Noncontact detection of electromagnetic noise occurrence due to partial discharges by spatial phase difference method

A new method for detecting the occurrence of partial discharge (PD) in a high-voltage electric apparatus due to a dielectric material defect is presented. This method uses the phase difference of electromagnetic signals emitted through space. The time delay of the signals at two points is estimated. From this, the time delay of the PD and the originating position can be determined. When the electromagnetic wave due to an internal PD is to be measured and an electric power apparatus has a dielectric defect, the mean power of the background noise is normally higher than that of the signal of interest and the signal tends to get lost in the background noise. This paper shows experimentally that the proposed method can be applied to identify the electromagnetic waves emitted from the PD. This method is shown to be useful for detecting and predicting an insulation material defect. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn. 118 (4): 20–26, 1997     

An efficient algorithm for generating manipulator inertia matrix using the minimum set of dynamics parameters

This article presents an efficient algorithm for computing the inertia matrix of rigid serial manipulators. The derivation of the algorithm is based on the closed-form formulation of the force and moment exerted on a link using a minimum set of dynamic parameters of the manipulator model. The minimum set of dynamic parameters can be derived completely from the original dynamic parameters using the recursive re-grouping method before starting the simulation and the control. The proposed computation method is suitable for the control and the simulation based on parameter estimates because the minimum set of dynamic parameters is an identifiable parameter set. The computational efficiency of the proposed methods is compared with other published methods. It is shown that the proposed algorithm is the most efficient approach for serial manipulators. As an example, the number of computations for the inertia matrix of a manipulator with n rotational joints is 11n²+9 n − 35 multiplications and 7n²+ 23 n − 57 additions by reformulating the dynamic model using the minimum set of dynamic parameters. © 1996 John Wiley &, Sons, Inc.     

Characterization of BAMO/NMMO Copolymers

The compositions and microstructures, thermolyses, and sensitivities of 3,3-bis(azidomethyl)oxetane (BAMO) copolymers with 3-nitratomethyl-3-methyloxetane (NMMO) were characterized. The molar ratios of monomers fed in the copolymerizations were: BAMO/NMMO = 8/2, 7/3, and 6/4. The observed compositions were 81/19, 68/32, and 60/40, respectively. The relative compositions of trade microstructures were also exactly the same as theoretical values. The copolymerization of BAMO with NMMO behaved like an ideal system in the sense that the copolymer has approximately the same composition as the monomer fed. The microstructures of copolymers were also randomly arranged. Poly BAMO showed side chain decomposition in the initial stage of the thermolysis, on the other hand, backbone decomposition controlled the thermolysis of poly NMMO. The BAMO units and the NMMO units appeared to decompose more or less independently of one another and retained their individual decomposition characteristics despite being copolymerized. However, the heat generated by the NMMO decomposition, which occurred at 40°C lower than that of BAMO. activated the reaction of BAMO. Poly B/N(7/3) showed very interesting characteristics in sensitivities, mechanical properties, and the heat of decomposition.     

Magnetic Sensorless Sensing of Plasma Position in the Superconducting Tokamak HT-7

Magnetic sensorless sensing experiments of the plasma horizontal position have been carried out in the superconducting tokamak HT-7. The horizontal position is calculated from the vertical field coil current and voltage without using signals of magnetic probes placed nearby a plasma. The calculations are focused on the ripple frequency component of the power supply.There is no drift problem with the time integration of magnetic probe signals. The error of the derived plasma position is lower than 2% of the plasma minor radius.     

Release kinetics of tritium generated in lithium-enriched Li2+xTiO3 by thermal neutron irradiation

Tritium release kinetics for Li_2+xTiO₃, the lithium-enriched Li₂TiO₃, was investigated by isochronal and isothermal annealing experiments. Tritium release by isochronal annealing showed that the dominant release stage was found at around 600 K. An additional release stage at lower temperature side was appeared with increasing excess lithium, which was attributed to the release of tritium trapped in Li₄TiO₄ structure. The dominant release stage was considered to a release of tritium trapped by irradiation defects. Isothermal annealing experiments indicated that tritium releases were controlled by diffusion process. The diffusion coefficient of Li_2.0TiO₃ was one order of magnitude as large as those of Li_2.2TiO₃ and Li_2.4TiO₃, although their activation energies were almost the same. These results showed that rate-determining step was the diffusion process of tritium in Li₂TiO₃ structure for Li_2+xTiO₃ and excess lithium would make diffusion coefficient smaller. Simulation of tritium-TDS spectra for Li_2.0TiO₃ has clarified that the TDS spectrum forLi_2.0TiO₃ can be demonstrated by using Arrhenius diffusion parameters obtained by isothermal annealing experiment in the present study.     

Observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect in an oxide

The quantum Hall effect arises from the cyclotron motion of charge carriers in two-dimensional systems. However, the ground states related to the integer and fractional quantum Hall effect, respectively, are of entirely different origin. The former can be explained within a single-particle picture; the latter arises from electron correlation effects governed by Coulomb interaction. The prerequisite for the observation of these effects is extremely smooth interfaces of the thin film layers to which the charge carriers are confined. So far, experimental observations of such quantum transport phenomena have been limited to a few material systems based on silicon, III-V compounds and graphene. In ionic materials, the correlation between electrons is expected to be more pronounced than in the conventional heterostructures, owing to a large effective mass of charge carriers. Here we report the observation of the fractional quantum Hall effect in MgZnO/ZnO heterostructures grown by molecular-beam epitaxy, in which the electron mobility exceeds 180,000 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1). Fractional states such as ν = 4/3, 5/3 and 8/3 clearly emerge, and the appearance of the ν = 2/5 state is indicated. The present study represents a technological advance in oxide electronics that provides opportunities to explore strongly correlated phenomena in quantum transport of dilute carriers.     

用于光生成反应的低温液体氢/氘靶系统的研制

为研究光生成带电π介子和中性K介子,研制了1套液体氢/氘靶系统,用于日本东北大学核科学实验室的中性K介子谱仪实验系统。这套靶系统的设计目标是使生成产额最大化、本底最小化及操作安全易行。经实验检验,该套液体氢/氘靶系统的几何安置误差约为1.1mm,靶的有效核子个数不确定度约为0.63%。靶系统在液体状态连续稳定工作可超过3周。靶系统的良好运行完全达到了预先设计目标。     

An evaluation tool for FKBP12-dependent and -independent mTOR inhibitors using a combination of FKBP-mTOR fusion protein, DSC and NMR

Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a large multidomain protein kinase, regulates cell growth and metabolism in response to environmental signals. The FKBP rapamycin-binding (FRB) domain of mTOR is a validated therapeutic target for the development of immunosuppressant and anticancer drugs but is labile and insoluble. Here we designed a fusion protein between FKBP12 and the FRB domain of mTOR. The fusion protein was successfully expressed in Escherichia coli as a soluble form, and was purified by a simple two-step chromatographic procedure. The fusion protein exhibited increased solubility and stability compared with the isolated FRB domain, and facilitated the analysis of rapamycin and FK506 binding using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and solution nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). DSC enabled the rapid observation of protein-drug interactions at the domain level, while NMR gave insights into the protein-drug interactions at the residue level. The use of the FKBP12-FRB fusion protein combined with DSC and NMR provides a useful tool for the efficient screening of FKBP12-dependent as well as -independent inhibitors of the mTOR FRB domain.     

Pharmacological studies on alterations in contractile reactivity in aortas isolated from experimental diabetic rats

The present study was undertaken to determine how the responses to contractile agents are altered in aortas from rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes and to explore the possible mechanisms of the altered responses in diabetes. Rats were given an intravenous injection of 45 mg/kg streptozotocin. Eight to 12 weeks after treatment, aortas were isolated and set up for measurement of isometric tension. Diabetic aortas exhibited significantly lesser contractions in response to high K+ than those from age-matched controls. Furthermore, the Ca2+ channel agonist Bay K 8644 was not able to consistently contract diabetic aortas even when they were partially depolarized by an elevation of the extracellular K+ concentration to 15 mM where the agonist produced concentration-dependent contractions in all control aortas. On the other hand, the contractile responses to norepinephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, endothelin-1 and U46619 were significantly enhanced in diabetic rat aortas. All of the enhanced responses of diabetic aortas were completely eliminated in the presence of the Ca2+ channel antagonist nifedipine. The contractile responses of aortas from both control and diabetic rats to these agonists were abolished or strongly inhibited by the protein kinase C inhibitor staurosporine, and no significant difference was found in the magnitude of the contractile responses of aortas between control and diabetic rats to the agonists in the presence of staurosporine. In diabetic aortas, the protein kinase C activators phorbol 12, 13-dibutyrate and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate elicited a delayed, sharply developing rise in tension following the initial, gradually developing contraction, while these agents produced only the initial, slowly developing contraction in control aortas. As a result, the contractions induced by phorbol esters were greater in diabetic aortas than in controls. The enhanced contractile responses of diabetic aortas to phorbol esters were not observed in Ca(2+)-free medium or in the presence of nifedipine. In Ca(2+)-free medium, the transient contraction induced by caffeine was significantly diminished in diabetic aortas, in contrast to the phasic contraction by norepinephrine which was similarly observed in control and diabetic aortas. These results indicate that the extracellular Ca(2+)-dependent contractions elicited by receptor activation are enhanced in aortas from diabetic rats, and this is presumably related to a greater influx of Ca2+ through transmembrane Ca2+ channels as a consequence of increased protein kinase C-activated processes. On the other hand, the contractions associated with depolarization-evoked activation of Ca2+ channels are diminished in diabetic aortas, possibly due to an alteration in activation of the channels by membrane depolarization, and Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release from intracellular stores appears to be impaired in diabetes.