We present a novel fiber-based near-field optical head consisting of a straw-shaped writing probe and a flat gap sensing probe. The straw-shaped probe with a C-aperture on the end face exhibits enhanced transmission by a factor of 3 orders of magnitude over a conventional fiber probe due to a hybrid effect that excites both propagation modes and surface plasmon waves. In the gap sensing probe, ...

In developing Drosophila notum, wingless expression is regulated by Decapentaplegic signaling positively and negatively so that only notal cells receiving optimal levels of Decapentaplegic signals express wingless (Sato et al., 1999b. Development 126, 1457-1466). Here, we show evidence that this Decapentaplegic-dependent regulation of notal wingless expression includes plural mechanisms, involv...

If a Langmuir probe is located inside the sheath of a negatively charged spacecraft, there is a risk that the probe characteristic is modified compared to that of a free probe in the ambient plasma. We have studied this probe-in-spacecraft-sheath problem in the parameter range of a small Langmuir probe (with radius r(LP)≪λ(D)) using a modified version of the orbit motion limited (OML) probe the...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess funnel type and pregnancy duration in women with previous spontaneous preterm birth and cervical length <25 mm. STUDY DESIGN We performed a secondary analysis of a multicenter randomized trial of cerclage. At the randomization scan that documented short cervix, the presence and type of funnel (U or V) were recorded. RESULTS One hundred forty...

We analyzed the relationship between U-shaped and monotonic-shaped masking functions, using both computer simulations of quantitative models and experimental data Our analysis revealed that quantitative models of backward masking predict that U-shaped masking functions should appear for weak masks and monotonic masking functions should appear for strong masks. The models predict, moreover, that...