Catalytic Conversion of Methanol by Oxidative Dehydrogenation

This study investigates the effects of addition of oxygen on the oxidative dehydrogenation （ODH） of methanol when a fluorotetrasilicic mica ion-exchanged with palladium （Pd2^＋-TSM） was used as the catalyst. The reaction proceeded at a very low temperature in the presence of oxygen, and HCOOCH3 was obtained at high selectivity. By calculating the equilibrium conversion, it has been shown that substantial ODH took place for HCOOCH3 production. Consequently, this reaction would make dehydrogenation the dominant reaction at equilibrium. Not all the H dissociated from CH3OH was converted to H20 by oxidation. It has been shown that the H2O was not produced from oxidative dehydrogenation by the direct reaction of CH3OH and O2 when an attempt was made to carry out oxidative dehydrogenation using an isotope oxygen trace method in the gas phase. Therefore, when CHaOH was converted to CO2 and dehydrogenated to HCOOCH3, the C-O bonds were not dissociated.

Geodynamic evolution of the Tethyan lithosphere as recorded in the Spontang Ophiolite,South Ladakh ophiolites(NW Himalaya,India)

The Spontang Ophiolite complex represents the most complete ophiolite sequence amongst the South Ladakh ophiolites and comprises mantle rocks(depleted harzburgites,dunites and minor lherzolites)as well as crustal rocks(basalt,isotropic gabbros,layered gabbros etc.).In the present study,detailed geochemistry(whole rock as well as mineral chemistry)and Sr-Nd isotopic analyses of thirty-six ultramaficmafic samples have been attempted to constraint the evolution and petrogenetic history of the Tethyan oceanic crust.Major,trace-element and REE patterns of the peridotites and their minerals indicate that the lherzolites experienced lower degrees of partial melting resembling abyssal peridotites(at higher temperatures,TREE=$1216℃)than the harzburgites(6%–8%versus 15%–17%).Elevated eNd(t)and variable^(87) Sr/^(86) Sr(t)ratios along with REE patterns suggest that the Spontang mafic rocks display N-MORB affinity with negligible participation of oceanic sediments in their genesis are originated from a depleted upper mantle with little contribution from subduction-related fluids.MORB-type Neotethyan oceanic crust is associated with the earliest phase of subduction(of older Jurassic age)through which a younger intra-oceanic island arc(Spong arc)subsequently developed.Harzburgites REE display typical U-shaped patterns,suggesting that these rocks have been metasomatized by LREE-enriched fluids.On the other side,mafic rocks are characterized by heterogeneous(Nb/La)PMand(Hf/Sm)PMand relatively homogeneous eNd(t),indicating interaction of subduction-related melts with the upper mantle during the initiation of subduction,in Early Cretaceous times.

Ozone electrogeneration on Pt-TaO_y sol-gel film modified titanium electrode: Effect of electrode composition on the electrocatalytic activity

This work examines the ozone electrogeneration （OE） at a binary coating of different nominal compositions （Pt）x-（TaOy）（100-x）, where x （percentage in the precursor solution） varied between 1% and 100%, coated on titanium substrate prepared by a sol-gel technique, The OE is performed in an artificial tap water at room temperature （25 ℃）. The percentages of Pt and Tatu in the coating significantly affect the electro- catalytic activity towards oxygen evolution. The oxygen evolution was retarded to a different extent based on the electrode composition. The largest retardation was obtained at the （Pt）10-（TaOy）90 electrode （ca. 480 mV positive shift） as compared with the （Pt）100-（TaOy）0 electrode. This was reflected in a high current efficiency （CE） of OE （ca. 19.3%） at the former electrode. This value is considered to be among the highest values reported for OE at 25℃ in neutral media. The composite electrodes were characterized by voltammetric and surface techniques. A plausible explanation for the change of the efficiency of OE with the electrode composition is given based on the electrochemical results.

The Effect of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi and Gliocladium Fungi on the Yield of Small Green Pepper (<i>Capsicum annuum</i>) Grown by Sustainable Agriculture

The potential vulnerability of the conventional agricultural systems has been become increasingly alarmed for agricultural scientists, government officials, environmentalists, farmers (both urban and rural laymen). Agricultural soils are often subject to loss of carbon, toxicity and hazard of agrochemicals, nutrient run-off, excessive erosion, and consequently a decline in soil fertility. The purpose of this study is to present new perspectives and strategies for efficient and effective use of natural resources (wood and bamboo wastes, weeds, and fungi) to enhance sustainable systems of agriculture. A next generation agriculture by using wood and bamboo wastes with the application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) and gliocladium fungi (GF) was investigated to establish high productivity of small green pepper (SGP, Capsicum annuum). Wood and bamboo wastes as carbon sources, cut weeds as organic sources, and a minor amount of AMF, and GF were applied separately and conjointly in the four experimental plots to evaluate the effects of wood and bamboo wastes (high C:N ratio), weeds, and fungi on the production of SGP. The combination of carbon, organic, and fungal sources at T1 (wood wastes + bamboo wastes + cut weeds + AMF + GF) obtained high productivity of SGP. The yield was 400 times higher than control (untreated). Another notable significant result is that all the treatments contained a very small amount of nitrate compared to conventional practice. This study suggests that combination of carbon (wood, and bamboo wastes), organic (cut weeds), and fungal sources (AMF, and GF) has a potential to be innovative agricultural materials for the next generation sustainable agriculture.

Precise Positioning of Pneumatic Artificial Muscle Systems

Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) currently possess a high power-to-weight ratio, a high power-to-volume ratio, and a high degree of safety. They have therefore been applied to many power assist devices and positioning mechanisms such as bionic robots, welfare devices, and parallel manipulators. However, the significant nonlinear characteristics of PAM mechanisms limit their positioning accuracies. The accuracies are generally lower than 5 μm, which preclude the PAM from precision systems. Nevertheless, enhancing the positioning accuracy is desired to extend the application fields of PAMs. This study aims to clarify a practical controller design method to achieve the precise positioning of PAM systems. As the first step of this research, a linear motion mechanism with a pair of McKibben PAMs was constructed and a conventional dynamic model for this system is introduced. The dynamic model is used to explain the basic characteristics of the PAM mechanism and discuss the necessary characteristics for precise positioning. Then open-loop step and sinusoidal responses of the PAM mechanism were examined by experimental and simulated results. Next, for precise positioning, the practical controller design procedure is discussed and determined based on the measured open-loop responses. The proposed controller design procedure can be easily implemented into PAM mechanisms without an exact dynamic model. The positioning performance of such a system was experimentally evaluated. The experimental results show that although the positioning accuracy depends on the target position, the positioning error is lower than 1 μm even in the worst case and the positioning resolution can be set to 0.5 μm.

Transmission and Consumption of Air Power in Pneumatic System

In recent 20 years, energy saving has been done in many projects. However, in pneumatic system, it is not easy to determine or measure the air power flow because of the compressibility of pneumatic system. In this paper, we used air power meter (APM) to measure the energy consumption of flow in pneumatic cylinder actuator system. Meter-in circuit and meter-out circuit of speed control system are used in this research. The model of cylinder system is based on four equations: state equation of air, energy equation, motion equation and flow equation. The model estimates the pressure change in charge and discharge side of cylinder, and also the displacement and velocity of the piston. Furthermore, energy consumption could theoretically be calculated when the change of air state is regarded as isothermal change. Lastly, some data of these two circuits are shown, and the consumption of energy is discussed.

Comparative Expression Profiling of Lactogenic Hormone Receptor and It’s Signaling Molecules of Bovine Mammary Glands during lactation

Milk synthesis is known to be modulated by peptide hormones such as prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I). Previous studies suggested that PRL and IGF-I acted directly on mammary epithelial cells and were involved in lactation. Meanwhile, GH is thought to be indirectly involved in lactation by stimulating the secretion of IGF-I. It is controversial as growth hormone receptors (GHR) is expressed in the mammary epithelial cells. In order to clarify whether GH acted directly on mammary gland tissue, we investigated the prolactin receptors (PRLR), IGF-I receptors (IGF-IR), and GHR as well as the gene expression levels of the downstream signaling molecule for each receptor in the mammary gland tissue of Holstein cows during different stages of lactation. The results revealed that the mRNA expressions of PRLR and IGF-IR were highest during early lactation, and the mRNA expression of the GHR was highest during mid-lactation. We also found that the expression profiling of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) genes was similar to that of the GHR gene. On the other hand, the expression profiling of the PRLR gene was similar to that of the SHP2 gene. These results suggest that GH acts on the mammary glands directly, milk synthesis and secretion are chiefly stimulated in mid-lactation, and the timing of the action is different for PRL and IGF-I.

Cultivation of <i>Flammulina velutipes</i>on Modified Substrate Using Fermented Apple Pomace

In present study, a cultivation experiment was performed on modified substrates for the Flammulina velutipes, which contains 0% (control group), 4.8% (S group), 9.6% (M group) and 14.4% (L group) of fermented apple pomace (FAP) substituting corncob on a dry matter basis. The pH of all substrates was maintained at the required level, although the pH of FAP was low (3.9). Addition of FAP affected the mycelial growth and full colonizing in test groups to a minor degree, but extended the period by one day in L group. The initiations of fruit bodies were extended in all FAP groups by one day, but there was a little difference in terms of total cultivation time duration among groups due to FAP groups showing raise of growth rates in later phase. The effect of FAP on fruit bodies yield was observed clearly: the yield has the positive correlation with increasing levels of FAP. Fruit bodies showed little difference concerning Brix degree, proximate composition, and organic acid profile among groups. In conclusion, it is suggested that FAP can be used as an alternative to corncobs as a F. velutipes substrates raw material.

Acoustic Resonance in Exhaust Gas Economizer Tube Bundles Prediction and Suppression of Resonance

The tendency for air column resonance generation in structures with a constant volume behind a tube array like that of an exhaust gas economizer has been reported, but many points remain unclear with respect to the mechanism and conditions that generate acoustical resonance. When acoustical resonance is generated, in reality, prevention and suppression measures are implemented by inserting a baffle plate into the ducts through a process of trial and error. The purpose of this study is to clarify the mechanism of generation of acoustical resonance, and to establish an appropriate measure to prevent such resonance. Noise generated in an exhaust gas economizer was correlated with the flow inside the tube array and experimentally analyzed, and the mechanism for resonance generation was considered. In addition, the effectiveness of a baffle plate positioned in order to prevent resonance was investigated. We have successfully employed a single baffle plate to suppress resonance.

Evaluation of Skills in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Using Microsoft Kinect

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation,commonly known as CPR,is an emergency procedure that normally combines chest compression with artificial ventilation in an effort to preserve intact brain function manually until further measures can be taken to restore spontaneous blood circulation and breathing in a person who is in cardiac arrest.In this study,we evaluated the skills of CPR practitioners on the basis of kinematic data obtained from their body movements while performing CPR.In particular,we used a Microsoft Kinect sensor to evaluate CPR performance by new and more experienced practitioners and to analyze CPR skill-building techniques.Such measurement using the Kinect sensor enabled detailed information about motion at body joints to be displayed quickly and objectively,thus facilitating identification of any problems.However,we could not confirm gesture recognition and detailed motion analysis based on using a high-speed camera to capture three-dimensional(3-D)motion of the entire body,we determined the Kinect sensor to be an easily applied evaluation tool that can provide body-motion information quickly and thus serve as an objective index for evaluating CPR performance.

<i>In-Situ</i>Measurements of the Photoconductivity of Multi-Layered Organic Photovoltaic Devices Using Impedance Spectroscopy

In-situ impedance spectroscopy (IS) observations of the photoconductivity of the carriers induced by photo-irradiation in organic hetero-junction structured photovoltaic devices are presented. In the IS measurements, the externally applied voltage and the dependence of the light intensity applied to the device were investigated. Analysis of the frequency characteristics which was measured by changing the light intensity shows there is a proportional relationship between the changes in the conductivities of the two components. The mobilities of the CuPc and C60 layers were calculated from the conductivities and were in the orders of 10﹣4 and 10﹣3 cm2/Vs, respectively.

Carrier Dynamics of p-n Heterojunction Organic Photovoltaic Cells Analyzed by a Novel Graphic Representation of Impedance Spectroscopy

The carrier dynamics in organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells were investigated by impedance spectroscopy. We introduced a novel impedance spectrum representation called dynamic modulus plot (DMP), which allowed us to observe the layer-to-layer carrier injection behavior graphically. In this work, the impedance responses were characterized in the N,N’-diphenyl-N,N’-di-m-tolyl- 4,4’-diaminobiphenyl (TPD)/C60 p-n heterostructured OPV cells against applied voltages. The dependence of impedance responses on the layer thickness revealed a constant internal electric field that disturbed the carrier transport within the OPV cells. We applied this technique to new donor materials, in which thiophene units were inserted to the center of TPD. By increasing the number of thiophene units in TPD the fill-factor (FF) improved from 33% to 59%, which increased the power conversion efficiency (PCE). Based on the DMP analysis, we assigned the improvement in device performance to the reduction of the internal electric field.

Effect of Side Chain of Oligothiophene Derivatives on Bulk Heterojunction Structure in Organic Photovoltaic Devices

The effect of the molecular structure on photovoltaic performance was investigated by comparing two types of active layers. One is an active layer formed by sexithiophene (6T) and C60 molecules which don’t have side chains. Another one is an active layer formed by a,ω-bis(2-hexyldecyl)sexithiophene (BHD6T) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) molecules which have side chains. The 6T:C60 active layer exhibited an excessive crystallization of 6T, which led to the low photovoltaic performance. In the BHD6T:PCBM active layer, the crystallization of BHD6T was suppressed. The crystallization of BHD6T was also easily controlled by thermal annealing, which led to improved photovoltaic performance.

Evaluation of Skills in Swing Technique in Classical Japanese Swordsmanship in laido Using Sensors

In this study, we analyzed the swing motions of more experienced practitioner and new practitioner of iaido players by using tri-axial acceleration sensor and gyro sensor. Iaido is a modern Japanese martial art/sport. In this way, the acceleration and gyro sensor measurement enabled detailed motion information at the installation points to be displayed in a short time, thus making it possible to easily extract the objective problems. Although it was not possible to confirm by the acceleration and angular velocity measurements the detailed motion of the entire body as obtained in the 2D motion analysis with a high-speed camera, it was confirmed that the acceleration and gyro sensor is an evaluation means that can be installed easily and can provide the exercise information in a short time as an objective index.

Surface Force Analysis of Pyrite (FeS2): Its Reactivity to Amino Acid Adsorption

It is well known that mineral surfaces play an important role as catalysts for abiotic polymerization of amino acids to form peptides, which are the main components of the first self-replicating system. Understanding the mechanism behind the adsorption of simple amino acids on mineral surfaces is a topic of great interest not only in field of prebiotic evolution and but also in many other branches of material sciences. Various clay minerals have been suggested for studying how organic molecules were first synthesized in a prebiotic “inorganic” environment. Among them, pyrite (FeS2) is one of the most potential minerals as it possesses a highly reactive surface to drive molecular adsorption in prebiotic chemistry reactions. Recent theoretical experiments suggest that amino acids are adsorbed on the pyrite surface depending on its surface structures. However, these results have not been tested experimentally, and the exact mechanism of the specific interactions on this mineral has not been fully resolved yet at the molecular level. In this work, through quantitative force analysis with atomic force microscope (AFM) in which a single amino acid residue was mounted on the tip apex of AFM probe, we were able to find the reaction sites and study the interaction forces between the amino acid and the pyrite surface. Our results of Raman spectroscopic studies and force measurements with a well-designed AFM probe demonstrated for the first time that pyrite provided higher adsorption probabilities of amino acid residues for the chemical reactions at surfaces.

Application of Waste Biomass Pyrolysis Oil in a Direct Injection Diesel Engine： For a Small Scale Non-Grid Electrification

The population which could not access to electricity was around 1.2 billion in 2010 and is distributed in many low developing countries. With the increase in the population and the economic growth in those countries, waste generation is growing rapid especially for the organic and the plastic, and the uncontrolled waste disposal is becoming more serious issues to manage it. The interest on waste to energy is growing by the above drivers. This research was carried out for aiming to the real world adaption at the minimum cost of the pyrolysis oil from waste biomass in a diesel engine, mainly for electricity generation. The proposal of the appropriate adaptable blend ratio was the major scope rather than the optimization of the engine parameters. For the sake of it, the pyrolysis oil of the waste biomass was produced from a gasification pilot plant in Japan and blended with biodiesel at minimum effort. A small single cylinder diesel engine （direct injection） was used for the experiment with regard to full load power-output, exhaust emissions and fuel consumption.

Lead Removal from Aqueous Solutions Using Novel Gel Adsorbent Synthesized from Natural Condensed Tannin

Lead has caused serious environmental pollution due to its toxicity, accumulation in food chains and persistence in nature. In this paper, removal of lead from aqueous solutions is investigated using a novel gel adsorbent synthesized from natural condensed tannin. The novel adsorbent performs in aqueous solutions as a weak base with valid basic groups of 1.2mmol·g-1 tannin gel particles and therefore results in the elevation of pH value of aqueous solutions. Even when initial pH is 3.6, final pH at equilibrium can climb up to 6.5 that is above the pH value for Pb(OH)2 precipitation formation and then lead can be removed from wastewater by this so-called surface precipitation. The adsorption isotherm can be expressed by the Langmuir equation and the maximum capacity for adsorption of Pb is up to 92 mg·g-1 (based on dry adsorbent) when initial pH value is 3.6. Hence, the adsorbent does offer favorable properties in lead removal with respect to its high adsorption capacity at low initial pH value, which is advantageous to lead removal from acidic wastewater. A model is put forward to describe the individual adsorption phenomenon of the tannin gel adsorbent.

An Efficient Liver-Segmentation System Based on a Level-Set Method and Consequent Processes

This paper presents an efficient liver-segmentation system developed by combining three ideas under the operations of a level-set method and consequent processes. First, an effective initial process creates mask and seed regions. The mask regions assist in prevention of leakage regions due to an overlap of gray-intensities between liver and another soft-tissue around ribs and verte-brae. The seed regions are allocated inside the liver to measure statistical values of its gray-intensities. Second, we introduce liver-corrective images to represent statistical regions of the liver and preserve edge information. These images help a geodesic active contour (GAC) to move without obstruction from high level of image noises. Lastly, the computation time in a level-set based on reaction-diffusion evolution and the GAC method is reduced by using a concept of multi-resolution. We applied the proposed system to 40 sets of 3D CT-liver data, which were acquired from four patients (10 different sets per patient) by a 4D-CT imaging system. The segmentation results showed 86.38% ± 4.26% (DSC: 91.38% ± 2.99%) of similarities to outlines of manual delineation provided by a radiologist. Meanwhile, the results of liver segmentation only using edge images presented 79.17% ± 5.15% or statistical regions showed 74.04% ± 9.77% of similarities.

Adaptive Agent Model with Hybrid Routing Selection Strategy for Improving the Road-Network Congestion Problem

This paper proposes an adaptive agent model with a hybrid routing selection strategy for studying the road-network congestion problem. We focus on improving those severely congested links. Firstly,a multi-agent system is built,where each agent stands for a vehicle,and it makes its routing selection by considering the shortest path and the minimum congested degree of the target link simultaneously. The agent-based model captures the nonlinear feedback between vehicle routing behaviors and road-network congestion status.Secondly,a hybrid routing selection strategy is provided,which guides the vehicle routes adapting to the realtime road-network congestion status. On this basis, we execute simulation experiments and compare the simulation results of network congestion distribution,by Floyd agent with shortest path strategy and our proposed adaptive agent with hybrid strategy. The simulation results show that our proposed model has reduced the congestion degree of those seriously congested links of road-network. Finally,we execute our model on a real road map. The results finds that those seriously congested roads have some common features such as located at the road junction or near the unique road connecting two areas. And,the results also show an effectiveness of our model on reduction of those seriously congested links in this actual road network. Such a bottom-up congestion control approach with a hybrid congestion optimization perspective will have its significance for actual traffic congestion control.

Automated Dynamic Cellular Analysis in Time-Lapse Microscopy

Analysis of cellular behavior is significant for studying cell cycle and detecting anti-cancer drugs. It is a very difficult task for image processing to isolate individual cells in confocal microscopic images of non-stained live cell cultures. Because these images do not have adequate textural variations. Manual cell segmentation requires massive labor and is a time consuming process. This paper describes an automated cell segmentation method for localizing the cells of Chinese hamster ovary cell culture. Several kinds of high-dimensional feature descriptors, K-means clustering method and Chan-Vese model-based level set are used to extract the cellular regions. The region extracted are used to classify phases in cell cycle. The segmentation results were experimentally assessed. As a result, the proposed method proved to be significant for cell isolation. In the evaluation experiments, we constructed a database of Chinese Hamster Ovary Cell’s microscopic images which includes various photographing environments under the guidance of a biologist.