Potential evaluation of energy supply system in grid power system,commercial, and residential sectors by minimizing energy cost

If the economic activity in the commercial and residential sector continues to grow, improvements in energy conversion efficiencies of energy supply systems is necessary for CO₂ mitigation. In recent years, the electricity driven hot water heat pump (EDHP) and the solar photovoltaic (PV) have been commercialized. The fuel cell (FC) of co‐generation system (CGS) for the commercial and residential sector will be commercialized in the future. Copyright © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. The aim is to indicate the ideal energy supply system of the users sector, which manages both the economical cost and CO₂ mitigation, considering the grid power system. In this paper, cooperative Japanese energy supply systems are modeled by linear programming. It includes the grid power system and energy system of five commercial sectors and a residential sector. The demands of sectors are given by the objective term for 2005 to 2025. Twenty‐four‐hour load for each three annual seasons are considered. The energy systems are simulated to minimize the total cost of energy supply, and to mitigate the CO₂ discharge. As a result, the ideal energy system at 2025 is shown. The CGS capacity grows to 30% (62 GW) of the total power system, and the EDHP capacity is 26 GW, in commercial and residential sectors. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 160(2): 9–19, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/ eej.20361     

Inference of plastic deformation in weldment with parallel cracks from infrared thermography

Tensile tests are carried out by using the welded plate with two parallel cracks. The effects of the residual stress, the hardened zone by welding and the interaction between cracks on the plastic deformation near cracks and the crack opening displacement are examined by the experiment as well as the elasto plastic finite element analysis. A new technique for evaluating nondestructively the plastic deformation near cracks by using the infrared thermography is proposed. The heated region and the temperature rise measured by the thermography are compared with the plastic zone and the work of plastic deformation obtained by the analysis. The validity and the limitations of the application of the infrared thermography to the evaluation of the plastic deformation are discussed.     

Hydrothermal Corrosion and Strength Degradation of Aluminum Nitride Ceramics

The hydrothermal corrosion and strength degradation of aluminum nitride (AlN) ceramics were investigated. The weight gain in AlN ceramics after corrosion occurred because of the formation of boehmite. The reaction kinetics of AlN with water were diffusion controlled through the boehmite product layer. At 180°C, immersion in water caused no strength degradation, and water vapor caused a 20% strength degradation. At 300°C, immersion in water caused a 20% strength degradation, and water vapor caused a 30% strength degradation.     

Narrow distribution of threshold Voltage in 4-Mbit MONOS memory-cell array with F-N channel write and direct/F-N tunneling erase operation as a single transistor structure

This paper describes the narrow and nonspreading distribution of threshold voltage in metal-oxide-nitride-oxide semiconductor (MONOS) memory cell array with Fowler-Nordheim (F-N) channel write operation and direct/F-N tunneling erase operation as a single transistor structure. We fabricated a 4-Mbit MONOS memory test chip using 0.25-/spl mu/m technology. The gate length of the memory cell was shrunk to 0.18 /spl mu/m. The distribution of threshold voltage for many operations were evaluated. The range of threshold voltage distribution is small, within 0.5 V in 12-14 V for programming and -8.5 to -9 V for erasing. It was also narrow for program/erase cycles up to 10/sup 4/ and after exposure to temperatures of 300/spl deg/C for 17 h and 150/spl deg/C for 304 h. These characteristics of narrow Vth distribution represent advantages of the MONOS memory device both for nonverify operation in program/erase mode and for low supply voltage operation in read mode. Another advantage is that no anomalous leak cell or tail bit is evident in the data retention result, demonstrating high reliability. The MONOS memory device is a promising candidate for use in cheaper and more scalable gate length fabrication processes compared with floating gate for highly reliable embedded applications.     

Grain-Oriented Bi4Ti3O12 Ferroelectric Ceramics Prepared by Magnetic Alignment

Grain-oriented ferroelectric ceramics are desirable for many applications, but developing a mass-production method for such kinds of ceramics remains a significant challenge. In the current study, we report a convenient approach combining magnetic alignment and gelcasting to prepare grain-oriented ceramics without applied pressure and templates. This method was found to be effective to prepare highly a–b plane-oriented Bi₄Ti₃O₁₂ ferroelectric ceramics and subsequently enhance the dielectric properties. We used the conventional ceramic process, i.e., solid-state synthesis, gelcasting forming technique, and pressureless sintering except for the application of a 10 T magnetic field. Indeed, such an approach should facilitate the mass production of large and dense grain-oriented ceramic materials.     

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) action in rat articular chondrocytes: comparison of PTH(1-34), PTHrP(1-34), PTHrP(1-141), PTHrP(100-114) and antisense oligonucleotides against PTHrP

Parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) is thought to be an important autocrine/paracrine factor for chondrocyte metabolism since mice lacking the PTHrP gene exhibit abnormal cartilage development. To determine the biological role of PTHrP in chondrocytes, we first compared the agonist potency of human (h) PTHrP(1-34) with hPTH(1-34) in cultured rat articular chondrocytes. Neither hPTHrP(1-34) nor hPTH(1-34) altered basal DNA synthesis, but attenuated the stimulatory effect of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta). Both agents suppressed the expression of alpha(1) type II collagen mRNA in a dose-response fashion with the same potency. In addition, the action of exogenously added hPTHrP(1-34) and hPTH(1-34) on intracellular cAMP and [Ca2+]i levels was similar. We next compared the effect of PTHrP within its entire amino acid sequence (1-141). With regard to thymidine incorporation, alpha(1) type II collagen gene expression and accumulation of cAMP and [Ca2+]i level, there was no significant difference between hPTHrP(1-34) and hPTHrP(1-141). PTHrP C-terminal (100-114) did not show any function. To further investigate PTHrP function, intracellular PTHrP translation was inhibited by a transgene of antisense oligonucleotides against PTHrP. Antisense oligonucleotides decreased PTHrP mRNA translation, specifically inhibited DNA synthesis in control as well as TGF-beta-treated chondrocytes and enhanced alpha(1) type II collagen mRNA expression in TGF-beta-treated chondrocytes. These results suggest that there is no significant difference between exogenously added hPTH(1-34), hPTHrP(1-34) and PTHrP(1-141) with regard to the biological action of these agents, including cell growth, differentiation and second messenger pathway. However, the result of DNA synthesis in the antisense PTHrP-inhibition study suggests that intracellular PTHrP may have an as yet unknown biological role, in addition to a classical PTH/PTHrP receptor-mediated function in the rat articular chondrocyte.     

Involvement of angiotensin II in the process of gonadotropin-induced ovulation in rabbits

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the research literature on the connection between hormone replacement therapy and development of coronary artery disease as it pertains to women. It is clear that research in this century regarding heart disease in general has been gender-biased or inappropriately gender-neutral. Research initially focused on how the developing knowledge of the protective effect of female hormones could be used to benefit men. It has only been in the last decade or so that gender-based research has been appreciated, acknowledged, facilitated, and finally accepted for its contributions to advancing knowledge and for benefiting women with coronary artery disease.     

Genetic analysis of signal transduction through light-induced protein phosphorylation in Neurospora crassa perithecia

We have previously demonstrated that blue light induces the phosphorylation of a 15-kDa protein in crude membrane fractions of Neurospora crassa mycelia. Here we report the isolation and characterization of a mutant (psp; phosphorylation of small proteins that is completely defective for phosphorylation of that protein, as assayed in both crude membrane and soluble fractions. This mutation defines a unique locus that maps to linkage group VR between al-3 and his-6. To elucidate the photobiological significance of the phosphorylation of the protein, we analyzed known photobiological phenomena and discovered that the positioning of beaks on the perithecia, defined as perithecial polarity, was light-dependent in the wild type. In the psp mutant, beaks were phototropic as in the wild type, but their position was random. In a wc-l mutant, however, beaks were positioned at random and were not phototropic. Thus light-induced perithecial polarity and phototropism of perithecial beaks are controlled differently. A psp; wc-l double mutant showed the same phenotype as that of wc-l with respect to these two photomorphogenetic characters. These results indicate that the wc-l gene is epistatic to psp in the light-signal transduction pathway that controls both phototropism and perithecial polarity.