Electronic and ionic contributions to the constant-volume specific heat of carbon tetrachloride shocked at pressures up to 23 GPa

For carbon tetrachloride, a temperature Hugoniot at 7-23 GPa and a distribution of the constant-volume specific heat on the Hugoniot C V(T) at 1057-3275 K are simultaneously estimated from the Walsh-Christian (WC) equation such that the Hugoniot fits well to the existing measured data. The estimated CV(T) distribution reveals the significance of the contribution of electrons and ions to the specific heat. That is, in contrast to the almost uniform distribution of the specific heat predicted from the Debye equation, the CV(T) distribution increases significantly with an increase in the Hugoniot temperature due to thermal excitation of electrons at 1057-1500 K (7-10.1 GPa), additional activation of the dimerization reaction at 1500-2350 K (10.1-16 GPa), and also additional activation of the polymerization reaction at 2350-3275 K (16-23 GPa). As an example, evidence is presented that carbon tetrachloride is a semiconductor at 1500 K. The CV(T) distribution in each temperature range is formulated and a temperature Hugoniot is reevaluated from the WC equation using the specific heat equations formulated. It is confirmed by a good fit of the reevaluated Hugoniot to the existing measured data that the specific heat equations express the CV(T) distribution appropriately. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.Yukio Sano, Tomokazu Sano, and Shinichi Nagata, Journal of Applied Physics 107(3), 033507 (2010) https://doi.org/10.1063/1.329496

Development of a Corona Discharge Ionizer Utilizing High-Voltage AC Power Supply Driven by PWM Inverter for Highly Efficient Electrostatic Elimination

The corona discharge ionizer has been widely used to eliminate electrostatic charges on insulators in a variety of manufacturing industries for the prevention of electrostatic discharge (ESD) problems. High-speed electrostatic elimination is conventionally required for ionizer performance. Because of the high sensitivity of recent electronic devices to ESD damage, an extremely low-offset voltage (ion balance) is required for the performance of electrostatic eliminators. Long-term performance stability is required to maintain the quality of the products, but the short cleaning interval of the unit increases the operating cost. The efficiency is also affected by the waveform of the applied voltage. The optimization of the applied voltage is an important factor in achieving long-term performance stability. In this study, an intermittent pulse voltage AC power supply was developed to achieve a highly efficient electrostatic elimination with long-term stability high-speed electrostatic elimination and an excellent ion balance

The Development of a New Setup for Video-assisted Thoracic Surgery

In order to accomplish video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) in a much easier and safer way, especially for assistant operators, we have developed a new display system for VATS. The original thoracoscope has been designed for this new system. The monitor is fixed at approximately 10 cm away from the surface of the chest wall just above the operative field. In using this procedure, the operator and assistants can see the patient and the monitor at the same time. According to this new idea, the previous problem in the area of hand–eye coordination and the three-dimensional understanding of this procedure can be improved compared to the image of the conventional thoracoscopy, because it is not necessary for the operator and assistants to look up at the monitors. When the thoracoscopy was placed in an adequate position to resect the target pathology, this new system led to good and easy handling of instruments, as it was with the standard thoracotomy

The expression of microRNA 574-3p as a predictor of postoperative outcome in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

Background: Despite advances in radical esophagectomies and adjuvant therapy, the postoperative prognosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients remains poor. The aim of this study was to identify a molecular signature to predict postoperative favorable outcomes in patients with ESCC. Methods: As a training data set, total RNA was extracted from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded samples of surgically removed specimens from 19 ESCC patients who underwent curative esophagectomy. The expression of microRNA (miRNA) was detected using a miRNA oligo chip on which 885 genes were mounted. As a validation data set, we obtained frozen samples of surgically resected tumors from 12 independent ESCC patients and the expression of miR-574-3p was detected by quantitative real-time PCR. Results: Our microarray analysis in the training set patients identified three miRNAs (miR-574-3p, miR-106b, and miR-1303) and five miRNAs (miR-1203, miR-1909, miR-204, miR-371-3p, miR-886-3p) which were differentially expressed between the patients with (n=14) and without (n=5) postoperative tumor relapse (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). Higher expression of miR-574-3p, which showed the most significant association with non-relapse (p=0.001), was associated with favorable overall survival (p=0.016). Real-time PCR experiments on the validation set patients confirmed that higher expression of miR-574-3p was associated with non-tumor relapse (p=0.029) and better overall survival (p=0.004). Conclusions: Our results suggest that the aberrant expression of the miRNAs identified in this study plays key roles in the progression of ESCC. miR-574-3p was suggested to have a tumor suppressor effect, and thus, to be a predictor of postoperative outcome in patients with ESCC

A Diagnostic Algorithm for Eosinophilic Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis Initially Diagnosed as Lumbar Disc Hernia or Lumbar Spinal Stenosis: Personal Experience and Review of the Literature

Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA, Churg-Strauss syndrome) is a rare systemic vasculitis and is difficult to diagnose. EGPA has a number of symptoms including peripheral dysesthesia caused by mononeuropathy multiplex, which is similar to radiculopathy due to lumbar disc hernia or lumbar spinal stenosis. Therefore, EGPA patients with mononeuropathy multiplex often visit orthopedic clinics, but orthopedic doctors and spine neurosurgeons have limited experience in diagnosing EGPA because of its rarity. We report a consecutive series of patients who were initially diagnosed as having lumbar disc hernia or lumbar spinal stenosis by at least 2 medical institutions from March 2006 to April 2013 but whose final diagnosis was EGPA. All patients had past histories of asthma or eosinophilic pneumonia, and four out of five had peripheral edema. Laboratory data showed abnormally increased eosinophil counts, and nerve conduction studies of all patients revealed axonal damage patterns. All patients recovered from paralysis to a functional level after high-dose steroid treatment. We shortened the duration of diagnosis from 49 days to one day by adopting a diagnostic algorithm after experiencing the first case

F-molding: A New Production Method for Largely Aspherical Mirrors of Cordierite

Cordierite is a rigid low thermal expansion coefficient ceramic equivalent to that of low thermal expansion glass but with voids due to forming with raw material powder. To overcome this problem, we propose Flexible Molding (F-molding) as our new fabrication method. With F-molding, the raw material powder is converted to liquid slurry, which is poured into a resin mold, solidified, and directly formed into near net design of a mirror. The mold prepared from F-molding is an effective tool for processing multiple volumes of identical structures such as those used in segmented mirror designs. We introduce details of our fabrication method in F-molding mirror and report its measurement results of optical performances with a 270mm diameter sample

L-Ascorbate Biosynthesis Involves Carbon Skeleton Rearrangement in the Nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Ascorbate (AsA) is required as a cofactor and is widely distributed in plants and animals. Recently, it has been suggested that the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans also synthesizes AsA. However, its biosynthetic pathway is still unknown. To further understand AsA biosynthesis in C. elegans, we analyzed the incorporation of the 13C atom into AsA using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in worms fed with D-Glc (1-13C)-labeled Escherichia coli. GC-MS analysis revealed that AsA biosynthesis in C. elegans, similarly to that in mammalian systems, involves carbon skeleton rearrangement. The addition of L-gulono-1,4-lactone, an AsA precursor in the mammalian pathway, significantly increased AsA level in C. elegans, whereas the addition of L-galactono-1,4-lactone, an AsA precursor in the plant and Euglena pathway, did not affect AsA level. The suppression of E03H4.3 (an ortholog of gluconolactonase) or the deficiency of F54D5.12 (an ortholog of L-gulono-1,4-lactone oxidase) significantly decreased AsA level in C. elegans. Although N2- and AsA-deficient F54D5.12 knockout mutant worm (tm6671) morphologies and the ratio of collagen to non-collagen protein did not show any significant differences, the mutant worms exhibited increased malondialdehyde levels and reduced lifespan compared with the N2 worms. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the AsA biosynthetic pathway is similar in C. elegans and mammals

Status of Nanosatellite Development for Mothership Daughtership Space Experiment by Japanese Universities

We have begun the feasibility study to build a small satellite in the 3kg mass range and in the power range less than 30W since October in 1998, sponsored by National Space Development Agency of Japan (NASDA). This satellite installs three reaction wheels for an attitude control and camera which will demonstrate optical navigation experiment by using image processing. The BBM design status is described in this paper. The components such as a small reaction wheel, electric flash and onboard computer were built. Mothership - daughtership technology and formation flying experiments are planned. New electric propulsion is being developed for small satellite