Emerging From the Cocoon? Revisiting the Tele‐Cocooning Hypothesis in the Smartphone Era

The tele‐cocooning hypothesis posits that mobile communication increases interaction with communication rich ties, while simultaneously weakening interaction with communication weak ties. In this study, we demonstrate how smartphones can be used to mitigate tele‐cocooning behavior by stimulating interaction with communication weak ties. Using a smartphone application to collect non‐identifying mobile communication log data, we conducted a field experiment with 193 Japanese participants. The treatment consisted of onscreen reminders designed to stimulate interaction with communication weak ties. The results indicate that the treatment promoted the activation of communication weak ties and the acquisition of information through those ties, suggesting that smartphones can be utilized to promote access to social capital.     

Anode‐voltage‐control circuit for compensation of luminance deterioration

Abstract— An external driving circuit that has realized long lifetime, power‐consumption control, and peak luminance for organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) displays have been developed. This circuit realizes an effective method for constant‐anode‐voltage (CV) driving refered to as clamped inverter (CI) driving. The feature of CV driving is to achieve low‐power consumption compared with constant‐anode‐current (CC) driving and to control the power consumption and peak luminance according to the image because display luminance can be easily changed by controlling the anode voltage. On the other hand, CV driving has the problem that luminance deterioration appears to be serious compared with that of CC driving because the current of the OLED element decreases according to usage time. To cope with this, a lifetime compensation circuit that has increased the anode voltage so that it compensates for the luminance deterioration has been developed. This circuit can compensate not only the decrease in current but also the decrease in luminance at a constant current that CC driving cannot. However, increasing the anode voltage causes an increase in stress on the OLED element. The influence of stress on OLED lifetime was verified. As a result, it was confirmed that this circuit can extend the lifetime by 32% even if the anode voltage is increased, causing stress on the OLED structure.     

Syntheses of alpha-arbutin-alpha-glycosides and their inhibitory effects on human tyrosinase

Alpha-arbutin is a tyrosinase inhibitor. We synthesized alpha-arbutin-alpha-glycosides by the transglycosylation reaction of cyclomaltodextrin glucanotransferase from Bacillus macerans using alpha-arbutin and starch as acceptor and donor molecules, respectively. We isolated and characterized two major products from the reaction mixture. The structural analyses using 13C- and 1H-NMR spectroscopy proved that they were 4-hydroxyphenyl alpha-maltoside (alpha-Ab-alpha-G1) and 4-hydroxyphenyl alpha-maltotrioside (alpha-Ab-alpha-G2). Both alpha-Ab-alpha-G1 and alpha-Ab-alpha-G2 exhibited competitive-type inhibition on human tyrosinase as alpha-arbutin does. Their K(i) values were calculated to be 0.6 mM and 2.8 mM, respectively, which is slightly and significantly higher than that of alpha-arbutin (0.2 mM).     

A successive graphical method of design of a cross-flow cooling tower

A graphical method of the calculation of the mean enthalpy driving force in a cross-flow cooling tower has been proposed. In this method, the equilibrium relationship between the temperature and the enthalpy of saturated air is graphically represented and used in the calculation. The applicable range is, therefore, wider than the conventional methods which use the equilibrium relation in a form of a first-order equation or an exponential expression for a limited range of the temperature. The principle of this method is easily understood and also educational since it is a visual, graphical method.An example of the calculation applied to the practical case is given for reference.     

Gasdynamic stimulation of combustion of lean fuel mixtures. 1. experimental study

We studied combustion modes experimentally for a lean fuel mixture of propane-air, including combustion of a quiescent mixture, combustion with annular gas swirling, and combustion stimulated by the jets of a burning gas that are injected into the combustion chamber (pulsed jet combustion — PJC). It is shown that, in providing a maximum combustion rate, the PJC mode has an obvious advantage in initiation of combustion of extremely lean fuel mixtures over other gasdynamic combustion modes. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 302–308, March–April, 2000.     

Electrical conductivity of metastable κ-CeZrO4 phase possessing ordered arrangement of Ce and Zr ions

Electrical conductivity σ_t of metastable κ-CeZrO₄ possessing ordered arrangement of Ce and Zr ions in a manner similar to a pyrochlore-type was measured as a function of temperature and time, and compared with tetragonal metastable t′-(Ce_0.5Zr_0.5)O₂ and t′_meta-(Ce_0.5Zr_0.5)O₂ phases possessing random arrangement of the cations. The κ disk was prepared by reoxidizing a pyrochlore-type precursor in O₂ gas at 873 K. The σ_t as measured for the κ-CeZrO₄ was reproducible as a function of temperatures between 957 and 1190 K. At increasing temperatures above 1233 K, the σ_t decreased gradually with time due to the phase transition: κ→t′, and became consistent with the t′. Although the κ-CeZrO₄ phase is thermodynamically less stable than the t′-(Ce_0.5Zr_0.5)O₂, it was virtually stable up to around 1233 K. It was found from the change in the σ_t due to the phase transition that the σ_t for the metastable κ-CeZrO₄ was an order of magnitude higher than that for the t′ and was similar to that for the t′_meta. It was previously reported that a phase transition, t′_meta→t′, occurred above 1143 K. The phase transition, κ→t′, accompanied by redistribution of the cations appeared to occur at higher temperatures than that for t′_meta→t′ leaving random cation arrangement.     

Gasdynamic stimulation of combustion of lean fuel mixtures. 2. Evaluation of thermodynamic parameters and the magnitude of heat losses

Various gasdynamic regimes of combustion of a lean fuel mixture of propane with air, including combustion of the mixture at rest, combustion with annular twisting of the gas, and combustion stimulated by jets of a burning gas injected into the combustion chamber (PJC) were analyzed from the viewpoint of the magnitude of heat losses. The advantage of PJC over other combustion regimes is shown. We suggest a simple method to evaluate the pressure increase by calculating the magnitude of the energy release with allowance for heat losses to the combustion-chamber walls. Translated from Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, Vol. 73, No. 2, pp. 309–312, March–April, 2000.     

A mathematical model for the dynamic behavior of melts subjected to electromagnetic forces: Part II. Measurement of surface waves and comparison with predictions of the mathematical model

The waves on the surface of a cylindrical mercury pool subjected to a 3 kHz electromagnetic field have been observed. Oscillations were found to correspond to the known eigenfrequencies of a cylindrical liquid pool with a free surface. Which of the eigenfrequencies was dominant depended on the field strength and the relative position of the pool in the surrounding inductor. The amplitude of the oscillations was found to increase with increasing inductor current. The measurements showed fair to good agreement with the predictions of the mathematical model described in Part I. A tentative mechanism for the excitation of the eigenfrequencies by the electromagnetic field is advanced and implications for electromagnetic casting are discussed.     

Synthesis and characterization of fully conjugated porphyrin tapes

meso-meso, ß-ß, ß-ß Triply-linked zinc(II) porphyrin tapes were synthesized by powerful oxidation of meso-meso-linked zinc(II) porphyrin arrays up to tetramers with DDQ-Sc(OTf)₃. Coordination of butylamine to zinc(II) ions of porphyrin rings dissociates their aggregation, resulting in clear NMR spectra and sharper red-shifted absorption bands.