Consideration of multi‐coil type magnetization system for magnetic particle testing of omnidirectional crack in all surfaces of 3D shape test object

Mechanical parts, plants, and cross‐linkages inspected with magnetic‐particle testing (MT) are typically complex 3D shapes. In complex 3D shape portions, because a magnetizer often cannot be configured to inspection portions and the test object cannot be appropriately magnetized, there is a possibility of overlooking a crack in such an instance. Thus, MT system development that was successfully able to detect omnidirectional cracks in 3D shape portions was considered in this study's trials. Two multi‐coil type magnetizers were hence arranged face‐to‐face, and the magnetization of omnidirectional scenarios for all surfaces of 3D shape test object was evaluated.     

Comparison of isolation methods using commercially available kits for obtaining extracellular vesicles from cow milk

Extracellular vesicles (EV) are important for delivering biologically active substances to facilitate cell-to-cell communication. Milk-derived EV are widely known because of their potential for immune enhancement. However, procedures for isolating milk-derived EV have not been fully established. To obtain pure milk-derived EV and accurately reveal their function, such procedures must be established. The aim of the present study was to compare methods using commercially available kits for isolating milk-derived EV. Initially, we investigated procedures to remove casein, which is the major obstacle in determining milk-derived EV purity. We separated whey using centrifugation only, acetic acid precipitation, and EDTA precipitation. Then, we isolated milk-derived EV by ultracentrifugation, membrane affinity column, size exclusion chromatography (SEC), polymer-based isolation, or phosphatidylserine-affinity isolation. Using EV count per milligram of protein, which is a good indicator of purity, we determined that acetic acid precipitation was the best method for removing casein. Using nanoparticle tracking analysis, protein quantity analysis, and RNA quantity analysis, we comprehensively compared each isolation method for its purity and yield. We found that SEC-based qEV column (Izon Science) could collect purer milk-derived EV at higher quantities. Thus, a combination of acetic acid precipitation and qEV can effectively isolate high amounts of pure extracellular vesicles from bovine milk.     

Water leakage due to the welding defect and improvement to reach 1-MW beam operation in the mercury target of J-PARC

ABSTRACT

Neutron flux per pulse reached world record at neutron source in Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex (J-PARC). In the J-PARC, mercury target system is used as a spallation neutron source. A target vessel has a multi-walled protection system that comprises a mercury vessel enclosed with a double-walled water shroud. This is to prevent the leakage of the mercury outside the target vessel. The multi-walled structure needed to be complicated with a lot of welding lines. However, during the operation, we faced an unscheduled shutdown due to water leakage to the intermediate layer between the mercury vessel and water shroud. An investigation on the cause of the leakage was carried out. It is deduced that the leakage path was formed due to the crack propagation from welding defects that are caused by the complicated multi-walled structure. The crack propagation is attributed to the repeated stress by pressure waves generated in the mercury target. Based on the investigation results, the design was improved to remove the welding line on the complicated structure and to realize the stable operation with 1 MW proton beam, which is the final design value of the neutron source in J-PARC.     

Perpendicular oriented cylinders via directional coalescence of spheres embedded in block copolymer films induced by solvent annealing

Polystyrene-b-poly(methyl acrylate) (PS-b-PMA) block copolymer with PS volume fraction of 25.2 vol% was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. Non-pretreated silicon wafers were used as the substrates to prepare perpendicular oriented PS cylinders in PMA matrix via solvent annealing which could induce the transformation of spheres to vertically oriented and hexagonally packed cylinders. The spherical microdomains were formed after the evaporation of solvents from the solutions of the block copolymer in selective solvents mixed from methanol, acetone and dichloromethane. The thickness of films could be as thick as 1000 nm, which were much thicker than usual cases and the cylinders came from the directional coalescence of the spheres, thus any pre-treatments of the substrates were not required for perpendicular orientation. The structures were characterized by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atom force microscopy (AFM) and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS).     

Chemical Synthesis of a Synthetic Analogue of the Sialic Acid‐Binding Lectin Siglec‐7

As a basis for the development of an artificial carbohydrate‐binding lectin, we chemically synthesized a domain of siglec‐7, a well‐characterized sialic‐acid‐binding lectin. The full polypeptide (127 amino acids) was constructed by sequential native chemical ligation (NCL) of five peptide segments. Because of poor cysteine availability for NCL, cysteine residues were introduced at suitable ligation sites; these cysteine residues were alkylated in order to mimic native glutamine or asparagine residues, or converted to an alanine residue by desulfurization after NCL. After folding the full‐length polypeptide, the sialic‐acid‐binding activity of the synthetic siglec‐7 was clearly demonstrated by STD NMR and ELISA experiments. We succeeded in the synthesis of siglec‐7 by installing three extra cysteine residues with side‐chain modifications and found that these modifications did not affect the binding activity.     

Technical investigation on small water leakage incident occurrence in mercury target of J-PARC

Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex experienced failures of two mercury targets, which were Target #5 and #7, in 2015 when the facility was operating with a proton beam power of 500 kW. The failures involved coolant water leak from the water shroud. In this paper, we investigate the root cause of the Target #5 failure. The results of the visual inspections, mockup tests, and analytical evaluations suggested that the water leak was caused by the possible combination of two incidents. One was the diffusion bonding failure due to the large thermal stress induced by welding of the bolt head during the fabrication process, and the other was the thermal fatigue failure of the seal weld due to the repetitive beam shutdown during beam operation. Though the investigation into the root cause of the Target #7 failure is still going on, these target failures point to the importance of eliminating initial defects and the need to secure the rigidity and stability of welded structures. The next mercury target, Target #8, was fabricated with an improved design and fabrication process to reduce the possibility of similar failures. The beam operation of this mercury target is planned to be started in October 2017.     

Effect of Ultrasonic Irradiation on the Probability of Primary Nucleation of L-Arginine Hydrochloride

Most of the amino acids that are utilized as medical raw materials and food additives show polymorphism. To improve the functionality of amino acid crystals, an effective method of polymorph control is required in the crystallization process. Here, primary nucleation of L-arginine hydrochloride by ultrasonication was investigated. L-Arginine hydrochloride exhibits polymorphism, and it crystallizes into three distinct crystal forms. A cooling crystallization experiment was performed, and nucleation of each polymorph upon ultrasonication was observed. In addition, the nucleation was analyzed using the nucleation probability theory. The results indicate that ultrasonic irradiation would significantly induce the nucleation of a particular polymorph.     

Dynamic Characteristics Analysis of Two‐DOF Oscillatory Actuator and Experimental Verification of Prototype

Recently, linear oscillatory actuators have been used in a wide range of applications. In particular, small linear oscillatory actuators are expected to be used in haptic devices by being extended to provide multi‐degree‐of‐freedom motion with arbitrary acceleration. In this paper, we propose a compact two‐DOF oscillatory actuator that can move in various directions on a plane. The static and dynamic characteristics of the actuator are determined by the 3D finite element method. The effectiveness of this method is shown through a comparison of the measured results with the experimental results from a prototype. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 186(1): 58–65, 2014; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.22312