Abstract: The present invention provides a power unit of an underwater vehicle, which allows reduction in size and weight of a transformer for stepping down a power voltage of a power supply to increase a loading amount of a variety of devices with respect to the underwater vehicle, so as to obtain a favorable operating environment. The power unit is connected to the power supply through a cable and receives power through the cable. Further, the power unit comprises an electronic transformer having: a rectifier for rectifying a high-voltage alternate current power of the power supply into a direct current; a high-frequency converter for converting an output of the rectifier into a high-frequency alternate current; a transformer for stepping down an output voltage of the high-frequency converter; a rectifier for rectifying an output of the transformer into a direct current; and a control circuit for controlling the high-frequency converter.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of judging the thermostability of a protein, comprising the steps of calculating an analytical value specific to a test protein by a principal component analysis based on the amino acid composition of the protein calculated from the data of the amino acid sequence of the protein or the nucleotide sequence of the gene and comparing the analytical value with an analytical value of a protein which is retained by a thermostable organism and corresponds to the test protein, and further relates to a program for allowing a computer to execute processing for judging the thermostability of a protein by the method, and a computer readable recording medium having recorded the program thereon.

Abstract: A breeding apparatus comprises a main water tank 10 in which deep-sea organisms are housed along with seawater; a hot water supplying device 20; and a hot water discharging device 30. A hot water pipe 22 extends from a hot water tank 21 to the bottom of the main water tank 10, an end configuring a spouting hole 22a which emits hot water upwardly. The hot water discharging unit 30 is positioned above the spouting hole 22a and circulates the hot water ascended from the spouting hole 22a back to the warm water tank 23, which is outside of the main water tank 10, via a hot water discharging pipe 31. The hot water emitted from the spouting hole 22a forms a cold water zone 12 and a localized hot water zone 11, while the interface between this hot water zone 11 and the cold water zone 12 is formed in a rapidly ascending fashion in respect to the vertical cross section of the seawater in the main water tank 10.

Abstract: Grid structured data arranged for a spherical structured grid constituted by combining two component structured grids are visualized by using computer graphics technology. Coordinate conversion means 31 converts grid point coordinates of first and second component structured grids (referred to as N and E systems, respectively), represented by specific regions in spherical coordinates, into local xyz coordinates used in computer graphics. Filter means 32 obtains first and second graphic objects for the N and E systems, respectively. Using E system rotation and N and E system synthesis means 33, the second graphic object for the E system is rotated by 90 degrees with respect to an x axis of a first local xyz coordinate system, and is then rotated by 180 degrees with respect to a z axis of the first local xyz coordinate system, thereby obtaining the rotated second graphic object for the E system, and then, both of the graphic objects are synthesized.

Abstract: An observation apparatus can observe the temporal fluctuations of the two-dimensional distribution of oxygen concentration in the bottom sludge and also in the bottom water on the seabed at an observation site. The observation apparatus includes a pressure-resistant container main body section that has a pressure-resistant window and is hermetically sealed by a pressure-resistant container closure section, a sensor foil that contains an oxygen quenching material and is arranged at the pressure-resistant window, an excitation light source that is arranged at the pressure-resistant container main body section to irradiate the sensor foil and an image pickup apparatus that shoots the sensor foil.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a submarine observation system in which a plurality of carrier lights assigned to each submarine observation equipment is transmitted from a land terminal apparatus to an optical submarine cable (down-going) by using a WDM transmission. In the submarine observation equipment, only a prescribed carrier light is demultiplexed by an optical demultiplexer, an observation signal indicating an observation result is generated by an observation device, intensity of the carrier light demultiplexed by the optical demultiplexer is modulated by an optical amplifier based on an observation signal, and the modulated carrier light is multiplexed by an optical multiplexer. The multiplexed carrier light is output to the optical submarine cable (up-going) to be returned to the land terminal apparatus being the transmission station.

Abstract: The present invention provides a power unit of an underwater vehicle, which allows reduction in size and weight of a transformer for stepping down a power voltage of a power supply to increase a loading amount of a variety of devices with respect to the underwater vehicle, so as to obtain a favorable operating environment. The power unit is connected to the power supply through a cable and receives power through the cable. Further, the power unit comprises an electronic transformer having: a rectifier for rectifying a high-voltage alternate current power of the power supply into a direct current; a high-frequency converter for converting an output of the rectifier into a high-frequency alternate current; a transformer for stepping down an output voltage of the high-frequency converter; a rectifier for rectifying an output of the transformer into a direct current; and a control circuit for controlling the high-frequency converter.

Abstract: In each of a plurality of submarine observation apparatus (1 to n), a branching unit (63) branches fixed-wavelength light (?1) from an incoming wavelength-multiplexed light signal. An observation signal modulating unit (64) modulates the intensity of the branched fixed-wavelength light (?1) with observation information multiplexed by an observation signal multiplex unit (61). A combining unit (65) combines light signals (?2) to (?n) passing through the branching unit (63) and the fixed-wavelength light (?1a) modulated by the observation signal modulating unit (64) into a composite light signal, and outputs it to an optical fiber (12a). Therefore, in each of the plurality of submarine observation apparatus (1 to n), there is no necessity for providing a wavelength-division-multiplexing-transmission optical transmitter which requires high wavelength stability.

Abstract: The present invention provides a communication device and a communication method of an underwater vehicle, which use an electromagnetic field (electromagnetic wave), having a higher propagation speed than that of an acoustic wave, for communication between an underwater vehicle and a mother vessel or the like so as to allow real-time control of the underwater vehicle and the like and further to make the communication little sensitive to noise and the like. The communication device performs wireless communication between an underwater vehicle in water and an object on land or on water, and is configured to compress data to be transmitted and transmit/receive the compressed data by the use of a low-frequency electromagnetic field.

Abstract: A core sample collector includes a cylinder and a piston, wherein the piston includes a piston body, upper piston rings and lower piston rings, and a sterilizing agent is held in a space defined between the piston, the cylinder, the upper piston ring and the lower piston ring. The sterilizing agent may be an antimicrobial polymeric gel. A core sample is collected by contacting the cylinder against a surface from which the core sample is to be taken, and causing relative movement between the cylinder and the piston such that: (i) the sterilizing agent is applied to the inner peripheral wall surface of the cylinder, (ii) the upper and lower piston rings scrape the sterilizing agent from the inner peripheral wall, and (iii) a core is received in the cylinder.

Abstract: A Raman amplifier includes a pumping light source, an optical coupler, and a Raman amplifier medium. The pumping light source outputs a pumping light that is intensity-modulated with a frequency equal to or higher than 100 megahertz. The optical coupler couples the pumping light with a carrier light. The Raman amplification medium is pumped by the pumping light to amplify the carrier light. The Raman amplification medium has characteristics of a low dispersion and a small difference between propagation times of the carrier light and the pumping light.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a method of coring a crustal core sample, which comprises using a crustal core sampler equipped with a flow-able coating material-ejecting mechanism for ejecting a flow-able coating material, and ejecting the flow-able coating material composed of a polymer substance having a colloidal particles capturing ability by aggregating function and a water-absorbing polymer substance, from the flow-able coating material-ejecting mechanism of the crustal core sampler thereby coring a crustal core sample in a state coated with the flow-able coating material.

Abstract: A simulator is provided for simulating a real-water-droplet for an arbitrary simulation time in an entire space to be observed in which the real-water-droplets collide by a certain probability within a predetermined volume in a predetermined time interval, and in which the real-water-droplet is specified by a group of an arbitrary number of attributes and position coordinates at an initial time in one of divided spaces into which the entire space is divided, a super-water-droplet representing a group of an arbitrary number of the real-water-droplets which have a predetermined identical group of the attributes, when the multiplicity which is the arbitrary number of the real-water-droplets represented by the super-water-droplet changes when the super-water-droplet collides with another by a probability based on the certain probability and the multiplicity, calculating data about the super-water-droplet to output data about the real-water-droplet after the arbitrary simulation time elapses.

Abstract: A submarine power feeding branching device comprises a constant current-constant current converter which isolates an input side for a trunk submarine cable from an output side for a branch submarine cable. The converter receives a first constant current and produces a second constant current by using the first constant current. The second constant current is supplied to the output side while the first constant current is returned to the input side. Because the input side and the output side are isolated, it is easy to add/remove the device to/from a submarine power feeding system. Intensity of the second constant current can be controlled by controlling duty ratios of switches included in the converter. Thus, it is possible that the intensity of the second constant current is equal to that of the first constant current. Therefore, a submarine repeater can be provided along either the trunk cable or the branch cable.

Abstract: The object of the present invention is to provide a yeast which is tolerant to copper and which can incorporate copper at a high concentration, and also a method of removing or recovering copper from extracellular solution. The present invention is copper-tolerant yeast and the pectinases produced by the yeast. Particularly, the present invention is copper-tolerant yeast Cryptococcus sp. N6 strain isolated from deep-sea sediments and the pectinases produced by the yeast.

Abstract: The present information comprises the stages of: applying frequency analysis to positional information on a platform, generating virtual positional information on the platform based on a frequency analysis result; extracting a signal based on the generated virtual positional information; and performing a synthetic aperture processing based on the extracted signal, and in this manner, even if the positional information lacking in precision and inaccurate is used, the shake compensation of the platform in the synthetic aperture processing system can be effectively performed.

Abstract: When an integrated displacement amount of the particles constituting a contact candidate pair is equal to or more than ¼ (one-quarter) cell or more, likelihood becomes high that the particles of the contact candidate particle pair, which was not in contact with each other, would come into contact with each other. Then, in such high likelihood, data relating to contact candidate particle pairs are updated. With this arrangement, even if contact candidate particle pair data updating is decimated and part of contact determination is accordingly omitted to increase a computing speed of the contact determination, accuracy of simulation will not be reduced. Thus, according to the present invention, the computing speed of the contact determination can be increased without lowering the accuracy of simulation.

Abstract: A submarine power feeding branching device comprises a constant current-constant current converter which isolates an input side for a trunk submarine cable from an output side for a branch submarine cable. The converter receives a first constant current and produces a second constant current by using the first constant current. The second constant current is supplied to the output side while the first constant current is returned to the input side. Because the input side and the output side are isolated, it is easy to add/remove the device to/from a submarine power feeding system. Intensity of the second constant current can be controlled by controlling duty ratios of switches included in the converter. Thus, it is possible that the intensity of the second constant current is equal to that of the first constant current. Therefore, a submarine repeater can be provided along either the trunk cable or the branch cable.

Abstract: Disclosed herein are a crustal core sampler, by which a crustal core sample can be cored in a state coated with a flow-able coating material free of any contamination, and a method of coring a core sample using this crustal core sampler. The crustal core sampler comprises a drilling mechanism and a barrel, wherein the barrel is equipped with a flow-able coating material-ejecting mechanism, and a columnar crustal core portion is coated with a flow-able coating material. Alternatively, the crustal core sampler is constructed by a drill pipe and an inner barrel, wherein the inner barrel is equipped with an inner barrel body, a core elevator, a channel-forming member for forming a flow-able coating material-running channel and flow-able coating material-ejecting openings, and a columnar crustal core portion is coated with a flow-able coating material.

Abstract: A method of taking a crustal core sample, wherein the crustal core sample is obtained in a state coated with an antimicrobial polymeric gel formed of a polymer and an inorganic antimicrobial agent dispersed in the polymer. The inorganic antimicrobial agent is a compound containing at least one of silver, zinc or ions thereof. The inorganic antimicrobial agent is carried on a carrier material. The polymer forming the antimicrobial polymeric gel contains a hydrophilic group, and the antimicrobial polymeric gel contains the inorganic antimicrobial agent in a proportion of 0.0001 to 10.0 mass %.