Characteristics of a crossed-wire scatterer without a junction point of an incident wave of circular polarization

A crossed-wire scatterer has the wires displaced in the backscattering direction, and is able to scatter an incident wave of circular polarization in such a way that the backscattering wave has the same rotational sense as that of the incident wave. The radiation performance of the scatterer is improved by bending the horizontal and the vertical wires. Arrays consisting of crossed-wire scatterers are constructed and the backscattering cross sections (BSCS's) are calculated. It is revealed that the increase in the current amplitude due to the mutual effects among the array elements contributes to enhancement in the BSCS. It is also shown that a maximum value of the BSCS of an array of3 times 3bent crossed-wire scatterers is 1.8 times as large as that of a dihedral corner reflector which has the same aperture area. The BSCS's as a function of the angle of incidence are presented with experimental results at a frequency of 9.375 GHz.     

Thermal alteration of oleic acid in the presence of clay catalysts with co-catalysts

The effects of added co-catalysts on the clay catalyzed polymerization of oleic acid have been investigated. Heating oleic acid at 230 C for 3 hr with a clay catalyst gave a polymer fraction (dimer and trimer acids, 35% yield) and a monomer fraction (branched chain isomers of oleic acid, 27% yield) as the major products. The variation in yield between the polymer and monomer products was found to be dependent upon the co-catalyst used with the clay catalyst. For example, with both acidic and basic clays, polymer formation is favored (55% yield) in the presence of water and/or metal ions. In contrast, when Bronsted acids such as methanesulfonic or phosphoric acid are used as co-catalysts, the yield of branched monomer increased significantly (50%). Studies on the adsorption of oleic and Bronsted acids onto the clay surface showed that isomer formation is favored when both the oleic acid and the Bronsted acids are adsorbed onto the clay surface at selected molar ratios.     

Reliability of semiconductor lasers for undersea optical transmission systems

The reliability of laser diodes developed for undersea optical transmission systems is analyzed. Up to 1000 device samples of two types (DC-PBH and VSB) are used. An aging test with constant light power operation of 5 mW is carried out at 10, 50, and 70°C for 10 000 h. The median lifetime at 10°C is conservatively estimated to be1.6 times 10^{6}hours. Failure rate at 10°C is estimated at 250 FIT's at 25 years of service for the wear-out failure mode and at less than 50 FIT's for the random failure mode with a sufficient margin. Furthermore, it is determined that reliability can be further improved by selection of long-life lasers through an additional third step screening aging.     

Relationship between Expression of Onco-Related miRNAs and the Endoscopic Appearance of Colorectal Tumors

Accumulating data indicates that certain microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are differently expressed in samples of tumors and paired non-tumorous samples taken from the same patients with colorectal tumors. We examined the expression of onco-related miRNAs in 131 sporadic exophytic adenomas or early cancers and in 52 sporadic flat elevated adenomas or early cancers to clarify the relationship between the expression of the miRNAs and the endoscopic morphological appearance of the colorectal tumors. The expression levels of miR-143, -145, and -34a were significantly reduced in most of the exophytic tumors compared with those in the flat elevated ones. In type 2 cancers, the miRNA expression profile was very similar to that of the exophytic tumors. The expression levels of miR-7 and -21 were significantly up-regulated in some flat elevated adenomas compared with those in exophytic adenomas. In contrast, in most of the miR-143 and -145 down-regulated cases of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and in some of the de novo types of carcinoma, the up-regulation of oncogenic miR-7 and/or -21 contributed to the triggering mechanism leading to the carcinogenetic process. These findings indicated that the expression of onco-related miRNA was associated with the morphological appearance of colorectal tumors.     

Temperature-controlled triaxial compression/creep test device for thermodynamic properties of soft sedimentary rock and corresponding theoretical prediction

In deep geological disposal of high-level nuclear waste,one of the most important subjects is to estimate long-term stability and strength of host rock under high temperature conditions caused by radioactive decay of the waste.In this paper,some experimental researches on the thermo-mechanical characteristics of soft sedimentary rock have been presented.For this reason,a new temperature-controlled triaxial compression and creep test device,operated automatically by a computer-controlled system,whose control software has been developed by the authors,was developed to conduct the thermo-mechanical tests in different thermal loading paths,including an isothermal path.The new device is proved to be able to conduct typical thermo-mechanical element tests for soft rock.The test device and the related testing method were introduced in detail.Finally,some test results have been simulated with a thermo-elasto-viscoplastic model that was also developed by the authors.     

Proposal of a Simple Method for Assessing the Susceptibility of Naturally Deposited Clay Grounds to Large Long-Term Settlement due to Embankment Loading

A simple method that utilizes the results of laboratory tests has been proposed for determining the susceptibility of soft clay grounds to large residual consolidation settlement due to embankment loading. It was found that there is a possibility of large long-term settlement if the sensitivity and compression index ratios of the clay material that constitutes the ground are equal to or more than 8.0 and 1.5, respectively. The compression index ratio is defined in this paper as the ratio (Cc/Ccr) of the steepest gradient of the compression curve of an undisturbed sample to that of the remolded sample. Through the SYS Cam-clay model, an elasto-plastic constitutive model that describes the actions of the soil skeleton structure, it was found that clays with large sensitivity and compression index ratios are characterized by initially highly structured soils and that decay/upgradation of the structure can easily occur due to plastic deformation. In addition, by following Schmertmann's graphic method for in-situ compression curve (1953), this paper proposes a method of deducing the in-situ initial conditions from the results of laboratory consolidation tests on undisturbed samples. These investigations revealed not only that large delayed settlement is facilitated in clays, which have higher degrees of structure and faster rates of structural decay, but also that the Δe method and other simple methods of predicting settlement may underestimate the amount of settlement.     

Monolithically Integrated InP 1 $times$ 16 Optical Switch With Wavelength-Insensitive Operation

The static and dynamic characteristics of a monolithically integrated InP 1$,times,$ 16 optical phased-array switch are presented. The device demonstrates static switching with an average extinction ratio of 18.6 dB, on-chip loss below 7 dB, and wavelength dependence of less than 0.8 dB in the entire $C$-band. A 40-Gb/s nonreturn-to-zero signal is transmitted through the switch with a power penalty below 0.4 dB. Using a programmable electronic circuit, dynamic switching to all 16 outputs is achieved with response times less than 11 ns.      

Polypropylene-graphite nanocomposites made by solid-state shear pulverization: Effects of significantly exfoliated, unmodified graphite content on physical, mechanical and electrical properties

Nanocomposites made from polypropylene and as-received graphite were prepared by solid-state shear pulverization (SSSP) as a function of graphite loading (0.3-8.4 wt%). X-ray diffraction indicates that SSSP employing harsh pulverization conditions yields substantial graphite exfoliation at 0.3-2.7 wt% graphite content with less exfoliation being achieved at higher graphite content. With increasing graphite content, thermal degradation temperature and non-isothermal onset crystallization temperature increase substantially (by as much as 35 and 23 °C relative to neat polypropylene) while isothermal crystallization half-time decreases dramatically. In contrast, Young’s modulus and tensile yield strength exhibit maxima (∼100% and ∼60% increases, respectively, relative to neat polypropylene) at 2.7 wt% graphite content, with all nanocomposites retaining high elongation at break values except at the highest filler loading. Electrical conductivity measurements indicate percolation of graphite at 2.7 wt% and higher graphite content, consistent with rheology measurements showing the presence of a solid-like response of melt-state shear storage modulus as a function of frequency. Significant tunability of graphite exfoliation and property enhancements is demonstrated as a function of SSSP processing.     

Synthesis and photoinduced surface relief grating formation of novel photo-responsive amorphous molecular materials, 4-[bis(9,9-dimethylfluoren-2-yl)amino]-4′-cyanoazobenzene and 4-[bis(9,9-dimethylfluoren-2-yl)-amino]-4′-nitroazobenzene

Novel azobenzene-based photo-responsive amorphous molecular materials, 4-[bis(9,9-dimethylfluoren-2-yl)amino]-4′-cyanoazobenzene and 4-[bis(9,9-dimethylfluoren-2-yl)amino]-4′-nitroazobenzene, have been synthesized and the formation of surface relief grating on their amorphous films has been investigated. It was found that a relatively large surface relief grating could be inscribed on both amorphous films upon interference exposure to the writing laser beams. The modulation depth of the surface relief grating inscribed on the amorphous film of the cyano-substituted material was found to be larger than that inscribed on the film of the nitro-substituted one and seemed to be comparable to that inscribed on the amorphous film of the parent material, 4-[bis(9,9-dimethylfluoren-2-yl)amino]azobenzene. These results were discussed from the viewpoint of their trans–cis photoisomerizations as amorphous films and glass-transition temperatures.     

Impact of fertilizer on a small watershed of Lake Biwa: use of sulfur and strontium isotopes in environmental diagnosis

Sulfur and strontium isotopes (delta(34)S and (87)Sr/(86)Sr) were determined in 39 river water samples collected over three different cultivation periods (April, May, and June), and in several materials used for comparison (fertilizers, detergents, soils, irrigation and agricultural waters), to evaluate the impact of fertilizers on a small agricultural watershed of Lake Biwa, in central Japan. delta(34)S values in river water decreased (from +5.8 to -2.0 per thousand) with increasing SO(4) concentrations (3.8 to 93.2 ppm) from upstream to downstream of the watershed. Comparison of river water S isotopes with those of possible source materials indicates that the enrichment of SO(4) can be attributed to the dissolution of two kinds of fertilizers: (1) compound fertilizers commonly used in this area and (2) ammonium sulfate which is applied on a small scale. In contrast, (87)Sr/(86)Sr values of river water decreased with time from April (avg. 0.71163), through May (avg. 0.71139), to June (avg. 0.71127). The tendency of the sample plots on the (87)Sr/(86)Sr vs. 1/Sr diagram suggests a time-dependent increase in the contribution of soil water to the river, which is partly affected by the Sr-bearing fertilizers. It is suggested that a maximum of 25% of dissolved Sr is derived from these fertilizers, while more than 75% of it is of rock origin. Mass balance calculations permitted us to evaluate the proportion of fertilizer contribution in each river. Combined use of S and Sr isotopes together with concentration data could be a new environmental diagnosis technique for rivers and soils in localized watersheds.