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Abstract: Persistent Photoconductivity (PPC) in 30 MeV electron-irradiated n-type ZnO single crystals is studied under the dual light illumination (DLI: the infrared light excitation after the blue illumination). Below 160 K, the remarkable reduction in PPC is observed by the subsequent infrared illumination, suggesting the release of electrons from the perturbed-host state (PHS) as a metastable conductive state to the nonconductive state ( and/or ) via the higher unoccupied states inside the conduction band. Above 160 K, the slight increase in photocurrent is observed by the subsequent illumination, suggesting the photoexcitation of electrons not relevant to the PHS. These results depend on the electron concentration in the PHS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives More than two decades have passed since the first living donor liver transplantation was performed in Japan in 1989. There are many reports about problems in adherence to taking medication and medical follow-ups in children who received liver transplants, because there is no transition strategy for those children and parents or guardians. The objective of this study is to measure the effect of nature and outdoor activity to improve children's medical adherence. Methods We recruited participants from 9-year-old children who are attending the outpatient liver transplant clinic in a stable condition (no event such as rejection or surgical procedure within 6 months). We took participants to a snow camp and measured its effect by using the IKIRU CHIKARA (IKR) tool, which contain 28 items divided into 3 categories: psychosocial ability, moral fitness, and physical ability. Children were tested on three occasions, before, just after, and 1 month after the camp. Results Eight patients participated in the snow camp and 7 patients were eligible for the study. The average age was 12.6 with a range 10 to 17 years. There were 3 girls and 4 boys. The average IKR scores before, just after, and 1 month after the camp were 127.9, 131.5, and 126.6, respectively. Conclusion An outdoor activity such as a snow camp can be safely conducted, and it is an acceptable option to incorporate within a pediatric liver transplant program. There were no significant changes in IKR scores during this short observation. Longer observation is needed to measure the effect of nature and outdoor activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vestibular inputs to the cerebral cortex are important for spatial orientation, body equilibrium, and head and eye movements. We examined vestibular input to the periarcuate cortex in the Japanese monkey by analyzing laminar field potentials evoked by electrical stimulation of the vestibular nerve. Laminar field potential analysis in the depths of the cerebral cortex showed that vestibular-evoked potentials consisted of early-positive and late-negative potentials and early-negative and late-positive potentials in the superficial and deep layers of the periarcuate cortex, respectively, with latencies of 4.8–6.3 ms, suggesting that these potentials were directly conveyed to the cortex through the thalamus. These potentials were distributed continuously in the fundus, dorsal and ventral banks of the spur and the bottom of the junctional part of the arcuate sulcus and spur. This vestibular-projecting area overlapped the cortical distribution of corticovestibular neurons that were retrogradely labeled by tracer injection into the vestibular nuclei (previously reported area 6pa), and also the distribution of smooth pursuit-related neurons recorded in the periarcuate cortex including area 8 in a trained monkey. These results are discussed in relation to the function of vestibular information in control of smooth pursuit and efferents of the smooth pursuit-related frontal eye field. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In 1957, Agodi predicted that the neutron angular distribution in ( γ , n) reactions with a 100% linearly polarized γ -ray beam for dipole excitation should be anisotropic and universally described by the simple function of a + b ⋅ cos ⁡ ( 2 ϕ ) at the polar angle θ = 90 ° , where ϕ is the azimuthal angle. However, this prediction has not been experimentally confirmed in over half a century. We have verified experimentally this angular distribution in the ( γ , n) reaction for 197 Au, 127 I, and natural Cu targets using linearly polarized laser Compton scattering γ -rays. The result suggests that the ( γ → , n) reaction is a novel tool to study nuclear physics in the giant dipole resonance region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Observation is reported of the polarization of the helium-like Cl–Heα line (1s2 1S0–1s2p 1P1), at 2.79keV emitted from a triple-layer target irradiated with a 130fs laser pulse. The polarization degree is determined as a function of overcoat thickness of the target. It is found that the emission from a layer closer to the target surface is polarized parallel to the surface direction whereas emission from a deeper region in perpendicular to the surface. The experimental result is analyzed using a two-dimensional (2D) Maxwellian distribution function for hot electrons. Beam-like distribution was found in the depth of plasma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]