Visualized measurement of extremely high-speed droplets in Venturi scrubber

Venturi scrubbers for filtered venting have been installed in nuclear power plants worldwide. Venturi scrubbers can eliminate fission products from a polluted gas by interaction through gas–liquid interfaces. Therefore, droplet diameter is important from the viewpoint of decontamination. When Venturi scrubbers are used in severe accidents, the gas flow velocity might be extremely high. In these studies, the authors did not measure droplet diameter under extremely high gas velocity conditions. In the scenarios, experimental data pertaining to droplet diameter, under the extremely high gas flow velocity, are required. Therefore, this objective is to evaluate the diameter of extremely high-speed droplets. A visualization experiment was conducted using a Venturi scrubber. The droplet diameter distribution and the Sauter mean diameter (SMD) were determined. By comparing between the experimental value of SMDs and the one evaluated using Nukiyama–Tanasawa equation, it was confirmed that the Nukiyama–Tanasawa equation can be used to evaluate SMD with good accuracy in the gas velocity range of 82–250 m/s, except the highest gas velocity conditions. Furthermore, the droplet generation mechanism in the Venturi scrubber was considered to clarify the main reason why the Nukiyama–Tanasawa equation can be used to evaluate SMD droplet diameter.     

Synthesis of New Pb-Based 1222 Cuprates Containing Phosphorus, (Pb0.75P0.25)Sr2(RE2–x–y Ce x Sr y )Cu2O z (RE = Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Y)

New Pb-based 1222 cuprates containing phosphorus have been synthesized in the (Pb_0.75P_0.25)Sr₂- (RE_2–x–y Ce _x Sr _y )Cu₂O _z (RE = Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, and Y) systems. The almost-single phase samples are obtained for 0.5≤x≤1.0 and y=0.1 in the cases of RE = Nd, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Y, while for 0.3≤x≤1.0 and y=0.1 in the cases of RE = Sm, Eu and Gd. The samples crystallize in a tetragonal lattice, the lattice parameters a and c are decreasing with the decrease of the ionic radius of the RE element. Even after annealing under 143 atm O₂ atmosphere at 400 °C, almost all the samples with the common values x=0.5 and y=0.1 are semiconductors with a transport process followed by three-dimensional variable range hopping. However, the samples of RE = Sm, Eu and Gd, which are of almost single 1222 phase, even for x=0.3 and y=0.1, show superconductivity with the onsets at about 25 K, 20 K and 22 K, respectively. Through this study, we find very important procedure for discovery of new superconducting 1222 compound.     

Inter-comparison of various global sea surface temperature products

In this study, eight global sea surface temperature (SST) products for 2009 are compared to clarify their characteristics. The median of eight daily values, the Ensemble Median as Reference Product (EMRP), is used as a reference product for inter-comparison. The results show that the absolute value of mean differences and the value of root mean square (RMS) differences are higher in single-microwave products such as Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth observing system (AMSR-E), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Microwave Imager (TMI), and WindSat, than in products such as MicroWave Optimally Interpolated SST (MWOI), Merged satellite and in situ data Global Daily SST (MGD), and Operational Sea Surface Temperature and Sea Ice Analysis (OSTIA) constructed by merging several SST data. It is of note that the characteristics of SST products depend on the type of SST used within the product, rather than the data source used. A comparison of SST products was also conducted using EMRP and data observed by moored buoys. The results show that only AMSR-E has a warm bias (+0.06°C) while other products have a cool bias (maximum value ?0.10°C). The RMS error of TMI is the highest (0.57°C), and that of EMRP the lowest (0.28°C). Furthermore, the temporal variability between the data in each SST product was compared to those observed by the Kuroshio Extension Observatory (KEO) buoy. Results show that the temporal variability of EMRP corresponds well to that of buoy data, and that the RMS error of EMRP is lower than that of the other SST products.     

Analysis of spatial smoothing effect of short‐term fluctuation of global solar radiation based on data including quantization error

Photovoltaic (PV) systems are attracting attention as one of the promising countermeasures against global warming and the environmental issues. However, the generation output from PV systems is generally unstable and unpredictable. Therefore, large penetration of PV systems may cause some serious impacts on power system operation, such as load frequency control, voltage regulation, etc. Estimation of the influences of PV system installation is becoming important, but it requires simultaneous multipoint solar radiation measurements. The Japan Meteorological Business Support Center has provided 1‐minute meteorological data observed in Japan, but its solar radiation data includes quantization errors. This paper proposes a regeneration method for solar radiation data including quantization errors. It also analyzes the spatial smoothing effect of global solar radiation fluctuations. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 180(3): 55–63, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21274     

NMR-Guided Repositioning of Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs into Tight Junction Modulators

Bioavailability is a major bottleneck in the clinical application of medium molecular weight therapeutics, including protein and peptide drugs. Paracellular transport of these molecules is hampered by intercellular tight junction (TJ) complexes. Therefore, safe chemical regulators for TJ loosening are desired. Here, we showed a potential application of select non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as TJ modulators. Based on our previous observation that diclofenac and flufenamic acid directly bound various PDZ domains with a broad specificity, we applied solution nuclear magnetic resonance techniques to examine the interaction of other NSAIDs and the first PDZ domain (PDZ1) of zonula occludens (ZO)-1, ZO-1(PDZ1). Inhibition of ZO-1(PDZ1) is expected to provide loosening of the epithelial barrier function because the domain plays a crucial role in maintaining TJ integrity. Accordingly, diclofenac and indomethacin were found to decrease the subcellular localization of claudin (CLD)-2 but not occludin and ZO-1 at the apicolateral intercellular compartment of Madin–Darby canine kidney (MDCK) II cells. These NSAIDs exhibited 125–155% improved paracellular efflux of fluorescein isothiocyanate insulin for the Caco-2 cell monolayer. We propose that these NSAIDs can be repurposed as drug absorption enhancers for peptide drugs.     

Evaluation of standing‐sitting support system with passive rotational seat mechanism in standing motion

Since a decrease in muscle mass of elderly people, the physical burden of them in standing‐sitting motion of a seat are increasing than young people. For this problem, several standing‐sitting support systems have been developed, and evaluations of these systems focusing on a reduction of physical load have been discussed. However, these evaluations are of support systems with an active actuators or of support systems when they use a handrail and a standing aid. Thus, an evaluation of a support system with only passive actuators has not been reported. In this paper, in standing motion with using a standing‐sitting support system with passive rotational seat mechanism which our group proposes, we objectively evaluate an effectiveness of the passive rotational seat mechanism by statistical analysis.     

Optimal operation of cogeneration system coordinated by aggregator for providing the demand and supply regulation capacity

Recent growth of renewable energy generations with natural variability, such as photovoltaic generation and wind turbine generation, would make the demand and supply control in a whole power system more difficult, and therefore, alternatives for demand and supply regulation resources would be required. The authors focus on cogeneration system (CGS) as one of regulation resources. In order to procure adequate volume of regulation capability, an aggregator coordinates a number of CGSs efficiently and flexibly considering the wide variety of electricity/thermal demands of CGS owners. This paper proposes a novel optimal operation strategy of CGS coordinated by the aggregator considering the energy balance and operation cost of individual CGS owner. This paper also demonstrates the availability of CGSs for regulation capability by numerical case studies in which the actual consumption profile is employed.