Phosphorus flame retardants in indoor dust and their relation to asthma and allergies of inhabitants

Organophosphate esters are used as additives in flame retardants and plasticizers, and they are ubiquitous in the indoor environment. Phosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) are present in residential dust, but few epidemiological studies have assessed their impact on human health. We measured the levels of 11 PFRs in indoor floor dust and multi‐surface dust in 182 single‐family dwellings in Japan. We evaluated their correlations with asthma and allergies of the inhabitants. Tris(2‐butoxyethyl) phosphate was detected in all samples (median value: 580 μg/g in floor dust, 111 μg/g in multi‐surface dust). Tris(2‐chloro‐iso‐propyl) phosphate (TCIPP) was detected at 8.69 μg/g in floor dust and 25.8 μg/g in multi‐surface dust. After adjustment for potential confounders, significant associations were found between the prevalence of atopic dermatitis and the presence of TCIPP and tris(1,3‐dichloro‐2‐propyl) phosphate in floor dust [per log₁₀‐unit, odds ratio (OR): 2.43 and 1.84, respectively]. Tributyl phosphate was significantly associated with the prevalence of asthma (OR: 2.85 in floor dust, 5.34 in multi‐surface dust) and allergic rhinitis (OR: 2.55 in multi‐surface dust). PFR levels in Japan were high compared with values reported previously for Europe, Asia‐Pacific, and the USA. Higher levels of PFRs in house dust were related to the inhabitants' health status.     

Wide Color Variation in SiNO Thin Films Dispersed with Precipitated TiN Nano Particles

Amorphous thin films of Ti_1?ySi_y(N,O) with y ≥ 0.38 were prepared by reactive sputter deposition in a nitrogen atmosphere. Thermal annealing of the films in an ammonia flow above 800°C yielded Si(N,O) amorphous thin films dispersed with precipitated TiN nanosized particles. The film color changed with Si content y and the annealing conditions, from carrot orange to cream yellow in the as‐deposited films due to their oxynitride nature, and from dark green to canary yellow and from iron blue to horizon blue at respective annealing temperatures of 800°C and 900°C due to metallic nature of the TiN nanosized particles precipitated in the annealing.     

Hydrogenation and structural properties of Gd2Ni7 with superlattice structure

The crystal structure and hydrogenation properties of Ce₂Ni₇-type Gd₂Ni₇ were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the hydrogen pressure–composition (P–C) isotherm. Ce₂Ni₇-type Gd₂Ni₇ was obtained by annealing at 1523 K for 12 h and quenching in ice water. Two superlattice reflections (002 and 004) of the Ce₂Ni₇-type were clearly observed at 2θ = 7.3° and 14.6° in the XRD profile. The refined lattice parameters were a = 0.49662(9) nm and c = 2.4255(3) nm, respectively. Two plateaus were clearly observed during the absorption–desorption process in the P–C isotherm. The first and second plateaus were at 0.015 and 0.13 MPa, respectively, in the first desorption. The maximum hydrogen capacity reached was 1.13 H/M. The enthalpy and entropy were calculated as −20 kJ/mol H₂ and −80 J/mol H₂ K, respectively, from the van’t Hoff plot. After the P–C isotherm, the GdNi₅ cell expanded by 2.15%, but the Gd₂Ni₄ cell shrank by 2.83%.     

An adaptive treadmill-style locomotion interface and its application in 3-D interactive virtual market system

The key issue in this paper is estimating speed of a human. Compared with previous researches on walking speed estimation, we predict the walking intention before gait action. Our proposed hypothesis is that a composite force index is linearly correlated with the intended walking speed. We did two experiments to test the hypothesis. One gives a regression test indicating the intended walking speed has strong linear correlation with the proposed force index; the other tests the linearity by statistical analysis, guaranteeing the tolerance of individual difference. According to the regression and statistics analyses, we built a treadmill-style locomotion interface. Compared with the normal cases of treadmill control, the tested subject does not have to follow the speed of treadmill, but can actively change the speed of treadmill by his/her feet. The designed locomotion interface is applied in a virtual market system. Here the subject walks in a virtual market street with the desired speed. The stereo display based on virtual reality and the ambient sounds of the environment make the subject to have an immersed sense. The layout of shops in the virtual market system is in Japanese style, making the subjects experience much more realistic.     

Tracking and erosion of HTV silicone rubbers of different thickness

Tracking and erosion behaviors of high temperature vulcanized (HTV)-silicone rubber (SIR) of 0.5 to 6.0 mm thicknesses were investigated in order to obtain the optimum thickness for enhancing tracking and erosion resistance under various leakage current levels. Under low leakage current, thinner samples showed a higher tracking and erosion resistance, while under medium and high leakage current, thicker samples showed better resistance to these behaviors. The optimum thickness to prolong the time to tracking and erosion failure appeared in the range of 1.0 to 3.0 mm thickness. The content of an initial low molecular weight (LMW) silicone fluid was shown to be closely related to the development of leakage current and high temperature thermal spots. The results indicate that the sample thickness is crucial to the ability of HTV-SIR to withstand a large number of high temperature thermal spots under condition of high level leakage current     

Phase Development and Electrical Properties of Pb(Yb 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 Epitaxial Films

The growth and electrical properties of Pb(Yb 1/2 Nb 1/2 )O 3 -PbTiO 3 (PYbN-PT) epitaxial films were investigated. PYbN-PT epitaxial films with SrRuO 3 bottom electrodes were grown by pulsed laser deposition. Optimization of the growth conditions for the PYbN-PT epitaxial films was carried out on (100) SrRuO 3 /(100) LaAlO 3 substrates using the (50/50) composition target. It was found that formation of pyrochlore phase could be caused not only by low growth temperatures or lead deficiency, but also by poor surface condition of the SrRuO 3 bottom electrodes. (001) PYbN-PT epitaxial films with good crystalline quality were obtained for a range of deposition rates (60-100 nm/min) and temperatures (620-680 °C) after vacuum annealing the SrRuO 3 bottom electrodes. The ferroelectric and piezoelectric properties of 1 w m-thick PYbN-PT epitaxial films with (50/50) and (60/40) compositions and with (001) and (111) orientations were investigated using (100) LaAlO 3 , (100) SrTiO 3 , and (111) SrTiO 3 substrates with SrRuO 3 bottom electrodes. The highest remanent polarization (29 w C/cm 2 ) and effective piezoelectric coefficient e 31.f ( m 14 C/m 2 ) were observed in the (001) PYbN-PT (50/50) film. The transition temperature of the (001) PYbN-PT (50/50) film was about 380 °C. Because of the degradation of the target during the deposition, a 3 w m-thick film was prepared by three depositions (1 w m each layer). The 3 w m-thick film exhibited a higher e 31.f coefficient of m 19 C/m 2.     

Rotary scanning wireless temperature measurement method for hyperthermia using ferromagnetic implants

Recently, the use of a ferromagnetic material in a soft‐heating method has garnered much attention as a novel method for cancer treatment. By concurrently using this material as a thermal probe, we are currently developing a minimally invasive heating and wireless temperature measurement system. To make the approach feasible in a clinical setting, it is vital to overcome the key challenge of heating the local tumor at a constant temperature. In previous conventional approaches, it was necessary to switch the induction‐heating power supply on/off after the target tumor temperature was reached. However, it cannot determine the temperature of the material during the power‐off period. Therefore, we changed this approach and found that by adjusting the distance between the heating coil and the material while maintaining a constant current flow in heating coil, the drift problem, which happened just after power is supplied during the on/off operation, did not occur any longer. Accordingly, it was not required to use multiple sensors to reduce the drift, thereby minimizing the cost. This study verifies the validity of our wireless thermometry approach while performing rotary scanning and proposes a technique for determining achievement of the target temperature. This knowledge complements other approaches for cancer treatment utilizing hyperthermia. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Liquid crystalline aromatic polyesters containing para-linked dimethylbiphenylene moieties

A series of liquid crystalline aromatic polyesters containing 3,3′-dimethylbiphenyl-4,4′-dicarboxylic acid and 3,4′-dimethyl-biphenyl-4,3′-dicarboxylic acid was prepared by a melt polycondensation procedure and characterized by elemental analysis, DSC and TMA measurements, and optical polarizing microscopy. An optimal composition of the copolymer having a melting temperature around 300°C is proposed and the rheological behavior is discussed. Most of the mechanical properties of this copolymer were found to be close to those of Vectra A950® used as a reference sample. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.