We apply two methods to estimate the 21-cm bispectrum from data taken within the Epoch of Reionisation (EoR) project of the Murchison Widefield Array (MWA). Using data acquired with the Phase II compact array allows a direct bispectrum estimate to be undertaken on the multiple redundantly spaced triangles of antenna tiles, as well as an estimate based on data gridded to the uv-plane. The direct and gridded bispectrum estimators are applied to 21 h of high-band (167–197 MHz; z = 6.2–7.5) data from the 2016 and 2017 observing seasons. Analytic predictions for the bispectrum bias and variance for point-source foregrounds are derived. We compare the output of these approaches, the foreground contribution to the signal, and future prospects for measuring the bispectra with redundant and non-redundant arrays. We find that some triangle configurations yield bispectrum estimates that are consistent with the expected noise level after 10 h, while equilateral configurations are strongly foreground-dominated. Careful choice of triangle configurations may be made to reduce foreground bias that hinders power spectrum estimators, and the 21-cm bispectrum may be accessible in less time than the 21-cm power spectrum for some wave modes, with detections in hundreds of hours.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between eosinophils in ascites and the diagnosis of intestinal anisakidosis in patients with peritoneal signs on physical examination. We reviewed retrospectively 16 patients diagnosed with intestinal anisakidosis, evaluated between 2012 and 2015. All patients had ingested raw anchovies. The analysis of ascites fluid in ten of these patients was compared with that of 15 patients with ascites and other abdominal pathology (except liver cirrhosis). All patients had an increased number of white blood cells in the ascites fluid. The eosinophil count was significantly higher in patients with intestinal anisakidosis (P < 0.01). All patients had a good outcome. Increased eosinophils in ascites fluid is strongly associated with the diagnosis of intestinal anisakidosis.

In rats, maternal exposure to restraint stress during pregnancy can induce abnormalities in the cardiovascular and central nervous systems of the offspring. These effects are mediated by long-lasting hyperactivation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. However, little is known about the potential effects of stress during pregnancy on metabolic systems. We examined the effect of restraint stress in pregnant mice on the liver function of their offspring. The offspring of stressed mothers showed significantly higher lipid accumulation in the liver after weaning than did the controls; this accumulation was associated with increased expression of lipid metabolism-related proteins such as alanine aminotransferase 2 diglyceride acyltransferase 1, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma and glucocorticoid receptor. Additionally, we observed increased levels of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1, an intercellular mediator that converts glucocorticoid from the inactive to the active form, in the foetal and postnatal periods. These results indicate that restraint stress in pregnancy in mice induces metabolic abnormalities via 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1-related pathways in the foetal liver. It is therefore possible that exposure to stress in pregnant women may be a risk factor for metabolic syndromes (e.g. fatty liver) in children.

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis refers to the concept that ‘malnutrition during the fetal period induces a nature of thrift in fetuses, such that they have a higher change of developing non-communicable diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, if they grow up in the current well-fed society.’ Epigenetics is a chemical change in DNA and histones that affects how genes are expressed without alterations of DNA sequences. Several lines of evidence suggest that malnutrition during the fetal period alters the epigenetic expression status of metabolic genes in the fetus and that this altered expression can persist, and possibly lead to metabolic disorders. Similarly, mental stress during the neonatal period can alter the epigenetic expression status of neuronal genes in neonates. Moreover, such environmental, stress-induced, epigenetic changes are transmitted to the next generation via an acquired epigenetic status in sperm. The advantage of epigenetic modifications over changes in genetic sequences is their potential reversibility; thus, epigenetic alterations are potentially reversed with gene expression. Therefore, we potentially establish ‘preemptive medicine,’ that, in combination with early detection of abnormal epigenetic status and early administration of epigenetic-restoring drugs may prevent the development of disorders associated with the DOHaD.

Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS) is a severe invasive infection characterized by the sudden onset of shock, multi-organ failure, and high mortality. In Japan, appropriate notification measures based on the Infectious Disease Control law are mandatory for cases of STSS caused by β-haemolytic streptococcus. STSS is mainly caused by group A streptococcus (GAS). Although an average of 60–70 cases of GAS-induced STSS are reported annually, 143 cases were recorded in 2011. To determine the reason behind this marked increase, we characterized the emm genotype of 249 GAS isolates from STSS patients in Japan from 2010 to 2012 and performed antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The predominant genotype was found to be emm1, followed by emm89, emm12, emm28, emm3, and emm90. These six genotypes constituted more than 90% of the STSS isolates. The number of emm1, emm89, emm12, and emm28 isolates increased concomitantly with the increase in the total number of STSS cases. In particular, the number of mefA-positive emm1 isolates has escalated since 2011. Thus, the increase in the incidence of STSS can be attributed to an increase in the number of cases associated with specific genotypes.

We examined the potential application of CuIn1-xGaxSe1-ySy (CIGS) film for visible light image sensors. CIGS chalcopyrite semiconductors, which are representative of high efficiency thin film solar cells, have both a high absorption coefficient and high quantum efficiency. However, their dark current is too high for image sensors. In this study, we applied gallium oxide (Ga2O3) as a hole-blocking layer for CIGS thin film to reduce the dark current. The dark current of this hetero-junction was 10-9 A/cm2 at less than 7 V. Moreover, an avalanche multiplication phenomenon was observed at an applied voltage of over 8 V. However, this structure had sensitivity only in the ultraviolet light region due to the much lower carrier density of the Ga2O3 layer. We therefore used a tin-doped Ga2O3 (Ga2O3:Sn) layer deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) for the n-type layer to increase the carrier density. The sensitivity of the visible region was observed in the Ga2O3:Sn/CIGS hetero-junction. We also investigated the influence of the laser frequency of the PLD on the transmittance of Ga2O3:Sn and the quantum efficiency of this hetero-junction. Ga2O3:Sn film deposited at a 0.1-Hz laser repetition rate had higher transmittance than at a 10-Hz repetition rate. The Ga2O3:Sn/CIGS hetero-junction also had a higher quantum efficiency with the lower rate (50%) than with the higher rate (30%).

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2011 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA, August 7–August 11, 2011.

This paper summarizes research activities in National Institute of Radiological Sciences (NIRS) for evaluation of the radiation effects on selected terrestrial and aquatic organisms as well as the ecosystems. Seven organisms, conifers, fungi, earthworms, springtails, algae, daphnia and Medaka are presently selected to study. For the estimation of possible radiation dose, transfers of radionuclides and related elements from medium to organisms are evaluated. Dose-effect relationships of acute gamma radiation on the survival, growth, and reproduction of selected organisms have been studied. Studies on the effect of chronic gamma radiation at low dose rate were also started. In order to understand the mechanism of radiation effects and to find possible indicators of the effects, information of genome- and metagenome-wide gene expression has been collected. Evaluation of ecological effects of radiation is more challenging task. Study methods by using three-species microcosm were established, and an index for the holistic evaluation of effects on various ecological parameters was proposed. The microcosm has been simulated as a computer simulation code. Developments of more complicated and practical model ecosystems have been started. The Denaturant Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE) has been applied on soil bacterial community in order to evaluate the radiation effects on soil ecosystems.

Modeling cascade and fission damage evolution of actinide materials of all kinds is essential for understanding their aging characteristics. As an example of how exotic some of the damage evolution behavior can be, plutonium-gallium (Pu-Ga) alloys in the δ-phase (fcc lattices) are explored. Aging emanates from the wide variety of spontaneous decay and fission products that, in the case of the Pu, are such species as helium (He) and uranium, among others, as well as interstitials, and vacancies. To aid in our understanding, the modified embedded atom method (MEAM) formalism is applied to the Pu-Ga-He system. The behavior of defects in the fcc (δ) phase of Pu-based materials is strongly influenced by the metastability of this phase. The influence of this metastability on minimum displacement threshold energy, point defect characteristics and He bubbles is delineated. The roles of short-range ordering and transformations of voids into stacking fault tetrahedra in the aging process are also examined.

The growth of nanocrystalline materials has received much attention recently due to its importance in nanocrystalline thin film properties and fabrications. Research studies of this subject have so far focused on the face-centered-cubic metals. Two mechanisms, grain-rotation induced grain coalescence and curvature-driven grain-boundary migration are considered as the dominant mechanisms in the nanograin growth. In this work, we use molecular dynamics method to simulate the growth of Ni and Ni3Al alloy. We find the above mechanisms can describe the growth behavior well. A detailed comparison of the nanograin growth between the two systems is discussed in terms of grain rotation and grain sliding. We also study the temperature effect and the size effect in the nanograin growth. The tendency of twinning in the nanograin growth is discussed.

We have developed 100-kV, 200-kV, and 350-kV cold-field-emission transmission electron microscopes (FE-TEMs) successively up to this time. Using these instruments, we have been studying the magnetic structure of materials, high-resolution imaging by electron holography, and dynamic observation of the vortex in superconductors by Lorentz microscopy. To make more progress in our research, we need a better electron beam in terms of coherency, beam brightness, and penetration. Here, we report a new lMV-cold-field-emission transmission electron microscope we have developed. Historically, the pioneering projects on a lMV-field-emission scanning transmission electron microscope (FE-STEM) (Zeitler and Crewe, 1974) and a 1.6MV FE-STEM (Jouffrey et al., 1984) have been reported. In 1988, Maruse and Shimoyama obtained a lMV-field-emission beam using their 1.25MV-STEM connected to a field-emission gun. Since then, continuous improvements in beam brightness has been made.

The target specifications of our 1 MV-cold-field-emission TEM (H-1000FT) are as follows: Acceleration voltage: 1MV, high-voltage stability :

In this study, we have sought to establish whether N2O and ketamine alter the bispectral index during propofol–fentanyl anaesthesia. Fourteen surgical patients were randomly assigned to one of two groups: the N2O group (n=7) and the ketamine group (n=7). In both groups, anaesthesia was induced with propofol 1.5–2 mg kg−1 and fentanyl 2 μg kg−1 and maintained with propofol 5–7 mg kg−1 hr−1 to target the bispectral index between 40 and 50. After the bispectral index value had stabilized the propofol infusion rate was fixed. In the N2O group, the following concentrations of N2O were subsequently inhaled at 20-min intervals; 20, 40, 60 and 70%, and then N2O was terminated. In the ketamine group, ketamine (0.4 mg kg−1+1.0 mg kg−1h−1) was given. The bispectral index and 95% spectral edge frequency were recorded 20 min after each change in concentration of N2O or ketamine infusion. The bispectral index and 95% spectral edge frequency did not change significantly in the N2O group, but increased significantly from 44.1±0.7 and 16.0±0.5 to 58.6±1.4 and 19.5±0.3 (P <0.01), respectively, in the ketamine group. Additional N2O or ketamine did not decrease the bispectral index and 95% spectral edge frequency values. The depth of sedation should be assessed carefully using a bispectral index monitor when these anaesthetic agents are used together.

About 10 X-ray binaries in our Galaxy and LMC/SMC are considered to contain black hole candidates (BHCs). Among these objects, Cyg X-1 was identified as the first BHC, and it has led BHCs for more than 25 years(Oda 1977, Liang and Nolan 1984). It is a binary system composed of normal blue supergiant star and the X-ray emitting compact object. The orbital kinematics derived from optical observations indicates that the compact object is heavier than ~ 4.8 M⊙ (Herrero 1995), which well exceeds the upper limit mass for a neutron star(Kalogora 1996), where we assume the system consists of only two bodies. This has been the basis for BHC of Cyg X-1.

We describe our recently developed integrated isolators. Their structure is simple, in that it consists solely of a single-mode channel magneto-optic waveguide. The operating principle is that a backward fundamental TM mode wave is converted to higher-order or radiation TE modes while a forward fundamental TM mode wave propagates with no mode conversion. These isolators are realized using a single-mode rib channel waveguide in Ce-substituted yttrium iron garnet which has a very large Faraday rotation. We obtain 13-27 dB isolation around a wavelength of 1.55 μm. We also review our recent study on a hybrid-integrated polarization-independent optical circulator based on a nonreciprocal Mach-Zehnder interferometer which does not need a polarization-beam splitter. We obtain 14.1-23.7 dB isolation at λ = 1.55 μm.

We report the crystal growth and the characteristics of InGaN multiple quantum well (MQW) laser diodes grown on a 6H-SiC substrate using a low-pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (LP-MOVPE). We discuss the buffer layer, the control of InGaN and AlGaN alloy composition, the magnesium doping of GaN and AlGaN, and the characteristics of the MQW structure. We also demonstrate the room-temperature pulsed operation of the laser diode. The threshold voltage was reduced to 15 V by improving the p-contact resistance. The threshold current was reduced to 500 mA by changing the MQW structure and employing high reflection coating.

The catalytic interaction of noble metal and main group elements in Rh/one-atomic layer GeO2/SiO2 and Pt/SbOx was investigated. The high temperature reduction produced RhGe and PtSb bimetallic particles in which Pt and Rh were electronically modified to retard catalytic activity. However, unique selective catalyses of Rh/one-atomic layer GeO2/SiO2 for CO hydrogenation reaction to oxygenate compounds and for NO+CO reaction to N2 were found. Under the low temperature reduction of Rh/one-atomic layer GeO2/SiO2 and the high temperature calcination of Pt/SbOx, the oxide phases, GeO2 and SbOx, were stable and the selective reduction of ethylacetate to ethanol and the selective oxidation of iso-C4H10 to methacrolein were observed. The high selectivities were ascribed to synergistic interaction between the noble metals and the main group element oxides through the diffusion of adsorbed species and reaction intermediates. The possibility of chemical control of noble metal-catalyses by main group elements is discussed.