Flexible electrophoretic display driven by solution‐processed organic thin‐film transistors

Abstract— An organic thin‐film‐transistor (OTFT) backplane has been fabricated by using a solution‐processed organic semiconductor (OSC) and organic insulators. The OSC, a peri‐xanthenoxanthene derivative, provides a mobility of 0.5 cm²/V‐sec. These organic materials enhance the mechanical flexibility of the backplane. The developed backplane successfully drives a 13.3‐in. flexible UXGA electrophoretic display that can operate when bent at a radius of 5 mm.     

Present status of underground thermal utilization in Japan

Utilization of low-enthalpy geothermal energy in Japan, especially with the application of geothermal heat pumps, is far behind other industrial countries. In 1998, a feasibility study was made of utilizing Japan's low-enthalpy geothermal resources. Since 2001 the Geo-Heat Promotion Association of Japan (GeoHPJ) began its activities with the objective of installing 140,000 heat pump systems in private houses by the target year of 2010. The Geothermal Research Society of Japan has also launched new activities in this sector. Research groups in universities and other national institutes have started geoscientific research on the utilization of low-enthalpy resources and private, academic and governmental sectors have consequently begun promoting geothermal heat pump utilization.     

Pitting corrosion of intermetallic compound Ni3(Si,Ti) in sodium chloride solutions

The pitting corrosion of intermetallic compound Ni₃(Si,Ti) was investigated as functions of test temperature and chloride concentration in sodium chloride solutions by using a potential step method. In addition, the pitting corrosion of solution-annealed austenitic stainless steel type 304 and pure nickel was also studied under the same experimental condition for comparison. The pitting potential obtained for the intermetallic compound decreased with increasing chloride concentration and test temperature. A critical chloride concentration below which no pitting corrosion took place was found to exist and to decrease with increasing test temperature. The specific pitting potential at the critical chloride concentration also decreased with increasing test temperature. In addition, the pitting potential at various constant chloride concentrations above the critical chloride concentration decreased with increasing test temperature. The pitting potential of Ni₃(Si,Ti) was higher than pure nickel, but lower than that of type 304.     

Suppression of Discontinuous Precipitation in Cu-Ti Alloys by Aging in a Hydrogen Atmosphere

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Age-hardened Cu-Ti alloys are widely used as conductive materials in small electrical devices, so it is important for them to have suitable mechanical...     

Decreased serum apolipoprotein AII/AI ratio in systemic amyloidosis

BACKGROUND: Intrapericardial teratomas are rare and usually present early in infancy or childhood. PROCEDURE: We describe herein a rare case of an adult patient with an intrapericardial teratoma who presented with fever, cardiac arrhythmias, and oppressive substernal chest pain. Preoperative diagnosis was suggested by echocardiography and computerized tomography of the chest. The tumor weighed 530 g and its histologic features were those of a mature cystic teratoma. It was excised totally and 10 years' follow-up revealed no evidence of residual disease. DISCUSSION: Our patient is one of the very few adult patients with intrapericardial teratomas who was treated successfully with surgery. Both echocardiography and tomography of the chest suggested the diagnosis and delineated the relationship of the tumor to the great vessels. CONCLUSION: The diagnosis of Intrapericardial teratomas is suspected by echocardiography and/or tomography of the chest and confirmed by specific histologic features. These tumors should be excised whenever detected.     

Mass screening for neuroblastoma and mortality in birth cohorts

Mortality resulting from neuroblastoma in birth cohorts in both Sapporo City and the whole of Japan was investigated to evaluate the effects of a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) mass screening program, targeting on 6 month-old infants. In Sapporo City, the non-HPLC screened cohort showed no reduction in mortality at 4 years of age compared with the pre-screening cohort. However, the HPLC screened cohort showed a reduction of 69% in mortality compared with the pre-screening cohort. On a nation-wide scale, there was a significant decline in mortality for the non-HPLC screened cohort compared with the pre-screening cohort; for the HPLC screened cohort for 1989-1991, there was also a reduction in mortality for children younger than 2 years of age. The incidence of neuroblastoma at 1-4 years of age in the HPLC cohort in Sapporo City was about half that in the pre-screening cohort, along with and probably because of an increasing incidence among infants in the same cohort. Our findings suggest that HPLC screening may detect some poor-prognosis neuroblastoma cases at early stages, thus providing for more favorable therapy.     

Intractable diarrhoea associated with secondary amyloidosis in rheumatoid arthritis

OBJECTIVE: To examine the clinical characteristics of intractable diarrhoea associated with secondary amyloidosis in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: Of 179 RA patients with biopsy confirmed secondary amyloidosis, 24 cases (23 women and one man) with intractable diarrhoea lasting for more than one month were retrospectively evaluated. RESULTS: The mean (SD) duration of diarrhoea was 87 (64) days. Prodromal symptoms of gastrointestinal dysfunction (n = 21) and impaired peristalsis (n = 16) were observed. Laboratory data showed hypoproteinaemia (4.7 (0.85) g/dl) caused by malabsorption or protein loss and high values of C reactive protein (17.0 (9.3) mg/dl). Recurrence of intractable diarrhoea (n = 4) and transition from intractable diarrhoea to other gastrointestinal problems of amyloidosis (ischaemic colitis (n = 2) and intestinal pseudo-obstruction (n = 4)) were observed. In 19 patients (25 episodes) the duration of intravenous hyperalimentation at remission (18 episodes) was 68 (52) days. Corticosteroid pulse therapy was administered to 10 patients (11 times) and the time elapsed from the end of corticosteroid pulse therapy to the end of diarrhoea was 18 (14) days. One and five year survival rates after the onset of intractable diarrhoea were 73.4% and 38.9%. Seven of 13 patients (54%) had died as a result of infectious diseases. CONCLUSION: Intractable diarrhoea associated with secondary amyloidosis in RA is a serious clinical entity and the prognosis is poor. Although it is assumed that intravenous hyperalimentation treatment and corticosteroid pulse therapy are favourable regimens for intractable diarrhoea, the patients should be monitored for possible infectious complications.     

A Study on Determining Mode Components of Strain Energy Release Rate of Free-Edge Delaminations in Composite Laminates

A simplified method for determining the individual mode components of the strain energy release rate of free-edge delaminations in composite laminates is proposed. Interlaminar stresses are evaluated as an interface moment, as are interface shear forces that are obtained from equilibrium equation of stress resultants at the interface between the adjacent layers. The deformation of edge-delaminated laminate is calculated by using a generalised quasi-3D classical laminated plate theory developed by the authors. The analysis provides closed-form expressions for the Mode-I, Mode-II, and Mode-III components of the strain energy release rate by combining the deformation of the edge-delaminated laminate with the interface moment and the interface shear forces. Comparison of the results with a finite-element analysis using the virtual crack closure technique shows good agreement.