Variations in discharge current waveforms and their power spectra injected from contact discharges of ESD‐gun with different arrangements

The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) has prescribed an immunity test (IEC61000‐4‐2) of electronic equipment against electrostatic discharges (ESDs), in which a discharge current to be injected onto equipment under test is specified. As for the waveform, however, not the whole waveform but only the rise time, the first peak, and the current amplitudes at 30 and 60 ns are given in the time domain together with their uncertainties, which are required to check on the condition that an ESD generator (ESD‐gun) shall be arranged vertically to an IEC‐recommended calibration target and its earth return wire is kept away as far as possible from a vertical ground plane (IEC standard arrangement). In this study, to clarify how arrangements of an ESD‐gun and its earth return wire affect discharge currents, we measured discharge current waveforms for contact discharges of an ESD‐gun onto an IEC calibration target with respect to various inclinations of the ESD‐gun and arrangements of its earth return wire, and also calculated their current power spectra normalized to that of the discharge current for the IEC standard arrangement. As a result, we found that inclinations of the ESD gun affect the first peak current, which increases current power spectra by 14 dB at frequencies over 300 MHz, and that arrangements of the return wire influence the current waveforms between the first and second peaks, which provides variations in power spectra by ±12 dB in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 200 MHz. This finding suggests that arrangements of an ESD‐gun and its earth return wire are likely to cause different immunity test results. It was also found that in comparison with measured discharge currents for the standard arrangement, the calculated waveform of a discharge current from a formula, which has been included in the recent standard, has a more gentle falling waveform, and produces power spectra of +15 dB in the frequency range from 10 MHz to 200 MHz and –12 dB at frequencies over 300 MHz. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(1): 9–14, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21270     

Fuel and emissions properties of Stirling engine operated with wood powder

From viewpoints of the environment and fuel cost reduction, small-scale biomass combined heat and power (CHP) plants are in demand, especially wood-waste fueled system, which are simple to operate and maintenance-free with high thermal efficiency similar to oil fired units. These are requested by wood and other industries located in mountainous region. To meet these requirements, a Stirling engine CHP system combined with simplified biomass combustion process with pulverized wood powder was developed.In an R&D project started in 2004 considering wood powder properties as a fuel, combustion performance and emissions in combustion flue gas were tested using combustion test apparatus with commercial size units. The wood powder combustion system was modified and optimized during the combustion test results, and the design of the demonstration plant combined with 55 kW_e Stirling engine power unit was considered. The demonstration plant was finally completed in March of 2006, and test operation has been progressed for the future commercial CHP system.In the wood powder combustion test, wood powder of less than 500 μm is mainly used, and a combustion chamber length of 3 m is applied. In these conditions, the air ratio can be reduced to 1.1 without increasing CO emission of less than 10 ppm and combustion efficiency of 99.9%. In the same conditions, NO_x emission is estimated to be less than 120 ppm (6% O₂ basis). Wood powder was confirmed to have excellent properties as a fuel for Stirling engine CHP system. This paper summarizes the wood powder combustion test, and presents the evaluation of the burner design parameters for the biomass Stirling engine system.     

Rapid Desensitization of Lipolysis in the Visceral and Subcutaneous Adipocytes of Rats

In adipocytes, short and long term stimulation of β adrenergic receptors (βAR) induces the desensitization to catecholamines, leading to a decrease in the intracellular accumulation of cAMP, but the roles played by this in lipolysis is not clear. In this study, we assessed the catecholamine-induced desensitization of lipolysis and compared this in adipocytes isolated from visceral and subcutaneous fat tissues of rats. When adipocytes were pretreated with isoproterenol (ISO), the norepinephrine (NE)-induced lipolysis was significantly reduced dose- and time-dependently. A similar reduction of the lipolytic response was also found in NE-, dobutamine-, terbutaline- or BRL37344-induced lipolysis. The ISO- and each βAR agonist-induced lipolysis in the visceral fat was not only higher than in the subcutaneous fat, but also markedly reduced by ISO- or NE-pretreatment. These results showed that short-term treatment of three subtypes of βAR by each agonist induces a rapid reduction in the lipolytic response to βAR stimulation. This suggests some common mechanism for the rapid desensitization of βAR-agonist-induced lipolysis, in contrast with previous reports on the characteristics of βAR subtypes. In addition, the regional difference of adipose tissue not only in inducing lipolysis but also in rapid desensitization was also apparent.     

Optical Spectra of Synthetic Spinels in the System MgAl2O4–MgCr2O4

Unpolarized optical spectra were measured in the wavelength range 322–1666 nm by the diffuse reflection technique from spinel powders synthesized in the system MgAl₂O₄–MgCr₂O₄. The spectra were interpreted by the crystal-field theory on the basis of trigonally distorted spinel octahedra with D_3d symmetry. For chromium-rich solid solutions, including the MgCr₂O₄ end-member, results after peak fittings showed octahedral D_3d local symmetry around Cr³⁺ ions, identical to the crystallographic site symmetry. For chromium-poor solid solutions, however, octahedral C_3v local symmetry was suggested around Cr³⁺ ions, different from the D_3d crystallographically expected.     

Less Carcinogenic Chlorinated Estrogens Applicable to Hormone Replacement Therapy

Human estrogens prescribed for hormone replacement therapy (HRT) are known to be potent carcinogens. To find safer estrogens, several chlorinated estrogens were synthesized and their carcinogenic potential were determined. A pellet containing either 2-chloro-17β-estradiol (2-ClE₂) or 4-chloro-17β-estradiol (4-ClE₂) was implanted subcutaneously for 52 weeks into August Copenhagen Irish (ACI) rats, a preferred animal model for human breast cancer. 17β-Estradiol (E₂) frequently induced mammary tumors while both 2-ClE₂ and 4-ClE₂ did not. Their 17α-ethinyl forms, thought to be orally active estrogens, were also synthesized. Neither 2-chloro-17α-ethinylestradiol (2-ClEE₂) nor 4-chloro-17α-ethinylestradiol (4-ClEE₂) induced tumors. The less carcinogenic effects were supported by histological examination of mammary glands of ACI rats treated with the chlorinated estrogens. A chlorine atom positioned at the 2- or 4-position of E₂ may prevent the metabolic activation, resulting in reducing the carcinogenicity. 2-ClE₂ and 4-ClE₂ administered subcutaneously and 2-ClEE₂ and 4-ClEE₂ given orally to ovariectomized rats all showed uterotrophic potency, albeit slightly weaker than that of E₂. Our results indicate that less carcinogenic chlorinated estrogens retaining estrogenic potential could be safer alternatives to the carcinogenic estrogens now in use for HRT.     

高灰熔点煤高温下煤焦CO2/水蒸汽气化反应特性的实验研究

我国煤炭年产量中，1400℃以上的高灰熔点煤约占50％以上。为探索固态排渣方式的高灰熔点煤气流床气化，本文选出具有代表性的三种高灰熔点煤种和一种低灰熔点煤种，在TGA-51H型高温热天平上进行了煤焦-CO2和煤焦-水蒸汽气化反应特性的实验研究，并利用SEM考察了气化条件下煤焦及灰的微观结构。实验结果表明：在煤焦-CO2、H2O反应过程中，反应速度明显表现出高温区域的扩散反应和低温区域的化学反应；无论在1273K～1573K的低温区域，还是在高于1573K的高温区域，反应速率随燃料比（FC/V）的增加而减小。     

Template-free hydrothermal synthesis of hollow hematite microspheres

Hollow hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) microspheres with an average diameter of 3-4 μm and a shell thickness of approximate 150 nm was synthesized by a simple hydrothermal route using FeCl₃·6H₂O solution and acetic acid without using any templates. The hollow microspheres were composed of α-Fe₂O₃ nanoparticles with the diameter range from 20 to 40 nm. The effects of reaction parameters such as reaction time, temperature, concentration of FeCl₃·6H₂O solution, and initial pH on the morphology of the final products were investigated. A possible formation mechanism of hollow α-Fe₂O₃ microspheres was also proposed, where the acetic acid played a role of etching in the formation of hollow structure.     

Next Day Peak Load Forecasting Using Neural Network With Adaptive Learning Algorithm Based On Similarity

In this article we propose the adaptive learning algorithm of neural network with respect to a rapid temperature change of forecasted day. The proposed adaptive learning algorithm is used to shift the learning range of previous year of forecasted day. Therefore, the proposed neural network can be trained by using learning data, including the maximum temperature to be forecasted. The suitability of the proposed approach is illustrated through an application to actual load data of Okinawa Electric Power Company in Japan.     

Organic LED full-color passive-matrix display

Abstract— A full-color 5.2-inch 1/4-VGA passive-matrix organic LED display has been developed, adopting selective deposition for the different emitting materials. The display features 320 (×3) × 240 pixels with an equivalent pixel size of 0.33 × 0.33 mm, white peak luminance of over 150 cd/m², and power consumption of 6 W.