Pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery is a cause of hemobilia, and is extremely rare, with only eight cases having been reported in the world literature. We report a case of pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery in a 72-year-old Japanese man. The patient experienced epigastric pain and melena, and was found to have jaundice and liver dysfunction. Repeated gastroendoscopy did not reveal the cause of the alimentary tract bleeding; however, color-Doppler ultrasonography detected an aneurysm of the cystic artery in the gallbladder. Selective hepatic arteriography demonstrated that the posterior branch of the cystic artery was markedly dilated and that an aneurysm had formed in the midst of the artery. We diagnosed hemobilia due to the pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery, and associated gastrointestinal bleeding. Cholecystectomy was performed immediately. Pathologically, the gallbladder showed acute calculous cholecystitis. This case emphasizes the importance of including hemobilia in the differential diagnosis whenever gastrointestinal bleeding is associated with signs of biliary disorder; color-Doppler imaging is a favorable modality for the diagnosis of pseudoaneurysm of the cystic artery.

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The feasibility of applying single‐chamber solid oxide fuel cells (SC‐SOFCs) to power generators for exhaust energy recovery was investigated using both model and actual exhaust gases. In the experiments with model exhaust gases, a single cell, Ni‐Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9/YSZ/La0.8Sr0.2MnO3, was operated in a mixture of gases containing ppm levels of CH4, C2H6, C3H8, C4H10 and O2. The cell performance was considerably affected by the molar ratio of total hydrocarbons to O2, the operating temperature and the gas flow rate. The optimal operating conditions of the SC‐SOFC were found to be similar to those found in actual exhaust from gasoline engines. Thermal and mechanical loading performance tests demonstrated high tolerance towards thermal cycling and breakage of the electrolyte. Performance tests with and without a gas separator suggested that there is no requirement for a gas separator in an actual exhaust. In the experiments with actual exhaust gases, a 12‐cell stack was installed to a 250‐cm3 engine. The open circuit voltages (OCVs) were between 5 and 8 V and independent of the number of revolutions, but were lower than the values expected from the model exhaust results. This was considered to be due to the deviation of the actual exhaust gases from the model gases. Nevertheless, the stack performance was reproducible and stable in the range from 1,500 to 5,500 rpm. The resultant peak power reached above 1 W at 4,500 rpm.

An anode-supported single-chamber solid oxide fuel cell ͑SC-SOFC͒, consisting of a Ce 0.9 Gd 0.1 O 1.9 electrolyte, a Ni-Ce 0.8 Sm 0.2 O 1.8 ͑SDC͒ cermet anode, and a Sm 0.5 Sr 0.5 CoO 3 cathode, was operated in a mixture feed of dimethyl ether ͑DME͒, ethanol or butane, and air at a furnace temperature of 300°C. This SC-SOFC showed comparatively poor performance for DME and ethanol fuels when compared to the performance for butane fuel, resulting from the relatively small difference in catalytic activity for DME and ethanol oxidation between the anode and the cathode. An effective improvement was achieved by attaching Ru/SDC/Ni and Cu/Zn/Al catalyst layers for DME and ethanol, respectively, on the anode surface. As a result, peak power densities of 64 and 117 mW cm −2 were obtained for DME and ethanol, respectively.