Two-valued breakup length of a water jet issuing from a finite-length nozzle under normal gravity.

Laboratory experiments are conducted in which water is issued vertically downward from a finite-length nozzle at a constant speed using a piston. The results of these experiments indicate that the breakup length of the liquid jet is two-valued at Weber numbers greater than unity but less than a certain value, which depends on the nozzle length-to-radius ratio and the Bond number. In addition to a long breakup length, which is consistent with the conventional observation, another shorter breakup length is realized at the same jet issue speed. Each experimental run for a specific jet issue speed begins from the start of liquid issue so that each run is independent of the other runs. Transition between the two breakup lengths seldom occurs in each run. Which of the two breakup lengths occurs is determined at the start of liquid issue, when the capillary wave produced by the liquid jet tip contraction easily reaches the nozzle exit. Unlike the conventional belief, which is based on the Plateau-Rayleigh instability theory, this experimental evidence demonstrates that liquid jet disintegration occurs in a deterministic manner. The previously proposed self-destabilizing mechanism of a liquid jet in microgravity, in which the origin of the unstable wave responsible for the breakups is attributed to the formation of an upstream propagating capillary wave at every breakup, is extended to explore the physics underlying the observed liquid jet disintegration behaviors.

Risk of accidental invasion and expansion of allochthonous mice in Tokyo metropolitan coastal areas in Japan.

House mouse (Mus musculus) is one of the perilous animal vectors for imported zoonosis such as a lymphocytic choriomeningitis (LCMV) infectious disease, and probably unknown emerging and/or re-emerging infectious diseases as well. It is necessary to prevent such diseases by regular surveys for behavioral trends of these allochthonous mice. However, such a trial has never been attempted in Japan. From 1998 to 2002, we analyzed partial sequences of the D-loop region in mtDNA, which provides powerful diagnostic SNPs for subspecies identification in the Mus musculus species, from 301 individuals of mice collected in 23 international bays or airports in Japan. We found that invasion of many allochthonous mice, which were identified as European subspecies, Mus musculus domesticus, occurred in Tokyo metropolitan coastal area. Based on the evidence, we warn that extensive invasion of allochthonous mice has occurred recently and, therefore, the risk of emerging and/or re-emerging infectious diseases invasion might be high in Tokyo metropolitan area.

Isolation of an influenza C virus introduced into Japan by a traveler from Malaysia.

An influenza C virus was isolated from a Japanese traveler who had visited Malaysia in April 1999. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the genome composition of this virus was distinct from that of any other strain isolated in Japan. The possibility that a genetically unique influenza C virus was introduced into Japan by a traveler is shown.