National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

About: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology is a government organization based out in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Thin film. The organization has 22114 authors who have published 65856 publications receiving 1669827 citations. The organization is also known as: Sangyō Gijutsu Sōgō Kenkyū-sho.

TransCom model simulations of hourly atmospheric CO2 : Analysis of synoptic-scale variations for the period 2002-2003

Abstract: The ability to reliably estimate CO2 fluxes from current in situ atmospheric CO2 measurements and future satellite CO2 measurements is dependent on transport model performance at synoptic and shorter timescales The TransCom continuous experiment was designed to evaluate the performance of forward transport model simulations at hourly, daily, and synoptic timescales, and we focus on the latter two in this paper Twenty-five transport models or model variants submitted hourly time series of nine predetermined tracers (seven for CO2) at 280 locations We extracted synoptic-scale variability from daily averaged CO2 time series using a digital filter and analyzed the results by comparing them to atmospheric measurements at 35 locations The correlations between modeled and observed synoptic CO2 variabilities were almost always largest with zero time lag and statistically significant for most models and most locations Generally, the model results using diurnally varying land fluxes were closer to the observations compared to those obtained using monthly mean or daily average fluxes, and winter was often better simulated than summer Model results at higher spatial resolution compared better with observations, mostly because these models were able to sample closer to the measurement site location The amplitude and correlation of model-data variability is strongly model and season dependent Overall similarity in modeled synoptic CO2 variability suggests that the first-order transport mechanisms are fairly well parameterized in the models, and no clear distinction was found between the meteorological analyses in capturing the synoptic-scale dynamics

Noble-Metal-Free Bimetallic Nanoparticle-Catalyzed Selective Hydrogen Generation from Hydrous Hydrazine for Chemical Hydrogen Storage

Abstract: Noble-metal-free nickel–iron alloy nanoparticles exhibit excellent catalytic performance for the complete decomposition of hydrous hydrazine, for which the NiFe nanocatalyst, with equimolar compositions of Ni and Fe, shows 100% hydrogen selectivity in basic solution (0.5 M NaOH) at 343 K. The development of low-cost and high-performance catalysts may encourage the effective application of hydrous hydrazine as a promising hydrogen storage material.

Diversity and geographic distribution of secondary endosymbiotic bacteria in natural populations of the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum.

Abstract: In addition to the essential intracellular symbiotic bacterium Buchnera, several facultative endosymbiotic bacteria called collectively secondary symbionts (S-symbionts) have been identified from the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. We conducted an extensive and systematic survey of S-symbionts in Japanese local populations of A. pisum using a specific PCR detection technique. Five S-symbionts of A. pisum, PASS, PAUS, PABS, Rickettsia and Spiroplasma, and two facultative endosymbionts universally found in various insects, Wolbachia and Arsenophonus, were targeted. Of 119 isofemale strains originating from 81 localities, 66.4% of the strains possessed either of four S-symbionts: PASS (38.7%); PAUS (16.0%); Rickettsia (8.4%); and Spiroplasma (3.4%), while 33.6% of the strains contained only Buchnera. PABS, Wolbachia and Arsenophonus were not detected from the Japanese strains of A. pisum. In order to understand intra- and interpopulational diversity of S-symbiont microbiota in detail, 858 insects collected from 43 localities were examined for infection with the four S-symbionts. It was demonstrated that different S-symbionts coexist commonly in the same local populations, but double infections with two S-symbionts were rarely detected. Notably, the S-symbionts exhibited characteristic geographical distribution patterns: PASS at high frequencies all over Japan; PAUS at high frequencies mainly in the northeastern part of Japan; and Rickettsia and Spiroplasma at low frequencies sporadically in the southwestern part of Japan. These results indicate that the geographical distribution and infection frequency of the S-symbionts, in particular PAUS, might be affected by environmental and/or historical factors. Statistical analyses suggested that the distribution of PAUS infection might be related to host plant species, temperature and precipitation.

Ferroelectricity near room temperature in co-crystals of nonpolar organic molecules

Abstract: The research on ferroelectric materials-mostly inorganic compounds or organic polymers-is increasingly motivated by both basic scientific concerns and the potential for practical applications in electronics and optics. Ferroelectricity in organic solids would be important for the development of all-organic electronic and photonic devices. The conventional approach to making organic ferroelectrics is based on the use of polar molecules. Here we report that through supramolecular assembly of nonpolar conjugated molecules, a remarkable ferroelectric response can be obtained in co-crystals of low-molecular-weight organic compounds. Co-crystals of phenazine and chloranilic acid reveal large spontaneous polarization and sizable room-temperature dielectric constants exceeding 100. The present findings provide an approach to making potentially useful organic ferroelectric materials.