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The mechanism by which 1α,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol [1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ] enhances smooth muscle force generation was examined. Rats were injected on three mornings with 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 (35 ng/100 g) or vehicle, and on the fourth morning mesenteric resistance arteries were isolated and used for simultaneous measurement of intracellular Ca 2+ and force or myosin light chain phosphorylation. 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 did not affect media thickness or wall-to-lumen ratio, but it increased basal intracellular Ca 2+ (vehicle = 49.2 ± 2.2 nM vs. 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 = 65.9 ± 4.0 nM, P < 0.05, n = 24-26 rats). 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 enhanced the active stress and intracellular Ca 2+ responses to increasing doses of norepinephrine, and the increases were normalized by verapamil (10 μM). In a second group of animals, 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 significantly increased both basal intracellular Ca 2+ and light chain phosphorylation and the active stress and Ca 2+ mobilization responses to norepinephrine (10 μM). The hormone did not affect peak or steady-state light chain phosphorylation. Myofilament Ca 2+ sensitivity, determined during stimulation with 2 μM norepinephrine, was depressed in vessels isolated from rats treated with 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 [vehicle Ca 2+ 50% effective dose (ED 50 ) = 82.7 ± 3.8 nM vs. 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 = 104.8 ± 4.9 nM, P = 0.002]. We conclude that 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 enhances resistance artery force generation by altering smooth muscle Ca 2+ homeostasis, with effects on basal and verapamil-sensitive, agonist-induced Ca 2+ mobilization.

For the purpose of establishing an effective exploration model of antimony deposit as a final goal. minor elements in stibnite ( Sb 2 S 3) were analyzed by micro-PIXE. Samples were taken from the largest antimony mine in the world. Xikuangshan. Hunan. China. Measurements were carried out using 1 MeV proton to avoid the problem where low energy tail of K X-ray peaks of antimony could mask small peaks of interest. As a result. arsenic at a concentration of around 0.2 wt % was successfully detected for the stibnite crystals that contact calcite but not those that contact quartz.

術前, 術後1カ月, 術後3カ月に経肛門的超音波検査と肛門内圧検査が施行された側方の筋間痔瘻に対する開放術の7症例, seton術の7症例, 括約筋温存術の19症例の計33症例を対象として検討を加え以下の結果を得た.(1) 開放術を施行すると内・外括約筋は切開部を境として急激に収縮が起こり括約筋は開き, 静止圧, 随意圧ともに低下する. (2) seton術は瘻管の開放が進む一方で創の治癒も進むが, 内括約筋は切開されるために, 開放後は開放術に近い静止圧の低下が起こる. しかし, 低位筋間痔瘻の場合瘻管と外括約筋が交叉する程度が軽いために外括約筋が切開される程度は少なく, 随意圧は術後括約筋温存術とほぼ同等な圧が保持される. (3) 括約筋温存術は内外括約筋の断裂が軽く, しかも他の術式と比較すると術後の内圧の低下が軽く病変の根治と術後の機能温存の両方が計られる術式で, 側方の筋間痔瘻に対しても第一選択の術式であると考えられる.

The characterization of Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) orientation films in terms of the optical retardation as a function of the LB depositing velocity has been studied, and the surface anchoring strength of the LB films for a nematic liquid crystal has been estimated. The optical retardation decreases as the LB depositing velocity increases. In contrast, the anchoring strength increases as the LB depositing velocity increases. The macroscopic anchoring strength may not have a positive correlation with the optical retardation which reflects the microscopic orientational order. Furthermore, we succeeded in generating the high pretilt angle by only using the LB method. The pretilt angle gradually decreases with increasing the depositing velocity.

We discuss the history of X-ray observations of the η Car system, concentrating on the periodic variability discovered in the 1990s. We discuss the interpretation of these variations, concentrating on a model of the system as a “colliding-wind” binary. This interpretation allows the physical and orbital parameters of η Car and its companion star to be constrained.

We study the effect of Coulomb blockade (CB) on the Aharonov-Bohm (AB) oscillations, observed in the magnetoresistance of small dots in both the quantum Hall and tunneling regimes. In the quantum Hall regime, where one or more edge states pass freely through the dot, the period of oscillation \ensuremath{\Delta}B is well correlated to the dot size, and the temperature-dependent decay of the oscillations is consistent with the expected form of the single-particle magnetospectrum. In the tunneling regime, however, \ensuremath{\Delta}B is enhanced by more than two orders of magnitude over the value expected from the size of the dot, and the resulting oscillations persist to above a degree Kelvin. This behavior can only be explained by considering the effect of CB on the magnetic depopulation of electrons from the isolated dot; these magneto-Coulomb oscillations are the magnetic analogue of the CB oscillations more conventionally observed using electrostatic techniques. These results demonstrate that by varying the coupling of the dot to the source and drain, the resulting AB oscillations can be used to separately probe both the single-particle and CB-related energy scales of small dots.

Vasopressin-regulated water permeability of the kidney collecting duct is a key component of the urine concentration machinery. Recently, a cDNA for AQP-CD, the vasopressin-regulated water channel, initially reported as WCH-CD, has been isolated (K. Fushimi, S. Uchida, Y. Hara, Y. Hirata, F. Marumo, and S. Sasaki. Nature Lond. 361: 549-552, 1993). AQP-CD was expressed in oocyte membrane using a Xenopus expression vector, and functional characteristics of AQP-CD were examined. Osmotic water permeability (Pf) of oocytes expressing AQP-CD was 138 +/- 19 microns/s (mean +/- SE), 12 times greater than the control (11 +/- 3 microns/s), 90% inhibited by 0.3 mM HgCl2, and weakly temperature dependent (energy of activation for Pf was 4.0 kcal/mol). Urea influx measured from 15-min [14C]urea uptake by oocytes injected with AQP-CD/expression vector 1 cRNA was 86 +/- 17% of the control. Two-electrode voltage-clamp experiments revealed insignificant ion conductance of AQP-CD. Immunoblots of membranes from rat kidney medulla and oocytes expressing AQP-CD using anti-AQP-CD COOH-terminal antibody showed a 29-kDa protein and 35- to 50-kDa high-molecular-mass forms. Immunohistochemistry showed apical and subapical localization of AQP-CD in the collecting duct principal cells. Our results indicated that AQP-CD is a 29-kDa protein, a selective water channel, distinct from a urea channel, and localized to the membranes of vasopressin-sensitive components in kidney collecting duct principal cells.

We are studying quantum interference effects in narrow GaAs/AlGaAs wires of the quasi-ballistic regime, where the wire dimensions are comparable to or less than the phase coherence length of electron transport. By analysing the auto-correlation function of the universal conductance fluctuations in low field magnetoresistances, we obtained the wire-width and the magnetic field dependences of the correlation field and observed phase-coherence behaviors of electron waves. Estimating the boundary correlation field as ω c τ = 1, we can discuss a mean free path in the split-gated wire. Such a boundary field analysis indicates a possibility of determination of the microscopic mean free path of quantum narrow wires.

In this study Cu films of 30 nm and 200 nm thickness have been grown on natural type IIb semiconducting diamond C(001) substrates by electron-beam evaporation at 500 °C in UHV. As evidenced by Rutherford backscattering/channeling techniques and in situ low-energy electron diffraction, the as-deposited layers were shown to be epitaxial, with χCu = 49%. In addition, the technique of atomic force microscopy has demonstrated island morphology, indicative of three-dimensional growth. Moreover, the Cu films displayed excellent adhesion properties with the underlying diamond substrate. Corresponding current-voltage (I–V) measurements conducted at room temperature have shown rectifying characteristics. In addition, a Schottky barrier height of ΦB ≈ 1.1eV has been determined from ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy.

We have studied the low temperature electrical properties of semiconductor quantum dot structures at high magnetic fields. The devices consisted of lithographically defined aluminium gates deposited on to the surface of a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction substrate and the dot structures were formed on the application of a suitable negative bias to the gates. At high magnetic fields electronic transport occurred via edge states and we were able to use the well known properties of these states to study transmission through the dot structures. In particular we observed large resistance resonances superimposed on the quantised magnetoresistance plateaux of the dot. These resonances were found to persist with reduced amplitude to above a degree Kelvin and showed a sensitive dependence on the applied gate voltage. We associate them with the increased edge state interaction introduced by the dot and discuss our results in terms of the various scattering mechanisms inherent to quantum dot structures.

Two species of L-histidine decarboxylase (HDC) mRNA were found in the KU-812-F basophilic cell line, but only the 2.4-kilobase (kb) one encodes the functional HDC (Mamune-Sato, R., Yamauchi, K., Tanno, Y., Ohkawara, Y., Ohtsu, H., Katayose, D., Maeyama, K., Watanabe, T., Shibahara, S., and Takishima, T. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 209, 533-539). The 3.4-kb one encodes a truncated HDC protein and is also found in human leukemia-derived cell lines HEL and KCL-22. To clarify the mechanisms that regulate transcription of the HDC gene and generate the two species of mRNA, we have isolated genomic DNA clones coding for the HDC from human genomic libraries. Structural analysis of the isolated clones revealed that the human HDC gene is composed of 12 exons spanning approximately 24 kb. Genomic DNA blot analysis suggested that HDC is encoded by a single copy gene. The structural analysis also demonstrated that the heterogeneity of the HDC mRNA is caused by an insertion of the seventh intron sequence and alternative use of the splicing acceptor site at the 12th exon. The transcription start site of the HDC gene and the nucleotide sequences of the promoter and first exon regions were determined. We found a TATA-like sequence, a GC box, four CACC boxes, four GATA consensus sequences, and six leader-binding protein-1 binding motifs in the promoter region of the HDC gene.

We study the characteristics of the fluctuations, observed in the low-temperature magnetoconductance of an open quantum-dot molecule formed from a pair of split-gate quantum dots. The evolution of these fluctuations suggests a decrease in the typical area for coherent interference with decreasing dot-coupling strength. We discuss this behavior in terms of a transition from multi- to single-dot interference as a function of the interdot coupling.

Single crystals of Bi 2 Sr 2 CaCu 2 O x were grown using a travelling solvent floating zone technique in an infrared radiation furnace with seed crystals. The purpose of the process was to obtain large single crystals. The use of seed crystals was found to be quite effective for increasing the thickness of the crystal in the c -axis direction. Characterization of the single crystal was investigated using a polarized optical micrograph, EPMA, TEM, RBS and a high resolution X-ray diffractometer.

Hybridoma cells producing antibody reactive with poly(A) were isolated following fusion of spleen cells from a BALB/c mouse immunized with poly(A).poly(dT) and myeloma cells. The antibody was purified from ascitic fluid by the formation of immune complexes with poly(A). The antibody reacted with poly(A) and some homopolymers (poly(dT), poly(I) and poly(dC)) which was most probably due to its reaction with the ribose-phosphate part of the molecules, but not with cellular RNAs and DNA. Poly(A) tailed 5 S rRNA (about 20 nucleotides) and tobacco mosaic virus RNA (1060 nucleotides) were precipitated quantitatively by the antibody. Dot hybridization and in vitro translation confirmed that the RNA precipitated by the antibody from mouse spleen total RNA contained biologically active mRNA.

We clarify the local structure in a model silicon glass by use of Voronoi-polyhedron analysis. The glass is produced by molecular dynamics with a Stillinger-Weber potential. The atoms in the glass are nearly distinguishable: there are about 200 types in the system with 216 atoms. The analysis clarifies that the polyhedra are formed by a small number of large-area polygons or by a large number of small-area polygons. This feature is different from those in Lennard-Jones glasses or metallic glasses and is attributed to the loose-packed structure even in the glass state, in which the atoms still have directional bonding. The variety of Voronoi signatures that appear in the covalently bonded glass can be simplified mainly into two types of signatures by constructing the polyhedra by use of the bonding atoms.

Cytomegalovirus (CMV) reinfection of seropositive individuals has been associated with adverse outcomes in organ transplantation and is a frequent cause of congenital infection. Previously we demonstrated that mismatching of CMV glycoprotein H (gH) serotypes was associated with CMV disease after renal transplantation. Because the antigen domain 2 (AD2) epitope of glycoprotein B (gB) is conserved among CMV isolates and is one of the known targets of neutralizing antibodies, in this study we investigated whether antibodies against the epitope contribute to protection from CMV reinfection in renal transplantation, irrespective of gH serological matching. For this purpose, the gB and gH serology and clinical outcomes were analyzed retrospectively for 77 transplant recipients in the donor positive/recipient positive setting, who were managed by preemptive strategy. We found that there was a good negative correlation between the numbers of antigenemia-positive cells and the levels of antibodies against gB AD2 in the CMV-gH antibody matched group, but not in the CMV-gH antibody mismatched group. None of the recipients with antibodies against both gB AD2 and strain-specific epitopes of gH have experienced CMV disease during 6 month after transplantation, while 28% of those who lacked either/both antibody response needed preemptive therapy. Because the outcome was statistically significant, antibodies against gB AD2 can be a useful indicator to predict emergence of CMV disease for preemptive therapy, in addition to antibodies against the mismatched gH types.

This paper proposes a new half-bridge inverter based active power quality compensator (APQC) for electrified railways with a three-leg inverter. The first-leg is connected to α-phase, and the second-leg is connected to β-phase. The midpoint of two capacitors on the dc side is connected to the ground line. These two half-bridge inverters exchange the active power on the each feeder each other through two dc capacitors, and compensate the negative-sequence and harmonic components of the load currents. The third-leg performs a dc voltage balancer for two dc capacitors connected to the half-bridge inverters. Thus the balanced and sinusoidal source voltages and currents factor are attained on the primary side of the Scott transformer with the balanced dc capacitor voltages. The basic principle of the proposed half-bridge inverter based APQC is discussed in detail, and then confirmed by digital computer simulation using PSIM software. Simulation results demonstrate that the balanced source currents with the unity power factor are obtained on the primary side the Scott transformer in the traction substation systems balancing two dc capacitor voltages.

We have fabricated Nb nanogap electrodes using a combination of molecular lithography and electron beam lithography. Au nano-particles with anchor molecules were placed in the gap, the width of which could be controlled on a molecular scale (approximately 2 nm). Three different anchor molecules which connect the Au nano-particles and the electrodes were tested to investigate their contact resistance, and a local gate was fabricated underneath the Au nano-particles. The electrical transport measurements at liquid helium temperatures indicated single electron transistor (SET) characteristics with a charging energy of about approximately 5 meV, and a clear indication of the effect of superconducting electrodes was not observed, possibly due to the large tunnel resistance.

The present article demonstrates the possibility of developing a high‐vacuum planar magnetron discharge. Until recently, developed cathodes applying a high electric field and a high magnetic field which cross each other in a discharge space enable the discharge to be sustained at 0.1 Pa. Experimental results of this article show that even at pressures lower than 10−3 Pa the discharge can be sustained. The discharge intensity I/P is proportional to the discharge voltage and depends strongly on the magnetic flux density. It is found that the high‐vacuum planar magnetron discharge requires a magnetic flux density higher than 0.1 T and a discharge voltage higher than 2 kV, for its effective sustenance. Sputtering of aluminum by this discharge is performed and the deposition rate 0.2 μm/min is obtained.

A narrow channel has been defined in a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction using metallic split gates formed by electron beam lithography. Resistance measurements have been performed at low temperature (1.2 K) and in magnetic fields of up to 8 T. By varying the negative voltage bias applied to the split gates it is possible to change the regime of electronic transport. In the low resistance regime, Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations are observed which disappear as the resistance of the channel is increased. As the resistance is further increased towards the characteristic value of h e 2 , the conductance fluctuations become increasingly pronounced. In this paper, we discuss the experimental features observed in the magnetoresistance. both above and below this characteristic quantum resistance.

We have measured the low temperature magnetoresistance of narrow wires formed as constrictions in the two-dimensional electron gas of a GaAs/AlGaAs heterojunction. In the quasi-ballistic regime, two relaxation times, at high and low magnetic fields, are observed in the amplitude analysis of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations. The boundary field which distinguishes these relaxation times is found to be determined by a simple relationship between the conducting width and the corresponding cyclotron radius. We discuss these features in terms of the effect of the magnetic field on sidewall scattering in a quasi-ballistic wire.

A picture converting system that can fit input signals to a wide-aspect (16:9) display without jitter and skew was developed. The architecture of the converter and a LSI for its hardware implementation are described. In this system, the compression and enlargement for converting the image were done only by the digital signal processing circuits, and some new methods that were suitable for this digital signal processing system were adopted. This system also included features for minimizing the difference of the luminescence decay of a phosphor between the center and the side portions of the display. >

We study both the phase-breaking and the energy-relaxation times as a function of both temperature and bias current in arrays of coupled, open quantum dots. These times show a saturation at low temperature, and a decay at higher temperatures. Importantly, the variations of sample resistance as a function of temperature and current cannot be used to infer the electron temperature at a given bias current, which suggests that the energy relaxation process is likely to be phonon based.

To evaluate the association between cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) homovanillic acid (HVA) concentrations and nigrostriatal dopaminergic function assessed by positron emission tomography (PET) imaging with carbon-11-labeled 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-fluorophenyl)-tropane ((11)C-CFT), which can measure the dopamine transporter (DAT) density, in Parkinson's disease (PD).(11)C-CFT PET scans and CSF examinations were performed on 21 patients with PD, and six patients with non-parkinsonian syndromes (NPS) as a control group.In the PD group, CSF HVA concentrations were significantly correlated with the striatal uptake of (11)C-CFT (r = 0.76, P0.01). However, in the NPS group, two indices were within the normal range.In PD, CSF HVA concentrations correlate with nigrostriatal dopaminergic function. Therefore, CSF HVA concentrations may be an additional surrogate marker for estimating the remaining nigrostriatal dopaminergic function in case that DAT imaging is unavailable.

The antiprogestin mifepristone has been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of R3327HI rat prostatic carcinoma. A comparable antitumor effect of onapristone (ON) on rat Dunning tumors was found in our laboratories. We found the localization of progesterone (P4) receptors (PR) in prostate and prostatic tumors. These findings suggest the involvement of P4 in the mechanism of hormone-dependent growth of prostate and tumors. To study the influence of P4 on the growth of ventral (VP) and dorsolateral prostate (DLP), orchiectomized rats were treated (s.c.) daily with P4 (0.3, 1.0, 3.0 or 10.0 mg), dihydrotestosterone (DHT, 0.05 mg), estradiol (E2, 3.0 microg), ON (3.0 mg), ICI 182780 (1.0 mg) or flutamide (FL, 3.0 mg) for 12 days. One day after the last treatment, animals were sacrificed, and the organ weight of VP and DLP was determined. P4 increased the organ weight of VP and DLP in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast to DHT, which preferentially stimulated the growth of VP, P4 led rather to an increase in the weight of DLP. The effect of P4 on the DLP was enhanced by a simultaneous application of DHT or E2. The antiprogestin ON and the pure antiestrogen ICI 182780 had no appreciable effect on the P4-induced growth of VP and DLP. ON inhibited, however, the E2/P4-induced growth of DLP without affecting the growth of the VP. In contrast the antiandrogen FL suppressed the stimulatory effect of P4 on both the VP and DLP. These findings suggest that the stimulatory effect of P4 on the rat DLP may be partly due to androgenic products derived from P4 and may be also mediated by PR.

We investigate electronic transport through single-wall carbon-nanotube quantum dots weakly coupled to metallic leads in the Coulomb-blockade regime. While sequential tunneling is suppressed, the transport, due to correlated tunneling of two electrons cotunneling, is possible. We report on a pronounced current peak for the singlet-triplet transition mediated by inelastic cotunneling processes that allows for their separation from the elastic components. Using the second-order perturbation theory in the tunnel-coupling strength we are able to fit it into the experimental data, explain the details of the line shape, and extract values of parameters that describe pseudospin asymmetry.

Compared to the significant immunomodulation of cell wall component(s) of bacterium such as lipopolysaccharide (E. Coli), that of pathogenic fungi has not been well elucidated, especially in vivo. Furthermore, although it has been implied that beta-(1, 3)-glucan of fungi possesses various biological activities, the impacts of the component have not been properly clarified, possibly due to its insolubility in water and alkali solutions. Previously, we isolated a soluble type of beta-(1, 3) -glucan from Aspergillus (referred to as ASBG). The present study investigated the effects of a single pulmonary exposure to ASBG on the immune (proinflammatory) responses in naïve mice. ASBG (12.5-100micorg/animal) exposure Induced neutrophilic lung inflammation with an enhanced local expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-1beta and chemokines such as macrophage inflammatory protein -1a, and keratinocyte-derived chemoattractant in a dose-dependent fashion with overall trends. On the other hand, ASBG at relatively lower doses significantly amplified the lung expression of IL-2, IL-6, and IL-12 as compared with vehicle. ASBG significantly induced pulmonary edema. Furthermore, ASBG augmented the nuclear translocation of nuclear factor (NF)-kB and its binding capacity to the promoter site of DNA in the lung homogenate. These results suggest that pulmonary exposure to ASBG confers lung inflammation, at least partly, via the enhanced local expression of proinflammatory cytokines, likely through NF-kB-dependent pathway.

Optical coherence tomography (OCT; ImageWire, LightLab Imaging, Westford, Massachusetts, USA) is an imaging modality with a high resolution of about 10–20 μm, and can visualise the intima, media and adventitia as well as the histological examination. A 40-year-old woman was admitted with sudden-onset chest pain …

A modified image method for calculating the fields produced by straight electric and magnetic current segments is proposed and found to be effective for calculating the fields near the source. Computing errors of the field increase as the distance from the source to the observation point increases. Therefore, the modified image method is improved for the accurate calculation at any position by adding a correcting term. In order to check the adequacy and usefulness of the method considering the term, its error is compared with that of the method without it. >

Magnetoresistance measurements have been performed in narrow GaAs/AlGaAs wires in order to study the scattering process in mesoscopic wires. Amplitude analysis of the Shubnikov -de Haas oscillations shows that electrons have two scattering times, depending upon the magnetic field range. The critical field which separates these scattering times seems to be determined by the relation between the wire width and the electron cyclotron radius. This effect is discussed in terms of the electron trajectories in a wire under the magnetic field.

We study theoretically electron transport through coupled quantum dots under the sequence of pulse voltages in order to see how the Rabi oscillation is demonstrated like atoms’ fluorescence in two-level atoms. The Rabi oscillation of the current as a function of the pulse duration is obtained. The effect of inelastic scattering is also discussed.

The SET electrometer has been fabricated in GaAs/AlGaAs 2 dimensional electron gas (2DEG), and has been coupled to the quantum dot to measure the change in electron number in it. When the coupling strength was enough large, the signal to indicate the electron number change was confirmed by simultaneously measuring two currents in the SET and the dot.

We have observed several symmetrical paired peaks against the zero field in the magneto-resistance of the double corrugation gated wires. These symmetrical peaks can be explained by each commensurate trajectory due to an internal magnetic focusing in the ballistic cavity formed in the quantum dot of the corrugation unit.

A case of pseudogout occurring in the temporomandibular joint of a 76-year-old man is reported. The diagnostic work-up and its differential diagnosis is discussed.

The unstable star η Carinae is arguably the Galaxy's most massive known star or an extremely peculiar massive binary. We report first results of ∼ weekly RXTE monitoring of η Car during the 1996 Feb – 1997 Jun interval, with daily coverage in 1997 Jun–Jul; this represents the most detailed description of the X-ray emission of this or any other massive star. Our RXTE results show a progressive increase in the average 2–10 keV flux through the observing interval. Most suprisingly, we find peaks in the X-ray lightcurve which occur every 85±1.2 days. We consider possible causes of the X-ray variations.

We present an all-integrated near-field terahertz imaging probe on a semiconductor. This robust and easy-to-use scheme enables us to detect only the evanescent field very efficiently. We obtain a spatial resolution corresponding to lambda/24.

Aperiodic magnetoresistance (MR) fluctuations in narrow GaAs/AlGaAs wires are studied up to 8 T by means of analyzing their Fourier transform. It is found that decay of the spectrum shifts toward low frequencies with increasing the magnetic field region where Fourier transformation is done. This suggests that the effective area for the quantum interference may be changed by the magnetic field. Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations are also described.

A novel formulation for eddy-current analysis is presented. The formulation is based on electric-field integral equations. (EFIE) and magnetic-field integral equations (MFIE) which are deduced from Maxwell's equation by using the vector Green's theorem. The EFIE and MFIE are reduced to one boundary integral equation on the assumption that the electromagnetic fields in the metal are attenuated very rapidly compared with those along the surface. This method is especially effective at induction heating frequencies, but is valid at any frequency which satisfies the above assumption. To examine the adequacy and accuracy of this method, calculated values of temperature rises are compared with measured values; reasonably good agreement is shown. >

A rapidly convergent expression of electromagnetic fields in rectangular waveguides is proposed for three-dimensional electromagnetic field analysis by using the integral equation method. The new method is an improved image expansion method utilizing the rapid convergence of the orthogonal expansion method. By this new method, the slow convergence of the orthogonal method with currents near an observation point can be removed completely. In order to investigate the adequacy of the new expression, the fields produced by the line electric and magnetic current segments are calculated and compared with the values obtained by the orthogonal expansion method. This confirms that the new expression gives accurate numerical values with a short computing time. Electromagnetic fields in a rectangular waveguide with circular metallic and dielectric posts are analyzed by using the new expression. From computed values, equivalent circuits of the metallic and dielectric post are obtained and compared with values obtained by N. Marcuvitz (1951). Reasonably good agreement is obtained. >

To achieve a high quality of life, it is necessary to live in environment which is safe from disasters. This paper deals with a simulation system that is utilized for designing a large scale environment such as city. Gigantic number of autonomous agents which evacuate from a disaster in a modelled city are simulated in it. In spite of simulating a large number of agents and wide area of environment, the simulator also computes very detailed local areas precisely. Generally, larger scale simulation with smaller granularity requires more computing performance. The authors employed a computer clustering technology to overcome this difficulty. The basic design are presented in this paper.

Decay by proton emission from high-lying states in Nb-91, populated in the Zr-90(alpha,t) reaction at E-alpha=180 MeV, has been investigated. Decay to the ground state and semidirect decay to the low-lying (2(+),5(-), and 3(-)) phonon states in Zr-90 were observed. It was found that these phonon states play an important role in the damping process of the single-particle states. An optical-model coupled-channel approach was used successfully to describe the direct and semidirect parts of the decay.

Single‐electron transport properties have been measured at 1.5K on single‐wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) quantum‐dots (QDs) under terahertz (THz) laser irradiation with a frequency of 2.5THz. The interesting finding in this study was new side‐peaks in Coulomb oscillations, which appeared only under the THz irradiation. From the detailed analysis with energy scales associated with the QD, we conclude that the side‐peaks originate from the THz‐photon assisted tunneling (PAT) of an electron in the QD to the drain electrode.