Influence of different feeding systems on the growth performance and muscle development of Japanese Black steers

This study investigated the growth performance and gene expression for muscle development between grass hay-fed (GH) and concentrate-fed (CT) steers. Daily gain and energy intake during the fattening period of the GH group were lower than those of the CT group. Analysis of C/EBPα, PPARγ2, myosin heavy chain (MHC), and myostatin gene expressions was performed by real-time PCR. Expressions of C/EBPα and myostatin in semitendinosus and longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles were higher in the CT group than in the GH group at the end of fattening. In LL muscle, MHC expression at the end of fattening was greater in the GH group than in the CT group. These results suggest that regulation of adipogenesis and myogenesis by the expression of genes involved in muscle development might have occurred in the skeletal muscle of the GH group by the feeding of grass hay and/or because of the low energy intakes.     

Thermal conductivity of near-stoichiometric (U, Ce)C and (U, Pu, Ce)C solid solutions

The thermal conductivities of near-stoichiometric (U, Ce)C and (U, Pu, Ce)C solid solutions containing CeC up to 10 mol% were determined in the temperature range from 740 to 1600 K by the laser flash method. The thermal conductivity decreased with the cerium content in the solid solutions. The electrical resistivities were also measured for the purpose of analyzing the heat conduction mechanism. It was found that the decrease of electronic heat conduction caused by the addition of cerium resulted in decreasing the thermal conductivities of (U, Ce)C and (U, Pu, Ce)C compared with UC and (U, Pu)C.     

A new concept of nuclear fuel reprocessing by applying ion-exchange technology

The development of advanced technology for the spent nuclear fuel reprocessing should be achieved not only considering cost, non proliferation and reduction of radioactive wastes but also corresponding to both spent nuclear fuels of LWR and FBR.

We have proposed an ion exchange process for reprocessing using a new type ion exchanger developed to chemical method of U enrichment technology. This process possess possibility of a sharp cut in cost, since this ion exchanger is characterized by rapid adsorption-desorption rate dominating the treatment rate.

From the basic experimental results, this reprocessing process has been constructed by 3 ion exchanger columns which consist of a main separation column, the uranium-refining column and the plutonium-refining column.

Comparing ion exchange process with the conventional Purex process, this ion exchange process has many advantages such as the decrease in the number and size separation equipment, solvent-spent free and alkaline-liquid-spent free. With these advantages, this process is estimated that the construction cost of reprocessing process is greatly reduced comparing to the conventional process.     

The electrochromic properties of nickel oxide thin films prepared by chemical vapor deposition

Electrochromic nickel oxide thin films were prepared in air by an atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition method. The raw material was nickel acetylacetonate. Amorphous nickel oxide thin films were obtained at a substrate temperature 250°C. Reduction and oxidation of the films in 1 M KOH resulted in bleaching and coloration, respectively. Coulometry indicated that the coloration efficiency was 44 cm²/C.     

Assembly characteristics of flagellar cap protein HAP2 of Salmonella: decamer and pentamer in the pH-sensitive equilibrium

The folding of a 98 residue protein, muscle acylphosphatase (AcP), has been studied using a variety of techniques including circular dichroism, fluorescence and NMR spectroscopy following transfer of chemically denatured protein into refolding conditions. A low-amplitude phase, detected in concurrence with the main kinetic phase, corresponds to the folding of a minor population (13%) of molecules with one or both proline residues in a cis conformation, as shown from the sensitivity of its rate to peptidyl prolyl isomerase. The major phase of folding has the same kinetic characteristics regardless of the technique employed to monitor it. The plots of the natural logarithms of folding and unfolding rate constants versus urea concentration are linear over a broad range of urea concentrations. Moreover, the initial state formed rapidly after the initiation of refolding is highly unstructured, having a similar circular dichroism, intrinsic fluorescence and NMR spectrum as the protein denatured at high concentrations of urea. All these results indicate that AcP folds in a two-state manner without the accumulation of intermediates. Despite this, the folding of the protein is extremely slow. The rate constant of the major phase of folding in water, kfH2O, is 0.23 s-1 at 28 degreesC and, at urea concentrations above 1 M, the folding process is slower than the cis-trans proline isomerisation step. The slow refolding of this protein is therefore not the consequence of populated intermediates that can act as kinetic traps, but arises from a large intrinsic barrier in the folding reaction.     

Diagnosis method for live-wire insulation of high-voltage XLPE cables by DC superimposition

Recent preventive maintenance for equipment has grown to include diagnosis of the insulation of cables under hot-line conduction. Much of the equipment constructed during the high-growth period in the 1960s has become obsolete. Recent circumstances make it difficult to obtain a longer service interruption time. Results of a study of the method that measures the live-wire insulation resistance by superimposing dc 50 V to a high-voltage busbar through GPT and forms a bridge with the resistance of a cable insulation are discussed. It is clarified that this live-wire insulation diagnostic method is highly effective at detecting degradation of a cable insulation resistance and is, therefore, suitable for so-called trend monitoring as well.     

A method for unit commitment with transmission losses and flow constraint

Researches on the unit commitment with transmission network have been reported recently. However, most of these researches mainly discussed the security constrained unit commitment, while the relationship between unit commitment and transmission losses was not considered. However, from the standpoint of operating reserve for ensuring power supply reliability, a unit commitment considering transmission losses is required. Further, under the deregulation and liberalization of the electric power industry, not only the line's security but also transmission losses are expected to play an important role in calculating the network access charge, and unit commitment taking into account transmission losses is also desired from this viewpoint. In this paper, a unit commitment approach with both transmission losses and line flow constraint is presented. Based on a heuristic iterative optimization method, first, an initial schedule is created by using a successively decommitting unit approach that is proposed in this paper. Then, we determine constraints included in the unit commitment schedule by a heuristic iterative optimization approach, in which an algorithm able to get rid of line overload by DC optimal power flow is developed. Through numerical simulations on two test power systems, the effectiveness of the proposed method is shown. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(4): 9–19, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10116