Isolation and characterization of a soluble and thermostable phosphite dehydrogenase from Ralstonia sp. strain 4506

Phosphite dehydrogenase (PtxD), which catalyzes the nearly irreversible oxidation of phosphite to phosphate with the concomitant reduction of NAD(+) to NADH, has great potential for NADH regeneration in industrial biocatalysts. Here, we isolated a soil bacterium, Ralstonia sp. strain 4506, that grew at 45°C on a minimal medium containing phosphite as the sole source of phosphorus. A recombinant PtxD of Ralstonia sp. (PtxD(R4506)) appeared in the soluble fraction in Escherichia coli. The purified PtxD(R4506) showed 6.7-fold greater catalytic efficiency (V(max)/K(m)) than the first characterized PtxD of Pseudomonas stutzeri (PtxD(PS)). Moreover, the purified PtxD(R4506) showed maximum activity at 50°C, and its half-life of thermal inactivation at 45°C was 80.5h, which is approximately 3,450-fold greater than that of PtxD(PS). Therefore, we concluded that PtxD(R4506), which shows high catalytic efficiency, solubility, and thermostability, would be useful for NADH regeneration applications.     

Free‐weighting matrices‐based robust wide‐area FACTS control design with considering signal time delay for stability enhancement of power systems

This paper presents a free‐weighting matrix (FWM) method based on linear control design approach for the wide‐area robust damping (WARD) controller associated with flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) device to improve the dynamical performance of the large‐scale power systems. First, the linearized reduced‐order plant model is established, which efficiently considers the time delay of the remote feedback signals transmitted by wide‐area measurement systems. Then, based on the robust control theory, the design of the FACTS‐WARD controller is formulated as the standard control problem on delay‐dependent state‐feedback robust control, which is described by a set of linear matrix inequality constraints. Furthermore, in order to obtain the optimal control parameters that can endure the maximum time delay, a FWM approach is proposed to solve the time‐dependent problem of the time‐delay system. Meanwhile, an iterative algorithm based on cone complementary linearization is presented to search out the optimal control parameters. Finally, the nonlinear simulations on the 2‐area 4‐machine and the 5‐area 16‐machine test systems are performed, to evaluate the control performance of the proposed robust wide‐area time‐delay control approach. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Flywheel size design considerations and experimental verification using a 50‐kW system for voltage sag compensator with flywheel induction motor

Flywheel energy storage systems can be used as an uninterrupted power supply system because they are environmentally friendly and have high durability. The use of a simple voltage sag compensator with a low‐speed heavy flywheel and a low‐cost squirrel‐cage induction motor/generator is proposed. First, the ability of the proposed system to maintain the load voltage at 100% when the grid is experiencing voltage sag is validated experimentally. Next, design guidelines for the flywheel stored energy are discussed. Experimental verification of a 50‐kW‐class system is carried out, and the results show good agreement with the developed design guidelines. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 181(1): 36–44, 2012; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21252     

Cooling system for the soft X-ray spectrometer onboard Astro-H

The Soft X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) is a cryogenic high resolution X-ray spectrometer onboard the X-ray astronomy satellite Astro-H which will be launched in 2014. The detector array is cooled down to 50 mK using an adiabatic demagnetization refrigerator (ADR). The cooling chain from the room temperature to the ADR heat-sink is composed of superfluid liquid He, a Joule-Thomson cryocooler, and double-stage Stirling cryocoolers. It is designed to keep 30 l of liquid He for more than 5 years in the normal case, and longer than 3 years even if one of the cryocoolers fails. Cryogen-free operation is also possible in the normal case. It is fully redundant from the room temperature to the ADR heat-sink.     

Magmatic fluid input to the Kuju-Iwoyama hydrothermal system prior to the 1995 eruption of the Kuju volcano (Kyushu, Japan)

A schematic model showing the sources of hot waters being discharged at the surface in the Kuju-Iwoyama of the Kuju volcano has been developed. Based on the isotopic characteristics of these fluids it is inferred that deep magmatic fluid mixes with thermal waters derived from rainwater in a shallow geothermal reservoir, and with local groundwaters in a deeper reservoir. These thermal waters feed hot springs that discharge waters with Cl/SO₄ ratios that differ from that of the fumaroles on Kuju-Iwoyama, due to the addition of SO₄²⁻ ions produced by the decomposition of native sulfur and mixing with magmatic fluid of high Cl content.     

Evaluation and improvement of the MODIS land surface temperature/emissivity products using ground‐based measurements at a semi‐desert site on the western Tibetan Plateau

Current MODerate‐resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land surface temperature (LST, surface skin temperature)/emissivity products are evaluated and improvements are investigated. The ground‐based measurements of LST at Gaize (32.30° N, 84.06° E, 4420 m) on the western Tibetan Plateau from January 2001 to December 2002 agree well (mean and standard deviation of differences of 0.27 K and 0.84 K) with the 1‐km Version 004 (V4) Terra MODIS LST product (MOD11A1) generated by the split‐window algorithm. Spectral emissivities measured from surface soil samples collected at and around the Gaize site are in close agreement with the landcover‐based emissivities in bands 31 and 32 used by the split‐window algorithm. The LSTs in the V4 MODIS LST/emissivity products (MYD11B1 for Aqua and MOD11B1 for Terra) from the day/night LST algorithm are higher by 1–1.7 K (standard deviation around 0.6 K) in comparisons to the 5‐km grid aggregated values of the LSTs in the 1‐km products, which is consistent with the results of a comparison of emissivities. On average, the emissivity in MYD11B1 (MOD11B1) is 0.0107 (0.0167) less than the ground‐based measurements, which is equivalent to a 0.64 K (1.25 K) overestimation of LST around the average value of 285 K. Knowledge obtained from the evaluation of MODIS LST/emissivity retrievals provides useful information for the improvement of the MODIS LST day/night algorithm. Improved performance of the refined (V5) day/night algorithm was demonstrated with the Terra MODIS data in May–June 2004.     

Changes in brain activation associated with backlash magnitude: a step toward quantitative evaluation of maneuverability

In recent years, there have been many studies on human–machine cooperative systems. Studies evaluating human maneuverability by questionnaire and operating performance have been reported; however, quantitative analyses of human perception when operating a machine have not been conducted. The present study focuses on mechanical backlash to evaluate maneuverability quantitatively. The purpose of this study is to propose a method to quantitatively evaluate the perception of mechanical backlash. To evaluate the degree of backlash perception, biological information of subjects was measured while they used the fingertips of their right hand to rotate a mechanism under different magnitudes of backlash: 1.3, 1.0, 0.7, and 0.4 mm. Biological information including higher brain functions and surface potential signals were measured using near-infrared spectroscopy and surface electromyography, respectively. On a questionnaire after each trial, the subjects reported if they could perceive the mechanical backlash using a four-point scale (1: hardly; 2: a little; 3: somewhat; 4: clearly). The results of the questionnaire on the magnitude of the backlash indicated that subjects were able to perceive all of the backlash conditions at nearly the same level. We confirmed that changing the magnitude of the backlash changed the brain activation state.     

Fatigue crack growth from stage I to stage II in a corrosive environment

How a corrosive environment such as a 3.5% NaCl aqueous solution would affect the transition of fatigue crack initiation mode from stage I (shear mode) cracking to stage II (normal mode) cracking was investigated, using notched specimens of HT80 and SNCM439 steels (corresponding to AISI 4340 steel).The experimental result that the transition of fatigue crack growth from stage I to stage II was accelerated in a hydrogen-related environment was discussed in terms of hydrogen induced dislocation multiplication near a crack tip. The microstructures immune to environmental damage were examined, using a precipitate-hardened steel.