Statistical study on propagation characteristics of Omega signals (VLF) in magnetosphere detected by the Akebono satellite

This paper shows a statistical analysis of 10.2 kHz Omega broadcasts of an artificial signal broadcast from ground stations, propagated in the plasmasphere, and detected using an automatic detection method we developed. We study the propagation patterns of the Omega signals to understand the propagation characteristics that are strongly affected by plasmaspheric electron density and the ambient magnetic field. We show the unique propagation patterns of the Omega 10.2 kHz signal when it was broadcast from two high-middle-latitude stations. We use about eight years of data captured by the Poynting flux analyzer subsystem on board the Akebono satellite from October 1989 to September 1997. We demonstrate that the signals broadcast from almost the same latitude (in geomagnetic coordinates) propagated differently depending on the geographic latitude. We also study propagation characteristics as a function of local time, season, and solar activity. The Omega signal tended to propagate farther on the nightside than on the dayside and was more widely distributed during winter than during summer. When solar activity was at maximum, the Omega signal propagated at a lower intensity level. In contrast, when solar activity was at minimum, the Omega signal propagated at a higher intensity and farther from the transmitter station.Comment: 14 pages, 12 figure

知的障害養護学校教員の個別の指導計画作成に対する捉えの構造

本研究は，知的障害養護学校教員の個別の指導計画作成に対する捉えの構造を因子分析によって探索することを目的とした。因子分析の結果，「優先性」と「既知性」の2つの因子が抽出され，知的障害養護学校員は個別の指導計画作成を優先的・中核的な職務として捉え，その概要を既に知っていると感じる意識構造にあることが示唆された。さらに，2つの因子の因子得点を用いて，教員の属性が個別の指導計画作成に対する捉えに及ばす影響についての検討を行った。その結果，主事・主任を担当している教員は，担当していない教員よりも，個別の指導計画作成を優先的・中核的な職務として，かつその概要を既に知っていると強く意識していた。また，中学部数員は，小学部教員よりも，個別の指導計画作成を優先的・中核的な職務して強く意識していた。This study was designed to explore the factors that compose the consciousness for individualized teaching programs. Four hundred and five teachers from special schools for children with intellectual disabilities were interviewed by questionnaire. The questionnaire focused on questions concerning the consciousness of individualized teaching programs and teacher attributes. The data was analyzed using "factor analysis." As a result, two factors were found: "Priority" and "Known." Through "analysis of variance" with the factor score, teachers with management roles were highly conscious of "Priority" and "Known." Junior high school teachers were highly conscious of "Priority.

Comparison of cough reflex sensitivity after an inhaled antigen challenge between actively and passively sensitized guinea pigs

BACKGROUND: Late asthmatic response is observed following antigen challenge in actively, but not passively, sensitized guinea pigs. Although cough reflex sensitivity is increased after antigen challenge in actively sensitized guinea pigs, it is unknown whether the antigen-induced increase in cough reflex sensitivity develops in passively sensitized animals. The aim of this study was to compare the cough reflex sensitivity to inhaled capsaicin after an inhaled antigen challenge between actively and passively sensitized guinea pigs. METHODS: Measurement of number of coughs elicited by increasing concentrations of capsaicin (10(-6 )and 10(-4 )M) and bronchial responsiveness to ascending concentrations of methacholine, and analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were separately performed 24 h after an antigen challenge in actively and passively sensitized guinea pigs. RESULTS: Percentage of eosinophils in BALF and bronchial responsiveness to methacholine were increased 24 h after the antigen challenge in both actively and passively sensitized animals compared with saline-challenged actively and passively sensitized animals, respectively. Absolute number of eosinophils in BALF from actively sensitized and antigen-challenged guinea pigs was significantly greater than that from passively sensitized and antigen-challenged animals. Cough response to capsaicin and concentration of substance P in BALF were increased 24 h after the antigen challenge in actively sensitized guinea pigs, but not in passively sensitized guinea pigs. Bronchial responsiveness, cough reflex sensitivity and substance P concentration and total cells in BALF were increased in actively sensitized and saline challenged guinea pigs compared with passively sensitized and saline challenged animals. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that active sensitization per se increases cough reflex sensitivity accompanied by increased inflammatory cells and substance P level in BALF, and antigen challenge further increases them, while simple IgE- and/or IgG-mediated allergic reaction per se or the low intensity of eosinophil infiltration in the airway itself may not affect cough reflex sensitivity in guinea pigs

The LHCf experiment at LHC

The LHCf experiment will be installed in 2007 on the LHC collider in the forward direction at ±140m from the ATLAS interaction point. The purpose of LHCf is to precisely measure the pion production cross section near zero degrees through the measurement of the photons produced in neutral pion decay. This measurement is crucial for the simulation of the showers induced in the atmosphere by very high energy cosmic rays; the 14 TeV energy available in the center of mass frame corresponds in fact to an equivalent energy of 1017 eV in the laboratory system. The paper focus on the proposed experiment and on the physics results that we expect from it

High energy electron observation by Polar Patrol Balloon flight in Antarctica

We accomplished a balloon observation of the high-energy cosmic-ray electrons in 10-1000GeV to reveal the origin and the acceleration mechanism. The observation was carried out for 13 days at an average altitude of 35km by the Polar Patrol Balloon (PPB) around Antarctica in January 2004. The detector is an imaging calorimeter composed of scintillating-fiber belts and plastic scintillation counters sandwiched between lead plates. The geometrical factor is about 600cm^2sr, and the total thickness of lead absorber is 9 radiation lengths. The performance of the detector has been confirmed by a test flight at the Sanriku Balloon Center and by an accelerator beam test using the CERN-SPS (Super Proton Synchrotron at CERN). The new telemetry system using the Iridium satellite, the power system supplied by solar panels and the automatic flight level control operated successfully during the flight. We collected 5.7×10^3 events over 100GeV, and selected the electron candidates by a preliminary data analysis of the shower images. We report here an outline of both detector and observation, and the first result of the electron energy spectrum over 100GeV obtained by an electronic counter

Evaluation of larval quality of viviparous scorpionfish Sebastiscus marmoratus

The aim of this study was to develop an acute test for larval quality in the viviparous scorpionfish Sebastiscus marmoratus. Rearing experiments until day 13 post parturition were conducted to investigate the survival of larvae for 13 different batches, and tolerance to starvation of larvae was examined and expressed by the survival activity index (SAI). The morphological characters, enzyme activity, and swimming behavior of larvae on day 0 and 1 were also observed, followed by the correlation analysis between SAI. Larvae with high SAI (?26) showed significantly higher survival on day 13 than larvae with low SAI, which confirmed that SAI is a reliable index that can be used to evaluate larval quality, similar to the former findings. The esterase activity (r = -0.713, P < 0.01), swim frequency (r = -0.735, P < 0.01) and swimming speed (r = -0.588, P < 0.05) of larvae on day 0 were significantly and negatively correlated with SAI. It was concluded that enzyme activity and behavioral characters of larvae just after parturition can be a real-time index for evaluating the larval quality of this species