Two alkaline phosphatase genes are expressed during early development in the mouse embryo

Alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity is stage specific in mouse embryos and may be associated with compaction and separation of trophectoderm from inner cell mass in preimplantation development. We previously sequenced a cDNA and two mouse AP genes that could contribute to the AP activity in embryos. Oligonucleotide primers were constructed from the three sequences and used in the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction technique to establish that two of the three AP isozymes are transcribed during preimplantation development. The predominant transcript (E-AP) is from a gene highly homologous to the human tissue-specific APs, but different from the mouse intestinal AP. Tissue non- specific (TN) AP also is transcribed, but there is approximately 10 times less TN-AP than E-AP tran- script. The TN-AP isozyme is the predominant tran- script of 7 to 14 day embryos and primordial germ cells. A switch in predominance from E-AP to TN-AP must occur during early postimplantation development. This study establishes a framework for experiments to determine the functions of the two isozymes during preimplantation development

Oxidation of advanced steam turbine alloys

Advanced or ultra supercritical (USC) steam power plants offer the promise of higher efficiencies and lower emissions. Current goals of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Power Systems Initiatives include coal generation at 60% efficiency, which would require steam temperatures of up to 760°C. This research examines the steamside oxidation of advanced alloys for use in USC systems, with emphasis placed on alloys for high- and intermediate-pressure turbine sections

Corrosion behavior of iron and nickel base alloys under solid oxide fuel cell exposure conditions

Topography and phase composition of the scales formed on commercial ferritic stainless steels and experimental low CTE nickel-based alloys were studied in atmospheres simulating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) environments. The materials were studied under dual environment conditions with air on one side of the sample and carbon monoxide on the other side at 750°C. Surface characterization techniques, such as scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis were used in this study

Corrosion behavior of experimental and commercial nickel-base alloys in HCl and HCl containing Fe3+

The effects of ferric ions on the corrosion resistance and electrochemical behavior of a series of Ni-based alloys in 20% HCl at 30ºC were investigated. The alloys studied were those prepared by the Albany Research Center (ARC), alloys J5, J12, J13, and those sold commercially, alloys 22, 242, 276, and 2000. Tests included mass loss, potentiodynamic polarization, and linear polarization

Oxidation of alloys targeted for advanced steam turbines

Ultra supercritical (USC) power plants offer the promise of higher efficiencies and lower emissions. Current goals of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Power Systems Initiatives include coal generation at 60% efficiency, which would require steam temperatures of up to 760°C. This research examines the steamside oxidation of alloys for use in USC systems, with emphasis placed on applications in high- and intermediate-pressure turbines

Fireside corrosion probes for fossil fuel combustion

Electrochemical corrosion rate probes have been constructed and tested along with mass loss coupons in environments consisting of N2/O2/CO2/SO2 plus water vapor. Temperatures ranged from 450° to 700°C. Results show that electrochemical corrosion rates for ash-covered mild steel are a function of time, temperature, and gaseous environment. Correlation between the electrochemical and mass loss corrosion rates was poor

Determining the Cause of a Header Failure in a Natural Gas Production Facility

An investigation was made into the premature failure of a gas-header at the Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center (RMOTC) natural gas production facility. A wide variety of possible failure mechanisms were considered: design of the header, deviation from normal pipe alloy composition, physical orientation of the header, gas composition and flow rate, type of corrosion, protectiveness of the interior oxide film, time of wetness, and erosion-corrosion. The failed header was examined using metallographic techniques, scanning electron microscopy, and microanalysis. A comparison of the failure site and an analogous site that had not failed, but exhibited similar metal thinning was also performed. From these studies it was concluded that failure resulted from erosion-corrosion, and that design elements of the header and orientation with respect to gas flow contributed to the mass loss at the failure point

Studies of Scale Formation and Kinetics of Crofer 22 APU and Haynes 230 in Carbon Oxide-Containing Environment for SOFC Applications

Significant progress in reducing the operating temperature of SOFCs below 800oC may allow the use of chromia-forming metallic interconnects at a substantial cost savings. Hydrogen is the main fuel for all types of fuel cells except direct methanol fuel cells. Hydrogen can be generated from fossil fuels, including coal, natural gas, diesel, gasoline, other hydrocarbons, and oxygenates (e.g., methanol, ethanol, butanol, etc.). Carbon oxides present in the hydrogen fuel can cause significant performance problems due to carbon formation (coking). Also, literature data indicate that in CO/CO2 gaseous environments, metallic materials that gain their corrosion resistance due to formation of Cr2O3, could form stable chromium carbides. The chromium carbide formation causes depletion of chromium in these alloys. If the carbides oxidize, they form non-protective scales. Considering a potential detrimental effect of carbon oxides on iron- and nickel-base alloy stability, determining corrosion performance of metallic interconnect candidates in carbon oxide-containing environments at SOFC operating temperatures is a must. In this research, the corrosion behavior of Crofer 22 APU and Haynes 230 was studied in a CO-rich atmosphere at 750°C. Chemical composition of the gaseous environment at the outlet was determined using gas chromatography (GC). After 800 h of exposure to the gaseous environment the surfaces of the corroded samples were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) equipped with microanalytical capabilities. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis was also used in this study

Fireside corrosion probes--an update

The ability to monitor the corrosion degradation of key metallic components in fossil fuel power plants will become increasingly important for FutureGen and ultra-supercritical power plants. A number of factors (ash deposition, coal composition changes, thermal gradients, and low NOx conditions, among others) which occur in the high temperature sections of energy production facilities, will contribute to fireside corrosion. Several years of research have shown that high temperature corrosion rate probes need to be better understood before corrosion rate can be used as a process variable by power plant operators. Our recent research has shown that electrochemical corrosion probes typically measure lower corrosion rates than those measured by standard mass loss techniques. While still useful for monitoring changes in corrosion rates, absolute probe corrosion rates will need a calibration factor to be useful. Continuing research is targeted to help resolve these issues

Methods for the study of ionic currents and Ca(2+)-signals in isolated colonic crypts

Isolated epithelial cells from intestinal mucosae are a suitable object for the study of the regulation of ion transport in the gut. This regulation possesses a great importance for human and veterinary medicine, as diarrheal diseases, which often are caused by an inadequate activation of intestinal anion secretion, are one of the major lethal diseases of children or young animals. The aim of this paper is to describe a method for the isolation of intact colonic crypts, e.g. for the subsequent investigation of the regulation of anion secretion by the intracellular second messenger, Ca(2+) using electrophysiological and imaging techniques