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An automated continuous-flow liquid-phase peptide synthesizer for preparing C-terminal free peptides was developed. This system includes aqueous workup, concentration, and in-line NIR monitoring.

The development of a real-world Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) system to ensure the safe integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) in low altitude airspace, has recently generated novel research challenges. A key problem is the development of Pre-Flight Conflict Detection and Resolution (CDR) methods that provide collision-free flight paths to all UAVs before their takeoff. Such problem can be represented as a Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) problem. Currently, most MAPF methods assume that the UTM system is a centralized entity in charge of CDR. However, recent discussions on UTM suggest that such centralized control might not be practical or desirable. Therefore, we explore Pre-Flight CDR methods where independent UAS Service Providers (UASSPs) with their own interests, communicate with each other to resolve conflicts among their UAV operations--without centralized UTM directives. We propose a novel MAPF model that supports the decentralized resolution of conflicts, whereby different `agents', here UASSPs, manage their UAV operations. We present two approaches: (1) a prioritization approach and (2) a simple yet practical pairwise negotiation approach where UASSPs agents determine an agreement to solve conflicts between their UAV operations. We evaluate the performance of our proposed approaches with simulation scenarios based on a consultancy study of predicted UAV traffic for delivery services in Sendai, Japan, 2030. We demonstrate that our negotiation approach improves the ``fairness'' between UASSPs, i.e. the distribution of costs between UASSPs in terms of total delays and rejected operations due to replanning is more balanced when compared to the prioritization approach.

A cost- and time-effective synthetic method is a prerequisite to producing therapeutic peptides on a commercial scale. Herein we demonstrate that a soluble-tag-assisted liquid-phase peptide synthes...

This paper reports the results of the aerodynamic deformation measurements of the meter-scale, entire shape, actual UAV in the wind tunnel using a video grammetry technique. The measured airplane was the airplane for Mars exploration being developed by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Japanese universities. Its main wing span length was 2.4 m. The video grammetry measurement was performed using VICON’s system. Retroactive markers and stickers were put on the airplane. JAXA’s 6.5 m × 5.5 m Low-Speed Wind Tunnel was used. The airplane was mounted on the strut support with pitch-free or pitch-locked conditions. The deformations of the main wing bending, the main wing twisting, the tail boom bending, and the elevator deflection angle change were revealed quantitatively. The bending stiffness of a main wing spar that was designed as a safety factor of 2.8 at load factor of 5 was sufficient. The main wing spar was located around a center of pressure of an airfoil and it showed enough stiffness for twisting at nominal condition. The effects of the main wing bending and twisting, and the tail boom bending on the aerodynamic performance were estimated but they were in an acceptable range from the standpoint of the controllability of the aerodynamic performance using control surfaces. Even though the servo motor was located near the elevator and the linkage between the servo motor and the elevator was short, the measured elevator deflection angle was at most 4% smaller than the angle at no-wind condition. The obtained results and presented method are useful for control, flight data analysis, and design of lightweight airplanes.

This paper shows some guidelines to improve the estimation accuracy of a navigation system, which is based on Wide-Field-Integration (WFI) of optic flow. Optic flow is a vector field of relative velocities obtained by photoreceptors in image sensors, and WFI of optic flow enables motion estimation robust by integrating wide range of optic flow. Since the system has several attractive features (small size, light weight, and low computation), it is applicable to an autonomous control system of micro air vehicles. However, due to some restrictions of real systems, WFI of optic flow theory should be applied while considering sensor arrangement for better estimation. In this paper, first an adequate number and adequate optical-axes of image sensors are investigated. Then, a new estimation system combining a gyro sensor with WFI of optic flow is discussed by numerical simulations. Finally, the essential effect for the number of cameras are verified in experiments.

In recent years, the development of navigation technology improves the reliability in flight of Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs), and cooperative operation using multiple MAVs attracts a great deal of attention. The purpose of this research is to construct a system that efficiently explores unknown indoor environments using multiple MAVs when a disaster occurs. In order to achieve the purpose, this paper proposes a cooperative exploration method using a new heuristic function. The heuristic function is evaluated with connectivity constraints between all MAVs and the base station. Therefore, the proposed method is effective when the method is applied to actual MAVs. We implement the proposed method and executed two types of simulations in three different environments. The results show that the proposed method can realize more efficient exploration than the existing method in many cases while the connectivity constraints are satisfied. Finally, in order to explore unknown environments more efficiently, future works are indicated.

The understanding of the effectiveness of prescribed burning and mowing as restoration tools of degraded grasslands is important for dryland rangeland management. We examined the effects of spring prescribed burning or seasonal mowing treatments on the degraded vegetation dominated by an unpalatable subshrub, Artemisia adamsii, in grazed Mongolian steppe. Spring burning was conducted in 2013, and three types of mowing treatments (spring, previous summer, and previous summer and autumn) were conducted with varying seasons and frequency, respectively. Soil samples were collected immediately after the spring treatments. Four months after the spring treatments, total plant biomass, the numbers of flowering shoots and florets per shoot of A. adamsii were compared among the treatments. Plant biomass was divided into A. adamsii and herbaceous plants (forbs and graminoids) with different Raunkiaer life forms (chamaephytes, hemicryptophytes and geophytes). Soil properties and total plant biomass were not different among the treatments. For A. adamsii, the biomass and number of flowering shoots were decreased by spring burning and growing-season mowing, owing to the disappearance of woody-shoots of A. adamsii. On the other hand, spring mowing had less negative impact on the biomass of A. adamsii due to an increase of the newly-formed shoots. The biomass of perennial herbaceous-plants was not affected by spring burning, regardless of the life form, whereas that of the geophytic sedge Carex duriuscula increased in the summer-and-autumn mowing. Thus, spring burning and growing-season mowing have the potential to control undesirable subshrubs due to loss of the woody shoots, while spring mowing may not be recommended as a useful management tool in the Mongolian steppe. Our results emphasize that the introduction of these management tools for degraded-grassland restoration in dryland rangelands needs more long-term evaluation considering the relation with external factors such as climate variation and grazing impact.

Until recently, few studies have focused on the evolution of the cerebellum in human lineage. While the major functional role of the cerebellum was traditionally thought to be fine motor control, recent neuroimaging and neurological evidence suggests that the cerebellum is deeply involved in a variety of cognitive and social functions. Moreover, the cerebellum has been found to have a unique gross anatomy and microstructure. In contrast to the cerebrum, the cortex of the cerebellum is structured as a homogeneous sheet with a similar internal structure throughout. This cortex contains cerebellar neural circuitry that functions as a learning system capable of constructing and storing internal models of the external environment. Converging evidence suggests that the greater the volume of the cerebellar cortex, the more internal models it is able to store. This neuroanatomical organization may affect innate learning, cognitive ability, and the human capacity to innovate. In this chapter, we review the relationship between cerebellar volume and various cognitive abilities in modern humans and then discuss the evolutionary changes of cerebellar size based on the comparative anatomy of extant primates and the evidence from fossil specimens with our recent findings.

This paper describes in detail the external morphology of LB1/1, the nearly complete and only known cranium of Homo floresiensis. Comparisons were made with a large sample of early groups of the genus Homo to assess primitive, derived, and unique craniofacial traits of LB1 and discuss its evolution. Principal cranial shape differences between H. floresiensis and Homo sapiens are also explored metrically. The LB1 specimen exhibits a marked reductive trend in its facial skeleton, which is comparable to the H. sapiens condition and is probably associated with reduced masticatory stresses. However, LB1 is craniometrically different from H. sapiens showing an extremely small overall cranial size, and the combination of a primitive low and anteriorly narrow vault shape, a relatively prognathic face, a rounded oval foramen that is greatly separated anteriorly from the carotid canal/jugular foramen, and a unique, tall orbital shape. Whereas the neurocranium of LB1 is as small as that of some Homo habilis specimens, it exhibits laterally expanded parietals, a weak suprameatal crest, a moderately flexed occipital, a marked facial reduction, and many other derived features that characterize post-habilis Homo. Other craniofacial characteristics of LB1 include, for example, a relatively narrow frontal squama with flattened right and left sides, a marked frontal keel, posteriorly divergent temporal lines, a posteriorly flexed anteromedial corner of the mandibular fossa, a bulbous lateral end of the supraorbital torus, and a forward protruding maxillary body with a distinct infraorbital sulcus. LB1 is most similar to early Javanese Homo erectus from Sangiran and Trinil in these and other aspects. We conclude that the craniofacial morphology of LB1 is consistent with the hypothesis that H. floresiensis evolved from early Javanese H. erectus with dramatic island dwarfism. However, further field discoveries of early hominin skeletal remains from Flores and detailed analyses of the finds are needed to understand the evolutionary history of this endemic hominin species.

Skull IX (Tjg-1993.05) was unearthed from the upper stratigraphic zone (Bapang-AG levels) of the hominin-bearing sequence in Sangiran. This remarkably complete cranial specimen of Homo erectus from the early Pleistocene of Java preserves substantial portions of the vault and face. However, the distortion present in the original reconstruction has hampered detailed documentation of its morphological characteristics. We here report a new reconstruction of Skull IX that successfully recovers the original morphology and significantly differs from previous reconstructions. Detailed morphological description and the results of initial comparative analyses based on this new reconstruction are provided. The endocranial volume of Skull IX was measured as 870 cc using micro-CT data. The neurocranium of Skull IX is slightly smaller than the so far recorded smallest cranium from this zone, suggesting this individual was female. In most, but not all, aspects of the cranial vault form, details of the external surface structures, and facial morphology, Skull IX exhibits numerous similarities to the other Bapang-AG H. erectus specimens, indicating that it belonged to the Bapang-AG H. erectus population. Drawing on the expanded fossil sample of this chronoregional H. erectus group, we discuss their evolutionary status, degree of sexual dimorphism, and facial morphological variation in Afro-Asian earlier Homo specimens.

Although dental size and morphology have contributed to population history studies in Japan, little attention has been paid to root size and dimensions. We report here computer tomography (CT)-based metrics of mandibular tooth roots in modern Japanese, Holocene Jomon, and Late Pleistocene Minatogawa human fossils (15000–20000 BP). Our results confirmed that, in terms of both mesiodistal cervical diameters and root lengths, the Jomon is overall smaller-toothed, with summed mesiodistal cervical diameters 4% smaller than in the modern Japanese. However, no significant differences were found in the M1, in both cervical diameter and root length. These results are comparable to the crown size differences reported in the two populations. There were no significant differences in root proportions (root length relative to cervical diameter) between the Jomon and the modern Japanese in each tooth element from I1 to M1, while an allometric root length reduction was observed in the M2 and M3 of the modern Japanese. This reflects distinct patterns of dental reduction in the two populations. The Late Pleistocene Minatogawa fossils were found to have larger cervical diameters and root lengths than either the modern Japanese or the Jomon, in some respects approximating the large-toothed Australian and/or earlier Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens conditions. This indicates a largely conservative dental system retained in the Minatogawa fossils, distinct from the Jomon condition.

The Minatogawa IV cranium is one of three well-preserved Late Pleistocene Homo sapiens crania from the Minatogawa fissure site, Okinawa Island. This cranium is more damaged than Minatogawa I and exhibits some clear post-mortem distortion. We reconstructed the endocranium of this specimen after correcting the distortion and breakage by combining digital and manual restoration procedures, and established a reliable estimate for its endocranial volume (ECV) to be around 1170 cc. As with the case of Minatogawa I, this result confirmed the suggestion of previous work that the Minatogawa series has small ECVs compared with modern Japanese and Jomon populations. Some dental and osteological conditions, such as heavy tooth wear as well as Harris’s lines of the long bones, suggest a possibility that the small ECV of the Minatogawa people as well as their short stature might have been caused in part by a stunting of growth due to undernutrition and possibly a microevolutionary adaptation to the food-limited insular environments.

The Late Pleistocene fossil human remains (individuals I–IV) of Minatogawa, Okinawa Island are important in addressing the population history of the Japanese archipelago and in understanding evolution of Homo sapiens in eastern Asia. This study is the first on Minatogawa I’s endocranial morphology, based on micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). We digitally reconstructed the Minatogawa I endocast, and created its physical model using a three-dimensional printer system. We compared the Minatogawa I endocast with available H. sapiens and archaic Homo endocasts. We found that Minatogawa I exhibits key derived endocranial features of H. sapiens, such as a highly elevated parietal, endocranial widening confined to a relatively anterior position, and a narrow internal occipital crest. The short, wide, and low proportioned Minatogawa I endocranium lies metrically at the margins of the modern human ranges of variation of this study. The Minatogawa I endocast exhibits a slightly underdeveloped frontal region with marked parasagittal ridges, a weak endocranial parietal boss, and a strong temporal bulge. It differs from Liujiang in the strong expression of these features as well as in overall metric proportions. A weak endocranial parietal boss and a strong temporal bulge are shared by Skhul V and Qafzeh 9, and may represent a primitive condition for H. sapiens in general.

All fungi use multiple mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascades to respond to external signals to regulate specialized responses. In this study, we cloned and characterized a putative MAPKKK gene ChSte11, orthologous to yeast STE11, of Cochliobolus heterostrophus. DeltaChste11 strains showed defects in conidiation, sexual development, melanization and the formation of appressoria. These mutants were significantly less virulent on corn plants than the wild type. Similar phenotypes were observed in mutants of Chk1-MAPK, a putative downstream protein kinase of ChSte11. These results suggested that ChSte11 regulates various morphological changes and pathogenicity via Chk1 MAPK. Both DeltaChste11 and Deltachk1 strains showed severe sensitivity to oxidative stress, hydrogen peroxide, and heavy metals, cupric or ferric cations. DeltaBmhog1 strains, mutants of the HOG1-type MAPK, did not show sensitivity to these forms of stress. Our results strongly suggested that the Ste11-type MAPKKK regulates not only various morphological changes and pathogenicity, but also adaptations to stress via Chk1-type MAPK in filamentous fungi.

This paper presents the disaster prevention and mitigation system using a small unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) . Immediate assessments of damage information and continuous collection of information for constructing a revival plan are important for damage mitigation when natural disasters such as huge earthquakes occur. In this study, we divide the period that follows a natural disaster on the basis of three processes, and propose the use of the small UAV for gathering information in such situations. The field experiments were conducted to evaluate the proposed system employing the small UAV. From the results of our experiments, it can be concluded that the small UAV system is effective for disaster prevention and mitigation.

An increasing number of studies determine endocranial capacity (ECC) digitally using serial computed tomographic (CT) scan data. However, the multiple causes of errors inherent in such measurements and the resulting degree of accuracy have not yet been fully examined. In the present study, five observers estimated the ECCs of two modern human crania by segmentation of CT data (voxel size 0.380 mm) and by means of the conventional millet seed method. The ECC estimations were much more consistent in the CT-based (technical error, TEM = 1.4 cc) than the millet seed (TEM = 11.8 cc) methods. The estimated capacities also tended to be larger in the latter, suggesting possible systematic bias. Next, the causes and degree of error in the CT-based method were examined. Error due to size calibration of the CT images was no more than 3 cc (± 1.5 cc) per 1000 cc. Errors involved in delineating the endocranial cavity were evaluated as follows. First, we adopted a segmentation routine in which a single global threshold value was applied to most of the volume, and then supplemented locally by more appropriate values in the regions where the global value was insufficient. We then estimated the potential error introduced by choosing a global threshold value. We found this to be within 5 cc (per 1000 cc). This error range increased to 7.5 cc (per 1000 cc), when using a lower resolution data set (slice thickness 1.14 mm). Another source of interobserver error involves the blocking of foramina and canals, which we estimated to be less than 2 cc (per 1000 cc). Adding these various effects, our investigations indicate that ECC estimations based on high-resolution CT data are accurate to within ± 5 cc per 1000 cc. Finally, we reevaluated the ECC of the Minatogawa 1 skull to be 1335 cc (with a probable range of 1327–1343 ± 5 cc), considerably smaller than the originally reported value of 1390 cc obtained by the millet seed method.

A new design for a tail-sitter vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle was proposed. A nonlinear mathematical model of the vehicle dynamics was constructed by combining simple estimation methods. The flight characteristics were revealed through a trim analysis and an optimized transitional flight path analysis by using the mathematical model. The trim analysis revealed the existence of a flight path constraint to avoid stall; the vehicle could not descend in low-speed flight without high-lift devices such as flaps and slats. These devices improved the descentperformance. Inparticular, slatsprovidedasubstantialimprovement; theyenabled adescent rateof2 m=s. In the optimized transitional flight path analysis, a level outbound transition without high-lift devices was achieved althoughatrimmedlevel flightatlowspeed,aswasshowninthetrimanalysis,wasnotpossible;thiswasbecausethe outboundtransition wasanaccelerative flight.Onthe contrary,without high-lift devices, the vehicle could notavoid climbing to avoid stall during inbound transitions. The slats provided a satisfactory improvement during the transition and enabled a level inbound transition. These results showed the necessity of leading-edge slats for the proposed tail-sitter vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial vehicle.

We performed a semi-virtual reconstruction of the endocast for Qafzeh 9, a representative of early anatomically modern humans in the Near East, by using sequential CT images of the present cranial reconstruction with manual clay infilling of the gap and missing portions in the inner cranial surface. After assessing the reconstructed virtual endocast in terms of right-left (R-L) asymmetry, we morphed it in such a manner that the observed asymmetry reduced and fit into the range of variation observed in recent humans. The assessment suggests that the present reconstruction of the Qafzeh 9 cranium, possessing a significant degree of R-L asymmetry, suffers from distortion. Directly measured endocranial volumes (1411 cc for the original reconstruction and 1477 cc for the morphed version) were smaller than previously published data (1531 cc) using least-square regression equations. After morphing, the endocast was higher at the middle cranial fossa and narrower at the frontal lobe, both characteristics falling within the range of recent human variation. Although the reconstructed Qafzeh 9 endocasts of both the original and morphed versions fit into the endocranial evolution among lineages of the genus Homo, many fossil crania may have undergone a substantial degree of taphonomic deformation. Therefore, application of possible corrections or hypothesis of plausible taphonomic scenarios should be part of a reasonable assessment of a single precious fossil specimen.

Cerebellar volume (CBV) estimation of fossil hominins can help in understanding the evolution of modern behavior, considering that recent neurological studies suggest significant contribution of the cerebellum to high cognitive abilities of modern humans. However, there has been no reliable methods to estimate the CBV from the endocranial cavity. In order to develop the method, the correlation between CBV and the volume and linear measurements of the posterior cranial fossa (PCF), which were taken from MRI data of thirty-two Japanese subjects, was examined. Estimation equations were then obtained from the bivariate relationships and the validity were evaluated based on prediction intervals. We found that, among the PCF metrics we examined, PCF volume was most highly correlated with CBV (r = 0.88), and the estimation equation provides CBV estimates with the error of about ±12 cc for specimens from the reference population sample. This result could offer a promising prospect for CBV estimation of fossil hominins including Neanderthal examples.

This paper describes an indoor flight control system capable of autonomously exploring indoor areas with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). Whereas the significant drift of MEMS is generally mitigated using occasional GPS location estimates, GPS is unavailable indoors. In order to solve this problem, a Rao-Blackwellized Particle Filter SLAM algorithm was used to make MAVs localize themselves and the drift error was examined afterward. This paper develops the way to correct the sensor drift by the pose estimated by localization.