In this study, the temporal variation of an electric potential distribution was measured in a surface dielectric barrier discharge experiment using the Pockels effect. A branching pattern and homogeneous distribution were respectively observed when positive and negative voltages were applied. When continuous alternating current was applied to the electrode, the spatial distributions of the electric potential significantly changed between the first and subsequent discharge cycles. The results indicate that the electrostatic repulsive forces caused by the residual charges on the dielectric surface affect the dynamic patterns of the discharge morphology.
We measured the surface charge density in a parallel-plate dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) using the Pockels effect, and the axial and lateral components of the net electric field were evaluated for different gap lengths and applied voltages. The DBD was driven by a 5 kHz sinusoidal voltage in gap lengths of 0.5, 0.3, and 0.1 mm at atmospheric pressure with Bi4Ge3O12 crystal as a dielectric. Typical microdischarges (MDs) were observed for every gap length, and the number of MDs increased with the increasing applied voltage. As the gap length decreased, the spot radius of a single MD decreased, whereas the peaks of charge density were almost the same, indicating that the amount of charge transported per unit MD is limited for short gaps. The spatial memory effect, in which MDs occur at the same position in successive cycles, was not always observed under the experimental conditions, and it was evaluated considering the surface charge density distributions. Whether the memory effect works is determined by the surface charge density, and it is likely to occur under a balance between positive and negative charges across successive half-cycles. The net electric field was estimated from surface charge measurements. The axial component of the net electric field strength increased up to 150–170 Td before the MD occurred, and it decreased below 100 Td by the surface charge deposited by MD, being approximately 50–60% of the external field amplitude. The maximum value of the lateral component of the electric field was approximately 150 Td at the edge of the MD spot with a gap length of 0.5 mm, and it decreased as the gap length decreased. As a negative surface charge generated a weaker lateral field than a positive one, the electric field distribution differed between anodic and cathodic dielectrics.
In this study, gas-density variations occurring in pulsed streamer discharge at atmospheric pressure were quantitatively measured using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Experiments were performed using different gas compositions involving N 2 or air in humid or dry conditions. Spatiotemporal variations in the gas density after the discharge were characterised in terms of the energy relaxation process of the molecules. The measured gas-density variations were well reproduced by a zero-dimensional simulation model of vibrational-to-translational energy transfer in humid-air and humid-N 2 conditions. This indicated that the vibrational energy relaxation of N 2 through water molecules has a major effect on the gas density. However, the gas-density variations in dry-air and dry-N 2 conditions were not reproduced by the model; the corresponding etiology is outlined and discussed.
This study examined differences of language skills in forms and pragmatics between children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing children. The participants included 10 children (5-7-year-olds, average IQ: 90.3) with ASD, and 10 normally developing children (5-6-year-olds). We used twelve sets of four-sequential pictures. There were four different stories for each condition: mechanical story, behavioral story, and intentional story. The children were asked to verbally describe the story in front of them for each set. We collected narrations of the same stories from 10 adults without disabilities to make the basic story lines, and set four categories: standard unit, related unit, comment unit, and unrelated unit. The results suggested that there was no significant difference in total volume of narration, mean length of utterance (MLU), or vocabulary (token and term types), but the total number of errors in using particles appeared more in the ASDs. In the pragmatic aspect, the ASD 東京小児療育病院リハビリテーション部 1) :〒208-0011 東京都武蔵村山市学園 4-10-1 筑波大学 2) :〒112-0012 東京都文京区大塚 3-29-1
It is generally accepted that Propionibacterium acnes (P. Acne) is involved in the development of acne, while the mechanisms of sebaceous lipogenesis and its control is unclear. Enterococcus faecalis FK-23 had shown to promote an anti-inflammatory action in several animal models. In the current study, we examined whether FK-23 modulate lipogenesis in sebocytes. FK-23 stimulated lipogenesis, while inhibited them in the presence of P. Acne. FK-23 acutely inhibited acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) phosphorylation levels, while stimulated them with P. Acne. FK-23 stimulated PPARγ expression and activity, while inhibited them with P. Acne as pioglitazone did. These combined evidences demonstrated that the dual action by FK-23 on lipogenesis should reflect differentiation machinery prior to PPARγ, leading to producing adequate levels of sebum.
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