Thermodynamic Regularities in Perovskite and K2NiF4 Compounds

It has been found that the enthalpy of formation of perovskite compounds, Δ_fH° (ABO₃, B = transition metais), from binary oxides can be well characterized in terms the tolerance factor, t≡(r_A+ r_o)√2 (r_B+ r_o), where r_A and r_B are the radii of A-site ions with 12-coordination and B-site ions with 6-coordination, respectively, and Δ_fH°=−168 + 270(1 − t) kJ·mol⁻¹ for A^IB^VO₃, Δ_fH°=−125 + 1000(1 − t) kJ·mol⁻¹ for A^IIB^IVO₃, and Δ_fH°=− 90 + 720(1 − t) kJ·mol⁻¹ for A^IIIB^IIIO₃. Although the thermodynamic data of K₂NiF₄ compounds are not extensive, a similar regularity can be found when use is made of the radii of A-site ions with 9-coordination for the K₂NiF₄ compounds. These correlations will be quite useful in predicting.     

Multi-level,multi-objective optimization in process engineering

This paper presents a method for feasible decomposition applicable to large-scale, non-linear, multi-objective problems. The method, comprising a multi-level problem formulation and an interactive algorithm, has distinct advantages for dealing with real-world multi-objective optimization which is carried out by hierarchically arranged units of decision-making. The method is illustrated by its application to the optimal design of a water use and treatment process system.     

Preparation of Porous Ceramics with Calcium Metaphosphate Fiber Skeleton for Biomedical Use

High-strength calcium metaphosphate fibers for biomedical applications are extracted from crystallized products of calcium ultraphosphate glasses by aqueous leaching. In the present work, new types of porous ceramics with a skeleton composed of the crystalline fibers are prepared by heating the fibrous products extracted. The fibers in the ceramic are interlinked to each other by glassy phases formed during the heating. This porous material has a large porosity of >60%. The surface of the skeleton can be successfully converted into new calcium phosphate phases such as apatite by heating the porous material treated with a molten salt mixture of CaCl₂-Ca(NO₃)₂.     

High oleic acid oil suppresses lung tumorigenesis in mice through the modulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase cascade

This study was undertaken to estimate the effect of dietary high oleic acid oil (OA) on 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)-induced lung tumorigenesis in mice. Diet containing 10% oil was fed to mice through experimental periods. On day 30 after NNK injection (100 mg/kg body weight, i.p.), the treatment increased the level of prostaglandin E₂ (PGE₂) as well as proliferating cell nuclear antigen, a marker of cell proliferation in a high linoleic acid oil (LA)-fed group but not in an OA-fed group. The NNK treatment also induced the activation of an extracellular signal-regulated kinase (Erk) cascade (Erk, Mek and Raf-1) in an LA-fed group. On the other hand, OA feeding abolished the NNK-induced activation of the Erk cascade. In conjugation with these events, OA feeding reduced lung tumor incidence and tumor multiplicity (percentage of mice with tumors) in mice compared with LA feeding at the 20th experimental week. These results suggest that OA suppresses lung tumorigenesis and that this suppression is correlated with the inhibition of PGE₂ production and inactivation of the Erk cascade.     

Separation and determination of glycolipids from edible plant sources by high-performance liquid chromatography and evaporative light-scattering detection

Glycolipids from edible plant sources were accurately quantified by silica-based, normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using an evaporative light-scattering detector. Five major glycolipid classes (acylated steryl glucoside, steryl glucoside, ceramide monohexoside, monogalactosyldiacylglycerol, and digalactosyldiacylglycerol) were separated and determined with a binary gradient system consisting of chloroform and methanol/water (95∶5, vol/vol) without any interference from other lipid classes and pigments. The described method was applied to 48 edible plants available in Japan including cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits. Examined plant species contained glycolipids in wide concentration ranges, such as 5–645 mg/100 g tissue.     

Microstructure and Thermal Shock Resistance of Molten Glass-Coated Carbon Materials Fabricated by Interfacial Control

Carbon substrates were coated completely with a molten silicate glass, where the wettability of carbon to glass was improved by infiltration and pyrolysis of perhydropolysilazane. Microstructures of the carbon–glass interface were dependent on P n ₂ during coating. Coating at lower P n ₂ induced the formation of cristobalite at the carbon–glass interface. When the coating was performed at higher P n ₂, the glass and carbon were strongly adhered, without the formation of cristobalite. Coating at higher P n ₂ improved the thermal shock resistance of the glass layer, because crack initiation was not induced by the phase transformation of cristobalite during the cooling process. In the case of coating at higher P n ₂, an oxynitride glass layer was formed at the glass subsurface by dissolution of N₂. A porous glass subsurface layer with uniform spherical micro-pores could be produced by soaking near the glass transition temperature in a steam environment. The porous layer with fine and homogeneous microstructure acts as a thermal shock absorbing layer, so that glass-coated carbon with a porous glass layer has excellent thermal shock resistance in addition to steam oxidation resistance.     

Synthesis of γ-Ga2O3–Al2O3 Solid Solutions by the Glycothermal Method

The reaction of mixtures of aluminum isopropoxide and gallium acetylacetonate in 1,4-butanediol or 1,5-pentanediol at high temperatures (glycothermal reaction) directly gave the γ-Ga₂O₃–Al₂O₃ solid solutions, which had high catalytic activities for selective reduction of NO using methane as the reducing agent. However, the reaction with a higher Al/(Ga+Al) charged ratio yielded the glycol derivative of boehmite as a by-product and the catalytic activity of the solid solution decreased. Therefore, synthesis of the solid solution using various glycols was examined and it was found that solid solutions with high Al contents without contamination of the glycol derivative of boehmite were obtained by using 1,6-hexanediol as a reaction medium. The solid solution exhibited a higher NO conversion than that synthesized in other glycols.     

Continuous-velocity lattice gas cellular automata for miscible binary fluid and its application to simulation of interface instability

Continuous-velocity lattice gas cellular automata (CVLGA) is extended to miscible binary fluid systems. A new parameter is introduced in order to control the diffusivity of the fluids. The correlation between the diffusivity and the new parameter proves that there exists the maximum value of the diffusivity. Quantitative verifications of the model are carried out with numerical simulations of the diffusion phenomena across a falling fluid film. The model is then applied to the simulations of Rayleigh-Taylor instability during the gravitational mixing phenomena. The qualitative tendency of the growth of the interface instability is the same as that obtained in conventional numerical methods.     

Decomposition of Carbon Dioxide to Carbon with Active Wustite at 300°C

Active wustite (FeδO, with a δ value of 0.98) was prepared by keeping normal wustite (δ value of 0.94) in a N₂ atmosphere at 300°C for 10 min. This reaction is given by (4δ₂–3)Fe_δ1O→(4δ₁–3)Fe_δ2O + (δ₂–δ₁)Fe₃O₄ where δ₁= 0.94 and δ₂= 0.98. The equation indicates that the normal wustite undergoes eutectoid decomposition into active wustite and stoichiometric magnetite (Fe₃O₄). Carbon dioxide (1.013 × 10⁵ Pa) was almost completely (100%) decomposed into carbon (zero valence) by the active wustite at the low temperature of 300°C, which was associated with the transformation of the active wustite into the stoichiometric magnetite. The internal pressure of the reaction cell eventually became a vacuum.     

Experimental analyses for electronic structure of barium zirconate-strontium zirconate proton-conducting solid solution

In proton-conducting oxides, analyses for their electronic structure contribute to the understanding of interactions between defects in them. In this study, electronic band alignment of (1−x)BaZr_0.8Y_0.2O_3−δ(BZY)–xSrZr_0.95Y_0.05O_3−δ(SZY) proton-conducting solid-solution system (BSZY) which has high defect concentration and the deep valence band is experimentally investigated. By using thin-film specimens for optical absorption measurements, absorption edges derived from electron transition from the valence band to the conduction band which was insensitive to the proton incorporation were clearly observed in spite of the high defect concentration. The obtained optical band gap energy increased from 5.61 to 5.89 eV with increasing x, which was consistent with a composition dependence of Zr(Y)O₆ octahedral tilting. Ultraviolet photon-yield spectroscopy (UV-PYS) measurements under vacuum condition revealed that BZY and SZY had ionization energy of 6.98 and 7.31 eV, respectively, and thus the absolute energy levels of the valence band maximum and the conduction band minimum of BSZY were experimentally clarified. We propose that the combination of the optical absorption measurements using thin-film specimens and the UV-PYS measurements under vacuum condition is effective in evaluating fundamental electronic structures of proton-conducting oxides.