Conservation and Improvement of the Natural Environment in Reservoir Watersheds in Japan

This paper discusses environmental conservation in reservoir watersheds, an important aspect relating to dam construction. The discussion of the subject describes how, in response to today's growing awareness of environmental issues, measures to absolutely minimize the effects on the environment of a dam project that will submerge the natural environment should be included in initial project plans, and how special concern for the environment ought to be shown throughout project implementation. Details are explained by introducing examples encountered in Japan.     

Subsurface structures in initial stage of FeSi2 growth studied by high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy

The initial stage of iron silicide formation is investigated by high-resolution Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. During the Fe deposition on Si(001) at 470 °C, the formation of FeSi₂ is confirmed by the surface peak analysis. Initially, FeSi₂ grows epitaxially so that one of the major crystallographic axes is parallel to the <111> axis of the Si substrate. With increasing Fe deposition, the deviation between the major crystallographic axis of the silicide region and Si<111> increases although the electron diffraction pattern is independent of the amount of Fe deposition. Therefore, the subsurface crystallographic structure of iron silicide is transformed from a cubic-like to a low-symmetry structure.     

Data fitting with a spline using a real-coded genetic algorithm

To obtain a good approximation for data fitting with a spline, frequently we have to deal with knots as variables. The problem to be solved then becomes a continuous nonlinear and multivariate optimization problem with many local optima. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the global optimum. In this paper, we propose a method for solving this problem by using a real-coded genetic algorithm. Our method can treat not only data with a smooth underlying function, but also data with an underlying function having discontinuous points and/or cusps. We search for the best model among candidate models by using the Bayes Information Criterion (BIC). With this, we can appropriately determine the number and locations of knots automatically and simultaneously. Five examples of data fitting are given to show the performance of our method.     

Intramolecular triplet energy migration in poly(2-vinylnaphthalene) and poly(naphthylalkyl methacrylate)s in solid solution: Effects of side chain length

Summary The effect of side chain length on intramolecular triplet energy migration of naphthalene containing polymers was investigated by a delayed fluorescence (DF) spectroscopy for the solid solution of the polymers. The degree of triplet energy migration depends strongly on whether the chromophores are directly attached to the main chain or not.     

Effects of glucose load on brain extracellular lactate concentration in conscious rats using a microdialysis technique

Changes in the brain lactate concentration in cerebral extracellular fluid (ECF) during intravenous infusion of glucose and local administration of glucose were investigated in adult, conscious, unrestrained rats, with a microdialysis probe in the posterior hippocampus. The rats were infused intravenously with either 25% sucrose solution or 25% glucose solution at a rate of 16.6 microliters.min-1.100 g-1 for three hours. The blood glucose concentration reached 17.0 +/- 2.6 mM at the end of the glucose infusion, and brain ECF glucose showed a parallel change with the blood glucose concentration and increased to 2.37 +/- 0.30 mM. However, blood and brain ECF glucose concentrations did not change in animals infused with the sucrose solution. On the other hand, the blood lactate concentration in the glucose-infused group also increased from 0.93 +/- 0.18 mM to 2.85 +/- 0.39 mM at the end of the glucose infusion, which was significantly higher than that measured in the sucrose-infused group. The blood lactate level in the glucose-infused group returned to the basal level by the end of the experiment. Brain ECF lactate concentrations increased from 1.21 +/- 0.06 mM to 1.69 +/- 0.11 mM in glucose-infused animals, but did not change in the sucrose-infused animals. The brain ECF lactate concentration showed a positive correlation with the brain ECF glucose concentration in glucose-infused animals. Another group of rats was administered glucose locally for 90 min after substitution of artificial cerebrospinal fluid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Quantitative evaluation of generator power control effect of FACTS controllers for power system stabilization

The advancement of power electronics technologies has significantly developed the power system stabilizing controllers. Quantitative as well as qualitative evaluation of their effectiveness in power systems is a matter of great importance for the feasibility investigation of these apparatus. In this paper, the possible control region of FACTS controllers with series and/or shunt configuration in a single machine to infinite bus system is formulated in the powerangle curve with a set of algebraic equations. The effectiveness of TCPST (Thyristor‐Controlled Phase Shifting Transformer), SSSC (Static Synchronous Series Compensator), and TCSC (Thyristor‐Controlled Series Compensator) for the improvement of the transient stability is evaluated quantitatively as a numerical example. The correctness of the proposed method has been confirmed by analysis based on the electromagnetic transients simulation with a detailed system model. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 138(3): 43–51, 2002     

Generation of adaptive gait patterns for quadruped robot with CPG network including motor dynamic model

This paper describes the generation of adaptive gait patterns using new Central Pattern Generators (CPGs) including motor dynamic models for a quadruped robot under various environments. The CPGs act as the flexible oscillators of the joints and adjust joint angles to required values. The CPGs are interconnected with each other and sets of their coupling parameters are adjusted by a genetic algorithm so that the quadruped robot can realize stable and adequate gait patterns. Generation of gait patterns results in the formation of the CPG networks suitable for the formation of not only a straight walking pattern but also of rotating gait patterns. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed CPG networks are effective for the automatic adjustment of the adaptive gait patterns for the tested quadruped robot under various environments. Furthermore, the target tracking control based on image processing is achieved by combining the general gait patterns. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 155(1): 35–43, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20225