"WEEE"和"RoHS"指令的对应策略

随着“WEEE”和“RoHS”指令实施的日益临近,国内许多企业苦于进展缓慢。本文提出了企业的对应策略。     

Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous polyimide composite membrane with controlled pore size for direct methanol fuel cells

Three-dimensionally ordered macroporous (3DOM) polyimide matrix with different pore size (1.3 μm–200 nm) was fabricated, and its structural effect on some properties of composite membrane was investigated. The composite membrane prepared by impregnation of 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropanesulfonic acid polymer (PAMPS) exhibited swelling ratios as low as 2–3% in water or methanol solutions, compared with about 400% of PAMPS itself. The swelling ratio of composite membrane was constant regardless of the 3DOM pore size. However, methanol permeability strongly depended on the pore size. In particular, it was drastically reduced when connecting windows among macropores became less than 100 nm. On the other hand, proton conductivity changed with 3DOM matrix porosity according to Archie's law. The porosity of 3DOM matrix is basically constant even if the pore size changes. Therefore, we suppressed the methanol crossover without lowering of proton conductivity due to reducing the matrix pore size, and the selectivity (proton conductivity/methanol permeability) of 1.2 × 10⁵ S cm⁻³ s, which was one order of magnitude greater than that of Nafion^®, was achieved.     

Structural studies of enzyme-based microfluidic biofuel cells

An enzyme-based glucose/O₂ biofuel cell was constructed within a microfluidic channel to study the influence of electrode configuration and fluidic channel height on cell performance. The cell was composed of a bilirubin oxidase (BOD)-adsorbed O₂ cathode and a glucose anode prepared by co-immobilization of glucose dehydrogenase (GDH), diaphorase (Dp) and VK₃-pendant poly-l-lysine. The consumption of O₂ at the upstream cathode protected the downstream anode from interfering O₂ molecules, and consequently improved the cell performance (maximum cell current) ca. 10% for the present cell. The cell performance was also affected by the channel height. The output current and power of a 0.1 mm-height cell was significantly less than those of a 1 mm-height cell because of the depletion of O₂, as determined by the shape of the E–I curve at the cathode. On the other hand, the volume density of current and power was several times higher for the narrower cell.     

Relationship between Expression of Onco-Related miRNAs and the Endoscopic Appearance of Colorectal Tumors

Accumulating data indicates that certain microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) are differently expressed in samples of tumors and paired non-tumorous samples taken from the same patients with colorectal tumors. We examined the expression of onco-related miRNAs in 131 sporadic exophytic adenomas or early cancers and in 52 sporadic flat elevated adenomas or early cancers to clarify the relationship between the expression of the miRNAs and the endoscopic morphological appearance of the colorectal tumors. The expression levels of miR-143, -145, and -34a were significantly reduced in most of the exophytic tumors compared with those in the flat elevated ones. In type 2 cancers, the miRNA expression profile was very similar to that of the exophytic tumors. The expression levels of miR-7 and -21 were significantly up-regulated in some flat elevated adenomas compared with those in exophytic adenomas. In contrast, in most of the miR-143 and -145 down-regulated cases of the adenoma-carcinoma sequence and in some of the de novo types of carcinoma, the up-regulation of oncogenic miR-7 and/or -21 contributed to the triggering mechanism leading to the carcinogenetic process. These findings indicated that the expression of onco-related miRNA was associated with the morphological appearance of colorectal tumors.     

Formation of the spore clumps during heat treatment increases the heat resistance of bacterial spores

Effects of the clumping of bacterial spores on their heat resistance as a result of heat treatment were investigated. Spore suspensions of Bacillus cereus, Bacillus coagulans and Bacillus licheniformis were heated at 85 degrees C. Survivor curves of the three strains showed tailing in all treatments after 30 min. As the treatment time increased, the formation of spore clumps increased in all strains after 20 min. Relative hydrophobicity of the spore surface increased as a result of heat treatment. The effect of spore concentration on the inactivation of the B. licheniformis spores was investigated, and surviving curves showed no tailing below a concentration of 4.9 log CFU/ml.     

Development of a strain for efficient degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls by patchwork assembly of degradation pathways

Rhodococcus jostii RHA1 accumulates chlorobenzoates (CBA) during the degradation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). CBA degradation is considered one of the rate-limiting steps in the complete degradation of PCBs. To reduce the accumulation of CBAs, the upper pathway enzyme genes for PCB degradation of RHA1 were introduced into a CBA-degrading bacterium, Burkholderia sp. NK8. The resulting recombinant strain exhibited no biphenyl 2,3-dioxygenase (BphA) activity encoded by bphAaAbAcAd genes, which encode the large and small subunits of the terminal oxygenase component and the ferredoxin and reductase subunits responsible for electron transfer from NADH to the large subunit. The remaining enzyme genes involved in the transformation of biphenyl to benzoate, bphB2C1D1, which encode dehydrogenase, ring-cleavage dioxygenase and hydrolase, conferred activities to NK8. To obtain the BphA activity of RHA1 in NK8, sets of BphA genes were constructed by combining the bphAaAbAcAd genes of RHA1 and bphA3A4 of Pseudomonas pseudoalcaligenes KF707, encoding the ferredoxin and reductase subunits. Hybrid derivatives of BphA containing the KF707 bphA3 conferred BphA activity to NK8, and a derivative containing the RHA1 bphAaAb and KF707 bphA3A4 genes exhibited the highest BphA activity. A plasmid containing the RHA1 bphAaAb and KF707 bphA3A4 genes plus the RHA1 bphB2C1D1 genes was constructed and introduced into NK8. The resulting recombinant strain efficiently degraded 2-, 3- and 4-chlorobiphenyls with an apparent reduction in CBA accumulation in comparison to the recombinant mutant strain, which had an insertion in the cbeA gene to inactivate CBA dioxygenase.     

Nondaily behavior detection monitoring system for elderly people based on bayesian network representation of omnidirectional vision sensor

This paper describes an unusual behavior detection system based on an omnidirectional vision sensor, as one of the important elements in realizing “Sensing and Robotic Support Rooms” for elderly people. Such support rooms are expected to be further developed in the future with advanced abilities to automatically recognize elderly people's actions and behavior patterns, to detect unusual patterns by using sensors, and to support their daily motions by using robotic manipulator control systems. The proposed monitoring system using an omnidirectional vision sensor automatically learns daily behavior patterns and detects unusual behavior patterns and actions by using the Bayesian network approach. The Bayesian network is constructed by using image feature values such as area and center‐of‐gravity values extracted from a captured image sequence, and the respective behavior patterns are represented as conditional probabilities. Unusual behavior patterns can be automatically detected on the basis of the low generation probability values. Experiments based on the investigation of elderly people's typical daily behavior patterns have shown the effectiveness of the proposed system. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 172(3): 42–51, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20990     

Growth and microstructure of Ba β-alumina films by laser chemical vapor deposition

Ba β-alumina films were prepared by laser chemical vapor deposition. Mostly single-phase Ba β-alumina films were obtained at 1125–1200 K and for an Al/Ba molar ratio of 12.4–16.6. BaAl₂O₄ and α-Al₂O₃ were codeposited with Ba β-alumina under Ba- and Al-rich conditions, respectively. The Ba β-alumina films consisted of hexagonal grains, and the (1 1 0)-oriented Ba β-alumina films had a fin-like columnar structure. The highest deposition rate reached 120 μm h^?1 at around 1200 K. A thin layer of Ba-rich superstructure was formed on the surface of the (1 1 0)-oriented columnar grains.     

Self-organized lightwave network based on waveguide films for three-dimensional optical wiring within boxes

This paper presents core technologies for a self-organized microoptical system (SELMOS) within optoelectronic computers; mass-productive fabrication processes of waveguide films and new types of self-organized lightwave networks (SOLNETs) for three-dimensional (3-D) optical wiring with optical Z-connections. Waveguide films are fabricated by the built-in mask method, which is reusable and can construct surface-normal mirrors/filters at one time within photolithographic accuracy. Beveled core edge walls are made by the tilted ultraviolet (UV) exposure through the built-in mask using a photodefinable material. Near- and far-field patterns reveal that the walls act as micromirrors for optical Z-connections. SOLNET is a network consisting of self-organized coupling waveguides between misaligned optical devices. The self-organization is generated in a photorefractive material by self-focusing of the two write beams from the two devices. Direct SOLNET, where wavelengths of the write beam and the signal beam are the same, is demonstrated using a laser diode. Reflective SOLNET, where one of the two write beams is replaced with a reflected write beam from the edge of the coupled device, realizes two-beam-writing SOLNET in a one-beam-writing configuration. It is especially effective when the coupled device cannot transmit write beams. The proof-of-concept is demonstrated both theoretically and experimentally. These results indicate a possibility to form 3-D optical wiring simply in SELMOS.