We describe a newborn with a congenital left atrial appendage aneurysm. The aneurysm size did not change prenatally. However, it rapidly enlarged after birth. MRI was useful for assessing the aneurysm extent and exact size, and for diagnosis. Respiratory distress and feeding difficulties appeared, and surgery was performed. These symptoms disappeared post-operatively. The patient is alive without complications or recurrence.

We present a numerical analysis of the lateral movement and equilibrium radial positions of red blood cells (RBCs) with major diameter 8 $\mathrm {\mu }$m under a Newtonian fluid in a circular channel with 50 $\mathrm {\mu }$m diameter. Each RBC, modelled as a biconcave capsule whose membrane satisfies strain-hardening characteristics, is simulated for different Reynolds numbers $Re$ and capillary numbers $Ca$, the latter of which indicates the ratio of the fluid viscous force to the membrane elastic force. The effects of initial orientation angles and positions on the equilibrium radial position of an RBC centroid are also investigated. The numerical results show that depending on their initial orientations, RBCs have bistable flow modes, so-called rolling and tumbling motions. Most RBCs have a rolling motion. These stable modes are accompanied by different equilibrium radial positions, where tumbling RBCs are further away from the channel axis than rolling ones. The inertial migration of RBCs is achieved by alternating orientation angles, which are affected primarily by the initial orientation angles. Then the RBCs assume the aforementioned bistable modes during the migration, followed by further migration to the equilibrium radial position at much longer time periods. The power (or energy dissipation) associated with membrane deformations is introduced to quantify the state of membrane loads. The energy expenditures rely on stable flow modes, the equilibrium radial positions of RBC centroids, and the viscosity ratio between the internal and external fluids.

An experimental and numerical study on the inertial focusing of neutrally buoyant spherical particles suspended in laminar circular tube flows was performed at Reynolds numbers ($Re$) ranging from 100 to 1000 for particle-to-tube diameter ratios of ${\sim}0.1$. In the experiments, we measured the cross-sectional distribution of particles in dilute suspensions flowing through circular tubes several hundreds of micrometres in diameter. In the cross-section located at 1000 times the tube diameter from the tube inlet, all particles were highly concentrated on one annulus or two annuli, depending on $Re$. At low $Re$, the particles were focused on the so-called Segré–Silberberg (SS) annulus, in accordance with previous studies (regime (A)). At higher $Re$, two particle focusing annuli appeared, with the outer annulus corresponding to the SS annulus (regime (B)). We call the annulus closer to the tube centre ‘the inner annulus’, although this term was used by Matas et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 515, 2004, pp. 171–195) for a significantly broader annulus which included the transient accumulation of particles observed in regime (A). At even higher $Re$, particles were focused on the inner annulus (regime (C)), indicating that the radial position of the SS annulus is no longer a stable equilibrium position. These experimental results were confirmed by a numerical simulation based on the immersed boundary method. The results of this study also indicate that the critical Reynolds numbers between two neighbouring regimes decrease with the increase of the particle-to-tube diameter ratio.

We developed a new GaN on SiC growth method by metalorganic vapour phase epitaxy (MOVPE) using of a single 2-dimension-growth step. Prior to epitaxy, to inhibit pre-reaction of Si-face SiC substrate with TMGa and NH3, TMAl was flowed without NH3. 1.5 μm of undoped crack-free GaN was grown on 6H-SiC (Si-face). Without buffer layer, the vertical resistance of GaN/SiC structure was found to be around 82.1Ω as determined by I-V characteristic. Further reduction in vertical resistance is expected by growth of n-GaN (1.5μm)/SiC structure (300μm). We also expect a SiC-based GaN heterostructure vertical FET will achieve high power and high switching speed performance.

Temporal structural changes of protoplanetary disks surrounding T Tauri stars (TTSs) can cause magnitude variations of TTSs. On the other hand, variability is also expected due to cool spots and/or hot spots on the surface of the star, thus it is important to distinguish the causes of the observed variability. Our sample consists of 23 TTSs (22 classical T Tauri stars, 1 weak-lined T Tauri star) and 4 Herbig Ae/Be stars. The observations were performed over a period of about 3 months in the V, J, and KS band, simultaneously. We detected variability for all stars in the three bands (>0.05 mag in V, >0.09 mag in J, >0.09 mag in KS). Color-magnitude relations obtained between V, J, and KS bands suggest that stellar spots are not the only cause of variability for most of our targets. In addition, the data implies that six stellar systems contain larger grains than in the interstellar medium if the variability is only caused by extinction due to circumstellar matter.

Oxide dispersion strengthened austenitic stainless steel (ODS316), which is based on advanced SUS316 steel, has been developed by mechanically alloying and hot extrusion. Hafnium and titanium were added to make a fine distribution of oxide particles. The stability of oxide particles dispersed in ODS316 under irradiation was evaluated after 250 keV Fe+ irradiation up to high doses at 500 °C. TEM observation and EDS analysis indicated that fine complex oxide particles with Y, Hf and Ti were mainly dispersed in the matrix. There are no significant changes in the distribution and the size of oxide particles after irradiation. It was also revealed that the constitution ratio of Ti in complex oxide appeared to be decreased after irradiation. This diffuse-out of Ti during irradiation could be explained by the difference in oxide formation energy among alloying elements.

This study was designed to investigate whether a non-invasive birefringence parameter, determined using the Oosight™ imaging system, is useful for estimating the hardness of human zona pellucida (ZP). The value for retardance (R) × thickness (T), but not R or T alone, of ZP was positively correlated (r = 0.92, p < 0.0001) with its hardness estimated by the time required for a 0.1% protease solution to solubilize ZP at 37 °C. In a model experiment to induce ZP puncture by Fluorinert™ fluid microinjection (sham-hatching), the R × T value at the punctured site was positively correlated (r = 0.78, p < 0.01) with the hardness of the ZP as estimated by the maximum expansion rate. The R × T values of ZP in in vitro fertilization-derived embryos (21.6 ± 7.5) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection-derived embryos (20.8 ± 6.3) were significantly higher than that in unfertilized metaphase II oocytes (16.6 ± 6.1; p < 0.05). The R × T value after in vitro hatching of viable blastocysts (10.8 ± 6.2) was significantly lower than that of unexpanded morulae and early blastocysts (19.0 ± 4.0; p < 0.05), while the value of expanding blastocysts (15.3 ± 4.1) was intermediate. In conclusion, hardness of human ZP can be estimated non-invasively by birefringence-based microscopic observation.

We investigated electrical conduction of anatase Ti0.94Nb0.06O2 (TNO) epitaxial thin films in relation to oxygen defects generated by post-annealing. Annealing of TNO in oxygen was found to cause dramatic decreases in ne. Resonant photoemission spectroscopy measurements revealed that a deep acceptor state just above the top of valence band evolves, synchronized with the decrease of ne. We proposed that the acceptor state originates from interstitial oxygen atoms combined with Nb dopants and compensates electron carriers.

We present results of astrometric observations of S269 H2O maser performed with VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry). We have monitored the positions of S269 H2O masers for 1 year and successfully detected its parallax to be 189±8 micro-arcsecond. This corresponds to a source distance of 5.28+0.24−0.22 kpc, and is the smallest parallax (and thus the largest distance) that has ever been measured by means of annual parallax. Proper motions of S269 H2O maser were also measured and used to determine the Galactic rotation velocity at the position of S269. Our measurements show that the Galactic rotation velocity at S269 is the same to that at the Sun within 3%, indicating that the Galactic rotation curve is flat out to R~13 kpc.

We have carried out multi-epoch VLBI observations of the H2O maser sources associated with young stellar objects (YSOs) in nearby molecular clouds with VERA (VLBI Exploration of Radio Astrometry), which is a newly constructed VLBI network in Japan (Kobayashi et al. 2003). The main goal of our study is to measure the absolute proper motions and distances to nearby molecular clouds within 1 kpc from the Sun, to reveal their 3-dimensional structures and dynamical properties. Using the VERA dual-beam receiving system (Honma et al. 2003), we have carried out phase-referencing VLBI observations and measured annual parallaxes and absolute proper motions of the H2O maser features with respect to the extragalactic radio sources. We have successfully detected the annual parallax of one of the H2O maser features in Orion KL to be 2.29±0.10 mas, corresponding to the distance of 437±19 pc from the Sun (Hirota et al. 2007). In addition, the annual parallax of SVS13 in NGC 1333 is also determined to be4.10±0.17 mas, corresponding to the distance of 244±10 pc from the Sun, although the life time of the maser features are only 6 months. The absolute proper motions of the H2O maser features associated with Orion KL and NGC 1333 are derived, possibly indicating the outflow motions from the YSOs as well as the systemic motions of the powering sources.

For staked structures consisting of evaporated ZrO2 and ∼0.6nm-thick silicon oxynitride formed on Si(100), the blocking capability of the silicon oxynitride against oxidation in dry-O2 anneal at 500°C has been studied as a function of nitrogen content in the barrier layer in the range within ∼11at.%. With increasing nitrogen content, the interfacial oxide thickness is decreased linearly and, to suppress the growth of the interfacial oxide layer within two monolayers, a nitrogen content of ∼10at.% is necessary. Observed efficient blocking against oxidation, even for the case with a nitrogen content as small as ∼6at.%, is attributable to the improved homogeneity in the Si-O-Si bonding features at the interface by nitrogen incorporation of a few at.%, which is suggested from the experimental fact that the bandwidth of LO phonons near the interface due to the nitrogen incorporation is decreased as obtained by FT-IR-ATR measurements.

Let p be a prime number. Let M be a finite Galois extension of a finite algebraic number field k. Suppose that M contains a primitive pth root of unity and that the p-Sylow subgroup of the Galois group G = Gal(M/k) is normal. Let K be the intermediate field corresponding to the p-Sylow subgroup. Let = Gal(K/k). The p-class group C of M is a module over the group ring ZpG, where Zp is the ring of p-adic integers. Let J be the Jacobson radical of ZpG. C/JC is a module over a semisimple artinian ring Fp. We study multiplicity of an irreducible representation Φ apperaring in C/JC and prove a formula giving this multiplicity partially. As application to this formula, we study a cyclotomic field M such that the minus part of C is cyclic as a ZpG-module and a CM-field M such that the plus part of C vanishes for odd p.

To show the formula, we apply theory of central extensions of algebraic number field and study global and local Kummer duality between the genus group and the Kummer radical for the genus field with respect to M/K.

We studied the EL behaviors of benzoheterocyclic derivatives as emitting and hole transport layers for organic light-emitting-diodes (OLEDs). First, we studied the benzoheterocyclic derivatives having stylyl group, triphenylamine group and benzoxazole or benzothiazole group as an emission layer. These devices emitted a blue-green light. The current densities of the OLED having these benzoheterocyclic derivatives as an emission layer were higher than that of the Alq3 OLED at same applied voltage. However, these devices did not have a high EL efficiency (maximum 0.1 lm/W). From these results, in these benzoheterocyclic derivatives having a triphenylamine group, we thought that holes could flow out from hole transport to cathode. We newly synthesized dimer-type benzoheterocyclic derivatives without a triphenylamine group, which have benzoheterocycle at both sides. The current densities of the OLEDs having dimer-type benzoheterocyclic derivatives was more strongly suppressed than that of the OLEDs having benzoheterocyclic derivatives with a triphenylamine group at same applied voltage, but the EL efficiency could not be improved by dimerization and eliminating of a triphenyldiamine group obtained. Next, we studied the TPD derivatives having benzoxazole, benzothiazole and stylyl groups as hole transport layer. In new TPD derivatives, the EL efficiency the OLEDs having the TPD derivatives with stylyl groups was the best efficiency of all. The EL efficiency of ITO/a TPD derivative with stylyl groups/Alq3/AlLi is 1. 1 lm/W (max. luminance 12000cd/m2).

A case of recurrent abscess on the left anterior neck due to a left piriform sinus fistula is presented. It is known that a piriform sinus fistula may cause acute suppurative thyroiditis, and also that it induces the recurrent anterior cervical abscess described in this case. Here, we suggest that barium swallow is an important aid to diagnosis cases of recurrent cervical abscess.

Reduction and separation of Pd were investigated in soda-lime-alumino-borosilicate glass. The dependence on raw materials, melting atmosphere, concentration of Pd and melting temperature was examined by electrochemical oxygen activity measurement, optical absorbance, X-ray diffraction and microscopic observation. Pd ions were slowly reduced during melting and metal particles were formed. The separation was enhanced in a reducing atmosphere, at high temperature, for long melting periods and with high concentration of Pd. Pd metal particles of about 10 to 30 μm in diameter were observed by SEM and X-ray diffraction.

Thermal relaxation of glass structure has been studied on silica glasses densified by hot isostatic pressing. Density of the glasses relaxed toward the value of an undensified glass by thermal annealing. Relaxation rates of density of the glasses were measured after the annealing at several temperatures. Fast and slow relaxation processes were found from the analysis by using a stretched exponential relaxation function Φ(t)=exp{−(t/τeffβ}). The slow process becomes dominant after the fast process. Raman scattering spectrum also has been measured through the thermal relaxation. The width of the main band at 450cm−1 increased by the annealing and recovered the value for the undensified glass after the fast process. The bands at 1060 and 1200 cm−1 shifted back to the positions for the undensified glass. The high density state(Δρ/ρ∼0.5%), however, was maintained even after the fast process. From these results, it is deduced that the fast process is due to the recovery of the O3Si-O-SiO3 tilt angle and Si-O-Si bond angle to the mean values for the undensified glass.

Formations and durabilities of hydrated layers were compared between a soda-aluminosilicate (NAS), a soda-lime-aluminosilicate(NCAS) and a soda-lime-alumino-borosilicate(NCABS) glasses. The first step of our study was to prepare the optically transparent hydrated layers on the surface of specimens by an autoclave(400 °C, 20 kgf/cm2) treatment. Distributions of OH groups in hydrated layers were analyzed by an etch sectioning and FTIR measurement. The rates of hydration of the glasses were in the order NAS»NCAS>NCABS. The hydration of the NCABS glass, which is a modified nuclear waste glass, required the treatment longer than those of the NAS and NCAS glasses. In the second step, we investigated the durabilities of hydrated layers by immersing the specimens into a distilled water at 100 °C. The dissolutions of hydrated layers were confirmed for each glass. The dissolution rates of hydrated layers were in the order NCAS>NCABS»NAS. It has become apparent by an XPS analysis that the highest durability of the hydrated NAS glass was due to the formation of a sodium free Al2O3-SiO2 layer on the surface. The hydrated layer of the NCAS glass, while the sodium ions were almost leached out during immersion, dissolved to water most quickly than those of other glasses. In the hydrated layer of the NCABS glass, a half amount of sodium and boron ions remained and inhibited the dissolution of hydrated layer.

Hydrated glass was prepared by the treatment in an autoclave. Specimen in a good state was obtained under unsaturated water vapor pressure conditions. The obtained glass has an silica-rich hydrated layer and proved to be more durable than the original glass. There are some kinds of hydroxyl species in the hydrated glass and there are some patterns in the depth profile of water, indicating that the rate-controlling process is not a simple diffusion and the hydration process is a complicated reaction depending on the conditions. Water in hydrated glass is tightly bonded and a disintegration of hydrated glass in this study occurs at more than 560°C.