Extraction studies of cobalt (Ⅱ) and nickel (Ⅱ) from chloride solution using PC88A

Solvent extraction study of cobalt and nickel were carried out from a chloride solution with a high ratio of Co to Ni using the sodium salt of PC88A as extractant diluted in kerosene. The solution was generated in batches by leaching a tungsten super alloy scraps. The results show that extraction rate of metal ions increases with increase of aqueous phase pH value. The pH0.5 value difference of 1.40 with PC88A indicates the possible separation of cobalt and nickel. Increase of the concentration of the solvent can enhance the percentage extraction of both metal ions. Improvement of temperature is beneficial to extraction separation of cobalt and nickel. Extraction and stripping processes were also studied in a cross-current solvent extraction unit and the results were also given.

Application of cold drawn lamellar microstructure for developing ultra-high strength wires

Composite materials having lamellar structure are known to have a good combination of high strength and ductility. They are widely used in the fields of automobiles, civil engineering and construction, machines and many other industries. An application of lamellar microstructure for developing ultra-high strength steel wires was studied and discussed. Based on the experimental results, the relationships between the strength increase and microstructure development during the cold wire drawing were studied to reveal the strengthening mechanism. As cold drawing proceeds, the wire strength extremely increases, the microstructure changes from large single crystal lamellar structure to very fine polycrystalline lamellar one which has nano-sized grains, high dislocation density and amorphous regions. From the results obtained, it is concluded that heavy cold drawing technique is an effective method for lamellar composite to get high strength wires. Furthermore, formation process of the best microstructure for producing the ultra-high strength wires was also discussed.

Miocene to Pliocene Paleoceanography of the Western Equatorial Pacific Ocean Based on Calcareous Nannofossils, ODP Hole 805B

We describe in detail the Miocene to Quaternary paleoceanography of the western equatorial Pacific Ocean based on calcareous nannofossils of Hole 805B. The relative abundance of Discoaster which lived in the lower photic zone under the stable sea with nutricline and thermocline, decreased step by step at NN5/NN6 and NN10/NN11 boundaries. Al- though the size of Reticulofenestra which is strongly influenced by nutrient, increased five times throughout the section, it drastically decreased in NN4-5 zone, NN10, NN12, and in NN15/NN16 boundary. On the basis of the relationship between Discoaster abundance and Reticulofenestra size change, collapse of the stability of the sea surface in the west- ern equatorial Pacific Ocean progressed step by step throughout the Miocene to Quaternary.

The ATPase activity of molecular chaperone HSP60 is inhibited by immunosuppressant mizoribine

The molecular chaperone HSP60 is a chaperonin homolog of GroEL. We had previously shown that the immunosuppressant mizoribine is bound directly to HSP60 and inhibited its chaperone activity. However, the inhibitory mechanisms of HSP60 by mizoribine have not yet been fully understood. In the present study, we investigated the influence of mizoribine on a folding cycle of HSP60 and co-chaperone HSP10. Our results showed that mizoribine inhibited the folding cycle of HSP60/HSP10. The ATPase activity of HSP60/HSP10 was decreased in the presence of mizoribine and the dissociation of HSP10 from HSP-60 was also decreased by mizoribine. The same functions of GroEL and/or GroES were slightly affected by mizoribine. Based on our findings, we discuss the inhibitory mechanisms of HSP60 by mizoribine.

Behaviors of Bellows-Like Origami Patterned Tubes with Trapezoidal Patterns

In this paper, we show one of the possibility utilizing typical origami structures for civil engineering fields such as the bridge bearing support. We numerically investigate axial spring constants and buckling behaviors of bellows-like origami tube structures. The bellows-like origami tube structures, which can be folded because of elastic deformations, work as a kind of spring. If the initial heights of the bellows-like origami tubes are less than 90% of the height of the prismatic tubes without bellows-like folded lines, the spring constants of the bellows-like tubes are very low compared with those of the prismatic tubes. The buckling loads and patterns of the bellows-like tubes vary depending on the initial heights of the tubes.

Material conversion from paper sludge ash in NaOH solution to synthesize adsorbent for removal of Pb^(2+),NH_4^+and PO_4^(3-) from aqueous solution

Material conversion from paper sludge ash （PSA） in NaOH solution was attempted to synthesize the adsorbent for removal of inorganic pollutants, such as Pb^2＋, NH^4＋ and PO4^3- from aqueous solution. PSA of 0.5 g was added into 10 mL of 3 mol/L NaOH solution, and then heated at 80, 120, and 160℃ for 6-48 hr to obtain the product. PSA mainly composed of two crystalline phases, gehlenite （Ca2Al2SiO7） and anorthite （CaAl2Si2O8）, and amorphous phase. Hydroxysodalite （Na6Al6Si6O24-8H2O） was formed at 80℃, and anorthite dissolved, whereas gehlenite remained unaffected. Katoite （Ca3Al2SiO4（OH）8） was formed over 120℃, and hydroxycancrinite （Nas（OH）2Al6Si6O24·2H2O） was formed at 160℃, due to the dissolution of both gehlenite and anorthite. Specific surface areas of the products were almost same and were higher than that of raw ash. Cation exchange capacities （CECs） of the products were also higher than that of raw ash, and CEC obtained at lower temperature was higher. Removal abilities of products for Pb^2＋, NH4＋, and PO4^3- were higher than that of raw ash. With increasing reaction temperature, the removal efficiencies of Pb^2＋ and NH4＋ decreased due to the decrease of CEC of the product, while removal efficiency for PO4^3- was almost same. The concentrations of Si and AI in the solution and the crystalline phases in the solid during the reaction explain the formation of the product phases at each temperature.

Heavy metal removal from aqueous solution using carbonaceous K_2S-impregnated adsorbent

A novel carbonaceous adsorbent for heavy metal removal was prepared from raw coal by one-step simple sulfur impregnation using K2S. Raw coal was mixed with K2S powder and then heated at 800℃ for 30 min in nitrogen to produce K2S char. The sulfur content and form in K2S char were determined, and the ability of K2S char to adsorb Zn^2＋, Cd^2＋ and Pb^2＋ was examined. The K2S impregnation was effective at impregnating sulfur into coal, especially in the form of elemental, thiophenic and sulfatic sulfur. The sulfur content of K2S char was higher than those of raw coal and pyrolysis char. The Zn^2＋ removal in 2.4 mmol/L of Zn^2＋ solution by K2S char was higher than raw coal with the removal rate of 100%. K2S char adsorbed Pb^2＋ and Cd^2＋ in 24 mmol/L of Pb^2＋ and Cd^2＋ solution with the removal rate of 97% and 35%, respectively. The elution extents of adsorbed Pb^2＋ and Cd^2＋ were zero in distilled water and 27% in 0.1 mol/L HCl solution. These results indicated that an effective adsorbent for heavy metal ions was prepared from coal using K2S sulfur impregnation, and that the adsorbed metals were strongly retained in K2S char.

Bi-based superconductors fabricated in high magnetic fields

The microstructure and superconducting properties of Bi-2223 superconductor fabricated in high magnetic fields were investigated. The results shows that the Bi-2212 grains with their c-axis parallel to the magnetic field were formed after the partial-melting and solidification in 8 T magnetic field, and transformed into the Bi-2223 grains with c-axis alignment during the further sintering process at 840 ℃ without magnetic field. The conversion of Bi-2212 grains to Bi-2223 grains has the heredity in grain alignment. The mixed structures of the Bi-2223 and the Bi-2212 grains with their c-axis parallel to the magnetic field are formed in samples sintered at 850?855 ℃ in 10 T magnetic field. When sintered in 10 T below 845 ℃, a high proportion of Bi-2223 phase is obtained, however no preferred orientation is observed. The Bi-2223 grains with their c-axis parallel to the axial direction of the vertical tube furnace are formed not only on the surface, but also in the center of the sample sintered at 850 ℃ for 120 h in a 15 ℃/cm temperature gradient without magnetic field. Moreover, the samples sintered in the temperature gradient and in a 10 T magnetic field have a stronger c-axis alignment of Bi-2223 phase.

Layer-Wise Topology Design for Cost Effective IP-Optical Networks

Traffic engineering and topology design considering multilayer configuration have become more important. While multilayer design studies usually discuss the traffic engineering issue or reliability, this paper focuses on network construction cost in studying multilayer topology design. The number of ports for the IP layer and the maximum number of Wavelength Division Multiplexers (WDM) for the optical layer are used as construction cost factors. Given a traffic matrix for the IP layer, 1) the number of ports is minimized to obtain a topology and a traffic matrix for the optical link, and 2) the maximum number of WDMs is minimized to configure the optical layer topology. It is shown that both the IP and Optical path layers have been given economic topologies. We present LP formulations of this scheme and the results of a simulation of the full-mesh traffic of 5 nodes, which shows that both layers are successfully optimized.

Gravity Survey along the Mizuho Traverse Routes, East Antarctica: SEAL Seismic Exploration in 1999-2000

A gravity survey was conducted along the Mizuho traverse routes in austral summer of 1999-2000 by the 41st Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE-41). The main purpose of the survey was to obtain detail gravity anomaly along the traverse routes, where deep seismic exploration was simultaneously conducted in order to obtain a fine crustal structure of the Mizuho Plateau. By using SCINTREX (CG-3M) gravity meter, the survey was carried out at 160 sites with about 1 km interval in a distance of 190 km from S16 to Z20 on the traverse routes. Free-air and Bouguer anomalies were calculated using precise locations by GPS measurements, by taking into account an effect of the thick icesheet. The furrowed negative Free-air anomalies are identified around H192, where middle points of the whole traverse routes. Two bedrock elevation models derived both by seismic refraction analyses and radio-echo sounding might correspond to the bottom and the top of a mixture layer composed from ice-moraine rocks over the bedrock surface. Thickness of the crust estimated by Bouguer anomalies is 0.5 - 1 km larger toward inland at the terminal point of Z20 along the profile.

Magnetic properties of perpendicularly orientated L1_0 FePt nanoparticles

L10 FePt films were deposited on MgO (001) substrates heated to 700°C by magnetron sputtering.Assisted by the misfit of lattice between film and substrate,strong (001) texture was formed.The film at nominal thickness t N=5 nm was composed of nanoparticles with a size of～70 nm,and showed a high coercivity of～105 kOe at 4.2 K.At t N=～50 nm,as the film changed from discontinuous to continuous,the coercivity dropped about one order of magnitude.Micromagnetic simulation implies that the magnetization reversal is a vortex-like nuclear type.The ideal coercivity of a separated single-domain L10 FePt nanoparticle with a size of 70 nm×70 nm×5 nm is～121 kOe.This tells us that the experimental coercivity has nearly reached the limit of ideal single crystalline nanoparticles.

Self-catalytic degradation of ortho-chlorophenol with Fenton's reagent studied by chemiluminescence

The degradation of ortho-chlorophenol using Fenton＇s reagent was studied by chemiluminescence （CL）. Without a special CL reagent, a weak CL emission from the mixture of ferrous ion and hydrogen peroxide was observed at room temperature. The CL intensity was increased by the addition of ortho-chlorophenol into the mixed solution. When the temperature was raised to 65°C, the CL intensity was enhanced strongly. The CL mechanisms for the system H2O2-Fe2＋ with and without ortho-chlorophenol were studied by examining the CL spectrum, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and electron spin resonance spectrum. The effects of various free radical scavengers, surfactants and fluorescence compounds on the CL intensity were also investigated. A self-catalytic oxidation mechanism was proposed. The results showed that singlet oxygen was the main emitter for the system H2O2-Fe2＋. The strong CL from the system H2O2-Fe2＋-ortho-chlorophenol was due to singlet oxygen and electronically excited quinone. The benzenediol-like intermediate product formed during the phenol oxidation process greatly promoted the Fenton＇s reaction and led to higher CL intensity. Chemiluninescence is a novel approach for the investigation of the oxidation of some organic pollutants by Fenton＇s reagent.