We are currently conducting three kinds of IR surveys of star forming regions (SFRs) in order to seek for very low-mass young stellar populations. First is a deep JHKs-bands (simultaneous) survey with the SIRIUS camera on the IRSF 1.4m or the UH 2.2m telescopes. Second is a very deep JHKs survey with the CISCO IR camera on the Subaru 8.2m telescope. Third is a high resolution companion search around nearby YSOs with the CIAO adaptive optics coronagraph IR camera on the Subaru. In this contribution, we describe our SIRIUS camera and present preliminary results of the ongoing surveys with this new instrument.

The region south of the reflection nebula NGC1333 in Perseus is an active star forming region including numerous Herbig-Haro objects and at least 5 protostar candidates with molecular outflows and far-infrared emission. It has been actively studied in various wave bands (e.g. Aspin et al 1994 and references therein). We observed this region with ASCA with the primary objective to detect X-rays from the protostars embedded deep in the molecular cloud.

Sofue (1996, 1997) presented accurate rotation curves of nearby galaxies, which are almost completely sampled from the inner to outer regions. The conspicuous common feature of the rotation curves is a steep rise at the inner bulge. The rise suggests a compact massive concentration near the nucleus (Sofue 1996). The study of the light distribution at the inner bulge demands accurate surface photometry at near-infrared wavelengths, where dust extinction is much less effective than in the optical. Most of Sofue's samples are nearby large galaxies, so that observations with a wide field view is clue to constructing reliable light distribution models.

This paper summarises Ginga X-ray observations of SN 1987 A.

We investigated the relationships between conception rates (CRs) at first service in Japanese Holstein heifers (i.e. animals that had not yet had their first calf) and cows and their test-day (TD) milk yields. Data included records of artificial insemination (AI) for heifers and cows that had calved for the first time between 2000 and 2008 and their TD milk yields at 6 through 305 days in milk (DIM) from first through third lactations. CR was defined as a binary trait for which first AI was a failure or success. A threshold-linear animal model was applied to estimate genetic correlations between CRs of heifers or cows and TD milk yield at various lactation stages. Two-trait genetic analyses were performed for every combination of CR and TD milk yield by using the Bayesian method with Gibbs sampling. The posterior means of the heritabilities of CR were 0.031 for heifers, 0.034 for first-lactation cows and 0.028 for second-lactation cows. Heritabilities for TD milk yield increased from 0.324 to 0.433 with increasing DIM but decreased slightly after 210 DIM during first lactation. These heritabilities from the second and third lactations were higher during late stages of lactation than during early stages. Posterior means of the genetic correlations between heifer CR and all TD yields were positive (range, 0.082 to 0.287), but those between CR of cows and milk yields during first or second lactation were negative (range, −0.121 to −0.250). Therefore, during every stage of lactation, selection in the direction of increasing milk yield may reduce CR in cows. The genetic relationships between CR and lactation curve shape were quite weak, because the genetic correlations between CR and TD milk yield were constant during the lactation period.

Mucosal mast cells (MMC) play a crucial role in the expulsion of Strongyloides ratti adults from the small intestine of mice. We reported the large intestinal parasitism of S. ratti in rats, and there has been no report on MMC in the large intestine of the natural host. We studied kinetics of MMC, together with eosinophils, in the upper and lower small intestines, caecum and colon of infected rats. Two distinct phases of mastocytosis were revealed: one in the upper small intestine triggered by stimulation of ‘ordinary’ adults, and the other in the colon stimulated by ‘immune-resistant’ adults that started parasitizing the colon around 19 days post-infection. In all 4 intestinal sites, the MMC peaks were observed 5–7 days after the number of adult worms became the maximum and the height of MMC peaks appeared to be dependent on the number of parasitic adults, suggesting an important role played by worms themselves in the MMC buildup.

Higher manganese silicide (HMS) is a low-cost and eco-friendly thermoelectric material available for recovering waste heat of 500 to 900 K. In this research, we tried to uniformly disperse the alumina nanoparticles (ANPs) in the HMS matrix to reduce the thermal conductivity and to improve the thermoelectric performance. Influence of addition of ANPs on the thermoelectric properties was investigated. It was confirmed that ANPs were uniformly dispersed in the HMS grain boundary. The lattice thermal conductivity was reduced by adding ANPs. As a result, the maximum thermoelectric performance of ZT=0.58 was achieved at about 800 K by adding 1 vol% of ANPs. The performance of ANPs-added HMS was improved about 25 %.

Results of our experimental investigation on the ozone zero phenomenon suggested us the importance of the electrode surface condition. This means that the main cause of the phenomenon, that is, temporal decrease of ozone concentration at the outlet of DBD type ozone generator and the recovery characteristics from the phenomenon are considered as the surface reaction process, which are influenced strongly by the surface condition. The surface condition is never constant during the ozone generation and varies gradually or remarkably with time depending on the experimental conditions. Therefore we have been continued to make clear the cause of the phenomenon, for example, the reproducibility of the phenomenon, using new electrodes and together with the surface analysis technique etc. In this paper, we describe on the above results and discussion.

Optical and near-infrared observations of novae give us useful information for understanding the diversity of nova eruptions. Classical nova V1723 Aql was discovered by F. Kabashima and K. Nishiyama on 2010 September 11. We have conducted photometric and spectroscopic observations of V1723 Aql in both optical and near-infrared (NIR) wavelength regions since its discovery. The V-band decline time by 2 mag after the maximum, t2, was ~12 d. The apparent Fe II emission lines were also seen in the optical spectra. The Rc- and Ic-band light curves exhibited rapid declines (0.16 mag d−1 in Rc) 20 days after the visual maximum, while the NIR (J, H, and Ks) showed slow decline rates (~0.07 mag d−1). This rapid reddening suggests that dust particles formed during the very early phase of the expansion in V1723 Aql.

Strongyloides ratti (Nagoya strain) is unique in that a portion of adults parasitizing the small intestine withstands ‘worm expulsion’, which starts at around day 8 post-infection (p.i.) by host immunity, and establishes in the large intestine after day 19 p.i. To investigate the mechanism, adults obtained from the small intestine at day 7 or 19 p.i. were transplanted into the colon of infection-primed immune rats. Adults obtained at day 7 p.i. were rejected quickly, whereas those obtained at day 19 p.i. could establish infection. Moreover, the body length and the number of intrauterine eggs increased in the large intestine. In a separate experiment, large intestinal parasitism was abolished by the treatment of host rats with an anti-oxidant, butylated hydroxyanisole. These results indicate that small intestinal adults between days 7 and 19 p.i. acquired the ability to parasitize the large intestine of immune rats, and that free radicals produced by the host may have played a significant role in the process.

Chemical mechanical planarization (CMP) has been widely used for planarization of ILD, STI, plug and wiring processes. In post metal CMP cleaning processes, there are still many problems to be solved. There are several surfaces of materials, such as wiring materials, barrier materials, dielectric materials etc., on the wafer that must be cleaned at the same time,. It is also important to clean these different surfaces without any chemical or mechanical damage. We have confirmed that the Electrolyzed D.I.water is effective in post CMP cleaning for controlling the surface condition during cleaning and leaving a robust surface after CMP. We describe the Electrolyzed D.I.water system and present some results on the cleaning capability and control of the metal surface for application to cleaning after a metal CMP process.

Electrical characteristics of Spindt-type Molybdenum (Mo) field emitter triode devices with varied emitter tip-height have been studied based on device modeling and experiment. Potential and electric field distributions with varied the emitter tip-height has been simulated. It is observed that the electric field of the top of the higher emitter tip was strongly affected with the anode-gate distance and the anode voltage compared to conventional field emitter triode device. Experimental results with varied different tip-height were in good agreement with that of calculated results. We present the possibility of “depletion mode” field emitter triode device.

We have grown vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on a large area of Co-Ni codeposited Si substrates by thermal chemical vapor deposition using C2H2 gas. The carbon nanotubes grown by the thermal chemical vapor deposition are multi-wall structure, and the wall surface of nanotubes is covered with defective graphite sheets or carbonaceous particles. The carbon nanotubes range from 50 to 120 nm in diameter and about 130 μm in length at 950 °C. Steric hindrance between nanotubes at an initial stage of the growth forces nanotubes to align vertically. The turn-on voltage was about 0.8 V/μm with a current density of 0.1 μA/cm2 and emission current reveals the Fowler-Nordheim mode.

A new structure of triode type field emission displays based on single-walled carbon nanotube emitters is demonstrated. In this structure, gate electrodes are situated under cathode electrodes with an in-between insulating layer, so called under-gate type triode. Electron emission from the carbon nanotube emitters is modulated by changing gate voltages. A threshold voltage is approximately 70 V at the anode bias of 275 V.

Cobalt triantimonide compounds are well known as materials with good thermoelectric properties over temperature range of 550-900 K. For further improving thermoelectric performance, reduction of thermal conductivity is required. In this study, we attempted to disperse carbon nanotubes (CNTs) homogeneously into the n-type CoSb3 compound for lowering lattice thermal conductivity by the phonon scattering. Powders of Co, Ni, Sb and Te were blended with molar ratios of n-type Co0.92Ni0.08Sb2.96Te0.04 compound, and the compound was synthesized through a pulse discharge sintering (PDS) process. After coarsely grinding the synthesized compound, CNTs were mixed with the compound powder at different mass% (0, 0.01, 0.05 and 0.1 mass%). Then, the mixture was mechanically ground with a planetary ball milling equipment. The ground composite powder was compacted and sintered by PDS. Thermoelectric properties (Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity) of the sintered samples were measured. It was confirmed that the fibrous CNTs existed homogeneously in the compound matrix. The absolute value of Seebeck coefficient slightly decreased with increase of CNT content. The minimum thermal conductivity was obtained at addition of 0.01mass%CNT, and the electrical resistivity was a little increased with CNT content. The maximum ZT of 0.98 was achieved at 853 K in the 0.01mass%CNT-added sample.

Epitaxial NiSi2 layers have been grown onto (100) and (111) Si substrates by multiple scan electron beam annealing. The formation and the composition of the silicides have been analyzed by Rutherford backscattering techniques and by electron diffractionobservation. The phase and the composition of the silicides depend on the power density of the electron beam. Under the optimum conditions, epitaxial NiSi2 layers with a high surface morphology can be grown. An attempt has been made to form crystalline Si—NiSi2—Si heterostructures and the preliminary data are also presented.

The reliability of the a-Si drum has been investigated via environmental tests and durability copy testing, and its electrophotographic properties have been confirmed to be very stable. Regarding imaging properties, a-SiC surface layer plays an important part suppressing the noise within the image. It has been discovered that the blurring of the image in high humidity after many copying cycles is caused by the deterioration of the surface layer which occurs through exposure to corona discharge. This blurring is eliminated by preventing absorption of moisture at the surface, such as heating the drum. In this manner, it has been observed that a-Si drum maintains a high quality image up to 1,000,000 copy sheets.

Carbon in LEC GaAs was found to be introduced as CO from the ambient atmosphere; the oxygen concentration in the crystals decreased with increase in the duration of melting. An equilibrium segregation coefficient of oxygen in GaAs crystals was found by charged particle activation analysis to be 0.1, the value of which was smaller by a factor of 3~4 than that reported before.

The optical properties of random multilayer films are presented. Very small disorder in the well layer thickness (3 A standard deviation in 20 A) change the optical properties drastically. These optical spectrum are found to be useful to detect the disorder in the multilayers and also are very suitable to investigate the properties of randomness.

New multilayered photoreceptor consisting of all layers of a-Si1−xCx:H (x=0.1−0.8) has been developed on the basis of a high rate deposition process established using a glow discharge in a mixture of SiH4 and C2H2. This SiC photoreceptor is for negative charging and shows the excellent spectral sensitivity that is high in a short wavelength region and is reduced at the wavelengths longer than 600nm, suitable for the plain paper copier. The charge acceptance more than 40V/μn is achieved for the thickness less than 20μm. The charging characteristics are discussed in terms of deep emission states in the a-SiC:H.