One method currently being considered for the disposal of high level radio-active waste is burial in the seabed. When a hot object is buried in soil, the temperature of the soil adjacent to the object is raised and there is transient heat flow away from the object. The rise in the temperature of the soil causes excess pore pressures to be generated and transient pore water diffusion also takes place. A finite element formulation of the coupled heat flow and consolidation problem is presented. The computer implementation of this formulation is found to compare favourably with analytical solutions based on the same physical principles.

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The ability of Climacodon septentrionalis to immobilize and kill a mycophagous nematode (Aphelenchoides sp.) in vitro is described for the first time. Two isolates produced droplets (20–45 μm in diameter) that formed at the apices of tall, stalked, and branching secretory cells (700–1,500 μm tall). On 2% modified malt extract agar, nematodes became enveloped in the droplets, which restricted their ability to move and resulted in complete immobilization and death within several hours of contact. The rate of decomposition of the nematodes varied considerably, with most individuals persisting for weeks whereas others were degraded within several days and appeared to be colonized by dense hyphal growth. This study provides the first documentation of a non-agaricoid fungus producing secretory cells that are able to immobilize nematodes.

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Activity-directed isolation of the ethyl acetate, methylene chloride and n-hexane fractions of Gloiopeltis furcata resulted in the isolation of 18 compounds. Their structures were elucidated as 2-(3-hydroxy--oxotetrahydrofuran-3-yl)acetic acid (1), glutaric acid (2), succinic acid (3), nicotinic acid (), ()--hydroxyhex-2-enoic acid (), cholesterol (6), -hydroxycholesterol (), uridine (8), glycerol (), -(hydroxymethyl)-2-methoxybenzene-1,3-diol (10), (,)--oxodeca-,-dienoic acid (11), (Z)-3-ethylidene--methylpyrrolidine-2,-dione (12), dehydrovomifoliol (13), loliolide (14), cholesteryl stearate (15), palmitic acid (16), cis-,8,11,14,17-eicosapentaenoic acid (17) and α-linolenic acid (18) on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical evidences. Their anticholinesterase and antioxidant activities were evaluated via inhibitory activities on acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) as well as scavenging activities on 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical and peroxynitrite (ONOO⁻). All isolated compounds (1—18) exhibited moderate AChE inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values ranging from 1.14—12.50 μg/ml, whereas 1, , , 17, and 18 showed mild BChE inhibitory activities with IC₅₀ values ranging from .57—15.89 μg/ml. Although most of the compounds isolated were lacking the scavenging activity on DPPH radical and ONOO⁻, and 10 showed good DPPH radical scavenging activity, and , 10, and 16 showed potent ONOO⁻ scavenging activity.

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Stereoselective synthesis of , - and , Z-β-ionylideneacetaldehydes was accomplished from the β-ionone tricarbonyl iron complex, and the latter was converted to Z-retinoic acid.

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From the fronds of Polystichum tripteron (KUNZE) P_R. a new norcarotenoid glycoside was isolated and shown to be (6R, , R)--hydroxy-megastigma-, -dien-3-one--O-β-D-glucoside. The fronds of Dennstaedtia wilfordii (MOORE) CHRIST. contain the same glucoside.

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The small strain stiffness and anisotropic nature of two sands with different geological origin have been determined via laboratory seismic tests performed in a triaxial cell. Dry triaxial reconstituted specimens of Ticino river silica sand (TS) and of Kenya carbonatic sand (KS) were subjected to isotropic and anisotropic states of effective stress ; then both shear and constrained compression waves were propagated in vertical, horizontal and oblique directions by means of five couples of piezoelectric transducers especially arranged in the specimens. The propagated compression and shear waves allow the assessment of the constrained M₀ and shear G₀ moduli respectively, at very small strains where, as a first approximation many soils can be assumed, from an engineering point of view, to behave as an elastic cross-anisotropic medium with a vertical axis of symmetry. This paper, after a brief description of the novel measuring technique adopted and of the tested materials, summarises the test results and their interpretation in order to separate the effects of the fabric anisotropy from those produced by the state of effective stresses on soil stiffness. The stiffness and anisotropic response of the two tested sands are compared. Finally the results enable us to establish five independent constants of the cross-anisotropic elasticity model, which appears to be appropriate to reproduce the behaviour at small strain of the two sands.

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To develop truly autonomous and intelligent mobile robots, the developmental approach is indispensable. Considering the development of human beings, internal rewards which are related to the instinctive desire, motivation, curiosity, novelty, etc., are important factors contributing to the development. For the robots, there are several studies in which curiosity and novelty are used to promote the progress of learning. In this paper we propose an internal reward called "appetitive reword" and a function to control it, for the robots which have to acquire an action policy for a mission to "survive and perform a instructed task effectively". The "appetitive reword" is inspired by "appetite" of human beings, which is known to be well regulated by a mechanism between the digestive tract and the brain. By using an example of a security guard robot, we show the effectiveness of the proposed reward.

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Alfven resonance effects on the evolution of a magnetic island driven by an externally applied perturbation are investigated for rotating plasmas. The simulation results show the importance of Alfven resonance for obtaining a perturbed current profile and estimating a critical value of the external perturbation, beyond which the magnetic island grows rapidly. The nonlinear evolution of the externally driven magnetic island is also investigated at low and high viscosities ν. It is shown that the transition phase accompanying the secondary reconnection at the initial X-point in the driven magnetic island evolution occurs in low resistivity and viscosity plasmas.

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Two new partially saturated tricyclic ring systems, 6, 6a, , 8, , 10, 10a, 11-octahydro-11-oxodibenz [, ] oxepins (3a and 3), and -thiepins (a and ) were synthesized. Compounds a and were desulfurized to give a pair of isomeric 2-methylbenzoylcyclohexanes (10a and 10). Deuterated a and (11a and 11) were prepared starting from butadiene-d₆ (12). The stereochemical features of 3a (trans), 3 (cis), a (trans) and (cis) are compared with those of 10a, 10, 11a and 11 on the basis of proton nuclear magnetic resonance data.

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Walking rehabilitation machines have drawn great attentions with more and more people suffering from walking disabilities in an aging society. However, most of the developed walking rehabilitation machines aim at enhancing muscle strength, neglecting the recovery of the neural system. 58% of walking disabilities are caused by problems in the neural system. Therefore, we propose a rehabilitation system which includes both muscle strength enhancement by a walking rehabilitation machine and neurological rehabilitation by imaginary walking. In this paper we compared the activation in motor area of the brain during real walking and imaginary walking by means of fNIRS (functional Near-InfraRed Spectroscopy). Two subjects participated in the experiment. During imaginary walking, the subjects were instructed to imagine that they were walking with the same pace to a person in the video being shown to the subjects. As a result, the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin in motor area during imaginary walking was higher than that during real walking in both of the subjects. This was because that it was not necessary to pay attention to the movements of the legs and feet during normal walking on the plain road without any obstacles, while movement planning was required when the subjects imagined their walking in the same way to another person. The experiment result indicated that it is possible to quicken walking rehabilitation by imaginary walking.

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　The stability of

-tetrahydrocannabinol acetate (-THC-OAc) in the presence of diluents or during vaping was investigated. Laboratory-made pure -THC-OAc and glycerol, propylene glycol (PG), or polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG400) were dissolved in ethanol and subjected to the quantification method for -tetrahydrocannabinol (-THC) recommended by UNODC. The pure -THC-OAc diluted by glycerol, PG, or PEG400 was stored at 40°C for 27 days. A retail liquid product of -THC-OAc containing -THC as an impurity was stored at 80°C for 28 days in the presence of glycerol, PG, or PEG400. A cartridge containing the -THC-OAc liquid was installed in an -cigarette device, which was heated and vaporized using a syringe connected to the cartridge through a silicone tube. The -THC-OAc liquid was put into a test tube and heated at 200 or 400°C for  min. The relative concentrations of cannabinoids in the test solution before and after each operation were measured by liquid chromatography with photodiode array detection or by gas chromatography with flame ionization detection. -THC was not detected in any cases of pure -THC-OAc, and it decreased or disappeared in all cases of -THC-OAc liquid. The present result showed that -THC-OAc does not decompose into -THC during each process.

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The main objective of this paper is to compare safety factors obtained from Morgenstern-Price, Janbu and Spencer methods with the factors calculated from the modified variational approach (Leshchinsky and Huang, 1992a). Such comparison is essential since there is no mathematical proof that the variational analysis indeed yields a minimum and thus, physically produce significant results. The safety factors compared well, indicating the variational analysis is on a par with acceptable existing rigorous methods. Availability of a user-friendly computer code may make the variational analysis useful to practicing engineers. However, its greatest potential at the moment is in 3-D applications; i.., unlike other methods, its extension to 3-D is straightforward.

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2-Benzyl--chloro--mercapto-3 (2H)-pyridazinone (1) was heated in ethanol under reflux for 10 hours to form concurrently 2, -dibenzyldipyridazo [, - : ', '-]-1, -dithiin-1, 6 (2H, H)-dione (Ia) (57% in yield) and 2, 8-dibenzyldipyridazo [, - : ', '-]-1, -dithiin-1, (2H, 8H)-dione (IIa) (14% in yield). Assignment of the two products to the corresponding structures is established by their physico-chemical constants and chemical behaviors. The concurrent formation of the dipyridazo [, - : ', '-]-1, -dithiin-1, 6 (2H, H)-dione and the -1, (2H, 8H)-dione were observed in, not only heating -chloro--mercapto-3 (2H)-pyridazinones (1-3) in polar solvent, but warming -mercapto--chloro-3 (2H)-pyridazinones (-6) in the presence of potassium carbonate in DMF. For the interpretation of the reaction, keto-thioketo carbenes as active intermediate species and a reversible interconversion among them are suggested on the basis of the fact that there was nonexistence of an equilibrium between the two compounds, such as Ia and IIa, under the reaction condition and a trapping keto-thioketo carbene species as 2-phenylimino--benzylpyridazo [, -d]-1, 3-dithiol- (H)-one (IVa) (14% in yield) along with the major products, (Ia) and (IIa), was furnished by warming 1 with phenylisothiocyanate in the presence of triethylamine in dry benzene. On the contrary, participation of a reversible interconversion between Ia and IIa, to a considerable extent, with the concurrent formation of them in the case of benzylation of either Ib or IIb, by warming with benzylchloride in the presence of potassium carbonate in DMF at 80°, might not be neglected, because an attempted approach to an equilibrium between Ia and IIa in a similar reaction condition except the use of benzylchloride realized, whereas non-existence of an equilibrium between Ib and IIb in the similar reaction condition was observed.

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