Development of service-oriented products based on the inverse manufacturing concept

To achieve sustainability, resource consumption and waste generation must be drastically decreased. For societal acceptance, preservation of both quality of life and corporate profits are essential. One promising approach is to shift the source of value from the amount of product sold to the quality of services the product provides. This paper describes the need for redesigning recycling systems from a manufacturing perspective and then discusses the possibility of this "servicification" of products, describing our experience with prototype development. We discuss development of product prototypes and their business, using consumer facsimile machines as an example of "service-oriented products". Traditional thought presumes that only products comprising new materials and components are valuable. Consideration of a service-oriented product can serve as a stimulus to revise this mode of thought and to control delivery and quality of disposed products. This paper also provides a life cycle simulation of the developed service-oriented business. Simulation results indicate that service-oriented business can potentially reduce environmental impact while extending business opportunities from the viewpoint of whole product life cycles.     

Tetra-Repeat Microsatellite Markers for the Masu Salmon (Oncorhynchus masou masou) and Its Application in Cross-Subspecies Amplification

We developed tetranucleotide-repeat microsatellite markers for the masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou) complex. 454 pyrosequencing was used to discover repeat motifs, and seven polymorphic microsatellite-primer sets were identified. The number of alleles detected at each locus ranged from four to 24 and the expected heterozygosity varied from 0.57 to 0.92. Cross-subspecies amplification for O. m. masou, O. m. ishikawae and O. m. subsp. was successful. These microsatellites can be utilized in studies of genetic structure, genetic diversity, and intra- and inter-subspecific hybridization, making a contribution to conservation and management of the Oncorhynchus masou complex.     

Fluctuations in Tracer Amounts in a Compartmental System with a Markovian Transition Process

This communication considers a method for evaluating fluctuations in the integral type output of a linear time-invariant compartmental system with a Markovian transition process. First, we derived a mathematical formula to calculate variances and covariances of integral type. outputs, as with radioisotope data, when transition rates are known. Then, an estimate for the upper limits of variances and covariances, i.e., 1/2?initial dose, when the transition rates are not given beforehand, was introduced.     

A novel design for dispersion compensating photonic crystal fiber Raman amplifier

This letter presents a novel design for dispersion compensating photonic crystal fiber (DCPCF) which shows inherently flattened high Raman gain of 19 dB (/spl plusmn/1.2-dB gain ripple) over 30-nm bandwidth. The proposed design module has been simulated through an efficient full-vectorial finite element method. The designed DCPCF has a high negative dispersion coefficient (-200 to -250 ps/nm/km) over C-band wavelength (1530-1568 nm). The proposed fiber module of 5.2-km length not only compensates the accumulated dispersion in conventional single-mode fiber (SMF-28) but also compensates for the dispersion slope. Hence, the designed DCPCF module acts as the gain-flattened Raman amplifier and dispersion compensator.     

A case of AIDS with disseminated Mycobacterium kansasii infection in which Mycobacterium, avium complex was also detected from his sputum repeatedly

A 43 year-old Japanese male was admitted to our hospital because of productive cough and fever. He was diagnosed as acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in 1994. Laboratory findings were as follows: WBC was 3200/microliter, CD4+ T lymphocyte count was 22/microliter. His chest X-ray film taken on admission showed infiltration with small cavity lesion in middle left lung field. Tuberculin skin reaction was negative. He was treated with isoniazid 0.4 g, rifampicin 0.45 g, and ethambutol 0.75 g each daily. Sputum smear was positive for acid fast bacilli. The cultured isolates were identified as Mycobacterium kansasii (M. kansasii) and Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC). Urine smear was also positive for acid fast bacilli. The cultured isolates were identified as M. kansasii. He was diagnosed as disseminated M. kansasii infection and suspected MAC infection. About one hundred days later, his chest X-ray film showed reticular shadow. His clinical symptoms improved and the sputum smear and culture converted to negative for acid fast bacilli. Based on these findings, his MAC discharge was considered not as MAC infection, but MAC colonization. He returned to the former hospital for AIDS treatment, and he died in August 1996.     

Some new binary codes correcting asymmetric/unidirectional errors

The authors give a tabulation of the numbers of codewords in new binary codes with the asymmetric/unidirectional error-correcting capabilities of 3, 4, 5, 6 for lengths 14, 15, . . . , 23. The new codes have greater sizes than the known codes for 14⩽n⩽23 and 3⩽t⩽6     

Synthesis of MgO/ZnO hetero-epitaxial whiskers using chemical vapor deposition operated under atmospheric pressure

A chemical-vapor-deposition (CVD) technique operated under atmospheric pressure is available to synthesize metal oxide crystals with various morphologies. This CVD technique provides highly supersaturating conditions that induce morphological instability of growing crystallites. In this study, the metal oxide material with rock salt structure was selected to confirm the possibility of whisker growth of the cubic system crystal. The MgO whiskers grew epitaxially on the single crystalline substrate of (0001) sapphire under appropriate conditions. The MgO whiskers were also formed epitaxially on the top of the ZnO whiskers. The unique whisker with the MgO/ZnO hetero-junction was successfully obtained.     

Capacitor discharge percussion welding of pure aluminum wire to pure copper sheet

This paper presents the results of a research into capacitor discharge percussion welding (CDPW) of pure aluminum wires and pure copper sheets, using percussion welding power and special welding device. A lot of CDPW factors, which will affect aluminum and copper dissimilar bonding, are described and these parameters have also been optimized. The fracture pull, inter'ace compounds, microstructure and hardness are all studied. The results show that aluminum wire welding to copper sheet can form a sound weld and in some conditions the fracture pull is similar to that of the pure aluminum wires. The capacitance, discharge voltage, wire taper angle and machine oil as welding assistant medium affect fracture pull. The intermetallic compounds Al2 Cu appears on the copper side of joint. Narrower heat-affected zone is observed.     

Separation of a Nonstationary Component from the EEG by a Nonlinear Digital Filter

A new nonlinear digital filter which separates nonstationary waves such as spikes from stationary background waves of the EEG is proposed. This filter is composed of a prediction filter and a simple nonlinear function. Some examples showing the separation of spikes from EEG data of epileptic patients are given.