Dependence of Diamond Transition on Microtexture in Graphite Starting Materials under Shock Compression

The effect of microtexture on diamond transition was examined for graphite starting materials under shock compressions of 50 to 60 GPa and 80 to 90 GPa. Each of the starting materials used in the present study possessed a fully homogeneous microtexture. To distinguish the effect of microtexture from that of other experimental parameters, the shock conditions were standardized for all specimens tested. Three graphite materials—a glassy carbon, a carbon black, and a natural graphite—were selected and shock compressed using a quenching technique to generate conditions common to all samples. Detailed characterization by transmission electron microscopy and electron energy-loss spectroscopy revealed a clear tendency: The lower the crystallinity and crystallite size of the starting graphite, the more easily the graphite transformed to diamond when the transition mechanism was reconstructive.     

Difference in environmental degradability between poly(ethylene succinate) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)

A chemosynthetic aliphatic polyester, poly(ethylene succinate) (PESu), was degraded by a poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (P(3HB)) depolymerase in vitro. While P(3HB) exhibited good biodegradability in all environments, PESu hardly underwent biodegradation in a marine environment. To understand the difference in environmental degradability between PESu and P(3HB), we investigated the distribution of P(3HB)- and PESu-degrading microbes in various environments. PESu-degrading microbes were never detected in marine environments. PESu-degrading bacteria isolated from various environments in this study belonged to the phyla Firmicutes and Proteobacteria. Most PESu-degrading bacterial isolates could not degrade P(3HB), suggesting that PESu was not degraded by P(3HB) depolymerase in actual environments. In addition, all bacterial isolates that were screened for P(3HB) degrading activity from various environments in this study did not degrade PESu, suggesting that PESu does not induce P(3HB) depolymerase in their bacteria and P(3HB)-degrading bacteria are not involved in biodegradation of PESu in actual environments. Taken together, these results could be related with the low biodegradability of PESu in marine environments.     

Selective catalytic reduction of NO by hydrocarbons on Ga2O3/Al2O3 catalysts

Catalytic properties of supported gallium oxides have been examined for the selective reduction of NO by CH₄ in excess oxygen. The activity was greatly affected by the support; Ga₂O₃/Al₂O₃ (Al₂O₃ supported Ga₂O₃) and Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ mixed oxide exhibited high activity and selectivity as comparable to Ga-ZSM-5, while unsupported Ga₂O₃ and the other supported Ga₂O₃ were ineffective. For Ga₂O₃/Al₂O₃, the activity changed with Ga₂O₃ content, and was highest at about 30 wt% Ga₂O₃, which corresponds to a theoretical monolayer coverage. Gallium oxide highly dispersed on Al₂O₃ is considered to be responsible for the high activity and selectivity. The reaction characteristics of Ga₂O₃/Al₂O₃ were studied and compared with Ga-ZSM-5 and Co-ZSM-5. Ga₂O₃/Al₂O₃ exhibited the highest activity and selectivity at high temperature. In addition, Ga₂O₃/Al₂O₃ showed higher tolerance against water than Ga-ZSM-5. C₃H₈ and C₃H₆ were also evaluated as reducing agents, and Ga₂O₃/Al₂O₃ showed higher activity than Ga-ZSM-5 above 723 K achieving almost complete reduction of NO to N₂.     

Selective catalytic reduction of nitrogen oxides with hydrocarbons over Zn–Al–Ga complex oxides

Selective reduction of NO with hydrocarbons was studied using metal oxide catalysts having a spinel structure. A Zn–Al–Ga complex oxide was found to be very active and selective for the catalytic reduction of NO with both C₃H₆ and CH₄. It was revealed that the role of oxygen at the initial stage of the reaction strongly depends on the reductants; oxygen is mainly used for NO oxidation to NO₂ in the reduction with CH₄, whereas it is used both for NO oxidation to NO₂ and oxidation of C₃H₆ to an active intermediate in the reduction with C₃H₆. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of Substituents on Dielectric β-Relaxation in Cellulose

The dielectric characteristics for some cellulose derivatives, namely chlorodeoxycellulose (Cell-Cl; degree of substitution of chlorine, DS_Cl=0·87), bromodeoxycellulose (Cell-Br; DS_Br=0·92) and thiocyanatodeoxycellulose (Cell-SCN; DS_SCN=0·88), all substituted only at C-6, together with those of regenerated cellulose, have been investigated in the temperature range -60 to 120°C, and in the frequency range 0·2–100kHz. Only one relaxation process, designated as β, was identified within the frequency and temperature ranges studied. The activation energy of this relaxation increases in the order Cell-Cl<Cell-Br<Cell-SCN, suggesting that the bulkiness of the substituent was the determining factor of the activation energy. The characteristic dielectric parameters, namely polarization magnitude (Δε) and shape parameter (α or β-), were obtained by the analysis of absorption bands and are discussed in relation to the substituent effect. © of SCI.     

Extracellular Environment-Controlled Angiogenesis,and Potential Application for Peripheral Nerve Regeneration

Endothelial cells acquire different phenotypes to establish functional vascular networks. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) signaling induces endothelial proliferation, migration, and survival to regulate vascular development, which leads to the construction of a vascular plexuses with a regular morphology. The spatiotemporal localization of angiogenic factors and the extracellular matrix play fundamental roles in ensuring the proper regulation of angiogenesis. This review article highlights how and what kinds of extracellular environmental molecules regulate angiogenesis. Close interactions between the vascular and neural systems involve shared molecular mechanisms to coordinate developmental and regenerative processes. This review article focuses on current knowledge about the roles of angiogenesis in peripheral nerve regeneration and the latest therapeutic strategies for the treatment of peripheral nerve injury.     

Maximum value of the pulse energy of a passively Q-switched laser as a function of the pump power

The finite recovery time Ts of the bleached absorber is presented as one of the possible mechanisms accounting for the increase-maximum-decrease in pulse energy E with the pumping rate Wp in cw-pumped passively Q-switched solid-state lasers, by analytically evaluating the sign of the derivative partial differentialE/ partial differentialWP. The results show that, in the low pump regime (T>Ts, T is the interpulse period), the initial population density ni remains constant, the final population density nf decreases with Wp, and this results in a monotonic increase of E with Wp. In the high pump regime (T相似文献   

Dichlorodifluoromethane decomposition to CO2 with simultaneous halogen fixation by calcium oxide based materials

The decomposition of CCl2F2 to CO2 and accompanying halogen fixation by a CaO based material was studied. To improve the low reactivity of CaO, a consequence of its low surface acidity, transition metal oxides were added. Impregnation of metal acetylacetonate followed by removal of the ligand under vacuum was found to be an effective method. This method resulted in the formation of carbonaceous species and the reduction of metal oxide to metal, both of which were thought to initiate the decomposition reaction. The reactivity of these materials (MOx(a)/CaO-vac) was found to be in the following order: M = Ni > Cu > V = Fe > Mn > Co > Ca. In particular, nickel supported on CaO was most effective for the decomposition of CCl2F2. During the preparation, nickel oxide was reduced to the metal phase. CCl2F2 was decomposed to CO2 with a small amount of CO, and halogens were fixed as CaFCl, without significant deactivation at 723 K.     

Xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity of alkyl gallates

A series (C1-C12) of alkyl gallates was examined for their effects on the activity of xanthine oxidase. Octyl (C8), decyl (C10), and dodecyl (C12) gallates competitively inhibited uric acid formation generated by xanthine oxidase, and the inhibition increased upon increasing the alkyl chain length. Interestingly, neither menthyl nor bornyl gallates inhibited uric acid formation. These data indicate that the hydrophobic alkyl portion is associated with the xanthine-binding site in the Mo-binding domain. It is likely that the linear alkyl portion interacts with the hydrophobic domain close to the binding site, and the hydrophobic interaction is crucial to inhibit the xanthine oxidase reaction. On the other hand, all of gallic acid and its esters equally suppress superoxide anion generation catalyzed by xanthine oxidase at low concentration. The suppression is not due to scavenging activity of these gallates but due to reduction of xanthine oxidase by these gallates. The reduced enzyme catalyzes the reaction to generate hydrogen peroxide and uric acid.     

Effect of Cooling Method on Microstructure and Mechanical Properties of Hot-Rolled C-Si-Mn TRIP Steel

 The controlled cooling technology following hot rolling process is a vital factor that affects the final microstructure and mechanical properties of the hot-rolled transformation induced plasticity (TRIP) steels. In the present study, low alloy C-Si-Mn TRIP steel was successfully fabricated by hot rolling process with a 450 hot rolling mill. To maximize the volume fraction and stability of retained austenite of the steel, two different cooling methods (air-cooling and ultra-fast cooling “AC-UFC” and ultra-fast cooling, air-cooling and ultra-fast cooling “UFC-AC-UFC”) were conducted. The effects of the cooling method on the microstructure of hot-rolled TRIP steel were investigated via optical microscope, transmission electron microscope and conversion electron Mssbauer spectroscope. The mechanical properties of the steel were also evaluated by conventional tensile test. The results indicated that ferrite and bainite in the microstructure were refined with the cooling method of UFC-AC-UFC. The morphology of retained austenite was also changed from small islands distributing in bainite district (obtained with AC-UFC) to granular shape locating at the triple junction of the ferrite grain boundaries (obtained with UFC-AC-UFC). As a result, the TRIP steel with a content of retained austenite of 1152%, total elongation of 32% and product of tensile strength and total elongation of 27552 MPa·% was obtained.