Fabrication of Silicon Carbide Whisker/Alumina Composite by Thermal-Gradient Chemical Vapor Infiltration

SiC( w )/Al₂O₃ composites were made from an AlCl₃-H₂-CO₂ mixture by a thermal-gradient chemical vapor infiltration (CVI) method. Al₂O₃ was deposited from the reaction of AlCl₃ and H₂O, which was produced from the oxidation of H₂ by CO₂. The densification rate was measured at various reactant compositions and total pressures. When the reaction rate or total pressure increased, the rate-controling step shifted from H₂O production to AlCl₃ diffusion, which led to premature pore closing. To obtain dense composites in a short infiltration time, the diffusion rate of AlCl₃ had to be increased by decreasing the total pressure.     

Ultrasonically assisted hydrothermal synthesis of polycrystalline PZT thin film on titanium substrate

Ultrasonically assisted hydrothermal synthesis of PZT thin films was performed using an ultrasonic transducer integrated into the lid of an autoclave. Direct ultrasonic irradiation of 23 W at 53 kHz was carried out during the hydrothermal synthesis at a reaction temperature of 140°C for 24 h. The resultant PZT thin film was characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The PZT thin film had fine nanoparticles of approximately 100 nm in diameter when the substrate was placed perpendicular to the plane of ultrasonic irradiation. The film exhibited predominantly (001) orientation when the substrate was placed parallel to the plane of ultrasonic irradiation.     

Synthesis of Superconducting 2212 Phase in the Bi–Pb–Sr–La–Cu–O System

There have been no report about synthesis of the Bi-2212 compound in the Bi–r–La–Cu–O system. We have succeeded in synthesizing the Bi-2212 compound by partial substitution of Pb for Sr and/or Bi in the Bi–Sr–La–Cu–O system. Two samples of nearly the single 2212 phase have been obtained at a nominal composition of Bi_1.5Pb_0.5Sr_2.5La_0.5Cu₂O _z . Both of the samples crystallize in a psedotetragonal lattice, and their lattice parameters are a = 0.5476 nm and c = 3.085 nm or a = 0.5479 nm and c = 3.055 nm. They are both superconductors. The sample with longer lattice parameter c shows an onset of the resistivity drop and zero resistivity at higher temperatures of about 40 K and about 13 K, respectively. This sample also shows a diamagnetic signal starting at about 35 K with lowering temperature.     

An amorphous magnetostrictive delay-time cordless digitizer

A digitizer with a cordless cursor to input coordinates of graphics is described. The digitizer utilizes magnetostrictive delay lines made of iron-base amorphous ribbons. During propagation of the magnetoelastic wave in the ribbon, the output signal is generated by a solenoid coil wound through the entire ribbon length when the wave arrives at a position immediately underneath the cursor magnet. Resolution of the above position was 0.1 mm, and a high cursor position of 12 mm was realized     

Preparation Conditions and Morphology of Superconducting Fine Particles in the Bi-Ca-Sr-Cu-O System Prepared by Spray Pyrolysis

The morphology and crystalline phases of superconducting fine particles with a composition of Bi₂Ca₁Sr₂Cu₂O_x were studied in terms of preparation conditions, using an aerosol flow reactor with varying temperature profiles: constant, increasing, and humped temperature distributions. The temperature profile in the reactor was found to affect greatly the morphology of the superconducting particles produced. The humped distribution with maximum temperatures over 900°C provided solid particles consisting mainly of the 80 K phase, when other preparation conditions were optimized. This finding indicates the possibility of controlling the morphology, as well as the crystalline phases, of superconducting particles by spray pyrolysis.     

Synapsins I and II are ATP-binding proteins with differential Ca2+ regulation

Synapsins I and II are abundant phosphoproteins that are localized to synaptic vesicles and have essential functions in regulating synaptic vesicle exocytosis. Synapsins contain a single evolutionarily conserved, large central domain, the C-domain, that accounts for the majority of their sequences. Unexpectedly, the crystal structure of the C-domain from synapsin I revealed that it is structurally closely related to several ATPases despite the absence of sequence similarities (Esser, L., Wang, C.-R., Hosaka, M., Smagula, C. S., Südhof, T. C., and Deisenhofer, J. (1998) EMBO J., in press). We now show that the C-domains of both synapsin I and synapsin II constitute high affinity ATP-binding modules. The two C-domains exhibit similar ATP affinities but are differentially regulated; ATP binding to synapsin I is Ca(2+)-dependent whereas ATP binding to synapsin II is Ca(2+)-independent. In synapsin I, the Ca2+ requirement for ATP binding is mediated by a single, evolutionarily conserved glutamate residue (Glu373) at a position where synapsin II contains a lysine residue. Exchange of Glu373 for lysine converts synapsin I from a Ca(2+)-dependent protein into a Ca(2+)-independent ATP-binding protein. Our studies suggest that synapsins I and II function on synaptic vesicles as ATP-binding proteins that are differentially regulated by Ca2+.     

Controlled Markov Set-chains with Set-valued Rewards—The Average Case

In this paper, the average case of finite state controlled Markov set-chains with R ^p -set-valued rewards are considered. The optimization is done by a pseudo-order relation on the set of all convex and compact subsets of R ^p induced by a closed convex cone. We introduce a v -step contractive property (minorization condition) for the average case and by use of this method the average expected reward set from a periodic policy is characterized. And, applying the scalarization technique, a Pareto optimal policy is obtained. Also, a numerical example is given to comprehend our results.     

Multi-residue method for screening of pesticides in crops by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry

A simple and rapid method was developed for the screening of 82 pesticides/metabolites in a wide variety of crops, using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS). After extraction with methanol, the filtered extracts were made up to 100 mL and a 2 mL aliquot was subjected to solid-phase extraction. Co-extractives were removed with a C18 mini-column, while pesticides were retained on 3 kinds of mini-columns (HLB, SAX, activated carbon), and then eluted with acetonitrile. Analysis was performed by LC/MS/MS, and MS acquisition parameters were established in positive and negative ESI modes. The utility of the method was demonstrated by the analysis of 6 crops (carrot, cabbage, onion, spinach, lemon, brown rice) and one mixed vegetable juice. Of 82 compounds tested, 75 in carrot and 62 in lemon were obtained with recoveries ranging from 70-120%. For all samples tested, 75 compounds could be obtained with recoveries of over 50%, and the detection limits of most compounds were lower than 0.01 microg/g. This method provides acceptable performance for analysis of these 75 compounds. Further, by using aliquots of the extracts with small-scale mini-columns, purified samples could be obtained. This proposed method with small matrix effects, is effective and suitable for screening of multiple residual pesticides by using LC/MS/MS.     

Stress analysis of optical fibers by a finite element method

Stress-induced birefringence in single-mode optical fibers having arbitrary shape of core has been investigated using a finite element method. The calculated modal birefringence due to the thermal stress and/or stress caused by external forces in noncircular core fibers is compared with the values obtained by measurement of polarization properties, showing good agreement.