Enhanced thermoelectric properties by Ir doping of PtSb2 with pyrite structure

The effects of Ir doping on the thermoelectric properties of Pt1-xIrxSb2 (x = 0, 0.01, 0.03, and 0.1) with pyrite structure were studied. Measurements of electrical resistivity rho, Seebeck coefficient S, and thermal conductivity kappa were conducted. The results showed an abrupt change from semiconducting behavior without Ir (x = 0) to metallic behavior at x = 0.01. The sample with x = 0.01 exhibited large S and low rho, resulting in a maximum power factor (S^2/rho) of 43 muW/cmK^2 at 400 K. The peculiar "pudding mold"-type electronic band dispersion could explain the enhanced thermoelectric properties in the metallic state.Comment: 3 pages, 2 figure

An improved method for determining the DC magnetization curve using a ring specimen

When the DC magnetization curve (B-H) of nonoriented material is measured in a ring specimen, there is an intrinsic error due to the assumption that the mean magnetic path length is equal to the mean geometric path length. A novel method for determining the B-H curve accurately is proposed. The validity of the method is verified by experiments</p

The relationship between the COPD Assessment Test score and airflow limitation in Japan in patients aged over 40 years with a smoking history.

BACKGROUND: A large number of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients in Japan remain undiagnosed, primarily due to the underuse of spirometry. Two studies were conducted to see whether the COPD Assessment Test (CAT) in primary care has the potential to identify those patients who need spirometry for a diagnosis of COPD and to determine whether patients with cardiovascular disease had airflow limitation, which could be detected by CAT. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two multicenter, noninterventional, prospective studies (studies 1 and 2) were conducted across Japan. Patients in both studies were ≥40 years old with a smoking history. Those in study 1 were seen in primary care and had experienced repeated respiratory tract infections, but had no diagnosis of COPD. Patients in study 2 were identified in cardiovascular disease clinics when routinely visiting for their cardiovascular disease. All patients completed the CAT prior to lung-function testing by hand-held spirometry. The presence of airflow limitation was defined as a forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1)/FEV6 ratio<0.73. RESULTS: A total of 3,062 subjects completed the CAT (2,067 in study 1, 995 in study 2); 88.8% were male, and the mean age (±standard deviation) was 61.5±11.6 years. Airflow limitation was found in 400 (19.4%) patients in study 1, and 269 (27.0%) in study 2. The CAT score in patients with airflow limitation was significantly higher than in patients without airflow limitation in both studies: 8.6 (95% confidence interval [CI] 7.9-9.2) versus 7.4 (95% CI 7.1-7.6) in study 1, and 8.3 (95% CI 7.5-9.2) versus 6.4 (95% CI 6.0-6.8) in study 2 (both P<0.001). CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that the CAT has the potential to identify patients with cardiovascular disease or a history of frequent chest infections who need spirometry to diagnose COPD

Antiproton Production in p+d Reaction at Subthreshold Energies

An enhancement of antiprotons produced in p+d reaction in comparison with ones in p+p elementary reaction is investigated. In the neighborhood of subthreshold energy the enhancement is caused by the difference of available energies for antiproton production. The cross section in p+d reaction, on the other hand, becomes just twice of the one in elementary p+p reaction at the incident energy far from the threshold energy when non-nucleonic components in deuteron target are not considered.Comment: LaTeX,7 pages with 5 eps figure

Nonquasiparticle states in the half-metallic ferromagnet simulated by the two-band Hubbard model

The density-matrix renormalization group method is used to study the three-band zigzag ladder model that simulates the electronic state of the t 2g-orbital system of the double string of the edge-shared CrO 6 octahedra in the half-metallic ferromagnet K2Cr 8O16. The saturated ferromagnetism caused by the double-exchange mechanism is thereby demonstrated. We also use the Lanczos exact-diagonalization technique on small clusters to study the two Hubbard chains coupled with the ferromagnetic exchange interaction, whereby we consider the nonquasiparticle states in the half-metallic ferromagnet that appear in the single-particle spectral function.Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japa

Microstructure of Winged Beans

Microstructures of seven plant introductions of winged beans (Psophocarpus tetragonolobus) produced in Okinawa, Japan were investigated. In cotyledonary cells of winged beans, protein bodies plus numerous lipid bodies were distributed in a cytoplasmic network. Starch granules were often found in some introductions but rarely in others. All seven introductions had very thick cell walls. The high protein, fat and hemicellulose contents of winged beans are consistent with the numerous protein bodies, lipid bodies and thick cell walls in the mature cotyledonary cells. The cell walls contained a number of depressions or cavities 1 to 2 lJ m deep which frequently occurred opposite complementary pits in adjacent cells (presumably pit-pairs). Plasmodesmata traverse the cell walls in the pit-pairs. In order to determine changes during development, cultivar UPS-32 cultivated at Fukuoka-city was used. In coty ledonary cells at 30 days after flowering, cell walls which had pitpairs with plasmodesmata, developing amyloplasts with starch granules, vacuoles with dense flocculent materials, tubular rough endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria etc., were observed but no protein bodies or lipid bodies were apparent. Protein bodies and lipid bodies were, however, found at 45 days after flowering. Cotyledonary cells at 45 days contained many starch granules but mature seeds contained few, if any

Quantum Wire-on-Well (WoW) Cell With Long Carrier Lifetime for Efficient Carrier Transport

A quantum wire-on-well (WoW) structure, taking advantage of the layer undulation of an In- GaAs/GaAs/GaAsP superlattice grown on a vicinal substrate, was demonstrated to enhance the carrier collection from the confinement levels and extend the carrier lifetime (220 ns) by approximately 4 times as compared with a planar reference superlattice. Strained InGaAs/GaAs/GaAsP superlattices were grown on GaAs substrates under exactly the same condition except for the substrate misorientation (0o- and 6o- off). The growth on a 6o-off substrate induced significant layer undulation as a result of step bunching and non-uniform precursor incorporation between steps and terraces whereas the growth on a substrate without miscut resulted in planar layers. The undulation was the most significant for InGaAs layers, forming periodically aligned InGaAs nanowires on planar wells, a wire-on-well structure. As for the photocurrent corresponding to the sub-bandgap range of GaAs, the light absorption by the WoW was extended to longer wavelengths and weakened as compared with the planar superlattice, and almost the same photocurrent was obtained for both the WoW and the planar superlattice. Open-circuit voltage for the WoW was not affected by the longer-wavelength absorption edge and the same value was obtained for the two structures. Furthermore, the superior carrier collection in the WoW, especially under forward biases, improved fill factor compared with the planer superlattice