High SOFC operating temperature allows direct internal reforming (DIR) of methane within the SOFC anode. However, carbon formation reduces considerably the performance and durability of the cells. A key step towards improving SOFC performance is to understand the detailed surface kinetics and electrochemistry for DIR of methane at the triple phase boundaries (TPBs) in SOFC anodes. In this study, we have performed kinetic simulations with a numerical model on Ni pattern anode, combined with surface reactions, charge transfer reactions, and diffusions for DIR of methane. The I-V characteristics of SOFC near TPBs are discussed.
After the Tohoku Earthquake in 2011, energy saving strategies in all fields is has become an urgent issue. It is essential to have drastic overall power savings, including energy saving during peak usage times, continuous less environment impact. Specific examples of energy saving policies in operation such as the decommissioning of equipment and use of low intensity illumination sources have been conducted and effects have been obtained. Another route to energy conservation is the strict temperature control of Air Conditioning (AC) units in buildings. The effects of the increase in temperature during warm weather makes productivity and work efficiency lower, so it is desirable to balance energy savings with worker comfort levels. 40% of the total energy usage in office buildings is consumed by the air conditioning system. Optimizing the efficient use of AC system should result in a stable indoor thermal environment while contributing to energy savings. It is very important to focus energy savings on small and medium sized buildings because more than half of the total floor space in Japan is occupied by small and medium sized buildings which are less than 2000m2. It is necessary to find out the type of heat generation load at the time of operation for small and medium sized office buildings and determine the optimized AC plan before starting the design of the building. However there are not many cases that measured AC heat generation of each individual room and determined the AC load. In this study we looked at small buildings in the Shikoku area which used multi-packaged air conditioners steel framed buildings of similar size and with the same equipment specifications in Kochi prefecture was measured. The purpose of this research is to develop a basic data set that will contribute to the construction of optimal air conditioning designs and operation techniques that lead to energy conservation and cost savings. The results obtained in this study are as follows: 1) The measured value of the indoor temperature is lower during winter and higher during summer when compared to the system's design value. This confirms that the Warm Biz, Cool Biz directives to tighten the office temperature values to conserve energy are being followed. And the CO2 concentration detected was within the health management standards during both heating periods and cooling periods. 2) During heating periods there was a large deviation between the designed capacity of the system and the measured value. The integrated value of the maximum amount of heat treatment for heating rated capacity was 158.0kW as opposed to the measured value of the maximum amount of heat was 45.9kw. 3) During cooling periods, we found that for the AC system rated for 152kw heat storage utilization the integrated value of the measured value of the maximum amount of heat generation was 51.3kW. Even on the hottest day of the year the system was operating with only 30% of the utilization capacity. 4) We hypothesize that the cause of the difference of the air conditioner heat source capacity and the maximum amount of heat processing in already installed systems is coming from the difference in a given condition of AC load at the time of design. It is necessary to estimate these causes in detail and develop design documents for future guidance.
The plasticity of T lymphocytes induced by epigenetic modifications of gene promoters may play a pivotal role in controlling their effector functions, which are sometimes causally associated with immune disorders. IL -17-producing T cells, which induce type 17 immune responses, are newly identified pathogenic effector cells. The type 1 signature cytokine IFN-γ strongly inhibits their differentiation, indicating a mutually exclusive relationship between type 17- and type 1-immune responses. However, many reports indicate the presence of a unique IL-17/IFN-γ-double producing T-cell subset in various inflammatory settings, although the mechanisms responsible for their development and their precise functions remain unclear. Here, we demonstrate that IL-12 permits the conversion of mouse IL-17-producing CD8(+) T (Tc17) cells to IL-17/IFN-γ-double producing CD8(+) T (Tc17/IFN-γ) cells, and that this conversion is due to repressive epigenetic modifications of Socs3 gene promoters. Moreover, we show that SOCS3 strongly regulates the capability of Tc17 cells to produce IL-17, in addition to regulating the expression of the type 17-master regulator RORγt. These findings elucidate the mechanisms underlying the conversion of Tc17 cells into Tc17/IFN-γ cells. As these cells are known to have potent antitumor activities, manipulation of these conversion mechanisms for therapeutic tumor immunity may be possible.
Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 (PD-1) represents endogenous mechanisms of negative immunoregulation. While the modulation of effector functions has been the major focus of PD-1 research, quick PD-1 upregulation in naïve T cells starting 1 h after priming raised a possibility that PD-1 also affects the development of effector T cells. The role of PD-1 in functional differentiation into Th1 and Th2 has been unclear. In murine naïve CD4 + T cell activation, we found that PD-1 stimulation during the early stage of T cell activation strongly impaired Th2 cell development, while Th1 cell induction was relatively resistant to this immunosuppressive signaling. The steep decline in Th2 cell induction suggested the significance of PD-1 in allergic inflammation. Treatment with anti-human PD-1 agonist antibody inhibited allergic inflammation in human PD-1-knock-in mice as shown by the reduction of Th2 cells, IgE levels and eosinophilic infiltration. This study shows that PD-1 regulates not only the intensity but also the quality of immune response by deviating Th differentiation. PD-1 stimulators are projected to be valuable in suppressing various forms of inflammatory activities, but the efficacy against Th2-dominant immune response may be particularly high.
This study aims to found the basic data for promoting energy conservation policies by assessing the energy consumption in common space of apartment block. We investigated the actual electricity consumption in common use space of apartment houses. The data of electricity usage in common use space was collected from 1,345 apartment blocks (623,022 houses). We classified the apartment blocks by 1) year when administration had started, 2) number of floors, 3) number of houses, 4) water supply method and 5) number of elevators, in order to analyze the influences of those attributes on the electricity consumption. As a result, it became clear that the specific energy consumption of the apartment block differs significantly in the range from 42 kWh/year/house to 2,272 kWh/year/house, depending upon the abovementioned attributes.
This paper, we examined the technology to maximize the use of renewable energy. The passive ventilation system is expected to reduce the energy consumption of the fan power and the maintenance burden. In addition, the wall-mounted solar air heater can supply thermal energy without using any energy at all. Therefore, we propose a "passive ventilation system with a solar air heater" that combines a passive ventilation system with solar air heater to preheat the air supply and reduce the ventilation load. To evaluate the solar air heater performance in a real environment, we developed a simulation for calculating the heat collection capacity of the solar air heater, and then implemented the system in a real building for verification. Based on the measurement results, the effects of heating load reduction and prediction methods are presented.
Abstract Programmed Cell Death Protein-1 (PD-1) represents endogenous mechanisms of negative immunoregulation. While the modulation of effector functions has been the major focus of PD-1 research, quick PD-1 upregulation in naïve T cells starting 1 h after priming raised a possibility that PD-1 also affects the development of effector T cells. The role of PD-1 in functional differentiation into Th1 and Th2 has been unclear. In murine naïve CD4 + T cell activation, we found that PD-1 stimulation during the early stage of T cell activation strongly impaired Th2 cell development, while Th1 cell induction was relatively resistant to this immunosuppressive signaling. The steep decline in Th2 cell induction suggested the significance of PD-1 in allergic inflammation. Treatment with anti-human PD-1 agonist antibody inhibited allergic inflammation in human PD-1-knock-in mice as shown by the reduction of Th2 cells, IgE levels and eosinophilic infiltration. This study shows that PD-1 regulates not only the intensity but also the quality of immune response by deviating Th differentiation. PD-1 stimulators are projected to be valuable in suppressing various forms of inflammatory activities, but the efficacy against Th2-dominant immune response may be particularly high.
