Coal liquefaction mechanism using a tritium tracer method

To determine the behavior of hydrogen in tetralin, the reaction of tetralin with tritiated gaseous hydrogen was studied in a flow reactor at 400–450°C, 2.5–9.8 MPa for various residence times. The amount of hydrogen exchange between tetralin and tritiated hydrogen was estimated from the balance of hydrogen and tritium. Although yields of methylindan and naphthalene, and the hydrogen-exchange ratio (HER) of tetralin increased monotonously with residence time, these values were scarcely influenced by the reaction pressure at every temperature. It was thought that the formation of tetralyl radicals in this system would be the rate-determining step for both the conversions of tetralin into methylindan and naphthalene, and the hydrogen exchange of tetralin. Conversions of tetralin into methylindan and naphthalene, and the hydrogen-exchange reaction using the autoclave were very close to those using the flow reactor.     

Design and characteristics of optical fiber unit for submarine cable

An optimum design method is presented for a "spaceless" unit structure in submarine optical fiber cable. The unit structure has been designed taking into consideration the loss increase caused by both a 40-km-long winding unit and a temperature change of 100°C. An appropriate jacket thickness and hardness was found which satisfies these requirements.     

Analysis of magnetic fields of a delta type shunt reactor

A model is given and a periodic boundary condition is adopted to analyze magnetic fields of a delta type shunt reactor. An approximate three-dimensional finite-element method that combines some axisymmetric fields and a two-dimensional field is then applied. It is found that the flux in the yoke concentrates on the part that is near the legs. The flux density heightens as the legs is approached, and rotational magnetic flux occurs in the parts joined by a leg and the yoke. All flux density waveforms contain mainly third harmonics. It is found that there is rotating flux in the yoke, which causes increased core losses     

Production of d-glucose from pseudo paper sludge with hydrothermal treatment

To convert cellulosic organics contained in industrial paper sludge into glucose, reaction of pseudo paper sludge composed of cellulose and inorganic compounds (calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), talc (Mg₃(Si₄O₁₀)(OH)₂), kaolin (Al₂(Si₂O₅)(OH)₄)) under hydrothermal conditions was studied. Significant amounts of glucose (ca. 23%) could be produced from cellulose in the absence of CaCO₃ for reaction in water at 523 K and 12 min reaction time. On the other hand, in the presence of CaCO3, most glucose decomposed over all conditions, whereas the addition of talc and kaolin to the mixtures increased the glucose yield to about 30%. For the case of chemical recycle of paper sludge with hydrothermal treatment to obtain d-glucose, it can be concluded that it is preferable to separate the calcium carbonate from the paper sludge before hydrothermal treatment.     

Phospholipid polymer hydrogel formed by the photodimerization of cinnamoyl groups in the polymer side chain

We synthesized new polymers with both photocrosslinkability and biocompatibility by a random copolymerization of 4‐(4‐methoxycinnamoyl)phenyl methacrylate and 2‐methacryloyloxyethyl phosphorylcholine. These polymers were used as prepolymers to make a hydrogel by photoirradiation. Gelation began with 5 s of photoirradiation and reached an equilibrium state after 360 s of photoirradiation. The absorption maximum at 347 nm, attributed to the cinnamoyl group, disappeared with the photoirradiation time. That is, dimerization between cinnamoyl groups in the polymer proceeded and formed a hydrogel. The equilibrium water concentration of the hydrogels was more than 90%. Moreover, we succeeded in making a microshape hydrogel on glass by photoirradiation through a photomask. The window shape of the photomask was transferred to the hydrogel that was formed. We concluded that these photocrosslinkable polymers could be useful in preparing microfluidic devices for separating or immobilizing biomolecules and cells. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 44–50, 2007     

How far has the molecular alignment of liquid crystals been elucidated?

Liquid crystal displays (LCDs) - born in late 1960s - have become a 45 billion-dollar industry in 2004. Today's LCD panels cover a wide range of sizes from 0.2 to 82 in diagonal. The electro-optical characteristics of any field effect LCD are determined by the orientation of its liquid crystal (LC) molecules at the display boundaries. Until recently most LCD alignment processes were based on rubbing polymer coated LCD substrates with a cloth. Despite its key importance, the complex mechanism governing the alignment of LC molecules on display substrates is still not well understood. Do the microgrooves generated by rubbing induce LC-alignment or does the stretching of polymer chains as a result of brushing cause it? To overcome the drawbacks of conventional aligning techniques, new alignment processes have recently been proposed and developed. Examples are micro embossing, ion bombardment, fringe field effects and photo-alignment. In this paper, some mechanisms of LC alignment are discussed and various alignment techniques and methods to investigate the interaction of LC molecules with substrates are reviewed.     

Administration-time-dependent effects of diltiazem on the 24-hour blood pressure profile of essential hypertension patients

Cells of the central nervous system (CNS) normally do not express detectable levels of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) Class I antigens. However, MHC Class I expression can be induced after virus infection. We tested the hypothesis that virus-induced Class I expression is mediated by lymphocytes or cytokines using lymphocyte- and cytokine-deficient mice. We used Theiler's murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV), which induces CNS demyelination that maps genetically to the D region of MHC Class I and is associated with high levels of Class I products. TMEV infection of severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) and recombination activation gene-1-deficient mice, which lack B and T lymphocytes, resulted in equivalent H-2D and H-2K expression in brain and spinal cord, according to analysis of the area and intensity of immunoperoxidase staining. Class I antigens were demonstrated as early as 6 hours after infection, and they were more widely distributed than viral RNA, indicating that expression was induced indirectly via a soluble factor. To determine whether cytokines induced the expression, we infected mice lacking receptors for interferon-alpha/beta (IFN-alpha/beta R (-/-)), interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma R(-/-)), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNFRp55(-/-)). TMEV-infected IFN-gamma R(-/-) and TN-FRp55(-/-) mice expressed Class I antigens in the CNS, whereas IFN-alpha/beta R(-/-) mice did not, establishing that IFN-alpha/beta mediated the expression. In contrast to the equivalent expression in SCID mice, we observed greater area and higher intensity of H-2D versus H-2K antigens in infected SCID mice reconstituted with normal spleen cells. Collectively, the data indicate that after TMEV infection, early generalized MHC Class I expression is mediated by IFN-alpha/beta independently of lymphocytes, but the differential regulation of H-2D over H-2K may be controlled by B and/or T lymphocytes.