Antireflection coating with fluoropolymer for a novel organic nonlinear optical crystal: 8-(4'-acetylphenyl)-1,4-dioxa-8-azaspiro[4.5]decane (ADPA)

Prior to the frequency doubling of a laser diode through a ring resonator, reflection loss on the surface of a novel organic second-order nonlinear optical crystal, 8-(4'-acetylphenyl)-1,4-dioxa-8-azaspiro[4.5]decane (APDA), was decreased. An optically flat crystal surface with a flatness of λ/10 (λ = 633 nm) and surface roughness of 1.5 nm rms was obtained when an ultraprecision diamond turning lathe was used to machine the crystal surface. After this surface was coated antireflectively with an amorphous fluorinated polymer, Teflon AF-2400, the transmittance at 810 nm was increased to 98%. A laser-diode-pumped ring resonator was built with this crystal, and a blue second-harmonic emission at 405.5 nm wassuccessfully generated.     

Copper removal from carbon-saturated molten iron with Al2S3-FeS flux

Copper removal from carbon-saturated molten iron to Al₂S₃-FeS flux was experimentally investigated in the temperature range from 1473 to 1573 K. The maximum copper distribution ratio between the Al₂S₃-FeS flux and the ferrous alloy was about 28 at the composition where the molar ratio of Al to Fe in the flux was around 2. The distribution ratio was no less than 25 as long as the copper content of the flux was less than 10 mass pct. The sulfur content in the ferrous alloy in equilibrium with the Al₂S₃-FeS flux was higher than that obtained by using Na₂S-FeS flux, and it was concluded that the high copper distribution ratio of the Al₂S₃-FeS flux was brought about by the high activity coefficient of FeS in the flux. In experiments for recovering copper from the flux, copper in Al₂S₃-FeS-Cu₂S flux was reduced by metallic aluminum at 1473 K. The FeS in the flux was primarily reduced and, after that, the copper was recovered in the form of Cu-Al-Fe alloy. The residual copper content in the flux could be decreased to less than 1 mass pct when the aluminum content in the alloy was higher than 40 mass pct. A process for copper removal from molten iron is proposed, which uses successive contacts between the Al₂S₃-FeS flux and molten iron at several stages with counterflow operation. It is suggested that 1 mass pct Cu in molten iron can be reduced to approximately 0.1 mass pct Cu using 100 kg flux/ton iron; the amount of aluminum required for the iterative use of the flux is about 10 kg/ton iron. By the recycling use of this Al₂S₃-FeS flux, it is suggested that copper removal from molten iron using the sulfide flux can be more effective.     

Position sensorless driving of BLDCM using neural networks

A sensorless driving method of brushless DC motors (BLDCM) using neural networks has been studied in this paper. Considering the nonlinear characteristics and the parameter error of the modeling, neural networks are introduced to estimate the electromotive force (EMF). The results of simulation and experiment using offline trained neural networks show that the proposed method is useful. In addition, the robustness about the parameters is discussed. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 162(4): 64–71, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20240     

Visual comfort to colored images evaluated by saturation distribution

Visual comfort, which is defined here as the subjective impression of comfort caused by visual stimuli, to a colored image presented on a CRT display was investigated in terms of the distribution of CIE 1976 u,v saturation, s_uv, over the image. Variable saturation experiments, where the observer was asked to adjust saturation of the whole image to the most comfortable point, showed that saturation is a critical factor in the observer's estimation of comfort. Colorimetric analysis of the saturation distribution of the image showed that the mean value of s_uv over the image has a negative correlation to visual comfort, meaning that the lower the mean saturation, the more comfort is felt when viewing the image. The ratio of the higher to lower saturation components of the image, which means how much saturated color is relatively contained in the image, was also shown to be a critical factor affecting visual comfort. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Col Res Appl, 24, 313–321, 1999     

Elevated Cytokine Levels in Aqueous Humor Are Associated with Peripheral Anterior Synechiae after Penetrating Keratoplasty

Peripheral anterior synechiae (PAS) after corneal transplantation leads to refractory glaucoma and permanent loss of vision. However, the exact mechanism remains elusive. This study aimed to evaluate the association between cytokine levels in the aqueous humor (AqH) and the progression of PAS after penetrating keratoplasty (PKP). We measured 20 cytokine levels in AqH and assessed the correlation with PAS progression after PKP in 85 consecutive patients who underwent PKP. We also evaluated age-dependent alterations in PAS and cytokine levels in DBA2J mice. PAS developed in 38 (44.7%) of 85 eyes after PKP. The incidence of intraocular pressure increase after PKP was significantly greater in eyes with PAS (26.3%) than in those without PAS (2%, p = 0.0009). The PAS area at 12 months after PKP was significantly positively correlated with the preoperative levels of interleukin (IL)-6, interferon (IFN)-γ and monocyte chemotactic protein (MCP)-1 (p ≤ 0.049). In the DBA2J mice, an experimental glaucoma model that developed PAS at 50 weeks, the AqH levels of IL-2, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, tumor necrosis factor-α, MCP-1 and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) significantly increased at 50 weeks compared to 8 weeks (p ≤ 0.021). In conclusion, inflammatory alterations in the AqH microenvironment, such as high preoperative specific cytokine levels, can lead to PAS formation and glaucoma.     

Diffusion and sorption for carbon dioxide in Kapton at extremely low pressure

Pressure-dependent solubility and diffusion coefficients for carbon dioxide in glassy polymers have been well described using the “dual sorption and transport model.” However, the plastisization effect by high-pressure carbon dioxide seems to promote the pressure dependence of the sorption and transport coefficients. To avoid the relaxation process by the plastization which is superimposed on the diffusion process, the diffusion and sorption of carbon dioxide were measured at extremely low pressure (below 1 cmHg). Linear isotherms observed for CO₂ sorption into Kapton were interpreted in terms of the dual model equation at extremely low pressure. From the permeation curve of the Kapton/CO₂ system, the diffusion and permeation coefficients were obtained according to the usual manner, and both coefficients were independent of pressure. Sorption and transport parameters were obtained from sorption isotherms and average values of the permeation coefficients. The parameters thus obtained were substituted in an approximated dual sorption and transport equations at extremely low pressure and the pressure independence of the diffusion and permeation coefficients were sufficiently reproduced. It is a good technique to experiment at such extremely low pressure when the validity of the dual model is evaluated. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 69: 1013–1017, 1998     

Color Tuning of Avobenzone Boron Difluoride as an Emitter to Achieve Full‐Color Emission

Organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) displaying a wide range of emission colors with emission peaks from 450 to 665 nm using a single emitting material, avobenzone boron difluoride (AVB‐BF₂), are reported. Color tuning is achieved by controlling the aggregation of AVB‐BF₂ and the formation of a “triadic” exciplex of an AVB‐BF₂ dimer and a host molecule. Various electroluminescent devices containing AVB‐BF₂ cover the whole visible light spectrum and a white‐emitting device with CIE coordinates of (0.35, 0.37) is obtained with a single emitting material in a single emissive layer. Furthermore, an exceptionally high external quantum efficiency of nearly 13% is achieved for a green‐emitting OLED because AVB‐BF₂ exhibits thermally activated delayed fluorescence by forming the exciplex.     

In situ observations of domain structures and magnetic flux distributions in Mn-Zn and Ni-Zn ferrites by Lorentz microscopy and electron holography

Domain structures and magnetic flux distributions in Mn-Zn and Ni-Zn ferrites are investigated by in situ observations with Lorentz microscopy and electron holography. In situ Lorentz microscopic observation with the magnetic field applied reveals that the domain walls in Mn-Zn ferrite move easily across the grain boundary. On the other hand, each grain of Ni-Zn ferrite is magnetized by domain wall motion inside the grain. By taking a series of holograms with adjustment of the optical axis and astigmatism while the magnetic field is applied, we succeeded in observing the change in magnetic flux distribution quantitatively. Eventually, it is clarified that magnetization rotation does not take place in the magnetization process of Ni-Zn ferrite. The domain wall widths delta in Mn-Zn and Ni-Zn ferrites are evaluated to be 73 and 58 nm, respectively. Furthermore, through direct observation of the domain structure in Ni-Cu-Zn ferrite with Lorentz microscopy, it is found that the grains with size below 1.5 microm diameter are single domain.     

Formulation of off-axial interfacial debonding and sliding problem by constrained conditional finite element method

In ceramics matrix composites (CMCs), fiber-matrix interfacial debonding and sliding are the main toughening mechanisms. An interfacial debonding and sliding problem was formulated in this study, using the constrained conditional finite-element method (CC-FEM). In this formulation, the equivalence of nodal displacements at the interface and the equilibrium of contact forces are assumed as constrained conditions in which Coulomb’s law of friction is taken into account. As a distinguished advantage, numerical solutions are obtainable by a single calculation without an iterative algorism. We earlier treated a case in which fibers were oriented along the loading direction. In actual CMCs, however, fibers are not necessarily oriented along the loading direction. The fiber diameter also fluctuates along the axis. In this study, therefore, the off-axial interfacial debonding and sliding problem based on CC-FEM was formulated. Its validity was discussed by comparison with ANSYS. In both cases of on-axis and off-axis, the resultant fiber and matrix stress distributions agreed well with those of ANSYS. Comparison between on-axis and off-axis cases showed that the matrix stress in the latter recovered more steeply because of the higher equivalent friction coefficient.     

Self-Irradiation Damage of a Curium-Doped Titanate Ceramic Containing Sodium-Rich High-Level Nuclear Waste

The polyphase titanate ceramic containing sodium-rich simulated high-level nuclear waste was doped with 0.69 wt% of ²⁴⁴Cm to accelerate long-term self-irradiation due to α decays. α autoradiography showed that α emissions were almost uniformaly distributed throughout the curium-doped samples on a >20-μm scale although micropore surfaces and titanium oxide agglomerates were free of α-emitting nuclides. The phase assemblage of the curium-doped titanate ceramic included freudenbergite and loveringite in addition to the more abundant oxide phases: hollandite, perovskite, and zirconolite. Accumulation of α decays was accompanied by a gradual decrease in density. The increment of density was – 1% after an equivalent age of 5000 yr. Leach tests showed a slight trend toward higher total release of curium with equivalent age. The release of soluble nonradioactive elements (e.g., Na, Cs, Sr, and Ca) in the oldest specimens (equivalent age, 2000 yr) varied from specimen to specimen but, on average, were higher than specimens that had suffered a lower radiation dose.