Relation between impressions of a touch panels’ coloration and operation

The relationships between the colors used in the design of touch panels and the operation of electronic devices are discussed, and experiments that investigated the effects of color in the designs of touch panel interfaces on their operation and on the impressions of users have been conducted. Subjects tried mental arithmetic tests on 12 types of screen which had different color images. The “time it took to perform the task,” the “number of correct answers,” the “number of incorrect answers,” and the “number of timeouts” were measured and counted. After the tasks were administered, the subjects answered questionnaires about their impressions of the interfaces. The average number of correct answers was higher when using “cool-casual” than when using the other colorations. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the number of correct answers and a preference for the display coloration. There was a strong relationship between the coloration of the interface and the speed and accuracy of the operation. The results of the study lead us to expect that both the usability and the accuracy of operations could be improved by designing the coloration of the touch panel interface appropriately.     

Parallel Turing machines on four-dimensional input tapes

The parallel Turing machine (PTM) proposed by Wiedermann is a set of identical usual sequential Turing machines (STMs) cooperating on two common tapes: storage tape and input tape. On the other hand, due to the advances in many application areas such as motion picture processing, computer animation, virtual reality systems, and so forth, it has become increasingly apparent that the study of four-dimensional patterns is of crucial importance. Therefore, we think that the study of four-dimensional automata as a computational model of four-dimensional pattern processing is also meaningful. In this article, we propose a four-dimensional parallel Turing machine (4-PTM), and investigate some of its properties based on hardware complexity.     

Characteristic properties of cutting fluid additives derived from the derivatives of ricinoleic acid polymers

A number of esters were prepared from the reaction of acid chlorides with ricinoleic acid polymers and screened for anti-rust properties and antimicrobial activity in spent coolants of water-based cutting fluids. Aqueous solutions of triethanolamine salts with decanoic acid, undecanoic acid and oleic acid esters of ricinoleic acid dimer, trimer, tetramer and hexamer showed good anti-rust properties for water-based cutting fluids. Dehydrates of ricinoleic acid polymers also showed good anti-rust properties for water-based cutting fluids.     

Identification of intestinal wall abnormalities and ischemia by modeling spatial uncertainty in computed tomography imaging findings

Intestinal abnormalities and ischemia are medical conditions in which inflammation and injury of the intestine are caused by inadequate blood supply. Acute ischemia of the small bowel can be life-threatening. Computed tomography (CT) is currently a gold standard for the diagnosis of acute intestinal ischemia in the emergency department. However, the assessment of the diagnostic performance of CT findings in the detection of intestinal abnormalities and ischemia has been a difficult task for both radiologists and surgeons. Little effort has been found in developing computerized systems for the automated identification of these types of complex gastrointestinal disorders. In this paper, a geostatistical mapping of spatial uncertainty in CT scans is introduced for medical image feature extraction, which can be effectively applied for diagnostic detection of intestinal abnormalities and ischemia from control patterns. Experimental results obtained from the analysis of clinical data suggest the usefulness of the proposed uncertainty mapping model.     

Antimicrobial properties of boric acid esters of alcohols

A variety of boric acid esters of various alcohols were prepared and screened for antimicrobial activity in spent coolants of water-based cutting fluids. Boric acid esters of triethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, geranic acid monodiethylene glycol and some hydroxy amines, such as 5-aminopentanol, showed good antimicrobial activity. To whom correspondence should be addressed.     

Characteristic properties of cutting fluid additives derived from fatty alcohols

Many 3-aminopropyl alkyl ethers were prepared and their characteristics as water-based cutting fluids were examined. 3-Aminopropyl octyl-, decyl- and dodecyl ethers showed good lubricities and antimicrobial properties for a water-based cutting fluid.     

Temperature dependence of electronic relaxation time in the Sondheimer size effect of copper

Measurements of the phonon-limited relaxation time _T are made in copper by means of the Sondheimer size effect. It is found that the relaxation rate 1/ _T varies approximately as T ⁵ when the magnetic field is directed in the [110] direction, while it varies approximately as T ⁵ below 8 K and as T ^3.3 above 8.5 K when the magnetic field is directed in the [100] direction. The results are discussed in terms of diffusive and catastrophic scattering.This work was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education of Japan.     

Fabrication, Mechanical Properties, and Electrical Conductivity of Co3O4 Ceramics

Well-densified Co₃O₄ ceramics (98.3% of theoretical) have been fabricated by the combined use of hot pressing (800°C/I h/30 MPa) and hot isostatic pressing (880°C/2 h/196 MPa). Their Vickers hardness and fracture toughness are 10.3 GPa and 4.2 MPa·m^1/2, respectively. They exhibit a high electrical conductivity of 3.35 × 10' S·cm⁻¹ at 800°C.     

One‐Pot Synthesis of Dual Stimulus‐Responsive Degradable Hollow Hybrid Nanoparticles for Image‐Guided Trimodal Therapy

Exploiting exogenous and endogenous stimulus‐responsive degradable nanoparticles as drug carriers can improve drug delivery systems (DDSs). The use of hollow nanoparticles may facilitate degradation, and combination of DDS with photodynamic therapy (PDT) and photothermal therapy (PTT) may enhance the anticancer effects of treatments. Here, a one‐pot synthetic method is presented for an anticancer drug (doxorubicin [DOX]) and photosensitizer‐containing hollow hybrid nanoparticles (HNPs) with a disulfide and siloxane framework formed in response to exogenous (light) and endogenous (intracellular glutathione [GSH]) stimuli. The hollow HNPs emit fluorescence within the near‐infrared window and allow for the detection of tumors in vivo by fluorescence imaging. Furthermore, the disulfides within the HNP framework are cleaved by intracellular GSH, deforming the HNPs. Light irradiation facilitates penetration of GSH into the HNP framework and leads to the collapse of the HNPs. As a result, DOX is released from the hollow HNPs. Additionally, the hollow HNPs generate singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and heat in response to light; thus, fluorescence imaging of tumors combined with trimodal therapy consisting of DDS, PDT, and PTT is feasible, resulting in superior therapeutic efficacy. Thus, this method may have several applications in imaging and therapeutics in the future.