Basic study on the prediction of solar irradiation and its application to photovoltaic-diesel hybrid generation system

This paper at first describes a basic study on the prediction of hourly or daily amount of solar irradiation. The method is based on theoretical equation and observation of solar irradiance. Then, the novel method to control photovoltaic-diesel hybrid generation system using the prediction is proposed to improve the total efficiency of the system. A numerical simulation result shows the possibility of the method.     

Lectin binding pattern in normal human labial mucosa

The pattern of lectin binding in normal human labial mucosa was examined by light and electron microscopy using eight different lectins (ConA, LCA, WGA, UEA-1, RCA-1, SBA, DBA and PNA) and compared with the patterns in normal human skin and oesophageal mucosa. As seen by light microscopy, ConA, LCA, and WGA stained cell membranes in all layers of the mucosae. RCA-1 stained the plasma membrane of cells in the basal and middle layers, whereas cells in the superficial layers showed little positive staining. UEA-1, SBA, and PNA stained the cells in the middle layers weakly in some cases. No positive staining for DBA was seen. By electron microscopy, reaction product indicating ConA-binding sites was observed in the plasma membrane, cisternae of the endoplasmic reticulum, nuclear envelope and the Golgi apparatus. Binding of LCA, WGA, and RCA-1 was observed in the plasma membrane. These results show that the binding pattern of PNA, SBA, and RCA-1 in labial mucosa is different from that in the normal skin or oesophageal mucosa, although the labial mucosal epithelium, epidermis, and oesophageal epithelium are all stratified squamous epithelia. These differences in the cell-surface sugar residues are likely to be related to the possible functional differences in these tissues.     

Economic Analysis of a High-volume Flexible Manufacturing System by High-speed Processing

Agility in manufacturing requires a quick response to the changes in quantity of products without losing productivity. A high-volume flexible manufacturing system (HV-FMS) attains the high flexibility as well as the high volume production. We consider in this paper the energy-saving effect of HV-FMS from the viewpoint of consumed electric power. We take a production system of cylinder heads for automobile engines as a subject in this study, and draw a comparison of the energy-saving effect between HV-FMS and flexible transfer line to verify the effectiveness of HV-FMS. Moreover, we discuss the economic effect of high-speed processing at HV-FMS. We measure the energy-saving effect by high-speed processing and give the permissible level for additional tooling cost.     

High resolution electron microscopy of partial dislocations in the Laves phase structure

A Mg-base Laves phase was investigated by high resolution electron microscopy (HREM). Linear defects found at terminations of stacking faults were classified into three groups. The first is a partial dislocation at a termination of a stacking fault, the second is a superposed partial dislocation which is defined as a defect produced by a superposition of terminations of two or more stacking faults lying on neighbouring layers, and the third is a combined linear defect which consists of a characteristic combination of terminations of stacking faults. In the last case the total stacking fault vector becomes equal to the translation vector in the basal plane, so that the defect needs no relaxation of the lattice. The Burgers vectors of the partial dislocations were estimated with the aid of modified Burgers circuits.     

Arterial pressure and its regulation in rats bred successively on low sodium diet

To investigate the effects of long-term sodium restriction on mechanisms regulating cardiovascular function, Wistar rats at weaning (F0) were placed on a normal (0.4%) or low (0.05%) sodium diet. The first (F1) and second (F2) generations were derived from inbreeding within each group. The resting mean arterial pressure did not differ between the diet groups of F0 or F1 rats, but it was significantly lower in F2 rats on the low sodium diet. Plasma renin concentration was similar in the two groups in each generation, and the F2 rats on both diets responded to [Sar1, Ala8] angiotensin II with the same degree of decrease in arterial pressure. Plasma norepinephrine was not influenced by sodium intake in the F0 or F1 rats, but was significantly lower in F2 rats on the low sodium diet. The depressor response to hexamethonium was similar in the two F1 groups, while low sodium F2 rats exhibited a lesser response. These results suggest that rats bred successively on a low sodium diet have a suppressed sympathetic nerve function with no enhancement of the renin-angiotensin system, which in turn results in a lower arterial pressure.     

Nitric oxide derived from sympathetic nerves regulates airway responsiveness to histamine in guinea pigs

Nitric oxide (NO), which can be derived from the nervous system or the epithelium of the airway, may modulate airway responsiveness. We investigated how NO derived from the airway nervous system would affect the airway responsiveness to histamine and acetylcholine in mechanically ventilated guinea pigs. An NO synthase inhibitor NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) (1 mmol/kg i.p.) significantly enhanced airway responsiveness to histamine but not to acetylcholine. Its enantiomer D-NAME (1 mmol/kg i.p.), in contrast, had no effect. The L-NAME-induced airway hyperresponsiveness was still observed in animals pretreated with propranolol (1 mg/kg i.v.) and atropine (1 mg/kg i.v.). Pretreatment with the ganglionic blocker hexamethonium (2 mg/kg i.v.) completely abolished enhancing effect of L-NAME on airway responsiveness. Bilateral cervical vagotomy did not alter the L-NAME-induced airway hyperresponsiveness, whereas sympathetic stellatectomy completely abolished it. Results suggest that NO that was presumably derived from the sympathetic nervous system regulates airway responsiveness to histamine in guinea pigs.     

Three-dimensional appearance of Langerhans cells in human gingival epithelium as revealed by confocal laser scanning microscopy

Despite the reducing exposure to allogeneic blood in cardiac surgery, most of patients with anemia still require allogeneic blood. In this study, we have attempted to harvest the blood from cardiac patients with baseline hemoglobin levels below 11.0 g/dl using recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO). 29 anemic patients undergoing cardiac surgery at our hospital between January 1994 and March 1997 were divided into two groups: 3 weeks' treatment with recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) and blood donation (group 1, n = 15) and iron supplementation alone (group 2, n = 14). There were no statistically significant differences among the two groups in patients characteristic and surgical data. No serious adverse events after phlebotomy were apparent in patients donating autologous blood. Patients in group 1 had significantly higher hemoglobin levels than patients in group 2 at 7 days before operation. The number of reticulocytes were increased at just before operation in group 1, whereas group 2 showed no significant increase. The estimated hemoglobin increase in group 1 were higher at 7 days and just before operation. In 75% of group 1, allogeneic blood transfusion could be avoided, while all patients in group 2 received allogeneic blood transfusion. This study suggests that the combination of rHuEPO administration and autologous blood donation would be beneficial for anemic patients in elective cardiac surgery. The use of rHuEPO should not be restricted to anemic patients.     

Study on behavior of tritium in concrete wall

It is required to understand the tritium behavior in concrete for establishment of tritium safety technology of a fusion reactor or a tritium handling facility because the concrete wall is used as the final containment to prevent tritium release to the environment. This paper discusses about the effect of adsorption and diffusion of water and isotope exchange reaction between physically adsorbed water and chemically adsorbed water or structural water. It is known in this study that a large amount of tritium can be trapped to the concrete wall because cement paste has the nature of porous hydrophilic material.     

A 600-MHz single-chip multiprocessor with 4.8-GB/s internal shared pipelined bus and 512-kB internal memory

A 600-MHz single-chip multiprocessor, which includes two M32R 32-bit CPU cores , a 512-kB shared SRAM and an internal shared pipelined bus, was fabricated using a 0.15-/spl mu/m CMOS process for embedded systems. This multiprocessor is based on symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), and supports modified-exclusive-shared-invalid (MESI) cache coherency protocol. The multiprocessor inherits the advantages of previously reported single-chip multiprocessors, while its multiprocessor architecture is optimized for use as an embedded processor. The internal shared pipelined bus has a low latency and large bandwidth (4.8 GB/s). These features enhance the performance of the multiprocessor. In addition, the multiprocessor employs various low-power techniques. The multiprocessor dissipates 800 mW in a 1.5-V 600-MHz multiprocessor mode. Standby power dissipation is less than 1.5 mW at 1.5 V. Hence, the multiprocessor achieves higher performance and lower power consumption. This paper presents a single-chip multiprocessor architecture optimized for use as an embedded processor and its various low-power techniques.     

Correlation between film quality and photoluminescence in sputtered ZnO thin films

A red photoluminescence (PL) is observed in as-deposited ZnO thin films which are prepared by a conventional sputtering method. The PL intensity strongly depends on sputtering deposition conditions. In as-deposited and annealed films, it is found that there exists a correlation between the red PL intensity and the film quality. The origin of the red PL is attributed to the native defect induced during the sputtering deposition process. It is shown that the red PL measurement is effective as an evaluation method of the film quality.