Electrocutaneous spatial integration at suprathreshold levels: An additive neural model.

The effects of cathode size on estimates of the magnitude of electrocutaneous stimulation were studied. The 24 Ss made magnitude estimates for combinations of 6 cathode sizes (2.5–3.0 mm diameter) and 5 currents (1.5–3.3 times the threshold). Estimates for small cathodes were consistently smaller but grew more rapidly than those for intermediate and large cathodes. From the results, contours were constructed showing how area and current trade off to maintain apparent intensity. These area–current contours suggest that supersummation prevails at low estimation levels and complete summation takes place at high levels. An additive neural model is proposed to account for the results and is also applied to other somatosensory systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modification of preparation method for polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) to produce hollow fiber PIM

A new preparation method for polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) was developed. The preparation method—called post‐treatment method—is very convenient to prepare a hollow fiber PIM. Using this method, a commercial cellulose triacetate (CTA) hollow fiber membrane can be easily converted into a hollow fiber PIM. Thus, a CTA hollow fiber membrane was allowed to swell in 2‐nitrophenyl‐n‐octyl ether (NPOE) in the presence of chloroform as a solvent for CTA and N,N,N′,N′‐tetraoctyl‐3‐oxapentane diamide (TODGA) as a carrier. After evaporating chloroform, a hollow fiber PIM containing NPOE and TODGA was obtained. The result of the transport experiment of cerium(III) ions using the hollow fiber PIM showed that cerium ions were effectively transported from the feed solution to the strip solution through the hollow fiber PIM, indicating that the hollow fiber PIM was successfully prepared using the post‐treatment method. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102: 4372–4377, 2006     

The importance of Fe loading on the N2O reduction with NH3 over Fe-MFI: Effect of acid site formation on Fe species

Effect of the loading amount of Fe over ion-exchanged Fe-MFI catalysts on the catalytic performance of N₂O reduction with NH₃ was investigated, and the results indicated that the turnover frequency (TOF) was almost constant in the Fe/Al range between 0.05 and 0.40. The activity of N₂O + NH₃ reaction was much lower than that of N₂O + CH₄ reaction over Fe-MFI (Fe/Al = 0.40), and the preadsorption of NH₃ decreased drastically the activity of N₂O + CH₄ reaction. The temperature-programmed desorption (TPD) of NH₃ showed the formation of stronger acid sites on Fe-MFI (Fe/Al = 0.24 and 0.40), and the amount of the acid sites agrees well with the desorption amount O₂ in O₂-TPD in the low temperature range. The acid sites gave a 3610 cm⁻¹ peak (Brønsted acid) in FTIR observation. These results suggest that the acid sites were formed on the bridge oxide ions in binuclear Fe species. Adsorbed NH₃ on the strong acid sites inhibited N₂O dissociation, which can be related to the low activity of N₂O + NH₃ reaction over Fe-MFI with high Fe loading.     

CO hydrogenation over a rhodium vanadate catalyst: Reduction and regeneration of RhVO4 on SiO2

The hydrogenation of CO over an Rh vanadate (RhVO₄) catalyst supported on SiO₂ (RhVO₄/SiO₂) has been investigated after H₂ reduction at 500°C, and the results are compared with those of vanadia-promoted (V₂O₅–Rh/SiO₂) and unpromoted Rh/SiO₂ catalysts. The mean size of Rh particles, which were dispersed by the decomposition of RhVO₄ after the H₂ reduction, was smaller (41 Å) than those (91–101 Å) of V₂O₅–Rh/SiO₂ and Rh/SiO₂ catalysts. The RhVO₄/SiO₂ catalyst showed higher activity and selectivity to C₂ oxygenates than the unpromoted Rh/SiO₂ catalyst after the H₂ pretreatment. The CO conversion of the RhVO₄/SiO₂ catalyst was much higher than that of V₂O₅–Rh/SiO₂ catalyst, and the yield of C₂ oxygenates increased. We also found that the RhVO₄/SiO₂ catalyst can be regenerated by calcination or O₂ treatment at high temperature after the reaction.     

Corneal Critical Barrier against the Penetration of Dexamethasone and Lomefloxacin Hydrochloride: Evaluation by the Activation Energy for Drug Partition and Diffusion in Cornea

The cornea is a solid barrier against drug permeation. We searched the critical barrier of corneal drug permeation using a hydrophobic drug, dexamethasone (DM), and a hydrophilic drug, lomefloxacin hydrochloride (LFLX). The activation energies for permeability of DM and LFLX across the intact cornea were 88.0 and 42.1 kJ/mol, respectively. Their activation energies for permeability across the cornea without epithelium decreased to 33.1 and 16.6 kJ/mol, respectively. The results show that epithelium is the critical barrier on the cornea against the permeation of a hydrophobic drug of DM as well as a hydrophilic drug of LFLX. The activation energy of partition for DM (66.8 kJ/mol) was approximately 3-fold larger than that of diffusion (21.2 kJ/mol). The results indicate that the partition for the hydrophobic drug of DM to the corneal epithelium is the primary barrier. Thermodynamic evaluation of activation energy for the drug permeation parameters is a good approch to investigate the mechanism of drug permeability.     

Effects of Mn,P, and mo on sulfide stress cracking resistance of high strength low alloy steels

Effects of phosphorus, manganese, and molybdenum on sulfide stress cracking (SSC) resistance were investigated by the constant load SSC test for low alloy steels with tempered martensite struc-ture and yield strength of 690 MPa to 820 MPa. The SSC threshold stress begins to decrease with an increase in yield strength at a certain yield strength (an SSC critical strength). The fraction of inter-granular fracture surface begins to increase with an increase in yield strength at the SSC critical strength, while the fracture mode becomes transgranular below this strength. Furthermore, there ex-ists a relationship between an increase in the fraction of intergranular fracture surface and a decrease in the SSC threshold stress. A decrease in phosphorus and manganese content and an increase in molybdenum content make the SSC critical strength higher. These changes in content of chemical elements, therefore, lead to an increase in the SSC threshold stress due to a decrease in the amount of intergranular fracture surface above the SSC critical strength. Below the SSC critical strength, however, the change of the SSC threshold stress is not observed because the fracture mode remains fully transgranular. The SSC critical strength could be represented as a function of a parameter com-posed of manganese and phosphorus contents.     

连铸坯中心偏析对LX72A钢帘线合股断丝的影响

70 t BOF-LF-Φ380 mm CC-开坯成150 mm×150 mm方坯-CR和200 t BOF-LF-200 mm×200mm CC-CR两种工艺路线所生产的Φ5.5 mm盘条经拉拔成Φ0.22 mm钢帘线合股过程的断丝率为Φ380mm圆铸坯工艺-2.86次/t,200 mm×200 mm方坯工艺-<1次/t。检验结果表明,圆坯工艺生产的盘条严重的中心偏析是大量断丝的主要因素,150mm×150 mm轧坯的宏观碳偏析高达1.11。采用断面尺寸200 mm×200 mm以上的方坯连铸工艺流程,中间包钢水过热度15～25℃,拉速恒定,采用结晶器和末端电磁搅拌,可有效地减轻中心偏析。     

Thermochemical decomposition of hydrogen sulfide with nickel sulfide

In this research, the two-step thermochemical cycle shown below is proposed and experimental studies were made on the cycle. $$\frac{\begin{gathered} {\text{Ni}}_{\text{3}} {\text{S}}_{\text{2}} + {\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{S}} = {\text{3NiS + H}}_{\text{2}} \hfill \\ {\text{3NiS = Ni}}_{\text{3}} {\text{S}}_{\text{2}} {\text{ + 0}}{\text{.5S}}_{\text{2}} {\text{(g)}} \hfill \\ \end{gathered} }{{{\text{H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{S = H}}_{\text{2}} {\text{ + 0}}{\text{.5S}}_{\text{2}} {\text{(g)}}}}$$ In the case where Ni₃S₂ alone was used without inert additions, nickel sulfide sintered or partly fused due to the melting point depression resulting from the thermal decomposition of formed NiS. Such sintering could be prevented by mixing the nickel sulfide powders with Al₂O₃ or MoS₂. The cyclic reactions were thereby shown to provide a stationary high decomposition rate of H₂S. Polysulfides, such as MS₂, have previously been employed in this kind of cycle. This research showed that the use of lower sulfides such as Ni₃S₂ may be regarded as rather promising based on the thermodynamic investigation of the respective reactions composing the cycle. The comparison between the sulfurization reactions of NiS to NiS₂ and of Ni₃S₂ to NiS further showed that the latter was superior to the former with respect to the kinetics and thermodynamical properties of the reaction.     

Three-dimensional display of X-ray CT image

Multi-slice images obtained by X-ray CT essentially have a three-dimensional data structure. They are useful for diagnosis and treatment through three-dimensional display. Surface display of organs is an effective three-dimensional display. However, although completely automatic processing of contour extraction is desirable it is also very difficult. For surface display, it is very important to extract contours of organs. Accordingly, using an interactive method, we have developed an algorithm for accurate three-dimensional display after extracting images of the cerebral ventricle. Satisfactory results have been obtained.