Effectiveness of an energy-consumption information system for residential buildings

The authors have proposed a method of reducing the energy consumption in residential buildings by providing household members with information on energy consumptions in their own houses. An on-line interactive “energy-consumption information system” that displays power consumptions of, at most, 18 different appliances, power and city-gas consumption of the whole house and room temperature, for the purpose of motivating energy-saving activities has been constructed and the effectiveness of the system investigated by installing it in 10 residential buildings. The experiment showed that energy-saving consciousness was raised and energy consumption was in fact reduced by the energy-saving activities of the household members. In this paper, the system is described in detail and the effectiveness of reducing energy-consumption of the whole house and for space heating will be discussed. Also the energy-saving activities in a certain household are shown by using load duration curves.     

Brainstem lesions and gustatory function: III. The role of the nucleus of the solitary tract and the parabrachial nucleus in retention of a conditioned taste aversion in rats.

Bilateral electrolytic lesions of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NST) or ibotenic acid lesions of the pontine parabrachial nuclei (PBN) failed to disrupt retention of a preoperatively acquired conditioned taste aversion (CTA) to 0.3 M alanine. For both sham- and NST-lesioned rats, the CTA persisted following 3 nonreinforced conditioned stimulus (CS) presentations. For PBN-lesioned rats, retention was more labile. The preoperatively acquired CTA was extinguished by the 3rd nonreinforced CS exposure. When assessed postoperatively using a novel CS, NST-lesioned rats acquired a new CTA, although they were rendered anosmic with zinc sulfate (P. S. Grigson et al, see record 199707487-016). Rats with PBN lesions, however, failed to acquire a 2nd CTA postoperatively. Thus, the PBN is essential for the acquisition of a CTA, but neither of the brainstem gustatory nuclei need be intact for the retention of a preoperatively acquired CTA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Identification of linear systems with time delay and unknown order

This paper proposes a system identification method for linear systems with time delay and unknown order. We hypothesize a number of candidate models, which have different order, because system order is unknown. In each model, we estimate the model parameters based on the maximum likelihood method by using nonlinear optimization technique. Then both local optimization technique and global search method are used because the estimated parameters may fall into a local minimum. After all candidate model's parameters are estimated, one model is selected among these models to estimate the system order by using a posteriori probability based on Bayes's theorem. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is demonstrated by numerical examples. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(3): 61–68, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10166     

Heat capacities of NpN and AmN

The heat capacities of NpN and AmN were determined with the drop calorimetry method. The NpN and AmN samples were prepared by the carbothermic reduction of the respective dioxides. The heat capacity of NpN obtained was in good agreement with the reported values in the temperature range from 334 to 1067 K, which was close to those of UN and PuN. The heat capacity of AmN was obtained experimentally for the first time, which was slightly smaller than those of UN, NpN and PuN in the temperature range from 354 to 1071 K.     

Nonstoichiometric behavior and phase stability of rare earth manganites at 1200°C: (1). LaMnO3

The perovskite phase LaMnO_3±λ was revealed to have nonstoichiometry ranging from 2.947 to 3.079 under the oxygen partial pressure below logPO₂(atm)=0 at 1200°C. The presence of the reductive perovskite phase LaMnO_3?λ with a more distorted structure than the monoclinic one was ascertained. The free energy change of oxidative reaction in MnO+1/2La₂O₃+1/4O₂=LaMnO₃ was determined to be ΔG°=19500±200cal at 1200°C. D.C. electrical conductivities of LaMnO_3±λ perovskites at room temperature became higher with increasing oxygen content. Magnetic measurements were also made.     

Amorphous Pd---Si alloys for hydrogen-permeable and catalytically active membranes

Amorphous Pd_xSi_1-x(x=0.8,0.825,0.85) in the form of ribbon was prepared by a single-roller melt spinning technique to examine hydrogen permeability and catalytic activity for dehydrogenation. As a result, it was found that the amorphous specimens had higher tenacity and higher permeability of hydrogen than its crystallized form. Also, the surface of the amorphous specimen showed a catalytic activity for dehydrogenation of cyclohexane, while no activity was observed in the untreated. Taking advantage of both hydrogen permeability and catalytic activity, the amorphous Pd_xSi_1-x would be expected to be a candidate for a catalytic membrane.     

Ibotenic acid lesions of the parabrachial nucleus and conditioned taste aversion: Further evidence for an associative deficit in rats.

Rats with extensive ibotenic acid lesions centered in the gustatory zone of the pontine parabrachial nucleus (PBN) failed to acquire a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) induced by lithium chloride (LiCl) toxicosis (Experiments 1 and 4). This deficit cannot be explained as an inability to either perceive or process gustatory information because lesioned rats that failed to acquire a CTA readily acquired a conditioned flavor preference (Experiment 2). Similarly, the CTA deficit cannot be attributed to an inability to experience or process visceral input because PBN-lesioned rats that failed to acquire a CTA successfully learned an aversion to a trigeminal stimulus, capsaicin, when paired with LiCl-induced illness (Experiment 3). This pattern of results supports the view that cell bodies within the PBN are essential for the associative processes that govern CTA learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Analysis of stress intensity factor of a crack approaching welding bead

An analysis of the stress intensity factor is made for a crack approaching the welding line from the normal direction in an infinite plate.The equations proposed by one of the authors and others were employed in the analysis as the distribution function of the residual stress caused by welding. The effects of crack location and the length on the stress intensity factor were closely examined.For the constant crack length, the maximum stress intensity factor does not occur when the crack center coincides with the welding line, but does when the crack front approximately reaches the welding line.For a better understanding of the behavior of a crack approaching the weldment, analysis was also carried out for a crack with various lengths but constant eccentricity.

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Résumé On a procédé à une analyse du facteur d'intensité de contrainte qui correspond à une fissure qui se rapproche d'un dépôt de soudure normalement à la ligne de fusion et dans une tôle infinie.On a utilisé les équations élaborées par un des auteurs ainsi que par d'autres chercheurs pour décrire la distribution des contraintes résiduelles provoquées par le soudage. On a également examiné de près les effets sur le facteur d'intensité de contrainte de l'emplacement de la fissure et de sa longueur.A longueur de fissure constante, le facteur d'intensité de contrainte ne passe pas par sa valeur maximum lorsque le centre de la fissure coïncide avec l'axe de la soudure, mais bien lorsque l'extrémité de la fissure est sur le point d'atteindre cet axe.Pour mieux comprendre le comportement d'une fissure qui se rapproche d'une soudure, on a également analysé le cas de fissures de diverses longueurs, mais à excentricité constante.

     

Conformational properties of the guanine-binding site of ribonuclease T1 inferred from the X-ray structure and protein engineering

Recognition by ribonuclease T₁ of guanine bases via multidentatehydrogen bonding and stacking interactions appears to be mediatedmainly by a short peptide segment formed by one stretch of aheptapeptide, Tyr⁴²-Asn⁴³-Asn⁴⁴-Tyr⁴⁵-Gly⁴⁶-Gly⁴⁷-Phe⁴⁸. Thesegment displays a unique folding of the polypeptide chain—consistingof a reverse turn, Asn⁴⁴-Tyr⁴⁵-Glu⁴⁶-Gly⁴⁷, stabilized by ahydrogen-bond network involving the side chain of Asn⁴⁴, themain-chain atoms of Asn⁴⁴, Gly⁴⁷ and Phe⁴⁸ and one water molecule.The segment is connected to the C terminus of a ß-strandand expands into a loop region between Asn⁴³ and Ser⁵⁴. Lowvalues for the crystallographic thermal parameters of the segmentindicate that the structure has a rigidity comparable to thatof a ß-pleated sheet. Replacement of Asn⁴⁴ with alanineleads to a far lower enzymatic activity and demonstrates thatthe side chain of Asn⁴⁴ plays a key role in polypeptide foldingin addition to a role in maintaining the segment structure.Substitution of Asn⁴³ by alanine to remove a weak hydrogen bondto the guanine base destabilized the transition state of thecomplex by 6.3 kJ/mol at 37°C. In contrast, mutation ofGlu⁴⁶ to alanine to remove a strong hydrogen bond to the guaninebase caused a destabilization of the complex by 14.0 kJ/mol.A double-mutant enzyme with substitutions of Asn⁴³ by a histidineand Asn⁴⁴ by an aspartic acid, to reproduce the natural substitutionsfound in ribonuclease M_s, showed an activity and base specificitysimilar to that of the wild-type ribonuclease M_s. The segmenttherefore appears to be well conserved in several fungal ribonucleases.     

Neutronics optimization study for D-D fusion reactor blanket/shield

Position-dependent optimization calculations have been carried out on a D-D fusion reactor blanket/shield to maximize the energy gain in the blanket and to minimize the atomic displacement rate of the copper stabilizer in the superconducting magnet. The results obtained by using the optimization code SWAN indicate (1) the advantage of D₂O coolant over H₂O coolant with respect to increasing the energy gain, and (2) the difference in the optimal shield distributions between D-T and D-D neutron sources. The possibility of improving both the energy gain and radiation shielding characteristics is also discussed.