• Journal of Korea Foundry Society
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.61-66
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• 2022

Hydraulic units are important components of agricultural and construction machinery, and thus require high-quality castings. However, gas defects occurring inside the sand cores of the castings due to the resin used is a problem. This study therefore aimed to develop a casting simulation method that can clarify the gas defect positions. Gas defects are thought to be caused by gas generated after the molten metal fills up the mold cavity. The gas constant is the most effective factor for simulating this gas generated from sand cores. It is calculated by gas generating temperature and analysis of composition in the inert gas atmosphere modified according to the mold filling conditions of molten metal. It is assumed that gases generated from the inside of castings remain if the following formula is established. [Time of occurrence of gas generation] + [Time of occurrence of gas floating] > [Time of occurrence of casting surface solidification] The possibility of gas defects is evaluated by the time of occurrence of gas generation and gas floating calculated using the gas constant. The residual position of generated gases is decided by the closed loops indicating the final solidification location in the casting simulation. The above procedure enables us to suggest suitable casting designs with zero gas defects, without the need to repeat casting tests.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• v.49 no.2
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• pp.215-220
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• 2022

Background In Japan, there is a large regional disparity in plastic surgery availability. In order for plastic surgery to be widely available for all citizens, it is essential for at least one plastic surgery facility to be located in each secondary medical zone. Methods Using the Japan Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery homepage and some databases, we extracted data on secondary medical zones that do not have a plastic surgery facility. The national and regional coverage rates were calculated. The coverage rate for each group divided by the degree of population concentration was also calculated. Results We found that 147 of 344 secondary medical zones did not have a plastic surgery facility, and the area coverage rate was found to be 57.27% nationwide. The coverage rate in terms of population was 87.07% (correlation coefficient of area and population coverage = 0.983). The area coverage rates in Hokkaido-Tohoku, Kanto, Chubu, Kansai, Chugoku-Shikoku, and Kyushu-Okinawa districts were 47.46, 72.15, 76.47, 62.79, 52.08, and 32.81%, respectively. The corresponding population coverage rates were 79.92, 91.62, 94.27, 90.59, 80.68, and 69.54%, respectively. The area coverage rates in metropolitan areas, provincial cities, and rural areas were 98.08, 75.90, and 15.87%, respectively. In contrast, the area coverage rate of dermatology was 62.79% and that of orthopaedics was 97.09%. Conclusion Unfortunately, it is estimated that more than 40% of secondary medical zones are underserved by plastic surgery, and 13% of the population is not able to fully benefit from this specialty in Japan.

• International Journal of High-Rise Buildings
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.87-102
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• 2022

In Japan, the population progresses to the extreme aging society and it is entering the phase of the population decrease while the population increase is continuing in the world. The construction market is expected to shrink accordingly, however the situation of labor shortage is expected to continue at a faster rate, because the aging of construction workers is progressing and new younger labor force cannot be secured. In order to supplement the labor shortage, it is required to progress mechanization, automation, labor saving, and efficiency improvement by utilizing the information well in each stage in a series of flow of planning, design, construction, operation, and disassembly in one building. The measures to maintain and expand the construction market by the new efficiency improvement techniques which enhance the utilization degree of building information are required. Currently, the elemental technologies which utilized BIM (Building Information Modeling) are accumulated by advancing digitization in each phase. DX (Digital transformation) in the construction industry can be achieved by the technology maturing and having a series of continuities. It is anticipated that this will evolve to a new method which is unprecedented. Present status of BIM and mechanized constructions in Taisei Construction are introduced, and future prospect is described.

• Educational Technology International
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.57-69
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• 2007

The advantages of the Internet enable teachers in the world to break the communication barriers between their schools and collaborate with each other, giving them opportunities for richer educational practices than ever accomplished. I assume that collaborative learning like an international exchange naturally lead the students to acquire the knowledge to communicate with their peers using ICT skills. In this paper, two international exchange projects that have years of practice are reported, i.e., new types of collaborative education projects that the development of the Internet has enabled us to carry out. The international exchanges reported here have been possible because both students and teachers have effectively used the various functions of the Internet. To use English as a "common international communication language" is particularly important for the youth in Asia, and the students have come to realize the importance of English as a communication language through these projects. Also, since these practices are based on the infrastructure of the Internet, they have elucidated what kind of Internet use produces richer educational results .At the final stage of the exchanges, "joint presentation in English" is designed. Students communicate and collaborate over the network, and finally meet with each other and try to give a presentation as a product of their collaborative work. The files and scenes of their presentations are stored on the network and used as educational materials in Asia as well as models for the activities in the following years. We will report how to design international exchange education in this Internet age.

• Corrosion Science and Technology
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.113-120
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• 2024

An attempt was made to apply digital image correlation (DIC) strain analysis to in-situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) observations of bending deformation to quantify local strain distribution inside a ZnMgAl-alloy coating in deformation. Interstitial-free steel sheets were hot-dipped in a Zn-3Mg-6Al (mass%) alloy melt at 400 ℃ for 2 s. The specimens were deformed using a miniature-sized 4-point bending test machine inside the SEM chamber. The observed in situ SEM images were used for DIC strain analysis. The hot-dip ZnMgAl-alloy coating exhibited a solidification microstructure composed of a three-phase eutectic of fine Al (fcc), Zn (hcp), and Zn2Mg phases surrounding the primary solidified Al phases. The relatively coarsened Zn₂Mg phases were locally observed inside the ZnMgAl-alloy coating. The DIC strain analysis revealed that the strain was localized in the primary solidified Al phases and fine eutectic microstructure around the Zn₂Mg phase. The results indicated high deformability of the multi-phase microstructure of the ZnMgAl-alloy coating.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.2_spc
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• pp.360-369
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• 2024

Ruminal methane production functions as the main sink for metabolic hydrogen generated through rumen fermentation and is recognized as a considerable source of greenhouse gas emissions. Methane production is a complex trait affected by dry matter intake, feed composition, rumen microbiota and their fermentation, lactation stage, host genetics, and environmental factors. Various mitigation approaches have been proposed. Because individual ruminants exhibit different methane conversion efficiencies, the microbial characteristics of low-methane-emitting animals can be essential for successful rumen manipulation and environment-friendly methane mitigation. Several bacterial species, including Sharpea, uncharacterized Succinivibrionaceae, and certain Prevotella phylotypes have been listed as key players in low-methane-emitting sheep and cows. The functional characteristics of the unclassified bacteria remain unclear, as they are yet to be cultured. Here, we review ruminal methane production and mitigation strategies, focusing on rumen fermentation and the functional role of rumen microbiota, and describe the phylogenetic and physiological characteristics of a novel Prevotella species recently isolated from low methane-emitting and high propionate-producing cows. This review may help to provide a better understanding of the ruminal digestion process and rumen function to identify holistic and environmentally friendly methane mitigation approaches for sustainable ruminant production.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.812-816
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• 2023

We report a rare case of gastric cancer presenting with a gastrocolic fistula during ramucirumab and paclitaxel combination therapy that was successfully managed with colonic stenting. A 75-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with the chief complaint of melena. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a large ulcerated tumor in the lower stomach, judged by laparoscopy as unresectable (sT4bN1M0). After four cycles of first-line chemotherapy with S-1 plus oxaliplatin, the patient showed disease progression, and second-line therapy with ramucirumab and paclitaxel was started. At the end of the third cycle, the patient had gastric antral stenosis, which necessitated the placement of a gastroduodenal stent. When the patient complained of diarrhea 10 days later, esophagogastroduodenoscopy revealed a fistula between the greater curvature of the stomach and the transverse colon. The fistula was covered by double colonic stenting, with a covered metal stent placed within an uncovered metal stent, after which leakage from the stomach to the colon stopped.

• Journal of Photoscience
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.308-310
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• 2002

Bacteriorhodopsin (bR) and halorhodopsin (hR), which exist in the membrane of Halobacterium salinarum, are light-driven ion pumps. In spite of high similarity of primary and tertiary structures between bR and hR, these membrane proteins transport different ions, proton and chloride, in the opposite direction. From alignment of the amino acid sequences, Thr-89 of bR is homologous to Ser-l15 of hR from Halobacterium salinarum (shR). X-ray structure of shR has revealed that OH group of this residue directly interacts with CI$\^$-/ Thus, Ser-lI5 of shR is expected to play an important role in CI$\^$-/ binding and transport. In this study, we expressed wild type hR from Natronobacterium pharaonis (PhR) and Sl30A, which corresponds to Ser-l15 of shR, in E. coli in order to clarify binding affinity of chloride ion and photocycle reactions. From the titration with CI$\^$-/, affinity of Sl30A became quite lower than that of WT (WT 6 mM, Sl30A 89 mM). Furthermore, from the flash photolysis with pulse laser of λ$\_$max/ at 532 nm, the reaction rate of SI30A from 0 intermediate to hR ground state was found to become apparently slower than that of WT. The singular value decomposition (SVD) and global fitting analyses of the photocycles were performed to identify all photointermediates and determine the reaction rates.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.937-945
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• 2014

Green and black tea by-products, obtained from ready-made tea industry, were ensiled at $10^{\circ}C$, $20^{\circ}C$, and $30^{\circ}C$. Green tea by-product silage (GTS) and black tea by-product silage (BTS) were opened at 5, 10, 45 days after ensiling. Fermentation characteristics and nutrient composition, including tannins, were monitored and the silages on day 45 were subjected to in vitro ruminal fermentation to assess anti-nutritive effects of tannins using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a tannin-binding agent. Results showed that the GTS and BTS silages were stable and fermented slightly when ensiled at $10^{\circ}C$. The GTS stored at $20^{\circ}C$ and $30^{\circ}C$ showed rapid pH decline and high acetic acid concentration. The BTS was fermented gradually with moderate change of pH and acid concentration. Acetic acid was the main acid product of fermentation in both GTS and BTS. The contents of total extractable phenolics and total extractable tannins in both silages were unaffected by storage temperatures, but condensed tannins in GTS were less when stored at high temperature. The GTS showed no PEG response on in vitro gas production, and revealed only a small increase by PEG on $NH_3$-N concentration. Storage temperature of GTS did not affect the extent of PEG response to both gas production and $NH_3$-N concentration. On the other hand, addition of PEG on BTS markedly increased both the gas production and $NH_3$-N concentration at any ensiled temperature. It can be concluded that tannins in both GTS and BTS suppressed rumen fermentation, and tannins in GTS did more weakly than that in BTS. Ensiling temperature for both tea by-products did not affect the tannin's activity in the rumen.

• Proceedings of the Korean Aquaculture Society Conference
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• 2003.10a
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• pp.35-35
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• 2003

We, for the first time, reported molecular sequences of large subunit ribosomal DNA Dl-D3 region of A. hiranoi, A. leei and A. satoanum hitherto unreported. In addition, this study presented the full-length sequences of A. affine, A. fraterculus, A. catenella and A. tamarense occurring in Korean coastal waters. In total, 17 Alexandrium morphospecies were subjected to the phylogenetic analysis using the Maximum-likelihood (ML) method. The alignment result of sequences of A. hiranoi and A. pseudogonyaulax showed that there were only two substitutions without length heterogeneity implying their genetic affiliation. In ML tree, A. leei formed a deeply diverging branch probably because of the accelerated evolutionary rate, and its phylogenetic position was so ambiguous to resolve the phylogenetic relationship to the residual taxa. An A. satoanum culture showing morphological variation in the sulcal plate formed an independent divergent branch with consistent sister relationship to A. hiranoi/A. pseudogonyaulax clade supported by the high posterior probability (PP) value. Blast search in GenBank showed the sequence data of A. affine, A. fraterculus, A. catenella and A. tamarense corresponded to their morphological species designation. In ML tree, Alexandrium species were commonly split into four main clades. The inter-clade relationships were not clear and usually supported by the week PP values. In general, the sulcal plate of Alexandrium species seemed to reflect the true phylogeny at the main clade level, and the connection between the 1 and the apical pore complex seemed to reflect the phylogeny at the subclade level.