Evaluation of method for simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables by collaborative study

A collaborative study involving 8 laboratories was conducted to evaluate a method for the simultaneous determination of pesticide residues in 6 types of fruits and vegetables (spinach, tomato, apple, radish, cabbage and carrot). The method of analysis was the same as reported by Kakimoto et al. in 2003. One hundred and thirty-nine pesticides were spiked by each of 8 laboratories at levels of 0.1 microg/g (pesticides analyzed by GC/MS) or 0.5 microg/g (pesticides analyzed by HPLC) into the 6 kinds of samples. Statistical analysis showed that 111 pesticides could be analyzed with practical precision by this method. For screening purposes, the method could analyze 118 pesticides. The median values of the limits of detection were 0.001-0.041 microg/g. The calibration curves were linear in the range of 0.5-5 microg/mL for most pesticides with median correlation coefficients of 0.983-1.000.     

Thermal Diffusion of Si Atoms at the Interface of Mo／Si Bilayers Studied with a Soft X-ray Emission Microscope

1　Ｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎ　　Ｔｈｅｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｙｏｆｔｈｅｄｅｖｉｃｅｓｗｉｔｈａｌａｙｅｒｓｔｒｕｃ ｔｕｒｅｓｕｃｈａｓｓｕｐｅｒｌａｔｔｉｃｅｓ,ｍｕｌｔｉｌａｙｅｒｃｏａｔｉｎｇｓ,ａｎｄｓｅｍｉｃｏｎｄｕｃｔｏｒｄｅｖｉｃｅｓｉｓｄｅｐｅｎｄｅｎｔｕｐｏｎｔｈｅｑｕａｌｉ ｔｙｏｆｔｈｅｉｎｔｅｒｆａｃｅｂｅｔｗｅｅｎａｄｊａｃｅｎｔｌａｙｅｒｓ.Ｆｒｏｍｔｈｅｖｉｅｗｐｏｉｎｔｏｆｔｈｅｉｒｐｒａｃｔｉｃａｌｕｓａｇｅ,ｔｈｅｒｍａｌｓｔａ ｂｉｌｉｔｙｏｆｔｈｅｉｎｔｅｒｆａｃｅｉｓ…     

ArF excimer laser induced CVD of aluminum oxide films

The authors have demonstrated photochemical deposition of aluminum oxides from Trimethylaluminum (TMA) and N₂O by using a pulsed ArF excimer laser (193 nm). Both TMA and N₂O are efficiently photodissociated by the 193 nm light. The films are grown on Si and InP wafers contained in a low pressure flowing cell with a heated substrate. The incident laser beam is focused and parallel to the substrate surface. Typical deposition rates are 80–150 A/min. Stripes of aluminum oxide 30 mm wide are uniformly grown on 7.5 cm Si-wafers. The film composition and purity have been investigated using Auger and Infra-red spectroscopy analysis. Surprising results are the relatively low concentration of carbon. Refractive index and thickness have been determined by an ellipsometer. Typical values for the films are 1.54–1.62. Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors have been fabricated and characterized. The C-V curves for n-InP/aluminum oxide have clockwise hysteresis, and minimum loop width is less than 0.5 V. The surface state densities are 1 × 10¹¹ cm^-2 eV⁻¹ at the mid band gap.     

Free vibration of coil springs of arbitrary shape

This paper is concerned with the method for solving the vibration problem of coil springs of arbitrary shape. In the analysis the exact field transfer matrix is derived from the solution of the fundamental equation of the three-dimensional curved beam theory. The transfer matrix is given by combining this field transfer matrix and the point transfer matrix. The analysis derives the frequency equation which is applicable to coil springs of general shape. Numerical calculations have been carried out for hyperboloidal springs and barrel springs. Experimental tests also have been carried out to verify the present results.     

Characterisation of volatile sulphur-containing compounds generated in crushed leaves of Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum Rottler)

To characterise the composition of sulphur-containing constituents in Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum Rottler), GC–MS and HPLC analyses were carried out, using 12 varieties of Chinese origin, 4 varieties of Japanese origin and 6 commercially available cultivars. Five disulphides (dimethyl, allyl methyl, methyl 1-(E)-propenyl, diallyl, and allyl 1-(E)-propenyl), two trisulphides (dimethyl and allyl methyl), and two vinyldithiins (3-vinyl-[4H]-1,2- and 2-vinyl-[4H]-1,3-) were identified on the basis of their mass spectral and GC-retention data. Among the detected sulphur compounds, sulphides with a methyl group predominated over those with an allyl group. This was supported by the HPLC estimations, suggesting that all cultivars examined had much greater amounts of methiin than alliin. Also, two novel compounds were tentatively identified as [3H,4H]-1,2-dithiin and [2H,4H]-1,3-dithiin on the basis of their mass spectral features, GC-retention data, and some experimental results on their formation in reaction mixtures with different proportions of methiin and alliin. Their formation mechanism was proposed.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Tetravalent Cerium Complexes with p-Tert-butylcalix[ n ] arenes （ n = 4, 6, 8）

Ａｓａｂｒａｎｃｈｏｆｓｕｐｅｒａｍｏｌｅｃｕｌａｒｃｈｅｍ ｉｓｔｒｙ ,ｌａｎｔｈａｎｉｄｅｃａｌｉｘａｒｅｎｅｃｈｅｍｉｓｔｒｙｈａｓａｔ ｔｒａｃｔｅｄｃｏｎｓｉｄｅｒａｂｌｅｒｅｓｅａｒｃｈｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｆｏｒｓｅｖｅｒ ａｌｙｅａｒｓ[1～ 5 ] .Ｉｎｔｈｉｓｒｅｓｐｅｃｔ,Ｈａｒｒｏｗｆｉｅｌｄｅｔａｌ.[6～ 13] ｓｙｎｔｈｅｓｉｚｅｄａｌｏｔｏｆｌａｎｔｈａｎｉｄｅｃａｌ ｉｘａｒｅｎｅｃｏｍｐｌｅｘｅｓ ,ａｎｄｒｅｖｅａｌｅｄｔｈｅｉｒｃｒｙｓｔａｌｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅｓ .Ａｍｏｎｇｓｔｔ…     

A new PWM method to reduce beat phenomenon in large-capacityinverters with low switching frequency

In an asynchronous pulsewidth modulation (PWM) method, the ratio of the carrier frequency to the fundamental frequency must be at least 15-20 in order to suppress the beat phenomenon. However, it is impossible to achieve this condition for large-capacity inverters (e.g., gate-turn-off thyristor inverters), when the fundamental frequency is high. Assuming that the beat phenomenon is caused by an error generated in the PWM process, the authors have introduced a compensator to reduce the error. As a result, beat phenomenon can be decreased for a low carrier frequency. Effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by experimental results     

Observation of metal on Si(0 0 1) by STM/STS and its consideration based on the first principles calculations

Local density of states (LDOS) is obtained by the first principles calculation based on the density functional theory on the Si(0 0 1)2 × 1 surface and on the surface with an Al dimer. At an Al dimer, LDOS has a high intensity in the conduction band region, which cannot be seen on the Si(0 0 1)2 × 1 surface. This tendency is observed in STS measurements as well. The possibility for a microelementary analysis is presented by applying this method to other metal atoms on the Si surface. Furthermore, it is pointed out that STS measurements should be always performed at the same tip-sample separation to obtain reproducible STS spectrums.     

Analysis of proton exchange membrane fuel cell catalyst layers for reduction of platinum loading at Nissan

The biggest issue that must be addressed in promoting widespread use of fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) is to reduce the cost of the fuel cell system. Especially, it is of vital importance to reduce platinum (Pt) loading of catalyst layers (CLs) in the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). In order to lower the Pt loading of the MEA, mass transport of reactants related to the performance in high current density should be enhanced significantly as well as kinetics of the catalyst, which can result in the better Pt utilization and effectiveness. In this study, we summarized our analytical approach and methods for reduction of Pt loading in CLs. Microstructure, mass transport properties of the reactants, and their relation in CLs were elucidated by applying experimental analyses and computational methods. A simple CL model for I–V performance prediction was then established, where experimentally elucidated parameters of the microstructure and the properties in CLs were taken into account. Finally, we revealed the impact of lowering the Pt loading on the transport properties, polarization, and the I–V performance.     

Tribological Properties and Film Formation Behavior of Thermoreversible Gel Lubricants

The tribological properties of a new and unique thermoreversible gel lubricant (TR gel lube) were investigated. TR gel lube, which includes 10–40% of amide-type gelling agent in base fluid, is able to repeatedly alter or convert phase from gel state to liquid state at the melting point of the gelling agent. High-pressure rheological tests were performed in order to characterize the behavior of base oil and TR gel lube as a function of pressure and temperature. The effect of TR gel lube on ball bearing fatigue life was carried out by systematic tests using thrust ball bearings. The results of L ₁₀ life tests of TR gel lube showed a longer life than the conventional greases. This result was investigated from the oil film formation. It was found that the gelling agent played a key role in the lubricating properties. Some mechanisms such as adsorbed film formation and solid-like formation are proposed.