Phase diagrams calculated for Fe-rich Fe-Si-Co and Fe-Si-Al ordering alloy systems

Theoretical analysis based on the calculation of phase diagrams was employed for Fe-Si-Co and Fe-Si-Al ordering systems to clarify the necessity for the occurrence of phase separation in Fe-base ternary ordering systems. The free energy of Fe-base ternary ordering alloys where B2 and D0₃ ordered structures are formed is evaluated statistically using a pairwise interaction approximation up to second nearest neighbours, taking into account not only the atomic interaction but also the magnetic interaction, based on the Bragg-Williams-Gorsky model. The calculated phase diagrams are consistent with the experimentally obtained ones. The phase diagram calculation in this work is useful to predict the equilibrium states of the ternary ordering systems. The phase separation in ordering alloys is caused by the contribution of excess free energies due to ordering. The influences of ferromagnetism on the two-phase regions are also demonstrated.     

Thermal response in thermal energy storage material around heat transfer tubes: effect of additives on heat transfer rates

The effects of carbon-fiber chips and carbon brushes as additives on the thermal conductivity enhancement of phase change materials (PCMs) using in latent heat thermal energy storage are investigated experimentally and numerically by considering the wall effect of the additives. The carbon-fiber chips are effective for improving the heat transfer rate in PCMs. However, the thermal resistance near the heat transfer surface is higher than that for the carbon brushes. As a result, the overall heat transfer rate for the fiber chips is lower than that for the carbon brushes. Consequently, the carbon brushes are superior to the fiber chips for the thermal conductivity enhancement under the present experimental conditions. The carbon brushes are moreover applied to the packed beds of particles to overcome their low thermal conductivity in chemical heat pump/storage. The carbon brushes essentially improve the heat transfer characteristics in the packed beds, though the thermal resistance is observed because the particles obstruct contact between the fibers and the heat transfer surfaces.     

Non-linear current–voltage characteristics related to native defects in SrTiO3 and ZnO bicrystals

SrTiO₃ and ZnO bicrystals with various types of boundaries were fabricated in order to examine their current–voltage characteristics across single grain boundaries. Their grain boundary structures were also investigated by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. In Nb-doped SrTiO₃, electron transport behaviors depend on the type of boundaries. Random type boundaries exhibit highly non-linear current–voltage characteristics, while low angle boundaries show a slight non-linearity. On the contrary, undoped ZnO does not exhibit non-linear current–voltage characteristics in any type of boundaries including random ones. It is suggested that the differences observed in current–voltage properties between the two systems are mainly due to the difference in the accumulation behavior of acceptor-like native defects at grain boundaries. A clear non-linearity is obtained by means of Co-doping even for the highly coherent Σ1 boundary in a ZnO bicrystal. This is considered to result from the production of acceptor-like native defects by Co-doping.     

Micro-computerized tomographic observation of the spinning apparatus in Bombyx mori silkworms

Silkworms and spiders have evolved complex spinning apparatus thought to use highly controlled conditions to optimize protein folding and crystallization to provide a tough fiber. Accordingly, the structure and function of the natural spinning apparatus has been studied with great attention as an interesting piece of biological engineering with potential for mimicry in an industrial process. However it is still not well understood. Here we used Micro-Computerized Tomographic equipment (mCT) to visualize the three-dimensional structure of the spinning apparatus in Bombyx mori silkworms. Multidirectional tomograms obtained by X-ray radioscopy provided valuable information on the detailed arrangement of each muscle of the silk press. It is suggested that the duct in the silk press part plays a part as an extrusion die whose cross-sectional area can be controlled by muscles to optimize applied stresses in the partially gelled silk within its lumen.     

Accelerator Analysis of Tributyltin Adsorbed onto the Surface of a Tributyltin Resistant Marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. Cell

Tributyltin (TBT) released into seawater from ship hulls is a stable marine pollutant and obviously remains in marine environments. We isolated a TBT resistant marine Pseudoalteromonas sp. TBT1 from sediment of a ship’s ballast water. The isolate (10^{9.3 ± 0.2} colony-forming units mL⁻¹) adsorbed TBT in proportion to the concentrations of TBTCl externally added up to 3 mM, where the number of TBT adsorbed by a single cell was estimated to be 10^8.2. The value was reduced to about one-fifth when the lysozyme-treated cells were used. The surface of ethanol treated cells became rough, but the capacity of TBT adsorption was the same as that for native cells. These results indicate that the function of the cell surface, rather than that structure, plays an important role to the adsorption of TBT. The adsorption state of TBT seems to be multi-layer when the number of more than 10^6.8 TBT molecules is adsorbed by a single cell.     

Two patients with polymyositis or dermatomyositis complicated with massive pleural effusion

Two patients with polymyositis (PM) or dermatomyositis (DM) complicated with massive pleural effusion are reported here. Both patients presented a high-grade fever, pleural effusion prominent on the right, and good response to steroid therapy. In a 50-year-old woman with PM, combined process of pleural inflammation, cardiomyopathy and coexisting hypothyroidism were considered to be responsible for the accumulation of the massive pleural effusion. However, in a 34-year-old man with DM, pleural inflammation associated with interstitial pneumonia or pleural microvasculopathy in DM was considered to be responsible for the accumulation of the massive pleural effusion.     

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate by tri-n-butylborane in the presence of amino acid esters

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate by tri-n-butylborane in the presence of amino acid esters was investigated. The binary systems of tri-n-butylborane and amino esters were found to be more effective for initiating the polymerization than tri-n-butylborane alone. Co-catalytic effects of amino acid esters were in the order: tyrosinate > glutamate > aspartate ? phenyl alaninate > serinate > glycinate. The rate of polymerization in a mixture of dimethylsulphoxide and toluene was proportional to the square root of the concentration of the initiator system, to the monomer concentration, and to the concentration of dimethylsulphoxide in the solvent. The overall energy of activation was estimated to be 4.6 kcal/mol for the tri-n-butylborane/methyl tyrosinate system. Copolymerization curves gave a typical free-radical character.     

Development of a high‐resolution RGBW flexible display using a white organic light‐emitting diode with microcavity structure and that of a side‐roll touch panel

In this study, white organic electroluminescent devices with microcavity structures were developed. A flexible high‐resolution active‐matrix organic light‐emitting diode display with low power consumption using red, green, blue, and white sub‐pixels formed by a color‐filter method was fabricated. In addition, a side‐roll touch display was developed in combination with a capacitive flexible touch screen.     

Melt viscosity and flow birefringence of polycarbonate

Melt viscosity and flow birefringence of bisphenol A-type polycarbonate were measured and analyzed by the application of rubber-like photoelastic theory. The melt viscosity in the Newtonian flow region increased with the molecular weight to the power of 3.4. In polycarbonate, the shear stress of the Newtonian flow region was to 10⁶ dyn/cm², whereas in PMMA it was at most 3 = 10⁵ dyn/cm². The flow birefringence δn has a linear relation with shear stress S, that is δn = 5.7 × 10^?10 S. The principal polarization difference of flow unit α₁ – α₂ was 1.62 × 10^?23 cm³, which was obtained by the application of the rubber-like elastic theory. In PMMA, it was 3.9 = 10^?25 cm³; about 1/40 of that was polycarbonate. The anisotropy of polarizability of the flow unit of polycarbonate was also about 40 times larger than that of PMMA. So the anisotropy reflected the large flow birefringence of the polycarbonate.