Development of 500-kV XLPE cables and accessories for long distanceunderground transmission line. III. Electrical properties of 500-kVcables

500-kV XLPE-insulated cable with an insulation thickness of 27 mm has been developed for long-distance transmission lines. Basic studies on 500-kV XLPE cable have shown that contaminants in the insulation may be the factor determining electrical performance. This hypothesis is justified by the good correlation obtained between statistical estimations of the size of the largest contaminant in the insulation and the electrical characteristics of full-sized cables. Voltage-withstand and long-term tests have confirmed the design values for minimum breakdown stress, for AC and impulse voltage, and for the degradation coefficients     

Sequential changes in full-length genomes of hepatitis B virus accompanying acute exacerbation of chronic hepatitis B

BACKGROUND/AIM: During the course of persistent hepatitis B virus infection, viral replication markedly decreases after acute exacerbation of liver inflammation accompanied by emergence of antihepatitis B e antibody (anti-HBe) and/or anti-hepatitis B surface antibody (anti-HBs). In some cases, however, persistent viral replication continues even after such exacerbation with or without HBeAg/anti-HBe seroconversion. The aim of the present study was to investigate the extent of genetic variations of HBV in this phenomenon. METHODS: Full-length HBV genomes were amplified by polymerase chain reaction from sera of three patients before and after acute exacerbation and were directly sequenced. RESULTS: In the whole genomes of 3215 nucleotides, only six nucleotide mutations for six amino acid substitutions (2 in the surface gene, 2 in the X gene, 1 in the core gene and 1 in the polymerase gene) were observed in patient 1, 15 mutations for 14 amino acid substitutions (1 in the pre-core codon 28, 4 in the surface gene, 4 in the core gene and 5 in the polymerase gene) were observed in patient 2, and 5 mutations for 6 amino acid substitutions (2 in the surface gene, 2 in the X gene, pre-core stop codon mutation and 1 in the polymerase gene) were observed in patient 3. Substitution in the a determinant of the surface gene, which encodes target epitopes for neutralizing antibodies, as well as those in the pre-core/core gene, which encodes epitopes for cytotoxic T cells, were mainly found. CONCLUSION: HBV that remained after the emergence of anti-HBe and anti-HBs are considered to possess mutations in epitopes for both humoral and cellular immunity. These mutant HBV may be involved in the pathogenesis of persistent hepatic injury after acute exacerbation.     

An approximation to the steady state probabilities of a multi-echelon repair model for a series system

A multi-echelon repair system is often employed for the repair of a complex device. There have been many papers on a multi-echelon repair system. Most of them, however, treat the case that i) the repair system has one central repair station(two-echelon repair model), ii)the device is a single item system. The purpose of this paper is to extend a two-echelon repair model with single item systems to a multi-echelon repair model with multi-item systems. This extension makes the repair model more realistic. Then an approximation method to obtain the steady state probabilities of the repair model is presented. This method obtains the probabilities rapidly and accurately. The reliability measure considered in this model is the system availability. It is obtained as a byproduct of the steady state probabilities.     

Intercritically annealed and isothermally transformed 0.15 Pct C steels containing 1.2 Pct Si-1.5 Pct Mn and 4 Pct Ni: Part II. effect of testing temperature on stress-strain behavior and deformation-induced austenite transformation

Stress-strain behavior and deformation-induced transformation of retained austenite were studied for intercritically annealed and isothermally transformed Si-Mn and Ni steels as a function of testing temperature between −80 °C and 120 °C. Rapid decrease of retained austenite at small strains dominates at low-temperature testing and in microstructures containing martensite. The austenite transformation in microstructures without martensite shifts to larger strains with increasing testing temperature. The accompanying increase of strain-hardening rates at larger strains deters the onset of necking and improves ductility. The benefits of the austenite transformation lead to a peak in ductility between 20 °C and 70 °C in the Si-Mn steel and at 70 °C in the Ni steel. The peaks are dependent on the nature of the dispersed microconstituents produced in the ferrite during isothermal transformation. Higher testing temperatures enhance the mechanical stability of the austenite and result in lower ductility.     

New combination therapy with FTM [5-FU, pirarubicin (THP) and MMC] for treatment of inoperable advanced gastric cancer

Clinical usefulness of a new combination FTM therapy consisting of 5-FU, Pirarubicin (THP) and MMC for the treatment of advanced gastric cancers was investigated. 5-FU, THP or MMC was administered at a dose of 600 mg/m2 on day 1, 8, 22 and 29, 30 mg/m2 on days 1 and 22, and 10 mg/m2 on day one only of each course, respectively. Eighteen patients with inoperable advanced gastric cancer were treated with FTM. All drugs were investigated by intravenously by one shot. The tumor response rate was 50% [9 of 18 showed PR]. The survival rate was higher in responders than in nonresponders (18.1% vs 11.1%) (p < 0.05). Side effects in the gastrointestinal tract were minimal. Cardiotoxicity and nephrotoxicity were not detected, but myelosuppression was prominent in most cases. G-CSF was given in sixteen patients (88%), and platelet transfusion was performed in two patients (11%). New combination FTM therapy is an effective treatment regimen even for advanced inoperable gastric cancer.     

A case of infant testicular tumor diagnosed ultrasonographically in the prenatal period

We report a case of testicular tumor detected by ultrasonography during the prenatal period. Ultrasonography performed at 32 weeks of gestation showed that one testis was larger than the other. The right testis was markedly enlarged at 38 weeks of gestation. The heterogeneous echo pattern of the right testis suggested a testicular tumor. Right high orchiectomy was performed 3 months after birth. Pathological findings of the tumor were teratoma with mature and immature components according to the histological classification of testicular tumor. In Japan, this is the second case diagnosed in the prenatal period using ultrasonography.     

Model-based and actual independence for fairness-aware classification

The goal of fairness-aware classification is to categorize data while taking into account potential issues of fairness, discrimination, neutrality, and/or independence. For example, when applying data mining technologies to university admissions, admission criteria must be non-discriminatory and fair with regard to sensitive features, such as gender or race. In this context, such fairness can be formalized as statistical independence between classification results and sensitive features. The main purpose of this paper is to analyze this formal fairness in order to achieve better trade-offs between fairness and prediction accuracy, which is important for applying fairness-aware classifiers in practical use. We focus on a fairness-aware classifier, Calders and Verwer’s two-naive-Bayes (CV2NB) method, which has been shown to be superior to other classifiers in terms of fairness. We hypothesize that this superiority is due to the difference in types of independence. That is, because CV2NB achieves actual independence, rather than satisfying model-based independence like the other classifiers, it can account for model bias and a deterministic decision rule. We empirically validate this hypothesis by modifying two fairness-aware classifiers, a prejudice remover method and a reject option-based classification (ROC) method, so as to satisfy actual independence. The fairness of these two modified methods was drastically improved, showing the importance of maintaining actual independence, rather than model-based independence. We additionally extend an approach adopted in the ROC method so as to make it applicable to classifiers other than those with generative models, such as SVMs.     

Characterization of light extraction efficiency for WOLEDS with light‐out‐coupling layer

We studied the light extraction efficiencies of white organic light‐emitting diodes with a light‐out‐coupling layer by simulations and experiments. The light extraction efficiencies estimated by the simulation were confirmed to agree well with those measured by the experiments. Moreover, we successfully obtained the high light extraction efficiency (η_OC) of 69%.     

Properties and structure of nylon fibers in relation to drawing and aqueous phenol treatments

The changes in nylon 66 fiber structure and properties which take place during drawing and aqueous phenol treatments were studied by means of measurements of length, birefringence, density, moisture regain, x-ray diffraction, stress–strain behavior, and sound velocity. Drawing was found to establish molecular orientation along the fiber axis predominantly in the early stages, whereas the development of lateral order occured primarily after a certain level of orientation had been achieved. Treatments in aqueous phenol solutions caused longitudinal contractions which depended on phenol concentration (1-5%), draw ratio (1-6), and the tension on the fiber during the treatment. The treatments resulted in an increase in the lateral order, decrease in orientation and corresponding changes in mechanical properties. Moisture regain was inversely related with density for the untreated fibers of various draw ratios, but the relationship became complex after treatments in phenol. The data are interpreted in terms of changes in the lateral order distributions, which permits an increase in the fibers' sorptive capacity despite an increase in the mean lateral order.     

Direct Characterization of Grain-Boundary Electrical Activity in Doped (Ba0.6Sr0.4)TiO3 by Combined Imaging of Electron-Beam-Induced Current and Electron-Backscattered Diffraction

Simultaneous measurements of remote electron beam induced current (REBIC) and orientation imaging microscopy (OIM) in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) have been applied to a polycrystalline (Ba_0.6Sr_0.4)TiO₃ with a positive temperature coefficient of resistivity (PTCR) to elucidate a grain-boundary character dependence of the potential barrier formation. The absence of electrical activity in a coherent Σ3 twin boundary is clearly imaged. The resistivity of individual grain boundaries estimated from a resistive contrast image is interpreted in terms of geometrical coherency, which is defined by the degree of coincidence in the reciprocal lattice points.