Production of eicosapentaenoic acid by a bacterium isolated from mackerel intestines

Optimization of culture conditions for the growth rate, 5,8,11,14,17-cis-Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content and EPA productivity of a bacterium isolated from Pacific mackerel intestines was investigated by use of a culture medium containing 1.00 wt% peptone and 0.50 wt% yeast extract in an artificial sea water (ASW). Cultivation temperature affected the growth rate and cellular EPA content of the bacterium. The cellular EPA content at 8°C was as great as 16.8 mg/g of dry cells, which was more than two times greater than that at 25°C (7.3 mg/g of dry cells), although the growth rate showed a maximum at 25°C. Both the yield of bacterial cells and the cellular EPA content at 25°C reached maximum values when the pH of the culture medium was nearly 7.0 and when the concentration of ASW was 100% (v/v). Under optimum culture conditions [25°C pH 7.0 and 100% (v/v) ASW], the amount of EPA accumulated in the cellular lipids reached 45.6 mg/L of culture broth after 8 hr.     

High-Temperature Strength and Creep Behavior of Melt-Infiltrated SiC-Mo≤5Si3C≤1 Composites

Molybdenum carbosilicide composites (SiC-Mo_≤5Si₃C_≤1) were fabricated via the melt-infiltration process. The fracture behavior of the composites was studied from room temperature up to 1800°C in 1 atm (∼10⁵ Pa) of argon. The bend strength of the composites slightly increased at ∼1200°C, because of the brittle-ductile transition of the intermetallic phase. The composites retained ∼90% of their room-temperature strength, even at 1700°C. Compressive creep tests were performed over a temperature range of 1760°-1850°C and a stress range of 200–250 MPa. The creep rate of the SiC-Mo_≤5Si₃C_≤1 composites was approximately an order of magnitude higher than that of reaction-bonded SiC.     

Lifetime test and heritage on orbit of coolers for space use

This report describes the results and operating status of ground lifetime testing and achievements on orbit of coolers for space use. Ground lifetime tests of coolers of three types were conducted to demonstrate their long life and reliability. Three single-stage Stirling coolers were tested for 89,016, 71,871 and 68,273 h from 1998, a two-stage Stirling cooler was tested for 72,906 h, and a 4-K class cooler with a two-stage Stirling cooler and a Joule–Thomson cooler was tested for over 2.5 years. After lifetime tests were completed, a few coolers were investigated to determine the cause of the cooling performance degradation. Additionally, the filled gas of the coolers was analyzed. These coolers have shown good results on orbit. Three single-stage Stirling coolers were carried on the X-ray astronomical satellite “SUZAKU” (launched in July 2005), Japanese lunar polar orbiter “KAGUYA” (launched in September 2007), and the Japanese Venus Climate Orbiter “AKATSUKI” (launched in June 2010). Two units of a two-stage Stirling cooler were carried on the infrared astronomical satellite “AKARI” launched in February 2006. A 4-K class cooler was carried on the Superconducting Submillimeter-Wave Limb-Emission Sounder (SMILES) aboard the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM) of the International Space Station (ISS). SMILES was launched in September 2009.     

Structure and compositional evolution in epitaxial Co/Pt core-shell nanoparticles on annealing

We report on the alloying of epitaxial Co/Pt core-shell nanoparticles using transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and electron diffraction. In as-deposited nanoparticles followed by in situ annealing at 823 K for 10.8 ks, high-angle annular dark-field (HAADF) imaging by scanning TEM (STEM) clearly revealed formation of Co-shell/Pt-core structures due to the large atomic number (Z) difference between Co (Z = 27) and Pt (Z = 78). We identified a formation of locally ordered areas of the L1₀ ordered phase at the core of the nanoparticles. After ex situ annealing at 873 K for 0.6 ks, some of the ordered areas showed complicated contrasts in the HAADF-STEM images. Based on image simulations, we found that these atypical contrasts arise from the stacking of two orthogonal variants of the L1₀ phase in the electron beam direction. Furthermore, the simulation showed that image contrast strongly reflects the structure of the variant located closer to the beam entrance rather than to the bottom side. Solid solution phase was formed by further annealing at 873 K for 3.6 ks, while high-density {111} stacking faults were observed inside the Co-Pt alloy nanoparticles. Magnetic coercivity remained at values as low as ~ 15.9 kA/m at 300 K, irrespective of the formation of local L1₀ ordered areas and/or a high-density stacking faults.     

High capacitance B/C/N composites for capacitor electrodes synthesized by a simple method

The B/C/N composites were synthesized by a very simple method, that is, carbonization at HTT = 800-1200 °C of the precursor prepared by drying a solution mixture of polyacrylamide and boric acid, followed by boiling in water to remove borate by-products. The amount of insoluble B species in the composite increased linearly from 4.8 to 18.6 mass% with raising HTT. The XRD and FT-IR revealed that turbostratic h-BN started to form at around 1000 °C as a by-product. By XPS, major B and N components in the composite were B-N bond, C-B-O type B, pyridinic N, pyrrolic N, and quaternary N. A fraction for B-N bond including h-BN in the total B or N components increased with raising HTT and it exceeded 50 at% between 900 and 1000 °C. It was suggested that in the composites formed at HTT > 1000 °C the amounts of h-BN increased, leading to reduction in other B and N components. The S_BET was almost unchanged up to 1000 °C, 410-420 m² g⁻¹. Large and broad redox peaks arisen from plural reactions appeared in the cyclic voltammogram (CV) measured in 1 mol dm⁻³ H₂SO₄ for the composites formed at HTT ≤ 1000 °C. These peaks disappeared in 1 mol dm⁻³ solutions of Na₂SO₄ and Li₂SO₄. By comparing CV with that for C/N composite formed from PAA by the MgO template method, the pseudo-capacitance owing to reactions of B-N and C-B-O components with protons was found to be added to commonly observed pseudo-capacitance for nitrogen-doped carbons. The capacitances for the composites formed at 850-950 °C exceeded 300 F g⁻¹ at 2 mV s⁻¹ in the acid electrolyte and the retention at 50 mV s⁻¹ was 78-80%. The shape of CV in the neutral electrolytes was trapezoid and the current density increased with lowering potential, suggesting adsorption and desorption of Na⁺ and Li⁺ ions. This was considered to be due to doped nitrogen, indicating the development of pseudo-capacitance. The capacitance per S_BET was 0.33-0.74 F m⁻² and 0.17-0.32 F m⁻², larger for lower HTT, in the acid and neutral electrolytes, respectively.     

Synthesis and catalytic properties of sulfonic acid-functionalized monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres

A new type of sulfonic acid-functionalized monodispersed mesoporous silica spheres (MMSS) were synthesized directly by co-condensation and subsequent oxidation. By changing the methanol ratio, sulfonic acid-functionalized MMSS with different particle diameters (390–830 nm) and the same mesopore sizes were successfully synthesized. TEM observations revealed that the mesopores were aligned radially from the center towards the outside of the spheres, even in the sulfonic acid-functionalized MMSS. The catalytic activities of the sulfonic acid-functionalized MMSS were studied in condensation reactions between 2-methylfuran and acetone, and it was found that their catalytic activities are highly dependent on the particle diameters. In addition, the catalytic activity of MMSS was much higher than that of other forms of mesoporous silica due to its radially-aligned mesopores.     

Effects of pH and temperature on the deposition properties of stannate chemical conversion coatings formed by the potentiostatic technique on AZ91 D magnesium alloy

The effects of pH and temperature of a stannate bath on the quality of stannate chemical conversion coatings formed on AZ91 D magnesium alloy by using the potentiostatic polarization technique at E = −1.1 V were investigated in order to improve uniformity and corrosion protection performance of the coating films. It was found that the uniformity and corrosion resistance of coating films deposited by potentiostatic polarization were closely associated with pH and temperature of the coating bath. The pH and temperature to obtain the best coating film were investigated as a function of corrosion protection performance evaluated by curves of potentiodynamic anodic polarization conducted in borate buffer solution. Scanning electron microscope observation and electrochemical corrosion tests of the stannate-coated samples confirmed significant improvement in uniformity and corrosion resistivity of coating films deposited by the potentiostatic technique by modifying the pH and temperature of the coating bath. It was also found that uniformity and corrosion resistivity of the coating films deposited by the potentiostatic technique were considerably improved compared to those of coatings deposited by the simple immersion method at the best conditions of pH and temperature of the coating bath.     

Application of simple adaptive control to water hydraulic servo cylinder system

Although conventional model reference adaptive control (MRAC) achieves good tracking performance for cylinder control, the controller structure is much more complicated and has less robustness to disturbance in real applications. This paper discusses the use of simple adaptive control (SAC) for positioning a water hydraulic servo cylinder system. Compared with MRAC, SAC has a simpler and lower order structure, i.e., higher feasibility. The control performance of SAC is examined and evaluated on a water hydraulic servo cylinder system. With the recent increased concerns over global environmental problems, the water hydraulic technique using pure tap water as a pressure medium has become a new drive source comparable to electric, oil hydraulic, and pneumatic drive systems. This technique is also preferred because of its high power density, high safety against fire hazards in production plants, and easy availability. However, the main problems for precise control in a water hydraulic system are steady state errors and overshoot due to its large friction torque and considerable leakage flow. MRAC has been already applied to compensate for these effects, and better control performances have been obtained. However, there have been no reports on the application of SAC for water hydraulics. To make clear the merits of SAC, the tracking control performance and robustness are discussed based on experimental results. SAC is confirmed to give better tracking performance compared with PI control, and a control precision comparable to MRAC (within 10 μm of the reference position) and higher robustness to parameter change, despite the simple controller. The research results ensure a wider application of simple adaptive control in real mechanical systems.     

Spectrum sharing method for secondary systems using frequency priority table to reduce inter-secondary interference

Because of the rapid development of cognitive radio technologies, research on sharing frequency resources allocated to primary users with secondary users has attracted much attention. If a frequency band is unused by the primary users, multiple secondary users are expected to share the spectrum in a future wireless communication network. To efficiently share the spectrum among secondary systems, we propose a novel channel allocation method that uses a frequency priority table generated based on the location of the secondary system. By using this method, the interference with other systems is autonomously reduced by selecting channels. Moreover, a power control method is also proposed for protecting the secondary systems that are allocated to the channels with higher priority.     

Co-precipitation synthesis and characterization of NiO-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 nanocomposite powders: effect of precipitation agents

NiO-Ce0.8Sm0.2O1.9 (NiO-SDC) nanocomposite powders applied as promising anode material for low-temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) were synthesized by hydroxide co-precipitation method using NH3 x H2O, NaOH and NH3 x H2O + NaOH as precipitation agents. The crystal phases, morphologies and sintering behavior of the synthesized NiO-SDC nanocomposite powders were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and sintering experiments. The effect of precipitation agents on the synthesis of the NiO-SDC nanocomposite powders was discussed. Results show that different precipitation agents influence greatly the synthesis and characteristics of the NiO-SDC nanocomposite powders. The NiO-SDC nanocomposite powders synthesized with NH3 x H2O deviate from the original composition due to the loss of Ni. The loss of Ni is avoided and nano-sized NiO-SDC composite powders are synthesized, when NaOH and NH3 x H2O + NaOH are used as precipitation agents. The NiO-SDC nanocomposite powders can be synthesized at relatively low temperature using NH3 x H2O + NaOH as precipitation agent, and the synthesized NiO-SDC nanocomposite powders show good sintering characteristics.