan Foundation Fund, Japan Creative Agency, Japan Culture Fund, Agency for Cultural Affairs, Cool Japan Fund, Japan brand Fund and changing idea about the role of culture in foreign policy realization (it is fixed the documents of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, as well as a number of projects (Cool Japan, Visit Japan, Japan Culture Power, Japan Manga Awards, Kawaii Ambassadors, Cosplay International Fest and etc.. These efforts are aimed at forming Japan identity abroad to solve a number of foreign policy challenges of the future and the development of economic cooperation. The Japanese government nearest plans is to increase funding in order to create a positive image of Japan in the region of East Asia. All of these allows us to speak about the policy of the Japanese construction of identity as an institutionalized process in which there was clearance of organizations and regulatory activities.

Functionalized Nanolipobubbles Embedded Within a Nanocomposite Hydrogel: a Molecular Bio-imaging and Biomechanical Analysis of the System.

Science.gov (United States)

Mufamadi, Maluta S; Choonara, Yahya E; Kumar, Pradeep; du Toit, Lisa C; Modi, Girish; Naidoo, Dinesh; Iyuke, Sunny E; Pillay, Viness

2017-04-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the use of molecular bio-imaging systems and biomechanical dynamics to elucidate the fate of a nanocomposite hydrogel system prepared by merging FITC-labeled nanolipobubbles within a cross-linked hydrogel network. The nanocomposite hydrogel system was characterized by size distribution analysis and zeta potential as well as shears thinning behavior, elastic modulus (G'), viscous loss moduli (G"), TEM, and FTIR. In addition, molecular bio-imaging via Vevo ultrasound and Cell-viZio techniques evaluated the stability and distribution of the nanolipobubbles within the cross-linked hydrogel. FITC-labeled and functionalized nanolipobubbles had particle sizes between 135 and 158 nm (PdI = 0.129 and 0.190) and a zeta potential of -34 mV. TEM and ultrasound imaging revealed the uniformity and dimensional stability of the functionalized nanolipobubbles pre- and post-embedment into the cross-linked hydrogel. Biomechanical characterization of the hydrogel by shear thinning behavior was governed by the polymer concentration and the cross-linker, glutaraldehyde. Ultrasound analysis and Cell-viZio bio-imaging were highly suitable to visualize the fluorescent image-guided nanolipobubbles and their morphology post-embedment into the hydrogel to form the NanoComposite system. Since the nanocomposite is intended for targeted treatment of neurodegenerative disorders, the distribution of the functionalized nanolipobubbles into PC12 neuronal cells was also ascertained via confocal microscopy. Results demonstrated effective release and localization of the nanolipobubbles within PC12 neuronal cells. The molecular structure of the synthetic surface peptide remained intact for an extended period to ensure potency for targeted delivery from the hydrogel ex vivo. These findings provide further insight into the properties of nanocomposite hydrogels for specialized drug delivery.

Public Perception of Bio fuels; Percepcion Publica de los Biocombustibles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oltra, C.; Priolo, V.

2011-11-10

The deployment of bio fuels has generated a significant controversy in the energy, agricultural and environmental fields. Governments and promoters around the world have advocated for developing bio fuels based on their potential contribution to emissions reduction and energy security. But opposition to bio fuels has growth in the last years. Environmental NGO's and other stake holders have called for a review of the environmental and social sustainability of energy crops. This controversy has characterized the public debate around bio fuels. In this context, and given the need to improve public involvement in energy technologies, this article reports an investigation of Spanish citizens' perceptions about bio fuels. The study investigated the perceptions of informed citizens and the reasoning basis underlying beliefs and attitudes. The study finds an initial positive association of bio fuels to a clean and natural fuel that is mitigated by participants' concerns on the practical usage of bio fuels and the social and environmental impacts. Study participants' reactions show the need to differentiate among the diverse groups of publics holding differing views and a different reaction to information on the benefits and costs of bio fuels. (Author) 9 refs.

Public Perception of Bio fuels; Percepcion Publica de los Biocombustibles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oltra, C; Priolo, V

2011-11-10

The deployment of bio fuels has generated a significant controversy in the energy, agricultural and environmental fields. Governments and promoters around the world have advocated for developing bio fuels based on their potential contribution to emissions reduction and energy security. But opposition to bio fuels has growth in the last years. Environmental NGO's and other stake holders have called for a review of the environmental and social sustainability of energy crops. This controversy has characterized the public debate around bio fuels. In this context, and given the need to improve public involvement in energy technologies, this article reports an investigation of Spanish citizens' perceptions about bio fuels. The study investigated the perceptions of informed citizens and the reasoning basis underlying beliefs and attitudes. The study finds an initial positive association of bio fuels to a clean and natural fuel that is mitigated by participants' concerns on the practical usage of bio fuels and the social and environmental impacts. Study participants' reactions show the need to differentiate among the diverse groups of publics holding differing views and a different reaction to information on the benefits and costs of bio fuels. (Author) 9 refs.

Current status of SFR development in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ieda, Yoshiaki; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka [Japan Atomic Energy Agency, Tokyo (Japan). Project Promotion Office; Kotake, Shoji [Japan Atomic Power Company, Tokyo (Japan)

2012-03-15

Fast Reactor development experiences and status in Japan are summarized. Even though international SFR circumstances were against in 1980s and 1990s, e.g. CRBRP, SNR-300 and Superphenix terminations, we kept on with our R and D activities steadily aiming at positive development targets in Japan. As results of our efforts, it has shown that our commercialized SFR concept, Japan Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) could meet the targets in the Feasibility Study on Commercialized Fast Reactor Cycle Systems (FS) and the Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development (FaCT) project. Further, Monju has finally achieved restart in May 2010 after having been shut for almost 15 years. A future plan of Monju is to be determined based on a direction of the national nuclear and energy policies that will be established in 2012. The undergoing FaCT project is pursuing commercialization of fast reactor cycle system around 2050 under cooperation of MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), utilities, venders and JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency). As results of the FaCT Phase I, feasibility of the key technologies for JSFR has been evaluated and the project is waiting for launching the phase II due to the Tohoku large earthquake. It is considered that the nuclear development policy might be affected by the Tohoku large Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan. Nevertheless the significance of nuclear energy will not be changed and thus we will focus on the issues learnt from Fukushima accidents and reflect into the improvement of the safety of Monju and the safety design criteria for the next generation Fast Reactor systems. (orig.)

Current status of SFR development in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ieda, Yoshiaki; Chikazawa, Yoshitaka

2012-01-01

Fast Reactor development experiences and status in Japan are summarized. Even though international SFR circumstances were against in 1980s and 1990s, e.g. CRBRP, SNR-300 and Superphenix terminations, we kept on with our R and D activities steadily aiming at positive development targets in Japan. As results of our efforts, it has shown that our commercialized SFR concept, Japan Sodium-cooled Fast Reactor (JSFR) could meet the targets in the Feasibility Study on Commercialized Fast Reactor Cycle Systems (FS) and the Fast Reactor Cycle Technology Development (FaCT) project. Further, Monju has finally achieved restart in May 2010 after having been shut for almost 15 years. A future plan of Monju is to be determined based on a direction of the national nuclear and energy policies that will be established in 2012. The undergoing FaCT project is pursuing commercialization of fast reactor cycle system around 2050 under cooperation of MEXT (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology), METI (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry), utilities, venders and JAEA (Japan Atomic Energy Agency). As results of the FaCT Phase I, feasibility of the key technologies for JSFR has been evaluated and the project is waiting for launching the phase II due to the Tohoku large earthquake. It is considered that the nuclear development policy might be affected by the Tohoku large Earthquake/Tsunami in Japan. Nevertheless the significance of nuclear energy will not be changed and thus we will focus on the issues learnt from Fukushima accidents and reflect into the improvement of the safety of Monju and the safety design criteria for the next generation Fast Reactor systems. (orig.)

Report on investigation of new energy vision at Hamanaka Town area. Investigation theme 'Investigation on commercialization of bio-gas facility at Hamana Town'; 2001 nendo Hamanaka cho chiiki shin energy vision sakutei tou chosa hokokusho. Chosa tema Hamanaka cho baiogasu shisetsu jigyoka chosa

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2002-02-01

In the 'new energy vision at Hamanaka Town area' planned in the previous fiscal year, investigations and discussions were given on commercialization of the 'bio-gas plant (joint type) utilizing livestock excreta, kitchen refuse, fishery-based wastes, dairy factory washing sludge, and sewage sludge'. The investigations were carried out for the joint type bio-gas plant on the local citizens' intention and participation, examples in Europe, examples in Japan, introduction of overseas examples of technological levels of the plant to be introduced, operating conditions of factories in Japan, and systems to be employed. In addition, discussions were given on economic evaluation on the business, and the nuclear organization of the business and operation, and effects of promoting the business. Issues in promoting the business included the fund supporting policies, assurance of operation rates in the severely cold season, maximization of electric power and thermal efficiencies, assurance of kitchen refuse resources, assurance of commission expense in the revenue aspect, assurance of major stockholders in the operating organization, assurance of the systems in the operation aspect, stocks of the new company to be possessed by Hamanaka Township residents, and acquisition of performance guarantee. (NEDO)

Bio-jETI: a service integration, design, and provisioning platform for orchestrated bioinformatics processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Margaria, Tiziana; Kubczak, Christian; Steffen, Bernhard

2008-04-25

With Bio-jETI, we introduce a service platform for interdisciplinary work on biological application domains and illustrate its use in a concrete application concerning statistical data processing in R and xcms for an LC/MS analysis of FAAH gene knockout. Bio-jETI uses the jABC environment for service-oriented modeling and design as a graphical process modeling tool and the jETI service integration technology for remote tool execution. As a service definition and provisioning platform, Bio-jETI has the potential to become a core technology in interdisciplinary service orchestration and technology transfer. Domain experts, like biologists not trained in computer science, directly define complex service orchestrations as process models and use efficient and complex bioinformatics tools in a simple and intuitive way.

Licensing and decommissioning of nuclear installations in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shimoyama, Shunji.

1986-01-01

The present report discusses the current status of Japan's licensing system and legislation concerning reactor decommissioning operations. Besides Japan is working to promote worldwide nuclear safety research. However, developing nuclear safety regulations that are uniformely applicable is a difficult job due to big differences in geographical, political, economical, and technological conditions. (CW) [de

Bio-prospecting of distillery yeasts as bio-control and bio-remediation agents.

Science.gov (United States)

Ubeda, Juan F; Maldonado, María; Briones, Ana I; Francisco, J Fernández; González, Francisco J

2014-05-01

This work constitutes a preliminary study in which the capacity of non-Saccharomyces yeasts isolated from ancient distilleries as bio-control agents against moulds and in the treatment of waste waters contaminated by heavy metals-i.e. bio-remediation-is shown. In the first control assays, antagonist effect between non-Saccharomyces yeasts, their extracts and supernatants against some moulds, analysing the plausible (not exhaustive) involved factors were qualitatively verified. In addition, two enzymatic degrading properties of cell wall plant polymers, quitinolitic and pectinolitic, were screened. Finally, their use as agents of bio-remediation of three heavy metals (cadmium, chromium and lead) was analysed semi-quantitatively. The results showed that all isolates belonging to Pichia species effectively inhibited all moulds assayed. Moreover, P. kudriavzevii is a good candidate for both bio-control and bio-remediation because it inhibited moulds and accumulated the major proportion of the three tested metals.

Status of pressure vessel embrittlement study in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kataoka, Shigeki [Japan Power Engineering and Inspection Corp. (JAPEIC), Chiba (Japan)

1997-09-01

The number of nuclear power plants in service for more than 20 years is increasing in Japan. Subsequently, the aging of nuclear power plants will continue to increase and for this reason, the assurance of the safety and reliability of nuclear power plants is becoming more important. Under this circumstances, Japan Government issued a report: ``Specific Concepts in Dealing with Nuclear Power Plant High Aging`` in April, 1996. This report identified that continuous technology development efforts are important to deal with the issues of nuclear power plant aging, and the following items are extracted for important categories to be developed. (1) Aging phenomena evaluation technology. (2) Inspection/monitoring technology (3) Preventive maintenance/repair technology. Japan Power Engineering and Inspection Corporation (JAPEIC) have been implementing various verification test concerning the above items consigned by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). This report outlines the Specific Concepts in Dealing with Nuclear Power Plant High Agency and the past achievements and future plans of various verification tests related to irradiation embrittlement of nuclear reactor pressure vessel, mainly related to Pressurized Thermal Shock (PTS). (author). 4 refs, 8 figs, 5 tabs.

Diamond bio electronics.

Science.gov (United States)

Linares, Robert; Doering, Patrick; Linares, Bryant

2009-01-01

The use of diamond for advanced applications has been the dream of mankind for centuries. Until recently this dream has been realized only in the use of diamond for gemstones and abrasive applications where tons of diamonds are used on an annual basis. Diamond is the material system of choice for many applications, but its use has historically been limited due to the small size, high cost, and inconsistent (and typically poor) quality of available diamond materials until recently. The recent development of high quality, single crystal diamond crystal growth via the Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process has allowed physcists and increasingly scientists in the life science area to think beyond these limitations and envision how diamond may be used in advanced applications ranging from quantum computing, to power generation and molecular imaging, and eventually even diamond nano-bots. Because of diamond's unique properties as a bio-compatible material, better understanding of diamond's quantum effects and a convergence of mass production, semiconductor-like fabrication process, diamond now promises a unique and powerful key to the realization of the bio-electronic devices being envisioned for the new era of medical science. The combination of robust in-the-body diamond based sensors, coupled with smart bio-functionalized diamond devices may lead to diamond being the platform of choice for bio-electronics. This generation of diamond based bio-electronic devices would contribute substantially to ushering in a paradigm shift for medical science, leading to vastly improved patient diagnosis, decrease of drug development costs and risks, and improved effectiveness of drug delivery and gene therapy programs through better timed and more customized solutions.

Magnetic materials in Japan research, applications and potential

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

Please note this is a Short Discount publication. This, the third report in Elsevier's Materials Technology in Japan series, concentrates on magnetic materials as a topic gaining worldwide attention, and each chapter looks not only at current research, but also describes the technology as it is being applied and its future potential. Magnetic-related research is the second largest field of research in Japan after semiconductors, with the estimated number of researchers and engineers engaged in magnetics-related activities currently at 20,000. This research report serves as both a review of

Synthetic and Bio-Artificial Tactile Sensing: A Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Chiara Carrozza

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This paper reviews the state of the art of artificial tactile sensing, with a particular focus on bio-hybrid and fully-biological approaches. To this aim, the study of physiology of the human sense of touch and of the coding mechanisms of tactile information is a significant starting point, which is briefly explored in this review. Then, the progress towards the development of an artificial sense of touch are investigated. Artificial tactile sensing is analysed with respect to the possible approaches to fabricate the outer interface layer: synthetic skin versus bio-artificial skin. With particular respect to the synthetic skin approach, a brief overview is provided on various technologies and transduction principles that can be integrated beneath the skin layer. Then, the main focus moves to approaches characterized by the use of bio-artificial skin as an outer layer of the artificial sensory system. Within this design solution for the skin, bio-hybrid and fully-biological tactile sensing systems are thoroughly presented: while significant results have been reported for the development of tissue engineered skins, the development of mechanotransduction units and their integration is a recent trend that is still lagging behind, therefore requiring research efforts and investments. In the last part of the paper, application domains and perspectives of the reviewed tactile sensing technologies are discussed.

All-natural bio-plastics using starch-betaglucan composites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sagnelli, Domenico; Kirkensgaard, Jacob Judas Kain; Giosafatto, Concetta Valeria L.

2017-01-01

functionalities chemical modifications or blending with synthetic polymers, such as polycaprolactone are required (e.g. Mater-Bi). As an alternative, all-natural and compostable bio-plastics can be produced by blending starch with other polysaccharides. In this study, we used a maize starch (ST) and an oat β...... BG content. Our data show that the blending of starch with other natural polysaccharides is a noteworthy path to improve the functionality of all-natural polysaccharide bio-plastics systems....

Bio-Inspired Sustainability Assessment for Building Product Development—Concept and Case Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael Horn

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Technological advancement culminating in a globalized economy has brought tremendous improvements for mankind in manifold respects but comes at the cost of alienation from nature. Human activities nowadays are unsustainable and cause severe damage especially in terms of global depletion and destabilization of natural systems but also harm its own social resources. In this paper, a sustainability assessment method is developed based on a bio-inspired sustainability framework that has been developed in the project TRR 141-C01 “The biomimetic promise.” It is aims at regaining the advantages of societal embeddedness in its environment through biological inspiration. The method is developed using a structured approach including requirement specification, description of the inventory models on bio-inspiration and sustainability assessment, creation of a bio-inspired sustainability assessment model and its validation. It is defined as an accompanying assessment for decision support, using a six-fold two-dimensional structure of social, economic and environmental functions and burdens. The method is applied and validated in 6 projects of TRR 141 and its applicability is exemplarily shown by the assessment of “Bio-flexi”, a biobased and biodegradable natural fiber reinforced plastic composite for indoor cladding applications. Based on the findings of the application the assessment method itself is proposed to be advanced towards an adaptive structure and a consequent outlook is provided.

R&D in micro-nano-bio systems and contribution to pHealth.

Science.gov (United States)

Lymberis, Andreas

2012-01-01

The capacity to research, develop and manufacture systems that employ components based on nano- and microstructures with biological functionality, and are capable to share, ubiquitously, information is at the forefront of worldwide competition. A new generation of advanced materials, processes and emerging technologies is building up enabling highly integrated, miniaturized and smart micro-nano-bio-systems to be engineered. These fast technology developments are also stimulating the explosive growth in life sciences, which is leading to an ever increasing understanding of life at the sub-cellular and molecular level. By bringing these parallel developments to biomedicine and health, ultrafast and sensitive systems can be developed to prevent illness, to support lifestyle, to make early diagnosis or treat diseases with high accuracy and less invasiveness, and to support body functions or to replace lost functionality. Such systems will enable the delivery of individualized health services with better access and outcomes at lower costs than previously deemed possible, making a substantial contribution to bringing healthcare expenditures under control and increase its productivity. The MNBS (Micro-Nano-Bio Systems) group of EU funded projects aims at speeding up the convergence of micro- and nanotechnology with the life sciences and accelerating the development of highly integrated diagnostic, monitoring and therapeutics devices. This paper presents R&D activities supported through the MNBS group that are relevant to pHealth and discusses directions to be taken in order to overcome the current problems. Finally, it addresses future challenges to build highly integrated and reliable systems including innovation and usability issues.

The Participation to The All Japan College of Technology Design Competition and The Trial of Art and Design Education

Science.gov (United States)

Takeshita, Junji; Kato, Kenji

In the 2nd All Japan College of Technology Design Competition, the students majoring department of architecture (included architecture course in advanced course of Architecture and Civil Engineering) of Toyota National College of Technology won the highest award in all 3 sections of the held competition. In this paper, 2 sections of design course in awarded 3 sections was taken up. In addition, while reporting the circumstances and measure to the competition participation, the revision of a molding subject performed in recent years and the relation of this winning-a-prize result were considered.

Upgrading the lubricity of bio-oil via homogeneous catalytic esterification under vacuum distillation conditions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Xu, Yufu; Zheng, Xiaojing; Peng, Yubin; Li, Bao; Hu, Xianguo; Yin, Yanguo

2015-01-01

In order to accelerate the application of bio-oil in the internal combustion engines, homogeneous catalytic esterification technology under vacuum distillation conditions was used to upgrade the crude bio-oil. The lubricities of the crude bio-oil (BO) and refined bio-oil with homogeneous catalytic esterification (RBO hce ) or refined bio-oil without catalyst but with distillation operation (RBO wc ) were evaluated by a high frequency reciprocating test rig according to the ASTM D 6079 standard. The basic physiochemical properties and components of the bio-oils were analyzed. The surface morphology, contents and chemical valence of active elements on the worn surfaces were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that RBO hce has better lubricities than those of BO, but RBO wc has worse lubricities than those of BO. The tribological mechanisms of the bio-oils are attributed to the combined actions of lubricating films and factors that will break the film. Compared with BO, plenty of phenols in RBO wc results in corrosion of the substrate and destroys the integrity of the lubricating films, which is responsible for its corrosive wear. However, more esters and alkanes in RBO hce contribute to forming a complete boundary lubricating film on the rubbed surfaces which result in its excellent antifriction and antiwear properties. - Highlights: • Refined bio-oil was prepared through homogeneous catalytic esterification technology. • Properties of the bio-oils before and after refining were assessed by HFRR. • Refined bio-oil showed better lubricities than crude bio-oil. • More esters and alkanes in refined bio-oil contributed to forming superior boundary lubrication

Historical overview of the synchrotron radiation research in Japan. From the view point of creative works in the development of light sources and related technology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kamitsubo, Hiromichi

2007-01-01

Synchrotron radiation research in Japan started in early 1960's when the first electron synchrotron was commissioned at the Institute of Nuclear Study (INS), University of Tokyo (UT). This review covers the parasite use of the INS electron synchrotron and research works done at the light sources in Japan such as SOR-RING, Photon Factory (KEK-PF) Accumulator Ring (KEK-AR), and SPring-8. History of synchrotron radiation research in Japan was overviewed by paying attention to the creative works in the development of light sources and related technology, as well as the pioneering works on the development of experimental techniques and methods. At present there are more than ten synchrotron radiation sources are in operation and the number of their users, especially users from industries in Japan is increasing very rapidly and the research fields of users are also developing. Accordingly the synchrotron radiation facility becomes more and more indispensable facility in the society in Japan. (author)

Bio-electrochemical synthesis of commodity chemicals by ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-08-02

Aug 2, 2016 ... be exploited in a bio-electrochemical system for current generation or to provide ..... fiber was desorbed directly to GC injector for 3 min. This ..... The authors are grateful to COMSATS Institute of Information. Technology ...

Nanotechnology R and D Policy of Japan and Nanotechnology Support Project

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kishi, Teruo

2004-01-01

In the 2nd Science and Technology Basic Plan (2001-2005), the area of nanotechnology and materials is designated one of the four prioritized areas in funding. Following this plan, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industries (METI), the main funding ministries, and their organizations, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), RIKEN, New Energy and Industrial Technology Organization (NEDO), and National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) promotes their research programs. Besides, in order to promote interdisciplinary, interorganizational, and international collaboration of researchers, Nanotechnology Support Project (NSP) was started by MEXT in 2002. The project has two missions: informational support and common use facility support. Nanotechnology Researchers Network Center of Japan is responsible for informational support, and 14 universities and national research institutes are responsible for common use facility support

Innovative Technologies for a bio-based economy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

This special edition of TWA Nieuws representatives of various Dutch embassies in the world pay attention to developments concerning the many-sided applications of biological products in the Netherlands, the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Italy, Singapore, Japan, Taiwan, China and the United States. The title of this edition refers to the conference with the same name that will be held by TWA-Netwerk on 8 April 2008 at the Dutch Wageningen University research Center. [mk] [nl

Military aspect of nuclear policy of Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fujita, Yuko

2011-01-01

Military aspect of nuclear policy of Japan was outlined. In 1952 Prime Minister Yoshida asked to prepare production of weapons for rearmament and to establish Science and Technology Agency such as to overcome lack of science research budget and inefficiency of research and cooperation. Kaya and Fushimi proposed establishment of Atomic Energy Commission as recommendation of Science Council of Japan. In 1954 Nakasone proposed budget for nuclear energy with yen 235 million to construct reactor. In 1955 Japanese delegation participated in international conference on peaceful use of nuclear energy at Geneva and nonpartisan members proposed Atomic Energy Basic Law, which limited the use of nuclear technology to peaceful purposes, ensured three principles - democratic methods, independent management, and transparency - as the basis of nuclear research and promoted international co-operation. In 1956 Atomic Energy Commission and Science and Technology Agency were established with other organizations under this law. According to internal report in the age of Prime Minister Sato, nuclear policy in Japan would be (1) no holding nuclear weapon for the time being, (2) maintaining economic and technical potential of nuclear weapon production and (3) considering no restraint for this policy whether Japan participated in NPT or not. Fuel cycle program of Monju reactor and reprocessing for power production seemed to be deployed corresponding to (3) above. Irradiated blanket of Monju reactor could be reprocessed to produce highly purified plutonium suited for nuclear bombs. (T. Tanaka)

BioOil presents: Free-flowing alternative to traditional biomass energy generation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McChesney, S.

2003-12-01

A new technology, called fast pyrolysis, is described. Fast pyrolysis is a process for converting biomass collected from agricultural and forest residues into an organic liquid fuel, called BioOil, that's easily transported, stored and handled. BioOil's principal virtue is that it can be used to generate carbon-neutral, cost-effective process heat and electricity; it also disposes of organic waste, and creates new jobs and industries. As an indication of interest in BioOil, two recent developments are cited as worthy of note: an award of $23 million for biomass research jointly by the USDA and the USDOE and a commitment of $30 million by the Government of Canada to support the development and demonstration of bio-based systems and technologies. (The Canadian investment is part of the $1 billion commitment toward implementation of the Climate Change Program for Canada). The fast pyrolysis process is carbon dioxide neutral, i.e. when biomass is converted into thermal energy, the carbon dioxide that is released is equal to the amount of carbon dioxide that went into growing the biomass. The process is particularly appealing to energy companies in areas with large forestry or agricultural potential. In Canada, DynaMotive Energy Systems Corporation is the most advanced in developing and commercializing environmentally friendly fuels produced from biomass; the company is also a world leader in fast pyrolysis technology. Ontario Power Generation is cooperating with DynaMotive on a project to produce BioOil from residue supplied by Erie Flooring and Wood Products. The 2.5 megawatt gas turbine that will combust the bio-oil and generate electricity will be supplied by the Magellan Aerospace Corporation. Beyond meeting the energy requirements of Erie Flooring and Wood Products, the project will also contribute about 1.5 megawatts of power to OPG's green energy portfolio in 2004. It is expected that the example of a commercial project of this scale, will serve

Social Science Insights for the BioCCS Industry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne-Maree Dowd

2015-05-01

Full Text Available BioCCS is a technology gaining support as a possible emissions reduction policy option to address climate change. The process entails the capture, transport and storage of carbon dioxide produced during energy production from biomass. Globally, the most optimistic energy efficiency scenarios cannot avoid an average temperature increase of +2 °C without bioCCS. Although very much at the commencement stage, bioCCS demonstration projects can provide opportunity to garner knowledge, achieve consensus and build support around the technology’s properties. Yet many challenges face the bioCCS industry, including no guarantee biomass will always be from sustainable sources or potentially result in carbon stock losses. The operating environment also has no or limited policies, regulations and legal frameworks, and risk and safety concerns abound. Some state the key problem for bioCCS is cultural, lacking in a ‘community of support’, awareness and credibility amongst its own key stakeholders and the wider public. Therefore, the industry can benefit from the growing social science literature, drawing upon other energy and resource based industries with regard to social choice for future energy options. To this end, the following scoping review was conducted in order to ascertain gaps in existing public perception and acceptance research focusing on bioCCS.

Bio-Mimetic Sensors Based on Molecularly Imprinted Membranes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catia Algieri

2014-07-01

Full Text Available An important challenge for scientific research is the production of artificial systems able to mimic the recognition mechanisms occurring at the molecular level in living systems. A valid contribution in this direction resulted from the development of molecular imprinting. By means of this technology, selective molecular recognition sites are introduced in a polymer, thus conferring it bio-mimetic properties. The potential applications of these systems include affinity separations, medical diagnostics, drug delivery, catalysis, etc. Recently, bio-sensing systems using molecularly imprinted membranes, a special form of imprinted polymers, have received the attention of scientists in various fields. In these systems imprinted membranes are used as bio-mimetic recognition elements which are integrated with a transducer component. The direct and rapid determination of an interaction between the recognition element and the target analyte (template was an encouraging factor for the development of such systems as alternatives to traditional bio-assay methods. Due to their high stability, sensitivity and specificity, bio-mimetic sensors-based membranes are used for environmental, food, and clinical uses. This review deals with the development of molecularly imprinted polymers and their different preparation methods. Referring to the last decades, the application of these membranes as bio-mimetic sensor devices will be also reported.

Bio-Mimetic Sensors Based on Molecularly Imprinted Membranes

Science.gov (United States)

Algieri, Catia; Drioli, Enrico; Guzzo, Laura; Donato, Laura

2014-01-01

An important challenge for scientific research is the production of artificial systems able to mimic the recognition mechanisms occurring at the molecular level in living systems. A valid contribution in this direction resulted from the development of molecular imprinting. By means of this technology, selective molecular recognition sites are introduced in a polymer, thus conferring it bio-mimetic properties. The potential applications of these systems include affinity separations, medical diagnostics, drug delivery, catalysis, etc. Recently, bio-sensing systems using molecularly imprinted membranes, a special form of imprinted polymers, have received the attention of scientists in various fields. In these systems imprinted membranes are used as bio-mimetic recognition elements which are integrated with a transducer component. The direct and rapid determination of an interaction between the recognition element and the target analyte (template) was an encouraging factor for the development of such systems as alternatives to traditional bio-assay methods. Due to their high stability, sensitivity and specificity, bio-mimetic sensors-based membranes are used for environmental, food, and clinical uses. This review deals with the development of molecularly imprinted polymers and their different preparation methods. Referring to the last decades, the application of these membranes as bio-mimetic sensor devices will be also reported. PMID:25196110

Environmental Technologies Summary Book

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2009-02-01

This book lists the companies and their technology, which have new excellent technology authentication and technology verification. They are as in the following : sewage advanced treatment technology using a three-stage Bio-Ceramic Filtration by Shinwoo engineering.co.kr, Twist Filter by Sungshin engineering.co.kr, Sewage advanced treatment technology using CIMEN-DOC by Taeyeong/CI biotech.co.kr, DeNipho using pump ejector and Bio Green Media by Green Technology.co.kr, Automatic integrated management system using Envi-SIS by Sallasanup.com Kozone.co.kr and Geoworks.co.kr.

Information on research in progress in Japan publication of 'Nuclear Science Information of Japan-Oral Presentation'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Itabashi, Keizo; Nakajima, Hidemitsu; Yokoo, Hiroshi

1988-03-01

The new journal, 'Nuclear Science Information of Japan-Oral Presentation', which was entirely revised from the previous abstract journal called 'Nuclear Science Information of Japan' was introduced. This is to be published quaterly in principle and compiled information by oral presentation presented at main conferences, symposia and other kind of formal meetings in the field of nuclear science and technology in Japan. Not all of the oral presentation is always contributed later to a proceeding or a journal as a full paper in Japan. In some cases, the pre-conference paper might be a only publication of the oral presentation. In this meaning, this journal could be used as a search tool for the subjects and the projects of nuclear research and development in progress.

First Approval of Improved Medical Device Conditional on Use-Result Survey in Japan　- Regulatory Review of Polymer-Free Drug-Coated BioFreedom Coronary Stent.

Science.gov (United States)

Konishi, Akihide; Ho, Mami; Shirai, Yuko; Shirato, Haruki

2018-05-25

A prospective randomized clinical trial showed that the BioFreedom stent (Biosensors International), which is a polymer-free and carrier-free drug-coated stent, was significantly superior to a bare-metal stent (BMS) in patients at high bleeding risk who were receiving a 1-month course of dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT). However, the stent thrombosis rate (2.01% for BioFreedom vs. 2.20% for BMS) was 4-6-fold higher than that of approved drug-eluting stents based on real-world data in Japan. Furthermore, the frequency of stent thrombosis at more than 1 month with the BioFreedom stent was slightly higher than that at less than 1 month. This result suggested that it would not be acceptable to stop DAPT universally at 1 month. Thus, the target patients for the BioFreedom stent are unspecified patients at high bleeding risk needing to continue DAPT for as long as necessary in Japan. Therefore, based on the pre- and post-marketing balance of medical devices regulations, regulatory approval was given for unspecified patients conditionally upon real-world data collection of 2,000 patients with a Use-Results Survey, instead of conducting additional pre-marketing clinical trial(s). The Use-Results Survey System is part of a strategy to expedite patients' access to innovative medical devices and to accelerate the development of medical devices.

Novas tecnologias reprodutivas conceptivas: bioética e controvérsias New reproductive conception technologies: bioethics and controversies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marlene Tamanini

2004-04-01

Full Text Available Este artigo trata de alguns dos múltiplos aspectos éticos/bioéticos e de gênero no campo das novas tecnologias reprodutivas conceptivas (NTRc. A literatura nele apresentada aponta para a pluralidade de situações e abordagens possíveis em um campo multidimensional e controvertido. Explicita alguns princípios éticos/bioéticos do agir biomédico encontrados durante pesquisa com casais heterossexuais que fizeram reprodução assistida e com médic@s especialistas em reprodução humana no Sul do Brasil.1 Apresenta os pressupostos éticos/bioéticos sancionadores do agir médico e da continuidade dos chamados tratamentos para engravidar, e analisa os mecanismos utilizados para reerguer as expectativas dos casais em situação de desconfiança ou de insucesso.This article concerns some of the multiple ethical-bioethical and gender issues in the field of new reproductive and contraceptive technologies. The literature presented points to the plurality of possible situations and approaches in a multidimensional and controversial field. It presents some ethical-bioethical principals of biomedical action found in the study of heterosexual couples who use assisted reproduction. and of medical specialists in human reproduction in southern Brazil. It presents the ethical-bioethical presumptions that sanction medical behavior and the continuity of the so-called impregnation treatments, and analyzes the mechanisms used to raise the expectations of couples who lack confidence or success.

Analysis of carbon mitigation technology to 2050 in Japan through integrated energy economic model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komiyama, Ryoichi; Suzuki, Kengo; Nagatomi, Yu; Matsuo, Yuji; Suehiro, Shigeru

2011-01-01

This paper describes the outline of integrated energy economic model and calculated result concerning the outlook of energy and carbon dioxide emissions in Japan to 2050. The energy model developed in this paper is integrated one which consistently combines econometric model endogenously generating socio-economic outlook and bottom-up type technology model, MARKAL, identifying cost-minimizing optimal mix of various energy technologies. In reference scenario which imposes no carbon emissions constraint, CO 2 emission in 2050 will decrease by approximately 40% from the level of emissions in 2005. In carbon-constraints scenario, imposing emissions cap of 60% reduction by 2050 from the emissions in 2005, natural gas-fired power plant equipped with CCS and renewable energy are expected to expand its portion in power generation mix. In transportation sector on this scenario, clean energy vehicles such as electric vehicle (EV) and hydrogen fuel cell vehicle (FCV) will be deployed and contribute to mitigate CO 2 emissions. (author)

Bio-economic household modelling for agricultural intensification

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kruseman, G.

2000-01-01

This study contributes to the quest for sustainable agricultural intensification through the development of a quantitative bio-economic modelling framework that allows assessment of new technology and policy measures in terms of household welfare and sustainability indicators. The main aim

Evaluation of the antifungal effects of bio-oil prepared with lignocellulosic biomass using fast pyrolysis technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Kwang Ho; Jeong, Han Seob; Kim, Jae-Young; Han, Gyu Seong; Choi, In-Gyu; Choi, Joon Weon

2012-10-01

This study was performed to investigate the utility of bio-oil, produced via a fast pyrolysis process, as an antifungal agent against wood-rot fungi. Bio-oil solutions (25-100 wt.%) were prepared by diluting the bio-oil with EtOH. Wood block samples (yellow poplar and pitch pine) were treated with diluted bio-oil solutions and then subjected to a leaching process under hot water (70°C) for 72 h. After the wood block samples were thoroughly dried, they were subjected to a soil block test using Tyromyces palustris and Trametes versicolor. The antifungal effect of the 75% and 100% bio-oil solutions was the highest for both wood blocks. Scanning electron microscopy analysis indicated that some chemical components in the bio-oil solution could agglomerate together to form clusters in the inner part of the wood during the drying process, which could act as a wood preservative against fungal growth. According to GC/MS analysis, the components of the agglomerate were mainly phenolic compounds derived from lignin polymers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Polypyrrole Additional functions to bio-based façades

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sailer, M.F. (Michael); Oostra, M.A.R. (Mieke); Eversdijk, J. (Jacco)

2015-01-01

AbstractDue to the crisis of 2008 the construction and real estate market became more demand-driven. Architects, builders and developers are looking for high-quality solutions for the realization of sustainable buildings. Supplying SMEs experience an increasing demand for bio-based materials with

Technological Options to Ameliorate Waste Treatment of Intensive Pig Production in China：An Analysis Based on Bio-Economic Model

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

LU Wen-cong; MA Yong-xi; Holger Bergmann

2014-01-01

Ameliorating waste treatment by technological improvements affects the economic and the ecological-environment beneifts of intensive pig production. The objective of the research was to develop and test a method to determine the technical optimization to ameliorate waste treatment methods and gain insight into the relationship between technological options and the economic and ecological effects. We developed an integrated bio-economic model which incorporates the farming production and waste disposal systems to simulate the impact of technological improvements in pig manure treatment on economic and environmental benefits for the case of a pilot farm in Beijing, China. Based on different waste treatment technology options, three scenarios are applied for the simulation analysis of the model. The simulation results reveal that the economic-environmental beneifts of the livestock farm could be improved by reducing the cropland manure application and increasing the composting production with the current technologies. Nevertheless, the technical efifciency, the waste treatment capacity and the economic beneifts could be further improved by the introduction of new technologies. It implies that technological and economic support policies should be implemented comprehensively on waste disposal and resource utilization to promote sustainable development in intensive livestock production in China.

NEDO Forum 2000. Industrial technology development session; Sangyo gijutsu kenkyu kaihatsu session

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2000-09-01

This session presented the following subjects: I. IT innovation, II. Bio-seminar, III. Nano-technology, IV. Machine technology seminar, and V. 'Development subsidy project to put industrial technologies into practical use'. The theme in I relates to (1) influence of IT innovation on the society, (2) the theory of semiconductor evolution, (3) the theory of liquid crystal evolution, and (4) the theory of disk evolution. The theme II searches (1) how far have bio-technologies come?, (2) search of human evolution from genes, (3) can human being live up to 150 years by bio-technologies?, and (4) what is a DNA array (chip)?. The theme III covers (1) product innovation in polymers (new polymeric materials brought about by polymer nano-technology, taking polyolefin as an example), and (2) creation of ceramics materials by using nano-technologies. The theme IV relates to (1) ITS changes the car society into this way, (2) the current status and outlook on research and development of micro-machine technologies, and (3) the futuristic society and new industries opened by the Humanoid project. The theme V describes (1) practical application of ultra-small medical device production technologies, (2) development of next generation semiconductor manufacturing resists, (3) development for practical application of an optical brain function imaging device, and (4) development for practical application of new screening technologies toward creation of medicines using genome. (NEDO)

The development of Bio-pharmaceutical industry in China: problems and solutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Gujun

2014-07-01

Known as the "sunrise industry" of the 21st century, bio-pharmaceutical industry has been a fast-growing global industry, and many countries have been developing this industry as the focus of their national economies. In China, there exists a huge market demand for the development of bio-pharmaceutical industry, but at the present stage the industry is faced with some problems, such as low level of R & D for innovative drugs, and inappropriate capital investment in the industrialization. In order to accelerate the development of China's bio-pharmaceutical industry, it is necessary to take strategic initiatives of improving the technology transfer system, developing the bio-pharmaceutical outsourcing, and building a diversified industrial financing system.

Combining Bio-inspired Sensing with Bio-inspired Locomotion

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Shaikh, Danish; Hallam, John; Christensen-Dalsgaard, Jakob

In this paper we present a preliminary Braitenberg vehicle–like approach to combine bio-inspired audition with bio-inspired quadruped locomotion in simulation. Locomotion gaits of the salamander–like robot Salamandra robotica are modified by a lizard’s peripheral auditory system model that modula......In this paper we present a preliminary Braitenberg vehicle–like approach to combine bio-inspired audition with bio-inspired quadruped locomotion in simulation. Locomotion gaits of the salamander–like robot Salamandra robotica are modified by a lizard’s peripheral auditory system model...

Climate Change Policy Measures in Japan: NEDO's Activities to Promote CDM/JI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fukasawa, Kazunori; Seki, Kazuhiko; Sakurai, Takeshi

2004-01-01

The Kyoto Protocol, which obliges developed countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG), was adopted at the third session of the conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Kyoto, Japan, on I I December 1997. Japan subsequently ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2002 and is required thereunder to reduce GHG emissions by 6% below 1990 levels by 2008-2012. Japan, having already tackled development and promotion of energy conservation technologies after the second oil crisis, emits the lowest level of CO 2 of developed countries approximately 9.4 tons per capita in the year 2000. Consequently, Japan is able to contribute to CO 2 emissions reduction in developing economies as well as in economies in transition by application of Japan's energy conservation technologies. Because the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint implementation (JI) of the Kyoto Mechanisms are efficient tools, the Japanese government's policy towards emission reduction makes active use of CDM/JI, thereby supporting domestic efforts in realizing Japan's reduction commitment. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) of Japan is one of the key ministries to administer Governmental policy making on climate change, and is undertaking establishment of a system to facilitate the Kyoto Mechanisms. The New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), under the jurisdiction of METI, supports CDM and JI project activities implemented by Japanese private sector enterprises. In this report, the authors briefly introduce climate change policy measures in Japan and NEDO's activities to promote CDM/Jl. (Author)

Bio ethanol use in light vehicles

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nogueira, Luiz Augusto Horta; Leal, Manoel Regis Lima Verde

2012-07-01

This chapter approaches vehicles emissions and air quality, Unite States context, Brazilian context, bio ethanol impact on engine emissions, bioethanol and engine technologies for emission control, bioethanol impact on engine emissions, flex-fuel vehicles, impact of bioethanol use in light vehicles, evolution perspectives for light vehicles: energy issues, and hybrid vehicles.

Pakistan's Approach Towards Cem-Bio Issues

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Khan, M. A.; Iqbal, J.

2007-01-01

Pakistan ratified the BWC and CWC as a non-possessive state at that time when international environment were fraught with uncertainties about Chem-Bio threat. The geographical location of Pakistan faces a serious multidimensional WMD threat which includes threat from, non-state actors and her neighbours especially after declaration of chemical weapons during process of ratification of CWC. Pakistan never pursued such chem-bio program with the aim to use it as a mean of deterrence in overall context of security policy and always encouraged any move regarding strengthening of national/international institutional efforts to counter potential misuse of chem-bio technology. Pakistan's position has consistently been positive, pragmatic and supportive. For better implementation of BWC and CWC in Pakistan, comprehensive policies have been formulated and National Authority has been established to work as National point of contact on CWC affairs. Pakistan CWC Act 2000, Pakistan Bio Safety Rules 2005 and Pakistan Export Control Act 2004 are the evidences of Pakistan's sincerity to the implementation of CWC and BWC. Pakistan has declared 15 industries involved with chemicals, out of which 06 have already been inspected by OPCW Inspectors. Pakistan has declared its national protective program and pursuing all possible measures to enhance the national capacity and potential to guard against chem-bio threats. Pakistan has proved that it is committed to the principles of disarmament, which could serve as confidence building measures and may help reducing distrust and regional tension.(author)

Bio-fuel barometer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

After a year of doubt and decline the consumption of bio-fuel resumed a growth in 2014 in Europe: +6.1% compared to 2013, to reach 14 millions tep (Mtep) that is just below the 2012 peak. This increase was mainly due to bio-diesel. By taking into account the energy content and not the volume, the consumption of bio-diesel represented 79.7% of bio-fuel consumption in 2014, that of bio-ethanol only 19.1% and that of biogas 1%. The incorporating rate of bio-fuels in fuels used for transport were 4.6% in 2013 and 4.9% in 2014. The trend is good and the future of bio-fuel seems clearer as the European Union has set a not-so-bad limit of 7% for first generation bio-fuels in order to take into account the CASI effect. The CASI effect shows that an increase of the consumption of first generation bio-fuels (it means bio-fuels produced from food crops like rape, soy, cereals, sugar beet,...) implies in fact a global increase in greenhouse gas release that is due to a compensation phenomenon. More uncultivated lands (like forests, grasslands, bogs are turned into cultivated lands in order to compensate lands used for bio-fuel production. In most European countries the consumption of bio-diesel increased in 2014 while it was a bad year for the European industry of ethanol because ethanol prices dropped by 16 %. Oil companies are now among the most important producers of bio-diesel in Europe.

Analysis on Japanese nuclear industrial technologies and their military implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, H S; Yang, M H; Kim, H J. and others

2000-10-01

This study covered the following scopes : analysis of Japan's policy trend on the development and utilization of nuclear energy, international and domestic viewpoint of Japan's nuclear weapon capability, Japan's foreign affairs and international cooperation, status of Japan's nuclear technology development and its level, status and level of nuclear core technologies such as nuclear reactor and related fuel cycle technologies. Japan secures the whole spectrum of nuclear technologies including core technologies through the active implementation of nuclear policy for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy during the past five decades. Futhermore, as the result of the active cultivation of nuclear industry, Japan has most nuclear-related facilities and highly advanced nuclear industrial technologies. Therefore, it is reasonable that Japan might be recognized as one of countries having capability to get nuclear capability in several months.

Analysis on Japanese nuclear industrial technologies and their military implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, H. S.; Yang, M. H.; Kim, H. J. and others

2000-10-01

This study covered the following scopes : analysis of Japan's policy trend on the development and utilization of nuclear energy, international and domestic viewpoint of Japan's nuclear weapon capability, Japan's foreign affairs and international cooperation, status of Japan's nuclear technology development and its level, status and level of nuclear core technologies such as nuclear reactor and related fuel cycle technologies. Japan secures the whole spectrum of nuclear technologies including core technologies through the active implementation of nuclear policy for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy during the past five decades. Futhermore, as the result of the active cultivation of nuclear industry, Japan has most nuclear-related facilities and highly advanced nuclear industrial technologies. Therefore, it is reasonable that Japan might be recognized as one of countries having capability to get nuclear capability in several months

Nitrifying bio-cord reactor: performance optimization and effects of substratum and air scouring.

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Xin; Ahmed, Warsama; Delatolla, Robert

2017-11-20

Ammonia removal kinetics and solids' production performance of the bio-cord technology are studied in this research. Three nitrifying reactors housing different bio-cord substratum were operated at five different ammonia loading rates. All of the bio-cord substrata demonstrated stable and high ammonia-nitrogen removal efficiencies of 96.8 ± 0.9%, 97.0 ± 0.6% and 92.0 ± 0.4% at loading rates of 0.8, 1.6 and 1.8 g [Formula: see text]-N/m 2  d, respectively. At these same loading rates, the bio-cord reactors housing the three substrata also showed low solids' production rates of 0.19 ± 0.03, 0.23 ± 0.02, 0.25 ± 0.03 g total suspended solids/d. A reduction of system stability, identified via fluctuating ammonia removal rates, was however observed for all substrata at loading rates of 2.1 and 2.4 g [Formula: see text]-N/m 2  d. Further, the solids' production rates at these higher loading conditions were also observed to fluctuate for all substrata, likely indicating intermediate sloughing events. The effects of enhancing the air scouring of the bio-cord on the ammonia removal rate was shown to be dependent upon the substratum, while enhanced air scouring of the bio-cord was shown to stabilize the production of solids for all substrata. This study represents the first performance and optimization study of the bio-cord technology for low-carbon nitrification and shows that air scouring of the substratum reduces sloughing events at elevated loading and that the bio-cord technology achieves stable kinetics above conventional rates of 1 g [Formula: see text]-N/m 2  d to values of 1.8 g [Formula: see text]-N/m 2  d.

IsoSeq analysis and functional annotation of the infratentorial ependymoma tumor tissue on PacBio RSII platform.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Neetu; Sahu, Dinesh Kumar; Chowdhry, Rebecca; Mishra, Archana; Goel, Madhu Mati; Faheem, Mohd; Srivastava, Chhitij; Ojha, Bal Krishna; Gupta, Devendra Kumar; Kant, Ravi

2016-02-01

Here, we sequenced and functionally annotated the long reads (1-2 kb) cDNAs library of an infratentorial ependymoma tumor tissue on PacBio RSII by Iso-Seq protocol using SMRT technology. 577 MB, data was generated from the brain tissues of ependymoma tumor patient, producing 1,19,313 high-quality reads assembled into 19,878 contigs using Celera assembler followed by Quiver pipelines, which produced 2952 unique protein accessions in the nr protein database and 307 KEGG pathways. Additionally, when we compared GO terms of second and third level with alternative splicing data obtained through HTA Array2.0. We identified four and twelve transcript cluster IDs in Level-2 and Level-3 scores respectively with alternative splicing index predicting mainly the major pathways of hallmarks of cancer. Out of these transcript cluster IDs only transcript cluster IDs of gene PNMT, SNN and LAMB1 showed Reads Per Kilobase of exon model per Million mapped reads (RPKM) values at gene-level expression (GE) and transcript-level (TE) track. Most importantly, brain-specific genes--PNMT, SNN and LAMB1 show their involvement in Ependymoma.

Moisture variation associated with water input and evaporation during sewage sludge bio-drying.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Lu; Gao, Ding; Chen, Tong-Bin; Liu, Hong-Tao; Zheng, Guo-Di; Yang, Qi-Wei

2012-08-01

The variation of moisture during sewage sludge bio-drying was investigated. In situ measurements were conducted to monitor the bulk moisture and water vapor, while the moisture content, water generation, water evaporation and aeration water input of the bio-drying bulk were calculated based on the water mass balance. The moisture in the sewage sludge bio-drying material decreased from 66% to 54% in response to control technology for bio-drying. During the temperature increasing and thermophilic phases of sewage sludge bio-drying, the moisture content, water generation and water evaporation of the bulk initially increased and then decreased. The peak water generation and evaporation occurred during the thermophilic phase. During the bio-drying, water evaporation was much greater than water generation, and aeration facilitated the water evaporation. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Beclometasone oral--DOR BioPharma.

Science.gov (United States)

2007-01-01

orBec is an oral enteric-coated tablet formulation of the corticosteroid beclometasone, which has been developed by Enteron Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Corporate Technology Development (now DOR BioPharma). orBec is being developed for the treatment of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and an NDA has been filed in the US. DOR BioPharma has also filed an MAA in Europe for the same indication.orBec is designed to reduce the need for systemic immunosuppressive drugs, thereby improving the outcome of bone marrow and stem cell transplantation.DOR BioPharma may seek a marketing partner in the US and elsewhere for orBec in GVHD and will seek a partner for other potential indications of the drug.In December 2001, Corporate Technology Development was acquired by Endorex Corporation (now DOR BioPharma). In October 1998, Enteron Pharmaceuticals (DOR BioPharma) entered into an exclusive, worldwide, royalty bearing license agreement with George B. McDonald, MD, including the right to grant sublicenses, for the rights to the intellectual property and know-how relating to orBec. In January 2007, DOR BioPharma received $US3 million under a non-binding letter of intent from Sigma-Tau Pharmaceuticals. The agreement grants Sigma-Tau an exclusive right to negotiate terms and conditions for a possible business transaction or strategic alliance regarding orBec and potentially other DOR pipeline compounds until 1 March 2007. Under the terms of the agreement, Sigma-Tau purchased $US1 million of DOR's common stock, with an additional $US2 million paid in cash. If no agreement is reached by 1 March 2007, DOR will return the $US2 million to Sigma-Tau within 60 days. DOR BioPharma received an unsolicited proposal from Cell Therapeutics, Inc. to acquire DOR BioPharma in January 2007. Because of the non-binding agreement already signed with Sigma-Tau, DOR BioPharma's board of directors cannot consider Cell Therapeutics' merger proposal at this time. orBec has been filed for

Security enhanced BioEncoding for protecting iris codes

Science.gov (United States)

Ouda, Osama; Tsumura, Norimichi; Nakaguchi, Toshiya

2011-06-01

Improving the security of biometric template protection techniques is a key prerequisite for the widespread deployment of biometric technologies. BioEncoding is a recently proposed template protection scheme, based on the concept of cancelable biometrics, for protecting biometric templates represented as binary strings such as iris codes. The main advantage of BioEncoding over other template protection schemes is that it does not require user-specific keys and/or tokens during verification. Besides, it satisfies all the requirements of the cancelable biometrics construct without deteriorating the matching accuracy. However, although it has been shown that BioEncoding is secure enough against simple brute-force search attacks, the security of BioEncoded templates against more smart attacks, such as record multiplicity attacks, has not been sufficiently investigated. In this paper, a rigorous security analysis of BioEncoding is presented. Firstly, resistance of BioEncoded templates against brute-force attacks is revisited thoroughly. Secondly, we show that although the cancelable transformation employed in BioEncoding might be non-invertible for a single protected template, the original iris code could be inverted by correlating several templates used in different applications but created from the same iris. Accordingly, we propose an important modification to the BioEncoding transformation process in order to hinder attackers from exploiting this type of attacks. The effectiveness of adopting the suggested modification is validated and its impact on the matching accuracy is investigated empirically using CASIA-IrisV3-Interval dataset. Experimental results confirm the efficacy of the proposed approach and show that it preserves the matching accuracy of the unprotected iris recognition system.

Review of heavy metal bio-remediation in contaminated freeway facilitated by adsorption

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Chaocheng

2017-08-01

Toxicity around biological systems is a significant issue for environmental health in a long term. Recent biotechnological approaches for bio-remediation of heavy metals in freeway frequently include mineralization, bio-adsorption or even remediation. Thus, adequate restoration in freeway requiring cooperation, integration and assimilation of such biotechnological advances along with traditional and ethical wisdom to unravel the mystery of nature in the emerging field of bio-remediation was reviewed with highlights to better understand problems associated with toxicity of heavy metals and eco-friendly technologies.

Opportunities for biomass-derived 'bio-oil' in European heat and power markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brammer, J.G.; Lauer, M.; Bridgwater, A.V.

2006-01-01

Bio-oil (biomass fast pyrolysis) systems for heat, power or CHP production are nearing demonstration status. Their commercial attractiveness will depend on many factors, and will vary with the application, the scale, and importantly the location and its associated economic and logistical factors. The objective of this work, carried out as part of an EC-ALTENER project, was to evaluate the opportunities for bio-oil in the heat and power markets of Europe. Bio-oil applications were compared with conventional (fossil) alternatives for the same heat and power duty. The evaluation was carried out by a quantitative assessment of the economic competitiveness of standard applications in 14 European countries. Location-specific data were collected, and combined with technology-specific data obtained from earlier work. A competitiveness factor (c F ) was derived which represents the total annual cost of a conventional alternative relative to a bio-oil application. The results showed a wide variation across Europe. A total of six countries had at least one bio-oil application which was economically competitive. Heat-only applications were found to be the most economically competitive, followed by CHP applications, with electricity-only applications only very rarely competitive. For a given technology, the larger the scale, the better the competitiveness

Opportunities for biomass-derived 'bio-oil' in European heat and power markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brammer, J.G.; Bridgwater, A.V.

2006-01-01

Bio-oil (biomass fast pyrolysis) systems for heat, power or CHP production are nearing demonstration status. Their commercial attractiveness will depend on many factors, and will vary with the application, the scale, and importantly the location and its associated economic and logistical factors. The objective of this work, carried out as part of an EC-ALTENER project, was to evaluate the opportunities for bio-oil in the heat and power markets of Europe. Bio-oil applications were compared with conventional (fossil) alternatives for the same heat and power duty. The evaluation was carried out by a quantitative assessment of the economic competitiveness of standard applications in 14 European countries. Location-specific data were collected, and combined with technology-specific data obtained from earlier work. A competitiveness factor (c F ) was derived which represents the total annual cost of a conventional alternative relative to a bio-oil application. The results showed a wide variation across Europe. A total of six countries had at least one bio-oil application which was economically competitive. Heat-only applications were found to be the most economically competitive, followed by CHP applications, with electricity-only applications only very rarely competitive. For a given technology, the larger the scale, the better the competitiveness. (author)

Fusion tritium program in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Okamoto, M.; Yoshida, H.; Naruse, Y.

1988-01-01

Nuclear Fusion Council, Atomic Energy Commission of Japan, has started to review the nuclear fusion R and D plan for the next stage, post JT-60. The council launched a subcommittee on fundamental issues in the nuclear fusion development in 1985, for review of the basic strategy of a development plan. The subcommittee presented an interim report in Feb. 1986 after 6 months discussion and the report was approved by the Nuclear Fusion Council. Two major R and D programs described in the interim report are the development of a Tokamak type large facility and the comprehensive development of the fusion reactor technology. The latter means to promote the reactor technologies which will be essential in the future to construct not only a D/T burning but also a DEMO reactor. The Nuclear Fusion Development Program in Japan is shown. The interim report recommended to organize two subcommittees to establish an integrated national R and D plan; one was for the design of the next step large facility and the other was for the R and program of the fusion technology. The subcommittee for the latter consisted of 7 working groups; one of them was organized for the tritium technology

Fifth International Conference on Innovations in Bio-Inspired Computing and Applications

CERN Document Server

Abraham, Ajith; Snášel, Václav

2014-01-01

This volume of Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing contains accepted papers presented at IBICA2014, the 5th International Conference on Innovations in Bio-inspired Computing and Applications. The aim of IBICA 2014 was to provide a platform for world research leaders and practitioners, to discuss the full spectrum of current theoretical developments, emerging technologies, and innovative applications of Bio-inspired Computing. Bio-inspired Computing remains to be one of the most exciting research areas, and it is continuously demonstrating exceptional strength in solving complex real life problems. The main driving force of the conference was to further explore the intriguing potential of Bio-inspired Computing. IBICA 2014 was held in Ostrava, Czech Republic and hosted by the VSB - Technical University of Ostrava.

Japan, world leader of photovoltaic energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Strasser, F.

2006-01-01

Since the beginning of the 1970's, the potentialities of photovoltaic energy has been recognized by the Japanese government which has sustained this technology in two ways. First, by the financing of R and D programs, and second, by giving subsidies to citizens for the installation of solar panels. Today, Japan is the world leader of photovoltaic energy, both for the installed power and for the production of solar cells. In 2003, the International Energy Agency was reporting 1.809 GW of worldwide installed capacity among which 48% was in Japan (0.86 GW) with respect to 0.4 GW in Germany, 0.275 GW in the USA and only 20 MW in France. This capacity would have exceeded 1.1 GW at the end of 2004. Half of the solar modules are manufactured in Japan. The ministry of economy, trade and industry (METI) has fixed ambitious goals for 2010: the overall new energy sources much represent 3% of the primary energy (with respect to 1% today) and the installed capacity must reach 4.8 GW. The road-map of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation (NEDO) foresees 100 GW by 2030. (J.S.)

Analysis on Japanese nuclear industrial technologies and their military implications

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, H. S.; Yang, M. H.; Kim, H. J. and others

2000-10-01

This study covered the following scopes : analysis of Japan's policy trend on the development and utilization of nuclear energy, international and domestic viewpoint of Japan's nuclear weapon capability, Japan's foreign affairs and international cooperation, status of Japan's nuclear technology development and its level, status and level of nuclear core technologies such as nuclear reactor and related fuel cycle technologies. Japan secures the whole spectrum of nuclear technologies including core technologies through the active implementation of nuclear policy for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy during the past five decades. Futhermore, as the result of the active cultivation of nuclear industry, Japan has most nuclear-related facilities and highly advanced nuclear industrial technologies. Therefore, it is reasonable that Japan might be recognized as one of countries having capability to get nuclear capability in several months.

Toward the responsible innovation with nanotechnology in Japan: our scope

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ishizu, Saori; Sekiya, Mizuki; Ishibashi, Ken-ichi; Negami, Yumi; Ata, Masafumi

2008-01-01

The societal impacts of nanotechnology have attracted growing attention in the United States and Europe in recent years. In Japan, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Technology Information Department) has played a central role in promoting discussions on this topic by collecting information from Japan and overseas, creating a network of the interested parties, and providing a forum for discussion. This paper presents a summary of recent activities in Japan relating to the societal impacts of nanotechnology, fro the launch of the 'Nanotechnology and Society' open forum (August 2004) until the 'Nanotechnology Debate' discussion forum (February 2007), and outlines the policy recommendations that came out of a project entitled 'Research on Facilitation of Public Acceptance of Nanotechnology' (March 2006)

Environmental sustainability assessment of bio-ethanol production in Thailand

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silalertruksa, Thapat; Gheewala, Shabbir H.

2009-01-01

Bio-ethanol is playing an important role in renewable energy for transport according to Thai government policy. This study aims to evaluate the energy efficiency and renewability of bio-ethanol system and identify the current significant environmental risks and availability of feedstocks in Thailand. Four of the seven existing ethanol plants contributing 53% of the total ethanol fuel production in Thailand have been assessed by the net energy balance method and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). A renewability and net energy ratio portfolio has been used to indicate whether existing bio-ethanol production systems have net energy gain and could help reduce dependency on fossil energy. In addition, LCA has been conducted to identify and evaluate the environmental hotspots of 'cradle to gate' bio-ethanol production. The results show that there are significant differences of energy and environmental performance among the four existing production systems even for the same feedstock. The differences are dependent on many factors such as farming practices, feedstock transportion, fuel used in ethanol plants, operation practices and technology of ethanol conversion and waste management practices. Recommendations for improving the overall energy and environmental performance of the bio-ethanol system are suggested in order to direct the bio-ethanol industry in Thailand towards environmental sustainability.

Proceedings of the national conference on functional glasses/glass-ceramics and ceramics: souvenir

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2015-01-01

This conference deals with issues relevant to functional glasses and glass ceramics which are technologically important materials for lasers, radioactive waste immobilization, radiation shielding, bio-glasses etc. It covers wide range of subjects and their applications right from managing the side effects of nuclear wastes and shielding the radiation, to sol-gel based bio-glass and its composites. Papers relevant to INIS are indexed separately

Diffusion trajectory of self-propagating innovations interacting with institutions-incorporation of multi-factors learning function to model PV diffusion in Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nagamatsu, Akira; Watanabe, Chihiro; Shum, Kwok L.

2006-01-01

This paper first proposes a modeling framework to study diffusion of innovations which exhibit strong interaction with the institution systems across which they diffuse. A unique character of such generic innovation is that specific applications are continually developed during its diffusion. This self-propagation in continual applications generation, which is dependent upon the cumulative installed base of the technological innovation, can be modeled to lead to a dynamic changing carrying capacity in an otherwise simple logistic diffusion curve. The cumulative installed base is dependent upon the price of technology and the cost learning dynamics. This paper utilizes a multi-factors learning function to represent such learning dynamics. Empirical estimates from our model are compared with those from other logistics curve formulations and are shown to better fit the annual PV production data during the past quarter century in the case of Japan. The very fact that the potential of this class of innovation can be leveraged only if it interacts closely with the institution highlights the importance of institutional determinants of adoption and diffusion of such innovations like PV. We therefore attempt to put forward an institutional framework, based on viewing PV as a technology platform, to consider PV diffusion beyond mathematical and empirical modeling. Some future research directions are also proposed. (author)

Assessment of bio-ethanol as a transport fuel in the UK

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marrow, J.E.; Coombs, J.; Lees, E.W.

1987-10-01

The technical and economic issues associated with the production of bio-ethanol as a road transport fuel (fuel ethanol) in the UK are assessed. This volume addresses the current situation (May 1987) and covers the production of bio-ethanol from available raw materials using technology that is well established on an industrial scale, as well as the use of ethanol-petrol blends in existing petrol engines.

Life-Cycle Assessment of Pyrolysis Bio-Oil Production*

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Steele, Philip; Puettmann, Maureen E.; Penmetsa, Venkata Kanthi; Cooper, Jerome E.

2012-07-01

As part ofthe Consortium for Research on Renewable Industrial Materials' Phase I life-cycle assessments ofbiofuels, lifecycle inventory burdens from the production of bio-oil were developed and compared with measures for residual fuel oil. Bio-oil feedstock was produced using whole southern pine (Pinus taeda) trees, chipped, and converted into bio-oil by fast pyrolysis. Input parameters and mass and energy balances were derived with Aspen. Mass and energy balances were input to SimaPro to determine the environmental performance of bio-oil compared with residual fuel oil as a heating fuel. Equivalent functional units of 1 MJ were used for demonstrating environmental preference in impact categories, such as fossil fuel use and global warming potential. Results showed near carbon neutrality of the bio-oil. Substituting bio-oil for residual fuel oil, based on the relative carbon emissions of the two fuels, estimated a reduction in CO2 emissions by 0.075 kg CO2 per MJ of fuel combustion or a 70 percent reduction in emission over residual fuel oil. The bio-oil production life-cycle stage consumed 92 percent of the total cradle-to-grave energy requirements, while feedstock collection, preparation, and transportation consumed 4 percent each. This model provides a framework to better understand the major factors affecting greenhouse gas emissions related to bio-oil production and conversion to boiler fuel during fast pyrolysis.

BioSPICE: access to the most current computational tools for biologists.

Science.gov (United States)

Garvey, Thomas D; Lincoln, Patrick; Pedersen, Charles John; Martin, David; Johnson, Mark

2003-01-01

The goal of the BioSPICE program is to create a framework that provides biologists access to the most current computational tools. At the program midpoint, the BioSPICE member community has produced a software system that comprises contributions from approximately 20 participating laboratories integrated under the BioSPICE Dashboard and a methodology for continued software integration. These contributed software modules are the BioSPICE Dashboard, a graphical environment that combines Open Agent Architecture and NetBeans software technologies in a coherent, biologist-friendly user interface. The current Dashboard permits data sources, models, simulation engines, and output displays provided by different investigators and running on different machines to work together across a distributed, heterogeneous network. Among several other features, the Dashboard enables users to create graphical workflows by configuring and connecting available BioSPICE components. Anticipated future enhancements to BioSPICE include a notebook capability that will permit researchers to browse and compile data to support model building, a biological model repository, and tools to support the development, control, and data reduction of wet-lab experiments. In addition to the BioSPICE software products, a project website supports information exchange and community building.

Bio-dosimetry for radiation-exposed individuals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sauvaigo, Sylvie; Chapuis, Violaine; Caillat, Sylvain; Sarrazy, Fanny; Breton, Jean

2013-01-01

Exposure of civil populations to genotoxic chemicals or radioactive hazard is an increased concern. It is not only an industrial risk (chemistry plant accident for example) but also a national security problem due to the threat of radiological and nuclear terrorism. It is important to anticipate the need of a bio-dosimetry tool aimed at identifying exposed population in the absence of acute syndrome, in order to assure the medical care that would prevent carcinogenic consequences. DNA repair is a bio-marker of exposure to geno-toxics in individuals. A DNA repair signature can be assessed from Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells (PBMCs) that reflects the exposure history of the individuals, using a functional enzymatic assay on bio-chip. A proof of concept was obtained using PBMCs from patients undergoing radiotherapy regimen. We identified two classes of responses among patients, if we except a very atypical signature in one patient that could reflect defects in DNA repair. Interestingly, repair of the major oxidative lesions increased during the course of the radiotherapy. We propose to implement this fast, quantitative, possibly automatized assay to identify bio-markers of exposure to geno-toxics and to validate the exposure bio-markers through ex vivo exposure of blood from volunteers. (authors)

Bio-Organic Electronics—Overview and Prospects for the Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Susan Mühl

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In recent years, both biodegradable and bio-based electronics have attracted increasing interest, but are also controversially discussed at the same time. Yet, it is not clear whether they will contribute to science and technology or whether they will disappear without major impact. The present review will address several aspects while showing the potential opportunities of bio-organic electronics. An overview about the complex terminology of this emerging field is given and test methods are presented which are used to evaluate the biodegradable properties. It will be shown that the majority of components of organic electronics can be substituted by biodegradable or bio-based materials. Moreover, application scenarios are presented where bio-organic materials have advantages compared to conventional ones. A variety of publications are highlighted which encompass typical organic devices like organic light emitting diodes, organic solar cells and organic thin film transistors as well as applications in the field of medicine or agriculture.

Are bio-absorbable stents the future of SFA treatment?

Science.gov (United States)

Peeters, P; Keirse, K; Verbist, J; Deloose, K; Bosiers, M

2010-02-01

Several limitations inherent to the implantation of a metallic device, such as the occurrence of in-stent re-stenosis, in an arterial lumen intuitively explain the interest for developing bio-absorbable stents. Two main types of bio-absorbable stents currently exist: polymer stents and metallic stents. To date, no studies with bio-absorbable stents have been conducted in the superficial femoral artery (SFA). Because of their strut thickness and lack of radial force, polymer stents are no good candidates for endovascular use. Absorbable metal stents (AMS) do have the potential to perform well for artery treatment, although current evidence from in-human coronary and infrapopliteal studies yield unsatisfactory results. Drastic technological improvements are mandatory before AMS can be considered for every day practice. Yet, it is our belief that further development of other metal and non-metal bio-absorbable stents, with or without drug-coating, may lead to the creation of the ultimate SFA stent.

Co-processing potential of HTL bio-crude at petroleum refineries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hoffmann, Jessica; Jensen, Claus Uhrenholt; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup

2016-01-01

assays, adapted from conventional crude oil assays, have been obtained, including fractionation of the bio-crude through 15:5 vacuum distillation. The bio-crude and its fractions have been analyzed with respect to heating value, elemental composition, density and oxygen-containing functional groups....... Results show a highly promising bio-crude quality, with a higher heating value of 40.4 MJ/kg, elemental oxygen content of 5.3 wt.%, a specific gravity of 0.97 and a distillation recovery of ∼53.4 wt.% at an atmospheric equivalent temperature (AET) of 375 °C, . Results show that only minor upgrading......This study presents detailed chemical and thermophysical analysis of bio-crude from a continuous hydrothermal liquefaction research plant. Current research on bio-crude focuses mainly on specific biomass feedstocks and conversion process conditions and resulting yields rather than on bio-crude...

A Review on Development and Applications of Bio-Inspired Superhydrophobic Textiles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ishaq Ahmad

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Bio-inspired engineering has been envisioned in a wide array of applications. All living bodies on Earth, including animals and plants, have well organized functional systems developed by nature. These naturally designed functional systems inspire scientists and engineers worldwide to mimic the system for practical applications by human beings. Researchers in the academic world and industries have been trying, for hundreds of years, to demonstrate how these natural phenomena could be translated into the real world to save lives, money and time. One of the most fascinating natural phenomena is the resistance of living bodies to contamination by dust and other pollutants, thus termed as self-cleaning phenomenon. This phenomenon has been observed in many plants, animals and insects and is termed as the Lotus Effect. With advancement in research and technology, attention has been given to the exploration of the underlying mechanisms of water repellency and self-cleaning. As a result, various concepts have been developed including Young’s equation, and Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter theories. The more we unravel this process, the more we get access to its implications and applications. A similar pursuit is emphasized in this review to explain the fundamental principles, mechanisms, past experimental approaches and ongoing research in the development of bio-inspired superhydrophobic textiles.

A Review on Development and Applications of Bio-Inspired Superhydrophobic Textiles

Science.gov (United States)

Ahmad, Ishaq; Kan, Chi-wai

2016-01-01

Bio-inspired engineering has been envisioned in a wide array of applications. All living bodies on Earth, including animals and plants, have well organized functional systems developed by nature. These naturally designed functional systems inspire scientists and engineers worldwide to mimic the system for practical applications by human beings. Researchers in the academic world and industries have been trying, for hundreds of years, to demonstrate how these natural phenomena could be translated into the real world to save lives, money and time. One of the most fascinating natural phenomena is the resistance of living bodies to contamination by dust and other pollutants, thus termed as self-cleaning phenomenon. This phenomenon has been observed in many plants, animals and insects and is termed as the Lotus Effect. With advancement in research and technology, attention has been given to the exploration of the underlying mechanisms of water repellency and self-cleaning. As a result, various concepts have been developed including Young’s equation, and Wenzel and Cassie–Baxter theories. The more we unravel this process, the more we get access to its implications and applications. A similar pursuit is emphasized in this review to explain the fundamental principles, mechanisms, past experimental approaches and ongoing research in the development of bio-inspired superhydrophobic textiles. PMID:28774012

BioMEMS and Lab-on-a-Chip Course Education at West Virginia University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yuxin Liu

2011-01-01

Full Text Available With the rapid growth of Biological/Biomedical MicroElectroMechanical Systems (BioMEMS and microfluidic-based lab-on-a-chip (LOC technology to biological and biomedical research and applications, demands for educated and trained researchers and technicians in these fields are rapidly expanding. Universities are expected to develop educational plans to address these specialized needs in BioMEMS, microfluidic and LOC science and technology. A course entitled BioMEMS and Lab-on-a-Chip was taught recently at the senior undergraduate and graduate levels in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at West Virginia University (WVU. The course focused on the basic principles and applications of BioMEMS and LOC technology to the areas of biomedicine, biology, and biotechnology. The course was well received and the enrolled students had diverse backgrounds in electrical engineering, material science, biology, mechanical engineering, and chemistry. Student feedback and a review of the course evaluations indicated that the course was effective in achieving its objectives. Student presentations at the end of the course were a highlight and a valuable experience for all involved. The course proved successful and will continue to be offered regularly. This paper provides an overview of the course as well as some development and future improvements.

BioPig: a Hadoop-based analytic toolkit for large-scale sequence data.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordberg, Henrik; Bhatia, Karan; Wang, Kai; Wang, Zhong

2013-12-01

The recent revolution in sequencing technologies has led to an exponential growth of sequence data. As a result, most of the current bioinformatics tools become obsolete as they fail to scale with data. To tackle this 'data deluge', here we introduce the BioPig sequence analysis toolkit as one of the solutions that scale to data and computation. We built BioPig on the Apache's Hadoop MapReduce system and the Pig data flow language. Compared with traditional serial and MPI-based algorithms, BioPig has three major advantages: first, BioPig's programmability greatly reduces development time for parallel bioinformatics applications; second, testing BioPig with up to 500 Gb sequences demonstrates that it scales automatically with size of data; and finally, BioPig can be ported without modification on many Hadoop infrastructures, as tested with Magellan system at National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center and the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud. In summary, BioPig represents a novel program framework with the potential to greatly accelerate data-intensive bioinformatics analysis.

Preparation of contemporary dishes and a functional drink using Japan's heirloom vegetable, Katsura-uri

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Azusa Sasaki

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Background: The fruit of Katsura-uri, traditionally used in the preparation of pickles in Japan, is facing an extinction crisis. In addition to the traditional dishes prepared from Katsura-uri, alternative dishes using the fruit should be devised to increase consumer demands for the protection of the heirloom vegetable. We attempted designing new Katsura-uri contemporary dishes and assessed the application of Katsura-uri juice as a functional drink without raising blood glucose levels. Methods: Cooking experiments were conducted with Katsura-uri in its ripening stages, based on the advice from a licensed chef and a registered dietitian in Japan. In the questionnaire-based sensory evaluation, consumer acceptability of Katsura-uri juice was assessed. The blood glucose levels were measured after healthy volunteers consumed the juice. Results: We demonstrated six new Katsura-uri dishes. In the questionnaire-based sensory evaluation of Katsura-uri juice, the assessment values for taste and fragrance were high. In human trials, the levels of incremental area under the curve and glucose spike were significantly lower after consumption of Katsura-uri juice, as compared to those after consumption of muskmelon juice. Conclusion: Katsura-uri-containing contemporary dishes and juice would help continue the consumption of the vegetable. Based on the results of the questionnaire, we also concluded that the use of Katsura-uri as a functional drink without raising blood glucose levels is superior to its use as contemporary dishes. These findings provide useful strategies to protect Katsura-uri from extinction. Keywords: Blood glucose, Diabetes, Functional food, Heirloom vegetable, Traditional customs

Introduction of nuclear medicine research in Japan

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Inubushi, Masayuki [Kawasaki Medical School, Division of Nuclear Medicine, Department of Radiology, Kurashiki, Okayama (Japan); Higashi, Tatsuya [National Institutes of Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, Chiba, Chiba (Japan); Kuji, Ichiei [Saitama Medical University International Medical Center, Department of Nuclear Medicine, Hidaka-shi, Saitama (Japan); Sakamoto, Setsu [Dokkyo University School of Medicine, PET Center, Mibu, Tochigi (Japan); Tashiro, Manabu [Tohoku University, Division of Cyclotron Nuclear Medicine, Cyclotron and Radioisotope Center, Sendai, Miyagi (Japan); Momose, Mitsuru [Tokyo Women' s Medical University, Department of Diagnostic Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, Tokyo (Japan)

2016-12-15

There were many interesting presentations of unique studies at the Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Nuclear Medicine, although there were fewer attendees from Europe than expected. These presentations included research on diseases that are more frequent in Japan and Asia than in Europe, synthesis of original radiopharmaceuticals, and development of imaging devices and methods with novel ideas especially by Japanese manufacturers. In this review, we introduce recent nuclear medicine research conducted in Japan in the five categories of Oncology, Neurology, Cardiology, Radiopharmaceuticals and Technology. It is our hope that this article will encourage the participation of researchers from all over the world, in particular from Europe, in scientific meetings on nuclear medicine held in Japan. (orig.)

BioKonversion technology recovers, remediates and reuses waste and hydrocarbons from oil drilling

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Topf, A.

2008-01-15

Houston-based Nopal Group has developed a solution to dispose of oilfield waste in a safe and cost-effective manner. The company is actively engaged in a large-scale project to remediate a 400-hectare site on the Aspheron Peninsula in Azerbaijan. The site is currently regarded as the most polluted place in the world after a century of oil extraction with little regard for the surrounding environment. The Nopal Group will use its patented BioKonversion technology, which cleanses the soil of hydrocarbons in a two-part process using a large machine known as the Green Machine. Several pipelines will need to be relocated, and ancient drilling rigs that have been there as long as 100 years will have to be dealt with. The cleanup cost has been estimated at between $20 million to $40 million, and will take between 18 and 36 months, depending on how deep into the ground the machines have to dig for hydrocarbons. The 90-foot by 40-foot machine processes drill cuttings, contaminated soil and drill fluids by first separating the dirt from the liquid hydrocarbons, which can be recycled or refined for resale. The remaining dirt, which still contains 3 to 7 percent oil, is then placed into a centrifuge and mixed with a heating agent and other elements, including naturally oleophilic kenaf powder. The process micronizes and absorbs hydrocarbons. Once the process is finished, the hydrocarbons are immediately non-detectable and non-leachable. The leftover benign dirt can be used as landfill cover, or mixed with road aggregate. BioKonversion can also be adapted for use on oil rigs. This article demonstrated that the process has clear advantages over traditional oilfield remediation methods such as land farming. Opportunities exist to utilize the process in Venezuela and Kuwait. 1 fig.

Local Government System in Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vladimir V. Redko

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the issues of the activities of the local government of Japan. Particular attention is drawn to the legal framework and the material basis for the functioning of local self-government bodies. The system of local self-government is considered as a special form of self-government with a specific functional and meaning; system of municipal management and delegation of authority, as well as features of interaction between civil and imperious levels. The allocation of the city with a special status, as well as the financial structure of the local government of Japan, is considered in detail.

Proceedings of II Molecular Imaging Symposium Cuba - Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2016-01-01

In the Central Theater, University Hospital 'General Calixto Garcia' took place the II Symposium on Molecular Imaging Cuba Japan in the framework of the Scientific Convention for the 120th anniversary of the hospital. The event was organized by the hospital itself with the support of the Society of Medical Physics (medical physics section), CEADEN, the Embassy of Japan and the Theragnostic Compounds R&D Center Neuroscience Research Institute Gachon University, Incheon Korea. It was attended by 80 national scientific leaders and with the invaluable presence of Dr. Tatsuo IDO, Emeritus professor of Tohoku University (Sendai, Japan) who presented the results of the scientific papers presented this year in national and international events , referring to the new technologies of molecular imaging and the importance of medical physics in its development. During the meeting the importance of the new technologies of molecular imaging, its undisputed diagnosis intake and medical treatment and the value of human capital struggled to deal with the new technologies, the view that these are only used best when it is understood that they are multidisciplinary systems where each specialist and technical personnel plays an indispensable role. The challenge has medical physics to address these new technologies and the need for changes in the theoretical and practical training in the specialty. These analyzes will be given continuity in the next symposia molecular imaging. (author)

Bio-degradable highly fluorescent conjugated polymer nanoparticles for bio-medical imaging applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Repenko, Tatjana; Rix, Anne; Ludwanowski, Simon; Go, Dennis; Kiessling, Fabian; Lederle, Wiltrud; Kuehne, Alexander J C

2017-09-07

Conjugated polymer nanoparticles exhibit strong fluorescence and have been applied for biological fluorescence imaging in cell culture and in small animals. However, conjugated polymer particles are hydrophobic and often chemically inert materials with diameters ranging from below 50 nm to several microns. As such, conjugated polymer nanoparticles cannot be excreted through the renal system. This drawback has prevented their application for clinical bio-medical imaging. Here, we present fully conjugated polymer nanoparticles based on imidazole units. These nanoparticles can be bio-degraded by activated macrophages. Reactive oxygen species induce scission of the conjugated polymer backbone at the imidazole unit, leading to complete decomposition of the particles into soluble low molecular weight fragments. Furthermore, the nanoparticles can be surface functionalized for directed targeting. The approach opens a wide range of opportunities for conjugated polymer particles in the fields of medical imaging, drug-delivery, and theranostics.Conjugated polymer nanoparticles have been applied for biological fluorescence imaging in cell culture and in small animals, but cannot readily be excreted through the renal system. Here the authors show fully conjugated polymer nanoparticles based on imidazole units that can be bio-degraded by activated macrophages.

Diversifying bio-petro fuel sources for future energy sustainability and its challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Othman, M. R.; Helwani, Z.; Idris, I.

2018-04-01

Petroleum has been important in the energy industry since 19th century when the refining of paraffin from crude oil began. The industry recently appears to be in a downtown and fragile moment despite the price of oil is slowly rising. Renewable alternatives such as biofuels have gained increasing traction while petroleum fuel seemingly concedes to bio-fuels due to the rising public concern on the environment and stricter emission regulations. To be a strategic fuel in the energy security matrix, both fossil and bio-fuels options should be considered. However, the use of bio-fuels to achieve a degree of carbon neutrality is not without challenges. Among the challenges are land development and socio-political issue, carbon neutrality due to ILUC, high 2G bio-fuel feedstock and production cost, competing technology from electric vehicles and the impending fourth industrial revolution, NOx emissions and variation in biodiesel quality. This paper briefly reviews the potential of fuels source diversification and the challenges and how they can raise up to the challenges in order to be sustainable and attractive. In order to achieve this objective, first carbon credit through carbon trading needs to continue to stabilize the energy price. Second, 1G bio-fuel needs to forgo the use of natural, peat forest, rubber estate since these are an effective carbon sink and oxygen source. Third, advanced bio-fuels with high yield, process economics and sustainability need to be innovated. Fourth, the quality and standard bio-fuel that reduces NOx emission need to be improved. Finally and most importantly, carbon capture technology needs to be deployed immediately in fossil fuel power plants.

Rethinking Value in the Bio-economy

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Current debates in science and technology studies emphasize that the bio-economy—or, the articulation of capitalism and biotechnology—is built on notions of commodity production, commodification, and materiality, emphasizing that it is possible to derive value from body parts, molecular and cellular tissues, biological processes, and so on. What is missing from these perspectives, however, is consideration of the political-economic actors, knowledges, and practices involved in the creation and management of value. As part of a rethinking of value in the bio-economy, this article analyzes three key political-economic processes: financialization, capitalization, and assetization. In doing so, it argues that value is managed as part of a series of valuation practices, it is not inherent in biological materialities. PMID:28458406

The 3rd DBCLS BioHackathon

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katayama, Toshiaki; Wilkinson, Mark D; Micklem, Gos

2013-01-01

together representatives from public databases, analytical tool providers, and cyber-infrastructure researchers to jointly tackle important challenges in the area of in silico biological research. RESULTS: The theme of BioHackathon 2010 was the 'Semantic Web', and all attendees gathered with the shared...... goal of producing Semantic Web data from their respective resources, and/or consuming or interacting those data using their tools and interfaces. We discussed on topics including guidelines for designing semantic data and interoperability of resources. We consequently developed tools and clients...... for analysis and visualization. CONCLUSION: We provide a meeting report from BioHackathon 2010, in which we describe the discussions, decisions, and breakthroughs made as we moved towards compliance with Semantic Web technologies - from source provider, through middleware, to the end-consumer....

What is nuclear power in Japan?

Science.gov (United States)

Suzuki, Toshikazu

2011-03-01

The aggressive use of such non-fossil energy as the atomic energy with high power density and energy production efficiency is an indispensable choice aiming at the low-carbon society. There is a trial calculation that the carbon dioxide emission of 40000 ton can be suppressed by nuclear power generation by one ton of uranium. The basis of nuclear research after the Second World War in Japan was established by the researchers learnt in Argonne National Laboratory. In 2010, NPPs under operation are 54 units and the total electric generating power is 48.85GW. The amount of nuclear power generation per person of the people is 0.38kW in Japan, and it is near 0.34kW of the United States. However, the TMI accident and the Chernobyl disaster should have greatly stagnated the nuclear industry of Japan although it is not more serious than the United States. A lot of Japanese unconsciously associate a nuclear accident with the atomic bomb. According to the investigation which Science and Technology Agency carried out to the specialist in 1999, ``What will be the field where talent should be emphatically sent in the future?'' the rank of nuclear technology was the lowest in 32 fields. The influence of the nuclear industry stagnation was remarkable in the education. The subject related to the atomic energy of a university existed 19 in 1985 that was the previous year of the Chernobyl disaster decreased to 7 in 2003. In such a situation, we have to rely on the atomic energy because Japan depends for 96% of energy resources on import. The development of the fuel reprocessing and the fast breeder reactor has been continued in spite of a heavy failure. That is the only means left behind for Japan to be released from both fossil fuel and carbon dioxide.

Structure and physical properties of bio membranes and model membranes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tibor Hianik

2006-01-01

Bio membranes belong to the most important structures of the cell and the cell organelles. They play not only structural role of the barrier separating the external and internal part of the membrane but contain also various functional molecules, like receptors, ionic channels, carriers and enzymes. The cell membrane also preserves non-equilibrium state in a cell which is crucial for maintaining its excitability and other signaling functions. The growing interest to the bio membranes is also due to their unique physical properties. From physical point of view the bio membranes, that are composed of lipid bilayer into which are incorporated integral proteins and on their surface are anchored peripheral proteins and polysaccharides, represent liquid s crystal of smectic type. The bio membranes are characterized by anisotropy of structural and physical properties. The complex structure of bio membranes makes the study of their physical properties rather difficult. Therefore several model systems that mimic the structure of bio membranes were developed. Among them the lipid monolayers at an air-water interphase, bilayer lipid membranes, supported bilayer lipid membranes and liposomes are most known. This work is focused on the introduction into the physical word of the bio membranes and their models. After introduction to the membrane structure and the history of its establishment, the physical properties of the bio membranes and their models are stepwise presented. The most focus is on the properties of lipid monolayers, bilayer lipid membranes, supported bilayer lipid membranes and liposomes that were most detailed studied. This lecture has tutorial character that may be useful for undergraduate and graduate students in the area of biophysics, biochemistry, molecular biology and bioengineering, however it contains also original work of the author and his co-worker and PhD students, that may be useful also for specialists working in the field of bio membranes and model

BIOS Security Analysis and a Kind of Trusted BIOS

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Zhenliu; Xu, Rongsheng

The BIOS's security threats to computer system are analyzed and security requirements for firmware BIOS are summarized in this paper. Through discussion about TCG's trust transitivity, a new approach about CRTM implementation based on BIOS is developed. In this paper, we also put forward a new trusted BIOS architecture-UTBIOS which is built on Intel Framework for EFI/UEFI. The trustworthiness of UTBIOS is based on trusted hardware TPM. In UTBIOS, trust encapsulation and trust measurement are used to construct pre-OS trust chain. Performance of trust measurement is also analyzed in the end.

The Advisory Committee of International Nuclear Information System (INIS) for Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kunii, Katsuhiko; Itabashi, Keizo

2016-10-01

Under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the International Nuclear Information System (INIS) Programme commenced in 1970 and ever since INIS has been acting as a database system available worldwide through information networks each time providing bibliographic information then full text documents of literature, technical reports, etc. on peaceful use of nuclear science and technology, thoroughly supported and maintained by INIS Secretariat in Vienna, on the other hand the inputs for INIS are provided by Member States and Organizations in their own boundaries. As for the INIS activity in Japan, while, the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI), then succeeded as the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) as of today, the both have been responsible with the INIS activity in Japan as the INIS National Centre for Japan based on the request of the “former” Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese Government, an advisory committee had have a very important role for the INIS activity in Japan by enthusiastically advising the whole related to the activity from advanced and comprehensive viewpoints of expertise. This report describes about it, the Advisory Committee of International Nuclear Information System (INIS) for Japan, successfully been held 34 times from Oct. 1970 to Mar. 2005. Included are the history and its records, change of the member and topics of the Advisory Committee, and the minutes. (author)

Building pathway graphs from BioPAX data in R.

Science.gov (United States)

Benis, Nirupama; Schokker, Dirkjan; Kramer, Frank; Smits, Mari A; Suarez-Diez, Maria

2016-01-01

Biological pathways are increasingly available in the BioPAX format which uses an RDF model for data storage. One can retrieve the information in this data model in the scripting language R using the package rBiopaxParser , which converts the BioPAX format to one readable in R. It also has a function to build a regulatory network from the pathway information. Here we describe an extension of this function. The new function allows the user to build graphs of entire pathways, including regulated as well as non-regulated elements, and therefore provides a maximum of information. This function is available as part of the rBiopaxParser distribution from Bioconductor.

Cloning, expression and functional analysis of MAP30 from ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

use

2011-12-07

Dec 7, 2011 ... gene was cloned and expressed and the induction of the recombinant MAP30 protein on .... RNA reverse transcription was carried out by RevertAidTM First ... volume of Premix Ex Taq™ (Takara Bio Inc, Japan), PCR cycling.

Towards revitalization of the world economy: Japan responsible for four projects

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Shaku, A

1983-05-10

A progress report by the Working Group on Technology, Growth, and Employment not only stresses the importance of science and technology, but analyzes their employment, cultural, and other effects. Japan's responsibility in four areas covers safety research on light water reactors, photovoltaic energy for direct conversion into electricity, the use of photosynthesis processes to produce energy, and the introduction of advanced robotics. Japan's goal is to support international cooperation in these and the remaining 18 projects. 2 tables. (DCK)

Bio-char derived from sewage sludge by liquefaction: Characterization and application for dye adsorption

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leng, Lijian [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China); Key Laboratory of Environment Biology and Pollution Control, Hunan University, Ministry of Education, Changsha 410082 (China); Yuan, Xingzhong, E-mail: yxz@hnu.edu.cn [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China); Key Laboratory of Environment Biology and Pollution Control, Hunan University, Ministry of Education, Changsha 410082 (China); Huang, Huajun [School of Land Resources and Environment, Jiangxi Agricultural University, Nanchang 330045 (China); Shao, Jianguang; Wang, Hou [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China); Key Laboratory of Environment Biology and Pollution Control, Hunan University, Ministry of Education, Changsha 410082 (China); Chen, Xiaohong [School of Business, Central South University, Changsha 410083 (China); Zeng, Guangming [College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha 410082 (China); Key Laboratory of Environment Biology and Pollution Control, Hunan University, Ministry of Education, Changsha 410082 (China)

2015-08-15

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • SS liquefaction bio-chars were effective on MG and MB removal from aqueous. • MG adsorption capacity depended strongly on carboxylic and phenolic groups. • Metal release accounted for nearly 30% of the total MG adsorbed on bio-chars. • Acetone and low temperature favor effective adsorbent production by liquefaction. - Abstract: Bio-chars produced by liquefaction of sewage sludge with methanol, ethanol, or acetone as the solvent at 260–380 °C were characterized in terms of their elemental composition, thermogravimetric characteristics, surface area and pore size distribution, and oxygen-containing functional groups composition. The surface area and total volume of the bio-chars were low, but the contents of oxygen-containing functional groups were high. The bio-chars were effective on Malachite green (MG) and Methylene blue (MB) removal from aqueous solution. The MG adsorption equilibrium data showed excellent fit to the Langmuir model and the kinetic data fitted well to the Pseudo-second-order model. Thermodynamic investigations indicated that MG adsorption on bio-char was spontaneous and endothermic. The MG adsorption mechanism appears to be associated with cation release and functional group participation. Additionally, liquefaction of SS with acetone as the solvent at low temperature (280 °C) would favor the production of bio-char adsorbent in terms of bio-char yield and MG and MB adsorption capacity.

Changes in Mothers' Psychosocial Perceptions of Technology-dependent Children and Adolescents at Home in Japan: Acknowledgement of Children's Autonomy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nishigaki, Kaori; Kanamori, Yutaka; Ikeda, Mari; Sugiyama, Masahiko; Minowa, Hideko; Kamibeppu, Kiyoko

2016-06-01

This research was conducted to reveal Japanese mothers' changing perceptions towards their technology-dependent children in the home care setting. Fourteen Japanese mothers participated in semi-structured interviews, which were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. "Degree of preoccupation with the child" emerged as the category representing the mothers' perceptions towards their child. Three categories emerged that represented the progression of maternal perceptions over time: "accepting the child's conditions", "mastering the management of care in various conditions", and "considering social participation for the child". First, mothers gradually accepted the conditions of their child after his/her disease and disability were known. Second, others managed technology-required care and concurrently considered the social participation of their child through daily care at home. Third, the level of preoccupation with the child was affected by the mothers' management of care and their attitude towards the social participation of their child in home care. In this study, as is widely alleged in historical recognition of Japan, mothers provided daily care almost without help from other family members. Additionally, they thought it natural and good for their children. Above all, especially in Japan, professional support for mothers are necessary so that they can take breaks from care. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Nanoparticle based bio-bar code technology for trace analysis of aflatoxin B1 in Chinese herbs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-yan Yu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available A novel and sensitive assay for aflatoxin B1 (AFB1 detection has been developed by using bio-bar code assay (BCA. The method that relies on polyclonal antibodies encoded with DNA modified gold nanoparticle (NP and monoclonal antibodies modified magnetic microparticle (MMP, and subsequent detection of amplified target in the form of bio-bar code using a fluorescent quantitative polymerase chain reaction (FQ-PCR detection method. First, NP probes encoded with DNA that was unique to AFB1, MMP probes with monoclonal antibodies that bind AFB1 specifically were prepared. Then, the MMP-AFB1-NP sandwich compounds were acquired, dehybridization of the oligonucleotides on the nanoparticle surface allows the determination of the presence of AFB1 by identifying the oligonucleotide sequence released from the NP through FQ-PCR detection. The bio-bar code techniques system for detecting AFB1 was established, and the sensitivity limit was about 10−8 ng/mL, comparable ELISA assays for detecting the same target, it showed that we can detect AFB1 at low attomolar levels with the bio-bar-code amplification approach. This is also the first demonstration of a bio-bar code type assay for the detection of AFB1 in Chinese herbs. Keywords: Aflatoxin B1, Bio-bar code assay, Chinese herbs, Magnetic microparticle probes, Nanoparticle probes

BioSIGHT: Interactive Visualization Modules for Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Wee Ling

1998-01-01

Redefining science education to harness emerging integrated media technologies with innovative pedagogical goals represents a unique challenge. The Integrated Media Systems Center (IMSC) is the only engineering research center in the area of multimedia and creative technologies sponsored by the National Science Foundation. The research program at IMSC is focused on developing advanced technologies that address human-computer interfaces, database management, and high- speed network capabilities. The BioSIGHT project at IMSC is a demonstration technology project in the area of education that seeks to address how such emerging multimedia technologies can make an impact on science education. The scope of this project will help solidify NASA's commitment for the development of innovative educational resources that promotes science literacy for our students and the general population as well. These issues must be addressed as NASA marches towards the goal of enabling human space exploration that requires an understanding of life sciences in space. The IMSC BioSIGHT lab was established with the purpose of developing a novel methodology that will map a high school biology curriculum into a series of interactive visualization modules that can be easily incorporated into a space biology curriculum. Fundamental concepts in general biology must be mastered in order to allow a better understanding and application for space biology. Interactive visualization is a powerful component that can capture the students' imagination, facilitate their assimilation of complex ideas, and help them develop integrated views of biology. These modules will augment the role of the teacher and will establish the value of student-centered interactivity, both in an individual setting as well as in a collaborative learning environment. Students will be able to interact with the content material, explore new challenges, and perform virtual laboratory simulations. The BioSIGHT effort is truly cross

Toward the responsible innovation with nanotechnology in Japan: our scope

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ishizu, Saori, E-mail: ishizu-saori@aist.go.jp; Sekiya, Mizuki [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Technology Information Department (Japan); Ishibashi, Ken-ichi [Sony Corporation (Japan); Negami, Yumi [Trade and Industry (METI), Ministry of Economy (Japan); Ata, Masafumi [National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Technology Information Department (Japan)

2008-02-15

The societal impacts of nanotechnology have attracted growing attention in the United States and Europe in recent years. In Japan, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (Technology Information Department) has played a central role in promoting discussions on this topic by collecting information from Japan and overseas, creating a network of the interested parties, and providing a forum for discussion. This paper presents a summary of recent activities in Japan relating to the societal impacts of nanotechnology, fro the launch of the 'Nanotechnology and Society' open forum (August 2004) until the 'Nanotechnology Debate' discussion forum (February 2007), and outlines the policy recommendations that came out of a project entitled 'Research on Facilitation of Public Acceptance of Nanotechnology' (March 2006)

Rising economy of China and its effects on the industrial technology of Japan and other Asian countries. Chugoku no hatten to henbosuru Asia no sangyo gijutsu chizu (henkaku wo semarareru seisan gijutsu taikoku Nippon)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Otani, H [JGC Corp., Tokyo (Japan)

1994-03-05

Due to the rapid economy growth and industry development in China, the map of industry and economy in Asian countries has been greatly changing. The technology, which has supported Japan's industrial development, is characterized by the improvements of original technologies introduced from Europe and the United States. On the other hand, Korea has problems of creating the original and individual production technology and its basis. The industrial technology in China at present has problems which are accompanied with the conversion from the planned economy system to the market economy system. However, Chinese people having a tradition of 'link of three parts' seem to understand the Japanese style management policy well. Japan has played a role as 'world's center of manufacturing' by using its excellent production technology. In the future, China is considered to play a role as the 'world's center of manufacturing,' due to its huge domestic market, cheap and rich manpower, and excellent potential capacity of industrial technology. In Japan, it is emphasized that an industrial society system should be reconstructed, in which excellent individuality and talent can be made good use of. 6 refs., 1 fig.