Research Note: Inactivation Efficiency of Ozonated Water for Fusarium oxysporum Conidia Under Hydroponic Greenhouse Conditions

Ozonated water was used for inactivation of Fusarium oxysporum conidia in sterilized water and inorganic soil-less nutrient medium at different treatment temperatures. F. oxysporum conidia were effectively inactivated in both water and nutrient media and the inactivation curves were almost same at 15°C, 25°C and 30°C. Approximate 4-log orders of F. oxysporum conidia were killed when the ozonated water with initial ozone concentration of 1.0 ppm had been used. The surviving curves, however, were characterized by a tailing-off effect, and the effect was related to the residual ozone concentration in the ozone treated suspensions.     

An evolutionary design methodology of printed circuit boards for high-speed VLSIs

As operation frequencies of the printed circuit boards (PCBs) increase in keeping with VLSI frequencies in the GHz domain, two independent serious problems occur in the PCB design. One is waveform distortion problem, or signal integrity (SI) degradation problem, in PCB traces. And the other is power-supply drop problem, or power integrity (PI) degradation problem, in PCB power planes. Those problems are barely able to be overcome on case-by-case empirical designs conventionally. In this paper we newly propose a design approach for each problem, both of which are based on the genetic algorithm. And we obtained improvement ratios of more than double compared with the both conventional designs for SI and PI degradations, respectively.     

Signal-integrity improvement method and its robustness evaluation for VLSI and VLSI-packaging

Nowadays, a GHz frequency signal needs to be propagated on a printed circuit board (PCB) with low distortions. In addition, a higher-frequency signal of 10 GHz or more will also need to be propagated with low distortion in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) in the future. However, signal propagation with low distortion is getting more and more difficult as the frequency increases. In order to solve this problem and to ensure signal integrity, we have proposed a novel transmission line called a “segmental transmission line” (STL). In the STL, a transmission line is divided into multiple segments of individual characteristic impedance. The multiple segments are designed to fix the waveform distortion on the transmission line by solving a combinatorial explosion problem using a genetic algorithm. In a previous article, we have shown the effectiveness of an STL designed for a GHz clock signal in computer simulations. We have also fabricated two scaled-up STL prototypes for a clock signal using real printed circuit boards (PCBs). In this article, we input a random signal by changing its frequency to the scaled-up STL prototype designed for a 150-MHz clock signal. We show that the STL has high robustness to the random signals and the frequency fluctuations, which indicates the generality of the STL technique.     

Aspirin-sensitive urticaria: provocation with a leukotriene receptor antagonist

The diagnosis of two patients with aspirin-induced urticaria (AIU) was confirmed by oral provocation with aspirin, other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and food additives. Low doses of a novel leukotriene (LT) receptor antagonist, ONO-1078 (ONO, Japan) induced urticaria in these patients, while the same doses of ONO-1078 did not provoke any eruptions in 10 normal healthy volunteers or five patients with aspirin-unrelated chronic urticaria. This is the first report that a selective LTD4/LTE4 receptor antagonist that is effective as an antiasthmatic agent evoked urticaria in patients with AIU. Our observation suggests that the pathogenesis of AIU depends on the stimulation of LT receptors. The accumulation of results of anti-LT therapy may provide clues to resolve the pathogenetic mechanisms of this disorder.     

A PSK Group Modem for Satellite Communications

A PSK group modem which modulates and demodulates multiple PSK signals en bloc will play an important role in realizing a cost-effective satellite communications system based on the narrowband multicarrier PSK/FDMA technique. This paper briefly discusses its possible applications, and presents a developed PSK group modem including its algorithm, hardware design, and implementation. In the algorithm, filtering of respective PSK signals is effectively carried out by digital signal processing techniques applied to the digital transmultiplexer. Furthermore, in order to compensate for the difference between the operation timing of the PSK group modem and the symbol timing of each input/output data signal, digital signal processings based on a table-look-up method using ROM and a rate-conversion filter with adaptive weighting are proposed for the modulator and demodulator, respectively. An experimental 4-phase PSK group modem has been developed, and experiments have been conducted under various conditions. The measured performance of the developed hardware is also demonstrated.     

Regular network polyamide and copolyamide films from trimesic acid and aliphatic diamines

Regular network polyamide films made from trimesic acid (Y) and aliphatic diamines as well as copolyamide films made from hexamethylene diamine (6) and dodecamethylene diamine (12) with Y were prepared. Prepolymers obtained by melt polycondensation for a short period of time were cast from a DMF solution and successively post-polymerized at 300°C to form a network. The resultant films were transparent, flexible and insoluble in any solvents. Heat distortion temperature (T_h) measured by a penetration mode of thermomechanical analysis rapidly increased with increasing post-polymerization time, and then levelled out after 0.5–1 h. T_h was 238, 231, 232, 216, 207, 187, 176 and 163°C for 4Y, 5Y, 6Y, 7Y, 8Y, 9Y, 10Y and 12Y post-polymerized for 4h, respectively. Degrees of reaction estimated from the infrared absorbance of ester and methylene groups were 88 and 83% for 6Y and 12Y post-polymerized for 4h, respectively. Two diffraction peaks appeared in the wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS) pattern, suggesting some ordered structure owing to the regular networks. Density increased with increasing post-polymerization time and was 1.266, 1.236, 1.214, 1.175, 1.162, 1.145, 1.130 and 1.107 g/cm³ for 4Y, 5Y, 6Y, 7Y, 8Y, 9Y, 10Y and 12Y post-polymerized for 4h, respectively. WAXS patterns of copolymer films of 12/6-Y suggested the continuous change of network structure with copolymer composition. It was found that comonomer disturbs the formation of ordered network structure, and decreases the packing of networks, thus decreasing density, T_h and tensile properties, and increasing dye absorption of copolymer films. From the dye absorption behavior, it was suggested that these regular network films could be utilized as membranes for the separation of molecules by varying the chain length between crosslinked sites.     

Effective treatment of thymic carcinoma with operation and combination chemotherapy against acute monocyte leukemia: case report and review of the literature

Thymic carcinoma associated with acute monocyte leukemia (AMoL) and a history of choriocarcinoma was diagnosed in a 58-year-old female. We found no other such case in a literature search. She was first treated with DCMP therapy: daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, 6MP-riboside, and prednisolone against AMoL. After induction chemotherapy, complete AMoL remission was attained. Chest CT scan after chemotherapy revealed regression of the mediastinal tumor. Resection of the tumor included the left upper lobe of the lung, phrenic nerve and pericardium. Pathological diagnosis showed poorly or moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Although the patient died of pneumonia during chemotherapy for relapsed AMoL, chest X-ray and CT revealed no recurrence of the mediastinal tumor after the original operation. Judging from this case and other successful cases of chemotherapy, we feel that intensive chemotherapy may be a beneficial strategy against thymic carcinoma.     

Formation of thermosensitive copolymer beads having phosphinic acid groups and adsorption ability for metal ions

Hydrophilic thermosensitive copolymer beads having phosphinic acid groups were prepared by suspension copolymerization of acryloyloxypropyl n‐octylphosphinic acid (APPO), N‐isopropyl acrylamide (NIPAAm), and tetraethyleneglycol dimethacrylate (4G). The thermosensitivity and the adsorption ability of the copolymer beads for metal ions beads were studied. The APPO‐NIPAAm‐4G copolymer beads were obtained in a good yield by suspension copolymerization of monomers (APPO, NIPAAm, and 4G) dissolved in chloroform, in a saturated Na₂SO₄ aqueous solution in the presence of surfactant and MgCO₃. The APPO‐NIPAAm‐4G copolymer beads had higher adsorption ability for lanthanide metal ions (Eu³⁺, Sm³⁺, Nd³⁺, or La³⁺) than for main transition metal ions (Cu²⁺, Ni²⁺, or Co²⁺). Furthermore, it was also found that the APPO‐NIPAAm‐4G copolymer beads had selective adsorption ability between lanthanide metal ions, and the order of adsorption ability for lanthanide metal ions was as follows: Eu³⁺ > Sm³⁺ > Nd³⁺ > La³⁺. The selective adsorption for these metal ions from their mixed solutions was performed by both a batch method and a column method. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 99: 449–460, 2006     

Robust noncoherent PN-code acquisition for CDMA communicationsystems

We are proposing a new noncoherent pseudonoise code acquisition method for code-division multiple-access (CDMA) mobile communication systems. The proposed method employs two digital matched filters, and the code acquisition is based on a double dwell process. Through serial cascading of the dual-matched filters, the proposed code acquisition method does not lose the track of the incoming sequence even after returning from the false alarm state. This unique feature imparts on our design much desired stability. Moreover, the use of two matched filters increases the acquisition speed, which is of prime importance. One important issue in CDMA acquisition is how to determine the threshold values for optimal performance, the measure of optimality being the minimum mean acquisition time. In our performance analysis, we have derived the probability of detection and false alarm as a function of threshold values, then determine the threshold values that achieve the minimum mean acquisition time. Our performance analysis shows that the mean acquisition time is 35 ms at -15 dB input chip signal-to-noise ratio, much faster than the conventional active correlation technique