The Role of Hydrogen on the Local Fracture Toughness Properties of 7XXX Aluminum Alloys

High-resolution synchrotron X-ray microtomography has been successfully used to evaluate the local crack driving force at arbitrary crack tip locations as a form of CTOD. This is to our knowledge the first experimental evidence in supporting a correlation between the local fracture toughness associated with the corresponding hydrogen-assisted fracture mode including quasi-cleavage, intergranular, and dimple. Our results have revealed that very small CTOD, of about 1.26 μm, is observed when the crack tip is located in the quasi-cleavage fracture. Compared to quasi-cleavage fracture, the CTOD values increase by a factor of 5 when the crack tip is located in intergranular fracture mode and even greater increase in CTOD (of about 18 times) is observed when the crack tip is located in dimple fracture mode. We also observed that the crack propagation process under the influence of hydrogen deviates greatly from that of standard behavior, where stable crack growth is accompanied by a change in crack tip singularity from the HRR to the RDS. It was concluded that the presence of high concentration of hydrogen ahead of the crack tip increases the slip localization, and thereby reduces crack tip blunting. Hence crack continues to grow before the crack tip becomes fully blunt.     

氘团簇离子(d3+)固体与相互作用过程中的团簇行为研究

讨论了由三个氘原子组成的氘团簇离子(d3+)束与独立氘离子束在轰击固体靶时,在原子过程和D-D核聚变过程中体现出的差别.对氘团簇与固体靶相互作用的机理进行了分析.     

A decomposition of a formal specification: an improvedconstraint-oriented method

In this paper, the authors propose a decomposition method for a formal specification that divides the specification into two subspecifications composed by a parallel operator. To make these specification behaviors equivalent before and after decomposition, the method automatically synthesizes an additional control specification, which contains the synchronization information of the decomposed subspecifications. The authors prove that a parallel composition of the decomposed subspecifications synchronized with the control specification is strongly equivalent with the original (monolithic) specification. The authors also write formal specifications of the OSI application layer's association-control service and decompose it using their method as an example of decomposition of a practical specification. Their decomposition method can be applied to top-down system development based on stepwise refinement     

Hot Spot Mutagenesis Improves the Functional Expression of Unique Mammalian Odorant Receptors

Vertebrate animals detect odors through olfactory receptors (ORs), members of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) family. Due to the difficulty in the heterologous expression of ORs, studies of their odor molecule recognition mechanisms have progressed poorly. Functional expression of most ORs in heterologous cells requires the co-expression of their chaperone proteins, receptor transporting proteins (RTPs). Yet, some ORs were found to be functionally expressed without the support of RTP (RTP-independent ORs). In this study, we investigated whether amino acid residues highly conserved among RTP-independent ORs improve the functional expression of ORs in heterologous cells. We found that a single amino acid substitution at one of two sites (N_BW3.39 and 3.43) in their conserved residues (E and L, respectively) significantly improved the functional expression of ORs in heterologous cells. E^3.39 and L^3.43 also enhanced the membrane expression of RTP-dependent ORs in the absence of RTP. These changes did not alter the odorant responsiveness of the tested ORs. Our results showed that specific sites within transmembrane domains regulate the membrane expression of some ORs.     

Effective thermal conductivity of MOX raw powder

The radial temperature distribution of plutonium and uranium mixed oxide powder loaded into a cylindrical vessel was measured in air and argon gas, and the effective thermal conductivity was calculated from the measured temperature distribution and the decay heat. The effective thermal conductivities were small values of 0.061-0.13 W m^-1 K^-1 at about 318 K, and changed significantly with O/M, bulk density and atmospheric gas. The results in this work were analyzed by the model of Hamilton and Crosser and a new model for the effective thermal conductivity of the powder was derived as functions of powder properties and thermal conductivity of atmospheric gas.     

Neutron irradiation effects on superconducting wires and insulating materials

On the progress of the Deuterium–Deuterium (D–D) or Deuterium–Tritium (D–T) burning plasma devices, the importance of neutron irradiation on superconducting magnet materials increases and the data base is desired to design the next generation devices. To carry out the investigations on the effect of neutron irradiation, neutron irradiation fields are required together with post-irradiation test facilities. In these several years, a collaboration network of neutron irradiation effect on superconducting magnet materials has been constructed. 14 MeV neutron irradiation was carried out at Fusion Neutronics Sources (FNS) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) and fission neutron irradiation was performed at JRR-3 in JAEA. After the irradiation, the Nb₃Sn, NbTi and Nb₃Al samples were sent to High Field Laboratory for Superconducting Materials (HFLSM) in Tohoku University and the superconducting properties were evaluated with 28 T hybrid magnet. Also, the organic insulation materials are considered to be weaker than superconducting materials against neutron irradiation and cyanate ester resin composite was fabricated and tested at the fission reactor. One clear result on Nb₃Sn was the property change of Nb₃Sn by 14 MeV neutron irradiation over 13 T. The critical current was increased by 1.4 times around 13 T but the increment of the critical current became almost zero at higher magnetic fields and the critical magnetic field of the irradiated sample showed almost the same as non-irradiated one.     

Strain Anisotropy Driven Spontaneous Formation of Nanoscrolls from 2D Janus Layers

2D Janus transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) have attracted attention due to their emergent properties arising from broken mirror symmetry and self-driven polarization fields. While it has been proposed that their vdW superlattices hold the key to achieving superior properties in piezoelectricity and photovoltaic, available synthesis has ultimately limited their realization. Here, the first packed vdW nanoscrolls made from Janus TMDs through a simple one-drop solution technique are reported. The results, including ab initio simulations, show that the Bohr radius difference between the top sulfur and the bottom selenium atoms within Janus ${\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{Se}}^{\mathrm{S}}$ (M = Mo, W) results in a permanent compressive surface strain that acts as a nanoscroll formation catalyst after small liquid interaction. Unlike classical 2D layers, the surface strain in Janus TMDs can be engineered from compressive to tensile by placing larger Bohr radius atoms on top (${\mathrm{M}}_{\mathrm{S}}^{\mathrm{Se}})$to yield inverted C scrolls. Detailed microscopy studies offer the first insights into their morphology and readily formed Moiré lattices. In contrast, spectroscopy and FETs studies establish their excitonic and device properties and highlight significant differences compared to 2D flat Janus TMDs. These results introduce the first polar Janus TMD nanoscrolls and introduce inherent strain-driven scrolling dynamics as a catalyst to create superlattices.     

Evaluation of the contents and ratios of five fractionated proteins to elucidate the protein composition in soybean seeds

Selecting suitable soybean cultivars is important for food processing and exploring their endowment with desirable physiological functions. We applied the fractionation method previously established to compare soy protein composition among cultivars to promote such a selection. More than 95% of the proteins in soybean cotyledons were extracted from 13 soybean cultivars using a high-concentration salt solution. The extracted proteins were fractionated into five fractions, namely oil body-associated protein (OBAP), polar lipid-associated protein (PLAP), globulins (11S and 7S), and whey by centrifugation after tuning the solubility behavior of the proteins with various solutions. Protein species in each fraction were analyzed by SDS-PAGE. Protein content in the total extract and five fractions was quantified to characterize the protein composition of soybean cultivars. The correlation between the protein content of each fraction and the total protein in cotyledon was investigated. A strong positive correlation was found only for the 11S fraction (r = 0.82), followed by a positive correlation in the 7S fraction (r = 0.65). Thus, we surmised that the increased protein content in soybean was due to increased globulin content. Furthermore, the calculation of the average ratio of protein content in each fraction indicated the globulin fraction (7S and 11S) to be 52%, the lipophilic protein fraction (OBAP and PLAP) to be 33%, and the whey fraction to be 13%. The preparation method employed in this study is a promising tool for efficiently comparing the protein composition of soybean cultivars to evaluate the potential use of cultivars for food production.     

Elucidation of mosaic patterns in gravel riverbeds using classifying flow velocity regimes obtained from a planar two-dimensional analysis

Gravel riverbeds in the middle reaches of Japanese rivers are essential habitats for various plants and animals. Disturbance from flooding is necessary for the formation of gravel riverbeds, but human control of rivers, such as dams and channelization, has altered flow and sediment regimes, thereby reducing disturbance. The flooding generates a mosaic pattern characterized by varying frequencies and intensities of disturbance in gravel riverbeds. Understanding the disturbance regimes that form mosaic patterns is important for the conservation of biodiversity in rivers. In this study, we proposed a method to extract mosaic patterns from flow velocity regimes obtained by planar two-dimensional analysis by classifying them with time-series clustering. Based on the distribution of Anaphalis margaritacea var. yedoensis on gravel riverbanks, we compared several past flooding events to identify mosaic patterns that are important for A. margaritacea var. yedoensis. The study site is the Echi River, which flows through Shiga Prefecture in Japan and into Lake Biwa. Using a unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), orthomosaic images with an average ground resolution of 3.3 mm/pixel were created, and colony polygons of A. margaritacea var. yedoensis were created using image detection and visual correction. Hydraulic analysis was performed using iRIC ver2.3 (Nays2DH ver1.0). Time-series clustering was used to classify the flow velocity regimes for each computed mesh into 30 clusters. The relationship between the clusters of each flooding event and the distribution of A. margaritacea var. yedoensis was evaluated. Mosaic patterns were created by classifying the flow velocity regimes of each computational mesh calculated by planar 2D analysis into clusters using time-series clustering. After analyzing the relationship between each cluster and the area of distribution of A. margaritacea var. yedoensis, the first flooding event was determined to be the mosaic pattern that best explained the distribution of A. margaritacea var. yedoensis. Cluster 1, the “low peak, short duration type,” was considered the growth center of A. margaritacea var. yedoensis. The method used in this study is an innovative approach for obtaining mosaic patterns that quantifies these five elements of the disturbance regime.