Publications

This paper presents a numerical study on the effects of longitudinal corrosion distribution, such as the length and the spacing of corrosion areas, on the surface crack development. The study used a newly developed model based on the Rigid Body Spring Method, which accounted for both the crack-dependent corrosion process and the crack-assisted transport of corrosion products. Several corrosion scenarios were compared. The results showed that, in the case of general corrosion, the effect of corrosion degree variation on the crack width is insignificant. In the case of localized corrosion, the surface crack propagates beyond the corrosion area with nearly consistent growing length, and the influence of corrosion degree is unpronounced. When two localized corrosion areas are relatively closely spaced, the formed cracks may join each other, and the maximum crack width can reach the same level by a broader corrosion area.

The concept for a compact DEMO reactor named 'SlimCS' is presented. Distinctive features of the concept are low aspect ratio (A = 2.6) and use of a reduced-size centre solenoid (CS) which has the function of plasma shaping rather than poloidal flux supply. The reduced-size CS enables us to introduce a thin toroidal field coil system which contributes to reducing the weight and perhaps lessening the construction cost. Low-A has merits of vertical stability for high elongation (κ) and high normalized beta (βN), which leads to a high power density with reasonable physics requirements. This is because high κ facilitates high nGW (because of an increase in Ip), which allows efficient use of the capacity of high βN. From an engineering aspect, low-A may ensure ease in designing blanket modules robust to electromagnetic forces acting on disruptions. Thus, a superconducting low-A tokamak reactor such as SlimCS can be a promising DEMO concept with physics and engineering advantages.

Anti-apoptotic oncoproteins Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL are overexpressed in many cancers and play a crucial role in cancer initiation, progression, and resistance to chemotherapy. Therefore, the discovery of a functional inhibitor for these proteins and improved understanding of the molecular mechanisms of these proteins will be an aid to novel anti-tumor therapies. Here, using chemical−genetic cell-based screening, we have discovered a chemically and biologically unique substance, incednine, as a novel functional modulator of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL from the fermentation broth of Streptomyces sp. ML693-90F3. This compound was isolated as a HCl salt by solvent extraction and using centrifugal liquid−liquid partition chromatography. Its structure was elucidated by spectroscopic analysis, X-ray crystallographic analysis, and computational studies. Incednine has a molecular formula, C42H63N3O8, and consists of a novel skeletal structure, enol-ether amide in a 24-membered macrolactam core, with two aminosugars. Bcl-xL-overexpressing Ms-1 cells displayed resistance to several anti-tumor agents; however, anti-tumor agent-induced cell death was observed only when cells were treated with incednine. Overexpression of Bcl-xL inhibited cell death in Bax-overexpressing HEK293T cells by forming a complex with Bax, whereas Bcl-xL failed to inhibit cell death in the presence of incednine without affecting the heterodimerization of Bcl-xL and Bax. These findings suggest that incednine serves as a potent modulator of the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2/Bcl-xL distinct from the other known Bcl-2 inhibitors and could provide a chemical probe to study the underlying mechanisms of Bcl-2/Bcl-xL.

In this paper, the applicability of two deformation indices related to displacement of concrete members proposed by the authors has been verified for full-scale RC members with shear or bending failure under bilateral loads. These two indices, namely "thickness increment of RC member" assuming out-of-plane shear failure, and a newly proposed index, "relative displacement on compressive edge in RC member", which assumes in-plane shear failure and out-of-plane bending failure, are mainly discussed in this paper.