Acidity Control and Catalysis of Pentasil Zeolites

Acidities of pentasil zeolites were measured and correlated with aluminum content using the following methods: (1) Acid-base indicator method, (2) NH₃-TPD spectra, (3) GC pulse adsorption of pyridine and 4-methylquinoline, and (4) FTIR spectroscopy of adsorbed pyridine.

By controlling the acidity of pentasil zeolites, we have succeeded in obtaining high catalytic performance both in paraselective dealkylation of cymenes and in vapor-phase Beckmann rearrangement of cyclohexanone oxime to ?-caprolactam. In the dealkylation, moderate acidity of Li-ZSM-5 was the key to avoid side reactions while keeping a high conversion of cymenes. In the Beckmann rearrangement, neutrality and crystallinity of the pentasil zeolite were keys to obtain a high lactam selectivity, and a high lactam selectivity of 95% was attained by the surface treatment with chlorotrimethylsilane. The active sites were elucidated to be neutral silanols on the external surface of zeolite.     

Bearing failure in plain woven C_C composites

Abstracts are not published in this journal This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

EFFECT OF GLUCOSE SYRUP SOLID, SUCROSE, HYDROGENATED PALM OIL AND SOY-LECITHIN ON SENSORY ACCEPTABILITY OF DURIAN LEATHER

A two-stage optimization of ingredients in durian leather formulations was conducted using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). In stage 1, the independent variables were glucose syrup solids (GSS) and sucrose, and in stage 2, the variables were hydrogenated palm oil (HPO) and soy-lecithin (SL). Based on the responses to sensory acceptability attributes including taste, aroma, texture, appearance and overall acceptability, the most acceptable formulation was a combination of 10% GSS, 5% sucrose, 2.67% HPO and 0.452% SL. Chemical analysis also showed that during processing nutrient composition was relatively unchanged.     

DNA ANALYSIS FOR IDENTIFICATION OF FOOD-ASSOCIATED FOREIGN SUBSTANCES

To identify food‐associated foreign substances, a DNA analysis consisting of 18S rDNA sequencing and homology search analysis has been developed. In this method, we designed universal primer pairs for specific amplification of animal and plant 18S rDNA and constructed an original DNA database storing partial 18S rDNA sequences of 222 organisms commonly used for culinary purposes. In the model experiments, food materials were successfully identified, indicating that our DNA analysis method can be practically applied to the identification of food‐associated foreign substances. It is also expected that this method complements conventional morphological and compositional analysis, leading to more accurate and reliable identification of food‐associated foreign substances.     

A SPECIFIC QUALITATIVE DETECTION METHOD FOR PEANUT (ARACHIS HYPOGAEA) IN FOODS USING POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION

A qualitative method for detection of peanuts in foods using polymerase chain reaction was developed. A universal primer pair CP 03‐5′/CP 03‐3′ was designed to confirm the validity of the DNAs for PCR. The plant‐specific amplified fragments were detected from 13 kinds of plants using the universal primer pair. In addition, for the specific detection of peanuts with high sensitivity, the primer pair agg 04‐5′/agg 05‐3′ was designed to detect the gene encoding the peanut agglutinin precursor. The primer pair specifically generates a 95‐bp amplified fragment from peanut genomic DNA. Five hundred femto grams of peanut genomic DNA can be detected using the established method. The same qualitative results were obtained from both model processed and nonprocessed food samples containing 0.001, 0.01 and 0.1% of peanut. Moreover, it was shown that the trace amount of peanut in the commercial food products could be qualitatively detected using this method. The reproducibility and applicability of the proposed methods were verified in a six‐laboratory collaborative study.     

Mechanism of inactivation of heat-tolerant spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus IFO 12550 by Rapid Decompression

The effect of three rapid decompression methods to clear the mechanism of inactivation of heat tolerant spores of Bacillus stearothermophilus IFO 12550 was investigated. Pressurization of the spores at 200 MPa and 75°C for 60 min caused a kill of 10⁴ CFU/mL by the link-motion system but the nonrotational rod valve and E.G. seal methods gave a kill of about 10³ CFU/mL. Sterilization was due to the physical breakdown of spore coat, and was induced by its physical permeability of water at high pressure and temperature. Rapid decompression by the link-motion system at 200 MPa decreased the D-value of the spores from 3000 min (100°C, one atmosphere) to 6 min, 11 min, and 17 min at 95, 85, and 75°C, respectively.     

Ferroelectric-Gate Field Effect Transistors Using (Y,Yb)MnO3/Y2O3/Si(111) Structures for 1T-Type FeRAMs

Fabrication and characterization of metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor field-effect-transistors (MFIS FETs) using (Y,Yb)MnO₃/Y₂O₃/Si structures were introduced for the first time. P-channel MFIS FETs were fabricated on n-type Si(111) substrates, in which an Y_0.5Yb_0.5MnO₃(200 nm)/Y₂O₃(25 nm) structure was used as gate insulator. The Y_0.5Yb_0.5MnO₃ and Y₂O₃ films were prepared by chemical solution deposition. A fabricated MFIS FETs showed the hysteresis loop due to spontaneous polarization in the I_D-V_GS characteristic, in which the memory window was about 0.9V when the applied gate voltage was swept between 8 V and ?8 V. Especially, the alternative drain current was retained after applying a single voltage pulse with a magnitude of +9 V or ?9 V.     

Electrolytic Reduction of Heme Proteins: Attempt to Prepare Stable Natural Colorant for Sausage

Metmyoglobin and methemoglobin were subjected to electrolysis in presence or absence of sodium ascorbate and/or sodium nitrite. Products obtained by electrolysis were dependent on conditions. In absence of sodium ascorbate and sodium nitrite, metmyoglobin and methemoglobin were apparently transformed to red colored hydroxymetderivatives by limited electrolysis (50 mA, 5 min) because of increased pH of electrolytes. They were reduced to oxy-derivatives by prolonged electrolysis (100 mA, ?4 hr) at neutral pH, 7.0–7.5. In presence of sodium ascorbate, met-derivatives were reduced to deoxy-derivatives by limited electrolysis (50 mA, 5 min). In presence of both sodium ascorbate and sodium nitrite, stable nitrosyl derivatives were obtained by limited electrolysis, and by prolonged electrolysis (100 mA, ?4 hr) at neutral pH values especially in presence of 1M sucrose. The electrolytically reduced products appreciably increased redness of sausages.     

Time Evolution of Demixing in Oxides under an Oxygen Potential Gradient

Time evolution of concentration profiles leading to steady-state demixing in oxides under oxygen partial pressure gradient is treated based on a microscopic model by applying the path probability method of irreversible statistical mechanics. The redistribution of vacancies and cations toward the steady-state distribution has essentially been reduced to the diffusion of vacancies and the interdiffusion of cations along the specimen. Atomistic features of the problem, such as a vast difference in the relaxation times for the redistribution of vacancies and cations, are emphasized. Time required for the system to reach the steady state is then estimated in terms of fundamental material properties.