Purification and cloning of a thermostable manganese catalase from a thermophilic bacterium

We have purified a heat-stable catalase from a thermophilic bacterium, Thermus species strain YS 8-13. The enzyme was purified 160-fold from crude cellular extracts and possessed a specific activity of 8000 units/mg at 65 degrees C. The purified enzyme displayed the highest activity at pH 7 to 10 and temperatures around 85 degrees C. The catalase was determined to be a manganese catalase, based on results from atomic absorption spectra and inhibition experiments using sodium azide. The enzyme was composed of six identical subunits of molecular weight 36,000. Amino acid sequences determined from the purified protein were used to design oligonucleotide primers, which were in turn used to clone the coding gene. The nucleotide sequence of a 1.4-kb fragment of Thermus sp. YS 8-13 genomic DNA containing a 909-bp open reading frame was determined. The gene encoded a 302-residue polypeptide of deduced molecular weight 33,303. The deduced amino acid sequence displayed a region-specific homology with the sequences of the manganese catalase from a mesophilic organism, Lactobacillus plantarum.     

Characterization of doped single-wall carbon nanotubes by Raman spectroscopy

Single-wall carbon nanotubes were grown by thermal chemical vapor deposition using either boron- or nitrogen-containing feedstocks or both. Carrier doping was evidenced by hardenings of the G band in Raman spectra, and the estimated carrier concentration reached ∼0.4%. In the G′ and D band spectra, a doping-induced component was observed at the high- or low-energy side of the original one. However, the appearance of the new component did not always coincide with the carrier doping. The doped SWCNTs often show radial breathing mode peaks in the off-resonance region, indicating a defect-induced modification of absorption spectrum.     

Effect of different copper fillers on the electrical resistivity of conductive adhesives

The effects of different copper fillers with different morphology and particle size have been studied in terms of electrical resistivity and thermal stability on the electrically conductive adhesives. The copper fillers used in this study were prepared by wet chemical reduction, electrolytic and gas atomization method, respectively. The as cured ECAs filled with different type of Cu fillers showed significant difference in electrical resistivity. Cu filler with smaller particle size showed higher packing density and larger surface area, which would enhance formation of conductive channels and increased conductive network in the ECAs, leading to a lower electrical resistivity. In addition, thermal stability of the ECAs were investigated under high temperature exposure at 125 °C and high humidity aging at 85 °C/85% RH for 1,000 h. Results showed that ECAs with Cu fillers of relatively small particle size and rough particle surface have excellent thermal stability due to enhanced adhesion and contact area between Cu fillers and the polymer matrix. A very low resistivity at an order of magnitude of 10^?4 ?? cm could be maintained for these ECAs after 1,000 h at 125 and 85 °C/85% RH.     

Hydrogen storage properties of lithium silicon alloy synthesized by mechanical alloying

A lithium silicon alloy was synthesized by mechanical alloying method. Hydrogen storage properties of this Li-Si-H system were studied. During hydrogenation of the lithium silicon alloy, lithium atom was extracted from the alloy and lithium hydride was generated. Equilibrium hydrogen pressures for desorption and absorption reactions were measured in a temperature range from 400 to 500 °C to investigate the thermodynamic characteristics of the system, which can reversibly store 5.4 mass% hydrogen with smaller reaction enthalpy than simple metal Li. Li absorbing alloys, which have been widely studied as a negative electrode material for Li ion rechargeable batteries, can be used as hydrogen storage materials with high hydrogen capacity.     

Hydrogen incorporation in tungsten deposits growing by deuterium plasma sputtering

Tungsten deposits were produced by sputtering method using hydrogen isotope RF plasma, and the density and the incorporated components in the deposits were investigated. The density changed in the range from 14.2 g/cm³ to 6.1 g/cm³, and hydrogen isotope retention changed in the range from 0.25 to 0.05 as (H + D)/W by the difference of deposition conditions. Both the density and hydrogen isotope retention tended to decrease with an increase of pressure. Even though a deuterium gas was used for producing tungsten deposits, not only deuterium but also hydrogen, oxygen and water vapor were incorporated in the deposits. It is considered that the incorporation of these components originated in water vapor unintentionally existing in the vacuum chamber.     

Spatial joint constraints for the absolute nodal coordinate formulation using the non-generalized intermediate coordinates

In this investigation, a systematic procedure that can be used for modeling joint constraints for the absolute nodal coordinate formulation is developed. To this end, the non-generalized intermediate coordinates are introduced to derive a mapping between the generalized gradient coordinates and the non-generalized rotation parameters. With this mapping, a wide variety of joint constraints can be defined for the absolute nodal coordinate formulation in terms of the non-generalized reference coordinates and, therefore, existing well-developed constraint libraries formulated for the rigid body reference coordinates can be directly employed without significant modifications in existing codes. Furthermore, in order to define a rigid surface at the joint definition point, a set of orthonormality conditions is imposed on the gradient coordinates. This leads to not only accurate modeling of interface to mechanical joint, but also a simpler definition of the joint coordinate system obtained by the orthonormal gradient vectors. For this reason, a simpler form of constraint Jacobian and quadratic velocity vectors can be obtained as compared to those of the existing approach which requires the use of highly nonlinear joint coordinate system. A systematic procedure for eliminating the non-generalized coordinates and the dependent Lagrange multipliers associated with the coordinate mapping equations from the equations of motion is presented. As a result, a standard augmented form of the equations of motion can be obtained in terms of the generalized coordinates only. Several numerical examples are presented in order to demonstrate the use of the joint constraint formulation developed in this investigation.     

Cold repeated forming of compact for aluminium foam

A cold repeated forming process of compacts for producing metal foams was developed in order to strongly bond powder particles. In this process, the compact undergoes severe plastic deformation for the strong bonding of particles by repeated backward extrusion and cup compression, and thus the compact largely foams owing to the accumulation of gas released from blowing agents inside the compact during heating. The cold repeated forming process without heating is much simpler than that for the conventional hot extrusion process. The relative density of the foam was decreased by adding silicon powder to the compact, and an aluminium foam having a relative density of 0.27 was obtained using two repeats of backward extrusion and cup compression, 1.5 mass% titanium hydride powder and 4 mass% silicon powder. In addition, a one-piece foam was successively produced from the bonding of two compacts during the foaming in a die. It was found that the cold repeated forming of compacts is effective for the production of metal foams.     

Characteristics of creeping discharge developed in a narrow gap between insulators and effect of a backside electrode

Discharge characteristics have been investigated for a needle–plane electrode configuration containing insulating barriers with a narrow gap which has been placed between the needle and the plane. The characteristics of creeping discharge developed in the narrow gap of the barrier filled with SF₆ are especially considered. In the case of a configuration with a backside electrode below the needle, the corona generated from the needle easily extended to the gap. On the other hand, for a configuration without a backside electrode, the corona has hardly extended to the gap, and on increasing the applied voltage the corona developed greatly in the gap. This difference in corona extension should affect the flashover characteristics in the present system. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(2): 27–36, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10248