Methanation of carbon deposited directly from CO2 on rhodium-bearing activated magnetite

Methanation reactivity was studied for the surface carbon deposited from CO₂ on the surface of Rh-bearing activated magnetite. The most active material (Rh=0.83 wt %) for methanation was prepared by the impregnation method at 60°C and showed 98% conversion at 300°C. The surface carbon was composed of elemental carbon (-carbon) and polymerized carbon (-carbon), the proportion being dependent on the density of carbon deposited. In temperature-programmed surface reaction, the extent of conversion of the - and -carbon to CH₄ was 0.34 (-carbon) and 0.53 (-carbon), respectively, and the total conversion was 0.87. This result indicates that not only elemental carbon but polymerized carbon (-carbon) could be converted to CH₄ on the Rh-bearing activated (-carbon) magnetite, whereas -carbon is not hydrogenated on activated magnetite.     

Numerical simulation of molding-defect formation during resin transfer molding

The present study investigated a numerical simulation of molding-defect formation during resin transfer molding using boundary element method and line dynamics. The proposed method enables to simulate small molding defects by increasing the node for required position during time evolution; thereby, the method computes high-resolution flow front without being affected by the initial mesh geometry. The method was applied to the radial injection RTM with single inlet, and it was confirmed by comparison with theoretical value based on Darcy’s law that the flow advancement was computed with high accuracy. In addition, the method was also applied to the flow advancement for inclusion problem with cylinder, and four-point injection problem. The simulated flow behavior, void formation, and shrinkage agreed with the results in references. Finally, the method was compared with experiments using two-point injection problem. The computed configuration of the flow front and weld line agreed well with the experimental results.     

A Review on InGaSb Growth under Microgravity and Terrestrial Conditions Towards Future Crystal Growth Project Using Chinese Recovery Satellite SJ-10

The paper reviewed the previous microgravity experiment using Chinese recovery satellite, the in-situ measurement of composition profile in the solution by X-ray penetration method and homogeneous growth of InGaSb by temperature freezing method under terrestrial condition for making clear the effect of gravity on the growth of InGaSb ternary alloy semiconductor crystals. The previous experimental results showed that the shape of solid/liquid interfaces and composition profile in the solution were significantly affected by gravity. Based on the previous microgravity experimental results, experimental conditions were investigated to grow homogeneous In _xGa _1?xSb with higher indium composition at Chinese recovery satellite SJ-10 in near future.     

Effect of end group of amorphous perfluoro-polymer electrets on electron trapping

Charge trap in amorphous perfluoro-polymer electret is studied, focusing on electron trap site and trap energy. Low-energy inverse photoelectron spectroscopy is adopted to measure solid-state electron affinity (EA) of cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP). EA of CYTOP CTL-S is discovered by compensating the unwanted charge-up effect. Negatively-charged electret materials (polyethylene, ethylene-tetra-fluoro-ethylene, poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene, and CYTOP) are analyzed by quantum mechanical calculation. Density functional theory with long-range correction is adopted to analyze orbital energies of single molecular systems. Intramolecular distribution of trapped electron and EA are investigated. Calculated electron affinities of CYTOP polymers with different end group are qualitatively in accordance with trapped charge stability measured with thermal stimulated discharge, signifying that electron affinities obtained with the present simulation can be used as an index of amorphous polymer electret.     

CD63, a member of tetraspan transmembrane protein family, induces cellular spreading by reaction with monoclonal antibody on substrata

We cloned mouse LOX-1 cDNA to take advantage of a gene-targeting technique to clarify the role of LOX-1 in vivo. Mouse LOX-1 was composed of 363 amino acids and had a C-type lectin domain type II membrane protein structure. Mouse LOX-1 had triple repeats of the sequence in the extracellular "Neck domain," which is unlike human and bovine LOX-1. LOX-1 bound oxidized LDL with two classes of binding affinity in the presence of serum. The binding component with the higher affinity showed the lowest value of Kd among the known receptors for oxidized LDL. In the absence of serum, the high affinity component disappeared, suggesting that an unknown co-factor in serum is essential for efficient uptake of oxidized LDL by endothelial cells. A low concentration of unlabeled oxidized LDL displaced 125I-labeled oxidized LDL more efficiently in the presence of serum than in the absence of serum. The co-factor in the serum may be involved in the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis in addition to the oxidation of LDL.     

Relationship of occupation to blood pressure among middle-aged Japanese men--the significance of the differences in body mass index and alcohol consumption

To clarify how and why blood pressure differs between occupations, the proportions of hypertensives, and the measures of blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and alcohol consumption among the individuals not taking antihypertensive drugs were compared between the eight occupational categories using the data from a health check-up for 589 middle-aged Japanese males, mostly randomly selected from five areas in Japan. After adjusting for age, the relationships of occupation to the proportion of hypertensives and the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure substantially differed among the five areas. However, after further adjustment for residence, these blood pressure levels (the proportion of hypertensives, and the mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure) were found to be higher for the "Personnel in transport and communications", the "Clerical personnel", the "Managerial and civil personnel" and the "Professional and technical personnel", whereas these values were consistently lowest in the "Service personnel". Age and residence-adjusted mean BMI was also higher for the four occupational categories with the increased blood pressure levels. According to a weighted multiple regression analysis across the eight occupations, the age and residence-adjusted mean BMI was a significant predictor of the age and residence-adjusted mean systolic and diastolic blood pressure (p = 0.068 and 0.018, respectively). These results suggest that the occupation-related changes in BMI may largely contribute to the occupation-related changes in blood pressure.     

Crossover from 3D to 2D metallic conduction in Sr2RuO4

We have investigated the normal-state conduction of superconducting Sr₂RuO₄ (T_c 1K), which is isostructural to La_2–xSr_xCuO₄. The resistivity of single crystals shows a crossover at T_M130K from 3D metallic conduction at lower temperatures to 2D one at higher temperatures. Concerning the temperature dependence of the out-of-plane resistivity, we present a systematic interpretation based on competition between the life time of the quasiparticles and the time for the quasiparticles to travel between the adjacent RuO₂ planes.     

A novel interferon regulatory factor family transcription factor, ICSAT/Pip/LSIRF, that negatively regulates the activity of interferon-regulated genes

We have isolated a novel cDNA clone encoding interferon (IFN) consensus sequence-binding protein in adult T-cell leukemia cell line or activated T cells (ICSAT); this protein is the human homolog of the recently cloned Pip/LSIRF. ICSAT is structurally most closely related to the previously cloned ICSBP, a member of the IFN regulatory factor (IRF) family of proteins that binds to interferon consensus sequences (ICSs) found in many promoters of the IFN-regulated genes. Among T-cell lines investigated, ICSAT was abundantly expressed in human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected T cells. When the HTLV-1 tax gene was expressed or phorbol myristake acetate-A23187 stimulation was used, ICSAT expression was induced in Jurkat cells which otherwise do not express ICSAT. When the binding of ICSAT to four different ICSs was tested, the relative differences in binding affinities for those ICSs were determined. To study the functional role of ICSAT, we performed cotransfection experiments with the human embryonal carcinoma cell line N-Tera2. ICSAT was demonstrated to possess repressive function over the gene activation induced by IFN stimulation or by IRF-1 cotransfection. Such repressive function is similar to that seen in IRF-2 or ICSBP. However, we have found that ICSAT has a different repressive effect from that of IRF-2 or ICSBP in some IFN-responsive reporter constructs. These results suggest that a novel mechanism of gene regulation by "differential repression" is used by multiple members of repressor proteins with different repressive effects on the IFN-responsive genes.     

Experimental measurement on tangential momentum accommodation coefficient in a single microtube

The tangential momentum accommodation coefficient (TMAC) was investigated experimentally from the mass flow rate through a single microtube under the slip flow and the early part of the transition regime. The measurements were carried out by the constant-volume method under the mean Knudsen number smaller than 0.3, which is based on the mean pressure of the inlet and the outlet of the microtube, to apply the second-order slip boundary condition. To measure TMACs on various materials, quite large microtube was employed, which require the reduction in leakage. TMAC was obtained from the slip coefficient determined by the relation of the mass flow rate to the mean Knudsen number. The obtained mass flow rate was well explained by the theoretical equation. TMACs of deactivated-fused silica with argon, nitrogen, and oxygen were measured, showing the tangential momentum was not accommodated completely to the surface, and the values showed good agreement with previous studies. From the comparison between microtubes with different inner diameter, it is showed that TMAC is determined mainly by gas species and surface material.