Recent progress of high-power negative ion beam development for fusion plasma heating

A negative-ion-based neutral beam injector (N-NBI) has been constructed for JT-60U. The N-NBI is designed to inject 500 keV, 10 MW neutral beams using two ion sources, each producing a 500 keV, 22 A D⁻ ion beam. In the preliminary experiment using one ion source, a D⁻ ion beam of 13.5 A has been successfully accelerated with an energy of 400 keV (5.4 MW) for 0.12 s at an operating pressure of 0.22 Pa. This is the highest D⁻ beam current and power in the world. Co-extracted electron current was effectively suppressed to the ratio of Ie/I_D⁻ < 1. The highest energy beam of 460 keV, 2.4 A, 0.44 s has also been obtained. To realize 1 MeV class NBI system for ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor), demonstration of ampere class negative ion beam acceleration up to 1 MeV is an important mile stone. To achieve the mile stone, a prototype accelerator and a 1 MV, 1 A test facility called MeV Test Facility (MTF) were constructed. Up to now, an H⁻ ion beam was accelerated up to the energy of 805 keV with an acceleration drain current of 150 mA for 1 s in a five stage electrostatic multi-aperture accelerator.     

Thermal stability of phthalate esters: Effect of substituents on the β-carbon atom

In order to clarify the mechanism conferring heat resistance on phthalate esters, those with a substituent on the β-carbon atom, such as bis(2-aminobutyl) phthalate, bis(2-nitrobutyl) phthalate, bis(2,4-diphenylbutyl) phthalate and dineopentyl phthalate, were synthesized and their thermal stabilities were studied by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. The analytical results for these phthalate esters were compared with those for dibutyl phthalate, with a straight alkyl chain. As the temperatures required for a 3% weight loss of phthalate esters with a substituent, an electron-donating group (amino group) or an electron-accepting group (nitro group) on the β-carbon atom move to the higher end of the range, the effect of the adjacent group was recognized. The presence of a phenyl group in phthalate esters considerably improved the heat resistance. It is considered that the high heat resistance of bis(2,4-diphenylbutyl) phthalate is due to the obstruction of the planar configuration for cis elimination by the phenyl group and hindrance by the phenyl group of the formation of the six-membered cyclic transition state owing to the interaction between non-bondable molecules.     

7,10,14-Tri-t-butyl-3-amino-1,8-bisdehydro[14]annulene

Tri-t-butylcarboxybisdehydro[14]annulene was converted by the Curtius reaction into unstable aminoannulene, which could be characterized as N-acetyl derivative. The pK_a-value of the aminoannulene reflects aromatic nature of the annulene nucleus.     

Localization of Iα and Iβ phases in algal cellulose revealed by acid treatments

Highly crystalline I-rich type Cladophora cellulose, which had been kept in never-dried condition, was treated in 60wt% sulfuric acid at 100°C, for 1–48h. The cellulose microcrystals thus obtained were analysed by X-ray diffractometry, FT-IR, and transmission electron microscopy. The I component was found to be more degraded than the I component. The cellulose I/I ratios of the samples acid-treated for 0, 24, and 48 h were about 8:2, 6:4, and 4:6, respectively. After the acid treatment, the microcrystals became narrower in width, and very sharp at their ends. These results indicate that the I phase is mostly located at the surface of the microcrystals, which is morphologically more susceptible to the acid treatment.     

Studies on diacetylenic vinyl compounds. VI. ESR studies on the polymerization of diacetylene containing acrylate and methacrylates

A number of diacetylene containing acrylate and methacrylates have been synthesized and the interaction between their propagating radicals and the diacetylene groups was studied by ESR spectroscopy. In the case of polymerization at 70°C using AIBN as an initiator, the propagating radicals of methacrylates are temporarily trapped with the diacetylenes with rapid exchange of the electron, thus showing strong signals of the propagating radicals. Gamma irradiation of the frozen state produces a blue color in samples, and the ESR signals were found to be those of uninteracted acrylate and methacrylates. From a comparison of spectral widths, there seems to exist an intramolecular interaction between the radicals and the diacetylene group at the frozen state. © 1992 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Spatial geometric arrangements of disulfide-crosslinked loops in nonplanar proteins

The method presented earlier [T. Kikuchi, G. Némethy, and H.A. Scheraga, (1986) J. Comput. Chem. 7 , 67] for the classification of patterns of the three-dimensional folding of a covalently crosslinked polypeptide chain has been extended to nonplanar proteins. The procedure described earlier was applicable only to proteins termed planar, i.e., with a connexity of the crosslinks (e.g., disulfide bonds) that can be represented in a planar diagram. The procedure described in the present work is applicable to any (planar or nonplanar) pattern of crosslinking. The classification is based on a systematic and objective method of enumeration of spatial geometric arrangements of loops (SGAL) using no information other than the location of the disulfide bonds in the amino acid sequence. Various SGAL classes correspond to the presence of different ways of mutual penetration of loops, called thrustings and entanglements. Information on SGAL classes can be of use in structural predictions of folding patterns of proteins.     

3-Aroylmethyl derivatives of 2(1H)quinoxalinone and 2H-l,4-benzoxazin-2-ones existing in the enamine form

Seventeen derivatives of 2(1H)quinoxalinone and 2H-l,4-benzoxazin-2-one have been synthesized for structural study. All of the compounds having a substituted phenacyl, isonicotinoylmethyl, or 2-furoylmethyl side chain are shown to exist in the enamine form with an internal chelation both in the crystalline and solution states as evidenced by the ir and pmr spectra, respectively. In the gas phase, however, o-hydroxyphenacyl derivatives can exist in another type of intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded form which is supported by their mass spectra.     

A mediator-type biosensor as a new approach to biochemical oxygen demand estimation

A novel biosensor for the determination of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) was developed using potassium hexacyanoferrate(III) [HCF(III)] as a mediator. The sensor element consists of a three-electrode system, with both working and counter electrodes compactly integrated as a disposable using etching and electroplating processes. Pseudomonas fluorescens biovar V (isolated from a wastewater treatment plant) was immobilized on the surface of the working electrode using poly(vinyl alcohol)-quaternized stilbazol (PVA-SbQ) photopolymer gel. Synthetic wastewater described by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) was used as a standard solution instead of glucose-glutamic acid synthetic wastewater. The conditions of amperometric measurement were optimized at +600 mV (vs. Ag/AgCl) operating potential, namely 40 mM HCF(III) in a 0.1 M phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) at 20 degrees C. The sensor response was linear from 15 up to 200 mg O l-1 BOD. The response time was 15 min at 200 mg O l-1 BOD. To demonstrate the wide metabolic range of activity of the sensor, the sensor response to 14 substances in four categories of organic compounds was investigated. Further, it was shown that the response of this BOD sensor was not influenced in samples with low concentrations of dissolved oxygen under the measuring conditions used. For real wastewaters, the BOD values were determined using the sensor and compared favorably with those determined by the conventional BOD5 method.