Characterization of Tunable Magnetic Sensor Using Bias Magnetic Field of a Hard Magnetic Film Magnetized by Pulsed-Magnetic Field

A tunable magnetoresistance (MR) sensor with variable sensitivity and measuring range is fabricated and characterized. The sensor has been fabricated using a combination of Ni-Fe soft magnetic film, Fe-Co-Sm hard magnetic film. The sensor is placed in a magnetizing coil for the process of magnetizing the hard magnetic film. The sensitivity and the measuring range of the sensor are tuned by bias magnetic field produced by the magnetic poles of the hard magnetic film. The sensitivity change was about 60%, and the measuring range change was about 30% in the tunable MR sensor from the experimental results. The bias magnetic field is controlled by changing amplitude of the pulsed magnetic field in the magnetizing for the hard magnetic film. The control power for one time tuning is about 18 mu Wh.ArticleIEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MAGNETICS. 49(7):3854-3857 (2013)journal articl

Wie nicht-lineare Zeitrepräsentationen zukunftsbezogene Urteile und Entscheidungen beeinflussen können : ein entwicklungspsychologischer Ansatz

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersuchte in drei Experimenten den Einfluss der Zeit auf Bewertungen und Entscheidungen in unterschiedlichen Altersstufen. Experiment 1 beschäftigte sich mit dem Einfluss des Zeithorizontes auf die Beurteilung der Riskantheit einer Investition sowie auf das Investitionsverhalten bei 12-Jährigen. Im Gegensatz zu typischen Ergebnissen von Erwachsenen führte bei den Kindern eine lange Zeitspanne zwischen Investition und Erfolgsfeedback zur Annahme eines höheren Risikos und damit zu geringeren Investitionen. In Experiment 2 wurde die Bewertung materieller und nicht-materieller Werte, deren Erhalt verzögert war, bei 12-Jährigen und Erwachsenen untersucht. Dabei zeigte sich, dass Erwachsene Geld als materiellen Wert und Hilfe als nicht-materiellen Wert in ähnlicher Weise mit zunehmender Verzögerung abwerteten. Die Kinder hingegen werteten das verzögerte Geld deutlich stärker ab als Erwachsene, die Hilfe jedoch gar nicht. In Experiment 3 wurde die Entwicklung des Wissens über exponentielles Mengenwachstum in verschiedenen Altersgruppen untersucht. So schätzten 13-Jährige ein solches Wachstum normativ, doch bereits 9-Jährige unterschieden in ihren Schätzungen bedeutsam zwischen exponentiellem und linearem Wachstum, was für ein frühes intuitives Wissen in diesem Bereich spricht. Im Anschluss wurde ein Modell zur altersabhängigen Zeitrepräsentation entwickelt, das versucht, den Einfluss der Zeitrepräsentation in allen drei Experimenten zu erklären. Three experiments were conducted to examine the role of time on judgments and decisions in different age groups. Experiment 1 investigated the influence of the time horizon on 12-year-olds judgments of riskiness and amount of investment into an endeavour. In contrast to typical results of adults, a long time span between the investment and a feedback about its success yielded judgments of higher riskiness and, thus, lower investments in children. Experiment 2 assessed 12-year-olds and adults evaluation of material and immaterial values, whose receipt was either immediate or delayed. Results showed similar subjective discount rates for delayed money (i.e. material value) and delayed help (i.e. immaterial value) in adults. However, children discounted the delayed money more than adults, but they devaluated the delayed help not at all. Experiment 3 investigated the development of knowledge about exponential growth in children, aged 7 to 13 years, and adults. Only 13-year-olds showed a normative estimation of exponential growth. However, 9-year-olds already differentiated between exponential and linear growth in their estimations. This result points to an early intuitive knowledge in this domain. Finally, a model of age-related time representation was proposed to explain the role of time representation in the three experiments

Clinical background factors as predictors of the efficacy of 5-aminosalicylic acid suppositories in patients with ulcerative colitis

Introduction: Although the efficacy of 5-aminosalicylic acid (ASA) suppositories for ulcerative colitis (UC) has been reported in many studies, many studies have also described poor adherence to 5-ASA suppository regimens. We aimed to identify the clinical background factors that influence adherence to 5-ASA suppositories to improve adherence and efficacy of the treatment. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 61 patients with active UC who were using 5-ASA suppositories. All patients underwent endoscopy and rectal biopsy for histological diagnosis prior to 5-ASA suppository treatment. The efficacy of 5-ASA suppository treatment was compared in relation to clinical background factors (sex, age, disease duration, disease type, clinical activity, Ulceratve colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity, histological activity, serum C-reactive protein level, concomitant use of immunomodulators, history of steroid use, and dose of oral 5-ASA). Results: The efficacy of 5-ASA suppositories was significantly related to low Lichtiger Colitis Activity Index (LCAI) scores and proctitis type prior to its use. In terms of sex, females tended to show higher efficacy. Multivariate logistic regression analysis using these three factors showed high predictive value for the efficacy of 5-ASA suppositories (AUC, 0.788; sensitivity, 87.2%; and specificity, 63.7%). Discussion/Conclusion: This study is the first to extract clinical background factors for predicting the efficacy of 5-ASA suppositories. The use of 5-ASA suppositories in patients who are expected to show efficacy will be effective in improving patient co-operation

Molecular Basis of SMC ATPase Activation: Role of Internal Structural Changes of the Regulatory Subcomplex ScpAB

SummaryIn many bacteria, a homodimer of structural-maintenance-of-chromosomes proteins associates with two regulatory subunits (known as ScpA and ScpB), assembling a protein complex that plays a crucial role in chromosome organization and segregation. It remains poorly understood, however, how this complex might work at the mechanistic level. Here, we report crystal structures of the ScpAB core complex that display a highly unusual structure in which the central segment of ScpA winds around an asymmetrically oriented ScpB dimer. The two C-terminal domains of the ScpB dimer primarily interact with different regions of ScpA with different affinities. Moreover, flexible interdomain regions of ScpB contribute to a dynamic folding process of the ScpAB subcomplex. Together with other genetic and biochemical assays, we provide evidence that internal structural changes of the ScpAB subcomplex are tightly coupled with activation of the structural-maintenance-of-chromosomes ATPase

Impact of fatty pancreas and lifestyle on the development of subclinical chronic pancreatitis in healthy people undergoing a medical checkup

Abstract Background Although fat accumulation in human organs is associated with a variety of diseases, there is little evidence about the effect of a fatty pancreas on the development of subclinical chronic pancreatitis over the clinical course. Methods We conducted a prospective cohort study from 2008 to 2014 of patients who underwent a medical checkup consultation for fat accumulated in the pancreas. Patients included in the analysis were divided into a non-fatty pancreas group (n = 9710) and fatty pancreas group (n = 223). The primary end point was the odds ratio (OR) for chronic pancreatitis associated with fatty pancreas, which was diagnosed using ultrasonography. We used a multiple logistic regression model to estimate the OR and the corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI). Results Ninety-two people were diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis, including both presumptive and definitive diagnoses. Twelve people were diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis by ultrasonography among the 223 patients with fatty pancreas, and 80 patients among 9710 were diagnosed with non-fatty pancreas. The crude OR was 6.85 (95% CI 3.68, 12.75), and the multiple adjusted OR was 3.96 (95% CI 2.04, 7.66). Conclusions Fat accumulation in the pancreas could be a risk factor for developing subclinical chronic pancreatitis

Electrochemical Synthesis of Zn-Al-based Layered Double Hydroxides Intercalated with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy Cinnamic Acid as a UV-ray Absorbent

One-step electrochemical synthesis of Zn-Al-based layered double hydroxides intercalated with 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy cinnamic acid as a UV-ray absorbent (Zn-Al/HMCA LDH) was attempted in this study. Among various preparation conditions, it was confirmed that HMCA was intercalated into the interlayers of Zn-Al-based layered double hydroxide (Zn-Al LDH) by potentiometric electrolysis at -1.5 V for 1 h at RT. The Zn-Al/HMCA LDH films prepared on a Pt plate showed an excellent UV-ray absorption property.ナノダイナミクス国際シンポジウム 平成20年1月67日(木) 於長崎大学Nagasaki Symposium on Nano-Dynamics 2009 (NSND2009), January 27, 2043, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan, Poster Presentatio