Catalytic decomposition of HCFC22 (CHClF2)

The catalytic decomposition of CHClF₂ was studied over various acidic metal oxides in a fixed-bed reactor. The Cr₂O₃ZrO₂ exhibited the highest activity. The presence of water vapor in the reaction system suppresses the transformation of oxides to fluorides, progresses the formation of CO₂, and it improves the catalysts life.     

Cloning, functional expression and tissue distribution of rabbit alpha 1d-adrenoceptor

We attempt to determine the utility of CERAD in detecting early Alzheimer's disease (AD). CERAD battery was administered to a group of 14 control subjects, 12 patients with possible dementia prodromes and to patients with Alzheimer's disease stratified according to severity (16 mild, 8 moderate). Other measures as some subtest of the Wechsler memory scale and the Rey Complex Figure Test were also applied. Delayed recall as well as logical memory of Wechsler memory scale were found to be the best discriminators for detecting very mild cases of AD (Prodromes) (p < 0.05). None of the memory test proved of value in staging the disorder. Visuospatial functions are better determinants of the progression of the illness. Fluency also distinguish between control subjects and very mild cases. These findings suggest that delayed recall memory and probably executive function are the most useful and sensitive indicators of Alzheimer's disease.     

Redox properties of CeO2 and Pt-Rh/CeO2 studied by TAP method

Redox properties of CeO₂ and Pt-Rh/CeO₂ were studied by temporal analysis of products (TAP) method using alternative pulses of CO and O₂. A portion of pulsed CO was oxidized to CO₂ and a portion of CO was adsorbed on the surface. Pulsing ¹⁸O₂ onto the catalyst which has surface species derived from CO, evolved CO₂ contained no ¹⁸O suggesting that the surface species will be carbonate ions.     

Cost-Efficient Traffic Aggregation Employing Cross-Layer Shared Protection

Shared protection/restoration is a promising solution for reducing protection resources and is supported at each layer of the current multi-layer networks. Software-defined networking is expected to reduce equipment cost as well as operational cost by orchestrating these shared protection functionalities. However, although protection resource sharing improves link utilization, it sometimes increases the required equipment. Meanwhile, traffic re-aggregation at each layer is an important technique for low volume traffic to utilize the underlying link capacity more efficiently, but re-aggregation also makes it difficult to share protection resources with traffic at lower layers. In this paper, we present multi-layer network design strategy and method that reduce equipment cost by means of both traffic re-aggregation at each layer and protection resource sharing among multiple service traffic at different layers. The strategy first prioritizes traffic re-aggregation at each layer, and then maximally delegates shared protection to lower layers as long as it does not increase the required capacity at the lower layer. Evaluation results from the example three-layer networks confirm that the proposed method can effectively reduce equipment cost compared to the conventional design method. Cost reduction is achieved by leveraging shared protection functions at multiple layers.     

Interactive visualization of three-dimensional magnetic fields

In order to observe the physical values (magnetic flux density and eddy current) in 3D magnetic field analysis, an interactive and highly manipulative visualization system depicting stereo images is intalled in a graphics workstation with high functional graphic processors. The system has the following characteristics:

• 1 An interactive and highly manipulative menu window with many functions: it enables visualization of complex phenomena in a 3D field through observation of various combinations of physical values from various viewpoints.
• 2 Simultaneous display of both magnetic flux density and eddy current by using the appropriate use of two colour display methods for stream lines and distribution maps of density: this function facilitates observation of the mutual relations between two physical values in a 3D field.
• 3 Animations and stereo displays: since they give extremely distinct images, observers can easily understand even highly complex 3D phenomena.

In this paper, the calculation method of density vectors, their display methods, and interactive functions are described. Some examples are also illustrated.     

Decomposition of CCl2F2 over metal sulfate catalysts

Activity for hydrolysis of CCl₂F₂ (CFC12) on various metal sulfate was investigated. Zr(SO₄)₂ was found to be the most active while FeSO₄, Cr₂(SO₄)₃, Al₂(SO₄)₃, La₂(SO₄)₃ and Ce₂(SO₄)₃ had intermediate activity. MnSO₄, CoSO₄, and MgSO₄ showed low activity and SrSO₄, CaSO₄, and BaSO₄ had even less activity. The major carbon containing product was CO₂ and small amount of CClF₃ and CO were formed over several sulfates. The crystal structure of the sulfates was stable during decomposition of CCl₂F₂, and the conversion reached a steady state after initial decrease at 275 °C over Zr(SO₄)₂ catalyst. The concentration of surface hydroxyl was larger than that over AlPO₄-based catalysts and a reaction mechanism similar to that over AlPO₄-based catalysts was proposed.     

Preparation of Yttria-Stabilized Zirconia Thin Films on Strontium-Doped LaMnO3 Cathode Substrates via Electrophoretic Deposition for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells

A yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) thin film on an La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ porous cathode substrate was prepared, using electrophoretic deposition (EPD) to fabricate a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC). The electrical conductivity of an La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ substrate is satisfactorily high at room temperature; therefore, YSZ powder could be deposited electrophoretically onto an La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ substrate without any extra surface treatment, such as a metal coating. Successive repetition of EPD and sintering was required to obtain a film without gas leakage, because of the thermal expansion coefficient mismatch between the YSZ and the La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ substrate. On the other hand, the electromotive force of the oxygen concentration in the cell that used YSZ film prepared via EPD increased and attained the theoretical value when the number of deposition and calcination cycles was increased. Six or more successive repetitions were required to obtain a YSZ film without gas leakage. A planar-type SOFC was fabricated, using nickel as the anode and YSZ film (∼10 μm thick) that had been deposited onto the La_0.8Sr_0.2MnO₃ substrate as the electrolyte and cathode. The cell exhibited an open circuit voltage of 1.0 V and a maximum power density of 1.5 W/cm². Thus, the EPD method could be used as a colloidal process to prepare YSZ thin-film electrolytes for SOFCs.     

Optical Burst Switching Router With 40-,10-Gb/s Bit-Rate Transparent Contention Resolution

We report a bit-rate transparent optical burst switching (OBS) router prototype using a fast 5 times 5 PLZT [(Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O₃ ] optical matrix switch. Dynamic switching in a two-wavelength, 2 times 2 OBS switch is demonstrated. Contention resolution using a tunable Mach-Zehnder interferometer wavelength converter for both 40- and 10-Gb/s bursts is demonstrated for the first time. Error-free operation was achieved for both bit rates under the same settings, as required in autonomous networks     

Effect of soybean varieties on the content and composition of isoflavone in rice-koji miso

To clarify the effect of soybean varieties on isoflavone, a useful component for human health, in soybean products, we investigated changes in the isoflavone content and composition in rice-koji miso, after fermentation/aging for 6 or 12 months using varieties of soybeans (Tohoku-126, Tohoku-135, Tohoku-139, Suzuyutaka and Chinese soybeans), by high performance liquid chromatography. In soybeans, the total isoflavone content in Tohoku-126 was 444 mg/100 g, which was 1.2–2.0 times the content in the other soybean varieties. The malonyl glycosides and aglycones in soybeans accounted for more than 60% and only a few percent, respectively. As for rice-koji miso, the total isoflavone and aglycone contents were the highest in miso prepared from Tohoku-126. The ratios of glycosides to aglycones (80.1–92.6%) in miso were higher than those in the original soybeans. The time course of the isoflavone composition during the fermentation/aging process of rice-koji miso indicated that glycosides decreased from 86.4% to 44.9% after 6 months but aglycones increased from 9.6% to 53.3%.