Irradiation properties of T0 chopper components

We investigated the irradiation properties of the components of a T0 chopper. The organic materials in the rotor bearing grease, the magnetic fluids in seals, and the rubber in the timing belt, as well as the semiconductor materials in the rotation sensor and motor encoder, were all irradiated with high-energy γ-rays up to 100 kGy. No significant damage that shortens the lifetime of a T0 chopper was observed for the mechanical components. However, the semiconductor components were damaged by the irradiation. For the rotation sensor system detecting the rotor phase, the signal from a marker on the rotor shaft was transmitted outside the shielding by an optical fiber with radiation-proofing and the electrical circuits were removed from the beamline shielding. The lifetime of the motor encoder possibly meets the requirement for the maintenance period of the T0 chopper.     

Crystallographic analysis for acicular ferrite formation in low carbon steel weld metals

Inclusions contributing to acicular ferrite nucleation were investigated from a crystallographic point of view in low carbon low alloy steelweld metals. The samples from electro slag welding (ESW) and submerged arc welding (SAW) deposits with various cooling rates were prepared in this study. In those samples, intragranular acicular ferrite formation was observed from inclusions. The inclusions contributing to acicular ferrite formation were of multi-phase type consisting of amorphous phase, spinel type and MnS. They were surrounded by a Ti-enriched layer. It was confirmed by selected area diffraction patterns and energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer analyses that the Ti-enriched layer was TiO. The acicular ferrite had a Baker–Nutting orientation relationship with the TiO layer on the inclusion surface. The misfit was 3.0% at the interface between the acicular ferrite and TiO. Therefore, it is considered that TiO on the inclusion surface contributes to the heterogeneous nucleation of acicular ferrite by small lattice misfit. However, themorphologies of ferrite growth which nucleated from inclusions were different in both samples. Whereas the growth of ferrites nucleated from TiO was enough in ESW, the size of nucleated ferrite in SAW was a few hundred millimetres in size. In the early stage of nucleation from TiO, ferrite had small deviation from Kurdjumov–Sachs orientation relationship (K–S relationship) in both ESW and SAW. However, there was a difference in the growth stage of ferrite. The ferrite orientations were gradually changed to fit to the K–S relationship in ESW. On the other hand, the nucleated ferrite in SAW stopped growing and the newly nucleated ferrite which had K–S relationship prior to austenite was formed adjacently because of large super cooling due to small heat input.     

Development of High Count Rate TES Microcalorimeters

To realize new TES imaging for high energy X-ray or gamma-ray spectrometer with a large pixel array and high count rate, we will try to develop a new radiation absorber self-adjusting the operating temperature and adopting an original reading out method of large pixel array using parallel biasing scheme. Our first prototype TES pixel using Au/Ti/Au tri-layer which consists of the small heat sensors and the radiation absorption area, and these are biased in serial. In this device, the current pulse with the decay time constant of less than 20 microseconds of incident X-rays from ⁵⁵Fe source were observed.      

Design and performance evaluation of a haptic interface based on MR fluids for endovascular tele-surgery

Microsystem Technologies - In this paper, a magnetorheological (MR) fluids based haptic interface has been developed in master site to provide the haptic sensation to the interventionalist during...     

MgSrSi-Type Compounds as a Possible New Family of Thermoelectric Materials

We calculated electronic structures and transport properties of 33 Zintl phase compounds M¹M²X (M¹, M² = Li, Na, Mg, K, Ca, Rb, Sr, Ba; X = Si, Ge, As, Se, Sn, Sb, Te, Pb, Bi) having orthorhombic MgSrSi-type (PbCl₂-type) structure. These compounds were calculated to be narrow-gap semiconductors or semimetals. By comparison with known thermoelectric materials, our analysis showed that these compounds are promising candidate new thermoelectric materials, when heavily doped with holes or electrons. The weak chemical bonds and the variety in constituent elements indicate the possibility to achieve high thermoelectric figure of merit.     

Influence of two different modes of resistance training in female subjects

In resistance training, it has been empirically accepted that muscle hypertrophy is developed by low intensity and high volume training, while muscle strength and power are developed by high intensity and low volume training. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of two different modes of resistance training on isokinetic strength and muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) in females. Eleven females, who had no experience in resistance training, participated in this study and were randomly divided into two groups. The former consisted of 4-5 sets of 15-20 RM (repetition maximum) with sufficient rest between sets (Group H), while the latter consisted of 8-9 sets of 4-6R M with 90 s of rest between sets (Group S). The former was assumed to be appropriate for muscle hypertrophy and the latter muscle strength, respectively. All subjects completed isotonic knee extension exercise three times a week for 8 weeks. Measurements were made on quadriceps muscle cross-sectional area (CSA) and isokinetic torques at 0, 60, 180, and approximately 300 degrees before training, at the fifth week and the end of training period. Muscle CSA was defined as the sum of CSA measured at 30, 50 and 70% of femur length. After training, muscle CSA had significantly increased in both groups: 3.3 +/- 0.7% (p < .05) for group H and 3.6 +/- 1.1% (p < .05) for group S, respectively. While the changes in isokinetic torque were 43.4 +/- 47.5% (p < .05) for group H and 27.4 +/- 31.3% (p < .05) for group S, respectively. In both groups the percentage changes of the isokinetic strength were significantly higher than those of the CSA. No significant difference in these variables were found between the two groups. These results suggest that during the early phase of resistance training two different modes of resistance training may have similar effects on muscle CSA and isokinetic strength in untrained females.     

Optimal allocation of area in hierarchical road networks

This paper deals with the hierarchical road network design using a continuous model. The model is based on a grid road network where roads are classified into three types: access roads, minor arterial roads, and major arterial roads. Using a continuous approximation in which the distance is measured as the rectilinear distance, we obtain a simple approximation for the total travel time. We then find the optimal allocation of area taken up by roads at each level of the hierarchy so as to minimize the sum of the travel and construction costs. The result demonstrates how the total traffic volume, the traffic composition, and the unit construction cost affect the optimal road area. The optimal area of major arterial roads increases with the total traffic volume and the proportions of inward, outward, and through traffic and decreases with the unit construction cost.     

Subtalar stress radiography using forced dorsiflexion and supination

BACKGROUND: Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is one decisive cytokine of T-helper type 1 (Th1) cells in experimental leishmaniasis. It activates macrophages to kill intracellular parasites and leads to a decline of less mature macrophages in the infiltrate. Application of IFN-gamma heals the disease in susceptible mice and has recently been shown to be of benefit in human disease when given locally or in combination with antileishmanial drugs. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the clinical and histological effects of systemic application of IFN-gamma in a case of human cutaneous leishmaniasis in which an ulcerating lesion endangered the left upper eyelid of a 4-year-old boy. RESULTS: IFN-gamma (100 mu g/m2 of body surface per day) was given subcutaneously for a period of 28 days. The well-tolerated treatment resulted in rapid and complete healing of the lesion without functional impairment. Histological examination disclosed the formation of dermal granulomas. Immunohistochemical characterization of the myelomonocytic cells in the lesion before and after treatment revealed a marked decrease of less-mature macrophages in the infiltrate. This phenomenon equals observations in healing lesions during naturally occurring resistance in murine leishmaniasis. CONCLUSION: Systemic monotherapy with IFN-gamma can be an effective treatment for complicated cases of human cutaneous leishmaniasis without the side effects sometimes observed with systemic pentavalent antimony. Its effects on the myelomonocytic infiltrate are similar to the ones observed during the physiological immune response in natural resistance.