Crystalline complex between poly(γ-methyl l-glutamate) and dimethyl phthalate

The crystalline complex between poly(γ-methyl l-glutamate) (PMLG) and dimethyl phthalate (DMP) has been formed in films cast from a solution in dichloroethane. It has the stoichiometry of 1 mol of DMP to three or four residues of PMLG and shows two definite characteristics in X-ray diffraction patterns; one is the large hexagonal unit cell with the edge of around 28 Å and another the ‘extra’ 5.07 Å meridional reflection which can not be interpreted by a PMLG α-helical conformation. The structural examination for the films with various DMP contents is carried out by X-ray, viscoelastic, and d.s.c. measurements and the following structure is proposed for the crystalline complex. Four PMLG are associated to form a group which is hexagonally packed and DMP molecules, located in the gaps between groups, form a specific favourable helical structure along PMLG chains in which the van der Waals stacking of benzene rings of DMP is significant.     

Analysis of high burnup fuel behavior in Halden reactor by FEMAXI–V code

The author developed a code FEMAXI–V to analyze the behaviors of high burnup LWR fuels. FEMAXI–V succeeded the basic structure of code FEMAXI–IV, and incorporated such new models and functions as fuel thermal conductivity degradation with burnup, alliance with burnup analysis code which gives radial power profile and fast neutron flux, etc. In the present analysis, coolant conditions, detailed power histories and specifications of the fuel rods DH and DK of IFA-519.9 irradiated in Halden reactor were input, and calculated rod internal pressures were compared with experimental data for the range of 25–93 MWd kg⁻¹ UO₂, and factors affecting pellet temperature were discussed. Also some sensitivity studies were conducted with respect to the effect of swelling rate and grain growth. As a result, it is found that the prediction is sensitive to the models of thermal conductivity and swelling rate of fuel, and FEMAXI–V analytical system proved to give a reasonable prediction even in the high burnup region.     

Characterization of long-periodic layered structures by X-ray diffraction I: A system for small angle and intermediate angle X-ray diffraction using a reflection kratky camera

A high resolution camera has been developed for the small angle X-ray diffraction measurement of long-periodic layered structures such as Langmuir-Blodgett multilayers, superlattices and liquid crystals. A block collimation system known as a Kratky camera is used to produce a very narrow incident beam. The camera is mounted on a computer-controlled goniometer whose sample holder is rotated around a vertical Θ axis by a pulse motor. Measurements can be carried out in a θ-2θ scan, and also in θ or 2θ scans. Processing of the collected data includes smoothing, and correction for absorption, polarization factor and instrumental broadening. The performance of the present system has been demonstrated by observation of diffraction patterns of a Langmuir-Blodgett film of cadmium arachidate and a GaAs/AlAs superlattice.     

Analysis of a 36.2 kb DNA sequence including the right telomere of chromosome VI from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The nucleotide sequence of a 36.2-kb distal region containing the right telomere of chromosome VI was determined. Both strands of DNA cloned into cosmid clone 9965 and plasmid clone pEL174P2 were sequenced with an average redundancy of 7.9 per base pair, by both dye primer and dye terminator cycle sequencing methods. The G+C content of the sequence was found to be 37.9%. Eighteen open reading frames (ORFs) longer than 100 amino acids were detected. Four of these ORFs (9965orfR017, 9965orfF016, 9965orfR009 and 9965orfF003) were found to encode previously identified genes (YMR31, PRE4, NIN1 and HXK1, respectively). Six ORFs (9965orfR013, 9965orfF018, 9965orfF006, 9965orfR014, 9965orfF013 and 9965orfR020) were found to be homologous to hypothetical 121.4-kDa protein in the BCK 5' region, Bacillus subtilis DnaJ protein, hypothetical Trp-Asp repeats containing protein in DBP3-MRPL27, putative mitochondrial carrier YBR291C protein, Salmonella typhimurium nicotinate-nucleotide pyrophosphorylase, and Escherichia coli cystathionine beta-lyase, respectively. The putative proteins encoded by 9965orfF018, 9965orfR014 and 9965orfR020 were found to be, respectively, a new member of the family of DnaJ-like proteins, the mitochondrial carrier protein and cystathionine lyase.     

Application of finite element method to ring compression test

The relation between deflection and load during the ring compression test used to study mechanical properties of a fuel cladding tube is examined by a computer program which deals with the elasto-plastic deformation by the two-dimensional finite element method. Under Hill's criterion, in the early stage of ring deformation the results calculated by the plane strain condition, and in the late stage the results calculated by the plane stress condition, agree well with the experimental ones. It is revealed that plastic deformation occurs even at the initial stage of the test, and crack locations are suggested. The relation between the ring compression test and the uniaxial tension test are also discussed.     

Simulation of the fracture behavior of Zircaloy-4 cladding under reactivity-initiated accident conditions with a damage mechanics model combined with fuel performance codes FEMAXI-7 and RANNS

A continuum damage mechanics model using FEM calculations was proposed to be applied to an analysis of the fuel failure due to pellet cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) under reactivity-initiated accident conditions. The model expressed ductile fracture via two processes: damage nucleation related to void nucleation and damage evolution related to void growth and linkage. The boundary conditions for the simulations were input from the fuel performance codes FEMAXI-7 and RANNS. The simulation made reasonable predictions for the cladding hoop strain at failure and reproduced the typical fracture behavior of the fuel cladding under the PCMI loading, characterized by a ductile shear zone in the inner region of the cladding wall. It was shown that occurrence of a through-wall crack is determined at an early stage of crack propagation, and the rest of the through-wall penetration process is achieved with a negligible increment in strain. The effect of a local temperature rise in the cladding inner region on the failure strain was found to be less than 5% for the conditions investigated. Failure strains predicted under a plane strain loading were smaller by 20%–30% than those predicted under equibiaxial tensions between the hoop and the axial directions.     

Analysis of a 36·2 kb DNA sequence including the right telomere of chromosome VI from Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The nucleotide sequence of a 36·2-kb distal region containing the right telomere of chromosome VI was determined. Both strands of DNA cloned into cosmid clone 9965 and plasmid clone pEL174P2 were sequenced with an average redundancy of 7·9 per base pair, by both dye primer and dye terminator cycle sequencing methods. The G + C content of the sequence was found to be 37·9%. Eighteen open reading frames (ORFs) longer than 100 amino acids were detected. Four of these ORFs (9965orfR017, 9965orfF016, 9965orfR009 and 9965orfF003) were found to encode previously identified genes (YMR31, PRE4, NIN1 and HXK1, respectively). Six ORFs (9965orfR013, 9965orfF018, 9965orfF006, 9965orfR014, 9965orfF013 and 9965orfR020) were found to be homologous to hypothetical 121·4-kDa protein in the BCK 5′ region, Bacillus subtilis DnaJ protein, hypothetical Trp-Asp repeats containing protein in DBP3-MRPL27, putative mitochondrial carrier YBR291C protein, Salmonella typhimurium nicotinate-nucleotide pyrophosphorylase, and Escherichia coli cystathionine β-lyase, respectively. The putative proteins encoded by 9965orfF018, 9965orfR014 and 9965orfR020 were found to be, respectively, a new member of the family of DnaJ-like proteins, the mitochondrial carrier protein and cystathionine lyase. The nucleotide sequence reported here has been deposited in the DDBJ/GenBank/EMBL data library under Accession Number D44597.     

Sequencing of a 23 kb fragment from Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome VI

Plasmid clone gapB and lambda phage clone 4682, which contain fragments of Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosome VI, were analysed. A 23 kb sequence was determined and ten open reading frames (ORFs) were revealed. Among them, five ORFs were identical to five yeast genes (SEC4, MSH4, SPB4, DEG1 and NIC96), two were identical to transposable elements (TYA and TYB), one (gapBorfF003) was highly homologous to a yeast expressed sequence tag, and another (4682orfF002) was predicted to be a nuclear protein. Sequence data have been submitted to DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank data library under Accession Number D44604 (clone gapB) and D44600 (clone 4682), respectively.     

Characterization of industrial materials by small angle X-ray scattering

Small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) techniques have enabled remarkable progress to be made in both the experimental devices and algorithms of data processing. We have applied SAXS to the characterization of common industrial materials such as carbon fibres,-alumina, and poly-propylene films. For carbon fibres, the microporosity has been investigated by estimating the cross-sectional dimensions of the microvoids in the powdered specimens as well as in the aligned fibre bundles. The average particle size of-alumina has been evaluated, and related to the heat-treatment conditions. Correlation-function analysis has revealed the changes in lamellar structure of polypropylene films induced by annealing. SAXS is shown to have the potential to be widely used as a practical method for characterizing materials of industrial importance.