A Foundation of Quantum Channels with Super Additiveness for Shannon Information

This paper presents a review and some results on problems of super additiveness in quantum channel for Shannon information. Especially, how to investigate concrete systems showing super additiveness is discussed. It is verified that the concept of the conventional error correction scheme does not play an important role to demonstrate, at least, the super additiveness of quantum channel, and that rather one can apply them to only selection of code word states with desirable Hamming distance. Finally, some properties of quantum reliability function are given, which are useful to discuss the general property of coding with super additiveness. Received: September 29, 1998; revised version: July 9, 1999     

Formation of Alkoxy-Derived lead Niobates in the PbO-Rich Region

The formation of lead niobates in the PbO-rich region is studied using powders prepared by the simultaneous hydrolysis of lead and niobium alkoxides. Cubic 3PbO·2Nb_2PO₅ solid solutions crystallize at low temperatures from amorphous materials having concentrations of 58 to 75 mol% PbO. The lattice parameter a increases linearly from 1.0544 to 1.0708 nm with increasing PbO. At higher temperatures the solid solutions made with 66.67 and 71.43 mol% PbO transform into 2PbO·Nb₂O₅ (monoclinic) and 5PbO·2Nb₂O_s (monoclinic), respectively. Monoclinic 5PbO·2Nb₂O₅ transforms into a new modification at = 3850° to = 3900°C. It has a rhombohedral unit cell with a = 0.7461 nm and c = 4.8092 nm ( a = 1.6599 nm, a = 25.97°). In the presence of excess lead, monoclinic 5PbO·2Nb₂O₅ transforms into tetragonal 3PbO·Nb₂O₅.     

Antioxidant activity of Japanese pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum DC.) fruit

Antioxidants were extracted from Japanese pepper (Zanthoxylum piperitum DC.) fruit and characterized. The antioxidant activity of the methanol extract from Japanese pepper fruit was found to be equal to that of α-tocopherol and stable under heat treatment. The main compounds that gave a significant antioxidant activity from the methanol extract were identified to be hyperoside (quercetin-3-O-galactoside) and quercitrin (quercetin-3-O-rhamnoside) as determined by HPLC, mass spectrometry, UV/Vis spectroscopy, and TLC. Radical-scavenging activities of hyperoside and quercitrin from Japanese pepper fruit were evaluated using the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method. As a result, hyperoside and quercitrin scavenged DPPH radical strongly with IC₅₀ values of 16 and 18 μM, respectively. These observations show the presence of strong antioxidants, namely hyperoside and quercitrin in Japanese pepper fruit.     

Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Continuously Graded MoSi2–ZrO2(2Y) Materials Using Wet-Molding

Continuously graded MoSi₂-ZrO₂(2Y) materials with high density (97.5% of theoretical) have been fabricated by uniaxial wet-molding, followed by hot pressing (1000°C/1 h/30 MPa) and hot isostatic pressing (1400°C/2 h/196 MPa). Their composition profiles are greatly influenced by the viscosity of mixed solutions of glycerin and ethanol used as a dispersion medium; a linear compositional gradient from MoSi₂/ZrO₂(2Y) 70/30 to 20/80 mol% is obtained from the solution (50/50 vol%) with a viscosity of 20 mPa s. Vickers hardness (Hv) and fracture toughness (KIC) increase from 9.7 to 12.4 GPa and from 5.1 to 12.5 MPa m1/2, respectively, with increasing ZrO₂(2Y) composition.     

Properties of mixed chlorophyll a-glycolipid monolayers

Surface pressure, ellipsometric and surface potential-area isotherms have been measured to investigate the properties of chlorophyll a-digalactosyldiacyglycerol (Chl a-DGDG) and Chl a-sulfoquinovosyldiacylglycerol (SQDG) monolayers at the nitrogen-water interface. The surface pressure-area isotherms of Chla-DGDG exhibit a pronounced negative deviation with respect to ideality, whereas ellipsometric and surface potential isotherms of the mixed monolayers fall between those of the pure components. Hydrophilic interactions have been ruled out on the basis of the additivity law followed by the surface dipole moment of the mixed monolayers. The observed deviation exhibited by the π-A isotherms is interpreted in terms of an intermolecular cavity effect.     

A study of manipulator with passive revolute joint

In this article, equations of motion of a manipulator, whose mechanism has a passive revolute joint, are derived in consideration of the characteristics of driving source. Considering the fi nal condition of displacement and velocity of the passive joint, trajectories of velocity for energy saving are calculated by iterative dynamic programming. And the dynamic characteristics of manipulator control based on the trajectory for energy saving are analyzed theoretically and investigated experimentally. This work was presented in part at the 13th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 31–February 2, 2008     

Optimized ANN model for predicting rock mass quality ahead of tunnel face using measure-while-drilling data

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Rock mass quality assessment has a vital influence on the excavation of tunnels and caverns in rock mass. For this purpose, extensive field...     

Biomechanical Evaluation of Ti-Nb-Sn Alloy Implants with a Low Young’s Modulus

Dental implants are widely used and are a predictable treatment in various edentulous cases. Occlusal overload may be causally related to implant bone loss and a loss of integration. Stress concentrations may be diminished using a mechanobiologically integrated implant with bone tissue. The purpose of this study was to investigate the biomechanical behavior, biocompatibility and bioactivity of a Ti-Nb-Sn alloy as a dental implant material. It was compared with cpTi. Cell proliferation and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity were quantified. To assess the degree of osseointegration, a push-in test was carried out. Cell proliferation and ALP activity in the cells grown on prepared surfaces were similar for the Ti-Nb-Sn alloy and for cpTi in all the experiments. A comparison between the Ti-Nb-Sn alloy implant and the cpTi implant revealed that no significant difference was apparent for the push-in test values. These results suggest that implants fabricated using Ti-Nb-Sn have a similar biological potential as cpTi and are capable of excellent osseointegration.     

Oscillatory neural activity associated with cognitive processes affected by spatial frequency

The spatial frequency contained in visual objects is known to affect human psychophysiology. In our previous study, we showed that event‐related potentials are affected by spatial frequency during a simple calculation task. In that study, however, we did not investigate the contribution of oscillatory neural activities. The purpose of the present study is to characterize the changes in oscillatory neural activity associated with cognitive processes, and to investigate how these signals are affected by the spatial frequency of a visual stimulus during simple calculation tasks. We investigate these issues by analyzing our previously collected electroencephalography (EEG) dataset using the same visual stimulus, tasks, subjects, and EEG recordings. In that study, four types of vertically striped visual stimuli were used. The visual stimuli contained embedded numbers (from 0 to 9) that possessed the following frequency (f) characteristics: white noise, 1/f, 1/f², and 1/f³. The subjects were instructed to perform two tasks: ‘add numbers’ (addition task) and ‘do not add numbers’ (reference task). EEG data were recorded, and event‐related synchronization (ERS) and desynchronization (ERD) for each visual stimulus were analyzed on the basis of the intertrial variances of wavelet coefficients for theta, alpha, low‐beta, and gamma band activity. Eight healthy men (21–23 years) were recruited to participate in the study. Our results suggest the presence of a frequency discrimination function in the theta band activity in the fronto‐central area at the latency of 198 ms during the addition task. The alpha‐band ERD during completion of the reference task also showed a spatial frequency dependency. This phenomenon was observed in the left temporal‐parietal area at a latency of 376 ms, and is thought to be related to the perceptual filter. We conclude that the observed changes in oscillatory neural activity associated with cognitive processes are affected by spatial frequency. © 2014 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Production and properties of phytase and acid phosphatase from a sake koji mold, Aspergillus oryzae

We identified three types of acid phosphatase (ACP-I, ACP-II, and ACP-III) produced by Aspergillus oryzae in a submerged culture using only phytic acid as the phosphorous substrate. The optimum pH for the activities of the three enzymes was in the range of 4.5 to 5.5. Analysis of the substrate specificities of these enzymes revealed that ACP-I and ACP-III were acid phosphatases, and ACP-II was a phytase. These enzymes were produced during different periods of mycelial growth: ACP-II was produced during the early phase of cultivation (around 24 h), and ACP-I was produced between 24 to 72 h. ACP-III was detected after the production of ACP-I and ACP-II had ceased. The release of phosphate from phytic acid was expected to be due to the cooperative hydrolysis of these enzymes.