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The properties of an inductively coupled argon plasma in a uniform magnetic field, at pressures of the order of 0.1 Pa, in the presence of a weak current-free electric double layer, are measured with a plane Langmuir probe. The static current-voltage probe characteristics, recorded on the symmetry axis of the experimental device, both in the plasma source and in the main chamber of the setup, showed the existence of two electron populations with different temperatures. The axial profiles of plasma parameters, such as the plasma potential and the cold and hot electron temperatures, offered a new insight into such a complex system. However, both the external magnetic field and the two electron populations contribute to the difficulty of calculation of the local plasma density. A method for solving this problem, involving the definition of an effective electron temperature, is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial structures of the electron density and temperature in ring-shaped hollow cathode capacitive rf plasma with a single narrow trench of 2mm width have been investigated at various trench depths of D?5, 8, 10, 12, and 15 mm. It is found that the plasma density is increased in the presence of the trench and that the radial profile of the plasma density has a peak around the narrow hollow trench near the cathode. The density becomes uniform further away from the cathode at all trench depths, whereas the electron temperature distribution remains almost uniform. The measured radial profiles of the plasma density are in good agreement with a theoretical diffusion model for all the trench depths, which explains the local density increase by a local enhancement of the electron heating. Under the conditions investigated, the trench of 10mm depth is found to result in the highest plasma density at various axial and radial positions. The results show that the radial uniformity of the plasma density at various axial positions can be improved by using structured electrodes of distinct depths rather than planar electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Using a newly developed rapid test, an outbreak of human metapneumovirus (HMPV) infection in a long-term care facility was detected within only 2 days after the onset of symptoms in a putative index case. The outbreak was almost under control within 8 days mainly by zoning patients, with the exception of two cases of HMPV that were diagnosed 16 and 17 days after the onset of the outbreak. According to an immunological diagnosis as well as the rapid test, it was eventually proven that 18 patients had HMPV infections. We suspected that even asymptomatic residents, who had not been completely separated from the facility population, were a source of infection. That suggested that all asymptomatic residents should be tested and that the separation of the infected patients should be absolute, if an outbreak of HMPV infection is suspected in such a facility. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An eight-year-old thoroughbred mare with no previous history of illness aborted a fetus at 196 days of gestation, and its internal tissues were examined immunohistologically and bacteriologically. The placenta was not examined, but specimens of the intrauterine fluids and the dam's faeces were collected four days after the abortion and examined bacteriologically. No significant histological lesions were found in the fetus but the amnion and the umbilical cord were oedematous and had petechial haemorrhages. Rhodococcus equi was isolated in pure culture from the lung, heart and stomach contents of the fetus and from an intrauterine specimen and faeces of the dam. The anti-R equi antibody titre of the mare was high after the abortion. The diagnosis was confirmed in the lung of the fetus by immunohistochemical staining with R equi-specific antibodies. Isolates from the fetus and mare were identified as avirulent R equi by PCR and the mouse pathogenicity test. The avirulent isolates were characterised by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, which yielded only one Vspl profile in all the isolates from the fetus and its dam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a large area microwave plasma reactor is used, in which a rf-biased substrate is exposed to argon plasma. A directional energy analyser mounted in the substrate holder was used to measure ion energy distribution functions in argon plasma. It was found that a resonance behaviour between ion transit motion and the substrate rf-bias oscillation yielded important enhancement of ion energy when the rf-bias and ion plasma frequencies reached roughly the same values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nucleotide sequences of the genome RNA encoding the RNA polymerase and the 3′ non-coding region (NCR) of bovine enterovirus (BEV) serotype I Japanese isolate, MZ468, were determined. The genetic distance between the two BEV serotype I strains, MZ468 and VG-5-27, was calculated by pairwise comparison of nucleotide sequences. The synonymous substitution rate was high (1.40 × 10−2/site/year), and of the same order as those of influenza virus HA, HIV-1 gag and env, and enterovirus 70 VP1 genes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-density capacitively coupled plasma with electron density of 1011 cm-3 was produced with the effects of the multihollow cathode discharge and the high-secondary-electron emission from radio frequency (rf)-biased electrode using Ar gas. It was found that the optimum pressure was around 3–15 Pa. In the case of only multihollow cathode discharge, the plasma density increased from 1.2×1010 to 8×1010 cm-3 with the increasing distance z from the cathode electrode for 5 mm4 gas [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An abstract of the article "Early results of aortic root reoperation" by T. Gomibuchi and colleagues is presented.