The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between eosinophils in ascites and the diagnosis of intestinal anisakidosis in patients with peritoneal signs on physical examination. We reviewed retrospectively 16 patients diagnosed with intestinal anisakidosis, evaluated between 2012 and 2015. All patients had ingested raw anchovies. The analysis of ascites fluid in ten of these patients was compared with that of 15 patients with ascites and other abdominal pathology (except liver cirrhosis). All patients had an increased number of white blood cells in the ascites fluid. The eosinophil count was significantly higher in patients with intestinal anisakidosis (P < 0.01). All patients had a good outcome. Increased eosinophils in ascites fluid is strongly associated with the diagnosis of intestinal anisakidosis.

The Kennicutt-Schmidt law (Schmidt 1959; Kennicutt 1998, hereafter K-S law) is a power law correlation between area averaged star formation rate (ΣSFR) and gas surface density (Σgas). Despite its importance, the physics that underlie this correlation has remained unclear. The power law index, N, is a prime discriminator of the mechanisms that regulate star formation and form the K-S law (e.g. Leroy et al. 2008; Tan 2010). We present a study of the resolved K-S law for 10 nearby disk galaxies using our new CO(1-0) data at 750 and 500 pc resolutions. The CO(1-0) line emission is established as a tracer of the molecular gas column density, and results in a super-linear correlation (N = 1.3 and 1.8). We discuss the cause of the discrepancy between previous studies, and the mechanism of star formation indicated from our new results.

The European Space Agency is building a space telescope to observe the Universe in the Far-IR and sub-millimeter regime of the electromagnetic spectrum. The scientific payload is composed of three instruments. One of them, PACS, is equipped with a novel type of bolometer arrays developed by CEA in the late 90's. We briefly present the PACS Photometer and the architecture of CEA filled bolometer arrays. We accessed the physics of the detectors and thoroughly measured their performances by developing a pragmatic calibration procedure. The Photometer is now calibrated and integrated on the focal plane of the observatory. The launch is scheduled for April 2009. Meanwhile, CEA is working on adapting PACS bolometers to longer wavelength for wide-field ground-based telescopes, and for the future cold-telescope space mission SPICA.

Wepresent 12CO(J = 3–2) and 12CO(J = 1–0) observations of the supergiant Hii region NGC 604 in the nearest face-on spiral galaxy M 33 using the Atacama Submillimeter Telescope Experiment (ASTE) 10-m and the Nobeyama Radio Observatory (NRO) 45-m telescopes. We found high 12CO(J = 3–2)/12CO(J = 1–0) ratio gas with an arc-like distribution (“high-ratio gas arc”) surrounding the central star cluster of NGC 604. Our results suggest that dense gas formation and second-generation star formation occur in the surrounding gas compressed by the stellar wind and/or supernova of the first-generation stars of NGC 604, i.e., the central star cluster of NGC 604. Thus, NGC 604 is an example of large-scale sequential star formation.

We present the high-resolution 12CO(J = 1 − 0), 13CO(J = 1 − 0) and 12CO(J = 3 − 2) maps toward a GMA located on the southern arm region of M31 using Nobeyama 45 m and ASTE 10 m telescopes. The GMA consists of two velocity-components, i.e., red and blue. The blue component shows a strong and narrow peak, whereas the red one shows a weak and broad profile. The red component has a lower 12CO(J = 1 − 0)/13CO(J = 1 − 0) ratio (~ 5) than that of the blue one (~ 16), indicating that the red component is denser than the blue one. The red component could be the decelerated gas if we consider the galactic rotational velocity in this region. We suggest that the red component is “post shock” dense gas decelerated due to a spiral density wave. This could be observational evidence of dense molecular gas formation due to galactic shock by spiral density waves.

We also present results from on-going observations toward NGC 604, which is the supergiant HII region of M33, using Nobeyama 45 m and ASTE 10 m telescopes. The ratio of 12CO(J = 3 − 2) to 12CO(J = 1 − 0) ranges from 0.3 to 1.2 in NGC 604. The 12CO(J = 1 − 0) map shows the clumpy structure while 12CO(J = 3 − 2) shows a strong peak near to the central star cluster of NGC 604. The high ratio gas is distributed on the arc-like or shell-like structure along with Hα emission and HII region detected by radio continuum. These suggest that the dense gas formation and second generation star formation occur in the surrounding gas compressed by the stellar wind and/or supernova in central star cluster.

Catalytic properties of noble metal catalysts are often caused by their nanostructures. Gold catalysts are typical cases. It is especially interesting that the catalytic property of gold suddenly changes to resemble that of platinum when the mean size of gold dispersed on certain oxides is <2nm. This phenomenon should be owing to the change of the local electronic structure of the gold particle or the interface between the gold and the oxides, however its detail has not been cleared yet. We measured the mean inner potential of gold particles supported on TiO2 using electron holography and HREM, and found that the mean inner potential of gold depend largely on the size of the gold particles. When the size is >5nm, the mean inner potential is the same as the reported values of bulk gold (experimental: 21–23V, calculated: 25–30V). When the size is <5nm, it begins to increase >30V, and it begins to increase suddenly >40V at the size <2nm. It indicates that the electronic structure of the gold particle varies from that of the bulk state as the size of the gold reduces due to the nano-size effect or the interaction at the interface, since the mean inner potential is sensitive to the electronic state of the outer valence electron. On the other hand, the behavior of the platinum catalysts is different from that of gold catalysts. When the size of the platinum particle on the TiO2 support is >1.5nm, the mean inner potential of platinum is the same as that of the bulk (∼25V). In case of the particle with the size <1.5nm, it begins to increase and the increase rate is lower than that of the gold particles with the size <2nm. It is suggested to be due to the difference of the interaction with TiO2.

The catalytic properties of nanostructured gold catalyst are known to depend on the size of the gold particles and to be activated when the size decreases to a few nanometers. We investigated the size dependence of the three-dimensional nanostructure on the mean inner potential of gold catalysts supported on titanium oxide using electron holography and high-resolution electron microscopy (HREM). The contact angle of the gold particles on the titanium oxide tended to be over 90° for gold particles with a size of over 5 nm, and below 90° for a size of below 2 nm. This decreasing change in the contact angle (morphology) acts to increase the perimeter and hence the area of the interface between the gold and titanium oxide support, which is considered to be an active site for CO oxidation. The mean inner potential of the gold particles also changed as their size decreased. The value of the inner potential of gold, which is approximately 25 V in bulk state, rose to over 40 V when the size of the gold particles was less than 2 nm. This phenomenon indicates the existence of a charge transfer at the interface between gold and titanium oxide. The 3-D structure change and the inner potential change should be attributed to the specific electronic structure at the interface, owing to both the “nano size effect” and the “hetero-interface effect.”

The size dependence of the catalytic property of the gold catalysts has been reported. It is especially interesting that the catalytic property of gold suddenly changes to show a platinum-like behavior when the mean size of gold is below 2nm. This phenomenon should be owing to the change of the electronic structure of the gold, however its detail has not been cleared yet. We investigated the size dependence of the mean inner potential of gold catalysts supported on TiO2, which is affected by the outer valence electron, using electron holography and high-resolution electron microscopy. We found the following tendency. When the size of the gold particle is over 5nm, the values of the mean inner potential are the same level as the reported experimental values of the bulk gold (21–23V) and the calculated values of the bulk gold (25–30V). When the size is below 5nm, the mean inner potential begins to increase over 30V, and it begins to increase suddenly over 40V at the size below about 2nm. It indicates that the electronic structure of the gold particles varies from that of the bulk state as the size of the gold particles reduces. Due to the size reduction, the volume fraction of the surface atoms and the interface atoms increases, e.g., almost half of the atoms locate on the surfaces or at the interface in case of the top half of the octahedron particle with the size 1.6nm. The surface dipole and the interface dipole should be formed owing to the electron out of the surface to the vacuum and the local charge transfer from the gold particles to the TiO2 surface. These dipole effects might be effective and one of the reasons for the increase of the mean inner potential of gold particles.

Optical properties of fully-strained wurtzite and zincblende InxGa1-xN/GaN multiple quantum well (MQW) structures were compared to discuss the origin of exciton localization. In contrast to the hexagonal InGaN MQWs, the photoluminescence (PL) peak energy of cubic InGaN MQWs showed a moderate blueshift with decreasing well thickness, L, and low-temperature PL decay time of the cubic MQWs did not depend strongly on L. The results imply that the wavefunction overlap in cubic InGaN MQWs was not reduced compared to the hexagonal ones, since they do not suffer from the electric field normal to the QW plane due either to spontaneous or piezoelectric polarization. Both MQWs exhibited a large and composition-dependent bandgap bowing, and time-resolved PL (TR-PL) signals showed a stretched-exponential decay even at room temperature. The exciton localization is considered to be an intrinsic property of InGaN.

We review our capacitor technology using (Ba,Sr)TiO3 (BST) as a capacitor dielectric for dynamic random access memory (DRAM) application. Among a number of issues for BST capacitor process integration in DRAM cells, two important technologies are discussed. As an electrode technology, we propose All PErovskite Capacitor (APEC) technology, in which conducting perovskite oxide of SrRuO3 (SRO) is used as capacitor electrodes. For chemical vapor deposition (CVD) of BST, we propose In-situ Multi-Step (IMS) process, which is a sequential repetition of low temperature deposition of ultra thin BST film and crystallization in the same chamber. By using APEC technology and IMS CVD process of BST, we can simultaneously achieve good electrical characteristics (low leakage current and high permittivity) and good step coverage. The combination of APEC technology and IMS CVD process of BST is a promising BST capacitor process technology for future DRAMs.

We have done a CO(1-0) imaging survey of the central regions of nearby spiral galaxies using the Nobeyama and Owens Valley Millimeter Arrays. The survey aims to reveal the nuclear gas properties in normal galaxies that have been paid relatively little attention compared to Seyferts, mergers, and ultraluminous IRAS galaxies. The sample consists of 20 galaxies that meet the following criteria: (1) i < 70° (2) δ > +5° (3) I CO dV ≥ 10 K(T∗A)km s−1 in the FCRAO Extragalactic CO Survey (4) no evidence of significant perturbation (e.g. merging). No selection was made on the basis of nuclear activity or IRAS data. The average distance of the galaxies is 15 Mpc and the average linear resolution is 300 pc.

The catalytic interaction of noble metal and main group elements in Rh/one-atomic layer GeO2/SiO2 and Pt/SbOx was investigated. The high temperature reduction produced RhGe and PtSb bimetallic particles in which Pt and Rh were electronically modified to retard catalytic activity. However, unique selective catalyses of Rh/one-atomic layer GeO2/SiO2 for CO hydrogenation reaction to oxygenate compounds and for NO+CO reaction to N2 were found. Under the low temperature reduction of Rh/one-atomic layer GeO2/SiO2 and the high temperature calcination of Pt/SbOx, the oxide phases, GeO2 and SbOx, were stable and the selective reduction of ethylacetate to ethanol and the selective oxidation of iso-C4H10 to methacrolein were observed. The high selectivities were ascribed to synergistic interaction between the noble metals and the main group element oxides through the diffusion of adsorbed species and reaction intermediates. The possibility of chemical control of noble metal-catalyses by main group elements is discussed.

Surface reconstructions for MBE grown GaN are identified. Different cases are considered according to the type of substrate or crystal symmetry and surface phase diagrams are obtained. Through different examples, it is shown how growth monitoring can be efficiently achieved through the use of surface reconstructions. Finally, from the observation that a residual arsenic overpressure in the MBE chamber changes the surface reconstructions of cubic (001) GaN grown onto 3C-SiC (001) substrates to that commonly observed for GaN growth on (001) GaAs, it is proposed that arsenic might be a surfactant for nitride growth.

By monitoring RHEED reconstruction patterns during gas source molecular beam epitaxy growth, the optimization of the growth for cubic GaN was carried out successfully. Cubic GaN epilayer having a X-ray diffraction width of 16min and a low temperature photoluminescence emission width of 19meV was obtained on a 3C-SiC substrate by adjusting the effective III/V ratio in-situ during the growth, which can be inferred from the surface reconstruction transitions. It was found that the surface reconstructions of cubic GaN surfaces are good indices for the optimization of growth parameters.

Molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) technique is a useful method to grow III-V nitrides, especially those having a metastable crystal structure, like cubic GaN (c-GaN), because of the capability of in situ observation of growing surfaces and its non-equilibrium growth mechanism. We have grown c-GaN on GaAs and 3C-SiC substrates by gas source MBE using dimethylhydrazine or activated nitrogen beam as an N source, and measured their luminescent and optical properties. This paper summarizes the MBE growth and properties of c-GaN, comparing with those of hexagonal one, and the control of the crystal structures is discussed in terms of growth method, orientation of substrate surfaces and growth conditions.

Optical-isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy (O-ICTS) was used to distinguish the deep levels which occur in unintentionally doped n-type GaN by means of their characteristic optical cross section. GaN grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) and hydride vapor phase epitaxy (HVPE) were compared. Correspondence between optical and thermal emission characteristics of previously discovered levels, E2 (∼Ec-0.55 eV) and E4 (∼EC-1.0 eV), were clearly determined by observing their sequential appearance in the ICTS spectra. Whether by thermal or optical stimulation, the emission from E4 was found to be broad in nature; it is consequently believed to involve a defect. The total measured concentration of deep levels, including a prominent level which photoionizes in the range 2.5 to 3.0 eV below the conduction band, is greater in the GaN grown by MOVPE than by HVPE that was tested.

Molecular clouds in the Galactic center region are distributed mainly along the Galactic plane and have filamentary shapes with several clumps (Bally et al. 1987, Tsuboi et al. 1989). The “50-km.s−1 molecular cloud (M-0.02-0.07)”, which is located ~3’ east from Sgr A West, is one of most remarkable clumps on these molecular filaments. The intimate relation between this cloud and Sgr A East has been mentioned by many authers (e.g. Ho et al. 1986). Several compact HII regions are located toward the cloud (Ekers et al. 1983). The recombination line velocities correspond to the molecular line velocities in the cloud (Goss et al. 1987). Thus this cloud is one of active star forming regions near the Galactic center.

We observed the 50-km-s−1 molecular cloud in CS J=1-0 emission line (48.991 GHz) using the Nobeyama Millimeter Array (NMA) to reveal the detailed structure of the star forming regions near the Galactic center.