Present status and future prospects of PV activities in Japan

The photovoltaic (PV) power systems in Japan made great strides in the past decade. The PV industry in the 1990s greatly depended on the research projects and dissemination programs carried out by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. However, the industrial structure for full-scale deployment of the PV system is currently being established by the manufacturers’ continuous efforts to reduce the PV system cost and the government’s consecutive supports to create the initial market. It is expected that the synergetic effect of the cost reduction and incentives for introduction will activate the PV industry and its market more and more toward achieving 5000 MW of the capacity in FY 2010.     

Relation between microstructure, properties and spark plasma sintering (SPS) parameters of pure ultrafine WC powder

A combined experimental/numerical methodology is developed to fully consolidate pure ultrafine WC powder under a current-control mode. Three applied currents, 1900, 2100 and 2700 A, and a constant pressure of 20 MPa were employed as process conditions. The developed spark plasma sintering (SPS) finite-element model includes a moving-mesh technique to account for the contact resistance change due to sintering shrinkage and punch sliding. The effects of the heating rate on the microstructure and hardness were investigated in detail along the sample radius from both experimental and modeling points of view. The maximum hardness (2700 HV10) was achieved for a current of 1900 A at the core sample, while the maximum densification was achieved for 2100 and 2700 A. A direct relationship between the compact microstructure and both the sintering temperature and the heating rate was established.     

Swelling of hydrophilic polymers. III

The total volume change included gel and surrounded water with the swelling of five types of speherical cross-linked dextran (Sephadex) that are either nonionic (G) or possess one of four different ionic groups in the same molecular skeleton: CM: sodium carboxymethyl, SP: sodium sulphopropyl, DEAE: diethylaminoethyl chloride, and QAE: diethyl-(2-hydroxypropyl) aminoethyl chloride. All have been studied by dilatometry. The total volume decreased with the swelling of all Sephadexes. The maximum changes of total volume with the swelling in water were all negatives of CM, G, SP, (DEAE, QAE), which decrease in that order. These values did not depend on the concentration of sodium chloride and were closely related to the maximum heats of swelling. Total volume changes occurred by the dissociation of the ionic group of dextran derivatives that subtracted the total volume change due to hydration of Sephadex skeleton from the total volume change: ?21.6 ± 3.1 μL mmol^?1 for CM, ?2.8 ± 8.0 μL mmol^?1 for SP, +13.2 ± 4.4 μL mmol^?1 for DEAE, and +15.4 ± 4.6 μL mmol^?1 for QAE. These values are assumed to be reflected in the quantities of ions-water interaction of Sephadexes. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Synchronous mode-locking in passively mode-locked semiconductor laser diodes using optical short pulses repeated at subharmonics of the cavity round-trip frequency

Synchronous mode-locking was achieved in passively mode-locked semiconductor lasers using optical pulses with repetition rates at subharmonics of the cavity round-trip frequency. Stable and continuous mode-locked pulses at 8.5 GHz were generated when the repetition rate of the control optical pulses was 4.25 GHz (2nd subharmonic). The timing jitter of the mode-locked pulses was reduced to 1 ps. The relationship between repetition rates of the control pulses and the realization of stable and continuous mode-locking was examined.     

Premixed flame propagating into a narrow channel at a high speed, part 2: Transient behavior of the properties of the flowing gas inside the channel

The behavior of a premixed flame propagating from a chamber into a narrow channel at a high speed was examined using high speed and instantaneous schlieren photography, ion current measurement with electrostatic probes, and temperature measurement with an optical method. From detailed measurements of flames passing through the channel, flame extinguishment in the channel, no matter whether transient or not, was found to occur due to quenching of the reacting gas by rapid turbulent mixing with cold fresh mixture at the downstream of the contraction region and by heat transfer to the cold channel walls. Extinguishment must occur when these heat losses exceed the heat released by the chemical reaction of the flowing mixture.     

Discordant prolongation of the refractory period and repolarization time by a class III agent, E4031, in the healing phase of myocardial infarction

One hundred and ninety-eight adolescents and their mothers (N = 189) and fathers (N = 136) participated in a 4-year longitudinal study. Adolescent problem behaviour was assessed by the Youth Self-Report (YSR) and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). In addition, parental stress and marital adjustment were determined. Results showed that mothers and fathers showed high agreement, especially about their daughters, whereas parents and adolescents showed little agreement. Agreement was higher for internalising than for externalising behaviours. In general, adolescents reported more symptomatology than their parents did. However, mothers' ratings of their children's behaviours were significantly correlated with adolescents' self-ratings, but fathers' ratings were not. Statistical tests of correlations showed that mothers experiencing stress caused by marital problems perceived more problem behaviours in their children. Fathers' perceptions were relatively unaffected by personal adjustment. However, poor marital adjustment perceived by both parents showed a significant negative relation to adolescent externalising problem behaviour.     

Some characteristics of a cellular receptor for virulent infectious bursal disease virus by using flow cytometry

A flow cytometric virus binding assay that directly visualizes the binding of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) to its target cells was established. The chicken B lymphoblastoid cell line, LSCC-BK3, which is permissive for IBDV infection, bound high levels of the virus. Another B lymphoblastoid cell line, LSCC-1104-B1, bound low levels of the virus, although it was nonpermissive. No virus binding was detected in nonpermissive T lymphoblastoid cell lines. In the binding assay to heterogeneous cell populations of chicken lymphocytes, IBDV (a highly virulent OKYM strain) bound to 94% cells in the lymphocytes prepared from the bursa of Fabricius, 37% cells in those prepared from the spleen, 3% cells in those prepared from the thymus, and 21% cells in those prepared from the blood. Most of the cells, which bound the virus, were surface immunoglobulin M (SIgM)-positive, but a small number of them were SIgM-negative. Additionally, the binding of IBDV to the LSCC-BK3 cells was affected by treatment of the cells with proteases and N-glycosylation inhibitors. These findings may indicate that the IBDV host range is mainly controlled by the presence of a virus receptor composed of N-glycosylated protein associated with the subtle differentiation stage of B-lymphocytes represented mostly by SIgM-bearing cells.     

Does mixed venous desaturation during a bed bath indicate cardiopulmonary decompensation in postoperative cardiac patients?]

The bed bath procedure consists of cleansing patients' body, passive position change, changing gown and making a bed. During the procedure, mixed venous desaturation was observed consistently in postoperative cardiac patients. We investigated the cause of the phenomenon in 22 patients undergoing cardiac surgery in their first postoperative day. The patients were breathing oxygen-enriched air via a Venturi mask. Cardiac index (CI), transluminal SvO2, arterial blood gas, Hb, DO2, VO2, FIO2, A-aDO2 and Qp/Qs were measured before and during the bed bath, while the patients were in the supine and left lateral position, respectively. Mean 8.5 +/- 1.5 minutes were required to complete the bed bath. During the bed bath, SvO2 decreased from 71 +/- 7% to 59 +/- 9% (P < 0.001), and returned to the baseline 6.5 +/- 7.4 minutes after the completion of the bed bath. VO2 increased markedly from 128 +/- 27 to 194 +/- 47 ml.min-1.m-2 (P < 0.001), while DO2 increased slightly from 480 +/- 91 to 513 +/- 110 ml.min-1.m-2 (P < 0.05). Among the determinants of DO2, CI increased slightly from 3.3 +/- 0.6 to 3.6 +/- 0.8 l.min-1.m-2, Hb remained unchanged and SaO2 decreased from 98.5 +/- 0.8 to 98.0 +/- 1.1%. FIO2 also decreased, while A-aDO2 and Qp/Qs remained unchanged. There was a negative correlation between VO2 change and SvO2 change, but no correlation between DO2 change and SvO2 change. There was a positive correlation between SaO2 change and SvO2 change, as well as between FIO2 change and SaO2 change. Therefore, the major cause of mixed venous desaturation was not the decreased DO2 or cardiopulmonary decompensation but the increased VO2 due to increased activity of the skeletal muscles. However, the decrease in SaO2 due to markedly increased O2 demand and the limited increase in CI might partially contribute to the marked decline in SvO2 through the limited increase in DO2.