National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

About: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology is a government organization based out in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Thin film. The organization has 22114 authors who have published 65856 publications receiving 1669827 citations. The organization is also known as: Sangyō Gijutsu Sōgō Kenkyū-sho.

Single-shot measurement of carrier-envelope phase changes by spectral interferometry

Abstract: We demonstrated single-shot measurements of spectral interference between a white-light continuum generated in a hollow-fiber and its second harmonic. The interference has information on the carrier-envelope phase of an input pulse to the fiber and the time delay of the blue wing of the continuum. By analyzing the observed spectral interference, we estimated shot-by-shot changes of the carrier-envelope phase. This method is useful for determining the carrier-envelope phase changes of a low-repetition-rate, high-intensity laser.

Increased expression of podoplanin in malignant astrocytic tumors as a novel molecular marker of malignant progression

Abstract: Podoplanin (aggrus) is a mucin-like transmembrane sialoglycoprotein that is expressed on lymphatic endothelial cells. Podoplanin is putatively involved in cancer cell migration, invasion, metastasis, and malignant progression and may be involved in platelet aggregation. Previously, we showed upregulated expression of podoplanin in central nervous system (CNS) germinomas, but not in non-germinomatous germ cell tumors, except for parts of immature teratomas in limited numbers. However, little information exists about its role in CNS astrocytic tumors. In this study, 188 astrocytic tumors (30 diffuse astrocytomas, 43 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 115 glioblastomas) were investigated using immunohistochemistry with an anti-podoplanin antibody, YM-1. In 11 of 43 anaplastic astrocytomas (25.6%) and in 54 of 115 glioblastomas (47.0%), podoplanin was expressed on the surface of anaplastic astrocytoma cells and glioblastoma cells, especially around necrotic areas and proliferating endothelial cells. However, the surrounding brain parenchyma was not stained by YM-1. On the other hand, podoplanin expression was not observed in diffuse astrocytoma (0/30: 0%). Furthermore, we investigated the expression of podoplanin using quantitative real-time PCR and Western blot analysis in 54 frozen astrocytic tumors (6 diffuse astrocytomas, 14 anaplastic astrocytomas, and 34 glioblastomas). Podoplanin mRNA and protein expression were markedly higher in glioblastomas than in anaplastic astrocytomas. These data suggest that podoplanin expression might be associated with malignancy of astrocytic tumors.

Effects of Pore Sizes on Dissociation Temperatures and Pressures of Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Propane Hydrates in Porous Media

Abstract: Equilibrium conditions of CH4, CO2, and C3H8 hydrates confined in small pores of porous glass were determined. The dissociation temperature of each hydrate at a given pressure shifted lower than that for bulk hydrate; the largest shift for CH4 hydrate was −12.3 K ± 0.2 K for 4-nm-diameter pores and the shift decreased to only −0.5 K for 100-nm pores. CH4 hydrate experiments at temperatures lower than the quadruple point of 270.6 K in 30-nm porous glass showed no shift of the equilibrium line. All temperature shifts were fitted by the Gibbs-Thomson equation; the best fits for CH4, CO2, and C3H8 hydrates predicted hydrate−water interfacial energies of 1.7(3) × 10-2 J/m2, 1.4(3) × 10-2 J/m2, and 2.5(1) × 10-2 J/m2, respectively. Both type-I hydrates of CH4 and CO2 had interfacial energies within 20% of each other but significantly smaller than the type-II hydrate of C3H8. Ice formation in the same porous glass fit the Gibbs−Thomson relation with an interfacial energy of 2.9(6) × 10-2 J/m2, which is in good a...

Mowgli: A Bipedal Jumping and Landing Robot with an Artificial Musculoskeletal System

Abstract: Jumping and landing movements are characterized by large instantaneous forces, short duration, and a high uncertainty concerning take off and landing points. Such characteristics make conventional types of control and robot design inadequate. Here we present an approach to realize motor control of jumping and landing which exploits the synergy between control and mechanical structure. Our experimental system is a pneumatically actuated bipedal robot called "Mowgli". Mowgli's artificial musculoskeletal system consists of six McKibben pneumatic muscle actuators including bi-articular muscle and two legs with hip, knee, and ankle joints. Mowgli can reach jump heights of more than 50% of its body height and can land softly. Our results show a proximo-distal sequence of joint extensions during jumping despite simultaneous motor activity. Extensions in the whole body motion are caused by the compliance and the natural dynamics of the legs. In addition to the experiments with the real robot, we also simulated two types of open loop controllers for vertical jumping with disturbance. We found that the model controlled by open loop motor command through a muscle-tendon mechanism could jump robustly. The simulation results demonstrate the contribution of the artificial musculoskeletal system as a physical feedback loop in explosive movements.

A novel proteasome interacting protein recruits the deubiquitinating enzyme UCH37 to 26S proteasomes.

Abstract: The 26S proteasome is a multisubunit protease responsible for regulated proteolysis in eukaryotic cells. It is composed of one catalytic 20S proteasome and two 19S regulatory particles attached on both ends of 20S proteasomes. Here, we describe the identification of Adrm1 as a novel proteasome interacting protein in mammalian cells. Although the overall sequence of Adrm1 has weak homology with the yeast Rpn13, the amino- and carboxyl-terminal regions exhibit significant homology. Therefore, we designated it as hRpn13. hRpn13 interacts with a base subunit Rpn2 via its amino-terminus. The majority of 26S proteasomes contain hRpn13, but a portion of them does not, indicating that hRpn13 is not an integral subunit. Intriguingly, we found that hRpn13 recruits UCH37, a deubiquitinating enzyme known to associate with 26 proteasomes. The carboxyl-terminal regions containing KEKE motifs of both hRpn13 and UCH37 are involved in their physical interaction. Knockdown of hRpn13 caused no obvious proteolytic defect but loss of UCH37 proteins and decrease in deubiquitinating activity of 26S proteasomes. Our results indicate that hRpn13 is essential for the activity of UCH37.