Modification of transport properties of ion exchange membranes,XIII. Surface-modified cation exchange membranes prepared from polyamines and a copolymer membrane containing p-stryenesulfonyl chloride

A membrane precursor was prepared by the copolymerization of p-styrenesulfonyl chloride and divinylbenzene in the presence of a poly(vinyl chloride) supported cloth. The surface of the membrane was treated with various amines, and then the sulfonyl chloride groups in the internal part of the membrane were hydrolyzed with an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution in organic methanol or acetone solvent. Hydrolysis conditions were examined for the introduction of the sulfonic acid groups. The membrane modified by ethylenediamine exhibited slightly bipolar properties during the electrodialysis of seawater. Surface-modified membranes using tetraethylenepentamine exhibited excellent monovalent cation permselectivity, low membrane electric resistance, and long performance durability during the electrodialysis of seawater.     

On the force feedback control of a manipulator with a compliant wrist force sensorÜber die druckrückführungs-steuerung eines manipulators mit einem nachgiebigen handgelenk-drucksensor

The force feedback algorithm is presented for the manipulator which consists of a high stiffness position servo system with six-degree of freedom and has a compliant six-component force sensor at its wrist. The obtained algorithm has the following three features. First, this algorithm gives the relation between the position and orientation of the wrist at the present step and that of the wrist to be attained at the next step. Second, an efficient calculation method to obtain each joint movement satisfying this relation is proposed. Third, this algorithm reduces the force feedback control to the position feedback control of each joint in case the force sensor is sufficiently compliant compared with its environment.     

Event sequence assessment of deep snow in sodium-cooled fast reactor based on continuous Markov chain Monte Carlo method with plant dynamics analysis

Margin assessment of a nuclear power plant against external hazards is one of the most important issues after Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant Accident. In this paper, a new approach has been developed to assess the plant status during external hazards and countermeasures against them in operation quantitatively and stochastically. A continuous Markov chain Monte Carlo (CMMC) method is applied and coupled with a plant dynamics analysis. In the CMMC method, a subsequence plant status is determined by the latest state (Markov chain) and the status is evaluated from the plant dynamics analysis. A failure or success of safety function of plant component is also evaluated stochastically based on a latest state of plant or hazard. A numerical investigation of plant dynamics analysis against a snow hazard is also carried out in a loop type sodium-cooled fast reactor so as to assess the margin against the hazard.     

Internal friction behavior of an unidirectionally solidified Al2O3/YAG eutectic at high temperature

The internal friction behavior of a unidirectionally solidified Al₂O₃/YAG eutectic was examined between room temperature and 1400 °C. No internal friction was observed up to 1200 °C. Above 1200 °C, the internal friction drastically increased with increasing temperature and the number of torsional loading cycles. For the 1400 °C test, the internal friction gradually increased with the number of loading cycles and then saturated after 10³ cycles.     

Uromodulin Regulates Murine Aquaporin−2 Activity via Thick Ascending Limb–Collecting Duct Cross−Talk during Water Deprivation

Uromodulin, a urinary protein synthesized and secreted from the thick ascending limb (TAL) of the loop of Henle, is associated with hypertension through the activation of sodium reabsorption in the TAL. Uromodulin is a potential target for hypertension treatment via natriuresis. However, its biological function in epithelial cells of the distal nephron segment, particularly the collecting duct, remains unknown. Herein, we examined the regulation of uromodulin production during water deprivation in vivo as well as the effect of uromodulin on the activity of the water channel aquaporin−2 (AQP2) in vitro and in vivo using transgenic mice. Water deprivation upregulated uromodulin production; immunofluorescence experiments revealed uromodulin adhesion on the apical surface of the collecting duct. Furthermore, the activation of AQP2 was attenuated in mice lacking uromodulin. Uromodulin enhanced the phosphorylation and apical trafficking of AQP2 in mouse collecting duct cells treated with the vasopressin analog dDAVP. The uromodulin-induced apical trafficking of AQP2 was attenuated via endocytosis inhibitor treatment, suggesting that uromodulin activates AQP2 through the suppression of endocytosis. This study provides novel insights into the cross−talk between TAL and the collecting duct, and indicates that the modulation of uromodulin is a promising approach for diuresis and hypertension treatment.     

Purification and gene cloning of a chitosanase from Bacillus ehimensis EAG1

Bacillus ehimensis EAG1 (IFO15659) produced and secreted chitosanase in the presence of exogenous chitosan. The chitosanase was purified from the culture filtrate of the bacterium to apparent homogeneity in SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 31,000. A 1.9-kbp DNA fragment containing the chitosanase gene was cloned and the complete nucleotide sequence was determined. The sequence was found to contain a single open reading frame encoding a protein of 302 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence showed significant homology with the chitosanase from Bacillus circulans MH-K1.     

A salient‐pole synchronous generator with permanent magnets between the field poles

In this paper, a new salient‐pole synchronous generator (SG) termed the PMa‐SG is presented. In the PMa‐SG, permanent magnets (PMs) are placed between the pole shoes to reduce the magnetic saturation in the field poles. By using finite element analysis (FEA), the internal magnetic fields and basic characteristics of a 2.8‐MVA PMa‐SG are compared with those of a conventional SG of the same size, and the reduction effect of the magnetic saturation of the PMs is examined. The FEA simulations are also validated by experiments on a 2.0‐kVA prototype machine. The PMs placed between the pole shoes reduce the magnetic saturation in the pole bodies and pole tips and effectively increase the terminal voltage and output power. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 174(4): 58–67, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21132     

Ultrafine ferrite formation through cold-rolling and annealing of low-carbon dual-phase steel

Formation process of ultrafine grained ferrite through a simple thermomechanical route composed of cold-rolling and annealing of dual-phase starting microstructures was investigated. A 0·1%C steel having a ferrite–martensite dual-phase microstructure was cold-rolled by 91% and subsequently annealed below the eutectoid (A1) temperature. During the annealing, the cold-rolled microstructure gradually changed to be equiaxed ultrafine ferrite, without preferential growth of particular ferrite grains. Hardness of the cold-rolled specimen continuously decreased without a significant drop. The main components of texture in the cold-rolled specimen, α-fibre and γ-fibre, did not change greatly after the formation of ultrafine grains. It was suggested that finely subdivided region having large misorientations in the cold-rolled state grew with recovery to form the ultrafine ferrite.     

Effect of chromatic components on facial skin whiteness

Although the color measurement of facial skin becomes more common in dermatology and cosmetics, little is known about the relationship between subjective color perception and colorimetric values in facial skin. In this study, the possible relationships among perceived whiteness and the metric lightness, chroma and hue angle of Japanese females' facial skin color were investigated. First, the perceived brightness of the facial skin of Japanese females was evaluated visually and compared with metric lightness, chroma and hue angle, and the effect of hue and chroma on the perceived brightness was discussed. Second, a psychophysical experiment on the whiteness of the facial images and synthesized skin color plate images was conducted for examining the effect of hue and chroma on the perceived whiteness more precisely and independently. The results of two experiments showed that in regard to the facial skin color of the Japanese female, metric lightness disagrees with perceived whiteness or brightness in a narrow lightness range. The reddish facial skin color appeared brighter or whiter than that of a yellowish one in high lightness regions, and the low‐chroma facial skin color appeared brighter or whiter than a high‐chroma one. However, in the color plate images, a change in perceived whiteness by hue could not be confirmed, and the change in perceived whiteness by chroma was weaker than that from facial images. These results indicated that a higher‐level process of face recognition affected whiteness perception, and the criterion of facial skin whiteness was determined by facial skin color distribution. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Col Res Appl, 2011;