Preparation of biaxially textured Ce1-x(Y0.2Zr0.8)xOδ buffer layers on RABiTS NiW tapes by chemical solution deposition

Highly (100)-oriented Ce_1-x(Y_0.2Zr_0.8)_xO_δ (CYZO) films were prepared on biaxially textured NiW substrates by a chemical solution deposition approach using metal inorganic salts as starting materials. It has been found that both the preferential orientation and surface roughness of CYZO films decrease gradually with increasing of the doping percentage of Y³⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ ions. The epitaxial growth relationship of (220)_CYZO//(200)_NiW and [00?l]_CYZO//[001]_NiW was demonstrated by XRD texture measurement as well as atomic resolution STEM observation. XRD, Raman and XPS spectra results indicate that Y³⁺ and Zr⁴⁺ ions were indeed introduced into CeO₂ lattice to substitute Ce⁴⁺ ions and form cubic fluorite CYZO solid solution. Moreover, CeO₂ buffer layer can be endowed a strong enough capability to prevent element diffusion through co-doping of yttrium and zirconium, provided that an optimal doping ratio of them is adopted. This will provide a new approach to fabricating strong-barrier single buffer layer for coated conductor.     

Recovery of fluorocarbons in Japan as a measure for abating global warming

The objective of this study is to evaluate the potential for recovering fluorocarbons as measures for the abatement of global warming. In this study, we focused on the three different kinds of fluorocarbons: CFCs, HCFCs and HFCs, and targeted refrigerant use because of the availability of relevant data. We first estimated future fluorocarbon emissions from the targeted appliances; we next compared those emissions in the units of CO₂ equivalent to the level of CO₂ emissions in 1990 from a quantitative point of view. As the result of this study, it was found that fluorocarbon emissions in 1999 and 2010 would be equal to approximately 7 and 3% of the level of CO₂ emissions in 1990 respectively. Moreover, if we implement a 100% recovery rate in every recovery route, we can reduce a large amount of emissions which correspond to approximately 2–5% of the level of CO₂ emissions in 1990, even if we take into account the energy-related CO₂ emissions by the transportation and decomposition of fluorocarbons.     

Verification of a model for estimating the void fraction in a three-component randomly packed bed

The void fraction in a three-component randomly packed bed was calculated from the authors' model, and the calculated values were compared with published experimental data for spherical and irregularly shaped particles and with results from computer simulations. Results from the model were in good agreement with simulated and published experimental data.     

Temporal Specificity of Extinction in Autoshaping.

Three experiments investigated the effects of varying the conditioned stimulus (CS) duration between training and extinction. Ring doves (Streptopelia risoria) were autoshaped on a fixed CS-unconditioned stimulus (US) interval and extinguished with CS presentations that were longer, shorter, or the same as the training duration. During a subsequent test session, the training CS duration was reintroduced. Results suggest that the cessation of responding during an extinction session is controlled by generalization of excitation between the training and extinction CSs and by the number of nonreinforced CS presentations. Transfer of extinction to the training CS is controlled by the similarity between the extinction and training CSs. Extinction learning is temporally specific. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confirmation of anatoxin-a(s), in the cyanobacterium Anabaena lemmermannii, as the cause of bird kills in Danish lakes

Cyanobacterial blooms were implicated in bird kills at lakes in Denmark in July 1993 and June-July 1994. These blooms were dominated by Anabaena lemmermannii and were shown to contain a neurotoxin with anticholinesterase activity. In this study, the toxin was isolated by mouse lethality guided column chromatographies from the field sample collected at Lake Knud s? in 1993. Various spectroscopic data indicated that the toxin was anatoxin-a(s), an irreversible anticholinesterase, first reported in Anabaena flos-aquae. Chemical detection of the same toxin in cultured A. lemmermannii also confirmed this species as the cause of the deaths of the wild birds.     

The short-term effect of a smoking prevention program for the upper graders of elementary schools--the results of intervention study for two years with quasi-experimental design

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term effect of a smoking prevention program for Japanese elementary school-children in the fifth and sixth grades. The program was developed with concepts found in the Know Your Body Program and the conclusions of a National Cancer Institute-convened Expert Advisory Panel, and focused on teaching about the short-term effects of smoking and on resistance to social pressures to smoke. The study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design. An intervention group (52 boys and 54 girls) received three sessions for both the fifth grade in 1992 and the sixth grade in 1993. Moreover, the intervention group received a pre-test before the first session and a post-test after the third session in each grade. A comparison group (102 boys and 91 girls) received the same tests at the same time as the intervention group, but did not receive any program on smoking prevention. The short-term effect of the program were evaluated using the results of the pre-test in the fifth grade and of the post-test in the sixth grade in both groups. The results were as follows: 1) Remarkable short-term effects of the intervention were seen in respect to awareness of the importance of not smoking in girls, and also in the knowledge of the short-term effects of smoking in both sexes. 2) The intervention was not effective with respect to intention to smoke at the age of 20 and self-efficacy of refusing to smoke in both sexes. 3) The short-term effects were not clear in the smoking behavior in both sexes because the rates of ever smokers and of monthly smokers were almost the same for two years between the intervention group and the comparison group. 4) The smoking behaviors of children, their parents and their best friends had little influence on the results of the post-test in the sixth grade.     

Survey of switching techniques in high-speed networks and their performance

One of the most promising approaches for high speed networks for integrated service applications is fast packet switching, or ATM (asynchronous transfer mode). ATM can be characterized by very high speed transmission links and simple, hard-wired protocols within a network. To match the transmission speed of the network links, and to minimize the overhead due to the processing of network protocols, the switching of cells is done in hardware switching fabrics in ATM networks. A number of designs have been proposed for implementing ATM switches. Although many differences exist among the proposals, the vast majority of them are based on self-routeing multistage interconnection networks. This is because of the desirable features of multi-stage interconnection networks such as self-routeing capability and suitability for VLSI implementation. Existing ATM switch architectures can be classified into two major classes: blocking switches, where blockings of cells may occur within a switch when more than one cell contends for the same internal link, and non-blocking switches, where no internal blocking occurs. A large number of techniques have also been proposed to improve the performance of blocking and non-blocking switches. In this paper, we present an extensive survey of the existing proposals for ATM switch architectures, focusing on their performance issues.     

Crystal structures of Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase and comparison with their thermophilic counterpart from Thermus thermophilus

The basis of protein stability has been investigated by the structural comparison of themophilic enzymes with their mesophilic counterparts. A number of characteristics have been found that can contribute to the stabilization of thermophilic proteins, but no one is uniquely capable of imparting thermostability. The crystal structure of 3-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase (IPMDH) from the mesophiles Escherichia coli and Salmonella typhimurium have been determined by the method of molecular replacement using the known structure of the homologous Thermus thermophilus enzyme. The structure of the E. coli enzyme was refined at a resolution of 2.1 A to an R-factor of 17.3%, that of the S. typhimurium enzyme at 1.7 A resolution to an R-factor of 19.8%. The three structures were compared to elucidate the basis of the higher thermostability of the T. thermophilus enzyme. A mutant that created a cavity in the hydrophobic core of the thermophilic enzyme was designed to investigate the importance of packing density for thermostability. The structure of this mutant was analyzed. The main stabilizing features in the thermophilic enzyme are an increased number of salt bridges, additional hydrogen bonds, a proportionately larger and more hydrophobic subunit interface, shortened N and C termini and a larger number of proline residues. The mutation in the hydrophobic core of T. thermophilus IPMDH resulted in a cavity of 32 A3, but no significant effect on the activity and thermostability of the mutant was observed.