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The status of a project to measure spin-isospin responses of neutron drip-line nuclei using a new low-energy neutron detector, PANDORA (Particle Analyzer Neutron Detector Of Real-time Acquisition), is reported. The performance of PANDORA was characterized by the 6He(p,n)6Li reaction in inverse kinematics at the HIMAC facility in Chiba. Observation of the strong transition to the ground state in 6Li is discussed. Preliminary results of 11Li(p,n)11Be and 14Be(p,n)14B experiments in inverse kinematics at RI Beam Factory (RIBF) of RIKEN Nishina Center are also presented including the exotic decay channel of 11Be→9Li + d. Details of the experimental setup based on PANDORA and the SAMURAI large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer, as well as the combined data-acquisition system are described. The neutron-gamma discrimination capability of PANDORA was evaluated, Figure-of-Merit (FoM) values higher than those found in the literature for similar materials were derived from experimental data.

This paper presents a study on feasibility and seismic stability of the embankment methods using the lightweight materials for the purpose of reducing the effect of land cutting in road construction on the steep slopes. The application of lightweight embankment methods on mountainous roads possesses the potential for meeting the various social needs, such as the conservation of natural environment in road construction, the simplification of the disaster management of roads, the progress in recycling of waste soil, the reduction of construction costs, and so on. By the approach of trial designs of cross section that is assumed to consist mainly of fill, it is proved that lightweight embankment methods have the advantage over conventional embankment methods in the cases of the steep rocky slope and the slope that has thick colluvium deposit.

The tetraneutron has attracted the attention of nuclear physicists during the past decades, but there is still no unambiguous confirmation of its existence or non-existence. A new experiment based on $$^{8}$$ He(p, 2p) $$^{7}$$ H{t+ $$^{4}n$$ } reaction, with direct detection of the four neutrons, has been carried out at RIBF, which can hopefully help to draw a definite conclusion on the tetraneutron system.

7 pags., 3 figs. -- 27th International Nuclear Physics Conference (INPC2019), The tetraneutron has attracted the attention of nuclear physicists during the past decades, but there is still no unambiguous confirmation of its existence or nonexistence. A new experiment based on 8 He(p,2p)7H{t+4n} reaction, with direct detection of the four neutrons, has been carried out at RIBF, which can hopefully help to draw a definite conclusion on the tetraneutron system., We acknowledge the support of the RIBF accelerator staff and the BigRIPS team for providing the high-quality beam. Z. H. Yang acknowledges the financial support from the Foreign Postdoctoral Researcher program of RIKEN. T. Aumann acknowledges the support by DFG via SFB 1245. P. Koseoglou acknowledges the support from BMBF (NUSTAR.DA grant No.05P 15RDFN1).

This paper presents the results of studying the effect of carbon nanotubes on thermoelectric properties of p-type (Nb0.6Ta0.4)0.8Ti0.2FeSb and n-type Ti0.5Zr0.25Hf0.25NiSn half Heusler alloys. The experimental data obtained indicate a strong effect of the carbon nanotubes on electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient of the n-type compound, while the changes in these properties in the p-type compound were significantly less. It is suggested that a possible reason for this difference is the formation of a conducting cluster of carbon nanotubes in the sample of the n-type Heusler alloy.

The spin-isospin responses of the 11Li drip-line nucleus has been measured. Preliminary results of the 11Li(p, n)11Be experiment in inverse kinematics at RI Beam Factory (RIBF) of RIKEN Nishina Center are presented including the observation of 1n, 2n, t, d, 2α and 6He+α decay channels of 11Be reaction product. Details of the experimental setup based on PANDORA (Particle Analyzer Neutron Detector Of Real-time Acquisition) low-energy neutron detector and the SAMURAI large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer are described.

The tetraneutron has been drawing the attention of the nuclear physics community for decades, but a firm conclusion on its existence and properties is still far from being reached despite many experimental and theoretical efforts. New measurements have recently been performed at RIBF with the SAMURAI spectrometer by applying complementary reaction probes, which will help to pin down the properties of this four-neutron system., Comment: 5 pages, 2 figures, conference proceedings of XXII International Conference on Few-Body Problems in Physics (FB22), Caen, France, July 2018

This paper presents theoretical calculations of electronic structure and Seebeck coefficient in Fe2Ti1-xVxSn alloys for the cases fully ordered L21 and partially disordered B2 Heusler crystal structure. It is shown that the band gap increases with the Ti by V substitution. Comparison with the available theoretical and experimental data indicates that taking into account the randomness in the distribution of atoms makes it possible to obtain more comparable to the experimental data values of the Seebeck coefficient

Using annealing in an ammonia atmosphere in combination with Ga adsorption and desorption, polar surfaces of ex situ grown GaN(0 0 0 1) epilayers can be prepared towards clean and stoichiometric conditions. This combination of surface treatments also improves the surface crystalline order and chemical homogeneity, as observed in photoelectron spectra, in low energy electron diffraction (LEED) patterns, and of the coefficient of variation ( C var ) of the Ga 3d intensity in the spectromicroscopy images. The lateral resolution limit of the spectromicroscopy images is 2 μm. The surface improvements during NH 3 annealing show saturation effects. The best surface quality in terms of the crystalline order and chemical homogeneity was found after annealing at 800 °C in NH 3 , followed by Ga adsorption and finally desorption by annealing in a NH 3 atmosphere.

The activation of metallorganic chemical vapor deposition-grown Mg-doped GaN by N 2 annealing with thin Co and Pt films has been investigated. The Hall effect measurements revealed that both the Co and Pt films enhance activation of Mg acceptors as catalysts at low temperatures. A maximum hole concentration of p-type GaN was achieved at annealing temperature of 600 °C for the samples activated with both the Co and Pt films. It was also revealed that the activation of the acceptors is strongly affected by the thickness of the Co film.

Electrical characteristics of Mg-doped p-GaN activated with Ni catalytic layers have been investigated by means of temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements. It has been revealed that the Ni layer on GaN enhances activation of the acceptor in the whole annealing temperature range. This enhancement is remarkable especially at temperatures below 500 °C and can be attributed to the catalytic effect for the hydrogen desorption. We have found that the donor concentrations in the samples activated with the Ni catalysts are also higher than those activated without Ni. This is probably due to the catalytic effect of Ni for the nitrogen desorption. In addition, it has been found that the ionization energies of the Mg acceptors in GaN activated with the Ni layer are decreased from 170 to 118 meV as the acceptor concentration increases.

Catalytic effect of Ni for activation of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition-grown Mg-doped GaN in N2 and N2O has been investigated. P-type GaN has been obtained at an annealing temperature as low as 200°C using the Ni catalytic film in N2O as well as in N2. Moreover, the hole concentrations for the samples obtained by annealing in N2O were in good agreement with those obtained in N2 in the whole annealing temperature range. These results indicate that the Ni film effectively acts as a catalyst to enhance hydrogen desorption at the surface of GaN, which results in the reduction of hydrogen concentration in GaN at low annealing temperatures. It has also been suggested that the catalytic activity of Ni to enhance hydrogen desorption is much stronger than that of N2O. Therefore, an introduction of oxygen in the annealing atmosphere is not necessary for effective removal of hydrogen under the existence of the Ni film.

Development of xylem embolism during water stress in two diffuse-porous hardwoods, Katsura (Cercidiphyllum japonicum) and Japanese white birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica), was observed non-destructively under a compact magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system in addition to conventional quantitation of hydraulic vulnerability to cavitation from excised stem segments. Distribution of white and dark areas in MR images corresponded well to the distribution of water-filled/embolized vessels observed by cryo-scanning electron microscopy in both species. Water-filled vessels were observed in MR images as white areas in Katsura and as white dots in Japanese white birch, respectively, and embolisms could be detected as a change to dark areas. The increase in the relative embolized area (REA: %) in the cross-sectional area of total xylem during water stress, which was estimated from the binarized MR images, was consistent with the hydraulic vulnerability curves of these species. From the non-destructive MRI observations, cavitation induced by water stress was shown to develop earlier in 1- or 2-year-old xylem than in the current-year xylem in both species; that is, the vulnerability to cavitation differs between vessels in the current-year xylem and those in older annual rings.

Objective The objective of this paper is to identify predictors for the response to treatment of acute lupus hemophagocytic syndrome (ALHS). Methods We reviewed seven cases with ALHS admitted to our hospital and published ALHS cases identified in the 2001–2014 Medline database, and then conducted univariate and multivariate analyses to identify predictors for the response to treatment. Results Review of our cases showed a significant and negative correlation between serum ferritin and anti-DNA antibody ( p = 0.0025). All three patients treated with cyclosporine A (CsA) were considered responders despite high serum ferritin and corticosteroid resistance. We also reviewed 93 patients with ALHS identified in 46 articles. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified C-reactive protein (CRP) (OR 0.83, p = 0.042) and hemoglobin (OR 1.53, p = 0.026) measured at diagnosis of ALHS as significant predictors of the response to corticosteroid monotherapy. Moreover, among 32 patients treated with CsA, serum ferritin was significantly higher in CsA responders (12163 ± 16864 µg/l, n = 22) than in non-responders (3456 ± 6267/µg/l, p = 0.020, n = 10). Leukocyte count was significantly lower in the CsA responders (1940.0 ± 972.3/µl) than in the non-responders (3253 ± 2198/µl, p = 0.034). Conclusion Low CRP and high hemoglobin can predict a positive response to corticosteroid monotherapy while high serum ferritin and low leukocyte count can predict a positive response to CsA in patients with ALHS and therefore, when corticosteroid monotherapy is not effective in such cases, CsA could be the first choice of an additional immunosuppressive agent.

It was recently reported that cutting artefacts occur in some species when branches under tension are cut, even under water. We used non-destructive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate the change in xylem water distribution at the cellular level in Vitis coignetiae standing stems before and after relaxing tension. Less than 3% of vessels were cavitated when stems under tension were cut under water at a position shorter than the maximum vessel length (MVL) from the MRI point, in three of four plants. The vessel contents remained at their original status, and cutting artefact vessel cavitation declined to1% when stems were cut at a position farther than the MVL from the MRI point. Water infiltration into the originally cavitated vessels after cutting the stem, i.e. vessel refilling, was found in1% of vessels independent of cutting position on three of nine plants. The results indicate that both vessel cavitation and refilling occur in xylem tissue under tension following stem cutting, but its frequency is quite small, and artefacts can be minimized altogether if the distance between the monitoring position and the cutting point is longer than the MVL.

The activation mechanism of Mg-doped GaN with Ni catalysts has been investigated by thermal desorption spectroscopy. It has been revealed that Ni deposited on Mg-doped GaN enhances the hydrogen recombination reaction at temperatures below 200 °C with the activation energy of 1.3 eV. The hydrogen desorbed at this temperature can be attributed to a part of the passivating hydrogen in GaN with a weak binding energy. The enhancement of the hydrogen recombination reaction on the GaN surface is essential to decreasing hydrogen concentration efficiently at low temperatures.

We report two cases of surface deterioration of a zirconia ceramic femoral head associated with phase transformation after total hip arthroplasty. One head was retrieved at revision due to recurrent dislocation after six years and the other because of failure of the locking mechanism of the polyethylene liner after three years. The monoclinic content of the zirconia ceramics rose from 1% to about 30% on the surface of the heads. SEM revealed numerous craters indicating extraction of the zirconia ceramics at the surface. Surface roughness increased from an initial value of 0.006 3m up to 0.12 3m. This is the first report to show that phase transformation of zirconia ceramics causes deterioration of the surface roughness of the head in vivo after total hip arthroplasty.

A 1.8-V embedded 18-Mb DRAM macro with a 9-ns row-address-strobe access time and memory-cell area efficiency of 33% has been successfully developed with a single-side interface architecture, high-speed circuit design, and low-voltage design. In the high-speed circuit design, a multiword redundancy scheme and Y-select merged sense scheme are developed to achieve the performance goal. In the low-voltage design, a dual-complement charge-pump scheme and a decoupling capacitor utilizing a tantalum-oxide capacitor are developed to retain high performance at low supply voltage.

The phosphoric-acid fuel-cell has advanced in power generation systems with relatively small outputs from thousands to millions of watts and several commercial plants are expcted to be built the near future. In such a system, the temperature in the cells must be kept within a certain range by a cooling system. The cooling system, employing water, would be preferable in order to obtain a uniform temperature-distribution, thereby saving the power of auxillary machines and utilizing the exhaust heat for other processes requiring heat. In this paper, the results of the numerical simulation of dynamic characteristics of this cooling system and the fuzzy approach to control the cooling system are reported. The fuzzy control system with strategies self-tuned during operation could be superior to a conventional PID control, which is difficult to tune via three parametes for a complex system.

The influence of laser light components specularly reflected by the inner wall of an x-ray confining cavity was experimentally investigated by means of time-resolved x-ray imaging and shock wave measurements. The experiments were made for two different cavity shapes (circular and decagonal cylinders) to investigate the geometrical effect of the reflected light. The results were compared with calculations involving a simple illumination code. Time-resolved x-ray images for a gold-coated surrogate sphere at the cavity centre were replicated by the calculations, showing that the reflected light shines strongly on the sphere at the beginning of the laser pulse. It was also found that, for the experimental conditions adopted in this study, about one third of the drive pressure of a shock wave propagating through a planar sample placed at the cavity centre is due to the reflected light. The estimated intensity of the reflected light is high enough to impose noticeable imprinting onto a fusion capsule set in the vacuum cavity conventionally used for indirect-drive implosions.

Using scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS), the doping dependence of the density of states (DOS) on La 2− x Sr x NiO 4 thin films is investigated and the results are compared to that of La 2− x Sr x CuO 4 . In the nickelate system, as the carrier concentration increases, the DOS around the Fermi energy gradually appears with tailing both from the edges of the conduction band and the valence band. The energy-gap structure of La 2− x Sr x NiO 4 remains unchanged up to relatively high carrier concentrations as compared to that of La 2− x Sr x CuO 4 . Especially, in the composition range of x 0.8 Sr 1.2 NiO 4 becomes similar to that of metallic La 1.85 Sr 0.15 CuO 4 .

ER-30346 is a novel oral triazole with a broad spectrum of potent activity against a wide range of fungi. ER-30346, with MICs at which 90% of the strains tested are inhibited (MIC90s) ranging from 0.025 to 0.78 microgram/ml, was 4 to 32 times more active than itraconazole, fluconazole, and amphotericin B against Candida albicans, Candida parapsilosis, and Candida glabrata. Against Candida tropicalis, ER-30346, with an MIC90 of 12.5 micrograms/ml, was 2 to > 8 times more active than itraconazole and fluconazole, but was 16 times less active than amphotericin B. ER-30346 (MIC90, 0.78 microgram/ml) was four to eight times more active than fluconazole and amphotericin B and had activity comparable to that of itraconazole against Trichosporon beigelli. The MIC90s of ER-30346 were 0.10 microgram/ml for Cryptococcus neoformans and 0.39 microgram/ml for Aspergillus fumigatus. ER-30346 was 2 to 8 times more active than itraconazole and amphotericin B and 32 to > 256 times more active than fluconazole. ER-30346 also showed good activity against dermatophytes, with MICs ranging from 0.05 to 0.39 microgram/ml, and its activity was comparable to or 2 to 16 times higher than those of itraconazole and amphotericin B and > 32 times higher than that of fluconazole. In vivo activity was evaluated with systemic infections in mice. Against systemic candidiasis and cryptococcosis, ER-30346 was comparable in efficacy to fluconazole and was more effective than itraconazole. Of the drugs tested, ER-30346 was the most effective drug against systemic aspergillosis. We studied the levels of ER-30346 in mouse plasma. The maximum concentration of drug in plasma and the area under the concentration-time curve for ER-30346 showed good linearity over a range of doses from 2 to 40 mg/kg of body weight.

The application of geotextiles as reinforcement in embankments and retaining walls for permanent and temporary roads has recently gained popularity in Japan particularly since the publication of “Design and Construction Manual for Reinforced Soil using Geotextiles”. This manual sets the technical standard in Japan for the design and construction of earthworks involving geosynthetic reinforced embankments and walls. This paper describes the design of reinforced embankments using clayey soil fills with high water contents and the design of reinforced soil walls. A construction example, along with instrumentation results, is given for each case.

Scanning-tunneling-spectroscopy measurements have been performed on as-grown and oxygen-annealed ${\mathrm{La}}_{2\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{Sr}}_{\mathit{x}}$${\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}$ thin films with 0\ensuremath{\le}x\ensuremath{\le}0.30 and the variations of the density of states (DOS) near the Fermi level (${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{F}}$) have been systematically investigated. Each spectrum has a characteristic shape in each doping: semiconductor, superconductor, and metal. The shape of the DOS directly correlates with the carrier concentration rather than Sr concentration or oxygen content. The DOS around the Fermi level gradually appears with tailing both from the conduction-band and the valence-band edges accompanied with the increase of carrier concentration. The change of DOS above ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{F}}$ is noticeable compared to that below ${\mathit{E}}_{\mathit{F}}$ within the underdoped region.

To correlate incremental dynamic computed tomographic (CT) and pathologic findings in peripheral lung cancer.Lung lesions smaller than 3 cm in diameter were evaluated in 18 patients. CT values of the inner area of the nodule at plain CT and at 30 seconds, 2 minutes, and 5 minutes after administration of nonionic contrast material were calculated with incremental dynamic CT. Maximum attenuation was compared with pathologic type of lung carcinoma and with number of vessels and distribution of elastic fibers in the pathologic specimen.Enhancement of all lesions was statistically significant (P.0001). Maximum attenuation of lung carcinomas correlated positively with number of small vessels (diameter, 0.02-0.10 mm) (r = .77). Distribution of elastic fibers in the tumoral interstitium correlated with maximum attenuation (P = .04 between grades 1 and 3) and with number of small vessels (P = .01 between grades 1-3; P = .008 between grades 1 and 3).Enhancement characteristics of lung carcinomas reflect the number of small tumoral vessels and the distribution of elastic fibers in the tumoral interstitium.

Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O crystals have been prepared from amorphous Sr-Ca-Cu-O thin films by annealing at 890 °C in the presence of bismuth oxide vapour. Sr0.8Ca0.2CuO2 (08021) and Bi2(Sr, Ca)2CuO6 (2201) crystals initially appeared. On further annealing, needle crystals of Sr14−xCaxCu24O41 (14−x) grew. These 14−x needle crystals gradually changed to 2201 needle crystals, which further changed to crystals of the nominal composition Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O with ac-axis length of 1.69 nm.

To assess the accuracy of three-dimensional, Fourier transform, time-of-flight magnetic resonance (MR) angiography in the identification of intracranial aneurysms.MR angiograms of 126 patients (59 male and 67 female patients, aged 12-77 years) with various intracranial vascular lesions were evaluated. Seventy-eight aneurysms, including 60 less than 5 mm in diameter, in 61 patients were depicted at conventional angiography. Eight projection images, as well as one axial collapsed MR angiogram obtained with a maximum-intensity projection algorithm, were used for evaluation.Sensitivity for the five observers ranged from 58% to 68% (mean, 63%). Higher sensitivity was achieved for anterior communicating and middle cerebral artery aneurysms, while that for internal carotid artery aneurysms was poor. Sensitivities for small and medium aneurysms ranged from 50% to 60% (mean, 56%) and from 77% to 94% (mean, 86%), respectively.MR angiography can depict intracranial aneurysms 5 mm or larger with good accuracy but is less useful for the identification of smaller aneurysms.

We found that the pseudo binary alloys Mn1-xRux 3Ga, with 0.33≤x≤0.67, have an ordered b.c.c. structure. The lattice constant a is almost constant with respect to x: a=6.000 A for x=0.33 and a=5.992 A for x=0.67. For the alloy with x=0.33, i.e. Mn2RuGa, the magnetization is almost saturated in a field of 20 kOe. The saturation magnetization at 4.2 K is 23 emu/g, and the Curie temperature, TC, is 460 K. The TC of (Mn1-xRux)3Ga decreases almost linearly with increasing x, and it vanishes around x=0.67 (MnRu2Ga). We also determined atomic and magnetic structures from neutron diffraction experiments. The alloy Mn2RuGa (x=0.33) has an ordered structure of CuHg2Ti type; the magnetic Mn atoms mainly occupy the 4a (0,0,0) and 4d \(\frac\Box3\Box\Box4\Box\),\(\frac\Box3\Box\Box4\Box\),\(\frac\Box3\Box\Box4\Box\) sites. We also observedthat the magnetic moments of Mn atoms on the 4a and 4d sites are antiparallel to each other; values of the magnetic moment are μa=4.6 and μd=3.3 μB per Mn atom.

We investigated the dynamic history dependence of lung surface area-to-volume ratio (S/V) during tidal breathing in live rabbits with use of our recently developed technique of diffuse optical scattering. We also examined the effect of methacholine (continuous intravenous infusion, 1#x2013;10 micrograms.kg-1.min-1) on lung micromechanics with the same technique. Animals were anesthetized, tracheostomized, and mechanically ventilated, and the left lung was exposed through a thoracotomy. An optical fiber delivering light from a He-Ne laser was attached normal to the pleural surface, producing a circular light pattern on the pleural surface from diffusively scattered light within the parenchyma. The pattern of light intensities was measured using a CCD video camera connected to a computer. S/V during tidal breathing changed in a manner qualitatively consistent with geometric similarity. There was a small but significant hysteresis in S/V vs. volume, with S/V inspiration greater than S/V expiration at the same volume. However, during methacholine challenge, the sense of hysteresis reversed; S/V inspiration was less than S/V expiration at isovolume points. Moreover, S/V during methacholine challenge systematically decreased at all lung volumes compared with control. These findings suggest that 1) during normal tidal breathing, stress hysteresis in ductal tissue is larger than septal stress hysteresis (septal tissue plus surface tension) and 2) the effect of methacholine on tissue in the septa is greater than the corresponding effect in ductal tissue.

The activation of metalorganic chemical vapor deposition-grown Mg-doped GaN by N2 annealing with a thin Ni film has been investigated. p-type conduction in GaN has been obtained at an annealing temperature as low as 200 °C using the proposed technique. A hole concentration of 2×1017 cm−3 has been achieved by the annealing at 400 °C. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements have revealed that hydrogen is effectively removed from the Mg-doped GaN layer. These results suggest that the Ni film significantly enhances hydrogen desorption from the GaN film, which results in the activation of Mg-doped GaN at quite low temperatures.

To obtain the best moisture‐proof and most reliable protective coating for an amorphous silicon image sensor (A4 documents), three methods of coating and patterning processes and 15 types of resin classified into five kinds of materials were evaluated. Through this study, a screen‐printing method using silicone resin material cured under conditions of 150°C for 60 minutes to form a 60 µm thick protective coating film was selected because of the simplicity of its fabrication process compared with the other two methods. The a‐Si photodiodes were tested under conditions of 121°C‐2 atm. for 300 hours, −30°C to 100°C for 350 cycles and 85°C for 500 hours, and their characteristics were not negatively affected.