A novel spacer‐free panel structure and glass for FEDs

Abstract— A new design for an FED envelope, composed of box‐shaped front glass, sheet‐like rear glass, and metal members, has been devised. This design structure is effective in reducing tensile stress induced by vacuum at the sealing points. Also, a new glass composition, a new physical tempering method, and a lead‐free hermetic sealing material have been developed. As a result, a novel lightweight spacer‐free panel structure for FEDs has been developed by integrating these new technologies. It will assist in maximizing the essential advantages of FED such as high image quality, high reliability, and low cost.     

A Gait Phase Measurement System Using Treadmill Motor Current

The article describes the development of a gait phase time-based split-belt treadmill measurement system. Conventional methods of measuring gait phase, such as the foot switch and force plate, require significant preparation and are costly. In this article, we propose a simple, cheap, and accurate gait phase measurement system that utilizes only the treadmill motor current value. Comparison of this algorithm with conventional methods reveals that the proposed algorithm is as accurate as the foot switch. Moreover, the proposed algorithm can estimate stance phase within a 0.2?s error of the measured value of the force plate in most cases (four out of five healthy subjects). This accuracy is higher than that of the foot switch which is widely used in the clinical field.     

Random fuzzy multi-objective linear programming: Optimization of possibilistic value at risk (pVaR)

This paper considers multiobjective linear programming problems (MOLPP) where random fuzzy variables are contained in objective functions and constraints. A new decision making model optimizing possibilistic value at risk (pVaR) is proposed by incorporating the concept of value at risk (VaR) into possibility theory. It is shown that the original MOLPPs involving random fuzzy variables are transformed into deterministic problems. An interactive algorithm is presented to derive a satisficing solution for a decision maker (DM) from among a set of Pareto optimal solutions. Each Pareto optimal solution that is a candidate of the satisficing solution is exactly obtained by using convex programming techniques. A simple numerical example is provided to show the applicability of the proposed methodology to real-world problems with multiple objectives in uncertain environments.     

Passive piezoelectric single-side MEMS DC current sensor with five parallel PZT plates applicable to two-wire DC electric appliances without using cord separator

A passive (power-less), non-contact macro-scale piezoelectric bimorph DC current sensor to satisfy the increasing needs of DC power supply for monitoring the electricity consumption by either one-wire or two-wire appliance cord was proposed at our laboratory previously. In present study however, a MEMS-scale piezoelectric single-side DC current sensor, comprised of five parallel PZT plates, was further proposed and micro-fabricated for preliminarily examination. A micro magnet was fixed by manipulator onto the PZT cantilever tip to the theoretically pinpointed position of the center plate. Different from the results of the macro-scale piezoelectric bimorph DC current sensor, impulsive piezoelectric output voltages accompanying with a gradual decrease in decay were detected when the applied DC electric current was varied from 0.5 to 2.5 A. A linear relationship between the detected peak value of the impulse output voltage and the applied DC electric current was also obtained but with a higher slope compared to the result of the macro-scale piezoelectric bimorph DC current sensor.     

On the Spectral Density of the Wavelet Transform of Fractional Brownian Motion

We consider the wavelet transform { W _a ( t ), −∞ < t } < ∞}, at scale a > 0, of a fractional Brownian motion. A simple and mathematically rigorous proof is given to establish the existence of the spectral density f _Wa (λ) of the wavelet transform and provide an expression for it.     

Indeterminacy Free Frequency-Domain Blind Separation of Reverberant Audio Sources

Blind separation of convolutive mixtures is a very complicated task that has applications in many fields of speech and audio processing, such as hearing aids and man-machine interfaces. One of the proposed solutions is the frequency-domain independent component analysis. The main disadvantage of this method is the presence of permutation ambiguities among consecutive frequency bins. Moreover, this problem is worst when reverberation time increases. Presented in this paper is a new frequency-domain method, that uses a simplified mixing model, where the impulse responses from one source to each microphone are expressed as scaled and delayed versions of one of these impulse responses. This assumption, based on the similitude among waveforms of the impulse responses, is valid for a small spacing of the microphones. Under this model, separation is performed without any permutation or amplitude ambiguity among consecutive frequency bins. This new method is aimed mainly to obtain separation, with a small reduction of reverberation. Nevertheless, as the reverberation is included in the model, the new method is capable of performing separation for a wide range of reverberant conditions, with very high speed. The separation quality is evaluated using a perceptually designed objective measure. Also, an automatic speech recognition system is used to test the advantages of the algorithm in a real application. Very good results are obtained for both, artificial and real mixtures. The results are significantly better than those by other standard blind source separation algorithms.     

Characteristics of ions impacting grid surfaces in an ion engine

Numerical evaluations of grid erosions in ion engines are required to estimate the lifetimes of long-term space missions. In this study, to investigate the characteristics of ions colliding with neutrals and impacting the accel grid surface, including ions that collide with neutrals more than once, three-dimensional particle analyses using a full-PIC (Particle in Cell) code were performed. The distributions of erosion by charge-exchanged ions show periodic patterns. The multiple-collided ion constitutes 7 and 8% of the accel grid current to the inner and downstream surfaces, respectively. The energy of the multiple-collided ion impacting the downstream surface has a broader distribution than that of the charge-exchanged ion. These results suggest the importance of investigating multiple-collided ions in high-accuracy quantitative evaluations of grid erosion.     

Albumin stabilizes (–)‐epigallocatechin gallate in human serum: Binding capacity and antioxidant property

(–)‐Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) is the major component of green tea and is known to show strong biological activity, although it can be easily oxidized under physiological conditions. In this study, we indicate that EGCg is stable in human serum and that human serum albumin (HSA) stabilizes EGCg under aerobic condition. Although EGCg is usually decomposed within 1 h in aqueous solution at neutral pH, EGCg in serum and phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) containing HSA was stable over 1 h, even at neutral and slightly alkaline pH. Under these conditions, EGCg binds to HSA non‐covalently. The sulfhydryl group acts as an antioxidant for EGCg oxidation. Incubation of EGCg with HSA is accompanied by the oxidation of a free sulfhydryl group in HSA. These results suggest that the antioxidant property and the binding capacity of HSA contribute to the stabilization of EGCg in human serum.     

Three-dimensional shape recognition method using ultrasonics for manipulator control system

This article describes a three-dimensional shape recognition method that employs an ultrasonic distance sensor mounted on a manipulator, and its application to a manipulator control system. The principle of the method is to reconstruct an object surface numerically using both distance and orientation informations of an object. The method makes it possible to control the manipulator, to set the sensor in any position and orientation employing freedom of the manipulator, and to measure the object. The method is available for manipulator control because it can precisely assess the distance from the manipulator to the object, as well as reconstruct the object shape. Experimental results show that the newly developed method make object shape recognition easy and inexpensive. Application experiment proved that the method is effective for manipulator work due to its provision of distance information.     

The contradiction in the theory of desorption phenomena: A new interpretation of the classical concept for its avoidance

Most chemical engineers presently accept that the mass transfer rate in desorption from the solid to the gas phase or from the liquid to the gas phase is accelerated with increasing temperature in the liquid or the solid phase, or increasing partial pressure of inert gas in the gas phase, and/or decreasing total system pressure in the gas phase. Nevertheless, many reports about such mass transfer are still based on the former concept, which completely contradicts the actual phenomena mentioned above. Here, we discuss the contradiction and suggest a way of resolving it in terms of diffusion theory.