Photocatalytic Property and Electronic Structure of Lanthanide-based Oxysulfides

Lanthanide-based oxysulfides and sulfide, LnTaO_3.5S_0.5, Ln₁₀OS₁₄ (Ln = La, Pr, Nd, Sm) and La₄In₅S₁₃, were successively synthesized by sulfurization in a flowing H₂S. The sulfurization decreased the band-gap energies from >4 eV to <3eV, because of the formation of occupied S3p orbitals on the top of valence band. In accordance with the small band gap, the H₂ evolution from a 0.01 M Na₂S and 0.01 M Na₂SO₃ solution system was observed under irradiation of light up to >500 nm. The rate of H₂ evolution under light irradiation of >500 nm increased in the order of Ni/LaTaO_3.5S_0.5 < Ru/La₁₀OS₁₄ < Pt/La₄In₅S₁₃.     

Characterization and electrochemical properties of CF4 plasma-treated boron-doped diamond surfaces

The effect of CF₄ plasma etching on diamond surfaces, with respect to treatment time, was investigated using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and electrochemical measurements. SEM observations and Raman spectra indicated an increase in surface roughening on a scale of 10–20 nm, and an increase in crystal defect density was apparent with treatment time in the range of 10 s to 30 min. In contrast, alteration of the diamond surface terminations from oxygen to fluorine was found to be rather rapid, with saturation of the F/C atomic ratio estimated from XPS analysis after treatment durations of 1 min and more. The redox kinetics of Fe(CN)₆^3−/4− was also found to be significantly modified after 10 s of CF₄ plasma treatment. This behavior shows that C–F terminations predominantly affect the redox kinetics compared to the effect on the surface roughness and crystal defects. The double-layer capacitance (C_dl) of the electrolyte/CF₄ plasma-treated boron-doped diamond interface was found to show a minimum value at 1 min of treatment. These results indicate that a short-duration CF₄ plasma treatment is effective for the fabrication of fluorine-terminated diamond surfaces without undesirable surface damage.     

Resource contention in shared-memory multiprocessors: A parameterized performance degradation model

A standard metric conventionally employed to compare the performance of different multiprocessor systems is speedup. Although providing a measure of the improvement in execution speed achievable on a system, this metric does not yield any insight into the factors responsible for limiting the potential improvement in speed. This paper studies the performance degradation in shared-memory multiprocessors as a result of contention for shared-memory resources. A replicate workload framework with a flexible mechanism for workload specification is proposed for measuring performance. Two normalized performance metrics—efficiency and overhead factor—are introduced to quantify the factors limiting performance and facilitate comparison across architectures. Finally, the proposed model is employed to measure and compare the performance of three contemporary shared-memory systems, with special emphasis on the newly released BBN Butterfly-II (TC2000), currently undergoing Beta test.     

Hydrogen absorption by Pd-coated ZrNi prepared by using Barrel-Sputtering System

To improve the durability of hydrogen storage materials against surface poisoning by impurity gases, effectiveness of Pd-coating layer prepared by using a Barrel-Sputtering System was examined for ZrNi powder. The effectiveness of Pd-coating was evaluated by activation temperature, at which Pd/ZrNi poisoned by air could be activated to absorb hydrogen. Characterization of Pd-coated ZrNi (denoted as Pd/ZrNi) by scanning electron microscopy, electron probe microanalysis and X-ray diffraction showed that a uniform Pd-coating layer was formed with the barrel-sputtering system. It was found that the poisoned Pd/ZrNi sample could be activated even at 423 K to absorb hydrogen at room temperature. This exhibits remarkable contrast to bare ZrNi, which could be only activated appreciably above 1073 K. It is concluded that the Pd-coating by barrel sputtering is quite effective to avoid the effect of surface poisoning of powdery hydrogen storage materials. However, the activation at excessively high temperature resulted in the loss of high activity to absorb hydrogen. It was concluded that this phenomenon was associated with reactions between Pd and ZrNi to form PdZr and other byproducts.     

Effects of Working Fluid,Tubeside Enhancement and Bundle Depth on the Optimized Fin Geometry of a Horizontal Condenser Tube

A theoretical study has been made to optimize the fin geometry of a horizontal finned tube which is to be usedfor condensers that handle the vapor load of a liquid phase change cooling module.Systematic numerical calcu-lations of the vapor to coolant heat transfer have been performed for parametric values of fin height,fin spacing,vertical bundle depth and tubeside heat transfer coefficient.Three dielectric fluids (R-113,FC-72,and FC-87)at atmospheric pressure were selected as the working fluids.For a single tube with optimized fin geometry,theaverage heat flux increased in the order of FC-87,R-113 and FC-72.Both the optimum fin height and optimumfin spacing increased with increasing vertical bundle depth.     

Thermal Transformation of Ring-Opened [2 2] C60 Dimer into a Wide-Bridged C120 Isomer. A Computational Evaluation of Fulvalene-Naphthalene Rearrangements

As a continuation of the studies on thermal transformation of the [2+2] C₆₀ dimer (1), the consequence of the pyracylene-rearrangement-like valence isomerization of the fulvalene partial structure at the bridge of the ring-opened product from 1, namely 2, was searched by dynamic reaction coordinate /AM1 semiempirical MO calculations. It is predicted that the fulvalene bridge of 2 rearranges into naphthalene partial structure by the concerted 'in-plane' mechanism to give a wide-bridged C₁₂₀ intermediate having twenty five-membered rings and two ten-membered rings (3). The computed energy of activation (145 kcal/mol) is 40 kcal/mol lower than those computed for pyracylene rearrangements. In contrast, the recently reported analogous rearrangement of indigo (13) to dibenzonaphthyridindione (14) is computed to occur by the stepwise 'sp³' mechanism.     

Studies on calcium antagonistic and alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blocking activities of monatepil maleate, its metabolites and their enantiomers

The calcium antagonistic and alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blocking activities of monatepil maleate (CAS 103377-41-9, (+/-)-N-(6,11-dihydrodibenzo [b, e] thiepin-11-yl) -4-(4-fluorophenyl)-1-piperazinebutanamide monomaleate, AJ-2615), a novel calcium antagonist, its metabolites and their enantiomers were studied in vitro. Monatepil maleate inhibited calcium-induced contractions of rat thoracic aorta (pA2 = 8.71) and l-phenylephrine-induced contractions of rabbit superior mesenteric artery (IC50 = 56.6 nmol/l). The calcium antagonistic activities of the metabolites of monatepil maleate (AJ-2615-sulfoxide A, AJ-2615-sulfoxide B and AJ-2615-sulfone) were 1/10 of that of monatepil maleate. However, their alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blocking activities were similar to or slightly more potent than that of monatepil maleate. The potencies of the calcium antagonistic activities of monatepil maleate and its enantiomers [(S)-AJ-2615 and (R)-AJ-2615] were in the order of (S)-AJ-2615 > monatepil maleate > (R)-AJ-2615 whereas no difference was observed among them in alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blocking activity. In calcium antagonistic and alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blocking activities, there was no difference between the enantiomers of monatepil maleate metabolites. In conclusion, there was a difference with several times in calcium antagonistic activity between the two enantiomers of monatepil maleate but not in their alpha 1-adrenergic receptor blocking activity.