Rare earths, rare-earth oxides, and the ocides’ unique character: Application for environmental catalysts

The rare earths series will be comprehensively introduced. The difference among lanthanide, lanthanoid, and rare earths will be also clearly defined. After these lectures, the unique characteristics of rare-earth oxides will be addressed. As one of promising applications of the rare earth oxides, the oxides’ unique character of oxide anion migration in the solids will be also introduced and also for the application as the environmental catalysts. Here, we focused on C-type cubic Gd2O3, and Y2O3 which has relatively strong basicity among rare earth elements, as a fundamental oxide to develop a novel catalyst. The rare earth (R) sites in R2O3 are partially replaced by another rare earth ion and barium to effectively inhibit catalyst poisoning and effectively enhancing NO direct decomposition. Especially, (Y0.69Tb0.30Ba0.01)2O2.99+δ solid solution was succeeded in designing as the novel promising direct NO decomposition catalyst, showing a perfect NO decomposition into N2 and O2

Novel calcium ion conducting solid electrolyte with NASICON-type structure

Divalent calcium ion conducting solid electrolyte with a three dimensional NASICON-type structure, (CaxHf1−x)4/(4−2x)Nb(PO4)31,was successfully prepared by introducing Ca2+ cations into the HfNb(PO4)3 solid. The existence of three kinds of high valence cation of Hf4+, Nb5+, and P5+ successfully realized the effective reduction of electrostatic interaction toward Ca2+ in the structure. The (Ca0.05Hf0.95)4/3.9Nb(PO4)3 solid possesses considerably higher Ca2+ cation conductivity and also lower activation energy compared with those of previously reported NASICON-type Ca0.5Zr2(PO4)32 solid. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

The Reduction of Platinum Consumption in Environmental Catalysts for Complete Oxidation of Volatile Organic Compounds

Pt/Co3O4/CeO2-ZrO2-SnO2/-Al2O3 catalysts were successfully prepared by both conventional co-precipitation and impregnation methods. The catalytic performances for toluene oxidation on these materials indicate that the addition of Co3O4 to the Pt/CeO2-ZrO2-SnO2/-Al2O3 catalyst was significantly effective in reducing the platinum amount without further reduction in its activity. In fact, complete oxidation of toluene was realized by using the 1wt%Pt/11wt%Co3O4/16wt%Ce0.62Zr0.20Sn0.18O2.0/-Al2O3 catalyst at the temperature as low as 160 °C, which was lower than that with the 5wt%Pt/-Al2O3 catalyst (170 °C). Since the oxidation activities of both 1wt%Pt/16wt%Ce0.62Zr0.20Sn0.18O2.0/-Al2O3 and 1wt%Pt/11wt% Co3O4/-Al2O3 were below compared to that of the present 1wt%Pt/11wt%Co3O4/16wt%Ce0.62Zr0.20Sn0.18O2.0/-Al2O3, the main reason for the high toluene oxidation activity in the 1wt%Pt/11wt%Co3O4/16wt%Ce0.62Zr0.20Sn0.18O2.0/-Al2O3 catalyst can be ascribed to the concerted effect of Pt, Co3O4, and Ce0.62Zr0.20Sn0.18O2.0 on -Al2O3. In addition, novel type of refractory and noble Pt metal-free 17wt%La1−xCaxCoO3−x/2/Ce0.76Zr0.19Zn0.05O1.95 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.15) catalysts was also tested for complete toluene oxidation. The composition was optimized to obtain the optimum toluene oxidation activity. Catalytic tests for toluene oxidation and characterization of oxygen release/storage properties of these materials suggest that the Ca2+ addition in the LaCoO3 lattice was appreciably effective in the enhancement of the toluene oxidation even after high-temperature treatment as high as around 1400 °C. In fact, complete oxidation of toluene was realized at 320 °C by using the 17wt%La0.9Ca0.1CoO2.95/Ce0.76Zr0.19Zn0.05O1.95 catalyst treated at 1400 °C. La0.9Ca0.1CoO2.95 oxide on the Ce0.76Zr0.19Zn0.05O1.95 support promoted toluene oxidation without using any precious platinum metal, and, therefore, the present catalyst has an advanced potential as the novel toluene oxidation catalyst

Global Collaborative Advantage: Efforts Toward Decolonization of Business Ethics and Management Scholarship

The current trend of prescribing and enforcing ethical business constructs, models, and frameworks developed in and by the Global North has become a new form of paternalistic colonizing of the Global South. Such behavior dangerously mirrors historically oppressive movements through colonization and continues extractive and damaging practices. Indeed, the enforcement of Northern constructs, models, and frameworks facilitates the maintenance of an artificial global hierarchy which continues to harm the South to the North’s benefit. They overlook and prohibit any possible inclusion of ethical and philosophical frameworks derived from the wisdoms and traditions of the South. This article advances the goal of Global Collaborative Advantage or GCA, which utilizes a decolonizing perspective within the field of business ethics and strives for a stronger incorporation of diverse sources of wisdom from the Global South. GCA calls for a South-led thought and action process, bringing the world’s wisdom traditions together while it de-centers Euro-originated perspectives and centers those from the South. It offers a model of relational exchange in markets for business organizations rather than the current transactional-exchange-focused system, and calls for a truth and reconciliation process, among other recommendations. This article thus makes the case for developing a model that draws from a variety of global perspectives on humanity, society, and economics to broaden the possibilities for ethical, meaningful, and generative exchange in global markets

Civil Economy and the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education

The objective of this article is to develop a framework for operationalizing the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education considering the challenges issued by Laudato Si’. This article proposes that the civil economy paradigm should be aligned with the Inspirational Paradigm and presents a framework that bridges these two paradigms. The framework proposed is anchored in the Catholic social tradition. This article starts by discussing the relevant features of the civil economy paradigm as developed by Bruni and Zamagni, emphasizing the business applications of fair trade, solidarity enterprises, and the Economy of Communion. An argument is then constructed to show that the civil economy paradigm is well poised to meet the hungers discerned in the Inspirational Paradigm for Jesuit Business Education, especially due to its alignment with the Catholic social tradition and pertinence to addressing sustainability challenges. The article concludes by proposing a model for implementing the civil economy paradigm within the curricula of Jesuit business schools

Young children's understanding of other's mental states: Using robot illustrations

本研究は，イラストを使った人間の行動とロボットの行動を比較することを通して，幼児期における他者の心の理解の発達を検討したものである。45人の幼児に，人間版とロボット版の誤信念課題と道徳判断課題を提示した。人間版とロボット版では，主人公が人間であるかロボットであるかの違い以外はすべて同じ状況で同じ行動とした。その結果，誤信念課題においては，ロボット版の方が人間版より得点が有意に低く，幼児は｢ロボットに対して，人間に対する時ほどには誤信念を考慮しない｣という傾向が明らかになった。道徳判断課題では，作為的な状況であれ不作為的な状況であれ，ロボットの行動と人間の行動の悪さの比較に差はなく，ロボットの行為に対しても，人間の行為に対してと同様の道徳判断をしたことが示唆された

Temperature Dependence of the Cyclotron Mass in n-Type CdS

Recent cyclotron resonance experiments in n-type CdS at ultra-high magnetic fields have revealed a pronounced maximum of the electron cyclotron mass as a function of temperature. In order to interpret these data, we calculate the magneto-absorption spectra of polarons in n-CdS using the arbitrary-coupling approach. We show that in high magnetic fields the polaron effects beyond the weak-coupling approximation clearly reveal themselves in the magneto-optical absorption even at relatively small values of the Froehlich coupling constant. In particular, those effects result in a non-monotonous behaviour of the cyclotron mass as a function of temperature. We extend the theory to take into account a combined effect of several scattering mechanisms on the magneto-absorption spectra. The extended theory allows us to interpret quantitatively the experimentally observed behaviour of the cyclotron mass in CdS.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, E-mail addresses: [email protected], [email protected]

Tenascin-C and mechanotransduction in the development and diseases of cardiovascular system

Living tissue is composed of cells and extracellular matrix (ECM). In the heart and blood vessels, which are constantly subjected to mechanical stress, ECM molecules form well-developed fibrous frameworks to maintain tissue structure. ECM is also important for biological signaling, which influences various cellular functions in embryonic development, and physiological/pathological responses to extrinsic stimuli. Among ECM molecules, increased attention has been focused on matricellular proteins. Matricellular proteins are a growing group of non-structural ECM proteins highly up-regulated at active tissue remodeling, serving as biological mediators. Tenascin-C (TNC) is a typical matricellular protein, which is highly expressed during embryonic development, wound healing, inflammation, and cancer invasion. The expression is tightly regulated, dependent on the microenvironment, including various growth factors, cytokines, and mechanical stress. In the heart, TNC appears in a spatiotemporal-restricted manner during early stages of development, sparsely detected in normal adults, but transiently re-expressed at restricted sites associated with tissue injury and inflammation. Similarly, in the vascular system, TNC is strongly up-regulated during embryonic development and under pathological conditions with an increase in hemodynamic stress. Despite its intriguing expression pattern, cardiovascular system develops normally in TNC knockout mice. However, deletion of TNC causes acute aortic dissection (AAD) under strong mechanical and humoral stress. Accumulating reports suggest that TNC may modulate the inflammatory response and contribute to elasticity of the tissue, so that it may protect cardiovascular tissue from destructive stress responses. TNC may be a key molecule to control cellular activity during development, adaptation, or pathological tissue remodeling