Verification of screening level for decontamination implemented after Fukushima nuclear accident

The screening level for decontamination that has been applied for the surface of the human body and contaminated handled objects after the Fukushima nuclear accident was verified by assessing the doses that arise from external irradiation, ingestion, inhalation and skin contamination. The result shows that the annual effective dose that arises from handled objects contaminated with the screening level for decontamination (i.e. 100 000 counts per minute) is <1 mSv y(-1), which can be considered as the intervention exemption level in accordance with the International Commission on Radiological Protection recommendations. Furthermore, the screening level is also found to protect the skin from the incidence of a deterministic effect because the absorbed dose of the skin that arises from direct deposition on the surface of the human body is calculated to be lower than the threshold of the deterministic effect assuming a practical exposure duration.     

Polyoxyethylene oligomer distribution of nonionic surfactants

Thin layer chromatography with a flame ionization detection (TLC-FID) technique was applied to the separation and determination of nonionic surfactants containing oxyethylene (OE) chains. The OE adducts with an average number of 4.2, 6.0 and 8.0 oxyethylene units were separated on Chromarod S-II (Silica gel-coated rods) with double development using benzene:ethyl acetate (6:4) and ethyl acetate:acetic acid:water (8:1:1). OE adducts of nonionic surfactants were well separated by the TLC-FID method using simple and standard techniques that eliminate the need for any chemical modification.     

Stress relaxation of glass-fiber-reinforced rigid polyurethane foam

Flexural stress relaxations were measured for rigid polyurethane foams (PUF) and glass-fiber-reinforced rigid polyurethane foams (FRU). The results were successfully analyzed in terms of the five element Maxwell model: (1) Samples reinforced with longer fibers exhibit reduced stress relaxation and reduced temperature dependency of stress relaxation; (2) The increased expansion ratio reduces the flexural modulus of both reinforced and non-reinforced materials, but the stress relaxation tends to increase greatly at the higher temperature for PUF, while not so greatly for FRU; (3) The temperature dependency of E₁ decreases as longer fibers are used to reinforce the polyurethane. The dependency is minimal for the polyurethane reinforced with continuous fibers, where the reinforcing effect is maximal; and (4) The activation energy calculated from τ₂ according to the Arrhenius plot is smaller for the longer fiber reinforced polyurethane foams.     

Polymerization via zwitterion. 24. Copolymerization of a cyclic acyl phosphonite with aromatic aldehydes

Summary Spontaneous copolymerizations of 2-phenyl-4-oxo-5, 6-benzo-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinane, a new cyclic acyl phosphonite, (M_N) with p- and o-substituted aromatic aldehydes (M_E) gave 1∶2 (M_N ∶ M_E) alternating copolymers. This copolymerization took place without added catalyst affording copolymers via zwitterion . The intermediate of spiro acyloxyphosphorane was detected in situ by 31p NMR. The formation of a stabilized intermediate was taken as an important factor to control the 1∶2 composition. The scheme of the copolymerization involving a zwitterion was presented. For the comparison with the above system, copolymerizations of ethylene phenyl phosphonite with aromatic aldehydes were also examined.     

Changes in physico-chemical properties during decomposition of nonionic surfactant solutions

The decomposition and accompanying changes in surface chemical properties of nonionic surfactants were investigated. The decomposition of nonionic surfactants occurs in the polyoxyethylene and ester chains. Ester chains were susceptible to decomposition with an increase in the polyoxyethylene chain length, but polyoxyethylene chains were not. Surface chemical properties such as solubilizing power, surface tension, effective specific volume, and intrinsic viscosity also deteriorated during decomposition of the surfactants.     

Polymer blends of polyethersulfone with all aromatic liquid crystalline co-polyester

Polymer blends of polyethersulfone (PES) with an all aromatic liquid crystalline co-polyester (LCP) were investigated. In addition, PES oligomers with the reactive functions end groups (?ONa) were added as a third component to the above blends in order to improve their properties. Flexural properties, such as modulus and strength, and dynamic viscoelastic properties, such as dynamic storage elasticity (E′) and loss tangent (tan δ), of the blends were measured. The morphology of blends was characterized using a differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM). Of the flexural properties, the modulus of PES increased almost linearly with increasing LCP content. However, strength decreased as LCP content increased to 20 wt%. In contrast, the addition of the PES oligomers had little effect on modulus, but strength was clearly improved. Regarding dynamic viscoelastic properties, the oligomer-containing blends exhibited complex behavior. Regarding morphologies, SEM analysis revealed that the LCP was not fibrous in the core of the blend containing 40 wt% or less, but the addition of the PES oligomers made LCP fibrous even in blends with low LCP content. It was concluded that the PES oligomers with reactive functional groups acted as a compatibilizer in polymer blends of PES/LCP.     

Driving large‐sized OLED TVs with an amorphous‐silicon backplane

Abstract— A 20‐in. OLED display driven by an amorphous‐silicon backplane has been demonstrated. It has been widely believed that the characteristics of amorphous‐silicon TFTs are not sufficient to drive OLED display. This paper challenges this hypothesis and proves that amorphous silicon can be applied to large active‐matrix‐driven displays and discusses many possible approaches that lead to good front‐of‐screen quality. Superior‐video‐image‐quality amorphous‐silicon‐driven OLEDs opens a bright future for a new generation of wall‐hanging televisions.     

A method for identifying customer orientations and requirements for product–service systems design

For manufacturers, developing product–service systems (PSSs) is getting more important because of the trends of servitisation and creating social value. A PSS is a social system where multiple actors mutually provide products and services. A PSS design, therefore, must take into account various actors as customers. However, existing methods provide an insufficient solution as to how various customers should be handled in an analysis to identify and accommodate various customer preferences and requirements. To tackle this issue, this article proposes a new method of identifying customers’ orientations and requirements for PSS design. The proposed method employs a combination of topic analysis, persona and scenario approaches. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated with its application to an urban development case. Through the demonstration, its practical benefits are concluded as follows: consistent and logical results of requirement analysis and insights into a new market for manufacturers.     

Photoconductive properties of TiO2 films prepared by the sol–gel method and its application

The Photoconductive characteristics of TiO2 films prepared by the sol-gel method, and the photovoltaic characteristics fabricated with the resulting TiO2 film and phthalocyanine nickel (NiPc) are investigated. For a TiO2 film with hydroxypropyl cellulose (Hpc) heat treated at 500°C for 10 min, the relative sensitivity is about ten times higher than that without Hpc. A space-charge-limited current is observed in the dark current–voltage characteristic of the TiO2 film with Hpc. It is found that the TiO2 film with Hpc has a photosensitizing effect. The photovoltaic characteristics of TiO2(Hpc)/NiPc are as follows: the short-circuit current density, Jsc is 5.6×10-7 A cm-2, the open-circuit voltage, Voc is 0.24 V, the fill factor (F.F) is 0.64 and the power conversion efficiency, is 0.73. Furthermore, the carrier transport mechanisms of the TiO2(Hpc)/NiPc photovoltaic cell are discussed.     

Pressure‐Driven Eu2+‐Doped BaLi2Al2Si2N6: A New Color Tunable Narrow‐Band Emission Phosphor for Spectroscopy and Pressure Sensor Applications

A series of BaLi₂Al₂Si₂N₆ (BLASN): xEu²⁺ phosphors are successfully synthesized and their crystal structure and luminescence properties under varying hydrostatic pressures are reported herein. Structure variation is analyzed using in situ high‐pressure X‐ray diffraction and Rietveld refinements. Based on decay curves and Gaussian fitting of emission spectra, the presence of two photoluminescence centers is demonstrated. BaLi₂Al₂Si₂N₆: 0.01Eu²⁺ exhibits an evident peak position shift from 532 to 567 nm with an increase in pressure to ≈20 GPa. The possible factors and mechanisms for the variations are studied in detail. At a pressure of 16 GPa, BLASN: Eu²⁺ realizes a narrow yellow emission with a full width at half maximum of ≈70 nm. The addition of BLASN: Eu²⁺ (16 GPa) to the commercial white light‐emitting diodes combination consisting of an InGaN chip, β‐SiAlON: Eu²⁺, and red K₂SiF₆:Mn⁴⁺, can increase the color gamut by ≈15%, demonstrating the promising potential of pressure‐driven BLASN: Eu²⁺ for wide‐color gamut spectroscopy applications. Moreover, the emission shifts arising from pressure variation and the distinct color changes enable its potential utility as an optical pressure sensor; the material exhibits high pressure sensitivity (dλ/dP ≈ 1.58 nm GPa^?1) with the advantage of visualization.