Tetragonal structure, anionic vacancies and catalytic activity of SO4-ZrO2 catalysts for n-butane isomerization

An assessment of the influence of the crystal structure, surface hydroxylation state and previous oxidation/reduction pretreatments on the activity of sulfate-zirconia catalysts for isomerization of n-butane was performed using crystalline and amorphous zirconia supports. Different sulfation methods were used for the preparation of bulk and supported SO₄²⁻-ZrO₂ with monoclinic, tetragonal and tetragonal+monoclinic structures. Activity was important only for the samples that contained tetragonal crystals. The catalysts prepared from pure monoclinic zirconia showed negligible activity. SO₄²⁻-ZrO₂ catalysts prepared by sulfation of crystalline zirconia displayed sites with lower acidity and cracking activity than those sulfated in the amorphous state. Prereduction of the zirconia samples with H₂ was found to greatly increase the catalytic activity, and a maximum rate was found at a reduction temperature of 550–600 °C, coinciding with a TPR peak supposedly associated with the removal of lattice oxygen and the creation of lattice defects. A weaker dependence of catalytic activity on the density or type of surface OH groups on zirconia (before sulfation) was found in this work.

A model of active site generation was constructed in order to stress the dependence on the crystal structure and crystal defects. Current and previous results suggest that tetragonal structure in active SO₄²⁻-ZrO₂ is a consequence of the stabilization of anionic vacancies in zirconia. Anionic vacancies are in turn supposed to be related to the catalytic activity for n-butane isomerization through the stabilization of electrons from ionized intermediates.     

Measurement method of plasma current and density in atmospheric pressure plasma jet

We present a measurement method of the plasma current and density in an atmospheric‐pressure plasma generated using a quartz tube, helium gas, and copper foil electrode by applying a high RF voltage. The plasma in the form of a bullet is released as a plume or jet into the atmosphere. To study the characteristics of the atmospheric‐pressure plasma, the plasma current is measured using a current probe, and the drift velocity of plasma plume is measured using a photodetector. The current of the plasma plume is estimated by subtracting the ground line current from the power line current in the circuit. The density of plasma plume n is estimated from the plasma plume current I and the drift velocity v as I = envS, where S is the cross section of plasma plume. The density of the released plasma into the atmosphere is estimated as ∼10¹⁸ m⁻³ by the method. © 2015 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Promotive effect of isopentane on cyclohexane isomerization catalyzed by sulfated zirconia

Cyclohexane isomerization to methylcyclopentane over sulfated zirconia is markedly enhanced in the presence of isopentane which acts as a hydride transfer agent to facilitate the slow step of hydride transfer from cyclohexane to isopropyl cation. This was revealed by deuterium tracer studies. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Automatic generation of IC component configuration data

Chip mounters and surface mount device (SMD) inspection systems use image processing techniques for the placement of SMDs onto printed circuit boards (PCB) and the inspection of SMDs. Such techniques require the component configuration data which define the shape of SMDs; however, the creation of this data is currently not automated. The goal of this paper is to offer a system that generates component configuration data automatically by processing images of SMDs. There are several target components, such as IC, BGA (ball grid array), chips, connectors, etc., for which data can be generated. In this paper we will focus on generation of data for IC components. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 165(4): 76–83, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20686     

Pulmonary arterial impedance analysis by the use of the oscillated assist flow

Pulmonary arterial impedance is an important and interesting characteristic that can be used to evaluate the physiological properties of the pulmonary vessel. However, power spectrum analysis of the pulmonary artery pressure and flow pattern have suggested that peak power in the relatively high frequency range (> 10 Hz) is significantly low; thus, we cannot analyze the vessel properties in the high frequency range. In this study, we used the newly developed vibrating flow pump (VFP), which can generate oscillated blood flow with a relatively high frequency (10-50 Hz) for right heart bypass, to evaluate the pulmonary arterial impedance pattern in the high frequency range. Acute animal experiments of the right heart bypass from the right atrium to the pulmonary artery using 6 healthy adult goats were performed. The flow pattern and pressure of the pulmonary artery, electrocardiograms (ECGs), and arterial and right atrial pressures were continuously monitored during the experiments. Spectral analysis of the hemodynamic parameters using the fast Fourier transform (FFT) method was performed to evaluate the spectral properties. The coherence function, transfer function, and phase patterns were calculated to analyze the impedance pattern in the relatively high frequency area. Previously, various investigators had tried to analyze the impedance patterns of the pulmonary artery; however, they could not analyze the impedance patterns over 10 Hz because the spectral patterns of the pulmonary flow do not have high power at high frequencies. These physiological analyses may be useful in designing the optimal pulmonary circulation.     

Condensation heat transfer on tubes in actual flue gas (Parametric study for condensation behavior)

In order to improve boiler efficiency, latent heat recovery from the flue gas is a very important concept. Condensation heat transfer on horizontal tubes was investigated experimentally by using flue gas from a natural gas boiler. The parametric studies concerning the effects of tube stages, gas velocities, SO₂ in the flue gas, and Teflon‐lined tubes were conducted at a wide range of tube surface temperature. The heat transfer was enhanced at the second stage due to the wake turbulence of the first stage. No significant decrease of the condensation in the second stage due to the condensate falling from the first stage could be observed. Even at the high gas velocity condition, the condensation pattern was similar to that observed in previous low gas velocity experiments. The effect of SO₂ in the flue gas on the condensation behavior could not be observed. The heat and mass transfer behaviors on stainless‐steel and Teflon‐lined surfaces were well predicted with the analogy correlation. The above results suggested that the heat and mass transfer were dominated by the convection and diffusion process on the gas side. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 32(2): 153–166, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10079     

Experimental study of physiological advantages of assist circulation using oscillated blood flow

Duplication of the stomach is a rare congenital disease of the childhood. We report the exceptional manifestation in two adults. The clinical presentation and developmental theory is discussed by reviewing the literature. Today the therapy of choice is resection of the duplication with removal of the adjacent wall of the stomach.     

Electrostatic fluctuation measurements in the periphery of reversed field pinch plasma

In this paper, the authors study the magnetic and electric properties of ferromagnetic substance/semimetal (Fe/Bi) system multilayered thin films prepared by ion beam sputtering. The multilayered thin film was prepared with 99.6% Fe and 99.99% Bi. The experimental results are summarized as follows. From XRD in the small‐degree region (2θ = 2 to 4^°), Fe/Bi system thin films for N = 3,4, and 5 Fe layers have formed multilayer structures. Coercive force H_c increased with increasing number of Fe layers. The maximum value was 4.522 kA/m at N = 6 Fe layers. The coercive force then decreased and its value was constant at more than 15 layers. Electrical resistivity, ρ, of Fe/Bi system multilayered thin films changed from conductivity to semiconductivity at temperatures in the range for T = 380 to 400 K. Magneto‐resistance (MR) ratio decreased with increasing applied field H when the current was parallel to an applied magnetic field (I‖H). MR ratio reached a maximum of 0.154% at N = 4 Fe layers at room temperature. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 151(1): 1–8, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20068     

A less invasive Emax estimation method for weaning fromcardiac assistance

The maximum elastance of the ventricle (E_max) is a strong candidate for a quantitative index used for determination of the timing of weaning the patient from a left ventricular assist device (LVAD). The authors present a new and less invasive method for deriving E_max of the left ventricle under the LVAD assistance. In this method (the CoP method), E_max can be calculated from two different end-systolic points which are produced by changing the drive phase of LVAD without any vascular clamping and any direct measurement of the left ventricular volume. Animal experiments indicated that the CoP method is useful when the measured left ventricular flow and pressure are employed. Moreover, a new technique for estimating the left ventricular flow was developed to make the CoP method less invasive without direct measurement of the flow. The technique could considerably improve the estimation accuracy of the flow in the co-pulsation mode in comparison with the previous one proposed by the authors. However, it has been revealed that the estimation accuracy of the left ventricular flow was not globally high enough to apply the CoP method to clinical cases in spite of its much less invasiveness     

Assessing cardiovascular dynamics during ventricular assistance.Use of fuzzy clustering techniques

The authors' group has recently developed an expert system realized by means of fuzzy logic algorithms for monitoring and malfunction diagnosis of the left ventricular assist device (LVAD), one of the many types of artificial hearts developed today. The system is named TOTOMES (Tohoku University and Toyohashi University of Technology, monitoring and estimation system). TOTOMES is suitable for clinical application because it operates in an online and realtime fashion on a widely used personal computer in Japan. This article introduces the structure and function of the TOTOMES and explains its techniques, such as multi-interrupt tasks and dynamic system identification; as well as fuzzy reasoning used for realizing state estimation, detection, and diagnosis of malfunctions; and monitoring for cardiovascular dynamics under ventricular assistance and the LVAD drive system