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In this study, three-dimensional numerical simulations and experiments of the interaction between a normal shock and bubbles generated by the repetitive energy depositions of a laser pulse in a Mach 1.92 flow was conducted. As a result of the shock–bubble interaction, a vortex ring, caused by a baroclinic effect, was generated. Owing to the self-induced velocity field, the advection velocity of the vortex rings decreased with increasing laser pulse energy. In the experiments, when interactions among the vortex rings became strong, separations in transverse directions between adjacent bubbles were induced. This was reproduced through numerical simulations by imposing an artificial disturbance in the initial positions of the bubbles, i.e., by 5% of the bubble diameter in a transversal direction. The asymmetric behaviors of a row of vortex rings were classified into three patterns based on the ratio of the distance between the vortex rings to the size of the vortex rings ( λ: inverse Strouhal number). In pattern 1, with λ >2.9, there was negligible interference between the vortex rings because the interval of the vortex rings was sufficiently large. In pattern 2, with λ = 0.97–1.2, separation in the vortex-ring rows appeared, and the separation angle increased as λ decreased. In pattern 3, with λ

This article examines the THz emission from high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cuprates in the mesoscopic state using the intrinsic Josephson junction model. Cuprate superconductors are high-temperature superconductors that exhibit exotic electromagnetic properties. One of the remarkable features of HTS cuprates is high anisotropy due to their layered structures. Almost all HTS cuprates are composed of stacks of CuO2 layers and blocking layers which supply charge carriers to the CuO2 layers. The crystal structures of the HTS cuprates naturally form Josephson junctions known as intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs). This article first describes the basic theory of IJJ and the mechanism of THz emission before discussing the effect of temperature inhomogeneity on the emission properties. It then introduces a novel IJJ-based THz emitter that utilizes laser heating. Theoretical results show that the THz emission is caused by the strong excitation of transverse Josephson plasma waves in IJJs under a direct current bias.

Asahi Y, Noiri Y, Igarashi J, Asai H, Suga H, Ebisu S. Effects of N-acyl homoserine lactone analogues on Porphyromonas gingivalis biofilm formation. J Periodont Res 2009; doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0765.2009.01228.x © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S Background and Objective: The gram-negative anaerobic rod Porphyromonas gingivalis in oral biofilms is a primary etiological agent of periodontal disease. Biofilm formation of various gram-negative bacteria is regulated by a quorum-sensing circuit that relies on N-acyl homoserine lactones (HSLs). Some synthetic N-acyl HSL analogues act as quorum-sensing inhibitors and suppress biofilm formation in Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Development of chemical control agents against oral biofilms is necessary, because until now, biofilms have been removed only by mechanical debridement. The present study investigated the effect of N-acyl HSL analogues on P. gingivalis biofilm formation, with the aim of developing new drugs that inhibit oral biofilm formation. Material and Methods: A flow-cell model was used for P. gingivalis biofilm formation. Seventeen synthetic N-acyl HSL analogues were quantitatively assessed by spectrophotometry. The effects of three antagonistic compounds against P. gingivalis biofilm formation were further examined by confocal laser scanning microscopy, and investigated for primary attachment using spectrophotometry and phase contrast microscopy. Results: Ten out of 17 analogues affected P. gingivalis biofilm formation. Three out of 10 analogues significantly decreased biofilm-forming cells (p

Background: Soluble interleukin-2 receptor (SIL-2R) is known to be a prognostic parameter in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) receiving cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone (CHOP) therapy. However, its prognostic value has not been well known since the introduction of rituximab. Patients and methods: We retrospectively evaluated the prognostic impact of SIL-2R in 228 DLBCL patients, comparing 141 rituximab-combined CHOP (RCHOP)-treated patients with 87 CHOP-treated patients as a historical control. Results: Patients with high serum SIL-2R showed significantly poorer event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) than patients with low SIL-2R in both the RCHOP group (2-year EFS, 66% versus 92%, P < 0.001; OS, 82% versus 95%, P = 0.005) and the CHOP group (2-year EFS, 40% versus 82%; OS, 61% versus 90%, both P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis including the five parameters of International Prognostic Index (IPI) and two-categorized IPI revealed that SIL-2R was an independent prognostic factor for EFS and OS in the RCHOP group as well as in the CHOP group. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate that SIL-2R retains its prognostic value in the rituximab era. The prognostic value of SIL-2R in DLBCL patients receiving rituximab-combined chemotherapy should be reassessed on a larger scale and by long-term follow-up.

Background: Several biomarkers indicating poor prognosis have been reassessed in patients receiving rituximab combination chemotherapy for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). However, few studies have investigated outcome in relation to a combination of these biomarkers. In addition, no large-scale studies have reassessed the outcome of patients with CD5-positive DLBCL treated with rituximab. Patients and methods: We conducted a retrospective study and investigated the predictive value of three biomarkers-BCL2, germinal center (GC) phenotype and CD5 ¯ in 121 DLBCL patients treated with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisone. Results: CD5-positive patients showed significantly poorer event-free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) than CD5-negative patients (2-year EFS, 18% versus 73%, P < 0.001; 2-year OS, 45% versus 91%, P= 0.001). However, no significant difference in outcome according to BCL2 or GC phenotype was observed. Multivariate analysis revealed that CD5 expression was a significant prognostic factor for EFS [hazard ratio 14.2, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 4.7-43.2] and OS (hazard ratio 20.3, 95% Cl 3.6-114.4). Conclusions: CD5 expression was the only significant prognostic factor among the biomarkers examined in this study. Further studies with larger numbers are warranted to confirm the prognostic significance of CD5 expression for patients with DLBCL receiving rituximab-containing chemotherapy.

The performance of a new structure plasma display panel (PDP) cell with counter sustain electrodes was diagnosed by optical emission and laser absorption spectroscopic measurements of the spatiotemporal behaviours of the microplasma. Two different types of panels were prepared: one with sustain electrodes only and the other with additional data and auxiliary electrodes on the rear and front plates. By using cells of the former type, the basic performance was measured as the dependences on the Xe concentration in Ne, the total pressure and the applied sustain voltage. It was seen that a higher Xe concentration was advantageous for the luminous efficiency although the required minimum sustain voltage became larger. By using the latter type of cell, the effects of driving schemes were investigated by varying the applied potentials onto the auxiliary and data electrodes. It was found that the role of the auxiliary electrode is remarkable; the discharge expands largely in the cell when the voltage and the width of the pulses applied to the auxiliary electrode are optimized to be 200 V and 0.3 µs, respectively, while the data electrode is grounded. The production efficiency of Xe atoms in the metastable (1s5) and resonance (1s4) states was derived from the measured absolute densities normalized by the input power per cell and the decay rates of those densities. The vacuum ultraviolet emission efficiency estimated from the results was compared between the tested conditions, and a noticeable improvement was recognized in the optimized condition, about 40% larger than a conventional driving condition without additional pulses. It was also seen that this cell structure is potentially superior in luminous efficiency to the conventional coplanar structure currently used in commercial PDPs.

In high-income Asian countries like Korea and Japan, per capita rice consumption has declined because of the change in consumer's favorite foods from rice to high-cost quality foods. This has forced farmers to reduce rice production. Although fodder rice could be another option to be cultured by farmers, available information concerning rice grain silage has been limited. In the present study, therefore, the difference in the quality of fodder rice silage prepared from either whole crop or grain at different ripening stages was compared. Various supplements were also added into whole crop and grain silages of fodder rice before ensiling, and thereafter, the palatability of prepared silages was determined by beef cattle. At ear emergence stage, the pH values for both grain and whole crop silages were approximately 4.5. In both grain and whole crop silages, the pH values were significantly increased by progressing ripening stages from milk-ripe stage to yellow-ripe stages, and the increase in pH value for grain silage was faster than that for whole crop silage. In the grain silage, the higher lactic acid (LA) content in grain silage seemed to be, the lower pH value was. Both in grain and whole crop silages, pH was significantly decreased by supplementation with LA bacteria. There were no significant differences in feed intake among any treatment groups. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2005. Vol 18, No. 3 : 340-344)

Because the acoustic and elastic properties of bone evaluated using ultrasound-based methods have proved so useful in the direct evaluation of bone characteristics, many workers have developed methods and systems based on thein vivo measurement of velocity, attenuation, or both, of ultrasound in bone. These include the acoustic emission (AE), apparent velocity of ultrasound (AVU), and speed of sound-broadband ultrasound attenuation (SOS-BUA) methods. Bone stiffness is accepted as an effective index in the diagnosis of such bone diseases as osteoporosis. The literature contains reports of the estimation of bone stiffness from velocity (speed of sound [SOS]) and attenuation (broadband ultrasound attenuation [BUA]). The physical explanation of the methods of evaluating stiffness from the obtained values of BUA and SOS is still not clear, however. Here we propose a new diagnostic method and system based on ultrasound measurement of the stiffness of bone. The proposed method determines stiffness from the velocity of the leaky surface skimming compressional waves (LSSCWs) obtained with the microdefocusing method and the acoustic impedance obtained with the reflectance method. Thus this method can evaluate stiffness without exposing the patient to X-rays; moreover, the physical basis of the calculation of stiffness from velocity and impedance is well understood. We applied this system to the human tibiain vivo: stiffness and density in a young volunteer were successfully evaluated at 24.9 GPa and 2.01×10(3) kg/m(3), respectively.

The magnet technology of a high-temperature superconductor (HTS) with a conduction cooling system by a GM cryocooler has been advanced. It is very important to understand the thermal and electromagnetic phenomena in HTS tapes for HTS coil design. We have measured the quench characteristics of HTS tapes with a conduction cooling system of a GM cryocooler and developed a computer program based on the finite element method (FEM) to investigate the thermal and electromagnetic behaviors within HTS tapes. From these experimental and analytical results, the validity of the computer program has been confirmed. In this paper, we discuss a stability criterion for cryocooler-cooled HTS coils by using the computer program. The current at which "thermal runaway" occurs, which depends on the relationship between the cooling power of the GM cryocooler and the heat generation within HTS coils, is chosen as a stability criterion. We also investigate the transient thermal and electromagnetic behavior in HTS coils.

To classify the clinical characteristics of ocular toxocariasis in Japan, the prevalence of antibodies to Toxocara antigens was examined in patients with uveitis of unknown aetiology. From 1982 to 1993, serum specimens of 383 cases and intraocular fluid samples of 22 cases were serologically screened for Toxocara infection with five immunodiagnostic tests. Fifty-five sera and 11 intravitreous fluid samples were estimated to have significantly high antibody levels against larval excretory–secretory (ES) antigens of T. canis. Eight cases were positive in both serum and vitreous fluid, and three were positive only in the vitreous fluid. Among the 58 antibody positive samples, 20 cases were omitted due to a lack of detailed description of ocular findings. The remaining 38 cases are described in this study. Of these 38 cases, 34 (89%) were older than 20 years of age. Ocular lesions were located in the posterior fundus in 11 cases, in the peripheral fundus in 18 cases, and in both areas in seven cases. Of the eight cases in which papillary oedema or redness was observed, chorioretinal lesions were also present in seven of them. Tractional retinal detachment was present in five cases. These observations suggest that ocular toxocariasis in Japan has a different clinical profile compared with those in the other countries, and indicate a need for revised classification of ocular toxocariasis.

Trichocyst discharge, ciliary reversal, and cell body contraction inParamecium spp. have all been claimed to be regulated by the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) at the cortical region of the cell. We injected caged Ca2+ intoP. caudatum cells and applied ultraviolet (UV) light to the cell for 125 ms. This did not induce trichocyst discharge but did induce both ciliary reversal and cell body contraction. A re-application of UV for 125 ms triggered trichocyst discharge. These results demonstrate that (1) trichocyst discharge and ciliary reversal and cell body contraction are controlled by [Ca2+]i and (2) the threshold of [Ca2+]i for trichocyst discharge is higher than those for the other two functions.

A carnivorous ciliate,Didinium nasutum, captures a prey,Paramecium spp., by discharging extrusomes (i.e., toxicysts) from the proboscis. To directly examine the role of Ca2+ for the discharge, we injected Ca2+ intoD. nasutum. Injection of Ca2+ evoked discharge of toxicysts, if the site of the injection was the periphery region of the proboscis. After the discharge,D. nasutum, opened the proboscis and swallowed the discharged toxicysts. These observations demonstrate that a rise in cytoplasmic Ca2+ level is an actual cause of toxicyst discharge inD. nasutum.

The carnivorous ciliateDidinium nasutum captures prey such asParamecium by discharging extrusomes, known as toxicysts, while the attackedParamecium defensively discharges trichocysts. Several authors have suggested that both discharges, the toxicysts ofDidinium and the trichocysts ofParamecium, are evoked by the rise in cytosolic Ca2+ level in each cell. However, these putative increases in cytosolic Ca2+ levels have not as yet been recorded simultaneously in these cells during aDidinium attack onParamecium. We injected the fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Ca-Green 1 dextran into bothDidinium andParamecium, and simultaneously observed the cytosolic Ca2+ levels in these cells asDidinium attackedParamecium. When aParamecium came into contact with theDidinium proboscis, theDidinium showed a significant rise in cytosolic Ca2+ in the basal portion of the proboscis. One video frame (33 ms) after the onset of the Ca2+ rise inDidinium, theParamecium also showed an increase in cytosolic Ca2+. This is the first simultaneous recording of changes in the Ca2+ level during a predator-prey interaction in ciliates. The possible roles of these Ca2+ increases are discussed in relation to the discharge of toxicysts during theDidinium attack and of trichocysts as a defensive behavior ofParamecium.

In order to determine if the mesa geometry might affect the properties of the coherent terahertz (THz) radiation emitted from the intrinsic Josephson junctions in mesas constructed from single crystals of the high-temperature superconductor, Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O₈+δ, we studied triangular mesas. For equilateral triangular mesas, the observed emission was found to be limited to the single mesa TM(1,0) mode. However, tunable radiation over the range from 0.495 to 0.934 THz was found to arise from an acute isosceles triangular mesa. This 47% tunability is the widest yet observed from the outer current-voltage characteristic branch of such mesas of any geometry. Although the radiation at a few of the frequencies in the tunable range appear to have been enhanced by cavity resonances, most frequencies are far from such resonance frequencies, and can only be attributed to the ac-Josephson effect.

All-optical switching performance of waveguide-type device utilizing intersubband transition is investigated by analyzing the position-dependent change of optical power densities and carrier densities in the waveguide. In the device, the three lowest energy-level subbands in the conduction band structure of asymmetric coupled quantum wells are used. The optical excitation pulse excites the electrons in the first subband to the third subband and the stimulated emission between the third subband and second subband amplifies the optical signal pulse. We find that the signal pulse is notably amplified when the excitation pulsewidth is less than the relaxation time of the third subband. The calculated results show that wavelength conversion from 1.35 to 1.6 /spl mu/m with a gain of more than 10 dB is achieved by the excitation using an optical pulse with 1.5-ps width. This demonstrates the effectiveness of using a waveguide-type device structure with pulsed operation to make devices with a high-optical gain. We also derive a simple approximation for the optical gain. We show that the approximation gives results in good agreement with the results of the rigorous simulation using a finite difference method and the approximation is useful for designing devices.

CdTe ZnTe strained-layer superlattices (SLSs) are grown on GaAs substrates by hot-wall epitaxy (HWE). SLSs are studied by X-ray diffraction, photoluminescence (PL) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cross sectional TEM image of SLSs shows that the critical thickness of the CdTe well layer is about 9–12 A. Picosecond time-resolved PL spectra reveal that the exciton luminescence bands in SLS are originating from both free and bound exciton recombination. Dynamical processes of photo-excited carrier relaxation and annihilation in CdTe ZnTe are discussed.

Some plasma processes such as etching produce non-uniform electrical characteristics during device fabrication at the front-end manufacturing process. This variation in electrical properties causes the yield of transistors to decrease. In the front-end process, ion implantation has the advantage of high-precision controllability such as dose distribution which can be used to compensate for the variation in electrical characteristics of the device. We have developed a method which can compensate for the non-uniformities caused by different front-end processes during device fabrication. Patterning Implant (PI) system is one of the procedures that utilizes a combination of beam sweeping and stepwise wafer rotations. With this approach, different dose distributions on the substrate can be achieved. However, the PI system needs several rotational steps for a ring-pattern dose distribution. In addition, the system cannot be applied to processes such as halo implantation due to tilt angle dependence. Furthermore, the required dose distribution is not always the concentric ring shape which limits the application of the conventional PI system. To address this issue, we have developed the Super PI system which can provide dose distributions of any shape without the need for wafer stepwise rotation. Performance of the Super PI was evaluated in various implant conditions.

This study investigated the effects of 12 weeks of aerobic exercise plus voluntary food restriction on the body composition, resting metabolic rate (RMR) and aerobic fitness of mildly obese middle-aged women. The subjects were randomly assigned to exercise/diet (n = 17) or control (n = 15) groups. The exercise/diet group participated in an aerobic training programme, 45–60 min · day −1 at 50%–60% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), 3–4 days · week−1, and also adopted a self-regulated energy deficit relative to predicted energy requirements (−1.05 MJ · day −1 to −1.14 MJ · day −1 ). After the regimen had been followed for 12 weeks, the body mass of the subjects had decreased by an average of 4.5 kg, due mainly to fat loss, with little change of fat free mass (mff). The absolute RMR did not change, but the experimental group showed significant increases in the RMR per unit of body mass (10%) and the RMR per unit of mff (4%). The increase in RMR/mff was not correlated with any increase in VO2max/mff. The resting heat production per unit of essential body mass increased by an average of 21%, but the resting heat production rate per unit of fat tissue mass remained unchanged. We concluded that aerobic exercise enhances the effect of moderate dietary restriction by augmenting the metabolic activity of lean tissue.

A method for preparing permalloy films by electrodeposition using a square-wave pulse-mode current was studied, along with the magnetic properties of the resulting films. The influence of three plating parameters (duty cycle ratio, frequency, and dc bias) on the formation of film structures, alloy composition, and magnetic properties was investigated. It was found that films with ? i ?4000 (max. 6000) and with zero magnetostriction can be obtained with good reproducibility by pulse-plating at a low duty cycle ratio. The characteristics of permalloy film electrodeposited using a square-wave pulse current are discussed.

Nissin’s boron and carbon cluster ion implanter CLARIS G2 has been developed for the mass production of next generation CMOS devices. Development of boron cluster implant technique was presented at last IIT conference in 2008 [1]. In this paper, development of carbon cluster (C16Hx+ and C7Hx+) implant technique is described. Carbon cluster implantation has been well productized in terms of throughput, beam quality and lifetime.

The surface characteristics of carbon fibres treated by electrochemical oxidation have been determined, and the effect of these properties on the interfacial adhesive strength (interlaminar shear strength (ILSS) and transverse flexural strength) of epoxy-matrix composites investigated. The surface properties of the carbon fibres were dependent on the nature of the electrolyte used during the electrochemical oxidative treatment. Use of a basic electrolyte resulted in an improvement of composite ILSS and transverse flexural strength due to an increase in the number of surface functional groups. On the other hand, using an acid electrolyte resulted in the ILSS increasing with the number of surface functional groups, while the transverse flexural strength decreased for composites in which the carbon fibres had a high surface oxygen content. It is concluded that the weak boundary layer derived from fissures on the surface of carbon fibres treated in an acid electrolyte decreased the transverse flexural strength.

New types of InGaAs-InAlAs multiple quantum well (MQW) optical bistable devices using the resonant tunneling effect are investigated. The bistability of these devices is obtained by the negative differential resistance (NDR) of the MQW resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs). Two types of MQW bistable devices are described. One is an MQW optical bistable device consisting of an MQW-RTD and an MQW modulator. Light-output-light-input bistable operation is obtained for this device at room temperature. The other is an InGaAs-InAlAs MQW resonant tunneling phototransistor (MQW-RPT), which shows a clear bistability in the collector-current-light-input characteristic. Inverter-type optical bistable operation with an on/off ratio of more than 10 dB is obtained by using the MQW-RPT as a laser driver. Optical memory operation is also demonstrated. >

Presentation du principe et des resultats d'experiences d'excitation et de detection d'ondes acoustiques de surface fuyantes sur des os, a l'aide d'une lentille convergente lineairement a une frequence de 1 MHz. Utilisation du principe sur des os de bovins pour des ondes de compression rasantes et mesure des vitesses de phase par la methode d'analyse de la courbe V(z) developpee en microscopie acoustique

Background A recent laboratory study indicated that statins impaired the antitumor effects of rituximab by inducing conformational changes in CD20. Although these findings raised significant concerns about statin use during rituximab treatment, their clinical significance is unclear. Patients and methods We conducted a retrospective study investigating the effects of statins on the prognosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) treated with rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (RCHOP). Newly diagnosed DLBCL patients were analyzed (n = 256), including 35 patients taking statins. Results The 3-year progression-free survival rates were 84% and 73% (P = 0.38), while the overall survival rates were 89% and 78% (P = 0.28) for those patients treated with and without statins, respectively. After adjusting for the International Prognostic Index and serum cholesterol level, statin use was not associated with prognosis. Conclusions These results indicate that statins do not influence the clinical prognosis of DLBCL treated with RCHOP. Further studies with larger numbers of patients are warranted to confirm the prognostic significance of statins for patients with DLBCL receiving rituximab-containing chemotherapy.

Receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase zeta/beta (RPTPzeta) is a transmembrane chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG) and has been shown to play crucial roles in controlling axonal growth and neuronal migration. The RPTPzeta has two transmembranous isoforms, shorter receptor form of RPTPzeta (sRPTPzeta) and full-length receptor form of RPTPzeta (fRPTPzeta), but no studies have been reported about functional difference of these two isoforms. In the present study, therefore, we examined whether or not two RPTPzeta isoforms have different role in controlling dendritic morphology and synaptic number in cultured hippocampal neurons using the quantitative morphometrical analysis. Confocal microscopic observation showed that the immunoreactivity of RPTPzeta was observed throughout cells such as axons, growth cones, and dendrites at the early stages of neuronal culture, while it was seen predominantly on dendrites at the late stages. Western blotting analysis revealed that fRPTPzeta was mainly expressed at the early stages of culture and both RPTPzeta isoforms were expressed at late stages of culture. The overexpression of sRPTPzeta in hippocampal neurons increased the dendritic arborization without altering the average length of dendritic branches, whereas that of fRPTPzeta decreased the dendritic arborization and increased the average length of dendritic branches. The RNA interference of fRPTPzeta expression increased the dendritic arborization without altering the average length of dendritic branches. The overexpression of fRPTPzeta decreased the density of hippocampal dendritic synapses, but that of sRPTPzeta had no effects. Pleiotrophin, a ligand for RPTPzeta to interfere the phosphatase activity, increased the density of hippocampal dendritic synapses. Thus, the present study demonstrates that two transmembranous RPTPzeta isoforms have different functions for regulating dendritogenesis and synaptogenesis.

High-speed modulation over 22 GHz for waveguided InGaAlAs/InAlAs multiple quantum well (MQW) optical modulators is described. A large on/off ratio of over 25 dB is demonstrated with a low-drive voltage (6 V) operating in the 1.55- mu m wavelength region. The design and characteristics of MQW p-i-n modulators are discussed. The causes of large-insertion loss and the required drive voltage bandwidth figure of merit for the MQW modulator are discussed. The frequency response measurements show that the response speed is limited by the RC time constant of the device. This suggests that the speed can be further enhanced by decreasing the size and capacitance of the device. >

A high-speed ozone sterilizing device has been developed, using a ceramic-based ozonizer of the high-frequency surface discharge type. The advantage of this ozonizer is that it can produce a high concentration of ozone despite its compact size. Oxygen is used to produce the standard ozone concentration of 20000 p.p.m. Even at this high concentration, complete sterilization for the reference bacteria (Bacillus subtilis) in a limited time ( approximately 3 to 5 min) is only possible in the case when adequate temperature and humidity are maintained in the ozonized oxygen gas (50 degrees C and 80% relative humidity). The object to be sterilized is cleaned with a wet paper, to provide such humidity in the sterilizing chamber, which is kept at 50 degrees C. For reference bacteria, this device produces the standard sterilizing effect of killing one million cells in three to five min. One run, including processing before and after sterilization, lasts 12 to 14 min as against approximately 30 min for the conventional method using an autoclave. The sterilizer, using a high concentration of ozone, has been used in the sterilization of a handpiece used in dental work for drilling teeth. >

This paper describes the electromagnetic field simulation using FDTD method with the variable mesh size technique. In this technique, the mesh size is changed dynamically during the simulation. In this method, the mesh size and the time step size are controlled according to the electromagnetic field intensity. The proposed technique can reduce the simulation cost without degradation of accuracy, even if the simulation is done for the input signal including the high frequency factors. Finally, the validity and efficiency of the proposed method are verified by some electromagnetic field simulations for the example boards.

This paper advocates the concept of user modeling (UM), which involves dialogue strategies. We focus on human-machine collaboration, which is endowed with human-like capabilities and in this regard, UM could be related to cognitive modeling, which deals with issues of perception, behavioral decision and selective attention by humans. In our UM, approximating a pay-off matrix or function will be the method employed in order to estimate user’s pay-offs, which is basically calculated by user’s action. Our proposed computation method allows dialogue strategies to be determined by maximizing mutual expectations of the pay-off matrix. We validated the proposed computation using a social game called “Iterative Prisoner’s Dilemma (IPD)” that is usually used for modeling social relationships based on reciprocal altruism. Furthermore, we also allowed the pay-off matrix to be used with a probability distribution function. That is, we assumed that a person’s pay-off could fluctuate over time, but that the fluctuation could be utilized in order to avoid dead reckoning in a true pay-off matrix. Accordingly, the computational structure is reminiscent of the regularization implicated by the machine learning theory. In a way, we are convinced that the crucial role of dialogue strategies is to enable user models to be smoother by approximating probabilistic pay-off functions. That is, their user models can be more accurate or more precise since the dialogue strategies induce the on-line maintenance of models. Consequently, our improved computation allowing the pay-off matrix to be treated as a probabilistic density function has led to better performance, Because the probabilistic pay-off function can be shifted in order to minimize error between approximated and true pay-offs in others. Moreover, our results suggest that in principle the proposed dialogue strategy should be implemented to achieve maximum mutual expectation and uncertainty reduction regarding pay-offs for others. Our work also involves analogous correspondences on the study of pattern regression and user modeling in accordance with machine learning theory.