Corrosion Resistance of Modified Heat-Treated 16Cr-4Ni Steel for Geothermal Steam Turbine Blades

Immersion corrosion tests and electrochemical corrosion tests were carried out in the simulated geothermal water on a modified heat-treated material of 16Cr-4Ni steel, which is used for geothermal steam turbine blades. Incidentally, the purpose of the modified heat treatment is for reducing the susceptibility of stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of the steel in the geothermal fluids. For comparison, a conventional heat-treated material of the 16Cr-4Ni steel was also used in the corrosion tests. In the immersion corrosion tests up to 4,000 hours, the modified heat-treated material showed lower corrosion rates than those of the conventional heat-treated one in the test water. In the electrochemical corrosion tests, the modified heat-treated material exhibited noble and stable corrosion potential behavior. The XPS analysis results exhibited that the passive films formed on the materials were consisted mainly of Cr-oxides (CrOOH, CrO3) and Fe-oxides (FeO, Fe2O3). Furthermore, the composition ratio of Cr-oxides in the outermost surface of the passive film formed on the modified heat-treated material was higher than that on the conventional heat-treated one. It was suggested that the better corrosion resistance of the modified heat-treated 16Cr-4Ni steel was contributed to the formation of the passive film with higher compositions of Cr-oxides

Research and development of an electron beam focusing system for a high-brightness X-ray generator

In order to minimize the size of the X-ray source for a U-shaped rotating anticathode X-ray generator, the electron beam is focused over a short distance by a combined-function bending magnet. Simulation predicts that the beam brightness will reach almost 500 kW mm−2 for a 120 keV/75 mA beam

Energy Systematics of Low-lying Collective States within the Framework of the Interacting Vector Boson Model

In a new application of the algebraic Interacting Vector Boson Model (IVBM), we exploit the reduction of its Sp(12,R) dynamical symmetry group to Sp(4,R) x SO(3), which defines basis states with fixed values of the angular momentum L. The relationship of the latter to $U(6) \subset U(3)x U(2), which is the rotational limit of the model, means the energy distribution of collective states with fixed angular momentum can be studied. Results for low-lying spectra of rare-earth nuclei show that the energies of collective positive parity states with L=0,2,4,6... lie on second order curves with respect to the number of collective phonons n or vector bosons N=4n out of which the states are built. The analysis of this behavior leads to insight regarding the common nature of collective states, tracking vibrational as well as rotational features.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, 4 table

Prevalence and risk factors for low back pain among professional cooks working in school lunch services

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of self-reported low back pain among professional cooks was estimated to examine the effects of daily life conditions, job-related factors, and psychological factors on this disorder.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data was collected using a mailed self-administered questionnaire.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of 7100 cooks, 5835 (82%) replied to the questionnaire, including 1010 men and 4825 women. The mean age was 41.4 for men and 47.5 for women. The prevalence of low back pain during a 1-month period was 72.2% among men and 74.7% among women, with no significant differences between groups. By logistic regression analyses, factors significantly associated with the prevalence of low back pain in 1 month were female gender (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.32; 95% CI, 1.03–1.68), current smoking (PR 1.57; 95% CI, 1.24–1.98), and past smoking (PR 1.35; 95% CI, 1.01–1.79). As for job-related factors, the number of cooked lunches per person (PR 1.28; 95% CI, 1.05–1.56), breaks in the morning session (PR 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13–1.56), kitchen environment (PR 1.09; 95%, CI, 1.03–1.15), and height of cooking equipment (PR 1.13; 95% CI, 1.08–1.19) were associated with the prevalence of low back pain. As for psychological factors, job satisfaction (PR 1.22; 95% CI, 1.03–1.45), stress at work (PR 1.68; 95% CI, 1.42–1.99), financial constraints (PR 1.23; 95% CI, 1.03–1.47), health-related stress (PR 1.31; 95% CI, 1.08–1.59) and worries about the future (PR 1.24; 95% CI, 1.01–1.52) were similarly associated.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Daily life conditions, job-related factors, and psychological factors are associated with the occurrence of low back pain. It is important to take comprehensive preventive measures to address a range of work and life conditions that can be improved to decrease the incidence of low back pain for professional cooks.</p

SUDACHITIN IS A SAFE ANTICANCER ADJUVANT TARGETING THE TME

Sudachitin is a polymethoxylated flavone found in the peel of Citrus sudachi, a unique specialty citrus fruit in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan. Previous reports have demonstrated that sudachitin has anti‑inflammatory and metabolic regulatory activities. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have explored whether sudachitin can act as an antitumor therapeutic agent by regulating metabolic functions in the tumor microenvironment. In the present study, cell proliferation and cytotoxicity assays were used to determine whether sudachitin inhibited the in vitro growth of liver cancer and pancreatic carcinoma, cholangiocarcinoma and colorectal cancer cells and to compare its toxicity against normal fibroblasts and induced cancer‑associated fibroblasts (CAFs). Using lactate assays and reverse transcription‑quantitative PCR, the effects of sudachitin on glycolysis in CAFs were investigated. The effects of CAFs on malignant tumor cells were evaluated in vitro using cell proliferation, wound healing and invasion assays. As result, sudachitin inhibited various types of tumor cells with different half‑maximal inhibitory concentrations. Treatment with 50 µM sudachitin for 48 h suppressed tumor and CAFs proliferation but was not cytotoxic against normal fibroblasts. This dose also inhibited glycolysis in CAFs and, thus, diminished their pro‑tumorigenic activities. Overall, the present study revealed that sudachitin has promise as a safe and widely available natural antitumor adjuvant

The Chlamydomonas reinhardtii BBSome is an IFT cargo required for export of specific signaling proteins from flagella

In humans, seven evolutionarily conserved genes that cause the cilia-related disorder Bardet-Biedl syndrome (BBS) encode proteins that form a complex termed the BBSome. The function of the BBSome in the cilium is not well understood. We purified a BBSome-like complex from Chlamydomonas reinhardtii flagella and found that it contains at least BBS1, -4, -5, -7, and -8 and undergoes intraflagellar transport (IFT) in association with a subset of IFT particles. C. reinhardtii insertional mutants defective in BBS1, -4, and -7 assemble motile, full-length flagella but lack the ability to phototax. In the bbs4 mutant, the assembly and transport of IFT particles are unaffected, but the flagella abnormally accumulate several signaling proteins that may disrupt phototaxis. We conclude that the BBSome is carried by IFT but is an adapter rather than an integral component of the IFT machinery. C. reinhardtii BBS4 may be required for the export of signaling proteins from the flagellum via IFT

Effects of hydrographic conditions on the transport of neon flying squid Ommastrephes bartramii larvae in the North Pacific Ocean

The neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, is widespread in subtropical and temperate regions. In the North Pacific Ocean, the species is comprised of two spawning cohorts; an autumn cohort and a winter-spring cohort. Interestingly, despite their apparently contiguous hatching periods, there is a marked disparity in the mantle length of both cohorts. We hypothesized that differences in the ambient temperature during larval development were responsible for the observed disparity in mantle size. Numerical simulations of ambient temperature revealed that water temperatures were approximately 1 °C higher in areas inhabited by the autumn cohort than they were in areas inhabited by the winter-spring cohort. The findings imply that differences in ambient water temperature and nutrient condition may be responsible for the observed differences in the growth of the autumn and winter-spring cohorts