Photoinduced change in the spin state of itinerant correlated electron systems.

A photoinduced spin-state change in the itinerant correlated electron system is studied. A photon introduced in the low-spin band insulator induces a bound state of the high-spin state and a photoexcited hole. This bound state brings a characteristic peak in the pump-probe optical absorption spectra which are completely different from the spectra in thermal-excited states. The present results well explain the recent experiments of the ultrafast optical spectroscopy in perovskite cobaltites.

Dynamical coupling and separation of multiple degrees of freedom in a photoexcited double-exchange system.

We present a theory of ultrafast photoinduced dynamics in a spin-charge coupled system, motivated by pump-probe experiments in perovskite manganites. A microscopic picture for multiple dynamics in spin and charge degrees is examined. Real-time simulations are carried out by two complimentary methods. Our calculation demonstrates that electron motion governs a short-time scale where charge and spin dynamics are combined strongly, while, in a long-time scale controlled by spin relaxation, the charge sector does not follow the remarkable change in the spin sector. The present results are in contrast to a conventional double-exchange picture in equilibrium states.

Direct assessment of international consistency of standards for ground-level ozone: strategy and implementation toward metrological traceability network in Asia.

An international exercise to directly assess consistency of standards for ground-level ozone in East Asia was conducted as part of the East Asian Regional Experiment 2005 (EAREX 2005) in the framework of the Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABC) project. Ten organizations collaboratively participated in the intercomparison. Four groups representing Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan made comparisons at the Gosan super observatory, Jeju Island, Korea, in March 2005, with ozone instruments calibrated to their national standards, and four Japanese groups made off-site comparisons with laboratory-level standards. All comparisons generally indicated good agreement with the standard reference photometer (SRP) 35, built by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (USA) and maintained by the National Institute for Environmental Studies (Japan). The assessment was expanded to measurement networks contributing to the World Meteorological Organization's Global Atmospheric Watch (WMO/GAW) program as part of off-site comparisons, and excellent agreement was achieved. These efforts contribute to propagating traceability of the national metrology standards among the atmospheric science community, to ensuring comparability of the existing ozone measurements, and to establishing an integrated network of air quality monitoring in Asia.

[Korsakoff's syndrome as a prominent feature of bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction--a case report].

We reported the first Japanese case of bilateral paramedian thalamic infarction associated with prominent Korsakoff's syndrome. 53-year-old man suffered from semicoma on the morning of September 16th, 1988. After recovery of consciousness disturbance, neurological examination revealed vertical eye gaze palsy, areflexia of lower extremities, apathy with hypersomnia and amnesia. Amnesia was accompanied with prominent confabulation, disorientation and lack of insight into his own disability. While X ray-CT revealed only ambiguous low density area in the bilateral thalamus, MRI of horizontal section by short spin echo revealed symmetrical low signal area restricted in the paramedian area of bilateral thalamus, and that of coronal section revealed characteristic butterfly-shaped lesion. Left BAG revealed that both posterior thalamoperforating arteries showed type 3 variation of Percheron's classification which arisen from artery arcade bridging between both side of interpeduncular segment of posterior cerebral artery. He showed gradual improvement in apathy with hypersomnia and disorientation but not in Korsakoff's syndrome nor ophthalmoplegia.

Serum and urinary ferritin levels in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The serum and urinary ferritin levels in 52 RA patients were measured by the 2-site immunoradiometric assay method. Serum ferritin levels in RA patients correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) but not with serum iron levels and hemoglobin concentrations, although they were within the normal range. High serum ferritin levels were associated with sera with hyper gamma-globulin and rheumatoid factors. In sequential studies, serum ferritin changed in parallel with ESR, CRP and disease activity in a majority of the patients. The urinary ferritin levels and u/s ratios in some RA patients were higher than control values. Higher values were found particularly in the group of patients under gold therapy but not in groups under other treatments.

Low responsiveness of synovial and peripheral blood lymphocytes stimulated by either PHA-P or CON-A in patients with chronic rheumatoid arthritis.

Lymphocytes were highly purified from synovial fluid and peripheral blood of 10 rheumatoid arthritis patients and assessed for responsiveness to PHA-P and Con-A. In all cases, both synovial and blood lymphocytes showed a marked reduction in response to these mitogens compared with normal blood lymphocytes. The factors responsible for this low T cell responsiveness are discussed.