We report detections of thermal X-ray line emission and proper motions in the supernova remnant (SNR) RX J1713.7-3946, the prototype of the small class of synchrotron dominated SNRs. Based on deep XMM-Newton observations, we find clear line features including Ne Lyα, Mg Heα, and Si Heα from the central portion of the remnant. The metal abundance ratios suggest that the thermal emission originates from core-collapse SN ejecta arising from a relatively low-mass (≲20 M⊙) progenitor. In addition, using XMM-Newton observations on a 13 yr time interval, we have measured expansion in the southeastern rim to be ~0.75″ yr−1 or ~3500 km s−1 at a distance of 1 kpc. Given this, we derive an upstream density to be ~0.01 cm−3, compatible with the lack of thermal X-rays from the shocked ambient medium. We also estimate the age of the remnant to be ~1200–1600 yr, roughly consistent with the idea that RX J1713.7-3946 is the remnant of SN 393.

Intestinal bacteria are involved in bile acid (BA) deconjugation and/or dehydroxylation and are responsible for the production of secondary BA. However, an increase in the production of secondary BA modulates the intestinal microbiota due to the bactericidal effects and promotes cancer risk in the liver and colon. The ingestion of Bacillus coagulans improves constipation via the activation of bowel movement to promote defaecation in humans, which may alter BA metabolism in the intestinal contents. BA secretion is promoted with high-fat diet consumption, and the ratio of cholic acid (CA):chenodeoxycholic acid in primary BA increases with ageing. The dietary supplementation of CA mimics the BA environment in diet-induced obesity and ageing. We investigated whether B. coagulans lilac-01 and soya pulp influence both BA metabolism and the maintenance of host health in CA-supplemented diet-fed rats. In CA-fed rats, soya pulp significantly increased the production of secondary BA such as deoxycholic acid and ω-muricholic acids, and soya pulp ingestion alleviated problems related to plasma adiponectin and gut permeability in rats fed the CA diet. The combination of B. coagulans and soya pulp successfully suppressed the increased production of secondary BA in CA-fed rats compared with soya pulp itself, without impairing the beneficial effects of soya pulp ingestion. In conclusion, it is possible that a combination of prebiotics and probiotics can be used to avoid an unnecessary increase in the production of secondary BA in the large intestine without impairing the beneficial functions of prebiotics.

Measurements of air and solid-particle velocities were made in a vertical pipe two-phase flow by the use of a laser-Doppler velocimeter (LDV). Five kinds of plastic particles, diameters of which ranged from about 3 mm to 200 μm, were transported in a vertical pipe of 30 mm inner diameter. It was found that, the smaller the particle size, the flatter was the mean air velocity distribution for the same mass flow ratio of solids to air. Large particles increased air turbulence throughout the pipe section, while small particles reduced it. Both effects of promotion and suppression of turbulence were observed at the same time in the presence of particles of medium size, that is, the turbulence was increased around the pipe centre and reduced near the wall. The frequency spectrum of air turbulence normalized by the turbulence intensity was not changed by the large particles. In the presence of the small particles, the higher-frequency parts of the spectrum increased.

Polycrystalline diamond films, single crystal bulk diamonds, and diamond powder were treated in microwave plasma of hydrogen at 1.6 torr under a negative direct-current bias of −150 to −300 V without metal catalyst. It was found that fibrous structures, uniformly elongated along the direction normal to the specimen surface, were formed on the diamond surfaces. Similar experiments for glasslike carbon resulted in conical structures with frizzy fibers at the tops. Transmission electron microscopy measurements indicated that the fibers formed on diamond consisted of randomly oriented diamond nanocrystals with diameters of less than 10 nm, while the conical structures formed on glasslike carbon consisted of graphite nanocrystals. Field emission measurements of the fibrous specimens exhibited better emission efficiency than untreated ones. The field emission electron microscopy of the fibrous glasslike carbon showed a presence of discrete electron emission sites at a density of approximately 10,000 sites/cm2.

SiO2 films were prepared at a substrate temperature of 100°C by the simultaneous use of a microwave ion source and an ICB system. Transparent and good insulating SiO2 films could be obtained by using 02 gas ions, and they were thermally and chemically stable. Furthermore, both the ionization energy and the incident energy of the 02 gas ions were found to enhance the chemical reaction between SiO and 02 molecules, resulting in the Si02 film formation at a low substrate temperature.