Phase and magnetic properties of iron oxide clusters in 20CaO·20SiO2·7Fe2O3·6FeO glasses

The annealing of 20CaO·20SiO₂·7Fe₂O₃·6FeO glasses at 973K in vacuo produced clusters of iron oxide, the shape of which was nearly spherical and the diameter distributed in the narrow range 25–115Å. The phase of clusters was identified to be Fe³⁺(Fe³⁺ _{poststagger|1.30}Fe²⁺ _{poststagger|0.55}V_0.15)·O₄ in the inverse spinel structure based upon the Mössbauer spectra and x-ray diffraction profiles. The clusters exhibited superparamagnetism and their effective anisotropy energy constant was inversely proportional to the cluster diameter. The magnetization of the glasses measured by a vibrating sample magnetometer was 7.2 × 10^-6 Wbmkg^-1 at 10 kOe at room temperature and smaller than the value calculated assuming that the whole clusters have superparamagnetism. These results suggest the pinning of spins near the cluster surface.     

Thermo-acoustical waves in thermo-plastic materials

Summary The propagation velocities and the variation of the amplitudes of thermo-acoustical waves in thermo-plastic materials are theoretically investigated. The constitutive equations of anisotropic thermo-plastic materials are derived from the concept of imaginary decomposition of the deformation rate tensor into the elastic and plastic contributions and from that of the plastic potential. From generalized Vernotte's heat conduction law the propagation condition of the jumps of the velocity gradients and of the temperature rate is obtained. In isotropic materials and in the case of a normal stress vector on the wave front we have two purely mechanical transverse waves and two thermo-longitudinal coupled waves. Formulae for the velocities and amplitudes are quite similar with those for thermo-elastic materials. The variation of the amplitude is discussed. There are, in general, three effects on the variation, that is, the non-planar, heat conduction and plastic flow effects. The transverse waves are subjected only to the non-planar effect, while the thermo-longitudinal waves may grow or decay according to the above three effects.     

Variation of amplitudes of thermo-acoustical waves of arbitrary form in isotropic linear thermo-elastic materials

Summary The growth and decay of the amplitudes of a thermo-longitudinal coupling wave of arbitrary form are investigated theoretically for isotropic linear thermo-elastic materials. As heat conduction law Vernotte's formula is adopted. Thomas' compatibility conditions of the second order for a singular surface of arbitrary form are used and the global behavior of the amplitude of the wave is analyzed. The geometrical effect of the wave front for the variation of amplitude depends upon the path length and the initial values of the mean and Gaussian curvatures. The thermal decay effect for the coupling wave is expressed as an exponential function of time and the damping factor is proportional to the thermal conductivity.     

On the formation of solid solution in Co3−xMnxO4 system

The formation of solid solution in the Co_3−xMn_xO₄ system in atmospheres of oxygen, air and argon was examined at a constant temperature of 1000 °C. In oxygen, a small amount of the NaCl-type compound was found to co-exist with the cubic spinel in the composition rangex≤0.1. A single phase of the cubic spinel was found in the range 0.1 to 1.3 and the tetragonal spinel above 1.9. In the rangex=1.3 to 1.9 where the cubic and tetragonal spinels co-exist they both have very broadened diffraction line profiles. In air, the identified phases and the changes in their lattice constants with composition were very similar to those in oxygen, except that the NaCl-type compound and the cubic spinel co-existed over a larger range. In argon, the cubic spinel was not observed over any of the composition range and the NaCI-type compound and the tetragonal spinel co-existed in the wide range of 1.1 to 2.3. The experimental results are discussed with regard to the cation distribution in the spinel and also to the relative stability of Co³⁺- and Mn³⁺-ions under the low partial pressure of oxygen.     

Factors affecting the oxidative activity of laccase towards biphenyl derivatives in homogeneous aqueous-organic systems

Catalytic oxidation of biphenyl derivatives was investigated using laccase in a homogeneous aqueous-organic system. A thermostable laccase from Trametes sp. showed the highest catalytic activity for the oxidation of 4-hydroxybiphenyl (4-HB) at a reaction temperature of 60 degrees C when dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) was employed as a co-solvent. Furthermore, the catalytic performance was successfully enhanced by the incorporation of a laccase mediator system (LMS) into the aqueous-DMSO media. The catalytic performance strongly depended on the type of mediator, and the highest activity was observed with 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) as mediator, suggesting the importance of the selection of a suitable mediator. It was verified that this mediator system is applicable to the oxidation of several biphenyl derivatives with hydroxyl groups.     

HVEM study of crack-tip dislocations in Si crystals prepared by FIB and twin-blade cutting method

Crack-tip dislocations in silicon crystals have been examined by using high-voltage electron microscopy. Cracks were introduced by the Vickers indentation method at room temperature and the indented specimens were annealed at high temperatures to induce dislocations around crack tips under the presence of residual stress due to the indentation. A selected area around a crack tip was thinned by a focused ion beam (FIB) technique. Specimens were thinned in advance by a twin-blade cutting (TBC) method, which is a simple cutting process for saving FIB machine time. A combination of FIB and TBC can be a useful thinning procedure for the efficient preparation of transmission electron microscopy specimens. Characteristic dislocation structures were observed around the tip of a crack, aiding the elucidation of dislocation processes, which is essential to increase the fracture toughness of materials.     

Apatite formation on collagen fibrils in the presence of polyacrylic acid

Recently, we reported the formation of bone-like apatite on collagen fibrils by biomimetic method. Compounds containing carboxyl moieties are believed to be effective in the formation of apatite. Polyacrylic acid [-CH2CH(COOH)-]n (PAAc) is widely used in dentistry. In the present study, the effect of PAAc in the formation of apatite from revised simulated body fluid (R-SBF) on collagen fibrils was studied. Two different experimental approaches were tried to study the effect of PAAc present in the collagen and in the R-SBF solution. In the first, collagen gel was soaked with 1 mg/ml PAAc (molecular weights 25000 and 100000) for the time intervals of 30 min and 6 h. The gels were then dried in air and incubated in R-SBF. Characterization of the precipitates formed on the collagen fibrils in gel showed that the formation of apatite was inhibited when soaked in PAAc for 6 h. In the second experiment, when PAAc (0.1 and 1.0 mg/ml) was mixed with R-SBF the microstructure of the precipitates formed on collagen fibrils was affected partially. Hence, it is confirmed that the presence of PAAc in the biomimetic environment of collagen affects the mineralization of apatite.     

Summary of US–Japan Exchange 2004: New Directions and Physics for Compact Toroids

Scientists from research institutions in the United States of America and Japan attended a USA Department of Energy sponsored joint international workshop on the subject of Compact Toroids (CT) in Santa Fe, NM, USA in September 2004. We outline here a summary of the topics that were discussed, some of the implications, and new directions that are likely to follow from this research. Experimental, theoretical and computational results were presented. The experimental devices and concepts, along with the theory and computational models comprise investigations of fundamental plasma physics, fusion science, and approaches to fusion energy that require magnetized plasmas.     

Stacked I2L circuit

A new integrated-injection-logic circuit which consists of multiple (m) layers of I2L circuit blocks and operates with an extremely low power dissipation is discussed. The same logic function is realised with m-times less power than a conventional I2L circuit.