Burning velocities and kinetics of H2/NF3/N2, CH4/NF3/N2, and C3H8/NF3/N2 flames

The combustion characteristics and reaction mechanism of mixtures containing nitrogen trifluoride (NF₃) were investigated. Burning velocities for H₂/NF₃/N₂, CH₄/NF₃/N₂, and C₃H₈/NF₃/N₂ flames were determined for the first time at various equivalence ratios and N₂ mole fractions. The burning velocities of the latter two flames were similar and showed peaks at equivalence ratios of ∼1.0, while those of the H₂/NF₃/N₂ flames had the pronounced peak at low equivalence ratios where the formation of the wrinkled flames was observed. A detailed kinetic model was constructed to simulate the laminar burning velocities of H₂/NF₃/N₂ and CH₄/NF₃/N₂ flames. The model accurately reproduced the experimental results. Analyses of the reaction mechanism revealed the major reaction pathways that involve the decomposition of NF₃, the oxidation and chain-fluoridation of H₂ and CH₄, and the formation of N₂.     

Cell cycle analysis of Chinese hamster ovary cells stimulated by phosphatidic acid in serum-free culture

When recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells were treated with pertussis toxin or genistein, not only lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) but also phosphatidic acid (PA) failed to stimulate progression through the cell cycle in serum-free culture, suggesting that PA and LPA induce cell growth through the same signal transduction pathway. Cell cycle analysis also indicates that cell growth promoted by PA results in enhanced protein production.     

Effect of sweep gas species on tritium release behavior from lithium titanate packed bed during 14 MeV neutron irradiation

In a fusion reactor, the prediction of tritium release behavior from breeder blanket is important to design the tritium recovery system, but the amount of tritium generated is necessary information to do that. Hence, tritium generation and recovery studies on lithium ceramics packed bed have been started by using fusion neutron source (FNS) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA). Lithium titanate (Li₂TiO₃) was selected as tritium breeding material, and its packed bed was enclosed by the beryllium blocks, and was kept at certain temperature during fusion neutron irradiation. During irradiation, the packed bed was purged with the sweep gas continuously, and tritium released was trapped in each gas absorber selectively by chemical form. In this work, the effect of sweep gas species on tritium release behavior was investigated. In the case of sweep by helium with 1% of hydrogen, tritium in water form was released sensitively corresponding to the irradiation. This is due to existence of the water vapor in the sweep gas. On the other hand, in the case of sweep by helium without water vapor, tritium in gaseous form was released first, and release of tritium in water form was delayed from gaseous tritium and was gradually increased.     

Chiral lewis acid-catalyzed enantioselective michael reactions in water

Asymmetric Michael reactions of ß-ketoesters with enones were effectively catalyzed by complexes of silver salts and BINAP derivatives in water. The reactions have proved to give Michael adducts in high yields with high enantioselectivities. These reactions are the first example of Lewis acid-catalyzed asymmetric Michael reactions in water.     

Lithiophilic 3D Nanoporous Nitrogen‐Doped Graphene for Dendrite‐Free and Ultrahigh‐Rate Lithium‐Metal Anodes

The key bottlenecks hindering the practical implementations of lithium‐metal anodes in high‐energy‐density rechargeable batteries are the uncontrolled dendrite growth and infinite volume changes during charging and discharging, which lead to short lifespan and catastrophic safety hazards. In principle, these problems can be mitigated or even solved by loading lithium into a high‐surface‐area, conductive, and lithiophilic porous scaffold. However, a suitable material that can synchronously host a large loading amount of lithium and endure a large current density has not been achieved. Here, a lithiophilic 3D nanoporous nitrogen‐doped graphene as the sought‐after scaffold material for lithium anodes is reported. The high surface area, large porosity, and high conductivity of the nanoporous graphene concede not only dendrite‐free stripping/plating but also abundant open space accommodating volume fluctuations of lithium. This ingenious scaffold endows the lithium composite anode with a long‐term cycling stability and ultrahigh rate capability, significantly improving the charge storage performance of high‐energy‐density rechargeable lithium batteries.     

A PSS‐Free PEDOT Conductive Film Supported by a Hierarchical Nanoporous Layer Glass

The importance of transparent conductive film is increasing due to its use in applications such as touch‐panel devices. Although indium tin oxide is widely used because of its high conductivity and transparency, conductive polymers are being studied as alternative materials that avoid the use of rare metals and the brittleness associated with existing systems. Polyethylene dioxythiophene (PEDOT)/polyethylene sulfonic acid (PSS) is drawing a lot of attention due to its well‐balanced conductivity, transparency, film formability, and chemical stability. The nonconductive PSS reportedly covers the conductive PEDOT. The PSS shell provides carrier and film‐formability to PEDOT but is also a barrier that hinders electrical conductivity. Therefore, the PEDOT film formability is explored supported by a substrate without the addition of PSS. The “hierarchical nanoporous layer glass” holds the PSS‐free PEDOT with its nanopores to form a homogeneous, transparent film. The PSS‐free PEDOT film thus achieves transparency of over 85% and resistivity of below 500 Ω sq^?1.     

Combining linguistic resources to create a machine-tractable Japanese-Malay dictionary

We present a method for combining two bilingual dictionaries to make a third, using one language as a pivot. In this case we combine a Japanese-English dictionary with a Malay-English dictionary, to produce a Japanese-Malay dictionary. Our method differs from previous methods in its improved matching through normalization of the pivot language. We have made a prototype dictionary of around 76,000 Japanese-Malay pairs for 50,000 Japanese head words.     

In Situ Observation of Deformation in Semi-solid Fe-C Alloys at High Shear Rate

Synchrotron X-ray radiography at 125 frames per second was used to study deformation mechanisms in semi-solid Fe-C alloys at high solid fraction and shear strain rates of 10^?1/s. An image correlation approach was also used to quantify the shear strain fields and study shear-induced dilation and the origin of shear cracking. It was shown that, at high solid fraction (90 to 93 pct solid), rearrangement including rotation and translation of solid particles became restricted and shear strain localized into narrow liquid-filled channels/fissures. Shear cracking was shown to originate from inadequate liquid flow into the expanding spaces between solid particles caused by shear-induced dilation. At lower solid fraction (~85 pct solid), solid particles rearranged with a significantly higher component of rotation leading to more shear-induced dilation and a wider shear band.     

Effect of soybean varieties on the content and composition of isoflavone in rice-koji miso

To clarify the effect of soybean varieties on isoflavone, a useful component for human health, in soybean products, we investigated changes in the isoflavone content and composition in rice-koji miso, after fermentation/aging for 6 or 12 months using varieties of soybeans (Tohoku-126, Tohoku-135, Tohoku-139, Suzuyutaka and Chinese soybeans), by high performance liquid chromatography. In soybeans, the total isoflavone content in Tohoku-126 was 444 mg/100 g, which was 1.2–2.0 times the content in the other soybean varieties. The malonyl glycosides and aglycones in soybeans accounted for more than 60% and only a few percent, respectively. As for rice-koji miso, the total isoflavone and aglycone contents were the highest in miso prepared from Tohoku-126. The ratios of glycosides to aglycones (80.1–92.6%) in miso were higher than those in the original soybeans. The time course of the isoflavone composition during the fermentation/aging process of rice-koji miso indicated that glycosides decreased from 86.4% to 44.9% after 6 months but aglycones increased from 9.6% to 53.3%.     

Relationship between Ba atom emission and electrode temperature in a low-pressure fluorescent lamp

A relationship between emission characteristics of Ba atom as an emitter material and temperature distributions of an electrode in a fluorescent lamp is described, which is measured by using laser-induced fluorescence and black-body radiation method, respectively. In a virgin lamp, a hot spot observed at the electrode edge connected to the power supply is the main source of Ba atom emission. In a long-term-used lamp, it is shown that Ba atom emission, thermionic electron emission in cathode half-cycle and electron collection in anode half-cycle are most active on the hot spot appearing on the center of the electrode.