Electrostatic Discharge Test on Cu (In, Ga) Se2 Solar Cell Array

The boundary part of dielectric material, conductive material, and space, known as the triple junction, causes electrostatic discharge. Because the triple junction does not exist on the Cu (In, Ga) Se2 solar cell surface, it should be free of electrostatic discharge. Electrostatic discharge tests on Cu (In, Ga) Se2 were performed in a vacuum chamber which simulated the plasma environment in low Earth orbit and the high-energy electron environment in geostationary orbit. Contrary to the theoretical expectations, electrostatic discharge occurred on the surface of Cu (In, Ga) Se2 and Cu (In, Ga) Se2 suffered degradation of electric performance. The arc track was investigated to make clear the degradation mechanism of Cu (In, Ga) Se2. The arc track worked as a leak resistance because the PN junction collapsed and the materials of front and back surfaces electroded adhere along the arc track

Environmental Effects on Solar Array Electrostatic Discharge Current Waveforms and Test Results

A solar array electrostatic discharge ground test is necessary to assure spacecraft reliability in orbit. Laboratory experiments were carried out to characterize an electrostatic discharge current waveform with different background pressures and charging environments to identify the importance of the test setup. The waveform strongly depended on the background pressure. This difference can affect the result of the solar cell degradation test. However, in the case of the secondary arc test, the difference of the primary arc current waveform did not affect the duration of the secondary arc. The current available from a power supply mostly determined the duration of the secondary, irrespective of the test environment. Methods to control the primary arc current supplied by an external capacitance are proposed

Analysis of Flashover Discharge on Large Solar Panels under a Simulated Space Plasma Environment

Electrostatic discharge tests were performed on large solar array panels under the simulated plasma environments of a geostationary orbit and a low Earth orbit to investigate the propagation length and velocity of flashover plasma. To investigate the propagation length, the neutralized current on the strings was also examined. The neutralized charge value due to flashover plasma was found to decrease with distance. Propagation length was limited under both the geostationary orbit environment and the low-Earth-orbit environment. Visual investigation of the velocity of flashover plasma clarified that velocity decreases with time. The initial velocity of flashover plasma measured was several tens of km/s, regardless of orbital environment conditions

EVALUATION OF PHYSICAL AND STRUCTURAL PROPERTIES OF BLANCHED TUBERS

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Different Response to Nivolumab in a Patient with Synchronous Double Primary Carcinomas of Hypopharyngeal Cancer and Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Nivolumab is a humanized IgG4 and programmed death 1 (PD-1) monoclonal antibody that has demonstrated antitumor efficacy in clinical trials of various malignant tumors including non-small-cell lung cancer and head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). However, patients with multiple primary malignancies were excluded in clinical trials. Thus, the efficacy of nivolumab in such patients has not been revealed yet. The programmed death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression level is currently the main predictive biomarker of PD-1 inhibitors in various types of solid tumors and hematological malignancies. Here we describe a patient with synchronous double primary carcinomas of hypopharyngeal SCC and lung adenocarcinoma who exhibited different responses to nivolumab. After nivolumab treatment, hypopharyngeal SCC with moderate PD-L1 positivity by immunohistochemical staining showed a remarkable response; conversely, nivolumab was not effective against lung adenocarcinoma, which was negative for PD-L1. This suggests that tumors with different PD-L1 expressions may exhibit different responses to PD-1 inhibitors when multiple primary malignancies are present within one patient

Flashover Discharge on Solar Arrays: Analysis of Discharge Current and Image

Electrostatic discharge tests were performed on large solar array panels under the simulated plasma environments of a geostationary orbit and a low Earth orbit to investigate the propagation length and velocity of flashover plasma. To investigate the propagation length, the neutralized current on the strings was also examined. The neutralized charge value due to flashover plasma was found to decrease with distance. Propagation length was limited under both the geostationary orbit environment and the low-Earth-orbit environment. Visual investigation of the velocity of flashover plasma clarified that velocity decreases with time. The initial velocity of flashover plasma measured was several tens of km/s, regardless of orbital environment conditions

Pharmacokinetics of Gefitinib in a Patient with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Undergoing Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis

A 72-year-old man undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) for chronic renal failure and who had undergone right upper lobectomy for lung adenocarcinoma (pT2aN0M0) 2 years ago was admitted for recurrence of lung cancer presenting as multiple brain metastases. An epidermal growth factor receptor mutation analysis of his lung cancer revealed a deletion of 15 nucleotides (E746-A750) in exon 19. After whole-brain radiotherapy, we started daily administration of 250 mg gefitinib under the continuation of CAPD and performed a pharmacokinetic analysis. We speculated that the plasma concentration of gefitinib reached the steady state at least by day 16 after the start of gefitinib (626.6 ng/ml at trough level). On day 46, the plasma concentration was 538.4 ng/ml at trough level and the concentration in the peritoneal dialysis fluid was 34.6 ng/ml, suggesting that CAPD appeared to have little effect on the pharmacokinetics of gefitinib. During gefitinib therapy, there were no significant adverse events except for grade 2 diarrhea. Gefitinib could be safely administered to a patient undergoing CAPD

Electrostatic Discharge Test on Cu (In, Ga) Se2 Solar Cell Array

The boundary part of dielectric material, conductive material, and space, known as the triple junction, causes electrostatic discharge. Because the triple junction does not exist on the Cu (In, Ga) Se2 solar cell surface, it should be free of electrostatic discharge. Electrostatic discharge tests on Cu (In, Ga) Se2 were performed in a vacuum chamber which simulated the plasma environment in low Earth orbit and the high-energy electron environment in geostationary orbit. Contrary to the theoretical expectations, electrostatic discharge occurred on the surface of Cu (In, Ga) Se2 and Cu (In, Ga) Se2 suffered degradation of electric performance. The arc track was investigated to make clear the degradation mechanism of Cu (In, Ga) Se2. The arc track worked as a leak resistance because the PN junction collapsed and the materials of front and back surfaces electroded adhere along the arc track

A simple method of bronchial occlusion with silicone spigots (Endobronchial Watanabe Spigot; EWS) using a curette

Background: Bronchial occlusion with an Endobronchial Watanabe Spigot (EWS) has been shown to be useful in managing prolonged bronchopleural fistulas and intractable hemoptysis. EWS bronchial occlusion using a curette is less technically demanding. This retrospective study evaluated the clinical utility and simplicity of this method. Methods: A total of 18 consecutive patients (15 men, 3 women, aged 47–85 years) who underwent bronchial occlusion using an EWS from April 2012 to August 2014 were evaluated. The method involves sticking the tip of a curette into an EWS to the first joint, allowing it to be turned in any direction or at any angle. The time required to occlude the target bronchus was measured on routinely recorded digital videos. Other parameters evaluated included success rates, complications, and clinical outcomes. Results: Of the 18 patients, 11 underwent bronchial occlusion for intractable pneumothorax, 5 for postoperative bronchopleural fistula, two for intractable empyema, and one for hemoptysis. Each patient required 1–7 EWSs (median 4). Target bronchi included the right upper ( n = 8), left upper ( n = 5), right lower ( n = 2), left lower ( n = 2), and right middle ( n = 1) bronchi. The success rate of EWS insertion into the target bronchus was 100%. Time per EWS occlusion ranged from 65–528 sec (median 158.5 sec). Of the 62 insertions, 36 (58.1%) were completed within 3 min, and 58 (93.5%) within 5 min. Successful outcomes were observed in 15 (83.3%) of the 18 patients. Conclusions: EWS bronchial occlusion using a curette is a simple method for managing intractable bronchopleural fistulas in daily clinical settings