Thermoelectric Generation Using Water Lenses

A solar light concentrator composed of water and plastic transparent film has been designed. This flexible lens design can trace the solar movement through control of the tensile stress and amount of water, and concentrate the solar energy onto the thermoelectric (TE) module surface. An experimental water lens was constructed, and the concentrated intensity was monitored by a photodiode as a function of x–z position; For example, when 3.0 kg water was filled and tension of 69.0 N/m was applied to the transparent vinyl sheet, the concentration ratio was evaluated as the maximum of 28.0 at a depth of 657 mm from the water lens bottom surface. TE generation was tested to show the validity of the water lens. The surface condition of the receiver was found to be critical.     

Dielectric relaxation phenomenon of rare earth Nd3+ modified bismuth layer ferroelectric ceramics fabricated by plasma active sintering method

Abstract

The crystalline structure, dielectric relaxation and ferroelectric properties of the solid solution, Nd _x Bi_4-x Ti₃O₁₂ (NBIT) compound were measured. The Curie temperature of the NBIT ceramics was determined to be 490°C from dielectric measurements. The dielectric constant of the NBIT ceramics shows a small anisotropic property. Polarization switching was observed using a Sawyer-Tower circuit at 50 Hz. Remnant polarizations and coercive fields could not be confirmed since the hysteresis loops were not saturated. The large dielectric relaxation is observed in the frequency range between 100 kHz and 1 MHz.     

Characterization of Deformability of Spheroidal Cementite by Residual Stress Measurement

This article deals with the characterization of the mechanical behaviors of spheroidized carbon steels, which contain ferrite and spheroidal cementite. The aim of the study is to identify the deformation behaviors of cementite particles by x-ray diffraction and to correlate them to the residual stress state evolution. The stress state evolutions for both phases during an in situ 4-point bending test and after a uniaxial tensile test that have been well followed by x-ray diffraction. After each tensile loading, optical observation is made to correlate the determined residual stress state with the microstructure. The coupling of techniques helps us to characterize the deformation evolution of spheroidal cementite in the carbon steel: at the initial state, the cementite shows the same elastic behavior as the ferrite; at the next state, the ferrite begins to deform plastically but the cementite deforms elastically; then, plastic relaxation occurs in the ferrite while the cementite still deforms elastically until finally breaking.     

A method for dispersing dry nano-sized particles in a liquid using carrier particles

A method for dispersing dry particles in a liquid is described. The method involves coating large carrier particles with fine particles. When two types of particles having different sizes are mixed in dry conditions, the particles adhere to one another, and the large particles become coated with small particles. When the large core particles are coated with a mono-layer of small particles, further agglomeration is inhibited. Because the single small particles generated by the disruption adhere to the core particles, we presumed that, if the small particles that are adhered to large particles could be separated from the large particles by a sonication in a liquid, the dry fine particles could be dispersed in a liquid.The dispersion experiments conducted using spherical silica particles having a count median diameter D_p50 of 74 nm as small particles and spherical glass beads as large particles. In this situation, the large particles carry the small particles from a dry condition into a liquid. We refer to the large particles as carrier particles. The experiments revealed that the proposed dispersion procedure results in a superior product, compared to sonication only. The effect of carrier size on dispersion performance is also investigated. The findings indicate and an optimum carrier size exists. Observations of the carrier particle surfaces after dry mixing indicate that the optimum condition is the condition at which a mono-layer of Silica particles is formed.     

Viscoelastic Stress Analysis of a Strip Plate under Moving Contact with Dry Friction

Moving contact problems in a viscoelastic body with a rigidindentor are often seen in an industrial field. An evaluation of thetime-temperature-dependent stress and strain behavior around a contactregion is required in order to make clear the fundamental mechanism ofthe local fracture and wear on the contact surface of the viscoelasticbody under moving loads with dry friction. No analyses have yet beenpublished about the stress/strain of the viscoelastic moving contactproblem with the dry friction using both an experimental and a numericalmethod. The authors discuss an experimental and a numerical model forthe analysis of not only the viscoelastic stress and strain, but alsodeformations, taking into consideration the dry friction. Animage-processing-aided photoviscoelastic technique is applied foranalyzing the principal stress and strain behavior near the contactregion. Also, a two-dimensional plane stress model which consists of aviscoelastic strip and a rigid sliding cylinder is adopted in a finiteelement analysis of the same problem. The time-dependent stress andstrain and the coefficient of dry friction are successfully evaluated byexperimental and numerical methods.     

Development of high water-content cutting fluids with a new concept: Fire prevention and environmental protection

Using water-insoluble cutting fluids, which are good in lubricity but easy to mist, always risks firing and environmental problems. On the other hand, the current water-soluble coolants fail to deliver sufficient lubricity to heavy cutting applications. This study has newly proposed and developed a high water-content cutting fluid, based upon a new concept of having high lubricity despite of its water-soluble nature. As compared to the commercialized water-insoluble cutting fluid, the new cutting fluids shows a better capability of preventing oil mist and is fully applicable into cutting of various metallic materials, particularly effective in cutting of S45C and SUS304. The study also reveals a fact that a sulfur-type extreme pressure agent is the key element to enhance the cutting performance at high temperature.     

Metal release from stainless steel, Co–Cr–Mo–Ni–Fe and Ni–Ti alloys in vascular implants

A seven-day immersion test using several solutions was conducted on stainless steel, Co-based alloy, and Ni–Ti alloy, which are used for stents and stent grafts. The quantitative data on the release of each metal ion and the correlation between metal ion release rate and pH were obtained. The quantities of Fe and Ni released from stainless steel gradually decreased with increasing solution pH (pH 2–7.5). For Co–Cr–Mo–Ni–Fe alloy, the quantity of Cr released steadily increased as pH decreased (pH ≤ 6) and reached nearly zero at pHs higher than 6 (pH 6–7.5). Co release was slightly affected by a variation in pH. The quantities of Ni and Ti released from Ni–Ti alloy markedly increased with decreasing pH (pH ≤ 4) and they leveled off from pH 4 (pH 4–7.5). Although the rapid increases were observed at approximately pH 2, the quantities were even higher than that of Co released from the Co–Cr–Mo and Co–Cr–Mo–Ni–Fe alloys. For further investigation of the rapid increase in the quantities of metals released at pH 2, an anodic polarization test was employed to study the passive and transpassive behaviours of Ni–Ti alloy. The critical current density for the passivation of Ni–Ti alloy markedly increased as pH decreased (pH ≤ 4) and was low (1.4 μA/cm²) at pH higher than 4 (pH 4–7.5). The potential at a current density of 10 μA/cm², by contrast, markedly rose with decreasing pH (pH ≤ 2), and was 1.2 V from pH 2 (pH 2–7.5).     

Graphitization behavior of iodine-treated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bombyx mori</Emphasis> silk fibroin fiber

In order to investigate the graphitization behavior of Bombyx mori silk fibroin (SF) fibers, structural inspection of carbonized SF fibers treated with iodine vapor was studied at different temperatures, from 800 to 1400 °C. Wide angle X-ray diffraction measurement suggested that both untreated and iodinated SF fibers exhibited amorphous structure carbonized to 1200 °C. After carbonization at 1400 °C for 12 h, a graphite-like structure was obtained. Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopic observation showed that the graphite layers of SF fibers became more ordered after iodine treatment. The carbon yield obtained at higher temperature (1400 °C) after iodine treatment was higher, ca. 28 wt%, than that of untreated SF.     

Mutated KIT Tyrosine Kinase as a Novel Molecular Target in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

KIT is a type-III receptor tyrosine kinase that contributes to cell signaling in various cells. Since KIT is activated by overexpression or mutation and plays an important role in the development of some cancers, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors and mast cell disease, molecular therapies targeting KIT mutations are being developed. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), genome profiling via next-generation sequencing has shown that several genes that are mutated in patients with AML impact patients’ prognosis. Moreover, it was suggested that precision-medicine-based treatment using genomic data will improve treatment outcomes for AML patients. This paper presents (1) previous studies regarding the role of KIT mutations in AML, (2) the data in AML with KIT mutations from the HM-SCREEN-Japan-01 study, a genome profiling study for patients newly diagnosed with AML who are unsuitable for the standard first-line treatment (unfit) or have relapsed/refractory AML, and (3) new therapies targeting KIT mutations, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and heat shock protein 90 inhibitors. In this era when genome profiling via next-generation sequencing is becoming more common, KIT mutations are attractive novel molecular targets in AML.