Significance of attached cyanobacteria relevant to the occurrence of musty odor in Lake Kasumigaura

The microorganisms and compounds causing musty odor in the second largest lake in Japan, Lake Kasumigaura, where the water is used for drinking, fisheries and agricultural purposes, were examined during the severe occurrence of musty odor in 1989 and 1990. This study was undertaken to determine the microorganisms and their metabolites responsible for the musty odor. Phormidium tenue, which has been reported to be the main contributor of the odor in Lake Kasumigaura, was isolated. Furthermore, four monoxenic strains of the odor producing attached cyanobacteria, Phormidium viscosum, Lyngbya allorgei, Oscillatoria splendida and Phormidium uncinatum, were isolated from submerged rocks and sediments in the lake. All of the four attached strains produced only geosmin, which was confirmed by gas chromatograph/mass spectrometer analysis, in the monoxenic cultures. In particular, we confirmed for the first time that P. viscosum, L. allorgei and P. uncinatum produced geosmin. Both the planktonic Phormidium tenue, a well known 2-methylisoborneol (MIB) producer and geosmin-producing attached cyanobacteria were closely associated with the occurrence of musty odor in Lake Kasumigaura.     

Iodine-initiated,solid-state copolymerization of tetraoxane with 1,3-dioxolane in the presence of methylal. I. Fundamental study on beaker-scale copolymerization

The iodine-initiated, solid-state copolymerization of tetraoxane with 1,3-dioxolane in the presence of methylal has been studied on a beaker scale. It was found that tetraoxane can be easily copolymerized with 1,3-dioxolane by a small amount of iodine as initiator and gives oxymethylene copolymer with excellent thermal stability in a high yield. The copolymerization was largely influenced by the concentrations of iodine, 1,3-dioxolane, and methylal, i.e., the polymerization rate increased with increase not only in iodine but also in 1,3-dioxolane, and the thermal stability and the molecular weight of the copolymer were mainly affected by 1,3-dioxolane and methylal concentration, respectively.     

Entanglement network of chitin and chitosan in ionic liquid solutions

Concentrated solutions of a chitin from squid pens and of two commercial samples of chitosan were successfully prepared by using an ionic liquid 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate as a solvent. The dynamic viscoelasticity data for the solutions exhibited rubbery plateaus, indicating the existence of entanglement network of chitin and chitosan in the solutions. To characterize the network, the values of the molecular weight between entanglements (M_e) for chitin and chitosan in the solutions were determined from the plateau moduli. Then the values of M_e in the molten state (M_e,melt), a material constant reflecting the inherent nature of polymer species, for chitin and chitosan were estimated to be 1.7 × 10³ and 3.0 × 10³, respectively. It was found that there was a significant difference in M_e,melt between chitin and chitosan. Compared with other polysaccharides such as cellulose and agarose in terms of the number of monosaccharide units between entanglements (N_unit), chitin had significantly smaller N_unit of 8, while chitosan had equivalent N_unit of 19. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 130: 2439–2443, 2013     

Evaluation of oriented amorphous regions in polymer films during uniaxial deformation; structural characterization of a poly(vinyl alcohol) film during stretching in boric acid aqueous solutions

We have improved the conventional analytical method of the scattering data obtained with in‐situ synchrotron X‐ray scattering experiments, which is applicable to the structural characterization of the film during stretching. Four components of molecular chains in the film are divided from two‐dimensional wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction patterns. These components are the oriented crystals, the unoriented ones, the oriented amorphous chains, and the unoriented ones, respectively. This method allows to evaluate directly the degree of orientation of the amorphous chains and the amount of the oriented amorphous fraction in addition to each evaluation for the crystalline regions. This method is applied to the structural characterization of the poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) film during stretching in boric acid aqueous solutions, suggesting that boric acid accelerates orientation of molecular chains in the amorphous regions, and increases the oriented amorphous fraction by producing the cross‐links between the PVA chains and hindering strain‐induced crystallization. At a film break on stretching in the 3 wt% boric acid solution, the oriented amorphous fraction increases up to 70%, which is much higher compared to that in the film stretched in water, 45%. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 55:513–522, 2015. © 2014 Society of Plastics Engineers     

RNA extraction from microtissues of skeletal muscle by a microfluidic shredding chip

The loss of skeletal muscle mass with aging (sarcopenia) reduces involuntary human activity. To elucidate a mechanism for sarcopenia, the relationship between resistance exercise and gene expression in a muscle has been evaluated. In this paper, we report the development of a microfluidic shredding chip to achieve efficient RNA extraction from microtissues of skeletal muscle. The microfluidic shredding chip was fabricated from hard material and was given high‐pressure resistance. The harder microtissue of the skeletal muscle was shredded by permeation through a micropillar array with external forces and the chemical effect of a lysis buffer. The amount of total RNA in the samples increased by twofold because of the microfluidic shredding. The working principle of the microfluidic shredding chip can be widely applied for the extraction of nucleic acids from microtissue. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Gas entrainment characteristics of diesel spray injected by a group-hole nozzle

In this study, gas entrainment characteristics of a diesel spray injected by a group of closely spaced two-orifices (group-hole nozzle) were investigated. Both free and wall-impinging sprays were considered. The gas entrainment characteristics of the group-hole nozzle spray were compared to those of single-hole nozzle sprays: one has the same total hole area with the group-hole nozzle, and the other has the same hole diameter. The gas entrainment characteristics of diesel sprays were investigated using a particle image velocitmetry technique coupled with a laser induced fluorescence technique (LIF-PIV technique).The spray tip penetration of the group-hole nozzle was the shortest among the applied nozzles in a free spray condition, while it was the longest in a wall-impinging condition. In the free spray condition, the gas entrainment of the spray was enhanced by the group-hole nozzle due to extensive momentum exchange with surrounding gas and superposed gas entrainment motion of the two-jets injected by the group-hole nozzle. After wall-impingement, the group-hole nozzle spray showed a stronger wall-jet vortex and increased gas entrainment compared to the single-hole nozzle sprays due to enhanced spray/wall interaction caused by the momentum interaction of the two-jets from the group-hole nozzle. Asymmetric shape of the group-hole nozzle spray resulted in an asymmetric gas velocity distribution of the spray both in the free and wall-impinging conditions.     

Photochemical hydrogen production from water using three-dimensional Zn-Pd metal-organic frameworks

A Zn-Pd heterometallic metal-organic framework (MOF) based on 3,5-pyridine-dicarboxylic acid (H2-pydc), namely [Zn2(H2O)3{PdCl2(pydc)2}]n (Zn-Pd-2) was successfully synthesized by a slow diffusion method and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, CHN elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric (TG) analysis and N2 gas adsorption measurement. The single-crystal X-ray analysis revealed that the framework morphology of Zn-Pd-2 is as same as that of [Zn2(DMF)3{PtCl2(pydc)2}]n. The Zn-Pd-2 was found to be an effective catalytic performance for the photochemical reduction of water in a well-known photo-system made up of [Ru(bpy)3Cl2] (bpy = 2,2'-bipyridine), MV(2+) (methyl-viologen) and Na2 EDTA (Disodium ethylenediaminetetraacetate); 20.2 turnover based on Zn-Pd-2 was achieved at 4 h irradiation.     

Ni/MgO–Al2O3 and Ni–Mg–O catalyzed SiC foam absorbers for high temperature solar reforming of methane

Ni catalyst supported on MgO–Al₂O₃ (Ni/MgO–Al₂O₃) prepared from hydrotalcite, and Ni–Mg–O catalyst are studied in regard to their activity in the CO₂ reforming of methane at high temperatures in order to develop a catalytically activated foam receiver–absorber for use in solar reforming. First, the activity of their powder catalysts is examined. Ni/MgO–Al₂O₃ powder catalyst exhibits a remarkable degree of high activity and thermal stability as compared with Ni–Mg–O powder catalyst. Secondly, a new type of catalytically activated ceramic foam absorber – Ni/MgO–Al₂O₃/SiC – and Ni–Mg–O catalyzed SiC foam absorber are prepared and their activity is evaluated using a laboratory-scale receiver–reactor with a transparent quartz window and a sun-simulator. The present Ni-based catalytic absorbers are more cost effective than conventional Rh/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyzed alumina and SiC foam absorbers and the alternative Ru/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyzed SiC foam absorbers. Ni/MgO–Al₂O₃ catalyzed SiC foam absorber, in particular, exhibits superior reforming performance that provides results comparable to that of Rh/γ-Al₂O₃ catalyzed alumina foam absorber under a high flux condition or at high temperatures above 1000 °C. Ni/MgO–Al₂O₃ catalyzed SiC foam absorber will be desirable for use in solar receiver–reactor systems to convert concentrated high solar fluxes to chemical fuels via endothermic natural-gas reforming at high temperatures.     

Intergranular Corrosion of Σ9 Copper Bicrystal with Gradually Changed Misorientation in Young’s Dislocation Etchant

The allowable deviation to preserve the “specialness” of a coincident site lattice (CSL) boundary was shown using a pure copper bicrystal which was designed to have gradually changed deviation around 〈110〉 axis from near-ideal Σ9{221} to a random relation. The grain boundary preserved immunity to grain boundary corrosion in Young’s dislocation etchant until the deviation reached the angle where the misfit dislocation spacing is supposed to decrease to CSL dimension. This underlies the common principle of the Brandon-type criteria of CSL.     

Carrier Transport and Photoresponse in GeSe/MoS2 Heterojunction p–n Diodes

Simple stacking of thin van der Waals 2D materials with different physical properties enables one to create heterojunctions (HJs) with novel functionalities and new potential applications. Here, a 2D material p–n HJ of GeSe/MoS₂ is fabricated and its vertical and horizontal carrier transport and photoresponse properties are studied. Substantial rectification with a very high contrast (>10⁴) through the potential barrier in the vertical‐direction tunneling of HJs is observed. The negative differential transconductance with high peak‐to‐valley ratio (>10⁵) due to the series resistance change of GeSe, MoS₂, and HJs at different gate voltages is observed. Moreover, strong and broad‐band photoresponse via the photoconductive effect are also demonstrated. The explored multifunctional properties of the GeSe/MoS₂ HJs are expected to be important for understanding the carrier transport and photoresponse of 2D‐material HJs for achieving their use in various new applications in the electronics and optoelectronics fields.