Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging-Based Biomarkers for Neurodegenerative Diseases

There has been an increasing prevalence of neurodegenerative diseases with the rapid increase in aging societies worldwide. Biomarkers that can be used to detect pathological changes before the development of severe neuronal loss and consequently facilitate early intervention with disease-modifying therapeutic modalities are therefore urgently needed. Diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a promising tool that can be used to infer microstructural characteristics of the brain, such as microstructural integrity and complexity, as well as axonal density, order, and myelination, through the utilization of water molecules that are diffused within the tissue, with displacement at the micron scale. Diffusion tensor imaging is the most commonly used diffusion MRI technique to assess the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases. However, diffusion tensor imaging has several limitations, and new technologies, including neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging, diffusion kurtosis imaging, and free-water imaging, have been recently developed as approaches to overcome these constraints. This review provides an overview of these technologies and their potential as biomarkers for the early diagnosis and disease progression of major neurodegenerative diseases.     

A Terahertz Video Camera Patch Sheet with an Adjustable Design based on Self-Aligned, 2D,Suspended Sensor Array Patterning

Terahertz (THz) imaging is expected to become powerful tools for non-destructive inspections. To ensure the practical use of THz non-destructive monitoring, versatile THz imagers with adjustable designs that can eliminate the complexities and the bulkiness of the device are urgently required. Herein, a self-aligned filtration process for a 2D, free-standing carbon nanotube film array and its application to a THz video camera patch are reported. The presented techniques enable a) to freely design the camera size, sensor array pattern, and suspended shape according to its applications, b) to cut the camera patch into desired shapes, and c) to attach them to the objects that are intended to be measured. Real-time, non-destructive monitoring of various infrastructures is demonstrated. These results indicate that it can function regardless of restrictions, such as the shapes and locations of the measurement samples, thus providing a strong possibility for use in future non-destructive sensor networks.     

Effects of Smart Charging of Multiple Electric Vehicles in Reducing Power Generation Fuel Cost

The high penetration of variable sources of renewable power generation will lead to operational difficulties in supply/demand balancing in the entire power system. The mass deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and plug‐in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) will also cause significant changes in electricity demand. Therefore, controlling and managing the charging time of EVs/PHEVs are effective approaches that are imperative for improving balancing in power system operation. We assumed travel patterns for EVs in a model of the future Tokyo power system and analyzed the power system loads, including the charging load of the EVs, under several charging control scenarios. We verified that charging time controls are substantially effective for reducing the fuel costs in the power system. Further, we found that load leveling under a multicar charging management scenario gave the best results in terms of the fuel costs in all cases.     

Distribution of carbon contamination in MgAl2O4 spinel occurring during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing: I – Effect of heating rate and post-annealing

Carbon contamination from the carbon paper/dies during spark-plasma-sintering (SPS) processing was examined in the MgAl₂O₄ spinel. The carbon contamination sensitively changes with the heating rate during the SPS processing. At the high heating rate of 100 °C/min, the carbon contamination having organized structures occurred over almost the entire area from the surface to deep inside the SPSed spinel disk. In contrast, at the slow heating rate of 10 °C/min, the carbon contamination having disordered structures occurred only around the surface area. The carbon phases transform into high pressure CO/CO₂ gases by post-annealing in air and lead to pore formation along the grain junctions. The pore formation significantly occurs at the high heating rate due to the large amount of the contaminant carbon phases. This suggests that if once the carbon contamination was formed in the materials, it is very difficult to remove the carbon phases from the materials.     

Investigation of high-temperature chemical interaction of calcium silicate insulation and cesium hydroxide

ABSTRACT

The interaction of cesium hydroxide and a calcium silicate insulation material was experimentally investigated at high-temperature conditions to evaluate the possibility of unprecedented cesium retention under severe accident of boiling water reactor. The temperature where the interactions occurred and chemical species of cesium after the interaction were examined in this study. A thermogravimetry equipped with differential thermal analysis was used to analyze thermal events in the samples of mixed calcium silicate and cesium hydroxide under oxidizing and reducing atmospheric conditions with a maximum temperature of 1100°C. Before being mixed with cesium hydroxide, a part of calcium silicate was pretreated at high temperature to evaluate the effect of possible structural changes of this material due to a preceding thermal history and also for the sake of thermodynamic evaluation. It was found that for the original material, as xonotlite (Ca₆Si₆O₁₇(OH)₂) crystal, the endothermic reaction with cesium hydroxide occurred over the temperature range 575–730°C; meanwhile, for heat-treated material, which varied the crystal phase of original material to wollastonite (CaSiO₃), the interaction occurred over the temperature range 700–1100°C. The X-ray diffraction analyses have indicated that both types of calcium silicates regardless of the atmospheric conditions, cesium aluminum silicate, CsAlSiO₄, was formed with aluminum in the samples as an impurity or adduct. The insolubility of this formed cesium suggested the potency of cesium localization in the primary containment vessels on other structural materials that possess similar elements to that of calcium silicate insulation; hence, an effective decommissioning process could be developed.     

Occurrence and formation potential of N-nitrosodimethylamine in ground water and river water in Tokyo

N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), a disinfection byproduct of water and wastewater treatment processes, is a potent carcinogen. We investigated its occurrence and the potential for its formation by chlorination (NDMA-FP_2Cl) and by chloramination (NDMA-FP_2NHCl) in ground water and river water in Tokyo. To characterize NDMA precursors, we revealed their molecular weight distributions in ground water and river water. We collected 23 ground water and 18 river water samples and analyzed NDMA by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. NDMA-FP_2Cl was evaluated by chlorinating water samples with free chlorine for 24 h at pH 7.0 while residual free chlorine was kept at 1.0-2.0 mgCl₂/L. NDMA-FP_2NHCl was evaluated by dosing water samples with monochloramine at 140 mgCl₂/L for 10 days at pH 6.8. NDMA precursors and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were fractionated by filtration through 30-, 3-, and 0.5 kDa membranes. NDMA concentrations were <0.5-5.2 ng/L (median: 0.9 ng/L) in ground water and <0.5-3.4 ng/L (2.2 ng/L) in river water. NDMA concentrations in ground water were slightly lower than or comparable to those in river water. Concentrations of NDMA-FP_2Cl were not much higher than concentrations of NDMA except in samples containing high concentrations of NH₃ and NDMA precursors. The increased NDMA was possibly caused by reactions between NDMA precursors and monochloramine unintentionally formed by the reaction between free chlorine and NH₃ in the samples. NDMA precursors ranged from 4 to 84 ng-NDMA eq./L in ground water and from 11 to 185 ng-NDMA eq./L in river water. Those in ground water were significantly lower than those in river water, suggesting that NDMA precursors were biodegraded, adsorbed, or volatilized during infiltration. The molecular weight of NDMA precursors in river water was dominant in the <0.5 kDa fraction, followed by 0.5-3 kDa. However, their distribution was inconsistent in ground water: one was dominant in the <0.5 kDa fraction, and the other in 0.5-3 kDa. Molecular weight distributions of NDMA precursors were very different from those of DOC. This is the first study to reveal the widespread occurrence and characterization of NDMA precursors in ground water.     

Prediction of brittle fracture initiating at ends of CJP groove welded joints with defects: study into applicability of failure assessment diagram approach

A series of tests, which reproduced brittle fracture starting from the region around the terminations of complete joint penetration groove welded joints, was conducted. The joint models under study represented a portion of welded beam flange-to-through diaphragm joints in beam-to-column connections. Various artificial weld defects were installed in the welded joints prior to testing. Test results were evaluated based on the failure assessment diagram approach specified in BS 7910. The conventional failure assessment diagrams predicted occurrences of brittle fracture erring on the very conservative side as expected, especially when applied to surface defects. The failure assessment diagram approach was modified by considering the effect of enhanced apparent toughness of material due to the loss of crack tip constraint. The modified failure assessment approach was found to predict the test results well.