Beneficial effects of O-phase on the hydrogen absorption of Ti–Al–Nb alloys

The beneficial effects of O-phase on hydrogen absorption/desorption were demonstrated in three Ti–Al–Nb alloys with compositions in the vicinity of Ti₂NbAl. The alloys were first quenched from high temperature and then aged for a certain period of time at a lower temperature to get O-phase precipitation in the matrix before pressure–composition (P–C) isotherm measurements. All three alloys absorb hydrogen to β hydride at a very low equilibrium pressure. Further absorption to γ hydride is difficult for the quenched O-phase free specimens. β->γ hydride transformation occurs in all the aged specimens and the reversible absorption/desorption between β and γ hydrides is observed in some aged specimens with relatively high volume fraction of O-phase in the matrix. The hydrogen absorption/desorption abilities of these alloys become poor when the Nb content is decreased. The determined formation heat for β->γ hydride transformation is in the range of −30–45 kJ/mol H₂, which is larger than that of binary Ti₃Al. It is found that the value of formation heat becomes more negative with the increasing amount of O-phase and is relatively independent of the interface between O-phase and matrix. This indicates the beneficial effect is related to the O-phase structure itself.     

A review of Toyota City’s eco-policy: changes in citizens’ awareness between 2012 and 2015

Raising public awareness of environmental policies is widely considered an important aspect of their successful implementation. This article contributes to our understanding of awareness-raising campaigns by focusing the case of Toyota City. It examines how awareness of eco-policy changed between 2012 and 2015. Data collected from questionnaires were analyzed by year and residency, focusing on (1) how Toyota citizens’ and non-citizens’ awareness of eco-policy changed during the research period and (2) how awareness differed between Toyota citizens and those from elsewhere. Findings suggest some evidence that the city’s activities may have been effective in increasing awareness of its eco-policy among its citizens. Awareness of the city’s eco-policy was significantly higher among Toyota citizens in 2015 than in 2012 and among those from elsewhere in either period. This study draws some practical recommendations for raising awareness of similar initiatives elsewhere. Moreover, it reflects on how further research may more fully explore the relationship between the effectiveness and the awareness of urban environmental policy initiatives.     

Diverse Effects of Macromolecular Crowding on the Sequential Glycan‐Processing Pathway Involved in Glycoprotein Quality Control

Compared with in vitro conditions, the intracellular environment is highly crowded with biomolecules; this has numerous effects on protein functions, including enzymatic activity. We examined the effects of macromolecular crowding on glycan processing of N‐glycoprotein in the endoplasmic reticulum as a model sequential metabolic pathway. Experiments with synthetic substrates of physiological glycan structure clearly showed that the first half of the pathway (glucose trimming) was accelerated, whereas the second (mannose trimming) was decelerated under molecular crowding conditions. Furthermore, calreticulin, a lectin‐like molecular chaperone, bound more strongly to a glycan‐processing intermediate under these conditions. This study demonstrates the diverse effects of molecular crowding on sequential enzymatic processing, and the importance of the effects of macromolecular crowding on in vitro assays for understanding sequential metabolic pathways.     

A digital signal processing type frequency locked loop for frequency shift keying demodulation

In this paper, we propose a digital signal processing type frequency locked loop (DSP-FLL) using a frequency difference detector (FDD). Since the DSP-FLL is controlled by the frequency, the pole of the voltage controlled oscillator vanishes in the baseband equivalent circuit. Therefore, the transfer function becomes first order and a ringing does not occur. Furthermore, it can be understood from the detection property of the FDD that a cycle slip does not occur and the DSP-FLL can pull in the frequency step input up to half of the sampling frequency.     

Synthesis of Ni nanoparticles by plasma-induced cathodic discharge electrolysis

Ni nanoparticles were synthesized by plasma-induced cathodic discharge electrolysis in LiCl–KCl–CsCl + NiCl₂ at 573 K under 1 atm of Ar atmosphere. Ni nanoparticles with diameters of around 100 nm were obtained from the melt. It was also confirmed that particles predominantly grow at the surface of the melt, especially the region just under the discharge. Taking into account the above results, a novel type plasma-induced electrolytic cell has been designed and constructed; it operated successfully, a rotating Ni metal disk anode being adopted in order for the formed particles to be quickly removed from the region just under the discharge and be continuously transferred to the inner wall of the cold container. By using this novel type plasma-induced electrolytic cell, Ni nanoparticles with diameters of around 50 nm could be obtained.     

11 dBm photonic millimetre-wave generation at 100 GHz usinguni-travelling-carrier photodiodes

The design and characterisation of a millimetre-wave uni-travelling-carrier photodiode with a monolithically integrated matching (impedance transform) circuit utilising a coplanar-waveguide short-stub are presented. The device with the matching circuit shows ~50% higher efficiency than one with a 50 Ω load design. The maximum saturation output power obtained is 13.6 mW at 100 GHz     

Coupling of head and body movement with motion of the audible environment.

The authors asked whether standing posture could be controlled relative to audible oscillation of the environment. Blindfolded sighted adults were exposed to acoustic flow in a moving room, and were asked to move so as to maintain a constant distance between their head and the room. Acoustic flow had direct (source) and indirect (reflected) components. Participants exhibited strong coupling of postural motion with room motion, even when direct information about room motion was masked and was available only in reflected sound. Patterns of hip–ankle coordination closely resembled patterns observed in previous research involving coupling of sway with a visible moving room. The results demonstrate that blindfolded adults can control the dynamics of stance relative to motion of the audible environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Highly Moisture-Resistant,Silane-Modified,Cyanogen-Free Optical Adhesives,and Their Reliability

We have developed highly moisture-resistant optical adhesives for optical communication. These cyanogen-free, silane-modified adhesives are less allergenic and environmentally friendly. These adhesives contain organic and inorganic hybrid structure and their median times to failure by deterioration are 11-132 times longer than that of Epotek-353ND. Adhesion characteristics are also good for other adherents.     

Dynamic C‐V characteristic for a varactor load connected with a transmission line

Crosstalk is induced by a reflected wave of a load connected with a transmission line. Thus, analysis of the reflected wave is important. The reflected wave generated from a nonlinear load is complicated. In order to estimate the complicated reflected wave, we measured the reflected and incident waves for the nonlinear load and estimated the dynamic C‐V characteristic, which explains the relation between the incident and reflected waves. This paper reports a simple experimental method of extracting reflected waves at a varactor load and presents estimates of the dynamic C‐V characteristic of the load. It is shown that the reflected voltage waves simulated using the dynamic C‐V characteristic agree with the measured results. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 167(4): 32–38, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20821