The Application of VDM to the Industrial Development of Firmware for a Smart Card IC Chip

We have applied the formal speci.cation language in the development of the .rmware of the smart card IC chip for embedding in mobile phone. We report on an in-dustrial application of formal methods to the development of a complex system, namely the .rmware for the “Mobile FeliCa” smart card IC chip. The use of formal techniques, specif-ically the Vienna Development Method (VDM), was aimed at raising the quality of system speci.cations by reducing ambiguity and improving communications between engineers. De-velopment data gathered during the life cycle con.rm the e.ectiveness of a lightweight formal method in contributing to the quality of the deliverables in early development stages. No software speci.cation problems have, to date, been reported since .rst release (over 100 million mobile phones have the chip embedded).     

Baffled membrane bioreactor (BMBR) for efficient nutrient removal from municipal wastewater

Submerged membrane bioreactors (MBRs) are now widely used for various types of wastewater treatment. One drawback of submerged MBRs is the difficulty in removing nitrogen because intensive aeration is usually carried out in the tank and the MBRs must therefore be operated under aerobic conditions. In this study, the feasibility of treating municipal wastewater by a baffled membrane bioreactor (BMBR), particularly in terms of nitrogen removal, was examined. Simultaneous nitrification/denitrification in a single and small reaction tank was possible by inserting baffles into a normal submerged MBR as long as wastewater was fed in the appropriate way. To examine the applicability of the BMBR, pilot-scale experiments were carried out using real municipal wastewater. Although neither external carbon addition nor mixed liquor circulation was carried out in the operation of the BMBR, average removal rates of total organic carbon (TOC), total phosphorus (T-P) and total nitrogen (T-N) reached 85%, 97% and 77%, respectively, with the hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 4.7h. Permeability of the membrane could be maintained at a high level throughout the operation. It was found that denitrification was the limiting step in removal of nitrogen in the BMBR in this study. Various types of monitoring carried out in the BMBR also demonstrated the possibility of further improvements in its performance.     

Generation of high-quality higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian beams using liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulators

We report on the high-quality holographic generation of higher-order Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beams using a liquid-crystal-on-silicon spatial light modulator. The effects of the input beam pattern on the output LG beam quality are investigated in detail through theoretical discussions and experiments. Correlation analyses between observed beam patterns and theoretical mode profiles reveal that higher beam quality is achieved for output LG beams generated from a top-hat input beam than from a Gaussian input beam.     

Establishment and characterization of rat dental epithelial derived ameloblast-lineage clones

Teeth are the hardest tissues covered with enamel produced by ameloblasts. The ameloblast differentiation is controlled by sequential epithelial-mesenchymal interactions during tooth morphogenesis. However, the molecular mechanism of ameloblast differentiation remains unclear. To address this question, we developed an in vitro assay system to evaluate the molecular mechanism of amelogenesis. First, we established dental epithelium-derived clones from 6-day-old rat incisors and established that cells of the clone SRE-G5 were the largest producers of amelogenin mRNA. Next, we analyzed the effects of several chemicals on the amelogenin expression in SRE-G5 cells. Only mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) activators enhanced amelogenin mRNA expression. This finding corresponded to the immunohistochemical data showing the presence of phosphorylated forms of p38, c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) during ameloblast differentiation. To examine the roles of MAPK signals, we compared the effects of anisomycin and sodium salicylate on the expression of tooth-related differentiation markers. Both anisomycin and sodium salicylate induced amelogenin, Abcg2, and Bmp4 mRNA and down-regulated p75NGFR mRNA. On the other hand, ALP, ectodin, Bmp2 and Fgf8 mRNA were up-regulated only by anisomycin. These results indicate that MAPK signaling functions, at least in part, as the inducer of ameloblast differentiation.     

Feedback position control apparatus of tokamak plasma horizontal position with a digital drive

A plasma horizontal position feedback control system (PHPFCS) and a digital current drive (DCD) for controlling vertical magnetic field are made on an experimental base, and the horizontal position of a plasma in a small tokamak (HAMANA‐T) is controlled by PID operations from the initial phase of plasma generation. The DCD consists of constant‐current discharge units for multiple condensers and drives a digital current analogous as a whole to the control signal of PHPFCS in the range of ±90 A. The maximum value of the digital current increases in proportion to the number of units. This PHPFCS elongates plasma duration from 1.3 ms to 2.1 ms, smooths the waveform of plasma current, and reduces the plasma loop voltage from 25 V to 20 V. Furthermore, PHPFCS reduces the range of variation in plasma horizontal displacement from 3.5 cm to within 0.5 cm and makes it possible to set accurately the horizontal position from the initial phase in the inner region of a vacuum chamber. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 130(4): 26–34, 2000     

Structure of optical singularities in coaxial superpositions of Laguerre-Gaussian modes

We investigate optical singularities in coaxial superpositions of two Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) modes with a common beam waist from the viewpoints of a general formulation of phase structure, experimental generation of various superposition beams, and evaluation of the generated beams' fidelity. By applying a holographic phase-amplitude modulation scheme using a phase-modulation-type spatial light modulator, output fidelity beyond 0.960 was observed under several typical conditions. Additionally, an elliptic-type folded singularity, which provides a different class of phase structures from familiar helical singularities, was predicted and observed in a superposition involving two LG modes of both radially and azimuthally higher orders.     

Utilization of Myosin and Actin Bundles for the Transport of Molecular Cargo

The utilization of motor proteins for the movement and assembly of synthetic components is currently a goal of nanoengineering research. Application of the myosin actin motor system for nanotechnological uses has been hampered due to the low flexural rigidity of individual F‐actin filaments. Here it is demonstrated how actin bundling can be used to affect the translational behavior of myosin‐propelled filaments, transport molecules across a motor‐patterned surface, and that the movement of bundled actin can be regulated photonically. These data suggest that actin bundling may significantly improve the applicability of the myosin motor for future nanotechnological applications.     

Transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO2 (TNO) thin films sputtered from various oxide targets

Transparent conducting Nb-doped anatase TiO₂ (TNO) epitaxial films were sputtered from TiO₂-, Ti₂O₃-, and Ti-based targets at various oxygen partial pressures (Po₂). Using the TiO₂- and Ti₂O₃-based targets, highly conductive films showing a resistivity (ρ) of ~ 3 × 10^− 4 Ω cm could be formed without postdeposition treatment. In the case of the TNO films formed from the Ti-based target, reductive annealing had to be carried out at a temperature of 600 °C to achieve similar resistivity values. Thus, the use of oxide targets is preferable to obtain as-grown transparent conducting TNO films. In particular, the Ti₂O₃-based target is practically advantageous, because it offers a wide range of optimal Po₂ values at which ρ values of the order of 10^− 4 Ω cm are achievable.     

1100 kV气体绝缘双断口断路器的开发与产品化

开发了一种用于气体绝缘组合电器(GIS)的1100kV50kASF6气体双断口断路器(GCB)。研究了这种断路器的各种特性,并成功完成了在绝缘、开断和机械性能等方面的型式试验。实现了GCB的小型化和轻量化。这种新开发的GCB已应用在中国特高压交流示范工程的GIS中,并已于2009年年初投入使用。