Kagawa University

About: Kagawa University is a education organization based out in Takamatsu, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Population. The organization has 6028 authors who have published 11918 publications receiving 224111 citations. The organization is also known as: Kagawa Daigaku.

Robust manipulation of deformable objects by a simple PID feedback

Abstract: Robust manipulation strategies of deformable objects is presented. Manipulation of deformable objects can be found in many fields such as the garment industry and food industry. Guidance of multiple points on a deformable object is a primitive operation in the manipulation of deformable objects. In this guidance, the points often cannot be manipulated directly. A model of the manipulated deformable object is needed in order to perform these operations. It is, however, difficult to build a precise model of a deformable object. Thus, we need a robust control scheme that allows us to realize the operations successfully despite discrepancy between a manipulated deformable object and its model. We firstly derive a mathematical model of deformable objects for their manipulation. Second, indirect simultaneous positioning operations of deformable objects are formulated. Then, we propose a PID feedback control law with the rough object model to realize the manipulation. Furthermore, we propose a simple PID feedback control law without deformation model. The validity and the robustness of the proposed manipulation method is shown through simulation results.

Regional distribution and age-dependent expression of N-acylphosphatidylethanolamine-hydrolyzing phospholipase D in rat brain

Abstract: The endocannabinoid anandamide (N-arachidonoylethanolamine) and other bioactive long-chain N-acylethanolamines are thought to be formed from their corresponding N-acylphosphatidylethanolamines by a specific phospholipase D (NAPE-PLD) in the brain as well as other tissues. However, regional distribution of NAPE-PLD in the brain has not been examined. In the present study, we investigated the expression levels of NAPE-PLD in nine different regions of rat brain by enzyme assay, western blotting and real-time PCR. The NAPE-PLD activity was detected in all the tested brain regions with the highest activity in thalamus. Similar distribution patterns of NAPE-PLD were observed at protein and mRNA levels. We also found a remarkable increase in the expression levels of protein and mRNA of the brain NAPE-PLD with development, which was in good agreement with the increase in the activity. The age-dependent increase was also seen with several brain regions and other NAPE-PLD-enriched organs (heart and testis). p-Chloromercuribenzoic acid and cetyltrimethylammonium chloride, which inhibited recombinant NAPE-PLD dose-dependently, strongly inhibited the enzyme of all the brain regions. These results demonstrated wide distribution of NAPE-PLD in various brain regions and its age-dependent expression, suggesting the central role of this enzyme in the formation of anandamide and other N-acylethanolamines in the brain.

Growth fusion of submicron spherical boron carbide particles by repetitive pulsed laser irradiation in liquid media

Abstract: We studied the fabrication of B4C submicron particles by laser irradiation of boron nanoparticles dispersed in an organic solvent. The spherical shape of the formed particles suggests that instantaneous melt formation and solidification by quenching are involved in the particle-forming process. B4C particles gradually became larger with irradiation time at relatively low laser fluence (1.5 J cm−2 pulse−1) by repetitive melting and fusion of the particles, and the B4C yield increased with irradiation time to 90% for 600 min of irradiation. At higher laser fluences, the B4C yield decreased due to the explosive ablation of boron or B4C to form H3BO3, and thus only the larger B4C particles were observed. The dielectric constant of the organic solvent also affected the generated B4C particle size, probably due to the degree of particle aggregation. Thus, this technique can provide a new approach for fabricating spherical submicron particles of ceramic materials, such as carbides, with simple and safe processes.