Search

Background Human epidermal growth factor 2 (HER2) is a potential driver oncogene. Although HER2-targeted precision therapy has been tested in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), the demographic characteristics of HER2-positive NSCLC have not been systematically defined. Methods Patients with pathologically confirmed stage IIIB/IV or recurrent NSCLC, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0 to 2, were prospectively registered. HER2 immunohistochemistry (IHC) and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) assays were performed to screen patients. HER2 mutations were identified by using direct gene sequencing. The aim of this study was to clarify the frequency, characteristics, and outcome of HER2-positive NSCLC. HER2 was defined as positive if the tumor harbored IHC3+, IHC2+/FISH+, or exon 20 insertion mutations. Results Of the 1,126 tumors screened, 34 (3.0%) were IHC3+, and 34 (3.0%) were IHC2+/FISH+. Among the 724 epidermal growth factor receptor wild-type tumors, 21 (2.9%) were HER2-mutant tumors, including A775-G776insYVMA (n = 15). Interestingly, the IHC3+ tumors and mutant tumors were entirely exclusive. Female patients had HER2-mutant tumors more frequently, whereas both IHC3+ and IHC2+/FISH+ tumors were detected more often in male subjects and smokers. Patients with an HER2-aberrant tumor had a significantly worse prognosis than those with epidermal growth factor receptor-positive and anaplastic lymphoma kinase-positive tumors, possibly due to the low proportion that received HER2-targeted therapies (n = 15 [26%]) and low response rates of 0% and 14% in patients with HER2-overexpressing and HER2-mutant tumors, respectively. Conclusions This prospective large-scale cohort study is the first to show comprehensively the frequency and clinical demographic characteristics of those with HER2-positive advanced lung tumors in detail, providing critical historical data for future drug development against HER2-positive NSCLC. Future treatment strategies would be developed stratified according to the types of HER2 aberrations. Trial Registry UMIN Registration No. 000017003; URL: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000019691

Background The incidence of grade 1 endometrioid carcinoma (EG1) at 2009 International Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology (FIGO) stage IA was the highest in endometrial carcinoma. Several studies and guidelines classified EG1 into recurrent low risk and did not recommend patients received adjuvant therapy. However, not a few case with EG1 recurred. The aim of this study was to examine whether EG1 at 2009 FIGO stage IA with a less than 5% serous component resembling ovarian high- or low-grade serous carcinoma (SC) was a risk factor for recurrence or worse progression free survival (PFS). Methods Between 1990 and 2015, patients who received total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy for grade 1 endometrioid carcinoma at stage IA were enrolled at multiple centers. In addition to pathological review using 2014 World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, SC and several pathological features, including lympho-vascular invasion, were identified. A retrospective analysis to examine whether SC was a risk factor of recurrence was conducted. Results During the observational period, 236 patients were included in our study. Among them, SC was noted in 14 patients. Five patients showed recurrence and 4 of them had SC. Multivariate analysis for recurrence revealed that SC was an independent risk factor of recurrence (hazard ratio (HR) 139, p

M. Yamada, Y. Shiratsuchi, H. Kambe, K. Kudo, S. Yamada, K. Sawano, R. Nakatani, and K. Hamaya, Journal of Applied Physics 129, 183901 (2021); https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0048321., Using artificially controlled ferromagnet (FM)-semiconductor (SC) interfaces, we study the decay of the nonlocal spin signals with increasing temperature in SC-based lateral spin-valve devices. When more than five atomic layers of Fe are inserted at the FM/SC interfaces, the temperature-dependent spin injection/detection efficiency (P inj /det) can be interpreted in terms of the T3/2 law, meaning a model of the thermally excited spin waves in the FM electrodes. For the FM/SC interfaces with the insufficient insertion of Fe atomic layers, on the other hand, the decay of P inj /det is more rapid than the T3/2 curve. Using magneto-optical Kerr effect measurements, we find that more than five atomic layers of Fe inserted between FM and SC enable us to enhance the ferromagnetic nature of the FM/SC heterointerfaces. Thus, the ferromagnetism in the ultra-thin FM layer just on top of SC is strongly related to the temperature-dependent nonlocal spin transport in SC-based lateral spin-valve devices. We propose that the sufficient ferromagnetism near the FM/SC interface is essential for high-performance FM-SC hybrid devices above room temperature.

We report on the highest two-terminal magnetoresistance (MR) ratio at room temperature in semiconductor-based lateral spin-valve devices. From first-principles calculations, we predict energetically stable ferromagnet–semiconductor heterointerfaces consisting of Co2MnSi (CMS) and Ge(111) upon insertion of Fe atomic layers. Using low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy, we demonstrate L21-ordered CMS epilayers at 80 °C on Ge(111), where the CMS layer can be utilized as a spin injector and detector. Two-terminal MR ratios as high as 0.1% are achieved in n-Ge-based lateral spin-valve devices with CMS/Fe/Ge Schottky tunnel contacts annealed at 200 °C. This study will open a path for semiconductor-based spintronic devices with a large MR ratio at room temperature.

The outcome of 55 children with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) who received a second hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) was retrospectively analyzed using the registration data of the Japanese Society for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation. The 5-year overall survival (OS) and failure-free survival (FFS) after the second transplantation were 82.9% (95% confidence interval (CI), 69.7-90.8)) and 81.2% (95% CI, 67.8-89.4), respectively. FFS was significantly better when the interval between the first and second transplantation was >60 days (88.9%; 95% CI, 73.0-95.7) than when it was ⩽60 days (61.4%; 95% CI, 33.3-80.5; P=0.026). All 12 patients who were conditioned with regimens containing fludarabine and melphalan were alive with hematopoietic recovery. These findings justify the recommendation of a second HSCT for children with SAA who have experienced graft failure after first HSCT.

We study the electrical properties of pseudo-single-crystalline Ge (PSC-Ge) films grown by a Au-induced layer exchange crystallization method at 250 °C. By inserting the SiNx layer between PSC-Ge and SiO2, we initiatively suppress the influence of the Ge/SiO2 interfacial defective layers, which have been reported in our previous works, on the electrical properties of the PSC-Ge layers. As a result, we can detect the influence of the ionized Au+ donors on the temperature-dependent hole concentration and Hall mobility. To further examine their electrical properties in detail, we also fabricate p-thin-film transistors (TFTs) with the PSC-Ge layer. Although the off-state leakage currents are suppressed by inserting the SiNx layer, the value of on/off ratio remains poor (

We propose a widely tunable and low insertion loss loop filter incorporating two ring resonators and an asymmetric Mach-Zehnder interferometer. A semiconductor optical amplifier, phase control section, and loop filter are monolithically integrated on one chip in the InP-InGaAsP material system. The tuning range of 39 nm with side-mode suppression ratio of over 30 dB was demonstrated. The maximum of the total heater power over the tuning range was 84 mW.

A gap-mirror technology for integrating a functional section onto a laser gain chip is presented. A semiconductor optical amplifier, implementing several functions, is integrated on the gain chip used in an external cavity laser, and demonstrated as a high-performance variable attenuator and data modulator at 2.5 Gb/s. Control of the mirror properties through the gap geometry is demonstrated, and further optimization is realized by a gap-filling technique, which increases the output power to above 100 mW across the C -band.

Anesthesia profoundly impacts peri-infarct depolarizations (PIDs), but only one prior report has described their monitoring during experimental stroke in awake animals. Since temporal patterns of PID occurrence are model specific, the current study examined PID incidence during focal ischemia in the awake Spontaneously Hypertensive Rat (SHR), and documented the impact of both prior and concurrent isoflurane anesthesia. For awake recordings, electrodes were implanted under isoflurane anesthesia 1 day to 5 weeks prior to occlusion surgery. Rats were then subjected to permanent or transient (2 hour) tandem occlusion of the middle cerebral and ipsilateral common carotid arteries, followed by PID monitoring for up to 3 days. Comparison perfusion imaging studies evaluated PID-associated hyperemic transients during permanent ischemia under anesthesia at varied intervals following prior isoflurane exposure. Prior anesthesia attenuated PID number at intervals up to 1 week, establishing 2 weeks as a practical recovery duration following surgical preparation to avoid isoflurane preconditioning effects. PIDs in awake SHR were limited to the first 4 hours after permanent occlusions. Maintaining anesthesia during this interval reduced PID number, and prolonged their occurrence through several hours following anesthesia termination. Although PID number otherwise correlated with infarct size, PID suppression by anesthesia was not protective in the absence of reperfusion. PIDs persisted up to 36 hours after transient occlusions. These results differ markedly from the one previous report of such monitoring in awake Sprague-Dawley rats, which found an extended biphasic PID time course during 24 hours after both permanent and transient filament occlusions. PID occurrence closely reflects the time course of infarct progression in the respective models, and may be more useful than absolute PID number as an index of ongoing pathology.

A theoretical and experimental study of the wavelength channel accuracy of an external cavity wavelength tunable laser (ECTL) with a wavelength reference etalon inside the laser cavity is presented. A feedback control scheme for wavelength locking is proposed based on monitoring of the forward output power. The cavity parameters with an impact on the channel accuracy, using the proposed scheme, are indicated, and guidelines toward optimization of the etalon are proposed. Experimental demonstration of a channel accuracy of less than 0.6 GHz for a full C-band ECTL with a channel spacing of 50 GHz confirms the high potential of this laser configuration

We have applied an ultrashort-pulse reflectometer (USRM) to an inductively coupled plasma for density profile measurement along with a plasma absorption probe (PAP). It is found that the density in the edge plasma region measured by USRM is in good agreement with that by PAP, however, the measured density in core region shows large discrepancy between two methods. This difference is considered to occur due to difference of optical path route within utilized frequency band. We have rearranged experimental setup to avoid this improper situation, and confirmed that the density in core region measured by both methods is becoming in good agreement.

We report the 1000 mW single mode operation of a planar blue-violet laser diode with inner stripe waveguide. Kink-free output surpassed 400 mW (CW) and 600 mW (50 ns pulsed, duty 50%) at temperatures up to 90 °C. Precise optical field design for narrow stripe waveguide as well as damage-free stripe formation was a key to achieving watt class output. By utilizing buried AlN as optical and current confinement layers, a damage-free inner stripe as narrow as 1.0 μm wide was successfully fabricated. Planar inner stripe structure also has the advantage of a small increase in the electrical resistance for such a narrow stripe, which is favorable for high power operations. The results here indicate the potential of this planar blue-violet laser diode for high power applications as the next generation of optical disc systems.

We conducted a phase I/II study in patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to increase the therapeutic index of the cisplatin-irinotecan combination by institution of an anti-late-diarrhoeal program (ADP). A total of 77 chemotherapy-naive patients with advanced NSCLC were enrolled. The cisplatin dose was fixed at 60 mg m(-2) (Day 1). Irinotecan was escalated in 5 mg m(-2) increments, starting from 60 mg m(-2) (Days 1 and 8). ADP consisted of oral sodium bicarbonate, magnesium oxide, basic water, and ursodeoxycholic acid, and was administered orally for 4 days with each dose of irinotecan. In the phase I portion, irinotecan pharmacokinetics was also examined. After the recommended dose of irinotecan with ADP was determined, a phase II study was conducted to evaluate the response. Maximum tolerated dose was reached at an irinotecan dose of 80 mg m(-2) (Grade 4 diarrhoea and neutropenia). Pharmacokinetic studies show that the maximum concentration and the area under the curve of both irinotecan and SN38 (active metabolite of irinotecan) tend to increase in the dose-dependent manner of irinotecan. The phase II portion of the study included 48 patients, who were treated with 75 mg m(-2) of irinotecan. Grade 3/4 toxicities included neutropenia in 65%, leucopenia in 33%, and late diarrhoea in 6% of the patients. During this treatment, PS did not change in 65% of patients. At the end of the chemotherapy, PS did not decline in 90% of patients. In the phase II portion, a response occurred in 63% (95% confidential interval (CI), 47-76%) of patients. Median time to progression was 19 weeks (95% CI, 15-22 weeks), and median survival was 52 weeks (95% CI, 39-64 weeks). This regimen of irinotecan and cisplatin with ADP resulted in promising efficacy with acceptable toxicity for patients with advanced NSCLC. This regimen is a candidate for the experimental arm towards future phase III studies.

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive approach used for stimulating the brain, and has proven effective in the treatment of depression, however the mechanism of its antidepressant action is unknown. Recently, we have reported the induction of kf-1 in rat frontal cortex and hippocampus after chronic antidepressant treatment and repeated electroconvulsive treatment (ECT). In this study, we demonstrated the induction of kf-1 after rTMS in the rat frontal cortex and hippocampus, but not in hypothalamus. Our data suggest that kf-1 may be a common functional molecule that is increased after antidepressant treatment, ECT and rTMS. In conclusion, it is proposed that induction of kf-1 may be associated with the treatment induced adaptive neural plasticity in the brain, which is a long-term target for their antidepressant action.

Performance analysis and cost estimation are carried out for a cogeneration system consisting of a solid high-polymer-film-type fuel cell with a methanol reformer applied to individual houses. For the operation of the fuel cell under a partial load, a unique point of this system is the shifting of the driving point by the electric heater. Considering the annual energy cost for an average house in Sapporo, Japan, the energy cost of this system is shown to be 1.42 times that of conventional systems in which a cogeneration system is not installed.

The KEKB accelerator control system including a control computer system, a timing distribution system, and a safety control system are described. KEKB accelerators were installed in the same tunnel where the TRISTAN accelerator was. There were some constraints due to the reused equipment. The control system is based on Experimental Physics and Industrial Control System (EPICS). In order to reduce the cost and labor for constructing the KEKB control system, as many CAMAC modules as possible are used again. The guiding principles of the KEKB control computer system are as follows: use EPICS as the controls environment, provide a two-language system for developing application programs, use VMEbus as frontend computers as a consequence of EPICS, use standard buses, such as CAMAC, GPIB, VXIbus, ARCNET, RS-232 as field buses and use ergonomic equipment for operators and scientists. On the software side, interpretive Python and SAD languages are used for coding application programs. The purpose of the radiation safety system is to protect personnel from radiation hazards. It consists of an access control system and a beam interlock system. The access control system protects people from strong radiation inside the accelerator tunnel due to an intense beam, by controlling access to the beamline area. On the other hand, the beam interlock system prevents people from radiation exposure by interlocking the beam operation. For the convenience of accelerator operation and access control, the region covered by the safety system is divided into three major access control areas: the KEKB area, the PF-AR area, and the beam-transport (BT) area. The KEKB control system required a new timing system to match a low longitudinal acceptance due to a low-alpha machine. This timing system is based on a frequency divider/multiply technique and a digital delay technique. The RF frequency of the KEKB rings and that of the injector Linac are locked with a common divisor frequency. The common divisor frequency determines the injection timing. The RF bucket selection system is also described. r 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Tunable/selectable-wavelength light sources are beginning to play important roles in dense wavelength-division-multiplexing (DWDM) optical transmission systems. Of the many types of tunable/selectable light sources, we have chosen to develop distributed-feedback (DFB) laser-diode (LD)-array-based "wavelength-selectable" light sources (WSLs) because of their stable and reliable wavelength properties. This paper reviews our recent progress on eight-DFB-LD array WSLs and WSL modules for wide-band DWDM applications. We took full advantage of an advanced form of selective metal-organic-vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE), which we call microarray selective epitaxy (MASE), to simultaneously fabricate six types of WSL on two wafers so as to fully cover the S-, C-, and L-bands. These WSLs demonstrated a tunable wavelength range (/spl Delta//spl lambda/) of 15 nm, a high fiber output power of up to about 10 mW, and stable single-mode lasing properties with a side-mode-suppression-ratio greater than 42 dB. We also describe a 94-channel (50-GHz spacing) WSL module that features an integrated multiwavelength locker. A WSL with a band-covering tuning range, i.e., a /spl Delta//spl lambda/ of 40 nm in the L-band, was installed with a compact wavelength locker in a 12.7 mm/spl times/20.8 mm standard-size 22-pin butterfly package. The WSL module has a stable wavelength locking capability with spectral fluctuations of less than 1 pm and less than +/-5 pm against passage of time and variations in case temperature, respectively.

This study presents a hybrid monitoring system for nuclear reactor utilizing neural networks and a rule-based real-time expert system. The whole monitoring system including a data acquisition system and the advisory displays has been tested by an online simulator of pressurized water reactor. From the testing results, it was shown that the neural network in the monitoring system successfully modeled the plant dynamics and detected the symptoms of anomalies earlier than the conventional alarm system. The real-time expert system also worked satisfactorily in diagnosing and displaying the system status by using the outputs of neural networks and a priori knowledge base.

We experimentally demonstrate a flexible thin-film transistor (TFT) with (111)-oriented crystalline germanium (Ge) layers grown by a gold-induced crystallization method. Accumulation-mode metal source/drain p-channel Ge TFTs are fabricated on a polyimide film at ≤ 400 ° C. A field-effect mobility (μFE) of 10.7 cm2/Vs is obtained, meaning the highest μFE in the p-TFTs fabricated at ≤ 400 ° C on flexible plastic substrates. This study will lead to high-performance flexible electronics based on an inorganic-semiconductor channel.

A small scintillating fiber camera for space dosimetry was developed. The camera consists of a scintillating fiber stack bundled with 0.25-mm square fibers, two image intensifier units whose input windows are 40 mm in diameter, and two photomultipliers. Neutron events are distinguished from gamma-ray events by observing three-dimensional track images of recoil protons and electrons. Experimental results show that events caused by recoil protons with energies above 5 MeV can be distinguished from gamma-ray events. The purpose of this camera is to evaluate the LET, of charged particles produced in the interaction of neutrons with the nucleus in scintillating fibers. The camera is expected to measure the dose contribution from higher energy neutron, especially, more than /spl sim/10 MeV, which is the upper limit energy of the present measurement in space.

Wire bonding, a process of the connection between a semiconductor chip and a lead frame by a thin metal wire, is one of the important processes of electronic packaging. This paper presents failure estimation of a silicon chip and a GaAS chip during a gold wire bonding process. The gold wire bonding process is carried out by pressing a gold ball made at a tip of the gold wire on a semiconductor chip and vibrating it by ultrasonic. High contact pressure is useful for shortening the process cycle, but it sometimes causes failure of the semiconductor chip. Elastic-plastic large deformation contact analyses are performed and the distributions of the stresses in these semiconductor chips are investigated. The possibility of failure of a semiconductor chip under usual wire bonding pressure is pointed out only for a GaAs chip.

This paper describes a novel epitaxial growth technique, called microarray selective epitaxy (MASE), for fabricating extremely small integrated photonic devices. The MASE technique makes it possible to form densely arrayed (pitch

We have proposed and demonstrated a novel planar-buried-heterostructure laser diode that includes oxidized AlAs current blocking layers exhibiting the overall lasing performance improvement. Superior current blocking characteristics of the insulating layers significantly improve maximum output power compared to a conventional buried heterostructure with a p-n-p-n thyristor configuration. A forward breakover at the current blocking layers was not observed at an injection current of more than 1 A for a 300-/spl mu/m-long device with both cleaved facets. The excellent lasing performance at a threshold current of 6 mA, a slope efficiency of 0.51 W/A under continuous-wave conditions, and a maximum output power of up to 150 mW under pulsed conditions was also demonstrated.

We present a 10-Gb/s InP-based Mach-Zehnder modulator with ruthenium (Ru)-doped buried heterostructure waveguides. C- and L -band operation is demonstrated, including transmission over 100 km of single-mode fiber for 1528-1600 nm.

We present an external-cavity wavelength-tunable laser with a semiconductor optical amplifier-modulator monolithically integrated on the gain chip. The modulator chirp is analyzed, and it is explained how the chirp can be partially cancelled by self-phase modulation in the transmission fiber. Full C-band transmission of 2.5-Gb/s data over 360 km is demonstrated with small power penalty

We investigated experimentally the impact of the cavity spacing on the lasing mode stability of the external cavity wavelength-tunable laser (ECTL) with Fabry-Peacuterot etalon and liquid-crystal-based wavelength-tunable mirror. In the asynchronous mode cavity ECTL, the etalon assists in the suppression of the cavity modes at the neighboring transmission peaks of the lasing wavelength due to the misalignment to the etalon's peak. Therefore, the ECTL with asynchronous mode cavity shows highly mode stable lasing operation. The fabricated ECTL module with optimized asynchronous mode cavity shows excellent lasing property of sidemode suppression ratio more than 59 dB and output power of over 14 dBm for a 45-nm tuning range

We propose a novel external cavity wavelength tunable laser (ECTL) configuration without an etalon inside the cavity. ECTL consists only of a semiconductor optical amplifier with an integrated phase section, and a liquid crystal tunable mirror. We successfully demonstrated excellent performances of the ECTL with fiber coupled output power of more than 50 mW over a 40-nm tuning range, sidemode suppression ratio of better than 45 dB, relative intensity noise of better than -148 dB/Hz, and linewidth of narrower than 2.3 MHz

We have developed a 1310-nm uncooled electroabsorption modulator integrated light source (EML) with an AlGaInAs multiple quantum well (MQW) active/absorption stripe, which was simultaneously grown using the narrow-stripe selective MOVPE technique and was buried with an Fe-doped InP. The Al-content MQW oxidation was effectively inhibited by using the same technique. An experiment-based evaluation of the device's performance revealed that by only changing the modulation bias voltage linearly with temperature, it was possible to achieve 10-Gb/s penalty-free operation at up to 85/spl deg/C over a 23-km single-mode fiber.

To develop the method to analyze transient characteristics of the combined radiative and conductive heat transfer in the industrial furnaces, heat transfer in vacuum furnaces is numerically analyzed. The vacuum furnace is heated by several radiant tube burners and enclosed with thermal insulation walls. Object materials to be heated are placed at the central region of the furnace. A three-dimensional computer program for general purpose is developed to solve radiative heat transfer within enclosure including the transient conductive heat transfer within the insulation walls surrounding the system. The Monte Carlo method is used for the radiative heat exchange calculation. The results of the numerical simulation are compared with the results of experiment. The simulated results fit very well with the experimental ones, which shows the validity of the present simulation method.

High-performance 1.3-/spl mu/m spot-size-converter integrated laser diodes (SSC-LDs) have been developed by using narrow-stripe (

A compact full C-band external cavity wavelength tunable laser is proposed. The cavity contains a fixed etalon and makes use of a liquid-crystal-based tunable mirror. The measurement results show a tuning range of 35 nm with fiber coupled power of more than 15 dBm. The sidemode suppression ratio is higher than 50 dB over the whole range and the relative intensity noise is below -148 dB/Hz. The linewidth is in worst case 700 kHz.

The penetration of renewable energies is likely to cause serious problems in supply-demand balancing, because the generation of renewable energies is unstable and unpredictable. To solve these problems, integration technologies have been proposed for demand-side resources in power systems. We have been focusing on the future penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) and developing an EV-charging control technology. By controlling multiple EVs' charging time, the demand curves can be shaped as planned during any period, for example, to mitigate of generation fluctuation. However, the controllable charging curves are limited by EVs' behaviors. In this paper, we propose a practical method to define the limitation of the available total EV demand curves by the preferable form of curve. Using the method, we are able to comprehend the range of demand curve as region enclosed by upper- and lower- demand curves. This method finds a part of available curves, which is practically sufficient for power system application. We also demonstrate the flexibility of total EV demand curve with this method.

An advanced microarray-selective epitaxy with wider open-stripes has been developed for simple fabrication of distributed-feedback laser diode array-based high-power wavelength-selectable light sources. More than 40-mW fiber-coupled power and 50-dB sidemode suppression ratio over 9.2-nm wavelength were achieved.

Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) of C60 thin-film field-effect transistors was measured with biasing gate voltages. A time-dependent change in the electronic structure of the C60 film was observed during the UPS measurement, which has never been observed in a C60 film grown on a conductive substrate. The change was attributed to the accelerated polymerization of C60 by comparing the UPS with that of the photopolymerized C60. The polymerization was associated with the increase in the field-effect electron mobility. This result indicates that mobile carriers produce reactive radicals in organic semiconductors.

We report on the first demonstrated near-complete coverage of the S-, C-, and L-bands using six different ranges of wavelength-selectable microarray light sources (WSLs) based on a distributed-feedback (DFB) laser diode (LD) array. The six devices were fabricated on only two wafers. Each device has a tuning range of more than 15 nm, a sidemode suppression ratio of over 40 dB, and a fiber-coupled power greater than around 10 mW.

A wide-band wavelength-selectable light source module having an integrated multiwavelength locker has been developed. An eight-distributed-feedback (DFB) arrayed monolithic light source was designed to have 40-nm tunable range in the L-band by covering 5 nm per DFB laser diode. A uniquely designed etalon-based wavelength locker achieved very stable operation and uniform locking performance for all channels. Wavelength variation in the short term at room temperature was much less than 1 pm and the locked wavelength stayed within +/-5 pm when the case temperature of the module was varied from -20/spl deg/C to 65/spl deg/C.

Widely spread renewable energies (REs) will destabilize electricity supply-demand balancing because of their uncontrollability and unpredictability. Therefore effective balancing technology is required. We focus on distributed energy storages (ESs) and propose a novel balancing technology using distributed ESs, “Virtual Integration (VI) of distributed ESs”. VI enables us to control multiple ESs as a concentrated single ES: VI can make ESs respond quicker, control electric-charge/discharge of ESs precisely, and achieve reliable property of ESs. The feature of VI is that by regarding the difference in dynamic status of each ES as a functional characteristic of ES, a virtually integrated ES is built to create new functions by arranging functional characteristics appropriately. In other words, VI technology properly assigns real-time charging/discharging power to each ES on the basis of each characteristic. For an example of reliable control of ESs, we numerically demonstrated VI suppresses capacity degradation of lithium Ion batteries by 20%.

With the use of a numerical method by linearizing the nonlinearities caused by an amplifier-analyzer system, we can reproduce a pulse height spectrum reflecting the actual characteristics of a radiation detector itself. This method was applied to spectrometer systems of a 3He proportional counter for fast neutron measurements and a high-purity Ge detector for gamma-ray measurements. As the pulse height spectrum distortion due to the nonlinearities of the measuring system was improved especially in the lower pulse height region, we can discuss the precise pulse height relations and the intrinsic nonlinearities caused in radiation detectors.