Fatigue crack separation and merging simulation using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics

International Journal of Fracture - The present paper proposes a new computational method for the fatigue crack propagation in a metallic structure using the smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH)....     

Silicon precipitation via photoinduced reaction using femtosecond laser

Silicon precipitation inside a glass is an important technique for silicon photonics. We successfully precipitated silicon inside silicate glasses containing an Al metal film using femtosecond laser irradiation. First, the Al-inserted sandwiched glass was fabricated by the direct bonding method. The results of a tensile test indicated that the adhesive strength of the sandwich structure reached approximately 4 MPa. Next, femtosecond laser pulses were focused at the Al/glass interface in the sandwich structure. A transmission electron microscopy photograph at the focus of the laser showed that the Al particles were dispersed into the glass substrate to a depth of approximately 2 microm from the initial Al layer. In addition, Raman spectra indicated that silicon had formed at the interface between the glass and Al film after the laser irradiation. The morphology or the particle size of the precipitated silicon was successfully modified by changing the repetition rate or the pulse energy of the laser.     

Protoplast Transformation of Alkalophilic Bacillus sp. by Plasmid DNA

A method for transformation of alkalophilic Bacillus sp. A-59 (ATCC21591, alkaline amylase producing bacterium) with plasmid DNA was developed. Plasmid pHWl containing a chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene was used as a vector, because chloramphenicol was the only antibiotic found to be stable at alkaline pH condition. Transformation was carried out by a protoplast method and addition of polyethylene glycol (PEG; final concentration 22.5%) was essential for transformation. Optimum pH values of the media and buffers were slightly higher than those used in transformation of Bacillus subtilis protoplasts. Through optimization of transformation conditions for alkalophilic Bacillus sp., the transformation efficiency was increased to approximately 10⁶ transformants per μg plasmid DNA.     

Kinetic Characterization of Chimeric Cyclomaltodextrin Glucanotransferase from Genes of Two Alkalophilic Bacillus

The chimeric CGTase, which was constructed genetically with two β-CD forming type enzyme genes of different species of alkalophilic Bacillus, was characterized by comparing with the actions of parent enzymes. The final composition of CDs in the reaction digest from starch by the chimeric enzyme, especially in the yield of α-CD, was different from those by parent enzymes, and total yields of CDs by these enzymes were almost the same. The chimeric enzyme catalyzed the formation of β-CD as a major action from starch, the rapid synthesis of α-CD from other CDs and maltooligosaccharides and the slow degradation and interconversion of α-CD to others. From these results, the role of second and third segments in the enzyme molecules was discussed.     

Design and calibration of curved and see-through integral imaging 3D display

Virtual Reality - Heads-up displays that are ‘see-through’ and ‘curved’ and capable of displaying 3D contents are considered crucial for augmented reality-based navigation...     

Growing neural gas based navigation system in unknown terrain environment for an autonomous mobile robot

Artificial Life and Robotics - Recently, various types of autonomous robots have been expected in many fields such as a disaster site, forest, and so on. The autonomous robots are assumed to be...