Convergence of the Enhancement of the Effective Mass Under Pressure and Magnetic Field in Heavy-Fermion Compounds: CeRu2Si2, CeRh2Si2, and CeIn3

Emphasis is given on the observation of a convergence to a critical value of the effective mass of a heavy fermion compound by tuning it through a quantum instability either by applying pressure or magnetic field from an antiferromagnetic (AF) to a paramagnetic (PM) ground state. Macroscopic and microscopic results are discussed and the main message is to rush to the discovery of an ideal material whose Fermi surface could be fully observed on both sides of each quantum phase transition.     

Removal of selected pharmaceuticals by chlorination, coagulation-sedimentation and powdered activated carbon treatment

Removal property of nine pharmaceuticals (clofibric acid, diclofenac, fenoprofen, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketoprofen, naproxen and propyphenazone) by chlorination, coagulation-sedimentation and powdered activated carbon treatment was examined by laboratory-scale experiments under the conditions close to actual drinking water treatment processes. Indomethacin and propyphenazone were completely degraded by chlorination within 30 minutes, but others remained around 30% (naproxen and diclofenac) or more than 80% of the initial concentration after 24 hours. A couple of unidentified peaks in a chromatogram of the chlorinated samples suggested the formation of unknown chlorination by-products. Competitive adsorption was observed when the mixed solution of the target pharmaceuticals was subjected to batch adsorption test with powdered activated carbon. Clofibric acid and ibuprofen, which were relatively less hydrophobic among the nine compounds, persisted around 60% of the initial concentration after 3 hours of contact time. Removal performance in actual drinking water treatment would become lower due to existence of other competitive substances in raw water (e.g. natural organic matter). Coagulation-sedimentation using polyaluminium chloride hardly removed most of the pharmaceuticals even under its optimal dose for turbidity removal. It is suggested that the most part of pharmaceuticals in raw water might persist in the course of conventional drinking water treatments.     

Effect of Time-Dependent Humidity Profiles from Air to Superheated Steam on Drying of a Wetted Starch Sphere

The effects of air humidity when drying with superheated steam (SHS) were examined considering displacement by SHS. A wetted raw starch sphere (ball) was used as the model material. It was found that the humidity profile strongly affects the mass change and properties of the products. The material became porous when it was dried with pure SHS from start to finish, which differs both from products dried with high-humidity air alone, and from products dried with air followed by SHS within a few minutes. A prediction method for adiabatic saturation temperature over a wide range of humidity is also proposed.     

One-Dimensional Phonon State of 4He Films Adsorbed in Straight Nanopores

We have studied heat capacities of ⁴He adsorbed in straight nanopores 1.8, 2.2, and 2.8 nm in diameter. Heat capacities of the ⁴He fluid film on the solid layer at 0.08–0.4 K show power laws close to T in 1.8 nm pores, close to T ² in 2.8 nm pores, and a crossover from T to T ² with increasing temperature in 2.2 nm pores. These heat capacities are explained by a model assuming a phonon dispersion with continuous one-dimensional (1D) states in the axial direction and discrete energy levels in the azimuthal direction. By fitting experimental data to the model, the phonon velocity along the pore axis and the energy gap for propagation in the cross section are derived. At temperatures sufficiently lower than the energy gap, where the thermal wave length of phonons is much longer than the effective pore diameter, the ⁴He fluid films show a T-linear heat capacity of 1D phonons propagating only along the pore axis. At higher temperatures, a 1D-2D crossover of phonons occurs.      

Effect of culture conditions of acetic acid bacteria on cellulose biosynthesis

An attempt was made to clarify the effect of culture conditions of an acetic acid bacteria (Acetobacter xylinum) on cellulose biosynthesis using glucose as carbon source in complex medium. Synchronous culture conditions were first realised on cellulose biosynthesis by cooling the system to 4°C for 24 h. Under the synchronous conditions stepwise division of the cell and the stepwise production of cellulose were found. Furthermore, cellulose was proved to be produced when the cell number in the medium was constant.     

Power system voltage control by distributed expert systems

A case study of the application of a distributed control scheme to a power system control is presented. In addition, an investigation has been conducted into voltage control. Combined injection of VAr-compensating devices controlled by distributed expert systems has been proposed as a measure to maintain voltage stability in a power system under heavy loading conditions. A simulation study has been carried out by using five workstations that represent a power system and four VAr-compensating devices. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system for voltage recovery     

Distributed feedback laser emitting at 1.3 µm for gigabit communication systems

A distributed feedback (DFB) laser emitting at 1.3 μm for gigabit lightwave communication systems has been developed. The distributed feedback structure has been introduced in a newly developed buried heterostructure and designs for stable single-mode operation, high speed modulation, and low noise have been done. Threshold current of 10-15 mA, differential efficiency of around 0.28 mW/mA, low noise, small signal modulation bandwidth of 13.9 GHz, and satisfactory modulation waveform at 5-Gbit/s NRZ modulation have been attained with high single-mode operation yield.     

Reliabilities and concurrent validities of popular self-report measures of depression, anxiety, and social desirability.

135 male and 256 female undergraduates completed the Self-Rating Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Depression Adjective Check Lists, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, S-R Inventory of Anxiousness, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, and Edwards Social Desirability Scale. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated strong relationships between measures of depression and between measures of anxiety. However, pairs of anxiety and depression measures correlated almost as strongly. All depression and anxiety measures were significantly associated with the Edwards Social Desirability Scale. Findings question the use of a self-report measure of depression to select "depressed" Ss among college students. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Estimation of daily inhalation rate in preschool children using a tri-axial accelerometer: a pilot study

The activity of 5- to 6-year-old Japanese children (n = 29) was monitored for 3 consecutive days, including one weekend day, using an ActivTracer tri-axial accelerometer. The daily inhalation rate and time spent in sedentary, light, or moderate to vigorous levels of physical activity (MVPA) were estimated from the accelerometer measurements based on previously developed regression equations. The 3-day mean daily inhalation rate (STPD) was estimated at 8.3 ± 1.4 m³ day⁻¹ in 10 subjects who completed 3 days of monitoring. The time spent in sedentary, light, or MVPA each day was 320, 415, and 81 min day⁻¹, respectively. Analysis of between-day reliability indicated that 3 days of monitoring with the ActivTracer tri-axial accelerometer provided an acceptable estimate of daily inhalation rate (intra-class correlation coefficient [ICC] = 0.892), but low to moderate reliability for the time spent in different levels of activities (ICC = 0.43 to 0.58). We observed a significant difference in the daily inhalation rate between weekdays and the weekend day, possibly due to differences in time spent in MVPA. This finding suggests that a weekend day should be included to obtain more reliable estimates of daily inhalation rate using an accelerometer.