Occurrence of ateliosis in Japanese Black calves and their secretory function of growth hormone

Unthrifty calves occurred sporadically in Japanese Black (beef cattle) in an area in northeastern Japan. The states of unthrifty development, pedigree, clinico-biochemistry and the secretory function of bovine growth hormone (bGH) in pituitary were investigated. The total cholesterol concentration and CK, AST and LDH activities in the serum showed higher values than those of control calves. Basal bGH concentrations in the serum and bGH secretory reactivity in the insulin tolerance test (ITT) were showed to be significantly lower than those of the control calves. Furthermore, sperm donated from a specific bull had been used for these unthrifty calves. This study suggested that the present occurrence of unthrifty calves represented ateliosis possibly caused by congenital hypopituitarism which decreased of bGH secretory function.     

Development of a knowledge-based system for voltage/reactive power operation planning

Voltage/reactive power planning is a tremendous process which requires a planner to have intellectual expertise. This paper presents a large knowledge-based system that can make voltage/reactive power planning. The knowledge acquisition has been completed on the basis of interview and protocol analysis methods. The result shows that the voltage/reactive power planning is composed of three phases: the first is reactive power adjustment where overall reactive power balance is investigated; the second is voltage adjustment where all bus voltages are tuned within the permissible operational range; and the third is voltage adjustment with a single fault of all major lines. The knowledge base is coded by about 700 production rules. It can succeed in making a voltage/reactive power plan for a very large power system.     

The conversion process from polydimethylsilane to polycarbosilane in the presence of polyborodiphenylsiloxane

The pyrolytic reaction of polydimethylsilane to polycarbosilane in the presence of polyborodiphenylsiloxane have been studied by the use of organosilicon intermediates obtained during the initial pyrolytic stage of polydimethylsilane. In this reaction, the cleavage of the framework of Si-Si bonds occurred. Si-CH₂-Si and Si-H bonds were subsequently formed by the rearrangement reaction between radicals formed and Si-CH₃ bonds. The formation of Si-Si bonds by dehydrogenation between Si-H bonds then proceeded simultaneously or stepwise. It is assumed that polyborodiphenylsilane plays a role in accelerating the polycondensation reaction, that is, the propagation reaction occurred by dehydrogenation between the Si-H bonds, but takes no part in the radical rearrangement reaction from Si-Si bonds to Si-CH₂-Si bonds.     

Long-cavity multiple-phase-shift distributed feedback laser diodefor linewidth narrowing

A long-cavity multiple-phase-shift distributed-feedback (MPS-DFB) laser diode with three phase shifts in the corrugation for linewidth narrowing is discussed. The threshold gain difference and the field uniformity along the laser cavity of the MPS-DFB laser are analyzed by varying the amount and the position of phase shifts using the coupled-wave theory. It is shown that a large threshold gain difference and a uniform field distribution are obtained in the MPS-DFB laser with some special amount and position of phase shifts. Based on the analysis, a MPS-DFB laser with a 1200-μm-long cavity and three phase shifts was fabricated. This MPS-DFB laser exhibits stable single-mode operation and shows a very narrow linewidth of 830 kHz at an optical output power of 25 mW     

Effect of electric field on viscoelastic properties of a disperse system in silicone gel

In the electrorheological (ER) fluids of disperse systems, the poor dispersion stability of particles often limits the development of practical application of the fluids. This key problem can be settled by the chemical gelation of ER fluids. In the present study, a dimethylsilicone oil‐based gel containing the nonaqueous ER particles was newly created. The dynamic properties of viscoelasticity in the sample silicone gel were examined under applied DC electric fields of up to 2.0 kV/mm using a sinusoidal oscillating rheometer with low frequencies of 1 Hz or less. The particle behavior and the shearing deformation in the sample gel were also observed using a microscope, a CCD camera, and a color video monitor. When an electric field was applied to the sample gel, the gap between the electrodes was bridged by the chains of particles arranged in the direction of the electric field. Consequently, it is shown that the electroviscoelastic effect of the gel can be controlled by the electric field. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(2): 1–9, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10098