Influence of Moisture on Ultra-High-Temperature Tensile Creep Behavior of in Situ Single-Crystal Oxide Ceramic Alumina/Yttrium Aluminum Garnet Eutectic Composite

Tensile creep tests were conducted for an in situ single-crystal alumina/yttrium aluminum garnet (Al₂O₃/Y₃Al₅O₁₂ (YAG)) binary system eutectic composite at temperatures between 1773 and 1873 K in air and in a moist environment having a water-vapor pressure range of 0.06–0.6 MPa, under a constant tensile stress range of 100–160 MPa. The Al₂O₃/YAG eutectic composite exhibited a stress exponent of 8–13, indicative of tensile creep behavior characterized by a dislocation back-stress mechanism. Water-vapor pressures ≤0.4 MPa led to a significant acceleration of creep rates as a result of enhanced dislocation mobility in the Al₂O₃ and YAG phases.     

A 13.5‐in. Quad‐FHD flexible CAAC‐OS AMOLED display with long‐life OLED device structure

In this study, the device structure of a white tandem organic light‐emitting diode (OLED) was changed to control the emission area and thereby achieve less luminance decay. A long‐life 13.5‐inch 4 K flexible c‐axis‐aligned crystal oxide semiconductor (CAAC‐OS) active‐matrix OLED with less color shift and high resolution was fabricated using this long‐life white OLED, transfer technology, and a CAAC‐OS field‐effect transistor.     

Preparation of spherical nanocomposites consisting of silica core and polyacrylate shell by emulsion polymerization

Nanocomposite particles consisting of silica (inorganic core) and polyacrylate (organic shell) were prepared in a form of emulsion by a new and simple method—the emulsion polymerization of acrylic monomers in the presence of silica sol. The key technique of the present emulsion polymerization, which made the formation of the nanocomposites successful, is the usage of nonionic surfactant above its cloud point. The morphology of the composite was investigated by DLS, AFM, and TEM, which clearly showed formation of the core‐shell‐type particles. A transparent film was prepared by casting the emulsion, which showed high resistibility against organic solvents. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 659–669, 2006     

Scanning electron microscopy with an ionic liquid reveals the loss of mitotic protrusions of cells during the epithelial-mesenchymal transition

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a key event in cancer metastasis and is characterized by increase in cell motility, increase in expression of mesenchymal cell markers, loss of proteins from cell-to-cell junction complexes, and changes in cell morphology. Here, the morphological effects of a representative EMT inducer, transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1, were investigated in human lung adenocarcinoma (A549) cells and pancreatic carcinoma (Panc-1) cells. TGF-β1 caused morphological changes characteristic of EMT, and immunostaining showed loss of E-cadherin from cell-to-cell junction complexes in addition to the upregulation of the mesenchymal marker vimentin. During scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with an ionic liquid, we observed EMT-specific morphological changes, including the formation of various cell protrusions. Interestingly, filopodia in mitotic cells were clearly observed by SEM, and the number of these filopodia in TFG-β1-treated mitotic cells was reduced significantly. We conclude that this reduction in such mitotic protrusions is a novel effect of TGF-β1 and may contribute to EMT.     

Reflective LCD with high reflectance and color reproducibility for reduced eye strain

We fabricated a prototype of a 434‐ppi 5.9‐in reflective liquid crystal display for use as an e‐book reader. With high‐level optical characteristics with a reflectance of 28.7% and an NTSC ratio of 37%, we achieved eye‐friendly reflective liquid crystal display.     

Test data generation for web application using a UML class diagram with OCL constraints

In this paper, we report on our current work toward efficient and effective verification of web application’s basic design. We use a UML class diagram with Object Constraint Language (OCL) to describe the application behaviors and data constraints. Then we generate test data from the formally represented specifications. We make the observation that key web application behaviors can be captured through table size constraints as well as data constraints like foreign key constraints. Based on the observation, we translate the OCL specification into the equivalent constraints using table size expressions. We present a scheme to generate test data from the translated constraints using a Satisfiability Modulo Theories solver. We employ two techniques to reduce constraints. The first is string handling and the other is decomposition of table structures. We also report on an experimental result of test data generation. The result indicates a potential that our scheme works well for real applications in reasonable times.     

L/sub 2/-sensitivity minimization of one- and two-dimensional state-space digital filters subject to L/sub 2/-scaling constraints

This paper investigates the problem of minimizing an L/sub 2/-sensitivity measure subject to L/sub 2/-norm dynamic-range scaling constraints for one-dimensional (1-D) as well as a class of two-dimensional (2-D) state-space digital filters, where the 2-D digital filters are described by a transposed structure of the Fornasini-Marchesini second local state-space model. In each case, a novel iterative technique is developed to solve the constraint optimization problem directly. The proposed solution methods are largely based on the use of a Lagrange function and some matrix-theoretic techniques. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed techniques.     

Chlorination of UO2, PuO2 and rare earth oxides using ZrCl4 in LiCl-KCl eutectic melt

A new chlorination method using ZrCl₄ in a molten salt bath has been investigated for the pyrometallurgical reprocessing of nuclear fuels. ZrCl₄ has a high reactivity with oxygen but is not corrosive to refractory metals such as steel. Rare earth oxides (La₂O₃, CeO₂, Nd₂O₃ and Y₂O₃) and actinide oxides (UO₂ and PuO₂) were allowed to react with ZrCl₄ in a LiCl-KCl eutectic salt at 773 K to give a metal chloride solution and a precipitate of ZrO₂. An addition of zirconium metal as a reductant was effective in chlorinating the dioxides. When the oxides were in powder form, the reaction was observed to progress rapidly. Cyclic voltammetry provided a convenient way of establishing when the reaction was completed. It was demonstrated that the ZrCl₄ chlorination method, free from corrosive gas, was very simple and useful.     

Development of a high harmonic gyrotron with an axis-encircling electron beam and a permanent magnet

A gyrotron with an axis-encircling electron beam is useful for high frequency operation, because the high beam efficiency is kept even at high harmonic of electron-cyclotron resonance. We have designed and constructed such a gyrotron with a permanent magnet. The gyrotron has already succeeded in operation at the third harmonic and the fourth harmonic resonances. The operation frequencies are 89.3 and 112.7 GHz, respectively. Operation cavity modes are TE₃₁₁ and TE₄₁₁. The permanent magnet system consists of many magnet elements made of NbFeB and additional coils for controlling the field intensities in cavity and electron gun regions. The magnetic field at the cavity region can be varied from 0.97 to 1.18 T. At the optimum condition of the magnetic field intensity, the output power at the third harmonic operation is 2.5 kW. The operation is pulsed, the pulse length is 1 ms and the repetition frequency is 1 Hz. The beam energy and current are 40 kV and 1.2 or 1.3 A. Starting current, beam efficiency and emission pattern also have been measured. In this paper, the operation results of the gyrotron and comparison with the computer simulation results are described.     

Failed cementless total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthrosis due to hip dysplasia. A minimum five-year follow-up study

PROBLEM: Apoptosis has been accepted as a mechanism for maintaining tolerance in the immune system. The induction of apoptotic cell death can also be a possible outcome of the lymphocyte activation. Expression of Fas ligand (FasL) by the human trophoblast has been proposed as a mechanism providing protection against the lytic action of decidual immune cells. The aim of this study was to determine whether decidual T cells undergo apoptosis during abortion. METHOD OF STUDY: We studied apoptosis of T cells isolated from the first-trimester decidua in 12 women after spontaneous or elective abortion. We used gel electrophoresis to detect DNA fragmentation. Cells undergoing DNA fragmentation also were identified by DNA analysis using flow cytometry. This method was based on the accumulation of ethanol-fixed apoptotic cells in the sub-G0/G1 peak of the DNA content as a result of the loss of DNA fragments from the cells and because of a reduced DNA ability to be stained by propidium iodide. In addition, the expression of Fas antigen on the surface of decidual T cells (CD3+) also was determined. RESULTS: We did not detect apoptosis by the "ladder" technique. However, the apoptotic index (the percentage of positive cells per total number of cells) ranged from 2% to 24% using flow cytometry. CONCLUSIONS: Trophoblast cells usually fail to stimulate alloantigen-specific T cells, but they may express nonclassical major histocompatibility complex alloantigens to which mothers can produce immunoglobulin G alloantibody, which requires T helper cell activation. The apoptosis of T cells in the human decidua, probably through Fas-FasL signaling, may be a defense mechanism against rejection of the fetal allograft by the maternal immune system.