Abnormal metabolism of polyunsaturated fatty acids and phospholipids in diabetic glomeruli

Studies were done on changes in phospholipid content and fatty acid composition of phospholipids and on the role of the acylation pathway in synthesis of phospholipids in the development of abnormal fatty acid composition in the glomeruli of rats 2 and 10 mo after induction of diabetes with streptozotocin. The proportions of individual phospholipids in the glomeruli of rats were not changed 2 mo after induction of diabetes, but the proportion of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) decreased and that of sphingomyelin increased 10 mo after induction of diabetes. In contrast, in liver the proportion of PE was increased and that of phosphatidylcholine was decreased. These results showed that changes of individual phospholipids in glomeruli were time-dependent and tissue-specific. Two mo after induction of diabetes, the main change in the phospholipid fatty acid composition of diabetic glomeruli was a decrease in arachidonic acid (AA); the main change in serum free fatty acids (FFA) was an increase in linoleic acid (LA) and a decrease in AA. Ten mo after induction of diabetes, the main changes in the phospholipid fatty acid composition of glomeruli were an increase in LA and a decrease in AA; the main change of the serum FFA composition was a decrease in AA. Thus, the fatty acid composition of glomerular phospholipids was not directly correlated to that of the serum in diabetic rats. Acyl-CoA synthetase and acyltransferase activities increased in diabetic glomeruli with either AA or LA as substrate, but activity toward LA increased more at 2 mo after induction of diabetes. Acyl-CoA synthetase activity increased in diabetic glomeruli with LA as substrate, but that did not change with AA as substrate at 10 mo after induction of diabetes. Furthermore, acyltransferase activity decreased in diabetic glomeruli with AA as substrate, although that did not change with LA as substrate at 10 mo after induction of diabetes.     

Poly(pyridine-2,5-diyl)–CuCl2 catalyst for synthesis of dimethyl carbonate by oxidative carbonylation of methanol: catalytic activity and corrosion influence

A -conjugated polymer, poly(pyridine-2,5-diyl) (PPy) was investigated as a support for CuCl₂ in the synthesis of dimethyl carbonate by oxidative carbonylation of methanol. The PPy–CuCl₂ adduct had high catalytic activity which was comparable to that of the homogeneous CuCl₂ catalyst. The adduct caused corrosion of stainless-steel vessels only to minor extent, compared with the homogeneous CuCl₂ catalyst. This PPy–CuCl₂ catalyst was easily recycled by filtration and showed a similar catalytic activity in the third time use. The presence of the -conjugated system in PPy, through which electrons can move, may bring about the high catalytic activity for the oxidative carbonylation of methanol, which involves Cu(II)/Cu(I) redox processes.     

Novel Perovskite-Type Oxide Catalysts for Dehydrogenation of Ethylbenzene to Styrene

We investigated novel LaMnOx perovskite-oxide (ABO₃) catalysts for effective catalytic dehydrogenation of ethylbenzene to produce styrene monomer. Comparison with industrial Fe–K catalyst, our La_0.8Ba_0.2Mn_0.6Fe_0.4O_3-δ catalyst showed higher activity. Results show that the A-site in perovskite-type oxides affected catalytic dehydrogenation activities and that the B-site affected stability of the activities.     

Dielectric Depression and Dispersion in Electrophoretically Fabricated BaTiO3 Ceramic Films

Dielectric depression and dispersion were observed in BaTiO3 ceramic films fabricated by electrophoretic deposition followed by sintering. The dielectric constants were depressed down to 6800–4600 around the Curie point ( T _C ). The dielectric dispersion occurred above T _C . These dielectric properties are attributable to a surface layer formed during sintering. XRD analysis indicated that the surface layer was a hexagonal-like BaTiO₃ phase. A mixed solvent of acetylacetone and alcohol employed in the present work may have been responsible for the formation of the surface layer.     

Dependence of property, cathode characteristics, thermodynamic stability, and average and local structures on heat-treatment condition for LiNi0.5Mn0.5O2 as a cathode active material for Li-ion battery

LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ was heat-treated under high oxygen-pressure and Ar-reducing conditions, and then the cathode properties, thermodynamic stability and average and local structures were investigated. From X-ray diffraction and ICP measurements, it was found that the pristine LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ had a single phase of the layered rock-salt structure although the Ni content was slightly rich compared with the nominal one. These characteristics were kept even after the heat-treatments. Charge–discharge cycle tests clarified that the cycle performance of LiNi_0.5Mn_0.5O₂ was improved by both the reducing and oxidizing treatments. From neutron diffraction and X-ray absorption fine structure measurements, the local distortion around the transition metal, especially Ni, was supposed to be one of the important factors to determine the cathode properties. It was also found that the sample with higher thermodynamic stability exhibited better capacity retention in the discharge–charge cycle tests.     

Risk hedging against the fuel price fluctuation in energy service business

Energy service business, or energy service company (ESCO), is expanding among industrial users as a means of energy saving. The ESCO business normally tends to become a long-term operation. During the operation, fluctuations of fuel and electricity costs significantly impact on the stability of the profit from ESCO business. Therefore, it is essential to reduce the risk of fuel and electricity cost fluctuations. Generally, a transaction called “financial derivative” is used as a measure of hedging against the fuel price fluctuation. In the case of ESCO business, it is necessary to manage the risk of both electricity and fuel price fluctuations because the variation in electricity price strongly affects the profit from ESCO as that in fuel price does.     

Numerical prediction of sound generated from flows with a low Mach number

Numerical computations of sound generated from flows with a low Mach number are presented based on Lighthill’s acoustic analogy with an assumption that sound does not alter the flow field from which it is generated. The source fluctuations of the flow field are computed by a large-eddy simulation (LES) with Dynamic Smagorinsky Model (DSM) and they are fed to the following acoustical computation as input data. An explicit/implicit finite element method with second order accuracy both in time and space is used for flow field discretization. The method is applied to the prediction of sound in three different classes of problems: far-field sound generated from flow around a bluff body, sound resulting from blade-stator interaction of turbomachinery and sound due to a turbulent boundary layer on an aerofoil. The computed frequency spectra of the sound show a fairly good agreement with the measured spectra for all the cases.     

THE EXTRACTION OF NEPTUNIUM(V) BY METHYLTRIOCTYLAMMONIUM CHLORIDE AND 1-PHENYL-3-METHYL-4-BENZOYL-5-PYRAZOLONE

The synergistic effect of methyltrioctylammonium chloride (QCI) on the extraction of Np(V) by 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-benzoyl-pyrazolone(HP) in benzene is studied over the pH range 2-6. This system extracts Np(V) better than any previously reported. The interaction of the extractants and monomer-dimer equilibria affect the distribution behavior of Np(V) in a complicated manner. Analysis of the results suggests that NpO₂ ⁺ (M⁺) is extracted as mixed dimers, (QMP₂QCl)_o and (QMP₂QP)_o.     

In-Flight Nitridation of Molybdenum Disilicide Powders by an Induction Plasma

The in-flight nitridation of MoSi₂ powder particles was attempted in an argon-nitrogen induction plasma, with and without tail gas quenching. The inductive power level, reactor pressure, plasma-gas composition, and quantity of quench gas, as well as the species of quench gas, were investigated to obtain substantial nitridation of the MoSi₂ powder particles. Under investigated conditions, ∼2.8 wt% of nitrogen was incorporated into the MoSi₂ powder particles.     

Multi-component granulation in a fast fluidized bed

The granulation of multi-component particles was conducted in a fast fluidized bed with an atomizing binder solution. The effects of gas velocity and binder droplet diameter on granulation rate, granule size distribution and granule composition were studied. The granulation rate and granule yield were determined by the balance between the agglomeration rate of feed particles and the disintegration rate of granules because there was no secondary granulation. With the increase in gas velocity and the reduction in binder droplet size, the agglomeration rate of feed particles decreased but the disintegration rate of granules increased, resulting in a reduced granule yield. Despite the larger fraction of small particles in the granules, the homogenous granulation of multi-component particles was achieved.