CO observations of galaxies with the Nobeyama 45-M telescope

High-resolution (15 inch), filled aperture maps of the CO (J = 1-0) line emission were obtained for several nearby, CO-bright galaxies like M82, M83, IC342, and NGC891 in order to study star forming activity in these galaxies

High sensitivity and multifunctional micro-Hall sensors fabricated using InAlSb/InAsSb/InAlSb heterostructures

Further diversification of Hall sensor technology requires development of materials with high electron mobility and an ultrathin conducting layer very close to the material's surface. Here, we describe the magnetoresistive properties of micro-Hall devices fabricated using InAlSb/InAsSb/InAlSb heterostructures where electrical conduction was confined to a 30 nm-InAsSb two-dimensional electron gas layer. The 300 K electron mobility and sheet carrier concentration were 36 500 cm(2) V-1 s(-1) and 2.5 x 10(11) cm(-2), respectively. The maximum current-related sensitivity was 2 750 V A(-1) T-1, which was about an order of magnitude greater than AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic heterostructures devices. Photolithography was used to fabricate 1 mu m x 1 mu m Hall probes, which were installed into a scanning Hall probe microscope and used to image the surface of a hard disk

Absence of molecular mobility on nano-second time scales in amorphous ice phases

High-resolution neutron backscattering techniques are exploited to study the elastic and quasi-elastic response of the high-density amorphous (HDA), the low-density amorphous (LDA) and the crystalline ice Ic upon temperature changes. Within the temperature ranges of their structural stability (HDA at T > 80 K, LDA at T > 135 K, ice Ic at T < 200 K) the Debye-Waller factors and mean-square displacements characterise all states as harmonic solids. During the transformations HDA->LDA (T ~ 100 K), LDA->Ic (T ~ 150K) and the supposed glass transition with Tg ~ 135 K no relaxation processes can be detected on a time scale t < 4 ns. It can be concluded from coherent scattering measurements (D_2O) that LDA starts to recrystallise into ice Ic at T ~ 135 K, i.e. at the supposed Tg. In the framework of the Debye model of harmonic solids HDA reveals the highest Debye temperature among the studied ice phases, which is in full agreement with the lowest Debye level in the generalised density of states derived from time-of-flight neutron scattering experiments. The elastic results at low T indicate the presence of an excess of modes in HDA, which do not obey the Bose statistics

Demography of helminth parasites in relation to biometic characteristics of Mastacembalus armatus

The study was conducted to collect and identify helminth parasites of Mastacembalus armatus and also to determine the prevalence intensity and abundance of parasitic infection. 118 M. armatus, obtained from different sampling stations of Yamuna river between March 2008 to February 2009 were examined for endoparasitic helminth infections. Of these only 31 fishes were found infected. Four helminth species including one nematode (Ascaridia ganpatii), two cestodes (Polyonchobothrium armatii, Senga nayari) and one trematode (Eucreadium pandeyi)were found in host fish. The over all monthly infestation of prevalence (0.29), intensity (3.28) and abundance (1.13) were recorded. The maximum infection was recorded in middle size range while very small and larger fishes showed lesser susceptibility to helminth parasites

Histopathological analysis of liver in Puntius ticto exposed to water soluble fraction (WSF) of petrol

The fresh water fish Puntius ticto were exposed to lethal concentration of water soluble fraction (WSF) of petrol (5%-PF1, 10%-PF2, 15%-PF3, 20%-PF4 and 25%-PF5) for 96 hours. The exposure of WSF produced some conspicuous histopathological changes in liver. The swelling of hepatocytes, degeneration, necrosis, hemolysis, dilation, congestion and fibrosis in blood sinusoids were the prominent changes observed. The histological analysis showed increasing damages dose-dependents and time-dependents

Advanced surface design of polyester films and its application to magnetic recording media

This paper briefly overviews the recent surface design for the purpose of achieving the good wind ability of polyester films and its application to the substrate films for the magnetic recording media.One example is concerning the application to the films for VHS video tapes. The authors found it is quite important to remove the air layer from between each layer of the wound films in order to get a good roll formation in the VHS tape production process and we were successful in solving the roll formation problem by introducing a unique technology.The other is concerning the application to the films for high density magnetic recording tapes such as 8 mm video or professional video, for which one of the requirement to the substrate films is to achieve quite a smooth surface and a good wind ability at the same time. The authors made it possible and were successful in reducing cost by introducing the dual surface film manufacturing technology and a technology to form fine and minute protrusions on the surface of the film and their combination

Radio and gamma-ray constraints on dark matter annihilation in the Galactic center

We determine upper limits on the dark matter (DM) self-annihilation cross section for scenarios in which annihilation leads to the production of electron--positron pairs. In the Galactic centre (GC), relativistic electrons and positrons produce a radio flux via synchroton emission, and a gamma ray flux via bremsstrahlung and inverse Compton scattering. On the basis of archival, interferometric and single-dish radio data, we have determined the radio spectrum of an elliptical region around the Galactic centre of extent 3 degrees semi-major axis (along the Galactic plane) and 1 degree semi-minor axis and a second, rectangular region, also centered on the GC, of extent 1.6 degrees x 0.6 degrees. The radio spectra of both regions are non-thermal over the range of frequencies for which we have data: 74 MHz -- 10 GHz. We also consider gamma-ray data covering the same region from the EGRET instrument (about GeV) and from HESS (around TeV). We show how the combination of these data can be used to place robust constraints on DM annihilation scenarios, in a way which is relatively insensitive to assumptions about the magnetic field amplitude in this region. Our results are approximately an order of magnitude more constraining than existing Galactic centre radio and gamma ray limits. For a DM mass of m_\chi =10 GeV, and an NFW profile, we find that the velocity-averaged cross-section must be less than a few times 10^-25 cm^3 s^-1.Comment: 14 pages, 9 figures. Version accepted for publication in PRD. Reference section updated/extended

Short-term impacts of an unconditional cash transfer program on child schooling: Experimental evidence from Malawi.

This study analyzes the impact of a positive income shock on child schooling outcomes using experimental data from an unconditional cash transfer program in Malawi. Since households receive the cash and parents are responsible for making spending decisions, we also examine the intervening pathways between cash transfers and child schooling. Data comes from a cluster-randomized study of Malawi’s Social Cash Transfer Program (SCTP). After a baseline survey, households in village clusters were randomly assigned to treatment and control arms with treatment villages receiving transfers immediately and control villages assigned a later entry. We test for treatment impacts on a panel of school-aged children (6–17) using a differences-in-differences model. After a years’ worth of transfers, we find the Malawi SCTP both improves enrollment rates and decreases dropouts. The main intervening pathway between the program and schooling is education expenditures, suggesting that the cash improves the demand for education by reducing financial constraints