The effect of lamellar morphology on tensile and high-cycle fatigue behavior of orthorhombic Ti-22Al-27Nb alloy

The room-temperature tensile and high-cycle fatigue (HCF) behavior of orthorhombic Ti-22Al-27Nb alloy with varying lamellar morphology was investigated. Varying lamellar morphology was produced by changing the cooling rate after annealing in the single B2 phase region. A slower cooling rate of 0.003 K/s, for example, resulted in several large packets or colonies of similarly aligned O-phase lamellae and a nearly continuous massive α ₂ phase at the prior B2 grain boundaries, while a faster cooling rate of 0.1 K/s led to the refinement of colony sizes and the O-phase lamellae. The interface of O-phase lamellae and B2 phases was semicoherent. Water quenching produced a very fine tweed-like microstructure with a thin continuous O phase at the prior B2 grain boundaries. The 0.2 pct yield stress, tensile strength, and HCF strength increased with increasing cooling rate. For example, the tensile strength and HCF strength at 10⁷ cycles of 0.003 and 0.1 K/s-cooled were 774 and 450 MPa, and 945 and 620 MPa, respectively. Since the fatigue ratio, which is the ratio of HCF strength at 10⁷ cycles to tensile strength, did not show a constant value, but instead increased with increasing cooling rate, part of the fatigue improvement was the result of improved resistance to fatigue associated with the microstructural refinement of the lamellar morphology. Fatigue failure occurred by the subsurface initiation, and every initiation site was found to contain a flat facet. Concurrent observation of the fatigue initiation facet and the underlying microstructure revealed that the fatigue crack initiated in a shear mode across the colony, irrespective of colony size, indicating that the size of the initiation facet corresponded to that of the colony. Therefore, the colony size is likely a major controlling factor in determining the degree of fatigue improvement due to the microstructural refinement of lamellar morphology. For the water-quenched specimens, fatigue crack initiation appeared to be associated with shear cracking along the boundary between the continuous grain boundary O phase and the adjacent prior B2 grain.     

Drying Characteristics of Porous Materials in a Fluidized Bed under Reduced Pressure

The drying of porous materials immersed in the fluidized bed under reduced pressure was performed, and the results were compared with those of hot air drying. The pressure in drying chamber was changed (5.0-101.3 kPa) and the effect of it was examined.

The temperature of the sample center becomes lower as the pressure in drying chamber decreases, and the temperature in fluidized-bed drying is higher than that in hot air drying at the same pressure. The effect of pressure in drying chamber on the sample temperature is significant for different temperatures of drying gas.     

The super-multi-tanh technique for bipolar linear transconductance amplifiers

A novel circuit design technique for bipolar linear transconductance amplifiers is presented. A triple-tail cell, which consists of three emitter-common transistors biased by a single tail current, is exchangeable with an emitter-coupled pair in the multi-tanh cell, such as a multi-tanh doublet, a multi-tanh triplet or a multi-tanh quad. Therefore, the multi-tanh technique is further theoretically expanded to the super-multi-tanh technique. In this paper, the super-multi-tanh technique is proposed and discussed, and furthermore, a super-multi-tanh doublet is verified with bipolar transistor-arrays and discrete resistors on a breadboard.     

Effect of beraprost sodium, a stable prostaglandin I2 analogue, on platelet aggregation in diabetes mellitus

Test results concerning platelet behavior in vitro, particularly aggregation, are frequently abnormal in diabetic patients. The concept has therefore arisen that platelet hyper-reactivity is one factor contributing to diabetic microangiopathy. We report here the antiplatelet effect of beraprost sodium, a chemically stable prostaglandin I2 analogue made in Japan, in 6 diabetic patients. Platelet aggregation induced by adenosine 5'-diphosphate (10 microM) after administration of beraprost sodium (40 micrograms every 8 h for 14 days) was significantly decreased as compared with levels before beraprost sodium administration. These results indicate the possibility that the occurrence of vascular complications in diabetes mellitus can be suppressed by long-term administration of beraprost sodium.     

Anti‐inflammatory effects of linagliptin in hemodialysis patients with diabetes

Inflammation and glycemic control are important prognosis‐related factors for hemodialysis (HD) patients; moreover, inflammation affects insulin secretion. Here, we evaluated the anti‐inflammatory effects of monotherapy with linagliptin—a dipeptidase‐4 inhibitor—in HD patients with type 2 diabetes. We examined 21 diabetic HD patients who were not receiving oral diabetes drugs or insulin therapy and with poor glycemic control (glycated albumin [GA] level, >20%). Linagliptin (5 mg) was administered to the patients daily. The levels of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, GA, blood glucose, and active glucagon‐like peptide‐1 were determined before and 6 months after treatment. Body weight and serum levels of albumin, hemoglobin, total cholesterol, and low‐density lipoprotein cholesterol were also recorded before and after treatment. The levels of PGE2 and GA were significantly decreased 1 month after starting linagliptin therapy, whereas the IL‐6 levels were significantly decreased 6 months after starting linagliptin therapy. After 6 months of treatment, the PGE2 levels decreased from 188 ± 50 ng/mL to 26 ± 5 ng/mL; IL‐6 levels, from 1.5 ± 0.4 pg/mL to 0.6 ± 0.1 pg/mL; and GA levels, from 21.3% ± 0.6% to 18.0% ± 0.6%. Glucagon‐like peptide‐1 levels increased 2.5‐fold during the treatment. Over the 6‐month treatment period, body weight and levels of high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein, blood glucose, albumin, hemoglobin, and cholesterol did not change; none of the patients exhibited hypoglycemia. The anti‐inflammatory effects of linagliptin monotherapy indicate that it may serve as a useful glucose control strategy for HD patients with diabetes.     

Synthesis and characterization of polyurethane anionomers

Un‐ionized polyurethane was obtained by the reaction of an isocyanate‐terminated urethane prepolymer, which was synthesized from 4,4′‐diphenylmethane diisocyanate and poly(oxytetramethylene)‐α,ω‐glycol, with 2,2‐bis(hydroxymethyl)propionic acid. A carboxylate‐based polyurethane anionomer was then derived from the polyurethane by the use of the sodium, potassium, or magnesium salt of acetic acid as a neutralizer. The ionomerization resulted in the following changes in the characteristics of the polyurethane: (1) an increase in the tensile strength, (2) a decrease in the glass‐transition temperature, (3) an increase in the wettability and hygroscopicity with respect to water, and (4) susceptibility to thermal decomposition. A sulfonate‐based polyurethane was also synthesized for comparison with the carboxylate‐based polyurethane. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 98: 2144–2148, 2005     

Improvement of pulse pattern for space vector modulated matrix converters

Novel modulation which consists of conventional space vector modulation (SVM) based on a virtual AC/DC/AC conversion and carrier signal modulation for matrix converters is proposed. In this proposed modulation, duties for the switching pattern decided by conventional SVM are changed into those for each switch of matrix converter. The new duties for each output phase are compared with the triangle carrier. By using proposed modulation, switchings between the input phase voltage with minimum value and the voltage with maximum value are eliminated. In this paper, the conventional SVM and proposed modulation are explained. Next, for both conventional and proposed modulations waveforms of input current, output voltage and output current and their frequency spectra are calculated by PSIM simulation program. Simulation results show the proposed modulation can reduce harmonics of output voltage waveforms. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 171(1): 46–54, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20903     

LiFePO4-based electrode using micro-porous current collector for high power lithium ion battery

In order to improve the power performance of the lithium ion battery based on lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO₄), a new methodology using a three-dimensional micro-porous current collector was described. The three-dimensional current collector was manufactured based on foamed polyurethane and nickel–chromium alloy. The cell using the three-dimensional current collector exhibited a superior high-rate discharge capability as compared to a conventional-type cell using the aluminum foil current collector. Furthermore, impedance analysis revealed the size reduction of a semicircle for the charge-transfer resistance by applying the three-dimensional current collector, which indicates a superior current collecting ability for the developed substrate.     

Structure and physical properties of cellulose acetate/poly(butylene succinate) blends containing a transition metal alkoxide

Two biodegradable polymers, that is, poly(butylene succinate) (BN) and cellulose acetate (CA), were solvent‐cast blended with chloroform. Homogeneous films were obtained from the blend by the addition of tetraisopropyl titanate (TP) as a compatibilizer. We measured the viscosity of the blend solution to investigate the function of TP during the blending process. From the measurement, we conclude that there are interactions among TP, BN, and CA. From optical observation and thermal measurements of the blend films, we found that the structure of blends is in a pseudostable state and that the addition of TP makes the structure units small. From thermogravimetric analyses, we found that the addition of TP decreases the thermal decomposition temperature of the BN/CA blends. From the measurements of mechanical properties of the blends, we found that changing the blend ratio can produce the materials with a wide range of mechanical properties. The hydrolysis of the blends was investigated. The molecular scission of BN/CA blends takes place uniformly not only from the outside but also from the inside of the films. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 83: 1750–1758, 2002     

Ultrastructure of a water-clear cell in the golden hamster parathyroid gland

A new type of cell was observed in the parathyroid gland of the golden hamster. The cell contained numerous vacuoles and resembled the water-clear cell. The fine structure of the vacuolated cell was described and discussed.