Process Intensification of Living Cationic Polymerization of Isobutylene by a Flow Reaction System

Increasing the reaction temperature of the living cationic polymerization of isobutylene is crucial for industrial production due to the cost of refrigeration. The reaction temperature increase was achieved with an accelerated reaction rate using a flow reaction system. The polymerization conditions, including the flow reactor design, were based on the results of kinetic studies. Utilizing a milli‐scale flow reactor, polyisobutylene, which has a narrow molecular weight distribution, was obtained within a considerably short residence time at a high temperature. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the value of M_w/M_n correlates with the product of the Reynolds number and the angle of collision.     

Contribution of Invariant Natural Killer T Cells to the Clearance of Pseudomonas aeruginosa from Skin Wounds

Chronic infections are considered one of the most severe problems in skin wounds, and bacteria are present in over 90% of chronic wounds. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is frequently isolated from chronic wounds and is thought to be a cause of delayed wound healing. Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, unique lymphocytes with a potent regulatory ability in various inflammatory responses, accelerate the wound healing process. In the present study, we investigated the contribution of iNKT cells in the host defense against P. aeruginosa inoculation at the wound sites. We analyzed the re-epithelialization, bacterial load, accumulation of leukocytes, and production of cytokines and antimicrobial peptides. In iNKT cell–deficient (Jα18KO) mice, re-epithelialization was significantly decreased, and the number of live colonies was significantly increased, when compared with those in wild-type (WT) mice on day 7. IL-17A, and IL-22 production was significantly lower in Jα18KO mice than in WT mice on day 5. Furthermore, the administration of α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer), a specific activator of iNKT cells, led to enhanced host protection, as shown by reduced bacterial load, and to increased production of IL-22, IL-23, and S100A9 compared that of with WT mice. These results suggest that iNKT cells promote P. aeruginosa clearance during skin wound healing.     

Surface treatment of titanium dioxide nanopowder using rotary electrode dielectric barrier discharge reactor

Titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanopowder (P-25;Degussa AG) was treated using dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in a rotary electrode DBD (RE-DBD) reactor.Its electrical and optical characteristics were investigated during RE-DBD generation.The treated TiO2 nanopowder properties and structures were analyzed using x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR).After RE-DBD treatment,XRD measurements indicated that the anatase peak theta positions shifted from 25.3° to 25.1°,which can be attributed to the substitution of new functional groups in the TiO2 lattice.The FTIR results show that hydroxyl groups (OH) at 3400 cm-1 increased considerably.The mechanism used to modify the TiO2 nanopowder surface by air DBD treatment was confirmed from optical emission spectrum measurements.Reactive species,such as OH radical,ozone and atomic oxygen can play key roles in hydroxyl formation on the TiO2 nanopowder surface.     

Observations-weighted controllers for linear stochastic systems using a dual criterion: the multivariable case

The solution of a dual criterion observations-weighted control problem is obtained, using the polynomial equation approach, for linear, stochastic, multivariable, discrete-time systems. The system model involves input disturbance, and reference and coloured measurement noise signals. The dual criterion considered here includes the sensitivity functions in addition to the usual observations-weighted cost function. It is shown that the observations-weighted controller presented guarantees the internal stability of the closed-loop system, even in a light control for non-minimum-phase plants, whenever the sensitivity and/or complementary sensitivity weighting matrices are non-zero. The controller is also effective for improving the robustness of the usual observations-weighted controller, but has comparable computation loads to the dual criterion linear quadratic gaussian (LQG) controller in a general situation.     

A Study of the Commercial Frequency Component and Doubled Component on the dc Side of Three‐Phase Rectifiers and Their Influence on Electric Railways

This paper discusses nontheoretical harmonics on the dc‐side of a 12‐pulse rectifier in dc railway systems. These harmonics are the commercial frequency component and the doubled component. The causes of these harmonics are (a) diode forward voltage drop difference, (b) transformer secondary inductance difference, (c) voltage harmonics at the ac‐side of the rectifier, and (d) effects of the voltage induced by adjacent high‐voltage power transmission lines. We evaluated cases (a), (b), and (c), as case (d) has been previously studied 4 . The results of the evaluation were as follows: · The effects of both the transformer secondary inductance difference and the voltage harmonics inside the electric power system are not negligible in some cases in the discussion of the EMC problem among railway equipments. · If there are several traction circuits in parallel, each of which consists of an input filter, an inverter, and several traction motors, the harmonic reduction effect of the filters weakens significantly.     

Development of –1 MV DC Filter and High‐Voltage DC Measurement Systems for ITER NBI

This paper presents the development results of a ?1 MV dc filter and dc measurement systems for an ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) neutral beam injector (NBI) system. High accuracy of 0.5% and fast responsivity of 3.3 μs, ?3 dB are required for the dc measurement systems: both dc voltage dividers and DCCTs. Circuit design and thermal flow design were carried out to clarify and minimize their effects on the accuracy and responsivity. The validity of the established design was demonstrated by the actual‐product tests; temperature rise of each components fell below the allowable value; inner components of dc filter withstood dc ?1.2 MV; each voltage divider accurately measured the voltage during the dc ?1.2 MV withstand voltage test; the voltage dividers and the DCCTs were adequate to the requirements of responsivity (3.3 μs, ?3 dB).     

Finite spectrum assignment of linear systems with a class of non-commensurate delays

This paper is concerned with finite spectrum assignment of linear systems with non-commensurate delays. It is proved that if a feedforward pass between states variables does not have multi non-commensurate delays in parallel but only one or no delay in series, then the system is finite spectrum assignable even though the feedback pass has multi non-commensurate delays in parallel.     

Input-output linearization of nonlinear systems with time delays in state variables

The present paper is concerned with nonlinear systems that contain delays inside coupled with a part of state variables, which are often the cases in practical problems, but have not been treated yet. First we introduce an extension of the Lie derivative for a difference-differential equation; then we derive necessary and sufficient conditions for existence of a nonlinear feedback that linearizes the input-output behaviour of a system and decouples it from the delayed variables simultaneously. Discussions are given for two cases: firstly when the linearizing feedback contains only current values of state variables, and secondly when the linearizing feedback has memories to utilize the past values as well as the current values of state variables.     

Improvement of Heat Generation Ability in AC Magnetic Field and Magnetic Properties for Spinel Type MgFe2O4 Ferrite by Cu Substitution and Beads Milling

Mg_1-XCu_XFe₂O₄ type spinel ferrite was prepared by solid reaction method in order to discuss the heat generation ability in AC magnetic field.The cubic type ferrite structure was obtained for X=0-0.6 samples calcined at1200℃,and the mixture phase of cubic and tetragonal structures were obtained for X=0.7,0.8 samples from XRD result.The highest lattice parameter and highest hysteresis loss value were also shown at X=0.6 sample,the crystal distortion was increased with increase the Cu²⁺substitution in cubic type ferrite structure.The sized nano Mg_0.4Cu_0.6Fe₂O₄ powder was prepared by physical milling method using beads milling.The highest heat generation in the AC magnetic field was obtained for the 6 h milled samples using 0.1mm beads.The Cu²⁺substitution for MgFe₂O₄ ferrite and the beads milling were very effective for the improvement of their heat generation ability in AC magnetic field.     

ADSORPTION BEHAVIOR OF COBALT( II) IONS ON LAYERED DIHYDROGEN TETRATITANATE HYDRATE FIBERS IN AQUEOUS SOLUTIONS IN THE RANGE FROM 298 to 523 K

The adsorption properties of cobalt(II) ions have been studied on layered dihydrogen tetratitanate hydrate fibers, H₂Ti₄O₉,?nH₂O, in the temperature range from 298 to 523?K. The distribution coefficients of the adsorption of cobalt (II) ions were increased with increasing temperatures up to 367?K, but were decreased in the temperature range between 367 and 523?K. The X-ray powder diffraction patterns of the fibers indicate that the fibers hold layer structure up to 367?K, but change to low crystalline anatase or its precursor above that temperature. It is notable that the material has the capability of cobalt (II) adsorption even at 523?K, although the maximum is present at 367?K.