Development of Reference Shunt for Short‐Time Alternating High Current Tests and Study of Measuring System

Short‐circuit tests for power circuit breakers and others require alternative short‐time current measurement, from a few kA to over several tens kA. However, the reference measurement system as a national standard or a specified secondary standard instrument to directly perform comparative test as a complete calibration test in high current class has not yet been established globally. The Japan Short‐Circuit Testing Committee (hereinafter referred to as “JSTC”) has therefore developed a shunt resistor that can be used as a standard instrument for high current measurement. Reference system using this shunt resistor is also considered by JSTC. The performance of the newly developed shunt resistor has been checked through several methods, such as resistance measurement, high power current test, high frequency current test, temperature rise test, and interference test. The results of the tests proved satisfactory performance. Resistance of the shunt resistor before and after the tests was invariant and stable. This makes the shunt resistor adequate for a reference in practical use. In addition, evaluation of uncertainty of the whole reference system including this shunt resistor satisfactorily fulfills the requirements of IEC 62475 edition 1.0, 2010.     

LIPID CLASSES, FATTY ACID COMPOSITIONS AND TRIACYLGLYCEROL MOLECULAR SPECIES FROM ADZUKI BEANS (VIGNA ANGULARIS)

The lipids extracted from adzuki beans grown in Japan were classified by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) into eight fractions. Molecular species and fatty acid distributions of triacylglycerols (TAGs) isolated from the total lipids in the beans were determined from a combination of argentation-TLC and gas chromatography. The major lipid components were phospholipids (PL; 63.5%) and TAG (21.2%), while hydrocarbons (5.1%), steryl esters (7.5%), free fatty acids (0.9%), diacylglycerols (1.3%) and monoacylglycerols (0.5%) were also present in minor proportions. Both major samples had high amounts of total unsaturated fatty acids, representing 62.1% for TAG and 65.9% for PL. Seventeen different molecular species were detected. The major TAG components were SMD (5.0%), S₂T (19.3%), SD₂ (13.8%), SMT (9.3%), MD₂ (4.5%), SDT (7.0%), D₃ (8.8%) and ST₂ (15.9%), where S, M, D and T denote a saturated fatty acid, a monoene, a diene and a triene, respectively.

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

This article describes the characteristics of lipid components, fatty acid compositions as well as the profiles of triacylglycerol (TAG) molecular species of adzuki beans. α-Linolenic (18:3 n -3) acid was detected as 24.8, 21.2 and 15.2% in the TAG, total lipids and phospholipids, respectively. The oil from legumes, except the profitable fatty acid content, could be a potential source of tocopherols. The data obtained in this study would be useful to both consumers and producers for manufacturing traditional adzuki confectionaries ( wagashi ) in Japan and elsewhere.     

The present and future status of Japanese foundry industry

An introduction is given in detail about the current situation of Japanese foundry industry in 2006 from aspects such as the delivery structure of castings, scale and numbers of foundries, current profit of foundry industry as well as the background of lower profitability, etc. The development trend of Japanese foundry industry was also predicted, such as the transition of foundries from family business to modern company business, the improvement of rejection ratio and yield, application of IT to production and management, human resources and the challenge for zero emission and so on.     

Effects of Microwave Heating on the Molecular Species of Soybean Triacylglycerols

Microwave heating of whole soybeans resulted in an apparent increase of the total lipids. Molecular species of triacylglycerols were isolated from total lipids by a combination of silicic acid column chromatography and AgNO₃-thin layer chromatography (TLC). Fifteen molecular species of triacylglycerols were still found in whole soybeans following heat treatment. Microwave heating for about 5 min did not change all molecular species of soybean triacylglycerols nor cause a loss of unsaturated heat fatty acids. However, heat treatment for 8 min significant decrease not only in molecular species containing more than four double bonds, but also in the amount of diene and triene present in a triacylglycerol.     

INFORMATION FILTERING FOR EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Information filtering is an intelligent function that selects the relevant messages and items of use or interest to the user from a large amount of incoming information. This function has become very important for the rapid development of network technology. This article focuses on information filtering for the management of emergency situations. We believe that special purpose-built "information filtering systems" should be developed to cope with the problem of information overload in emergency management. In this article, we first investigated features of information in emergent situations and then proposed an information filtering system for emergency management. The proposed system is composed of two parts: causal analysis and information classification. A prototype system has been developed and its effectiveness was evaluated by experiments.     

A New Aroma-Bearing Substance from Shiitake, an Edible Mushroom

SUMMARY— Investigations on the physico-chemical properties and a sensory evaluation as a component of Shiitake flavor were carried out with lenthionine, a substance which was isolated from dried Shiitake mushroom. Lenthionine is practically insoluble in water but soluble in non-polar solvents. Its stability in an aqueous solution changes greatly with the pH of the solution.
Lenthionine was identified as a significant component in the aroma of Shiitake mushroom and its detectable threshold level is at a concentration between 0.27 and 0.53 porn in water. This new aroma-bearing substance will be used as a flavor additive in various foods.     

Interlayer couplings and magnetoresistance effects of Fe/Cr/Fe/Ni-Fe/NiO sandwiches

Interlayer coupling between Fe layers and magnetoresistance effect have been investigated in Fe/Cr/Fe/Ni-Fe/NiO sandwiches. The interlayer coupling between two Fe layers oscillates as the thickness of Cr layer changes. The strongest antiferromagnetic coupling is observed when the thickness of the Cr layer is 1.2 nm. The highest magnetoresistance ratio due to spin-dependent scattering is only 0.13%. The low magnetoresistance ratio is thought to be caused by high resistivity of the Cr layer. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of Microwave Treatment on the Trypsin Inhibitor and Molecular Species of Triglycerides in Soybeans

Whole soybeans at different moistures (8.6, 24.3, and 49.7%) were heated by exposure to microwaves at frequency of 2,450 MHz. The trypsin inhibitor in soybeans at 24.3% moisture, soaked for 1 hr, was completely inactivated after treatment for 4 min, which was shorter than the heating period (6 min) needed for unsoaked soybeans. However, the trypsin inhibitor in soybeans at 49.7% moisture, soaked for 5 hr, was not completely inactivated even after heating for 12 min. The loss of molecular species of soybean triglycerides containing more than four double bonds in a triglyceride was less for soaked soybeans than for soybeans before soaking (8.6% moisture).     

A new methodology to guarantee the structural integrity of Al2O3/SiC composite using crack healing and a proof test

Structural ceramics are brittle and sensitive to flaws. As a result, the structural integrity of a ceramic component may be seriously affected by inherent flaws. Self-crack-healing is an excellent answer to this problem. At the moment, however, there is no technique to heal embedded flaws. Therefore, a technique to guarantee the reliability of ceramic components is demanded, and thus a technique using crack healing followed by proof test was developed by K. Ando et al. to accomplish this. With this technique, testing the mechanical behaviour of the crack-healed zone is very important for ensuring the structural integrity of a ceramic component. In this study, first Al₂O₃/SiC composite with an excellent crack-healing ability was sintered. Second, a crack was introduced on the sample (3 mm × 4 mm × 36 mm), which reduced the bending strength by about 80%, and subsequently the crack was healed. Third, a proof test was carried out on the crack-healed sample. Last, using the crack-healed and proof-tested sample, a fracture test was carried out up to 1373 K. The measured minimum fracture stress (σ_Fmin) was compared with the theoretical minimum strength (σ_G) from room temperature (R.T.) to 1373 K. It was concluded that σ_G showed good agreement with σ_Fmin up to 1373 K and that the crack healing followed by proof test was an excellent technique to increase the survival probability by administering a proof test and to guarantee the reliability of Al₂O₃/SiC composite.     

Protein Content in Milk by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

A corrected equation for the determination of protein content in oil/ water emulsions, developed previously, was applied for determination of protein content in milk and standard errors were satisfactory for the determination. This corrected equation can be used for determination of protein content in milk.