A neolignoid feeding deterrent againstLuehdorfia puziloi larvae (lepidoptera: Papilionidae) fromHeterotropa aspera,a host plant of sibling species,L. japonica

A feeding deterrent against larvae of a papilionid butterfly,Luehdorfia puziloi (Parnassiinae), a specialist onAsiasarum plants (Aristolochiaceae), was isolated from another aristolochiaceous plant,Heterotropa aspera. Antifeedant activity was exhibited by then-hexane-soluble fraction that proved to contain at least two active components. One of the deterrents was identified as a neolignan compound, asatone. The concentration of asatone inH. aspera was estimated at approximately 225 ppm, and larval feeding ofL. puziloi was significantly deterred at concentrations over 90 ppm. By contrast, asatone was not detectable (< 1 ppm, if any) in its host plant,Asiasarum sieboldii.     

Solubility of butane and isobutane in molten polypropylene and polystyrene

The solubility of butane and isobutane in molten polypropylene (PP) and polystyrene (PS) was measured at pressures up to 3 MPa and along four isotherms from 438 to 483 K for PP and from 348 to 473 K for PS. The solubility increased with increasing pressure and decreasing temperature. At 438 K and 2 MPa, the solubilities of butane and isobutane in PP were 0.15 and 0.11 g‐gas/g‐polym, respectively. At 423 K and 2 MPa, the solubilities of butane and isobutane in PS were 0.08 and 0.05 g‐gas/g‐polym, respectively. Solubility could be correlated with the Sanchez‐Lacombe equation of state with temperature‐dependent binary interaction parameters to within 4.4% average relative deviation. Henry's constant for these gases in the PP and PS obtained in this work were used to determine correlation equations along with literature data. Polym. Eng. Sci. 44:2083–2089, 2004. © 2004 Society of Plastics Engineers.     

Microstructure and material properties of an Al–Cu alloy provided by the Ohno continuous casting technique

The specific objective in this work is an exploration of the material properties produced by a recently developed continuous casting technique. The study focuses on an Al–Cu alloy provided by the Ohno continuous casting process. The experimental approaches give rise to unusual microstructural characteristic in the cast samples, namely a fine lamellar eutectic structure with unidirectional growth along its axial direction together with a regularly oriented lattice structure. Such microstructural characteristics significantly increase the tensile and fatigue properties.     

New Members of the Pb-based 1222 Superconductor Containing Phosphorus: (Pb0.75P0.25)Sr2(Ln1.9?x Ce x Sr0.1)Cu2O z (Ln=Sm and Gd)

We previously reported on the synthesis of new Pb-based 1222 superconductor containing phosphorus in the (Pb_0.75P_0.25)Sr₂(Eu_1.9−x Ce _x Sr_0.1)Cu₂O _z system. Recently, we have discovered new members of the Pb-based 1222 superconductor containing phosphorus in the (Pb_0.75P_0.25)Sr₂(Ln_1.9−x Ce _x Sr_0.1)Cu₂O _z (Ln=Sm and Gd) systems. In each system, it is found that the samples of almost the single 1222 phase can be obtained for a wide composition area of 0.3≤x≤1.0. After annealing under 143 atm O₂ atmosphere at 400 °C, each sample of Ln=Sm and Gd with x=0.3 is found to show an onset of resistivity-drop at about 28 K and at about 24 K, respectively. Moreover, each samples of Ln=Sm and Gd is found to show an onset of diamagnetic signal at about 25 K and about 22 K, respectively. From these facts, these samples of Ln=Sm and Gd are found to be new members of the Pb-based 1222 superconductor containing phosphorus.     

A digital signal processing type frequency locked loop for frequency shift keying demodulation

In this paper, we propose a digital signal processing type frequency locked loop (DSP-FLL) using a frequency difference detector (FDD). Since the DSP-FLL is controlled by the frequency, the pole of the voltage controlled oscillator vanishes in the baseband equivalent circuit. Therefore, the transfer function becomes first order and a ringing does not occur. Furthermore, it can be understood from the detection property of the FDD that a cycle slip does not occur and the DSP-FLL can pull in the frequency step input up to half of the sampling frequency.     

Asymmetric oxidative coupling polymerization of dihydroxynaphthalene derivatives with cobalt-salen complexes

Summary The oxidative coupling polymerization of dihydroxynaphthalene derivatives with a novel catalyst system, the cobalt(II)-salen complexes, was investigated. For example, the asymmetric polymerization of 2,3-dihydroxynaphthalene with (R,R)-(–)-N,N’-bis(3,5-di-tert-butylsalicylidene)-1,2-cyclohexanediaminocobalt(II) in a dichloromethane-methanol mixed solvent at room temperature for 0.5 h under an oxygen atmosphere, followed by acetylation of the hydroxyl groups, produced a methanol-insoluble polymer with the specific rotation value [α]_D of +165, which was rich in the R-configuration. To estimate the enantioselectivity during the polymerization, the corresponding acetylated dimer product was isolated from a polymerization mixture and determined to be 58% e.e.     

Michromatic scope for enhancement of color difference

A michromatic (microscope plus chromatic) scope is a device that enhances the color discrimination between two spectral color datasets. Three spectral filters are required, instead of the conventional red, green, and blue filters, for the implementation of a michromatic camera. In this study, we describe two approaches to the design of these filters: in the first case, the design is based on the direct optimization of the filter characteristics (transmittance), whereas in the second case, the design is based on the nonnegative tensor factorization (NTF) of the spectral datasets. A michromatic camera can be implemented using these filters along with compatible postprocessing in‐camera firmware. Here, we performed experiments with two color datasets: one comprising skin and vein colors, and one comprising skin and cosmetics colors. These were further divided into a training set and a test set. The filters were defined using the training set, and the operation of the filters was tested and magnified using the test set. Our experiments demonstrated that the proposed approaches are suitable for color discrimination. For the first color dataset, the enhancement produced using the optimized filters was up to 252% of the original value, and the average color difference ΔE was increased from 2.82 to 9.93. NTF and preprocessing further enhanced the ΔE up to 21.84. For the second color dataset, NTF and postprocessing enhanced the ΔE from 4.33 to 29.19. The proposed discrimination enhancement could be physically implemented in a designated digital charge‐coupled device camera with proper filter installation and compatible postprocessing. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2010     

Sieverts law pressure exponent for hydrogen permeation through Pd-based membranes: Coupled influence of non-ideal diffusion and multicomponent external mass transfer

This paper focuses on the suitability of using a Sieverts-type empirical law to describe hydrogen permeation through Pd-based membranes in the presence of both concentration-dependent hydrogen transport through the selective layer – referred to as “non-ideal” behaviour – and external mass transfer resistance. In particular, the functionality of the pressure exponent with temperature, pressure and membrane thickness is provided, showing that the Sieverts-type empirical law can be used to incorporate the external mass transfer influence just up to a moderate external resistance. The explanation for this fact is recognised in the inadequacy of the Sieverts-type empirical law to describe the behaviour of the flux limited by external resistance for a sufficiently large permeation driving force. The methodology described in this paper is effective also when the permeation-determining steps cannot be established, helping researchers to a correct interpretation of permeation tests in the presence of severe mass transfer resistance.     

New Pb-based 1212 Superconductor Containing Phosphorus, (Pb0.75P0.25)Sr2(Y1?xCax)Cu2Oz

New Pb-based 1212 compounds containing phosphorus have been discovered in the (Pb_1−y P _y )Sr₂(Y_1−x Ca _x )Cu₂O _z system; almost the single 1212 phase samples can be obtained for the composition range of 0.0≤x≤0.6 and y=0.25. The crystal structure for each sample has a tetragonal symmetry with the typical lattice parameters a=0.3828 nm and c=1.182 nm. Among them, the sample with x=0.6 and y=0.25 shows the onset of resistivity drop at about 39 K and zero-resistivity at about 17 K. Moreover, the sample shows a diamagnetic signal at about 38 K. These phenomena are found to originate from superconductivity with the bulk feature.