Preparation of carbon material with SiC-concentration gradient by silicon impregnation and its oxidation behaviour

A carbon material with a SiC-concentration gradient was prepared by a silicon impregnation process. In order to prepare the carbon material with a SiC-concentration gradient without any adhesion of metallic silicon, the weight of silicon powder per physical surface area of the carbon substrate was in the range of 3·9-4·1 g cm⁻² and then heating the carbon substrate in silicon powder at 1450°C for 3 h, but the amount of silicon powder beyond this range resulted in the adhesion of metallic silicon. The concentration of SiC along the thickness in the sample obtained decreased rapidly up to 0·5 mm and gradually in a range of 0·5-1·0 mm. A remarkable improvement in the oxidation resistance was observed on the sample with a SiC-concentration gradient at 1400°C, which was due to the formation of a protective film of SiO₂ glass on the surface. In the results of the thermal shock test in the sample, no destructions and no cracking of the samples were observed.     

A new shooting algorithm for the search of periodic orbits

The periodic orbit theory gives the basic framework to study a quantum and classical correspondence. In this paper, we firstly report that we have found the existence of a certain surface, which we call the devil’s staircase surface. Secondly, taking the advantage of some intriguing properties of this surface, we propose a new method to exhaustively search for periodic orbits in the anisotropic Kepler problem. Our method fully takes into account of an intriguing property of the initial value problem of the anisotropic Kepler problem, and it reduces the two-dimensional search into the one-dimensional search. Using this method, all of the periodic orbits up to the length \(2N=20\) (altogether 19284 distinct periodic orbits) have been successfully obtained, which exceeds the world record of 76 periodic orbits up to \(2N=10\) .     

Kinematic properties of human arm reaching movements in a three-dimensional space

In this study, kinematic properties of human arm reaching movements have been analyzed by use of experimental results of arm trajectories observed in a three-dimensional (3D) space. In the beginning, hand paths obtained by the experiments are kinematically analyzed to pursue their linearity, and we successfully specify a plane on which a hand moves. In the next place, the hand speed profile is calculated by use of position data observed by the experiment in a 3D space. Besides, the hand speed profile is also analytically produced under the minimum jerk criterion with respect to the displacement along the hand path. These observed and produced trajectories are compared, and the similarity of two trajectories has been demonstrated. As a result of the analyses for path and the speed profile of a hand, kinematic properties of human arm trajectories have been identified.     

Accumulable optimistic fair exchange from verifiably encrypted homomorphic signatures

Let us consider a situation where a client (Alice) frequently buys a certain kind of product from a shop (Bob) (e.g., an online music service sells individual songs at the same price, and a client buys songs multiple times in a month). In this situation, Alice and Bob would like to aggregate the total transactions and pay once per month because individual payments are troublesome. Though optimistic fair exchange (OFE) has been considered in order to swap electronic items simultaneously, known OFE protocols cannot provide such aggregate function efficiently because various costs are bounded by the number of transactions in the period. In order to run this aggregation procedure efficiently, we introduce a new kind of OFE called accumulable OFE (AOFE) that allows clients to efficiently accumulate payments in each period. In AOFE, any memory costs, computational costs, and communication complexity of the payment round must be constant in terms of the number of transactions. Since a client usually has just a low power and poor memory device, these efficiencies are desirable in practice. Currently, known approaches (e.g., based on verifiably encrypted signature scheme) are not very successful for constructing AOFE. Thus, we consider a new approach based on a new cryptographic primitive called verifiably encrypted homomorphic signature scheme (VEHS). In this paper, we propose a generic construction of AOFE from VEHS and also present a concrete VEHS scheme over a composite-order bilinear group by using the dual-form signature techniques. This VEHS scheme is also of independent interest. Since we can prove the security of VEHS without random oracles, our AOFE protocol is also secure without random oracles. Finally, we implemented our AOFE protocol, and it is efficient enough for practical use.     

Linking Performance and Collective Action—the Case of the Office du Niger Irrigation Scheme in Mali

Increasing irrigation efficiency in irrigation schemes has always been high on the agenda of policy makers. Despite quite some ‘social’ experiments, whereby large portions of management were carried over to the farmer level, results often remained disappointing. This paper explores why this came about for a case study in the Office du Niger irrigation scheme in Mali. Since Irrigation Management Transfer, farmers are responsible for the tertiary level, but collective action for water management remains below expectations. This paper applies an analytical framework based on the conceptual model developed by van Noordwijk et al. (Conserv Ecol 5:21, 2002) and proceeding in two steps. Firstly, an interview-based stakeholder analysis assesses the objectives and mental models of farmers and the central management regarding water management. It appears from the interviews that the central management wants to increase irrigation efficiency through fully-fledged collective action, whereas farmers value the latter only when it favours easy irrigation. Secondly, the relation between collective action and performance was tested through a field study on a sample of 36 tertiary blocks. Results indicate that only collective action at the inlet of the tertiary canal, currently implemented on less than a third of the tertiary blocks, increases irrigation efficiency (with 14%). Collective action for water allocation is implemented within almost three quarters of tertiary blocks and effectively reduces irrigation problems. However, if they lack the necessary social capital, not all farmers can establish collective action when needed. Based on this analysis, the paper proposes a mix of incentives and measures to resolve the conflict between farmers and the central management to their mutual benefit.     

Anhydrous proton-conducting electrolyte membranes based on hyperbranched polymer with phosphonic acid groups for high-temperature fuel cells

The two different molecular weight hyperbranched polymers (HBP(L)-PA-Ac and HBP(H)-PA-Ac) with both phosphonic acid group as a functional group and acryloyl group as a cross-linker at the chain ends were successfully synthesized as a new thermally stable proton-conducting electrolyte. The cross-linked electrolyte membranes (CL-HBP-PA) were prepared by their thermal polymerizations using benzoyl peroxide and their ionic conductivities under dry condition and thermal properties were investigated. The ionic conductivities of the low molecular weight CL-HBP(L)-PA membrane and the high molecular weight CL-HBP(H)-PA membrane were found to be 1.2 × 10⁻⁵ and 2.6 × 10⁻⁶ S cm⁻¹, respectively, at 150 °C under dry condition, and showed the Vogel–Tamman–Fulcher (VTF) type temperature dependence. Both membranes were thermally stable up to 300 °C, and they had suitable thermal stability as electrolyte membranes for the high-temperature fuel cells under dry condition. Fuel cell measurements using a single membrane electrode assembly cell with both cross-linked membranes were successfully performed.     

Ca-Containing Mesoporous Silica as a Solid Base Catalyst for the Knoevenagel Condensation Reaction

Abstract  

We synthesized Ca-containing FSM-16 (Ca-FSM-16) for use as a solid base catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) results indicated that Ca species were introduced as a calcium silicate-like phase with distorted tetrahedral coordination into the pore walls of FSM-16. Compared with conventional aminopropyl-functionalized mesoporous silica, Ca-FSM-16 showed higher activity as a solid-base catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation reaction.     

Investigation on force transmission of direct-drive thorax unit with four ultrasonic motors for a flapping microaerial vehicle

We fabricated a trial version of a thorax unit with four ultrasonic motors (USMs) to simulate a dragonfly-scale flapping micro aerial vehicle (MAV). Each wing was directly driven by a two-degree-of-freedom (2-DOF) transmission. An in-house tiny standing-wave USM capable of bidirectional rotation, which weighs just 0.13 g, was employed on trial. The transmission of the thorax unit converts the two USM rotations into strokes and flip motions of the wing. By implementing two 70-mm-long wings, we fabricated a prototype of a 4-DOF MAV and tested its performance. In a lift-compensated situation, upward, forward, and backward movements of the MAV were obtained. The flapping angular velocity was discussed based on quasi-static wing aerodynamics and was accountable for the motor power. Although the power of the USM should be improved, the quick wing drivability, adequate power transmission on the thorax unit, and potential of a 0.2 W motor power in a unidirectional-type USM promise the viability of a direct-drive multi-DOF dragonfly-scale MAV.     

Structural Characteristics and Antioxidant Activities of Fucoidans from Five Brown Seaweeds

Five kinds of fucoidans from the brown seaweeds Cladosiphon okamuranus, Sargassum hornery, Kjellmaniella crassifolia (Saccharine sculpera), Nemacystus decipiens, and Fucus vesiculosus, were isolated according to a previously reported procedure with slight modification. The scavenging activities of DPPH radical, superoxide radical, and hydroxyl radical, as well as the ORAC value were measured for the isolated fucoidans. Fucoidans from S. hornery, F. vesiculosus, and K. crassifolia showed higher antioxidant activity than that from S. hornery and C. okamuranus, except for the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity. The relationship between the antioxidant activity and the structure was examined for each fucoidan. Fucoidans with high amount of sulfate groups did not necessarily result in increased antioxidant activity, although the sulfate group itself was essential for the antioxidant activity. Furthermore, the fucoidan linked to a side chain monosaccharide, such as GlcA, demonstrated similar antioxidant activity. The antioxidant activity of the fucoidans was possibly due to a combination of the factors involved, such as the amount of sulfate groups, the position of the sulfate groups, the kind of side chain sugar, the linkage of a side chain sugar, and the molecular weight.