Tan δ of ethylene-propylene rubber in cryogenic temperature region–effects of additives and sample thickness

The authors have been developing extruded polymer insulated superconducting power cables. Dielectric loss in electrical insulation cannot be ignored in superconducting cables since conductor loss in the cables is minimal. Studies so far show that ethylene-propylene rubber (EPR) is suitable as an electrical insulating material in the extruded polymer insulated superconducting cable design because it demonstrates excellent mechanical and relatively good electrical qualities at a cryogenic temperature. Widely used EPR includes some kinds of additives; however, their effect on tan δ of EPR at cryogenic temperature remains unknown. The effect of additives such as crosslinking agent and fillers on tan δ of EPR was examined at temperatures of between 4.2 K and 300 K. Thickness dependence of tan δ was also measured using EPR films of different thickness and an extruded EPR insulated cable sample. The results show that additives increase tan δ of relatively thin films of EPR even in the cryogenic temperature region; however, they do not have an intolerable dielectric loss in comparison with conductor loss and heat inflow of the superconducting cable. The remedy to tan δ increase due to the polymer contraction relative to shielding wires has been established.     

Acute respiratory distress syndrome due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus sepsis in hyper-IgE syndrome

We report the case of a 34 year old woman with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) sepsis with hyperimmunoglobulin E syndrome (HIES). Although chemotactic activity of neutrophils was impaired in this patient, neutrophils accumulated in the lungs as assessed by bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) counts. In addition to antibiotics and oxygen therapy, the administration of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF) resulted in a remarkable recovery.     

Theoretical concentration of solar radiation by central receiver systems

Solar concentrations by central receiver systems have been calculated theoretically for various values of obliquity of the incident radiation, assuming that plane heliostat-mirrors, sufficiently small in dimension, cover a circular field without clearance. Through this calculation, the performance characteristics of this system such as the availability of the radiant energy incident on the heliostat-field, the distribution of interruption by an adjacent mirror, the optimum rim-angle for the mean area- and the mean volume-concentration and the attainable temperature were revealed. The study was extended towards the practical problem of decreasing the number of heliostats by increasing the dimensions of heliostat-mirrors, and the effect of increasing mirror-dimensions was argued for both plane and curved mirrors.     

Reaction of 3-methyl phenol with tung oil

The aromatic ring substitution reaction of 3-methyl phenol with tung oil under acidic conditions was carried out. The product was analyzed to find out if 3-methyl phenol was subjected to the ring substitution reaction with tung oil at its conjugated double bonds. Up to two molecules of 3-methyl phenol were addition-reacted with the conjugated triene of one eleostearyl group of triglyceride of α-eleostearic acid which is the major component of tung oil. The 4-position of 3-methyl phenol was preferentially subjected to the cresol's ring substitution. Therefore, up to 6 mol of 3-methyl phenol was added to 1 mol of tung oil, most of which was bonded to 3-methyl phenol at its 4-position. When 3-methyl phenol was reacted with a relatively large amount of tung oil, the substitution reaction occurred at the 6-as well as 4-position of 3-methyl phenol to yield a tung oil dimer having 3-methyl phenol units in its molecule. The above results were confirmed by infrared (IR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and high-speed liquid chromatographic (HLC) analyses.     

Two-dimensional multiarray formation of hepatocyte spheroids on a microfabricated PEG-brush surface

A two-dimensional microarray of ten thousand (100 x 100) hepatocyte heterospheroids, underlaid with endothelial cells, was successfully constructed with 100 microm spacing in an active area of 20 x 20 mm on microfabricated glass substrates that were coated with poly(ethylene glycol) brushes. Cocultivation of hepatocytes with endothelial cells was essential to stabilize hepatocyte viability and liver-specific functions, allowing us to obtain hepatocyte spheroids with a diameter of 100 microm, functioning as a miniaturized liver to secret albumin for at least one month. The most important feature of this study is that these substrates are defined to provide an unprecedented control of substrate properties for modulating cell behavior, employing both surface engineering and synthetic polymer chemistry. The spheroid array constructed here is highly useful as a platform of tissue and cell-based biosensors and detects a wide variety of clinically, pharmacologically, and toxicologically active compounds through a cellular physiological response.     

Application of diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coatings for gravitational wave detectors

A laser interferometer gravitational wave detector requires an ultra high vacuum in the tubes in which the laser beams pass. To avoid noise due to scattered light from the surface of tubes, the surface should be treated with “black” coating without increasing the outgassing rate. We found that diamond-like Carbon (DLC) coatings are suitable for this aim. An outgassing rate of at was achieved for DLC coatings on SUS304 without baking. This rate was better than the surface of SUS316 with baking. The reflectivity of the DLC surface was 5% at minimum for a laser beam of Nd:YAG () which is used as a light source for the gravitational wave detector.