Synthesis of a fullerene/expanded graphite composite and its lubricating properties

A fullerene/expanded graphite composite, in which fullerene crystals were incorporated into the expanded graphite interspaces, was prepared by chemical and thermal treatments and its lubricating properties in commercial grease were investigated. Expanded graphite, which was synthesized from graphite by oxidizing by KMnO₄ in 98% H₂SO₄ containing NaNO₃ and by heating at 400 °C for 3 min, and fullerene were placed in a stainless steel tube, and were heated in a furnace under vacuum at 600 °C for 2 weeks. The fullerene/expanded graphite composite obtained was characterized by X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). XRD and FT-IR analyses showed that crystalline fullerene was present in the material and SEM images confirmed that it existed in the expanded graphite interspaces. The composite was blended with a commercial grease, and its lubricating properties were investigated using a four-ball lubricant tester. These properties were evaluated by measuring the wear scar diameter and wear volume loss of the test ball. The combination of composite and grease provided a better lubricating performance than that of pure graphite and grease.     

Status and research programs of the multinuclide accelerator mass spectrometry system at the University of Tsukuba

We present the current status and research programs of a multinuclide accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) system on the 12UD Pelletron tandem accelerator at the University of Tsukuba (Tsukuba AMS system), Japan. A maximum terminal voltage of 12 MV is available for the AMS system. The Tsukuba AMS system can measure environmental levels of long-lived radioisotopes of ¹⁴C, ²⁶Al, ³⁶Cl and ¹²⁹I by employing a molecular pilot beam. Recently, enhancements in AMS techniques and equipment, including sample preparation, the ion source and the data acquisition system, have improved the performance of ³⁶Cl-AMS. The standard deviation of fluctuations is typically ±2%, and the machine background level for the ³⁶Cl/Cl ratio is lower than 1 × 10^?15 with a halite sample. We have measured over 500 samples in 1 year, including samples for earth and environmental sciences and nuclear safety research.     

Production of fruiting-body lectins of Pleurotus cornucopiae in methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris

Fruiting-body lectin genes obtained from Pleurotus cornucopiae were expressed in Pichia pastoris Because of glycosylation of the products, their molecular mass was larger than that of the corresponding native lectins. They showed binding activity to porcine stomach mucin in the enzyme-linked lectin assay system, but did not agglutinate red blood cells.     

Dietary supplementation of gamma-linolenic acid improves skin parameters in subjects with dry skin and mild atopic dermatitis

Disruption of the skin barrier function caused by epidermal hyper-proliferation, results in the skin becoming dry and showing high transepidermal water loss (TEWL). Gamma linolenic acid (GLA) is reportedly efficacious for treating TEWL and epidermal hyper-proliferation. In this study, to elucidate the effect of GLA-rich oil on skin function, GLA-containing food was given to adults with dry skin or mild atopic dermatitis and skin parameters were evaluated. In the results, we recognized beneficial effects on the TEWL index. The efficacy of GLA was also demonstrated to be statistically significant especially in subjects with pro-inflammatory features. The results suggest that the mechanism of improvement of skin barrier has been associated with possible generation of anti-inflammatory metabolites from GLA. The clinical physician also confirmed that none of the subjects showed any noteworthy side effects. GLA-enriched food appears to be safe and to improve skin barrier function in subjects with dry skin conditions and mild atopic dermatitis.     

Effect of Ganglioside GM3 Synthase Gene Knockout on the Glycoprotein N‐Glycan Profile of Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast

The structural and clinical significance of cellular glycoproteins and glycosphingolipids (GSLs) are often separately discussed. Considering the biosynthetic pathway of glycoconjugates, glycans of cell‐surface glycoproteins and GSLs might partially share functions in maintaining cellular homeostatis. The purpose of this study is to establish a general and comprehensive glycomics protocol for cellular GSLs and N‐glycans of glycoproteins. To test the feasibility of a glycoblotting‐based protocol, whole glycans released both from GSLs and glycoproteins were profiled concurrently by using GM3 synthase‐deficient mouse embryonic fibroblast GM3(?/?). GM3(?/?) cells did not synthesize GM3 or any downstream product of GM3 synthase. Instead, expression levels of o‐series gangliosides involving GM1‐b and GD1‐α increased dramatically, whereas a‐/b‐series gangliosides were predominantly detected in wild‐type (WT) cells. We also discovered that glycoprotein N‐glycan profiles of GM3(?/?) cells are significantly altered as compared to WT cells, although GM3 synthase is responsible only for GSLs synthesis and is not associated with glycoprotein N‐glycan biosynthesis. The present approach allows for high‐throughput profiling of cellular glycomes enriched by different classes of glycoconjugates, and our results demonstrated that gene knockout of the enzymes responsible for GSL biosynthesis significantly influences the N‐glycans of glycoproteins.     

Design methodology of embedded DRAM with virtual-socketarchitecture

This paper proposes the virtual-socket architecture in order to reduce the design turn-around time (TAT) of the embedded DRAM. The required memory density and the function of the embedded DRAM are system dependent. In the conventional design, the DRAM control circuitry with the DRAM memory array is handled as a hardware macro, resulting in the increase in design TAT. On the other hand, our proposed architecture provides the DRAM control circuitry as a software macro to take advantage of the automated tools based on synchronous circuit design. With array-generator technology, this architecture can achieve high quality and quick turn-around time (QTAT) of flexible embedded DRAM that is almost the same as the CMOS ASIC. We applied this virtual-socket architecture to the development of the 61-Mb synchronous DRAM core using 0.18-μm design rule and confirmed the high-speed operation, 166 MHz at CAS latency of two, and 180 MHz at that of three. The experimental results show that our proposed architecture can be applied to the development of the high-performance embedded DRAM with design QTAT     

Flux-splitting finite volume method for turbine flow and heat transfer analysis

A novel numerical method was developed to deal with the flow and heat transfer in a turbine cascade at both design and off-design conditions. The Navier–Stokes equations are discretized and integrated in a coupled manner. In the present method a time-marching scheme was employed along with the time-integration approach. The flux terms are discretized based on a cell finite volume formulation as well as a flux-difference splitting. The flux-difference splitting makes the scheme rapid convergence and the finite volume technique ensure the governing equations for the conservation of mass, momentum and energy. A hybrid difference scheme for quasi-three-dimensional procedure based on the discretized and integrated Navier–Stokes equations was incorporated in the code. The numerical method possesses the positive features of the explicit and implicit algorithms which provide a rapid convergence process and have a less stability constraint. The computed results were compared with other numerical studies and experimental data. The comparisons showed fairly good agreement with experiments.     

The characteristics of the external‐electrode mercury fluorescent lamp for backlighting liquid‐crystal‐television displays

Abstract— A reliable external‐electrode mercury fluorescent lamp (EEFL) has been developed for backlighting a liquid‐crystal‐television (LC‐TV) display. This involved the investigation of the EEFL characteristics and the improvement in the construction of the EEFL and drive waveforms, in the frequency range of 50–200 kHz, that affects the EEFL characteristics. The results showed that a sinusoidal waveform is suitable for driving the EEFL, and EEFL's voltage decreases when the frequency of the drive waveform is increased.