In situ pH-decrease-induced gelation of sodium alginate/carboxymethylated konjac glucomannan

The gelation kinetics and rheological properties of a mixture system containing two anionic polysaccharides, sodium alginate and carboxymethylated konjac glucomannan, in the presence of glucono-delta-lactone were investigated with dynamic viscoelastic measurements. The slow release of protons induced by glucono-delta-lactone gave birth to partly uncharged polymer chains and partly shielded electrostatic repulsion, resulting in an interpolymer association. This segregative interaction brought about a significant improvement in the elastic modulus of the resultant gel. The strongest synergism occurred at a carboxymethylated konjac glucomannan concentration of 29.9 wt %, exhibiting the highest gel strength. Increasing the content or the degree of substitution of carboxymethylated konjac glucomannan resulted in slower gelation kinetics. The fractal dimension of the incipient gel, which was not greatly affected by the mixing ratio or the degree of substitution of carboxymethylated konjac glucomannan, reflected a rather compact gel structure network. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2008     

Viscoelastic and fragmentation characters of model bolus from polysaccharide gels after instrumental mastication

Model bolus from polysaccharide gels was investigated by the stress-relaxation tests and particulate size analyses. Using two gelling agents, gellan gum and a composite of gellan/psyllium seed gums, gels with different physical properties (i.e., elastic gellan single gels and plastic composite gels) and gel hardness were prepared. Gels were masticated instrumentally in the presence or absence of artificial saliva to prepare model bolus. Data from the stress-relaxation tests analyzed by 5-element mechanical model showed that difference between two Maxwell-bodies in the elasticity for the composite gels was generally smaller than that for gellan single gels when compared at equivalent gel hardness and was less influenced by the addition level of saliva. For each gel sample, cumulative particulate size distribution of model bolus was reduced logarithmically with a normal curve regardless of the addition level of saliva. Mean particulate size of model bolus from the composite gels was generally larger than that for gellan single gels when compared at equivalent gel hardness and was less influenced by the addition level of saliva. Based on the particulate size distribution of model bolus, coefficients of skewness and kurtosis calculated for the composite gels tended to be larger than those for gellan single gels when compared at equivalent gel hardness. Results indicated higher structural homogeneity of model bolus from the composite gels, which is related to higher miscibility with saliva. Structural homogeneity should be the key for texture design of nursing-care foods, particularly for dysphagia.     

Swallowing profiles of food polysaccharide solutions with different flow behaviors

The relationship between physiological response and sensory perceived scores in swallowing was investigated using food polysaccharide solutions. Solutions from xanthan gum (0.3–0.9%) and locust bean gum (0.5–0.8%) were used as specimen with different flow behaviors identified by static and dynamic rheological methods. Acoustic analysis and sensory evaluation were carried out to investigate the swallowing profiles using the same human subjects. From acoustic analysis, time required for bolus to transfer through the pharyngeal phase t₂ decreased with increasing concentration of xanthan gum despite the viscosity increase. Also, the acoustic balance for the swallowing sound shifted to a higher frequency range with increasing concentration. The t₂ for locust bean gum was much less concentration-dependent and consistently larger than that for xanthan gum when compared at equivalent shear viscosity at 10 s⁻¹. Also, the acoustic balance for the swallowing sound was less concentration-dependent than that for xanthan gum. From sensory evaluation, 0.6% xanthan gum was scored the highest in perceived swallowing ease, while 0.75% locust bean gum was scored the lowest. Both t₂ and the acoustic balance correlated well with perceived swallowing ease. Results indicate that xanthan gum solutions flow as one coherent bolus through the pharyngeal phase with smaller variation of flow velocity than locust bean gum solutions, leading to a greater sensation of swallowing ease. “Structured fluid”, defined as fluid with yield stress such as xanthan gum solutions, is a rheological nature that allows bolus to be swallowed in one go, relating to perceived swallowing ease of liquid foods.     

Powder metallurgy magnesium composite with magnesium silicide in using rice husk silica particles

By using the solid-state reaction of rice husk silica particles with magnesium powder, P/M magnesium based composites dispersed with the magnesium silicide (Mg₂Si) and magnesium oxide (MgO) were fabricated. High-purity silica particles were originated from rice husks, one of the major agricultural wastes, via the citric acid leaching treatment and combustion in air. The effects of the silica particle characteristics such as size, crystalline and porous structures, on the reactivity of silica and magnesium to synthesize Mg₂Si intermetallics were discussed. As the results by DTA and XRD analysis, finer silica particles were more effective for the solid-state reaction at low temperature due to the increase of their surface area contacted with magnesium powder. Amorphous silica was also more useful for this reaction than the crystalline one. The reactivity of rice husk silica was superior to that of the conventional mineral silica particles not only because of its amorphous structure but also the larger specific surface area due to their pore structures. In the case of the green compact of the elemental mixture of silica particles and Mg powder, the silica particle size was not effective on the reactivity because the coarse particles were fractured into fine ones by cold compaction. The distribution of Mg₂Si intermetallics of magnesium powder composites consolidated by SPS process was investigated by XRD and SEM-EDS analysis. When the sintering temperature was over the exothermic temperature of the mixture in the DTA profile, the synthesis of Mg₂Si completely occurred during sintering. The sinterability of the elemental mixture powder was improved when employing the amorphous rice husk silica particles. The density and hardness of their composites sintered over the ignition temperature of the DTA profile were remarkably high because of the good densification by the high reactivity and the distribution of Mg₂Si hard compounds.     

A Kinematic Analysis of Joint Synergy of the Lower Limb in Human Locomotion

This paper deals with the mode analysis of the kinematic structure of human locomotion. The authors investigated synergy mechanism of human locomotion from motion-captured data and EMG signal data. The authors extracted some common basic movements and residual modes, and analyzed the kinematical structures of limit cycle in joint angle space. The authors also implemented the numerical simulation analyses by using the motion captured data and EMG signal data to investigate the mechanical activities of human joints and to extract the mechanical structure of the limit cycle. The results show the joint synergy that is derived by the common basic modes, which expresses an inverted pendulum mode in support phase, and ballistic mode in swing phase with the kick-off motion in the most effective direction. This result can be guessed that the control strategy of human locomotion is simply based on the minimal control principle.     

Fundamental research on the label-free detection of protein adsorption using near-infrared light-responsive plasmonic metal nanoshell arrays with controlled nanogap

In this work, we focused on the label-free detection of simple protein binding using near-infrared light-responsive plasmonic nanoshell arrays with a controlled interparticle distance. The nanoshell arrays were fabricated by a combination of colloidal self-assembly and subsequent isotropic helium plasma etching under atmospheric pressure. The diameter, interparticle distance, and shape of nanoshells can be tuned with nanometric accuracy by changing the experimental conditions. The Au, Ag, and Cu nanoshell arrays, having a 240-nm diameter (inner, 200-nm polystyrene (PS) core; outer, 20-nm metal shell) and an 80-nm gap distance, exhibited a well-defined localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak at the near-infrared region. PS@Au nanoshell arrays showed a 55-nm red shift of the maximum LSPR wavelength of 885 nm after being exposed to a solution of bovine serum albumin (BSA) proteins for 18 h. On the other hand, in the case of Cu nanoshell arrays before/after incubation to the BSA solution, we found a 30-nm peak shifting. We could evaluate the difference in LSPR sensing performance by changing the metal materials.