Measurement of z-direction component of electron spins field-emitted from a single-crystal magnetite whisker

A 90° sector type spin rotator was developed for measurement of the z-direction component of a spin polarization, which is parallel to the emitter axis. The rotator enables us to measure all components of electron spins field-emitted from a single crystalline magnetite. In-plane component of spin polarization dominated of field-emitted electrons from single crystalline magnetite whisker, thus it is suggested that the magnetization of the magnetite whisker results from the anisotropy of crystalline structure rather than its shape.     

Sticker systems with complex structures

 In this paper, we propose a variant of sticker systems which uses molecules with complex structures. Since the original sticker systems (Paun et al. (1998) [2, 8]) working on double strands of DNA have been studied as a formal model for self-assembly in DNA computing, we extend the sticker systems to working on more complex (higher-order) structures of DNA molecules. The advantage of sticker systems with complex structures is that augmented with weak codings we can obtain the characterization of recursively enumerable languages by using only sticking (hybridization) operations for complex molecules, while the usual sticker systems require more complicated operations such as the simultaneous use of couples of dominoes or coherent computations besides morphisms.     

Solution conformation of endothelin determined by means of 1H-NMR spectroscopy and distance geometry calculations

The structure of endothelin-1 (ET-1), an endothelial cell-derivedpeptide with vasoconstricting activity, was determined in anaqueous solution by means of a combination of NMR and distancegeometry calculations. The resulting structure is characterizedby an -helical conformation in the sequence region, Lys9-Cys15.Furthermore, an extended structure and a turn structure existin the Cys1-Ser4 and Ser5-Asp8 regions respectively, and nopreferred conformation was found for the C-terminal part ofthe peptide which was not uniquely constrained by the NMR data.These structural elements, the -helical structure in the sequenceportion, Cys-X-X-X-Cys, and the extended structure in Cys-X-Cys,are homologous to those found commonly in several neurotoxicpeptides.     

Grating Lobe Suppression of Narrow-Wall Slotted Hollow Waveguide Millimeter-Wave Planar Antenna for Arbitrarily Linear Polarization

A high-gain and high-efficiency slotted waveguide planar antenna is developed in the millimeter-wave band. Forty-five degree inclined polarization is required for automotive radar systems. In the design of slotted waveguide array for arbitrarily linear polarization, slot spacing is one guide wavelength which is larger than a wavelength in free space. Consequently, grating lobes appear in the radiation pattern. So, we developed a slotted waveguide planar antenna composed of post-loaded narrow-wall slots and a single-layer alternating-phase feeding circuit. A planar antenna with suppressed grating lobes has been fabricated and its RF performance has been measured. The measured gain is 33.2 dBi and antenna efficiency is 56% at 76 GHz. Grating lobe level is -28.6 dB lower than main lobe level. Since the proposed structure remains simple, the antenna is expected to be manufactured by metal injection molding for low cost     

Ultrasound-enhanced lactose hydrolysis in milk fermentation with Lactobacillus bulgaricus

The effects of ultrasonic irradiation during milk fermentation have been investigated in terms of the cell viability, β-galactosidase activity, the pH value of the culture medium, the degree of lactose hydrolysis and glucose content. The results showed that the ultrasonic irradiation caused the intracellular β-galactosidase to be released from the lactic acid bacteria cells. The released β-galactosidase showed a higher lactose hydrolysis activity than that in the cells. The β-galactosidase that was released to the medium has been more effectively used in pH-controlled fermentation. The results also showed that the continuous sonication caused the cell viability to decrease, but the viable cell count was again increased with static incubation after sonication. High degrees of lactose hydrolysis and high cell viabilities were obtained with the combination of pH-controlled sonicated fermentation and static incubation.     

Performance approximation of a multi-base station slotted ALOHA forwireless LAN's

It has been reported that the capture effect can improve the performance of slotted ALOHA systems. Further improvement can be expected when the number of base stations is increased. The performance of such slotted ALOHA systems with multiple base stations is analyzed with the aid of the equilibrium point analysis. Not only the capture effect but also the packet dropping due to the finite number of retransmission trials are taken into account. The numerical results indicate that the finite number of retransmission trials mainly contributes to the improvement of the packet dropping probability in the range of the light input traffic, while the number of base stations mainly contributes to the improvement of the overall throughput and the average transmission delay in the range of the heavy input traffic     

Patients' expectations of information provided at cancer hospitals in Japan

In order to survey patients' views on disease and treatment information that should be provided at hospitals, an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was distributed to patients at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in 1995. All eligible first-visit outpatients (97 persons), randomly selected revisit outpatients (99 persons; about one in ten refused), and all except six eligible inpatients in good condition at discharge (97 persons) responded. Out of 293 patients (115 males, 174 females and 4 unspecified), 74% answered that they wanted to be informed of their diagnosis irrespective of circumstances, 20% answered that they would want to be informed only in certain circumstances, and 2% did not want to be informed at all. There were no significant differences in response among the three sources of patients. Inpatients wanted more (81%) to be explained about recommended therapy than either first-visit outpatients (67%) or revisit outpatients (67%). The majority considered that about a 30-minute explanation was needed using pamphlet-like written materials or video. When asked what information was needed when choosing a cancer hospital, 71% specified information on the specialty of the hospital, 57% the content of the care provided, 23% the name and specialty of the doctors, 20% the waiting period before scheduled admission, 13% the average admission period, 11% the number of patients with the same disease, 10% the waiting time at the outpatient clinic, 6% the meal menu, and 4% the number of private wards. Forty-three percent wanted an information service covering all hospitals in the region through an information center. The results revealed that patients at this cancer hospital required information on their disease, treatment, and hospital specialty.     

High-gain and high-efficiency single-layer slotted waveguide arrayfor use in 22 GHz band

A slotted waveguide planar array using a single-layer feed circuit is proposed for high-frequency and high-gain antennas. The high efficiency of 75.6% and the gain of 35.9 dBi are obtained in the 22 GHz band, which confirms the potential of this type of antenna. The antenna consists of only two components, a slotted plate and a groove feed structure, and can be mass produced     

High temperature CW operation of p-substrate buried crescent laser diode emitting at 1.3 ?m

A 1.3 ?m InGaAsP/InP buried crescent laser diode has been fabricated on p-InP substrate. The laser diode has a low threshold current, as low as 10 mA. It operates at the output power of 5 mW under CW condition at temperatures higher nary aging test at 70°C with a constant light output of 5 mW, the lasers have been operating stably for more than 1000 h.