The effect of bait-delivered anthelmintic to reduce the prevalence of Echinococcus multilocularis in wild red foxes was evaluated in Koshimizu, in the eastern part of Hokkaido, Japan. The study area (200 km2) was divided into baited and non-baited sections. The anthelmintic baits were distributed around fox den sites in the baited section every month for 13 months. After 1 year of the anthelmintic bait distribution, the prevalence of E. multilocularis in foxes, evaluated either by the parasite egg examination (from 27.1 to 5.6%) or coproantigen ELISA (from 59.6 to 29.7%), decreased in the baited section contrasting to that in the non-baited section (parasite egg: from 18.8 to 24.2%; ELISA: from 41.9 to 45.8%). The prevalence of E. multilocularis in grey red-backed vole Clethrionomys rufocanus, caught around fox dens, born after bait distribution also decreased and was significantly lower than that in non-baited section. However, within the study periods, the coproantigen-positive rate in fox faeces sporadically increased, while egg-positive rate constantly decreased. Since coproantigen ELISA can detect pre-patent infection, this observation indicates that reinfection pressure in the baited section was still high even after the 13 months of anthelmintic bait distribution. Therefore, the bait distribution longer than our study period is required for the efficient control of E. multilocularis in wild red fox population.
The surface morphology of gold thin films deposited on poly(ethylene naphtalate) (PEN) organic films has been investigated for quantum cross devices. The surface roughness of gold thin films on the PEN films is 1.5–1.9 nm and the appearance of mound structures is observed. The mound grain sizes are 28.0±4.6 nm for 5-nm-thick gold films and 45.8±5.8 nm for 10-nm-thick gold films. From the result of the scaling investigation of the surface roughness, the surface roughness of 5-nm-thick gold films is 0.22 nm, corresponding to one atomic size, in the scanning scale of 5 nm. These experimental results indicate that gold thin films on PEN films are suitable for use in quantum cross devices, and may open up a novel research field on the electric characteristics of quantum cross devices using a few atoms or molecules leading to high-density memories.
Surface morphology of Ni thin films vacuum-deposited on polyethylene naphtalate (PEN) organic films has been investigated as a function of Ni film thickness for spin quantum cross devices. The surface roughness of the Ni films decreases from 1.3nm, being the roughness of PEN films, down to 0.69nm as the thickness of Ni films increases up to 41nm. As a result of the scaling investigation of the surface roughness, the surface roughness for Ni films of sub-10-nm thickness, in the scanning scale of the film thickness, is less than 0.23nm, corresponding to one atomic layer thickness. These experimental results indicate that Ni thin films on PEN films are suitable as a candidate of metal/insulator hybrid materials used for spin quantum cross devices and may open up a novel research field on the electric characteristics of a few atoms or molecules, which leads to high-density memories.
We have studied Au thin films evaporated on polyethylene naphtalate (PEN) organic substrates as a function of Au thickness < ~20 nm and discussed its feasibility toward metal/insulator hybrid materials used for quantum cross devices using atomic force microscope. The Au grain size increases from 28.0±4.6 nm to 48.5±11.4 nm with increasing the Au thickness from 6.9 to 20.8 nm and it denotes that the Au grain size is larger than its Au-thickness size, respectively. The surface roughness of Au films of sub-15-nm thickness, in the scanning scale of the Au-thickness size, is less than 0.9 nm, corresponding to 4-5 atomic layers. These experimental results indicate that Au thin films on PEN substrates are suitable for possible metal/insulator hybrid materials to be used in quantum cross devices.
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