Fracture and deformation properties of Ni-Fe superalloy in cryogenic high magnetic field environments

The present paper includes experimental and analytical data on the fracture properties of a nickel-iron superalloy, a ferromagnetic austenite, at 4 K in magnetic fields of 0 and 6 T. The tensile, notch tensile and small punch tests are employed. A finite element analysis is also performed to convert the experimentally measured load-displacement data into useful engineering information. To interpret the results we review the available theory of the influence of magnetic field on the stress intensity factor for a crack in ferromagnetic materials.     

Synthesis and luminescence of Sr2CeO4 fine particles

Fine particles of a blue emission phosphor Sr₂CeO₄ have been synthesized using a chemical co-precipitation technique, and the textual and luminescent properties were compared with the one synthesized by the conventional solid-state reaction method. Particle size and distribution of the Sr₂CeO₄ fine powder prepared by the co-precipitation process were smaller and narrower than those obtained by the samples prepared from the conventional one. The emission intensity of the fine particles was equal to that of the larger particles prepared from the solid-state reaction, on the contrary to the general tendency that emission intensity decrease with particle size reduction. Although no Ce³⁺ peaks were observed in EPR measurements, X-ray photoelectron spectra of the samples clearly elucidated the existence of Ce³⁺ only on the surface of Sr₂CeO₄.     

Breakdown characteristics of oil and paper insulation for a very fast transient voltage

This paper describes the dielectric breakdown characteristics of oil and oil‐impregnated paper for very fast transient (VFT) voltages. Blumlein circuits generate VFT voltages of 60 and 300 ns in a pulse width that simulates disconnecting switching surges in gas‐insulated switch gears. We measured the breakdown voltages of needle‐to‐plane, plane‐to‐plane oil gaps and several pieces of paper between plane electrodes for VFT and lightning impulse voltages. The measured data were formulated in V‐t characteristics and Weibull probability distributions. The inclination n of V‐t characteristics of insulating paper is 150, which is less than n = 13.7 of the plane‐to‐plane oil gap in the VFT time range. The shape parameters of Weibull distribution obtained in this study show that the scattering of breakdown voltages of paper is much less than that of oil. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 141(4): 16–24, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10043     

Dye-sensitized solar cell based on nanocrystalline TiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> with 3–10 nm in diameter

Nanocrystalline TiO₂ with 3–10 nm in diameter was prepared with a surfactant-template method. Dye-sensitized solar cells were assembled using the prepared nanocrystalline TiO₂ with large surface area and high crystallinity, which achieved significant higher Jsc when compared to cells fabricated with bigger particles of 25 nm in diameter. In the cells with nanocrystalline TiO₂, the sintering temperature drastically affected the conversion performance of the cells.     

Synthesis, Characterization and Crystal Structure of Quaternary Complex of Gadolinium （Ⅲ）

Ａｎｕｍｂｅｒｏｆｌａｎｔｈａｎｉｄｅｔｅｒｎａｒｙｃｏｍｐｌｅｘｅｓｃｏｎ ｔａｉｎｉｎｇｈｅｔｅｒｏｃｙｃｌｉｃａｍｉｎｅｓｈａｖｅｂｅｅｎｒｅｐｏｒｔｅｄｓｉｎｃｅ1960 [1] .Ｉｎｒｅｃｅｎｔｙｅａｒｓｍｕｃｈａｔｔｅｎｔｉｏｎｈａｓｂｅｅｎｐａｉｄｔｏｑｕａｔｅｒｎａｒｙｃｏｍｐｌｅｘｅｓｏｆｌａｎｔｈａｎｉｄｅｓｂｅｃａｕｓｅｏｆｉｎ ｔｅｒｅｓｔｉｎｇｓｔｒｕｃｔｕｒｅ ,ｃｏｏｒｄｉｎａｔｉｏｎｍｏｄｅ ,ｃｏｍｐｅｔｉｔｉｏｎｒｅ ａｃｔｉｏｎａｎｄｐｒｏｐｅｒｔｙ[2～ 9] .ＥＳＲｃａｎｅ…     

Src homology 2 protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHPTP2)/Src homology 2 phosphatase 2 (SHP2) tyrosine phosphatase is a positive regulator of the interleukin 5 receptor signal transduction pathways leading to the prolongation of eosinophil survival

Interleukin-5 (IL-5) regulates the growth and function of eosinophils. It induces rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of Lyn and Jak2 tyrosine kinases. The role of tyrosine phosphatases in IL-5 signal transduction has not been investigated. In this study, we provide first evidence that SH2 protein tyrosine phosphatase 2 (SHPTP2) phosphotyrosine phosphatase plays a key role in prevention of eosinophil death by IL-5. We found that IL-5 produced a rapid activation and tyrosine phosphorylation of SHPTP2 within 1 min. The tyrosine phosphorylated SHPTP2 was complexed with the adapter protein Grb2 in IL-5-stimulated eosinophils. Furthermore, SHPTP2 appeared to physically associate with beta common (betac) chain of the IL-5 receptor (IL-5betacR). The association of SHPTP2 with IL-5betacR was reconstituted using a synthetic phosphotyrosine-containing peptide, betac 605-624, encompassing tyrosine (Y)612. The binding to the phosphotyrosine-containing peptide increased the phosphatase activity of SHPTP2, whereas the same peptide with the phosphorylated Y612--> F mutation did not activate SHPTP2. Only SHPTP2 antisense oligonucleotides, but not sense SHPTP2, could inhibit tyrosine phosphorylation of microtubule-associated protein kinase, and reverse the eosinophil survival advantage provided by IL-5. Therefore, we conclude that the physical association of SHPTP2 with the phosphorylated betac receptor and Grb2 and its early activation are required for the coupling of the receptor to the Ras signaling pathway and for prevention of eosinophil death by IL-5.     

Expression studies of delta-globin gene alleles associated with reduced hemoglobin A2 levels in Greek Cypriots

We previously identified five delta-globin gene alleles associated with reduced hemoglobin (Hb) A2 (Trifillis, P., Ioannou, P., Schwartz, E., and Surrey, S. (1991) Blood 78, 3298-3305). We have now evaluated functional consequences of the changes after expression in COS-1 cells to monitor effects on RNA splicing. In addition, variant Hb A2 tetramers were expressed in yeast to assess effects of amino acid changes on oxygen binding and stability to heat and mechanical agitation. The G --> T change at codon 27 and the A --> G change in IVS-2 both affect RNA splicing, whereas the C --> T change at codon 97 and the AT deletion in IVS-2 have no effect. Oxygen equilibrium curves of the Hb A2 variants expressed in yeast were similar to that of wild type Hb A2. None of the three variant Hb A2 tetramers (Thr --> Ile at codon 4 (Hb deltaT4I), Ala --> Ser at codon 27 (Hb deltaA27S), and Arg --> Cys at codon 116 (Hb deltaR116C)) showed decreased heat stability compared with Hb A2, whereas the Hb deltaT4I variant showed highest instability to mechanical agitation. Co-expression in yeast of alpha-globin chain and the delta-chain variant containing a Leu --> Pro change at codon 141 yielded no identifiable tetramers, suggesting lack of assembly or severe tetramer instability. These studies show the probable cause for decreased Hb A2 for two alleles is due to defective splicing, whereas decreased protein stability, increased tetramer association with red cell membranes, increased interdisulfide bond formation of delta-chains, which inhibits assembly with alpha-chains, and/or reduced assembly is suggested for the other three alleles.     

Functioning survival rate of fixtures and superstructures of osseointegrated implants: ten years of progress in Tokyo Dental College Hospital (second report)

Endoglucanase production was measured in culture filtrates of four species of Saccobolus growing in media containing glucose or crystalline cellulose as the only carbon sources. Enzyme activity was four to seven times higher in the presence of cellulose than glucose. S. saccoboloides showed maximal growth and enzyme production. The extracellular proteins secreted during growth on cellulose were separated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and stained for proteins. A zymogram technique was used to visualize bands with endoglucanase activity. The four species showed different protein and isoenzyme patterns.     

Flashover voltage characteristics of contaminated station insulators under temporary ac overvoltages in the ac system connected with a frequency converter station

According to the recent analysis results of temporary ac overvoltage in the ac system connected with a frequency converter station, large-magnitude over-voltages were confirmed to occur under some special system conditions. Most of the station insulators currently used cannot withstand such overvoltages according to an evaluation based on the data obtained earlier. The necessity of tests to be done to evaluate such performance more accurately was recognized. Both power frequency and switching impulse overvoltage flashover tests were made on contaminated insulators by the method well simulating the natural wetting condition. Switching impulse flashover voltage with the waveshape having a long wavefront time of 2 ms can be well correlated with the flashover voltage characteristics of temporary ac overvoltage. Higher flashover voltage characteristics were obtained by a clean fog test method compared with those obtained by equivalent fog test method.