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The global ocean monitoring system would benefit from improvements in the efficiency of Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth Device (CTD) sensor screening. Here, we describe the development of a new screening system, J-Calibration, for use with the SBE41 CTD sensor on the Argo float (Sea Bird Scientific). This new system has crucial advantages over the traditional SBE-Calibration system. First, J-Calibration does not require removal of the CTD sensor unit from the Argo float body to operate in a laboratory. This feature enables technicians or operators to more efficiently check the Argo target accuracies (± 0.005 °C for temperature and ± 0.01 PSS-78 for salinity) and allows the manufacturer’s warranty to remain intact. This also allows for a more efficient basic screening system which maintains screening accuracy without the need for specialized technicians. J-Calibration reduces the screening time to 1/6th that of SBE-Calibration and does not require the preparation of large amounts of artificial seawater. J-Calibration uses 1/23rd of the volume of seawater compared to SBE-Calibration by examining calibration at only 1 temperature point (22 °C), whereas SBE-Calibration requires 7 points to achieve calibration. The J-Calibration system does require careful temperature control of the artificial seawater as it is critical to maintain a uniform water temperature throughout the experiments. To satisfy this, using a vinyl greenhouse and covering sensors with adiabatic materials and cooling packs are effective. In comparison with the accuracy and system stability of SBE-Calibration, we show that the J-Calibration system is non-inferior and therefore is suitable for use in laboratory screening prior to deployment. Based on these advantages, the J-Calibration system will make a strong contribution to the deployment of healthy Argo fleets and to the maintenance of uniform data in the global ocean.

Renewable energy sources may cause the power grid instability due to their output fluctuations. One of the countermeasures to such problems is Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs). This paper presents the outline and test results of 1.5MW and 2.5MW converters for BESS, suitable for large-scale plants. Both converters are outdoor model and have high environmental durability by applying hybrid cooling method. In terms of 2.5MW converter, adopted the latest 7th-generation IGBT modules, the capacity increases with same dimensions of the 1.5MW converter, increasing the power density up to 1.66 times of the 1.5MW converter. The efficiency of the 1.5 MW converter is achieved over 98% in the wide output range. The efficiency of 2.5MW converter is also more than 98.5% in the wide output range.

Long-term clinical training based on a model core curriculum was conducted to nurture highly competent pharmacists in the clinical field. Pharmacists' responsibilities are expanding, and a system has been developed to help pharmacists gain accreditation, identify specialties, and improve their training. However, this system requires research competency. Therefore clinical research should be considered a part of clinical training to encourage high competency among pharmacists. Because the model core curriculum does not include a section on clinical research. Osaka City University Hospital introduced a hands-on clinical research experience program and evaluated its usefulness. A significant improvement in the level of knowledge and awareness of clinical research was seen among students who underwent the clinical research experience program. In addition, the level of student satisfaction was higher. These findings suggest that a clinical research experience program may be useful to nurture a greater awareness of clinical research and knowledge acquisition among pharmacists.

The Renewable power generations are sometimes located in remote area from the load centers and connected through the long transmission lines. In such case, the AC voltage likely varies along with the renewable power variation. The static Var compensator (SVC) is required to stabilize the AC voltage for stable power transmission [1]. In long transmission lines, the geomagnetic disturbance possibly makes problems [2], which may stop the SVC operation. Without the SVC, the renewable generations are sometimes required to limit its output power. This paper, firstly, discusses the mechanism of the problem which is related to the DC current component induced by the geomagnetic disturbance in the current of the Thyristor Controlled Reactor, TCR, a type of Static Var Compensator, SVC. Without any mitigation, the magnetizing condition of the transformer connected to the TCR may be worsened and may result in stopping SVC operation. Then, secondly, the paper discusses suppression of the DC current component. In the discussion, the paper proposes the practical algorithm for the DC current component estimation for the three phases considering asymmetrical even-order voltage harmonics. Finally, the paper verifies the DC current suppression control through the simulations.

Renewable energy sources such as wind turbine and photovoltaic power generators may make the power grid unstable due to their output fluctuations. Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are being considered as a countermeasure for this issue. A modular multilevel cascade converter (MMCC) is expected as a power conversion circuit for BESSs because each bridge cell can control the state of charge of a battery unit, independent of that of another one, and the harmonic current generated is low enough to eliminate the ac filter, normally installed on conventional two-level converters, from the MMCC. This paper describes the development of a real-scale (500 kW) single-star-bridge-cell-based MMCC for BESSs and reports successful test results obtained from a downscaled grid model and a 6.6-kV real-scale distribution line.

The geomagnetic disturbance is one of risks in the AC transmission systems. It induces current component of very low frequency and affects the transformer magnetization. As one of effects, the even-order voltage harmonics appear in the AC voltage, which possibly generate the DC current component in the current of the Thyristor Controlled Reactor, TCR, a type of Static Var Compensator, SVC. Without any mitigation, when the transformer is connected to the TCR, the transformer magnetization condition may be further worsened. Then, for stable operation of the AC system, the SVC is sometimes required to suppress the DC current component. The paper, first, discusses mechanism of the DC current component generation from the even-order voltage harmonics. Secondly, based on the discussion, the paper proposes a practical estimation algorithm of the DC current component. The estimation uses only the AC voltage information. The proposed algorithm does not use the TCR current information and then offers an economical advantage to eliminate cost impact of DC current sensors for high voltage circuits. Furthermore, the practical estimation method is proved to show high accuracy. Thirdly, the paper proposes a simple algorithm to suppress the DC current component using the estimated value. The simple algorithm offers another practical advantage, feasible to install in the actual SVC controller. The performance of the suppression control is verified by the digital simulation. Then, the algorithm is installed in the actual SVC controller and has been verified to function as expected through the simulator tests. The proposed suppression control is already used in actual SVC installations.

Verification test results of the isolated operation of a microgrid configured with some new energy generators at Aichi EXPO 2005 showed stable controllability without a rotating machine. However, improvement of voltage fluctuation with changing reactive power of loads had been hoped for. Some improvements of system voltage control had been implemented on the microgrid moved to Central Japan Airport City. This paper presents the results of verification testing of the improvement of voltage fluctuation in isolated operation with PAFC output power compensation control by NaS batteries, and also presents a simulation study of further improvement of the voltage control strategies of PAFC inverters. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 176(2): 41–52, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21096

Verification test result of isolated operation of a microgird configured with some new energy generators on Aichi EXPO. 2005 showed stable controllability without rotating machine. However, improvement of voltage fluctuation with changing reactive power of loads had been hoped. Some improvements of system voltage control had been implemented on the maicrogrid moved to Central Japan Airport City. This paper presents a verification test result of the improvement of voltage fluctuation in isolated operation with PAFC output power compensation control by NaS batteries and also presents a simulation study of a further improvement of voltage control strategies of PAFC inverters.

The incidence of multiple pregnancies after in-vitro fertilisation or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI) is much higher than after natural conception. It is well known that multiple pregnancies have a less favorable obstetric, neonatal outcome than singletons. It is obvious that a strategy using transfer of only one embryo would result in singletons, but it might also result in a considerable decline in the overall birth rate. Data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) indicate that single-embryo transfer (SET) results in lower live birth rates per fresh IVF cycle than double-embryo transfer (DET). However, the expectation is that cumulative live birth rates are comparable in the two groups. Twin pregnancies in IVF should be avoided by transferring embryos one at a time, even for frozen cycles. SET is unlikely to be suitable for all women undergoing IVF and outcomes may be sensitive to different laboratory protocols. Other factors affecting the routine use of SET include laboratory te...

The “New Energy Plant” had been built at the Aichi EXPO. 2005 site as part of the “Demonstrative Project of Regional Power Grid with Various New Energies”. The plant includes three types of fuel cells, photovoltaic power generation system and Sodium Sulfur (NaS) battery. One of the purposes of the demonstrative project is to verify supply/demand control to minimize the effect on the utility grid. Isolated operation of a microgrid is an ultimate state to be no interaction between utility grid and the microgrid. It also increases value of the microgrid. These new energy generators and battery are connected to the microgrid via inverter and there are no rotating generators. There are no established techniques to startup and control voltage and frequency of such system. The authors carried out a verification test of isolated operation of the microgrid.This paper presents the control strategies for isolated operation of a microgrid configured with some new energy generators. Simulation results of system excitation, load share operation, and response for load change such as an induction motor is connected are shown. This paper also presents the test result of isolated operation of a microgird on Aichi EXPO. 2005. The system had separated from utility grid, and performed stable controllability for load change for around three weeks.

We report here development of a novel gene trap method in zebrafish using the Tol2 transposon system. First, we established a highly efficient transgenesis method in which a plasmid DNA containing the Tol2 transposon vector and the transposase mRNA synthesized in vitro were coinjected into one-cell stage embryos. The transposon vector inserted in the genome could be transmitted to the F1 progeny at high frequencies, and regulated gene expression by a specific promoter could be recapitulated in transgenic fish. Then we constructed a transposon-based gene trap vector containing a splice acceptor and the GFP gene, performed a pilot screen for gene trapping, and obtained fish expressing GFP in temporally and spatially restricted patterns. We confirmed the endogenous transcripts were indeed trapped by the insertions, and the insertion could interfere with expression of the trapped gene. We propose our gene trap approach should facilitate studies of vertebrate development and organogenesis.

Renewable energy sources such as wind-turbine and photovoltaic power generators may make the power grid unstable due to their output fluctuations. Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are being considered as a countermeasure for this issue. “BESSs” require bidirectional ac-to-dc and dc-to-ac converters, so improvement of the converter efficiency is desired to improve the efficiency of BESSs. This paper presents the performance of 100-kVA and 500-kVA converters for BESSs in practical use, and introduces the development and the verification test results of a real-scale (500 kW) single-star bridge cell (SSBC) based modular multilevel cascade converter (MMCC) which is expected to be a new converter topology for BESSs.

The clinical outcomes, including adverse events, in 40 advanced breast cancer patients treated with eribulin were analyzed to confirm the effectiveness and safety of this treatment. The objective response rate (ORR) in patients was 35.0%. The median overall survival and time to treatment failure (TTF) in these patients was 479 and 63 days, respectively. Cases wherein eribulin was used as early-line treatment experienced significantly longer TTF compared to the cases wherein eribulin was used as late-line treatment; however, there was no difference in this value according to the breast cancer subtype. Moreover, subtype analysis revealed no significant difference in adverse events. We observed no difference in the benefit or tolerability of eribulin treatment among different breast cancer subtypes. However, our results suggest that a significant therapeutic effect can be expected when using eribulin as early-line treatment.

A 58-year-old woman observed swelling in her left breast a few weeks prior to presentation. Rigidity in the D area, breast warmth, swelling, and a peau d'orange appearance in the whole left breast was observed. She was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (luminal A type) T4dN2M0, Stage IIIB. The patient underwent primary systemic therapy with 7 courses of FEC. Following FEC treatment, the disease was stable. We subsequently administered 4 courses of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel combination therapy. The patient exhibited a partial response to FEC chemotherapy. Thereafter, a left mastectomy with level II axillary lymph node dissection was performed. At present, 1 year after surgery, the patient is alive with no recurrence. We conclude that the combination therapy of bevacizumab plus paclitaxel is a useful treatment for inflammatory breast cancer.

The patient was a 40-year-old woman who was aware of a tumor in her left breast that was gradually increasing in size. Ultrasonography revealed a hypoechoic mass with a skin cyst, approximately 3 cm in size, in the C area of the left breast. Core needle biopsy indicated estrogen receptor (ER) -negative, progesterone receptor (PR) -negative, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) -negative squamous cell carcinoma. Overall examination did not indicate distant metastasis. A diagnosis of T4bN2aM0, stage IIIB triple-negative left breast cancer was made. Eribulin was administered at a dose of 1.4 mg/m2. The effect of eribulin was considered to be long-term stable disease( long-term SD). The patient did not experience severe adverse events during treatment. After 24 weeks of eribulin treatment, mastectomy of the left breast with axillary lymph node dissection was performed. At present, 1 year after surgery, the patient is alive with no recurrence. We conclude that eribulin chemotherapy is useful for the treatment of patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the breast.

Natural energy sources such as wind turbines and photovoltaic power generators cause instability of the power grid due to their output fluctuations. Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are being considered as a countermeasure for this issue. A Modular Multilevel Cascade Convertor (MMCC) is one suitable circuit topology for BESSs, because each cell can control each battery's state-of-charge independently, and the level of generated harmonics is low enough to eliminate the AC filter normally installed in conventional two level converters. This paper describes the development of a real-scale (500 kW) H-bridge MMCC for BESSs and reports successful test results of the control functions with a scale down grid model and a 6.6-kV real-scale distribution line.

This paper presents development of 500kVA and 100kVA type utility-scaled power conditioning systems (PCSs) used in the battery energy storage system. Thanks to appropriate hardware and software design, PCSs are very efficient across a wide working range. Some important functions are equipped, such as softstart, anti-islanding, stand-alone operation and so on, with the purpose of improving stability and reliability in various challenging dynamic working conditions. To account for expanding battery storage capacities, our developed PCSs are very flexible, since several PCS modules can be connected to work in parallel. Factory tests in electrical, control and thermal aspects have demonstrated their excellent performance.

A DC component contained in an output of a voltage source self-commutated converter causes a converter transformer to be DC-magnetized, in the worst case causing an overcurrent due to saturation. We experienced the DC-magnetization of the converter transformer of a 50 MVA self-commutated SVC installed in the Shinshinano Substation of Tokyo Electric Power Company when system disturbances occurred by energizing of an adjacent large capacity transformer. After analysing the problem, a novel DC magnetization prevention control was developed that makes a fast flux correction according to the voltage DC component detected in the converter output. This method was applied to the 50 MVA self-commutated SVC and produced satisfactory operation results.

Natural energy generators such as wind turbines and photovoltaics cause instability of the power grid due to their output fluctuations. Battery energy storage systems are being considered as a countermeasure for this issue. This paper gives an overview of battery energy storage systems used for stabilizing the output fluctuations of natural energy generators in Japan. Some verification test results are also shown.

Wind turbines (WTs) are considered to be one of effective approach to solve global warming and energy issues. However, the output of WTs depends on the weather conditions and the natural environment, which cause large fluctuations in the output power, leading to insufficient of frequency adjustment capacity of the power grid. Several methods have been examined to compensate for such large fluctuations using batteries. In this paper, we describe the development of the world's largest constant output stabilization system using 34 MW sodium sulfur (NAS) batteries for a 51 MW wind farm at Futamata in the Tohoku district of Japan, as well as our field experiences indicating excellent operating performance.

The paper introduces the very high-capacity, megawatt-rated (MW-rated), power electronics (PE) technology trends for the renewable energy (RE) and for the energy greening in industrial area. The PE is indispensable for energy conversion from the RE to the AC power network. In order to expand RE supply capacity, RE generation facilities are now scaled up above megawatt (MW) range. The paper introduces the power conditioning system (PCS) for photo-voltaic (PV) generation, the back to back (BTB) converter for wind power (WP) and PCS for the battery energy storage system (BESS) developed to catch up such demands. Owing to the recent development of the power semiconductor and control devices, even in the high power range, the conversion efficiency and the operation flexibility have been remarkably improved compared with the old generation. The paper also introduces the high efficiency uninterruptible power systems (UPS) technology contributing to the Green IT facilities. The extra large PE technology rated at several tens of MW is also introduced for the Green Factory.

An extremely high-reliability 300 MW frequency converter has been developed. To achieve high reliability, the frequency converter adopts several dual (redundant) methods. The fault-system-lock function and the online recovery function greatly enhance the system reliability, allowing the Shin-Shinano FC to continue to operate almost without any stoppages due to faults. Highvolume, non-volatile CPLDs are utilized in the controller, and a simple controller configuration is also achieved, which makes maintenance easy.

Wind Turbine Generator Systems (WTGSs) are considered to be one of effective approach to solve global warming and energy issues. However, the stability of the output power generated from WTGSs depends on the weather conditions and the natural environment, and any instability in the power causes frequency fluctuations in the power grid. Several methods have been examined to stabilize such fluctuations using batteries. In this paper, we describe the development of an inverter using sodium sulfur (NAS) batteries to stabilize the power from a wind farm and our field experiences indicating excellent operating performance. This system is the world's largest constant-output stabilization system using 34 MW NAS batteries for a 51 MW wind farm at Futamata in the Tohoku district of Japan.

In recent years, the renewable energy sites are installed increasingly in the world. These sites sometimes cause the voltage fluctuation in the power system. Especially the wind turbine systems may cause the voltage fluctuation in the power system by the wind power variation. The STATCOM can reduce this voltage fluctuation by canceling the reactive power. The STATCOM is suitable to compensate several MVar of reactive power and covers the capacity range up to 3MVA by 500kVA step. This STATCOM is also installed for the suppression of the voltage fluctuation by the large capacity fan. This paper describes the STATCOM systems and some field performances of the STATCOMs which have been installed more than 10 sites.

The "new energy plant" had been built at the Aichi EXPO. 2005 site as part of the "demonstrative project of regional power grid with various new energies". The plant includes three types of fuel cells, a photovoltaic power generation system and a sodium sulfur (NaS) battery. One of the purposes of the demonstrative project is to achieve isolated operation of a micro grid without rotating generators. These new energy generators and battery are connected to the micro grid via inverters. In isolated operation, the system voltage and frequency are determined by four fuel cell inverters connected in parallel. This paper presents the control strategies, especially load share between inverters, for isolated operation of a micro grid configured with some new energy generators. Simulation results and verification test results are also shown in this paper.

In this paper, five kinds of real time digital feedback control method for the PWM inverter with FPGA (Filed Programmable Gate Array) based hardware controller are compared for a low carrier-frequency PWM inverter system. It was reported that the deadbeat control method with FPGA based hardware controller had the very good transient response for various loads, but these reports were mainly focused on a few KW class PWM inverter system, so the high carrier frequency were adopted. But in MW class PWM inverter system, the carrier frequency is limited upto 2kHz range, because of the performance of the switching devices and the trade off against the efficiency of the inverter. In this condition, the controllability of the PWM inverter is not so much expected and still the conventional PI control method is widely used. Five different digital control methods (1. singlerate deadbeat control, 2. multirate deadbeat control, 3. multirate 2 degree of freedom deadbeat control, 4. quasi multirate deadbeat control, 5. quasi multirate 2 degree of freedom deadbeat control) are verified to clarify the possibility to improve the control characteristics in a low carrier-frequency PWM inverter system. Simulations were carried out in case of 20kHz carrier and in case of 2kHz carrier, for each control method, also the robustness to the filter parameter variations was investigated. As a result, the advantages of the proposed control methods were verifled.

In the introduction of home parenteral nutrition (HPN), roles of the pharmacist are important from the viewpoint of drug therapy. In our hospital, patients are to be shifted to home medical care under the adequate guidance and proper adjustment by the cooperation between the clinical pharmacists and home medical care pharmacists. We are also enhancing the cooperation with the pharmacists in insurance pharmacies. At present, however, there are few insurance pharmacies that can concoct the injection of medicine, resulting in our insufficient responses to the needs of the patients. It is necessary and quite important to increase the number of insurance pharmacies that are allowed to manage the patient's medication as well as the concoction of injecting medicine. The cooperation between hospital pharmacy and insurance pharmacy (Yaku-Yaku Renkei in Japanese) is indispensable in order to promote home medical care; especially "the sharing of information" is most required between the two pharmacy groups.

The Tol2 element of the medaka fish Oryzias latipes belongs to the hAT family of transposons ( hobo / Ac / Tam3 ). We report here identification of a functional transposase of Tol2 that is capable of catalyzing its transposition in the germ line of zebrafish Danio rerio . A transcript produced from Tol2 encodes a putative transposase. Zebrafish fertilized eggs were coinjected with mRNA transcribed in vitro , using cDNA of the Tol2 transcript as a template and a plasmid DNA harboring a mutant Tol2 , which had a deletion in the putative transposase gene but retained necessary cis sequences. The injected fish were raised to adulthood and mated to noninjected fish, and genomic DNA of the progeny fish were analyzed by PCR and Southern hybridization. Half of F 1 fish obtained from one of eight injected fish contained the Tol2 DNA in their genomes but not the vector portion. Among these F 1 fish, Tol2 insertions at four different loci were identified, and some F 1 fish carried two or three different Tol2 insertions, indicating that the germ line of the founder fish is highly mosaic. Sequencing analyses revealed that, in all cases, Tol2 was surrounded by zebrafish genomic sequences, and an 8-bp duplication was created at the target site, indicating that Tol2 was integrated in the zebrafish genome through transposition. This study identifies an autonomous member of a DNA-based transposable element from a vertebrate genome. The Tol2 transposon system should thus be used to develop novel transgenesis and insertional mutagenesis methods in zebrafish and possibly in other fishes.

A new superconducting magnet energy storage (SMES) system proposed by one of authors for power transmission line stabilization is studied by an experimental model system and computer simulation. It has a SMES in a dc intertie section connected to ac transmission lines via convertors. The distinctive characteristics of this system is that independent stabilization can be made for each ac line and also that the power flow through the dc section can be controlled. For verifying these characteristics we developed a model system consisted of a superconducting pulse magnet (lOOkJ), pulse width modulation (PWM) convertors, simulated power line system with a generator (lOkVA) and a short-circuiting device to give power line fault.

The killing effects of heat were studied on cultured mammalian cells (L5178Y) pre-incubated with gallium (Ga) citrate, which is a popular tumor-imaging diagnostic agent. The cells showed higher sensitivity to heat when they were pre-incubated with Ga-citrate. The pre-incubated cells showed decreased ATP levels, and this may be responsible for the heat-sensitizing effect.