Transfer function for vital infrasound pressures between the carotid artery and the tympanic membrane

While occupational injury is associated with numerous individual and work-related risk factors, including long working hours and short sleep duration, the complex mechanisms causing such injuries are not yet fully understood. The relationship between the infrasound pressures of the tympanic membrane [ear canal pressure (ECP)], detected using an earplug embedded with a low-frequency microphone, and the carotid artery [carotid artery pressure (CAP)], detected using a stethoscope fitted with the same microphone, can be quantitatively characterized using systems analysis. The transfer functions of 40 normal workers (19 to 57 years old) were characterized, involving the analysis of 446 data points. The ECP waveform exhibits a pulsatile character with a slow respiratory component, which is superimposed on a biphasic recording that is synchronous with the cardiac cycle. The respiratory ECP waveform correlates with the instantaneous heart rate. The results also revealed that various fatigue-related risk factors may affect the mean magnitudes of the measured pressures and the delay transfer functions between CAP and ECP in the study population; these factors include systolic blood pressure, salivary amylase activity, age, sleep duration, postural changes, chronic fatigue, and pulse rate. [https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4773270]ArticleJOURNAL OF THE ACOUSTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. 133(2):1169-1186 (2013)journal articl

Dysfunction from Focusing on Overseas Business

For this study, a questionnaire survey was administered to 824 people who had been posted overseas for at least one year (657 of whom had been involved in a business for the overseas market) in order to explore the factors behind the success of an overseas business. The results made clear, on one hand, that if Japanese companies focus on an overseas business, by, for example, defining the objectives and roles of the business, investing in market research, and posting core personnel abroad, they reach desirable outcomes, but, on the other hand, those outcomes are adversely affected when companies define the objectives and roles prior to conducting market research. A focus on overseas business increases personnel’s organizational identification with his or her headquarters and with the overseas business unit. However, dysfunction occurs when personnel feel high organizational identification with the overseas business unit, and that they are not expected to show customer-oriented behavior. According to our additional analyses, this dysfunction of organizational identification emerges when one perceives a weak identity of one’s organization.

Quantitative Analysis of Ultra-Fine Goethite in Rust Layer on Steel Using Mossbauer and X-Ray Diffraction Spectroscopy

We have proposed determination procedure of the relative amounts of rust constituents of steel. Mossbauer spectroscopy provides the relative amounts of crystalline rust constituents including ultra-fine crystals. A quantitative analysis of ultra-fine crystals is possible with the resolution of several percent by comparing the Mossbauer results with the relative amounts of rust constituents determined by X-ray diffraction spectroscopy

High-fidelity conversion of photonic quantum information to telecommunication wavelength with superconducting single-photon detectors

We experimentally demonstrate a high-fidelity visible-to-telecommunication wavelength conversion of a photon by using a solid-state-based difference frequency generation. In the experiment, one half of a pico-second visible entangled photon pair at 780 nm is converted to a 1522-nm photon, resulting in the entangled photon pair between 780 nm and 1522 nm. Using superconducting single-photon detectors with low dark count rates and small timing jitters, we selectively observed well-defined temporal modes containing the two photons. We achieved a fidelity of $0.93 \pm 0.04$ after the wavelength conversion, indicating that our solid-state-based scheme can be used for faithful frequency down-conversion of visible photons emitted from quantum memories composed of various media.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Effect of Cations on Protective Properties of Rust Layer Formed on Carbon Steel during Wet/Dry Cyclic Corrosion

The present work proposed a simple approach to modify the morphology and composition of rust layers formed on carbon steel during wet/dry cyclic atmospheric corrosion, and thereby improve the protective properties of the rust layers. Rust layers were grown on carbon steel by a laboratory cyclic corrosion test. Additional immersion in sulfate solutions containing Mg²⁺, Al³⁺, Cu²⁺, or Ni²⁺ was carried out during the cyclic corrosion test to modify the rust layers. The morphology of the rust layers on carbon steel in the reference specimen that was not subjected to additional immersion showed a plate-like structure. The rust layers on the Mg²⁺ specimen consisted of plate-like and needle structures. On the other hand, the other specimens subjected to additional immersion exhibited particulate structures, although the rust layers on the Cu²⁺ specimen consisted of finer secondary particles. Rust layers on the Al³⁺ specimen and the Ni²⁺ specimen were denser compared to the other specimens. XRD revealed that the composition of the rust layer was changed by additional immersion, that is, on all the specimens subjected to the additional immersion, the growth of α-FeOOH was enhanced whereas that of Fe₃O₄ was hindered. Variations in the corrosion potential and corrosion current density obtained from potentiodynamic polarization measurements were strongly related to the morphology and composition of the rust layers