Over-1000-channel ultradense WDM transmission with supercontinuum multicarrier source

In this paper, ultradense wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM) transmission technologies are discussed, and a field demonstration of over-1000-channel ultradense WDM transmission is reported. The generation of an ultradense WDM signal using a supercontinuum multicarrier source that generates more than 1000 carriers and uniform precise channel spacing of 6.25 GHz is presented. The influence of four-wave-mixing generated in the transmission fiber and the requirements placed on the WDM multiplexer and demultiplexer is described. An over-1000-channel ultradense WDM transmission experiment is reported. A 1046 /spl times/ 2.67-Gbit/s 6.25-GHz-spaced ultradense WDM signal is successfully transmitted over 126 km of field-installed fibers in the test bed of JGN II.     

Resolving the conflict of a simultaneously highly moisturizing and occlusive emulsion film

Two basic functions of emulsion-based cosmetic products are moisturization and occlusion, which are markedly affected by the ratio of hydrophilic to lipophilic parts in the emulsions. However, due to their conflicting requirements, it is difficult to simultaneously improve both functions. Therefore, we developed new emulsion that has simultaneously higher moisturizing and occlusive functions than those of polyoxyethelene-type emulsions, by using polyglycerin-type surfactants, acetyl alcohol, polyglycerin-13-polyoxybutylene-14-stearyl ether and the D-phase emulsification method, because of dispersing a large quantity of water into the lipophilic part of the applied emulsion film and of strengthening the hydrophilic part of the emulsion film. We confirmed through microscopic study with a laser microscope that in polyoxyethelene-type emulsions, droplets disappear quickly after the film is formed and dried, whereas in our experimental emulsions, the droplets' shape is evenly retained. Furthermore, after 1 month of continuous use, stratum corneum removal and corneocyte arrangement also improved significantly.     

Acquiring Rule‐Sets for Deciding Target Areas in Distributing Cruising Taxicabs

This paper presents a way to acquire effective rule‐sets for realizing the suitable distribution of cruising taxicabs based on a decentralized autonomous approach. As a result of the revision of the Road Transportation Law, the taxi business has been saturated by new entries, and rookie drivers in particular have considerable difficulty in finding passengers because of lack of knowledge or experience. Thus designing a support system that suggests potential destinations for finding passengers is desirable and effective in assisting less‐experienced drivers. As for the problem of distributing cruising taxicabs, there are many uncertainties caused by incomplete observations, for example, locations of passengers as well as other taxicabs. Due to these uncertainties, it is impossible to distribute taxicabs optimally, for example, by a certain centralized control. This paper proposes a decentralized and autonomous framework for distributing cruising taxicabs by adopting priority‐based rules, which calculate the priorities of areas, which are then adjusted according to the situation of each taxicab. Through computational simulations, the effectiveness and the potential of the proposed method are confirmed.     

Use of a predictive model for food insecurity estimates in Brazil

In 2004 the National Household Survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostras de Domicilios-PNAD) estimated the prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity in Brazil. However, PNAD data cannot be disaggregated at the municipal level. The objective of this study was to build a statistical model to predict severe food insecurity for Brazilian municipalities based on the PNAD dataset. Exclusion criteria were: incomplete food security data (19.30%); informants younger than 18 years old (0.07%); collective households (0.05%); households headed by indigenous persons (0.19%). The modeling was carried out in three stages, beginning with the selection of variables related to food insecurity using univariate logistic regression. The variables chosen to construct the municipal estimates were selected from those included in PNAD as well as the 2000 Census. Multivariate logistic regression was then initiated, removing the non-significant variables with odds ratios adjusted by multiple logistic regression. The Wald Test was applied to check the significance of the coefficients in the logistic equation. The final model included the variables: per capita income; years of schooling; race and gender of the household head; urban or rural residence; access to public water supply; presence of children; total number of household inhabitants and state of residence. The adequacy of the model was tested using the Hosmer-Lemeshow test (p = 0.561) and ROC curve (area = 0.823). Tests indicated that the model has strong predictive power and can be used to determine household food insecurity in Brazilian municipalities, suggesting that similar predictive models may be useful tools in other Latin American countries.     

DryadeParent, An Efficient and Robust Closed Attribute Tree Mining Algorithm

In this paper, we present a new tree mining algorithm, DryadeParent, based on the hooking principle first introduced in DRYADE. In the experiments, we demonstrate that the branching factor and depth of the frequent patterns to find are key factors of complexity for tree mining algorithms, even if often overlooked in previous work. We show that DryadeParent outperforms the current fastest algorithm, CMTreeMiner, by orders of magnitude on data sets where the frequent tree patterns have a high branching factor.     

40 Gbit/s XOR and AND gates using polarisation switching within 1 m-long bismuth oxide-based nonlinear fibre

The implementation of all-optical logic gates of XOR and AND operable at 40 Gbit/s using polarisation switching within only 1 m length of a fabricated Bi-NLF is experimentally demonstrated. The two logic functions are obtained in a single device by simply changing the polarisation states of input signals relative to that of a probe beam.     

An absorption-based surface plasmon resonance sensor applied to sodium ion sensing based on an ion-selective optode membrane

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sodium ion sensor using an ion optode membrane film was experimentally and theoretically described based on an absorption-based SPR principle proposed in our previous article (Kurihara, K; Suzuki, K. AnaL Chem. 2002, 74, 696-701). The sodium ion concentrations from 10(-6) to 10(-1) have been successfully determined not only by the resonance angle diagnosis of the SPR curve but also by the minimum reflectance one. The ion optode film was plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) including a neutral sodium ionophore, a pH-sensitive cationic dye, and an anionic additive. Its optical absorption intensity changed with the sodium ion concentrations. The SPR ion sensor physically measured the complex refractive index caused by the absorption in the ion optode film. We have exhaustively investigated the experimental response behavior of the SPR curve relative to the sodium ion concentrations by comparison with numerically simulated SPR curves using a three-layer Fresnel equation including experimental values for the sodium ion optode membrane film. As predicted by the absorption-based SPR principle, the SPR curve behavior of the SPR ion sensors depended on two factors: one was the relation between the excitation frequency of the light source and the absorption maximum frequency in the ion optode film while the other was the gold metallic thickness in the Kretchmann configuration. The concept and practical theory of an absorption-based SPR sensor not only have been proved by the experimental results of the SPR sodium ion sensor but also have successfully allowed flexible ion sensing in an SPR sensor, which would be very difficult without the absorption mechanism in the ion optode film.     

Scanning nonlinear magnetic microscopy

Scanning nonlinear magnetic microscopy (SNMM) is introduced as a new microscopic technique for measurement of the distribution of magnetization. The technique is based on the detection of inductance variation in a magnetic material under application of an external alternating magnetic field. The measured inductance thus reflects the nonlinear magnetic response of the material, giving the nonlinear magnetic permeability (mu(333)) and the direction and magnitude of magnetization. SNMM is demonstrated in application to measurement of the magnetization distribution of a floppy disk.