We present measurements of nu_mu disappearance in K2K, the KEK to Kamioka long-baseline neutrino oscillation experiment. One hundred and twelve beam-originated neutrino events are observed in the fiducial volume of Super-Kamiokande with an expectation of 158.1^{+9.2}_{-8.6} events without oscillation. A distortion of the energy spectrum is also seen in 58 single-ring muon-like events with reconstructed energies. The probability that the observations are explained by the expectation for no neutrino oscillation is 0.0015% (4.3sigma). In a two flavor oscillation scenario, the allowed Delta m^2 region at sin^2(2theta) is between 1.9 and 3.5 x 10^{-3} eV^2 at the 90% C.L. with a best-fit value of 2.8 x 10^{-3} eV^2.
A new oxygen sensor based on resistance change caused by oxygen intercalation for the layered compound CuFeTe 2 (CFT) was developed.A microfabrication process for forming many fine pores on the surface of single-crystal CFT thin films by performing wet etching using photolithography was developed with the aim of reducing the response time of the oxygen sensor.A reproducible response of the fabricated samples to oxygen gas was confirmed when 20% oxygen gas and nitrogen gas were alternately introduced into the sample chamber.The microfabricated sample of the single-crystal CFT thin films showed a response time of 2.5 min to 20% oxygen gas, approximately 34% of that of the single-crystal CFT thin films without fine pores.
The spatial distribution of defects and impurities in a variety of high-purity silica glass manufactured by different methods are studied. The defects investigated include those found in the as-manufactured glass (oxygen vacancy and peroxy linkage), as well as those induced by ionizing radiation or ultraviolet light (E′ center and oxygen hole centers). A significant difference is observed in the distribution between silica manufactured by different methods. Furthermore, the defects induced by ionizing radiation or ultraviolet light have a spatial distribution relative to the geometry of the as-manufactured boule, suggesting that these defects arise primarily from the activation of preexisting precursors.
We show that room-temperature bonding of LSI chips on a resin film made of poly(ethylene naphthalate) (PEN) can be realized by using mechanical caulking of a cone-shaped bump electrode made of Au. A 20-µm-pitch area array of cone-shaped Au bumps was fabricated on a Si wafer by photolithography and electroplating. The counter electrode with cross-shaped slits on the PEN film was composed of a Au (top)/Ni/Al (bottom) layered structure, where Ni and Au layers were deposited by electroless plating on patterned Al. Bonding of about 10,000 bump connections with 184 mΩ/bump has been achieved at room temperature.
In Africa, cold temperatures occur in the highlands of East and Southern Africa and in some areas of the Sahel region of West Africa leading to substantial rice yield losses. Cold tolerance (CT) at booting stage on basis of spikelet fertility after cold water irrigation was evaluated using F2 population derived from a cross between temperate japonica, Hananomai, and tropical japonica, WAB56-104. Two Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for CT were detected on chromosome 8 and 10 with enhanced effects on the trait coming from Hananomai and WAB56-104 allele, respectively. The QTLs explained 30% and 33% of phenotypic variation in spikelet fertility, respectively. CT was negatively correlated with panicle number (r = −0.35, p < 0.01) and positively correlated with panicle weight (r = 0.61, p < 0.001). Selected BC1F4 and BC1F5 genotypes having homozygous alleles for both CT QTLs exhibited higher spikelet fertility under cold stress. The identified QTLs will be useful in the development of cold-tolerant varieties for production in high altitude areas through marker-assisted selection.
