128 research outputs found
3-D eddy current analysis in moving conductors of permanent magnet type retarders using moving coordinate system
A 3-D DC steady state eddy current analysis of a permanent magnet type retarder which rotates at high speed is carried out using a moving coordinate system. The method of DC steady state analysis using a moving coordinate system is described. The calculated results, braking torque etc., are compared with measured ones</p
Optimization of permanent magnet type of retarder using 3-D finite element method and direct search method
3-D optimization method using the combined experimental design method and direct search method is developed to apply to the optimal design of a permanent magnet type of retarder. It is shown that the braking torque is increased by using the optimization method. The CPU time can be considerably reduced by utilizing the initial values obtained by the experimental design method </p
3-D eddy current analysis in moving conductor of permanent magnet type of retarder using moving coordinate system
A 3-D DC steady state eddy current analysis of a permanent magnet type of retarder which rotates at high speed is carried out using a moving coordinate system. The method of DC steady-state analysis using a moving coordinate system is described. The calculated braking torque is compared with measured data</p
Immunohistochemical studies of PIVKA-II in hepatocellular carcinoma by indirect immunofluorescence
Tissue PIVKA-II was examined in 32 hepatocellular carcinomas and 2 metastatic liver tumors using indirect immunofluorescence, and the results were compared with the size, histological grading and serum PIVKA-II level. The specificity of this method was confirmed by the disappearance of reactivity in PLC/PRF/5 cells after the addition of vitamin K to the culture medium. Positive PIVKA-II staining was observed as a clustered or a single cell pattern only in the HCC nodules, but not in the surrounding cirrhotic tissue. PIVKA-II staining was observed in all HCC groups regardless of histological grade. There was no relationship between PIVKA-II staining and the size of HCC. PIVKA-II was detected immunohistochemically even in small HCC of patients whose plasma PIVKA-II levels were below the detection limit. These results suggest that PIVKA-II production is a specific phenotype of HCC regardless of its histological grading and demonstrate that this immunofluorescent PIVKA-II staining is more sensitive and useful than plasma PIVKA-II assay for the diagnosis of HCC.</p
The renin–angiotensin system promotes arrhythmogenic substrates and lethal arrhythmias in mice with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy
[Aims]The progression of pathological left ventricular remodelling leads to cardiac dysfunction and contributes to the occurrence of malignant arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. The underlying molecular mechanisms remain unclear, however. Our aim was to examine the role of the renin–angiotensin system (RAS) in the mechanism underlying arrhythmogenic cardiac remodelling using a transgenic mouse expressing a cardiac-specific dominant-negative form of neuron-restrictive silencer factor (dnNRSF-Tg). This mouse model exhibits progressive cardiac dysfunction leading to lethal arrhythmias. [Methods and results]Subcutaneous administration of aliskiren, a direct renin inhibitor, significantly suppressed the progression of pathological cardiac remodelling and improved survival among dnNRSF-Tg mice while reducing arrhythmogenicity. Genetic deletion of the angiotensin type 1a receptor (AT1aR) similarly suppressed cardiac remodelling and sudden death. In optical mapping analyses, spontaneous ventricular tachycardia (VT) and fibrillation (VF) initiated by breakthrough-type excitations originating from focal activation sites and maintained by functional re-entry were observed in dnNRSF-Tg hearts. Under constant pacing, dnNRSF-Tg hearts exhibited markedly slowed conduction velocity, which likely contributes to the arrhythmogenic substrate. Aliskiren treatment increased conduction velocity and reduced the incidence of sustained VT. These effects were associated with suppression of cardiac fibrosis and restoration of connexin 43 expression in dnNRSF-Tg ventricles. [Conclusion]Renin inhibition or genetic deletion of AT1aR suppresses pathological cardiac remodelling that leads to the generation of substrates maintaining VT/VF and reduces the occurrence of sudden death in dnNRSF-Tg mice. These findings demonstrate the significant contribution of RAS activation to the progression of arrhythmogenic substrates
Usefulness of indocyanine green injection during ultrasound-guided liver biopsy for the diagnosis of small hepatocellular carcinoma.
To diagnose hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) functionally and immediately, we examined the usefulness of indocyanine green (ICG) injection during ultrasound-guided liver biopsy. Liver specimens were obtained after intravenous ICG injection by ultrasound-guided biopsy from 251 space-occupying lesions (SOL) in 136 patients. The tissues were immediately examined for ICG uptake using an infrared Vidicon camera and were also subjected to histopathological examinations. Of the 112 ICG-negative biopsy specimens, 105 were histologically diagnosed as HCC, 6 as dysplastic nodules (DN) and 1 as a regenerative nodule (RN). Of the 139 ICG-positive specimens, 18 were diagnosed as HCC, 1 as DN and 120 as RN. The sensitivity of the absence of ICG uptake (SEAIU), the specificity of the absence of ICG uptake (SPAIU), and the positive predictive value of the absence of ICG uptake (PPAIU) for the diagnosis of HCC were 85.3%, 94.5% and 93.8%, respectively. Of the 251 SOLs, 184 were less than 2 cm. SEAIU, SPAIU and PPAIU for the diagnosis of these small HCC were 85.3%, 94.5% and 91.4%, respectively. These results support the reliability of ICG injection during ultrasound-guided liver biopsy to diagnose even small HCC.</p
Spectral evolution of GRB 060904A observed with Swift and Suzaku -- Possibility of Inefficient Electron Acceleration
We observed an X-ray afterglow of GRB 060904A with the Swift and Suzaku
satellites. We found rapid spectral softening during both the prompt tail phase
and the decline phase of an X-ray flare in the BAT and XRT data. The observed
spectra were fit by power-law photon indices which rapidly changed from to within a few hundred
seconds in the prompt tail. This is one of the steepest X-ray spectra ever
observed, making it quite difficult to explain by simple electron acceleration
and synchrotron radiation. Then, we applied an alternative spectral fitting
using a broken power-law with exponential cutoff (BPEC) model. It is valid to
consider the situation that the cutoff energy is equivalent to the synchrotron
frequency of the maximum energy electrons in their energy distribution. Since
the spectral cutoff appears in the soft X-ray band, we conclude the electron
acceleration has been inefficient in the internal shocks of GRB 060904A. These
cutoff spectra suddenly disappeared at the transition time from the prompt tail
phase to the shallow decay one. After that, typical afterglow spectra with the
photon indices of 2.0 are continuously and preciously monitored by both XRT and
Suzaku/XIS up to 1 day since the burst trigger time. We could successfully
trace the temporal history of two characteristic break energies (peak energy
and cutoff energy) and they show the time dependence of while the following afterglow spectra are quite stable. This fact
indicates that the emitting material of prompt tail is due to completely
different dynamics from the shallow decay component. Therefore we conclude the
emission sites of two distinct phenomena obviously differ from each other.Comment: 19 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in PASJ (Suzaku 2nd
Special Issue
Manipulation and assembly of small objects in liquid crystals by dynamical disorganizing effect of push-pull-azobenzene-dye
The phase transition of a nematic liquid crystal containing a push-pull azobenzene dye could be induced efficiently during irradiation with visible light. The dynamical disorganizing effect of the push-pull azobenzene dye on the liquid crystalline order through its trans-cis-trans photoisomerizaion cycle under visible light was contributed to the efficient phase transition. Then, the effects of light irradiation on the motion of small objects dispersed in the liquid crystals containing the push-pull azobenzene were explored and the manipulation and assembly of those objects were successfully achieved in the nematic phase but also in the smectic phase. The combination of the photo-controlled dynamical change in the liquid crystalline order and the intrinsic self-assembly property of a liquid crystal is promising for use in technologies that require not only the organization of small objects but also the photo-driving of nano- and micro-sized mechanical materials
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The population of merging compact binaries inferred using gravitational waves through GWTC-3
We report on the population properties of 76 compact binary mergers detected with gravitational waves below a false alarm rate of 1 per year through GWTC-3. The catalog contains three classes of binary mergers: BBH, BNS, and NSBH mergers. We infer the BNS merger rate to be between 10 and 1700 and the NSBH merger rate to be between 7.8 and 140 , assuming a constant rate density versus comoving volume and taking the union of 90% credible intervals for methods used in this work. Accounting for the BBH merger rate to evolve with redshift, we find the BBH merger rate to be between 17.9 and 44 at a fiducial redshift (z=0.2). We obtain a broad neutron star mass distribution extending from to . We can confidently identify a rapid decrease in merger rate versus component mass between neutron star-like masses and black-hole-like masses, but there is no evidence that the merger rate increases again before 10 . We also find the BBH mass distribution has localized over- and under-densities relative to a power law distribution. While we continue to find the mass distribution of a binary's more massive component strongly decreases as a function of primary mass, we observe no evidence of a strongly suppressed merger rate above . The rate of BBH mergers is observed to increase with redshift at a rate proportional to with for . Observed black hole spins are small, with half of spin magnitudes below . We observe evidence of negative aligned spins in the population, and an increase in spin magnitude for systems with more unequal mass ratio
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