Characterization of anisotropic gas permeability and thermomechanical properties of highly textured porous alumina

Porous alumina with a highly textured microstructure was fabricated by pulse electric current sintering (PECS) using alumina platelets. Highly oriented porous alumina with a porosity of 3%–50% was obtained by a pressure-controlled method of PECS. The properties of the highly textured porous alumina were measured in two directions. The nitrogen gas permeance and thermal conductivity at room temperature were higher in the direction along the platelet length due to the higher continuity of pores and the connectivity of alumina platelets, respectively. The anisotropy of the thermal conductivity at room temperature was investigated and explained by the effect of grain size of platelets as well as morphology and orientation of pores. The bending strength was higher with the loading direction along the platelet thickness. The thermal shock strength was clearly different in the two directions. The difference in the thermal shock strength was investigated by the measurement of properties and thermal stress analysis.     

Growth Morphology and Mechanism of a Hollow ZnO Polycrystal

When zinc oxide and graphite were placed into an alumina crucible, with a square hole (∼3 mm ×∼3 mm) near the top, and the crucible was covered by an alumina lid and heated at >1050°C, a hollow polycrystal composed of needlelike, ribbon(comb)-like, dendritic, and bulk zinc oxide crystals grew from the hole toward the outside of the crucible. The diameter and length of the polycrystal grown at 1050°C after 1 h were ∼2.2 mm and ∼20 cm, respectively. The diameter increased, while the length decreased, with increasing temperature. Most of the needlelike zinc oxide crystals in the hollow polycrystal were elongated along the c -axis.     

Fabrication and properties of novel composites in the system Al–Zr–C

Composite bodies in the system Al–Zr–C, with about 95% relative density, were obtained by heating the compact body of powder mixture consisting of Al and ZrC (5 : 1 mol %) in Ar at 1100–1500°C for various lengths of time. Components of the material heated at more than 1200°C were Al, Al3Zr, ZrC and AlZrC2. The Al3Zr exhibited plate-like aggregation, and its size increased with increasing temperature. In the material heated at 1500°C for 1 h, the largest plate-like Al3Zr aggregation was 2000 m long and 133 m thick. Then the AlZrC2 was present as well-proportioned hexagonal platelet particles with a 8–9 m diameter and a 1–2 m thickness in the interior of the plate-like Al3Zr aggregation and Al matrix phase. The average three-point bending strength of the bodies was 140–190 MPa, and the maximum strength was 203 MPa in the body heated at 1300°C for 1 h. The body heated at 1500°C for 1 h showed high oxidation resistivity to air up to 1000°C.     

On the cultural guises of cognitive dissonance: The case of Easterners and Westerners.

Cognitive dissonance and effects of self-affirmation on dissonance arousal were examined cross-culturally. In Studies 1 and 2, European Canadians justified their choices more when they made them for themselves, whereas Asian Canadians (Study 1) or Japanese (Study 2) justified their choices more when they made them for a friend. In Study 3, an interdependent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for Asian Canadians but not for European Canadians. In Study 4, when Asian Canadians made choices for a friend, an independent self-affirmation reduced dissonance for bicultural Asian Canadians but not for monocultural Asian Canadians. These studies demonstrate that both Easterners and Westerners can experience dissonance, but culture shapes the situations in which dissonance is aroused and reduced. Implications of these cultural differences for theories of cognitive dissonance and self-affirmation are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Extraction of Trivalent Rare Earths and Minor Actinides from Nitric Acid with N,N,N’,N’-Tetradodecyldiglycolamide (TDdDGA) by Using Mixer-Settler Extractors in a Hot Cell

Single-stage batch experiments to reveal the extraction properties of N,N,N’,N’-tetradodecyldiglycolamide (TDdDGA) for Y, La, Eu, Nd, and Am in nitric acid were carried out. The distribution ratios of Y, Eu, Nd, and Am exceeded 10 when the nitric acid concentration was 1–2 mol/dm³ (M), and the distribution ratio of La was 5.5 when the nitric acid concentration was 2 M. A continuous counter-current experiment using 0.1 M TDdDGA diluted with n-dodecane was performed using mixer-settler extractors installed in a hot cell. Nitric acid with a concentration of 2.1 M containing minor actinides (MAs: Am and Cm), rare earths (REs: Y, La, Nd, and Eu), and other fission products (Sr, Cs, Zr, Mo, Ru, Rh, and Pd) was fed to the extractor. TDdDGA effectively extracted MAs and REs from the feed, while other fission products were barely extracted. The extracted MAs and REs were back-extracted by bringing them in contact with 0.02 M nitric acid, and they were collected as the MA–RE fraction. The results indicated that more than 98% of Am and Cm in the feed were recovered in the MA–RE fraction. The proportions of Y, La, Nd, and Eu in the MA–RE fraction were 94.0%, 99.9%, 99.9%, and 86.9%, respectively.     

Attentional modulation of the mere exposure effect.

The mere exposure effect refers to the phenomenon where previous exposures to stimuli increase participants’ subsequent affective preference for those stimuli. This study explored the effect of selective attention on the mere exposure effect. The experiments manipulated the to-be-attended drawings in the exposure period (either red or green polygons in Experiments 1 and 2; both red and green polygons in Experiments 3 and 4) and black to-be-evaluated drawings in the affective judgment period (morphologically identical to the red or green polygons in Experiments 1 and 4; morphologically identical to the composite drawings in Experiments 2 and 3). The results showed a significant mere exposure effect only for the target shapes involved in attentional selection, even when the participants could recognize the nontarget shapes. This indicates that selective attention modulated the mere exposure effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth of bubbles containing plasma in water by high-frequency irradiation

Plasma was generated in water by irradiation at high frequency of 13.56 MHz, and the behavior of bubbles including the plasma was observed by a high-speed camera. The generation pattern of the bubbles was classified into four types according to liquid temperature and supplied power. Conducting the simulation, the maximum temperature in the bubble was found to be from 3500 K to 4300 K, and the decomposition of water molecule occurred. The gas in the bubble was found to become high ratio of hydrogen. The phenomenon can be regarded as a film boiling of exceptionally high heat flux.     

Self-flux synthesis and photoluminescent properties of LiAl5O8

Pure-phase LiAl₅O₈ was selected as an oxide ceramic red phosphor material without dopants (color centers) and was synthesized using a self-flux method. The LiAl₅O₈ was formed by heating a powder mixture consisting of γ-Al₂O₃:Li₂SO₄ = 1:2 (molar ratio) at over 1100 °C for 1 h. Photoluminescence (PL) properties for the synthesized LiAl₅O₈ were investigated. The maximum intensity of the excitation spectrum for the photoluminescent emission of LiAl₅O₈ synthesized was at 274 nm. The peak intensity of the emission spectrum was at a wavelength of 667 nm (red color). The intensity of the peak emission spectrum increased with the heating temperature, i.e., the maximum peak intensity of the red emission spectrum was detected for the LiAl₅O₈ synthesized by heating at 1500 °C for 1 h.     

Biodesulfurization of dibenzothiophene with Rhodococcus erythropolis ATCC 53968 and its mutant in an interface bioreactor

An interface bioreactor was used in the biodesulfurization (BDS) of dibenzothiophene (DBT) with Rhodococcus erythropolis ATCC 53968. Although this strain could efficiently degrade DBT to 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2-HBP), the microbial film peeled off from the surface of the carrier (agar plate) to an organic phase (dodecane or tetradecane). To overcome this problem, a UV mutant, which strongly adhered to the carrier surface, was obtained by a new screening method. The best UV mutant (UM-021) could efficiently catalyze the BDS and the microbial film did not peel off from the surface of the carrier to tetradecane layer.