Optimal planning for introducing dispersed generating sources in power systems based on an economical viewpoint

This paper discusses optimal planning problems for dispersed generating sources so as to provide a guideline for their introduction to power systems. First, a recursive method is developed from the viewpoint of supplying electric power only where solutions for one unit are superposed. The computational loads are decreased by selecting alternatives of buses based on the so-called penalty factor. However, for effective utilization of dispersed generating sources, it is indispensable to consider their thermal merits in addition to electric power. After applying the Kuhn-Tucker theory to the optimal dispatching problem including boiler fuel costs, thermal values of the dispersed generating units are evaluated quantitatively. Finally, the above-mentioned technique for the optimal planning basically is also effective and is extended into this case. The validity of the proposed algorithms are demonstrated using a real-scale model system.     

Survey of echinococcosis in Hokkaido and measure against it

Exposure to hyperoxia results in lung injury and a decrease in lung collagen. Retinol is known to influence collagen gene expression, and retinol deficiency has been shown to potentiate hyperoxic lung injury. To investigate the combined effects of retinol deficiency and hyperoxia on lung collagen expression, retinol-deficient rats were exposed to acute hyperoxia, and expression of the alpha-1 chains of type I procollagen [pro alpha 1 (I)] and type III procollagen [pro alpha 1 (III)] were determined using Northern hybridization analyses and immunohistochemical staining. Hyperoxia alone reduced pro alpha 1 (I) mRNA by 60 +/- 4% (p < .05) and pro alpha 1 (III) mRNA by 30 +/- 5% (p < .05), and retinol deficiency alone reduced pro alpha 1 (I) mRNA abundance by 49 +/- 8.8% (p < .05) and pro alpha 1 (III) mRNA abundance by 14 +/- 7.5% (p = not significant), respectively. Retinol deficiency plus hyperoxia did not cause any further reduction in procollagen mRNA than that seen with oxygen exposure alone. Immunohistochemical staining demonstrated decreased staining for type I collagen in retinol-deficient animals. Hyperoxic exposure resulted in decreased connective tissue staining and increased alveolar wall staining for type I collagen. Retinol deficiency and hyperoxia together resulted in a marked increase in alveolar exudates staining for type I collagen. No changes in type III collagen staining were seen. These findings demonstrate that while retinol deficiency does not potentiate hyperoxia-induced reductions in procollagen mRNA, it is associated with alterations in collagen staining in distal lung and immunohistologic evidence of collagen fragments in alveolar exudates.     

A newly developed adenovirus-mediated transfer of a wild-type p53 gene increases sensitivity to cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) in p53-deleted ovarian cancer cells

A new recombinant adenovirus carrying a wild-type p53 gene (AxCAp53) was developed and the combination effect of p53 gene transfer and cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (CDDP) was examined in an ovarian cancer cell line, SK-OV-3, with deletion of the p53 gene. AxCAp53 showed a high efficiency of gene transduction and increased sensitivity to CDDP in the SK-OV-3 cells. It was found that the sensitivity of the cells to CDDP correlated with the amount of infectious units of virus per cell of AxCAp53 which correlated with p53 protein expression. The results suggest that the combination of CDDP and AxCAp53 may be a potential strategy for the therapy of CDDP-resistant ovarian cancer.     

A novel thermosensitive polymer, poly(methyl 2-propionamidoacrylate), with geminal substituents

A novel thermosensitive polymer, poly(methyl 2-propionamidoacrylate) (PMPA), was prepared and the phase transition behavior in an aqueous solution was studied. PMPA have geminal substituents of propionamide and methoxy carbonyl in each monomer unit. It was found that PMPA shows the lower critical solution temperature (LCST) at 50.6 °C sharply. The LCST of PMPA was almost independent of the polymer concentration above 40 g/l, while, below 40 g/l, it decreased with the increasing polymer concentration. The effect of salt addition (NaCl, NaBr, and Na₂SO₄) on the LCST was also studied. The LCST of PMPA linearly decreased with the increasing concentration of each salt. The salting-out effect of these salts was in line with the Hofmeister series: Na₂SO₄>NaCl>NaBr.     

Photographic Properties of Polyethylene Oxide II. Effect of PEO on the Growth Habit of Silver Halide Grains

The effect of polyethylene oxide (PEO) on the growth hobit of silver iodobromide emulsion groins was investigated. Cubic (100) and tetradecahedral (100 + 111) iodobromide groins become more octahedral (111) in shope in the presence of PEO. The effect increased with increasing iodide content, while pure bromide grains were little influenced by PEO.     

Investigation of optimum design for nanoparticle dispersion in centrifugal bead mill using DEM-CFD simulation

A bead mill is commonly used to produce nanomaterials. The design of the bead mill rotor is an important factor in efficient nanomaterial production to avoid re-agglomeration. We investigated the effect of bead-mill rotor shape on the dispersion state using experimental tests and the discrete-element method (DEM) coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Experimental results using TiO₂ in the bead mill showed that the high rotor rotation speed caused TiO₂ particles re-agglomeration, and a sharp particle-size distribution was obtained by dispersion with a mill with a wide gap between the rotor and the chamber. To evaluate the dispersion performance, bead collisions were analyzed using the DEM-CFD simulation. The simulation results indicated that an increase in bead-collision energy lead to damage of the TiO₂ primary particles and re-agglomeration at a high rotation speed. A uniform dispersion was achieved when the frequency of high-energy collision between the particle and wall decreased and a small standard deviation of the collision energy frequency was obtained by the mill with a wide gap. These simulation results correlate with the experimental results. Therefore, this study shows that the DEM-CFD simulation could contribute to an appropriate rotor design for uniform dispersion.     

A feasibility study of pressure‐retarded osmosis power generation system based on measuring permeation volume using reverse osmosis membrane

A pressure‐retarded osmosis (PRO) power generation system is a hydroelectric power system which utilizes permeation flow through a semipermeable membrane. Permeation flow is generated by the potential energy of the salinity difference between sea water and fresh water. Since the cost of the membrane is high, the permeation performance of the membrane must be improved in order to realize PRO systems. We have investigated reverse osmosis (RO) membrane products as semipermeable membranes and measured the permeation volume of a few products. The generation power per unit membrane area calculated from the permeation volume is about 0.62 W/m². But as a result of our improvements (greater salt water volume, spacers for fresh water channel with the function of discharging concentrated salinity, extralow‐pressure type of membrane, washing the support layer of membrane when the generation power falls by half) the generated power may be 2.43 W/m². Then the power system cost would be about 4.1 million yen/kW. In addition, if the support layer of the membrane is made thinner and a PRO system is applied to equipment where pumping power for another purpose is available (wastewater treatment plants located at the seaside, thermal and nuclear power plants, sea water desalination plants), the generated power may be increased. These improvements may enable PRO systems to be realized at a cost close to that of photovoltaic power systems. 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 173(2): 8–20, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience. wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21000     

Target delivery and controlled release of the chemopreventive drug sulindac by using an advanced layered double hydroxide nanomatrix formulation system

Target delivery and controlled release of the chemopreventive drug sulindac that possesses low water solubility present a great challenge for its pharmaceutical industry. Here, we offered an advanced nanomatrix formulation system of sulindac based on layered double hydroxide materials. The X-ray analysis and infrared spectroscopy confirmed the incorporation of sulindac into the gallery of the layered double hydroxides. The incorporation ratios of sulindac were recorded to be 45, 31 and 20 for coprecipitation, anion-exchange and reconstruction techniques, respectively. The scanning electron microscopy showed a nanomatrix-structure of ~50 nm. The release studies of sulindac-nanomatrix showed a 96% controlled release at the small intestine solution during 3 h(s), indicating an enhancement in the dissolution profile of sulindac after the matrix formation. The layered structure of the matrix supplied sulindac with a well-ordered structure and a relatively hydrophobic microenvironment that controlled the guest hydrolysis and reactivity during the release process. The laminar structure of layered double hydroxides offered a safe preservation for sulindac against photodecarboxylation, and enhanced the drug thermal stability from 190 to 230° C. The ionic electrostatic interaction of sulindac through its acidic group with layered double hydroxides demolished the gastrointestinal ulceration.     

Prototype Diagnosis Expert System with Knowledge Refinement Function

When developing an expert system, the difficulty in acquiring knowledge poses a bottleneck. It is essential that the system possess a means to modify its knowledge bases. This study details the construction of a versatile inference system equipped with a rule-base refinement function that is expressed by a network with relations between the hypotheses as compositional elements. As an example for practical use, this paper examines the effectiveness of the system being proposed, using the rule base of an existing expert system to diagnose cracks in damaged bridge slabs. As a result, it was found that, by presenting adequate examples as training samples, the rule base is refined along with a remarkable increase in damage-cause inference accuracy.