The effect of lutein supplementation on visual fatigue: A psychophysiological analysis

We used psychophysiological technology to examine the effect of an oral supplement, a combination of lutein, zeaxanthin and blackcurrant extract (LUT), on visual fatigue, within the context of a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. The LUT supplement and placebo samples were randomly assigned to thirteen participants, who took the samples for two LUT (and vice versa) for another 2 week. Each participant completed visual proof reading tasks for 2 h during each of four testing sessions. Saccade tests were administered before and after the proof reading task, during which the participants moved their eyes back and forth between two targets positioned in the center of two checkerboards. We recorded EEG, EOG, heart rate, and facial muscle potential/performance during the saccade tests. Blood pressure was measured and subjective fatigue and stress scores were collected before and after the proof reading task. We averaged EEG starting at saccade offset in order to analyze eye fixation related potentials (EFRP). Our results suggested that the proof reading task induced visual fatigue. An analysis of EFRP and other psychophysiological data revealed significant differences between the LUT and placebo conditions. These results suggest that supplementation with LUT could help to reduce symptoms of visual fatigue.     

Parametric embedding for class visualization

We propose a new method, parametric embedding (PE), that embeds objects with the class structure into a low-dimensional visualization space. PE takes as input a set of class conditional probabilities for given data points and tries to preserve the structure in an embedding space by minimizing a sum of Kullback-Leibler divergences, under the assumption that samples are generated by a gaussian mixture with equal covariances in the embedding space. PE has many potential uses depending on the source of the input data, providing insight into the classifier's behavior in supervised, semisupervised, and unsupervised settings. The PE algorithm has a computational advantage over conventional embedding methods based on pairwise object relations since its complexity scales with the product of the number of objects and the number of classes. We demonstrate PE by visualizing supervised categorization of Web pages, semisupervised categorization of digits, and the relations of words and latent topics found by an unsupervised algorithm, latent Dirichlet allocation.     

Phase diagram for the helical texture in 3He-A

The stability region of the helical textures in³He-A in thev _s-H phase diagram is theoretically determined. Herev _sis the superflow velocity andH (v _s) is the external magnetic field. The pitch of the helixk ^–1 that minimizes the Gibbs free energy and the corresponding inclination angles ofl andd are determined numerically as functions ofv _sandH. The NMR frequencies (two longitudinal and four transverse frequencies) associated with the helical texture are obtained.Work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMR 76-21032.     

Development of dual-probe atomic force microscopy system using optical beam deflection sensors with obliquely incident laser beams

We developed a dual-probe (DP) atomic force microscopy (AFM) system that has two independently controlled probes. The deflection of each cantilever is measured by the optical beam deflection (OBD) method. In order to keep a large space over the two probes for an objective lens with a large numerical aperture, we employed the OBD sensors with obliquely incident laser beams. In this paper, we describe the details of our developed DP-AFM system, including analysis of the sensitivity of the OBD sensor for detection of the cantilever deflection. We also describe a method to eliminate the crosstalk caused by the vertical translation of the cantilever. In addition, we demonstrate simultaneous topographic imaging of a test sample by the two probes and surface potential measurement on an α-sexithiophene (α-6T) thin film by one probe while electrical charges were injected by the other probe.     

Performance tests of catalysts for the safe conversion of hydrogen inside the nuclear waste containers in Fukushima Daiichi

The safe decommissioning as well as decontamination of the radioactive waste resulting from the nuclear accident in Fukushima Daiichi represents a huge task for the next decade. At present, research and development on long-term safe storage containers has become an urgent task with international cooperation in Japan. One challenge is the generation of hydrogen and oxygen in significant amounts by means of radiolysis inside the containers, as the nuclear waste contains a large portion of sea water. The generation of radiolysis gases may lead to a significant pressure build-up inside the containers and to the formation of flammable gases with the risk of ignition and the loss of integrity.In the framework of the project “R&D on technology for reducing concentration of flammable gases generated in long-term waste storage containers” funded by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT), the potential application of catalytic recombiner devices inside the storage containers is investigated. In this context, a suitable catalyst based on the so-called intelligent automotive catalyst for use in a recombiner is under consideration. The catalyst is originally developed and mass-produced for automotive exhaust gas purification, and is characterized by having a self-healing function of precious metals (Pd, Pt and Rh) dissolved as a solid solution in the perovskite type oxides. The basic features of this catalyst have been tested in an experimental program. The test series in the REKO-4 facility has revealed the basic characteristics of the catalyst required for designing the recombiner system.     

Thermoelectric Properties of Rare Earth-Doped SrTiO3 Nanocubes

A giant Seebeck coefficient of ?890 μV/K at 500 °C has been observed in Y_0.2Sr_0.8TiO₃ prepared using nanocubes. Doping rare earth elements, RE, has revealed that small RE is effective to enhance the Seebeck coefficient. Through soft mode observations by Raman spectroscopy and structural calculations based on density functional theory, it has been found that the breakdown of inversion symmetry of the perovskite structure near the surface of nanocubes can be recovered by doping with small RE. Because the dielectric constant is strongly related to the surface structure in this compound, we suggest that RE doping modulates the potential barrier at the grain boundary, resulting in a pronounced energy filtering effect in Y doped SrTiO₃.     

Analysis of spatial smoothing effect of short‐term fluctuation of global solar radiation based on data including quantization error

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are attracting attention as one of the promising countermeasures against global warming and the environmental issues. However, the generation output from PV systems is generally unstable and unpredictable. Therefore, large penetration of PV systems may cause some serious impacts on power system operation, such as load frequency control, voltage regulation, etc. Estimation of the influences of PV system installation is becoming important, but it requires simultaneous multipoint solar radiation measurements. The Japan Meteorological Business Support Center has provided 1‐minute meteorological data observed in Japan, but its solar radiation data includes quantization errors. This paper proposes a regeneration method for solar radiation data including quantization errors. It also analyzes the spatial smoothing effect of global solar radiation fluctuations. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(3): 55–63, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21274     

Optimal operation of cogeneration system coordinated by aggregator for providing the demand and supply regulation capacity

Recent growth of renewable energy generations with natural variability, such as photovoltaic generation and wind turbine generation, would make the demand and supply control in a whole power system more difficult, and therefore, alternatives for demand and supply regulation resources would be required. The authors focus on cogeneration system (CGS) as one of regulation resources. In order to procure adequate volume of regulation capability, an aggregator coordinates a number of CGSs efficiently and flexibly considering the wide variety of electricity/thermal demands of CGS owners. This paper proposes a novel optimal operation strategy of CGS coordinated by the aggregator considering the energy balance and operation cost of individual CGS owner. This paper also demonstrates the availability of CGSs for regulation capability by numerical case studies in which the actual consumption profile is employed.