We have controlled in-plane stress in the CoO2 sublattice of (Ca2CoO3)xCoO2 by cationic substitution of alkaline earth metals at the Ca site. The effects of the magnitude of the stress on thermoelectric properties have been investigated by using highly grain-oriented polycrystalline thin films. The in-plane compressive stress is released by the partial substitution of Sr for Ca. With increasing in-plane stress, the magnitude of thermoelectric power and resistivity increased.

Fabrication of high aspect ratio patterns with an aspect ratio larger than 10 is attempted by nano imprint lithography. A fine mold using a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond layer is newly developed by electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) using Cl 2 -O 2 gas. Narrow grooves less than 100 nm in width and 1.0 mm in depth are successfully obtained. Using medium molecular weight PMMA (M w ¼ 350 k) and with slow advance of the cooling sequence in the imprint process, the fatal error of the polymer fracture is eliminated at the mold release process. Based on the advanced process, we first demonstrate the fabrication of high aspect ratio patterns over 20 with 80 nm line width, however, the polymer might be stretched during the mold release process.

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In this study, we tried to accurately discriminate between zooplankton and walleye pollock using a quantitative echosounder at two frequencies (38 and 120 kHz). To estimate the abundance of walleye pollock and zooplankton (mainly Euphausia pacifica), an acoustic and trawling survey with bongo net sampling and CTD (X-CTD) was conducted during June 2001 off the Pacific coast of eastern Hokkaido, Japan. Neocalanus copepods and E. pacifica were predominant in almost all the net samples. One size class of Neocalanus copepods (mean TL ± SD ¼ 2.0 ± 1.1 mm, N ¼ 1 044 080) and two size classes of E. pacifica (mean TL ± SD ¼ 6.1 ± 2.2 mm, N ¼ 13,099; mean TL ± SD ¼ 15.4 ± 3.6 mm, N ¼ 7628) were collected. The distribution patterns of these two classes and of walleye pollock were identified using the volume back scattering strength (Sv) difference method. On the continental shelf, the walleye pollock schools (small walleye pollock: mainly age 1 and 2) overlapped with almost all zooplankton layers during both day (near the sea bottom and mid-water) and night (midwater and sea surface). Near and offshore of the continental shelf break, during day, the walleye pollock schools (large walleye pollock: mainly older than age 3) overlapped with almost all zooplankton layers near the sea bottom, but during night, the large walleye pollock schools (which were mainly distributed near the sea bottom) showed little overlap with most zooplankton layers (which were mainly distributed between mid-water and sea surface). This result suggests differences in feeding strategies between small and large walleye.

BackgroundLarge-scale processing of lignocellulosics for glucose production generally relies on high temperature and acidic or alkaline conditions. However, extreme conditions produce chemical contaminants that complicate downstream processing. A method that mainly rely on mechanical and enzymatic reaction completely averts such problem and generates unmodified lignin. Products from this process could find novel applications in the chemicals, feed and food industry. But a large-scale system suitable for this purpose is yet to be developed. In this study we applied simultaneous enzymatic saccharification and communition (SESC) for the pre-treatment of a representative lignocellulosic biomass, cedar softwood, under both laboratory and large-scale conditions.ResultsLaboratory-scale comminution achieved a maximum saccharification efficiency of 80% at the optimum pH of 6. It was possible to recycle the supernatant to concentrate the glucose without affecting the efficiency. During the direct alcohol fermentation of SESC slurry, a high yield of ethanol was attained. The mild reaction conditions prevented the generation of undesired chemical inhibitors. Large-scale SESC treatment using a commercial beads mill system achieved a saccharification efficiency of 60% at an energy consumption of 50 MJ/kg biomass.ConclusionSESC is very promising for the mild and clean processing of lignocellulose to generate glucose and unmodified lignin in a large scale. Economic feasibility is highly dependent on its potential to generate high value natural products for energy, specialty chemicals, feed and food application.