クロム鉄鉱は鉱石鉱物の中で,もっとも高い硬度(VHN),比較的低い反射率をもつ鉱石鉱物である.クロム鉄鉱の理想化学式はR²⁺OR³⁺₂O₃で示されるが,天然産のクロム鉄鉱はCrとAlとが相互に顕著な置換を行なう.この置換の程度は本鉱物の硬度または反射率に反映されるものと思われる,そこで収集したクロム鉄鉱のEPMA分析が最初に行なわれた.反射率の測定にはライツMPVコンパクト顕微光度計が,微小硬度の測定にはライツ微小硬度計がそれぞれ使用された.
Podiform型クロム鉱床のクロム鉄鉱は北海道日高地方,西南日本の中国・四国地方およびトルコのFethiye鉱山から収集された.一方Stratiform型鉱床のクロム鉄鉱はBushveld層状岩体のMerensky Reefのものが用意された.
本論ではこれらのクロム鉄鉱の反射率,硬度,化学性が総合的に議論され,結論として3者間に興味ある相関のあることが見出された.

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  Eosinophils are one of the cells that play a critical role in the pathogenesis of allergic diseases. The increase in the number of eosinophils in such diseases is regulated by interleukin-5 (IL-5). The author have prepared recombinant rat IL-5 using a baculovirus expression system and examined its biological activities in rat eosinophils. It was demonstrated that recombinant rat IL-5 prolongs the survival of mature eosinophils and differentiates immature eosinophils into mature eosinophils, suggesting that rat IL-5 is a factor for eosinophilia in rats. Recombinant rat eosinophil-associated ribonuclease (Ear)-1 and Ear-2 were also prepared. Eosinophil granule proteins are thought to cause tissue damage due to their cytotoxic activity, but using recombinant rat Ear-1 and Ear-2, it was found that rat Ear-1 and Ear-2 have strong RNase A activity and bactericidal activity, suggesting that these proteins play critical roles in host defense. Finally, the important role of acetylation of histones was clarified in the differentiation of HL-60 clone 15 cells into eosinophils using the histone deacetylase inhibitors sodium n-butyrate, apicidin, and trichostatin A. These findings would be useful for further investigations of the role of eosinophils in allergic inflammation.

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  Neutron radiography is expanding from the conventional reactor based imaging to the imaging by accelerator based pulsed neutron source. Among them, an expectation for image intensifier technology is increasing especially for video rate dynamic image detection or time dependent imaging in a pulsed neutron source. Based on the X-ray color image intensifier technology, Toshiba has developed neutron color image intensifiers as a powerful imaging tool for dynamic and time dependent neutron radiographies. In this paper, the construction and the feature of the developed neutron color image intensifier and some examples of neutron images are presented. I would be grateful if this paper helps for wide application of neutron color image intensifiers.

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Several detectors have been developed for neutron transmission imaging, but neutron image intensifier (NII) is also an option in terms of field of view and sensitivity. Since NII has a position resolution of less than 0.1 mm, it can be expected to obtain a high-sensitivity, high-gradation fine image with a camera to be combined. In this research, we selected CMOS cameras for industrial applications with linearity in sensitivity as the camera, and examined the performance evaluation of the camera, especially the cooling effect of the sensor which becomes a problem in long time measurement. Based on this result, we developed a portable imaging system that compactly integrates a cooled camera with NII and camera and constructed a system that can be used instantaneously in various facilities.

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  We propose and demonstrate one-dimensional doping with using a one-dimensional surface structure such as Bi nanolines/Si(001) as a dopant, where the process is mainly based on autosurfactant. Surfactants in heteroepitaxy are catalytic elements that float up to the surface during growth to control the energetics/kinetics of adatoms. “Autosurfactants” are exceptional in that the surfactant action is self-contained without foreign species. Here, autosurfactants play a role of surface-segregation quenchers: Bi, a dopant with a strong surface-segregation tendency in Si, is utilized to lock otherwise elusive Bi adatoms themselves to the Si lattice underneath during molecular beam epitaxy. We realize another one dimensional doping of Mn into Si/Ge interfaces using Mn atomic chains on Si(001) as a dopant. Doping methods based on the burial of surface nanostructures in epitaxial layers allow the realization of systems for where conventional doping methods fail.

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Laser-induced atomic excitation is a key physical process widely used in such technology fields as laser isotope separation and laser quantitative analysis. The quantity which characterizes this process is primarily the electric-dipole moment μ. We propose a new method of measuring the value of μ accurately for transitions between two degenerate levels, which exploits the strong polarization dependence of the atomic photo-excitation behavior. In a vacuum chamber the two-step resonance excitation of atoms is achieved with two laser beams. We control the polarizations of the lasers and realize different excitation conditions in the same excitation scheme. By doing quantum mechanical calculation with μ in it as a parameter, we fit the different excitation curves simultaneously to obtain the most probable value of μ. The applicability of the method is demonstrated for two types of excitation schemes in uranium atom. The values of μ for transitions from the 16, 900cm-1 level to the 33, 939 and 34, 599cm-1 level proved to be 0.16 and 4.1 Debye, respectively. Direct measurement of these values has not been reported up to now. The result proved to be appropriate in comparisons with values obtained by an independent method based on the AC Stark effect.

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Obtaining an accurate value of the electric dipole moment μ is essential in the fields of laser application technologies. A direct way of measuring the electric dipole moment μ is to observe the Rabi-oscillation which manifests itself in the coherent photo-excitation behavior of atoms. In the case of the elements which have large angular momenta, identifying the Rabi-oscillation in their excitation behavior becomes rather difficult. We proposed an accurate and straightforward method of determining the electric-dipole moment μ between multi- fold degenerate levels. The point is to remove the degeneracy by applying an external magnetic field with the aid of the Zeeman effect and, then, to realize a degeneration free coherent excitation. As a result, we can observe the Rabi-oscillations explicitly in the excitation vs. laser-fluence curves. The present method provides a reliable basis of experimental determination of μ. As an example, we applied the present method to a transition to 0-17, 362 cm^-1 level in uranium and obtained the value μ=0.86±0.06 (Debye).

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To clarify roles of eosinophils in allergic inflammation, biological activities of granule proteins in rat eosinophils were examined. Granule proteins from rat eosinophils (1×10⁶ cells) dissolved in 1 ml of medium showed no cytotoxic activity on ⁵¹Cr-labeled rat bronchial epithelial cells and rat skin fibroblasts (5×10⁵ cells) when incubated at 37°C for 6 h as determined by the release of radioactivity into the medium. In addition, the lysate of rat eosinophils showed no cytotoxic activity on a human bronchial epithelial cell line NCI-H 292 cells at concentrations enough to express RNase activity. These findings strongly suggest that the granule proteins of rat eosinophils have very little cytotoxic activity.
We cloned rat eosinohil major basic protein (MBP), eosinophil-associated ribonuclease (EAR) -1, EAR-2, and the α chain of interleukin-5 receptor (accession numbers to DDBJ, EMBL, and NCBI nucleotide sequence database for these proteins are D 50568, D 88586, AB 005291 and AB 056101, respectively) . Expression of rat pre-EAR-1 (mature EAR-1 having a signal peptide) or pre-EAR-2 (mature EAR-2 having a signal peptide) in E. coli (M 15) suppressed the growth of E. coli. We then prepared recombinant rat pre-EAR-1 and pre-EAR-2, and examined the effects of these proteins on the growth of S. aureus (Cowan I) and E. coli (LE 392) . It was demonstrated that they inhibited the growth at 0.1 to 1μM. The growth was almost completely suppressed at 1μM. These findings suggest that pre-EAR-1 and pre-EAR-2 have bactericidal activity. At such concentration, no cytotoxic activity was observed. Then, we prepared recombinant rat mature EAR-1 and EAR-2, and examined the effect of these proteins on the growth of E. coli (LE 392) to compare the activity of mature EAR-1 and EAR-2 with that of pre-EAR-1 and pre-EAR-2. It was shown that these proteins have almost the same inhibitory activity on the growth of E. coli (LE 392) ; at 1μM, the growth of E. coli (LE 392) was completely suppressed.
As to the RNase activity, mature EAR-2 showed stronger activity than mature EAR-1 at 0.1 to 1μM, and no RNase activity was detected in pre-EAR-1 and pre-EAR-2. These findings indicate that the linking of mature EAR to its corresponding signal peptide diminishes the RNase activity. No RNase activity in pre-EAR might be important for the synthesis of EAR in the cells.
Our findings suggest that eosinophils might not express cytotoxicity by releasing their granule proteins in the inflammatory locus. Eosinophils might be useful for the host defense against infection by single strand RNA viral pathogens such as respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and several types of bacteria.

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Quality of water from RO sea water desalination plants can satisfy almost all regulation items of drinking water quality regulations, except a concentration of boron, which should be lower than 0.2 mg/l. Although this is not a compulsory item now, but it may become so in near future. Thus it is necessary to know rejection ability of various RO membranes against boron and to establish necessary measures to cope with this requirement. In this research, transport parameters of boron permeation were determined using boron rejection data of some commercial membranes. Membranes used were both high and low pressure types, which may be necessary for a two stage process. A process design computer program was set up and was run to estimate boron rejections of a RO unit using transport parameters. Results show that by increasing N_Re and the recycle ratio boron concentration can be reduced, but, generally it is difficult to reduce below 0.2 mg/l unless pH at the second stage is increased over 9.9.

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We propose a light-emitting diode (LED) flat lighting panel that is capable of seamless connection by optimizing the shape of the optical elements, as well as the concentration of the scattering particles used in the diffuser material. The LED flat lighting panels that we develop can be connected to other panels while maintaining a uniformity of 90% throughout the entire surface. The results of subjective experiments reveal that the seams between the connected LED flat panels are virtually unnoticeable. We also discuss the optimal lighting designs for using the LED flat lighting panels as bracket lighting and ceiling lighting by measuring their primary optical characteristics. In particular, the unified glare rating of the seamless panel is 19.4, which corresponds to the minimum level of uncomfortable glare. Moreover, the seamless panel exhibits a luminous efficiency as high as 79.6 lm/W, which satisfies Energy Star requirements. These evaluations show that the LED flat panel is capable of providing comfortable space and lighting designs for architecture in an environmentally friendly manner.

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We introduce the basic principle of neutron radiography technique, and the brief review of its applications. Most of works in this article have been performed at TNRF, Tokai, Japan. Neutron radiography is a nondestructive testing method, so that this technique is used for not only academic studies but also industrial applications.

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Acute single administration effects of ethanol on the distribution of total white blood cells (WBCs), neutrophil, basophil, eosinophil, monocyte and lymphocytes were studied in rats. Acute single administration effects of ethanol on the number of red blood cells (RBCs), hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit were also examined. Male 8-week-old Sprague Dawley rats were randomly divided into the ethanol-administered (ETA) group and the control (CON) group. Two parts of an experiment, 1) 1st experiment : (ethanol dose : 1.0 g/kg body weight), and 2) 2nd experiment : (ethanol dose : 2.0 g/kg body weight) were carried out in rats. The rats were starved to 19:00, and deprived of diet for 12 hr and water for 1 hr before the single administration of ethanol. 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg body weight of ethanol (in 20% (w/w) ethanol) was orally administered to ETA group rats via a stainless stomach tube. In the CON group rats, 0.9% NaCl solution was orally given with the solution volume being equal, in the same manner. Single administration of 1.0 or 2.0 g/kg body weight of ethanol did not change the number of RBCs, hemoglobin concentration and hematocrit. Single administration of 1.0 g/kg body weight of ethanol did not also change the number of WBCs. However, administration of 2.0 g/kg body weight of ethanol increased significantly the number of neutrophil, basophil, monocyte and total WBCs without changing the number of eosinophil and lymphocytes. These results suggest that single administration of 2.0 g/kg body weight of ethanol to rats increased markedly the number of the natural immunity cells without changing the number of acquired cells.

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