Electron cyclotron resonance plasma production by using pulse mode microwaves and dependences of ion beam current and plasma parameters on the pulse condition

We measure the ion beam current and the plasma parameters by using the pulse mode microwave operation in the first stage of a tandem type ECRIS. The time averaged extracted ion beam current in the pulse mode operation is larger than that of the cw mode operation with the same averaged microwave power. The electron density n(e) in the pulse mode is higher and the electron temperature T(e) is lower than those of the cw mode operation. These plasma parameters are considered to cause in the increase of the ion beam current and are suitable to produce molecular or cluster ions.     

Development of a Millimeter-Wave Electron-Spin-Resonance Measurement System for Ultralow Temperatures and Its Application to Measurements of Copper Pyrazine Dinitrate

We have developed a millimeter-wave electron-spin-resonance (ESR) measurement system using a ³He-⁴He dilution refrigerator for the ultralow-temperature range below 1 K. The currently available frequency range is 125–130 GHz. This system is based on a Fabry-Pérot-type resonator (FPR) that is composed of two mirrors. The frequency can be changed by adjusting the distance between the mirrors using a piezoelectric actuator installed at the bottom of the resonator. A homodyne detection system with an InSb detector is built into the low-temperature section of the ³He-⁴He dilution refrigerator; this system provides high sensitivity. Using this system, we performed ESR measurements on a Heisenberg quantum-spin chain—copper pyrazine dinitrate, Cu(C₄H₄N₂)(NO₃)₂—over the temperature range from 6.6 down to 0.25 K. The ESR lines change continuously with decreasing temperature. Our results suggest that the ESR spectrum of copper pyrazine dinitrate may be useful as a temperature sensor for the very low-temperature range.     

Studies on cardiac ingredients of plants. XIII: Chemical modification of gitoxin to cardiotonic compounds without vascular effect

Nitrated gitoxins (4) and bufotoxin homologues with various lengths of alkyl chain at C-3 of the steroid nucleus (10) were prepared from gitoxin (1). The pharmacological activities of the resulting compounds (4 and 10) were evaluated by measurement of inhibitory effect on NA+, K(+)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) prepared from dog kidney, positive inotropic effect (PIE) on isolated guinea-pig papillary muscle preparations, and the effect on smooth muscle using the mesenteric artery from spontaneously hypertensive rats. Most of the compounds showed a smaller contractile effect on the arterial muscle. Among these compounds, gitoxin 3"-nitrate (4g) exhibited the most desirable biological activities, such as PIE comparable to that of 1, 1.25 times wider concentration-dependent range than 1, and lack of contractile activity on vascular muscle.     

Efficiency analysis of telescopic-legged bipedal robots

This paper investigates the stability of underactuated bipedal walking incorporating telescopic-leg actuation. In human walking, knee joints of swing and support legs are bent and stretched. The telescopic legs mimic the motion of the center of mass of human legs via their telescopic motion during the stance phase. First, underactuated telescopic-legged biped robot models are introduced. Second, an output-following control law is applied to the linearized equation of motion of the robot, and the controlled robot’s equation is then specified as a linear time-varying system. The error transition equation is developed to evaluate the stability during the stance phase. Numerical calculations are performed to show the influences of leg telescopic motion on the stability.     

A proposal of a temporal semantics aware linked data information retrieval framework

Temporal features, such as an explicit date and time or a time-specific event, employ concise semantics for any kind of information retrieval. Therefore, temporal features should be suitable for linked data information retrieval. However, we have found that most linked data information retrieval techniques pay little attention to the power of temporal feature inclusion. We propose a keyword-based linked data information retrieval framework ‘ that can incorporate temporal features and give more concise results. The evaluation of our system performance indicates that it is promising.     

Effective Acquisition Protocol of Terrestrial Laser Scanning for Underwater Topography in a Steep Mountain Channel

For better risk management, detailed and quantitative measurement of channel and stream‐bed structure is required to understand and predict water and sediment flow in mountain channels. Our previous research demonstrated good performance of green‐wavelength Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) for measurement of submerged stream‐bed in a steep mountain channel. This paper examines how the acquisition protocol of TLS affects the accuracy of data collected in the mountain channel. First, it was tested whether varying the scanner height, i.e., incident angle affects the data acquisition in terms of point density and accuracy in the pool unit of step‐pool channel. Then, the effect of varying the minimum point spacing on the derived Digital terrain model (DTM) was examined. It was also analyzed whether a combination of multiple TLS data acquired from different directions would improve the accuracy of data compared to data acquired by a single measurement. Furthermore, TLS data were acquired over a cascade unit of the channel and examined whether TLS is capable of capturing reliable underwater data. All the acquired underwater data by TLS were corrected for water refraction and validated using manual surveyed data. The results showed that the accuracy of derived DTM was improved when the scanner height was increased or data was acquired from multiple directions, however, acquiring denser point cloud with a minimum point spacing of 1 mm did not improve the accuracy of the data. Accuracy of TLS measurement in the cascade unit was considerably lower. Special consideration is required for this area.     

Dynamic control of the Q factor in a photonic crystal nanocavity

High-quality (Q) factor photonic-crystal nanocavities are currently the focus of much interest because they can strongly confine photons in a tiny space. Nanocavities with ultrahigh Q factors of up to 2,000,000 and modal volumes of a cubic wavelength have been realized. If the Q factor could be dynamically controlled within the lifetime of a photon, significant advances would be expected in areas of physics and engineering such as the slowing and/or stopping of light and quantum-information processing. For these applications, the transfer, storage and exchange of photons in nanocavity systems on such a timescale are highly desirable. Here, we present the first demonstration of dynamic control of the Q factor, by constructing a system composed of a nanocavity, a waveguide with nonlinear optical response and a photonic-crystal hetero-interface mirror. The Q factor of the nanocavity was successfully changed from approximately 3,000 to approximately 12,000 within picoseconds.     

Association of mineral metabolism factors with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in hemodialysis patients: the Japan dialysis outcomes and practice patterns study

Abnormalities in mineral metabolism have been linked to mortality in hemodialysis (HD) patients. We postulated that these abnormalities would have a particularly large deleterious impact on deaths due to cardiovascular causes in Japan. This study describes the recent status of abnormal mineral metabolism, significant predictors, and potential consequences in the Dialysis Outcomes and Practice Patterns Study (DOPPS), Phases 1 and 2, in Japan. Major predictor variables were patient demographics, comorbidities, and laboratory markers of mineral metabolism such as albumin-adjusted serum calcium (calciumAlb), phosphorus, and intact PTH (iPTH). In a cross section of 3973 Japanese HD patients in DOPPS I and II, a large faction had laboratory values outside of the recommended Kidney Disease Outcomes Quality Initiative (K/DOQI) guideline range for serum concentrations of phosphorus (51% of patients above upper target range), calciumAlb (43.7% above), calcium-phosphorus (Ca x P) product (41.1% above), and iPTH (18.6% above). All-cause mortality was significantly and independently associated with calciumAlb (relative risk [RR]=1.22 per 1 mg/dL, p=0.0005) and iPTH (RR=1.04 per 100 pg/mL, p=0.04). Cardiovascular mortality was significantly associated with calciumAlb (RR=1.28, p=0.02), phosphorus (RR=1.13 per 1 mg/dL, p=0.008), Ca x P product (RR=1.07 per 2 mg(2)/dL(2), p=0.002), and PTH (RR=1.08, p=0.0001). This study expands our understanding of the relationship between altered mineral metabolism and mortality outcomes, showing slightly stronger associations with cardiovascular causes than observed for all-cause mortality. These findings have important therapeutic implications for Japanese HD patients.