Thin-Layer Photografting as a Method of Polymer Surface Modification

A. Importance of Surface Properties

When any solid material, either organic or inorganic, is to be used, surface properties of the material often determine the value as a practical usable material. All solid materials having definite shapes are surrounded by other materials, and hence interfacial phenomena should be taken into account. Surface properties are as important as such bulk properties as tensile strength, elongation, Young's modulus, and hardness. Furthermore, full utilization of bulk properties is often supported by surface properties. This is particularly the case of fiber, film, membrane, or others in which the surface area/volume ratio is large. Even when mechanical properties alone look important, as in the case of composite materials, interfacial phenomena in filler-matrix interactions are fundamental in determining the bulk properties.     

Monitoring of Ball Bearing Operation under Grease Lubrication Using a New Compound Diagnostic System Detecting Vibration and Acoustic Emission

Our new compound diagnostic system comprised of a compound sensor, a signal processor, and a personal computer installed signal processing software. The compound sensor made by an advanced sensor fusion technique was able to detect simultaneously the vibration acceleration and the acoustic emission by itself. The signal processor received a signal from the sensor and separated it into the vibration acceleration signal and the acoustic emission signal. The signal processor and the personal computer processed the acceleration signal and acoustic emission signal for diagnostic information. The rolling contact fatigue process of a ball bearing under grease lubrication was monitored using the compound system. The system outputs diagnostic information, for example, the means, the variance, the skewness, and the kurtosis of the vibration acceleration signal and the acoustic emission signal. In diagnosing the rolling contact fatigue failure, the root mean square (rms) value of the vibration acceleration was most effective, and the mean of the demodulated acoustic emission was second to the rms value of the acceleration in effectiveness. From the result of the evaluation, it became clear that the system was useful for diagnosing rolling contact bearings under grease lubrication.     

Inhibitory Action of Antidepressants on Mouse Betaine/GABA Transporter (BGT1) Heterologously Expressed in Cell Cultures

Betaine/γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) transporter (BGT1, SLC6A12) is a member of the Na(+)- and Cl(-)-dependent neurotransmitter transporter gene family with a homology to the GABA transporters (GATs), GAT1 (SLC6A1), GAT2 (SLC6A13) and GAT3 (SLC6A11) (HUGO nomenclature). Since antidepressants have been reported to inhibit GABA uptake, we examined those effects on mouse BGT1 (mBGT1) in comparison with other mouse GAT (mGAT) subtypes in the heterologously expressed cell cultures. All antidepressants tested here inhibited the [(3)H]GABA uptake through mBGT1 and mGATs in a rank order of potency with mBGT1 > mGAT1-3. Kinetic analyses for maprotilline, mianserine and trimipramine revealed that they inhibited mBGT1 and mGAT1 noncompetitively, except that mianserine competitively inhibited mBGT1. These results provided a clue to investigate the structure-function relationship of mBGT1 using antidepressants as a tool, leading to the identification of potential candidates for selective and specific inhibitors of mBGT1.     

Origin of defect-insensitive emission probability in In-containing (Al,In,Ga)N alloy semiconductors

Group-III-nitride semiconductors have shown enormous potential as light sources for full-colour displays, optical storage and solid-state lighting. Remarkably, InGaN blue- and green-light-emitting diodes (LEDs) emit brilliant light although the threading dislocation density generated due to lattice mismatch is six orders of magnitude higher than that in conventional LEDs. Here we explain why In-containing (Al,In,Ga)N bulk films exhibit a defect-insensitive emission probability. From the extremely short positron diffusion lengths (<4 nm) and short radiative lifetimes of excitonic emissions, we conclude that localizing valence states associated with atomic condensates of In-N preferentially capture holes, which have a positive charge similar to positrons. The holes form localized excitons to emit the light, although some of the excitons recombine at non-radiative centres. The enterprising use of atomically inhomogeneous crystals is proposed for future innovation in light emitters even when using defective crystals.     

Atomic origins of the high catalytic activity of nanoporous gold

Distinct from inert bulk gold, nanoparticulate gold has been found to possess remarkable catalytic activity towards oxidation reactions. The catalytic performance of nanoparticulate gold strongly depends on size and support, and catalytic activity usually cannot be observed at characteristic sizes larger than 5 nm. Interestingly, significant catalytic activity can be retained in dealloyed nanoporous gold (NPG) even when its feature lengths are larger than 30 nm. Here we report atomic insights of the NPG catalysis, characterized by spherical-aberration-corrected transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and environmental TEM. A high density of atomic steps and kinks is observed on the curved surfaces of NPG, comparable to 3-5 nm nanoparticles, which are stabilized by hyperboloid-like gold ligaments. In situ TEM observations provide compelling evidence that the surface defects are active sites for the catalytic oxidation of CO and residual Ag stabilizes the atomic steps by suppressing {111} faceting kinetics.     

Diameter controlled chemical vapor deposition synthesis of single-walled carbon nanotubes

In this study, we systematically investigated the influence of catalyst preparation procedures on the mean diameter of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) synthesized by the alcohol catalytic chemical vapor deposition (ACCVD) process. It was found that the SWNT diameter is dependent upon both reduction temperature and time, with lower reduction temperature and/or shorter reduction time resulting in smaller diameter SWNTs. The morphology of the SWNTs also changed from vertically aligned to randomly oriented when the reduction temperature was below 500 degrees C. We also found that introducing a small amount of water during the catalyst reduction stage significantly decreased the mean diameter of the SWNTs. Lastly, we report on the use of a new binary catalyst system in which rhodium was combined with cobalt. This new Co/Rh combination produced SWNTs of smaller diameter than the conventional Co/Mo catalyst.     

Design of versatile academic infrastructure for multilayer network services

This paper describes the network design and configurations of the new Japanese academic infrastructure, called SINET3, which provides a rich variety of network services to more than 700 universities and research institutions. Since the start of full-scale operations in June 2007, the network has expanded its services to include multi-layer transfer services (IP, Ethernet, and layer-1), enriched virtual private network services (L3VPN, L2VPN, VPLS, and L1VPN), enhanced QoS services (packet-based and circuit-based), and brand-new layer-1 bandwidth-on-demand (BoD) services. This paper explains how the network provides these various network services on a single network platform by effectively configuring leading-edge networking components, such as high-performance IP routers, layer- 1 switches, and a BoD server. Evaluations of the network design and configurations confirmed that the networking functions were effectively coordinated. The procedures and techniques related to the configuration validation that covered all phases of the network design and construction are also presented.     

A study on the swelling of a sintered nickel hydroxide electrode

The swelling and blistering of a sintered nickel hydroxide electrode, which usually determine the life of the electrode, have been found to be dependent on the the change in the density of the active material during charge and discharge. In particular, the swelling after cycling has been related to the degree of formation of -NiOOH. The largest swelling, as represented by an increase in the thickness of the electrode, occurs when -NiOOH changes to -NiOOH during charging rather than discharging. Addition of cadmium, zinc and magnesium is effective in preventing the formation of -NiOOH. In particular, the swelling can be almost completely prevented by addition of cobalt and cadmium together, even with overcharging at the 1 C rate.