Impairment in activities of daily living and related factors in elderly patients with severe lumbar spinal stenosis before hospitalization.

Background: Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) impairs activities of daily living (ADL) in older adults. Factors associated with ADL impairment in LSS have not been identified. This study aimed to ascertain the pre-admission living conditions in elderly patients with LSS and investigate the factors associated with impairment in ADL.

Control of the wetting properties of ^{4}He crystals in superfluid.

To investigate whether it is possible to control the wetting of ^{4}He crystals on a wall in superfluid, the contact angles of ^{4}He crystals were measured on rough and smooth walls at very low temperatures. A rough wall was prepared in a simple manner in which a commercially available coating agent for car mirrors, which makes the glass surface superhydrophobic, was used to coat a glass plate. The contact angles of ^{4}He crystals were increased by approximately 10^{∘} on the rough wall coated with the agent.

Status of the Bio-Nano electron cyclotron resonance ion source at Toyo University.

In the paper, the material science experiments, carried out recently using the Bio-Nano electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) at Toyo University, are reported. We have investigated several methods to synthesize endohedral C60 using ion-ion and ion-molecule collision reaction in the ECRIS. Because of the simplicity of the configuration, we can install a large choice of additional equipment in the ECRIS.

Synthesis of endohedral iron-fullerenes by ion implantation.

In this paper, we discuss the results of our study of the synthesis of endohedral iron-fullerenes. A low energy Fe(+) ion beam was irradiated to C60 thin film by using a deceleration system. Fe(+)-irradiated C60 thin film was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography and laser desorption/ ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry.

Fullerene-rare gas mixed plasmas in an electron cyclotron resonance ion source.

A synthesis technology of endohedral fullerenes such as Fe@C60 has developed with an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) ion source. The production of N@C60 was reported. However, the yield was quite low, since most fullerene molecules were broken in the ECR plasma.

Study on the beam transport from the Bio-Nano ECRIS.

The beam transport of N(+) ion and C(60)(+) ion in the Bio-Nano ECRIS with min-B configuration was investigated based on the ion beam profiles. The N(+) beam could be focused under the low-beam current conditions. Also the C(60)(+) beam could be focused in spite of the large space-charge effect which will lead the divergence of the beam.

Low energy Fe+ beam irradiation to C60 thin film.

We have developed an electron cyclotron resonance ion source apparatus, which is designed for the production of endohedral fullerene. In this study, we irradiated the Fe(+) beam to the C(60) thin film. We changed the experimental condition of the dose and the ion energy.

Effect of pulse-modulated microwaves on fullerene ion production with electron cyclotron resonance ion source.

Fullerene plasmas generated by pulse-modulated microwaves have been investigated under typical conditions at the Bio-Nano electron cyclotron resonance ion source. The effect of the pulse modulation is distinct from that of simply structured gases, and then the density of the fullerene plasmas increased as decreasing the duty ratio. The density for a pulse width of 10 μs at the period of 100 μs is 1.

Bio-Nano ECRIS: an electron cyclotron resonance ion source for new materials production.

We developed an electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) for new materials production on nanoscale. Our main target is the endohedral fullerenes, which have potential in medical care, biotechnology, and nanotechnology. In particular, iron-encapsulated fullerene can be applied as a contrast material for magnetic resonance imaging or microwave heat therapy.