Yoshikazu Ohtsubo

Isolation and characterization of new limonoid glycosides from Citrus unshiu peels.

Three limonoid glycosides were isolated from Citrus unshiu peels, and their structures were determined based on MS and NMR spectroscopic data as nomilinic acid 17-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), methyl nomilinate 17-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), and obacunone 17-O-beta-D-glucopyranoside (3). In particular, the location of the sugar moiety was clearly determined by the B/E constant linked scan FABMS method. No limonoid glycosides obtained here were found to have antitumor activity in NCI-H292 and EL-4 cell lines.

Development of a door opening system on rescue robot for search “UMRS-2007”

In rescue operation with a group of rescue robots, the robot has an ability to move around freely even if there are doors parting rooms. Since Great Hanshin Awaji earthquake, the rescue robot series named UMRS have been developed. This time the robot with a door opening system has been developed. This robot has the manipulator to locate the end effecter precisely to door knob position and the hand to grip and rotate this knob. The outline of this robot and the sequence of this door opening are reported in this paper.

C k -factorization of symmetric complete bipartite and tripartite multi-digraphs

Abstract We show that a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a C k -factorization of the symmetric complete bipartite multi-digraph λK n 1 , n 2 ∗ is (i) k≡0 ( mod 2) and (ii) n 1 =n 2 ≡0 ( mod k/2) . We also show that a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of a C k -factorization of the symmetric complete tripartite multi-digraph λK n 1 ,n 2 , n 3 ∗ is (i) k≡0 ( mod 2) and (ii) n 1 =n 2 =n 3 ≡0 ( mod k) .

Proposal of inspection and rescue tasks for tunnel disasters — Task development of Japan virtual robotics challenge

For aging social infrastructure, robot technology is effective for the inspection and maintenance. Such capabilities are similar to those required in the disaster response robots. The application of response robot technology to frequently-used maintenance robots for infrastructure accelerate the social implementation of the response robots. In the paper, the concept and outlines of Japan Virtual Robotics Challenge (JVRC) task development have been introduced, in which ordinal inspection tasks and disaster response tasks of tunnel are carried out by an identical robot. In the paper, we propose a test scenario for robotic operations for inspection and rescue tasks. The tasks will be checked in Japan Virtual Robotics Challenge that will be held in October 2015.

Features of UMRS2009 special components

Rescue robots have to work in a variety of terrains, so the drive train of these robots must be robust against load changes including impulsive forces like collisions. To address this issue, the super- robust HFD actuator was developed. Also robots have to have special mechanisms to enter rooms by opening doors. A door opening system composed of a manipulator unit and suction mechanical unit for search robots was developed. The specific features of these robot components are reported in this paper.

Competition task development for response robot innovation in World Robot Summit

Japanese government plans to host a robot competition, World Robot Summit(WRS), in 2020 aiming to promote robot innovation. WRS involves three categories; (1)industrial, (2)service, and (3)disaster robotics categories. In this paper, the tasks of the disaster robotics category of WRS are introduced, and the consideration of robot innovation promotion with the WRS tasks is carried out.

818 Development of Educational Materials for Mechatronics

This paper reports the development of teaching materials for mechatronics in tertiary education. Current industrial societies strongly require many mechatronic engineers, and most technical universities actually provide mechatronic exercises in their courses. On the other hand, it is a little difficult for teachers and students to freely modify and improve the mechatronic materials provided by education industries because the provided materials are finished products. Hence a simple and inexpensive educational system is newly developed to overcome disadvantages of the finished products. In this paper, a desirable system structure is proposed for mechatronics education, and a practical example is shown with the aim of soundly learning control, sensor, actuator, and mechanics.

Scanning control and estimation of unknown surfaces using a robotic finger with a resonant end-effector

We present simultaneous estimation of the shape and the mechanical impedance of unknown surfaces using a robotic finger with a resonant end-effector. To effectively estimate the mechanical impedance of unknown surfaces, the resonant mechanical part is located on the last digit, which has a force sensor on its fingertip. The force sensor, which is used as a surface detector to sense the reaction force from surfaces, has an important scanning control role of unknown surfaces. In this paper, the basic principle of estimating unknown surfaces is introduced for a one-degree-of-freedom finger that is extended to multi degrees of a freedom finger. In addition to estimation, scanning control is also proposed for unknown surfaces. Finally we verify the usefulness of our proposed system by experiments.

Comparison of the binding affinity of some newly synthesized phenylethanolamine and phenoxypropanolamine compounds at recombinant human β‐ and α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes

We evaluated six new compounds, SWR‐0065HA ([4‐[2‐[3‐[[(3,4‐dihydro‐4‐oxo‐[1,2,4]‐triazino(4,5‐a)indol)‐lyl]oxy]‐2‐hydroxypropylamino]ethoxy]phenyl]acetic acid methyl ester hydrochloride), SWR‐0098NA ((R*R*‐UE)‐(E)‐[4‐[3‐[(2‐phenyl‐2‐hydroxyethyl)amino]‐1‐butenyl]phenoxy]acetic acid sodium salt), SWR‐0315NA ((E, Z)‐[4[[1‐[2‐[(3‐phenoxy‐2‐hydroxy propyl)]amino]ethyl]‐1‐propenyl]phenoxy]acetic acid sodium), SWR‐0338SA ((E)‐[4‐[5‐[(2‐phenyl‐2‐hydroxyethyl)amino]‐2‐pentene‐3‐yl]phenoxy] acetic acid ethanedioic acid), SWR‐0342SA ((S)‐(Z)‐[4‐[[1‐[2‐[(2‐hydroxy‐3‐phenoxypropyl)]amino] ethyl]‐1‐propenyl]phenoxy]acetic acid ethanedioic acid) and SWR‐0345HA ((E)‐2‐methyl‐3‐[4‐[2‐(2‐phenyl‐2‐hydroxyethylamino)ethoxy]phenyl]‐2‐propenoic acid ethyl ester hydrochloride) for their potencies as selective ligands at human β‐adrenoceptors expressed in COS‐7 cells and compared the binding affinities for human α1‐adrenoceptors expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells using a radioligand‐binding assay. Phenoxypropanolamine derivatives SWR‐0315NA and SWR‐0342SA showed higher binding affinities for β‐adrenoceptor subtypes; SWR‐0065HA, however, showed a higher affinity for only β2‐adrenoceptors, accounting for 3‐fold and 6‐fold selectivity against β1‐ and β3‐adrenoceptors. Compounds SWR‐0315NA and SWR‐0342SA did not show any binding selectivity for any of the subtypes. However, functionally these two compounds are selective for β3‐adrenoceptors. Among the phenylethanolamine derivatives, SWR‐0338SA and SWR‐0345HA showed 9‐fold and 16‐fold higher binding selectivity for β3‐adrenoceptors against β1‐adrenoceptors, respectively, whereas they both showed a 7‐fold higher binding selectivity for β3‐adrenoceptors against β2‐adrenoceptors. SWR‐0098NA did not show any significant binding affinity for any of the β‐adrenoceptor subtypes. These compounds, except for SWR‐0098NA, were not found to possess any significant binding affinity for α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes over that for β‐adrenoceptor subtypes. However, SWR‐0098NA has about a 3‐fold to 22‐fold higher binding selectivity for α1‐adrenoceptor subtypes against β‐adrenoceptor subtypes, making it difficult for use in a β‐adrenoceptor receptor study. Compounds SWR‐0315NA and SWR‐0342SA have similar binding potency for α1‐adrenoceptors as adrenaline (epinephrine), proving the finding of this manuscript that this phenoxypropanolamine group of β‐adrenoceptor ligands could also be used as α1‐adrenoceptor ligands. Functional assays have to be performed to confirm their agonistic activity.

Role of Endothelin-1 in Ischemic Acute Renal Failure in Rats

The role of endothelin-1 in ischemic acute renal failure in rats is described. After 45 min of ischemia, mean blood pressure was increased by 11% and renal blood flow (RBF) and renal surface blood flow (RSBF) rates were reduced by about 30% resulting in a 70% increase in renal vascular resistance (RVR) compared with nonischemic control rats. Higher levels of endothelin-1 were also found in the kidneys and plasma of ischemic rats. Endothelin-1-induced ischemia seems to play a significant role in the pathogenesis of acute renal failure. During reperfusion, injection of endothelin-1 (0.1–0.3 nmolkg−1) into post-ischemic rats did not affect RBF, RSBF or RVR. However, injection of the α-stimulant, 1-phenylephrine (1–10μg kg−1), dose-dependently reduced RBF and RSBF, regardless of whether renal ischemia had occurred. The endothelin-1 insensitivity of post-ischemic rats may be due to inactivation of the vasocontractile systems or activation of the vasodilative systems.