Intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cell based on lanthanum gallate electrolyte

The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc. (KEPCO) and Mitsubishi Materials Corporation (MMC) have been developing intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (IT-SOFCs) which are operable at a temperature range between 600 and 800 °C. There are some significant features in IT-SOFC of KEPCO–MMC: (1) highly conductive lanthanum gallate-based oxide is adopted as an electrolyte to realize high-performance disk-type electrolyte-supported cells; (2) the cell-stacks with seal-less structure using metallic separators allow residual fuel to burn around the stack and the combustion heat is utilized for thermally self-sustainable operation; (3) the separators have flexible arms by which separate compressive forces can be applied for manifold parts and interconnection parts. We are currently participating in the project by New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) to develop 10 kW-class combined heat and power (CHP) systems. In FY2006, a 10 kW-class module was developed, with which the electrical efficiency of 50%HHV was obtained based on DC 12.6 kW. In the first quarter of FY2007, the 10 kW-class CHP system using the module gave the electrical efficiency of 41%HHV on AC 10 kW and the overall efficiency of 82%HHV when exhaust heat was recovered as 60 °C hot water. Currently, the operation has been accumulated for about 2500 h to evaluate the long-term stability of the system.     

A New Type System for JVM Lock Primitives

A bytecode verifier for the Java virtual machine language (JVML) statically checks that bytecode does not cause any fatal error. However, the present verifier does not check correctness of the usage of lock primitives. To solve this problem, we extend Stata and Abadi’s type system for JVML by augmenting types with information about how each object is locked and unlocked. The resulting type system guarantees that when a thread terminates, it has released all the locks it has acquired and that a thread releases a lock only if it has acquired the lock previously. We have implemented a prototype Java bytecode verifier based on the type system. We have tested the verifier for several classes in the Java run time library and confirmed that the verifier runs efficiently and gives correct answers.

Design and synthesis of novel cyclooxygenase-1 inhibitors as analgesics: 5-amino-2-ethoxy-N-(substituted-phenyl)benzamides

We previously found that N‐(4‐aminophenyl)‐4‐trifluoromethylbenzamide (TFAP), a COX‐1 inhibitor, exhibits an analgesic effect without causing gastric damage. Unfortunately, TFAP causes reddish purple coloration of urine, and its analgesic effect is less potent than that of indomethacin. Herein we describe our study focusing on the development of 4‐ and 5‐amino‐2‐alkoxy‐N‐phenylbenzamide scaffolds, designed on the basis of the structures of TFAP and parsalmide, another known COX‐1 inhibitory analgesic agent. 5‐Amino‐2‐ethoxy‐N‐(2‐ or 3‐substituted phenyl)benzamide derivatives exhibited analgesic activity in a murine acetic acid induced writhing test. Among these compounds, 5‐amino‐2‐ethoxy‐N‐(2‐methoxyphenyl)benzamide ( 9 v ) possesses potent COX‐1 inhibitory and analgesic activities, similar to those of indomethacin. In addition, 5‐amino‐2‐ethoxy‐N‐(3‐trifluoromethylphenyl)benzamide ( 9 g ) showed a more potent analgesic effect than indomethacin or 9 v without causing apparent gastric damage or coloration of urine, although its COX‐1 inhibitory activity was weaker than that of indomethacin or 9 v . Thus, 9 g and 9 v appear to be promising candidates for analgesic agents and are attractive lead compounds for further development of COX‐1 inhibitors.     

Molecular properties of mycelial aggregate-specific lectin of Pleurotus cornucopiae

By cloning and sequencing cDNA, the primary structure of a mycelial aggregate-specific lectin of Pleurotus cornucopiae was determined. The amino acid sequence was novel and elucidated unique properties of this lectin: It was composed of 373 amino acids, 33 of which constitute a signal sequence. The sequence of the mature lectin consisted of two homologous regions having five glycosylation recognition signals and six cysteine residues. However, the distribution of these elements in the two regions was biased. Expression of cDNA in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris revealed the requirement of glycosylation to produce the functional lectin. Gel filtration followed by gel electrophoretic analyses of the purified lectin showed that the active component moved faster than the bulk of the protein, suggesting that the most active lectin formed an oligomer of subunits through disulfide bonds. From these observations, a model for the structure of the active form of this lectin is proposed. Southern hybridization using the cDNA as a probe revealed the presence of several genes. The lectin gene was composed of five exons and five introns.     

Laser patterning and morphology of two-dimensional planar ferroelastic rare-earth molybdate crystals on the glass surface

The laser-induced crystallization method is applied to pattern two-dimensional planar crystals consisting of ferroelastic β′-(Sm,Gd)₂(MoO₄)₃ crystals (designated here as SGMO crystals) on the surface of Sm₂O₃–Gd₂O₃–MoO₃–B₂O₃ glass. By scanning Yb:YVO₄ fiber lasers (wavelength: 1080 nm) continuously with a small pitch (0.7 μm) between laser irradiated parts, planar SGMO crystals with periodic domain structures showing different refractive indices are patterned successfully, and a high orientation of SGMO crystals is confirmed from micro-Raman scattering spectrum and second harmonic intensity measurements. It is found that the crystal growth direction is perpendicular to the laser scanning direction. This relation, i.e., the perpendicular relation, is a different from the behavior in discrete crystal line patterning, where the crystal growth direction is consistent with the laser scanning direction. The present study proposes the possibility of the control of crystal growth direction in laser-induced crystallization in glasses.     

Evaluation of autotrophic growth of ammonia-oxidizers associated with granular activated carbon used for drinking water purification by DNA-stable isotope probing

Nitrification is an important biological function of granular activated carbon (GAC) used in advanced drinking water purification processes. Newly discovered ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) have challenged the traditional understanding of ammonia oxidation, which considered ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) as the sole ammonia-oxidizers. Previous studies demonstrated the predominance of AOA on GAC, but the contributions of AOA and AOB to ammonia oxidation remain unclear. In the present study, DNA-stable isotope probing (DNA-SIP) was used to investigate the autotrophic growth of AOA and AOB associated with GAC at two different ammonium concentrations (0.14 mg N/L and 1.4 mg N/L). GAC samples collected from three full-scale drinking water purification plants in Tokyo, Japan, had different abundance of AOA and AOB. These samples were fed continuously with ammonium and ¹³C-bicarbonate for 14 days. The DNA-SIP analysis demonstrated that only AOA assimilated ¹³C-bicarbonate at low ammonium concentration, whereas AOA and AOB exhibited autotrophic growth at high ammonium concentration. This indicates that a lower ammonium concentration is preferable for AOA growth. Since AOA could not grow without ammonium, their autotrophic growth was coupled with ammonia oxidation. Overall, our results point towards an important role of AOA in nitrification in GAC filters treating low concentration of ammonium.     

Dependence of ion beam current on position of mobile plate tuner in multi-frequencies microwaves electron cyclotron resonance ion source

We are constructing a tandem-type electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS). The first stage of this can supply 2.45 GHz and 11-13 GHz microwaves to plasma chamber individually and simultaneously. We optimize the beam current I(FC) by the mobile plate tuner. The I(FC) is affected by the position of the mobile plate tuner in the chamber as like a circular cavity resonator. We aim to clarify the relation between the I(FC) and the ion saturation current in the ECRIS against the position of the mobile plate tuner. We obtained the result that the variation of the plasma density contributes largely to the variation of the I(FC) when we change the position of the mobile plate tuner.     

Nanometer-scale layer modification of polycarbonate surface by scratching with tip oscillation using an atomic force microscope

This paper presents a simple and reliable technique for nanometer-scale layer modification of a polycarbonate (PC) surface using an atomic force microscope (AFM). The AFM tip, coated with amorphous carbon was made to oscillate vertically at its resonance frequency. With tip oscillating in tapping mode, it scan-scratched the PC surface to make the desired modification. This action carved the PC surface without distorting it. The bottom of the depression made by scan-scratching with the oscillating tip was obviously flat in comparison with the area scan-scratched without tip oscillation in contact mode. The depth of the scan-scratched depression was controlled by adjusting the amplitude of oscillation and the scanning speed of scratching. This technique is very interesting for microtribology and surface modification.