Size Effect of the Immediate Surround for the Border between the Natural and Unnatural Object Color Appearance

The border luminance of the test stimulus between the natural and unnatural object color, y_ynB_u was obtained for different spatial sizes of the immediate surround to prove that _nB_u can be determined based on a new recognized visual space of illumination (RVSI) that is assumed to be constructed for the immediate surround separately from the RVSI for the subjects room itself. The _nB_u of five test stimuli were determined for six different sizes covering from zero to 1866 cm² with four different lightnesses, N4, N6 and N8, while keeping the room illuminance constant at 100 or 600 lx. The results showed that luminance of the border _nB_u gradually decreased as the size of the immediate surround was increased and that the decrease was larger for immediate surround with lower lightness. The results were interpreted as showing a new RVSI constructed for the spatial extent of the immediate surround of the test stimulus, and the RVSI was more completely constructed for larger spatial size of the immediate surround. © 2005 The Optical Society of Japan     

Local structure of amorphous tellurium studied by EXAFS

The local structure of an amorphous tellurium (a‐Te) film was investigated by extended X‐ray absorption fine‐structure analysis. The covalent bond length shortens and the Debye–Waller factor of the intra‐chain decreases in a‐Te compared with trigonal Te (t‐Te). The value of the intra‐chain coordination number is close to two, which is the value for t‐Te, and the inter‐chain interaction weakens. These results suggest that the primary chain structure remains intact, but the secondary structure is disrupted. The decrease in the inter‐chain interaction strengthens the intra‐chain interaction.     

Three-dimensional susceptibility-weighted imaging at 3 T using various image analysis methods in the estimation of grading intracranial gliomas

Object

Although three-dimensional (3D), high-spatial resolution susceptibility-weighted imaging (SWI) appears to be valuable in the evaluation of central nervous system gliomas, several evaluation methods are proposed in the literature. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of 3D SWI for grading intracranial gliomas with various analysis methods.

Materials and Methods

Twenty-three patients suspected of having gliomas participated in this study. SWI was performed in addition to conventional MR sequences. In 15 cases, post-gadolinium enhanced SWI was also obtained. Imaging evaluation criteria were conventional grade, hypointensity ratio in the tumor-dominant structure of hypointensity on SWI (hemorrhage or vascular structure) and presence of abnormal enhancement surrounding the tumor.

Results

Mean grading scores of conventional grade showed no statistically significant difference among WHO grades. Mean grading scores of hypointensity ratios in the tumor were higher for WHO Grades 3 and 4 than for lower grade tumors (P=.05, Mann–Whitney U test). Hemorrhagic foci were more frequently seen in the higher grade tumor. Post-contrast susceptibility-weighted images of five of 11 WHO Grade 3 and 4 cases showed bright enhancement surrounding the tumor, suggesting a breakdown of the blood–brain barrier.

Conclusions

SWI at 3 T may be a useful method to analyze the structural characteristics of gliomas and to evaluate pathology in vivo. Assessment of hypointensity ratios in the glioma was the most preferable method in grading glioma. However, more studies, specifically concerning a suitable method for image analysis, are needed to establish SWI at 3 T as a useful tool in clinical routine.     

Effects of entanglement on the scattering intensity of neutron compton scattering by a proton pair in solids

We calculate scattering functions S(q-->,omega) of neutron Compton scattering (NCS) for a proton (deuteron) pair in the entangled state caused by the indistinguishability of particles. From the calculation, it is concluded that the effect of entanglement on the scattering intensity is undetectable in NCS experiments because of their high energy transfer and broad energy resolution.     

Electrochemical reactors for NO decomposition. Basic aspects and a future

The electrochemical reduction of nitric oxide in the presence of the excess oxygen was reviewed. It was shown that the selectivity and activity of the cathodes is strongly dependent on the composition and on the microstructure of the cathode material. A concept of electrochemical reactor with multilayer electro-catalytic electrode was proposed and successfully designed in Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Nagoya, Japan. The typical values of current efficiency in such electrochemical reactors are of the order of 10–20% at gas composition: 1,000 ppm NO and 2% O₂ balanced in He and at gas flow rate 50 ml/min. The value of current efficiency depends on the functional multi-layer electrode composition, structure, and operating temperature. Such electrochemical reactors show the value of NO/O₂ selectivity (ν _sel) higher than 5 (ν _sel > 5) at intermediate temperature and up to ν _sel = 25 at low temperature operation. It was shown that multilayer electro-catalytic electrode should consist at list from three main functional layers: cathode, electro-catalytic electrode, covering layer, in order to operate as an electrode with high selectivity.     

Genetic algorithm-based design method for multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings

We developed a method for the design of multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings based on a genetic algorithm. The method is used to design the multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings based on input data that represent the output from the required grating. The validity of the proposed method was evaluated by designing a multilevel anisotropic diffraction grating using the outputs from an orthogonal circular polarization grating. The design results corresponded to the orthogonal circular polarization grating structures that were used to provide outputs to act as the input data for the process. Comparison with existing design methods shows that the proposed method can reduce the number of human processes that are required to design multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings. Additionally, the method will be able to design complex structures without any requirement for subsequent examination by a human designer. The method can contribute to the development of optical elements by designing multilevel anisotropic diffraction gratings.     

SUSY flavor structure of generic 5D supergravity models

We perform a comprehensive and systematic analysis of the SUSY flavor structure of generic 5D supergravity models on S ¹/Z ₂ with multiple Z ₂-odd vector multiplets that generate multiple moduli. The SUSY flavor problem can be avoided due to contact terms in the 4D effective K?hler potential peculiar to the multi-moduli case. A?detailed phenomenological analysis is provided based on an illustrative model.     

Micromachining and surface processing of the super-hard nano-polycrystalline diamond by three types of pulsed lasers

Laser beam micromachining was applied to super-hard nano-polycrystalline diamond (NPD) synthesized by the direct conversion of graphite at high pressure and high temperature. Three types of pulsed lasers were tested: nanosecond near-infrared, nanosecond near-ultraviolet, and femtosecond near-infrared lasers. The latter two were also applied for synthetic single crystal of diamond to compare the results with those of the NPD. It was demonstrated that the nanosecond near-infrared laser was the most efficient device for rough shaping of the NPD, while the ultraviolet and femtosecond lasers give satisfactory results for precise surface finishing of it. The properties of the laser-processed surfaces were analyzed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, laser scanning microscopy, and micro Raman spectroscopy. These analyses demonstrated that the three types of lasers play different and complementary roles, and that their combination is the best suitable solution for micromachining of the hardest diamond into any desired shapes.     

Solitons and Fractal Kerr Response

Optical solitary waves that propagate in a Kerr medium exhibiting a power-law nonlocal response are studied analytically. The first-principles stability analysis based on quantum field theory shows that within the whole range of the exponent (the fractal dimension) the solitary wave can be stabilized.