Resistive superconducting transition of κ-type BEDT-TTF organic superconductors in a magnetic field

The superconducting transition of the organic compoundsκ-(BEDT-TTF)₂ X is studied by resistive measurement in a magnetic field up to 10 T applied normal to the conducting plane. For the salts withX=Cu[N(CN)₂]Br andX=CuCN[N(CN)₂] the transition shows fanshaped broadening caused by superconductivity fluctuation. For theX=Cu(NCS)₂ salt the resistivity shows a peak in the transition region in a magnetic field below 4 T.This phenomenon is suppressed in defect-reduced samples for intralayer conduction. We discuss this peak in relation to the thermal fluctuation on the Josephson junction structures in this salt.     

Effect of Forming Pressure on the Internal Structure of Alumina Green Bodies Examined with Immersion Liquid Technique

Green bodies prepared by compaction of alumina granules were made transparent by an immersion liquid technique, and the internal structure was characterized with an optical microscope to study the effect of forming pressure on the internal structure. Clear images obtained by the technique provide more detailed information than other existing methods for structures ranging from one to tens of micrometers. Intergranular pores were present between unfractured granules. Their sizes and concentration tended to decrease with increasing forming pressure. However, pores were clearly present even in the green body prepared at 600 MPa. A rod- and needlelike feature was also found and was concluded to correspond to a high-density region. The significance of large pores and high-density regions on processing as well as the details of the technique is discussed.     

New low-noise output amplifier for high-definition CCD image sensor

A new low-noise charge-coupled-device (CCD) output amplifier, the RJG detector, has been developed. The RJG detector incorporates a JFET which has an electrically floating ring-junction gate (RJG). The operating principle of the amplifier is that signal charges, transferred from the CCD into the RJG, directly modulate the drain current in the detection JFET. The performance of the detector was evaluated by operating test devices under a 37-MHz clock frequency, which is the same frequency as that for the horizontal CCD operation in the recently developed 2-million-pixel high-definition CCD image sensor. It was found that 1/f noise was reduced by introducing the JFET and that reset noise was completely eliminated by achieving complete charge transfer through the reset operation. As a result, input referred noise equivalent electrons within the 18.5-MHz baseband were reduced to 17 (electrons)     

Direct Observation of Internal Structure in Spray-Dried Alumina Granules

The internal structure of spray-dried alumina granules was characterized by optical microscopy by immersing them in a liquid having a refractive index close to that of alumina. This method provides a unique technique for the detailed analysis of the internal structure of spray-dried granules.     

High‐resolution technology for FPD manufacturing

Using shorter wavelength for exposure light is one way to achieve high resolution while keeping sufficient depth of focus. We show exposure results for high resolution to confirm the effect of deep UV exposure light. With deep UV light, 1.2‐µm line and space pattern and 1.8‐µm contact hole pattern are resolved while keeping sufficient depth of focus.     

The isothermal conductivity improvement in zirconia-based ceramics under 24 GHz microwave heating

Abstract Under 24-GHz millimetre-wave irradiation heating ionic conductivity of zirconia base ceramics was up to 20 times higher than that of a conventionally-heated sample at the same temperature of 400 °C. The degree of enhancement could be altered by changing the stabilising atom from Y to Yb. Enhancement of ionic conduction was prominent in the setup condition of larger self-heating ratio and larger MMW absorbing materials. The isothermal improvement of ionic conductivity under MMW irradiation would be ascribed to the non-thermal effect.     

Molecular Hydrogen Enhances Proliferation of Cancer Cells That Exhibit Potent Mitochondrial Unfolded Protein Response

Molecular hydrogen ameliorates pathological states in a variety of human diseases, animal models, and cell models, but the effects of hydrogen on cancer have been rarely reported. In addition, the molecular mechanisms underlying the effects of hydrogen remain mostly unelucidated. We found that hydrogen enhances proliferation of four out of seven human cancer cell lines (the responders). The proliferation-promoting effects were not correlated with basal levels of cellular reactive oxygen species. Expression profiling of the seven cells showed that the responders have higher gene expression of mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) molecules than the non-responders. In addition, the responders have higher mitochondrial mass, higher mitochondrial superoxide, higher mitochondrial membrane potential, and higher mitochondrial spare respiratory capacity than the non-responders. In the responders, hydrogen provoked mitochondrial unfolded protein response (mtUPR). Suppression of cell proliferation by rotenone, an inhibitor of mitochondrial ETC complex I, was rescued by hydrogen in the responders. Hydrogen triggers mtUPR and induces cell proliferation in cancer cells that have high basal and spare mitochondrial ETC activities.     

Proposal of cause–effect pattern library for realizing sustainable businesses

Sustainable business design has gained growing interest in recent years. However, it is often difficult to clarify which business activities actually contribute to (or violate) the sustainability of the earth due to high complexity of environmental and economical system of our society. In order to help a business to generate sustainable business ideas handling this complexity in a systematic and comprehensive manner, this paper proposes a method to formulate a wide variety of causalities in our society into a cause–effect pattern library and illustrates how to use it for design and planning of sustainable businesses.     

Evaluation of selective plating media for the detection of heat- or freeze-injured Staphylococcus aureus

The efficacy of Baird-Parker (BP) agar, mannitol-salt-egg yolk (MSEY) agar and mannitol salt (MS) agar in detecting Staphylococcus aureus FRI-100 heated at 52 degrees C for 20 min in 100 mmol/L potassium phosphate buffer was determined. Brain heart infusion agar with 1% pyruvate (BHIP agar) supported the highest recovery of injured cells and was used as the control medium. Of the three selective media, significantly higher recovery of heat-injured cells was observed on BP agar than MSEY agar, and the poorest recovery was observed on MS agar (p < 0.05). Low recovery of unheated cells was obtained for MS compared with other media (p < 0.05). A reduction in populations occurred gradually in reagent-grade water stored for 14 days at -20 degrees C. There was no significant difference between BHIP agar and MS agar in the number of freeze-injured cells recovered from 1 to 14 days.