Adhesion Analysis Considering van der Waals Force in a NanoSized Region Using the Boundary Element Method

Recently, micro- and nanomachines for microelectromechanical systems and the mechanism of bio-adhesive pads have attracted great interest. Nanoscale structures are affected by forces such as the van der Waals force, even though they are neglected in large-scale structures. In this paper, the van der Waals force is introduced to a boundary element method (BEM) program for analyzing adhesion in arbitrarily shaped bodies. The van der Waals force is described by a nonlinear function of the distance between two surfaces in close proximity, and the adhesion and repulsion forces vary greatly within the atom equilibrium distance. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain a solution for the simultaneous equation in the BEM. We propose a method to compute the body deformation and apply it to the adhesion between a cylinder and a flat, rigid substrate. The solution is compared with previously published theoretical results, and the validity of the algorithm for approaching the solution is demonstrated. Further calculations for the adhesive contact of softer and harder cylinders with a rigid substrate are conducted.     

Accumulation of Hydroxyl Lipids and 4-Hydroxy-2-Hexenal in Live Fish Infected with Fish Diseases

Hydroxy lipids (L-OH) and 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (HHE) levels as well as other parameters such as lipid level, lipid class, fatty acid composition, and other aldehydes levels in the liver of diseased fish were investigated. Although significant differences in lipid level, lipid class, fatty acid composition, and other aldehyde levels were not always observed between normal and diseased fish, L-OH and HHE levels were significantly higher in the liver of the diseased fish than in that of the normal fish cultured with the same feeds under the same conditions. In the liver of puffer fish (Fugu rubripes) infected with Trichodina, L-OH and HHE levels significantly increased from 25.29 ± 5.04 to 47.70 ± 5.27 nmol/mg lipid and from 299.79 ± 25.25 to 1,184.40 ± 60.27 nmol/g tissue, respectively. When the levels of HHE and other aldehydes in the liver of the normal and diseased puffer fish were plotted, a linear relationship with a high correlation coefficient was observed between HHE and propanal (r ² = 0.9447). Increased L-OH and HHE levels in the liver of the diseased fish and a high correlation between HHE and propanal in the liver of the normal and diseased fish were also observed in flat fish (Paralichthys olivaceus) infected with streptococcus, yellowtail (Seriola quinqueradiata) infected with jaundice, and amberjack (S. purpurascens) infected with Photobacterium damselae subsp. piscicida.     

Fuzzy‐based gaps assessment of flood disaster risk reduction management systems in Metro Manila,Philippines

Planning and prioritization in flood disaster risk reduction (FDRR) is critical and often tedious to both planners and decision‐makers. In Metro Manila, Philippines, flooding is a perennial problem that requires regular assessments and updating of its municipal‐based FDRR management systems. A simple, but practical approach may prove useful in the identification of priority schemes, especially when the need for improvement is urgent and resources are limited. This study provides a simple quantitative approach to gaps assessment for FDRR management systems using a fuzzy multiattribute decision‐making technique. This is demonstrated by utilizing the stakeholders’ perceptions and field information obtained during the aftermath of the tropical storm Ketsana in 2009. Study results show that the gaps can be quantified and ranked to establish the priority schemes for the improvement of the FDRR management systems in Metro Manila, focusing mainly on the following FDRR management systems: prevention, preparedness, response and disaster recovery.     

Analysis of an inactivated Lg-FLO1 gene present in bottom-fermenting yeast

During the course of investigating a flocculation-related gene of a bottom-fermenting yeast, we identified a new Lg-FLO1 homologue which contains the N-terminal domain of the Lg-FLO1 gene. The results of the partial DNA sequence analysis of the amplified product obtained by inverse-PCR suggested that the homologue contains a sequence present in the YIL169c (chr. IX of Saccharomyces cerevisiae). Southern blot analyses using the VTH1, HXT12, SDL1 and UBP7 genes as probes for chr. IX strongly indicated that an approximately 20-kb region from the YIL169c ORF to the left telomere in chr. IX translocated to the Lg-FLO1 ORF region in chr. VIII of bottom-fermenting yeast. This translocation might convert a flocculent cell to a non-flocculent one.     

Forced convection heat transfer from a heated circular cylinder with arbitrary surface temperature distributions

A Fredholm-type boundary integral expression for evaluation of the forced convection heat transfer from an object with arbitrary surface temperature distributions is proposed. The Fredholm kernel function for a heated circular cylinder was calculated by numerical simulation of the forced convection fields, and then generalized heat transfer coefficients for arbitrary surface temperature distributions were defined. By use of the generalized heat transfer coefficients, it is shown that the difference in local heat transfer characteristics between the case of an isothermal cylinder and that of a uniform heat flux one can be interpreted only as the difference of the surface temperature distributions. Moreover, the mechanism of the effect of the surface temperature distribution on the characteristics of forced convection heat transfer from a cylinder is clarified in detail through the generalized heat transfer coefficients. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 28(6): 484–499, 1999     

Flywheel‐based AC cache power for stand‐alone power systems

Stand‐alone power systems (SPS) are attracting more and more interest with the global move toward distributed generation (DG). Without strong support from the power grid, they suffer from poor load‐following capability at varying loads. A cache power that has fast response and high energy efficiency is demanded. As a solution, this paper provides an AC power technology based on flywheel energy storage. Different from the other DC generation technologies such as electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) or superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES), the proposed flywheel system generates AC power and therefore can be directly connected to the power line without any power semiconductors. Furthermore, the proposed technology realizes power in/out automatically in response to the frequency/voltage variation of the power line. Therefore, this system has the advantages of robustness, simplicity, and fast response. Besides, by getting rid of power semiconductors, the proposed flywheel system has a good overload capability as high as two to three times. We prove by simulation and experimentation the validity and effectiveness of the proposed technology to provide cache power for stand‐alone power systems. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Generalized analysis method for neutron resonance transmission analysis

Neutron resonance densitometry (NRD) is a non-destructive analysis method, which can be applied to quantify special nuclear materials (SNM) in small particle-like debris of melted fuel that are formed in severe accidents of nuclear reactors such as the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants. NRD uses neutron resonance transmission analysis (NRTA) to quantify SNM and neutron resonance capture analysis (NRCA) to identify matrix materials and impurities. To apply NRD for the characterization of arbitrary-shaped thick materials, a generalized method for the analysis of NRTA data has been developed. The method has been applied on data resulting from transmission through thick samples with an irregular shape and an areal density of SNM up to 0.253 at/b (≈100 g/cm²). The investigation shows that NRD can be used to quantify SNM with a high accuracy not only in inhomogeneous samples made of particle-like debris but also in samples made of large rocks with an irregular shape by applying the generalized analysis method for NRTA.     

The Optimal Plan for WTE Plants in an Urban Area Considering Refuse Collection and FIT

Burnable municipal solid waste is disposed sanitarily at incinerator plants, which leads decrease of environmental load. At the same time, WTE （waste-to-energy） is realized as recovery of energy. WTE, however, has weakness of low generation efficiency and output in Japan due to smaller capacity of incinerator plants. To overcome above weakness, high efficient WTE is necessary with total integration and scaling up of incinerator plants. In addition FIT （feed-in tariff） has been started recently in Japan. When planning, we must consider totally both cost of incinerator plants and cost of refuse collection which is important role for the waste disposal. The planning method whose target is an urban area has formulated in this study. Considering the situation of the decrease trend of refuse volume and the strict finance condition of a local government, so that the proposed method is very effective.