Pulse switching characteristics of MAGTs for pulsed power applications

For pulsed power systems such as lasers and accelerators, semiconductor switches with their longer service life have actively been developed as replacements for thyratrons. The MOS-driven thyristors are suitable for pulsed power applications because they have high-power handling and fast turn-on capabilities. The MOS-assisted gate-triggered thyristor (MAGT), designed especially for pulsed power, is a promising candidate in this field. This paper presents the results of an investigation into the performance of MAGTs. Using a pulse-forming network (PEN), the pulse-switching characteristics and the dynamic resistance characteristics during the current flow are investigated. A maximum current density of 21.8 kA/cm² and di/dt of 106 kA/μs/cm² with 1550-V anode voltage on a single-shot basis were obtained. Furthermore, a life test with 10⁹ shots at a high repetition rate showed no degradation in the observed characteristics. Based on these experimental results, a carrier flow model of MAGT during turn-on process is proposed and the turn-on mechanism is considered.     

Kinetic study of a highly active MgCl2‐supported Ziegler–Natta catalyst in liquid pool propylene polymerization. II. The influence of alkyl aluminum and alkoxysilane on catalyst activation and deactivation

The influence of alkyl aluminum and alkoxysilane on the kinetics in liquid pool propylene batch polymerization was investigated with a highly active Ziegler–Natta catalyst system that consisted of MgCl₂/TiCl₄/diester–alkoxysilane/AlR₃. In this study, diethyl phthalate and t‐BuEtSi(OMe)₂ were used as a diester and an alkoxysilane, respectively. The catalyst activity depended on the concentration of the alkyl aluminum when it came into contact with the catalyst. In addition, alkoxysilane as an external donor had a role in activating the catalyst. With respect to activity decay, the overreduction of Ti did not seem to be the cause. Instead, the decay rate decreased with an increasing alkoxysilane/catalyst ratio. This implied that activity decay was caused by the formation of dormant sites after 2,1‐misinsertion of propylene. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 2669–2679, 2002     

Fracture mechanisms of poly(methyl methacrylate) under static torsion in alcohol environments

Static torsion tests of poly(methyl methacrylate) were conducted in several alcohol environments at room temperature. The critical torsional stress for crazing and/or cracking increased with increasing molar volume of alcohol, and was not correlated with the solubility parameter, nor with equilibrium solubility as reported in previous results on n-alkanes. Crazing stresses in alcohols were generally lower than those in alkanes. According to Fourier transform-infrared microscopy of the surface scratch made in several environments, both in ethanol and in 1 -butanol, some absorptions were detected at 3450–3650 cm^–1, probably due to the hydroxyl group of these alcohols caught by hydrogen bonding to oxygen of the carbonyl group in the side chain, whereas in other environments (1 -octanol, n-hexane, and air) there were no absorptions in this region of wave number. These results suggest that at a flaw tip strained under stress, penetrating alcohol molecules are chemically adsorbed in a cluster, which breaks a weak bond (e.g. dipole interaction) between the polymer chains and, as a result, facilitates craze formation and breakdown leading to brittle fracture.     

Craze initiation in poly(methyl methacrylate) exposed to n-alkanes

The critical stresses for craze initiation were measured on poly(methyl methacrylate) exposed to n-alkanes both under static torsion and under static tension at room temperature. Crazes are observed even under torsion where the dilatational stress is absent, as the authors previously pointed out. The critical stresses for craze initiation under both types of loading increase with increasing liquid molar volume, and decrease with increasing loading time. The ratio of the critical crazing stress under torsion to that under tension is almost constant irrespective of the kind of liquid and the loading time. In contrast with the critical crazing strain measured by the use of the elliptical bending device, the critical crazing stresses do not show a lower limiting value even under long-time (200 min) loading, and are correlated with neither the solubility parameter nor the equilibrium solubility of the liquid predicted from the solution theory.     

Estimating energy consumption from night-time DMPS/OLS imagery after correcting for saturation effects

A methodology is presented to accurately estimate electric power consumption from saturated night-time Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Operational Linescan System (OLS) imagery using a stable light correction. An area correction for the stable light image of DMSP/OLS for the year 1999 was performed and the build-up area rate data were used to clarify the intensity distribution characteristics of the stable light. Based on the spatial distribution characteristics of the stable light, the saturation light of the electric power supply area of Japan was corrected using a cubic regression equation. The regression between the correction calculations by the cubic regression equation and the statistical electric power consumption data was applied in Japan and also in China, India and 10 other Asian countries. The correction method was then evaluated. This study confirms that electric power consumption can be estimated with high precision from the stable light.     

Energy-Dependent Endocytosis Is Responsible for Skin Penetration of Formulations Based on a Combination of Indomethacin Nanoparticles and l-Menthol in Rat and Göttingen Minipig

We previously designed a Carbopol gel formulation (N-IND/MEN) based on a combination of indomethacin solid nanoparticles (IND-NPs) and l-menthol, and we reported that the N-IND/MEN showed high transdermal penetration. However, the detailed mechanism for transdermal penetration of IND-NPs was not clearly defined. In this study, we investigated whether endocytosis in the skin tissue of rat and Göttingen minipig is related to the transdermal penetration of IND-NPs using pharmacological inhibitors of endocytosis. The pharmacological inhibitors used in this study are as follows: 54 µM nystatin, a caveolae-mediated endocytosis (CavME) inhibitor; 40 µM dynasore, a clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME) inhibitor; and 2 µM rottlerin, a micropinocytosis (MP) inhibitor. The N-IND/MEN was prepared by a bead mill method, and the particle size of solid indomethacin was 79–216 nm. In both rat and Göttingen minipig skin, skin penetration of approximately 80% IND-NPs was limited by the stratum corneum (SC), although the penetration of SC was improved by the combination of l-menthol. On the other hand, the treatment of nystatin and dynasore decreased the transdermal penetration of indomethacin in rats and Göttingen minipigs treated with N-IND/MEN. Moreover, in addition to nystatin and dynasore, rottlerin attenuated the transdermal penetration of IND-NPs in the Göttingen minipigs’ skin. In conclusion, we found that l-menthol enhanced the SC penetration of IND-NPs. In addition, this study suggests that the SC-passed IND-NPs are absorbed into the skin tissue by energy-dependent endocytosis (CavME, CME, and/or MP pathways) on the epidermis under the SC, resulting in an enhancement in transdermal penetration of IND-NPs. These findings provide significant information for the design of nanomedicines in transdermal formulations.     

Presaccadic omnidirectional burst activity in the basal interstitial nucleus in the monkey cerebellum

The endocrine function and pituitary imaging in Sheehan's syndrome more than 30 years after causative events were evaluated. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a combined anterior pituitary test, plasma vasopressin-to-osmolality adaptation study, and antithyroid and antipituitary cell antibody measurement were performed in 6 women with Sheehan's syndrome. The interval from delivery to the onset of symptoms of hormonal deficiency ranged from 3 to 32 years. Since clinical onset, all had received glucocorticoid and thyroid replacement therapy. Cranial MRI examination showed an "empty sella" in 5 cases. Among these, 2 of 5 (40%) demonstrated panhypopituitarism and the other 3 (60%) maintained gonadotropin response. The pituitary gland was normally discernible but with a low-intensity lesion on T1-weighted images in a patient who maintained PRL and gonadotropin responses. Posterior pituitary function was abnormal in 3 of 6 (50%) despite the absence of polyuria. No antipituitary antibodies were detected in any of the cases. Thyroid peroxidase antibody was negative in all cases, but antithyroglobulin antibody was detected in 2 of 6 (33%). Thyroid-stimulating antibody was not detected, but one case had an anti-TSH antibody. Thirty years after the initial events, most patients with Sheehan's syndrome showed signs of an empty sella on MRI, all having noticeable suppression of anterior and/or posterior pituitary hormones with no related autoimmunity.     

Permeation characteristics of poly(vinyl alcohol)–poly(vinyl acetate) composite porous membranes

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVAc) composite porous membrane has been prepared from PVAc latex film by extraction with acetone. The PVAc latex was prepared by emulsion polymerization of vinyl acetate in the presence of PVA, employing the hydrogen peroxide–tartaric acid systemm as an initiator. The extraction degree of PVAc could be controlled in a wide range by changing the addition method of the initiator, and, acoordingly, PVA–PVAc omposite porous membranes which had variosu void volumes were obtained. The maximum void volume attained was ca. 90%. Permation characteristics of organic solvents wre investigated on the membranes whose extraction degrees were 95.6% and 80.7%. Thge feeds were benzene, n-hexane, cyclohexane, and their mixtures. neither swelling nor shrinkage in tje appearance size of the while benzene hardly permeated even at 20 kg/cm². The grafted PVAc in the mebrane was removed or converted into grafted PVA by treatment with sodium methylate, and then the depression of benzene permeation was lost. The grafted PVAc was suggested to be localizd on the cell wall and was found to function as a valve which closes with nenzene or a good solvent for PVAc and opens with n-haxane or a poor solvent for PVAc.