Fundamental investigation of ultra-precision ductile machining of tungsten carbide by applying elliptical vibration cutting with single crystal diamond

This paper presents essential investigations on the feasibility of ductile mode machining of sintered tungsten carbide assisted by ultrasonic elliptical vibration cutting technology. It lays out the foundations toward efficient application of elliptical vibration cutting technology on tungsten carbide. Tungsten carbide is a crucial material for glass molding in the optics manufacturing industry. Its grain size and binder material have significant influence not only on the mechanical and chemical properties but also on the machining performance of tungsten carbide. In order to investigate the influence of material composition on tungsten carbide machining, a series of grooving and planing experiments were conducted utilizing single crystal diamond tools. The experimental results indicated that as compared to ordinary cutting where finished surface deteriorates seriously, ductile mode machining can be attained successfully by applying the elliptical vibration cutting technique. It was also clarified that the binder material, the grain size, cutting/vibration conditions as well as crystal orientation of the diamond tool have significant influence on the tool life and the machined surface quality. Based on these fundamental results, feasibility of micro/nano-scale fabrication on tungsten carbide is investigated. By applying amplitude control sculpturing method, where depth of cut is arbitrary changed by controlling the vibration amplitude while machining, ultra-precision textured grooves and a dimple pattern were successfully sculptured on tungsten carbide in ductile mode.     

Regio‐ and Enantioselective Monoborylation of Alkenylsilanes Catalyzed by an Electron‐Donating Chiral Phosphine–Copper(I) Complex

An asymmetric monoborylation of alkenylsilanes catalyzed by a copper(I) complex with the chiral bisphosphine ligand BenzP* is reported. The reaction proceeded with excellent regioselectivity and high enantioselectivity to afford the corresponding optically active organoboronate esters with a stereogenic C B bond containing a vicinal silyl group. The synthetic utility of the product is demonstrated through stepwise transformations to multifunctional optically active compounds in a stereospecific manner.

     

Response of organic photodiode fabricated directly on plastic scintillator to X-rays

Organic photodiodes (OPDs) have attracted considerable interest in the field of photonic devices because they are useful for large and flexible photodetectors. To assess their applicability to radiation measurement, the authors have been studying their response to X-ray irradiation. For a previous study, OPDs with a bulk heterojunction structure were fabricated. Then, their response to X-rays was evaluated. However, the X-ray-induced current was extremely low and the necessity to increase the efficiency was apparent. In this study, to increase X-ray-induced current, the authors fabricated OPDs directly on plastic scintillator plates. The device structure was a plastic scintillator substrate (1 or 5 mm)/ITO (150 nm) or IZO (100 nm)/PEDOT: PSS (30 nm)/P3HT:PCBM (200 nm)/Al (70 nm). The fabricated devices were irradiated with X-rays. Then their responses were evaluated. Results demonstrated that the X-ray-induced current can be increased by fabricating OPDs directly on plastic scintillator plates. The measured energy responses of the devices were compared with the energy deposition calculated using EGS5 code. Both results show coincident tendencies. However, because the collected charges were smaller than expected from simulations in the low-energy region, further study should be conducted to specify the factors.     

Nanocellulose-stabilized Pickering emulsions and their applications

Abstract

Pickering emulsion, which is an emulsion stabilized by solid particles, offers a wide range of potential applications because it generally provides a more stable system than surfactant-stabilized emulsion. Among various solid stabilizers, nanocellulose may open up new opportunities for future Pickering emulsions owing to its unique nanosizes, amphiphilicity, and other favorable properties (e.g. chemical stability, biodegradability, biocompatibility, and renewability). In this review, the preparation and properties of nanocellulose-stabilized Pickering emulsions are summarized. We also provide future perspectives on their applications, such as drug delivery, food, and composite materials.     

Phase stability of \upbeta-MoSi2−x prepared by the Na flux method against thermal, oxidative, and mechanical treatments

The single $\upbeta$ -MoSi₂ phase was prepared by the Na flux method and its stability against thermal, oxidative, and mechanical treatments was investigated. The X-ray diffraction results show that the single $\upbeta$ phase is formed at 600 °C within 1 h using pre-mixed Mo and Si powders with a Si/Mo molar ratio of 2.00–2.25. By energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, the produced powder is found to be Si-deficient with a Si/Mo molar ratio of 1.87–1.96. The differential thermal analysis shows that the $\upbeta$ phase transforms into the $\upalpha$ -MoSi₂ phase at 815 °C at 10 K/min with the segregation of a small amount of Mo₅Si₃. The transformation heat is ?5.5 kJ/mol and the activation energy calculated by the Kissinger method is 290 kJ/mol. Thermogravimetry reveals that the $\upbeta$ -MoSi_2?x powder oxidizes significantly at 400–600 °C via the pest oxidation mechanism while it is resistant to oxidation at 700 °C for 5 h similarly to the $\upalpha$ -MoSi₂ phase. At last, mechanical milling on the $\upbeta$ -MoSi_2?x powder with a planetary ball mill up to 216 h demonstrates that this powder is stable under a severe mechanical treatment.     

Improvement of metabolic performance of hepatocytes cultured in vitro in a packed-bed reactor for use as a bioartificial liver

A packed-bed reactor using reticulated polyvinyl formal (PVF) resin as a support material is a useful configuration to achieve high density culture of hepatocytes for use as a bioartificial liver. The authors investigated the effects of oxygen concentrations of the culture medium on the metabolic performance of hepatocytes cultured in the reactor. A packed-bed reactor loaded with 250 PVF resin cubes (2 x 2 x 2 mm) was used. Hepatocytes obtained from male Wistar rats were inoculated into the reactor. Culture medium was perfused from the reservoir into the reactor through an oxygenator using a roller pump. Concentration of the dissolved oxygen in the medium was controlled by changing the gas mixture ratio supplied to the oxygenator. Hepatocytes cultured in the packed-bed reactor (cell density: 8.6 x 10(6) cells/cm3 PVF) under conditions of high dissolved oxygen concentrations ranging from 260 to 460 micromol/L showed 30% higher ammonium metabolic activity and 85% higher albumin secretion activity compared with those from the monolayer culture in the earlier culture stage (up to 2 days). However, low oxygen concentrations in the medium (<100 micromol/L) impaired activities of cultured hepatocytes.     

A C-switch cell for low-voltage and high-density SRAMs

We propose a novel static random access memory (SRAM) cell named complementary-switch (C-switch) cell. The proposed SRAM cell features: (1) C-switch in which an n-channel bulk transistor and a p-channel TFT are combined in parallel; (2) single-bit-line architecture; (3) gate-all-around TFT (GAT) with large ON-current of μA order. With these three features, the proposed cell enjoys stability at 1.5 V and is 16% smaller in size than conventional cells. The C-switch cell is built with only a triple poly-Si and one metal process using 0.3 μm design rules     

Thermoelectric Properties of the One-Dimensional Cobalt Oxide CaCo<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>

In this work we studied the crystal structure and physical properties of the new one-dimensional cobalt oxide CaCo₂O_4+δ . The CaCo₂O_4+δ phase crystallizes as a calcium-ferrite-type structure, which consists of a corner- and edge-shared CoO₆ octahedron network including one-dimensional double chains. The specific-heat Sommerfeld constant γ was found to be 4.48(7) mJ/mol K². This result suggests that the CaCo₂O_4+δ phase has a finite density of states at the Fermi level. Metallic temperature dependence of the Seebeck coefficient S with a large thermoelectric power (S = 151 μV/K at 387 K) was observed. The origin of the large thermoelectric power may be attributed to the quasi one-dimensional character of the energy band near the valence band maximum in CaCo₂O_4+δ .     

Synthesis of amphiphilic silane coupling agents based on poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline) and their reactions with tetraethoxysilane

Summary Ring-opening polymerization of 2-alkyl-2-oxazoline (alkyl=ethyl,n-butyl,n-octyl) was carried out with an initiator of methyl tosylate followed by the treatment with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane to produce a novel type of polymeric silane coupling agents. Similary, telechelic triethoxysilyl-terminated poly(2-alkyl-2-oxazoline)s were prepared by using a bifunctional initiator. The molecular weights of the produced polymers could be effectively controlled by the feed ratio of the initiator to the monomer. These end-functionalized polymers were reacted with tetraethoxysilane with an acid catalyst by the solgel method. In the case of poly(2-ethyl-2-oxazoline), a homogeneous and transparent polymer hybrid was obtained. This polymer hybrid absorbed both of water and organic solvents, which showed amphiphilic adsorption property.     

Alkalinizing water-soluble local anesthetic solutions by addition of cyclodextrin

OBJECTIVE: To correlate indices of airway reactivity to bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid cytologic features in horses with a recent decline in exercise tolerance. ANIMALS: 20 actively working horses from 2 to 24 years old. PROCEDURE: Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples were obtained and analyzed. Forced oscillatory mechanics (1-7 Hz) technique was used for measurements of total respiratory system resistance (RRS), compliance (CRS), and resonant frequency (fres). Changes in RRS (1 Hz) during histamine challenge were used to generate histamine dose-response curves, from which the provocative concentrations that evoked a 75 or 100% increase in baseline RRS (PCRRS75 and PCRRS 100, respectively) were determined. Age, sex, baseline lung mechanics, and BAL cytologic findings were correlated with PCRRS75 and PCRRS100. RESULTS: No horse of the study had clinical signs or history of obstructive pulmonary disease or increased percentage (> 7%) of neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples. Mean (+/- SEM) RRS, CRS, and fres were 0.67 +/- 0.06 cm of H2O/L/s, 0.52 +/- 0.04 L/cm H2O, and 2.46 +/- 0.02 Hz, respectively. There was no correlation between age or sex, and RRS, CRS, fres, PCRRS75, or PCRRS100. There was a significant correlation (rs = -0.78, P < 0.001) between percentage of BAL fluid mast cells and PCRRS75 or PCRRS100, but correlation with other cell types and indices of airway reactivity were not observed. CONCLUSION: The strong association between mast cell percentage in BAL fluid and airway reactivity in this group suggests that mast cell products may contribute to bronchospasm, airway wall thickening, and/or loss of elastic recoil, which underlie airway hyperreactivity. Alternatively, mast cells may contribute to nonspecific airway reactivity in horses through unknown mechanisms.