Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis of chromosome 1p36 deletions in human MYCN amplified neuroblastoma

Artificial illumination is an important factor in the management of layers. In this study, a new monochromatic light system was developed for egg layers. Prelaying pullets (Lohmann) were marked and housed in nine light and temperature control rooms (15 battery cages, 3 hens per cage; n = 45), divided into three light treatments: 0.1 and 0.01 W/m2 light intensity using light emitting diode (LED) lamps and 0.1 W/m2 using mini-fluorescent bulbs (PL) (control). In each of the LED rooms, three wavelengths were tested: 560 (n = 9), 660 (n = 9), 880 (n = 6), and 660 intermitted lighting (15 min light 45 min dark, 660IN) (n = 9). Birds were exposed to 12 h light and 12 h of darkness using PL lamps. At 21 wk of age, the light period was increased to 12.75 h by using 5.5 h of LED lamps and 7.25 of PL light source for Groups 1 and 2, the third group received 12.75 h of PL light. Until 28 wk of age, light hours increased by 0.5 h/w using LED light for Groups 1 and 2 and PL source for the third group, reaching 16 h of light at 28 wk of age. Egg production and feed consumption were recorded daily; egg components were recorded weekly for 10 mo. A significant reduction in egg production was observed in all 880nm groups; no differences in egg production and quality were found in the other groups. Feed consumption was significantly lower by 7% in all 0.01 W/m2 groups. We suggest that an important reduction in rearing costs of laying hens may be obtained by using this system.     

Spontaneous emission model of surface-emitting DFB semiconductorlasers

A general spontaneous emission model is developed for surface-emitting (SE) distributed feedback (DFB) semiconductor lasers. The frequency distribution of spontaneous emission noise below lasing threshold and the spontaneous emission rate in lasing operation are formulated by using a transfer matrix method combined with the Green's function method. The effective linewidth enhancement factor is obtained from this model in terms of the elements of the transfer matrix. By way of example, the author applies the formulation to a standard SE DFB laser, and a SE λ/4-shifted DFB laser with a distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) mirror. In particular, the author analyzes the below-threshold spectrum, the threshold current density, the differential quantum efficiency, and the spectral linewidth of these lasers     

Development of a dual‐lamp projector with higher brightness

Stationary projectors mainly used in system applications have recently gained a wider application range, including general presentations in halls and large conference rooms and being used, for example, in digital signage and for monitoring purposes. Consequently, they are required to meet new market demands for durability, reliability, and flexibility in installation in addition to their conventional basic performance such as especially high brightness. To achieve especially high brightness, a new optical system with two lamps is proposed; the profile of the cover glass that prevents the glass from scattering is made aspherical, the profile of the beam‐combining mirror is improved with its position optimized, and the size of the incident plane of the integrator rod is made larger (1.1 times). These measures resulted in an optical system of an even higher efficiency with 7000 lm, which is the highest in its class (according to a June 2010 investigation). Also, the arrangement of two parallel lamps completely eliminated the effect of heat passing from one lamp to the other, which helped secure durability, reliability, and flexibility in installation. Furthermore, the combined use of the unique non‐telecentric optical system, adopted from the conventional single‐lamp model, helps maintain the class‐highest contrast ratio.^1,2     

Augmenting Edge-Connectivity between Vertex Subsets

Given a directed or undirected graph G=(V,E), a collection ${\mathcal{R}}=\{(S_{i},T_{i}) \mid i=1,2,\ldots,|{\mathcal{R}}|, S_{i},T_{i} \subseteq V, S_{i} \cap T_{i} =\emptyset\}$ of two disjoint subsets of V, and a requirement function $r: {\mathcal{R}} \to\mathbb{R}_{+}$ , we consider the problem (called area-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation problem) of augmenting G by a smallest number of new edges so that the resulting graph $\hat{G}$ satisfies $d_{\hat{G}}(X)\geq r(S,T)$ for all X?V, $(S,T) \in{\mathcal{R}}$ with S?X?V?T, where d _G (X) denotes the degree of a vertex set X in G. This problem can be regarded as a natural generalization of the global, local, and node-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation problems. In this paper, we show that there exists a constant c such that the problem is inapproximable within a ratio of $c\log{|{\mathcal{R}}|}$ , unless P=NP, even restricted to the directed global node-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation or undirected local node-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation. We also provide an ${\mathrm{O}}(\log{|{\mathcal{R}}|})$ -approximation algorithm for the area-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation problem, which is a natural extension of Kortsarz and Nutov’s algorithm (Kortsarz and Nutov, J. Comput. Syst. Sci., 74:662–670, 2008). This together with the negative result implies that the problem is ${\varTheta}(\log{|{\mathcal{R}}|})$ -approximable, unless P=NP, which solves open problems for node-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation in Ishii et al. (Algorithmica, 56:413–436, 2010), Ishii and Hagiwara (Discrete Appl. Math., 154:2307–2329, 2006), Miwa and Ito (J. Oper. Res. Soc. Jpn., 47:224–243, 2004). Furthermore, we characterize the node-to-area and area-to-area edge-connectivity augmentation problems as the augmentation problems with modulotone and k-modulotone functions.     

Isotactic polypropylene hollow microfibers prepared by CO2 laser‐thinning

An isotactic polypropylene hollow microfiber was continuously produced by using a carbon dioxide (CO₂) laser‐thinning method. To prepare the hollow microfiber continuously, the apparatus used for the thinning of the solid fiber was improved so that the laser can circularly irradiate to the hollow fiber. Original hollow fiber with an outside diameter (OD) of 450 μm and an internal diameter (ID) of 250 μm was spun by using a melt spinning machine with a specially designed spinneret to produce the hollow fiber. An as‐spun hollow fiber was laser‐heated under various conditions, and the OD and the ID decreased with increasing the winding speed. For example, when the hollow microfiber obtained by irradiating the CO₂ laser to the original hollow fiber supplied at 0.30 m min^?1 was wound up at 800 m min^?1, the obtained hollow microfiber had an OD of 6.3 μm and an ID of 2.2 μm. The draw ratio calculated from the supplying and the winding speeds was 2667‐fold. The hollow microfibers obtained under various conditions had the hollowness in the range of 20–30%. The wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction patterns of the hollow microfibers showed the existence of the highly oriented crystallites. Further, the OD and ID decreased, and the hollowness increased by drawing hollow microfiber obtained with the laser‐thinning. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 2600–2607, 2006     

Efficient material design for diesel particulate filters

This paper will give an overview about the filter development for diesel particulate emission control in automotive applications. The material development for passenger car diesel particulate filters led to new materials like silicon carbide while for heavy duty applications still Cordierite plays a major role. But in the future other materials might also be used for passenger cars. This paper will show the basic difference between both applications and describe the material design in terms of filter properties (base material, back pressure aspects, filtration efficiency, coating impact). Current application on vehicles with catalysed soot filters (CSF) with and without oxidation catalyst will be presented. Furthermore an outlook will be given on materials for catalysed soot filters for the future.     

Application of CO2 laser heating zone drawing and zone annealing to nylon 6 fibers

Nlon 6 fibers were zone drawn and zone annealed by using a continuous wave carbon dioxide laser to develop their mechanical properties. A laser‐heating zone drawing was carried out under a applied tension of 35.4 MPa at a power density of 9.65 W · cm^?2, and then the zone‐drawn fiber was annealed. A laser‐heating zone annealing was carried out in two steps at a power density of 9.65 W · cm^?2; the first step was carried out under 423 MPa and the second under 517 MPa. The treating temperature of the fiber heated by the CO₂ laser was measured by using an infrared thermographic camera equipped with a magnifying lens. The treating temperature at the zone drawing is 138°C, and those at the first and the second zone annealing are 121 and 125°C, respectively. The second laser‐heated zone‐annealed fiber has a birefringence of 65.2 × 10^?3, a degree of crystallinity of 54%, and a storage modulus of 21 GPa at 25°C. Wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction patterns for the laser‐heated zone‐drawn and the zone‐annealed fibers show (200) reflection and (002/202) doublet due to only an α form on the equator. The laser‐heated zone‐drawn fiber has a melting endotherm peaking at 216°C and a trace of shoulder on the higher temperature side of its peak, and the laser‐heated zone‐annealed fibers have a single melting endotherm peaking at 216°C. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 1711–1716, 2002     

Ethanol production from raw starch by a recombinant yeast having saccharification and fermentation activities

In order to develop a method for converting raw starch into ethanol efficiently, direct fermentation of ozonized raw starch using a recombinant yeast was investigated. Ozonolysis was carried out as a pretreatment to convert raw starch into ethanol rapidly and efficiently, and then the effect of the ozone degradation conditions on the degree of polymerization and the amount of amylose in a raw starch was determined. Since the degree of polymerization was low and the amount of amylose was high, raw starch treated with an ozone concentration of 40 gm^?3 and an ozonation time of 30 min was the material chosen for alcohol fermentation. Though the recombinant yeast could not convert the untreated raw starch, it converted the soluble starch and the ozonized raw starch at a comparatively high yield into ethanol. About 56% of the ozonized raw starch decomposed, and the ethanol concentration obtained from the ozonized raw starch was markedly greater than that obtained from untreated raw starch. The dynamic behavior of cell growth, substrate degradation, and ethanol production was examined in a continuous culture under various dilution rates, and the optimal dilution rate, ie 0.15 h^?1, was determined for maximizing the ethanol productivity (amount of ethanol produced per unit time). © 2002 Society of Chemical Industry     

In-situ monitoring of the stabilization with hydrogen of free radicals thermally induced from coal using high pressure e.s.r., d.t.a. and p.d.a. equipment

High temperature, high pressure e.s.r. measurements of the hydrogenation reaction of Taiheiyo coal in the presence of catalysts were carried out to understand the stabilization of thermally and/or catalytically induced free radicals. A decrease in free radical concentration with increasing temperature was observed for ZnCl₂ and SnCl₂ · 2H₂O catalysts at 10MPa under hydrogen gas. High pressure modified single-cell d.t.a. and p.d.a. equipment augmented the uniquely designed high temperature, high pressure e.s.r. cell. The hydrogenation reaction was monitored under the same experimental conditions as for e.s.r. From the results of the combination of high temperature, high pressure e.s.r. with high pressure d.t.a. and p.d.a., it was established that H₂ molecules can react efficiently with free radicals from coal molecules created by the presence of ZnCl₂ and SnCl₂ · 2H₂O catalysts.