On properties of circuit for circuit evaluation as a parallelization procedure

It is shown here that if NC = P , the NC hierarchy collapses. We give two proofs for this. From the point of view of a circuit for circuit evaluation, the assumption that NC = P implies that any polynomial size circuit can be transduced into a polynomial size and poly‐log depth circuit. Such a parallelization property can be applied not only for uniform circuits but also for nonuniform circuits. This interesting property suggests that the assumption NC = P would be false. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(2): 46–50, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20488     

PZT-Polymer 1-3 Composite for High Resolution Ultrasonic Imaging

A novel process has been developed to construct PZT-polymer 1-3 micro composites for high-resolution ultrasonic imaging for medical diagnosis. The key technology is the lost silicon (Si) mold process, by which PZT micro-rod arrays have been successfully fabricated with the finest rod size being 7 μm, the highest aspect ratio exceeding 15. Such fine-scale high-aspect-ratio PZT structures, which are essential for realizing high imaging performance, have never been realized by any conventional technique.     

On the pseudo-freeness and the CDH assumption

The notion of pseudo-free group was first introduced by Hohenberger (Master’s thesis, EECS Dept., MIT, 2003). Rivest (TCC 2004. LNCS 2951, 505–521, 2004) formalized it and showed that several standard cryptographic assumptions hold on pseudo-free groups, such as the RSA assumption, the strong RSA assumption and the discrete logarithm assumption. Rivest (TCC 2004. LNCS 2951, 505–521, 2004) also proposed some variations of pseudo-free group, and those were formalized by Hirano and Tanaka (Research Reports, Series C: Computer Science, C-239, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2007). In this paper, we study the relationships among such variations of pseudo-free group. We show that the pseudo-freeness implies the weak pseudo-freeness, and that the pseudo-freeness is equivalent to the pseudo-freeness with generalized exponential expressions. We also show that the computational Diffie-Hellman assumption holds on pseudo-free groups in a slightly varied form.     

Deep Reactive Ion Etching of Lead Zirconate Titanate Using Sulfur Hexafluoride Gas

A deep reactive ion etching (RIE) technique that uses sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) gas has been developed for lead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr,Ti)O₃, PZT) three-dimensional microfabrication from PZT ceramic blocks. The etching was performed by using an inductively coupled plasma that was generated in a narrow-gap vacuum chamber. The etch depth was 70 µm with a maximum etch rate of 0.3 µm/min and a selectivity of PZT to the electroplated nickel mask of >35:1. The sidewalls of the PZT structures were tapered, with base angles of ∼75°. Both positive RIE lag and unexpected ultrafine-slit etching phenomena were observed.     

Oxidation and stress relief in air at room temperature of amorphous silicon hydrogenated in a glow discharge

Glow-discharge-hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) was found to be oxidized in the following two ways after exposing to air at room temperature; first, thin oxide films grew uniformly on the a-Si : H, slowly with increase of exposure time; secondly, oxide with a columnar morphology grew rapidly with the increase of exposure time and the cross section of the columnar oxide was small. Mechanical stress caused by the differences of the thermal expansion coefficient and the crystallographical structure between the a-Si : H and substrates was relieved with the increase in the amount of the columnar oxide.     

Three-Dimensional Stress Analysis of Adhesive Butt Joints of Solid Cylinders Subjected to External Tensile Loads

This paper deals with a three-dimensional stress analysis of adhesive butt joints of similar solid cylinders subjected to external tensile loads. Similar adherends and an adhesive bond are replaced with finite solid cylinders in the analysis. Stress distributions on adhesive joints are analyzed strictly by using the three-dimensional theory of elasticity. The effects of stiffness, thickness and Poisson's ratio of the adhesive bonds and of external load distribution on the normal and the shear stress distributions are shown by numerical calculations. In addition, the analytical result is compared with the result obtained by F.E.M. It is seen that they are in fairly good agreement.     

Differences in properties of myofibrillar proteins from bovine semitendinosus muscle after hydrostatic pressure or heat treatment

Hydrostatic pressure (HP) and heat treatments of myofibrillar proteins have both been shown to induce protein denaturation, but different gel formation properties result from these treatments. To characterise differences in the properties of proteins resulting from HP or heat treatment, Ca‐ and Mg‐ATPase activities (ATP, adenosine triphosphate) and protein solubility in 0.1 and 0.6 mol L^?1 KCl buffers (pH 7) were evaluated in this study. The inactivation rate of Ca‐ATPase of myofibrillar proteins (Mf) induced by HP was slower than that of Mg‐ATPase at each of the tested pressures. However, the inactivation rate of Ca‐ATPase induced by heating was faster than that of Mg‐ATPase at each of the tested temperatures. The level of soluble proteins in Mf suspension induced by HP in 0.1 mol L^?1 KCl buffer increased with increasing pressure up to 400 MPa and then decreased slightly at 500 MPa. However, the level of soluble proteins in Mf suspension induced by heat treatment in 0.1 mol L^?1 KCl buffer increased with increasing temperature up to 55°C. According to the results of sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, the levels of soluble myosin heavy chain and actin in Mf suspension induced by HP in 0.6 mol L^?1 KCl buffer decreased simultaneously at pressures higher than 300 MPa. The level of soluble MHC in 0.6 mol L^?1 KCl buffer decreased gradually with increasing temperature, but there were no changes in the level of soluble actin in 0.6 mol L^?1 KCl buffer with increasing temperature up to 50°C. These results showed that the mechanism of HP‐induced protein denaturation was different from the mechanism underlying heat‐induced protein denaturation. Copyright © 2006 Society of Chemical Industry     

Technical investigation on small water leakage incident occurrence in mercury target of J-PARC

Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex experienced failures of two mercury targets, which were Target #5 and #7, in 2015 when the facility was operating with a proton beam power of 500 kW. The failures involved coolant water leak from the water shroud. In this paper, we investigate the root cause of the Target #5 failure. The results of the visual inspections, mockup tests, and analytical evaluations suggested that the water leak was caused by the possible combination of two incidents. One was the diffusion bonding failure due to the large thermal stress induced by welding of the bolt head during the fabrication process, and the other was the thermal fatigue failure of the seal weld due to the repetitive beam shutdown during beam operation. Though the investigation into the root cause of the Target #7 failure is still going on, these target failures point to the importance of eliminating initial defects and the need to secure the rigidity and stability of welded structures. The next mercury target, Target #8, was fabricated with an improved design and fabrication process to reduce the possibility of similar failures. The beam operation of this mercury target is planned to be started in October 2017.     

Antioxidative activities of some peptides isolated from hydrolyzed potato protein extract

Three peptides (5A, 5C and 6C), purified from potato protein hydrolysate fractions, possessed antioxidative activities. Isolation and purification were carried out using gel permeation chromatography and successive reverse-phase HPLC. These three peptide fractions were sequenced and identified as Phe-Gly-Glu-Arg, Phe-Asp-Arg-Arg and Phe-Gly-Glu-Arg-Arg, respectively. The fractions 5A, 5C and 6C inhibited linoleic acid oxidation by 55.3%, 58.5% and 61.7% using β-carotene decolorization assay system, while the inhibition ratio was 32.1%, 93.0% and 93.4% in the ferric thiocyanate assay system, respectively. The peptide fractions 5A, 5C and 6C also repressed lipid oxidation by 24.2%, 14.7% and 26.4% in the erythrocyte membrane ghost assay system, respectively. Oral administration of 100 mg/kg of body weight of the chemically synthesized peptides, 5A, 5C and 6C to rats (male Wistar) 30 min prior to ethanol injection reduced ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage by 67.9%, 57.0% and 60.3%, respectively. Conclusively, these peptides have shown real potent antioxidative activities and could further be investigated for potential use as food additives.     

Erosion damage of laser alloyed stainless steel in mercury

The effect of laser surface alloying of type 316 stainless steel on the erosion resistance in mercury has been investigated. The alloying was produced by melting predeposited Al-Si powder and a portion of underlying substrate with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser beam. The microhardness of the modified layer was found to be 2.5 times higher than that of untreated steel. The erosion test of laser alloyed surface and steel in mercury was carried out by using the electromagnetic impact testing machine. The laser alloyed surface was found to be less damaged after 10⁵ cycles of impacts compared to untreated stainless steel. However, after 10⁶ cycles the erosion resistance of the modified layer is much lower than that of untreated steel. Liquid metal embrittlement in contact with mercury and residual stresses were considered as factors impairing the erosion resistance of the laser alloyed surface.