Development of in-vessel components of the microfission chamber for ITER

Microfission chambers (MFCs) will measure the total neutron source strength in ITER. The MFCs will be installed behind blanket modules in the vacuum vessel (VV). Triaxial mineral insulated (MI) cables will carry signals from the MFCs. The joint connecting triaxial MI cables in the VV must be considered because the MFCs and the MI cables will be installed separately at different times. Vacuum tight triaxial connector of the MI cable has been designed and a prototype has been constructed. Performance tests indicate that the connector can be applied to the ITER environment. A small bending-radius test of the MI cable indicates no observed damage at a curvature radius of 100 mm.     

Size Controlled Synthesis of Gold Nanoparticles by Porphyrin with Four Sulfur Atoms

Tetradentate thioacetyl porphyrin ligand (1) was synthesized to protect gold nanoparticles. 1-protected gold nanoparticles were characterized by UV-vis spectroscopy and XPS. Analysis by XPS showed that all of four thioacetyl groups of 1 were dissociated and bound to the surface of gold nanoparticles in thiolate form. The size of 1-protected gold nanoparticles (GN:1) was controlled by thioacetyl group/HAuCl₄ molar ratio and approached to 2 nm. Compared with a protecting ligand without porphyrin plane (2) or dodecanethiol, 1 can control the size of gold nanoparticles efficiently probably due to the tetradentate ligation effect.     

竹笋膳食纤维对猪肉盐溶性蛋白热诱导凝胶特性的影响

通过提取猪肉盐溶性蛋白,添加不同比例（0%、1%、2%、3%、4%（猪肉盐溶性蛋白为100 g添加竹笋膳食纤维））的竹笋膳食纤维,应用质构仪、流变仪、低场核磁共振成像分析仪和扫描电镜测定分析竹笋膳食纤维-猪肉盐溶性蛋白形成的凝胶体系的凝胶强度、动态流变学特性、保水性、水分分布和微观结构,研究竹笋膳食纤维对凝胶体系的凝胶特性和保水性的影响。结果发现：添加竹笋膳食纤维显著增强凝胶体系的凝胶强度（P＜0.05）,当添加量为3%时,凝胶强度最高;随着竹笋膳食纤维添加量增加,猪肉盐溶性蛋白体系的储能模量（G’）和损失模量（G”）明显增加,凝胶体系的蒸煮损失和离心损失显著降低（P＜0.05）;低场核磁显示竹笋膳食纤维的添加显著提高了不易流动水的相对百分比并且降低了其弛豫时间T2（P＜0.05）;扫描电镜观察发现竹笋膳食纤维增加了凝胶体系的三维网络结构致密度和均一度。结果显示竹笋膳食纤维能够明显改善猪肉盐溶性蛋白的凝胶功能特性,在肉制品加工中有广阔的应用前景。     

Development of a new model for representing elastoplastic deformation and fracture behaviors of solid fats

A new simulation model, namely, ADEM Ductile Fracture model (ADF model) is developed to represent elastoplastic deformation and fracture behaviors of solid fats. Experimental measurement of the coefficient of plastic starting distance and the yield point affecting the deformation behavior has been obtained by compression test. The fracture distance affecting the fracture behavior has been measured by cutting test. The ADF model shows a good match with the experimentally determined compression and cutting behaviors of the solid fats, and load–strain curves as a function of plate thickness. This confirms that the ADF model could represent the elastoplastic deformation and fracture behaviors of the solid fats.     

Improving SAR data processing with polarimetric reference functions in the range Doppler algorithm

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that can be used to create images of objects and landscapes. The main important application of the polarimetric SAR can be found in surface and target decomposition process of its image processing. In this article, we propose a method of polarimetric SAR data processing using two new polarimetric reference functions of canonical targets with the intention to apply in coherent decompositions. Our experiment uses polarimetric backscatter characteristics of the dihedral and trihedral reflectors as the targets under a ground-based SAR geometry to create the polarimetric reference functions for azimuth compression in the SAR data processing. We process the data using Pauli decomposition to investigate the effect of our functions on the RGB (red, green, and blue) properties of the processed images. The results show that Pauli decomposition using our functions produces images with different distribution and intensity of RGB colours in the image pixels with some signs of improvement over the traditional range Doppler algorithm. This demonstrates that our polarimetric reference function can be used in the decomposition steps of the traditional SAR data processing and can potentially be used to reveal some useful quantitative physical information of target points of interest and improve image and surface classification.     

Leaching behavior of heat-treated waste ash

The leaching behavior of heat-treated waste ash was studied to verify the possibility of the thermal treatment of waste incineration ash in existing incinerators and boiler combustion chambers. The influence of temperature, oxygen concentration and treatment time on the leaching behaviors of harmful heavy metals, especially lead (Pb) and chromium(VI) (Cr (VI)) were studied to clarify effective treatment conditions to suppress leaching. By examining the leaching behavior of Pb and Cr from ash heat-treated under various conditions, it was found that leaching can be suppressed by heat-treating the ash under conventional combustion conditions of around 900-1000 °C at 5-10% oxygen concentration. The leaching behaviors of Pb and Cr (VI) from real ash with different particle sizes and from model samples were also investigated in detail to find an effective method to suppress Pb leaching. It was found that the formation and growth of gehlenite (SiO₂·2CaO·Al₂O₃) in the ashes led to the decrease in the amount of Pb leaching. Therefore it was considered that the addition of an inorganic matrix with a high silica content that can promote gehlenite growth in the ash, for example, coal ash or waste glass is effective to suppress of Pb leaching.     

Mechanism of regulatory target selection by the SOX high-mobility-group domain proteins as revealed by comparison of SOX1/2/3 and SOX9

SOX proteins bind similar DNA motifs through their high-mobility-group (HMG) domains, but their action is highly specific with respect to target genes and cell type. We investigated the mechanism of target selection by comparing SOX1/2/3, which activate delta-crystallin minimal enhancer DC5, with SOX9, which activates Col2a1 minimal enhancer COL2C2. These enhancers depend on both the SOX binding site and the binding site of a putative partner factor. The DC5 site was equally bound and bent by the HMG domains of SOX1/2 and SOX9. The activation domains of these SOX proteins mapped at the distal portions of the C-terminal domains were not cell specific and were independent of the partner factor. Chimeric proteins produced between SOX1 and SOX9 showed that to activate the DC5 enhancer, the C-terminal domain must be that of SOX1, although the HMG domains were replaceable. The SOX2-VP16 fusion protein, in which the activation domain of SOX2 was replaced by that of VP16, activated the DC5 enhancer still in a partner factor-dependent manner. The results argue that the proximal portion of the C-terminal domain of SOX1/2 specifically interacts with the partner factor, and this interaction determines the specificity of the SOX1/2 action. Essentially the same results were obtained in the converse experiments in which COL2C2 activation by SOX9 was analyzed, except that specificity of SOX9-partner factor interaction also involved the SOX9 HMG domain. The highly selective SOX-partner factor interactions presumably stabilize the DNA binding of the SOX proteins and provide the mechanism for regulatory target selection.     

Possible Roles of Calreticulin in Uterine Decidualization and Receptivity in Rats and Humans

Previous in vitro studies have suggested that calreticulin (CALR), which is responsible for the folding and quality control of glycoproteins, may be associated with decidualization. However, its precise role in regulating decidualization has not been explored in vivo. Here, we used pregnant rat models to examine endometrial CALR expression during the peri-implantation period. We also examined whether polypectomy, a procedure that could ameliorate infertility, alters the endometrial expression levels of CALR and several implantation factors in women diagnosed as infertile. In rats, uterine CALR was expressed at a high level at the implantation site, and a marked increase in CALR expression was observed in decidual cells of normal pregnancy. In addition, endometrial CALR expression was enhanced by either administration of estradiol-17β in the delayed implantation rat model or the artificial induction of decidualization in the pseudopregnant rat. In cultured stromal cells, siRNA-mediated silencing of CALR inhibited the decidual stimulus-induced expression of prolactin, decidual/trophoblast prolactin-related protein, and connexin 43. In humans, the endometrial expression levels of the mRNAs encoding CALR and the implantation-related factor insulin-like growth factor binding protein (IGFBP)-7 tended to increase after polypectomy. The strongest positive correlation between expression levels before polypectomy was observed for IGFBP-7 and CALR, and the strength of this correlation increased after the surgery. Thus, endometrial CALR may play a role in the formation of decidua, and the polypectomy of infertile patients may result in the co-operative expression of endometrial factors, including CALR, that could enhance endometrial receptivity.     

Loop current characteristics of a thyristor-controlled series capacitor

This paper presents the results of an investigation on the loop current of a thyristor-controlled series capacitor (TCSC). The knowledge of loop current characteristics is important for understanding analytically the equivalent impedance of TCSC, estimating harmonics produced by TCSC, and determining ratings of the TCSC circuit components. However, little has been written on the loop current of TCSC circuit. Therefore, using a laboratory-scale TCSC installed on a laboratory power system, the TCSC currents and voltages were measured and analyzed to investigate the behavior of loop current. A mathematical model of TCSC was also developed to compare to the experimental results and further clarify the relationship between loop current and steady-state impedance characteristics, including effects of TCSC circuit component size on the characteristics. Capacitor voltage harmonics and their impact on the power system were also investigated. ©1998 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 125(1): 37–46, 1998     

Effect of a thin insulation film on thermal bubble‐triggered breakdown phenomena in liquid nitrogen

The effect of a thin insulation film on breakdown phenomena in liquid nitrogen in the presence of thermally induced bubbles is investigated with a cylinder‐to‐plane electrode. Bubbles were produced by a heater mounted in the cylinder, which is partially covered with an insulation film. The results show that the film's effect on the breakdown voltage is insignificant until a pore is formed on the film by a previous breakdown, but it becomes substantial after pore formation. The reduction rate in breakdown voltage after the pore formation depends on the gap length and heater power. The minimum breakdown voltage drops to the magnitude of the breakdown voltage in the gaseous phase at normal boiling temperature. The breakdown mechanism is discussed on the basis of bubble observation and numerical calculation of suspended‐bubble motion. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electgr Eng Jpn, 127(4): 18–28, 1999