Permeation measurements for investigating atomic hydrogen flux and wall pumping/fuelling dynamics in QUEST

In order to investigate the overall atomic hydrogen background and the dynamic characteristics of wall pumping/fuelling phenomenon, a permeation probe system has been developed and applied in the spherical tokamak QUEST. Reliability of measurements, within ±3% accuracy and a positive correlation with the hydrogen line emission over three orders of magnitude have been demonstrated for more than 3000 various plasma discharges. By comparison of the experimental permeation (flux) curves with the numerically simulated curves, the net incident atomic hydrogen flux is evaluated in the range of 1 × 10¹⁹ H m^?2 s^?1 to 4 × 10²⁰ H m^?2 s^?1. The atomic flux has been investigated as a function of various plasma operation parameters like RF power, gas pressure and magnetic configuration. Using the static particle balance and permeation measurements, the progress in wall conditioning has been investigated. An inverse correlation between the atomic hydrogen flux and improvement in wall pumping has been observed over the two campaigns.     

Designing high-level decision making systems based on fuzzy if–then rules for a point-to-point car racing game

In this paper, fuzzy rule-based systems are applied to a point-to-point car racing game. In the point-to-point car racing game, two car agents compete with each other for taking waypoints. There are three waypoints in the car racing field, each of which is assigned a number that indicates the order to take. The control process of car agents is modeled as a non-holonomic system where there are two input variables (acceleration and steering) for controlling the position, angle and velocity of the car agents. Fuzzy rule-based systems are used to make a high-level decision where the target waypoint to take is determined. Since a fuzzy rule-based system for the high-level decision making is generated in the manner of supervised learning, a set of training patterns should be given for the construction of the fuzzy rule-based systems. In this paper we examine two methods to obtain such a set of training patterns. We also examine two representations of input vectors for the fuzzy rule-based systems. We discuss the effect of obtained training patterns and the input representation on the performance of the fuzzy rule-based systems. After discussing and analyzing the experimental results, we present an adaptive framework of fuzzy rule-based systems. The performance of adaptive fuzzy rule-based systems is then examined based on the results of their non-adaptive version. A series of computational experiments are performed to show the learning ability of the adaptive fuzzy rule-based systems.     

Development of a high‐resolution RGBW flexible display using a white organic light‐emitting diode with microcavity structure and that of a side‐roll touch panel

In this study, white organic electroluminescent devices with microcavity structures were developed. A flexible high‐resolution active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode display with low power consumption using red, green, blue, and white sub‐pixels formed by a color‐filter method was fabricated. In addition, a side‐roll touch display was developed in combination with a capacitive flexible touch screen.     

Effect of rule weights in fuzzy rule-based classification systems

This paper examines the effect of rule weights in fuzzy rule-based classification systems. Each fuzzy IF-THEN rule in our classification system has antecedent linguistic values and a single consequent class. We use a fuzzy reasoning method based on a single winner rule in the classification phase. The winner rule for a new pattern is the fuzzy IF-THEN rule that has the maximum compatibility grade with the new pattern. When we use fuzzy IF-THEN rules with certainty grades, the winner is determined as the rule with the maximum product of the compatibility grade and the certainty grade. In this paper, the effect of rule weights is illustrated by drawing classification boundaries using fuzzy IF-THEN rules with/without certainty grades. It is also shown that certainty grades play an important role when a fuzzy rule-based classification system is a mixture of general rules and specific rules. Through computer simulations, we show that comprehensible fuzzy rule-based systems with high classification performance can be designed without modifying the membership functions of antecedent linguistic values when we use fuzzy IF-THEN rules with certainty grades     

Peroxiredoxin 2 as a chemotherapy responsiveness biomarker candidate in osteosarcoma revealed by proteomics

Purpose : We aimed to identify novel chemotherapy responsiveness biomarkers for osteosarcoma (OS) by investigating the global protein expression profile of 12 biopsy samples from OS patients. Experimental design : Six patients were classified as good responders and six as poor responders, according to the Huvos grading system. The protein expression profiles obtained by 2‐D DIGE consisted of 2250 protein spots. Results : Among them, we identified 55 protein spots whose intensity was significantly different (Bonferroni adjusted p‐value<0.01) between the two patient groups. Mass spectrometric protein identification demonstrated that the 55 spots corresponded to 38 distinct gene products including peroxiredoxin 2 (PRDX 2). Use of a specific antibody against PRDX 2 confirmed the differential expression of PRDX 2 between good and poor responders, while PRDX 2 levels as measured by Western blotting correlated highly with their corresponding 2‐D DIGE values. The predictive value of PRDX 2 expression was further confirmed by examining an additional four OS cases using Western blotting. Conclusions and clinical relevance : These results establish PRDX 2 as a candidate for chemotherapy responsiveness marker in OS. Measuring PRDX 2 in biopsy samples before treatment may contribute to more effective management of OS.     

A Gait Phase Measurement System Using Treadmill Motor Current

The article describes the development of a gait phase time-based split-belt treadmill measurement system. Conventional methods of measuring gait phase, such as the foot switch and force plate, require significant preparation and are costly. In this article, we propose a simple, cheap, and accurate gait phase measurement system that utilizes only the treadmill motor current value. Comparison of this algorithm with conventional methods reveals that the proposed algorithm is as accurate as the foot switch. Moreover, the proposed algorithm can estimate stance phase within a 0.2?s error of the measured value of the force plate in most cases (four out of five healthy subjects). This accuracy is higher than that of the foot switch which is widely used in the clinical field.     

Mercuric chloride induces increases in both cytoplasmic and nuclear free calcium ions through a protein phosphorylation-linked mechanism

The mechanism of the lymphocyte stimulatory action of sulfhydryl group-reactive mercuric ions was studied with respect to its potential ability to induce a protein tyrosine phosphorylation-linked signal for mobilization of free Ca2+ into cytoplasm and nucleus of the cell. Exposure of human leukamic T cell line (Jurkat) cells to high (1 mM) and low (0.01 mM) concentrations of HgCl2 induced tyrosine phosphorylation of multiple proteins in a concentration-dependent manner. Confocal microscopy directly visualized the time course localization of Ca2+ inside the cells after exposure to HgCl2. The onset and level of Ca2+ mobilization following HgCl2 exposure were in parallel to those of protein tyrosine phosphorylation. Interestingly, by either concentration of HgCl2, Ca2+ was mobilized in both cytoplasm and nucleus almost simultaneously, and the level of Ca2+ mobilization in the nucleus was more than that in the cytoplasm. All the HgCl2-mediated Ca2+ mobilization was prevented by addition of protein kinase inhibitor staurosporin prior to HgCl2. These results suggest that heavy metal stress triggers a protein tyrosine phosphorylation-linked signal that leads to a nuclear event-dominant Ca2+ mobilization.     

Single molecule fluorescence autocorrelation measurement on anisotropic molecular diffusion in nematic liquid crystal

Diffusion kinetics of three dyes in nematic liquid crystals are studied with single-molecule fluorescence autocorrelation spectroscopy. Markedly large anisotropy was observed in the diffusion coefficient and structure of diffusion molecules showed no marked effect on the anisotropy.