Polarization measurement and an accelerated life test of the oxide-coated titanium anodes in relatively dilute solutions of NaCl and in HClO4 solution were conducted. The OCTA failed at potentials higher than 1.3V vs. SCE, probably due to anodic oxidation of RuO2 and passivation of Ti substrate. An accelerated life test based on those results has been investigated to estimate the OCTA. The polarizing current decreases quickly when the OCTA becomes inactive, and the service life of material is evaluated by the time-to-failure from the start-up.A n u m b e r of the oxide-coated titanium anodes (OCTA) consisting of RuO2 and TiO~ are being used because of durability and low chlorine overvoltage in chlor-alkali cells. But eventually the OCTA becomes inactive and a part of the oxide drops out (arrow in Fig. 1). Low oxygen overvoltage is another problem for this oxide anode in chlorine cells.The OCTA is stable and its chlorine overvoltage is p r e f e r a b l y low in concentrated NaC1 solutions even a t high current densities, whereas it is attacked g r a d u a l l y and the anode potential becomes high in dilute N a C 1 solutions.Since the OCTA has come into the m a r k e t in early 1970's, m a n y articles on its preparation, modification, physico-chemical properties, electrochemical characteristics, and applications have been published. Degradation and deactivation of its unique material have also been discussed. With those articles and patents, degradation of the OCTA in chlor-alkali cells can be classified into three types: (i) coating dissolution, (ii) substrate a t t a c k , and (iii) substrate oxidation leading to electrical insulation, as stated by W a r r e n et al., who have studied the P t -I r alloy coated anodes for chlorate cells (1, 2).Extensive studies on the OCTA as well as the solid Ru metal anodes in sulfuric acid solution and solid p o l y m e r electrolyte have been conducted as a part of new developments in high-performance water electrolysis. Low oxygen overvoltage of those materials is a reason. However, dissolution a n d / o r degradation of the anode material at high potential ranges, and hence at high current densities, is a problem (3).Experiment of the OCTA under the operating conditions of chlorine cells are time-consuming, about one y e a r or more for only one run. Consequently, this paper deals mainly~with an accelerated life test and its procedure for the OCTA. The procedure is simple and requires minimum labor even for a prolonged period. The test specimen of the OCTA is electrolyzed in a mixed solution of HC104 and NaCI or in HC104 single solution under a constant terminal voltage, and the current is recorded until the test specimen breaks down. The concept is based on gradual degradation of the active material due to oxygen evolution. ExperimentsTest specimen.--Titanium sheet of 5 m m wide, about 150 m m long, and 0.5 m m thick was pickled with 10% oxalic acid at about 80~ for about 3 hr, rinsed Fig. I. SEM photograph ot degraded surface of OCTA 1439 ) unless CC License in place (s...

Formation of the mixed oxide consisting of RuO2 and TiO2 was studied by the DTA/TGA technique and x‐ray diffraction. The coating agent containing RuCl3 and tetra‐n‐butyl titanate converted into the mixed oxide of RuO2 and TiO2 at about 400°C on the Ti substrate, and the reaction was exothermic. The electric resistance through the oxide film depends much on the fire temperature, and an optimum condition arises between 450° and 500°C. The solution composition and the time of preparation are also important factors. The anodic polarization behavior in the normalNaCl solution was also affected by the material or the condition of preparation of the oxide‐coated Ti electrode.

To elucidate the relevance of gut dysbiosis in Parkinson’s disease (PD) in disease progression, we made random forest models to predict the progression of PD in two years by gut microbiota in 165 PD patients. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) of gut microbiota-based models for Hoehn & Yahr (HY) stages 1 and 2 were 0.799 and 0.705, respectively. Similarly, gut microbiota predicted the progression of Movement Disorder Society-Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) III scores in an early stage of PD with AUROC = 0.728. Decreases of short-chain fatty acid-producing genera, Fusicatenibacter, Faecalibacterium, and Blautia, as well as an increase of mucin-degrading genus Akkermansia, predicted accelerated disease progression. The four genera remained unchanged in two years in PD, indicating that the taxonomic changes were not the consequences of disease progression. PD patients with marked gut dysbiosis may thus be destined to progress faster than those without gut dysbiosis.

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SynopsisThree structural modifications of poly(y-benzyl L-glutamate) (PBLG), forms A, B, and C, were prepared by varying the casting solvents and casting temperature. From x-ray analysis, infrared absorption spectroscopy, differential scanning calorimetry, and viscoelastic measurements, it is concluded that form A of PBLG is characterized by intramolecular stacking between the benzene rings in the side chain, form B exhibits intermolecular stacking, and form C has no stacking. The transition which corresponds to the breakdown of stacking of form A at 135OC is irreversible, while that of form B at llO°C is reversible. The degree of stacking is larger for form A than for form B.These structural features of the side chain region reflect the permeation and sorption behavior of carbon dioxide. Breakdown of stacking between benzene rings causes an abrupt increase in permeability in both form A and form B, and the permeation behavior for form A is not reversible, as is suggested from the irreversibility of the transition. The larger the degree of stacking, the lower is the amount of sorption. Although stacking is considered to affect the sorption site (solubility) and molecular motion, its influence on solubility is more evident in the temperature range up to about 5OOC.

IoT-based measurement systems for manufacturing have been widely implemented. As components that can be implemented at low cost, BLE beacons have been used in several systems developed in previous research. In this work, we focus on the Kanban system, which is a measure used in manufacturing strategy. The Kanban system emphasizes inventory management and is used to produce only required amounts. In the Kanban system, the Kanban cards are rotated through the factory along with the products, and when the products change to a different process route, the Kanban card is removed from the products and the products are assigned to another Kanban. For this reason, a single Kanban cannot trace products from plan to completion. In this work, we propose a system that uses a Bluetooth low energy (BLE) beacon to connect Kanbans in different routes but assigned to the same products. The proposed method estimates the beacon status of whether the Kanban is inside or outside a postbox, which can then be computed by a micro controller at low computational cost. In addition, the system connects the Kanbans using the beacons as paired connection targets. In an experiment, we confirmed that the system connected 70% of the beacons accurately. We also confirmed that the system could connect the Kanbans at a small implementation cost.

Shop-around spatial behaviors of downtown visitors are characterized as MultiPurpose-MultiStop (MPMS). However, the authors’ investigations have revealed visitors frequently switch planned actions and generate improvised actions. By using an agent-based approach, especially with a medium-size specimen, simulating such spatial behaviors opens a rich vein of research, not only into such practical aspects as downtown revitalization but also several theoretical aspects. Based on data analysis, the authors have newly devised Agent Simulation of Shop-Around (ASSA). ASSA is a kind of activity-based model and each agent makes and remakes their schedule to visit shops based on time constraints and shop preferences, chooses alternative venues to visit when they fail in an errand, and makes impulse stops at shops and detour actions when time allows. A series of such activities carried out on one day will affect the next downtown visit schedule and so on. This paper refers to existing researches and briefly explains the features of ASSA, especially focusing on decomposition of the shop-around behaviors and the system components. The latest pilot ASSA ver.3 attempts a dynamic simulation of naturalistic and intelligent shopper behaviors. The authors then discuss the verifications by illustrating simulated performances in an actual shopping mall.

The influence of side chain structure on sorption of xenon and carbon dioxide gas by polypeptides is examined in two ways: chemical structure of side chain and higher order structure of the side chain region. Sorption of xenon gas increases progressively with increase in side chain length of poly(n‐alkyl L‐glutamates). The sorption isotherms of a polymer at various temperatures are reduced to one curve when the data are arranged in the form of sorption per residue versus fugacity ratio (as activity). The sorption of carbon dioxide gas shows a minimum at an intermediate length of side chains, corresponding to poly(n‐propyl or n‐butyl glutamate). The behavior is considered the result of overlapping influences of looseness of the side chain region and density of polar groups. The Langmuir constants and the enthalpy and entropy of sorption explain this quantitatively. Sorption of carbon dioxide gas is influenced by the higher‐order structure of poly(γ‐benzyl L‐glutamate). In this polymer, the benzyl ester part is the main sorption site, and it was confirmed that the stacking between side‐chain benzene rings significantly reduces the extent of sorption.