Average heat transfer rates measured and numerically analyzed for combined convection of air in an inclined cylindrical enclosure due to both magnetic and gravitational fields

The average heat transfer rates were measured for natural convection of air in a shallow cylindrical enclosure heated from below and cooled from above in a bore space of an inclined super-conducting magnet. Depending on the location of the enclosure in the bore space, the angle of inclination and the strength of magnetic field, the net acceleration force could be arbitrarily varied and in this report, two locations where mostly axial magnetizing force prevails were selected. The average heat transfer rates varied with the angle of inclination due to the change in the total net acceleration of gravitational and magnetizing forces. Numerical computations were also carried out for the similar system under the combined magnetizing and gravitational forces and the computed average Nusselt numbers agreed mostly with the measured results. Detailed flow modes were graphically presented for the computed cases.     

Development of a Millimeter Wave Compact Equipment for NDT of Materials

We developed a compact equipment working at 94 GHz to replace the commonly used network analyzer for nondestructive testing of materials. The compact equipment was designed to measure the variations in the amplitude and phase of the reflected signal from the material relative to a reference signal. A good accuracy of the amplitude and phase measurement of the equipment was obtained in the confirmative experiments. The distribution of a drop of water in a wood plate is clearly visible in the millimeter wave images obtained by the amplitude and phase measurement.     

Synthesis and cell cycle inhibition of the peptide enamide natural products terpeptin and the aspergillamides

Total syntheses of the peptide enamide natural products terpeptin and aspergillamides A and B are reported. An oxidative decarboxylation-elimination protocol is employed to construct the indolic enamide moiety. Unambiguous stereochemical assignment of (−)-terpeptin is accomplished by synthesis of all possible stereochemical analogues. Select compounds have been evaluated in cell cycle inhibitor assays which show that the natural amino acid configuration of terpeptin has the most potent inhibitory activity.     

Structurally isomeric two pyridino macrocycles: complexation and structures

Pyridine-based, structurally isomeric two macrocyclic compounds displayed a remarkably different complexation nature. The cage-type compound has an ideal structure for spherical cations, especially for the NH₄⁺ ion, but the reaction with some transition metals and Ln³⁺ produced its protonated species. On the other hand, its isomer formed complexes with alkali metals and lanthanides (1:1) and also with transition metals. Some structures of the complexes were clarified by crystallographic analyses.     

Reaction kinetics and pathway of hydrothermal decomposition of aspartic acid

The kinetics and pathway of hydrothermal decomposition of aspartic acid were studied using a continuous‐flow tubular reactor. The reaction was carried out in the temperature range of 200–260°C and at a pressure of 20 MPa. Deamination was the primary reaction, indicated by the presence of significant amount of ammonia, fumaric acid, or maleic acid in the products. Other reaction products were pyruvic acid, malic acid, and traces of succinic and lactic acid. Traces of alanine were also detected, showing the possibility of decomposing high‐molecular weight amino acids to obtain simple amino acids such as glycine or alanine. Results on the effect of reaction parameters demonstrated that decomposition of aspartic acid is highly temperature dependent under hydrothermal conditions. For a slight temperature difference of 60°C (from 200 to 260°C), the first‐order reaction rate constants of 0.003 significantly increased to 0.231 s^?1. The activation energy was 144 kJ/mol, as calculated by the Arrhenius equation. No significant effect was exhibited by other reaction parameters such as pH and pressure. The results are useful in controlling the hydrolysis of proteinaceous materials toward high yield of aspartic acid under hydrothermal conditions. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 39: 175–180, 2007     

Structural and electrical properties of crystalline (1−x)Ta2O5−xTiO2 thin films fabricated by metalorganic decomposition

Polycrystalline (1−x)Ta₂O₅−xTiO₂ thin films were formed on Si by metalorganic decomposition (MOD) and annealed at various temperatures. As-deposited films were in the amorphous state and were completely transformed to crystalline after annealing above 600 °C. During crystallization, a thin interfacial SiO₂ layer was formed at the (1−x)Ta₂O₅−xTiO₂/Si interface. Thin films with 0.92Ta₂O₅–0.08TiO₂ composition exhibited superior insulating properties. The measured dielectric constant and dissipation factor at 1 MHz were 9 and 0.015, respectively, for films annealed at 900 °C. The interface trap density was 2.5×10¹¹ cm⁻² eV⁻¹, and flatband voltage was −0.38 V. A charge storage density of 22.8 fC/μm² was obtained at an applied electric field of 3 MV/cm. The leakage current density was lower than 4×10⁻⁹ A/cm² up to an applied electric field of 6 MV/cm.     

Lightness Change as Perceived in Relation to the Size of Recognized Visual Space of Illumination

According to the concept of the recognized visual space of illumination (RVSI) the lightness of an object surface is perceived in relation to its conceptualized size. To prove this proposition the lightness of gray test patches was judged when they were located at various positions inside an illuminated space composed of two rooms in the depth direction from a subject. No retinal image arrangement was changed in the test patch and its immediate surroundings, but the front room had walls, floors and furniture lower in lightness by the amount of N1.5 than the back room to make the RVSI of the former smaller despite the illuminance in the entire space being the same. The results showed that the apparent lightness of the patches was perceived higher by amount of about 13 in L units for the N4 test patch and about 20 for N6 when the patches were located in the front room, in accordance with the prediction. It was stressed that the experiment of lightness judgment should be conducted in a three dimensional space rather than two dimensional plane as done by several investigators.