CMAS degradation of ytterbium aluminum garnets

The degradation of ytterbium aluminum garnet (YbAG) exposed to molten Ca–Mg–Fe–Al–Si–O (CMAS) at 1673 K was investigated for two kinds of dense polycrystalline YbAG with compositions deviating slightly from stoichiometry, referred to as Al- and Yb-rich. The mitigation of the CMAS attack for Yb-rich YbAG was markedly superior to that for the Al-rich one. For both types of YbAG, corrosion progressed due to the preferential penetration of the CMAS melt along grain boundaries in the thickness direction and the simultaneous dissolution of crystal grains into the melt. The lower of the corroded region consisted of YbAG crystals with a core/shell-I/shell-II structure. Shell-I contained alkaline earth, silicon, and iron cations, whereas these cations were hardly detected in shell-II. Growth of the shell-I region was considered to progress by dissolution and reprecipitation through the melt existing around it, and finally, the melt disappeared, resulting in the formation of a thin shell-II region containing little of these ions. The formation and growth of the shell-I region were found to be promoted by making the YbAG Yb-rich, resulting in enhancement of the resistance to CMAS.     

Effect of concrete edge distance on the hysteretic response of roof joint

Roof joint connects the upper roof structure to the lower RC columns in large-span structures. However, during several earthquakes, concrete edge failure of roof joint observed in several previous earthquakes shows potential collapse damage of the large-span structures. This paper presents an experimental and numerical study on the performance of roof joints under quasi-static cyclic loading. The effects of concrete edge distance of anchor rods and using horizontally slotted holes in the base plate were investigated and discussed by means of ultimate shear resistances, failure modes, hysteretic responses, anchor strains, and stirrup strains. It was found that concrete edge failure was prone to occur if the edge distance was taken as per current design practice. However, with the use of slotted holes in the base plate, the concrete edge failure could be suppressed due to the sliding between the base plate and the mortar layer. A refined theoretical model was proposed to evaluate the ultimate shear resistance and predict the failure mode. Finite Element Models (FEMs) were also developed to verify the proposed theoretical model in terms of the ultimate shear resistance and the failure mode under both monotonic and cyclic loading.     

Study on water transport in hydrophilic gas diffusion layers for improving the flooding performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells

For hydrogen-based polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs), water transport control in gas diffusion layers (GDLs) by wettability distribution is useful to suppress the flooding problem. In this study, the water transport of a novel GDL with hydrophilic-hydrophobic patterns was investigated. First, we clarified that the water motion in the hydrophilic GDL with microstructures could be reproduced by the enlarged scale model. The scale model experiment also showed that the same water behavior in hydrophilic GDL can be obtained from Capillary numbers (Ca) in a range of Ca ~ 10^?5 to 10^?3. As the computational load is inversely proportional to Ca, the computational load could be reduced by 1/100th by using Ca ~ 10^?3, which is 100 times higher than PEFC operation (Ca ~ 10^?5). Finally, the simulation with Ca ~ 10^?3 was performed, and we showed that the GDL with straight region of contact angle 50° minimized the water accumulation.     

Properties of seven-filament Cu/Ag-sheathed (Ba,K)Fe2As2 tapes fabricated from round and square wires

Iron-based superconductor,a promising candi-date for high-field applications,has attracted significant attentions.For practical utilization,the superconducting ...     

Epigenetic Regulation of ALS and CMT: A Lesson from Drosophila Models

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the third most common neurodegenerative disorder and is sometimes associated with frontotemporal dementia. Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease (CMT) is one of the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathies causing the slow progression of sensory and distal muscle defects. Of note, the severity and progression of CMT symptoms markedly vary. The phenotypic heterogeneity of ALS and CMT suggests the existence of modifiers that determine disease characteristics. Epigenetic regulation of biological functions via gene expression without alterations in the DNA sequence may be an important factor. The methylation of DNA, noncoding RNA, and post-translational modification of histones are the major epigenetic mechanisms. Currently, Drosophila is emerging as a useful ALS and CMT model. In this review, we summarize recent studies linking ALS and CMT to epigenetic regulation with a strong emphasis on approaches using Drosophila models.     

Design and Synthesis of DDR1 Inhibitors with a Desired Pharmacophore Using Deep Generative Models

Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) inhibitors with a desired pharmacophore were designed using deep generative models (DGMs). DDR1 is a receptor tyrosine kinase activated by matrix collagens and implicated in diseases such as cancer, fibrosis and hypoxia. Herein we describe the synthesis and inhibitory activity of compounds generated from DGMs. Three compounds were found to have sub-micromolar inhibitory activity. The most potent of which, compound 3 (N-(4-chloro-3-((pyridin-3-yloxy)methyl)phenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)benzamide), had an IC₅₀ value of 92.5 nM. Furthermore, these compounds were predicted to interact with DDR1, which have a desired pharmacophore derived from a known DDR1 inhibitor. The results of synthesis and experiments indicated that our de novo design strategy is practical for hit identification and scaffold hopping.     

Effects of Iron Addition on the Microstructures and Mechanical Properties of Two-Phase Ni3Al-Ni3V Intermetallic Alloys

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions A - Microstructures and mechanical properties of dual two-phase Ni3Al (L12)-Ni3V (D022) intermetallic alloys to which iron (Fe) was added in different...     

Evaluation of Ammonia Pretreatment for Enzymatic Hydrolysis of Sugarcane Bagasse to Recover Xylooligosaccharides

Sugarcane bagasse is a useful biomass resource. In the present study, we examined the efficacy of ammonia pretreatment for selective release of hemicellulose from bagasse. Pretreatment of bagasse with aqueous ammonia resulted in significant loss of xylan. In contrast, pretreatment of bagasse with anhydrous ammonia resulted in almost no xylan loss. Aqueous ammonia or anhydrous ammonia-pretreated bagasse was then subjected to enzymatic digestion with a xylanase from the glycoside hydrolase (GH) family 10 or a xylanase from the GH family 11. The hydrolysis rate of xylan in bagasse pretreated with aqueous ammonia was approximately 50 %. In contrast, in the anhydrous ammonia-treated bagasse, xylan hydrolysis was > 80 %. These results suggested that anhydrous ammonia pretreatment would be an effective method for preparation of sugarcane bagasse for enzymatic hydrolysis to recover xylooligosaccharides.