Application of GPT to tanδ measuring apparatus fordistribution cable in hot line

A hot line tanδ measuring apparatus which uses the secondary voltage of GPTs (grounding potential transformers) existing at substations and other facilities has been developed. An error vector circle diagram method which allows one to determine the value of tanδ to an accuracy of 0.1%, notwithstanding the phase difference existing between the primary and secondary voltages of a GPT, is described. The method was used in field experiments with favorable results. The method is especially superior in terms of safety and operability because no contact with high-voltage portions is required     

Analysis of the interface and bond strength of resin-based endodontic cements to root dentin

This study evaluated by scanning electron microscopy the interface between root dentin and resin cements, with or without additional application of a dual-cured one-step self-etching dentin adhesive. In addition, the push-out bond strength of these materials to dentin was evaluated. Root canals of 50 maxillary human canines were subjected to biomechanical preparation and randomly assigned into five groups (n = 10) according to the obturation employed: I. AH Plus/gutta-percha; II. Endo-REZ/gutta-percha; III. Epiphany SE/Resilon; IV. Endo-REZ/gutta-percha + adhesive; and V. Epiphany SE/Resilon + adhesive. After obturation, two cross sections of 1.0 mm of each third of the root were obtained and analyzed by SEM and push-out. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis, Two-way ANOVA and Tukey's HSD tests (α = 5%). Significant differences occurred between scores for gap parameters and tags; greater tag formation resulted for Epiphany SE (P < 0.05). There were also significant differences between groups for the bond strength. AH Plus (1.24 ± 0.70) showed higher values (P < 0.05) compared to groups II (0,17 ± 0.19), III (0.10 ± 0.06), IV (0.09 ± 0.08), and V (0.06 ± 0.03), which were statistically similar (P > 0.05). There was no significant difference between the root thirds (P > 0.05). It was concluded that the use of a self-etching adhesive system did not improve the adhesion of resin-based sealers to dentin and that AH Plus showed better bond strength when compared to other cements.     

Breakage of shunt devices (Sophy programmable pressure valve) following implantation in the hypochondriac region

We report on three cases in which shunt devices (Sophy programmable pressure valve) broke while implanted in the hypochondriac region. None of these patients had an apparent history of trauma related to the shunt valve. The outlet connector was broken at the same site in each case. The dissociation between the movement of the thorax and that of the abdomen may have caused the formation of a crack in the outlet connector.     

Enhancing creativity through reorganising mental space concealed in a research notes stack

In this article, we propose a method and its implementation to aid the process of creative thinking. The objective of this research is to enhance human scientific creativity with computers. In order to aid the process of creative thinking, we have implemented a system named En Passant 2, which stores the user’s research notes and gives the triggers to recall his/her memories in current context. En Passant 2 has a function to deal with indices and a time attribute of the user’s thought explicitly, and shows the user’s notepads related to his/her awareness of the issues.     

Molecular weight estimation by pressure during polymerization

Experimental studies for the mol wt estimation by pressure was performed with a batch polymerization of phthalic anhydride (PA) and ethylene glycol (EG). Experimental results show that the pressure in the reactor can be utilized to estimate the mol wt of products. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Studies on the reliability of the polarcardiographic records (author's transl)

Reliability of the polarcardiogram obtained by the newly constructed polarcardiograph, in which the vector sum circuit applying absolute value operations were used for the computation of the magnitude curve, were examined in fifty normal subjects. There was no statistically significant difference between the means of the measured values of the polarcardiogram and of the corresponding polar components calculated from the three scalar ECG concerning all twenty items, namely spatial magnitude, magnitudes in each plane, each longitude and latitude at the time of the spatial maximum QRS and T vectors, except alpha-longitude. Highly significant positive correlations were observed between these two sets of values in all twenty items. Configurations of the pattern obtained by plotting the instantaneous polar components, which were calculated from the three scalar ECG, on the linear time scale were very similar with those of the polarcardiographic records. These findings showed that the records obtained by the newly constructed polarcardiograph were reliable.     

Distribution and diffusion coefficients of NaCl in polyamide (nylon‐6,6 and polyxylyleneadipamide) membranes

Thin membranes of an aliphatic polyamide (nylon‐6,6) and an aromatic polyamide (polyxylyleneadipamide) (PXAP) were prepared, and their distribution (K) and overall diffusion (D) coefficients of sodium chloride were measured with the unsteady‐state and steady‐state dialysis method. The overall diffusion coefficients at a zero concentration [D⁽⁰⁾] of sodium chloride for nylon‐6,6 and PXAP were 1.3–0.8 μm²/s (from 2 min of interfacial polymerization to 4 min) and 0.078, respectively. D⁽⁰⁾ for PXAP was about 3 times greater than that of a cellulose acetate (CA) membrane (0.024 μm²/s). The K values for nylon‐6,6 and PXAP were 0.7–0.5 from 2 to 4 min and 0.05, respectively. K for PXAP was almost the same as K for CA (0.06). A two‐part (dense and porous) model of the membrane structure was applied to obtain D_d (the diffusion coefficient in the dense part of the membrane) and D_p (the diffusion coefficient in the porous part of the membrane) for CA, PXAP, and nylon‐6,6 thin membranes. The values of D_d were almost the same for both nylon‐6,6 and PXAP (0.05–0.061 μm²/s) and about 10 times greater than the value for the CA membrane (5.6 × 10^?3 μm²/s). D_p for PXAP was almost the same as D_p for CA. However, D_p for the nylon‐6,6 membrane was 10–16 times greater than D_p for the PXAP membrane. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 84: 2605–2612, 2002     

Production of a highly charged uranium ion beam with RIKEN superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source

A highly charged uranium (U) ion beam is produced from the RIKEN superconducting electron cyclotron resonance ion source using 18 and 28 GHz microwaves. The sputtering method is used to produce this U ion beam. The beam intensity is strongly dependent on the rod position and sputtering voltage. We observe that the emittance of U(35+) for 28 GHz microwaves is almost the same as that for 18 GHz microwaves. It seems that the beam intensity of U ions produced using 28 GHz microwaves is higher than that produced using 18 GHz microwaves at the same Radio Frequency (RF) power.     

An integrated circuit design of a silicon neuron and its measurement results

A novel MOSFET-based silicon nerve membrane model and its measurement results are described in this paper. This model is designed based on a mathematical structure that is characterized by phase plane analysis and bifurcation theory. The circuit is fabricated through MOSIS TSMC 0.35 μm CMOS process. Measurement results demonstrate that our circuit shows fundamental abilities of excitable cells such as a) a resting state, b) an action potential, c) a threshold, and d) a refractoriness. This work was presented in part at the 13th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 31–February 2, 2008