Radioactivation of structural material of the superconducting magnet for a fusion reactor

Radioactivation of five types of candidate steel alloys for the structural materials of superconducting toroidal field coils (TFC) of a D-T fusion reactor has been comparatively studied. As a result, the use of a high Mn steel in place of 316 SS is shown to reduce the dose rate at the He vessel of the TFC to ～ 1/3 the value with 316 SS at 1 day after shutdown, and to ～ 1/1000 at 10 years after shutdown. These reductions are mostly caused by the 0.28 wt% Co assumed to be included in 316 SS but none in the high Mn steel. Newly defined dose rate sensitivities of constituent elements are shown to be useful in identifying the cause of dose rate change brought on by the steel composition change. They can also be utilized in estimating the dose rate change brought on by the replacement of 316 SS with any new steel alloy with similar composition.     

Synthesis of Nanohole‐Structured Single‐Crystalline Platinum Nanosheets Using Surfactant‐Liquid‐Crystals and their Electrochemical Characterization

Nanohole‐structured single‐crystalline Pt nanosheets have been synthesized by the borohydride reduction of Na₂PtCl₆ confined to the lyotropic liquid crystals (LLCs) of polyoxyethylene (20) sorbitan monooleate (Tween 80) with or without nonaethylene‐glycol (C₁₂EO₉). The Pt nanosheets of around 4–10 nm in central thickness and up to 500 nm or above in diameter have a number of hexagonal‐shaped nanoholes ∼1.8 nm wide. High‐resolution electron microscope images of the nanosheets showed atomic fringes with a spacing of 0.22 nm indicating that the nanosheets are crystallographically continuous through the nanoholed and non‐holed areas. The inner‐angle distributions for the hexagonal nanoholes indicate that the six sides of the nanoholes are walled with each two Pt (111), Pt (1 1) and Pt (010) planes. The formation mechanism of nanoholed Pt nanosheets is discussed on the basis of structural and compositional data for the resulting solids and their precursory LLCs, with the aid of similar nanohole growth observed for a Tween 80 free but oleic acid‐incorporated system. It is also demonstrated that the nanoholed Pt nanostructures loaded on carbon exhibit fairly high electrocatalytic activity for oxygen reduction reaction and a high performance as a cathode material for polymer‐electrolyte fuel cells, along with their extremely high thermostability revealed through the effect of electron‐irradiation.     

Potential estimation of hourly blank storage space and charge loads of EVs using road traffic census and vehicles status

If both EVs (Electric Vehicles, includes plug‐in hybrid electric vehicles) and renewable energies spread in large quantities, it is possible to control the supply fluctuation of renewable energies using the storage battery of EVs. This research sought to show the charge load potential of EVs based on the state of the Japanese passenger car using traffic census results, etc. Furthermore, it tried to show the trend of the storage battery capacity according to time. From the estimated results: (1) the charge electricity of low and middle distance gets a majority of the total charge demand, (2) charge load changes according to time several times, and the minimum load is the number of gigawatt‐hours at early morning, (3) if night charge is assumed, the standby charge demand of noon will reach tens of gigawatt‐hours, it may have sufficient scale for supply fluctuation control of PVs. Although the present EV is not suitable for long‐distance running, these are expected to be 30 or less percent of the total charge demand. The estimated storage capacity potential in this research will not change numbers of times. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 182(3): 30–38, 2013; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.22352     

Enrichment and characterization of chlorinated organophosphate ester-degrading mixed bacterial cultures

Chlorinated organophosphate ester (OPE)-degrading enrichment cultures were obtained using tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) or tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCPP) as the sole phosphorus source. In cultures with 46 environmental samples, significant TCEP and TDCPP degradation was observed in 10 and 3 cultures, respectively, and successive subcultivation markedly increased their degradation rates. 67E and 45D stable enrichment cultures obtained with TCEP and TDCPP, respectively, completely degraded 20 muM of the respective compounds within 6 h and also the other, although the degradation rate of TCEP by 45D was relatively slow. We confirmed chloride ion generation on degradation in both cases and the generation of 2-chloroethanol (2-CE) and 1,3-dichloro-2-propanol (1,3-DCP) as metabolites of TCEP and TDCPP, respectively. 67E and 45D also showed dehalogenation ability toward 2-CE and 1,3-DCP, respectively. Addition of inorganic phosphate did not significantly influence their ability to degrade the chlorinated OPEs but markedly increased their dehalogenation ability, which was maximum at 0.2 mM of inorganic phosphate and decreased at a higher concentration. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis showed that dominant bacteria in 67E are related to Acidovorax spp. and Sphingomonas spp. and those in 45D are Acidovorax spp., Aquabacterium spp., and Sphingomonas spp. This analysis indicated the relationship of the Sphingomonas- and Acidovorax-related bacteria with the cleavage of the phosphoester bond and dehalogenation, respectively, in both cultures. This is the first report on bacterial enrichment cultures capable of degrading both TCEP and TDCPP.     

Climate Change Impact Assessment on Blue and Green Water by Coupling of Representative CMIP5 Climate Models with Physical Based Hydrological Model

Water Resources Management - Climatic changes have altered hydrological and climatic parameters worldwide, and climate projections suggest that such alterations will continue. In order to maintain...     

Developing a system to cover OTHER via rudimentary objective–subjective distinction

In this paper, we propose that the human brain develops a system to cover OTHER. This capital “OTHER” represents the transcendental other in infancy and the latent other later in life. The system grows to cover the transcendental other through the developmental process of objective–subjective distinction, and thereafter the latent other is found as a duality of the system later in life. To argue the emergence of such system regarding social conceptualization, we introduce experiments in which we verify that preschoolers abstract, categorize, and evaluate social relationships. The results show that children around 6 years old exhibit early social conceptualization and rudimentary objective–subjective distinction. Moreover, we claim that early social conceptualization is acquired through developing the heterarchical system when the experiments are regarded as communication between the participant and experimenter. Human beings may regard this heterarchical system as the self.     

Identification of a novel nuclear localization signal in Sam68

Landmarks in the development of treatment of retinal detachment include the recognition of the significance of retinal breaks that resulted in the distinction between rhegmatogenous retinal detachment (RRD) and exudative retinal detachment, the development of indirect ophthalmoscopy and scleral depression that allow better visualization of the peripheral area of the retina and better identification of retinal breaks, the recognition of the need to seal all retinal breaks, and the realization that vitreous traction is the major underlying cause of retinal tears and RRD. Scleral buckling procedures combine retinopexy to provide a scar around retinal breaks to seal them and scleral indentation to neutralize vitreous traction; they provided the first effective treatment of RRD. As surgeons gained experience with scleral buckling, they became aware that some RRDs, particularly those with fixed folds and/or a funnel configuration, often could not be repaired using this approach. It was thought that excessive vitreous traction was at fault, and the condition was called "massive vitreous retraction."     

Effect of Poly(vinyl alcohol) Adsorption on Binder Segregation during Drying

The effect of poly(vinyl alcohol) adsorption on segregation was quantitatively studied by a model experiment of one–dimension drying and simulated by a mathematical model. It was clear that the adsorption of PVA on alumina particle was a slow process, and the adsorbed binder was not desorbed at higher temperature. PVA segregation can significantly be limited by fully adsorbing the binder before drying. The simulation and experiments agreed very well. The effects of drying temperature, initial concentration of the binder, and thickness of specimen on the surface segregation are discussed quantitatively. Mathematical simulation has a great potential for predicting the segregation of soluble components during drying, especially for such cases as thin films and small granules where it is difficult to determine the distribution of the component directly.