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This paper discusses a power converter that integrates a boost motor drive and an on-board battery charger into one module unit for a drive-system less than 30kW. The proposed circuit uses a coupled magnetic-based device (CMD) in the boost converter (BC), which can switch between a boost inductor and an isolated transformer, in respect to the boost motor drive and AC charging operation. In order to achieve high power density and high efficiency, a newly 4-legs CMD is proposed. Comparing to the 3-legs CMD, the power density is increased by 12% and the efficiency can be increased by 1.5%. As a result, the drive efficiency can be improved by 2.5% comparing to a standard non-boost motor drive. The details of the proposed circuit structure and the CMD configuration are discussed in this paper. A A4-size prototype that used GaN-FETs was built to show the validity of the proposed circuit. Experimental results show well agreement with the calculated and simulation results, where a 5kW boost motor drive with 48V and a 3kW AC100V charging were achieved in the built prototype. The motor drive efficiency is 96% at 3kW with direct drive and 94.8% at 5kW with boost drive, and the AC100V charging achieved 90% efficiency at 3kW.

Adhesion interaction of epoxy resin with the basal surfaces of h-BN and graphite is investigated with the first-principles density functional theory calculations in conjunction with the dispersion correction. The h-BN/epoxy and graphite/epoxy interfaces play an important role in producing nanocomposite materials with excellent thermal dissipation properties. The epoxy resin structure is simulated by using four kinds of fragmentary models. Their structures are optimized on the h-BN and graphite surfaces after an annealing simulation. The distance between the epoxy fragment and the surface is about 3 Å. At the interface between h-BN and epoxy resin, no H-bonding formation is observed, though one could expect that the active functional groups of epoxy resin, such as hydroxyl (−OH) group, would be involved in a hydrogen-bonding interaction with nitrogen atoms of the h-BN surface. The adhesion energies for the two interfaces are calculated, showing that these two interfaces are characterized by almost the same strength of adhesion interaction. To obtain the adhesion force–separation curve for the two interfaces, the potential energy surface associated with the detachment of the epoxy fragment from the surface is calculated with the help of the nudged elastic band method and then the adhesion force is obtained by using either the Morse-potential approximation or the Hellmann–Feynman force calculation. The results from both methods agree with each other. The maximum adhesion force for the h-BN/epoxy interface is as high as that for the graphite/epoxy interface. To better understand this result, a force-decomposition analysis is carried out, and it has been disclosed that the adhesion forces working at both interfaces mainly come from the dispersion force. The trend of increase in the C6 parameters used for the dispersion correction for the atoms included in the h-BN or graphite surface is in the order: N < C < B, which reasonably explains why the strengths of the dispersion forces operating at the two interfaces are similar. Also, the electron localization function analysis can explain why the h-BN surface cannot form an H bond with the hydroxyl group in epoxy resin.

An integrated circuit structure is proposed for a 48V power system. This paper discusses the operating principle of the proposed circuit and the control algorithms. The circuit structure integrates a boost motor drive with a three-phase AC on-board charger (OBC). An integrated magnetic device (IMD) that consists of two functionalities is used in the boost converter, where the IMD is performed as a boost inductor during motor drive and also performed as an isolated transformer during AC charging, respectively. Then a matrix converter is used in the OBC to reduce the capacitive component. As a result, the overall circuit structure is only consisting of one capacitive and two inductive components (IMD and grid inductor). A 3kW A4 size prototype was developed and tested in order to validate the performance of the proposed circuit. From the results, the conversion efficiency achieves 94% for boost motor drive and 93% for a three-phase AC charging.

We measured the solubility of bis-(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato)copper(II) (Cu(tmhd) 2 ) in pure supercritical CO 2 (scCO 2 ) and binary mixtures of H 2 and scCO 2 at 40–100 °C and 11–20 MPa using spectrometric method. The solubility in scCO 2 was dependent on the density of CO 2 . The addition of H 2 to the scCO 2 had negative impact on the solubility, and the solubility was proportional to density of CO 2 with a constant mole fraction of H 2 . The equations proposed by Mendez-Santiago and Teja as well as Sauceau et al. were able to correlate the solubility in the pure CO 2 and binary systems. This approach provides a framework to determine the precursor concentration for supercritical fluid deposition (SCFD) of Cu. The precursor feed system for optimal Cu-SCFD was discussed. In addition, the same effect was found with the addition of O 2 and N 2 into scCO 2 , suggesting that further investigation into the solubility of SCFD precursors in these binary systems is warranted.

A coaching technique was developed to train drivers in operational safety. First, drivers took part in a self-assessment of their attention characteristics. Drivers were able to identify their weak points in the feedback, and were given the opportunity to think of possible ideas to prevent errors. In order to draw more ideas, group discussions were held. Managers then conducted interviews with their drivers using the coaching technique, and encouraged them to deepen their ideas to prevent errors. The validity of this technique was discussed based on results from follow up questionnaires given to the drivers.

High throughput with high resolution imaging has been key to the development of leading-edge microlithography. However, management of thermal aberrations due to lens heating during exposure has become critical for simultaneous achievement of high throughput and high resolution. Thermal aberrations cause CD drift and overlay error, and these errors lead directly to edge placement errors (EPE). Management and control of high order thermal aberrations is a critical requirement. In this paper, we will show practical performance of the lens heating with dipole and other typical illumination conditions for finer patterning. We confirm that our new control system can reduce the high-order aberrations and enable critical-dimension uniformity CDU during the exposure.

On the assumption that rare earth elements (REEs) are nontoxic, they are being utilized as replacements of toxic heavy metals in novel technological applications. However, REEs are not entirely innocuous, and their impact on health is still uncertain. In the past decade, our laboratory has studied the urinary excretion of REEs in male Wistar rats given chlorides of europium, scandium, and yttrium solutions by one-shot intraperitoneal injection or oral dose. The present paper describes three experiments for the suitability and appropriateness of a method to use urine for biological monitoring of exposure to these REEs. The concentrations of REEs were determined in cumulative urine samples taken at 0–24 h by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, showing that the urinary excretion of REEs is

Chemicals are an essential part of modern manufacture processes. Their use must be managed with great attention in occupational settings to avoid serious detrimental effects to the health of employees. For example, cadmium compounds are indispensable for the production of nickel-cadmium rechargeable batteries or as chemical stabilizer in plastics. It is an exceptionally toxic heavy metal and personnel exposed to cadmium in the workplace meet with potential health risks that can lead to the development of kidney, skeletal and respiratory disorders. In consequence, proactive and systematical development of occupational hygiene and health activities are necessary to reduce chemical exposure to cadmium in the workplace. This review describes the known facts of cadmium toxicity, the biological effects of cadmium exposure, possible regulation measures to prevent occupational cadmium exposure in three industrial health management systems and discusses future cooperation programs in these systems, proactive safety activities and occupational safety and health management strategies.

墜落外傷でみられた特発性気腹症の1例を経験したので報告する．症例は35歳，女性．高所からの墜落により受傷し，当センターへ搬入となった．搬入時軽度の意識障害を認めたが，呼吸・循環は安定していた．腹部造影CTの結果，骨盤骨折による後腹膜出血および肝表面・肝下面に腹腔内遊離ガスを認めた．腹部理学的所見上腹膜刺激症状はなかったが，消化管穿孔を疑い，後腹膜出血に対する経カテーテル動脈塞栓術の後，緊急開腹術を施行した．しかし，後腹膜血腫を認めるのみで消化管損傷は認めなかったため，特発性気腹症と診断した．本症例において腹腔内遊離ガスが生じた原因としては，墜落時に経膣経卵管的経路で腹腔内にガスが迷入した，あるいは着地時の瞬間的胸腔内圧上昇により経縦隔的経路でガスが腹腔内に入ったことが推測された．

Two types of high-throughput and high-precision multichip-to-wafer 3D stacking approaches are demonstrated: one is non-transfer stacking and the other one is transfer stacking. Both the stacking approaches employ a self-assembly technologies using liquid surface tension. In the former stacking scheme, large number of chips having 20-µm-square Cu/SnAg microbumps are directly self-assembled face-down on an interposer wafer, like flip-chip bonding. On the other hand, in the latter stacking scheme, the many chips having the microbumps are self-assembled face-up on a carrier wafer with bipolar electrodes for electrostatic chucking. Then, the latter chips are transferred from the carrier to another interposer in wafer-level processing. The alignment accuracies are evaluated and compared between the two stacking approaches. The resulting daisy chains show good electrical properties comparable to conventional flip-chip bonding.

We demonstrated surface tension-driven self-assembly of chips with Cu/Sn-Ag microbumps in order to satisfy requirements for both high throughput and high alignment accuracy toward 3D system integration. The chips were singulated with different dicing methods: standard single-cut, precise single-cut, and modified step-cut. The alignment accuracies were compared among the three methods. The chips obtained by modified step-cut were precisely aligned within approximately 2 µm and comparable to that obtained by precise single-cut. By optimizing liquid volumes, the step-cut chips having Cu/Sn-Ag microbumps were accurately self-assembled irrespective of microbump densities. The self-assembled chips were successfully bonded at 280°C by thermal compression. The Cu/Sn-Ag daisy chains indicated good electrical characteristics with a resistance of 35 mΩ/joint.

Objective: The allowable warm ischemic time from circulatory arrest to tracheal extraction for allotransplantation of cryopreserved tracheal grafts from cadaveric donors was examined in adult mongrel dogs. Subjects and Methods: The animals were divided into 4 groups (n=28) according to the warm ischemic time of less than 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, and 12 hours, after transplantation, and comparisons were made. The grafts were cryopreserved for at least 2 months and were evaluated by extraction from the recipients generally 2 months after transplantation. Results: All the grafts with a warm ischemic time of less than 1 hour were viable and did not show stenosis. This group did not differ significantly from the groups with a warm ischemic time of 3 and 6 hours in terms of viability. However, all of the grafts with a warm ischemic time of 12 hours showed stenosis, and there was a significantly lower viability rate. Histological examination of the grafts showed that warm ischemia caused necrosis of the tracheal cartilage. Conclusion: Based on these results, it was concluded that 6 hours was the maximum allowable warm ischemic time for cryopreserved tracheal transplantation, and that necrosis of the tracheal cartilage due to warm ischemia reduced the viability of the grafts.

早期食道癌と十二指腸乳頭部腺腫内癌の同時性重複癌を経験したので報告する.症例は69歳,男性で,心窩部痛にて,来院精査にて食道癌と十二指腸乳頭部腫瘍と診断された.食道癌に対して胸腔食道全摘術,有茎結腸再建を施行した.十二指腸乳頭部に対して,二期的に胃温存膵頭十二指腸切除術を施行した.食道はリンパ節転移のないsm癌であり,乳頭部腫瘍は結果的に腺腫内癌であった.十二指腸乳頭部腺腫は癌の並存率が極めて高く,また腺腫自体が潜在的に悪性であるとの考えもあり,現時点では,全身状態が許せば,膵頭十二指腸切除術が望ましいと思われる.

This paper is concerned with the positioning control of a single-link flexible arm using frequency-shaped sliding mode control theory. In the control object, a harmonic drive system for a reduction gear has a large friction torque, and thus we applied the sliding mode control theory to this positioning control problem in order to compensate for the nonlinear friction torque. We designed the control system using the output feedback method. The high-gain sliding mode controller, however, often causes instability of the control system due to spillover phenomena in the high-frequency region. Therefore, we also design a switching hyperplane using H∞ control theory which can suppress such spillover phenomena markedly. We found that the frequency-shaped sliding mode control system exhibits good performance. However, the system performance is influenced by uncertainties which do not satisfy matching conditions.

Surveillance of surgical-site infection (SSI) is becoming more important given the current situation of increasing antibiotic resistance by microorganisms. It may be difficult to carry out SSI surveillance at small-scale community hospitals because of small staff numbers. We examined whether SSI surveillance could be carried out with a system we devised. Furthermore, we investigated the SSI rateat our small-scale community hospital (179 beds) in a Japanese city (populations, 330 000). Between June and December 2003, operations were performed on 210 patients. Procedures were identified as clean (n = 85),clean-contaminated (n = 108), contaminated (n = 14), or dirty-infected (n = 3). A 7-month prospective survey of SSI was conducted. SSIs were classified according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria and identified using bedside surveillance and post-discharge follow-up. SSI developed following 16 procedures (7.6%). All patients who developed SSI had received antibiotic prophylaxis. Among the 16 patients with SSI, operations were clean (n = 1), clean-contaminated (n = 8), contaminated(n = 5), or dirty-infected (n = 2). Enterobacteriaceae were the most frequently isolated microorganisms, followed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa. SSI surveillance is just as important at small community hospitals as it is at larger hospitals, and SSI surveillance is relatively simple to institute at small-scale community hospitals with the selective use of investigation items.

Two cases of histologically proven lobar pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis are reported in which well-defined sites of accumulation of Tl-201 and Tc-99m MIBI were observed. The combination of Tl-201 and Tc-99m MIBI SPECT can detect the extent of pulmonary lymphangitic carcinomatosis.

The authors report two surgical cases of a cecal cancer complicated with abdominal fistula. The first case was an 86-year-old female and the second case was a 63-year-old male. Both patients discharged mucinous liquid through a fistula at the right lateral abdomen. In both cases, colon balium enema showed an abnormal shadow at the cecal lesion, respectively, and abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed the presence of the tumor in the retroperitoneal space. Fistulography showed a communication with the ascending colon in each case. At laparotomy the tumor in the ileocecal lesion extending into the retroperitoneal space was found out. Right hemicolectomy and lymph node dissection were performed in both cases when the tumors was found to contain mucinous material. The first patient was well for 5 years and 3 months and the second patient has been well 1 year and 6 months after the operation.

症例は42歳の男性, 主訴は血痰, 1992年3月に喀血あり胸部異常陰影を指摘されていたが放置していた.1994年6月頃より血痰があり外科紹介となった.胸部X線写真で右中肺野に透過性の充進した嚢胞様病変を認めた.先天性嚢胞性腺腫様奇形type1の疑いで胸腔鏡下右中葉切除術を施行した.嚢胞は最大径8cmで中葉に限局し, 周囲には軽度の癒着を認めた.葉間より脈管系をA5から順次処理していき気管支はENDOGIA30を用いて縫合切離した.術後経過は良好であった.病理組織診では肺実質内に大小の嚢胞を認め, 嚢胞壁の大部分は多列線毛上皮で上皮下には平滑筋が存在したが, 軟骨を欠いていた.悪性像を認めず, CCAMtype1と診断した.

We have proposed to use the electrostatic capacitance of through-silicon-vias (TSV) in the silicon interposer as the decoupling capacitor. Because the electrostatic capacity of the TSV acts as a decoupling capacitor, it is enabled to decrease the power distribution network (PDN) impedance. Therefore, the dependency to the PDN impedance in the effect of the layout and the shape of the TSV capacitor was analyzed. By introducing the 3-D electromagnetic field simulator, precise PDN impedance analysis was carried out. As a result, TSV functions enough as a decoupling capacitor. PDN impedance of the silicon inter-poser with TSV-decoupling capacitor decrease compared with that of the silicon interposer without TSV. Especially, PDN impedance of the silicon interposer with 200-micrometer pitch TSVs shows PDN impedance without the resonance peak from the low-frequency region to the high frequency area.

A novel supercritical fluid deposition method (SCFD) of SiO 2 has been developed for polymer-based MEMS. In order to reduce deposition temperature for the application to polymer-based MEMS process, we selected O 3 as an oxidant in SiO 2 -SCFD. Conformal SiO 2 deposition on Si trenches (aspect ratio 24) at low temperatures (below 200 °C) was achieved, which were acceptable for deposition on polymers. In addition, SiO 2 coating on inner wall surface of microchannels, which was made of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), was demonstrated.

Single doses of europium (III) chloride hexahydrate were orally administered to several groups of rats. Cumulative urine samples were taken at 0–24 h, and blood samples were drawn after 24-h administration. The europium concentration was determined in these samples by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy. The volume, creatinine, s-2-microglobulin, and N-acetyl-s-d-glucosaminidase were measured in the urine samples to evaluate possible europium-induced renal effects. The blood samples showed low europium distribution, with an average of 77.5 μg/L for all groups. Although the urinary concentration and excretion showed dose-dependent increases, the percentage of europium excreted showed a dose-dependent decrease, with an average of 0.31% in all groups. The administration of europium resulted in a significant decrease of creatinine and a significant increase of urinary volume, N-acetyl-s-d-glucosaminidase, and s-2-microglobulin. Rare earth elements, including europium, are believed to form colloidal conjugates that deposit in the reticuloendothelial system and glomeruli. This specific reaction may contribute to low europium bioavailability and renal function disturbances. Despite low bioavailability, the high performance of the analytical method for determination of europium makes the blood and urine sampling suitable tools for monitoring of exposure to this element. The results presented in this study will be of great importance in future studies on the health impacts of rare earth elements.