A Method for Evaluating Dynamical Friction in Linear Ball Bearings

A method is proposed for evaluating the dynamical friction of linear bearings, whose motion is not perfectly linear due to some play in its internal mechanism. In this method, the moving part of a linear bearing is made to move freely, and the force acting on the moving part is measured as the inertial force given by the product of its mass and the acceleration of its centre of gravity. To evaluate the acceleration of its centre of gravity, the acceleration of two different points on it is measured using a dual-axis optical interferometer

Alkynylation of Aldehydes Initiated by Cathodic Reduction

Alkynylation of aldehydes initiated by cathodic reduction was performed. The cathodic alkynylation required only a semi-catalytic amount of electricity to consume the starting material completely. Cyclic voltammetry and some control experiments suggest that the electron-generated base derived from the cathodic reduction of benzaldehyde promotes alkynylation

Supergravity at Colliders

We consider supersymmetric theories where the gravitino is the lightest superparticle (LSP). Assuming that the long-lived next-to-lightest superparticle (NSP) is a charged slepton, we investigate two complementary ways to prove the existence of supergravity in nature. The first is based on the NSP lifetime which in supergravity depends only on the Planck scale and the NSP and gravitino masses. With the gravitino mass inferred from kinematics, the measurement of the NSP lifetime will test an unequivocal prediction of supergravity. The second way makes use of the 3-body NSP decay. The angular and energy distributions and the polarizations of the final state photon and lepton carry the information on the spin of the gravitino and on its couplings to matter and radiation.Comment: 13 pages, 11 figures; v2: 3 references added, to appear in Physics Letters

A Method for Direct Measurement of the First-Order Mass Moments of Human Body Segments

We propose a simple and direct method for measuring the first-order mass moment of a human body segment. With the proposed method, the first-order mass moment of the body segment can be directly measured by using only one precision scale and one digital camera. In the dummy mass experiment, the relative standard uncertainty of a single set of measurements of the first-order mass moment is estimated to be 1.7%. The measured value will be useful as a reference for evaluating the uncertainty of the body segment inertial parameters (BSPs) estimated using an indirect method

Soft Leptogenesis and Gravitino Dark Matter in Gauge Mediation

We study soft leptogenesis in gauge mediated supersymmetry breaking models with an enhanced A-term for the right-handed neutrino. We find that this scenario can explain the baryon asymmetry of the present universe, consistently with the gravitino dark matter for a wide range of gravitino mass m_{3/2}=O(MeV)-O(GeV). We also propose an explicit model which induces the necessary A-term for the right-handed neutrino.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figures, references are added, the version to appear in PL

Proteasome-dependent decrease in Akt by growth factors in vascular smooth muscle cells

AbstractAkt is activated by growth factors to regulate various aspects of vascular smooth muscle cell function. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and insulin-like growth factor-1 activated Akt in vascular smooth muscle cells with a rapid reduction of total Akt protein that lasted for several hours. The downregulation of Akt required phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase activity, but not intrinsic Akt activity. The downregulation of Akt was abrogated by MG-132, a proteasome inhibitor, but not by inhibitors of calpain or cathepsins. Akt was found in ubiquitin immune complex after PDGF treatment. Proteasome-dependent degradation of Akt may provide a counter-regulatory mechanism against overactivation of Akt

Design of integrated scanning laser Doppler velocitmeter using arrayed waveguide gratings

AbstractAn integrated scanned differential LDV has been proposed using planar lightwave circuit (PLC) technology. By using the proposed LDV, the measurement position can be scanned in depth direction without any mechanical movement. The PLC technology is utilized in the proposed design for achieving a compact optical circuit. The characteristics of the proposed LDV are simulated with a design model based on grating equations for AWGs. The simulation result reveals that the measurement position can be changed over the range of 46 mm in the depth direction without mechanical movement when the displacement between output sides of two waveguide arrays is 30 mm