Bifurcation of burst response in an Amari‐Hopfield neuron pair with a periodic external force

To clarify the mechanism of the information processing in the brain of living organisms, and investigate information coding of a neuron, a reasonable mathematical model of a neuron is needed. Various models have been proposed and analyzed for now, some relationship between bursting response and bifurcations. In this paper, we propose a simple and effective model to realize bursting phenomena in Amari‐Hopfield coupled neurons. In this model, we can constructively design desirable bursting responses. Bifurcation diagrams and some analytical results are given, and a basic design scheme to generate a bursting is shown. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 146(2): 43–53, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10217     

Actinomycete Nonomuraea sp. isolated from Indonesian soil is a new producer of inulin fructotransferase

An actinomycete that excretes inulin fructotransferase to the culture supernatant was able to produce di-d-fructofuranose 1,2':2,3' dianhydride (DFA III) from inulin, with the greatest rate of enzyme activity at 65°C and at a pH of 5.5. Through chemotaxonomic and 16S rRNA gene analysis, this strain was identified as genus Nonomuraea in the Streptosporangiaceae family. This is the first report of an inulin fructotransferase producer in this family.     

Changes in physicochemical properties and microstructure of dried squid during softening treatment

Dried squid were prepared at 4 or 40 °C and softened first in water and then in alkaline solution. The physicochemical and structural changes in the dried squid during the softening treatment were examined. A significantly higher wet weight was observed for the 4 °C‐dried squid during the softening treatment compared with the 40 °C‐dried squid. The rupture stress and rupture energy of the 40 °C‐dried squid were significantly higher than those of the 4 °C‐dried squid during the softening treatment. The sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis (SDS‐PAGE) pattern of the 4 °C‐dried squid was almost the same as that of raw squid. The SDS‐PAGE pattern of the 40 °C‐dried squid showed many fragments of lower molecular weight. After soaking in distilled water the SDS‐PAGE pattern of the 40 °C‐dried squid did not change significantly; however, the SDS‐PAGE pattern of the 4 °C‐dried squid became the same as that of the 40 °C‐dried squid. Histological analysis by light microscopy showed the formation of muscle fibre bundles in the 40 °C‐dried squid. A higher water permeation was observed among the muscle fibres of the alkali‐softened 4 °C‐dried squid when compared with the alkali‐softened 40 °C‐dried squid. Copyright © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

The Study on the Ceramic Membrane Wastewater Reuse System with Pre-Ozonation and Coagulation

A new wastewater reuse system using ozonation, coagulation and MF ceramic membrane (0.1 μm) filtration was developed. The testing was performed using secondary effluent treated at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Tokyo, Japan. The volume of treated water by the pilot study equipment is about 90 m³/day. The combination of pre-ozonation and coagulation processes achieves continuous stable membrane filtration with flux of 4m³/m²/day (167 LMH). A stable membrane filtration could be maintained by controlling ozone dosing rate depending on secondary effluent (raw water) quality fluctuation. The COD (Mn) removal ratio in raw water was 50 to 60%, and the color removal ratio satisfied 80% or higher. The quality of the treated water that was obtained from our pilot study was better than the California's standards.     

Thermodynamic analysis of alcohol effect on thermal stability of proteins

Thermal unfolding of ribonuclease A and α-chymotrypsinogen A was analyzed in various alcohol solutions of methanol, ethanol, 1-propanol, 2-propanol, 1-butanol, 2-butanol, tert-butanol, trifluoroethanol, and glycerol. The change in thermal unfolding ratio with temperature was described well by the van't Hoff equation and the melting temperature and the enthalpy of protein unfolding were obtained. The reciprocal form of the Wyman-Tanford equation, which describes the unfolded-to-folded protein ratio as a function of water activity, was applied to obtain a linear plot. From the slope of this plot and water activity, the stabilization free energy (ΔΔG) in a solution was calculated. This shows an important role of water activity in protein stability. ΔΔG was linearly dependent on alcohol concentration and m-values of alcohols for protein unfolding were obtained. This provides a theoretical basis for the linear extrapolation model (LEM). The m-values for alcohols were negative except for glycerol. The negative higher m-value for longer and linear chain alcohols suggested the important role of the disturbance of hydrophobic interactions as well as the hydrogen-bonding in the mechanism of protein destabilization by alcohols. The number of change in bound-alcohol molecules upon protein unfolding was also obtained.     

Texture and structure of high-pressure-frozen gellan gum gel

To determine the effects of sucrose and high-pressure-freezing, unsubstituted form-gellan gum gels with 0, 5, 10 or 20% sucrose were frozen at 0.1–686 MPa and −20 °C. Gels were frozen during pressurization at 0.1, 100, 600–686 MPa. However, at 200–500 MPa, gels did not freeze but froze during pressure release (pressure-shift-freezing). On pressure release, a sharp rise in sample temperature was observed for the samples between 200 and 500 MPa. This was a consequence of the exothermic freezing event. Thus, appearance and structure of gels frozen at 200–500 MPa were better than other treated samples due to quick freezing. However, when gels were frozen at 0.1–686 MPa, rupture stress decreased remarkably and strain increased. Texture of pressure-shift-frozen gel was somewhat better than that of gels frozen in freezers (−20, −30 or −80 °C) at atmospheric pressure. Consequently pressure-shift-freezing was more effective. It was found that the addition of sucrose to gels was effective in improving the quality of frozen gellan gum gels.     

Experimental additive manufacturing of green body of SiC/Graphite functionally graded materials by stereolithography

Ceramic stereolithography (CSL)-additive manufacturing (AM) technology is used to create a functionally graded ceramic (FGC) green body made of silicon carbide (SiC) and graphite. For the SiC/graphite FGC, the mixing parameters of ceramics powders and ultraviolet (UV) curing resin are improved, and correlations of the resultant slurry curing depth with integrated light intensity are discovered. Therefore, the SiC/graphite FGC-produced green body has no flaws, pores, or cracks on its surfaces. According to the association between cure depth and integrated light density for each slurry's composition, several interfacial collapses discovered in a cracked cross-section might be decreased.     

Parenting style and parental monitoring with information communication technology: A study on Japanese junior high school students and their parents

Data were collected from 286 pairs of Japanese junior high school students and their parents to explore the association between parenting style and the intention to use monitoring systems incorporating advanced information technology such as GPS devices and IC cards. Results indicated that a majority of the participants had not experienced advanced monitoring systems, but more than half of the parents had some degree of intention to use them. The relationship between the intention to use monitoring systems and two types of parenting styles (i.e., responsiveness and control) reported by both parents and children was investigated. Categorical regression analyses revealed that parenting style was a predictor of the intention to use monitoring systems, with parent-reported control being the most significant predictor of parents’ intention to use. Child-reported responsiveness also had a significant positive effect on child’s intention to use, whereas child-reported control did not have such an effect. It became clear that parenting style was differently affected the intention to use advanced monitoring systems between parents and children; the significant predictor of parents’ intention to use is their tendency of control and that of children’s to use is their perceived responsiveness.