Isolation and application of a styrene-degrading strain of Pseudomonas putida to biofiltration

A bacterial strain ST201 capable of degrading styrene was isolated from soil and identified as Pseudomonas putida. This strain had high tolerance to styrene and could degrade it completely in 48 h at concentrations up to 600 mg/l. P. putida ST201 was also demonstrated to degrade a mixture of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and p-xylene. A packed tower biofilter inoculated with P. putida ST201 was constructed which removed styrene vapor with a styrene elimination capacity of 90 g/m3.h.     

The Gold-Inert gas systems

Journal of Phase Equilibria -     

Spectrum sharing method for secondary systems using frequency priority table to reduce inter-secondary interference

Because of the rapid development of cognitive radio technologies, research on sharing frequency resources allocated to primary users with secondary users has attracted much attention. If a frequency band is unused by the primary users, multiple secondary users are expected to share the spectrum in a future wireless communication network. To efficiently share the spectrum among secondary systems, we propose a novel channel allocation method that uses a frequency priority table generated based on the location of the secondary system. By using this method, the interference with other systems is autonomously reduced by selecting channels. Moreover, a power control method is also proposed for protecting the secondary systems that are allocated to the channels with higher priority.     

A capacitive fingerprint sensor chip using low-temperature poly-Si TFTs on a glass substrate and a novel and unique sensing method

We have developed a capacitive fingerprint sensor chip using low-temperature poly-Si thin film transistors (TFTs). We have obtained good fingerprint images which have sufficient contrast for fingerprint certification. The sensor chip comprises sensor circuits, drive circuits, and a signal processing circuit. The new sensor cell employs only one transistor and one sensor plate within one cell. There is no leakage current to other cells by using a new and unique sensing method. The output of this sensor chip is an analog wave and the designed maximum output level is almost equal to the TFT's threshold voltage, which is 2-3 V for low-temperature poly-Si TFTs. We used a glass substrate and only two metal layers to lower the cost. The size of the trial chip is 30 mm/spl times/20 mm/spl times/1.2 mm and the sensor area is 19.2 mm/spl times/15 mm. The size of the prototype cell is now 60 /spl mu/m/spl times/60 /spl mu/m at 423 dpi, but it will be easy to increase the resolution up to more than 500 dpi. The drive frequency is now 500 kHz and the power consumption is 1.2 mW with a 5-V supply voltage. This new fingerprint sensor is most suitable for mobile use because the sensor chip is low cost and in a thin package with low power consumption.     

High-power and highly reliable 780 nm band AlGaAs laser diodes withrectangular ridge structure

A record light output power of 240 mW has been achieved for the 780 nm band AlGaAs laser diodes by using a rectangular ridge structure. The laser diodes have been operated for >1000 h at 60°C under 150 mW pulsed operation     

A novel spherical carbon

We developed a novel spherical carbon material. The spherical carbon is composed of a high density of carbon nanotubes or nanofilaments, and includes an oxidized diamond particle as a core. Syntheses of this carbon in high volume with high selectivity may be possible. It is expected that this carbon will be useful as a catalyst material for fuel cells, electric double-layer capacitors, etc.