Room Temperature Reversible Spin Hall Effect

Reversible spin Hall effect comprising the "direct" and "inverse" spin Hall effects was successfully detected at room temperature. This experimental demonstration proves the fundamental relations called Onsager reciprocal relations between spin and charge currents. A platinum wire with a strong spin-orbit interaction is used not only as a spin current absorber but also as a spin current source in the present lateral structure specially designed for clear detection of both charge and spin accumulations via the spin-orbit interaction. The obtained spin Hall conductivity is much larger than the reported value of Aluminum wire because of the larger spin-orbit interaction.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

ASCA Observations of the Seyfert 2 Galaxy NGC 7582: An Obscured and Scattered View of the Hidden Nucleus

ASCA observations of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 7582 revealed it was highly variable on the timescale of $\sim2\times10^4$ s in the hard X-ray (2-10 keV) band, while the soft X-ray (0.5-2 keV) flux remained constant during the observations. The spectral analysis suggests that this object is seen through an obscuring torus with the thickness of N$_{\rm H}\sim1.0\times 10^{23}\rm cm^{-2}$. The hard X-ray is an absorbed direct continuum from a hidden Seyfert 1 nucleus; the soft X-ray is dominated by the scattered central continuum from an extended spatial region. Thus we have an obscured/absorbed and a scattered view of this source as expected from the unification model for Seyfert galaxies. More interestingly, the inferred X-ray column was observed to increase by $\sim4\times10^{22} \rm cm^{-2}$ from 1994 to 1996, suggesting a ``patchy'' torus structure, namely the torus might be composed of many individual clouds. The observed iron line feature near 6.4 keV with the equivalent width of 170 eV is also consistent with the picture of the transmission of nuclear X-ray continuum through a non-uniform torus.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures. To be appear in PASJ 50 No.5 (1998 Oct.25 issue

Soybean protein fraction digested with neutral protease preparation, "Peptidase R", produced by Rhizopus oryzae, stimulates innate cellular immune system in mouse

ArticleInternational Immunopharmacology. 9(7-8):931-936 (2009)journal articl

Electron-phonon interaction in transition metal diborides TB_2 (T=Zr, Nb, Ta) studied by point-contact spectroscopy

The electron-phonon interaction (EPI) in transition metal diborides TB_2 (T=Zr, Nb, Ta) is investigated by point-contact (PC) spectroscopy. The PC EPI functions were recovered and the EPI parameters lambda<0.1 were estimated for all three compounds. Common and distinctive features between the EPI functions for those diborides are discussed also in connection with the superconductivity in MgB_2.Comment: V2: minor changes, Ref.[21] added, publ. in PR

The ASCA X-ray spectrum of the powerful radio galaxy 3C109

We report the results from an ASCA X-ray observation of the powerful Broad Line Radio Galaxy, 3C109. The ASCA spectra confirm our earlier ROSAT detection of intrinsic X-ray absorption associated with the source. The absorbing material obscures a central engine of quasar-like luminosity. The luminosity is variable, having dropped by a factor of two since the ROSAT observations 4 years before. The ASCA data also provide evidence for a broad iron emission line from the source, with an intrinsic FWHM of ~ 120,000 km/s. Interpreting the line as fluorescent emission from the inner parts of an accretion disk, we can constrain the inclination of the disk to be $> 35$ degree, and the inner radius of the disk to be $< 70$ Schwarzschild radii. Our results support unified schemes for active galaxies, and demonstrate a remarkable similarity between the X-ray properties of this powerful radio source, and those of lower luminosity, Seyfert 1 galaxies.Comment: MNRAS in press. 7 pages, 5 figures in MNRAS LaTex styl

Transitional Complexity of Social Insect Immunity

Genomic analyses between insects are often conducted by comparing host genomes to that of Drosophila. For honey bees, this led to the claim that the evolutionary transition to eusociality resulted in a reduction of immunity-related genes. Although this claim pervades the literature, contradictory evidence exists. Many genomic studies, however, are not comparable due to methodological differences, and only focus on the physiological aspect of the immune system, thus potentially missing other immunity components. We advocate more comprehensive comparative studies, as well as the analysis of insect-associated defensive microbiotas to improve our understanding of the complexity of social insect immunity