Thermal Properties of Al-50%Si Alloys

AS FOR Al-Si alloy,this alloy with the characteristicsuch as excellent in a low coefficient of thermalexpansion(CTE),high-heat-conductivity,and wearresistance is used for the piston material of the engine,the heat radiation material,and electronic application1'2.The CTE of the Al-Si alloy decreases further withincreasing Si content because the CTE of Si is low3.The strength and wear resistance of Al-Si alloydecrease with increasing Si content because eutectic Siis coarse grain size an…     

Purification and properties of an extracellular inulinase from Rhizopus sp. strain TN-96

A filamentous fungus, Rhizopus sp. strain TN-96, was isolated from rhizosphere soil samples. An extracellular inulinase was purified from the culture filtrate of strain TN-96 grown on inulin by DEAE-Cellulofine A-500 and Sephacryl S-200 HP chromatographies. The enzyme was homogeneous as judged by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, with an apparent M(r) of 83 kDa. The purified enzyme had specific activities of 17 U/mg toward inulin (I) and 0.32 U/mg toward sucrose (S) (I/S ratio, 53). Inulinase activity was optimal at pH 5.5 and 40 degrees C. The inulinase exhibited an apparent K(m) value of 9.0 mM for inulin. The enzyme also hydrolyzed raffinose, but not bacterial levan.     

An absorption-based surface plasmon resonance sensor applied to sodium ion sensing based on an ion-selective optode membrane

A surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sodium ion sensor using an ion optode membrane film was experimentally and theoretically described based on an absorption-based SPR principle proposed in our previous article (Kurihara, K; Suzuki, K. AnaL Chem. 2002, 74, 696-701). The sodium ion concentrations from 10(-6) to 10(-1) have been successfully determined not only by the resonance angle diagnosis of the SPR curve but also by the minimum reflectance one. The ion optode film was plasticized poly(vinyl chloride) including a neutral sodium ionophore, a pH-sensitive cationic dye, and an anionic additive. Its optical absorption intensity changed with the sodium ion concentrations. The SPR ion sensor physically measured the complex refractive index caused by the absorption in the ion optode film. We have exhaustively investigated the experimental response behavior of the SPR curve relative to the sodium ion concentrations by comparison with numerically simulated SPR curves using a three-layer Fresnel equation including experimental values for the sodium ion optode membrane film. As predicted by the absorption-based SPR principle, the SPR curve behavior of the SPR ion sensors depended on two factors: one was the relation between the excitation frequency of the light source and the absorption maximum frequency in the ion optode film while the other was the gold metallic thickness in the Kretchmann configuration. The concept and practical theory of an absorption-based SPR sensor not only have been proved by the experimental results of the SPR sodium ion sensor but also have successfully allowed flexible ion sensing in an SPR sensor, which would be very difficult without the absorption mechanism in the ion optode film.     

Homotropic activation via the subunit interaction and allosteric symmetry revealed on analysis of hybrid enzymes of L-lactate dehydrogenase

L-Lactate dehydrogenase from Bifidobacterium longum shows homotropic activation by pyruvate as well as heterotropic activation by fructose 1,6-bisphosphate. Hybrid enzymes were produced from the wild-type subunit and a mutant subunit, whose substrate specificity was altered to that of malate dehydrogenase, and separated to analyze the substrate-induced homotropic activation mechanism. Oxamate, a competitive inhibitor of L-lactate dehydrogenase, was used to mimic the substrate-induced activation of the wild-type subunit as "a regulatory subunit." The malate dehydrogenase activity of the mutant subunit as "the catalytic subunit" of the hybrid enzymes was measured, and the activity of the mutant subunit was activated on the addition of oxamate. Thus, we directly observed the inter-subunit homotropic activation transmitted from the wild-type to the mutant subunit. Moreover, "isomeric" hybrid enzymes that have different structural subunit arrangements but identical subunit compositions showed identical kinetic natures. This indicates that the enzyme maintains its subunit symmetry during the allosteric transition.     

Estimation of Zn and Cu unit output loads from animal husbandry facilities

Zinc (Zn) and copper (Cu) are toxic to aquatic organisms at very low concentrations that do not affect humans. We measured the daily output of Zn and Cu in wastewater from livestock farms to aquatic environments because waste from animal husbandry operations contains high levels of Zn and Cu. At most pig farms in Japan, a mixture of urine, some faeces, and service water is treated in onsite wastewater treatment facilities and discharged into a water body. Some dairy farms also have wastewater treatment facilities. We surveyed 21 pig farms and six dairy farms. The unit (i.e., per head) output load from piggery wastewater treatment facilities ranged from 0.13 to 17.8 mg/head/d for Zn and from 0.15 to 9.4 mg/head/d for Cu. Over 70% of pig farms had unit output loads of Zn and Cu below 6 and 2 mg/head/d, respectively. For dairy farms, the unit output load from wastewater treatment facilities was estimated at 1.8-3.6 mg/head/d for Zn and 0.6 mg/head/d for Cu. The unit output load for Zn from piggery wastewater treatment facilities was similar to that from treatment facilities for human waste. However, pig farms generally raise several thousand to tens of thousands of pigs; pig farms are therefore presumed to be a significant point source of Zn in rural areas.     

Numerical simulation of buoyancy-assisting,backward-facing step flow and heat transfer in a rectangular duct

Two- and three-dimensional numerical simulations have been performed for mixed convective upward flows over a backward-facing step in a duct. The Reynolds number, expansion ratio, and aspect ratio (in 3-D simulations) were kept constant at Re = 125, ER = 2, and AR = 16, respectively. The heat flux at the wall downstream of the step was uniform. The straight wall, the step, and the side walls (in 3-D simulations) were assumed to be adiabatic. The effect of the buoyancy level, Ri^*, was the major interest in this study. It was found that the reattachment point and the peak Nusselt number point moved upstream as Ri^* was increased. The secondary recirculation region, which developed at the corner of the step, became larger. A secondary flow was also found in a cross section immediately downstream of the step. Flow directed toward the center of the duct became more intensive as Ri^* increased, which possibly resulted from an increase in the level of three-dimensionality of the flow and thermal fields. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Heat Trans Asian Res, 28(1): 58–76, 1999     

Application of porous microspheres prepared by SPG (Shirasu porous glass) emulsification as immobilizing carriers of glucoamylase (GluA)

Fairly uniform spheres of crosslinked polystyrene (PS) and polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), prepared by a particular emulsification process using SPG (Shirasu Porous Glass) membranes and subsequent suspension polymerization, were applied for immobilizing carriers of Glucoamylase (GluA). A mixture of monomers, solvents, and oil-soluble initiator was allowed to permeate through the micropores of SPG, suspended in an aqueous solution of poly(vinyl alcohol), and polymerized while retaining the narrow size distribution during polymerization. A small amount of acrylic acid or glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) was incorporated for the immobilization of GluA via covalent bonding. Although GluA has been regarded as being difficult to retain its activity after the immobilization process, a porous structure of the carriers definitely favored the immobilization, and a maximum 55% relative activity (RA) was obtained by the physical adsorption to PMMA spheres. The reaction of epoxide in GMA with 6-aminocaproic acid provided a spacer arm for the carboxyl group. An improvement of activity was expected by the incorporation of the spacer arms; however, barely noticeable activity was observed for PMMA carriers either by the physical adsorption or by the covalent bonding. A slight improvement was observed for PS carriers with spacers compared to the carriers without them. The diffusion process of oligosaccharides in the porous carriers seemed to retard the rate of hydrolysis in the case of largest carriers, 60 μm PS-DVB-AA spheres. The activity of immobilized GluA was retained during a long storage period of more than 150 days, some of them even increasing gradually, while the activity of native GluA dropped to zero after 100 days. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 65: 2655–2664, 1997     

Alkaline Corrosion Resistance of Anodized Aluminum Coated with Zirconium Oxide by a Sol-Gel Process

To improve the alkaline corrosion resistance of aluminum, composite films were prepared that consisted of a porous layer of anodically grown aluminum oxide filled with zirconium oxide, with a zirconium oxide coating layer that was deposited thereon via the sol—gel process, using a dip-coating technique. The alkaline corrosion resistance of these composite films was extremely improved when this coating layer was placed on an anodic oxide film. Comparisons of the composite film and conventional anodic oxide film showed that the alkaline corrosion resistance of the composite film was increased by a factor of 24–50. Because these composite films, which have high corrosion resistance, indicated a vibration phenomenon of voltage in the duration time curve of the electromotive force measurement, the composite film had a self-repairing action for alkaline corrosion.     

Use of ensemble simulations to evaluate the urban effect on a localized heavy rainfall event in Tokyo,Japan

Recently, localized heavy rainfall over highly urbanized areas has caused severe damage in Japan. Although studies have indicated that the presence of urban areas can intensify rainfall, the chaotic noise caused by differences in initial conditions can change the urban effect. Therefore, the usability of ensemble simulation methods for urban effects on a single localized heavy rainfall event must be clarified to synthesize state-of-the-art observations and numerical model studies. This study examined the difference in a localized heavy rainfall event under different initial conditions. We demonstrated the advantage of ensemble experiments using a cloud-resolving model to evaluate the urban effect. In this study, we focused on a localized heavy rainfall event that occurred over Tokyo on 5 August 2008 and killed five people working in a drainpipe. Two ensemble experiments were performed according to the lagged average forecasting (LAF) method. Each experiment had six members, with initial conditions spanning 6 h from 02 to 07 Local Standard Time (LST) on 5 August 2008. The model was integrated continuously through 18 LST for each run. The model had a horizontal grid resolution of 2 km. The first experiment (CTRL) used the actual land cover, anthropogenic heat, and geometric structures. The second experiment (PDDY) used an imaginary land cover in which the urban area was changed to paddy fields. Comparison of the ensemble means showed that the peak value of the maximum hourly rainfall decreased and the peak time was delayed in PDDY compared with CTRL. The smaller peak value and delayed peak time of rainfall in PDDY seemed to be caused by the weaker updraft associated with near-surface convergence, which was caused by weaker surface heating. Regardless of the difference caused by the initial conditions, the decrease in the peak value and the delay in the peak time were significant according to the t-test. Although the area was limited compared with near-surface temperature and horizontal wind convergence, a significant reduction in rainfall was also seen over the heavily urbanized area of Tokyo in the horizontal distribution of the difference in accumulated rainfall. These results indicate that although differences in the initial condition can change the modeled urban effect on rainfall, ensemble simulation methods can be used to examine the significance of the urban effect on a single localized heavy rainfall event.     

Synthesis and properties of lithium ion conductors Li3−2x(Sc1−xZrx)2(PO4)3

Lithium ion conductors, Li_3−2x(Sc_1−xZr_x)₂(PO₄)₃ (0 x 0.3), were prepared by a solid-state reaction. TG–DTA analysis indicated no phase transition in the samples with x superior to 0.05. X-ray powder diffraction analysis of these samples clearly showed the stabilization of a superionic conduction phase at room temperature with an orthorhombic system Pbcn. The highest conductivity was observed for the sample with x=0.05, and ascribed to the stabilization of the superionic conduction phase and the introduction of vacancies on the Li⁺ sites by substituting Zr⁴⁺ for Sc³.