Thermodynamics of antimony,arsenic, and tin in CaO—CaF2 melts

In view of the importance of tramp element contamination of steel products through a large volume of scrap consumption in the near future, the thermodynamic behaviour of Sb, As, Sn and Cu in CaO—CaF₂ melts under reducing conditions was studied by examining the dependences of distribution of each element between Cu, Ag or Sn alloys and CaO—CaF₂ melts on the CaO activity, oxygen partial pressure and temperature around 1 500°C. As a result, the reaction products on treatment by Ca compounds were demonstrated to be Ca₃Sb₂, Ca₃As₂, Ca₂Sn and CaCu. Experimentally obtained distributions were extrapolated to lower oxygen partial pressures less than 10^?18 atm to estimate the feasibility of removing those tramp elements from molten iron. It is thermodynamically indicated that if the prevailing oxygen partial pressure of the environment is below 10^?23 atm, these impurities, except Cu, would be substantially removed from molten steel.     

Evidence for the existence of L-dopa-immunoreactive neurons in the human mesencephalic region

Radioactive end labeling can be used to determine the hydrolytic rates of nuclease mimics on moderate to long lengths of RNA or DNA. However, the reliability of end labeling as an assay can vary depending on how well the unincorporated label is removed from the labeled RNA or DNA products. Therefore, gel filtration, acid precipitation, membrane diafiltration, and paper chromatography were tested to determine which technique was the most effective at such separation. The results in order of decreasing contamination by [gamma-32P]ATP were gel filtration (40%), acid precipitation (5%), diafiltration (2%), and paper chromatography (1%); and, in order of decreasing loss of RNA, were acid precipitation (30%), diafiltration (11%), gel filtration (10%), and paper chromatography (1%). In order for the resultant radioactive counts to be linearly proportional to the number of cleavage sites, the total ATP in the end-labeling reaction should be in excess of 5'-hydroxyl ends by a factor of 10 or more. Interference by nuclease mimics in the end-labeling reaction should be accounted for by including the mimics when developing a standard curve based on known concentrations of 5'-hydroxyl ends.     

Wortmannin, a specific inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase, inhibits erythropoietin-induced erythroid differentiation of K562 cells

We report a large kindred in which a punctate palmoplantar keratoderma (PPK) is associated with malignancy, including Hodgkin's disease, renal, breast, pancreatic and colonic adenocarcinomas. The family was traced through four generations, and over 320 individuals were identified, of whom 49 had punctate PPK. The punctate PPK appeared to be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait with variable penetrance. Ten of the 43 adults (23%) with punctate PPK developed malignancies, and five of these developed before the age of 50. Of the 271 unaffected individuals, six (2%) have developed malignancies, one prior to the age of 50. The association of keratoderma and malignancy is discussed.     

Health-monitoring technologies for alumina-fiber-reinforced plastics

Transmitted light could detect matrix cracks that occurred in the early stages of fracture of alumina-fiber-reinforced plastics (alumina-FRPs); these cracks could not be detected by acoustic emission (AE). An optical-fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor could detect the matrix cracks but it must be embedded in the FRPs. To determine which wavelength is sensitive to the defects in the FRP, the spectra of the transmitted and reflected light were measured. The intensity of the transmitted light, especially in the visible region (wavelength: 400–800 nm), decreased as the bending stiffness of the test piece decreased. It is thus concluded that to monitor the decrease in bending stiffness of FRPs, a simple sensor using a visible ray is good enough. And this transmitted-light NDE technique can work in the strong electromagentic field associated with a superconductor. It will therefore be useful for detecting defects in the FRP of the load-support system in service.     

Control of carbon incorporation in AlAs grown by atomic layer epitaxy using variously orientated substrates

We demonstrate a method for successfully controlling carbon incorporation in AlAs layers grown by atomic layer epitaxy (ALE) using various GaAs substrates with different orientations. The number of alkyl radicals attached to an Al atom at the surface, which is a main factor in carbon incorporation, can be intentionally controlled by changing substrate orientation. We found that the carbon incorporation in ALE-AlAs using the (3 1 1)B surface is 2 x 10¹⁷,cm^-3, which is the lowest value ever reported for ALE-AlAs that satisfies one-monolayer self-limiting growth conditions.     

Variation in Attitudes and Values Among Japanese Americans and Japanese Brazilians Across Generations

This paper discusses the acculturation of Japanese descents through the approach of exploratory data analysis. When considering acculturation, it may be common sense to consider that Sansei are more assimilated with the culture of the immigrated country than are Nisei. While observing the survey results, the question “Is this really true?” occurred to me. The point of the study is to examine, by extensive sample surveys, the hypothesis that acculturation among generations of immigrants is of two types, namely: ‘natural acculturation’ and ‘a tendency of turning toward the Japanese way of thinking.’ This is considered to be an important point when the acculturation of a race is considered.

The author deals with the degree of acculturation among generations of Japanese Americans and Japanese Brazilians, based on international comparative survey results among the host society, ethnic society and different immigrant groups consisting of several generations.

The results supported the hypothesis that acculturation among generations of immigrants is of two types. Possible factors related to socio-education may also exert effects on their attitudes and values.

     

Hydrogels with the ordered structures

A water-swollen hydrogel with a molecularly-ordered structure was prepared by copolymerizing acrylic acid and acrylic monomer containing hydrophobic long alkyl or mesogenic moiety. The gels with a long alkyl side chain formed the crystalline structure and undergo the reversible order–disorder transition with change in temperature or solvent composition which accompanied a dramatic change in Young's modulus. These gels exhibited such chemomechanical behaviors as the shape memory and the rotational motility on the water surface. On the other hand, the gels with the mesogenic side chain formed the liquid crystalline structure with polymorphism in water, and mesophase diagram was established by changing copolymer composition and water content. Mechanism of these structural and chemomechanical behaviors has been explained in terms of order–disorder transition.     

Observation of the anisotropy of the inelastic scattering of fast electrons accompanied by the K-shell ionization of a carbon nanotube

The angular distribution of inelastically scattered electrons following the carbon K-shell ionization of a carbon nanotube (CNT) has been studied by using an energy-filtered transmission electron microscope. The energy-filtered scattering patterns of the CNT, whose cylindrical axis is oriented in the perpendicular direction with respect to the incident-electron beam, show anisotropic angular distributions caused by the p symmetry in the pi* and sigma* unoccupied states into which a K electron jumps, and the cylindrical shape of the CNT. Corresponding inelastic scattering cross sections, differential in solid angle, have been calculated within the first Born approximation by considering that each carbon atom has three, mutually orthogonal, unoccupied p orbitals, which are oriented in directions perpendicular or parallel to the tube surface. The observed angular patterns agree well with theoretical results, which are linear combinations of the differential cross sections accompanied by the transitions to pi* and sigma* states. A series of the fittings of the experimental patterns at successive values of energy loss provides magnitudes of the pi* and sigma* components, which can be called partial electron energy-loss spectra accompanied by the transitions to the pi* and sigma* states.     

Evaluation of corrosion behaviors for reactor pressure vessels/primary containment vessels in Fukushima Daiichi units 1–3 nuclear power plant

Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants (1F) were damaged by unprecedented severe accident in the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, and seawater has been injected as an emergency countermeasure for the core cooling. Although, the RPV and PCV were not supposed to be exposed to diluted seawater, they have been exposed to diluted seawater environment or high-moisture environment. Therefore, seawater corrosion has become an important issue. Immersion corrosion tests were performed for low-alloy steel of RPV material and carbon steel of PCV material in 1F cooling-water-simulated environment. As a result, the mass loss by corrosion was reduced with the decreasing temperature and chloride ion concentration. Moreover, the effects of nitrogen deaeration and Na₂WO₄ addition on corrosion protection were remarkable among the selected corrosion countermeasures. In addition, the integrity assessments of RPV and PCV were performed considering the reduction of plate thickness based on corrosion test data and the load condition based on earthquake response analysis results. It had been confirmed that primary stresses for RPV and PCV equipment satisfied with the allowable values until at least 15 years after the accident.