Transport Coefficients of InSb in a Strong Magnetic Field

Improvement of a superconducting magnet system makes induction of a strong magnetic field easier. This fact gives us a possibility of energy conversion by the Nernst effect. As the first step to study the Nernst element, we measured the conductivity, the Hall coefficient, the thermoelectric power and the Nernst coefficient of the InSb, which is one of candidates of the Nernst elements. From this experiment, it is concluded that the Nernst coefficient is smaller than the theoretical values. On the other hand, the conductivity, the Hall coefficient ant the thermoelectric power has the values expected by the theory.Comment: 6 pages, Latex, This article was presented in the XVI International Conference on Thermoelectrics, Dresden, Germany (1997

Physical Model of Nernst Element

Generation of electric power by the Nernst effect is a new application of a semiconductor. A key point of this proposal is to find materials with a high thermomagnetic figure-of-merit, which are called Nernst elements. In order to find candidates of the Nernst element, a physical model to describe its transport phenomena is needed. As the first model, we began with a parabolic two-band model in classical statistics. According to this model, we selected InSb as candidates of the Nernst element and measured their transport coefficients in magnetic fields up to 4 Tesla within a temperature region from 270K to 330K. In this region, we calculated transport coefficients numerically by our physical model. For InSb, experimental data are coincident with theoretical values in strong magnetic field.Comment: 4 pages, Latex, This article was presented in the XVII International Conference on Thermoelectrics, Nagoya, Japan(1998

The Influence of Hyperactivity of the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal Axis and Hyperglycemia on the 5-HT2A Receptor-mediated Wet-dog Shake Responses in Rats

Hyperactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis induces hyperglycemia and serotonin (5-HT)2A receptor supersensitivity. In the present study, to investigate the effect of hyperglycemia on the function of 5-HT2A receptors, we compared the 5-HT2A receptor-mediated wet-dog shake responses in rats treated with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), dexamethasone and streptozotocin. ACTH (100 &#956;g/rat per day, s.c.), dexamethasone (1 mg/kg per day, s.c.) and streptozotocin (60 mg/kg, i.p.) produced significant hyperglycemia at 14 days after the start of these treatments, and the hyperglycemia was most pronounced in the streptozotocin-treated rats. The wet-dog shake responses induced by (±)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane (DOI), a 5-HT2A receptor agonist, were significantly enhanced at 14 days after repeated treatment with ACTH and dexamethasone. However, streptozotocin-induced diabetes had no effect on the wet-dog shake responses. The results of the present study suggest that hyperglycemia is not strongly associated with the enhanced susceptibility of 5-HT2A receptors under the condition of hyperactivity of the HPA axis.</p

Moral domain judgment : Cross-cultural differences and commonalities between the United States and Japan

An examination was conducted of the classification of potential misconduct in the moral domain (rather than the non-moral domain). Behaviors in the moral, social-conventional, and personal domains differ with regard to why and how they are regulated. Behaviors in the moral domain often face interference by others due to reasons irrelevant to existing rules or norms. Behaviors in the social-conventional domain are disapproved of and face interference only when contrary explicit or implicit rules exist. Behaviors in the personal domain reflect personal interests and tastes, and thus, they face no interference by others. We predicted and found that Americans consider a wider range of potential misconducts as moral issues compared with Japanese people, who tend to consider the same issues as socially regulated. In tight cultures, such as that observed in Japan, behaviors are regulated by social norms and authorities, and are evaluated as such. However, in loose cultures, such as that observed in the US, misconducts tend to be attributed to the actor\u27s free choice, and thus, the individual\u27s morality is at stake. These results support the argument of cultural psychology that moral judgment varies across cultures