Beh?et disease and the HLA system

Haemoglobin Lepore Washington is reported apparently for the first time in a white Australian male. Because some of this patient's family have similar blood changes it is assumed that they also have inherited the disorder.     

Cyclic voltammetry at micropipet electrodes for the study of ion-transfer kinetics at liquid/liquid interfaces

Cyclic voltammetry at micropipet electrodes is applied to the kinetic study of ion transfer at liquid/liquid interfaces. Simple and facilitated transfer of an ion that is initially present outside a tapered pipet was simulated by the finite element method, enabling complete analysis of the resulting transient cyclic voltammogram (CV) with a sigmoidal forward wave followed by a peak-shaped reverse wave. Without serious effects of uncompensated ohmic resistance and capacitive current, more parameters can be determined from a transient CV than from the steady-state counterpart obtained with a smaller pipet or at a slower scan rate. A single transient CV under kinetic limitation gives all parameters in a Butler-Volmer-type model, i.e., the formal potential, the transfer coefficient, the standard ion-transfer rate constant, k(0), and the charge of a transferring ion as well as its diffusion coefficients in both phases. Advantages of the transient approach are demonstrated experimentally for reversible, quasi-reversible and irreversible cases. With a multistep transfer mechanism, an irreversible transient CV of facilitated protamine transfer gives an apparent k(0) value of 3.5 x 10(-5) cm/s, which is the smallest k(0) value reported so far. With the largest reliable k(0) value of approximately 1 cm/s reported in the literature, an intrinsic rate of the interfacial ion transfer varies by at least 5 orders of magnitude.     

A method of single-phase PWM for an independent power supply in photovoltaic power generation systems

We propose a method of single-phase PWM for an independent power supply in photovoltaic power generation systems. This new PWM is derived by comparing levels of signal waves with one of carrier waves which have bipolar swing different from unipolar swing in the conventional PWM. In this PWM, we can use a battery with lower voltage in combination with the photovoltaic power generation; fundamental level of output voltage is raised by about 11%, though poor in quality of waveforms. © 1998 Scripta Technica. Electr Eng Jpn, 122(4): 55–62, 1998     

νMOS cellular‐automaton circuit for picture thinning and shrinking

In this study we propose a design for an LSI circuit that implements a cellular automaton. The cellular automaton is a parallel and distributed architecture device suitable for high‐speed image processing. To develop a cellular automaton LSI circuit, it is necessary to design small‐size unit cell circuits that can operate according to cell–cell interaction rules. We propose to use νMOSFET devices for such cell circuits. Template matching is implemented by combining multiple input νMOSFET circuits and inverters. A cell circuit was designed for image thinning and shrinking, and its operation was analyzed using a circuit simulator. It was demonstrated that high speed operation (up to 100 MHz clock frequency) can be obtained. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 126(3): 41–48, 1999     

Highly reliable a‐IGZO TFTs on a plastic substrate for flexible AMOLED displays

We have successfully reduced threshold voltage shifts of amorphous In–Ga–Zn–O thin‐film transistors (a‐IGZO TFTs) on transparent polyimide films against bias‐temperature stress below 100 mV, which is equivalent to those on glass substrates. This high reliability was achieved by dense IGZO thin films and annealing temperature below 300 °C. We have reduced bulk defects of IGZO thin films and interface defects between gate insulator and IGZO thin film by optimizing deposition conditions of IGZO thin films and annealing conditions. Furthermore, a 3.0‐in. flexible active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode was demonstrated with the highly reliable a‐IGZO TFT backplane on polyimide film. The polyimide film coating process is compatible with mass‐production lines. We believe that flexible organic light‐emitting diode displays can be mass produced using a‐IGZO TFT backplane on polyimide films.     

Optical timing distribution system with femtosecond stability

Stable timing distribution is a key technology for the many fields that use timing signals for synchronization. The frequency of the timing signal depends on the field and multiple timing signals are sometimes required. In our DWDM‐based timing distribution system, phase deviation is detected by high‐speed round‐trip signal (10 GHz signal is used as this control signal). Fiber stretchers are controlled so as to minimize the phase deviation of the control signal. Multiple signals and the control signal are densely multiplexed and transmitted through the same stretchers. Therefore, the transmission of all signals is stabilized. This configuration provides a flexible platform for distributing various RF or microwave signals. As an example of arbitrary timing signals, a 1 GHz signal is transmitted over a length‐stabilized 400‐m fiber for more than 1 day. The recorded propagation time fluctuations are 10.4 and 2.8 fs rms for the 1 and 10 GHz signals, respectively. The Allan deviations are 2.7 × 10⁻¹⁹ (1 GHz) and 6.0 × 10⁻²⁰ (10 GHz) for the averaging time of 10⁵ s. © 2012 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Gallium Trichloride‐Catalyzed Exhaustive α‐Ethynylation Reaction of 1‐Silylacetylenes

Gallium trichloride (GaCl₃) catalyzes the ethynylation reaction of a 1,4‐enyne with chlorosilylacetylene at the propargyl position giving a triethynylvinylmethane. This catalytic method can be applied to the exhaustive α‐ethynylation of 1‐silylacetylenes possessing less acidic propargyl protons, and mono‐, di‐, and triethynylated products are obtained depending on the structure of the starting materials.