Activities of boron in the binary Fe-B,Co-B,and Cu-B melts

Activities of boron in the binary Fe-B, Co-B, and Cu-B melts have been directly determined by the electromotive force (emf) measurement. Boron-saturated liquid Cu-B alloy was used as the reference electrode and a ternary 28 wt pct Al₂O₃-29 wt pct B₂O₃-43 wt pct CaO oxide melt was used as the electrolyte. Deviations of the boron activities from Raoult's law have been found largely negative for the Fe-B and Co-B systems but largely positive for the Cu-B system. Boron activities calculated from the literature data have not been in good agreement with the measured data. Activities of iron, cobalt, and copper have been calculated from the obtained boron activities by means of the Gibbs-Duhem equation. Some modifications to the liquidus curves on the Fe-B and Co-B phase diagrams have been presented. M. YUKINOBU, formerly Graduate Student, Department of Metallurgy, The University of Tokyo S. GOTO, Professor, formerly with the Department of Metallurgy, The University of Tokyo     

Distributed Workflow Management System based on Publish-Subscribe Notification for Web Services

In recent years, Grid technologies have been standardized based on Web service specifications. Of these specifications, the WS-Resources Framework and WS-Notification have attracted a great deal of attention. This paper focuses on scientific applications integration on the wide area network. We propose and implement a new distributed workflow management system called the “Application Igniting System.” This system is based on the publish-subscribe notification defined by the WS-Notification specification and realizes a flexible and loosely coupled workflow control by introducing some Web services, which handle message exchange. By applying to a typical bioinformatics workflow, we concluded that the overhead time related to message exchange is very short.     

Biased Brownian Motion of KIF1A and the Role of Tubulin’s C-Terminal Tail Studied by Molecular Dynamics Simulation

KIF1A is a kinesin family protein that moves over a long distance along the microtubule (MT) to transport synaptic vesicle precursors in neurons. A single KIF1A molecule can move toward the plus-end of MT in the monomeric form, exhibiting the characteristics of biased Brownian motion. However, how the bias is generated in the Brownian motion of KIF1A has not yet been firmly established. To elucidate this, we conducted a set of molecular dynamics simulations and observed the binding of KIF1A to MT. We found that KIF1A exhibits biased Brownian motion along MT as it binds to MT. Furthermore, we show that the bias toward the plus-end is generated by the ratchet-like energy landscape for the KIF1A-MT interaction, in which the electrostatic interaction and the negatively-charged C-terminal tail (CTT) of tubulin play an essential role. The relevance to the post-translational modifications of CTT is also discussed.     

Potential of Exosomes for Diagnosis and Treatment of Joint Disease: Towards a Point-of-Care Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee

In the knee joint, articular cartilage injury can often lead to osteoarthritis of the knee (OAK). Currently, no point-of-care treatment can completely address OAK symptoms and regenerate articular cartilage to restore original functions. While various cell-based therapies are being developed to address OAK, exosomes containing various components derived from their cells of origin have attracted attention as a cell-free alternative. The potential for exosomes as a novel point-of-care treatment for OAK has been studied extensively, especially in the context of intra-articular treatments. Specific exosomal microRNAs have been identified as possibly effective in treating cartilage defects. Additionally, exosomes have been studied as biomarkers through their differences in body fluid composition between joint disease patients and healthy subjects. Exosomes themselves can be utilized as a drug delivery system through their manipulation and encapsulation of specific contents to be delivered to specific cells. Through the combination of exosomes with tissue engineering, novel sustained release drug delivery systems are being developed. On the other hand, many of the functions and activities of exosomes are unknown and challenges remain for clinical applications. In this review, the possibilities of intra-articular treatments utilizing exosomes and the challenges in using exosomes in therapy are discussed.     

Electrochemical nature of contact firing reactions for screen‐printed silicon solar cells: origin of “gray finger” phenomenon

Fire‐through Ag thick‐film metallization of crystalline Si (c‐Si) solar cells often yields macroscopically non‐uniform contact quality over the cell area, degrading the cell performance and causing cell‐to‐cell variations of the conversion efficiency in a cell production line. This study analyzes the root cause of the “gray finger” phenomenon, in which part of the fire‐through Ag contact gridlines of a c‐Si solar cell appears in gray or dark contrast in the electroluminescence images owing to high contact resistance. Few Ag crystallites were formed on the corrugated emitter surface at the contact interfaces underneath the gray fingers. The present results revealed that the gray finger phenomenon was caused by a short‐circuit spot that formed between the Ag gridlines and underlying Si emitter during contact firing. The electrochemical reactions involved in fire‐through Ag contact formation established a potential difference between the sintered Ag gridlines and Si emitter separated by molten glass. The molten glass acted as an electrolyte containing mobile Ag⁺ and O²⁻ ions during contact firing. Therefore, the short‐circuiting between the sintered Ag gridlines and Si emitter produced a galvanic cell during contact firing, which inhibited Ag crystallite formation at the contact interface along the gridlines in a short circuit and produced the gray fingers. The firing reactions in Ag thick‐film contact formation could be interpreted in terms of the mixed potential theory of corrosion. The degradation of cell performance because of the gray finger phenomenon was also evaluated for 6‐in. screen‐printed c‐Si solar cells. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of vitamin A on the quality of beef from the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle

Influence of vitamin A on the beef quality of the Tajima strain of Japanese Black cattle was studied. Marbling scores were correlated with serum vitamin A concentrations just before slaughter (r = -0.38). The mean marbling score of the low vitamin A group that were not supplemented with vitamin A after 15 months of age was significantly higher than that of the group supplemented with high vitamin A. However, there was no significant difference in the marbling scores between the group that were not given vitamin A after 23 months of age and the high vitamin A supplemented group. These results suggest that vitamin A supplementation affects carcass marbling only if given before 23 months of age, in these cattle.     

Structural environment of chloride ion-conducting solids based on lanthanum oxychloride

The effect of the structural environment on the Cl⁻ ion conductivity was demonstrated in LaOCl-based solid electrolytes. By replacing the La³⁺ site with lower-valent Mg²⁺ or Ca²⁺ ions, the conductivity was enhanced owing to the formation of a Cl⁻ ion vacancy. Despite the same dopant content, the conductivity of La_0.8Ca_0.2OCl_0.8 was considerably greater than La_0.8Mg_0.2OCl_0.8. This enhancement of the conductivity was influenced by the high ionicity of the Cl⁻ ions, which facilitated the weakening of the La-Cl bond cleavage to conduct inside the lattice. The elongation of the La-La distance, associated with the Cl⁻ ion conduction, could also cause an increase of the conductivity.     

Effect of plate thickness on very low‐cycle fatigue properties of butt welded joints containing weld defects. Study of acceptable defect size in girth welds of gas pipelines (Report 2)

Summary

To develop a joining technology for thick ceramics, the fundamental characteristics of high‐power CO₂ laser welding of 87% A1₂O₃ ceramics have been investigated. The results suggest that a penetration depth of 20 mm is possible at a welding speed of 6.5 mm/sec and laser power of 10 kW. The porosity ratio is lower at lower input powers, also tending to decrease with a decreasing welding speed at the same input power. The bending strength decreases with an increasing porosity ratio. Porosities, especially large sink mark porosities at the bead centre, strongly affect the bending strength of welded joints in alumina ceramics. The root bending strength of 4 mm thick butt‐welded plate has the same value as the base material.     

Garden cities in the Jewish Yishuv of Palestine: Zionist ideology and practice 1905–1945

The Garden City Movement is recognized as a dominant forerunner of modern urban planning. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the broad popularity and selective adoption of Garden City concepts in Zionist circles and the Jewish Yishuv (Community) in Palestine, to document their implementation in Jewish urban settlement in Palestine, and to follow their local evolution into the creation of a unique urban fabric. We show how the Garden City ideology and its implementation in England and Germany influenced the Zionist movement, its leaders, and settlers in Ottoman and British Mandatory Palestine, and led them to adopt and adapt concepts of the Garden City model as the ‘national paradigm’ of the new Jewish urban planning in Palestine. The planning was influenced by Garden City ideas, with modifications to Ebenezer Howard's original model made to suit local traditions, public demand, and Zionist goals. The application of the message of the Garden City movement to the physical model beginning unintentionally with the building of Ahuzat Bayit (Tel Aviv) in 1909, created a guiding principle for Jewish urban development in Palestine from 1905 until 1945, and continues to exert its influence on current planning. In conclusion, the article adds a dimension to the emerging picture of early twentieth-century Zionist settlement in Palestine as a laboratory for implementing novel planning ideas of international importance.     

Novel high-efficient butanol production from butyrate by non-growing Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 (ATCC 13564) with methyl viologen

Non-growing Clostridium saccharoperbutylacetonicum N1-4 hardly produced butanol from only butyrate. As adding glucose to the medium, butyrate utilization and butanol production were stimulated. Addition of 0.1 mM methyl viologen as electron carrier resulted in the highest yield of butanol of 0.671 mol/mol to butyrate and glucose.