Synthesis of a polyamide from l-aspartic acid and l-lysine

Summary A non-peptidic polyamide having a regular structure was synthesized by the polycondensation of N-(-L-aspartyl)-L-lysine via the active ester method. Amino groups of L-lysine were orthogonally protected with benzyl and t-butoxy carbonyl groups, and the -carboxylic group of L-aspartic acid was masked as benzyl ester, the carboxylic group of L-lysine being activated as pentachlorophenyl ester. Coupling was achieved by the mixed anhydride method. The polycondensation of the dimeric amino acid derivative was carried out in two steps, and provided a polymer with a reduced viscosity of 0,16 dl/g (c=1%, hexafluoroisopropanol).     

Application of switch back welding to V groove MAG welding

The formation of stable back beads in a root pass weld during one side multi-layer welding is important to achieve high quality welded metal joints in MAG welding. The authors employed the switch back welding method for V groove joints without backing plates. In this switch back welding method, the torch moves forward and backward with an oscillation frequency of 2.5 Hz. In order to achieve this welding, personal computers control the conventional welding robot, the power source characteristic and the wire feeder unit. During the forward, the torch is weaving on the V groove gap without the weld pool. If the weaving width becomes wider than the proper width, the tip of the wire becomes high and a good back bead cannot be obtained. The weaving width is adjusted so as to get the proper width in the switch back welding. The suitability of the welding conditions for each root gap was verified by observation of the arc, the weld pool and the external appearance of back beads. A good back bead was obtained under V groove welding in 2–4 mm gap.     

Stabilizing lithium plating-stripping reaction between a lithium phosphorus oxynitride glass electrolyte and copper thin film by platinum insertion

Lithium (Li) plating-stripping reaction properties at the lithium phosphorus oxynitride glass electrolyte (LiPON)/copper thin film (Cu) interface is improved by the insertion of nano-thickness platinum (Pt) layer at the interface. The LiPON films are formed on mirror-polished lithium-ion conductive solid electrolyte sheets, and current collector thin films of Li, Cu-Pt multi layer, and Cu are formed on the LiPON films. The plating-stripping reactions at the LiPON/current collector films interface are carried out by galvanostatic and potential sweep measurements. Galvanostatic measurements reveal that Pt layer insertion reduces the overvoltage of the reaction and improves its coulomb efficiency. Also, cyclic voltammetry measurement suggests formation of Li-Pt alloys at higher voltages than 0 V (vs. Li/Li⁺) during the lithium plating process. Scanning electron microscopy observation clarifies that platinum insertion moderate non-uniform lithium plating reaction. Most probably, Li-Pt alloys increase the reaction sites, resulting in both the stabilization of current collector and the reduction of the overvoltage of the lithium plating-stripping reaction upon cycling. The results shown here will be useful in improving the anode reaction of the “Li-free” all-solid-state lithium batteries.     

Studies on numerical site calibration over complex terrain for wind turbines

The estimation of wind turbine performance over complex terrain is very difficult because of the document of standard IEC61400-12 is adapted for flat or slightly complex topography.And the cost of constructing a meteorological mast is higher with scaling wind turbine up.We have proposed a numerical site calibration(NSC) technique in order to estimate the inflow velocity at the position of wind turbine by using CFD tool to calculate the flow field around the site.The present paper shows the problems for the ...     

Water quality analysis in Lake Hachiroko,Japan, using ALOS AVNIR‐2 data

In recent years, remote sensing has been used to assessing water pollution distribution. In this study, water quality is analyzed using data collected by the Advanced Visible and Near Infrared Radiometer type‐2 (AVNIR‐2) of the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) at various points in time. We carried out fuzzy regression analysis of the AVNIR‐2 data and direct measurements of local water quality. The relationship between the water quality data and the AVNIR‐2 data was analyzed by solving both the min and max problems. By comparing the maps of estimated water quality with actual distributions of water quality in the study area, we found that the method used in this study allows effective derivation of water quality conditions from AVNIR‐2 data, which provides 10‐m spatial resolution. Furthermore, by comparing the maps created using AVNIR‐2 data collected at different times, we obtained results suggesting temporal changes in water quality. We also compared the results obtained using data collected by the optical sensor of the Landsat thematic mapper (TM) with 30‐m resolution and those obtained using data collected by the active sensor of JERS‐1 synthetic aperture radar (SAR), and examined the differences in classification results resulting from differences in resolution and sensors. © 2013 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Making the most out of the innovation of meaning: The importance of inclusion for creativity in inside-out envisioning

Innovation of meaning (IoM) is one of the streams that has attracted attention in design thinking research. Inside-out envisioning aims to assist non-designer employees practice IoM in a similar manner to how visionary executives and designers perform. The process starts with exposing their intrinsic visions to innovate the dominant social or organizational meanings. This makes the employees' creativity that comes from intrinsic goals and values an important driving force of inside-out envisioning. Thus, it is crucial to foster an organizational culture that encourages employees to engage in inside-out envisioning and enhance their creativity. This study explores whether inclusion, as an organizational culture, is an antecedent of creativity in inside-out envisioning. Inclusion refers to a state in which an individual's uniqueness is valued by other group members and externalized to improve group performance. Based on data from a survey conducted with 1104 Japanese employees, this study reveals that inclusion significantly impacts creativity in inside-out envisioning. A multigroup analysis demonstrates differences in the effects of the mediating variables of this relationship based on the successful experience of inside-out envisioning. This study concludes that it is important for design thinking researchers to study inclusion more deeply as a way to implement inside-out envisioning.     

Cage-Like Sodalite-Type Porous Organic Salts Enabling Luminescent Molecule's Incorporation and Room-temperature Phosphorescence Induction in Air

Expression of room-temperature phosphorescence (RTP) in organic materials requires complicated molecular design and specific intermolecular interactions, and therefore types of RTP materials are restricted. This work presents cage-like sodalite-type porous organic salts (s-POSs) as host materials for luminescent molecules to induce RTP, using tetrasulfonic acid with an adamantane core and triphenylmethylamines that are modified with substituents in the para-positions of benzene rings (TPMA-X). By adding a representative luminescent molecule (pyrene) to a reaction solution during construction of s-POSs, the molecule is incorporated in a facile manner. s-POSs with a heavy halogen atom (X: Iodine) on the pore surface give heavy atom effects, suppression of thermal vibration, and protection from oxygen, for the incorporated molecule, which induce its RTP even in air. This strategy can be applied to various luminescent molecules, which may lead to the achievement of RTP of various colors.     

Recyclable hydrogen storage system composed of ammonia and alkali metal hydride

Ammonia (NH₃) reacts with alkali metal hydrides MH (M = Li, Na, and K) in an exothermic reaction to release hydrogen (H₂) at room temperature, resulting that alkali metal amides (MNH₂) which are formed as by-products. In this work, hydrogen desorption properties of these systems and the condition for the recycle from MNH₂ back to MH were investigated systematically. For the hydrogen desorption reaction, the reactivities of MH with NH₃ were better following the atomic number of M on the periodic table, Li < Na < K. It was confirmed that the hydrogen absorption reaction of all the systems proceeded under 0.5 MPa of H₂ flow condition below 300 °C.     

Two cases of systemic lupus erythematosus associated with fatty liver and Basedow's disease

We present two cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) associated with both Basedow's disease and fatty liver. The first case is a 46-year-old Japanese female who was admitted because of high fever and general fatigue. She had been diagnosed as having Basedow's disease and treated with thiamazole for over 4 years. Since thiamazole-induced lupus was unlikely because of high titer anti-nuclear antibody and anti-DNA antibody and low levels of complements, a diagnosis of SLE was made. The upper abdominal ultrasound study and the specimen obtained by liver biopsy performed before initiating steroid therapy demonstrated marked fatty liver. SLE itself is considered as an etiology of fatty liver in this case. The second case was a 25-year-old Japanese female with SLE. She had been treated with prednisolone for 13 years and was complicated with Basedow's disease 10 years later. Fatty liver was also demonstrated in this patient on ultrasonography, and was thought to be resulted from long-term steroid hormone administration.