Catalytic properties and surface states of La1−x (Th,Sr) x CoO3

The surface chemical states of the perovskite-type thorium- or strontium-doped lanthanum cobalt oxides (La_1–x Th _x CoO₃, La_1–x Sr _x CoO₃) have been investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Catalytic oxidations of CO have been also investigated by flow methods. The ionicity between cobalt and lattice oxygen was increased by substituting thorium for lanthanum, and had a peak atx = 0.02. The catalytic activity also had a peak atx = 0.02. However, the ionicity decreased for the case of strontium substitution, and the activity also decreased.     

Shrinkage Behavior of Knoop Indentations in Silica and Soda–Lime–Silica Glasses

The annealing characteristics of Knoop-indented silica and soda–lime–silica glasses were investigated. These glasses were indented using a Knoop indenter in water, and they were annealed at various temperatures below the glass transition temperature. The major diagonal length of the Knoop indentation was measured before and after annealing, and the change of the diagonal length was determined. The change of diagonal length in silica glass was much larger than that in soda–lime–silica glass. This was attributed to the occurrence of more densification around the Knoop indentation in the silica glass. The activation energy of the shrinkage of the Knoop indentation in the silica glass, estimated from the temperature dependence of the relaxation time, was 46 kJ/mol, which was much less than that of viscous flow in silica glass. This suggested that the shrinkage of the Knoop indentation was caused by the structural relaxation of densified glass around the Knoop indentation.     

Does product lifetime extension increase our income at the expense of energy consumption?

The present paper contributes to modeling a simple social accounting method with cumulative product lifetime distributions and argues how product lifetime extension affects income flow throughout the entire economic system. Empirical analysis focusing on automobile use (ordinary passenger vehicle, small passenger vehicle, and light passenger vehicle) in Japan revealed that if all of the additional income gain from product lifetime extension flows into the investment sector, a one-year lifetime extension during the ten years of the study period (1990–2000) would have led to an increase in income in 2000 amounting to + 7 billion yen, as well as contributing to savings in energy amounting to ? 4 × 10⁶ GJ. That is, longer-term passenger vehicle use increases income and decreases energy consumption under special cases. We also found that in the general case when less than 93% of additional income resulting from vehicle lifetime extension is directed to the investment sector, a + 1 year automobile lifetime extension increases income at the expense of energy consumption.     

Enhancement of MALDI-MS spectra of C-terminal peptides by the modification of proteins via an active ester generated in situ from an oxazolone

For selective C-terminal derivatization of peptides and proteins, we have devised a method for activating the C-terminal carboxyl group by extending the oxazolone chemistry. A mixture of formic acid and acetic anhydride was found to be effective for the formation of an oxazolone, which was converted to an active ester in situ in the presence of a phenol or an N-hydroxide. In particular, the resulting active ester with pentafluorophenol facilitated the subsequent reaction with an amine and the hydrazine derivative to yield the C-terminal amide and hydrazide, respectively. The peptides thus coupled with arginine methyl ester or 2-hydrazino-2-imidazoline containing the guanidino moiety exhibited the positive-ion peaks in matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI) mass spectra with appreciably enhanced intensities. As expected from the reaction mechanism, the carboxyl groups of aspartic and glutamic acid residues were not modified, while the amino groups that could react with the activated peptides were concomitantly protected by formylation. The MALDI peaks corresponding to the C-terminal peptide fragments of proteins were specifically enhanced, discriminating against those from internal peptides that were not tagged with a positive charge. In favorable cases, the C-terminal peptide fragments were clearly discerned by MALDI-MS after chymotryptic digestion and were identified by their MALDI postsource decay analysis. Based on these results, we suggest a method for C-terminal sequencing of a protein.     

Partial hydrogenation of benzene with ruthenium catalysts prepared by a chemical mixing procedure: Preparation and properties of the catalysts

Ruthenium catalysts were prepared in different alcohols by a chemical mixing technique, characterised by the preparation of a homogeneous solution containing catalyst components, and the uniform coagulation of the solution through hydrolysis. The technique has the potential for controlling the surface area of the catalysts and for making them porous. The ruthenium catalysts were much more effective for the partial hydrogenation of benzene to cyclohexene (maximum cyclohexene yield, 31.4%) in the absence of any poison such as alkali metal hydroxide or transitional metal sulphate in the reaction solution.     

Auger electron spectroscopy analysis of SiC layers formed by carbon ion implantation into silicon

Analysis of Si LVV and CKLL Auger spectra combined with Auger in-depth profiles were carried out for SiC layers formed by the implantation of carbon into silicon. It was found that in layers which were implanted with carbon ions to appropriate doses SiC-like bonds were formed at room temperature, although the crystal perfection was not pronounced. When these layers were annealed above 1100°C, their Auger spectra were in good agreement with those of β-SiC. In layers which were implanted with carbon ions much above a critical dose and annealed at 1200°C, however, CKLL Auger spectra showed the presence of graphite-like carbon. This result was consistent with the IR analysis and the transmission electron microscopy or electron diffraction observations reported in our previous papers, and it suggested the formation of carbon clusters. The Auger spectra also showed the advantages of hot implantation over room temperature implantation.     

An efficient method to compute closest loadability limit in power systems

A closest loadability limit (CLL) is considered as a most reliable index in the assessment and enhancement of voltage stability of a power system. Two kinds of methods, the iterative method and the direct N‐R method, have been proposed so far, but the computation of CLL is known to be troublesome. The former method is quite time‐consuming and its convergence is sometimes distributed due to the existence of multiple local CLLs, while the latter method is hardly useful unless a very accurate initial condition is available. This paper proposes a new method to compute a CLL, consisting of three stages of computations. The first stage is to obtain a rough initial estimate of a CLL, where multiple local CLLs can be approximated by the multiple load flow solutions. The initial estimate is refined by the second stage computation based on a method similar to the conventional iterative method. The third stage is to obtain a direct solution by mean of the N‐R method. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated using IEEE 14, 30, 57, and 118 bus test systems. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 140(1): 57–67, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.1171     

Broadband ultrasonic transducers using a LiNbO3 plate with a ferroelectric inversion layer

Some heat treatment of a lithium niobate (LiNbO/sub 3/) plate induces domain inversion, thereby yielding a ferroelectric inversion layer. In such a piezoelectric plate with an inversion layer, even-order thickness-extensional modes, as well as odd-order modes, can be excited piezoelectrically. Therefore, the ultrasonic transducer using such a piezoelectric plate is expected to operate over a wide frequency range. In this paper, it is shown that broadband ultrasonic transducers can be obtained at a certain thickness ratio of inversion layer to plate, and that the transducer characteristics differ depending on whether the inversion layer is on the front side or on the backside. The broadband characteristics are experimentally demonstrated by fabricating transducers with 9 MHz or 75 MHz center frequency using 36/spl deg/ rotated Y-cut LiNbO/sub 3/ plates with a ferroelectric inversion layer.     

Cloning and sequencing of cDNA and genomic DNA encoding serine carboxypeptidase of Fusarium moniliforme that was copurified with phosphatase

A previous study [Yoshida, H. et al., J. Biochem., 140, 813-823 (2006)] revealed that a protein of unknown nature was copurified with PDM phosphatase of Fusarium moniliforme. In this study, the identity of this protein was investigated. The results of homology search for the tryptic peptides derived from the purified preparation of PDM phosphatase strongly suggested that it might be serine carboxypeptidase. In fact, carboxypeptidase activity was demonstrated in the preparation and partial separation of carboxypeptidase from PDM phosphatase was achieved by gel filtration high-performance liquid chromatography. Cloning and sequencing of the full-length cDNA encoding the carboxypeptidase was successfully conducted. The cDNA possessed an open reading frame for a protein of 575 amino acid residues with a molecular mass of 64,650 Da, which was highly homologous to certain fungal serine carboxypeptidases. Comparison of the deduced amino acid sequence with the N-terminal sequence of the separated carboxypeptidase revealed that the mature enzyme starts at serine 56 of the precursor and has a molecular mass of 58,487 Da. Cloning and sequencing of the genomic DNA corresponding to the cDNA demonstrated that the gene of carboxypeptidase consists of four exons. A limited number of close homologs of F. moniliforme carboxypeptidase were detected among fungi by homology search and their evolutionary relationship was discussed.