Surface charge controlled magnetic nanoparticles with grafting of poly(4-vinylpyridine)

Poly(4-vinylpyridine)-grafted magnetic nanoparticles were prepared by the "graft to" method. Surface-modified magnetic particles are covered with a hydrophobic layer because it can be dispersed in organic solvents such as methanol, toluene, benzene, and chloroform, but not in water. Surface charge control with magnetic nanoparticles of various isoelectric point was achieved by quaternization of pyridyl groups, and the positively charged particles can be dispersed in water within a wide range of pH.     

Three-Phase Static Power Supplies for Air-Conditioned Electric Coaches using High Power GTO

The electrical design, characteristics, construction, and test results of a 170-kVA static power supply using 2500-V 600-A gate turn-off (GTO) thyristors developed for a wide range of electric railway applications are discussed. This power supply is principally composed of a thyristor chopper at an elementary frequency of 360 Hz and three-phase gate turn-off thyristor inverters in the form of a twelve-phase bridge configuration. It is capable of stabilizing a 60-Hz ac voltage and twelve-phase waveform. The bulk and weight of this power supply are ascribed to the avoidance of an inverter commutating circuit, which contains parasitic thyristors, capacitors, and inductances. The applied strategy is derived from the trend of the state of the art regarding switching cells and commuter trains.     

Colour-odour correspondences in women during the menstrual cycle: Comparative analysis between the menstrual and ovulation phases

Women might experience modulation in their perception and cognition of colours and odours during the menstrual cycle, but how women's impressions of and correspondence between colours and odours differ according to the cycle changes remains unknown. Here, we experimentally examined women's performance of several tasks, including evaluation of impressions of colours and odours, matching/nonmatching of colours with odours, and identification of odours, comparing two phases: the beginning of menstruation and ovulation. The results showed that participants had similar impressions of colours and odours and made similar colour choices for odours in both the menstrual and ovulation phases, while “pleasant-unpleasant” impressions of colour and odour might vary according to the menstrual cycle. We found no significant differences in odour identification between the phases. The findings imply that hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle might affect “pleasant-unpleasant” impressions of colour and odour but not other features regarding impressions or crossmodal correspondence. In future studies, examination with a large number of participants is necessary.     

New kinetic aspects on the mechanism of thermal oxidative degradation of polypropylenes with various tacticities

Thermal oxidative degradation behavior of polypropylene (PP) with different tacticities was studied based on the activation energy (ΔE) data obtained by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The ΔE value showed a negative proportion to the content of meso pentad fraction (mmmm) in all of isotactic PP (iPP) samples, and that of syndiotactic PP sample considerably deviated from this negative proportion relationship. Since the value of mmmm was directly related to polymer chain conformation, the ΔE value was thought to have close connection with the concentration of 3₁ helix conformation in the iPPs. The ΔE changes would be caused by the competition between uni- and bimolecular hydroperoxide decomposition, which was controlled by concentration and character of conformations of PPs.     

High‐frequency equivalent circuit of an induction motor driven by a PWM inverter

This paper deals with the high‐frequency equivalent circuits in an induction motor driven by a PWM inverter. The leakage current flows through stray capacitance among stator windings and iron core (frame) of the induction motor at the switching instants of the inverter transistors. The high‐frequency equivalent circuits are derived based on the frequency characteristics of the high‐frequency zero‐phase impedance and line‐to‐line impedance of the induction motor. The validity of the derived equivalent circuits is confirmed by simulation and experimental results. © 2001 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 135(1): 65–76, 2001     

Preparation of resins having various phosphonium groups and their adsorption and elution behavior for anionic surfactants

Resins containing phosphonium groups were prepared by reaction of chlorohydroxylated glycidylmethacrylate–divinylbenzene macroreticular resins with three trialkylphosphines. Triethylphosphine, tributylphosphine, and trioctylphosphine were used as trialkylphosphines. Adsorption and elution behavior of sodium benzenesulfonate (SBS) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) on the resins were studied. Adsorption of SBS and SDBS increased with increasing the alkyl chain length of phosphonium groups in the resins. The adsorption of SBS decreased with increasing ionic strength of the solution, while the adsorption of SDBS increased with increasing ionic strength of the solution. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 72: 371–378, 1999     

All-solid-state lithium secondary batteries using LiCoO2 particles with pulsed laser deposition coatings of Li2S-P2S5 solid electrolytes

Electrode-electrolyte composite materials were prepared by coating a highly conductive Li₂S-P₂S₅ solid electrolyte onto LiCoO₂ electrode particles using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Cross-sections of the composite electrode layers of the all-solid-state cells were observed using a transmission electron microscope to investigate the packing morphology of the LiCoO₂ particles and the distribution of solid electrolyte in the composite electrode. All-solid-state cells based on a composite electrode composed entirely of solid-electrolyte-coated LiCoO₂ were fabricated, and their performance was investigated. The coating amounts of Li₂S-P₂S₅ solid electrolytes on LiCoO₂ particles and the conductivity of the coating material were controlled to increase the capacity of the resulting all-solid-state cells. All-solid-state cells using LiCoO₂ with thick solid electrolyte coatings, grown over 120 min, had a capacity of 65 mAh g⁻¹, without any addition of Li₂S-P₂S₅ solid electrolyte particles to the composite electrode. The capacity of the all-solid-state cell increased further after increasing the conductivity of the Li₂S-P₂S₅ solid electrolyte coating by heat treatment at 200 °C. Furthermore, an all-solid-state cell based on a composite electrode using both a solid electrolyte coating and added solid electrolyte particles was fabricated, and the capacity of the resulting all-solid-state cell increased to 95 mAh g⁻¹.     

Analyzing Method of Temporal Brain Activation in fMRI Measurements

In this paper, we propose a method to acquire the temporal changes of activations by combining a slide of the analysis time window and t‐value. An advantage of this method is that it can acquire rough changes of the activated areas even with data having low time resolution. Nine normal subjects participated in the study of the visual oddball paradigm, which consisted of a random series of 30 targets and 30 control stimuli. Here, the subjects were instructed to push a button as the go‐task when a target stimulus occurred. We investigated the activated area in three types of analysis time sections: from stimulus onset to 5 s after the stimulus (time section A; TS‐A); from 5 to 10 s (TS‐B); and from 10 to 15 s (TS‐C). We also investigated the temporal change of the t‐value between go and no‐go responses in blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signals. In this study, we picked up the following eight representative areas corresponding with previous reports: left primary motor area and left somatosensory motor area, supramarginal gyri (SMG), right superior parietal lobule, right inferior frontal gyrus, cerebellum (cerebellar tonsil), and right medial frontal gyrus. Among them, the left primary motor area and left somatosensory motor area showed prominent activation (t > 10) in TS‐A and TS‐B, respectively. Activity at the left supramarginal gyrus decreased gradually with time, and right insula showed constant activation through all time sections. We could see various patterns on temporal activation at different positions in the brain. Copyright © 2008 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The development of a high functional continuous filtration system for sericite powders

A cake-less continuous filtration equipment has been developed based on an evaluation of inorganic powder slurry characteristics by many kinds of measurement methods, such as a sedimentation test under gravity and a hydrostatic pressure test. We have been developing a high-performance cake-less filtration system in which a condensed inorganic powder slurry layer maintains its fluidity. The development of this novel filtration system has allowed us to cease the scraping operation of the cake as well as to collect the highly condensed slurry more easily. These results clearly show that a new device may be realized for the deposition of highly condensed, fluid slurries. It is confirmed that the concentration of the condensed slurry amounted to 35 vol% while still retaining fluidity. The specifications of our new filtration system and its operation conditions for scale-up can be determined by theoretical methods. There is good potential for successfully collecting high condensation slurry more easily in a multiple filter system.