591 research outputs found
Prevalence of human papillomavirus, Chlamydia trachomatis, and Neisseria gonorrhoeae in commercial sex workers in Japan.
OBJECTIVE: We used the hybrid capture assays to investigate the prevalence of human papillomavirus (HPV), Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae among commercial sex workers in Tokyo. METHODS: Five hundred forty-six consecutive commercial sex workers (CSW) who visited an STD clinic for STD checkup in 1998 and 1999 were studied. A control group consisted of 233 consecutive women who visited a general gynecological clinic for annual checkup. A cervical sample was obtained for hybrid capture assays for HPV-A (low-oncogenic-risk types), HPV-B (intermediate- and high-oncogenic-risk types), C. trachomatis, and N. gonorrhoeae. Fisher's exact test was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The positive rate for HPV-B among the CSW was 48.4%, significantly higher than the 6.0% among the control subjects. The positive rates for HPV-A, C. trachomatis, and N. gonorrhoeae were also significantly higher among the CSW than among the control subjects. Among the microorganisms tested, the positive rate for HPV-B was the highest in both the STD and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of HPV, C. trachomatis, and N. gonorrhoeae infection in CSW poses a risk of further transmission of STD to the general public, suggesting the need for further education and screening for CSW and the general public. We found high- and intermediate-oncogenic-type HPV to be the most prevalent infection among both CSW and control subjects. Screening for HPV may be necessary in STD and general clinics to predict the risk of cervical malignancy. Hybrid capture assays, which permit simultaneous detection of HPV and other STD with high sensitivity, may be a useful diagnostic method
Status of ECR ion sources at JAERI
At the Takasaki site of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, four ECR ion sources were purchased or developed so far. This paper will report their performance, modification and status. The outlines for each source are as follows; 1. OCTOPUS purchased from IBA s.a. has been in use with a cyclotron since 1990. The gas feed system was modified to change gas species within 10 minutes to avoid impurity ions in the cocktail beam acceleration technique of the cyclotron. 2. ECR-18 with 18-GHz microwave has a solenoid coil between a pair of mirror coils to change mirror ratio in a wide range. A bump between mirror peaks in the original axial field distribution was removed by halving the solenoid length. The performance in generating high charge state ions was significantly improved as a result. 3. HYPERNANOGAN was purchased from PANTECHNIK s.a. and installed in the cyclotron system this year. Test operation was successfully made with generation of Ar, Pb and Ta ions. 4. MINI ECR is a full permanent magnet source with 10 GHz microwave. As a result of modifications for vacuum and the application of a bias probe, 40 microA of Ar4+ beam was obtained, for example. Using this source, a new technique was developed to vaporize very refractory materials into plasma by fluorinating them with SF6 plasma. The source is in use for a 400 kV ion implantor since last year
Exotic radiation from a photonic crystal excited by an ultra-relativistic electron beam
We report the observation of an exotic radiation (unconventional
Smith-Purcell radiation) from a one-dimensional photonic crystal. The physical
origin of the exotic radiation is direct excitation of the photonic bands by an
ultra-relativistic electron beam. The spectrum of the exotic radiation follows
photonic bands of a certain parity, in striking contrast to the conventional
Smith-Purcell radiation, which shows solely a linear dispersion. Key
ingredients for the observation are the facts that the electron beam is in an
ultra-relativistic region and that the photonic crystal is finite. The origin
of the radiation was identified by comparison of experimental and theoretical
results.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure
Peak Stir Zone Temperatures during Friction Stir Processing
The stir zone (SZ) temperature cycle was measured during the friction stir processing (FSP) of NiAl bronze plates. The FSP was conducted using a tool design with a smooth concave shoulder and a 12.7-mm step-spiral pin. Temperature sensing was accomplished using sheathed thermocouples embedded in the tool path within the plates, while simultaneous optical pyrometry measurements of surface temperatures were also obtained. Peak SZ temperatures were 990 â°Cto 1015 â°C (0.90 to 0.97 TMelt) and were not affected by preheating to 400â°C, although the dwell time above 900 â°C was increased by the preheating. Thermocouple data suggested little variation in peak temperature across the SZ, although thermocouples initially located on the advancing sides and at the centerlines of the tool traverses were displaced to the retreating sides, precluding direct assessment of the temperature variation across the SZ. Microstructure-based estimates of local peak SZ temperatures have been made on these and on other similarly processed materials. Altogether, the peak-temperature determinations from these different measurement techniques are in close agreement
Optimum Arrangement of Resonator in Micro-bunch Free Electron Laser(III. Accelerator, Synchrotron Radiation, and Instrumentation)
Using a short-bunched beam of electrons from a linear accelator, the output of the micro-bunch FEL has been studied experimentally to clarify the optimum arrangement of an open resonator on the electron orbit. The output depends sharply on the arrangement, and the maximum output is observed when the resonator axis intersects the electron orbit with the angle of 3°
Observation of enhanced transmission for s-polarized light through a subwavelength slit
Enhanced optical transmission (EOT) through subwavelength apertures is
usually obtained for p-polarized light. The present study experimentally
investigates EOT for s-polarized light. A subwavelength slit surrounded on each
side by periodic grooves has been fabricated in a gold film and covered by a
thin dielectric layer. The excitation of s-polarized dielectric waveguide modes
inside the dielectric film strongly increases the s-polarized transmission.
Transmission measurements are compared with a coupled mode model and show good
qualitative agreement. Adding a waveguide can improve light transmission
through subwavelength apertures, as both s and p-polarization can be
efficiently transmitted.Comment: 11 pages, 3 figures, submitted to Applied Physics Letter
Effect of Dynamical SU(2) Gluons to the Gap Equation of Nambu--Jona-Lasinio Model in Constant Background Magnetic Field
In order to estimate the effect of dynamical gluons to chiral condensate, the
gap equation of SU(2) gauged Nambu--Jona-Lasinio model, under a constant
background magnetic field, is investigated up to the two-loop order in 2+1 and
3+1 dimensions. We set up a general formulation allowing both cases of electric
as well as magnetic background field. We rely on the proper time method to
maintain gauge invariance. In 3+1 dimensions chiral symmetry breaking
(SB) is enhanced by gluons even in zero background magnetic field and
becomes much striking as the background field grows larger. In 2+1 dimensions
gluons also enhance SB but whose dependence on the background field is
not simple: dynamical mass is not a monotone function of background field for a
fixed four-fermi coupling.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
- âŠ