Twisted Flavors and Tri/bi-Maximal Neutrino Mixing

A new framework for handling flavor symmetry breaking in the neutrino sector is discussed where the source of symmetry breaking is traced to the global property of right-handed neutrinos in extra-dimensional space. Light neutrino phenomenology has rich and robust predictions such as the tri/bi-maximal form of generation mixing, controlled mass spectrum, and no need of flavor mixing couplings in the theory.Comment: 11 page

Dilatonic Inflation and SUSY Breaking in String-inspired Supergravity

The theory of inflation will be investigated as well as supersymmetry breaking in the context of supergravity, incorporating the target-space duality and the nonperturbative gaugino condensation in the hidden sector. We found an inflationary trajectory of a dilaton field and a condensate field which breaks supersymmetry at once. The model satisfies the slow-roll condition which solves the eta-problem. When the particle rolls down along the minimized trajectory of the potential V(S,Y) at a duality invariant point of T=1, we can obtain the e-fold value \sim 57. And then the cosmological parameters obtained from our model well match the recent WMAP data combined with other experiments. This observation suggests one to consider the string-inspired supergravity as a fundamental theory of the evolution of the universe as well as the particle theory.Comment: 10 pages, 4 eps figures. Typos and references corrected. Final version to appear in Mod. Phys. Lett.

Visualizing chromosome structure/organization

With the rapid development of sequencing technologies in the past decade, many eukaryotic genomes have been resolved at the primary sequence level. However, organization of the genome within nuclei and the principles that govern such properties remain largely unclear. Optimization of fluorescence probe-based hybridization technologies combined with new advances in the instrumentation for microscopy has steadily yielded more structural information on chromosome organization in eukaryote model systems. These studies provide static snapshots of the detailed organization of chromatin. More recently, the successful application of a chromatin tagging strategy utilizing auto fluorescent fusion proteins opened a new era of chromatin studies in which the dynamic organization of the genome can be tracked in near real time. This review focuses on these new approaches to studying chromatin organization and dynamics in plants, and on future prospects in unraveling the basic principle of chromosome organization

The influence of the distance between the backrest of a chair and the position of the pelvis on the maximum pressure on the ischium and estimated shear force.

PURPOSE: For some people with leg disorders, the alternative to becoming bedridden is sitting in a wheelchair for long periods of time. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between the backrest of a chair and the position of the pelvis on the maximum pressure at the ischium and the estimated shear force encountered while sitting in a chair.METHODS: Ten healthy males aged 22.4 +/- 2.3 years without pathologies in the leg and/or trunk participated in this study. The subjects were instructed to sit in a chair and the pressure and shear forces were measured under three sitting conditions: In the standard position, a 5 cm forward position and a 10 cm forward position. The effects of the positions of the pelvis on the maximum pressure at the ischium were measured by an instrument for measuring pressure distribution and the shear forces were estimated using an experimental model proposed by us.RESULTS: Comparisons were made among the three sitting positions; the range of displacement of the maximum pressure point was not significant. The estimated shear force on the seat was 15.5 +/- 12.4 N in the standard position, 34.4 +/- 8.5 N in the 5-cm forward position, and 53.2 +/- 16.7 N in the 10 cm forward position. There were significant differences among the three values (p < 0.01).CONCLUSIONS: Displacing the pelvis forward and leaning against the backrest tends to increase the shear force and raise the risk of decubitus ulcers

Thermodynamic properties of gaseous ethane and ethene+

Based on the most probable values and additional recommended values proposed by the High Pressure Data Center of Japan, new equations of state for gaseous ethane and ethene are devised for the range of temperatures 273.15 K to 498.15 K and of pressures up to 30 MPa for ethane and for the range of temperatures 273.15 K to 423.15 K and of pressures up to 80 MPa far ethene. The canonical functions are also derived from the new equations of state, and the thermodynamic property values are calculated by differentiating these functions. The calculated values of compressibility factor, molar volume, molar enthalpy and molar entropy are tabulated in this paper